2026.07.19 We are Not Of This World

 

We’re NOT OF THE WORLD

“The Disciple’s Relationship to the WORLD”

John 17:14–23

INTRODUCTION: The South Korea Crackdown & Our Calling

Last Wednesday I was not in church so I watch Jack Hibbs out of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, in San Bernidino County California. The church he pastored did not shut down during Covid but the South Korean Church where the pastor he prayed for serves had a rope tied around it by the government.

The timing on this for us in America is relevant because it illustrates the very tension Jesus prays about in John 17.

According to reporting from The Korea Herald and Yonhap News Agency, South Korean authorities carried out raids and investigations into churches, claiming the churches are having too much “political involvement.”

These actions began on January 25, 2025, under the previous presidential administration in South Korea.

But that leader was later impeached and Even though South Korea later elected a new president, Lee Jae‑myung, the video clip we saw earlier was of Pastor Son Hyun‑bo, a pastor who was arrested this year.

His arrest shows that pressure on churches continues, and that the tension between faith and public life is not new.

These events highlight a biblical reality:

When the church attempts to influence its world with truth, the world often pushes back.

This is exactly what Jesus describes in John 17:

The South Korean church’s experience reminds us that we must be:

So we turn now to Jesus’ prayer, using the acrostic WORLD to understand our relationship to the world.

W ;  Witnesses Who Are NOT OF THE WORLD

John 17:14, 16, 18

Jesus holds two truths together:

11 Now I am no longer IN THE WORLD, but these are IN THE WORLD, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them IN THE WORLD, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak IN THE WORLD, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are NOT OF THE WORLD, just as I am NOT OF THE WORLD. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are NOT OF THE WORLD, just as I am NOT OF THE WORLD. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

We are witnesses; sent, visible, purposeful. But we are NOT OF THE WORLD; We are Wholy holy, distinct, set apart.

This is the tension of discipleship:

GracePointe #1: We should be IN THE WORLD in a very real practical, spiritual, influential and yes in a political sense as an influence for good.

Not partisan; Not combative; Not worldly. But present; Faithful; Truthful.

We engage our world, not to gain power, but to bear witness to Christ’s truth and righteousness.

The South Korean situation shows this clearly: When believers speak truth into their society, they must be both distinct and present.

1. Washington said religion and morality are essential to political prosperity

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”

2. He warned against removing religious influence from public life

“Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

 

In the Movie this Friday, (SPOILER ALERT) Benjamin Franklin is accurately quoted as saying the following,

“I have often and often in the course of the session… looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”

 

O - - Opposed by the World

John 17:14

14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are NOT OF THE WORLD, just as I am NOT OF THE WORLD. 

Jesus said plainly that “The world has hated them…”

Opposition is not a sign of failure; it is a sign of faithfulness. Why does the world oppose disciples? Because we carry truth into a world that prefers lies. Because we represent Christ in a world that rejected Him. Because light exposes darkness.

GracePointe #2: When the church influences its world, the world often resists.

 

R -  Reserved From the World’s Evil

John 17:15

15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 

Jesus did not pray for escape, “I do not ask that You take them out of the world…”

He prayed for protection, not from evil per se or bad circumstances or unhappiness , but from the Evil ONE  “…but that You keep them from the evil one.”

We are not promised comfort. We are promised keeping.

GracePointe #3: God’s protection is not isolation; it is empowerment. He guards us so we can stay IN THE WORLD and fulfill our mission.

 

L --Loved Into Unity for the World’s Sake

Now earlier Jesus said “I don not pray for the world , verse 9, but he does still care and want the church to influence the world so that the world might be saved. In fact, lets go back to John 3:16-19

John 17:21–23

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 

Jesus prayed: “…that they may all be one… so that the world may believe…”

GracePointe #4 Unity is not sentimental; it is missional. The world believes the message when it sees the miracle of unity. When churches face pressure, unity becomes even more essential.

 

D  - - Declared to the World

23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:23

Jesus prayed, “…that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them…”

This is declaration. Not through political power. Not through cultural dominance. But through the revelation of Christ in His people.

GracePointe #5: We are not responsible for the world’s response. We are responsible for the world’s opportunity to hear.

CONCLUSION: The WORLD Jesus Sends Us Into

Jesus does not pray for the world (v. 9), but He prays that the world will be reached through His disciples.

And now, church family, Jesus sends us into our world; Springtown, Azle, Parker County; with the same calling:

Witnesses who are NOT OF THE WORLD. Opposed but faithful. Reserved from evil. Loved into unity. Declared to the world.

This is the WORLD Jesus prayed for. This is the WORLD we are sent into. This is the WORLD we must reach.

 

2026.07.12.That they may all be one...even as We are One

United, Not Divided 

John 17:20-23; 1 Cor. 11:17-22, 27-33

The other day I was taking out the trash and it was the last bag that Melissa had given me, including some a spoiled egg. I thought to myself, the last one in is a rotten egg.

It reminded me of overhearing my grandsons talking to each other about one being a rotten egg.

At the Lord’s Supper, there is a past tense, where we remember what Christ did for us;

There is a future tense when we desire to share communion again with the Lord and proclaim his death until he comes

And there is a present tense, in which we seek to live for Christ and keep communion with each other.

What Christ prayed for us, He prayed for Himself, His disciples, and for those who would believe in the future.

There are seven key requests Jesus made to the Father in His High Priestly prayer. The sixth request is the first of  two which Jesus requested for all disciples of all time.

If you were to outline the prayer of Jesus in John 17, you could have a THREE part summary of

Jesus praying for Himself, FIVE VERSES;

Jesus praying for His disciples and the early believers, FOURTEEN VERSES;

And Jesus praying for future believers, SEVEN VERSES.

But another outline would be the seven prayer requests Jesus gave to the Father.

When I was in Killeen, our pastor of over 2,000 people at least on the role would lead in prayer meeting and I would tell people if you really wanted to know the heart of your pastor, come pray with him.

I would say that still is true. Come pray with us on Wednesday nights. But what about Jesus. How can we get to know him? By His prayer requests.

1.  In John17, Jesus had SEVEN prayer requests (John 17:1–24)

One request was for Himself (17:1-5)

FOUR requests were for the disciples and early believers (17:11, 13, 15, 17)   

TWO requests for those “who will believe” (17:20-24)

When He prayed for Himself, He really only had one Request, that the father would glorify the Son.

When He prayed for the Disciples and early believers, He prayed for Unity (11), For Joy (13),  for Protection (15), and for their Sanctification (17);

When He prayed for future believers, he prayed for Unity (20-23), and that we would all be able to join him in glory where we will be able to see his glory (24).

Did you notices that Two out of the 7 prayer requests were for unity.

2. Two of the seven requests dealt with UNITY(John 17:11, 20-23)

Two Major Passages on Keeping Unity:

Matt. 5:23-26

 

Matt. 18:15-17

The first writing of the Lord’s Supper was not in the Gospels but in first Cor. 11. We read that passage at the beginning, but some in Corinth were truly being divisive. They would come to the church to drink wine in excess to the point where they were drunk and others would come and eat all of the food, to the exclusion of others going away hungry.

3. Communion reminds us to come in purity, forgiveness, love, and unity.

1 Cor. 11:17-22

17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

1 Cor. 11:27-33

 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.