The Greatest Responsibility Ever Given

Reading the word of God from John chapter 17, beginning at verse 9 and completing with verse 19, our Lord is praying for his disciples, and what he prays for them is applicable to us today. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost. But the son of perdition is lost, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 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 shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. May the Lord help us. 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.

May the Lord help us so to be close to him that we might win others to the Savior. May the Lord help us so to be close to him that we will not be able to do that. A few of us would want to change places with the President of the United States, regardless of what party he belongs to or who he is. I suppose we might enjoy the excitement of it for a while and some of the publicity. But when you stop to think of the responsibility involved, it staggers you. In fact, it almost paralyzes you. If you were the President of the United States, wherever you went, a Secret Service man would be carrying a little box, that box would be your connection with what is going on in the world, and would give you the authority, because you are President, to say, push the button. The tremendous burdens that that man carries.

Of course, there are other people who carry responsibilities as well. Think of the responsibility of a surgeon as he hovers over the body of a little child, and he is going to seek to save that child's life. Or think of the responsibility of a nurse who is going to administer some medication. Or think of the responsibility of a teacher who might plant a lie in a student's mind, and that lie develop and create problems and ruin a life. Or think of the responsibility of a mother and father who have the job of nurturing their children. Think of the responsibility of a preacher of the gospel who stands between the living and the dead. And Paul said, who is sufficient for these things?

Without minimizing any of the responsibilities of politicians or teachers or scientists or parents, I would like to state that I believe the greatest responsibility ever given to anyone is the responsibility that the Lord Jesus Christ has given to us, his Church, to take his place in the world. As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Father, I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. While I am in the world, said Jesus, I am the light of the world. But he is not in the world. Therefore, we are the light of the world. And though we awaken each morning with a sense of realization, a sense of rejoicing, this is my Father's world. My Father and I are going to walk together through this day. We also get up in the morning with a great sense of responsibility. I may touch some life today that is hovering between heaven and hell. I may touch someone today who needs the gospel. And what if I fail? A surgeon can fail and a body dies. A Christian can fail and a soul goes to hell forever. The greatest responsibility ever given to any person is the responsibility given to you and me to represent Jesus Christ in this world.

In this prayer in John 17, our Lord mentions the world 17 or 18 times. He uses the word world in three different ways. In fact, the word world is used in three different ways in the Bible.

First, there is the world of nature, the world of creation, God who made the world and all things that are therein. Then there's the world of people, God so loved the world. And then there's that world that John talks about when he says, love not the world. Or that Jesus talks about when he says, they are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Here he's talking about that system. It's the Greek word cosmos from which you dear ladies get your word cosmetic. It has to do with the order of things. The Greeks were great lovers of order. And the cosmos to them was an indication of order. And so when you ladies stand before the mirror, you're trying to organize things. Get them in order. Now the tragedy is this. In this world system, in this order of things, it is organized against God. When the Bible says, love not the world, it doesn't mean the world of creation. We thank God for trees and flowers and sunsets and stars. It doesn't mean the world of people. We're to love one another and even love our enemies. It means that system of things, that organized society apart from God and against God.

You and I as Christians have several responsibilities with reference to the world. This world system. Our first responsibility is we must live in the world physically. Our second responsibility is we must live unlike the world system spiritually. Our third responsibility is we must seek to call out from the world as many as we can. And our fourth responsibility is we must live as those who one day are going to leave the world.

Well, it's not hard to remember. Responsibility number one is the responsibility of living in this world physically. Jesus said, I pray not that thou takest them out of the world. You see, we Christians have a unique relationship. We are in the world physically, but we are not of the world spiritually. Nothing we have that's any good came from this world. This world is not our home. Our home is heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our Father is in heaven. We were born from above. The Holy Spirit came down from heaven. The Lord Jesus came down from heaven. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above. We are in this world physically. We are not of this world spiritually. We do not depend upon this world. We have within us a well of living water that satisfies us. We don't have to kneel down and drink in the sewers of this world. So we are in this world physically. We are not of this world spiritually. And this gives us a unique relationship to the world.

It's like a scuba diver. As you people know, I am not a great lover of the water. And I would never take up scuba diving. But some of my friends do. I had a Baptist preacher friend who said he wanted to take up scuba diving to discover what happened to all the people he baptized that never came back to church. And so he gets his equipment. He gets his snorkel. And he gets his oxygen. Whatever he needs. And his flippers. And he comes out. And he goes into the water. I've watched them just walk into the water and go under. And two fish go swimming by. And one says to the other one, I've seen all kinds of bait. But this beats anything I've ever seen in my life. Now that scuba diver is in the water physically. But he's not of the water. He's not made for the water. He has to have outside help. He has to have auxiliary equipment or he'll die.

You and I are spiritual scuba divers. We are in this world physically. But we're not made for this world. We haven't got the system that goes with this world. Because we're Christians. Our lifeline is up. Connected with heaven. And we yet have the responsibility of living in this world physically. Now immediately our Lord's prayer here in verse 15 denounces isolationism. There are those who say the way to become holy is to get out of everything. Go off on a mountain top. Find a cave. Build a chapel. And just stay there and meditate. I've got news for you. You'll take your own flesh with you.

There's an old story about a monk down in Egypt who went off to live in a cave in a mountain. And there he disciplined his body and there he prayed. And the demons came to report to Satan and said, we can't break that man. We can't break him. We've tried lust. We've tried food. We've tried everything. We can't break him. He's in a place that he's so holy. Satan said, you don't know what you're doing. Let me show you how to do it. And Satan went to the cave and leaned over and whispered in the man's ear. Father, your brother has been just promoted to a bishop. His anger, his envy, his jealousy. He'd taken his flesh with him. You're not going to become holy by going to a conference ground. I'm glad for conference grounds. I preach at them. There is no holy geography in this world. There is no mountaintop or cave or valley or building or chapel or church that is more holy than any other place. Set apart. Yes, that's different. This building in which I'm preaching now has been set apart for the service of God. It is sanctified, but it's no holier than any other building in terms of its essential nature. And so the Lord says, I don't want you to be isolated. And some Christians want to be. And he said, I don't want you to be insulated. I don't want you to put on your armor and go walking through this world and never touching and never knowing about and never feeling what's going on in the lives of other people.

Do you remember the evangelist who said to the congregation, come back tomorrow night and bring an unsaved friend? And the lady who came up to him and said, sir, I don't have any unsaved friends. What an indictment. I wonder to whom she was witnessing. We have the responsibility of living in this world physically, not being isolated from the world, not being insulated from the world, and not imitating the world. A new word has come into our evangelical vocabulary, and I'm very much afraid of it. It's the word lifestyle. Lifestyle today covers a multitude of sins. The word lifestyle today can be the equivalent of a good old fashioned word we used to have years ago, worldliness. I don't mean that everybody's lifestyle is worldly. I'm saying you can use the word lifestyle and be imitating this world and say, well, it's my lifestyle. Is it a right lifestyle? Is it a good lifestyle?

Jesus is the example. Verse 18, as thou has sent me into the world, even so have I sent them. How was he when he was in the world? He went to weddings. He went to funerals. He played with the children. Imagine God with a child in his arms. I hate to admit this, he even went to picnics. He went to church, went to the synagogue. He went to parties that were thrown by publicans and sinners. He sat down at the well and talked to a prostitute. When Jesus was in this world, says the book of Hebrews, chapter 7, verse 26, he was holy and harmless and undefiled, separate from sinners, and yet Luke 15 says he was the friend of sinners. How can you be separate from sinners and be the friend of sinners? Well, if you understand what separation means, separation is not isolation, and separation is not insulation. Separation is identification without infection.

Let's go back to my surgeon. Doctors are always washing their hands. I'm glad they do. They put on their sterile gloves and their sterile garments. Why? They want to keep themselves clean. Why? That they might be able to help the one who needs help. Why does a Christian separate himself from sin? That he might be able to go into this world and help the people who need him. If the doctor is carrying germs, he infects the person worse. A Christian friend of mine was ready to come out of the hospital after some 40 days of being in the hospital. 40 days in the hospital with serious back trouble. And the day they were to release him, they discovered he had a staph infection. He got it in the hospital. Somebody wasn't sterile. Now that happens.

Jesus was in the world, but not of the world. He mingled with the people of the world, and yet he was different from them. He was the scuba diver. He was swimming in this world, but he wasn't of this world. And you and I, as we go out this coming week to drive trucks and pound typewriters and turn mimeograph machines and whatever it is we do, we can't isolate ourselves or insulate ourselves. We've got to be like the Lord Jesus, go to weddings and go to funerals and play with the children and talk to the newsman and be kind to the mailman and have contact without contamination. Have identification without infection. We don't like that. We don't like that. You know what we Christians like to do? Gather together in our little evangelical ghettos. Get together with those of like precious faith. And never touch the wounds of this world. And when some of God's children try to touch the lives of other people, they get criticized for it. Jesus did. Paul did. Wesley did. Moody did.

Our first responsibility is the responsibility of living in this world physically. And not saying, oh God, take me out of here. I can't stand it anymore. The music is terrible. The young people are going to the dogs. That's the way the average Christian is. I've preached at some of these meetings. And they get together and criticize everybody outside and everybody inside is holy. But dear friends, there's as much backbiting and gossip and sin among the insiders as there is among the outsiders sometimes. And so we get ourselves. Church becomes an evangelical bomb shelter into which all of us run and say, thank God. Heaven help us. Jesus says you're the salt of the earth. The salt's no good in the salt shaker. Jesus says you're the light of the world. The light's no good under a bushel.

Our second responsibility is the responsibility of living unlike the world spiritually. Our Lord is saying, look, you are in the world physically, but you aren't of the world spiritually. Now, keep yourself sanctified, set apart. The word sanctified does not mean perfectly holy. If that were the case, Jesus couldn't say for their sakes, I sanctify myself. He already was holy. Sanctify means to set apart. Now, how can you and I ever stay clean in a dirty world? How can you and I ever, ever, swimming through the dirty waters of this world stay clean?

Well, as you meditate on these verses in John 17, verses 13 through 19, you see what the Lord's given us to keep us clean. He's given us his word. I have given them the words that thou gavest me. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. The world is full of lies, but God's word is truth. The world is full of darkness, but God's word is light. The world is living on the husks and the garbage of sin, but God's word is milk and meat and bread and honey. Oh, my friend, ere you left your room this morning, did you take time to pray and to read God's word? Nothing will cleanse the mind like the word. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. How do you ever expect, how do I ever expect to stay clean in this world apart from the Bible?

The second resource he's given to us is his intercessory prayer. Verse 15, I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world. He says, I'm praying for them. He's praying for us. And as you and I fight the battles of this world, and the world is trying to spot us and stain us and press us into its mold, Jesus is praying for us. You know what, he understands exactly what you're going through. That encourages me. I could come to the throne of grace and say, Lord Jesus, you're praying for me. Keep me clean. Keep me set apart. Help me to walk through this world as one who belongs to God. The third resource he's given to us is his own example. Verse 16, they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. He says, look, look at my example. If you're tempted to get involved in sin, remember, I was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. If you're tempted to pull yourself away from the needs of this world, remember, I was a friend of publicans and sinners.

Let me say a word to the unsaved people listening to me right now. Do you know how hard it is to be a good Christian? Folks have the idea that when you become a Christian, it's all very easy. I want you to know that a Christian walks a knife's edge. Oh, if you're a legalist, you don't. If you're a legalist with a set of rules and regulations, you know exactly how holy you are. You can measure your holiness. But if you're trying to walk in the Spirit, there are days when your Christian friends will say, hey, boy, you're getting kind of close to the world, aren't you? There are days when they'll say, wait a minute, what's going on over here? They don't understand you. They didn't understand Jesus, didn't understand Paul, didn't understand John Wesley or Martin Luther or D.L. Moody. In fact, it may be one of the best evidences you're walking in the Spirit if people can't explain you because Jesus says, the wind blows as it listeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. You can't explain the wind. The wind is not consistent. His own example. It's been a great help to me to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Peter said we should follow in his steps. He's our example. You aren't saved by Jesus, the example. You're saved by Jesus, the Savior. But you're kept clean in this world by looking to Jesus Christ, the great example. And you discover it's not a sin to sit down and have dinner with unsaved people. He did it. It's not a sin to go to the weddings of unsaved people. He did it. It's not a sin to love the children. He did it. Verse 19 gives us one of the greatest resources for living a holy life. For their sakes, I sanctify myself. You know what that means? He died. Listen, the world crucified him. If somebody here today is playing with the world, if someone listening to me right now is toying with the world and saying, that world's attractive, that world has something to offer me. Just remember the world crucified Christ. God forbid that I should glory, said Paul, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. That's a double funeral. Paul says, when Jesus died, he killed the world and he killed my love for the world. When the world comes knocking at the door, say, sorry, I'm dead.

Do Christians get worldly? Sure they do. A lot got worldly. It's always gradual. It's never sudden. It's always gradual. First, there's friendship with the world. James chapter four. And then you get spotted by the world. James one 27. And then there's love for the world. First John two 15. And then there's conform to the world. Romans 12, two. It's always gradual. Do Christians get worldly? Yes. Why? They forget the cross. He's given us the word of God. He's praying for us. We have his example. We have his sacrifice. For our sake, he set himself apart. Now he says, for the world's sake. Set yourself apart.

Responsibility number one is the responsibility of living in this world physically. We are not to desert it and become evangelical monks.

Responsibility number two is the responsibility of living unlike the world spiritually. When the world gets into the church, the church cannot change the world.

Responsibility number three is the responsibility of winning people out of the world. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Verse 20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word. What an encouragement. When Peter stood up to preach at Pentecost, he remembered that. He said, Lord, you said there would be people believe. And they did. Why are we here? We often hear slogans about changing the world. And as salt and light, we ought to effect some changes. As Christians through prayer and the word of God, we ought to effect changes. There isn't a person here who would not rather have honest politicians, honest office holders, as opposed to dishonest ones. But basically, our responsibility is to call out from the world those whom the Lord is going to save. That's why Jesus says, as the Father sent me, even so send I you. That's an awesome thought. That's a tremendous thing. That I have the responsibility of being Jesus Christ and doing his work where God has put me.

That little word sent in verse 18 is a frightening word. It means to send with a commission. It's the word for apostle. I'm sending them with a commission. They are my ambassadors. They are ambassadors to peace going to a world that's at war with God. God is not at war with the world. One day he will be. One day after he calls his church home, he'll declare war on this world. But today God's not at war with the world. Today God is reconciled to the world. And you and I are ambassadors of peace to a world at war. And our responsibility is to come to people who are fighting God and therefore fighting themselves and say, look, quit fighting. God loves you and Jesus died for you and the Holy Spirit wants to come in you and change you. Now give yourself to Christ.

The responsibility of winning people out of the world. The world hates us. Verse 14, I have given them thy word and the world has hated them. You know why the world hates us? We have the word of God. We don't need the wisdom of this world. We have the word of God. We don't need the approval of this world. We have the word of God. We don't need the pleasures of this world. We have the word of God. The world hates us because we have something the world doesn't have. They hate us because we bear the name of Christ. You can tell people you're a Lutheran or a Presbyterian or a Baptist or even an agnostic. They'll say, great, everybody ought to believe something. Tell them you're a Christian. You bring the name of Christ into the conversation and see how the temperature changes. They hate the name of Christ.

Now we Christians must not go around with revolvers in our hands. We must not go around with brick bats trying to start trouble. We don't have to start it. It's already there. And our responsibility is to win people out of the world. That's an awesome responsibility. You say, well, I pray for the missionaries. Keep it up. But be a missionary. Well, I help support the church. God bless you. But the greatest thing any of us can do is to be out there touching the lives of other people with the word of God. We have a final responsibility. We have the responsibility not only of living in this world physically, not isolating ourselves. We have the responsibility of living unlike the world spiritually, being sanctified, set apart by God's truth. We have the responsibility of winning people out of this world by sharing the word of God.

And finally, we have the responsibility of living with the expectation of leaving this world. Verse 24, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. That could happen today. Our Lord prayed, oh God, I want my people in heaven. I want them to see my glory and share my glory. You know, when that happens, our opportunities are going to end to win people. If we should hear the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel, we'll never again pass out another tract. We'll never again pray with another convert. We'll never again share the gospel with another sinner. It'll all be over. And for some people, it'll mean going to glory empty handed. For some people, it'll mean standing before the Lord ashamed. For those who had the treasure and buried it. And the Lord will come and say, what did you do with what I gave you? Oh Lord, I protected it. Here it is. I didn't become apostate. I didn't go liberal. I didn't become modernistic. But what did you do with it? Did you invest it? Well, no, I kept it protected. I met with my friends every week and we guarded it and we protected it. Nobody got in and stole it. But did you get out and share it? No. No. Oh, wicked and slothful servant. If you've trusted Christ as your Savior, my friend, you are ready to go to heaven. You'll get there by the blood of Jesus Christ. But if we get there and discover we have been unfaithful with reference to our ministry to this world, what is he going to say to us? Wasted time. Wasted money. Wasted strength. Wasted opportunities.

Many years ago when I was in seminary, Stratton Shufelt and Stephen Alford showed up in chapel. Being a very young Christian myself, I'd never heard of them or heard them, but oh, what an impact. I can still remember that chapel message and the songs that Stratton Shufelt sang. He sang A.B. Simpson's tremendous song, Lord, thou hast given to me a trust, a high and holy dispensation to tell the world until I must the glories of thy great salvation. Thou mightst have given to angels above to go out and tell the story. But in thy great abounding love to men, thou hast reserved the glory. Then that chorus, and it went through me like you'd opened a blast furnace. Let me be faithful to my trust. Telling the world the story. Put in my heart the woe. Put on my feet to go. Let me be faithful to my trust. And use me for thy glory. I'm not concerned about how many breakfasts I miss. There are lots of meetings in Chicago I don't go to. I'm not worried about how many conferences. I'm not concerned about how many dinners. I don't care how many autographs I don't pick up. I'm concerned about one thing. God's given me a trust. And if it kills me, and it may, I'm going to fulfill that trust.

A world is going to help while we entertain each other. Oh, may God help us. Gracious Father, all of us have failed. We can bring and lay before your feet many substitutes for faithfulness, many substitutes for loyalty, many arguments and excuses, many toys and trinkets. But, oh God, we want to come to your feet and lay soles. We want to be faithful to our trust. Father, I cannot represent Jesus in the city of Chicago. It's too much for me. Thank you for the resources you make available. Help me to be faithful. Help us as a church family. We're grateful for what goes on within these walls. But, oh Lord, we cry out for more to go on outside these walls. In visiting and praying and witnessing. Binding up the brokenhearted. Lord, you never called us and told us we had to live. You told us we had to die. Father, we are expendable. And Paul said, none of these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself, that I may finish my course with joy. And the ministry. And, Lord, that's what I want for my life. Whether it be by life or by death. I want to complete the ministry you have for me. I believe, Lord, this is the prayer of these people. We want to do the work you've called us to do. Send a revival to our hearts. A new sense of woe. A new desire to go. Oh, God, continue to bless the prayer meetings that are springing up all over our church family. Oh, may they grow. And may the result be many coming to know Christ as Savior. Thank you for the witnessing. Thank you for all that you're going to do. Help us, Lord, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.