Dan Lee
John 17:22-26, For Love and Glory (Part-2)

Jesus prays regarding two kinds of glory. He speaks of glory in the present age for His people’s sanctification. God’s elect grow in conformity to Him as they behold His glory in Christ. Jesus also prays for future glory, that His people behold His full, divine, eternal glory in heaven. We are to behold the glory of God now for our sanctification and the glory of God in the future for our glorification.

Dan Lee
John 17:22-26, For Love and Glory

Jesus concludes His prayer with love and glory. Love is the focus of this sermon. The Lord prays that we would come to experientially know (taste) of the Father’s special love. This is the special love of the Father like His love toward His only begotten Son. Like that love, the Father loved His elect from eternity past and “in love predestined us to adoption as sons.” This is the love which Jesus wants us to savor. May the Holy Spirit reveal to us more and more of this awesome love of God.

Dan Lee
John 17:20-23, Salvation Blessing for the World

Jesus’ prayer reflects the heart of God that seeks salvation blessing for the world. Jesus sees the church as the vehicle by which the elect of God worldwide will come to faith in Him unto salvation. In this first installment on a two part sermon, we explore the facets of the church, our mission, our godliness, and the special love of God toward the elect (next sermon).

Dan Lee
John 17:14-19, A Dangerous Mission

Jesus’ prayer for His disciples is undergirded by the reality of a dangerous mission. He knows we will be hated by the world and targeted by the Devil. As such, we will need divine protection. Hence, He prays, “Keep them from the evil one.” Moreover, we will need to live holy lives if we are to make any meaningful impact for the gospel that reconciles and restored sinners to the holy and righteous Father. Our own lives would have to be sanctified in order for us to be useful to the Lord in leading the rest of His elect to this salvation. Therefore, the Lord prays, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” The word of God that has regenerated us is the same word that will sanctify our lives. May the Holy Spirit through His word evermore conform us to Christ that we would be like Him on earth and make disciples for His honor and glory.

Dan Lee
John 17:9-13, For the Joy of God's Elect

Jesus’ first petition for His disciples is found in these verses. Jesus prays that the Father would keep them in His name. Jesus prays for a special people, His disciples and He does so because He was about to physically leave His disciples. What He would no longer be able to do in His physical absence, He asks the Father to accomplish. May the Lord grant to us a greater work of His Spirit to draw us to walk in Jesus’ ways and thus live with His joy evermore in our hearts.

Psalms

Psalm 32:1-11 The Joy of Forgiveness

Psalm 32 tells us of the joy of forgiveness and restoration. David tells us of this joy through his personal testimony. When he was in the mire of his misery, he confessed to the LORD, and He abundantly forgave. But the LORD did more than this. He brought the forgiven man under His tutelage and directs him to the live in His ways. There is forgiveness for the sinner who repents. The Lord is ever ready to recieve and restore the repentant sinner.

Psalm 67:1-7, Let the Nations Be Glad

God has a purpose for His world and a role for His people to play. His purpose is worldwide salvation and our role is to pray and leverage all God’s given us to advance His purpose of salvation. God does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). God has a heart for the lost and teaches His people to reflect His heart. This is a psalm that teaches us to pray down blessings from heaven for the purpose of reaching the lost. May the Lord wise us up not to squander our lives and our resources, but leverage all He’s given us to advance His glorious cause in His world.

Psalm 100, Thankful, Thoughtful, Cheerful Worship (Part 3)

Cheerful worship is what our glorious God is worthy of. And this is what He calls for. He seeks worshippers who know to shout joyfully and serve gladly and come before Him with joyful singing. May the Lord grant us the wisdom to nurture our hearts to always be ready to engage with Him in worship with hearts cleansed of sin, minds saturated with His truth and with hearts overflowing with gratitude.

Psalm 100, Thankful, Thoughtful, Cheerful Worship

God is worthy of the most excellent kind of worship. In Psalm 100 we find a universal summons for all the earth to bring to God this most elevated and acceptable worship to Yahweh, our Maker, Sustainer and Redeemer. In this first study in Psalm 100, we look at the grounds for gratitude in worship, namely, creation, care and the cross. May the Lord purge any tinge of unbelief from our hearts and by His Holy Spirit enable us to be true worshippers who evermore come to Him with thankful hearts.

Psalm 16:1-11, The Divine Joys of a Right Personal Relationship with God (Part 2)

There is no joy apart from God. In this second installment on our studies on divine joys, we again see the joys of God expressed in Psalm 16 and the right personal relationship with God that is the foundation of those joys. I experience divine joys when God is my refuge, my Lord, my treasure, my counselor and my Savior. May the Lord evermore mature us to be like Christ who Himself knew these joys to their fullness!

Psalm 16:1-11, The Divine Joys of a Right Personal Relationship with God

A right personal relationship with God emanates divine joys. In Psalm 16, we hear of a man who knew such joys. in this two week series, we will consider the vital truth in this text: I experience divine joys when God is my Refuge, my Lord, my Treasure, my Counsel and my Savior. May our joy meter read “full” as we rightly and personally relate to the Lord as we ought to and as He deserves.

Psalm 130, Depend on Grace

As we look ahead to the new year, let’s steer away from the common worldly attitude of self-dependence, self-sufficiency, and self-confidence and instead look humbly and with faith to the Lord for His grace. The psalmist in this precious psalm shows us how OT saints looked ahead to the Lord with faith and humility for His redemption promise to be fulfilled. May we also be men, women and children who drink richly from God’s grace each day by trust in Him and in His word with humble dependence. In His word do we also hope!