Jesus Prays for His Disciples

Slowing down for the bumps in the roads, but one time they the driver, he he didn't see the bump. And I levitated off the seat and almost landed on the road behind the motorcycle, but thankfully that didn't happen. As we look at our world today and look at the population and everything and and how missions is to in today's world, I believe that we are living in the greatest opportunity for gospel advance that the world has ever seen up to this point. The population is almost 8,000,000,000 people today. And if we look at if we were to look at the population back when Jesus Christ was here on Earth, it would have been closer to 300,000,000, which is just a stark contrast.

And how and if we look at what Jesus did in while he was here on Earth, he had a population of 300,000,000 people in the world to reach. And how did he go about reaching that population? Population? He He chose chose twelve twelve men. Men, and he trained those men to reach 300,000,000 people.

And and we if we look at the church today, we have so many more people in the world, so many more believers. And even though the task is great, it's doable. And it's doable if we if each of us will accept God's call upon our life and do what he asks us to do regardless of whether he calls us to the mission field, to a foreign field, here in The States, some type of ministry that he calls us to do. Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 17. John chapter 17.

We're gonna look at a few different verses here. And as we look at the book of Acts and what happened with early believers early believers in that time period, we see a really a vast difference between the life of the believers at that point, of the disciples before, while they were under Christ's ministry compared to after Christ ascended into heaven. There's a very really a vast difference in how they ministered in their whole life and their perspective. And, like, for example, we see Peter. He was a very outspoken man during Christ's ministry, and he had ideas of how to bring in the kingdom of God and all these different things.

But then at the trial and crucifixion, we really see all the disciples run away from Jesus. They're in fear. They didn't know what was happening. But then you have the stark contrast of of a few weeks later at Pentecost, and you have Peter preaching before the temple crowd there and having 3,000 people saved. And then later preaching again, seeing 5,000 people saved.

What was the difference? What made the difference that changed these men so radically from being followers of Christ to now being seen thousands of people saved, to seeing the gospel spread across the civilized world of that time? What was the difference? And if we look at these last few words of Christ here at the end of John, really John chapters 13 through 17 here, we really see Christ giving his heart for to the disciples. And in chapter 17, he had he's giving he's praying to the father for his disciples.

And I believe this is really where the key comes in. One of the keys is for the change that we see in the disciples' lives. Let's read John chapter 17 verses six through eight. Jesus praying here, and he says, I have manifest 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.

Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee. For I've 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 they have believed that thou didst send me. Here Jesus praying, he's saying, he's telling the father really that he's done everything that God has called, that God had sent Jesus here to Earth. He is gathered these men. He's been with them and he's taught them.

We see him teaching them through many different means. We see him teaching in the when there's huge crowds gathered. Yeah. The sermon on the mount there in the first in Matthew five through seven. And so many different times where the crowds multiples multitudes gathered together to hear Jesus teach and preach, And sometimes they didn't always come for the right reasons, but such as what he what he would do to feed them.

But he was teaching them. And then he taught them in the in the public setting, but then he took the times to take his disciples alone and then teach them more specifically the things that he or explain more specifically the things that he had taught in the public setting. He took them personally and explained them to them the truth of God's word. And then then he continues that teaching even after the resurrection. We see that he met with the two men on the road to Emmaus.

They're like, they're they're downcast. They were discouraged. They were like, this is what this Jesus was everything that we hoped for. And now it's over. Our hopes are dashed.

And he comes alongside them and explains them beginning with Moses and the prophets. And he just goes through the Old Testament scriptures explaining this is what the Old Testament was saying about me. This is what was going on. And then he he breaks the bread and they see and they realize, wow. This this is Jesus.

See, this is what we are we we didn't understand and this is what we've been looking for. And they and they went back to Jerusalem and they explained to the rest of them, and that was a life changing experience for those men. They finally understood what Jesus had been giving to them, what the father had sent him to give to these men. And let's look at it at verse nine. Jesus says, I pray for them.

I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. And verse 15, I pray not for that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil. Verse 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou has given sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world.

Here in his prayer, Jesus is not praying for the world. He's come to reach the world. He's come he spent much time among the world preaching the gospel to the world. But here, he doesn't pray for the world. He doesn't pray for the world.

But he prays for his disciples. He really is focusing on them personally at this point. These are the men that he's come to train. These are the men who are going to carry his ministry on, and he's spending time in prayer asking the father to meet their needs, to help them in specific ways. In verse 15, we see that he asked the father to keep the disciples from evil.

You know, we just the more I've grown up and experienced the world, it's like, wow, there's you see so much evil out there. And the more you study it and the more you delve into different things out there, and it's like, wow, just gets worse and worse. The more you know about it, the worse it seems. And but even even though it's it's bad on a national or on a political level, It's also bad on a personal level. There's a there's a constant temptation that we faced on a daily basis in our own lives to yield to sin or to do things that we shouldn't be doing.

And Jesus is praying specifically for his disciples that they would be delivered from evil. That they would not yield to the temptation of sin. We have Judas. Jesus gave him several chances there in at the last Passover supper to repent. And Jesus hardened his heart and not repent and he ended up betraying Jesus and falling away and he's praying here after Jesus left him that the rest of the disciples would not fall away, that they would be kept from evil and from the evil influence of the world.

He doesn't pray that they should be removed from the world. It'd be I from my perspective, it'd be better if I just take them out of the world. That way, I won't have to face these struggles in life. I won't have to deal with all these different problems and temptations. But if if Jesus had taken the disciples out of the world, there wouldn't there wouldn't not have been any witness left.

And so he doesn't pray that they'd be removed from the world, but that they would be kept from the world so that they could be a light to the world for the gospel. And in verse 17, Jesus talk is praying that they would be sanctified. Sanctified, set apart, devoted to God. And they'd be sent and the when the way the disciples be sanctified is by the word of God and through the truth of God's word. And this is where I see Bible translation as being such a key in missions is because, like it was mentioned in the video, so many languages throughout our world, they don't have the word of God in their language.

People, they might have access to the Bible in a language of wider circulation such as French, German, English, Russian, Chinese, but it really doesn't speak to their heart because it's not their heart language. It'd be like if I don't know if any of you know Spanish or some other language. It'd be like, your only access to God's word be Spanish or German or French. You wouldn't have the English Bible. Would it speak to you in in the do you have you ever how many of you ever actually write a different translation of God's word?

Does it mean the same thing to you as it does in English? It doesn't mean as much. It's it's definitely God's word still is powerful. It still works. God still uses his word to work in hearts and lives, but it means so so much more when it is in the heart language, and God is able to use in a much more powerful way, I believe, in that way.

And in verse 18, we see Jesus is praying that his disciples would be sent just as God sent Jesus. And Jesus' mission here on Earth was to bring the gospel light to the world, to die for our sins. And in the in each of the gospels and here in Acts, we have God's commissioning disciples to go and share and teach all nations and to disciple them and spread the gospel light and he's praying for them. And as we look at this prayer, I believe we can take it on a personal level where Jesus is definitely praying for his disciples here. I believe he is also praying for each one of us here.

He's praying that we would he's praying for us personally. Jesus personally interested in you and and what he has called you to do. He has a specific plan for you that he wants you to fulfill. And regardless of what stage in our life we are, God still has a plan for us. And are you seeking him in what he wants you to do with your life, with the time that you have?

Are you asking him what you he wants you to do today? Each day, are we ask are we pausing to say, Lord, what do you want me to do today? What do you want to accomplish through me today? And he's also praying for us that we would be protected from from the evil influence of our society, from our world, from the sin that the temptations that come into our lives. He's also praying that we'd be sanctified through the truth of his word.

How much time do you spend in God's word on a daily basis? And you take God's word with you throughout the days, meditate on his word throughout the day. And finally, are you are you going? Are you sharing the gospel with those around you? Let's take a look at Hebrews chapter seven verse 25.

It really Hebrews chapter seven verse 25 really backs up this idea that Jesus is praying for us. He says here, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto him, unto God by him, seeing he ever live it to make intercession for them. Jesus Christ right now is is sitting up in heaven, interceding on the behalf of each one of us. And that can be a really encouragement to us. We we we have problems.

We have struggles. But to know that Jesus is personally interested. He has the time. He notices everything and he's interceding on the behalf of you and on behalf of me. He's personally interested in how we are doing, how we are obeying him, and how we are following his call in our lives.

I just wanted to take you back on a little bit of a history trip of the English translation. Wycliffe, John Wycliffe translated the word of God into the English language. First, he's probably the first one. He translated from the Latin Vulgate into the English language in in 1384. And then we fast forward to the fifteen hundreds and William Tyndale was the first one to translate the scripture into the English language from the original language languages of Hebrew and Greek.

And we if you remember the story, William Tyndale was put in prison and ultimately executed for his work in bible translation. And just before he died, his last words were, God opened the eyes of the king of England. And God answered that prayer and the king that followed King James. He authorized authorized the Bible to be translated into the English language. And that is what we know now know as the King James version, the authorized version.

And that and that has been passed down for four hundred years, that translation. So, we've had translations of the word of God in our English language for six hundred forty years roughly and yeah, as we look out in our world, there's just recently within the past couple decades, we have crossed just over half the world languages have some portion of scripture in their language. But yet, there is still the other half of our world's languages that do not have any scripture in their languages. And it's easy. I think we we get complacent with with having the word of God in our language because we've had it for so long.

We've we've grown up with it. We've read it all of our lives. Yet, in some of these areas where where they do not have the scripture and and we've we've done a translation, you take this translation to these people. And it's the first copy of God's word that they can read in their language And just the emotion that they have, the joy that they have to be able to read God's word for themselves. It's not being taught to them just by a pastor from a different translation.

It's now something that's that's theirs. They can read it. And it's an amazing thing to be able to give God's word to God's people. And it's and it and as we look at second Timothy three sixteen through 17, we see there in that passage how God's word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It's so important in the life of a believer.

It's critical in the life of believer. And in verse 17 talks about how is to that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto God's unto all good works. It's the word of God is important to sanctify us, to purify us from the from the effects of of the world as well as to equip us to serve God and so the word of God is so important in our lives and how important is it is the word of God in your life? Are you letting the word of God change your life on a daily basis? Are you being impacted by God's word?

And then finally, how are what are we doing to get God's word into the lives of the people who do not have it? You know, we have high regard for our leadership, and we count it an honor to fill fulfill a task for our country. If regardless of the leadership, if if if we were asked to be an ambassador to another country, we'd consider it an honor and a privilege. Well, we have been asked to be ambassador by the king of the universe, the one who rules over everything. Amen.

And so many of us would count it a sacrifice to give up our lives, to lose our our well established positions, something that we can count on. We just consider it a sacrifice to to leave our homes behind to go serve God wherever you might call. But for me, it's a privilege. The privilege that God would call me from the farm fields of Iowa to translate the word of God into the language of another person. It's just like, why how God use me like that?

Why would he choose me? Why didn't he choose somebody else? But God has chosen me. I just am so thankful that he has chosen me. Do you believe that God can use you?

And are you willing to let God use you? God, you changed the world through the lives of a handful of normal people, the 12 disciples and the others that followed Christ during that time and God also wants to use each one of us. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for your word and how you've given it to us. And how you want to use it in each of our lives to change our lives and that we to make us more like you.

Lord, will you use us? Will you be willing to give of ourselves of our lives to serve you wherever you may call us. Let's pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, brother Anders. Kinda gave him the impossible task of having fifteen minutes to preach his message this morning. But he got a lot in in a little bit of time. I'd I'd like to to close the service by reading here from Romans chapter 10. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? How shall they preach except they be sent? It is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.

So, verse 17 says, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Is it incumbent upon us to to follow the Lord and to do whatever we can to continue to propagate and to spread and proclaim the good news of God's word and the gospel of Jesus Christ and obviously, translation ministry falls into that in great respect as thousands still thousands of languages are still out there without the Bible in their own native tongue. But also they need to hear from someone the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so Jesus tells us going to all the world and what? Preach the gospel.

But you don't have to be a preacher by the way to preach the gospel. The word preach means proclaim. And we all can be the beautiful feet that bring good tidings of great joy whether it be around the world or across the street to our neighbor. God has given us this time and it is not a burden. It is a privilege to serve the king of kings and Lord of lords.

It is a joy to see people come to know Christ as the Lord and savior of their life and it is a privilege to have the word of God in our own tongue that not only we can tell others but so we can read it and study and meditate on it that we might become more like Jesus Christ in every aspect of our life. Bless the man who walketh not in the council of the ungodly nor standeth the way of sitters nor sitteth in the sea of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. I hope that we are meditating on the word of God day and night allowing God to use it to transform us day by day into the image of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Let's if you would take your hymn books, and we are going to sing a hymn of invitation this morning. If you hear and you've never trusted Christ as the Lord and savior of your life, if you're unsure, I I beg with you, I plead with you out of love this morning as Jesus Christ loves you that you'd come and we'd be glad to share with you from God's word how you can be saved and know it.

Also, today, if the Lord has spoken to your heart, I pray that you wouldn't just push him aside. Maybe the Lord is calling you to give, to pray, to go to your neighbor, or maybe to go around the world. God more and more is calling people out of churches that aren't in high school or college but have jobs to to leave their jobs like Jesus called the fishermen on the sea to follow me and to be made fishers of men and more and more so Lord is calling people in all aspects and ages of life to be missionaries and maybe that's you today. If you would, the hymn