This sermon delves into John 17, focusing on Jesus' prayer to the Father, emphasizing the importance of living a life dedicated to God's will and glory. It highlights the significance of eternal life as knowing God and Jesus Christ, received as a free gift through faith and repentance. The sermon underscores the need to manifest God's nature in all aspects of life, to pray for believers, and to trust in the Lord for provision and guidance.

have for us this morning and Give us a listening heart and a listening ear attentive mind to concentrate upon your word That proceeds from your mouth. We thank you this morning Praise you in Jesus precious name Amen I'd like to turn to John's gospel and chapter 17 There are Only two places in Scripture Where the long sermons of Jesus are given in detail One is the Sermon on the Mount Which is found in Matthew 5 6 & 7 and also in Luke chapter 6 and the other is around the Last Supper in John chapter 13 to 16 And in both of these places He was speaking to his disciples to the family of God And that's why like you heard me say before Jesus always sat down and spoke Whenever he was speaking to the family of God dining table and talking to people to his family And at the end of it we read here that he prayed And I just want you to look with me at this prayer because There are a lot of things here that We can learn when we say we want to walk as Jesus walked We need to pray as Jesus prayed And live as he lived So let's look carefully at this chapter There are certain things that are exclusively for him Which we can separate out for example, it says in the first verse father the hour has come Glorify thy son that the son may glorify thee. We never pray a prayer like that saying glorify us Or that you gave him authority over all mankind that to all whom you have given him eternal life But here is where we can begin in verse 3 The definition of eternal life Now I have found that the vast majority of Christians do not understand what eternal life is and It's possible that number of you sitting here also don't understand it Because they you know many words in Scripture Hypocrite you can't get the meaning from dictionary. You've got to see what Jesus spoke about and same way eternal life if you go to eternal in the Dictionary everlasting it means something that never ends But that's not eternal life according to Jesus definition He says eternal life is to know God and To know Jesus Christ whom he has sent So that is why Paul told Timothy lay hold of eternal life Even after Timothy had been a Christian for 25 years. He tells him in 1 Timothy 6 lay hold of eternal life Now What eternal life is Eternal life is to know God and It's a gift But it's not given to everyone In other words, I can't earn it I can't earn The ability to know God It's a free gift. I have to receive it as a free gift. I cannot take any credit If I bought eternal life many of our earthly accomplishments We can take credit. We worked hard and got a degree or accomplished something in life But when it comes to eternal life, it's a gift. That's the first thing we must remember But how can we come to this knowledge of God? Turn with me to Romans chapter 6 in Romans 6 We Read in verse 23 the gift of God is Eternal life he's comparing gift with salary Give you a salary sure that salary is death But God doesn't give a salary to anyone Christians don't work for salary Hmm People who work for salaries are out in the world God gives gifts There's nothing we can earn Very important to understand that Have you got some ability? never never Glory in it as if it is something you accomplished or you developed It's absolutely stupid Glories in anything That God has given is on the way down because God resists the proud So eternal life is the greatest gift of God. So to know him is a gift But then why doesn't he give it to everyone He wants to give to everyone there are verses in the Bible which says God does not want anybody to perish in 2nd Peter 3 he wants everybody to repent 1 Timothy 2 it says God wants everyone to be saved He wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth. There's not a single human Well, he wants them to be saved from sin as well 1 Timothy 2 Then why don't they get it? Why is it that a very few people get it? Why is it Jesus said the way to eternal life is so narrow the gate is so narrow and the way so narrow Very few find it Even though it's a gift you have to Fulfill some condition not payment to receive it like you've heard me say before If I'm facing Here to my left and somebody is behind me wanting to give me a gift free gift a very expensive gift. I And I have to stretch out my hand Now that's not work. I Can't say I worked for this gift. I turned around I Stretched out my hand. That's not a work I mean nobody's so stupid to think that if he turned around When somebody was offering him a gift and stretched out his hand, that's a work. No But that is what repentance and faith means repentance means to turn around stop facing the world and start facing God Stop facing yourself and stop start facing God and faith is just to stretch out your hand and take what God gives So that's why many people don't receive this eternal life. They don't turn around or They don't stretch out their hand Because they don't want to receive it free. Perhaps they say let me do something and then get it. You'll never get it but It says here in verse 22 What it means to turn around and stretch out your hand you know one of the very bad habits of Christians Is to take one verse, you know, we memorize verses. It's very good but one of the dangers of memorizing verses And there is a danger in it Is to take it by itself and not know what comes before it or after it and So if you memorize a verse and you don't study that verse in the Bible you can go completely astray With the verse you have memorized. Let me warn you That doesn't mean you shouldn't memorize verses. I memorize a lot of verses But that's because I can find scripture to show other people when I want to help them But always read that verse in its context and I have seen lots and lots of Christians who quote Romans 6 23 who do not know Romans 6 22 and Romans 6 22 also speaks about eternal life So the two verses are both connected now listen to this How do we get to eternal life because at the end of verse 22, it says the final result Is eternal life becoming a slave to God Then that results in Sanctification which is an increasing Separation from the world and sin and finally eternal life in its fullness So eternal life begins when we receive Christ into our life But it's a progression. There's not only a narrow gate There's a narrow way That leads to life that's another place where a lot of people make a mistake a Lot of people who think they've come through the gate and they've come to eternal life. No, no, what did Jesus say? There's a way so eternal life is something that we must keep on increasingly possessing throughout our life As I said Paul told him at the end of his life to lay hold of eternal life Oh, in other words in another picture of it is running the race looking unto Jesus We don't speak about being free from sickness, it's good to be free from sickness, but that's not the road to eternal life That's a road to good health and we all want that but the road to eternal life is by being free from sin not free from poverty Because the way to eternal life is not Freedom from poverty or freedom from sickness. It's freedom from sin And once you become free from sin, that's the negative side of it The positive side of that coin like a coin has got two sides one side free from sin. The other side become a slave Government servants the servants in your home, they're all paid a Slave is different from a servant in that. He's not paid a Slave in those days was bought from the market And it became your property as much as your furniture You could do what I like with him or her you could kill him But you'd never have to pay him you bought him. So God doesn't have God is not looking for service We need to understand what it is really God wants bond slaves Those who what's the difference who work not for a salary Who do not work? For pay and that pain then you're a servant not a slave and God doesn't want servants He doesn't have servants in the old covenant. He had The Levites were servants so they got their salary from the other tribes, but in the New Testament He has slaves. Those are enslaved to God very important to remember that The reason why many Christians have a complaint Why is God treating me like this? Have you ever asked that question? Why is God allowing this to happen to me? Let me tell you something Way back in the first century a slave could never ask that question If a slave asked his master, why are you treating me like this? The answer is I bought you man And if you ask God, why are you treating me like this? He'd say I bought you on the cross with my blood End of discussion. I Think many people have not understood That the word redeemed we sing it redeemed how I wrote to proclaim it. But what does it mean redeemed? Redeemed means bought from the slave market of sin Now rather some people who use Illustrations To say that Jesus paid a price to the devil To buy us. No, he did not Jesus never pays a price to the devil to whom did Jesus pay the price on the cross? to the law Law the law of God Which condemned us to death It was to the law of Almighty God his father that he paid the price and bought us so don't Sing these wrong songs of he bought us from the devil's hand. No, he delivered us from Satan's hand That's from our sin but he bought us From that slave market the price was paid to the law God's law demanded That if a person commits one sin he deserves to die Eternally and to be forsaken by God. That was a law And we were all condemned by that law and Jesus paid that price by being forsaken on the cross and purchased us Never forget it Never forget all your life You were bought with a price and you're not a servant you're a slave So you can never ask God Why are you doing this to me? Why are you allowing this to happen to me? Think of that first century slave Does it mean your life would be miserable? I'll tell you my testimony. I think I'm the happiest person in India. I can't find a person who's happier because I'm free from the sinful habits that enslaved me for so many years and I'm not running after money and I'm quite happy if I'm rejected despised made fun of laughed at Evil spoken up doesn't make the slightest difference to me. It doesn't reduce my happiness even this much Because I don't belong to them I've been bought by God my father Your life will be supremely happy if you decide to be a slave And if there's misery in your life, it's because you're a servant you expect some reward from God some benefit Something God should do something for you Supposing God never answers any of your prayers. Can you say oh, that's fine. I don't deserve it. I'm only a slave Anything you give me is a free gift Your life will be supremely happy and not only that you will never in your life have a problem with pride Pride is the thing that makes man God's enemy and you'll never have a problem with pride if you decide I'm going to be a slave So freed from sin one side of the coin enslaved to God and That will result in progressive sanctification along the way and the outcome the fullness of eternal life So in that process what happens is we come to know God better and better and better and better It's not a question of how much you serve God. It's not a question of how much you study the Bible it's not a question of how many meetings you come to knowing God is an altogether different thing All the rest of it is knowledge and service to me it's like the choice in the garden that Adam had between this tree of knowledge of good and evil and the Tree of life life is to know God Knowledge is to know the Bible Because the Bible will tell you what is good and bad and a lot of people because they know the Bible They think they are spiritual. The devil knows the Bible better than anybody else. He's not spiritual So Bible knowledge will never make you spiritual It's the knowledge of God that is eternal life. And I want all of you to distinguish between the two For 1,400 years people never had a printed Bible. How could they know the Bible? But there are a lot of people who knew God Even with the few scriptures they had so John 17 verse 3 this is eternal life that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent now, that's very clear That there is only one true God and he is the one who sent Christ And that's why we believe that the faith of Jesus Christ that we trust in is the only true faith In the whole world is the only thing that can lead anyone to eternal life Everyone outside of that is lost and This is why when a lot of people come to Jesus in the final day and say Lord we did miracles in your name We cast out demons. We healed the sick and the Lord says that doesn't impress me. I Never knew you You never knew me I never knew you what sort of you maybe you did a lot of things for me But we never had a relationship You know, I used you've often heard me use the example of two women working in the kitchen Both are Rolling out the chapatis or cooking the curry One is your wife and the other is a housemaid Both are doing the same work But one is somebody you know Intimately, it's your wife The other is a servant and even if the servant can make better chapatis than your wife. She's still a servant need to recognize this that God has those whom he relates to as the bride of Christ and there are others who are not the bride of Christ who just serve And those who serve may be doing many things It's those to those people that the Lord says, you know the end of the day You tell the housemate. Okay, go home. This is not your home But the wife stays with you and that's exactly what the Lord says. Okay, you serve me you made the chapatis You made the curry you cast out demons you heal the sick and all that now get away from me I never knew you you're not my bride If only we can understand this read scripture carefully, we will not be deceived by the multitude of false preachers there are today especially those who work for a salary a Wife does not work for a salary a Good wife does not even expect anything It's her joy to serve her husband out of love she wants nothing in return That is how a true servant of God slave of God serves him and that is To know that leads to a knowledge of God if you have this type of relationship with God, you will know him And you'll have eternal life and that's what delivers us from many sins You know, if I look at sin as something I want to be delivered from by itself I cannot be delivered from it. The more I know God the more I'll be delivered from it See the more intimate Husband is with his wife the less he's tempted with other women It's exactly like that the more intimate you are with Jesus Christ the less you're tempted by other things and if you're trying to battle Sins in the world and worldliness and the love of money and The solution is not to fight those things. The solution is to get close to Jesus your bridegroom Then those other things will you know, like we sing in that song will disappear like turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace, so that's eternal life Okay, let's go to John 17 verse 4 the Lord says I've glorified you on earth By having accomplished the work which you gave me to do so that teaches us how following in Jesus footsteps This is how you and I can glorify God on this earth. God has kept us on this earth to glorify him And I want to tell you my brothers and sisters. There's only one way you can glorify God on this earth And Isaiah the Lord told said these words I have created you for my glory He brought you out of your mother's womb he brought me out of my mother's womb so that we can glorify him How can I glorify him? How can you glorify him by finishing the work you gave me to do now the question is God gave Jesus the work to do It was not only dying on the cross you read in The Gospels many times that Jesus went and lived in Nazareth so that it might be fulfilled in what was said in the scriptures Then he went and lived in Capernaum you read that in Matthew 2 Matthew 4 so that it might be fulfilled What was written in the scriptures and even when he is dying on the cross? He said I thirst so that it might be fulfilled what is written in the scriptures He was born in Bethlehem so that it might be fulfilled. What was in the scriptures? So you find this phrase coming about Jesus life many times particularly in the Gospel of Matthew so that it might be fulfilled What was written in the Old Testament? So we see that the life of Jesus was planned Right from being born in Bethlehem to dying Outside the camp outside Jerusalem City and even to a little thing like crying Not yet come see there was a particular plan that God had made for Jesus and Part of it was that he should be born not in a king's palace, but in a very very poor carpenters home That he should have four younger brothers and two sisters who would not believe in him and irritate him that was part of God's plan because he had to be tempted just like us and Every little detail of his life was planned out and at the end of it. He could say father I glorified you because every little detail that you had planned for my life I have fulfilled Now one of the wonderful things you should discover if you haven't already discovered it That God loves you as he loved Jesus, and he's made in exactly the same way a plan for your life from the day you were born Now we violated that plan for a long time till we are born again And I mean even the Apostle Paul Violated that plan for probably 30 years of his life Rebelled against God and fought against it, but from the time he was converted Paul became so radical I Think he was converted when he was around 30 years old and for the remaining 37 years of his life, and he died at 67 You know what Paul could say? In 2nd Timothy 4 7 I have finished my course Compare that with what Jesus said here if you don't know that verse please look at 2nd Timothy in chapter 4 and It's the last letter of Paul And he says He says the time of my departure has come 2nd Timothy 4 6 and I have finished my course Very important to understand this That even if you messed up the first 30 years of your life like Paul You can still finish your course That's a tremendous encouragement even if you didn't start at year one and you started at year 31 See none of us started at year one All of us there was a certain time in our life when we got converted and Even after we got converted we were sort of sluggish and half-hearted for a long time then a Certain time came in our life, and we began to take the Christian life seriously I Hope that has happened to all of you at least now But from that time What God says to us at that time? I know what this is what God has said to me Has been a tremendous blessing to me Acts 17 30 the times of ignorance God overlooks But now he commands everyone to turn around and face him repent That's why I've often quoted that verse to many many people around the world Acts 17 30 The times of ignorance God overlooks thank God for that So many years we were ignorant that sin was a very serious thing You are ignorant that getting angry was a very serious sin You are ignorant that lusting with your eyes was a very serious sin you were ignorant that loving money was a very serious sin You're ignorant that gossiping and backbiting was a very serious sin, okay? One day you got light. Maybe you got light only after you came to CFC, okay? Don't get discouraged The times of ignorance God says forget it. I'll overlook it But now now that you've got light Turn around face me and take life seriously. That's what Paul did and He took his life so seriously from that day on That he could say at the end of his life Let me repeat even though he messed up the first 30 years of his life much worse than you and I We've not persecuted Christians and murdered them like he did he did worse things, but yet he finished his course That's an encouragement to me Because I know I wasted a lot of years of my life, too Even after I became a Christian born again, I didn't take the Christian life seriously But I thank God I believe I can finish my course. I live with that faith And so I want to say to all of you who haven't taken your Christian life seriously as yet at least begin now So that you can come to the end of your life and say Lord I finished my course don't look back Wishing oh, I hadn't done. I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I hadn't done that all of us have such regrets But if you keep on looking back like that you will never look forward think of a man who's running a hundred meters race And he's always looking back You think he'll win never and don't compare yourself with others You think a man was running a hundred meters race looking around at all the others around him you think he'll win no He's got only one goal the finishing line Don't look back at your failures and Don't look back at your successes either To see how much ground you have covered forget it Look forward to see how much more ground you have to cover before you reach the finishing line and don't look around at other runners To see whether you're ahead of them or not You just make sure you finish your race Those who compare themselves with each other are spiritual idiots That's in the Bible 2nd Corinthians 10 Verse 12 those who compare themselves with each other are spiritual Idiots it's a paraphrase, but you're gonna read it there, so don't be a spiritual idiot by comparing yourself with each other Just run the race looking unto Jesus The author and finisher that's the way you can finish your work Finish your course and the work which God has given you to do here's where we can follow Jesus And that's the only way to glorify God you may never cast out a demon in your life You may never heal a sick person you may never preach a sermon You may never even have the grace to bring one person to Christ. It doesn't matter If you can do it well and good, but if it doesn't happen you can still follow Jesus Very important to understand this Okay, we go to the next verse John 17 verse 5 and Again the father this is a verse that doesn't really apply to us It applies to Jesus glorify you me with the glory I had with you before the world was we ignore that We go to verse 6 which applies to us Jesus says I manifested thy name and whenever it speaks about God's name it speaks about God's nature And that was a habit in the Old Testament They called his name Jacob because he grabbed his brother's leg as he was coming out of the womb so they called him grabber Jacob Sarah laughed so God said your son will be called laughter Isaac You shall call his name Jesus because he's going to be Savior save people from sin So name refers to nature father. I have manifested your nature to the world not just pre-quoted a lot of verses By his life he manifested the nature of God to the world and That's what it says in John chapter 1 in verse 18 No one has seen God at any time But the only begotten Son of God who is in the bosom of the father he has explained him How did he explain him by his life it says in verse 14 We saw his glory as he dwelt among us full of grace and truth And he says I explained you and your nature by my life To the world as I lived in it whenever people reacted You know with Jesus his young brothers and sisters at home He manifested to them the life of God However much they irritated him he showed the life of God, that's our calling And in our place of work if people take advantage of us I'm sure there were people in Nazareth who took advantage of Jesus when he was a carpenter carpenter and Anyone who does business uprightly will know that there are dishonest crooks who take advantage of them And I'm absolutely sure that Jesus in his business people took advantage of him Otherwise he could not have been tempted as we are have people taken advantage of you in your business Jesus had to be taken advantage of otherwise he couldn't be a forerunner for you and How did he react to them he manifested God's nature When people were called him the devil he manifested God's nature when they killed him He manifested God's nature and said father forgive them so all through his life He wasn't just preaching he was manifesting God's nature in every situation and That's why in 30 years after manifesting God's nature for 30 years at home The father could say I'm well pleased With one who had never preached a sermon never cast out a demon He was well pleased because in all the provocative situations at home He had manifested his nature that's why you often heard me say that when you come here on Sunday morning God is not listening to how well you sing He's not listening to whether you sing in tune He's not looking at your musical ability. He gives zero for that If God gave marks was musical ability we have to say he's partial God Not seeing two lines straight without getting it wrong That's the I mean they're not born with that ability and then there's some people who have musical ability from the age of two So it's an inborn gift It's got nothing to do with spirituality some of the world's best musicians are all worldly people so don't ever think that you So God doesn't listen to see how well you sing here on Sunday morning He will listen to you if you have lived well the last six days before you came here on Sunday morning Then he listens to you even if you're singing out of tune But if you're singing out of tune don't sing too loud so you don't disturb all the others But God listens to you. I'll tell you sure Because it's how well you live is the life I have manifested your nature The Lord says very very important my brothers and sisters don't ever say I don't have any ministry in the church I can't preach. I can't sing. Do you know what your ministry is? to manifest God's nature every day in your home when you're on the road when all the traffic is Crowded and a lot of people are angry in the office where people are upset I have manifested your nature Take that as your calling that is the ministry of every single one of us yours and mine and That's the most important ministry more than preaching or singing or anything So that's what Jesus said. I manifested your nature to those who gave me Thine they were and you gave them to me and that refers to ministry. You know that those of us who have a ministry I Think of myself others who have a ministry If God gives us people who whom we can serve I Should never think of them as mine never To say my church or these are the people I brought to the Lord. That's garbage The Lord says they were thine father and you gave them to me Never never forget that They were yours if you've got given you a good wife It's not because you're clever That she belonged to God and God gave her to you be thankful That's how every husband should take his wife Lord. She was yours And you gave her to me, and I'm very thankful that you gave her to me or a husband He was yours Lord, but you gave him to me Do you look at your marriage partner like that? It'll make a lot of difference if you do And now it says in verse 7. They have come to know by watching my life That everything that I have is from you Let me ask you as I ask myself People who watch your life and observe it and Hear the way you speak Do they get the impression that You humbly recognize That everything is a gift God has given you It's not because your smartness or your ability or anything like that. It's 100% God Others have come to know Jesus says that everything I have is what you gave me I mean if you were smart enough to Amass a fortune perhaps in your business or whatever it is You made some money you've made enough money to buy a house or build a house. Do you have the humility to acknowledge? It is 100% what God gave me it's not because I was smart or I did this So many of these thoughts can come into our mind. That's exactly what the devil wants you to think to destroy you Jesus said everybody around me knows me knows everybody around me knows That whatever I have everything Is from you I want to live like that. I want to live in such a way that people recognize that every single gift I have Earthly spiritual intellectual is from God and I cannot take a credit for it I cannot receive glory or honor for it. They must know That it is from God and I acknowledge it verse 8, you know, it's amazing when you go through scripture Like last Sunday, I was going through 2nd Timothy chapter 3 with just a few verses If you stop and meditate on each verse what a lot there is in scripture, which we miss when we rush through As I've often said read the Word of God slowly The words you gave me I gave them and they received them and truly understood Verse 8 that I came forth from thee and they have believed that you did send me. I'm not supposed to give to people Words that come out of my clever head the words that God gives me If I give to others It'll lead people to faith Not everybody. I mean Jesus spoke the words that God gave him still very few people came to faith But the ones who are chosen will come to faith This is how God wants us to live One thing is needful God said to Martha when she was working Not all that work. See what Mary is Mary has done sitting at my feet listening The most important thing is to receive every day The word that God wants to give us That's what we read in Genesis chapter 1 the first day God said something second day God said something Third day God said something fourth day God said something Teaching us in the very first chapter of the Bible that every day of your life God wants to say something to you and if you listen to it something will happen in your life Just like something happened on every day of those six days and at the end of it. It'll be very good. I Wanted to be like that. I want the end of my life for God to look at me and say very good But that won't come if I don't seek to listen. What is God saying to me today? So the words you gave me I gave them and they received them Do you have to be a preacher to have words from God? No, you only have to have the Holy Spirit In the Old Testament only the Prophet had a word from God because he only he had the Holy Spirit but now all of us can receive the Holy Spirit into our heart be filled with the Holy Spirit and when you are filled with the Holy Spirit one of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit who wrote this book the Bible is to give you God's Word make this word living to your heart and give you a word from God through this book and Very often that word is not only for you, but for somebody else as well Like we read in Isaiah 50 and verse 4 you have Wakened my ear every morning to listen So that I Can have a word in season for the weary person who comes across my path in that day to encourage him What a word Isaiah 50 verse 4 and 5 Every day I wake up to listen to what God Has to say to me So that I can give to others That which he gives me So that it can lift their spirits some weary person has lifted up I mean, that's what I did this morning when I woke up I woke up pretty early today. Sometimes it happens like that and I said Lord. What shall I share today? The Lord Put John 17 on my heart. I've never spoken on this chapter by itself like this in my life. Okay, and I look at it and I look through the different words in it and I Read it in different translations to see if there was some other Meaning to something there that the translation would bring light on and And I got something myself first of all and then You can get that too and you don't have to sit in a pulpit like me because I'm called to be a teacher and preacher But you can sometimes have a word just to give to your children That will encourage them you can have a word to give to somebody who speaks to you one day on the phone Just half a minute to share something that you got that day from God The words which you gave me I've given to them They receive them Wonderful I want to live like that. I want to live like that every day Because I know from Genesis chapter 1 that God speaks every day. God speaks every day I may not listen to him. That's another thing John said in Revelation 1 I heard the sound of the Lord like the voice of the Lord like a trumpet But if you're deaf Because you've got a bad conscience Because you've got a bitterness against somebody or you haven't forgiven someone You won't hear his voice at all. But if your conscience is clear, you can hear his voice like a trumpet That's why I say forgive everybody That's why I say don't keep a bitterness against anyone That's why I say clear your debts That's why I say be upright. Don't cheat Be honest You may not become rich, but you hear God's voice and then you'll have something to give to others and here's another interesting verse we go to verse 9 the Lord says I Do not pray for the world But for those whom you have given me for they are thine I must tell you that I follow Jesus example I Don't pray for the world. I know there are so many campaigns which say pray for India pray for America Nobody prays for Afghanistan. It's always pray for India or pray for America. I Don't listen to all these things. I'll tell you honestly, there are many things that are advertised in the Christian world. My ears are closed I Read it. I forget it. I say show it to me in Scripture like the Bereans in Acts 17 They heard the mighty Apostle Paul speaking and they say hang on Let me check in Scripture whether what he says is according to the Scripture then they believed in him. That's what I do That's what I've done for many many years. I said, where do I see Jesus praying for the world? I don't see that Do I see in the epistles Paul saying come on fellas pray for Rome? Or pray for Greece or pray for Syria. I Never see that in Scripture. These are the crazy ideas. Most of them come from America But I say if I don't see it in Scripture, I don't care who teaches it I do not pray for the world verse 9, but I pray for those whom you have given me Not only them don't misunderstand me. I also pray verse 20 For those who will in future believe in me through their word. I'm gonna not only for these 11 disciples here But also for the millions of other believers who are going to come in the next 20 centuries. Oh, yeah, he's praying for them In other words, Jesus Primarily prays for believers. That's what I'm trying to say pray at all times. It says in Ephesians 6 18 in the spirit for the Saints God wants the whole world to be converted. He wants the whole world to repent But what is the purpose and We'll come to that in a moment he prays for those who believe in verse 20 that they may become one and Thus that the world may believe That you sent me yeah, God does want the world to believe but it's not by praying for the world. That's my point. I Want the whole of India to know that Jesus Christ is Lord But how is that gonna happen not by my saying Oh God, I pray for India I pray for Karnataka I've never done it and I don't do it But I pray for God's people. I pray for CFC and the believers in CFC and the elders in different churches that will be one so that India will know The power of Jesus Christ. That's why we emphasize so much freedom from sin in the individual life and unity in the family and in the church Why do we emphasize that? Because that's what Jesus emphasized so that India or the whole world may know That God sent Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world It's not by going and praying for them and preaching them is by praying for the church that we might be one That the world will believe They may not respond that is not our business. I Mean the world did not respond to Jesus Christ who was the greatest Person who walked on this earth at all the world did not respond to the Apostle Paul who was a 100,000 times better servant of God than any of us. So I'm not saying that we'll all see great results But Paul says at the end of his life all those who are in Asia have left me The way to life is narrow And little by little by little we find that the number sometimes becomes less Than what it was in the beginning of those who are wholehearted So I just mentioned that in passing that our primary calling don't be taken up with these slogans that Christendom abounds with these are all people who never read the Bible and Who value the opinions of American preachers more than the opinions of the Holy Spirit in the Bible? I'm not against Americans I'm not against Indians, but I say the opinion of heaven is more important to me than the opinion of any human being on this earth Please keep that in mind. Now, let's go to verse 10 John 17 and verse 10 We're trying to understand what it means to walk as Jesus walked and to follow in his footsteps This is a wonderful verse and you've often heard me quote it all things father that are mine are thine and Therefore all that is thine are mine So here is a principle on how we can have things from God and how God responds to different people in different ways How is it that Jesus God was the father was so committed to Jesus 100% because Jesus said Everything I have is the father's I will hold back nothing for myself my health my mind my eyes my tongue my money my ambitions for the future Who I should decide who I choose to be my friends and who are not Every single thing in my life Is my father's he has right over every area of my life because I'm a slave You know, Jesus also lived on earth like a slave of the father he didn't work for the salary That's why we are so insistent in our CFC churches that we do not work for a salary in spiritual things Earthly things by all means work for a salary because we got to earn our living but spiritual things We don't do a spiritual ministry for a salary No, if you work in the CFC office doing earthly things you deserve to be paid. That's an earthly job But a spiritual ministry of blessing others and sharing God's Word with others zero salary That is Jesus example Because we are slaves were purchased Everything that we have is God's if you can honestly say that I Want to say to you in Jesus name? You'll hear the father saying to you and you'll experience it in your life. The father's saying all that I have is yours What a wonderful life that is imagine Bringing up your children in an atmosphere in your home Where you teach them from early childhood? Everything we have belongs to God and if you live like that, you'll find that everything God has belongs to you as well He won't let you down He'll never let you down. I never have to go and beg or borrow When God says all that I have is yours Why don't you come to me? He's the richest person in the universe He's the most powerful person in the universe. He uses men. I'm not saying we should not Seek for help from people But our trust must be in God. I Know different situations where the Lord is the word the Lord has spoken to my heart is from Jeremiah 17 Let me show you that verse if you're not familiar with it Jeremiah 17 and verse Five cursed is the man who trusts in other men to help him and Depends on them and whose heart turns away from the Lord. It's not a question of asking somebody for help It's a question of depending on them without depending on the Lord when you're sick by all means go to a doctor by all means have surgery by all means go to a hospital, but take medicines, but Cursed is the man who ignores God and says I'm gonna be healed with this medicine This good doctor will cure me. Uh-huh Just wait and see Cursed is a strong word Cursed is the man Who trusts in mankind and makes flesh? His strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. What will it be like? He'll be like a bush in the desert He will never see when spiritual prosperity comes He'll be like the waste places in the wilderness Like a land of salt when nobody lives. I don't want to be like that On the other hand blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord? He will be like a tree planted by the water That extends its roots underground, you know the roots of a tree you can never see The tree planted by the water you don't see that the roots underground are going into the river and Drawing water all the time even though it's not raining And It's not afraid when heat comes and Even a year of drought verse 8 his leaves will be green and you wonder why Why are some people so fresh when everything seems to be going wrong in their life? I'll tell you why because in the hidden part of their life, they've gotten roots going into God which you don't see and They'll never stop yielding fruit. I love that. I Passion the Word of God says you'll never stop yielding fruit. First of all the fruit of the Spirit You'll never be without love. You'll never be without joy. You'll never be without peace you'll never be without long-suffering or gentleness or goodness or humility or Faithfulness or self-control you'll never be without it and you'll never be without Some type of fruit in your ministry that you'll be a blessing to people around you Never he will not cease from yielding fruit. I love that and the principle is that I Don't depend on human beings. I depend on the Lord We can use human beings. Sure When Jesus wanted to pay his taxes He told Peter go to the sea and catch a fish But Jesus depended on the father When he wanted a room for the Last Supper He called up one of his friends. Can I borrow your room for a meal? So he certainly asked people's help And When he wanted to borrow a donkey to ride on He used people who could give that to him. So there's nothing wrong in Asking for people's help Jesus did that all the time, but His dependence was not on man at any time So remember that we need to have this balance of Even when we ask somebody to help us even if it's a doctor or anybody else We ask some official to help us in some complicated situation. We are facing our Dependence is not going to be on that man Our dependence is going to be on God God may use him or he may not use him. He may use somebody else, but our confidence is in God Let's develop this habit Always Lord, even if there's nobody to help me some of you are so much without influence You don't know any influential people praise the Lord You have a father in heaven You can depend on him and he can do amazing things He can bring help for you from most unlikely sources All things are mine. And therefore all things that are yours are mine. It's a wonderful way to live That's why I'm against Ten percent is God's in the Old Testament. It was like that God said to the Israelites ten percent of what you earn. It was not money those days Their income was the grain in the field or the cattle which they Look took care of they were farmers or shepherds and 10% of the grain that they grew or the Cattle that was born 10% had to go to God 90% was for themselves. They could do whatever they liked with it But 10% was God's. It's like the government says 10% income tax is ours 90% you use what you like you do with it. That's exactly How it was in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament Jesus says all 100% of mine is yours father That doesn't mean Jesus took off his clothes and didn't have any money In fact, Judas Iscariot was having a savings account for Jesus It was a pretty crooked bank, but it was still a bank That means Jesus kept money for use in the future. He didn't use it all up the same day. He got it He got a large gift from somebody. He didn't say okay, let's spend it today itself. No The fact that Judas Iscariot had a bag proves that Jesus believed in saving money for the future That's a very important thing to learn from there If he believed that as soon as you get something you must spend it. He would not have had a money bank What I would call today a bank. I Always encourage believers. You must save something for the future if not for yourselves at least for your children and Jesus has taught us that 2nd Corinthians 12 14 says parents must save up for their children That's the Word of God Don't lay up treasure for yourself. That's also the Word of God, but the Word of God also says save for your children so But we recognize in it all that it is all God's All the time just because Jesus saved something didn't mean that he didn't feel that was God's it was God's That's why it was such a terrible crime when Judas Iscariot stole from the offering box He took the money which people had given to God He put his hand in it and took it and Jesus said it is better for that person that he was not even born. I mean if he had stolen from some Marketplace or cheated some shopkeeper is one thing but to steal from the offerings that God gives Offering offerings that people give to God it is better that person was not even born What a terrible thing to say I mean you never look at a child and say or a person and say better you were not born So what a curse that is to say such a thing, but Jesus said it because that finally led to his betraying Jesus Christ so It's wonderful to have this attitude Lord all that I have is yours If somebody cheats me, I'm not gonna fight with him. It's yours. You'll deal with him because it's your money that he stole It really is if I'm a slave of God and everything I have is God's and Somebody cheats me He's cheating God He's cheating God. Just like Judas Iscariot. I leave it for God to deal with him All that is mine is God's and therefore I believe all that is God's is mine if I say God 10% is yours God doesn't have that type of transaction today He won't even say 10% of mine is yours because he says you're living in another time that was in the old covenant Now it is 100% is God's and 100% that God has is mine It's a wonderful way to live So brothers, I've just given you a little Taste of what there is in this wonderful chapter. I want to encourage you to read it Let's come to that favorite verse of ours John 17 23, which I say is the most wonderful verse in the whole Bible that the father loved us loves us as he Loved Jesus It's an amazing verse God wants the world to know looking at my life That the father loves me just like he loved Jesus That's what that's what God wants the world to know and when God looks when the world looks at your life They should be able to say boy God seems to love this man as much as he loved Jesus So Let's ask ourselves whether people who look at our life Find that as the testimony they can give of our life. This is God's will for us Please read that whole chapter and may the Lord open up the rest of that chapter to you to what it means to walk as Jesus walked and to lay hold of eternal life Let's pray Heavenly Father We thank you for the riches of your word. We thank you for the power of your word We thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit That makes the dead letter living to us Lifts us higher and helps us to hear your voice saying come up higher Don't live in that low level We want to walk as Jesus walked Help us each one here Lord Lift us a little higher than we are today everyone here Help us to be challenged in Jesus name Amen Sing this song from this earth. I will soon be departing and Let's sing this song as a song of dedication the song is so I live for my Savior's good pleasure And maybe say Lord, that's what I want to do from today. Shall we stand up and sing this song? Sing this song with joy and gladness and say Lord. That's how I want to live from today onwards times the past God has ignored or looked From today, let's learn to give us this to the Lord and sing From this earth, I will soon be departing I'm just waiting for Jesus to come I'm convinced that earth's pleasures are fleeting Now I'm living for Jesus alone All my days here on earth have been numbered And I cannot afford to waste one God's great plans by my life must be furthered And my life's work on earth must be done That day God will judge me for sure All I did, all I thought, all I swore That which glorified God will endure All the rest will then go up Earth hath no worth Christ's own virtues will be my great treasure And I'll seek just God's kingdom on earth You want to sing verse three and four again? So if you clap and sing this song That day God will judge me for sure All I did, all I thought, all I swore That which glorified God will endure All the rest will then go up and score So I live for my Saviour's good pleasure All the glories of earth have no worth Christ's own virtues will be my great treasure And I'll seek just God's kingdom on earth