Jesus Prays for Your Future – Part 1

Here's Anne Graham Lotz. The very one who holds the future is praying for your future.

Isn't that amazing? He's the shepherd that's gone before us. He knows what's coming. He knows what's going to impact you and he's praying for your future.

That was Anne Graham Lotz with an insight to today's program. Did you know that Jesus is praying for you? He's praying that you will stay focused on your relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He's praying that you remain steadfast in your faith. And Jesus, he prays for your future. Let's discover more from John chapter 17.

Here's Anne. What can we expect in the future? What does the future hold? So I looked up some of the things that we can expect and one of them is artificial intelligence. I've seen the enemy get into audio and video and the technical things. I can't imagine what the enemy is going to do with artificial intelligence. But I'm sure there's some very good things that will come from it and also some very evil things.

Anyway, we're going to set that aside. But these are some more fun things. I don't know if this is fun or not. Self-driving vehicles. A car that drives itself. You're like you have your own chauffeur except he's sort of invisible. And we're going to put a man on Mars they say.

Oh this is fun. Biofuel that's not made from corn or soybeans but made from coffee grounds. So you can go to Starbucks and get your cappuccino and fill up with gas and think how good it's going to smell. The internet will be for everybody and for those of you who have tattoos and wish that you didn't there's going to be a cream that's going to erase them. So drones that will deliver your groceries or whatever you order from Amazon just drop it at your door and all sorts of fun things that the future may or may not hold for us. But what about your future? Are you going to get married? Are you going to have a baby? Are you going to have another baby?

An unexpected baby? Are you going to have one of your children graduate from high school or maybe start going to school? Graduate from college or graduate school? You're going to start a new job? Decide what your career is? Move into a different town? Join another church? Get involved when you go back in church?

Take on a leadership position? What does your future hold? Because life is hard and it can throw us curveballs it may be that your future holds the diagnosis of a dreaded disease maybe a divorce maybe some sort of disaster maybe a death and god forbid any of those things would happen to you but life is hard and sometimes it's throws us unexpected things so we don't know what the future is going to hold but we know the one who holds a future he knows what's coming he knows what's going to impact you and he's praying for your future open your bibles to john 17 we're going to be just in the last few verses where he ends this magnificent prayer the night that he was betrayed right before his arrest and his torture and his trials his crucifixion his death he's praying for your immediate future so he says in verse 22 i've given them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one and once again he's talking about that we may be one as he is when he's looking to pentecost and then dwelling of the holy spirit so i just want to pull out this one more time because if you haven't received christ yet as your savior there's somebody here maybe you came with a friend or a spouse and you just didn't know what this was about but you thought you'd come up in this beautiful place and see the mountains and but you've never personally put your faith in jesus and you know you've never received christ as your savior listen to me right now you need to make that decision he's praying that you would be one with him as he is one with the father that we would be one with each other and that's only possible through the indwelling of the holy spirit so when you confess your sin tell god you're a sinner i mean that's easy for me you know the greatest commandment all the world is to love the lord your god with all your heart mind soul and strength think of all the moments and all the days of all the years of your life when you haven't loved them with all your heart mind soul and strength and that's just sin in that one area you know so to acknowledge that i'm a sinner that's just easy for me and it's not just you know we think of adultery stealing killing we think of big things like that is sin but ingratitude can be sin gossip can be sin worry can be sin because it's unbelief there's just so much sin in our lives so you confess your sin you tell god that you're sorry for all the wrong things you've done that you're willing to turn away from your sin and you believe jesus died on the cross if nobody else needed a savior you did because you're a sinner and you claim jesus as god's atoning sacrifice for your sin you ask him to cleanse you with his blood forgive you of all of your sin and you believe jesus rose up from the dead to give you eternal life and you receive eternal life which you know now is not just heaven when you die but a personal permanent relationship with god that won't even be broken by death and then you open up your heart and you invite jesus to come inside of you and he comes into you in the person of his holy spirit the holy spirit is jesus living in side of you and then you're made one with jesus and you're one with god the father and you're one with other believers who have received the holy spirit so i'm praying for your immediate future like right this minute that you would make that decision if you know you haven't made that decision that you would make the decision to put your faith in jesus that you would establish that relationship with him for those of us who have established that relationship with him that our immediate future holds the fact that he's going to conform us increasingly into the image of jesus so we still have some life to live we still have opportunity to put the failures and the sin behind us and we still have opportunity to allow him to work in our lives so that we can be to the praise of his glory and second christians 3 18 says we with unveiled faces all reflect the lord's glory are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory and this comes from the lord who is the spirit and i think as we behold and we open our bibles and we read and say what does it say and what does it mean and what does it mean in my life and we apply it to our lives we do the takeaway and we live it out the holy spirit works in connection with the word of god and works in your life to conform you to the image of jesus so that increasingly you look like jesus there's a story of a little boy i love he went to church you heard his pastor say that you could ask jesus to come into your heart and afterwards he caught the pastor in the parking lot and he said pastor i didn't understand what you said you said i could ask jesus in my heart and the pastor said that's right and he said but jesus is a man right and the pastor said that's right and little boy said well if i ask jesus to come inside my heart he'll be sticking out all over and the pastor said that's right so increasingly as the holy spirit conforms us to the image of jesus he's going to be sticking out all over us so in the immediate future i still have opportunity to pray and get answers i still have opportunity to have victory over failures and shortcomings i still have opportunity to triumph over obstacles you know that's our immediate future and this is one reason that's important because each one of us is like the tabernacle now where god dwells in the midst of people but he lives in us so when they look at us they should see jesus and know jesus and when they come into our presence they ought to feel something of his presence in our lives whether they know that's what it is or not there should be an expression on our face and our eyes our demeanor the way we interact with people and we draw them into the presence of jesus just by who we are and aphasians chapter 2 verse 19 it begins to paint the most incredible picture because he says consequently you're no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with god's people and members of god's household built on the foundation of the apostles as the new testament the prophets as the old testament with christ jesus himself is the chief cornerstone in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the lord in him you too are being built together by becoming a dwelling in which god lives by his spirit so we're not just the body of christ which of course we are and he's our head but we're the living temple of the lord jesus christ and then first peter chapter 2 verse 5 puts it this way he says you also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house so each one of us our lives and the way we're allowing the holy spirit to conform us to the image of jesus and as he fills us with his glory and other people can see jesus sticking out all over us somehow one by one we're living stones and we're placed into this living temple and every stone reflects the glory of jesus and i don't know about the theology of this okay but i wonder if some people just saved you know as though by fire and they're just like pebble sized stones you know i want to be the biggest stone i want to have the greatest capacity to reflect the lord's glory as is possible and you and i and all the believers who've ever lived we're all joined together not just as his body but as a living temple and he lives within us and in heaven all of those living stones reflect his glory it'll be like a hall of mirrors except the glory is going to shine inside and outside throughout the whole universe we are god's temple we are his tabernacle we are living stones in a living temple built up into a living house so in the immediate future before you see jesus face to face pay attention surrender your life to the lordship of the holy spirit let him take over and i can tell you we talked about being secured by the will of god god's will for me is much better than my will for myself you know we think if we just get what we want we're afraid if we surrender completely to the lord that he'll make us do something we don't want he may but you know we'll come up short but you won't so he's put me in some hard places and i've done some hard things but i can tell you that my life is much bigger much greater much broader than i could ever thought of for myself and it's his will for my life his will is good and perfect and pleasing and acceptable so in your immediate future surrender to the indwelling of the holy spirit within you let him fill your life so that jesus is glorified and you live your life to the praise of his glory and one day you're the living stone in the living temple and your life lived down here on earth would have reflected his glory throughout the universe so jesus is praying for your immediate future that you will be one with him as he and the father and the spirit are one he's given us his glory glory of his character his love and his joy and his peace and his goodness and his kindness and his gentleness and his faithfulness and his self-control and so increasingly other people should see jesus in us and then he's praying for our ultimate future in verse 24 father i want those you have given me to be with me where i am and to see my glory and i love this the night that he was betrayed he's going to be arrested he's going to be tried and tortured and crucified he's going to die on the cross but he's not looking at that he's looking past and jesus knows he's going home and he's looking forward to going back to glory hebrew says that he despised the cross he endured the shame for the joy that was set before him he didn't lose sight of the glory to come and he's praying that you and i won't lose sight of it either one day heaven will not just be something we sing about that heavenly city and it won't just be a hope you know that we look to by faith we're going to live there in that celestial city and the streets of gold are not just going to be a phrase from a gospel song we're going to walk on them and jesus will not just be invisibly present in our lives through the person of the holy spirit we're going to see his face we're going to feel his touch we're going to hear his voice and he's going to come and wipe every tear away from our eyes and there'll be no more pain no more suffering no more grief no more death you just make your own list no more diabetes no more arthritis no more blindness no more lameness when we get to heaven everything's going to be brand new he's making everything new and we're going to live in his presence forever and ever so in the ultimate future we're going to share in his glory and i don't mean just share his character he's going to share with us the praise that's his and he's going to share with us the honor that's his and he's going to share with us the position that's his and he's going to share with us the and He's going to share with us the wealth that's His, and we're going to share in His glory. And I'm going to go outside the passage for this, and I'm going to run down these fairly quickly, but... 2 Thessalonians 1-10, On the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and be marveled at among all those who have believed, this includes you. We're going to be with Him in His glory, and He's going to share His glory with you and me. The whole world will see us publicly displayed. Sharing in the glory of Jesus Christ, who will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

So these are some of the things we can look forward to. The glory of being a child of God. Galatians 3 26-20, We're already children of God if you've received Christ, but He says, You're all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

There is now neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. You're all one in Christ Jesus. So when Jesus is seated on the throne, surrounded by millions of angels, and He's praised and worshiped by the whole universe, that's not going to be your friend or just your master or just your Lord. He's going to be your family. And if you're like me, you treat your family different than just a neighbor or friends or church members.

Family's special. And you're going to share in His glory. You're going to be His family in heaven. And the glory of being His heir, according to God's promise. Galatians 3 29, and then Romans 8 17 says, Now if we're children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory. So however hard your life is, whatever curve balls have been tossed your way, especially if you've suffered for the name of Jesus, He's going to make it up to you times a hundred. And you're going to share in His glory. And it may be the people who have persecuted you are going to catch a glimpse of His glory in you before they're banished from that. And you're going to be an heir with Jesus.

The glory of a position. 2 Timothy 2 12 says, We're seated on the throne to reign with Him. Revelation 5 10 says, We will reign on the earth. And I don't exactly know what that means, but during the millennial kingdom, 1,000 years, Jesus is going to reign on this earth. He'll set up headquarters in Jerusalem and He'll rule the world.

And peace and justice and righteousness that will be ruled the way it's supposed to have been ruled all this time. And in some way, we're going to reign with Him. Will He send us out on assignment to do His bidding and to oversee things and to help Him execute justice and peace and righteousness for the people? We're going to reign with Him and we're going to serve Him. In Revelation 1 6, He's made us to be a kingdom and priest to serve His God and Father.

To Him be glory and power forever and ever. We're not just going to sit around on clouds and strum harps. We're going to have assignments, jobs to do. The wonderful thing is that we're not going to struggle in doing them. We're not going to find them hard. We're not going to question how to do it. We're not going to fail. It's all going to be done with energy and strength and wisdom and we're going to be carrying out what He wants. Like an extension of Himself. And then the glory of authority.

Get a load of this one. 1 Corinthians 6 2 and 3. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Do you not know that we will judge angels? That you're going to have authority over the spiritual world as well as the physical world.

So, we're going to share in His glory. So down here, when you're ostracized and marginalized and criticized and left out of that invitation list and shunned from that group and persecuted for your faith and because of the righteousness in your life you're separating from the world. You're sanctified to God and you're different.

When somebody's different that makes them uncomfortable and so then it sort of makes them angry and they're afraid of you and they step back. But you remember, your day is coming. And one day, you're going to share in His glory and you're going to be reigning with Him, ruling with Him, serving Him as a family member. It's going to be more wonderful, Paul said, than eye has ever seen, ear has ever heard, the heart could ever comprehend. We're going to share in His glory. But you know, there's a glory that we share, but there's a glory that we see. And we're going to see His glory. He says in verse 24, in the King James Version, I will, that they also, whom Thou has given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory. And He says, I will, that they would behold my glory. So, the high priest who ever lives to make intercession for us, with his own blood, praying for us, the high priest with our names embedded on his heart as he goes into the presence of God and he prays for us, the same one who said that I'm going to prepare a place for you, if I come again, I will come to receive you to myself, the same one says, I will, that they see my glory.

That's emphatic, that's a demand. We will see His glory because He said so. We're going to see His glory as the returning King. I love this passage, so turn to 1 Thessalonians 4, and let's look at this, because I believe we're going to see this in my lifetime. And if I'm wrong, it's okay, you know, I know I'm going to see Him at my death, but I believe, based on the things I've read in Matthew 24, the signs of the times, what He said in my own heart, the things that He's convicted me of for so long, and I see Him now falling into place, I'm going to be alive on this earth when the rapture takes place.

So this is what Paul says. Verse 13, brothers and sisters, we don't want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, and he's referring to those who have died, alright? Fall asleep is just the way, sort of a sweet way of talking about death.

They've just fallen asleep. And we're not to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again. We do believe that, don't you believe that?

I do. And I believe He died and He rose again, He's the firstfruits of those who are going to rise, He's the first one, but we're going to follow Him in that resurrection. And then he says, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. That's like my husband, and my mother, and my father, and He's going to bring them with Him, according to the Lord's own word, in case somebody out there, I know somebody out there is thinking this is crazy.

This is as far-fetched as you get. But Paul knows that you're going to think that, so he says, this is not my word, this is God's word, just underscoring the fact that this is God's own word to you and me. And he says, I tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, which I think is me and my generation, we will not precede those who have died before us, like my husband and my mother and father, those who have died in Christ, who have already died and been buried. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

My husband is going to rise up out of the grave, and I keep referring to Ray Truth, because she has such a great imagination. But she's praying at that moment, all these graves are going to pop open. So people who have died in Christ and have been buried, all of a sudden, cemeteries are just going to have stones thrown away, and the ground open up, and the world's going to say, My goodness, no bones in there, there's nobody there, and graves are empty because they've risen from the dead.

But whether that's true or not, or whether they just sort of evaporate out of the ground, nobody knows. But we're not going to precede those who've fallen asleep, because the Lord's going to descend with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet call of God, the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, after my husband is already going up in the air to meet Jesus, we, me, who are still alive, are left and will be caught up together with my husband, and my mother, and my daddy, and Jesus in the clouds.

That's not rain clouds, that's the glory clouds. That's the Shekinah glory, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.

I couldn't be more encouraged. When I see the world falling apart, I know it's just falling into place in any moment. We're going to hear that trumpet blast, and the voice of the archangel, and Jesus himself, he's not sending a surrogate, Jesus himself will descend with a loud shout, wonder what he's going to do, I'm coming. And you know, as excited as I am to see him, I long to see him, I long to go home, I long to see my loved ones who are there, but the flip side of it, is that Jesus longs to see you, and he longs to see me. And he says, I will that they would see me in my glory. So he's excited too, on the other side, you know, maybe it's just reaching out to open that door to have the sky unfold, and come back and receive this to himself. And that could take place at any moment. So I'll tell you how I live my life. I'll live my life so that five minutes before that happens, I'll have no regrets. You've been listening to Living in the Light, and when you go to anngramlots.org, there are free resources to help you in your study of God's Word. Your first desire is that you embrace a God-filled life, step by step, choice by choice, in the light.