“JESUS PRAYS FOR OUR UNITY”

JOHN 17:20-26 (NLT)  20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

John 17 is a prayer of three sections.

· verses 1-5 Jesus prays for Himself.

· verses 6-19 He prays for that immediate group of eleven disciples gathered around Him.

· verses 20-26, He prays for all believers yet to come.

Beyond His death, Jesus expected a dynamic and growing church that would last throughout the ages.

· When Jesus looked at the face of Peter in that circle of eleven, He saw behind Peter the whole of Pentecost and thousands more behind them.

· When He looked at the face of John, He saw the church of Ephesus and all the churches of Asia Minor.

· And when He saw the gap where Judas Iscariot had been, surely he thought of the face of Paul and all of the churches of Europe.

· And crossing generations and oceans, right down to this very day, He said I pray for every one of them who will believe through the Word of that original eleven.

He moved beyond the eleven and prayed for the generations to come. In verse 21, what He prayed for them, He then prayed for all believers.

Jesus prayed just one thing. He prayed for believers unity, so that the unity of Christians would make such an impact that the world would believe He had sent Jesus the Son.

We need to note here that Jesus asked God to give us unity as a request. That means that unity is given and not achieved. It is indeed received, or Jesus wouldn’t have urged the disciples to "be one." Rather, He looked to the Father and said grant to them the gift of unity. The unity of God’s people can never be fabricated by man … it must be generated by the Spirit of God. It can never be organized by the church it must be vitalized by the Spirit of God.

Jesus prays that the present church on earth and the future church in heaven will see His glory. "Glory" is the visible manifestation of all the divine attributes. It is what we see when we look at God.

Christ has already revealed all the glory we can comprehend on earth below. In verse 22 Jesus says, "I have given them the glory that you gave me." We see in the divine manhood of Jesus Christ all the glory that our eyes are capable of seeing below. Verse 22 continues saying that the purpose of showing us His glory was that "they may be one." Even now, when we get our eyes off of one another and contemplate the revealed glory of God in Christ, we are one. That glory transforms us even now. Paul told the church in Corinth: "We...are being transformed into His likeness with an ever-increasing glory."

Christ will fully reveal all of His glory in heaven: "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory (:24a). There is more to come. We will be perfectly one when we perfectly see his glory. The final object of believers’ thought will be on the exalted Jesus Christ. The more we look at Him, the more we will see forever. The more we see, the more we will become one forever.

That glory is the outward, visible expression of love between the Father and the Son. The last part of verse 24 states: "the glory You have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." We will spend eternity meditating on the love between the Father and Son!

~Bits and Pieces of sermon by Bobby Gilstrap

THE BREASTPLATE OF THE HIGH PRIEST

God will hear our prayer and reveal the secret in a night vision (Dan 2:19) Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

In a dream I saw the stones of the Breastplate of the High Priest, but they each were very, very large.  The Lord said, he heard my prayers for Vincent and He is taking care of him.  Then I heard music and had the knowing this was Vincent's talent for the Lord.  It was a very humbling experience and a joyful one.  Thank You, Lord.

THE BREASTPLATE OF THE HIGH PRIEST

The breastplate was clearly designed with the idea that the names of the twelve tribes engraved on the stones should be brought before God "as a continual memorial," and that Aaron should "bear them upon his heart, when he went into the most holy place." (Exodus xxviii. 12, 29). When we look at the breastplate as we use in our ritual, we find it to be made of metal with 12 gems. However, in reality, according to the Bible, the breastplate, or, as it is further named, the breastplate of judgment was, like the inner curtains of the Tabernacle, of "cunning work," which means that it was the work of a skilled weaver. The material with which it was woven consisted of threads of gold and blue, purple and scarlet linen threads. The number of the threads and the order of the colors were, according to the "Targums" one of gold, six of blue, six of purple, and six of scarlet.

"And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goeth in unto the holy place for a memorial before the Lord continually" [Exodus 28.29]

Aaron was the first high priest and was Moses' brother. After Aaron died, subsequent high priests were his descendants, known as the sons of Aaron. The High Priest was the most glorious Jewish position. His representative dress was said to be "for glory and for beauty." It was made according to the design given by God to Moses. Only certain special people were allowed to make the garment as the following verse indicates:

"And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him that he may minister unto me in the priest's office" [v. 3].

The role of the breastplate becomes clear in the following text: 

"Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually"

Why is the Breastplate so important?:

The breastplate was of great importance because by means of it, God revealed his Divine will to His chosen people. It was designed by God Himself and the directions as to how it was to be made were given to Moses as illustrated in Exodus xxviii. 15, 20.

The King James Authorized Version of the Bible (1769) translated the Hebrew work "chosen" as breastplate, but this obscures some of its meaning. In the Septuagint it is written by the Greek word "logeion," which means a speaking-place. This describes exactly what the breastplate really was---the oracle or means by which God spoke to, i.e., answered the inquires of, the high-priest.

What did the Breastplate look like?:

The breastplate was clearly designed with the idea that the names of the twelve tribes engraved on the stones should be brought before God "as a continual memorial," and that Aaron should "bear them upon his heart, when he went into the most holy place." (Exodus xxviii. 12, 29). When we look at the breastplate as we use in our ritual, we find it to be made of metal with 12 gems. However, in reality, according to the Bible, the breastplate, or, as it is further named, the breastplate of judgment was, like the inner curtains of the Tabernacle, of "cunning work," which means that it was the work of a skilled weaver. The material with which it was woven consisted of threads of gold and blue, purple and scarlet linen threads. The number of the threads and the  order of the colors were, according to the "Targums" one of gold, six of blue, six of purple, and six of scarlet.

The Urim and Thummim:

The breastplate was actually made of two pieces, which formed a sort of purse, or bag, in which also was kept the two sacred stones, named the Urim (representing light and excellence) and the Thummim (representing perfection and completion). These stones were some divinely appointed instruments by which the High Priest inquired of God about matters concerning the welfare of the Children of Israel. The Bible makes several references to these miraculous stones, but not anything physical, like the shape or size. 

Which stones were on the breastplate?:

Upon the breastplate were set four rows of precious stones, three in each row, and upon them were engraved the names of the twelve tribes, and as the great Jewish historian Josephus adds, "in the order of their birth", but we are not told which stone to which tribe. So which stones were used? This is a 2,000 year old question. Although the Hebrew names of the 12 stones are not in question, their translation is, and despite numerous attempts, the various translators cannot, to date, agree to a single translation. G. W. Kunz in "The Curious Lore of Precious Stones" says "In the Midrash Bemidbar, the Rabbinical commentary on numbers, the tribes are given in their order, with the stones appropriate to each and the color of the tribal standard pitched in the desert camp, this color corresponding in each case with that of the tribal stone."

In general, however, the following composite is most accepted:

Judah Sardius (Red)

Issachar Topaz (Pale green)

Zebulon Carbuncle (Deep red)

Reuben Emerald (Green)

Simeon Sapphire (Deep blue)

Gad Diamond (Transparent)

Ephraim Ligure (Dull red)

Manasseh Agate (Gray)

Benjamin Amethyst (Purple)

Dan Beryl (bluish green)

Asher Onyx (Bluish white)

Naphtali Jasper (Green)

For in the Bible we learn that:

"And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold in their enclosings.

And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings on a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes....

And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgement upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually."

The Dress of the High Priest:

The awesome responsibility of the high Priest required a sanctified person (Exodus 29), dressed in "holy garments". The uppermost holy garment is apron-like and is called the Ephod. On top of the Ephod there is the square breastplate, with the twelve precious stones. On each shoulder-piece of the Ephod was a precious stone. Six names were written on each of the stones, altogether naming the twelve tribes of Israel. Every time the high priest went before God at the Golden Incense Altar, the names of all the people of God were upon His shoulders. 

The blue garment is called the robe, under which the high priest wore a white fine linen woven tunic. On his head is the white fine linen turban. Round the base of the turban is the crown of gold, with the inscription "HOLY TO THE LORD". This dress passed to his successor at his death. 

Speaking things into Existence

 

Walk in the supernatural by activating every promise in God's Word.  When we don't have answers to our prayers, there has to be some blockage somewhere.  Jim shows us that we have to belief these promises with all our heart.  When we have trapped emotions, trapped feelings, some may even be generational but, when you can get rid of them by applying these principles, you can begin to believe God with all of your heart.

We have to persuade our heart to believe the truth, because until we believe the truth in our heart its just information.  When you have pain or bills you can not pay then you have all this evidence that says the promises of God are not yours.  Contrary to this, the bible says that you are going to believe what you have the evidence to believe.  Because it says, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.  (Hebrews 11:1)

Medical science has discovered that the experiences that go all the way back to when we were in the womb and actually can be taken from generation to generation, and it's not that they are curses, I won't say that.   We understand that cellular memory once something stays in a family for up to 3 generations by that 4th generation you are hard wired to that, to believe and expect for poverty.  And like-wise we realize that as people have painful emotions, they have painful experiences, the Bible calls that an offense. Its a pain that we take inside that literally goes into our body, into our cells.

(Proverbs 12:6)  The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

(Jeremiah 17:9)  “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

(Romans 7:23)  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Since God spoke everything into existence those words are literally frequencies.  Every word that God spoke has a specific frequency, and we know now that each organ has a frequency and if it doesn't stay at that frequency it is not healthy.

What gets that organ out of its frequency is when we get hurt or get pain or hold an offense in and I don't send that away or forgive, we hold on to it.  Jesus said when somebody sins you can forgive and send it away or you can retain it.  If we hold unto hurt, that hurt literally becomes a vibration inside every cell in your body that causes an organ to not vibrate at that perfect frequency that God spoke into existence.  So if we are trying to get healed but we are holding on to hurt and pain that's causing our sicknesses.

So you decide when you have an offence you can send it away or hold on to it.  Put Off:  Send away any feeling, any emotion, or anything that is inconsistent with the promises of God in Jesus that keeps those cells in inconstant vibration.  Put On: Who you are in Jesus, that's the key. Say, Jesus, I am righteous, I'm saved, I'm healed, I'm delivered, I'm prospered, I'm blessed, I'm protected.

What emotions are you dealing with? Call it by a name.  As these emotions come up in you and you start dealing with them, putting them off and putting on, you are going to be freer and freer.  And the Words of God are going to start working in your life.

Science has now discovered that every time your heart beats it sends an encoded signal to every cell in your body that basically updates that cell to what you believe about yourself right now.  Every cell is reprogrammed every time your heart beats.  It's exactly what Jesus taught us, and that's the amazing thing.  All the way back to book of Proverbs for thousands of years, God has given us what scientists didn't know.

We know from a Biblical and a medical point of view that if a person is having fear, its going to be their kidneys.  If a person is having anger, it is going to be their liver.   If a person is having grief and sorrow, it is going to be their respiratory system.  If a person is having fright or panic attacks it is going to be their heart.

A Prayer of Transformation

(name of the feeling) you are not from God.  I don't want you.  You have no place in my life.  Father, search may heart.  Search through every aspect of my being.  Through every cell of my body.  To the very, root and core of this (name of the feeling).  And by Your Grace I expect the courage to forgive myself, to forgive others, to forgive every circumstance that has contributed to this problem.  Now (name the feeling) I send you away, I forgive myself in the name of Jesus.  And I choose to feel love.  I am in Christ, I am loved, I am accepted.  The Love of God abounds in my heart.  I choose to feel love,  I choose to speak love, and by the Grace of God, I trust the love of God to manifest in my life.

As these emotions come up in you and you start dealing with them and putting off and putting on, you are going to be freer and freer.

~Bits and Pieces from interview of Jim Richards on Sid Roth, It's Supernatural