Sermon: Sunday, 5th June, 2011 8am John 17:1-11

Sermon: Sunday, 5th June, 2011 8am John 17:1-11

When Jesus prayed for his disciples, he said:
"And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one." (John 17:11)
Jesus was leaving the world, but the disciples were staying.

When Jesus used that phrase, the world, he was talking about a strange and alien place––
a place where the Evil One has great power––
a place where Jesus' disciples would face hostility and persecution.
Jesus prayed that God would protect the disciples,
who were staying in the world that he was leaving.

Of course, Jesus was not abandoning his disciples.
He had promised them that the Holy Spirit would come to strengthen them––
to guide them––
to comfort them––
to empower them.
Nevertheless, Jesus was uneasy about the prospect of leaving his disciples in such an alien world.

We can understand why Jesus was troubled.
We live in "the world," a place that is our home and, at the same time, a strange and alien place.
The world is a place where we have families and friends, but it is also a place where terrible things happen.
You have only to watch the news to see how terrible the world can be.
The news tells us of places like Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Egypt, the Holy Land, Pakistan,
cauldrons where trouble seems always to be brewing.
These places seem remote––
another part of the world––
a long way away,
but they also seem too near.
They affect us.
We ask ourselves,
Where can we go to be beyond the reach of evil?
Where can we raise our children and grandchildren so that evil might not touch them?
There is no answer to that question, because there is no safe place.
No safe physical place,
But perhaps there is a safe place.
Jesus prayed that God would protect his disciples.
Perhaps the safe place is in the Father's arms.
Perhaps, even in the most unsafe place,
we can be safe if we are with the Father.
Jesus prays, "Holy Father, protect them in the name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one."
We can affirm that.
We want God's protection.
We want God to protect us,
and we want God to protect those whom we love.

But the world is still not an entirely safe place.
Christians still suffer.
Christians still die.
In many parts of this world, Christians are singled out because they are Christians.
Just as the Evil One singled out Job because he was a righteous man,
so the Evil One singles out righteous men and women today.
Just as Job, a righteous man, suffered great loss because of the Evil One, so also righteous men and women today suffer great loss because of the Evil One.
Prayer Diary for “Open Doors” – it would break your heart.
Next month, we are having a speaker from “Open Doors” – she will tell us what is going on around the world,
It is not as easy as we have it here.
Jesus never promised his disciples an easy life.
He promised them a cross.
We live in a “Fool’s Paradise” – although I suspect – not for long.
Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Jesus calls on us to leave our present life and follow Him,
We need to do that – whether we are 8, 18 or 80.
It involves turning back to God – asking for forgiveness,
And living for God – really living for God,
Not just saying we do, not just coming along to church week by week,
But taking up our cross,
Having a faith that costs us something – standing for something.

God promises to protect us,
How does He do that?
What does God's protection mean for us today?
Protection is for those who have taken up their cross,
Whose faith IS costing them something,
For those who are not just on a religious carasel.
Perhaps there is a clue in another of Jesus' sayings.
He said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)
Perhaps it means that God protects us at the core of our being!
Perhaps it means that, while God allows the Evil One to assault us,
God protects us from soul-killing blows!

In this same prayer, Jesus talks about eternal life.
He says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
When Jesus talks about eternal life, he means something entirely different than we usually mean.
Eternal, for us, means forever.
Eternal life means living forever.
We know that we will die,
so eternal life cannot mean life forever as we know it.
There is a time for living, and there is a time for dying.
There is a time for going to the Father.

Jesus says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
Jesus says that eternal life is not about how long we live,
but is a relationship with God.
That relationship does not start when we get to heaven.
It has already begun for us.
It began for us when we became Christians.
Can you identify the time when you became a follower of Jesus?
That is when we started enjoying this eternal life––
this relationship to God?
Mine started on about the 17th March in 1966 – after the Easter preaching had left a profound impact on me.
What happened to me is what the Jewish people called shalom.
Eternal life as Jesus understood it is living at peace with God with oneself and with one's neighbor,
it is rooted solidly in a relationship with God.
It is that shalom––
that eternal life––
that peace at the very core of our being––
that God protects.
The Evil One cannot get in there.

In Jesus' prayer, he talked about giving eternal life to all those whom God had given him.
Then he said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
For Jesus, eternal life did not mean life without death.
It meant life with God.
Eternal life did not begin in the far distant future.
It begins in the here and now as we come to know God and to walk with him day by day.

In Jesus' prayer, he talked about the little band of disciples whom God had given him.
He said, "I have been glorified in them."
That was an astonishing statement, given the poor quality of Jesus' little band of disciples.
But Jesus had seen what would come.
He had seen that, after his resurrection, the disciples would catch fire.

In Jesus' prayer, he prayed for the disciples.
"They are in the world," he said.
By that, he meant that the disciples were in a strange and alien place––
a world that did not recognize spiritual values––
a world in which people ignored God and went their own way––
a dangerous world––a disturbed world.
He prayed that God would protect his disciples "so that they may be one."
Later in the prayer he revealed why he was so concerned that the disciples might have unity with one another.
He prayed that they might be one "so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (v. 21)
This is relevant for many churches – what do you have?
People snarling at each other,
Snapping at each other,
Snipping at each other.
Jesus prayed for unity among his disciples,
We are in desperate need for that.
It is the only way that the “world” ( and here in Waverley),
Will come to believe in Christ – or ever join our church.

My prayer for you today is that if you haven’t done it yet – to turn your life over to God – accept the salvation that Christ came to bring you,
My prayer for you today is that you might enjoy eternal life.
My prayer for you is that you will be so steeped in your relationship with your heavenly Father that the Father might guide and guard you through each step of your life.
My prayer is that we might walk so closely with the Father that the Father might be glorified through our lives.
My prayer is that, through our witness, the world may believe in the Son, whom the Father has sent to give new life to our broken world.

Amen.