Weekly Recap
Using analogies from the world of aviation, Elder Lance Reid gave us a message from John 17:13-19. This week’s passage continued with Jesus and his disciples in the Upper Room. They had already shared the Last Supper together and Judas had been revealed as the betrayer. Jesus began by praying for himself and then praying for his disciples and all future believers. The disciples were on the brink of experiencing some major turbulence; however, turbulence is not evidence that God has lost control. Just because there is turbulence ahead does not mean we won’t get to our destination. The disciples were about to be shaken, but Jesus was not. He knew the destination and stayed on course.
In verse 13, Jesus prays for the disciples to have joy in spite of the turbulence ahead. They were about to witness the arrest, trial, beating, and crucifixion of Jesus, and Jesus wanted them to experience joy. While this may sound counterintuitive, this joy is not a shallow optimism, but is rooted in complete confidence in God the Father. Christian joy is confidence in the Father’s plan, not the absence of turbulence in our lives. So often we get wrapped up in our own timelines and fail to focus on God’s. The Bible reveals his plan from the beginning. God created mankind to rule the earth but man sinned and the earth and everything in it has been deteriorating ever since. But God, in his infinite love, made a path back to this perfect world by sending his son, Jesus. Jesus died, rose, ascended and is one day coming back to wipe out evil and create a new Heaven and a new earth where he will live with us. We miss out on his joy if we don’t focus on this.
Verse 14 reveals that God’s Word both gives us our course and keeps us on course. Jesus explains to the disciples that they will face opposition in the world because they are no longer taking direction from it. Christians do not navigate by humanity’s value system. When God’s Word sets our course, we should not be surprised when the world notices that we are operating by a different plan. This may create some tension, but in verse 15, we see that Jesus prays for protection, not evacuation. Jesus did not pray that we would be grounded until the weather cleared; he prayed that we would be guarded while fulfilling the mission. Spiritual drift begins with small course deviations. No one wakes up intending to drift from Christ. Most drift begins with small deviations away from God’s truth. Lance gave us some ways to guard against spiritual drift. These include staying close to Christ, (not merely Christian activity), maintaining a steady diet of Scripture, taking small sins seriously, staying connected to other believers, guarding what influences us, responding quickly to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and watching our joy.
In verses 16-17, we are told that God sanctifies us by truth. To sanctify means to belong completely to God, become increasingly like Christ, and be prepared for God’s purpose. How do we do this? Through God’s Word. When life is confusing, trust the Word. When culture is loud, trust the Word. When temptation is persuasive, trust the Word. When suffering makes God seem absent, trust the Word. When our spiritual visibility is low, trust the instruments (God’s Word). We can’t always trust what we feel, but we can always trust what God has said. Jesus tells us in verses 18-19 that sanctification prepares us for mission. Jesus dedicated himself fully for the Father’s mission - to go to the cross. Our mission is to make sure others know why He went to the cross. God is interested in more than just improving our personal spiritual life - he wants to prepare us for our mission. God does not sanctify us for display in the hangar; he sanctifies us for faithful flight in his mission.
The disciples were about to experience turbulence and didn’t fully understand what was about to happen, but Jesus did and prayed for them to experience what they needed to follow the Fathers plan. The disciples saw turbulence. Jesus saw the destination. And he prayed that his followers would possess the same joy, truth, protection, and holiness needed to trust the Father’s plan. Are we trusting in his plan or reacting to turbulence? Are we living grounded in comfort or being sent on mission? The turbulence is real but the destination is secure.