In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of receiving and embracing the message of the Lord. He mentions his responsibility to bring the message to the congregation in two meetings on the Lord's day morning. The speaker also discusses the concept of being lost again and warns against doubting the trustworthiness of Jesus. He then focuses on John chapter six, specifically verse 37, where Jesus states that all those given to him by the Father will come to him. The speaker highlights the simplicity of this statement, emphasizing that while election and predestination exist, individuals still have the responsibility to come to Christ for salvation.

John 17, and I'm trying to get through this evening from verse 6 right to the end of the chapter. I felt that if I cut it in two, that I would spoil the message, and I must never be guilty of that. I must never injure the message of the Lord. So we're getting through from verse 6 right to the end of the chapter this evening. If you've been looking into this wonderful chapter, the chapter that was said of by Martin Luther to be the greatest chapter in the greatest book in the world, if you've been looking into it, you will find this, that the chapter very easily divides itself into three. From verse 1 to the end of verse 5, the portion that we did last week, is where our Lord Jesus Christ is supplicating for Himself. That's the bit that you need to get into your mind, that He began praying for Himself. You see, in all things, He ought to have the preeminence, and He has it here. Now, from verse 6 down to the end of verse 19, He is praying for all His followers on earth at that time. That's a very important bit to see. You see, He begins in verse 6 by saying, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. And He's not just thinking about the eleven apostles alone, or not, because God had given them far more than that out of the world at that time, because in a few hours He's about to be arrested and taken to the cross, and He dies, and then, praise God, He rose again, and at the resurrection, more than 500 brethren saw Him at one time. So, at the time He's praying, at least there are 500 brethren in the land given to them by God, and He's praying for them in the second section of the chapter. But He goes further, do you see? Verse 20. He said, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their words. That not only brings in all the believers in the land at that time, but that brings all the believers in the land at this time. So, as you can see, it goes into three sections. He's praying first for Himself, then He's praying for all the believers in the land, and then He's praying for all who will yet believe. Oh, think of the steadfast, unmovable faith of the Lord Jesus in John 17. He knows that Judas is away telling Him. He's standing in the dark, He's lifting His face to heaven, and He's praying for all that will yet believe. My, He knew the battle wasn't lost. The modernists say He didn't know where He was. They want to go and listen to Him praying. He wasn't afraid, you know. He didn't think the hour was lost. He knew, they'll kick me, they'll kick me to the cross. But, follow, I'm praying also for all that will believe on me through these witnesses that I'll send forth. So, that there are these three sections that He's praying for Himself, and praying for all the saints in the land at that time, and praying for all the saints in the land at this time. That's very simple. Now, here's how I'm bringing this part of the chapter before you tonight. From verse six right through to the end of the chapter, I want you to gaze again at the clouds that Christ is praying for. I've almost touched that already, but I'll have to go into it deeper. And then, I want, secondly, to take time tonight to show you the presentation of the people in prayer, just how He presented the people to God that He was about to pray for. And after we have a look at the clouds He's praying for, and have a look at the wonderful way our Lord Jesus Christ presented those people to the Father in prayer, then we'll get down to the supplications that the Savior actually made for the saints. And that will bring the whole chapter before us in a very simple manner. Now, let's begin at that verse six. After praying in the other five verses for Himself, now He comes in verse six and says, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. You know, if you're any good at breaking up a verse, you can see three things immediately. You can see what the Father did. Yes, He gave these men to Christ. And you can see immediately what Christ did. I have manifested thy name to them. And you can see immediately what the men did. They have kept thy word. Very simple, isn't it? Put it all there. You know, this phrase, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world, that manifestation has a certain meaning. You see, in the Greek New Testament, there are figures of speech, and we need to know them. And this is a figure of speech, one of the Greek figures of speech, when anyone would talk about manifesting somebody's name. It doesn't mean that they talked about the name. It doesn't mean that they talked about Jehovah, or God, or the Lord, or any of the names that Jehovah gets in Scripture. No, no, no, no. When we talk about the name, we talk about the person. It's a figure of speech that means, I manifested thy passion to all that you gave me. For that's what we were taught in John chapter 1, that no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared God. And these men that were given to Him, why He revealed to them, He declared to them, all about God's love, all about God's grace, all about God's wisdom, all about God's power, all about God's own suffering, all about God that can be known. He was the express image of the Father. In fact, He said, I am the Father, I run. He said, He that has seen me, has he got it? That He manifested everything that was God to those who were given to Him. You know, this is a wonderful thing. Watch it carefully, this verse 6, I wouldn't like to run away from it. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world, thine they were. Now, that's a wee bit tight, isn't it? After all, if they were in the world, they were lost souls, weren't they? And if the Father took them out of the world and gave them to Christ, how does it come to be said that they belong to God? Well, that's very simple. You see, away before the hills in order through the earth received its form, the Godhead, sitting in that eternity of holiness, sitting in council chambers, the Father, according to His foreknowledge of everything that would happen in the ages to come, He pre-destined, He elected, accurate, He chose quite a number. He said, I've taken them out of the world and I've given them to Christ. They were the Fathers by election. These were the Fathers. It was the Father who chose me before the foundation of the world. You say, what a wonder! It would humble you. God sought upon me, and pre-destined me, and elected me, and chose me. And here's the idea, having that purpose in mind, He gave me to Christ. He said, now I elected Him. I want you to be His Savior. I want you to blot out every spot that belongs to Him. I want you to deal with every foe He has, and I want you to bring them safely to the glory. Do you think I'll get lost? Because if you do, my dear friends, if our Lord Jesus was turned up in the glory with one of the last lost, His power would be questioned up yonder. His glory would be dimmed. His honor would be spotted. Now, you that talk about being lost again, you're spitting in the face of faith. You should be very careful of insulting the Lord Jesus. He never was trusted with something that He'd lose. And the Father gave these men that He elected to Him, and He said about them, they have kept thy word. But we'll go into that in a minute. I think to get this over for the young people, I ought to do something else. Here's a lovely thing that we passed in John's Gospel, not so many weeks ago. Go back to John chapter 6 for a moment. John chapter 6. Now, here's a wee verse that every young believer in the meeting should put into their heart, and never forget. It's a very easy one. It's John 6, and it's 37. Now, the Lord Jesus is speaking, and here's what He's saying. Now, watch it carefully. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Now, the verse is in full parts, and I'll expound it for you. All that the Father giveth me, say, what a majority He was thinking about. He's thinking about all the Old Testament faiths, all the New Testament faiths, all the Tribulation faiths, all the Millennial faiths. He's embracing them in His arms of faith, and He's saying, all that the Father giveth me, say, what a majority He would. Now, here's the wee bit He put behind it. All that the Father giveth me, watch it, shall come to me. What's implicit? You know, the Lord was a very wonderfully simple man in His faith. You see, if you would read the bit that goes before here, watch what goes before. Verse 35, Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not. They turned their backs on Him. You know, here He's standing preaching one of the greatest messages He ever preached. I am the bread of life. Him that cometh to me never hunger, nor thirst. I can be your absolute sufficiency for the whole journey through. They just turned their backs on Him, and walked away. You know, some people think if we had Christ on this platform, the whole time would come and worship Him. Not a bit of them. They turned their backs on the Lord Jesus when He was here, you know, and some of them walked with Him no more. But you know, when He preached, another man spoke like this man. And when He preached, and men turned their backs, He didn't get excited, you know. Nor downcast, nor depressed, like some of the preachers. He just said this, all that the Father gives me shall come. Oh, I don't need to walk tricks at the end of the meeting like some of the evangelists, you know. I'm depending on God, and He'll do the work the way He wants it done. And He said, all that the Father gives me shall come to me. What simplicity! What a majority! What a blessing! Now, what does He mean by that? All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and Him that cometh to me. What responsibility! You see, don't think because we talked about election, and predestination, and choice, that there is no responsibility on your shoulders. Oh, not at all. Man, you're responsible for coming to Christ. God sent His Son, and He died on Calvary, and shed His blood, and rose again, and there's a living Savior. And listen, sir, you're responsible to come to Him to get salvation. Now, what's your text now? All that the Father gives me, oh, what a majority, shall come to me. Oh, what simplicity! And Him that cometh, oh, what a responsibility! Now, what's the whole text? All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and Him that cometh to me. What's it? I will in no way pass out. Say, what security! My, if you only come, sir. Don't worry your head about knowing all about election. Just come to Christ, and He'll take you in, and you'll be safe. He'll never cast you out. Why, that's the cloud the Father gave them. Now, let's get back there again. We're at John 17, and we're at that wonderful verse, verse 6. Oh, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them meat, and they have kept thy word. Now, I say that He was thinking here on all the men in the land, and women too, of course, who were followers of His just then. I know that from verse 20, you see, because when He prayed there, He said, neither pray I for these alone. You see, there's another cloud, but for them also which shall believe on me through the word. You see, He's thinking of others who will come to believe. You know, there's a wonderful fundamental thing here, and I wouldn't want to miss it for the whole world. Now, are you watching? There was a cloud given to them by the Father, and He was to keep them. Now, He said, neither pray I for these alone. I know they're the elect. I know you gave them to me, but for them also which shall believe on me through the word. Do you know what the fundamental thing is? It's believing. Do you know the only way to get into touch with Christ? Believing. He didn't say, I pray for them which shall be supreme. Oh, no, He did not. Not the bitter for them. He didn't do any such thing, did He? No, He didn't say, I pray for them that are concerned by the bitter, not the bitter. The Lord Jesus you're listening to now, and if you don't like it, it's a pity of you. My dear, the fundamental thing is faith in Christ. And I'll tell you this, faith comes by the word preached. Get up there too, because that's in it. He says, you know, I'm not only praying for the cloud I have, but for them also which shall believe on me through their words. You know, God uses the foolishness of preaching to bring the elect to believe in Christ. Mind you, He doesn't use foolish preaching. Oh, no, don't get that bit of it. He uses the foolishness of preaching. It looks foolish at times to preach, but if it's not foolish preaching, God uses it to bring the elect to believe in Christ. And the fact that you come and trust the Saviour will prove that you're one of the elect. So, it's all wonderfully bound up together. Now, that's the cloud He's praying for. He's praying for all the believers in the land at that time, and all the believers in the lands at this time. Now, I want you to get this bit, just how He presented the people He was praying for to God in prayer. Now, I want you to watch a few things. See verse six again? Here He's talking about them. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy words. You know, if you had only seen the eleven that stood around them in the dark just then, you'd see our Lord's praying on the very edge of Gethsemane. Next week, if God wills, we'll walk into Gethsemane with the Master. And He's just outside the garden, and He's lifting His face to heaven, and He's praying. And can you see the boys that's around them? They're ready to run. In a few hours time, Peter will be there, and Thomas will get into a huff that he'll not believe anything. And you know, there were many blemishes on them, and there are many spots hurt, but there is not one spot that He touches. He says, you know, they have kept thy words. He's presenting them to God as a crowd who have actually believed the gospel. Thy word here is the gospel. And you know, this should fill you. It fills me anyway. Ne'er am I tonight with so many faults. I blunder so often. I make mistakes. I fail. I fall. I sin, yes, but when God's talking about me in heaven, not one spot is touched. He says, do you see Him? He believes your gospel. And you know, it's so lovely, we think, you might be a wee fellow sitting down in the seat tonight, and you don't think very much of yourself. It's only time that you believe the gospel. The Lord loves you, you know. And He'll talk to His Father about you. So, do you see Him? Kept thy word. But it went further than that, you know. Watch this. You see the next verse? Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. That word whatsoever is the key to the verse. And He's talking about these people He's coming to present before the throne. He says, they have kept thy gospel, but He says, they have known that whatsoever, yes, whatsoever power I have, that, you know, they saw me stilling the storm, and weaving the dead, and cleansing the leper, and opening the eyes of the blind. They saw my power. And He said, they saw my wisdom when I tackled the crowd and answered the question. And they saw my grace when I put up with Judas for three and a half years. And everything that I have, Father, whatsoever I have, they know that I got it from thee. Oh, isn't that lovely? Look at them. They're a motley crowd, eleven apostles, and they're ready to run, and they're about to turn their backs on their beloved, and there are so many blemishes on them that you would hardly want to be numbered with them. And yet the Lord's talking to His Father in heaven about them. He said, Father, they've kept their word. Father, they know, they know that everything that I did, you did it through me. And He went further. Watch. In the next verse He said, For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them. Now, what's the difference between they have kept thy words, and they have received thy words? You know, that's a very important little thing, because in the Greek New Testament, in the first place, they have kept thy words should be in the capital W, because it's actually the word of the gospel. But in the second place, they have received thy words. You know, the Lord brought them messages every day. You know, He met them every morning, gathered them round Him, and He had a message from God for them. Sometimes they didn't understand the message perfectly. You remember when He was talking about, I'm going to prepare a place for you? If I do, I will come again, and the way, you know, and all the rest of it. You know, you remember how one of them brought it in. Oh yes, Thomas brought it in, and said, how can we know the way? We don't know where you're going, and we don't know the way. You know, they didn't see the message clearly. But nevertheless, they embraced the message He brought. They received it. You know, that's one of my great jobs in this place. I am bringing the message of the Lord to this meeting every Lord's Day morning. Oh yes, we have two meetings here on Lord's Day morning. We have a meeting for the ministry of the Lord, and I'm one of the gifts sent to the church, and it's my responsibility to get the message of the Lord. Then we have another meeting for the breaking of bread, where it's a free and open meeting for every man in the building to minister. Yes, you ought to recognize gifts, and then you ought to have freedom to worship when we have it all in this place. Friends, my job is to get the message of the Lord. And I think I could say for this place, that sometimes maybe they're not able to follow all that I try to get over to them. But nevertheless, they receive the message of the Lord. Now watch again. It goes still further than that. This is the lovely bit. Verse 8, I've given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. Now watch that they have. There are four of them. At the end of verse 6, they have kept thy word. Verse 7, they have known. Verse 8, they have received. At the end of verse 8, they have believed. My, he didn't bring out any of their blemishes, you know. You see what's happening here when he's lifting this people up to God, as the priest representing them before God. He's not there to talk about their blemishes. He's not bringing any of their faults into the limelight. He's not touching one spot or sin. No, no, no. He knew all about them, you know. He knew that Peter would deny them in a minute or two. He had already told them that. But as the priest representing them before God, he says, Father, here they are. This is the people that you gave me. That in my hand I'm holding. And Father, they have kept thy gospel. Father, they have known that everything I had came from me. Father, they have believed that I came out from thee. Oh, he's lifting up all that he can say for them. This is how he presents them to God. This is how he's presenting us to Christ. Oh, it's a wonderful touch. He went further when he said this. See verse 9? He said, I pray for them. I pray not for the world. Somebody might butt in here and say, did he not pray for the world when he was on the cross, and they were kneeling in his hands, and he said, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Of course, he did. But there's a vast difference between Christ praying as a man, going through this with holy wilderness, and Christ praying as our great Christ Jesus, representing his people. He prayed on earth for men. Oh, and we're to do the same. Pray for them. That's falsely accused, and say all manner of evil against you. As a man, pray for men. But the Lord Jesus, as our great high priest, is lifting his beloved people up before God tonight. And there's not one blemish being put before the soul. Rather, here's the wording. Watch it. Verse 10. All mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. Oh, just think of it. Here he's looking at them, and they've been standing around them. They hardly know where they are. And he's lifting them up in the arms of his faith, and he's saying, they've believed, they've received, they know, they've kept, and oh, they're a motley crowd. Yet this is the little flock that has hugged me to death. I belong to them, and they belong to me. I'm glorified in them. Oh, listen, believers, you've got to hold on tonight. You know, it looks as though you have never done very much wrong. Maybe you can't preach, or maybe you don't have a plan. Maybe you can't sing, and you haven't much to give, and there's a whole lot of faults about you. But one day, you crawled to the cross, and accepted the Christ, and he's your savior tonight. And away down deep in your heart, you love him, and he says, you know, I'm glorified in him. How the world turned their back on him, as he crawled to his cross, to say, do you see how he presents them? He's presenting them faultless, before the throne. Say, what a high priest we have. Dear friends, you never forget that. My, when we don't see very much in ourselves, he sees wondrous beauties in every limping believer. But he sees the end of the story, you see, when they'll be glorified. But let's go on now. Now, we have dealt with the crowds that the Christ is crying for, and I've tried my best to undermine the presentation of the people in prayer. Now, we want to hear him really supplicating. You see, he doesn't really start to make any petitions at all, until we come to verse 11. And now I am no more in the world. You see, he's taken the place here, that the work's finished, that he's going through Calvary, and out from the dead, and he's going back there, and he's taken that place. I am no more in the world. He is God, and he can call those things which are not as though they were. And he's saying, Father, I come to thee. And then, here's the first word. Now, notice this. It's wholly, Father. You remember when he was praying for himself, in verse 1? These words speak. Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father. You see, last week I went into that, because that involved the fatherhood of the Son King, and of the Eternal Son. He was looking into the face of the Eternal Father, and all he had to say was, Father. But when he comes to pray for us, fellows, he uses this word. He uses wholly, Father. Wholly, Father. Just because of the petition he's going to make. Now, he said, wholly, Father. Maybe I should do this other one. When he's thinking of the world, in verse 25, he said, O righteous Father, the world hath not known me. You know, friend, if ever you see a modernist, or hear a modernist preaching, you know, he'll say things about the character of God. He'll say that the election is not fair, and this and that and the other. And he'll make charges against your God. Now, when a man makes a charge against the righteous Father, you will know he belongs to the world. Just so you know. Because the righteous Father is not known by the world. Our God is a righteous God. Our God is a holy God. Our God is an all-wise God. But praying up here in verse 11, it's wholly, Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one. That's the first petition. That they may be one. That's the very first petition for the believers in the church. Now, let's get down to that. You know, I be amused sometimes listening to some of the babble that comes from the World Council of Churches. Because they run here, you know, and they say, even Christ said, let us all be one. Let me teach you tonight that he wasn't even thinking about denominations getting together because there were none. Hope you've got that. That should be enough for you. I'd love to have them for about 10 minutes. I would team a few of them. My dear friend, he wasn't praying about churches getting together. They didn't have any. There were only 500 believers in the land, and let me tell you, they were all one. Oh, no, he wasn't talking denominational at all. I hope you've got it. It's as simple as ABC if you use your wits. Friends, we would never sacrifice the truths that we have learned in this book, for unity was poopy's role. Do you think that we could ever go and sit at the poopy's mosque where they professed to put Christ to the death again? Do you think that we could ever bow down to a plaster cast and worship it? Do you think that we could ever give glory to the pageantry? Well, if you've got that idea, it's a pity on you, for real believers will never do it. We will never sacrifice truth for unity with pagan Babylonian Rome. Never. We have no notion of doing that. The world council of churches can do it if they wish. They're going to Rome anyway, and they're going as fast as some of that modernistic preachers can take them. But there are a few believers who have no notion of that. Now, the Lord wasn't talking denominationally at all, because there were no denominations. Now, let's get a hold of this. If he was saying that they all made the one, what way was he talking? In what sense of it? Oh, it's there for you to see. Watch the prayer again. Holy Father, they keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. As we are. You see, if I dare use this, I believe it's the only way I can get the truth over. He was not praying denominationally. He was praying devotionally. He wanted them to be one in love. And, brethren and sisters, this is something that needs to be taught to the whole lot of us. See, here's a tremendous class tonight. So many sitting with the Bible, and so many don't belong to the Baptist church at all. There are brethren here, and there are Methodists here, and there are Presbyterians, Church of Ireland, Pentecostals. Oh, I can't go over it all. But, brethren and sisters, standing behind this book, I assure you that I love every person in the building, and I would want to. I have to preach the truth as I find it. I have to be true to the book. But everything that I propound and get over, it's being put over in love. Because I believe that I should preach in love. Somebody said to me just the other night, a man in the class now, he said, you know, I almost thought that I detested hatred in your voice when you talked about the Roman Catholics. I said, how dare you? Friend, I detest the pagan poopy system with my very soul, but I love every darkened Roman Catholic in the land. I wish to God that I could get them out of the pagan system they're dying in. I'm not preaching against the Roman Catholic poor fellow in the back street. Why, he was born there, poor chap. I detest the system that loves them, and the system I shall always preach against. I hate the system with my very soul, and the Lord Jesus before me said that he hated certain things, and look for them in the book of Revelation, and you'll find they're very near the thing I'm touching. Yes, he wants the believers to get together in love. You know, this is something I think that's misunderstood very often. So many people say, you know, if you're going to love, and you're going to preach in love, and you're going to love all classes and sects and sizes and colors and creeds, you know, you'll never say anything that needs to be said, will you not? Who told you that being loving made you a softy? Who taught you that? My dear friend, it's the fellow that loves you that will tell you. Sure, it would be no love for, to see a man going over a cliff who was blind, and here he's coming along with a stick, and he's going over, and you're going to stand, you're not going to shout at him, no, don't touch him, let him go to hell. It's no love enough. Our Lord Jesus is our best example. Did he love? Was he filled with love? He was love itself. When he turned to the Pharisee, he said, who are you? Christ's Pharisee, supplicant, blind and supplicant, full of dead men, fallen and dropped, how can you escape the damnation of hell? Nothing soft about that, is there? I wonder where you get your education from? Not from the book. When I speak out, I'm following my master, and follow him I will, but I still have love in my heart for poor, deluded humanity. He wants us to love one another, and you know, brethren, this is the great prayer in this chapter, that he's gotten the throne, and he's praying, oh God, burn them together in love as we are. The Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Father. Yes, they loved each other to the point of sacrifice. We are to love each other to the point of sacrifice. That's what he's after. Now, see the next petition, you see, that was for unification before the world. Now, I'm just passing verse 12 for the moment, I'll go back in it, and now come I to thee, brethren, these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. That's the next petition, that they might have my joy. You see the idea? Oh, I think this is thrilling. In John 14, just as he's starting this great pastoral discourse, he's saying, my peace give I unto you, all the peace of the Lord Jesus. You know, he wanted our minds to be filled, filled, filled with his peace. He just prayed, he wants our hearts to be filled with his love. He just prayed again, he wants our souls to be filled with his joy, and the fruit of the Spirit is this, love, joy, peace. And the only way that you come up to the standard that he prayed for is to be continually filled with the Holy Ghost. No other way. He's actually praying for your being filled with the Holy Ghost. Brethren and sisters, there is some praying here. You see, that's jubilation in the world. We ought to be filled with joy. And then he went on further, and in verse 13, now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that, every time the word that comes in, you petition, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. And the Greek word for evil would be better translated, from the evil one. I believe that's the idea. Ah, brethren, this is good praying. You know, this is preservation. You know, you know what I pray every day. I shouldn't tell you what I pray, but I'll tell you what I pray every morning. I'll pray this wee prayer. Dear Lord Jesus, will you pray for me again today, that the Father will preserve me from the evil one? Oh, the devil could only get in. Money goes round and round that hedge all day long, looking for a hole in the hedge. I've got a roaring life! You remember one day God poured a hole in the hedge and let them into Job. I will have God let them into you and me. It'll be a pity. I just say, Lord, will you ask again today that the Father will preserve me from the evil one, that he'll keep me from the evil one? And you would need to start praying it, you know. God pity you if the devil gets in on you. Poor Job could tell you more about it. That's preservation. Lovely prayer, this. Now, watch this. I want you to get a hold of this. He goes on praying. I should have said this in verse 15. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. You know, there's a lot of us get along to the older states, and you know, I believe we start praying that God should take us out of the world. Well, your Lord didn't do it for you, so don't you do it. Then it's all wrong. Surely your heavenly Father knows how long you should be down here. And it's a wonderful thing that there are three men, say, Moses, Elijah, and Jonah. They got a certain spot, take me out of the world! Let me die! And those are the three prayers that's unanswered in the Bible. That should teach you enough without me going on to expound it, shouldn't it? I don't ask God to take you away, just let Him do it. He knows how long I should occupy this purpose. My times are in my hands. It suits me when it suits Him. Your Savior wouldn't pray for you, that you should be taken away. He says, no, rather keep them from the evil ones. So, dear old saint, you're left there for a purpose. You just find the purpose and everything's all right. Now, He went on praying, verse 16, they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. You know, this is the sanctification, we're up again. What is object? I can preach for the next hour on this at my daddy's, you know. And I know every passage in the book on sanctification without turning the page, not even. Every one of them, I can quote them off. You know, sanctification is a tremendous object. And when you're thinking about it sometimes, just ask yourself one simple little question. What do I believe sanctification is? And when you have assured yourself that you can get the answer, what you believe sanctification is, just go to 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 14, and you'll find that the unbelieving husband got sanctified. Is that a Sacrificer voice? Because if you thought it was the Sacrificial Blessing, then the unbelieving husband got the second blessing before he got the first one. That'll take me up a wee bit, wouldn't it? Look, and I'll show you something very quickly. Come to 2 Thessalonians, and we're at the second chapter. 2 Thessalonians, and we're at chapter 2. Now, here's what Paul said about these believers at Thessalonica in verse 13. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. You see, they were born again, because God asked from the beginning, chosen you, that's what we were asked, that was election, chosen you to salvation. That was wonderful day when that happened. God, from the beginning, chosen us to salvation. Now, here's how it works out. Through sanctification of the spirit arms, belief of the truth. Which one's first? Go on, you read your Bible. I didn't print it, you know. There happens to be that sanctification of the spirit comes before belief of the truth. I knew a fellow who argued that Paul turned this upside down. So much would he stick up for his own nonsense. Paul was inspired, because the man who talks like that doesn't believe in inspiration. All he wants is his posthumous. When Paul was talking about some of the Corinthians that were so wicked and wicked and wicked, he said, and such were some of you, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified. You say you're not quoting it right, do you read it, do you see? Sanctification came before justification in that passage. Sanctification came before belief of the truth in this passage. Luke says, sanctification, the word simply means to set apart. The other Sunday night, I was preaching here to hundreds, and the whole crowd rises at the last amen, and they all get up, and I find a man sitting over here, weeping. It's up for him. The Holy Ghost has taken hold of him, and he's being taken out of the giddy throng. That's sanctification. What does he need? Oh, I knew it. Belief of the truth he needs, and I wasn't long afoot in it before him. Now, that's sanctification of the spirit. Doctor, sanctification of the spirit. Now, I want you to see this one. You see this one that we're looking at tonight is sanctification by the words. You see, what I'm getting at is this, that we call the one in 2 Thessalonians, we call it initial, initial sanctification. That's the first blessing you got. That's initial sanctification. But this one is practical sanctification. This is by the books this time. You see, never think that you can go into a wee bathroom somewhere, and get down on your knees, and close your eyes, and you're a sanctified man from that day forward. That's just nonsense we're teaching you. Here, the Savior should have known, and he would have prayed, Lord, take them into a wee bathroom, and close their eyes, and they'll be all right. Now, he never prayed any such nonsense. He prayed, Father, sanctify them through thy truth. Don't tell me you love holiness when you hate the Word of God. How could you? Talking about getting nearer to your God when you're stomping his book under your feet. When I taught you baptism last week, how many of you responded? Do you love the book? Because it was the book I was teaching. And the Savior saying, Father, this crowd that you've given me, set them apart through thy Word. Thy Word is good. Now, wait a wee minute. Watch this. If you obey the book, you'll be getting shielded from the devil. You'll be getting filled with joy. You'll begin to love. Just obey the book, and you'll get farther from the devil, and you'll be filled with joy, and your heart will bubble over with love. And that's what the Savior came for. Quite simple, isn't it? Oh, you just need to take your time, dear. That's all. Just learn to obey the book. You'll be all right. Now, he went further. Once you get all this in, he's back to that oneness again in verse 21, and again in verse 22, and again in verse 23, because that's very important. And then he said, Father, because this is the Eternal Son coming back to the Eternal Father, and you'll easily see that from the last phrase of this verse, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory. See that petition? That they may behold my glory. Oh, what lovely prayers these are. He's praying for unification in life before the world. He's praying for jubilation in the world. He's praying for preservation, yet from the evil one who rules the world in his lap. And he's praying for sanctification in the world by the book, and he's praying for glorification after the world's over. Oh, how lovely. You know, this is wonderful that our Savior should present us to God without a spot, and then get onto the toe of the ladder of supplication and pray, Lord, Lord, let them see the glory that I had with you before the world was, because he wants to bring us in before created intelligences in heaven glorified. My words weren't there as it was then. What a Savior. Now, there's a verse that probably troubles you, and I mustn't pass that by. We'll go back to it. This one, in verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in my name. Those that thou givest me, that's the ones that were given to me. I have kept, and none, none, none, I haven't lost, none. Here's how you read this. None of them is lost except the Son of Perdition. Now, this is a wonderful thing, and I didn't expect you to see it. Now, Dr. Arthur Pinck, Dr. Schoefel, Dr. Ironside, Ellicott, three or four more of the great Greek scholars—these are not amateur Greek scholars, these are real Greek scholars—they say that the butch there is a disjunctive participle in the Greek. Now, don't come afterwards and ask me what that is, because I don't know what it is about that, but at least I can read it. And it's the disjunctive participle in the Greek New Testament. And it means this, that it's always placed in between two different bodies. Here's a cloud, and here's a cloud, and in between them is the disjunctive participle. And I took time to go through the Bible to see if it was any other place, and I found it a few places, and it helped me. And if it's helped me and I'm so dumb, well, it'll help you. Have a look at this. Here's Matthew, chapter 12. Matthew, chapter 12. Matthew 12, and verse 4, talking about David. How he entered into the house of God, and to eat the shewbread which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but—that's the disjunctive participle—but only for the priests. Now, do you see two clouds? On one side, you've got warriors. They're coming up, these warriors. And on the other side, you've got worshipers. You've got David's men, and you've got the priests. And David came up to eat something that wasn't lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the other cloud. Different clouds altogether. You've got warriors on that side, you've got worshipers on that side, and the butters in between. Two different companies. Now, watch it again. Here's it again, in Hebrews, chapter 10. That's a great chapter, you know, lots of arguments around that, and this would settle them. Paul has been coming down through this wonderful chapter, and in verse 39, the last verse, he says, but we—because he's in that company, isn't he, the writer—but we are not of them who draw back onto perdition, but—there's the disjunctive participle—but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. You see, when he said we, he's talking as a Jew. Some of the Jews drew back onto perdition, but he said, we are not of them. We are not of them. But we belong to them that believe to the saving of the soul. On the one side, you see the sinner. On the other side, you see the saved lamb. It's two companies. Of course, this is clearer than anything. There's a company there, there's a company there. Same in David's case. I am the same in the case of Judah. Go back and see it. Watch it very carefully now. John 17. John 17, verse 12. He says, none of them is lost. That's a company. But, that's in between. The son of perdition is on the other side of the bus, and he never belonged to that company. You can see the saved son, and you can see the lost soul. My dear friends, listen. There's something even deeper than that. You know this. While he stood there with his face toward heaven, there's not a man in the avenue where Judas was. They didn't know what he'd gone to do. Does the modernist say the Lord Jesus doesn't know? Well, as he turned his face toward heaven, he knew that Judas is a way out selling him at this moment. And by that dastardly act, he's found in his own company, and he's the son of perdition, because the Scriptures had already said that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. Now, wait a minute. If God said in the Scriptures, in the Psalms, that Judas would go to his own place, you don't think that he gave him to the Lord Jesus to take to heaven, do you? I think you should think a wee bit. He never was in the company. He's in another crowd altogether. Friends, every soul handed into the hands of the Saviour. They're chased for time and for eternity, and they're being chased by the blood of the cross, and the blood will never lose its power. Next week, we turn the ends against family. Let us bow together. We'll not sing any more. Just let us have a word together quietly. O God, our Father, we believers have so much to praise thee for. We thank thee that thou didst choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Thou hast given us to him. We're in his hands tonight, and he presents us before thy throne with all the tenderness of his loving heart. Lord, we realize that we're a privileged people, and we hear our Lord Jesus praying that we might be sanctified, that we might be kept from the evil one, that our souls might be filled with joy, and that our hearts might be filled with love, because one day we'll be with him in the glory. O Lord, we know that one day thou wilt stand before the throne, and thou wilt say, Father, behold I and the children which thou hast given me. And we know that not a hoof will be left behind. O God, bless my people, and let's speak to those who would go out tonight without Christ. Tell them that they need to come, and that believing is fundamental to their being in heaven, and that they could go out tonight and join the company that Judas joined to burn down forever. Savior, bless thy people, put the lost soul, and in our midst magnify thy holy name. Part us in thy fear, and with thy touch for thy glory. Amen.