Sermon Notes - The Word On the Way

The Word On the Way, John 17:17
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended December 13, 2009

The church often teaches that we just need to believe the right facts. However, to be saved though we must respond the right way to those facts. We know a lot about Jesus but we don’t look a lot like Jesus. We must believe and respond correctly. Christianity is often cultural rather than genuine. It isn’t a distinct way of living anymore it seems.

John 17 is a prayer from Jesus for the disciples and for us. (John 17:20) This is what Jesus would pray for us if we asked Him to pray for us. He states His purpose for the disciples, “…so that the world may know.” His disciples, and us, are left here in such a way that everyone might know Him through them. They are reflecting Christ by the way they live. They are to be “distinctively” Christian.

Ultimately His prayer is that they be sanctified (John 17:17), or to be more like Christ.

The work of sanctification is primarily a work of God. He didn’t turn to the disciples and say, “Be sanctified!” He turned to the Father. (Philippians 2:12-13, Philemon 1:6)

No one seeks after God unless God seeks after them. 1 Thessalonians begins and ends with God’s work.

God’s primary means by which He accomplishes His work is through His Word. (John 17:17) Remember Matthew 7 and the small gate and narrow path, or the big gate and the wide path? The gate is the gate of justification.

The gate and the path are inseparable. You can’t go through the narrow gate and then walk the broad path. The narrow gate continues on a narrow path. This is the path of sanctification. The gift of the Holy Spirit, the church and the Bible are given to you when you enter that path telling you how to walk on that path. (Psalm 119:105) You must expose yourself daily to the primary means by which He has chosen to fulfill His work within you.

It is a hard path to walk (Hebrews 12) but the Bible gives us encouragement, it keeps us on the right path when others tell us we are going the wrong way, it reminds us of who we are, it reminds us of the pitfalls and it gives us mentors (Joseph, David, etc.) along the way. We will never be distinctively Christian unless we are people of the Word.

Desire for Bible reading often falls short due to lack of priority, lack of a specific plan, and failure to respond to what you are reading.

All scripture demands a response. If you view it that way it will be an “active” reading and every response will draw you closer to Christ.