Set apart for a mission John 17 v 16-19
When explorers get ready to be sent somewhere dangerous, they need to separate themselves from the comfortable life they will leave behind. They may need to train physically, and to keep certain disciplines. It’s like that for Jesus’ church.
Read John 17:16
Set apart for mission
Jesus often said the Father had “sent” Him on a rescue mission. Now He sends His followers “into the world”.
This doesn’t mean that our mission is identical to His. It just means that we too are “sent” people. His mission was to die to rescue the world; our mission is to take His rescue message into the world.
Set apart by the Bible
• What relationship does the Christian have with the world in which they live (v 16, 18)?
• What does this look like in practice, do you think?
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APPLY
Can you think of examples of how your values as a Christian are different from the values of non-
Christians?
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• In verse 17, what does Jesus pray?
• How is the Father going to “sanctify” us (set us apart for a task)?
Here, “word” is not referring to Jesus (as in John 1:1) but to the message of the Bible. Tenacious loyalty to the Bible will set us apart from the world (and from any part of the church which is worldly) to be missionaries for Jesus.
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APPLY
• How does our culture disagree with the message of the Bible?
• What should we do when tempted to compromise on these issues, or when church ministers begin to fudge them?
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Set apart by the cross
• What does Jesus say He does for Himself?
To “sanctify” means here to set Himself apart for His death on the cross. Like a holy sacrifice in Old Testament times, Jesus has to go alone to the cross, set apart from the world.
• Why does Jesus say He is doing this?
Only Jesus’ death for us on the cross can set us apart, making us fit for mission.
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PRAY THRU
Pray that your life as a Christian will always go back to the cross as your starting point, and always be shaped by the cross when called upon to make tough decisions for Jesus.
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This devotional is taken from Explore—a daily Bible-reading devotional from the good book company which enables you to engage with Scripture and which will encourage, equip and inspire you to live for Christ. Explore features contributions from pastors such as Dr Timothy Keller, Mike McKinley and Tim Chester.
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