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
8 :j: mE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon :j: January, 1992
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
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 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
January, 1992 :t TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon * 9
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those who believe in him, one
brotherhood in him. He joins us
inseparably and 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
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
'[ ','
, (':!at!ieTi
I cfesire tfiat tlieyafso
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] 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
6eforetFiefourufatUm
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-
, .. j
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
'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
love of!}hem ari.d bringing
of tfie 'l1/Mli. J1 .
:tolin17:24
"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. 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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