The following message was delivered at the memorial service for Robert Dieterle who passed away Nov. 18, 1991. He is survived by wife Mrs. Naomi Neely Dieterle; daughter, Dana Weaver, Cumming; daughter and son-in-law Deborah and Mike Minkoff, Cumming; sons and daughters in law, Ernest and Christine Russell, Acworth, Dennis and Pamela Weaver, Canton, Daren and Lora Weaver of Cumming; sister Elin C. Griggs of Mobile, Alabama; and 15 grandchildren. Mr. Dieterle was carried to Erie, PA for services and internment.

Introduction

In times of grief like this, it is a comfort to know that people are praying for you. But there is no greater comfort in the world than to know that Jesus is praying for you, and that he is praying foryou everyday. And, be assured, Christian family, that the incomparable Lord Jesus Christ is earnestly praying for you this very moment in your time of grief and loss.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we

Father in our behalftoday? Wouldn't it be wonderful to know what Jesus was actually asking God to do for us? Well, we can know. He has told us what he would be praying for us everyday of our lives. He told us in John 17.

Before we look at the actual contents of Jesus' daUyprayerforus, understand four things:

a. WHO IS THE ONE PRAYING FOR US? Jesus, the Son of God, who always gets exactly what he prays for, because what he wills the Fatherwills; what he wants the E'ather wants. "Father, 1 desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where 1 am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

b. TO WHOM ISJESUSPRAYING? To God, the Holy Father, who loves us because he loves Jesus, his own Son, who loves us. God is our Father because he is Jesus' Father, and we are in Christ.

c. FOR WHOM IS HE PRAYING? could overhear Jesus' prayers to the His chosen people, not the whole

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world. "1 pray for them: 1 pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine ,; Oohn 17:9), "Neither for these only do 1 pray, but for them also that believe on me through theirword"Oohn 17:20). Make sure of your relationship to God.Presumption can be fatal. How can you be sure Jesus Christ is praying for you today?

(1). Are you resting your entire destiny on that "hour" Oohn 17:1)

. when Christ glOrified the Father, and when the Father glOrified Christ by carrying him through the cross and grave to an open tomb and the triumphant completion of his redemption work for us?

(2). Have you received the."etemsl life" Oohn 17:2) and "knowledge of· God" Oohn 17:3) that only Jesus can bestow, and which is manifested in submission to the rule of his kingdom?

(3). Has God revealed his "Name" Oohn 17:6) to you ?Has God revealed Himself to you, his character and his will in Jesus Christ? Have you by faith seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? Have you

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experienced the saving and transforming power of that Name in your life and behavior? Have you submitted yourself to thl! authority represented in that Name?

IF SO, THEN, YOU CAN COUNT YOURSELF AMONG · THOSE PRIVILEGED PEOPLE FOR WHOM JESUS IS PRAYING TODAY.

Exposition: The Content ofJesus' Prayers For Us Today

I. "Holy Father, Keep them in your name, which you have given me:" Oohn 17:11)

Jesus is praying for our protection and safekeeping, vss.11, 15 for there is saving, keeping power in the Name of God in Christ. In praying that we would be kept in His Name, Jesus is praying:

A. Father, keep them under the . SAVING POWER of your . Name. Deliverthemfrom

the power, deceit, pressure, attraction, discouragement, temptation and tyranny of sin and Satan. Be their Shield as You have promised.

B. Father, keep them under the GOVERNING AUTHORITY of Your

~~~~;lf~h;:~O::~~ . 1.111: •• .• :: ••••••• • ·: ••••

regardless . of thejr . "··· emotional states and moods. Govern them for they cannot govern themselves.

II. "CHoly Father), I come to you ... that they may have my joy made fullinthemselves." Oohn 17: 13).

Jesus is praying that we would

experience thesame rich and profound joy He personally experiences, Luke 2: 10, John 15: 11; Hebrews 12: lff:

A. The joy of contentment in submission to God's will.

B. The joy of completion of an assigned task and of bringing glory to God. ·

C. The joy of victory over evil in our daily lives.

D. The joy of ~owing that our witness and obedience to God is resulting in the eternal salvation of other people.

E. The joy of delighting in those things which delight God and in doing those things which bring God joy, such as, working toward the conversion of sinners, submitting to God'swill, believing in God when it is hard to believe in him, carrying

out assigned tasks to his glory, and worshipping him. A joyless life is a useless and unfulfilled life. And a Christless life is a joyless life.

F. Jesus is praying today, Father, give them the fullness of joy I myself

have, even in their times of grief like today as they feel the loss of their loved one CRobert) so painfully.

III. "CHo ly Father), Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

Sanctification is the work of God wherein he molds our wills more and more into conformity to His holy wilL Sanctification is not for its own sake. Jesus prays that God would sanctify us by His Word so as to equip us to send us out into the world with his saving mission. God sanctifies us by his Wo rd to make us effective in our world mission of restoration and reconciliation.

God sanctifies us by the word of Christ and the prayers of Christ. God sanctifies us by his revealed truth, i.e. the Bible, in the power of the Holy Spirit. That which gives his Word such sanctifying power is

the praying Christ.

Jesus is praying today for you: Holy Father, mold my disciples more and more in My own Image. Asthey studyyour Word, I pray that you would work that Word, by our Spirit, into their hearts and minds.

IV. "CHoly Father), I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but forthose also who believe inMe ... thatthey may all be one, even as you, father, are in me, and I in

you ... "Oohn 17:20,21).

The world wants unity, brotherhood and a sense of oneness, but it cannot produce them. Only Christ can heal the shatterednesS the world feels so intensely. He makes

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those who believe in him, one brotherhood in him. He joins us inseparably and etetn~lly to himself and to each other in him.. In fact, it is a spiritual Oneness of fellowship With the entire Trinity in the deepest and closest of indissoluble bonds.

It is not a vague kind of unity. He prays for a specific kind of unity:

A. (11:21c) Father, give them a unity with a view to world evangelb:ation.

l\. (17:22) Father, give 'them a tjnity in glory~ May they all come to the mature unity of the faith, and know,You as I . know You.

them into a deeper knowledge ofhi'mself: This deep coinmunion for which Christ prays' has a present and a Eu ture experience. In heaven we shall have consummated, personal and direct communion with God in Christ, and we will see his glory with , .

our eyes. But also, now in the present, we can have deep fellowship with God and "see" the glory of God in Jesus, 'With the eyes of

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wfiom tfiou hast gi'lJenme 6e

Thursday concerning Robert Dieterle: In the late morrtIng of November 14, 1991, frbin God's right hand, Jesus prayed to the Father and said, "Holy Father, I desire that Robert Dieterle, whom you have given Me, be with Me where I am, inorderthat he may behold My glory. A few seconds later, God answered] esu~' pfflyer by suddenly .and gently stopping Robert's heart and taking him

- from this life into the glory and bliss of heaven: And what a sight he beheld!

Conclusion

C. (17:23a) Father, give them a unity that is constantly moving toward personal perfection in Me.

D. (17:2.3b)Father, give them a unit yin lovefor 'you, Me, Your Spirit, for each other, and the world.

with me iofiere I Cl1th tfiat tfiey may 6efiolii mygfory,

which tfiott;hastgi'lJen me: for tlWulinJedst me

6efore·tFiefourufatUm

1. SomedayJesus will ask Godforyou, if Your are a real Christiari. Be ready. Prepare your family for it.

2. This High Priestly Prayer of john17 iSwhatjesus continually prays foJ-

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us. Can you say,

E. (17:11) Father, give them a unity in the truth, because no real unity is possible without a common commitment to and agreementinrevealedtruth,17:17.

V. "Father, I desire that they ~lso 'whom you have given me be with me where I am, in order that they may behold my glory ... " Oohn 17:240

jesus delights in the company, prayers and praises of all true Christians. He enjoys lavishirig ~is love of!}hem ari.d bringing

of tfie 'l1/Mli£. J1 .

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"AMEN!"to it? Do you daily desire with all your heart these things for which Christ prays? Ify-ou and Jesus Chris t

faith. In john 6:40 jesus said, ,desire the same things; and you "Forthis is the wili of my Father; ask 'him for the things he asks that everyone who beholds the God, for you, then you can be Son and believes in him, may sure that he will ask the Father have eternal life; and I myself to give the entirety of John 17 to will raise him up on the last you. And remember, the prayers day." To "behold" Christ by faith oftheresurrected Christ are alWays is to grasp the significance of answered. his person in awe, fUll appreciation, , total submission and faith.

We are here today because God answered jesus' pdyer on

3. As the,great Puritan, john Owen, once .wrote. before his own death, "The centering of our thoughts by faith on the

10 'I' lliE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I' January, 1992

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glory of Christ will bring peace and quiet to the disturbed and disordered, (and today, we may say, the grieving) mind. Regular meditation on the glory of Christ will give rest and satisfaction to our souls.· ~t will bring peace to our minds which are so often filled with fears and disturbing thoughts." So grieving family, set your thoughts on the glory of Christ today and in the days ahead, and be at peace. (Taken from The Glory of Christ, and easier -to-read and abridged version of Owen's "Meditations on the Glory of Christ," first published in 1684, shortly after his death in 1683 . The shortened version was prepared by Hervey Mockford, in 1987 and published by Evangelical Press, Hertfordshire, England.)

4.JohnOwen continues: "God is so great that we cannot see him with our natural eyes and even when in heaven we shall not be able tounderstand everything about him, for he is infinite. The blessed sight we shall there have of god will always be 'in the face of Jesus Christ,' (II Cor. 4:6), and this will be enough to fill us with peace and sense of rest and glory. 1.:1 •

. ''Yet even in this life true believers

sometime have a little experience of the pleasure to be found in knowing Christ. The Scriptures and the Holy Spirit bring such a sense of the uncreated glory of God shining in Christ that it fills their souls with indescribable joy and peace." (pp.10-11)Q

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