Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.—John 17:24

Introduction and Prayer

Bethlehem … Jesus wants you home to be with him to see him—and he told his Father so in prayer

“Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory…”

Jesus is majestic in royal splendor; he is both Prince and King
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus is infinite in moral purity; Jesus Christ “The Righteous”
    And he wants you to be with him, to see Him
Jesus shines with the radiant glory of God; for He is God
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature as Holy, Holy, Holy 
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus upholds the universe by the word of His power carrying forward God’s will in everything everywhere always 
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus is supreme in love, compassion, kindness and goodness; our Good Shepherd
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus is supreme in power, might and strength 
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus is supreme in wisdom and knowledge—always knowing what to do everywhere in all things all the time 
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus is supreme in joy and gladness “enter into the joy of your Master”
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus lived a righteous life in our place; he is our righteous Representative 
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins; our wrath absorbing Substitute who lives 
    And he wants you to be with him, to see him
And for those who have trusted in him alone for the forgiveness of their sins … they will 
Trusting in Jesus sets up being with Jesus
Trusting in Jesus sets up seeing Jesus
Jesus prayed, and still does so that we can now pray in faith

Let’s pray …

Jesus’ Desire

1. Context

Jesus just told his disciples hard words in John 13

• 13:21, “one of you will betray me”
• 13:34, “where I am going you cannot come”
• 13:38, “the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times”

Summary: Their leader, Peter, will deny Jesus; Jesus is leaving them and one of them will betray him.

Jesus sets up his prayer in John 17 with many measures of kindness and truth for these hurting and troubled hearts:

• 14:1–3, “Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God—believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself that where I am there you may be also”
• 14:16: He promises to send the Spirit who will be with them
• 15:4, “Abide in me and I in you”
• 15:9, “As the Father has loved me so have I loved you; abide in my love”
• 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart I have overcome the world”

Jesus prays …

• He prays for his own glory: 1–5
• He prays for his apostles: 6–19
• He prays for his church in the world: 20–26
•  vv. 20–23: Praying for unity—oneness so that the world would see; oneness for the sake of evangelism
• vv. 25–26: He promises to keep making the Father’s name known to us, “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them”

2. What Jesus’ Heart’s Desire Is: John 17:24

• v. 24: “That they also whom you have given me”
• The Father gives a bride to the bridegroom
• We were given by the Father to the Son in love, before we were
• v. 24: “I desire…”
• Desire: wish, want and a sense of pleasure, enjoyment
• “Father, this would please me—I would find enjoyment in this …!”
• Ponder this: Praying John 17:24 aims at Jesus’ joy and getting in on his joy
• Jesus’ heart’s desire is coming to pass by the death of the saints, one soul at a time

Praying Jesus’ Desire

Seeing Foretastes of Jesus’ Prayer—Foothills Pointing to The Peak

Moses’s desire: God is sending him/the people to the Promised Land

• Exodus 33:14–15, God says “My presence will go with you” and Moses said if not don’t send us: I want to be with you.
• Exodus 33:18, “Show me your glory.”

David’s desire, Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I asked of the LORD [desired], that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.”

• I want to be with You, to dwell with you
• I want to see You

John records Jesus’ longing prayer in John 17:24.

John wrote about the fulfillment of this longing prayer regarding seeing Jesus in I John 3:1–2,

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

John wrote about the fulfillment of this longing prayer regarding being with Jesus in Revelation 7:15–17,

“Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

We quench our ever-thirsty hearts by praying Jesus’ heart’s desire, looking upon him in longing loving faith. We get quenched, yet thirst for more. We pray his desire and sit in his presence living his words “with … see”; longing them and saying them.

And as we do …

• We become like the One we spend time with
• We become like the One we long for and look upon

And as we long and pray Jesus’ desire we grow up in unity together, while beholding his glory through the eyes of faith.
(Illustration from Kent Hughes)

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So, one hundred worshipers meeting together each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be [were they to turn from Christ to one another and strive for closer fellowship together]”

Summary: If we focus on unity/fellowship merely; forget it. However, if we focus on Jesus together; unity …!

Bethlehem, we draw to the end of another year, 2015. As in all years, it has brought with it a blend of pain and pleasure—all under God’s good, wise and sovereign rule.

• We have lost children and aging brothers and sisters
• We have been granted the birth of new babies—new life
• We have seen hard hearts against God remain hard
• We have seen hard hearts broken, receiving the gospel for their joy
• We have seen changes in our families and extended families
• Some change is so good for us
• Some change is so hard for us
• We have seen hard things here at Bethlehem
• Church discipline as we see the hurtfulness/fruit of sin
• We have seen good things here at Bethlehem
• We have received a rich measure of the preaching of the Word, specifically the Psalm by our Pastor and he keeps showing us the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Psalms.
• We have worship pastors who point us to Jesus.
• We have nursery servants who pray over every child by name.
• We have memorial services that through tears has made our hearts soar, because of the hope we have in Jesus.
• We have seen the number of small groups increase meaning there is more prayer among the flock in living rooms than before
• We have seen trouble in this world
• The trouble for refugees & its surrounding complexities
• The trouble of hatred, violence and terrorism – it is in the world and increasing inside our borders
• The trouble of earthquakes: April in Nepal (9,000 killed)
• Flooding; draught; typhoons
• The trouble of plane crashes, Malaysian aircraft in August
• The trouble of cancer, war within the body   
• The trouble of battle, war between peoples and nations
• And yet, we see beauty in this world
• Flowers continue to bloom
• Rain continues to fall
• The sun continues to shine
• The sky is still blue and the starry night is still a wonder
• Old Faithful Geyser continues to erupt in its powerful splendor
• Ice tea still tastes oh so good on a hot summer’s day
• Seeing a mother Loon with her young on Lake Itasca still cries glory
• Little babies still smile when you talk gently with them in love…a baby’s laughter is rich with joy for you as you watch and listen
• October remains one of the best months of the year with all its golds, reds, and oranges
• An act of kindness by anyone is beautiful

And yet, though the flowers still bloom, our hearts still suffer and the birth pains—the groaning are on the rise. What do we do? We long Jesus’ desire and pray Jesus’ desire.

‘Foothill Longing’ Jesus’ Desire:

This can include words or just be a yearning. Sometimes you just long, yearn, feel—beyond words …

• The Spirit takes that yearning up, purifying the longing (Romans 8:26)
• While Jesus intercedes pleading his blood/righteousness (Romans 8:34)
• And then, our Father hears …

Simeon who served in the temple

• Simeon’s longing: Luke 2:22–32
• Simeon “took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation””

A heart that longs Jesus’ desire will often express it in words, but not always. Sometimes, it is expressed just through tears and a deep yearning. This heart is prepared to die in peace, because Jesus is his/her peace.

'Foothill Praying' Jesus’ Desire

Until we are called home, to be with Jesus and see him, our prays of longing stir up our love for him, which move us to pray more and long for and love him more … and over and over it goes.

The Psalms’ Longing and Praying Help

Pray the words in the Psalms with “PAUSE,” which is longing ...

• Psalm 42:1–2, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God” PAUSE
• Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” PAUSE
• Psalm 65:3–4, “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” PAUSE

Bethlehem, 

Jesus prayed in the upper room his heart’s desire, “Father, I desire that they also may be with me where I am to see my glory…”

Jesus then went to The Garden and prayed more ...
Is there another way? Abba? Papa? 
Yet not my will but your will be done

Jesus was then nailed on the cross and prayed still more: “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”

And now our living “Savior King” still prays for us, pleading his righteousness and blood on our behalf, interceding for us (Romans 8:34).

So that we can pray Jesus’ heart’s desire this morning with faith.

And until we see him with new eyes, we see him with the eyes of our soul—our spiritual capacities, God-given, are greater than these eyes

Conclusion

A Mother and Her Girl

How do parents speak of these things to their children? How about a mother with her daughter? What does she say and how does she pray when her girl is listening? Let’s listen in to a mother talking with her girl over a cup of tea. Let’s name the girl Cossette. Dad is out with the rest of the kids, and they have this quiet moment together. A mother’s word—a mother’s prayer—and a mother’s poem.

A Word:

Cossette, more than anything I want to be with Jesus and see him.
    He is my Savior, who loved me by laying down His life for me
    He is my King, who is coming back for me 
    He is my Treasure, who satisfies me 
He is so good. He loves me. He loves you too.
Cossette, one thing I desire for you, this is what I pray for—it would please me, that you with a trusting heart would desire to be with Jesus and see him in all his glory as Savior, King and Greatest Treasure.

A Prayer:

Father, I know  that Cossette does not comprehend all of this—nor do I. But you are teaching me and helping me teach her
    Thank you—please show me more …
        That I may show her more too.
[As David Brainerd said] “one hour with [You] God infinitely exceeds all the pleasures and delights of this lower world”
    May Cossette and I believe that, with all our hearts
        As we long for Jesus’ return, to be with him, to see him
And on that day may we stand together with great joy in your presence looking upon your blessed Son, our Blessed Hope.

A Poem:

Cossette, I wrote a little poem about this. Maybe this will help:

I am a pilgrim traveling homeward
    I am seeking a new land
I desire a better country
    My home, by Your guiding hand

I am a pilgrim traveling homeward
    What I desire is to see Your face
You are not ashamed to be called my God!?
    This is blood bought grace

I am a pilgrim traveling homeward
    May I speak of what I know
Cossette, Jesus is my King and Savior
    By His grace you too shall know

Amen.

Discussion & Application Questions

• How would you describe your present heart’s desire for Jesus’ return—to be with him and see him? Remember, the only right answer is the honest one! Now, what does your answer imply? 
• How would you take one step forward in this season of life to stoke the fires of longing for and loving Jesus? Who do you need to tell about this in order to welcome their loving encouragement for you to stay the course? 
• If you have children, have you recently talked with them about your supreme love—that being Jesus himself? If you talked with them today, would they think to themselves:
• “That is new information.”
• “I don’t often hear you say that.”
• “Yes … that’s my dad/mom!” 

• Do you know that right now as you read, God’s love upon you in Christ does not grow stronger or weaker depending upon your answers to questions numbers one and three?
• If this season is not one of longing for Jesus, do not despair. This is a new day and new mercies are on their way. Turn to Jesus now, for he loves you.
• If this season is one of deep longing for Jesus, do not be prideful. It is all a gift! Grow down low with grateful humility.

Prayer Focus
Pray John 17:24 over fellow saints whom you quite honestly don’t like too much right now. Ask God to move in their hearts to such a degree that they would be filled with joy as they behold their Savior, longing for him and waiting to see him with anticipation. Examine what happens to your heart toward them as you pray for them and contemplate God answering your prayer for their joy.