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.

Jeremiah 9:23-24, One Worthy Boast: the God of Faithfulness

The LORD is the God of faithfulness. Faithfulness/loyalty is the meaning of the word behind the English word “lovingkindess.” The LORD is faithful to His people. This is seen His fulfillment of His covenant promises, especially, in His fulfillment of these promises through the incarnation of the Son of God. May we celebrate and boast in the LORD who is unchanging in His faithfulness to us.

Jeremiah 9:23-24, One Worthy Boast

Where should we place our confidence? What should we seek to be proud of as we look back at the last year and as we look ahead to the next? This passage of Scripture gives us a sobering perspective on what we should value and seek as our one worthy boast in life. Jeremiah’s words were spoken against the background of predictions of divine judgment, namely, the Babylonian invasion. His generation did not heed his message, but a people/remnant was expected who would have changed hearts to heed his message. It was ultimately written for a people in the future. This message is for us today even as it was for the people of Jesus’ own day, many years after Jeremiah’s words were written. May we need the wisdom of Scripture to forsake the worthless boasts of this world and seek the one worthy boast in knowing and belonging to the LORD.

Luke 1:46-56, The Excellencies of our God

As Mary considered the meaning of the coming of Christ, she exploded with a joyful psalm of praise, even a prophetic anticipation of the future blessing for the people of God. Her focus in this song was the magnificence of the Lord. She saw in the coming of Christ the power of God, the mercy of God, and the faithfulness of God. Though she had only heard of the promises and had seen no evidence of her supernatural pregnancy, she believed. And because she believed, she, therefore, also rejoiced. We rejoice this day because we, too, believe. May the Lord fill our hearts with wonder and joy as we by faith meditate on His glorious attributes which shine with unparalleled brilliance in the coming of Jesus His incarnate Son.

Isaiah 55:1-9, Seek the LORD

While many today do not wish to seek the LORD, it is indeed man’s supreme priority and chief end in life. We are creatures created by the Creator for His own good pleasure and will, and our greatest ambition in this life is to know the LORD who made us who has redeemed us through His beloved Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit wise us up to seek Him earnestly, listen to Him, repent from sin and toward the LORD, and delight our souls abundantly in Him and in His blessings toward us in Christ.

John 14:16-20, Who Is the Holy Spirit?

In this passage, Jesus’ first substantial teaching on the Holy Spirit, He shows us the Holy Spirit as His presence, the truth, the guardian, the life-giver, and the revealer. May the Lord make us into a church that proclaims and upholds His truth so that we may be a Spirit-filled people, always heeding the voice of our Shepherd and living in the fullness of His Holy Spirit.

John 14:12-14, The Promises of Christ for His People: Answered Prayer (Part 2)

It is the will of God that His people bear much fruit. Jesus described this in terms of the greater works (v 12). But how are we to bear much fruit and do the greater works? Were the disciples strong enough and godly enough to do these things? Are we strong enough and godly enough to do the same? Jesus shows us in this discourse that we are not. The one resource we need to do what we are incapable of doing on our own is Jesus Himself. He is our greatest resource to be and to make disciples (do the greater works), and we tap into this tremendous Christological resource by means of prayer (vv. 13-14). Prayer, in this sense, enables the greater works, because through prayer, we witness Jesus doing through us the remarkable works of God. Furthermore, prayer is worship, because in prayer, we affirm and uphold the revealed will of God as supreme and wise and righteous. Prayer is also worship because God is glorified in its effects. May we learn to pray in Jesus’ name and may we, through His doing in us, do the greater works for which God has saved us.