John 17  Part II

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.




24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

"Worship God"

Christ focuses only on God in His prayer.  He is consistently referring to how He and the Father are joined and how the Father has given Him this and that and reminding the Father of what has happened and asking for other things to occur so that God the Father might be glorified further.  What an example of submissive, focused prayer. 
Christ mentions that we are getting to know God through himself as well.  We cannot commune with or know God without the access granted through Christ.  He himself is beseeching God to allow us communion but only after we know Him.  The knowledge of God's love for His Son is a necessary component for Christ to live in us.  Without the knowledge of God's love, how can we realize how much He loves us and what a sacrifice it was for God to give His Son to pay for our sins.  Amazing!

Joy, Joy , Joy!

Let’s talk about joy today! What kind of things give you joy? First time you see a child smile, a puppy, waves crashing on the beach, business success, growth of a stock you’ve purchased, perhaps the simplicity of a flower blooming or the scent of spring on a late winter breeze. For me it is assorted simple things. I do love to be victorious and feel accomplishment, but true joy is a combination of emotions, I think. I call home in the Ohio Valley, so winter lasts long enough here, though not nearly as long as some of you may experience. I was chatting with my mother, who lives in Charlotte, NC, and she shared with me how beautiful her daffodils are right now. I was excited that I had discovered my bulbs just starting to poke their heads up through the crust of snow! My heart jumped for joy as I bent down to get a closer view of the essence of spring! The definition of joy is “an emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune; gladness or delight;”
Nehemiah 8 has a verse that we hear very often. Take a moment and read this whole chapter. The preceding history is that, in short, Nehemiah, who was an exile of Jerusalem, heard what condition the city was in after the war and prayed and asked God for direction and to clear a path for him. So, as a cupbearer for the King Artaxerxes, which was not the most glamorous of jobs, he begged the king to let him go back to rebuild his city of Jerusalem. What a testimony he gave to this king! So the king sent him off to accomplish this and Nehemiah gathered together the people, who had not only a broken city but their lives were shattered, and began with worship and the reading of the Word before they began rebuilding the city itself. Phew! So from this chunk of history we pull one line – Like from Martin Luther Kings’ speech we pull “I have a dream….”

Nehemiah 8:10 "The people were weeping from hearing God’s word read to them and Nehemiah said “God is happy today. This is a great day! Don’t mourn, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.” Have you ever really thought about what that verse is saying? The actual joy of the Lord is our strength. His joy in us is what powers us and gives us the force to sustain and grow and make a difference. Like a child who seeks to find the joy in their parents’ eyes, we should be seeking to find pleasure in our Lord’s eyes. And the strength that He gives us through His joy will be a strength that grows our faith into faith that can move mountains.

The pure joy He has in us shows such unconditional love for us that we should never doubt our capabilities through Christ. He will never fail us but will always lift us up for His glory.