"Celebrate Jesus"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place,

Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 31 07/29/2007

John 17:1-9, 18-21 Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted Him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began… I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified... 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.

You can tell a lot about a person by listening to their prayers:
Lord, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector....
Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing...
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom...
God bless mommy and daddy and please don't let him hurt me again...
Dear God, why did you let this happen to me? You know I've been good...
Oh God, let somebody else get caught or blind the eyes of that policeman...
Dear God if you get me out of this mess I'll never miss church again...
It's not fair God, I’ve worked hard, never disobeying your law, then he comes home after blowing his inheritance on prostitutes and you throw a party
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!

You can tell a lot about a person by listening to their prayers.

In the late 1970's an informal prayer group was started at the White House. Arthur Burns, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, attended even though he was Jewish and the group was predominantly Christian. No one, among the leadership knew quite how to treat Burns or how to involve him in prayer. While many of the members took turns closing the meeting with prayer, Burns was never asked. However, one week, a newcomer asked Burns to close the meeting with prayer. The regular members were surprised. But Burns, without missing a beat, reached out and the participants held hands and bowed their heads. Burns prayed: Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen.

You can tell a lot about a person by listening to their prayers...

Today we read the account of Jesus praying. It is the longest recorded prayer that scriptures attribute to Jesus

It is a beautiful prayer but notice how it ends that the world may believe that you sent me. Jesus is not seeking to bring glory to himself. This is not a prayer of self-justification - this is a prayer that reflects His passion that the whole world will be brought to a saving knowledge of the Father's love.

And that is why we are here today. We are here that the world may believe Jesus is the Christ and offers the only HOPE to a world that is in desperate need.

We are gathered here today filled with hope - eternal hope - because we believe that Jesus is the answer for the world today. Listen to him pray: this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3

The promise of eternal life is not simply something that we claim when we die it starts right here, right NOW. Eternal life is a life filled with hope, it is a life marked by love, joy and peace; it is a life that comes from truly knowing God.

To know God means much more than knowing about God.

God must become more than a word or an idea for us. If we want to have eternal life, we must have an intimate relationship with God. But like all relationships this is not simply one decision made a long time ago. Much more is involved. vs 6-9

A disciple is called to remain in the world. Jesus didn't pray that all of the disciples should be taken out of the world. He never prayed they might escape - he prayed they might find victory.

There is always a temptation to hide from the problems of this world but that is not real discipleship. Yes, we need times of quiet prayer, study and reflection but to be a disciple of Christ is to be in the world, engaged with the issues and caring for hurting and showing the world a different way of living. Through such disciples God's glory is revealed.

Here at the Gathering Place we want to:
· proclaim that Jesus is Lord of Lords, not simply one option among many.
· declare the uniqueness of Christ.
· teach the Bible as trustworthy and true.
· get on with the work of evangelism and church planting without apology.
· see lives transformed and not simply excused.
· see families made whole and not merely redesigned.
· be a church where everyone is welcome but no one leaves unchanged.
· see the Gospel proclaimed with power so the whole world can see and believe that Jesus truly

is sent from the Father.
· help you prepare for glory!

Our goal is to live out our faith in as authentic and as effective a way as possible.

Let me identify 3 themes that will mark our life together:

RADICAL INCLUSION: We are a missionary church. We believe that we have been given good news of great joy for all people ... and that means all sorts and conditions of people!
I like the story about Zacchaeus the tax collector. He was an outsider. Remember how he almost fell out of his tree when Jesus announced that he was going to his house for dinner. Everyone was astonished. Jesus was risking his reputation reaching out to this 'sinner'. Zacchaeus was so overwhelmed by the way Jesus treated him he stood up and said, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything. I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said, Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.

Jesus does not merely welcome sinners, He loves them and He calls them to live transformed lives …. What a gospel!

PROFOUND TRANSFORMATION: GOD'S LOVE CHANGED ME! Transformation is what we are to be about. The Bible calls it sanctification. It is great to come to Christ 'just as I am' but we DARE not stay there! We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work deep within us and transform us to become the men and women that God would have us be. God loves us too much to leave us the way that He finds us.

INSPIRED SERVICE the Gathering Place is a servant church. We take our lead from those servants who filled the jars with water - no easy task - but they did as Jesus instructed and Jesus revealed His Glory and the disciples believed in Him. Through our acts of service God's love is made real.


There is an old fashioned poem that begins: God has no hands but our hands to do His work today. And that is what we must be about. We are His hands!

There has been enough talking, hoping, praying, interceding, planning and definetly enough excuse making…. it is time to get at it!

Prepare for glory! We have Gospel work to do today. Jesus prayed, "that the world may believe" Let's pray that God's glory will be revealed and that the world will believe in Him. AMEN