Title: The Prayer of Jesus (John 17:1~3)
Contents
Jesus' prayer (John 17:1~3)
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(John 17:1) When Jesus had said these words, he lifted up his eyes and looked up to heaven, saying, "Father, the hour has come; glorify the Son, that he may make the Father peaceful." (John 17:1)
(John 17:2) For you have given your Son authority over all peoples so that he may give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
(John 17:3) Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
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It's 2 weeks of Advent. Advent is a feast held one month before the birth of Jesus, waiting for Jesus to come to earth. One candle is lit one month before and another candle is lit the following week, and 5 candles are lit for worship.
I want to pray in the fall, so I'm going to talk about 'Jesus' prayer' this week.
Not long ago, a new 'anti-cancer gene therapy' came out at a hospital in Seoul and publicly recruited clinical investigators, and I heard that about 2,000 applicants came. Humans have a fear of death and an endless attachment to life. Christians know that they go to heaven when they die, but when they face death, they are afraid.
But Jesus said to his disciples, 'Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world' before the death of the cross, the most terrible punishment ever made by man. Boldness in the face of death was in 'prayer'. Chapter 17 is the content of Jesus' final prayer to God before he was crucified. When Jesus prayed, I would like to tell you why he prayed with his eyes lifted up to the sky.
1. To know God's will and to accomplish it, he looked to the sky in the hope of God's grace.
Jesus, the perfect Son of God, who had a perfect body, thought of the great pain of the cross and prayed, "Let this bitter cup pass from me, but not my will, but Your will be done."
When he lifted his eyes and looked at the sky, he knew that it was God's will to bear the cross, and when he thought of the suffering and prayed, he prayed that God would give him the power and grace to bear the cross so that he would do the will of the Father.
When we look up to the sky, we can understand the will of God. 'Faith' means to put aside our own things and live according to God's will. When I look to God, I can understand what God's will for me is. God has brought us to this earth in a detailed plan. You can never know it just by looking at the world. Our spiritual focus can be realized when we lift up our eyes and look to the sky. Not only do we have to give up what we have in order to realize God's will, but when we look to heaven and ask for God's power, when we seek grace and providence to control our fleshly things, we can learn how to live according to God's will. will be
In the Bible, Jesus looked up to heaven and worked in many places. When Jesus healed the deaf man (Mark 7:34), raised Lazarus to life (John 11:41), and performed the miracle of the five fish (Matthew 14:19), he looked up to heaven and worked. Because it was God's will to care for the sick and the hungry.
God has made us a blessed being, and He wants the broken images of God to be restored. He looked up to heaven to ask for God's grace.
Moses gave up all the powers of the prince to save the people of Israel and tried his best, but failed. He fled into the wilderness and spent 40 years turning 80 years old. He got a wife and a son and started a family. One day, he receives God's will to rescue the Israelites from Mount Sinai. In the crisis of having to give up his family, he refused to do it 5 times, but God made him throw his staff, showing him that he becomes a snake, and when he holds it again, he turns into a staff, and when he put his hand in his bosom, he got leprosy. The story of Moses is that when you put it back in and take it out, it shows that it is normal, and when he tells us to save Israel with this kind of God's power, he agrees, gives up on his family, and gives up what he has and saves Israel.
Moses tried to save the nation of Israel according to his will, but failed. I failed because I did not look up to heaven and pray. Later, God calls. Then, raise your eyes and pray to God and go to God. God teaches you the will of God. Save the nation of Israel In order to fulfill God's will, you must give up your family. I refused, but when I lifted up my eyes and looked up at the sky, God gave me the grace to bear it.
Please remember that without lifting up your eyes and looking to the sky, you cannot accomplish God's will without receiving the grace of God.
Do you know God's will? Do you know how to live to achieve it? One year passes. How much did you accomplish what you planned to accomplish God's will at the beginning of the year? As we set our eyes on the world, don't we know God's will but give up and postpone it? Please remember that there is abundant grace from God, and that grace comes when you lift up your eyes and look at the sky.
Both Jesus and Moses raised their eyes and looked to the sky in order to fulfill God's will and endure it. I was able to handle it with the generous grace that God gave me. We also pray in the name of Jesus that you and I will be able to lift up our eyes to see the sky.
2. God gives grace to the humble.
When Jesus lifted up his eyes to see the sky, it meant humility. God is our Creator and is worthy of our glory. We are nothing more than creatures.
The word humility comes from the Latin humuse (earth). No matter how high the soil is, it must be soil. Many people learn a lot, and when they rise a little, they forget that it is soil.
God does not show grace to the proud. When you bow down before God, the Creator, and look up to the sky and ask God, you should remember that you are a God who gives grace to such humble people.
David was a man with absolute power. A person's life or death could be decided with a single word. But when David ran into a problem, it was God that he remembered. ?쏧 lift up my eyes to the mountains, where will my help come from? My help is from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth??(Psalm 121).
David had absolute power, but only God could solve this problem.
?쏷he Lord will not cause you to stumble, and his keeper will neither slumber nor sleep??(Psalm 121:3).
If David had been arrogant and tried to get things done with human strength, he would not have had help from heaven. David had absolute power over great things, but I am nothing more than dust. I confessed that I would lift up my eyes toward the mountain where God is. I remember that my help comes only from God who made the heavens and the earth, and God blessed me with the humility of praying on my face. In the name of Jesus, I pray that you and I will become more like the prayers of Jesus who raise their eyes to the sky and ask for God's grace.
Jesus' posture of prayer He raised his eyes and looked at the sky. If you look at the earth, you can never know the will of God. In order to know God's will and to fulfill it, we have to give up our own things. Without God's abundant grace, we cannot give up. We must be humble to receive God's help. I look up at the sky with my eyes and I am a creature. I am dirt. You cannot get help unless you show humility. I pray in the name of Jesus that you and I become more like the prayers of Jesus. Amen