Jesus’ Prayer for all Christians

The High Priestly Prayer of Christ: John 17:

This prayer of the Son of God was recorded to instruct the readers of their privileged place in their union with both the Father and the Son because of Christ’s ministry on their behalf (17:1–26)

Character of Jesus from this chapter

1. He is One with God. (Perfect unity)

2. He is the Priest for all of us.

3. He is the Intercessor for all of us.

The ways in which Jesus shows us how to be a leader- in this chapter.

1. Leader’s need an Intimate relationship with Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit

2. Responsibility for the people (God gave us)

3. Leader’s need to be intercessors.

The heart for the People

1. God gives us the people (Expect God only – we can not rely on ourselves)

2. We have the responsibility for the people.

3. The people are God’s

4. Ownership and partnership

5. Commitment for the people

Review

I have shared Jesus’ prayer through John 17 for the last two weeks.

Jesus prayed for Himself, for His Disciples and for us in a very special time of His Life.

Jesus spent time in an intimate way with the Father daily.

Mark 1:35

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away

to a secluded place, and was praying there.

This kind of intimate relationship with the Father; was a part of Jesus’ life style daily.

But Jesus made very special times with his Father several different times.

1. In the beginning of His Ministry – 40 days Fasting in the wilderness: Matthew 4:

His personal reasons for the redemption ministry

2. In the first year of His Ministry – calling His Disciples: Luke 6:12-13

He had to choose His Disciples for the ministry.

3. After the ministry He spent time with Father alone during the night. Mark 14:23

4. He had a serious time with the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane

before He took the cross. Matthew 26:36-46

Whenever He spent time with Father God, He always was alone with God.

5. John 17:

As you know, Jesus invited only His Disciples to His banquet, and had a private time

with them. He prayed to Father God after He had shared the most important word with

them.

He was not spending time with Father alone, but also He was with His Disciples.

They heard every word of His Prayer.

Jesus prayed in the presence of His Disciples, because His Disciples are the back bone

of the vision of the Lord.

According to the prayer of Jesus, we could see that Jesus prayed for His Disciples to

carry the vision continually, instead of asking his Father to zap them to heaven from the

earth.

Jesus did focus on the Discipleship ministry, especially on the 12 Disciples during His

Ministry for 3 years.

Jesus’ ministry was growing and a lot of followers followed Jesus, but in the 3^rd year of

His Ministry most of them left Jesus except for the 12 Disciples.

John 6:66

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him

anymore.

For a while some people were serving the ministry, but suddenly those people

disappeared from the ministry. What is your reaction when you cannot see

the people who were serving in the ministry amongst us previously?

It happened to Jesus, but His 12 Disciples were with Him.

So many people followed Jesus from the beginning, but in the middle of Jesus’ 3^rd year of ministry almost everyone left Jesus except the 12 Disciples.

And the last person, Judas Iscariot left Jesus with the heart of a betrayer.

His Disciples narrowed down then to only 11 people.

Gideon (Judge 7:) summoned 32,000 warriors

God trimmed them – 10,000

God trimmed again – 300

God did not use 32,000 warriors, but God used 300 to save Israel.

Jesus had a special relationship with these 11 disciples, and He has a plan to use them to make the world turn upside down, and they were all History Maker’s that would effect all of human history.

That is why Jesus prayed for them and for us.

John 17:11

I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.

Because of Jesus’ prayer, all His Disciples were finished well for their race

It is very important how to start your Christian life, but the most important thing is how to finish your life.

The eleven Disciples finished their race well because of the fact that they had one heart with Jesus Christ until the end of Jesus’ ministry.

We could see that only 120 people were at the upper room on the Day of Pentecost.

When you get married, most people are in the joy of the honeymoon for the first year, but from 2^nd year on the honeymoon mood is beginning to fade away, years pass by and the honeymoon mood is no longer. Some people drop their marriage life, and some people keep their marriage life until they die.

My mother and father lived together for 62 years. They finished well their marriage life.

In the ministry, in much the same way, people start together with excitement, but before we see the fruit, people drop their vision and leave with many reasons.

I have a strong desire for you and want to see that you all finish our race well - together until Jesus comes.

Because of this prayer 12 disciples did reach out to the nations widely.

None of them were fallen into sin and or followed the world.

By tradition – Thomas – did ministry in India.

Andrew, Peter, Matthew, Bartholomew – did ministry to the Black Sea area

John and Philip – ministered to Asia Minor

Thaddeus, Simon Zealot, Judas son of James, Matthias – ministered to the Armenians

They were all martyred except John who was exiled to Patmos.

The first church came at the cost of the blood of the disciples of Jesus Christ.

Every Apostle finished their race very well up to death, and continually the gospel was spread out to the world.

We are in Christ today because of the Disciples’ blood and Jesus’ prayer for them.

We are the fruit of Jesus’ prayer.

You came to the Lord, because you were conceived as God’s Children in Jesus’ prayer

2000 years ago.

312 AD finally Constantine the Great was converted to the Christianity.

Jesus’ Prayer for all Christians

By Pastor Young Joon Park

March 1, 2009

^{JN 17:20} “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

^{JN 17:21} that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

^{JN 17:22} “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;

^{JN 17:23} I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

^{JN 17:24} “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

^{JN 17:25} “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;

^{JN 17:26} and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

I. The Vision of Jesus

^{JN 17:20} “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

I found my name in this verse.

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for Young Joon Park also who believes in Me through their word.”

Let’s find your name from Jesus’ interceding for you.

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for (your name) also who believes in Me through their word.”

His Ministry was not only to make the disciples, but also that multiplication would happen.

Jesus saw a huge amount of people come to the Lord behind each of His Disciple’s.

In the same way I have a vision that a crowd of people are waiting behind each of you.

We have to catch the vision of the Lord.

Without the vision there is no hope and no life.

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,

But happy is he who keeps the law

Vision = revelation

Unrestrained = Perished

Several years ago Pastor Rick Warren wrote a book called “The Purpose Driven Life”.

And this book was a best seller among Christians and impacted the Christian life, world wide.

5 Purposes

1) You were planned for God’s Pleasure

2) You were formed for God’s Family

3) You were created to become like Christ

4) You were shaped for serving God

5) You were made for a mission

I am glad that all Christians found the purpose of their life.

But deep inside of me I had a big question when I heard the testimony that people found the purpose of their life.

These 5 purposes of the life are not new things, and it part of the basics of Christian life.

I found the purpose of my life when I was 19, and I have been pursuing my life with these purposes since God called me in 1971.

Did our Christian Society lose the purpose of Christian life in the Lord for so many years?

And now have we found it?

What word of God did pastors preach to their congregation for all the years in between?

That is why the Lord warned us through Hosea.

Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

I realized that there are 2 distinct matters.

1. The Pastor or spiritual leader does not have “the vision” at all.

2. People do not give any attention to what God speaks to us.

People are busy for other things, but not for the Will of God.

Brothers and sisters, I’ve been sharing the vision that God gave us, and have encouraged you to catch the Vision of the Lord.

I shared the vision that God called us to follow through Isaiah 49 last January, .and I shared John 17 that Jesus Christ our Lord was focusing on last month and I am going to share it today too.

A few months ago, God spoke to me that Isaiah 49 that was given 29 years ago from the Lord is the prophetic word for One Glory Church today.

God gave me many prophetic words before, and recently (several months ago) God started to put all the puzzles of the prophetic words together, and I started to see the picture of the prophetic word and how it related to One Glory Church. I am so excited about what God is going to do among us.

We have to catch the vision from the Lord and we have to pursue the Lord with a clear purpose in our life.

II. The Vision for Israel

^{JN 17:21} that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

1. The world meant the Jewish people.

John 1:11

He came to His own (people), and those who were His own did not receive Him.

Jesus came to His Own people - Israel, but they did not know Jesus and rejected Him on the cross.

Acts 1:8

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The gospel should be started from Jerusalem.

2. The Oneness of Christians in Israel

Acts 4:32

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

The unity is the most important issue.

Pastor Young Sook Park preached 2 weeks ago about Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones in valley of death. All of the disconnected bones were starting to join together and became the army of God. The unity is the main key among us, and through unity comes the Power of God.

Because of this unity seen in Israeli Christians the Jewish people can see who Jesus is and believe that God sent Jesus.

3. The Oneness with the Lord

The Father God and Jesus are One.

Jesus wants His Children to be one with Him.

^{JN 17:22} “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;

Jesus released the glory from the Father to His Children and that is the power of God.

He revealed the true God to them and released miracles among them.

And also He gave the power to His Disciples to manifest God’s glory to the world.

John 14:12-13

¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

¹³ “ Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

You are the ones who do the same things that Jesus did; also you are the ones who will do greater works than what Jesus did.

III. The Vision of the Nations (Gentiles)

^{JN 17:23} I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

1. The world means the world nations.

1) The Salvation

Through the power of the Gospel that is in Christians not only will Jewish people’s hearts be touched, but also the hearts of gentiles.

Through Apostle Paul the Gospel was spread through out the world, and now this Gospel is the power of God among the nations including in you and me.

2) To know Jesus and God

The Gospel will be spread out from Israel to the nations, so the Gentiles believe that God sent Jesus for them, and God loved them with the same love that God has loved Jesus.

2. The Perfect Unity

The unity in Christ is perfect, because this unity is established with love of the Lord.

This perfect unity is based on the Love of God.

There is perfect true unity and there can also be false unity.

1) The true unity

The perfect unity is interwoven with the Love of God and brotherly love between Christians with One heart and soul in every area.

In Whatever they do there is no division, but works of the harmony and the power of God.

2) The false unity

The false unity does not have the love of God and each other at all, but only the purpose. This unity brings jealousy and division with competition between each other.

3) The main Key is the Love of God and each other

IV. Intimate relationship with the Lord

The Lord wants to have a tremendous intimate relationship with us.

The Lord’s desire is to spend time with us together to show His Glory to us.

The Lord wants us to come the point of the full measure of Christ.

Ephesians 3:19

and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 4:13

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a

mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

V. The Mutual Love

^{JN 17:25} “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;

^{JN 17:26} and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Lord takes care of us continually with His Love, and we will be full of His love.

So we can be one with Him.

Conclusion

We are secure because of the Lord.

The Lord wants us be in unity with each other and be one with Him.

The unity brings the power of God among us.

The perfect unity is based on Love.

With out this love, there is no unity, but destruction.

Disunity brings the destruction among us.

I would like to share one story and close.