OUR TESTIMONY

“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 have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

-John 17:20-23

For Who? You!

Ever realize that Jesus actually prayed for you – personally? He did. In John 17:20, Jesus prays “also for those who will believe in me (Jesus) through their (Disciples) message…”

What? Unity!

Jesus didn’t pray for you to have a high-paying job, a big house, a fancy vehicle, or a celebrity spouse. Instead, Jesus prayed, “that all of them (who believe in Him through the message and ministry of the Disciples) may be ONE!”

To Whom? The Father!

Jesus is the Eternal Son. He’s not praying to Himself. Instead, He’s praying to the Heavenly Father. We see evidence of the critical import of the doctrine of Holy Trinity here. If Jesus and the Father were the same person (the heresy of modalism) then why pray for oneness?

Why? Our Testimony!

Jesus doesn’t pray for our unity so we can “all just get along.” No. Jesus prays for us to be UNITED in the love, hope, grace, and mission of Christ SO THAT “the world may believe that you have sent me… Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

The Apostle Paul asks a very probative command and question in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?” He asked that question to the church in Corinth because they were focused on all the wrong things and their testimony and church were circling the proverbial toilet.

That same command and question apply to us as Christians and local congregations today. As we “Examine” ourselves to see whether we are TRULY “in the faith,” are we striving for the kind of UNITY Jesus prayed for or are we interested in our own little kingdoms, our own agendas, our own glory, and crowns?

We cannot change culture for Christ when we’ve relinquished ourselves to it and conformed to the pattern of the world.

What if we really believed Jesus died for us?

What if we really believed He prayed for us to be ONE as He and the Father are ONE?

What if we lived like that every moment of every day?

What would our lives look like then?

What would the Church look like then?

Would young people be walking away from their “parents’ religion,” or would they be passionately involved and invested in the person and mission of Jesus Christ?

What about you? Have you examined yourself lately?

Click >>HERE<< for Kevin’s sermon on John 17:20-23

Blessings!

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com