John 17 11-23

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John 17:11-23

In, Not Of

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I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

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While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lostexcept the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

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"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have thefull measure of my joy within them.

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I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for theyare not of the world any more than I am of the world.

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My prayer is not that you take them out of theworld but that you protect them from the evil one.

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They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

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Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

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As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into theworld.

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For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

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"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

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that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that theworld may believe that you have sent me.

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I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may beone as we are one—

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I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then theworld will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,“Be in the world, but not of the world”…Imagine, if you will, a scene playing out in the police department:

the police line up

. We see things like this on television all the time:The police, the attorneys and the witness standing in a small dark room behind a piece of one-way, mirrored glass. Then in the nextroom – as they are all looking in – a door opens and a number of individuals file in. There is a sameness about them. Similar clothes – similar heights and weights – to the average person they would be indistinguishable.And as they stand there in that room each with a different number,the police or the prosecutor ask the witness – do you recognize the person who committed the crime.They do this because even though the encounter of the crime mayhave been brief – what they hope for is that there is somethingdistinct about the criminal that will trigger in the witnesses mind asense of familiarity…that there is something different that sets thecriminal apart from everyone else in the room.

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Now let’s imagine the scene a little bit differently. Imagine insteadof a room filled with a criminal and a bunch of folks that look justlike him there is a room with you – and standing in that line up are people who look exactly like you.

…Hmmm…what a great looking lineup…

And the prosecutor on the other side of the glass asks the witness –

do you recognize the Christian?

As we reflect on the phrase “Be in the world, but not of the world”that is our question. What is it that distinguishes the Christian fromeveryone else? What is it about us that makes us look different?What does it mean to be “in” but not “of”?This is what we wrestle with as we find ourselves here in Johnchapter 17. We are in the middle of Jesus’ prayer for his disciplesand for the world – and here in this wonderful prayer we find Jesusasking God to make some changes…to alter our appearance…sothat we can stand out in this

“in but not of”

sort of way.And Jesus prays for three changes – for three differences that set usapart from those who are around us…the first is that…

I. In, Not Of means that we are PROTECTED.

This is an important word for us to pay attention to because it isoften misunderstood as people hear us use it. We think along thelines of seatbelts and roll cages – or insurance policies – or spiritual force fields to protect us.I remember in one town hall meeting following 9-11 George Bushtalking about a bubble of prayer from Christians surrounding theUnited States and protecting them from the attacks of terrorists.

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I’ve heard preachers say if you believe in Jesus and your faith isstrong enough you will be healed of your afflictions. You will besafe from danger. You’ll be protected from that phone call in themiddle of the night or the chart that the doctor is holding in her hands.And wouldn’t that be nice – if our faith and our prayers gave usthat kind of protection so that we would be safe from all thosethings that can hurt us – we wouldn’t need doctors or fire insuranceor helmets or CT scans. Our children wouldn’t have to eat their veggies and our seniors wouldn’t have to take their medicine.It would be so easy if faith was simply leaving that world andcoming into this world. If it were just a matter of walking throughthose doors to escape all of that would never need to reach out.But it’s not that simple – we hurt, and we bleed, and the phone stillrings, and the doctor will tell you that you need surgery, and thefour wheeler can flip over, and you have to eat broccoli.And it’s not because your faith isn’t strong enough – that is never,ever the case – but when Jesus prays for our protection he meanssomething else.Verse 15:

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My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

Christian faith isn’t escapism. What we believe doesn’t remove usfrom the danger. Jesus prays – leave the right where they are…When he prays for our protection he is asking God not for protection from suffering – but for protection IN suffering.

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