"To The Glory of God" John 17 Part 2 by Kathryn Kuhlman part 2 in her "John 17 Series"

These words that Jesus spake and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. And you know immediately that I'm reading from the 17th chapter of John, the prayer that Jesus prayed, his communion with the Father. To me, this is something that's very sacred. Whenever I talk about this wonderful communion that Jesus was having with the Father, somehow I feel like I'm talking about something that's extremely sacred. And to think that he permitted human beings to get a glimpse into that communion, to... Hear the words, the audible words. Do you know that those were with him that day? Literally were hearing the audible words spoken from the lips of Jesus to God the Father. That's mighty sacred. It's a great privilege for you and I to read. those words again to know what the words were that Jesus spoke when he spoke to the Father. In the first five verses, two desires were expressed. And this is what they were. Father, the hour is come. Now, all through John, we have found references to that hour. It began way back. there when he said at the married supper at Cana, mine hour is not yet come. Now finally he's saying, this is it. The hour is come. And to this hour he had been looking forward to from the very beginning. He had been preparing in all of his teaching, in all of his deeds, everything that he did, underlying every action. all of his passion, everything, was leading up to that all -important hour. And now he says, Father, that hour is come. The hour is now here. Glorify thy son. He didn't say glorify me. Glorify thy son. that the Son may glorify thee, even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that whatsoever thou hast given him, to them he should give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ, through all... This. He used a very impersonal attitude. Always. Mm -hmm. The sun. That the sun might glorify you. To me, that's vitally important. Continues. I glorified thee on earth. Now comes the personal part. He did not say, the Son of God glorified thee on earth. He said, I glorified thee on earth. Having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do, I hope someday I can stand in the wonderful presence of Jesus. I long for that day when, after I will have preached my last sermon, my last day's working. I hope I can say when I see him face to face, I have glorified thee on the earth. It's been my whole life's work. It has been the purpose for my living, the ambition of my life. to glorify thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. Jesus, before he ever left the presence of the Father, knew that he had come to fulfill a definite work. He had a job to do, in other words. He had a work to do. He had a mission to carry out. And he came in the form of man because that was the only way he could carry out that mission, the only way he could carry out that work. There was a perfect plan to the whole thing. And remember something, I still want to remind you that God has a perfect will and a perfect plan for every human being. I don't care who that one is. When that baby takes his first breath, and makes his first cry. There's more than just a little body. There's more than just two little eyes, two little legs. There's a soul, there's a life, and there's nothing more important in the whole world than human life. Oh, we've gotten to the place where human life is so cheap. There never was a time when human life was as cheap as it is this hour. But remember, in the sight of God, a human life is the most important thing there is in the world. In that body is a soul. And along with that soul, a soul that will live throughout all of eternity forever and ever. Death never destroys that soul. And with that light, there comes a plan, a perfect plan. and each human being must decide whether or not they'll accept or reject that plan we talk about it in terms of living in the perfect will of god along with that soul along with that breath of light that has been given a will, separate and apart from the will of God. And we use that will to either accept that plan, to either live in that plan, to either accept the things of God or reject God's word, God's plan, and God as a person. It's just that simple. Jesus Christ knew that he came and with his coming there was a plan. The will of God. And in that plan was man's salvation, man's redemption. And now he was coming face to face with his crucifixion. The hour is come. That great hour when he would lay down his own life, he would dismiss his own spirit. And he looks up and said, I glorified thee on earth. Never once did he glorify himself. Read the pages of the word. Read it. You and I talk about the great miracles. You and I talk about the power of the Christ. But read it very carefully. Never once did Jesus ever glorify himself. He did say of the Holy Spirit that when the Holy Spirit would come, that the Holy Spirit would glorify him. And wherever you find the Holy Spirit, you'll always find the Holy Spirit glorifying Jesus. But Jesus... himself, never glorified himself once. And that's the reason he could look up. Had in communion with the fathers, he said, I glorified thee on the earth. He will not even glorify himself in this position of great high priest or in this great position that he has this very moment. He is there not glorifying himself. He's there making intercession for you and for me. I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. I came. I had a job to do. there was a purpose, I have fulfilled that purpose. What if he had yielded to temptation? What way back there when Satan came to him and offered him the title deed to this planet if he'd only bow down and serve him? Go back again and read those temptations. What if Jesus... As much man as though he were not God had yielded even for an instant to one of those temptations. He could not now have said, I have accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. This is deep. This is thrilling. What is the desire? Glorify thy sun, that the sun may glorify thee. It's still that the sun may glorify thee. That's a reason to be very careful when men glorify themselves. Be very careful when you see one of God's children trying to glorify themselves. Even the Son of God did not seek to glorify himself. He sought only to glorify God. He did not say, glorify me that I may glorify thee. He didn't say that. Of course, that is what it meant, but the very method of statement is significant. It was not personal, but relative. He was thinking of his self in his intimate relationship with his father. Thy son. The son. Whereas the prayer is personal. As we've said before, the first expressed desire maintains his sense of relationship and all which that meant at that hour. The hour is come. Glorify thy son that the sun may glorify me. The only reason, Jesus said. that I want any glory whatsoever is that I might use that glory to glorify thee. He was expressing his desire that the Son might be glorified for only one purpose, that the Son may glorify the Father. The deepest passion of his heart was the glory of God. The deepest passion of the heart of Jesus was not the saving of men, but the glory of God. And then the saving of men, because that is for the glory of God. Uh -huh. We talk about willing souls. And that's marvelous. You've heard me say it a thousand times that the greatest miracle in the world is the transformation of a life. There is no greater miracle than that. And when we talk about the burden for souls, and there is no greater success in the life of any human being than the success of winning somebody, the Lord Jesus Christ. But please understand exactly the way I'm saying it to you. The winning of souls is marvelous. The saving of men and women is glorious. But why? Because it's for the glory of God. And every time a man is snatched from the pit of hell, every time an individual is snatched from Satan, every time, there has been an experience of regeneration, of salvation. God gets the glory. It's for the glory of God. Every time there's a miracle of healing. Oh, we thrill to these wonderful miracles of healing of the sick body. That's marvelous. I, too. And we say, isn't it wonderful? And we think of those who are relieved of their suffering. That someone has been healed of cancer. And we think of the individual. And I, too, have said, I'm so grateful to God because I appreciate it too. I'm so thankful for you. And I stand there so filled with emotion because I think that one no longer has to suffer. And I think of that one and I place myself in that one's position. But there's more than just that. Every time there's a... Physical healing, every time there's a cancer that's healed, every time that a body is released from pain and suffering, it's for the glory of God. Do you understand? What are you doing with that with which God has blessed you? Are you using it for His glory? Is my life as an individual being used for his glory? Is this ministry that he's given to us being used for his glory? It dare not be used for the glory of Catherine Kuhlman. It dare not, God forbid, that any part of this ministry should be used for the glory of Catherine Kuhlman. All but anything that I might do or anything that happens. in an individual's life or in a service should be used for the glory of Katharine Kuhlman. For the glory of God. For his glory. How that applied to himself is discovered as we read on. Two little words, even as. That phrase introduces us to interpretation. even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that whatsoever thou hast given him, to them he should give eternal life. In other words, glorify thy son, that he may glorify thee, even as thou hast given him authority to give eternal life. How had God given him that authority? What does he mean by that as, that little word? In the 10th chapter, we hear him say, Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down. I have authority to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father. He's saying the... authority to lay down his life, that he might take it again, was in order to place it at the disposal of the men. Now, he said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee, even as thou gavest him authority to give eternal life. He was praying for the cross, the glory of the cross. Here we miss the whole thinking in the heart of Jesus. If we imagine that at that moment he was first of all desiring the glory of which he had invested himself when he came into time and human condition. He was desiring the cross because by the cross and by the way of the cross alone he would put life at the disposal. humanity according to the purpose of his father. And that was the desire of a great consent. Going to the cross that the father might be glorified.