Bible Text: John 17 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

— Pastor Lou’s Notes —
Intro: Sometimes, we learn some Christian language and start to use words without really thinking about them or asking some important questions. For instance, we read and us the word “glorify” even without asking what is means to glorify God in our everyday lives. A phrase we tend to use a lot is “eternal life”. What does that mean? Does it just mean to spend eternity with Jesus? How does eternal life apply to our everyday lives?

After washing the apostles’ feet and giving them private instruction in John 14-16, Jesus reveals His heart in prayer. Jesus’ focus was always on glorifying God. In this passage of Jesus’ prayer, Jesus shows us not only His heart, but also what it means to glorify God every day.

1. First, We See That God is Glorified Through Loving Obedience
1. Jesus is loving obedient to the Father
1. Jesus work e.g. the work the Father gave Jesus to do on earth
1. Miracles
2. Message
3. Cross

2. Like wise, as Christ followers, we are to glorify God through loving obedience
1. Worshiping God in prayer, individual and corporate worship, and studying the Word
2. Serving each other in the church using our gifts
1. In any church, not matter what the size, God gives a variety of gifts so that the church can be effective for the kingdom of God

3. Sharing the gospel of Christ in both word and deed
1. Matthew 28 e.g The Great Commission
2. Meet hurting people where they are with the love of Christ
1. Generally speaking, people need to know we genuinally care for them in order to earn the opportunity to share the gospel with them

4. We were created to glorify God through loving obedience
1. The first question of the Westminster Catechism is, “What is the chief end of man?
2. The answer is, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
1. See 1 Cor. 10:31; Rom.11:36; Ps. 73:24-26; John 17:22,24
2. This applies to every area of life: church, family, work, school, even our recreation.
3. Illus. : J. S. Bach…”All music should have no other end and aim than to glorify God and the soul’s refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub bub. At the head of each composition, Jesus juva…Jesus help me. At the end: Solo Dei gratia…To God be the glory.

2. Second We See the Real Meaning of Eternal Life
1. Eternal live starts the moment we receive Jesus Christ by faith in His finished work of salvation.
1. His birth, death, and resurrection
2. The cross was necessary for salvation and eternal life
3. The cross was necessary for Jesus to return to His glorified state with His Father

2. Eternal life does not only mean that Christ followers will be with Jesus in heaven for all eternity. It speaks more to a quality of life e.g. the life of Christ in us now.
1. Eternal life which the Bible speaks of starts the moment we receive Christ as our personal Lord and Savior
2. Eternal life is only given to us through knowing Jesus personally
1. The word translated knowing from the Greek work ginosko means to know intimately
2. It is the same word that is used for the very intimate knowledge a wife and husband have of each other
1. This is not just a head knowledge, but a very deep knowledge of the character and heart of Jesus Christ
2. Jesus came to reveal the nature, character, and the heart of God to the world
3. This type of love causes us to fell deeper in love with our Savior
1. Through the Word and the Holy Spirit, we enter into a transformational process of becoming more like Christ, so that we gradually show the life of Christ from the inside out.

3. The more time we spend with Jesus, the deeper we get to know him
4. The longer we experience life in the power of the Holy Spirit and under the authority of the Word of God, the more we know deeply about the character and heart of Jesus
5. Through the Holy Spirit, we become more lovingly obedient and glorify God now

Closing;
One could make a case for the following statement: The deeper we fall in love with Jesus through intimately knowing Him, the more we desire to obey Him and glorify Him and God the Father. Our walk with Jesus should always be one of discovering more of His heart and character, experiencing life in the power of the Holy Spirit, and falling deeper in love with Christ. This is the essence of discipleship. As you and I fall deeper in love with Christ, you and I become salt and light to a hurting world. People need Christ. We are called to shine for Jesus from the inside out so that the world will see there is something both different and attractive in our lives. I believe each and everyone of us need to make a decision to know Jesus more deeply every day and then ask the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus through loving obedience. So, what is your desire today?