At The Christ Quarter, we discuss God's Word through scripture, what it means, and how it applies to our daily lives. I hope God speaks to you through His Word, and that these discussions bring you closer to Him.
I am truly blessed to share this journey with you, and I thank you so much for listening.
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11:54
The verses for today are unusual.
This is a rare moment that we have the privilege of seeing. Jesus is about to leave His friends, His earthly home and return to His true home and we see His reluctance to leave His friends behind. Not only that but we see that He is worried about them. Here we see the heart of God, that He loves His friends, and us, this much.
Imagine you have a friend who has a very ugly but extremely expensive car. Even though you don't understand it and even though you would never pay any price for that particular car, you still respect your friends valuing the car and you treat his car with deference and respect. We should look at other people like that.
With that in mind; I have two five letter words for you - Biden and Trump - okay, five letter names. Can you love both of these men? Not for what they do or do not do. But for the fact that they are human men, born in sin and shaped by sin, just like the rest of us.
It is God’s desire that they choose Him and become saved men. Is it your desire to see Biden in Heaven? Or to see Trump in heaven? Your reaction to that question may be an indication of whether or not you will be seen in heaven.
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John 17:14-24 - King James Version 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. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
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1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - King James Version 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
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2 Peter 3:18 - King James Version 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Welcome to the Christ Quarter. Thank you for taking a quarter of an hour out of this day to enjoy the presence of Christ and the words of Christ. Today let's read a section of scripture, discuss what it means, and also how it applies to our lives. I hope that God will speak to you through my words, and more importantly, through his scriptures, and will bring you closer to Him. I am blessed and thankful to have this time to speak with you, and I thank you so much for being with me here today. The Christ Quarter is available on Amazon Music. Just ask your smart speaker or app to play the Christ Quarter Podcast. I'm also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Today's scripture selection is John chapter 17, verses fourteen through twenty four. The King James Version reads as follows 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. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and has loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. The NIV says it this way I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this day, we thank you for the freedom and the ability to discuss your word and enjoy your presence. Help us to understand your word and your will for our daily lives more fully. We ask that you bless this discussion of your word, that it will speak to someone who needs to hear from you. We ask that you use these words to bring someone closer to you, and that you will touch their hearts to love others through action in your name. That each of us will do something to show love to their neighbor in action as well as in word. That each of us will do our best to represent you to the world. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. The verses for today are unusual. This is a rare moment that we have the privilege of seeing. Jesus is about to leave his friends, his earthly home, and return to his true home. And we see his reluctance to leave his friends behind. Not only that, but we see that he is worried about them. He will see the heart of God that he loves his friends and us this much. Imagine you have a friend who has a very ugly but extremely expensive car. Even though you don't understand it, and even though you would never pay any price for that particular car, you still respect your friend's value in the car and you treat his car with deference and respect. We should look at other people like that. With that in mind, I have two five-letter words for you. Biden and Trump. Okay, five two five-letter names. Can you love both of these men? Not for what they do or do not do, but for the fact that they are human men born in sin and shaped by sin, just like the rest of us. Is it God's desire that they choose him and become saved men? Is it your desire to see Biden in heaven or to see Trump in heaven? Your reaction to that question may be an indication of whether or not you will be seen in heaven. Let's get right to it. In the first verse of our scriptures today, we see Jesus praying. Through his prayer, we see ourselves as we are, our situation, and what we are to do. In this verse, Jesus is saying in his prayer that he has given us his word and the world hates us for it. The world loves its own and hates those who have chosen Jesus over them. The love the world has for itself is like a drunk who will not be happy until everyone around them drinks with them. As they are drinking and poisoning themselves, they want to share their happiness, quote unquote, with everyone. If you choose not to overdrink and become drunk with them, then they will likely be angry with you and may even start a fight. This is a common example of how the world loves its own and hates Christians. In this example, either we are in their group and with them, or we are outside their group and against them. You've probably heard a drunk person complain that someone who refuses to drink with them must think they are better than they are. Similarly, many people in the world think that Christians think that they are better than anyone else. And some Christians do believe this, either because they were young Christians still learning, or perhaps because they have been deluded by a false teacher. We should pray for these Christians that they will see the truth, that we Christians are not any better than anyone else. In fact, we should see our unworthiness even more clearly once we become saved. We should also pray for these particular Christians because the world uses their mistaken viewpoint to lead people away from God. The world hates us and wants there to be fewer of us.
In verse 15, we see Jesus addressing this. We see Jesus praying that we remain in this situation. But wait a minute, why? Why would Jesus pray that we, his followers, remain in a fallen world and remain in persecution? Why wouldn't he pray that we be taken home with him? Well, for one thing, that is not God the Father's will. For another, Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, want all people to be saved and to go to heaven. The only way for this to happen is for us to spread his word to the world. We must remain among the world in order to tell them the good news. So rather than pray that we will be taken out of the world, Jesus prays that we be protected from the devil, the devil who uses the world and the people of the world to persecute, to distract, and to harm us. Even though it is difficult sometimes, we must be about our father's business. Or as I like to say, we have to keep working in the family business.
In verse 17, Jesus prays that we be sanctified through the word. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Sanctify means to make holy or to set apart. First Corinthians chapter six, verses nineteen and twenty says in part, Know ye not that your body is this temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Therefore we are set apart by our faith, which we have by the Word of God. Second Peter chapter 3, verse 18 tells us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So we are set apart immediately by our faith, but we continue to learn and to grow as we live and experience this fallen world. Just as Jesus sanctified himself in verse 19, through the perfect life he lived, which is his example to us of how we are to live in the sanctified, set apart life through the truth. Prior to verse 20, the point could be made that Jesus is praying in reference to his disciples. Thankfully, Jesus extends his prayer to all of us who believe on him. Jesus ends this section of Scripture with a call to unity and an expression of love. Jesus prays that we be unified and show the world our unity. He also prays that we will be with him and behold his glory in heaven. Jesus loves us and wants us to be with him. He also wants us to love each other and be the expression of true love and unity here on earth.
I hope this message today will lead you to view everyone you see as one of God's children. God loves everyone and wants us all to choose him. Treat everyone with that love and respect. Love the people around you through action and through the love of God. That concludes our scripture discussion for today. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about, learning about, and enjoying Christ. It is my hope that God has used my words to touch you today and has brought you closer to Him. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debt towards. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, with honor as the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
