Bethlehem Baptist Church
Prayer Meeting 04/08/26
  • Death Was Arrested
  • It Was Finished Upon That Cross
  • The Solid Rock
  • Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
  • How Deep The Father's Love For Us
  • Introduction
    Many of you, I’m sure, have played a round or two of tennis, or at a minimum, you’ve watched it played on TV or gone to a game.
    You know that when the players are good, they hit the ball back and forth in a volley that can last a few minutes. It’s always exciting to see the hard shots and then watch a really skilled player hit the ball back across the net.
    Well, tonight we are going to look at a volley back and forth between what the Father has done for us and what Christ has done. We are kind of like the ball in a way, because we are not the ones doing any of the action, but we are having the action done to and for us.
    Let’s take a look as we continue our study of Jesus’ High Priestly prayer for us.

    1. Christ Has Shown Us the Father (v.6a)

    John 17:6 ESV
    6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

    2. God Has Given Us to the Son (v.6b)

    John 17:6 ESV
    6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

    3. Christ Has Given Us God’s Word (v.7)

    John 17:7 ESV
    7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
    Do you treat the revelation of God’s Word as a gift?
    We so often toss our Bibles around and neglect them. We don’t realize that it is a gift that God has communicated to us and preserved His Word for us that we can believe.

    4. God Has Given Us Faith (v.8)

    John 17:8 ESV
    8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
    We need to realize that our faith is a human responsibility but it is made possible by the gift of faith and a regenerate heart.
    This is not a chicken or the egg type of question, but rather a realization that while we place our faith in Christ, God is the one that must give us the ability by opening our eyes and softening our heart.
    We are passive in many ways.
    However, that doesn’t mean we don’t actively call upon the name of the Lord or believe.
    In the same way, a true believer cannot lose their salvation, because they are not the ones holding onto it. However, if we walk away from God and don’t want anything to do with Him, it isn’t that we’ve lost something we had, it’s that we never had it in the first place.
    Conclusion
    One thing you might notice about this prayer is that while it involves us, we are not the focal point of it. Jesus is talking about glorifying God, but at the same time God is giving us to the Son.
    The relationship between Father and Son is what is on display and we are like the ball that is being served back and forth. We are the recipients of incredible grace, but we are not the originator or the maintainers of our faith.
    We must repent, believe, and hold fast, but because of God’s work in our lives, we will do these things by the power of His Holy Spirit living within us.

      • John 17:6ESV

      • Hebrews 1:1–3ESV

      • John 17:6ESV

      • John 17:7ESV

      • John 17:8ESV

Bethlehem Baptist Church
info@bbced.org
478-272-7827
https://www.bbced.org
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