Certain Protection

1. "If you're overly confident, you can go far and go fast. You just might be going the wrong way. And if you're not as confident as you should be, you might know the right way but be so timid and self-critical that you're afraid to speak up."

2. "On the one hand, when it comes to entering into a right relationship with God, to be a Christian is to abandon self-confidence. On the other hand, to be a Christian is to be utterly confident in Christ. Confidence in Christ is the essence of Christianity."

3. "Faith is not blind commitment. Faith doesn't close your eyes, it opens them. And faith is not a warm fuzzy blanket of spiritual optimism that you just wrap yourself in and say, you just got to have faith. Faith is only as good as its object."

4. "Faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive. Faith and failure are not mutually exclusive. In fact, as long as we live in this fallen world, with this fallen nature, until we die and see Christ face to face, our faith will always be tinged with doubt and marred by failure. And yet Christ still owns us as his."

5. "God's words are food for Christian growth. God's words are workout equipment for training in godliness. God's words are spiritual scalpels for excising cancerous growths of sin. God's words are million watt bulbs that expose the darkest reaches of your heart."

6. "If you read God's Word with faith and receive the preached Word with faith, you set up positive feedback loops in your soul. The more you get, the more you want. And the more you get, the more good it does you."

7. "Those twin truths should shape how you see yourself far more than anything you've done wrong or anything wrong that's been done to you. Who are you? You're someone who is loved and kept by Jesus."

8. "Whatever frequencies your doubts and struggles register on, Christ's love covers them all. Christ's love for you is an impenetrable wall of comfort. Christ's love for you is an unbreakable shield of assurance."

9. "It's good to strive for spiritual fruit. But what about when you can't see any? Glorify Christ and leave the results to Him. It's good to obey Christ in order to set an example for others. But what about when no one's watching? What about when no one notices? Glorify Christ."

10. "When's the last time you lost your keys? You saw them in the bowl, lying around all day. And then when you needed them, poof. Nowhere to be found. How you feel when you lose your keys. How Jesus disciples may well have been tempted to feel about Jesus. He's with us all along. Then right when we need him most, he's gone. But Jesus isn't lost. Jesus isn't misplaced. Jesus has not forsaken the disciples. He's right where we need him most."

Observation Questions

1. In John 17:6, what specific word does Jesus use to describe how He revealed the Father's name, and how is this different from merely teaching it?

2. Looking at John 17:7-8, what are the two things Jesus says the disciples have come to "know" and "believe" about Him?

3. In John 17:9, for whom specifically does Jesus say He is praying? For whom is He not praying?

4. From John 17:10, what does Jesus claim about His relationship with the Father regarding ownership of the disciples?

5. According to Philippians 3:3, what two contrasting attitudes characterize true Christians?

6. In John 17:11, what transition does Jesus describe regarding His presence in the world?

Interpretation Questions

1. Jesus says He "manifested" the Father's name to the disciples. What does this tell us about Jesus' identity and His relationship with the Father?

2. Why does Jesus emphasize both "knowing" and "believing" in verse 8? What is the relationship between knowledge and faith in Christian experience?

3. When Jesus says He's not praying for "the world," does this mean He doesn't care about unbelievers? How does this relate to John 3:16?

4. What does Jesus' statement "all mine are yours, and yours are mine" suggest about His divine nature?

5. How does Jesus' impending departure to the Father (verse 11) actually benefit His disciples rather than harm them?

Application Questions

1. When was the last time you tried to rely on your own confidence rather than confidence in Christ? What was the outcome?

2. Think about your Bible reading habits. In what specific ways could you apply the sermon's teaching about Scripture being "food for Christian growth" and "workout equipment for training in godliness"?

3. Describe a recent situation where you felt distant from God. How does Jesus' current role as our intercessor with the Father speak to that experience?

4. What particular doubts or struggles in your life need to be covered by Christ's "white noise" of perfect love?

5. In what specific situation this week could you choose to "glorify Christ and leave the results to Him" rather than worrying about visible results?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Romans 8:31-39 - This passage expands on the theme of God's preserving love for His people, showing how Christ's work guarantees that nothing can separate us from God's love.

2. Hebrews 4:14-16 - These verses develop the concept of Christ's high priestly ministry, explaining how His present work in heaven helps us in our daily struggles.

3. Isaiah 42:1-9 - This Servant Song provides Old Testament background for understanding Jesus' role as the Father's chosen one who perfectly reveals God's character.

4. Psalm 110 - This royal psalm illuminates Jesus' current position at the Father's right hand, helping us understand His ongoing authority and intercession.

Sermon Main Topics

The Paradox of Christian Confidence: Abandoning Self-Confidence for Confidence in Christ (Philippians 3:3)

Be Confident That Jesus Comes From the Father (John 17:6–8)

Be Confident That Jesus Speaks for the Father (John 17:6–8)

Be Confident That Jesus Keeps You for the Father (John 17:9–10; Deuteronomy 7)

Be Confident That Jesus Is With the Father (John 17:11)

Prayer for Confidence in Christ’s Intercession and Love

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Detailed Sermon Outline

The Paradox of Christian Confidence: Abandoning Self-Confidence for Confidence in Christ (Philippians 3:3)

• A. The Cultural Misunderstanding of Confidence

• 1. Confidence is often equated with self-reliance, skills, or instincts.
• 1. Overconfidence leads to error; underconfidence leads to timidity.

• B. The Christian Paradox of Confidence

• 1. To be a Christian is to abandon self-confidence (Philippians 3:3).
• 1. To be a Christian is to place full confidence in Christ.

• C. The Foundation of True Assurance

• 1. Confidence in Christ produces joy, assurance, and boasting in Him.

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Be Confident That Jesus Comes From the Father (John 17:6–8)

• A. Jesus’ Divine Origin Reveals His Authority

• 1. Jesus “manifested” the Father’s name, not merely taught it (John 17:6).
• 1. The Father eternally gives His divine nature to the Son (John 5:26).

  2. a. The Son shares the Father’s life, glory, and being.

• B. The Disciples’ Recognition of Jesus’ Divine Mission

• 1. They “knew in truth” Jesus came from the Father (John 17:8).
• 1. Faith in Christ’s origin is inseparable from salvation (John 3:17).

• C. The Call to Trust Christ’s Eternal Identity

• 1. Faith is not blind optimism but trust in Christ’s person and work.
• 1. Salvation depends on believing Christ was sent to save sinners.

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Be Confident That Jesus Speaks for the Father (John 17:6–8)

• A. Jesus’ Words Are the Father’s Words

• 1. Jesus’ teaching originates from the Father (John 7:16).
• 1. Receiving Jesus’ words is the mark of true discipleship (John 17:6).

• B. The Transformative Power of Scripture

• 1. God’s Word is food for growth, a scalpel for sin, and light for truth.
• 1. The church’s mission centers on proclaiming Scripture (Romans 10:17).

  2. a. Expositional preaching, corporate reading, and prayer prioritize Scripture.

• C. Cultivating a Hunger for God’s Word

• 1. Faith creates a “positive feedback loop” of spiritual appetite.
• 1. Spurgeon: “The gospel has the singular faculty for creating a desire for itself.”

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Be Confident That Jesus Keeps You for the Father (John 17:9–10; Deuteronomy 7)

• A. Christ’s Intercession for His People

• 1. Jesus prays exclusively for those given to Him by the Father (John 17:9).
• 1. God’s electing love precedes and secures faith (Deuteronomy 7:6–8).

• B. The Security of Belonging to Christ

• 1. “All mine are yours, and yours are mine” (John 17:10) affirms divine unity.
• 1. Christ’s present intercession guarantees salvation (Hebrews 7:25).

• C. Assurance Amidst Doubt and Suffering

• 1. Christ’s love covers all “frequencies” of guilt, fear, and pain.

  2. a. Analogized to white noise blocking distractions.

• 1. Believers are defined by Christ’s love, not their failures.

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Be Confident That Jesus Is With the Father (John 17:11)

• A. Christ’s Ascension and Present Reign

• 1. Jesus’ departure secures His omnipotent advocacy (John 17:11).
• 1. His heavenly position empowers His work for believers.

• B. The Comfort of Christ’s Heavenly Presence

• 1. Robert Murray M’Cheyne: “If I could hear Christ praying for me…I would not fear a million enemies.”
• 1. Christ’s physical absence does not negate His spiritual nearness.

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Prayer for Confidence in Christ’s Intercession and Love

• A. Thanksgiving for Christ’s Advocacy

• 1. Gratitude for Christ’s eternal intercession and preserving power.

• B. Petition for Steadfast Faith

• 1. A plea for assurance rooted in Christ’s love, not self-reliance.

• C. Commitment to Glorify Christ

• 1. Resolve to honor Christ in obedience, even when unseen.

Give you a choice between two options. You have to pick one. Are you prone to be too confident or not as confident as you should be?

Many of us embody the saying always confident, sometimes right. If you're overly confident, you can go far and go fast. You just might be going the wrong way. And if you're not as confident as you should be, you might know the right way but be so timid and self critical that you're afraid to speak up. And so the directions of the loud but wrong person prevail unopposed.

In our culture, confidence is virtually synonymous with self confidence. We think of a confident person as being someone with a high view of their own skills and training, their own instincts and judgment, their own savvy. But what happens when you have good reason to doubt yourself? What happens when the better you come to know yourself, the more problems you uncover on this issue of confidence, Christianity presents a paradox. On the one hand, when it comes to entering into a right relationship with God, to be a Christian is to abandon self confidence.

On the other hand, to be a Christian is to be utterly confident in Christ. Confidence in Christ is the essence of Christianity. To be a Christian is to put all your weight on Christ and that leads to assurance, joy, even boasting in Christ. Paul puts both of these elements, rejecting self confidence and confidence in Christ, into one sentence. He says in Philippians 3:3 that we Christians glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

What do you put confidence in? What should you put confidence in? This morning we're continuing our study of John 14:17. We'll be looking at John chapter 17, verses 6 to 11, as we saw last week in verses 1 to 5. Here Jesus is praying for his disciples after he has finished encouraging them and exhorting them to prepare them for his coming departure.

The disciples are still with him in the upper room. But now in chapter 17 they get to listen in as Jesus addresses His Heavenly Father. This is Jesus last act before stepping outside to face his betrayal and crucifixion. Our passage is on page 903 of the Pew Bibles. I'll start reading in verse one to give us the context.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence.

With the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you.

And they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me. For they are yours, all mine are yours, and yours are mine. And I am glorified in them.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. We are going to stop there because in the rest of verse 11, Jesus makes a request that serves as a heading for the next several verses. So we will pick it up in the next sermon. But in the verses we will be considering. Jesus doesn't actually make any requests.

He's talking to the Father, but he's talking about his disciples and also about himself.

In verses 6 to 11, Jesus is presenting reasons for his petitions. He's giving his Father, and also the disciples who are listening in, reasons why he's going to pray, what he does, and reasons why the Father should answer him. Throughout this part of the prayer, Jesus is showing us what he is confident in and therefore what we should be confident in. Everything Jesus says here, he says not only because it's true, but because it gives the Father a reason to answer his requests. In verses six through eight, those reasons focus on the disciples, though ultimately what's important about the disciples is that they believe in Jesus and belong to Jesus.

And then in verses 9 to 11, Jesus reasons focus on himself. But what he says about himself should transform how you see yourself. Everything Jesus says in these verses gives us ground for confidence, confidence in him and confidence in who we are in and because of him. The sermon will have four points. Two from the first half of the passage and two from the second half.

What should you be confident in? Be Confident that point 1. Jesus comes from the Father. Jesus comes from the Father. This is a theme throughout verses 6 to 8.

So look again at the beginning of verse 6. I have manifested your name, whom you gave me out of the world. Notice that Jesus doesn't say merely that he has taught them God's name or proclaimed God's name. That's something that any faithful human being could do. Instead he says, I have manifested your name.

I've shown it, I've revealed it. I've made it clear. How can he do that? Look ahead to verse 12.

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. The Name doesn't only belong to the Father, it belongs to the Son too. We'll go into more detail in the next sermon, but I think that verse 12 implies that Jesus eternally receives the Father's name, I.e. god. The Father eternally grants the Son to share his own divine being, character and glory.

All that makes God God is what the Father eternally gives to the son. In verse 7, Jesus refers explicitly to this giving that takes place within God. He says in verse seven, now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. And from the context we see that the Father has given the Son not only a mission, not only words to speak, but the Father has given the Son the Son's very self. He's done that from all eternity.

Another place where Jesus teaches this is in John 5:26. You don't need to turn there, but you can jot down the reference if it would help. John 5:26. There Jesus says, for as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. Only God has life in himself.

Everything else has life as a result of God's free choice and creative act. If the Son's possession of this life ever had a beginning such that he didn't have it before he then received it, well, then it wouldn't be life in himself.

This gift of life in himself from the Father to the Son can only be eternal. The Father eternally begets the Son. That's where the language in creeds we confess, like the Nicene Creed, this is where it comes from. Jesus teaching here in John 5 and John 17 and other places like this. Then in verse 8, Jesus continues, For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

What the disciples have come to believe and know about Jesus is not just that he comes from the Father, like you might come from home to your workplace. Instead, Jesus is talking about his ultimate origin. When you're getting to know someone, my guess is one of the first questions you tend to ask them is, where are you from? Where did you grow up? Asking that question tells you a lot about someone, and then learning about the place they come from tells you more and more.

So what's the weather like? What's about the food? What does the person love or miss about the place where they came from? Now, where someone is from doesn't tell you everything about them. Someone might have grown up in South Carolina, but talk like they're from Ohio.

But in this case, in our passage, where Jesus is from really does tell us everything, because it's not ultimately where, but who. And Jesus doesn't just come from the Father. He is from the Father. He exists from the Father. From the Father is who and what Jesus is.

Ultimately, Jesus being sent from the Father reveals that he eternally exists from the Father as God the Son. So then the question is, what did the Father send the Son into the world to do? The Father sent the Son to save us. We needed saving because we've all rebelled against God. We've all tried to get ourselves out from under God's loving rule.

And the consequence of that rebellion is death. Not just physical death, but the eternal death of suffering. God's judgment forever in hell. Yet John 3:17 tells us God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus accomplished this salvation by willingly laying his life down for us on the cross.

He bore God's wrath. He took the punishment that we deserved. And then on the third day, he rose from the dead and he entered into a new kind of glorious, eternal life. He rose from the dead and then ascended to His Father. And now he calls all people everywhere to repent, to turn from sin, and to put their trust, their confidence, their faith in Him.

What about you? Have you trusted in Christ? Have you turned from your sins? Have you come to, as Jesus says, know in truth that he came from the Father, and to believe that the Father sent Him to save you? If not, turn and trust in Him.

Today, look again at the second half of verse eight.

They have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. These two phrases, side by side, say almost the same thing. And notice how Jesus so closely parallels coming to know with believing. Faith is a trusting grasp of the truth faith is based on, and faith secures true knowledge of God. So many people today think of faith as an irrational leap into the dark.

So many people think that faith and knowledge are opposites, competitors. But faith is not blind commitment. Faith doesn't close your eyes, it opens them. And faith is not a Warm fuzzy blanket of spiritual optimism that you just wrap yourself in and say, you just got to have faith. Faith in what?

Yourself? Karma? The stock market? Faith is only as good as its object, faith. The kind of faith that Jesus is talking about fixes your mind on him.

It focuses your gaze on him. Christ's person and work are the irreducible core of the Christian faith, which means that faith is an essential means to a true understanding of God and a right relationship with Him. Faith will unlock doors of knowledge that no other key will. Faith is not just assenting to the truth, but banking on the truth. Faith is not just acknowledging the truth, but betting your life on the truth.

What should you be confident in? Be confident that Jesus comes from the Father. And as we've seen, that necessarily means receiving Jesus words in faith. And we're going to dig deeper into that point in the second point. So point 2.

Jesus speaks for the Father. Be confident that Jesus speaks for the Father. Again, we see this woven throughout verses 6, 7 and 8.

So in verse 6, Jesus says, I have manifested your your name. He reveals the Father because he acts and speaks with the Father's own authority. And then look at the second half of verse six. Yours they were, and you gave them to me. And they have kept your word.

By receiving Jesus teaching. The disciples kept the Father's word. But did they really? Did they really keep God's word? Just a few verses before this, in chapter 16, verse 32, Jesus warns the disciples that they are all going to desert him in his hour of greatest need.

And throughout these chapters the disciples have expressed all sorts of doubts and misunderstandings about who Jesus is. Have they really kept the Father's word? Here in verse 6, Jesus graciously overlooks the disciples faults and failures and he zeroes in on the genuine core of their faith.

The disciples faith isn't perfect, but it is real. Faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive. Faith and failure are not mutually exclusive. In fact, as long as we live in this fallen world, with this fallen nature, until we die and see Christ face to face, our faith will always be tinged with doubt and marred by failure. And yet Christ still owns us as his.

I think the point of Jesus assertion in verse 6 is that the disciples truly have kept the Father's Word and in contrast to the world, the great mass of people who have totally rejected him. So we see this divide throughout John's Gospel, but especially in chapter 6, verses 66 to 69. After some hard sayings by Jesus, we read after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the 12, do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered him, lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. These disciples here in the upper room with Jesus are receiving and keeping God's word. That's why they formed the nucleus of the church that's going to be composed of all those who do the same. Look again at verses 7 and 8.

Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. This includes Jesus teaching. His very existence is from the Father, which means his teaching is from the Father. Jesus says this in John 7:16. My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.

And again here in verse eight in our chapter. For I have given them the words that you and they have received them. Jesus speaks for the Father. What Jesus says, the Father says. Your relationship with God the Father hangs on whether you receive the words of Jesus.

Receiving words is the definitive test of faith. This is what distinguishes Jesus disciples from the world. If you're not a Christian, I'm glad you're here. Thank you for coming. My question for you today is why haven't you received Jesus words?

What are your reasons for rejecting Jesus words? Do you have reasons self consciously for not accepting his message? Or is it really more a matter of indifference? And if you do have reasons for not believing in Jesus, how confident are you in those reasons? Also, how well do you know the words of Jesus in the first place?

Are you open to learning more about them? If so, I'd encourage you to read the whole Gospel of John. If you find me at that door afterward, I'd be happy to get you a copy. Or maybe even better, just take the Bible that's there in the pew. Take it home with you.

Keep it, read it. Brothers and sisters, members of Capitol Hill Baptist Church continually receive Christ's words. Devote yourself to studying, meditating on, memorizing, immersing yourself in Christ's words in scripture. All of Scripture is Christ's word. It's his spirit who inspired it.

And it all bears witness to him. What Jesus is saying right here is why we insistently, unapologetically, center our life as a church on God's word. Look at the front of the bulletin, the top of the little logo. If our church has a mission statement, this is it. Faith comes by hearing.

It's from Romans 10:17. Faith comes, comes by hearing. Because faith is believing what you hear. This is why we Prioritize expositional preaching where the agenda of the passage sets the agenda of the sermon. We do that systematically, working through books of the Bible.

This is why we read Scripture corporately in every service, just like Blake read Deuteronomy 7 to us. This is why we strive to pray prayers that are saturated in the language and concepts of Scripture. This is why we sing songs that are rich in biblical themes and phrases. God's words are food for Christian growth. God's words are workout equipment for training in godliness.

God's words are spiritual scalpels for excising cancerous growths of sin. God's words are million watt bulbs that expose the darkest reaches of your heart. God's words are cures for every spiritual illness. And God's words are comforts for every affliction. Brothers and sisters, God's Word is an inexhaustible fountain.

So come to church thirsty and keep drinking throughout the week. You know, when I first heard deep, rich biblical preaching, I was bored. I didn't have an appetite for it. The problem wasn't the preaching. The problem was me.

This was at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles when I was a college student. I attended that church and eventually joined. It took a little while, but eventually my appetite caught up with the preaching. I began to have a hunger for God's Word preached. And once that hunger kicked in, I started to grow spiritually like I never had before.

Charles Spurgeon once said, the gospel has the singular faculty for creating a desire for itself. Bible hearers, when they hear, indeed become Bible lovers, brothers and sisters. If you read God's Word with faith and receive the preached Word with faith, you set up positive feedback loops in your soul. The more you get, the more you want. And the more you get, the more good it does you.

This is one of the reasons it's such a joy to preach to you all before the sermon. I know you're eager to hear the Word. You're studying the Word. You're praying for the preacher. During the sermon, I can tell that you're hungry for the Word.

After the sermon, it's a joy to hear how you're applying the Word and meditating on it and trying to live it out. Your hunger for the Word puts all the right kind of pressure on Mark and me and everyone who preaches in this pulpit. The Word serving up. And we know you're hungry. Preaching is only salt.

It's only there to bring out the flavor that's already in the Word. What should you be confident in? Be confident that Jesus speaks for the Father. Everything Jesus says is from the Father and for the Father. Be confident that all the words of Scripture are the Son revealing the Father.

Point three and now we turn to the second half of the passage. Jesus keeps you for the Father. Jesus keeps you for the Father. Be confident in that. We see this especially in verses 9 and 10.

Jesus briefly introduces this theme in verse 6 I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me. We saw this last week in verse two of the chapter. Jesus disciples are those whom the Father has given him to save and to secure. But we'll focus on Jesus statement at this point in verses 9 and 10.

In verse 9 he says, I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours, all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them by only praying for his disciples and not the world. Is Jesus being mean and exclusive here? Does he not care about the world? Of course that's not the case.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. But Jesus loves his chosen people in a special sense. The Father has chosen them and given them to the Son, and Jesus preserves and prays for his elect. One facet of Christ's love is seen in his pleading with sinners to repent. Another is seen in his preserving those who do.

Brothers and sisters, when Christ prays for those whom you have given me, he is teaching us that God's choice comes first. God's choice of us depends only on Himself, not on us. And our faith is a fruit of God's special, distinguishing, electing love. In other words, Jesus is saying precisely the same thing about us that God said about Israel in Deuteronomy 7, which we read earlier. Faith is not the cause of God's choice, it's the consequence of God's choice.

Your salvation ultimately depends on God's free act of choosing you, so you have nothing to about before God. In verse 10, when Jesus says all mine are yours and yours are mine, he's again asserting both his divinity and by implication, his divine sonship. All that the Son has is the Father's. How can that be? It's because the Son receives all that he has and is from the Father.

And all that the Father has is the Son's. How? Because the Father gives all that he has and is to the Son. What does all this mean for you? It means that if you're a Christian.

God the Father has entrusted you to God the Son for safe keeping. And one way the Son keeps you is by interceding for you. Now, we need to recognize that here in these verses, Jesus is praying specifically for these first disciples, those who are there with him in the room. But then in verse 20, which we'll come to a few weeks from now, Jesus says, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word. So Jesus prayer includes us later disciples too.

And we learn elsewhere in scripture, like in First John 2:2, we learn that Jesus is our advocate with the Father right now, presently. Or Hebrews 7:25, it says, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, because he always lives to intercede for them. That's what Jesus is doing right now. So if you're a Christian, you your salvation is secure in Christ's omnipotent grasp. Your salvation is secure because Christ is securing you.

So look for assurance of your salvation in Christ's commitment to save you and his ability to save you. Will the Father fail to answer the Son's prayers? Will the Son lose any of those whom the Father has entrusted to him? If you trust in Christ, what should give you the most confidence is not that you've given your life to Christ, but that the Father has given you to his son.

In verses 9 and 10, Jesus is praying for you because he loves you and because you belong to Him. Those twin truths are two of the most important things about you. Take those truths to heart and you will find a security that nothing in this world can threaten. Jesus loves you and you belong to Him. Those twin truths should shape how you see yourself far more than anything you've done wrong or anything wrong that's been done to you.

Who are you? You're someone who is loved and kept by Jesus. Hold up that safekeeping love next to whatever it is in yourself or your life that makes you doubt Christ's love for you and commitment to you. Set your anxiety or doubt or fear or pain next to Christ's love. See how they compare.

Christ loves you from eternity. Christ loves you omnipotently. Christ loves you freely and he loves you purposefully. He intends your eternal good, and he will secure it. What is it in yourself or in your life that most tempts you to doubt Christ's love for you?

Is it anxiety about the future? Grief from the past? Guilt over something you've done?

Whatever it is, hold that thought. Keep it in mind for just a moment.

All this week a crew of workers have been repairing the windows on the a street side of our church building. All of those windows are in very close proximity to my office. This week, as I was preparing Bible study and the sermon, I spent a good many hours at my desk. Now, these workers are not doing anything wrong, they're just doing their job. I appreciate the work they're doing to maintain the facade of our building.

However, the lift they were using makes a constant beeping and their work on the windows involves much hammering and banging and I mean just whacking away on the outside wall of my office. It poses some challenges for focus. At first I tried playing music through noise canceling headphones, but the beeping and banging and whacking still got in through the gaps in the music. So then I remembered Last month I read an article about noise pollution and in this article the author talks about soothing sounds that people go to for relief. She writes white noise, technically speaking, contains all audible frequencies in equal proportion in the natural world.

Falling rain comes close to approximating this pan frequency sh.

Ah. So I entered the wild world of white noise soundtracks.

Some of my favorites from this week include Rainy Day by the Pond in Glastonbury, England and Seaside Light Rain and Thunder with ocean waves lapping on rocks.

Push play and crank up one of those bad boys really loud and you instantly obtain a comforting, soothing, impenetrable wall of sound.

It blocks out all beeping and banging. Why? Because the blessed white noise of rain covers all audible frequencies.

Think back to what tempts you to doubt Christ's love. Is it guilt that makes your conscience beep at you like an alarm you can't turn off?

Is it pain from how others have treated you that bangs on your heart and mind day after day? Whatever frequencies your doubts and struggles register on, Christ's love covers them all.

Christ's love for you is an impenetrable wall of comfort. Christ's love for you is an unbreakable shield of assurance. Christ's love for you can soothe every pang of conscience. Christ's love for you can soothe every fear Like a day long downpour on an English countryside. Christ's love for you is steady.

Christ's love for you is steadfast and unchanging because Christ Himself is steadfast and unchanging. When you have no good grounds for confidence in yourself, be confident in Christ's love for you. When you're struggling with how people have failed to love you, remember that Christ's love never fails there's one more phrase we should consider in this point. It's in verse 10, end of verse 10.

Jesus says, I am glorified in them.

We could spend a whole sermon there in these stumbling, stuttering, doubting disciples. Jesus is glorified.

Jesus is glorified whenever you trust Him. He's glorified whenever you make a sacrifice for Him. He's glorified when you're content and cheerful in the workplace, showing that your satisfaction is in Him. He's glorified whenever you publicly declare the truth about Him. He will be glorified.

When in just a few moments, we hear four people declare their faith in him and say what he's done to save them. Christ is glorified in your faith, your love and your obedience. So make it your highest ambition to glorify Him. It's good to strive for spiritual fruit. But what about when you can't see any?

Glorify Christ and leave the results to Him. It's good to obey Christ in order to set an example for others. But what about when no one's watching? What about when no one notices? Glorify Christ.

He sees your obedience and he's pleased. It's good to want your relationship with Christ to affect your heart, to register deeply in your emotions. But what about when your heart seems cold, dead? Strive to glorify Christ and let his glory kindle your affections. Christ is glorified in us because it's his sacrifice that saves us, his truth that enlightens us, his love that sustains us and his power that keeps us.

When you have nothing in yourself to be confident in, be confident that Jesus keeps you for the Father.

Fourth, briefly.

Jesus is with the Father. Be confident that Jesus is with the Father. Look at just the first half of verse 11.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

Just like he has been throughout these chapters and throughout this prayer here. Jesus is looking ahead not only to his death, but to his resurrection and his return to the Father in heaven. Jesus will be with the Father, which means that as far as his physical presence is concerned, he's leaving the disciples behind on earth.

When's the last time you lost your keys? You saw them in the bowl, lying around all day. And then when you needed them, poof. Nowhere to be found. How you feel when you lose your keys.

How Jesus disciples may well have been tempted to feel about Jesus. He's with us all along. Then right when we need him most, he's gone. But Jesus isn't lost. Jesus isn't misplaced.

Jesus has not forsaken the disciples. He's right where we need him most. Jesus says, I am no longer in the world and I am coming to you. This shows both our need and how that need will be met. We need help because Christ is leaving the world.

We have help because he's going to the Father. At his ascension, Jesus physically entered the presence of the Father in heaven and he sat down in glory at God's right hand. Now that he is installed in power, he is able to act on our behalf far more fully, far more immediately, far more powerfully than he ever could in his state of humiliation on earth. Be confident that Jesus is with the Father. He's there for you, and he has promised to bring you with Him.

What are you confident in? It's easy to lose confidence in Christ because we can't see see Him. He seems so far away. It's so easy to forget that right now Christ is reigning over all things from heaven and he's interceding at God's right hand for us in heaven. In the 19th century, the Scottish pastor Robert Murray M'Cheyne wrestled with these challenges to faith.

He wrote, I ought to study Christ as a living savior, more as a shepherd carrying the sheep. He finds as a king reigning in and over the souls he has redeemed. As a captain, fighting with those who fight with me, as one who has engaged to bring me through all temptations and trials, however impossible, to flesh and blood, I am often tempted to say, how can this man save us? How can Christ in heaven deliver me from lust which I feel raging in me, and nets I feel enclosing me. This is the Father of lies again he is able to save unto the uttermost.

I ought to study Christ as an intercessor. He prayed most for Peter, who was to be most tempted. I am on his breastplate. If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million of enemies. Yet the distance makes no difference.

He is praying for me. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can come to you in confidence, with boldness, assurance, because we come to you through Christ our advocate, through Christ our intercessor. We thank you that you have not left us alone, but you have come to us by your spirit. We thank you that you have not left us to our own resources, but that you answer our prayers. You work for our good. You put forth your power to preserve and purify us.

Father, we pray that you'd make us confident in Christ in Jesus name, amen.