Are You Really Living?
Jesus as an example of how to live the abundant Christian life.
John 17:1-26 (NKJV)
He prayed for Himself:
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
He prayed for His disciples:
9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
Then He prayed for Us.
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 6 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
INTRODUCTION: I would like to begin today by asking you a question. Are you living or existing?
You see there is a difference.
The vast majority of people on earth today are existing.
They are waking up in the morning, going to work or school, keeping house, whatever the case may be.
They are going about their business but they have no real sense of purpose in their lives.
Their happiness and fulfilment in life depends largely on their circumstances or their achievements.
If they were completely honest with themselves, they would have to admit that inside they are empty.
That is existing.
Christ came however that we might have life and have it more abundant. If we are going to experience this kind of real life, we must look to Jesus the source of life.
In John 17 Jesus is at the end of his life. He is facing the cross. He uttered these words on his way to Gethsemane. This chapter is known as the High Priestly prayer of Jesus. In this first verse Jesus begins to look to God as he faces his hour of darkness. In this text we see how Jesus lived.
READ v1
John 17 1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
I asked the question, “are you living or just existing?” The answer to that question can be determined by three questions based on our text.
- ARE YOU LIVING WITH A DEPENDENCE ON THE FATHER
As Jesus entered his hour of trial the bible says, “He lifted up his eyes to Heaven and said, “Father”. Jesus didn’t look at his outward circumstances and try to figure a way out. He didn’t even look inward for answers, even though he was the Son of God. He looked upward to Heaven, to the one He knew as His Father.
Jesus lived with complete dependence, not on his own person, or his own humanity, but complete trust and dependence on the Father.
One of the most eye-opening verses I have ever read is John 5:30
John 5:30 (NKJV) I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
There Jesus says, “I can of myself do nothing”.
Every person Jesus ever healed when he was on the earth,
every sermon he ever preached,
every temptation he ever overcame,
he did it not by trusting in who he was as the Son of God,
but by depending on the Fathers strength and guidance.
If Jesus who is God’s Son could “Of himself do nothing” how much more can we of ourselves do nothing”.
The problem with many Christians today and churches is that we are depending primarily on our own natural abilities, our reasoning abilities, our talents, our education, our financial resources to accomplish God’s work.
And we of ourselves are doing nothing.
We are existing by and large completely in the natural. But when we live with this dependence upon God that Jesus lived with, the natural begins to give way to the supernatural and God begins to work.
John 17 1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
I read all of the texts where the bible says Jesus “lifted up his eyes”.
One time he lifted up his eyes to God and he stuck his fingers in a deaf man’s ears and the man received his hearing.
On another occasion he lifted up his eyes in dependence upon God and thanked God and called Lazarus forth from the grave.
On another occasion he lifted up his eyes to God and took two small fishes and five loaves and fed thousands of people.
The life that is lived in dependence upon God experiences the supernatural power of God.
Can you say this about your life.
I’m not asking if you have healed anyone lately or turned water into wine.
I am asking if you can look at your life and say God gave me victory over this temptation,
Only God could have done it,
God had his hand upon me and touched the lives of others and I know it was God that did it.
Can we say this about our church.
We forfeit God’s power when we substitute dependence upon Him with dependence upon ourselves, other people, or other resources.
One of the Popes invited a theologian to the Vatican. Sitting amongst all the treasures of the church the Pope said, “the church can no longer say silver and gold have I none”. To that the theologian replied sadly, “yes but neither can she say in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise and walk.”
We must take our eyes off of the natural, off of that which can be seen, and lift our eyes in faith to Heaven.
Jesus lived with a dependence upon the Father. The second question we might ask to ascertain whether or not we are Living is:
II. DO YOU LIVE WITH A SENSE OF DIVINE DESTINY
John 17 1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
Jesus said, “the hour is come”.
This is an interesting phrase that Jesus uses in this gospel. At the beginning of his ministry at a wedding feast his mother wanted him to show himself as the Messiah and he said, “my hour has not yet come”.
On another occasion his brothers urged him to go to the feast of tabernacles if he was really who he thought he was and show himself as messiah.
He said then, “my time is not yet come.”
What was Jesus’ time, his hour?
It was his hour to be glorified and to glorify God.
What Mary and Jesus’ brothers did not know was that Jesus would be glorified and would glorify God through a bloody cross and the resurrection.
But Jesus knew.
He knew that he had come for the purpose of dying for the sins of the world. He had a sense of purpose of destiny, and everything that he did and said led to that moment, that hour.
And now the hour had come. Jesus’ life was one of direction, and purpose, and divine destiny.
One of the most miserable ways to live is to live aimlessly without real ultimate purpose, not really knowing ultimately why we are here.
One of the greatest things that happened to me when God really began to move in my life in my early twenties was that all of a sudden, I began to have purpose in my life.
Before life was just about getting a good job, trying to achieve, to feel good about myself, just existing, drifting.
God wants all of us to live with a sense of divine destiny.
Why are you here?
Why are you a member of your Church?
Because your family belongs here, great.
But God has a greater purpose for you in the body of Christ.
He wants to use you.
He has a niche for you in His body. He has given you a gift, a divine ability to carry out the purpose that He has for your life.
I have talked to many who do not believe they have a spiritual gift, but that’s not what the bible says. “Each one has been given a manifestation of the Spirit”.
Romans 12:1-21 (NKJV)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy (dissimulation KJV). Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
dissimulation = hide something by pretense: to disguise or hide true feelings, thoughts, or intentions
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I believe that if a person will honestly ask God to show him or her what His purpose is for him or her in the body of Christ, and how He’s gifted them,
He will be faithful to reveal that to them. It may require you to step out in faith and try something you’ve never done before. It may stretch you, it may cause you to risk failure. But God will be faithful. He will show you. The truth is, He is more interested in revealing your purpose in His body than you and I are in knowing it.
I’ll never forget my first preaching experience…. I was told “Do you have butterflies they will turn to crocodiles.” And they did.
I dreaded it for weeks.
It was terrifying.
When I got up and began to preach, and I knew.
I felt I was born for it.
I wanted to stay there, to live in that experience.
God confirmed to me what his plan was for my life and he will for you as well if you do not already know.
Jesus lived with a sense of divine destiny. Do you? The third and final question we might ask to determine whether or not we are really living is:
III. ARE YOU LIVING WITH A DESIRE TO GLORIFY GOD
John 17 1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
As he faced the cross Jesus prayed, “glorify Your Son that Your Son also may glorify You.” Jesus’ overarching desire in life and in death was to glorify the Father.
The word glory has two primary meanings that are inter related.
First it refers to a manifestation of God’s presence.
Second, it means to give praise or honor.
Jesus experienced both. In his life he revealed the presence of God.
He was the image of the unseen God.
When people saw Him, they saw the Father.
But his desire was that through the glory the Father gave to Him,
He might use it to bring praise and honor to the Father. Even in death he sought the glory of the Father, or shall I say especially through death.
Look at what is going on around the world… The clerk in jail… ISIS killing Christians.
The desire to glorify God can be costly but it is very liberating. The opposite of the desire to glorify God is selfishness.
The selfish life is a miserable life.
Things won’t always go our way, circumstances of life will assuredly change, people don’t always treat us as we think we should be treated and this make us miserable if we are primarily living for self.
But when we can honestly say, “Lord no matter what happens to me, whether I live or die, whether I am treated fairly or unfairly, whether I endure affliction or comfort, Lord you be glorified in it”, when this is our desire, we are free of the misery of selfishness.
Job 13:15-16 (NKJV)
15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
16 He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.
This is what Jesus means when he says, “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Conclusion.
Are you living or existing?
Are you living with a dependence on the Father?
Are you Living with a Sense of destiny?
Are you living with a desire to glorify the Lord?
