TEXT: John 17:4-6
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 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.
We are in a series of messages titled “Praying Through the Bible: A Series on Every Passage and Verse Regarding Prayer in the Bible.” The purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to pray to the God of the Bible. We highlighted each of these over 500 verses and passages in the Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. So far, we have completed 186 messages in this series.
This is message #187 titled, The Profound Prayer that Jesus Prayed, Part 3
When we look at Jesus the Man, we see a person who had His own death before His eyes every day of His life. The saying, “Jesus was born to die,” is very true. Most of us act as though this life is all there is and we live as though we have a never-ending supply of tomorrows. But, for Jesus, He knew that there was a set day and time when He would meet death — when He would willingly give up His life as a sacrifice for others.
If we put ourselves in Jesus’ shoes — if someone were to tell us that we would be dead within the next 24 hours — how would we respond? Many of us would be frantic, afraid, worried about the future, worried about those we are leaving behind, and regretful over bad choices and the sins of the past. But not Jesus.
We see in His prayer a wonderful calmness and a spirit of fearlessness despite what the future holds. The reason for this is not because of what is ahead of Him, but because of what is behind Him. Jesus tells God, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” This simple and beautiful statement ought to be the goal of every Christian believer. You and I ought to want to be able to say those same words when we are facing our deaths, which means we must do two things that Jesus did in His life.
First, Jesus spent His life glorifying God. Every word, every action, every miracle was for one purpose — to turn people’s eyes toward God so that God could get all of the glory. As the Westminster Catechism says, “What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” If we can get ahold of this in our lives — if we make our main goal God’s glory — it will revolutionize how we live, speak, and think. We will put God first in our lives and we will spend time working to turn others to Him. If we glorify God on Earth, we will indeed enjoy Him forever in Heaven. And, we will be able to pray as Jesus prayed at the end of our lives.
Second, Jesus finished the work God had called Him to accomplish. When Jesus abandoned glory to take on humanity, He had a specific purpose. He came to: (1) Show us who God is and what He is like; (2) Set an example of a perfect and God-honoring life for us to follow; and, (3) Die on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself so that we can be in a right relationship with God. Did Jesus accomplish all three of those objectives? Yes, He did.
At some point, early on in your Christian life, God will tell you what you are called to do. He will put you on the right path for you to finish your work. If you follow through as Jesus did, and accomplish your task no matter the obstacles you face, you will be able to pray as Jesus prayed at the end of your life — having glorified God and done the work He called you to do. Erma Bombeck said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything You gave me.'” That day — the day when we stand before God — is coming for each of us. May our prayer indeed be like Jesus’.
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Now, if you are with us today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your first prayer needs to be what we call the Sinner’s Prayer. First, please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have done the most important thing in life. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for over twenty-seven years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
BCNN1 WP 