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.

John 13:21-30, Sin, Satan, and the Sovereignty of God (Part 2)

John presents Judas’ betrayal of Jesus as a concurrence of sin, Satan, and the sovereignty of God. This provides for us a grid by which we ought to understand moral evil in our world both in history and in the present. Humans are truly capable of heinous evil, Satan is really at work to deceive and plunge men into sin and hell, and God rules over all (even sin and Satan) to produce a good that far outweighs all the evils we can possibly imagine. His sovereignty does not eliminate human responsibility, but it ensures that all will in the end work together for the good He has for His people. To Him be the glory!

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.

Matthew 4:18-20; 5:14-16, From Fishing to Glory (Part 2)

True salvation brings about a real likeness to Christ that enables His disciples to shine brilliantly like Him in the dark world of sin. The Holy Spirit then uses our changed lives to draw others to repentance and reconciliation with God so that they, too, might become worshippers of God who glorify Him. May the Spirit of our God mightily use us as the brightly shining light of the world to call sinners to Christ and bless them with the joy of heaven!

Matthew 4:18-20; 5:14-16, From Fishing to Glory

Jesus called ordinary fishermen to become something beyond their wildest dreams, to become fishers of men who will lead sinners to repentance and reconciliation to God and to eternal life. In this sermon series, we examine two passages in which Jesus shows us what it means to be a witness for Him in the dark world around us. We are fishers of men and the light of the world as His followers and imitators.

Titus 2:11-14, The Gifts of God's Grace

The grace of God not only saves us out of sin (remember the lifeline?), it also instructs us to say no to the wrong things and yes to the right things (remember the pondboy?). The grace of God also gives us the anticipation of the happy and shining return of Jesus our great God and Savior (liken to a wedding day!). Finally, the grace of God prepares us to live as Jesus’ own people, doing that which is good in His sight, for His glory and honor. We get to play on Jesus’ team! How marvelous indeed is the grace of God by which we are saved!

Matthew 4:12-17, The Blessing of Repentance (Part 3)

Jesus’ call to repentance is a message of healing for the soul. What John the Baptist could not do, Jesus does. He gives (“baptizes in”) the Holy Spirit. Jesus can transform people from inside out as John could never do. This is the wonderful blessing for all those who repent and trust in Christ: Jesus gives the healing for their souls to live fruitful lives for the glory and honor of God we could never do on our own. He is indeed the great Physician of our souls (Luke 5:31), the sun of righteousness that arises with healing in its wings (Mal. 4:1).

Matthew 4:12-17, The Blessing of Repentance (Part 2)

Jesus’ call to repentance is a message of hope. it is like light dawning upon the darkness of the shadow of death. It offers the hope of the kingdom of heaven. God’s kingdom awaits all who take heed to its message. The kingdom is near; it can arrive at any time. May the Holy Spirit enable all who hear to be ready for its arrival, and may we be faithful announcers of its glad tidings.