CHRIST PRAYED FOR ALL BELIEVERS

PROCLAMATION

“My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 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 sent Me.”  John 17:20-21 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, according to the Apostle John and written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the words of the prayer which Jesus prayed for His disciples and for all future believers. (John 17:1-26)  As Jesus neared the end of His earthly ministry, He prayed for His disciples. (John 17:6-19)  Jesus made it clear that He was not praying for all of the people in the world, He was just praying for His people. (John 17:9-10)  Jesus also made it clear that He was not just praying for His disciples alone, but also for all of the people who would hear their message and believe in Him. (John 17:20-21)  He also prayed that they would be with Him where He was going to be. (John 17:24)

 

APPLICATION

Once we became a believer, this prayer that Jesus prayed also applied to us.  He prayed that God, The Father, would keep us safe and protected from the evil one. (John 17:15)  He also prayed that The Father would love us as He loved Jesus Himself. (John 17:26)  It is also important to note that He prayed that there would be unity among the believers, and that we would be as one, the unity of the church. (John 17:21)  The more we bicker with other believers, the less likely it is that the world will see Christ in us.  We need to show more love towards our fellow believers.  Three times Jesus repeated the command for us to love one another. (John 13:34, 15:12, and 15:17)  Jesus prayed for us because He knew that we would need God’s help to make it in this world.  He also knew that the devil would attack us as we attempted to walk His way and do that which He had commanded.  For that reason we need to pray for ourselves and for each other, asking for God’s help that we might be more loving towards one another as we do the kingdom building work here on earth.

 

JESUS THE CHRIST PRAYED FOR ALL BELIEVERS

Proclamation:

“My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 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 sent Me.”  John 17:20-21 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were spoken by Jesus, The Christ, and recorded by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the prayer which Jesus prayed for His disciples and for all future believers.  As Jesus neared the end of His earthly ministry, He prayed for His disciples. (John 17:1-3)  He made it clear that He was not praying for all of the people in the world, He was just praying for His people. (John 17:9-10)  Jesus also made it clear that He was not just praying for His disciples alone, but also for all of the people who would hear their message and believe in Him. (John 17:20-21)  He also prayed that they would be with Him where He would be. (John 17:24)

Application:

Once we became a believer, this prayer that Jesus prayed also applied to us.  He prayed that God, The Father, would keep us safe and protected from the evil one. (John 17:15)  He also prayed that The Father would love us as He loved Jesus Himself. (John 17:26)  It is also important to note that He prayed that there would be unity among the believers, and that we would be as one, the unity of the church. (John 17:21)  The more we bicker with other believers, the less likely that the world will see Christ in us.  We need to show more love towards our fellow believers.  Three times Jesus repeated this command for us to love one another. (John 13:34, 15:12, and 15:17)  Jesus prayed for us because He knew that we would need God’s help to make it in this world.  We need to pray for ourselves and for each other that we might be more loving towards one another.

A CHANGED LIFE

Proclamation:

“… As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’  ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.  ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied…”  Acts 9:1-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  The Apostle Paul, while he was still being called by his given name, Saul, had a life altering encounter with The Lord on his way to Damascus.  He had gotten letters from the high priest which authorized him to arrest any believer that he encountered.  On his way there, a light from heaven blinded him and then he heard a voice from heaven. 

Application:

After he had an encounter with The Lord, Paul’s life changed from being a zealot persecutor of Christians to being a zealot for The Lord.  He changed from a persecutor to a preacher.  The experience humbled him and changed how he saw the world and how he saw himself.  When you have a personal encounter with Christ, you cannot continue to live your life as you did beforehand.  You become a new creature, not perfect, but definitely different. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  Paul lost his sight for three days.  (Acts 9:17-18)  The experience for each believer is different and the change that we undergo is unique for each for each of us.  The people who knew us beforehand should notice a change in us afterwards.  When we do sin we no longer enjoy it as much and we feel guilty afterwards.  Some things we no longer do, some things we do differently, and some things we still struggle with letting go.  If we cannot identify the change in our life, then we should question ourselves regarding our belief in Christ.

Let The Light Of Christ Within You Shine

"You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."   Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

These are the words of Jesus, recorded by the Apostle Matthew, as He continued to teach His disciples, and the surrounding crowd, about the characteristics of believers.  After He had completed the beatitudes, He told them that they were to be lights of goodness in a dark sinful world, and they were to live their lives in a manner which would give glory to God, so that the people would see and praise God.

Jesus said that He was The Light of the world. (John 8:12)  He also said that as long as He was in the world He would be The Light of the world. (John 9:5)  Jesus also said that He abides within those who believe in Him. (John 6:56 and John 15:5)  Therefore, as believers, we have The Spirit of Christ within us, and we are to let that light shine for the world to see and praise God.  We are to speak and behave in such a way that the world will see Christ in us.  We are not to be ashamed of The Light, and try to hide it.  We are to display The Light of Christ in all that we do.  We are to give The Light to, and share The Light with others.  We are not to do this to attract attention to ourselves.  We are to direct people to Christ, and tell them about Him, so that others may be saved, and so that God is glorified.  If we tell them, The Lord God will convict, convince, and convert them, and add them to The Church as He deems necessary. (Acts 2:47)