ORLANDO, Florida — Preaching from John 17, Stephen Rummage, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, opens the start of the 2026 Pastors’ Conference at the Orange County Convention Center. Rummage exposes the need to know the heart of Jesus. 

“Here we are listening to God the eternal Son speak to God the eternal Father, and we can understand the entire word,” said Rummage. “He allows us to understand this conversation because of one word: love. He loves us so much that He has revealed Himself to us.” 

Through chapter 17 in the book of John, Rummage defined three ways Jesus prays. 

Jesus prays for Him and His Father to be glorified. (verses 1-5)

“So many times we get our eyes on something else, even in the church, and we stop giving glory to Jesus. To give Jesus glory, to give God glory, means to lift up God. It means to proclaim His splendor and His majesty.” 

Jesus prays for His servants to be sanctified. (verses 6-19)

Sanctification involves protection, joy, being distinct in the world, and being cleansed by the Word of God. 

“The world will tell you that holiness and joy are enemies. That is not what Jesus says. He says as He does a work of sanctification in our lives, that He fills us with joy all the way to the full mark. There are some people here tonight whose joy is below empty, and tonight God wants to do a sanctifying work in your heart to give you joy that comes to the fullest.” 

Jesus prays for His people to be unified. (verses 20-26)

“When we stand on the gospel together, when we stand on the inherent Word of God together, when we stand without compromise together, and when we love one another in Jesus’ name, the Bible says that as we are one, the world knows that the Father sent his Son and that eternal life is found in His name.” 

Identifying the heart of Jesus through His prayer, Rummage illustrated through attending an orchestra concert our need to be unified in our tempo and harmonic pitch with God. 

“When our hearts are tuned to the eternal work of God, and when our eyes are on Jesus, when He is setting the tempo, then He will use us as we prayed. He will use us so that he and his Father might be glorified. He will use us as we are sanctified. He will use us so that His people might be unified.” 

The session of the Pastors’ Conference and the Annual Meeting can be streamed live at https://sbcannualmeeting.net/live/