That All of Them May Be One

June 29, 2025

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Scripture referenced 3 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 17:20-26 the main passage read and preached from, Jesus's high priestly prayer for the unity of believers

20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even 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 The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one;
23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
26 I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

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Acts 4

Peter and John arrested by the Sanhedrin, who marveled that unlearned men had been with Jesus

1 As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them,

2 being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening.

4 But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5 In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.

6 Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest.

7 When they had stood Peter and John in the middle of them, they inquired, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

9 if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,

10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand here before you whole.

11 He is ‘the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.’

12 There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus.

14 Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it.

17 But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.”

18 They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,

20 for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”

21 When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done.

22 For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

23 Being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

24 When they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, “O Lord, you are God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;

25 who by the mouth of your servant, David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?

26 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take council together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.’

27 “For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together

28 to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.

29 Now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness,

30 while you stretch out your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”

31 When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

32 The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

33 With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all.

34 For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,

35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet, and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need.

36 Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,

37 having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

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Revelation

John's vision of all nations, tribes, and languages gathered before God in heaven, used to illustrate the believer's eternal dwelling

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The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Pastor Joseph Kamau Kabui of Tigoni Baptist Church in Kenya brought the message on Sunday, June 29. He preached from John 17:20-26, the section of Jesus's high priestly prayer that looks beyond the disciples to all future believers. His focus was the unity Jesus asked the Father to give his people, and what that unity is meant to show the world.

What was said

Pastor Kamau opened by noting something distinctive about this prayer: the disciples were listening as Jesus prayed it. He contrasted it with the garden prayer in the other gospels, where the disciples were apart from Jesus. Here they are present, which means they heard firsthand what Jesus most wanted for the church in the generations to come. In Africa, he said, a person's last words carry enormous weight, and the family always wants to know what was said. These are effectively Jesus's last words for the church, and that gives them weight.

The first thing Jesus's prayer reveals, Pastor Kamau argued, is that our unity demonstrates our knowledge of God. Jesus points to his own oneness with the Father as the model and says that oneness should be visible among believers. When there are deep divisions among those who follow Christ, it raises a question about whether they have truly grasped who called them. He quoted the African saying, "I am because we are," and applied it to the community of believers joined together in Christ.

The second point moved from knowing God to being united with him. Pastor Kamau drew on the prayer's language about the disciples being "in us," meaning in the Father and the Son. He compared it to visiting a city where you know someone: that one shared friend draws a whole room of strangers together. What holds believers together is not who they are but who Jesus is. He also pointed to Acts 4, where the Sanhedrin looked at Peter and John and recognized, despite their lack of formal education, that they had been with Jesus. The glory of God was visible on them.

Third, Pastor Kamau said that unity demonstrates a willingness to exalt Christ. Jesus ties the prayer for unity directly to the world coming to know that the Father sent him. When believers are visibly one, the people around them notice and are drawn toward Jesus. He pressed on this as a call to evangelism, and he said that while words matter, a unified life often speaks more plainly than words do.

The fourth and final reason was that unity demonstrates what Pastor Kamau called our eternal dwelling. He pointed to the vision in Revelation of every nation, tribe, and language gathered before God. When believers refuse to be divided by their differences, they are signaling that they know where they are going. He put it plainly with a Kenyan joke: even if you don't love the person next to you, remember that Jesus went to prepare a place, and your beds may end up beside each other forever.

After Pastor Kamau finished, Ray came back to the microphone and added his own short reflection. He read back the line, "that all of them may be one," and asked the congregation whether believers act like they are one, even if they are. He said plainly that disunity limits evangelism, and he prayed that the congregation would reach across divides toward one another.

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Pastor Kamau described Jesus praying John 17 while his disciples were listening, and compared it to the weight a person's last words carry in African culture. What does it mean to you that Jesus used some of his final hours before the cross to pray specifically for the unity of future believers?
Pastor Kamau said that when believers are divided it can show that some may not be fully aware of who called them. Do you agree with that? Why or why not?

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0:00 I'm gonna introduce someone but before I do, I wanna read the passage for today. Hey, here it is. From John 17. 17. John 17 is Jesus's high priestly prayer.

0:18 This is on the night that he was betrayed. This is him in the garden and the disciples are here in this. Some of the disciples are hearing this. There's a going pretty strong here. It's probably from the base and the cello.

0:34 Jesus says, when he's praying to the father, my prayer is not for them alone, not just for my disciples. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. That all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me and that they may be one just as we are one.

0:57 I and them and you and me so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory. The glory you've given me because you love me before the creation of the world. Righteous father, through the world, though the world does not know you, I know you and they know that you have sent me and I've made you known to them and I will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I may self, myself may be in them.

1:37 Lord, would you bless the reading of your word and the the proclamation of your word? Would you plant it deep in us as that song said? Lord, would you plant the word deep in our hearts that the the truth may be known in our hearts and through our lives. In Jesus name, amen. Now, I'm going to introduce pastor Kamal, pastor Joseph Kamal Kabui is serving still at Tegoni Baptist Church.

2:04 It's been I think fifteen or sixteen years since he last visited us here. But Tanya and I went to see him earlier in the year this year. And Roseanne Welch who is was a long time member of this church. Roseanne and Darton moved to Kenya and pastor Kamau was a youth pastor at the time when she was there in the late eighty's, early ninety's around there. Roseanne should be here soon, coming up.

2:30 Tigone is a blessing to the community around it and the Kenyan Baptist Theological College, pastor Kamal is the president of that. It's hard to get a day off between being the head of a seminary and the lead pastor of a church, but he is here. He's been in The States for a couple of weeks and he's going to present to you today. Do you have any? This is a a fairly recent picture of Tegoni but he has a few more and I'll let him flip through those.

2:56 You can flip through this with this. Come on. Come on up pastor. Come out. He's one of my favorite people on the planet.

3:04 Thank you. And a unit... A unity mindset for sure.

3:09 You have a you have a I do.

3:12 And the doodad, if you just hit that.

3:13 Okay. Okay. Yeah. That is Tanya, Ray, I, and my wife when they visited Kenya. Good morning, everyone.

3:22 Good morning. I bring greetings from Tigone Baptist Church. They know that I'm here in Kenya Baptist Theological College, and I'm so glad to be with you. This church has been a blessings to my life and my family. We've always received your support through the years since I returned to Kenya.

3:43 I graduated with my master's of divinity from Indiana, an Baptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and moved back to Kenya. And from 2009, I've always received your love and donations for the ministry in Kenya, and I appreciate that very much. We we are blessed with two children, Sheila, who is 28, and Angela, who is 25. Yeah. They are both back in Kenya.

4:22 Sheila works with a nongovernmental organization. While Angela does a small business, she is thinking of coming back to The US next month and do her second master's in financial analysis. So we hope that will work well. That is the building. When Tanya and Ray were there, we had not done a lot, but we still thank you for the gift that you gave us.

4:55 We were able to paint and tile most of the front part of the building, and that is the building that we have. We were able to tile the front part of it. That is the entrance to the building and the staircases. Yeah. The reason why I'm glad about the building that we have come up with is that Tigone Baptist Church was established in 1964 by IMB, and we have an old building whose foundation was not that good.

5:36 And we thought instead of putting a lot of money in a building that would not last long, why don't we come up with a new one? It has taken us fourteen years to get where it is, although the vision started long time ago. Yeah. That is Jonathan. Yeah.

5:59 I am... I want to share with you from God's word, from John 17. Yeah. Verse 20 to 26. I love this passage because it's a call for us to be united.

6:22 It is a a priestly prayer that Jesus prayed in his last day of his life on earth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke talks about the prayer that he prayed in the Garden Of Gethesmane, but John records a different prayer. If you read the book of John chapter 13 all the way to 16, Jesus talks to his disciples, instructs them on on how they should live after he goes. But then in John chapter 17, he prays for himself, for his disciples, and for us who are seated here this morning. And I want us to focus on the prayer that he prayed for us.

7:17 And one issue that I look at in this passage is that Jesus was praying the prayer while his disciples were listening to him. In the prayer that he prayed in the garden, the disciples were not there with him, but here he prays for them, and they are listening to the prayer that he's offering for himself, for the church, and for us who are here this morning. And that is what I want us to look at and look at the reasons why he prayed for us. Why did he pray for our unity? What did he want us to do?

8:08 In Africa, and I think it applies even in The US, a person's last words are very valued. If a parent is dying, he calls all the children, and if one misses that last moment of the parents leaving, they always wanted... Want to know what did our mother, what did our father say on the last day of his life. And therefore, looking at this prayer, we are looking at the desire that Jesus demonstrated about the church in time to come. Yeah.

8:50 And let us look at some of the reasons that Jesus prayed for our unity. One, our unity demonstrates our knowledge for God. Our unity demonstrates our knowledge for God. As Jesus prays, you you look at verse verse twenty and twenty one. As he prays, he prays for the church.

9:20 And he prays that the church may be united. And in his prayer, he basically talks to his... Or he... To his father about what he desires for the church. Verse twenty and twenty one, he says, my prayer is not for them alone.

9:44 Meaning that he's not only praying for the disciples, but he's also praying for those who will believe in him through their message that they may be one just as the father and father and... He says, just as you are in me and I am in you. Basically, what Jesus is talking about, he's giving an example of his oneness with father. And he says that that oneness should be demonstrated by the unity of believers. When believers unite, it demonstrates that they know God.

10:30 When there there there are divisions among the believers, it shows that some may not be aware of who... Him who called them. And this is what Jesus is praying, that just as the father, him and the father are one, we should be one. He demonstrates that the oneness that we have should should demonstrate the oneness that he and the father have. And he prays for us in this generation and in generations to come that we should demonstrate that we know God by the way we live with one another.

11:14 There is an African saying that says that I am because we are. That means without you, I am not. And therefore, for believers, we can say we are because... I am because we are, and we are all joined with Christ. And this is what we should seek as we walk together as God's children.

11:41 The second reason is that our unity demonstrates our oneness with God. Our oneness with God... Oh, okay. There there is that part of knowledge. We we know God, but are we united with him?

11:56 In verse twenty one and twenty... Part of 22, he says that, father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I I I love that, that he prays, may they also be one, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me that they may be one as you... As we are one.

12:44 This is to show that our unity demonstrates that we are united with God. I look at places that I've visited, and most of the time, if I have a friend who might know in that place and I go to that friend, his friends or her friends will come there and we will we will join together because the friend that is joining us is the factor that makes us come together. And therefore, if we know God, if we love God, this is what Jesus is saying, is that if we know him, if we love him, then we will come together not because of who we are, but because of who he is. Jesus is talking about us demonstrating us coming together, and he also talks about the glory that we receive. The glory that we receive from him.

13:51 In the book of Acts chapter four, Peter and John had preached a message, and people who were looking at at them and the Sanhedrin had caught them and were trying them, they looked at them as people that were not learned, and they were amazed at how they were able to express themselves, and they said, these people have been with Jesus. The the glory of God was over them that everybody would know that they were with Jesus because of the glory that God had surrounded them with. And therefore, our oneness, our our unity with one another demonstrates our oneness with God. Thirdly, our unity demonstrates our willingness to exalt Christ. I I love these two.

14:54 Verse 22, I have given them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you are in... You in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved me even as you have loved loved me. Sorry.

15:22 May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you you sent me and have loved them even as you loved me. Here, as the disciples of Jesus are listening to them... To him pray, Jesus puts a lot of emphasis on evangelism, whereby as they go out, those whom they are going to preach to would come to know Jesus because they were exalting him. The world would the world would would know Jesus because of their unity. And therefore, it's a call to evangelism.

16:10 When we are united, people that surround us will look at us and know that we follow Jesus, and they will desire to come to Jesus out of our unity. And the world will know that God sent Jesus and that he loved Jesus out of a unity. And this is a prayer that Jesus is praying for his disciples showing that, yeah, you need to go out and evangelize. You need to go out and make disciples. And our lifestyles, as much as we tell people about Christ, our lifestyle talks more about Christ at times more than our words.

17:00 Yes. We may talk about it, but then when we are united, the world will know that Jesus came from God and they will come to know him. The fourth reason is our... Is that our unity demonstrates our internal dwelling. Our eternal dwelling.

17:24 Isn't this beautiful that when we are united, we are showing the world that we know where we are going? We we we... Yeah. In in the book of Revelation in the book of Revelation, John saw a vision where all the nations, all the tribes of the world, all the languages will gather before God in heaven. And when we are united, we are showing people that we are...

18:01 We cannot be divided by our differences because we know where we are going to be when we leave this world. We we we have a joke in Kenya that even if you don't love me, remember Jesus went to prepare a place for us, and your bed may be next to mine. And that will be forever. It will be forever. So when we are united, we are demonstrating to the world that yes, we know where our dwelling is, we know where we are going, and it is my desire that all of us would seek to be united in order for us to exude Christ in our lives.

18:48 And may the Lord bless you. Amen. Amen. Pastor Lee?

19:00 So so thank you pastor Kamau. I I I forgot something. Big surprise. I forget stuff all the time. If it's not on the screen, I don't say it and I didn't put it on the screen but this is one of those Sundays.

19:13 It's been fifteen or sixteen years since he was last here and for those of you come to church here, this is a fairly normal experience that when we have a missionary come, I say, it's Sunday morning. You can tell what's going on but Sunday morning, we come together to hear God's word and so he faithfully presents it every week in his home church back home and I ask him if he'd do that this morning and he has. This is a Sunday when we take up two offerings and I blew it because I didn't mention that first and it sounds really tacky to say it now. But I'm saying it anyway. It's not because we didn't receive enough money the first time around.

19:47 And if you brought one check and you put it in the plate that already passed and you'd rather have it go to pastor Kamal, let us know and we'll do that. I hate to be tacky but I'm going invite the ushers to come back forward. I'm going invite the band to come back forward. I'll blame it on emotion. This was a very moving week.

20:05 For me. Sorry. It's pretty terrible. Pretty awful. Would you pray with me again though?

20:14 We've been praying for pastor Kamal. He said since 2009 and Roseanne and Darton were praying for him before that for a long long time. He was a youth pastor while he was while she was there and while we were there, we visited three different ministries. Y'all know Dave and Kim and we did this recently for them and y'all have heard of Grace Lacanje and there was a team that went from here for 19 ladies went in 2013 and I went with them and when we got over there, Tanya was speaking to Grace Lacanje who was a youth in pastor Kamau's youth group and she started a ministry called the Nama Girls. We're hoping to get her over here pretty soon too.

20:58 God is doing a work in Kenya and a lot of times when we think of Africa, I think we think of em in a different way than Kenya really looks. There is a faithful, theological tradition and there are people who are walking out the gospel and it's a really, really good thing and it's a lot of it has to do with faithful pastors continuing and training up faithful pastors at the seminary. So, this this is for Tegoni Baptist and Pastor Kamal and Ruth and the seminary. Lord God Almighty, we ask that you'd bless your people in Kenya through your people in Jackson. I pray that we would be humble and obedient servants that we would be looking to you, Lord, to lead us in the way that we should go and to follow the steps.

21:43 There's so many examples as we're studying the book of Acts where there's a collection that's taken up for people in a a distant place. And I'm thankful for Pastor Kamal bringing the message this morning. Good news from far country is like a drink of cold water on a hot day. So, lord, I ask your blessing on this offering and on and on pastor Kamal and on the advance of the gospel in Kenya. In Jesus name, amen.

22:21 Father of kindness you have poured out grace brought me out of darkness filled me with peace giver of mercy you have your time all your promises are yes all your promises are yes amen I want you guys stand up

25:47 we've got that all of them, this is what Jesus is praying, that all of them may be one. Do y'all feel like as believers, we are all one? We are. So, we are because we believe in Jesus. Do we act like it?

26:06 No. So, let that sit in your lap for a minute. That all of them may be one. Jesus is praying to the father. Father, just as you are in me and I'm in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

26:22 It's a problem when we're not in unity. It's a problem and it limits our evangelistic capabilities and it limits so much. So, God, we are praying that you would make us one. Would we reach out across the divide and bring people and allow them to bring us to the middle right there in the good old gospel way. Tanya has approached.

26:43 Amen. Tanya has approached. I think that we have, if if you want... I

26:49 was gonna sign that and I just... I wonder if my husband remembers the sign language I'm about to give, but instead, I can just say it in in English. So there are... We are having a kind of drop in thing to come talk and speak and love on pastor Kamal at our house from two to five and if you don't know where our house is, text Ray. It's it's in Raptor J.

27:18 It's 3335 Cal Camp Drive and so we would love to have you. It's... We have no idea if there are two or 42 people that might want to come but bring it on. We're happy to see you and get you to be able to talk to him a little more. Thank you.

27:33 Thank you. You. Thank

27:34 you. Alright. Y'all. Have a great day.

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Christian Unity Evangelism John 17 Kenya Missions Prayer For Unity

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