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Bible preaching from the pulpit of Choice Hills Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina
Then turn with me to John chapter 17. John chapter 17. Turn this on.
All right, thank you Isaiah. I should be on here. We're going to be going through this chapter and
take some time to look at first a very high level overview and then we're going to dig into a couple
thoughts of what the main point of this chapter is and then also how can we can apply this
to our relationship with the Lord. This is Jesus praying for you. So, John 17 set the context here.
This is during the time right before he died that he was praying for his disciples and his
disciples who were yet to come which includes you and me and the ones that have not yet come
to Christ. The ones who he is seeking are far off. John chapter 17 Jesus prays,
these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and saying,
Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee.
What I'm going to do just so you know is I'm going to go through several verses and we're going to
stop and we're going to talk about and see how this applies and once we get to the end of going
through this chapter on an overview we'll get more into some of the lessons we can learn.
We're going to go through verse three here. As thou has given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal,
that they may know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ who I am sent, whom thou hast sent.
So it's important when we set the context here Jesus Christ is, John is a portrait view of Jesus
Christ. It's not so much focused on his doings though it does talk a lot about that. It focuses
on the person of Jesus Christ and it is here that we see eternal life is a person. It is not a
process, it is not a procedure, it is not a series of steps that you have gone through, it is not a
checkbox that we make. Eternal life, if you will have eternal life you will have Christ and all of
him and nothing else because eternal life is not something where we work out something, it is
something that Jesus Christ worked out for us. In verse one we see God is worthy of all glory and
honor. Jesus through his life glorified God and God's power, grace, and justice was glorified
through Jesus. Eternal life we see in verse three and this is life and this is life eternal. That's
equivalent. Eternal life is not based on your performance, it is based on the work and person
of Jesus Christ and your participation in this is based on your location not the series of steps
you take and are you in Christ. See God sent Jesus Christ and we must be clear on who Jesus is in
order to be in him. Verse four says, I have glorified thee on the earth. This is Jesus speaking
of his father. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And one of the things I love about
this in verse four is he says he's finished the work. Jesus hasn't died yet and that's because
God is not in our time, he's not confined to our dimensions as we would say in physics.
God is outside of time, he's outside of dimensions so when Jesus Christ speaks of realities for us
that we are dead and risen with Christ and we are seated in the heavenlies that's already happened
in his mind because he's there at the beginning and the end. Time is not linear moving in one
direction so Jesus Christ can speak of things that have already happened or have not yet happened
as if they were there. And that is very encouraging when we realize that Christian life is not about
trying to work things out so much as it is resting in something that Jesus Christ already worked out.
See God is outside of time but we are confined to time and before we get all metaphysical here it's
just important to realize that we can claim those realities even if we have not yet experienced them
because remember our Christian life, our experience, our eternal life, it's not based on
something we work out, it's based on something we lay hold upon by faith that he did for us. How
simple, how glorious it is. Jesus finished this work, he glorified God and everything that was
necessary to please God Jesus accomplished. Consider this, Jesus was successful in this
mission that he finished. Our eternal life and our life here on earth hinges on this, not what we do.
If Jesus had not succeeded we would have no hope. We have hope because he did succeed, he did glorify
the father, Jesus did please God on my behalf, he did pay for our sins and we are in him. And now God
views us the way he views his beloved son because of what Christ did. Moving on to verse five,
and now oh father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were and thou gavest them me and they have kept thy word. You see God gets glory when we are
with him, when we are his family. It's interesting God wanted a family, he wanted friends and neighbors
and that's why he came to earth to die for us. Note that Jesus repeatedly references his deity,
he didn't hide who he was to the people who believed him and wanted him, that would be his
disciples. But he was quite coy it seems and it seems confusing about people who did not want him.
Christ is found of those who want him and he is very obvious to those who seek him, to those who
he is drawing to be clear, it also speaks of that. But God is not looking to impress anyone and we
see that in parables that he tells, if they will not believe Moses and the prophets neither will
they believe me. But it is not as if God has left us without a witness because he is seeking and he
is going after that lost sheep we see in the parables earlier in the gospels. He is coming
unto us but he will be found of those who diligently seek him. He that cometh God must believe that he
is and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. God has used Jesus to bring people unto
himself. We know all things that God wants us to know through Jesus Christ. Being in Christ we keep
his word and in verse 7 we understand the riches and all things, the riches of all things that we
have being in Christ. In Christ we have all things and that is in 2nd Peter 1 we see that,
to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our
Savior Jesus Christ grace and peace be multiplied according as his divine power hath given unto us
all things that pertain unto life and godliness. So here we see the sufficiency of Christ that all
things that we need for doubts, for fears, we'll talk about that later, are found in Christ. That
is a very radical idea and a very radical promise and one that we have to lay hold upon again by
faith because there are many many times that I do not feel perfect and complete in him as the word
of God describes us and that's where we choose to believe what God has said about our lives instead
of looking and leaning onto our own understanding because God is outside of time and perhaps he has
given us all things in a way that we have not yet, not perhaps but for sure he has given us all
things in a way that we might not fully realize. Verse 8 says, for I have given unto them the words
which thou gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee
and that they have believed that thou didst send me. You see the people who are in Christ we're
now learning more about what they are. Their location is in Christ. They have received the
words of Christ and have believed Jesus. We are confronted with the word of God. We don't believe
it to make it as true. We don't have to go through a series of steps again in order to, you know, I
was actually listening to some Christian songs on Spotify whatever and then there is this song that
came on and it started was calling Liking the Scriptures, Liking the Scriptures Unto Me and the
first verse started talking about Noah and then I was like what in the world is this was a Mormon
song actually that had just come on and apparently there's some false Mormon quote unquote scripture
that says Liking the Scriptures Unto Me. That's like a huge phrase in Mormonism and that's
basically the Christian Buddhism I guess you could say is that we're trying to somehow conform the
scriptures to our lives or work or mold ourselves in. No we are believing Christ resting in him and
being obedient to him. We are looking at the scriptures and that is defining our reality.
We're not trying to somehow make something true. We're looking at what Christ already did and then
living in that reality and that's the difference between Christianity and every other religion.
In verse 9 we say, I pray for them. How encouraging. Jesus is praying for them. Remember Jesus is
outside of time so this is even true today. He is praying for you. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world but for them which thou has given me for they are thy and all mine are thine and thine
are mine and I am glorified in them. So it almost sounds like Jesus is doing world out word algebra
or something where he's making things equivalent but what we have to understand about this is right
now Jesus is praying for you. Right now the Holy Spirit of God through the person and the work of
Christ is seeking you even now and he says not for I pray not for the world and this sounds very
exclusionary but it's encouraging when we think about the fact that Christ says he reconciled the
world unto himself. So Christ is still seeking to save that which is lost. Verse 11 says,
me that they may be one as we are. You know when we speak of the name today it doesn't mean nearly
as much as it meant back then. The name is just an ascribing noun to people but in Bible times the
name meant the honor, the power, the character, the authority, who that person was, his legacy,
his history, and who he would become. You are of such and such family, the Smith family. It meant a
lot more and in verse 11 God says he will keep us through his own name. Again the burden of performance
is on Christ or on God what he has done through Christ. God's name refers to his honor, his
character, his power, his authority as we just said. We are walking in what Christ has already
done for us and in him we are the beneficiaries of that same power, grace, and promises of God.
You see we become an heir to Christ. We are adopted into his family and therefore all of the
history and experience that is true of Jesus Christ is now true of us and he's our older brother.
We think about God as our father. It's kind of interesting to think that Jesus Christ is actually
our older brother. He's our captain of our salvation and he's our big brother. He's also our creator
which is really interesting when you start to get into the Trinity and the Holy Spirit being our
teacher. That's why the verse there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved
because it's not just the identifying Jesus Christ is God. We've learned that since Sunday
school if we grew up in church. No, it's his honor. It's his power. It's his character. It's
all who he is and his history and his inheritance that applies to us and that is an amazing thought
to think. 1 Peter 1 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time. Christ is always taking the focus off of you and to his person in his work
and Father God and his plan and how we are into God's bought into God's family again by the person
and work of Christ. We are bought into God's family. God is our father. Christ is our older
brother. He's the captain of our salvation. He's the one who went ahead and made that way for us.
And verse 12 it says while I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name. That's his
power is authority. Those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost but the son
of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee and these things I speak in
the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word and the
world hath hated them because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. You see the
words of our Savior are very dividing. They are very confrontational and they bring great joy to
those who are in him. This is a very location based response. Those who are in Christ who are
under the honor, the power and the authority of his name who look to him as that faithful captain
of their salvation this does bring joy to them. However the world hates the words of Jesus. We are
white crows among black crows. Those who believe God we are entering into what Jesus has done and
in him we have rivers of living water flowing out of us. How can we keep from being joyful when we
consider all that God has done for us and through us and to us through Jesus Christ? When truth is
preached it requires those listening to either believe or recognize the reality of what is being
said or to actively reject the truth of God there is no middle ground. You see God presents this
truth to you. He is not that he has any need of it but essentially he is a salesman of truth coming
through the world and presenting this truth. And he does not do this from any position of need or
demand. He is entirely powerful and can do whatever and does whatever he pleases. But he comes to you
and challenges you to believe something that is too good to be true and you will take that truth
or you will actively reject the truth as many do. And it is the same about the Christian life.
Christ wants to give you rest. He wants you to enter into what he has done and he wants you to
live that and obey him every day. John 15 11 says these things have I spoken unto you that my joy
might remain in you and that your joy might be full. You see God's will for us is to be removed
from not to be removed from the world but to be kept from evil. In verses 15 and 17 he says I pray
not that thou wouldst take them out of the world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth thy word is
truth. We are doing a Wednesday night Bible study. All Bible preaching contains teaching but not all
teaching is preaching. So you could probably spend a year on this chapter to be very clear.
But I'm going somewhere with this because I want to pull out some of the key concepts that God is
trying to teach us. Not only is honor as power as character as authority not only the reality of our
location in Christ. You see these oneness things that verse 17 sanctify them through thy truth thy
word is truth that all may be one. And that's the relationship we have in Christ. It's another
example of how we can't pick and choose what God says about us and about the Christian life. And
that is the a la carte Christianity that we have especially in western world just does not work.
There are so many things that are equivalent. Jesus speaks of himself as the word that goes
all the way back to John 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word
was God. And so while we don't have many many sermons that could dig into the wonderful truth
here in verse 17 just remember you get Christ all of him or none of him. It's all of Christ for all
of life all the time. We don't get to pick and choose but why would we when we have the great
riches that we have. In verse 17 we again see the source of truth the word of God. Let us all also
recall that Jesus Christ is the word made flesh and in him is truth. In verse 18 we read as thou
has sent me into the world even so have I also sent them into the world. Again Jesus is the big
brother you know. If you think about I see my nephews you know the big brother goes ahead.
He tries the things out. He's the captain of all the games. I can especially see that with my
three little nephews that go to this church. Jesus Christ was in that role that he went ahead of us
and did these things that now he's calling us to do and he was in all parts tempted like as we are
yet without sin. 19 says and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. Again Christ is our example. In verse 20 he says neither pray I for these alone
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. And now it's as if Christ kind of
drops back to the plane that we live on where time moves in one direction and we're confined
to three dimensions and he's talking about the people that are actually going to come after
and that includes you and me because someone preached the gospel to us. Jesus went ahead of
us and he made the way. He was first sent into the world and succeeded in this glorious mission
and now we are following in his footsteps and completing God's will in Christ. Jesus lived that
overcoming life so that in him we would be overcomers. Jesus prayed for us when we were
sinning and dying. As you think about this when Jesus prayed for us 2,000 years ago we were not
yet born or there were sinners who were still sinning and dying and when we were yet without
strength Christ died for the ungodly. He was thinking about us those who would believe him
in the future. Verse 21 and 24 gets really exciting it says that they all may be one.
Oneness comes from Christ. Unity comes from Christ. Unity comes from the word of God. It
does not come by de-emphasizing the word of God it only comes through Christ.
That they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee. That they also may be one in us.
That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. I'm going to read through verse 24.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them. That they may be one even as we are one.
I in them and thou in me. That they may be perfect made perfect in one and that the world may know
that thou hast sent me and that hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father verse 24 I will that
they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast
given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. What amazing and rich thoughts here
there's so much to unpack that we won't cover in the interest of time but we see that Father God
is in Jesus and Jesus is God. Once again the equivalency the oneness that we see we are also
one in Jesus because of what Jesus did we are included in this. God has done this because he
wants the world to believe him. God who needs nothing wanted friends and neighbors. The incredible
glory that God has given is to us. He wants us to behold his works. Jesus Christ is in us and Father
God is in Jesus is what verse 23 says. Jesus is in us and we in him so that we will be made perfect
and the world may know that Jesus was sent from God. God wants us to reflect his glory and that is
his entire plan and why he came into the world to reconcile the world unto himself. And what this
means is God loves you the way that he loves Jesus and that is one of the of many but it's a key
thought I'm actually going to focus on in this chapter. We all know that God loves us but have
you considered the way in which God loves you? God loves you the same way that he loves Jesus.
There is no distinction in his mind because of what he was able to accomplish on our behalf.
To think that your horrible and terrible sin was put on Jesus Christ and dealt with so well and so
completely that God could see you and be your friend and love you the same way he loves his son Jesus.
Father God you see is a very good parent and the Holy Spirit is our teacher and Jesus is our captain
and big brother and this is something the world cannot fathom and cannot understand and they hate
him because men love darkness rather than light. But to those of us who see this we cannot respond
with the wicked man responds with well if that was true well the wicked man responds with outright
derision right. The man who loves his sin responds with that was true I would have to change my life.
I was recently talking to someone and they related how it was a camp counseling type situation.
How a child told said if that's true I would have to change my life and I don't want to do that.
This is I don't know of how old the child or teenager was but how sad but that is where
many people are. And to the religious man though the religious man thinks okay that's true I believe
it now how do I make that true for me like the Mormon song that caught me off guard on Spotify.
But the follower of Christ says oh thank you Jesus for the blood applied how wonderful how glorious
I could have never done it myself I'm so glad you did it. Verse 26 and I have declared unto them thy
name remember that's the honor the power and the character and the authority of God. So Jesus
declared unto us all of himself not just the attribute not that just he died on the cross
not just that he was a good man a good teacher but again it's all of Christ for all of life all the
time. And I have declared unto them thy name that's you and me and will declare it that the love
wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. Notice the love of Christ is only in us
when Christ is in us and we are in him. You see love is like God the world does not know and cannot
know God. Knowing God is connected not to our performance a process a procedure a prayer we've
prayed or any such like thing. Knowing God is connected to the identity of Jesus Christ who he
is and what he did for us and our location in him. Jesus shows us God and Jesus shows us the love of
the father. Again love is like God. Some verses on this because we're going to kind of camp out on
this attribute of God among the many things that we've covered in this chapter. A new commandment
I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you that ye also love one another.
Oh no man anything but to love one another for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
First John 3 11 says for this is the message that he heard from the beginning that you should love
one another. First John 3 23 says and this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of
his son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave his commandment. Beloved let us love one
another for love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. This verse in First
John 4 7 goes right along with verse 26 of John chapter 18. It's interesting that God had record
John record both of these cases that the love wherewith thou has loved me may be in them and I
in them. You see this love comes from God. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another
God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us. John 13 just a little bit ago John recorded
through the Holy Spirit by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have one love one
to another. So some key thoughts on this chapter there are many things that we could apply
and maybe one day we'll have a sermon series like Matthew we're doing in Matthew on John.
But one thing is God wants people to believe him but without faith it is impossible to please him
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him. Speaking of Christians later in the chapter the author of Hebrews to the Holy Spirit
says these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and
were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. God who needs nothing again wanted you to believe him and that's why he showed himself
to you. That's why with his great power and honor and authority and needing nothing he came to you.
You see God went ahead and did everything needed to bring us back to God for when we were yet
without strength and due time Christ died for the ungodly. In John 8 29 it says and he that
sent me is with me the father hath not left me alone for I do always those things that please him.
You see we could not please God so God had to come down in a body and live out that overcoming
life that we could not live. And then another key thought we see is God's plan is not a self-improvement
plan like religion has. He baptizes sinners into his history he does not reform them he kills them
he puts them to death and raises them again and that is the message of Romans. What shall we say
then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? In verse 6 it says knowing this that our old man
is not his being but is that's a present reality crucified with him that the body of sin might be
destroyed and henceforth we should not serve sin for he that is dead is freed from sin. Again that's
a present reality. How could that reality be true? It makes absolutely no sense. Well that's why John
John 17 gives us such a good overview and something we need to delve more into but it
speaks of that reality that's outside of ours where God is not confined to time where we are one in him
where all these impossible things Jesus is saying these are true and I'm praying for you and it's
crossing into our lives 2,000 years later. These are realities that we have to accept by faith
and one of those is that God doesn't want to just improve you he wants to put you to death he wants
you literally to die. Okay David died 2,000 years ago and then he wants to raise you again
and that's something that we can't understand but we have to believe by faith. We lay hold and we
access this we don't work it and in a sense we are living in the reality of it but it's not a
performance-based religion that and that's what separates Christianity biblical Christianity
from the world's religions. He that is dead is freed from sin. The Bible says now if we be dead
with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ being raised from the
dead, dieeth no more, death hath no more dominion or authority over him for in that he died, Jesus
died, he died into sin once but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. So another thing we can learn
from this chapter is God's goal is for us to enter into and to be in and live the life of Christ that
idea of all of all of life of for all of Christ all of Christ for all of life all the time.
The word of God says in Galatians 2 20, I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet
not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God for if
righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain. Another thing we can see is someone who
is one in Christ we enter into his history and his experience. What is your history and your
experience? Your experience is all the things you've lived, your history is all the things
you've done, it's the things your parents did, it's the things that are true of you.
Well Jesus says through the power of the Holy Spirit, if ye then be risen with Christ seek
those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on
things above not on things on the earth for ye are dead present reality and your life is hid with
Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Because of that and this is the part where we apply the word of God we recognize the reality of
the word of God and we are obedient to it. Mortify therefore your members. The Roman 6 says reckon
which are upon the earth fornication uncleanness and ordinate and affection evil concupiscence
covetousness which is idolatry. So another key thought I want to pull out of this is that God
loves us like he loves Jesus as we said before. Our sin was put away by Jesus and his death on
the cross and his shed blood. The blood cries out that we are forgiven. God loves you because your
vile sins were taken care of. And that's key when we come to Christ we don't come on the basis of
whatever religious system our denominational background or one's denominational background
provides. It's sometimes easy to point out you know well I'm saved because I'm baptized or I'm
saved because I was confirmed but many Christians and more biblical denominational groups are trusting
in some sort of thing that they did instead of coming to Christ based on reckoning with God
based on the works and the blood of Jesus Christ. And many come to Christ in some sort of experience
they may have prayed when the Holy Spirit prevailed upon them and they responded which
God allows us to do and commands us to do rather. But at the end of the day we come to Christ with
nothing but what he did for us. And that is so freeing to understand because many people hang in
that in between part in between eternal life and the flames of hell because they want to come to
God with something. They want to do it correctly. That is the religious man. That is the religious
mind. But no Jesus Christ took care of it for you. My friend rejoice your sins are taken care of.
Thank him for what he has done for you. The blood cries out they are forgiven and God loves you
because truly he took care of your sins and finished that work. Love is how the world will know
that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. We love God because he first loved us. The love of
Christ flows out of us. We obey God because we love him and we want to please him. You know if
you throw the law at someone have you done all these things? Have you been perfectly righteous?
That's when many people finally see probably familiar with living water is a great comfort.
I actually really like that part of his approach. You can watch YouTube videos on this if you're not
familiar with it because he gets people to admit that they are guilty and undone and they have no
hope. It's only then that we can be grateful for what Christ has done for us through his death,
burial and resurrection. So we can walk in the reality of what God has done for us. This is the
Christ life. It's not about you. Obedience comes out of the great love we have for God in response
to his great love for us. Christ says come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and
you shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. There is many more
things we can say. Another aspect in this chapter that we will not take the time to get into but I
encourage you to consider is how fear relates to love. The fact that there is no fear in love
and the fear brings torment but in fact the fearful and the unbelieving will be cast into hell.
But there is no fear because of the love that flows from God and we do not need to live our
lives in fear. The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man can do unto me.
We can boldly say that God has not given us the spirit of fear and he says fear not
thou for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. I will help thee
yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. That's an aspect we don't have time
to get into among many in this chapter. But I want to encourage you, you know it says,
you've probably heard the sermon, the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and how God used that
sermon. It wasn't actually they say that Jonathan Edwards got up and just kind of read it in a
monotone is what the reports say but so it was the Holy Spirit that was working in those people's
lives that they were so terrified. But as a believer what is underneath us? It is not the
flaming fires of hell where you're extended like a spider. No, underneath us are the everlasting
arms. Why? Because of what Christ did again. So how can we apply this to our lives in conclusion
here after this whirlwind tour through this amazing chapter? I would say ask yourself what
does God think about you? Okay don't ask yourself what have I done or have I done things correctly?
Ask yourself based on what Jesus says about himself and about God and about me and by my
recognizing that and believing that which is faith not faith is not something I conjure up in myself
it's something it's a conduit it's something I look upon because it's not my faith it's the
faith of Son of God who loved me and gave himself to me looking unto Jesus the author and the
finisher of our faith. So ask yourself through that lens what does God think about you? How can
you take the focus off of yourself and consider the person and reality of who Jesus is and what
he has done for you on a daily basis? You see salvation including salvation from sin still
comes by looking and living just like those people who looked at Moses and the serpent on the
wilderness. When faced with trials and temptations which will come by the way because in this world
we have tribulation remember that God loves you he has made the way he is your captain of your
salvation he's your older brother believe him love him trust him and follow him the word of God says
Jesus actually if he loved me though I repeat myself if he loved me keep my commandments.
In order for God to view you the way he views Jesus Christ you have to be in Christ and Christ
and you your sins have to be taken care of. Gratefully justice has been served it's finished
he did it the law has to be satisfied and it was and it no longer condemns you. You were adopted
and you are the child of God because of what Christ did as he have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord so walk ye in him and that's the you know and some of these biblical concepts they can be so
mind-boggling because he's speaking of things that happened or will happen there's our view
there's God's view theologians love to talk about this but at the end of the day we can sum it up
though it's wonderful to study all of that and to delve into the details of the timeline and
how it all works at the end of the day it's Jesus Christ his name his power we love him we trust him
we follow him and that's why I love that verse to sum all this up Colossians 2 6 as ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him. Someone wrote and I love this quote read it in a
newsletter life is so fragile I know actually wasn't a newsletter I think it was Facebook
life is so fragile in this world with its problems so temporary eternity is always closer than you
think and people are dying every day facing it without knowing the Savior don't get caught up in
the small inconveniences of life if there's a trouble you're facing no matter what it is it's
so small in light of eternity do you know the Savior do you know what he has done for you
if you do are you being a light or are you letting the cares and offenses of this life drown it out
while people around you are dying eternity is one less breath away Jesus speaking of Jesus it says
but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our
peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed but God commended his love towards us and
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us think about that while you were a sinner Christ
died for us and again how do we know that we are righteous how do we know we are saved the
word of God says for he that is God hath made him that is Jesus to be sin for us for he hath made
him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we the David that Adam that Louis might be made the
righteousness of God in him so that is the Christ life I encourage you to that is a wonderful prayer
and it spans multiple chapters and we can learn many good lessons from it but the lessons we
should learn is we are in Christ we are we have his honor his power and his authority we can have
the Christ life all of Christ for all of our life all the time and because of what he has done for
us we can rejoice we can accept that it is finished he finished the work we are one in him
and we can now reflect the love of Christ and what he has done for us how grateful we can be
for that let's pray together