1. Christmas time is the time of the year when we give gifts and we receive gifts. As Christians we should be careful not to spend money we do not have (like the politicians).
2. We should be careful not to get caught up in the worldly, materialistic foolishness that overwhelms many people.
3. One way to avoid the worldliness and materialism of Christmas is by looking at things Scripturally. Second Corinthians 9:15 says, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
4. That "unspeakable gift" is salvation. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
5. Our focus on Christmas (and all throughout the year) should be on getting people saved.
6. I want to preach this morning on gifts. Not necessarily Christmas gifts, but gifts that our Lord has given to His church. If you have not received these gifts, you can receive them today.
7. All you have to do is ask. Our Lord said, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Luke 11:9, 10).
8. John 17 records our Lord's prayer just before He went to the cross to die for our sins. This is our Lord’s longest recorded prayer. It is often referred to as His High Priestly Prayer.
9. This prayer has depths which our finite minds cannot fathom. No Christian, no matter how godly or devout, can fully comprehend this remarkable prayer.
10. No complete exposition of John 17 has ever been given. Several of the great Puritans wrote lengthy expositions and admitted they could only scratch the surface of this Holy of Holies.
11. It is not my intention to do a thorough exposition of this marvelous chapter this morning.
12. This morning I want to talk about our Lord's wonderful gifts.

I. THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE (17:2).

1. Eternal life is a gift. We cannot buy eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
2. Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
3. Many times I have preached and have emphasized that salvation is a free gift. Then people will come forward at the invitation and tell our workers that they are working on getting saved!
4. But eternal life is a gift, and you cannot work for it. What would you think if you gave me a nice Christmas gift, and then I responded by saying I will shovel your snow and clean your backyard and do other chores to earn my gift?
5. Salvation "is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
6. The great theme of the Gospel of John is eternal life or "everlasting life" (17:2).
7. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
8. Our Lord told the woman at the well in John 4:14, "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
9. Our Lord said in John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
10. When J. Wilbur Chapman was a young man, he went to hear D.L. Moody preach, and when the great evangelist called for an after-meeting Chapman was one of the first to enter the room.
11. To his surprise, Mr. Moody came in and sat down beside him. Chapman admitted to D.L. Moody that he was not quite sure that he was saved. Moody handed him his opened Bible and asked him to read John 5:24.
12. Trembling, and with great emotion, Chapman read, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
13. Moody said to J. Wilbur Chapman, "Do you believe this?”
14. Chapman answered, "Certainly.”
15. Moody then said, “Are you a Christian?”
16. Chapman replied, “Sometimes I think I am and again I am fearful.”
17. Moody said to read it again. Chapman read it again.
18. Then he repeated the same two questions and Chapman answer them the same as before.
19. Then Mr. Moody seemed to lose patience, and he spoke sharply: “Whom are you doubting?”
20. Then it all came to Chapman with startling suddenness.
21. “Read it again,” said Moody, and for the third time he asked: “Do you believe it?” Chapman said: “Yes, indeed I do.”
22. “Well are you a Christian?” And this time he answered: “Yes, Mr. Moody, I am.”
23. And from that day on, J. Wilbur Chapman never questioned his acceptance with God.
24. Have you received this wonderful gift of eternal life?
25. Jesus said in John 5:39 and 40, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."
26. R.A. Torrey said this about John 5:40, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." He said, "That is one of the saddest utterances that our Saviour ever spoke."
27. And then Dr. Torrey gave several reasons why sinners will not come to Christ -- not wanting to give up their sin; love of money; the love of pleasure; the fear of man; an unforgiving spirit; self-will; and pride.
28. Our Lord said in John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
29. Our Lord said in John 10:27 and 28, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
30. The most wonderful gift you could receive this Christmas is the gift of eternal life.

II. THE GIFT OF GOD'S WORD (17:8).

1. It is a wonderful gift -- the Word of God! Our Lord says in John 17:17 -- "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
2. When the great writer, Sir Walter Scott, lay dying, he said to his son-in-law, Lockhart, "Please bring me the Book."
3. The son-in-law was a bit uncertain because Walter Scott had a large library, so he replied, "Sir, which book? Which book?"
4. Sir Walter Scott answered immediately, "There is just one Book. Bring me the Book -- the Bible!"
5. Daniel Webster, the great statesman, said, "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect the instructions and authority; no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
6. When you consider the terrible condition our country is in today, Daniel Webster's words sound prophetic.
7. In Luke 4:4, our Lord said, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
8. But rather than feasting on the Word of God, modern man is eating out of the devil's garbage can!
9. Dirty books, dirty television shows, dirty movies, dirty music, etc.

   God has given us His holy, inerrant, infallible Word.  It is God's gift to man. ·  We are saved by the Word of God.

   First Peter 1:23 says, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

   Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

• We are changed by the Word of God.

  Psalm 119:11 says, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

  Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

• We are cleansed by the Word of God.

  Psalm 119:9 says, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

  John 15:3 says, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."

• We are guided by the Word of God (cf. Josh.1:8).

  Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

  Psalm 119:130 says, "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."

• We have victory over the devil by the Word of God (Ps.17:4; Matt.4:4-10).

  Psalm 17:4 says, "By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer."

  In Matthew 4 (and Luke 4) when our Lord was tempted by the devil, He quoted Scripture.

• We are built up by the Word of God.

  In Acts 20:32, the apostle Paul said the Word of God "is able to build you up."

• We should delight in the Word of God.

   Psalm 1:2 says, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

• God’s Word is magnified above His name.

  Psalm 138:2 says, "Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

10. People have attacked the Bible. Voltaire, the famous French infidel boasted that in 100 years there would be no more Bibles in France. But it was only 50 years after his death that the Geneva Bible Society purchased Voltaire's house in France and used his own printing press to produce stacks of Bibles.
11. People have denied that the Bible is the Word of God. But we know the Bible is the Word of God because of fulfilled prophecies. Way back in Micah 5:2, the Bible predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
12. Way back in Isaiah 7:14, the Bible said He would be born of a virgin.
13. No other book has hundreds of fulfilled prophecies.
14. This Christmas time you should thank God for the wonderful gift of His precious Word!

III. THE GIFT OF GOD'S GLORY (17:22).

1. When the Bible speaks of God's glory, it speaks of His majesty and His splendor.
2. Luke 2:8 says there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then Luke 2:9 says, "And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid."
3. When we consider God's glory, John 17:22 is even more amazing. The Lord Jesus Christ said to God the Father, "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."
4. Why was this glory given to Christians? "That they may be one, even as we are one." This speaks of the unity of the church.
5. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
6. Ephesians 4:3 says, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
7. The apostolic church enjoyed this unity. Acts 1:14 says the disciples "all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication."
8. Acts 2:46 says, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple..."
9. Acts 4:32 says, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul..."
10. Our Lord likens this Christian unity to the unity between Himself and God the Father (17:22). This is glorious!
11. This is not some worldly, ecumenical unity, but true Christian unity based upon like precious faith.
12. The poet put it this way:
    He found them in His House of Prayer,
    With one accord assembled;
    And so revealed His presence there,
    They wept with joy and trembled.  -- James Montgomery 

CONCLUSION:

1. I hope Christ will shine brightly in your heart this Christmas.
2. And as you do your Christmas shopping and visiting, I hope and pray pleasing God will be your priority.
3. And if you are not saved, I hope and pray you receive God's wonderful gift of salvation!