Accomplished

Once again we are listening in on Jesus' prayer. And in the little bit that we will be looking at today Jesus says something that is quite striking. As Jesus' life comes to a close, this is what He says to His Father.

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. (John 17.4)

How would you like to be able to say that at the end of your life? 'Father, You know the work You gave me to do? I did it. All of it.' Actually, how would you like to be able to say that just at the end of one week? Jesus was able to say this about His whole life. This is what we're going to look at this morning. We'll do that using a series of questions.

So, here's the first question. Is this something that you are supposed to aim for - to be able to pray, 'I accomplished the work that you gave me to do'? Or is this this something only for Jesus? This is easily answered. Jesus calls you to follow Him. That's not a call simply to believe certain things. It's a call to be with Him, watch Him and then live like He did. Jesus is your model when it comes to living well. That's one very big reason why He came. So, yes, you are supposed to imitate Him. You are to accomplish the work that the Father gives you.

And that leads to a very obvious next question. How in the world are you supposed to be able to do that? This is where it's so important that you understand what it means that the Father gave Jesus work to do. He didn't give Jesus a list of things to get done. That's how many folk today think. Work to be accomplished means a to-do list. But Jesus didn't have one. And neither do you.

That will sound less strange if you understand that the work that the Father has given to you begins with the kind of person you are to become. It's not what you do that is first. It's who you are. Then comes what you do. We see this in Jesus' life. Consider that time when Jesus was a boy in Jerusalem. His parents were looking for Him and found Him in the Temple. What did He say to Mary?

Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?

Jesus understood who He was and what He was about. He understood Himself in terms of the Father, His Father. Because of that, it only made sense to Him to be in the Temple discussing life with the religious teachers of the day, asking them questions and offering His own answers. He understood who He was and so acted appropriately. Understanding who you are comes before any doing. If you grasp who you are you won't need a to-do list.

Now, understanding who you are is not done in one big change. It's a process. Again, that's what it was for Jesus. So, Luke at the end of that episode in the Temple wrote this:

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Luke is telling us that the twelve year old boy in the Temple was in the process of becoming the Godly man who ministered in His adult years. He advanced in wisdom. He advanced in understanding Himself, a key part of wisdom. And that's what you need to do. You need to develop your understanding of yourself, who you are and what you are about. It's the first part of accomplishing the work that the Father has given to you.

But how do you do that? How can you come to understand yourself? Well, you need to look at yourself. Consider your past, all the different things that have brought you to where you are. Consider your present, the situations you find yourself in now. As you do that, you will be able to see your strengths and your weaknesses more clearly. As those come into focus, you will have a better sense of who you are and what you are about. You will then be able to see more clearly who you are to become. Just like Jesus, you can increase in wisdom and thus accomplish the work.

Let me illustrate. This past weekend I was in NJ visiting family. On Sunday I went to the church that my sister and her husband attend. While I was there I was watching their pastor, Joe, as he mingled with the people. It was clear to me that Joe cared about the folk. There were a lot of hugs and even some kisses. He was very outgoing to everyone, especially the visitors. He did well. And to all appearances it came easily to him. That's not me. I'm not outgoing like Pastor Joe is. I have worked on that, and I can say that I've made progress, but it isn't something that comes easily. But that's okay. My strengths are different. I understand that about myself - my strengths and weaknesses - and that helps me to understand the work that the Father has called me to. I have a good understanding of who I am and where I fit in the world. And out of that I pursue the work that the Father has given to me.

We can look at Jesus to see how this plays out. So, there's the time when He was sitting by a well, really tired. And when a woman came to draw water He asked her for something to drink. And out of that came a conversation, a life redeemed and the Gospel coming to a Samaritan town. Was this interaction with the woman something on Jesus' to-do list? No. He just responded to the situation. Jesus was being Himself. And that's how in that situation He accomplished the work that the Father had given Him. As you understand yourself and become who you are meant to be, you will find yourself likewise responding to some situation you find yourself in and in that way accomplishing the work that the Father has given to you.

So, yes, you are to imitate Jesus so that you can accomplish the work that the Father has given to you. Doing that begins with understanding who you are now - your strengths and weaknesses - and then, becoming who you are intended to be. It's out of that that you will respond to the stuff of life and accomplish the Father's work.

If this is going to happen in your life then there are some things that need to be true of you. Once again, Jesus is our model. First, there's the Bible. It's clear that Jesus knew His Bible well. He quotes it lots. And what do you think He was discussing with those religious teachers when He was twelve? Bible. If you would have the wisdom of self-understanding you need to know your Bible. You will find great wisdom in the book if you are willing to put in the effort to find it. And for some of you that just might mean less reading and more thinking.

Next, prayer. Have you noticed how the Gospel writers refer to Jesus praying? Luke especially does that. What do you suppose He prayed about? In one way or other, He was praying about accomplishing the work. He was praying about those twelve whom He was training, asking for guidance on how to do that well. He was praying about the multitudes of needy people and how to know when to say 'Yes' and when to say 'No'. He was praying about growing in wisdom. It is impossible to accomplish the work of the Father without prayer. Impossible. Jesus prayed. You need to pray.

Then, there is one more thing. Along with Bible and prayer there is the Spirit. You need the Spirit to be guiding you in all of this - just as Jesus needed the Spirit to guide Him. Remember that Jesus received the Spirit at His baptism. He was filled with the Spirit, and it showed in situations like the woman at the well. If He needed the Spirit how much more do you.

These three go together: knowing your Bible, giving yourself to prayer, being led by the Spirit. It's like a three-legged stool. Knock out one leg, and it won't work. But as you do work at these, you're going to find that your life makes more sense - you will understand yourself better. As a result, you will be responding wisely to life. You're going to be accomplishing the work the Father has given to you.

One more question. Why should you do this? Why give yourself to the effort required? I'll touch on this very briefly. Jesus is, once more, our model. Listen, again:

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

Jesus accomplishing the work resulted in the Father being glorified. Or to translate that, by accomplishing the work, Jesus made the Father look as good as He actually is. By living in the way that He did, Jesus showed people the wisdom of the Father. He showed people the power of the Father. He showed people the love of the Father. Making the Father look good was Jesus' goal, and it is yours also.

Last thought. It is my habit to pray for a very brief time before going to bed. I think about the day and then respond to the Father in terms of what happened. Much of Tuesday, I had been thinking about the sermon and jotting down thoughts. So, during that evening's prayer time this question popped into my head. 'Did you accomplish the work the Father gave you for today?' Good question. I thought about it, and then, I answered it. I said, 'I don't know.' And then, I went to bed and to sleep. I suspect that too many of you would have struggled with the question and would have answered with a clear, 'Obviously not! I'm such a failure!' I didn't do that. I have come to understand that getting to know myself and thus accomplishing the work given to me is a process. I have made some good progress over the years. And because of that, I know that I have lots more progress to go. Lots. But I also know that the Father is a God full of grace. Full of grace. And that makes Him very patient, incredibly patient with His children. So, let me tell you again what I've told you before. Relax. The Gospel of Jesus is a Gospel of grace, amazing grace. Believe this Gospel. Believe in the grace of God for you. And then, return to the work of learning how to accomplish whatever it is that the Father has given you.