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(Read John 17:11)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to teach on “Minimizing Your Humanity and Maximizing Your Divinity.” Last week I introduced you to what I consider to be the actual “Lord’s prayer.” It is a prayer Jesus prayed in John 17. We have covered the first 10 verses. Today we will only look at one verse, verse 11. In this verse Jesus prayed, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Jesus left the world, but you remain behind to continue what He started. In His prayer, Jesus said, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.” Jesus went back to the Father and you live in the world. You are now supposed to live like Jesus lived in the earth. Jesus did not expect the Father to do everything FOR Him, because He was the one in the world. However, Jesus did expect the Father to do things THROUGH Him. This is the way you are supposed to live. The Father is in heaven, so there are many things He will not do in the world, unless a human, who lives in the world, agrees with Him to become the conduit through which His power can flow, from heaven to the earth. Guess what? God expects you to the be that human. Stop waiting on God to do everything FOR you and start believing Him to do it THROUGH you. When you minimize your humanity and you allow God’s divinity to flow through you, you experience the supernatural, lives are changed, and God gets the glory!
2. When you are led of the Spirit you learn to properly discern and use the power in the name of Jesus. In this Prayer, Jesus said, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me.” Notice how powerful the name of Jesus is. This name was given to Jesus by the Father, and Jesus made it clear that there is power in His name. There is divine protection in the name of Jesus. There is divine healing in the name of Jesus. Supernatural power can flow in the name of Jesus. When you are led of the Holy Spirit you will properly discern the power in the name of Jesus and you will learn how to use Jesus’ name to perform God’s will in the earth.
3. When you are led of the Spirit you will rise above disagreement and learn to walk in unity. Jesus prayed for us, that we would be one, as He and the Father were one. When you die to self, and you allow yourself to be led of the Holy Spirit, you will stop having unnecessary, unwarranted and unproductive disagreements with members of the Body of Christ. There is power in unity and we can walk united when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct us.
4. When you are led of the Spirit you will learn to become ONE with the Father, like Jesus was ONE with the Father. While Jesus’ prayer was focused on us becoming one with one another, we can also infer, from Jesus’ teachings, that He wanted us to become ONE with the Father, like He was ONE with the Father. Jesus only said what the Father told Him to say and He only did what the Father led Him to do. When you are led of the Holy Spirit you can live the same way. Living off of what God said, in the Bible, through His instruction, is always good. But living off of what God is saying to you today, through the Holy Spirit, as you follow His voice, is much better. When you live this way you are able to become ONE with the Father, like Jesus was ONE with the Father.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for taking the time to teach me about Your grace through the life of Your Son. In Jesus I see the perfect example. In Jesus I see humanity completely submitted to divinity. While Jesus was in the world, You were in heaven, He was in the earth, and You were able to flow through Him freely, because He submitted to You in all things. Jesus is no longer here. Jesus left the world and He went back to You, in heaven. Now I am the one in the world. I am here like Jesus was here. I have the Holy Spirit, like Jesus had the Holy Spirit. I can hear Your voice, like Jesus heard Your voice. You can flow through me — giving me the words and performing the work — like You did through Jesus. So Father, I give myself over to You, to be used of You like Jesus was used of You. I am just like Jesus and I even get to use the power in His name. In the name of Jesus I operate like He operated in this world. Through me souls will be saved, burdens will be removed, yokes will be destroyed, and lives will be changed forever. Not by my power, but Your power. Not because I am so good, but only because of Your grace. And as I live this way, submitted to the Holy Spirit, I learn to become ONE with You and ONE with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
