The Words Jesus Spoke to His Father Before Going Through Hell, Part 9 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 287)

---

TEXT: John 17:12-16:

12 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.

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14 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.

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

———-

Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the main thing the main thing — and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the Lord’s Great Commission which is to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” and who have refused to obey God’s repeated commands to “pray without ceasing” for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. Yes, you should pray for the right candidate to win; yes, you should vote for the candidate that the Lord gives you peace about voting for. But, don’t get caught up in it like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their hearts right with the Lord.

This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Acts 5:42 which says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the “Old, old story of Jesus and His love” — As another hymn says, “For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 287.

Rick Warren said, “The way you store up treasure in heaven is by investing in getting people there.”

In our last message, we saw that Jesus wanted His disciples to remain in the world so that they could be a light to the world. If the disciples sequestered themselves into Christian-only communities, they would be of no benefit to the world which is engulfed in darkness.

The second reason why God wanted His disciples to remain in the world is because that is the only way we can witness to people about Jesus. If we are not in contact with unbelievers, we will be unable to win them to the Lord. Just before Jesus left this Earth, He tasked His disciples with preaching the Gospel to the ‘uttermost part of the world.’ Part of preaching the Gospel is living a life that reflects Gospel-based values. Our lifestyle is just as much a witness as our words. The world needs to see evidence of the life-transforming power of the Gospel. We are that evidence, and we must remain in the world to be a light to the people in the world.

Third, we must remain in the world in order to experience the full glory of God. If we, immediately upon salvation, are snatched away to Heaven, we will miss out on seeing God fully glorified on Earth. There are aspects of God’s nature and aspects of the work of salvation that can be better appreciated only by remaining in the world. Only by seeing the effects of sin can we fully appreciate that Jesus overcame sin. Only by experiencing the death of loved ones can we fully appreciate Jesus defied death. Only by seeing the devastating effects of Satan’s sway over the world can we fully appreciate Jesus as the one who conquered Satan.

We typically think that we will only know God and Jesus fully and freely once we are whisked away to Heaven, but God’s glory shines even on the Earth. By knowing Him better here, we may know Him better there.

Jesus did not want the disciples to despair because they had to remain in the world, and He does not want us to despair either. Jesus prayed for us, that God would keep us and preserve us during our time on this Earth. He is still making this prayer request for us in Heaven right now. And God has and will continue to answer the prayer of His dear Son.

J. Grigg Tiverton wrote:

Behold the messengers of Christ,
Who bear to every place,
The unveiled mysteries of God,
The Gospel of His grace.

The things through mists and shadows dim
By holy prophets seen,
In the full light of day they saw
With not a cloud between.

What Christ, true Man, divinely wrought,
What God in manhood bore,
They wrote, as God inspired, in words
That live forevermore.

To God, the blessèd Three in One,
Be glory, praise, and might,
Who called us from the shades of death
To His own glorious light.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.

But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.

The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.

Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.

Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.

And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.

The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.