As we look at the Bible it doesn’t take long to find out that the sexuality of mankind as a central part of creation. If we read through the account of the creation of Adam and Eve it seems that Moses goes out of his way to show the differences between the sexes and that these differences were good and they were determined by God himself.

What about Eunuchs?https://answersingenesis.org/answers/in-depth/v12/does-jesus-reference-to-eunuchs-affirm-transgender-people/ 

Did you know that your body naturally follows the direction of your eyes? If you’re walking, running, riding a bike or driving a car, it’s important that you keep your eyes in front of you. If you don’t you can easily get off track and you can get yourself into trouble by running into something. We can say that prayer is like the eyes of the heart. The directions of our prayers show the direction of our hearts. That is why it’s important that we learn to fix our prayers on the Heavenly Father, to look up and see him. When we do this it ensures that we are going the right direction spiritually.

Today we will look at the first part of Jesus’ greatest prayer in John 17. What I want you and I to get out of this more than anything is see clearly the direction of Jesus’ heart and to make that the direction of our heart.

John 17:1–5

1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

In this prayer we not only see the direction of Jesus’ eyes as he looks up to heaven, but he also reveals to us the direction of his heart. We can summarize this direction in 4 ways.

1. He looked up toward heaven

These four things show us the direction of Jesus’ life. As we take a deep look at them we must analyze and ask ourselves about the direction of our prayers. In what direction are our prayers pointing? In what direction are our souls moving?

Before John shares with us the prayer of Jesus he says “after Jesus said this.” We shouldn’t skip over this important phrase so let’s go back just a bit. What did Jesus just say? If we go back we find that Jesus just spent his last hours in the upper room with his disciples. From chapter 13 all the way through chapter 16 we see Jesus giving his final instructions to his disciples. These instructions are full of words of encouragement, hope, and exhortation. John begins this previous section with the words,

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1b

Jesus ends his words of comfort with, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

It is at this point that Jesus turns his attention to God the Father in prayer and rightly so. He had just spent several hours ministering to his disciples, telling them of the difficulties to come and comforting them. To walk away from the disciples now would be to leave a task unfinished. Jesus knew that more than anything the disciples needed prayer, they also needed a good example of prayer. Yes, Jesus had taught them to pray early on in his ministry but now they would see a different kind of prayer. An intimate personal conversation between the Son and the Father.

We could say that the “Lord’s Prayer” was in a way a classroom prayer. It was a model given in the non threatening confines of a classroom setting. There’s nothing wrong with that, it was important for the disciples to have this framework as a foundation for how to pray. However, every good teacher knows that lessons must be reviewed and that lessons are most powerful in difficult times of need. We can be sure that Jesus’ prayer here powerfully impacted the disciples. So, it really served two purposes. First, it was a needed prayer at a difficult time. Second, it was a means to drive home the teaching Jesus had given his disciples earlier about prayer.

As we think about the timing of Jesus’ prayer here, let’s reflect upon our own prayer habits. Have you ever thought about how your prayers can affect others? I mean not only how praying for someone else might change them but praying for them in their presence. To tell someone that you will pray for them is one thing but to actually, sit down with them and pray with them and for them, that is another thing. Jesus presents us with a needed example here. When you give a word of encouragement to someone, don’t just stop there, pray with them also. When was the last time you asked someone if you could pray for them? Imagine what comfort you can give to another person by simply praying with them. I don’t believe I have ever found a person who rejected my offer to pray for them. Even people from other faiths are often willing to allow me to pray with them.

Why should we pray with and for others?

1. It’s a powerful testimony of your faith and it will strengthen their faith

What I love about this prayer is that in it we can clearly see the heart of Jesus. If you want to know the state of a person’s heart, if you want to see his sincere desires, if you want to understand what a person is experiencing, what he is afraid of, what and whom he loves, what values ​​and desires he has, you need to do one thing: to hear his private prayers, if he has any!

Of course, we cannot do this because they are personal. But God gave us an amazing opportunity to hear the heart to heart conversation of the Son and the Father!

Jesus prayer has 3 parts

1. Jesus prays for himself 1–5

In this we can also see an example for ourselves. We ought to pray for our own spiritual well being. When we come to the Father we need to come in humility, knowing that there is always a need for growth, always a need for the Father’s help and guidance, always a need to strengthen our own faith.

If you have ever flown on an airplane then you have heard the instructions on what to do when the oxygen masks come down. You should always affix your own mask before helping others. A suffocating person can’t do much good in helping others. So a person who lacks personal prayer for his own spiritual life can’t very well pray for another.

May we take hold of the oxygen mask of prayer in our daily walk with God. He and he alone can breathe into us the much needed spiritual energy and life that we need for each day.

After we have taken care of our own spirit we must direct our prayers towards those closest to us. For Jesus this was his twelve disciples. For most of us, this is our family, our close friends and those people that we regularly come in contact with nearly every day.

Jesus told his disciples earlier that he would pray for them and now here he is praying for them.

Jhn 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever —

Jesus also prayed for many millions who were far from him. He looked beyond his immediate contacts because he had a “Kingdom” perspective. We also should pray for those who are far from us. Let us pray for Christians who are persecuted in other countries. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who are in difficult circumstances all over the world. They need our prayers and we need to pray for them.

Finally, I wanted to note the content of this prayer. When we look closely we see something amazing, this prayer has all the main themes of the gospel of John.

• Obedience to the Father

Let’s now take a close look at the first section of Jesus’ prayer.

1a. After these words, Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven

It is no coincidence that John gives us the opportunity to not only hear Jesus’ prayer but also to see how Jesus prayed! The position of his body tells us a lot about Jesus and this prayer.

Remember that the statement, “After these words” refers to the conversation Jesus had with his disciples in the previous 3 chapters. Undoubtedly, when Jesus spoke to them he looked at them. Eye contact is an important part of our conversations. Through eye contact we convey meaning, intent, and it helps us understand each other.

When I want to say something important to my children and they are not looking at me, I tell them, “I want to see your eyes” I want to make sure that they really hear me and pay attention to my words. It’s difficult for me to determine whether or not they are listening if they don’t look at me when I’m speaking to them. I also want to convey to them the seriousness of what I am saying. I can do this more effectively when I am looking at them and they are looking at me.

When Jesus raised his eyes it also conveyed meaning.

1. It showed respect

Jesus wanted the disciples to see his relationship with the Father. I also sometimes talk with my father in front of my children so that they see my attitude and respect for their father. It seems tha...

We just returned from two months in the US. Whenever we go back to the US I find that I have to adjust to the way of life there. I can’t always put my finger on it but life just feels different in a different country, so I have to change some of my expectations when we go back to the US. What I didn’t realize years ago was that living in Ukraine was changing me, it wasn’t just changing the way I lived or thought but it was also changing the way I spoke. I realized this when people in the US began telling me that I seemed to have a slight accent in English. “What do you mean?” I would ask with surprise. “I grew up here!” At first I didn’t believe it but later I came to accept it after a number of people told me they sensed an accent.

So what was it? Why did my speech change? All I can say is that conversations are powerful and they can change us, they can change the way we think and they can change the way we speak. All that time talking with Ukrainians and others who spoke English with a different accent than mine changed the way I spoke English.

As you have studied the conversations of Jesus this summer I pray that they have changed you, that they have tweaked your accent, that your faith, your life, and your speech look a little more like Jesus.

Today I want to point your attention to another type of conversation that we see in the life of Jesus. Thankfully, the gospels record for us many of Jesus’ conversations with God the Father. There is no better way for us to see the heart of Jesus and than to have an intimate look at his conversations with God the Father.

Mat 14:23

23 And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain to pray in private; and in the evening he remained there alone.

Jesus knew that ministry demanded much of him, spiritually and physically. Even though the people were constantly following him, constantly asking him to perform miracles he took time to get away from it all and spend time with his Heavenly Father. Jesus spent much time in private prayer. There are at least six times when we see Jesus leaving the crowds in order to spend time in prayer.

• Mar 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

What an amazing example Jesus is for us! Today each of us has a crowd that is constantly following us. That crowd can be found in our social networks, at our work, in our computers, in our homework, and a thousand other places. It’s hard to turn our world off but it is necessary. God wants us to come to him in the quiet private hours of our life. He wants to hear our voice individually, apart from the clatter of this world. God knows that our spirits need quiet conversations with our Heavenly Father.

Jesus lived more in private conversations with God the Father than he did in public discourse and ministry. The temptation today is to live almost completely in the public. To do everything for everyone one or at least to make an impression and be seen by everyone. Jesus’ life was like an iceberg, his public ministry was only a small manifestation of his private spiritual life. Jesus lived an “upside” down life. We can see this come out clearly in his teaching on prayer.

Mat 6:6

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Unseen prayer is the type of prayer that God sees. Of course this doesn’t mean that we can’t pray in public, we can. However, there is an added danger in public. We can easily pray for the ears of others. Sadly, many of us are skilled and praying “theological,” “holy,” and “reverent” prayers in public, yet in private these same prayers are absent.

Why is private prayer so important?

• It tends to remove pretense (We can fool others but we can’t fool God)

Why is it that there is so much apparent religious working, and yet so little result in positive conversions to God — so many sermons, and so few souls saved — so much machinery, and so little effect produced — so much running here and there, and yet so few brought to Christ? Why is all this? The reply is short and simple. There is not enough private prayer.The cause of Christ does not need less working, but it does need among the workers more praying. Let us each examine ourselves, and amend our ways. The most successful workmen in the Lord’s vineyard, are those who are like their Master, often and much upon their knees.

~ J.C. Ryle

If Jesus needed prayer, then we need it more. Unfortunately, many people today live in silence to God. Many people do not know the embrace of a Good Father in times of prayer. Many Christians live day after day lacking spiritual strength and hope and it’s all because they lack those much needed conversations with God who loves them and is waiting to hear from them. Many live in icy silence and they themselves do not know and do not understand why they experience loneliness, feelings of abandonment, and coldness in their souls. Many of us are stubbornly trying to fix on our own what only God the Father can fix. Like robots we go about our daily task mechanically. We get the job done but we have lost the joy because we have lost the relationship. We perform our tasks, we manage to get by, we keep our heads down and our mouth closed.

Too many of us have forgotten that God does not want our theatrical performance, he wants our simple, sincere, and private prayers!

Why don’t we make prayer a priority?

1. We don’t really believe in it.

What can we do to make prayer a priority?

1. Plan for prayer

I’m thankful for the strength of many churches in the US but at the same time I realize that we live in a time of great challenge and opposition to the church. In these times it’s more important than ever to get the vital issues right. You see, opposition doesn’t come out of nowhere, it is often formed over years and even decades of slowly eroding theology and weakening faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

One of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite theologians and author of the book “The Universal Christ”, Father Richard Rohr says:

“I believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is a revelation of the infinite and participatory love of God, not some bloody payment required by God’s offended justice to rectify the problem of sin. Such a story line is way too small and problem-oriented.”

“The theory of substitutionary atonement has inoculated us against the true effects of the Gospel, causing us to largely “thank” Jesus instead of honestly imitating him.”

“I’ve always tried to find a deeper inner connection with the purpose that Christ had here on earth,” Margit says. “All my life, I thought it was just for him to die on the cross for my sins. But I now recognize that Jesus actually taught me Christ consciousness.

I want to talk to you about the cross today because, unfortunately, the cross has quietly crept to the sidelines in many churches. We have ended up with a sort of crossless Christianity. It may have cross symbols but there’s failure to see the real need for the gory details of sin, death and the suffering it causes. A crossless Christianity will often be big on practical needs, personal improvement and social activism, and weak on personal guilt, the holiness of God and the need for repentance. 

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.”

Primarily a crossless Christianity is a Christianity without sacrifice, because, quite frankly, the need is not seen or felt. 

Story of Chernobyl. In order to stop the radiation from continuing to poison the air there had to be sacrifice. No machine could do the job of those firefighters who went out on the roof to shovel off the chunks of radioactive material. Their sacrifice saved the lives of others. 

There are many similarities to the cross of Christ and the Chernobyl nuclear accident. For one we can’t physically see what is doing so much harm. Because this many people try to downplay the dangerous effects. “

1Co 1:18

18  For the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.

The cross of Christ is considered foolishness by many because they don’t recognize the danger they are in. They fail to see what sin is and how much destruction it is causing. They don’t understand God’s holiness and that he must punish sin in order to remain holy. 

When we talk about the cross, we are speaking about 3 historical facts which have profound theological impact.

1. Jesus’ voluntary death (sacrificial and substitutionary) 

3  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

The truth of these events is the basis upon which Christianity is built, upon which our understanding of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life is found.  

Here are 5 reasons why the cross of Christ is vital.

The cross had a Godward aspect and a manward aspect, however, we don’t often discuss the Godward aspect although it is the primary reason for the cross. 

The idea of sacrifice for sins and protection of God’s holiness can be seen from the earliest Scriptures. When Adam and Eve sinned something had to be done, there had to be a temporary fix in order for them to have some sort of ongoing relationship with the holy God. God provided this temporary fix through the sacrifice of an animal. This animal provided Adam and Eve a covering for their naked bodies. This was a symbol of their sin and the fact that they tried to hide themselves from God. Now they would need to be temporarily hidden from God’s presence until a complete solution could be offered. 

21  And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Adam and Eve were then expelled from the Garden because of their sin they could no longer enjoy an unhindered relationship with a holy God. 

Again when God initiated a relationship with the people of Israel, he put many boundaries and limits upon this relationship in order to protect them and to protect his holiness.

We see these limits very clearly in the building of the tabernacle, a place of worship for God’s people. The entire layout communicates the idea of God’s holiness and the need for there to be limits on who has access to God’s presence. 

33  And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

2  and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.

These key symbols pictured how serious God is about his holiness. The curtain or veil separated the ark of the covenant from the people. They knew that they had no right to enter into the holy presence of God. Even if they had offered the necessary sacrifices, they were not holy enough to be in God’s presence, there was still the defiling presence of sin in their hearts. Only the priest could enter the holy of holies once on the day of atonement once the sacrifice had been offered for the people. 

When Jesus died on the cross we see something significant happen, the veil that protected God’s holiness from man’s uncleanliness and protected man from God’s holiness is ripped apart. 

The veil is torn!

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Now man can go into the holy of holies, he can once again have fellowship with God because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

The better we understand the power and purity of God’s holiness the more we will value the cross and the more we will be in awe of this great privilege God has given us through faith in Jesus to enter into the holy of holies without harm to ourselves. 

Nearly all religions will have some way for man to cleanse himself from impurity or sins. 

• Hindus bathe themselves in the Ganges

All of these washing must be repeated, they are temporary, and they all must be done by the individual himself. 

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

Christ’s death on the cross gives us the only true and permanent solution to our impurity. In this Christianity is unique among the religions of the world. Christ provides a way for us to be cleansed from our sins that is permanent and that is outside of ourselves. No one can wash their own sins away because they are impure themselves. Imagine trying to clean a dirty rag using nothing but the dirty rag itself. You can’t do it, you need something else to come and remove the dirt from it. You need something clean to effectively remove impurities from something uncleant. This is what Jesus did for us. 

15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

God protected his holiness by giving man the opportunity to cleanse himself from sin, not temporarily through the sacrifice of an animal, through the repetition of a prayer, or through any other act that you or I can do. God provides us with a forgiveness that is full and complete, that forgives past, present and future sins. A forgiveness that is found by faith in Christ and remains with us for eternity. 

To forgive is one thing but God did much more than that with the cross. The cross not only makes us innocent but it also makes us righteous in God’s eyes. God’s holiness is not just about avoiding sin, it’s not just about refraining to do something you know...