The Sanctifying Shield
John 17:1-19

It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many, many years ago. The old man's beard was glazed by winter's frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind. He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path.

Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by... and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider's eye and said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn't appear to be a passageway by foot."

Reining his horse, the rider replied, "Sure thing. Hop aboard." Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.

As they neared the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman's curiosity caused him to inquire, "Sir, I notice that you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I'm curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?"

The old man lowered himself slowly down from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eyes, and replied, "I've been around these here parts for some time.
I reckon I know people pretty good."

The old-timer continued, "I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need."

Those heartwarming comments touched the horseman deeply.

"I'm most grateful for what you have said," he told the old man. "May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion."

With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.

Starting in John 17
17 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

Someone once stated, “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;
As a Christian, would you conduct your life differently if you knew that Jesus was praying for you? Would you live more boldly if you heard Jesus praying for you? He is praying for each of us each day of our lives.”
Down in Kentucky, our nation has a very special place designed to protect our gold supply. Do you know what it’s called? (Fort Knox).
That’s where our nation keeps most of our gold.
But more than gold has been stored there over the years. Ft. Knox has also held the Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible, the English crown jewels as well as the gold reserves of several countries. And on December 26, 1941, the nation stored the original U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence—until they were moved to Washington D.C on October 1, 1944, where they’ve been on display ever since.
Now, why is Fort Knox such a good place to store valuables?
Because it’s quite literally a fortress.
It was built to be impossible for anybody to get inside of.
It is constructed of granite, steel, and concrete (some say that there’s more steel in the vault than gold). The vault is made of steel plates, steel beams, and steel cylinders. Steel bands wrap around everything, and then concrete encases it all. The vault door alone weighs more than 20 tons.
And getting inside without authorization is impossible. Even the president of the United States doesn't have the combination to the vault. To open the door, several staffers must EACH dial separate combinations known only to them.
On the outside, there’s a sentry posted at the entrance gate and guard box at each corner of the building. THEN, there an imposing steel fence surrounds the whole property. In addition, there are high-tech protective devices in the building.
The point of this illustration is this:
The more valuable an item is the more trouble folks will go to to protect it
I also want you to notice:
• Ft. Knox protects our gold supply by locking it away.
• It separates it from mankind by walls made of steel and concrete.
• And it is guarded by soldiers who have instruction to shoot to kill.
It’s not a friendly place to be if you don’t belong there.
Keep that in mind for a moment as we look at our text for this morning.
Jesus prayed “...Father, PROTECT them by the power of your name— the name you gave me— so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I PROTECTED them and kept them safe by that name you gave me... My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you PROTECT them from the evil one.” John 17:11-12 & 15
As Jesus was praying to the Father, the main focus was that we would be protected. Jesus wanted the Father to shelter us, especially from the evil one.
So now, how would God go about defending us? I mean...
• Does He lock us away from the rest of the world?
• Does He surround us with walls of steel and concrete?
• Does He set up armed guards all around us to protect us from the evil one?
Well, yes... and... no.
Notice what Jesus says in verse 15:
“My prayer is NOT that you take them out of the world...” John 17:15
Jesus did not want the Father to lock us away from the rest of the world
Now, back in the Old Testament God did do that with the Israelites.
Genesis tells us that God went to a great deal of trouble to send the people of Israel down to Egypt during the days of Joseph. Granted there were on 70 or so of them at the time. But once Jacob and his sons moved down to Egypt, they were given a special land called “the land of Goshen”. And that’s where they lived for the next 430 years or so.
Israel was literally isolated from the rest of the world. God arranged for Israel to be walled off from the rest of the world - to be sheltered from the influence of paganism and the outside world. And they even had a very limited contact with their Egyptian hosts because the Egyptians were vegetarians and the Israelites were meat eaters.
God created a cultural barrier from those two peoples. Israel ended up being largely untouched by pagan influences of the day. Thus, when God had Moses lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt, Israel was emotionally and mentally different than any of their neighbors. They were prepared to be the people of God - and of Him only.
Now, God could have done that with us.
Once we were baptized into Christ, God could have whisked us away to some isolated and exotic land.
I’d personally opt for the Caribbean myself.
But it would be wonderful for God to take us immediately away from this world with all its temptations and lusts. Some tropical paradise where we could just sing praises the rest of our lives. But that’s not what God had in mind.
Jesus prayed that we NOT be taken “out of the world.”
Jesus prayed that we NOT be physically isolated from the people around us.
As Christians, God intended us to live IN this world... but not OF this world. As Peter wrote that we live “as aliens and strangers in the world.” 1 Peter 2:11
We live IN this world, but not OF it.
Jesus called us to “the salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”.
God saves us to make us missionaries to the world in which we live.
God has entrusted a very special ministry once we’re saved.
But there is a danger in that.
The danger is that we might become like our neighbors.
The danger for Christians is that since we live IN the world, we might become like the world and think like the world.
Paul warns us “I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.” Ephesians 4:17-20
So, if that’s a danger.
If we are tempted to be like the world around us.
And God isn’t going to lock us away from this temptation.
How does God protect us as Jesus prayed in John 17?
Answer: He sanctifies us.
Sanctification is a $100 word that means “being set apart”
Sanctification, the setting ourselves apart from the rest of the world while living IN the world, allows us to be God’s servants to those around us. is a powerful tool that God has given to us to be protected.
Now, you might ask – how does sanctification work?
ILLUS: How many of you drove to church this morning?
Your car is a wonderful thing. It helps you go to church, the grocery store, a friend’s house, or just for a drive in the country. Your vehicle gives you almost total freedom to go anywhere and do anything. I don’t care what make, model or year your vehicle may be – it is a wondrous invention.
But driving a car can also be very dangerous.
The force of your car running head on into a tree at speeds of 55 to 65 mph has roughly the same effect on your body as if you were to fall out of a 6th or 7th story window to the ground.
They tell me it’s not the fall that kills you... it’s that sudden stop.
Over the years, manufacturers have created ways to protect you from this kind of danger. What kind of devices does your car have that can at least minimize the danger of a serious car crash?
• Seatbelts
• Air bags
• Bumpers
• Designs of the chassis that allow the front of your car to absorb most of the impact.
And on top of all that, you are literally encased in a metal box that contains all those protections and that metal box literally “sanctifies” you while you drive down the road.
You are “set apart” from the rest of the world. You are IN the world, but not OF it while you are in your car.
That is what “sanctification” does for us.
When God sanctifies us, He “sets us apart” from the dangers of this world.
And when God sanctifies us this way... we are free to live IN this world, but not OF it.
We’re not locked away in a closet somewhere.
We’re not walled off from the people around us that need to know about love of Jesus.
We are free to be God’s servants in a lost and damaged world.
Now, how does God sanctify us?
Well, there are several things God does to “sanctify” us.
• We are “sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:16
• We are “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 1:2
• And when we become saved, we are added to His church and that sets us apart – sanctifies us – as well.
But the one thing I want to focus on this morning is what Jesus says in verse 17:
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
Sanctify them with the Word?
What Word would that be?
the Scriptures. The book you hold in your hands.
The Bible is God’s tool to help us be set apart from the world.
Paul wrote “... everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
And he told Timothy: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17
Thus, when we study and embrace God’s word into our lives it teaches us and gives us hope. And we become equipped for every good work.
But how can the Bible do all that? The Bible is able to do that because it is the Word of God. It is God’s truth for us. “Your Word is TRUTH” said Jesus
Now, in our passage this morning, Jesus tell us that God’s Word sanctifies us. It protects us. And that was what David wrote about when he said:
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
And in Psalm119:9, David wrote:
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”
By studying and knowing this book, you keep your way pure, and you are enabled to deal with your sin.
When we use it correctly, the Bible becomes a sanctifying shield for our hearts.
ILLUS: During the Vietnam War, a man visited a Christian bookstore. There on the shelf was a New Testament with this title: the "Soldier's Shield". It was like any other New Testament, except it this one had a plate of stainless steel sewn into the back cover.
Bible companies have sold Bible’s like that ever since at least WWII
The idea was, that if a soldier carried his special New Testament in his left front shirt pocket, then God's Word would protect his heart a that fatal bullet. Only God knows how many lives were saved from death because of that Bible.
But would that “Soldier’s Shield” been useful if he’d put it in his back pocket? If he’d left it in his footlocker, or carried in his knapsack? Of course not. The only time that Bible would have protected his heart would have been if the soldier placed it in his shirt pocket.
In the same way, the Bible can only protect our hearts from sin and help us keep our way pure if we put God’s Word INSIDE of our hearts. If we make so much a part of our lives that it’s truth protects us from the false thinking of this world.
God’s word is TRUTH.
You need to be so familiar with God’s truth that you know it and believe it and live your life by its counsel.
Now, by contrast, if you don’t guard your heart with God’s Word, you’ll be prone to be influenced by the lies of this world. And if you hear those lies often enough, you’ll start to believe what the world believes.
But if you hear the TRUTH often enough – especially God’s truth – then you begin to believe the words of life. The words of God’s wisdom. The words that will give you life... and life more abundantly.
When Jesus said “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17) Jesus was saying that the Scriptures are not only true but they have the power to protect you and give you life in a dying world.

Based on a sermon given
By Jeff Strite