30 Aug Discipleship: Missional invitation

John 17:11-19

¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming 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 ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

During the season of pandemic lockdown, my MC had a new member. He was with us for a few months with a working holiday visa. He went back to Indonesia a few weeks ago. Although he only spent a few short months with us, he left a strong mark in my life and MC. This man is different. He is unique. Yet there was something about him that attracted me. He did not have it easy. He came to Sydney with a working holiday visa and expected his pregnant wife to follow soon after. But the pandemic created chaos in his life and none of his plan worked out. His wife could not come to Sydney and he had difficulty finding a job. Yet in the midst of it all, he did not lose sight of God. He was always smiling and laughing. He told us stories that while he was working at some farm in Mildura, God reminded him of his love for him and he cried because of it. He did not cry saying, “God, what am I doing here in the middle of nowhere, separated from my pregnant wife, picking fruits?” No. He cried saying, “God, why are you so good to me? Why did you love me so much that you died for me?” Can you imagine? A grown-up man was crying while picking fruits. It is weird. And yet, it is beautiful. He understood that even though life did not work out as he planned, life worked out just as God has planned. He was in Mildura for a reason. He was there to share the gospel. And he did. He talked about Christ to his co-workers all the time. There was one time his co-worker shared his problems with him. His co-worker was not a believer. And you know what he did? He said, “Dude, let’s pray. I believe my God can help you.” And his co-worker said, “But I am not a Christian.” He replied, “That’s okay. I am going to pray to my God so that you may know him.” This is the kind of man he is.

But my favourite story was the time when he went out with his Korean friend. The Korean guy was an atheist. They went out to lunch and they were walking in the park when suddenly my friend said, “Dude, can I pray for you? I believe God wants me to pray for you.” And the Korean guy replied, “Right now? We are in the middle of the park.” He replied, “Yeah, why not?” So, he prayed for his friend in the middle of the park. What a guy. And if you listen to his prayer, you know that he really believes what he is saying. Like, I am a pastor. But listening to him pray, make me feel like I am an atheist. Let me confess, I think he is slightly eccentric but attractive at the same time. I loved listening to him pray. Have you ever met anyone like that in your life? When you listen to their prayer, it was as if the window of heaven was opened and you can hear them speaking to God directly. In our today’s passage, we get to listen to the most intimate prayer in human history. It is Jesus’ prayer to God the Father.

This is the actual prayer of Jesus. The other prayer of Jesus that we know as the Lord’s prayer is actually Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. But this one is different. This prayer in John 17 is the longest prayer recorded in the Bible and it is Jesus praying his heart out to God. And he prays this prayer the night before he died. I’ve never been with someone on the last night before they died while they know that it was the last night of their life. Whatever they pray for, it must be very important. Jesus knows his time on earth is up. So whatever he prays for, it must be very crucial. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is extremely deep. We can spend months just studying about it. But I only have one sermon to do it. So, I am not going to preach the whole chapter but choose parts of it that speaks directly to us.

Jesus’ prayer in this chapter can be divided into three different parts. Jesus’ prayer for himself; Jesus’ prayer for the disciples; Jesus’s prayer for the church. Tonight, I want to focus on Jesus’ prayer for the disciples. This is what he says. John 17:9 – I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. So what we are going to learn tonight is directed specifically to the twelve disciples of Jesus and also to every disciple of Christ at all time. If you are not a disciple of Christ, I am glad that you are tuning in with us but this is not for you. However, I do hope that as you listen to Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that God will draw your heart to himself. You get to eavesdrop to the glorious intimate prayer of our Lord and Saviour for his people. And may the Holy Spirit opens your heart and mind to see the beauty of Jesus. And for every disciple of Christ, this is for you. Your Lord and Saviour is praying specifically for you. How awesome is that? The content of Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is about mission. His prayer for himself, the disciples and the church all revolve around God’s desire to make his glory known in every corner of the world. If I can summarise Jesus’ prayer for the disciples in one sentence, it goes like this. Jesus prayed not for the disciples to be taken out of the world but that they would be kept by God to accomplish his mission in the world.

There are four pleas that Jesus prays for his disciples. Jesus prays for the disciples to be kept by God; to be filled with joy; to be set apart from the world; to be sent into the world. We are going to look at the first two briefly and spend more time in the last two.

Kept by God

John 17:11-12 – ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Jesus knows his time on earth is up. He is about to be crucified, resurrected and return to the Father. He knows that his disciples would go through many challenges after he leaves them. He is still with them but he is speaking as if he is no longer with them. And he says, “Father, while I was with them, I protected them. I guarded them. I kept them safe. None of them was lost. And I do that in your name. I have accomplished my part. And now it is your turn. I am about to leave them. So I am leaving them in your hand. Keep them in your name.” With another word, Jesus is asking God the Father, just as he is faithful to keep his disciples to the end of his life, God will be faithful to keep the disciples to the end of their life. Just like Jesus did not lose a single person that God has given him, God will not lose a single person that he had entrusted to Jesus.

Here is a question. Is it true that Jesus has succeeded in keeping all his disciples? Jesus has twelve disciples. How many of those twelve remain faithful to the end? Eleven. There is one that walked away and betrayed Jesus. His name is Judas. Therefore 11 out of 12 remained faithful to the end. Is that mean that Jesus and God the Father failed in keeping all the disciples to the end? I don’t think so. Because the Scripture is abundantly clear on this. Jesus did not fail to protect Judas. Judas was chosen as one of the twelve disciples for the very reason that he would betray Jesus. Even before Judas betray Jesus, Jesus knew that Judas is the son of destruction. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is fulfilling what is already written in the Scripture hundreds of years before. I know that this will trigger a lot of questions in your mind but let’s not lose focus on the point that Jesus is making. Jesus is saying, “Mission accomplished. I kept all my disciples safe and I have protected them to the end of my life. And now it is your turn Father to keep them.”

Do you know what it means? It means that as disciples of Christ, we have the guarantee of protection. Just like Jesus did not fail to protect his disciples, God will not fail to keep us and protect us to the end. No one can snatch you from the Father’s hand. It does not matter what kind of trials we are going through, God will not fail to keep us. In fact, it is even better. Jesus asks the Father to keep us in his name. What is a name? In ancient times, a name carries a lot more significance. Today, we can easily change our name if we do not like it. But in ancient times, your name is who you are. Your name is your character and reputation. It is your identity. This is amazing. It means that God has bound his reputation and character in keeping the disciples safe from destruction. With another word, what is at stake is the reputation of God’s name. If God fails to keep the disciples, then he is not worthy of his name. What a great encouragement. It does not mean that the disciples will experience a pain-free life. Jesus never promises a pain-free life, but he promised that God will not fail to keep us. Nothing can separate the disciples from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Filled with joy

John 17:13 – ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

This is beautiful. Listen to this. The goal everything Jesus said is joy. And it is not an ordinary joy. You can’t see it in English but in Greek, the word used is not just joy but fullness of joy. And it is a joy that is originated in Jesus. It is not a joy that is dependant on circumstances. But let me be more specific. In the context of the whole prayer, the goal of mission is joy. What is a mission? To be on mission is to live for a cause that is more important than your own comfort in life. It is to live for a cause greater than self. And your joy is tied up to your mission. A lot of time, the reason for a lack of joy in your life is due to a lack of mission. Mission is necessary for joy. Let me explain.

Do you realize that little kids like to dream big? Let’s go back to when you were five years old. If people asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” What was your answer? Let me tell you mine. I wanted to be a police officer. Some of you are thinking, “Wait, that is not a big dream.” Oh no, it is. Why did I want to be a police officer? Because I wanted to exercise justice in the world. I wanted to capture all the bad guys and make the world a better place. That’s big. I did not think of my future vocation in term of how much money I can make. I thought of my future vocation in term of mission. I wanted to change the world. Go and ask 5 years old what they want to be when they grow up. I guarantee you that none of them will say, “Oh, I dream of being a good accountant.” None. No offence if you are an accountant but no kids dream of having a desk job where they get to sit in front of computers, looking at excel sheet all day long. They want to change the world. They think in term of mission.

But here is what happened to all of us. Sin lies to us. And it robs us of our joy. Sin tells us, “Eat the fruit and you will be happy. Don’t live for a greater cause. Don’t live for God’s cause. Live for your own cause. Be God for yourself. Pursue your own happiness. That is the path of joy. You don’t need God to tell you what is right and wrong. You can decide that for yourself. Live for yourself and pursue your own comfort.” So we did. Rather than pursuing God’s mission, we live for our own comfort and gain. No wonder we don’t have joy. Pursuing our own happiness does not lead to joy. All of us need a greater cause. We have to live for something greater than ourselves to find joy. If we live for our own comfort and gain, we are empty. Just look at the life of those who lived for their own comfort and gain and made it to the very top. For example, Michael Jackson. He pursued music career from a very young age. He experienced many struggles and rejections along the way but he continued to pursue his dream. He beat all the odds and made it to the very top of the music industry. What happened to him? He accomplished his dream but he was empty. The problem is that not many of us managed to get to the very top and experience that emptiness. We still think that “If I just get to that level, then I’ll be happy.” That is sin lying to us. Sin offers us a million dollars but only delivers one cent. Sin promises happiness and comfort but it only delivers guilt and emptiness.

Listen to the words of Jesus. Mark 8:35 – For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. This is the paradox of Christianity. Do you want to save your life? Lose it for Christ and the gospel’s sake. Do you want joy? Give your life to God’s mission. I remember Josh told me a while back, “Bro, it feels so good to see the people in my MC started to love the Bible and grow in the Lord. It gives me a special kind of joy that is different from everyday joy.” And that is exactly what Jesus has in store for all of us. Jesus wants us to have the joy that he has in his relationship with God the Father. And that joy is found in giving your life for his mission.

Set apart from the world

John 17:14-17 – 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 ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

We already spent a few weeks in the book of Daniel talking about this but it is a good reminder for us. As disciples of Christ, you will experience opposition from the world. Because of the word of Christ, you are different. The word of Christ made you a new creation. You no longer think the way the world thinks. You no longer love what the world love. You hold to different set of value than the world. You are no longer of the world. You danced to the different beat from the world. And because of it, you are weird. And just like the world hated Jesus, the world hates you. There is no escape from pain. But then Jesus says that he does not want us to be out of the world but he wants God to keep us from the evil one. With another word, Christians are not to avoid the world but the influence of evil in the world. This is crucial.

If we are not careful, Christians can become what Rebbeca Pippert calls “rabbit-hole Christians.” Imagine you are a Christian high schooler. So you pop out your head out of a hole, leave your Christian parents in the morning and hurry to class. When you get to class, you look around searching for your Christian classmate to sit by. And you continue to do the same from class to class. At lunch, you sit with all your Christian friends in one huge table and thinks, “What a witness! This is the Christian table.” Then after quickly eating your lunch, you have a short prayer session with every Christian in the table that you might become a faithful witness to the non-Christians. After class, you quickly go to MC for all-Christian Bible study and pray that God might use you in his mission. Then you go out for dessert with 5 other Christians in your MC and then you go home. At night, before bed, you thank God for keeping you safe throughout the day and that he might use you in his mission. This happens on repeat day after day. You lived in safety day after day and the only contact with the world is the transition between one Christian activity to another.

This is not what Jesus has in mind. Jesus did not want us out of the world. Jesus asks God to keep us from the influence of evil in the world. Do you see the difference? What Jesus prays for his disciples is so that we do not compromise with the world that is under the influence of evil. Jesus wants us to stay away from sin, not the world. It is like this. Right now, there is one thing that everyone is trying to stay away from. It is the reason why many of you choose online church than a physical church. It is called the coronavirus. You know that this virus can spread very easily from person to person. Therefore, you take extreme measure to make sure you are not infected. You keep a social distance. You stay 1.5 metres away from one another. You don’t hug or shakes hand. You wash your hand regularly. Some of you wear a mask and judge others who don’t silently in your heart. If I cough just a single time, you would stare at me and condemn me for preaching in public. Am I right? You take great precaution to protect yourself from the virus but you are still here on earth. You do not move to Mars. But Jesus says that your biggest concern should not be coronavirus. There is a virus that is far more deadly and has affected every single person in the universe. It is called the sin virus. Here is a thought for us. What if we stay away from sin the way we try to stay away from the coronavirus? This is what Jesus is saying. He wants us to stay away from sin and remain in the world.

How do we do that? I am glad you asked. John 17:17 – Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. We stay away from sin by being sanctified in the truth. Let me explain the word sanctify. A lot of time when we use the word sanctify, we refer to the moral meaning of the word. The process of sanctification is the process by which our lives and characters are shaped to be more like Christ. However, that is the secondary meaning of the word sanctify. The primary meaning of the word sanctify is to be set apart for a special purpose. In the context of the Bible, to be sanctified means to be reserved for God. It is to be set apart for God and God’s purposes. So, if someone is set apart for God and God’s purposes, then that person will only do what God wants and hates all that God hates. Are you with me? So when Jesus prays for the disciples to be sanctified in the truth, it means that disciples are set apart for God and God’s purposes through the Bible. The life of disciples is shaped by the word of God and not the world. We stay away from sin by majoring in the Bible.

Let me put it this way. Counterfeit money. How do you stay away from it? One way is to stay away from paper money altogether. You only deal with cash-less transaction. This is equivalent to Christians who stay away from the world. But it is not ideal nor sustainable. There are many instances that you still must deal with cash. Do you know what is the best way to stay away from counterfeit money? Get to know the real money really well. Major in it. The best way to avoid a lie is to know the truth. We do not stay away from sin by avoiding the world but by being sanctified in the word of God. When you know the word of God, you are set apart for God and his purposes. You become more and more like Jesus. And the more you are like Jesus, the more useful you are for God’s mission. Because the best mission method is your personal holiness.

Think of it like this. When you get on a plane, they tell you that in the case of a loss cabin pressure for you to put on your oxygen mask first. So if you are a parent and you have your child next to you, make sure you put your oxygen mask first before you help them with theirs. At first, I found it strange. If I find it difficult to breathe and there is a child next to me, doesn’t the child need more help than I do? But of course you know that the child has a better survival rate if I have my oxygen mask on and can operate properly. In the same way, before you can reach out to others, you must first be sanctified by the truth. Otherwise, you are no good for the world. Let’s continue.

Sent into the world

John 17:18-19 – ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus is extremely clear. The reason the disciples are sanctified in the truth, the reason they are set apart for God and God’s purposes, is not for them to avoid the world but to be sent into the world. The purpose of sanctification is mission. Mission is not a ministry department in the church. Mission is the call of every disciple of Christ. To be Christians is to be on a mission. When you become a Christian, you join the mission of God. There is no exception. Just as God the Father sent Jesus into the world, Jesus sent us into the world. We are to continue Jesus’ mission into the world. What is Jesus’ mission?

John 3:16-17 – ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. God sent Jesus into the world because God so loved the world and does not want the people in the world to perish. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. And now, Jesus is saying to his disciples, “My time is up. I am passing the baton to you. You are to continue my mission to save the people in the world because God loved the world.” And the baton has been passed from one generation of disciples to another. And the baton is now in our hand. As disciples of Christ, Jesus sent us into the world to save the people in the world. This is our mission as disciples of Christ. God never save anyone to leave them on the sideline. Never. God will never pull you in except to send you out. He blesses you to make you a blessing to others.

I love the way David Platt puts it. He says that the church is called to make disciples not disinfect people. Disinfecting church is when the focus of the church is to make the church as safe as possible. So, the church has a solid SIN safety plan. The church invests a lot of money on making the church a spiritual safety deposit box where people can gather and feel safe. The success of the church is to get as many people inside the church as possible. But that is not what Jesus prayed for. Jesus wants his church to be a discipling church. The goal of a discipling church is not to isolate Christians in a spiritual safety deposit box but to send Christians out to risk their lives for the sake of others. The success of the church is not measured by how many people enter the building but how many are sent into the world to make disciples of Christ. It is a whole different game. As disciples of Christ, you and I are not designed to play safe. We are called to risk our lives for the mission.

Now hear me out on this. The reason many of us are bored as Christians is because we do not go into the world. We are too busy playing in this little huddle called church that we neglect the mission of God. We are too busy protecting the safety of our lives and our families that we closed our ears to God’s invitation to play part in his mission. There is one illustration from Francis Chan that sticks with me. It’s like the movie Madagascar. You guys watched it right? If not, then spoiler alert. Sometimes the church can feel like a zoo where you get to see wild animals performing and attracting crowds. If you remember the story, one day the zebra has an epiphany while he is running on a treadmill, watching a documentary on the wild. “I was made for so much more than the zoo. I was made for the wild.” So the Zebra has a council meeting with the lion, the hippo and the giraffe. And when the zebra expresses his feeling, miss hippo asks, “Why would you want to do that? It is nice being here. It is comfortable. We don’t have to hunt for food, they bring the food to us. All we have to do is perform for the kids. People love us. Why would you want to go out to the wild?” That’s how the church looks like a lot of time. We know how to perform. We know how to make people happy. We are safe and comfortable inside our cage. But we are not made to be in the zoo. We are made to be in the wild. Long story short, they break out of the zoo, with the help of penguins, and they make it to the wild. And do you know what happens in the wild? It is in the wild that the lion is finally able to roar like a lion. It is in the wild that they find their true nature. Christians, you are not designed to play safe in the zoo; you are designed to roar in the wild.

“Yos, it’s too risky.” Of course, it is! What is not risky about being in the wild with all the wild animals? You could lose your lives because of it. But that is exactly what Jesus did for you. Jesus never commands you to do something that he did not do himself. Listen to his words. John 17:19 – ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. Did you get that? The word consecrate is the same word as sanctified. Jesus is telling us, “I set myself apart for you. It is for your sake that I do everything I do. It is not only something that God the Father has predetermined for me, it is something that I determined to do myself. I give my life for God’s mission for you. I left the comfort of heaven, entered into the world, lived a perfect life, died the death of a criminal, resurrected on the third day, all for your sake. I paid the price of your sin that I might set you apart as mine. That I might use you for my mission.” Jesus went all out for you so that you can go all out for him. Jesus did not die for you so you can sit comfortably at home watching sermons on YouTube. Jesus set himself apart for you so that you can be set apart for him and his mission. Do you see that? I love the way Keller puts it. “It is only when you see yourself as the object of Christ’s mission that you will see yourself as the subject of Christ’s mission.” This is the gospel.

Let me close with this. The gospel gives you incredible balance as disciples of Christ. On one side, you are not of the world. You are different from the world. The way you love others is different. The way you treat others is different. The way you used your money is different. The way you love your family is different. On the other side, you are sent into the world. It means you are called to deeply engage with those who are radically different from you. What the gospel does it makes you neither attracted to the world nor afraid of the world. Let’s say that you are invited to dinner by a non-believer billionaire. The food he served in the table is out of your world. The dinner is 15-course meals. The opening dish is a shark fin soup and the closing dish is a piece of chocolate that cost $199. What would you do? If you do not understand the gospel, two possibilities. One, you disdain him. You think, “What a waste of money. This piece of chocolate can feed a village in Indonesia. I am offended by this dinner.” You feel superior to him and you don’t want to have anything to do with him. Or two, you affirm him. “Wow. Check out this chocolate. A piece of chocolate for $199. Imagine if I become his good friend. I might get to eat a $1000 chocolate.” You want to get on his good side and you do not want to offend him. Either way, you fail to share the gospel with him. But if you get the gospel, you are radically different. You are not offended by him because you were sinner just like him. You have no reason to feel superior to him. But Jesus has set you apart from the world. And you do not need to get his approval because you already have God’s approval. Jesus set himself apart for you and he thinks the world of you. You don’t need anyone else’s affirmation. So what do you do? You enjoy the $199 chocolate and you share the gospel with him.

This is what Jesus has in mind. There is an invitation for every disciple of Christ to take part in the mission of Christ. And do not underestimate your role in his mission. Your role in Christ’s mission is indispensable. No one can do the gospel work that Christ has set for your life. There are people in your life that only you can reach. You are where you are because God has a mission for you there. So, don’t live small; live big. And as you do, remember that Jesus prayed for you. He prayed that God would keep you to the end. You will not shipwreck your faith. He prayed that you would experience his joy as you play part in his mission. He prayed that you would be set apart from the world so that you might be sent into the world to play part in his mission. And when Jesus prayed for you, what reason is there for us to be afraid?

Discussion questions:

1. What does it mean to be kept by God? How does this truth empower us for mission?
2. Explain the relationship between mission and joy. Can you see this truth plays out in your life? Share it with others.
3. What is “rabbit-hole Christians”? Give some daily examples.
4. Why is it important for disciples to be sanctified in the truth?
5. Explain the difference between discipling church and disinfecting church.
6. “It is only when you see yourself as the object of Christ’s mission that you will see yourself as the subject of Christ’s mission” – Timothy Keller. Explain the relevancy of this quote in your own life.