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To church this morning, please find your seats and grab your hymnals, find your seats and grab your hymnals. Welcome to church this morning, I hope you're ready to sing some praises to the Lord. So grab your hymnals and please turn to hymn number 364. Hymn number 364, begin by singing standing on the promises. So when you have found it can you please stand. Standing on the promises, 364. And let's sing it up to the Lord, nice and loud, 364. Standing on the promises. Alright, to the Lord. Standing on the promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages let his praises ring. Glory in the highest hymn shall I sing. Standing on the promises of God my King. And let's sing. Standing on the promises of God my King. And let's sing. Standing on the promises of God my King. And let's sing. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Standing on the promises of God my King. Thank you fellas. So that's John chapter 17. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father the hour is come, glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee. As thou has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, oh Father, glorify thou me with thy own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto them which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were and thou gavest them me and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine. And all mine are thine and thine are mine and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world but these are in the world and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee and these things I speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray art for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they may be one as thou father are in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. That they may behold my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous father the world has not known thee but I have known thee and these have known that thou hast sent me and I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. Dear loving father in heaven we thank you for the holy scriptures. We thank you father in heaven that we can be in church that we have Pastor Kevin here. Who has prepared a delicious spiritual meal for us. I pray that we would have a truly great feast and that we would be more like Jesus. In his beautiful name we pray. Amen. I just want to welcome our first time visitors. So we have Eileen and I forgot sorry I forgot your name and Julia. Eileen and Julia welcome to church this morning. I hope it's a blessing to be here. We're definitely blessed to have you here so make sure you just welcome yourselves or introduce yourselves to our first time visitors. We also have another first time visitor this young man there. He's had a shave. This is Jordan. Alright. Welcome Jordan. You're welcome to church anyway. Alright we're there in John 17. I did mention that we are bringing back the chapter by chapter through the book of John back on Sunday. So I do want to keep doing this on Sunday mornings primarily. And in John 17 verse number 16 it says They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Jesus Christ is saying to his father that he, Jesus Christ is not of the world. And then it says about his disciples. It says about his believers that they are not of the world. The title of the sermon this morning is not of the world. Not of the world. You know we're not meant to be of this world. Did you know that? We are meant to be of a world. A world to come. Our mindset ought to be on eternity and heaven and the new heavens and the new earth. But we also have to function in this world. But now that you are saved, now that you've trusted Christ and you are sure of going to heaven you are not of this world. Well that's what you're meant to be. Not of this world. Now is the world in of itself sinful? Like when we think about the natural world. God's creation. Are the trees sinful? Are the continents sinful? Are the languages sinful? Obviously we're not saying that the world in of itself is this sinful thing and we have to have no part of it. You know God has put us in this world. But of course when Jesus Christ is speaking of the world here he's speaking about society. The standards of man. That's what the world is. How our society views our human beings and the nature of mankind and when they think of philosophies of this world or the lifestyle or the standards. That's the world that we're meant to be part of. We're meant to be part of this book right here. What God's standards are. There are two extremes that I see in the Christian realm. And again I'm talking about fundamentalism or just the Christian realm in general. You know you've got Christians that are 100% in this world. Like you can't tell the difference between that saved person and the unsaved. You can't tell the difference. That's obviously one extreme. God wants to stand out. God wants to be different from this world. But then you've got another Christian that almost can't function in the world. Like anything they do, they just ahh. Everything's so downcast. Everything's so depressing. The only place I feel at home is in church. And I can only function around God's people. And I just can't face this wicked world. This holier than thou attitude knowing full well that you're a sinner just as much as anybody else. So there are these extremes. But it's easy because we live in this world. It's easy to have our affections on this world. It's easy. It's very easy. So the main points of this chapter. Well there's a few points. Number one, we see that Christ is praying to his Father. We get a lot about the understanding of the authority structure within the trinity. The trying nature of God. We see the instructions that he leaves his disciples. And Jesus Christ is also teaching us how to not have our affections and love on this world. How to not be part of this world and yet have to function in this world. So let's start there in verse number one. And lifted up his eyes to heaven and said Father the hour is come glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee. The hour is come he's about to die. He's going to be arrested. He's about to be less than 24 hours. He's going to die on that cross. But the first point that I have for you brethren is when Christ speaks about not being part of this world I want you to notice where are the eyes of Christ? Are his eyes on this world? And lifted his eyes to heaven and said Father the hour is come glorify thy son that thy son may glorify thee. You know, even as Christ was arrested and crucified, you know, the Father was glorifying the son. The Father was well pleased that his son would die to death. That he would take on the sins of the world. The work was being accomplished. The great sacrifice was being completed. And so Christ was glorified even on the cross. Even though he was despised and hated. But he was glorified by the Father. And you see the son seeks to glorify the son. Sorry, the son seeks to glorify the Father. Point number one for you brethren. If you want to not be part of this world. If you want to find yourself detached from love in this world. You need to lift your eyes to heaven and glorify God. You need to lift your eyes to heaven and glorify God. Yes we walk on this earth but really we ought to be walking and living this life as though we're already in heaven. We ought to be walking in this world seeking to glorify God. Not to glorify man. I'll read to you this very familiar passage in 2 Corinthians 4.18. 2 Corinthians 4.18 it says While we look not at the things which are seen. But the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal. Brethren we ought to not look at the things that are seen. When we look right now we look at the world. And again because we can see it with our natural eyes. The tendency to love this world is very natural. But instead our eyes will be focused on heaven. On the things that are not seen. I've never seen God. Have you seen God? I've never seen heaven. I've never seen those streets of gold. But I know they're true. I know I'm headed there the day I die. I'm going to be with my Lord God forever. I know it's true. And if I know it's true. And the testament of you being in church today is telling me you know it's true. It's all for you. Then we ought to be living in light of that truth. We ought to have our eyes fixed on eternity. Fixed on heaven. Fixed on God. And so as we walk through this life it's going to help us to not be attached. Right? I mean there are certain things that the world is trying to draw you into. But when you have your eyes on Jesus and on the Father you say, Lord I don't think that's going to please you. But if I walk this path as the world walks this path it's not going to please you. Lord I want to have my eyes and affections set upon you. So brethren the first point I have for you is lift your eyes to heaven and glorify God. Then Christ says these words in verse number two. As thou has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And I want you to know this next word. Verse number three. Is life eternal? I'll read in a moment what this life eternal is. Okay? But let me just ask you today are you saved? Like could you say to me pastor I am 100% sure if I were to die today I would go to heaven. And if you say amen then praise God for you. But my question is why do you know that? You know a lot of people say well I know because I'm a good person. I know because I keep the commandments. I know because I'm not out there murdering and raping and you know and committing all kinds of wickedness. But that's not eternal life. Okay? Eternal life is the sacrifice of Christ. He's about to die. He's about to go to the cross. Okay? He's about to open the doors of heaven for everybody that would believe on him. Salvation is not based on your works. It's not based on your efforts. It's based on the work of Jesus Christ. His sins, his resurrection. He paid your way to heaven. The purchase price for you to go to heaven is his blood. Have you put your faith and trust on Jesus? Not on yourself, on Jesus. Then you can be sure of going to heaven. But I want you to notice the words in verse number 3. It says, and this is life eternal that they might know thee, not the father that is, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I want you to notice this as well. I want you to notice this as well. There are those that will claim, yes, salvation is by grace through faith alone and without works. But they don't believe in the true God. You see, life eternal also requires not just faith alone but faith on the true God and on his son on Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Of course, Jesus Christ is God. We've covered that in great depth in the past. But the reason I say this is because in fact, can you keep your finger there and come with me to 2 Corinthians. Come with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And look, today's Sunday morning, there are many churches open today, aren't there? There are many churches that are made up of saved people that know they're going to heaven because of their faith on Christ. But there are many churches that will still teach you till this day that in order for you to go to heaven, you must do the works. You must keep the commandments. You must do your best in order to go to heaven. That is a false gospel. Okay, you cannot keep enough commandments. You cannot be pure enough to go to heaven. That's why Christ had to do it for you. Okay, but we must believe in the true God. And you need to understand in 2 Corinthians 11, I want you to read this read this with me. 2 Corinthians 11 free, I mean read it silently. It says, but I fear. Now, before we keep reading, Paul is writing, Paul established this church in Corinth. Okay, he's writing to a true church. You know, he started this church. He's writing to believers that are in the church. Okay, he says, but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent, that's the devil, beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. You know what the devil is seeking to do in churches? To corrupt our minds from the simplicity that is found in Christ Jesus. What is simple? That Christ has done it all, and all I have to do is trust him. All I have to do is move my faith and trust on his death, burial, and resurrection as my full payment of sins. That's very simple. It's too simple for some. Did you know that? It's too simple for some. And you know why? When people say that's too easy, that's too simple. You know why they say that? It's because the devil has come into churches and corrupted their minds. That's what the devil does. The Bible is, God's way is simple. The hard work was done by Jesus. But people make it so hard. They don't even know what salvation is anymore. They don't know what the gospel is anymore. But look what he says in verse number 4, it says, for if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus. You see, there are many people that claim Jesus. But it's another Jesus. They'll say, I believe in Jesus, but it's not the Jesus that has done everything necessary to save them. They think, well yeah, I believe in Jesus but I still have to do my part. I still have to do my efforts in order for me to go to heaven. What you're saying, Christ has done it all. No, no, no. I still have to play my part, surely. If that's what you believe Jesus is, that he's only opened the way and you need to, I don't know, make your own way there, somehow. You know, Jesus drove halfway there so you can drive the next half mile to get to salvation. That's another Jesus. I'm sorry, but the Jesus of new life at this church is the Jesus that paid it all. He paid for all of my sins. Your sins, all of it. My past sins. My sins today. My sins tomorrow and the sins of the day I die. They've all been paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. That is the true God. That is the true message. You see, the Jesus that does halfway of the work and you've got to do the other halfway, that is another Jesus. Yeah, you can call him Jesus but it's not the Jesus of the Bible. Verse number four again, for if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus whom we have not preached or if ye receive another spirit which ye have not received or another gospel which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. I better be careful what I say but I've got a family member that's recently reached out to us and look, I believe this family member goes to a really good church. If I was in Sydney, I would go to that church. Let's put it that way. But this family member was sharing that the pastor preaches the gospel clearly. Salvation by grace through faith alone and Christ alone. But then there'll be guest preachers that come behind the pulpit and will say, well believe it's not enough. Where's your part? Where's your efforts? Where's your works? And they start to muddy the gospel and people get confused. And the pastor just sits there and goes, oh thank you brother, that was a great sermon. But the pastor himself doesn't believe that. He says, surely not pastor Kevin. Yes, even the Corinthian church is happening. The Corinthian church is a legitimate church. Okay? Started by Paul. I mean, I'm telling you now, Paul would be a much greater leader in this church than I am. Okay? And even then, the church got corrupt. Satan creeps in. Another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit. By the way, if you're saying to me, God told me X, Y, and Z and it doesn't line up with the Bible, that is another spirit. It's not God. It's not according to his word. So we have to be careful. Yeah? You know, salvation is not just, oh yeah, I believe in Jesus, but do you believe in the right Jesus? Do you believe in the right God, the true God? The God that sent his son to pay for all of your sins. Okay? That you would receive it with simplicity. Faith on Christ alone. Is that too simple? If that's too simple for you, then you've heard another gospel. Or you know another Jesus. I'm sorry to tell you that. But salvation is simple. Back to John 17, please. John 17, verse number 4. John 17, verse number 4. And by the way, that gospel, the simple gospel of faith alone, you know who it glorifies? It only glorifies Jesus. It only glorifies God. Because we say, well, we're not good enough. I'm a sinner. I am not good enough. There's no amount of effort that I put in. There's not enough of a Christian show that I can put on. You know, that will get me to heaven. There's no glory to man. Point number 1 was lift your eyes to heaven and glorify God. The salvation, the right gospel will glorify God. The wrong gospel is going to glorify man. Look at me. I was such a wicked man. And look at me now. I'm such a great man. Is that your faith? Is that why you're going to heaven? Really? Are you sure about that? Are you sure? Because if I compare how great you are today still compared to the standard of Jesus, you still come short of the glory of God. So any gospel that glorifies man is the wrong gospel. Ok, it's the way of the world. It's the broad way that leads to destruction. Back to verse number 4, sorry. John 17, verse number 4. Christ says, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Now you say, well what work did he, you know, I mean, I love this about Jesus. He says, I've finished the work. I've done it all. I'm done. My ministry is over now. He's about to get arrested, you know. Going to die on the cross. I mean, obviously that part has to play out. But what work has been done? What work has been done exactly? Just come back with me to John chapter 4. Come with me to John chapter 4 and verse number 34. John chapter 4, verse number 34. John 4, 34. Jesus saith unto them, unto his disciples, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Ok, so back in chapter 4, he said, look, I've got to finish the work that God has given me. I've got to finish the work that the Father has given me. Well, when we get to John chapter 17, he's finished the work now. Ok, and you say, what is that work? Let's continue there in verse number 35. Say not ye that there are yet four months and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest. And of Christ is using that illustration of harvesting as winning souls. If you remember the story, he's seen this great multitude of Samaritans coming toward him. We've got to get these Samaritans saved. We're here for the Gentiles too. We need to win souls. That's the work the Father's given the Son. And yet, even though he's finished the work, what I love about it is he still gets one more saved on the cross. The thief on the cross. But you know, largely, his main ministry obviously is done. It's over. He's done the work. And now it's the next stage. Now it's the next stage to die for our sins. But that's the work that the Father gave the Son. So I ask you the question, what work do you think God wants you to do? To win souls. Right? To lift up your eyes. There are so many people dying without Christ. Or dying with another Jesus. The other Jesus is not going to save them. They need the Jesus of the Bible. The one that paid for all of their sins. And we need to go there and Brethren, we've got to do the work. I'm going to read to you from the words of Paul. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4 verse 6, For I am now ready to be offered. And the time of my departure is at hand. So he knows he's about to pass away. He goes in verse 7, I have fought a good fight. He says, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Ah man, what great words to say. The words of Jesus. I've done the work. You know, Paul says, look, I've finished a course. I've done it. Man, I want to be able to say that when I pass on. I want to be able to say, God, I've done everything. You know, I've done it to the best of my ability. The work that you've given me to do. You know, if I were to pass away today, I can't say that with an honest heart, that I've finished a work, Lord. There's so much more to do. There's so much more to do. But that's the right attitude, right? Say, Lord, what work have you given me? I've got to do the work you've given me to do. And just a reminder, Colossians 3, 23, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartedly as to the Lord, and not unto men. You see, brethren, yes, obviously winning souls is important, don't get me wrong. But we've got other work to do. You know, I've got to look after my family. Did you know that? That's work. That requires effort. I've got to finish that work too. It's not just pastoring. It's not just ministry. It's my daily things that I've got to accomplish in life. God has given me so many responsibilities. God has given you responsibilities. Are you getting the work done? Are you finishing the work that God has given you? You know, husbands, are you loving your wives? Wives, are you being submissive to your husbands? Are you raising godly children? God's given us a lot of work to do. But don't forget, winning souls, okay, that's important. That's important. So, the next thing that I have for you, and that comes from Colossians 3, 23, how is this going to help us to be not of this world? The second point that I have for you, Brevin, is do your work as to the Lord and not to men. Do your work as to the Lord. I preach about this a lot, don't I? I just think it's so important that everything you do, okay, not just in church, I go to church for God, alright, great, thumbs up, good. But then when you go home, you go home for the Lord. Okay, when you have lunch, you have lunch for the Lord. Okay, and when you strengthen your marriage, you do it for the Lord. And when you raise your children, you do it for the Lord. Alright, when you go to work on Monday, you do it for the Lord. And mothers, when you raise your children, you do it for the Lord. And when you cook a meal, you do it for the Lord. Okay, when you greet brother and sister at church and you say bye to them, do it for the Lord. Do everything for the Lord. And that will help you not to have eyes on this world, but to have your eyes on the Lord once again. Okay, your eyes on eternity, your eyes on heaven. I want everything I do to matter for eternity, do you? It can matter. Everything we do can matter for eternity, as long as we do it for the Lord. We give our best. Say, Lord, I'm going to love my wife because you gave her to me. You've made me to be her protector and provider. I'm going to do my best for her. She doesn't deserve it. Who cares? Whatever she does, she doesn't deserve it. Doesn't matter. God gave her to me. You know? We do it to the Lord, brethren. We have to. That's point number two. Do your work as to the Lord and not to men. Stop being a people pleaser. Hey, don't worry about pleasing me either. Please the Lord. And you know what? Amongst God's people, if you're pleasing the Lord, and if God's people's hearts are right, they're going to rejoice in you anyway. Because they see that your heart is for Jesus. They see that your heart is for the true God of the Bible. Please the Lord in the way you dress, in the way you talk, in the things, everything that you do. Please the Lord. Verse number five. John 17 verse five. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. What else did we learn about Jesus? That he existed before the world was. Jesus Christ has always been. Jesus is not a created being. He has always been before the world was. We can see here that when he became man, he left the glory, okay? But now he's saying, look, I'm looking forward to that glory once again. Alright? And look, before the world was, that's the right Jesus. If someone tells you that Jesus is a created being, that's another Jesus. If they tell you, oh, he became the son at birth, that's another Jesus. Christ has always been the son. He's from everlasting. That's the nature of God. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And these three are one. It's not that one God became free at some point in time, he's always been free. Three in one. One God. You see, Jesus Christ is just referring back, hey, he's not just a man. Though he was man, 100% man, but he's also 100% God. He had the same glory with the Father before the world was. Verse number six, 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. Alright, so the next point that I have for you, brethren, if you want to not be part of this world, not of this world, you've got to keep God's word. I'm not talking about being saved. You are saved already, okay? You're saved. Great. You're saved. You've trusted Christ. You know that salvation is by him alone. Now what? Now you've got a choice. How are you going to live your life? You're going to live a life that pleases God. You're going to live a life that continues down the same path you've always lived. You've got to make a choice about this. And what is Christ saying? Christ saying, look, if we are not going to be of this world, what does it say there? He says, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. We've come from this world, okay? And now we're in the hands of Jesus Christ. What does Christ want us to do? Keep thy word. Keep the word. What does that mean, pastor? Well, keep your finger there and come with me to John 14. Come with me to John 14, verse number 23. John 14, verse number 23. What does it mean to keep the words or keep the word, thy word? John 14, 23. Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words. Okay? Now, do you love Jesus? Well, don't tell me yes or no. Assess yourself by how well are you keeping his words. That's how you love Jesus. That's how you know. That's what Jesus says, right? If a man love me, he will keep my words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. That's fellowship. Spending time with the Lord. Getting a hold of God one on one. You on bended knee with bowed head, eyes closed, praying to God, opening his word, just a quiet time, you and him alone in fellowship. And that's when you're going to learn the Bible the most. When you take a hold of God and say, God, just me and your word, please teach me, Lord. Please guide me. Please show me. Please teach me something from your word. Show me where I'm not walking in a righteous way. Show me where I'm not fulfilling my obligations toward you, God. And challenge me. And you find a verse that challenges you. You just, you meditate on that word. Say, Lord, I need to make this change in my life. Help me. That's keeping the words. Fellowship, loving the Lord, loving his words. Can you turn to another passage with me? Come with me to Luke chapter 8. But stay there in John 17, of course. But come with me to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8. I want to quickly show you the, I love the parable of the sower. It's one of my favorite parables of the Bible. The parable of the sower. You guys, I'm a very famous parable. Many people know it. We're not going to want to look at the whole thing, of course. But the parable goes that the sower comes and he starts to sow the seed, and the seed is the word of God. And the seed falls on different grounds. Okay. Now, the ground represents your heart, pretty much. Your heart condition. And I want you to notice there in Luke 8. Christ speaks of the good ground in this passage. Luke chapter 8 verse number 15, it says, so the seed falls on the good ground, the good soil, that's where it's going to flourish. That's where it's going to grow and it's going to be fruitful. So Luke 8. It says, but that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, look at this, having heard the word keep it. You see there's a difference between hearing the word and keeping it. Like right now you're hearing the word. I'm preaching to you through the Bible. But whether you keep it or not, that's going to be your choice after the service. But having heard the word, keep it, look at this, and bring forth fruits with patience. Bring forth fruits with patience. What does it mean to keep the word? It's not just to be a hearer, but to be a doer, isn't it? To apply it to your life. And brethren, when you apply God's word to your life, you're going to bring forth fruits with patience. Now going back to another parable where Christ is divine and we are the branches, what was that fruit when we had a look at that? That was winning souls. Being fruitful in your work for God. Bringing people to Jesus Christ that others may know that they're saved as well. Having trust in the finished work of Christ. That's what it means to be fruitful. Or to keep it. You want to be fruitful? You want to win souls? You've got to hear God's word and keep it. Keep it in your heart. Bring it forth. Do the works. I'll read to you another passage, same parable, Matthew 13, 23. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, look at this, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some and a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13 has a few extra words there. You know you're able to get thirty people saved in your life. Can you believe that? You know if you've never won a soul to the Lord you're going to think thirty is impossible. I remember when I was a teenager I used to say, Lord, I just want to win one soul to you before I die. Because I've never won any souls to Jesus. Just Lord, just one. Can you just help me to win, bring one person to know you as Saviour? Praise God, that first one that I got saved became my wife. Praise God for that. But now it's been much more than thirty. What does it say, thirty, sixty, and hundredfold? You reckon you can get a hundred people saved in your life? It's doable. Those numbers are there for a reason. And by the way, these are seasons. Right? We have seasons when things become fruitful at certain times. For example, usually when you think of spring is the time we think of fruitfulness. We think of the flowers blooming and the fruits. I mean different fruits grow at different times of course. But there are seasons. Every year there are seasons. You know what that's telling me? This year you can get a hundred saved. Next year you can get a hundred saved. The year after that you can get a hundred saved. The year after that you can get a hundred saved. Because you go through cycles. You go through seasons. It's possible. It's possible. If you love the Lord, if you set heaven as your mindset rather than this earth. You know, your eyes are on this earth. You're going to think about this life on this earth. But if your eyes are in heaven, you're thinking of eternity. You're thinking of souls. You're thinking of souls that are going to hell without Jesus. You're thinking about how you can share the great news of the gospel to them. The simplicity in Christ Jesus. And they can be sure of going to heaven. It's possible. You know, if you've never won a soul to the Lord, let me encourage you to start with one. Just pray to God. Lord, can you lead me to one? Just one. And when it's one, it'll be two. And then when it's two, it'll be four. And when it's four, it's eight. And then when it's eight, it's sixteen. And then it's thirty-two. And then it's thirty-fold, sixty-fold, a hundred-fold. It can be done. But we need to be able to keep His word. Hear it. And understand it. And do it. Okay? To do a great work for Him. Back to John seventeen, verse number seven. John seventeen, verse number seven. So, Christ is teaching us great truths about His relationship with the Father. The Father gives things to the Son. You'll see this. And then the Son gives those same things to us. To His believers. It kind of blows your mind when you think about it. But there's an authority structure in the Godhead, in the Trinity. The Father has all authority. Then He gives that to the Son. And the Son gives that on. Okay? Verse number eight, it says, For I have given unto them, so Christ has given something to us, the words which thou gavest me. And they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. So what do we learn here? Again, the authority structure. Christ says that Christ has given us His words. The same words that the Father gave Him. The words are here, by the way, in the Bible. Read your Bible. This isn't just the work of man. We know God utilized forty authors to write this. But these are the words of God. These are the same words that the Father gave the Son. And then the Son says, you know what, I'm going to give the same words to my believers, those that have believed that I come from you. Man, look at the words of God. Right here, in our hands. All of it. The whole canon of Scripture. Do you love God's word? Do you pick it up? Do you read it? Do you meditate on it? You know, I have favourite books and I have favourite chapters. But if I just spend my time in my favourite things all the time I'm not going to get the full picture. I'm not going to get everything that God wants me to know. You need to learn to read it all. Let me challenge you. If you've not read this book cover to cover, it's still early in the year. Just say, Lord, help me to read your book cover to cover by the end of the year. I want to love your word. I want to know you. I've been saved since I was four years old. I remember the first time I read my book cover to cover. I remember reading stories like, what? That's in the Bible? I've never heard of that before. Or I only heard good things that men did. I only heard the good things that Abraham did. The good things that David did. Then I find out, wow, they did horrible things as well. Oh, because they're human beings. That's why. Because we don't glorify man, we glorify God. Who saved sinners. Who saved man. When you read your Bible cover to cover for the first time you'll be surprised what's in the Bible. And the reason you didn't know it was in the Bible is because your pastors or your preachers weren't comfortable preaching it to you. But who cares if you're not comfortable? Shouldn't we just want to know what God says? Right? If we're going to understand His word and keep His word and be utilized by God to do His word? But we start to see this play out many times. He's given the words that the Father gave the Son. Again, this chain of command. Father to Son, then Son to His believers. Verse number nine. I pray for them. Look at this. I pray not for the world, but for them. Which thou has given me. For they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. Brethren, the next point that I have for you. Let me just tell you the points again. Not of this word. What's going to help us to be not of this word? Point number one was lift your eyes to heaven and glorify God. Point number two was to do your work as to the Lord and not to men. And point number three was keep God's word. But the next thing that I have for you, brethren, is pray for the saints, not for the world. What did Jesus Christ say in verse number nine? Let's read it again. I pray for them. I pray not for the world. It's not for us to be not of this world. We need to pray for the saints. We need to pray for believers. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Did you know everybody in church today is dealing with some trial in life? Do you believe that? Say, Pastor, I know I'm going through hardships. You know everybody in this church is going through some hardship? Everybody. Maybe for the children it's a lesser problem. It's a lesser issue. Why do you have different degrees of hardship? Why don't you pray for your brothers and sisters in the Lord? We're going to see each other forever in heaven. You know that? One day we're going to be caught up in the clouds with Jesus Christ and we're going to see each other there. And then we're going to be with Christ for all eternity. Together, all of us here in this church, we're all believers of Jesus Christ. So let's love each other now. You've got to get used to each other at some point. You're going to have to put up with each other for all eternity. You might as well start now. Don't pray for the world. Now, again, what does that mean? What does that look like? You know what that reminds me of, not praying for the world? Because I like soccer. I like watching soccer games, football games. We call it football. Most of the world calls it football. But you see football players come on the field and they're like, God, help us to win this match. You really think God cares about who's going to win that match? Or they score a goal and they're like, oh, thank you, Lord. You think God really cares that you put a ball in a net? That's like praying for the world. Like, Lord, help my football team win the match. Look, if you pray like that, that shows me your heart is on this world. Look, I would like my team to win, but I'm not going to ask God to make them win. Right. I'd rather pray for my belief. My brethren, my brothers and sisters in the Lord. My brothers and sisters in the Lord. The things that matter for eternity. Like, no one's taking their trophies to heaven. The championships. No one's taking them to heaven. No one's going to care. You know what the trophies are in heaven? How many souls did you get saved? That's the crown of rejoicing. Isn't that what Paul says about his church? That ye are the crown of my rejoicing. You're my reward. You're the trophies in heaven. You're the trophies in heaven. Lost souls that believed in Christ and are now in eternal places. You know, with Christ Jesus forever. That's the reward. That's the prize. Those are the treasures in heaven. That's what you can take to eternity with you. Souls. So we've got to pray for the right things. Pray for the things that are going to be there in eternity. Your believers. Your brethren. The saints. The believers of Christ. Pray for the saints. Now, is there ever wrong to pray for the world as it were? Not really. Let me just read something to you very quickly. But I want you to understand the priority of this prayer. I'll read to you from 1 Timothy chapter 2. You can turn there if you like. But 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse number 1. We get this instruction from Paul. He says, First of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. Hold on, that doesn't make a lot of sense when you pass that. Didn't you say not to pray for the world? But then he says these words. For kings. Should we pray for our kings? Those in authority? Yeah. For kings and for all that are in authority. This is the important part. That we, that's we believers, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. So when should we pray for the world as it were? When should we pray for our politicians and our leaders? We're praying so God's people can be at peace. We're praying that our politicians don't pass laws that will prevent us from worshipping Jesus. That will prevent us from being in church. That will prevent us from reading the Bible. That will prevent us from preaching the gospel to the lost. Again, the whole point behind that is for believers. That we would be able to function and do the best with what we've been given on this earth to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. And look, I don't believe there's anything wrong with praying for people to get saved. Alright, now let me just teach you how to pray for someone to get saved. Don't pray this prayer. Dear Lord, please save my brother. Don't pray that prayer. Dear Lord, please save my brother. Jesus has already done everything necessary. There's nothing more Jesus can do. He paid for the sins. It's all done. He's paid for your brother's sins or whoever it is that you're praying for. It's now his choice. It's his call. Okay, God's already done the work. Now it's up to him to receive it. So this is how you pray for the lost. You say, Dear Lord, can you please soften my brother's heart to the gospel. Dear Lord, my brother, he's chasing money, riches, he's got too much possessions. And because he's got too much possessions and riches, he doesn't need you. Lord, can you please bankrupt my brother. Can you please make him lose everything. Can you please break him, humble him. So he realizes life, that he needs you in his life. That's the right prayer. Not Jesus please save him. Jesus has done it all already. The work is done. Now he needs a soul winner to go and preach the gospel to that person. Or you pray this prayer. Lord, I haven't been able to talk to my brother about the gospel. Can you please open a door where I can be one and one with him. With no distractions. And Lord give me the boldness to be able to speak the gospel to him. That's how you pray for the lost. Because I used to make the mistake, Lord please save so and so. Then I think about it, well hold on Jesus, he's done it already. What more does God have to do. But can you please lower them, can you please break them. I'd rather my brother be broken and bankrupt but with his soul on his way to heaven. Than to have the success of the world thinking that he doesn't need Christ. So pray, so point number four was pray for the saints and not for the world. Pray for the saints and not for the world. Back to John 17 verse 11, John 17 verse 11. Then Christ says in verse 11, now I am no more in the world but these are in the world. And I come to thee Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me. That they may be one as we are one. When Christ says to keep them in his name, he's talking about keeping the name as in his authority level. I know when you think of name we think of a personal name. But when Christ is speaking of the name of the Father, he's speaking of his authority. So if you look up the word name in the dictionary, yes it's got a personal name but it's also a reflection of authority or reputation. For example, Proverbs 22 verse 1 says, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. What does a good name mean there? Oh that's Kevin, the name of Kevin. No, no, no. A good name is your reputation. A good reputation, a good report, a good testimony is better than great riches. When Christ is speaking about the name, being kept in name, it's all about your authority. Christ has come under the authority of his Father. If I send my son to do a work, my son might go somewhere and say look I'm coming in the name of my father. What does that mean? I'm coming by my father's authority. So when you read these verses, I want you to just understand again Christ is teaching us in prayer to the Father about the relationship, the authority structure between father and son. Verse number 12, he says, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. Reverend, who is the son of perdition there? Yeah, Judas Iscariot. Pretty easy, right? Judas Iscariot is someone that came to Christ, okay, and he was appointed an apostle but he was never saved, he never believed in Christ. The son of perdition. The word perdition means basically damnation, okay. Judas Iscariot never got saved. I know he repented of his sins after he betrayed Christ but he's the son of perdition, the son of damnation. He died and went to hell, okay. Why did he die and go to hell? Because he never believed in Christ. He never trusted him. That's what salvation is. He trusts Christ. Judas never trusted Christ, never believed in Christ. That's why he's known as the son of perdition. He's the son of damnation. That's quite a title given to Judas Iscariot. There's only one other man in the Bible that has that title. Do you know who that is? It's the antichrist. It's a title, son of perdition is a title given only to the antichrist and to Judas Iscariot. I'll just quickly read to you. Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except they come a fooling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, all that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. The antichrist shows himself in the future. He's going to claim to be God. He's going to be speaking blasphemy against the God of the Bible and God calls that man the son of perdition. The same title given to Judas Iscariot. It blows my mind when people think Judas got saved. He's as wicked as the antichrist. He's the son of perdition, the son of damnation. He's damned. He's burning in hell fire right now. He never believed on Christ. That's why. It's not just because he committed sin. Everyone commits sin. It's that he never believed on Christ. Verse number 13. John 17, 13. And now come I to thee and these things I speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Reverend, what else do we learn here? Again, Christ is saying he's given us his word. You know, if you keep his word, if you walk according to God's ways, we learn here that the world is going to hate you. The society is going to hate you. They're going to mock you. Okay, when you go, young people, when you go into the real world, you'll see this. You'll see it when the world hates you. When they mock you. When they laugh at your faith. And you didn't attack them. You're just living a good life. You're not out there just trying to make enemies with people. You just do the best you can. You live a life that pleases God and the world's going to hate you. Well, point number five, brethren, is accept that the world will hate you. Accept it. That the world will hate you. Look, I go about life trying to please people. I go about life trying to be a happy person, trying to be a good testimony, trying to be a friend, trying to be a blessing, as much as I can with anybody that I come across. That's my personal goal. But I expect that the world's going to hate me. The world has already hated me. Again, the world's going to hate you. You know what the worst decision you're going to make, young people? Is to try to make the world accept you. Look, you just be nice. You be kind. You be gracious. You be merciful. Okay. But don't try to be accepted by this world. The only way you're going to be accepted by this world, if you reject the Bible and walk a dark, wicked life, then you'll be accepted by the world. But you've got to learn, if you're going to be not of this world, you have to accept that the world will hate you. And when you accept it and it happens, you won't be so offended. You'll be like, all right, Jesus told me anyway. The world hated Jesus. They crucified him. They crucified my Savior. And the world's going to do the same to me. The world's going to hate me. Okay. Accept that the world will hate you. Again, don't try to please. Don't just, don't, look, again, do I try to please people? Yes. But not at the expense of pleasing my Lord. Okay. If I can please God and man at the same time, I will. But if I have a choice to please one or the other, it's going to be the Lord. And who cares what man has to say. Verse number 15. Christ says, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. But I want you to remember that because, again, you don't want to be that extreme side of Christianity where I can only function in church amongst God's people only and I can't, you know, I'd rather just die right now and be in heaven. Look, God, Jesus wants us in the world. Right? That's what it says. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. Look, Jesus wants us in this world right now. You say, why pastor? To represent Christ. To be an ambassador of heaven. To win souls. That's why you're in the world. Otherwise, you get saved and God will take you to heaven right now. You know, you've got a purpose in this world. So you're going to learn how to function in this world. Okay? You're going to learn how to function, but be not of the world at the same time. And be an ambassador for heaven. Be an ambassador for Christ. Verse number 17. Christ says, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou has sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world. So again, we see that authority structure. The Father sent the Son into the world. And now the Son says that I'm sending His people into the world. Okay, so don't be too excited. I'm excited for heaven. Don't get me wrong. But I'm enjoying my time in this world right now. Because I know Christ wants me here. I know Christ wants me to accomplish something. Do something for His name. So we are sent into the world in the same way that the Father sent the Son in the world. And of course, the Son came from heaven. But you know what? The Bible tells us that as believers, we're already seated in heavenly places. Heaven is our real home. And we're just passing by. We're sojourners. We're coming through here. That's why, you know, the world becomes as corrupt as the world becomes. It does frustrate me, but at the same time, I'm like, well, whatever. This is not my world anyway. I've been sent into this world. And I've not been sent into this world, you know, for political reasons. I've been sent into this world to win souls. Right? When Christ was sent into this world, did He establish His kingdom? Like a literal kingdom on this earth? No. He came to win souls. Haven't you been sent into this world? Why are you here? To win souls. That's why you're here. That's why you still walk in this earth. Not to make as much money as you can, but to think of eternity. What matters for eternity? Verse number 19, it says, And for their sakes I sanctify myself, as they also might be sanctified through the truth. Now, Brevin, we need to be sanctified through the Word of God. We need to be cleansed and made more holy. The word sanctify, and Christ as well, He's sanctified Himself. Say, in what way did Christ sanctify Himself? Again, the word sanctify just means to be made holy or set apart. Christ is saying, look, I'm different, I'm set apart from this world. And because we're commanded to walk in the steps of Christ, if you walk in the steps of Christ, you will automatically be different to this world. Verse number 20, Neither pray I for these alone, I love this verse very much, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word. You know what Jesus is saying? I'm not just praying for my disciples now. I'm praying for those that will believe in me later. That's you and me. This whole prayer in John 17, Jesus to the Father, He's praying for you and me right now in that prayer. For those that will believe in Him later on. His disciples will win souls, okay, and those souls will win other souls. As the generations will go down, the gospel will be preached and preached and preached and preached. You finally reached your ears, you finally believed, so Christ is praying for you right now in John 17. I love that, I love that verse so much. To think that Christ is thinking of me, back in these days, praying to the Father. Verse number 21, That they all might be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Reverend, again, Christ wants our fellowship, He wants us to be united in Him. That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And that's our job, to show this world, to believe in Christ. Look, it's so important, Reverend, that we're a soul winning church. You know what, if our church was not winning souls, I don't want to have this church. I'll tell you now, why did I come from Sydney? There's plenty of churches in Sydney. I didn't have to be a pastor, I had a desire to be a pastor, but to be honest with you, if I had the choice of just supporting one man to be a pastor here on the Sunshine Coast, that was winning souls, I'd rather just get behind that man, and let him be the pastor, and get behind him. You know why I came to the Sunshine Coast? Because the Lord showed me an area that was not being reached with the gospel. I'm not saying there's not safe people here, but people are not actively knocking doors. You know who's actively knocking doors? The Jehovah's nurses are. The Mormons are. Everybody else is knocking doors, but not the Baptists. I said, Lord, take me to a place where the gospel is not being preached door to door. That's the only reason I came to the Sunshine Coast. I did not come for the beaches, that's nice. I did not come for the nature and scenery, and it's all nice, but that's not why I came, really. I'm much more comfortable in Sydney. I know everything, I know everybody. Honestly, if our church is not soul winning, I'd just pack my bags right now, head back to Sydney. I'm here for a reason. To win souls, and to encourage a church to win souls. Because that's what Jesus left us to do. It's not just my heart, it's the heart of Jesus. Jesus poured out his life for us, for souls. He paid for that person's, I don't know, whichever direction, whichever house, think about whichever house. Jesus died on the cross for the people in that house. So are you going to go and tell them what Jesus Christ has done for them or not? It's up to you. I'm not going to force you. That's why we have church, that's why we encourage each other, that's why we try to motivate and love each other. Say, Pastor, I'm too scared to go soul winning, that's fine. Come out and be silent, be a quiet person. Just be a support to the person that's going to knock that door and preach the gospel. Can you do that? Can you just be quiet? And when the preacher gets a chance to preach something at the door, you can pray for them. Pray that the Lord will soften their heart. Pray that the Lord will take down their pride, that they will be receptive to hear the gospel. Can you carry the tracts? Can you carry the Bibles? That's what a silent partner can do. And if you witness someone call upon the Lord and trust him as Savior, you can rejoice with a soul winner as much as anybody else. I really appreciate those that win souls. In fact, I appreciate all of you. You're all children of God, you're all brothers, sisters of the Lord. I don't want to have this clique where just the soul winners are like praised and nobody else. Soul winners, do it for Jesus. Don't do it for the praise of man, do it for Jesus. And if you've never won a soul, let me challenge you, please, this is why you're on this earth. Why else are you here? To have a bigger house? To have bigger cars? To make more money? Is that really why we're here? We need to function in this world, but we're not of this world. We're not of this world. We're not of this world. What am I up to, Brevin? Which verse? 22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one. What's the next thing that we learn? The Father has given glory to the Son and then that same glory is given to us. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them. What? Boy, praise God to be a Christian. We've been given glory, right? Glory means great praise and honour. We've been given great praise and honour by God. Like we come to church to glorify God, don't we? Do you know God gives you glory as well in return? What? It's hard to wrap your head around a little bit. Like what does this glory look like though? In verse number 23, let's keep going there. I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one that the word may know is that thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me. That's the glory, by the way. That's the great praise. That's a great honour. That the Father has loved the Son and you know the same love that He has for His Son, that same love He gives to you and me. Because He keeps going there, verse number 24. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me. Look, the glory that the Father has given the Son in continues for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Once again, the Father loved the Son, when? Before the foundation of the world. Christ has always been. The Father-Son relationship has always been before the foundation of the world. And that same love that God has, the Father has for the Son, that same love He has towards you. Verse number 25. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. You notice how much time at the end of this verse Christ says the Father, how much He loves us. The same love that the Father has given the Son, the Father has given to us. That's the glory. That's the glory. So, we all have love to some extent. But you know, we can love what God loves because we've been given the love of the Father. And I've been telling you, as we go through the book of John, all his writings build off each other. And I'm going to read to you, just as the end of this sermon, I'm going to read to you from 1 John 2 verse 15. 1 John 2 verse 15 says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. You see, the Father loves you. He sent the Son to die for you. And when you have the love of the Father in you, you know what's going to naturally happen? You're not going to love this world. You're going to love heaven. You're going to love God. You're going to love God's people. You're going to love church. You're going to love the Bible. You're going to love soul winning. If you say, I don't have love for these things, then you need more of the love of the Father. You love the world too much. And brethren, the title of the sermon was, Not of the World. We are not of the world. Just as much as Christ was not of the world, we are not of this world. But please don't forget, we do have to function in society. Christ has left us here. We have to go through the same things. Life, and work, and family, etc. None of that is wrong. None of that is sinful. But at the same time, we must always have our eyes set on eternity. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, I want to thank you for John 17. And Lord, it is so hard because we live in this world. We've been born into this world. Lord, we have affections toward this world in different ways. Lord, I just pray that we would have the love of the Father in us. We know that you've already given it to us, Lord, through your Son. And Lord, that we will tap into that love. And that through that love, Lord, we will love the things that you love. Lord, that we will have our eyes on eternity. Lord, that we will love the brethren. And Lord, that we will have less affections on this earth and on this world. Lord, I thank you, Lord, that you've given us what you've given us. Lord, you've given us great blessings. Lord, I pray that our true desires will be to lay up treasures in heaven. That our true desires will be to see souls saved. Because that's what Christ has done. And that's why he's left us on this earth. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright brethren, please turn to hymn number 262. Hymn number 262, please. 262, the light of the world is Jesus. 262. The light of the world is Jesus. The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin. The light of the world is Jesus. Like sunshine at noon day, his glory shining. The light of the world is Jesus. Come to the light, tears shining for thee. Simply the light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The light of the world is Jesus. The darkness has given me, Jesus. The light of the world is Jesus. Walk in the light when we follow how light. The light of the world is Jesus. Come to the light, tears shining for thee. Simply the light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The light of the world is Jesus. In colors, in colors, with sin blind the eyes. The light of the world is Jesus. The light of the world is Jesus. Come to the light, tears shining for thee. Simply the light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The light of the world is Jesus. The heat of the sunlight in heaven went on. The light of the world is Jesus. No man is the light in the city of gold. The light of the world is Jesus. Come to the light, tears shining for thee. Simply the light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The light of the world is Jesus.