Believe in Me & Ask in MY name!
| June 14, 2011 | Posted by Pastor Viju Mathai under John, Prayer, Sermons |
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Pastor Viju Mathai
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John 14:8-14 —> 8. Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”9. Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
We all have prayer requests and want God to answer favorably. As good believers we pray for God’s “perfect will” to be accomplished in and through our lives. But sometimes we come to a point where we are completely dejected and want to give up. There are times when it seems God is seated very far away and/or is simply unwilling to listen. It feels as if, God has “other” better things to do and is too busy to process our requests. This then brings us to wrong conclusions such as, “God does not care for me” “He has given up on me” God does not love me”.
Friends, please be aware that Devil is an accuser of God’s people. He accuses “God to us”. Words like “He failed his promises” “He does not care for me”, which fills our mind during such intense moments, is nothing but the Devil’s weapon of accusation, being played against us . This is the very reason why the bible teaches us to take “captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:5).
It is true that sometimes God says “Yes”, sometimes He says “No” and at other times He says “Wait”. He is the sovereign God and will do what is best for us. No matter what, we must be willing to wait for God’s time, His will to prevail in our lives. Good things happen to those that wait upon the Lord. Abraham waited for an heir and never lost hope. Because of his faith he was declared righteous.
Prayer has an important part in a believer’s life. When Jesus was in this world, He was constantly in prayer. He spoke only what the Father gave Him, He did things only what the Father showed him (John 5:19-30). After Jesus was baptized, he did not go straight for crusades and mission trips, instead he went to the wilderness to fast and pray. If Jesus needed to fast and pray, we need to fast and pray even more. How can we attempt a ministry that even Jesus did not attempt? A ministry without a prayer life?? No wonder some of us have been reduced to ineffectiveness in our Christian walk. There are others who are branded “super-apostles”, pulpit-shakers” and yet lack a diligent prayer life and good testimony. God is seeking “servants” not “super-stars”. To be a good “super-star” all one need is good acting and oratory skills. If we want to be a “servant” we must pray! Prayer has neither other antidotes nor replacements. Prayer has no shortcuts, nor detours. Worship cannot replace prayer life. Reading of God’s work cannot replace prayer life. Worship and reading of the Word is extremely important. Prayer is also equally important. A godly believer will always give importance to all three.
History has shown that God has done great things through those who believe and pray. History validates that the origin of most revivals of the past have been through prayer. One must “believe” and “ask” earnestly – “in Jesus name”, in order to receive
In John 14, Philip wanted to see the Father and Jesus was trying to convince him that the Father was in fact within Him. Over the course of convincing Philip, Jesus reveals several spiritual truths that are encouraging and empowering. Let’s expound upon Jesus words and dig into these spiritual truths.
John 14:8-9 — > 8. Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”9. Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? …
Anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father: If we have a personal relationship with Jesus through daily prayer, reading of the scripture and worship, we have seen the Father. It is only because of the pure blood of Jesus, that sanctifies us of all our sins, we are able to approach the throne of grace and call Him “Abba Father”. It is only because of Jesus we have received the spirit of “son-ship”. Oh! What a privilege we have in and through Christ Jesus. Always be aware of the fact that “God Loves You!”, “He cares for you!”, “He is crazy about you!”. Be secured in His Love!
Apostle Paul once confident and basking in this Love says “Who can separate us from the Love of Christ? …For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39). This is true – nothing can separate us from the Love of God. He has loved us with an “everlasting love”. The bible says: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). That’s right! He has lavished it all on us. He proves His love by sending His only Son to die for us. We are THAT important! He wants to commune with you, he wants to dine with you, he wants to have fellowship with you – after all this is exactly what God did before Adam sinned. They had fellowship “every day”. Yes, He can live in you when you live in Him. There is nothing in this world that can replace the joy of fellow-shipping with the Almighty God. Hallelujah!
Let us develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and seek him diligently through prayer, reading of the word and worship.
John 14:10-11 — > 10. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
Jesus spoke only what the Father gave Him authority to speak: It has always fascinated me how Jesus “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;” (Philippians 2:6). Jesus teaches us a very important lesson on submission, obedience and commitment through His conduct. One of the biggest lacks in many believers is “commitment”, “submission” and “accountability”. Many have come to hate these three words to such an extent that any preacher who preaches on them, is instantly rejected as unbiblical, naive, ignorant and outdated. A lifestyle without commitment towards God and His will is nothing but pride and rebellion. A lifestyle without submission towards God and to those that God has placed above us is nothing but pride and rebellion. A lifestyle without accountability is nothing but pride and rebellion. Many believers (including preachers) refuse to submit & commit because they hate accountability. Christian life demands accountability through submission and commitment, or else we go the way Lucifer went through pride and rebellion.
Jesus submitted to the Father and only spoke what His Father gave him. May our words be those that the God has given. May our pulpits reverberate with the rhema word of God. Only that can bring about a true change in the lives of people.
John 14: 11-12 — > 11. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Believe in me! Believing in the Jesus Christ is a prerequisite to asking. Believing, confident trust, deep faith in Jesus Christ, confident expectation is all essential components of a Christian walk. Without these we will never make it to the other shore. Our belief in Christ Jesus grows as we have a personal relationship with Him daily and continue to rely on Him for all our needs. There are times when we want to take the matters into our own hands, we do not even pause for a moment to believe that God can do it for us and even exceedingly better than any man possibly could. If we are focused and committed towards fulfilling God’s plan & destiny in our lives, we must start by believing Him. We who have started this Christian journey, by believing (in our heart and confessing with our tongue – that Jesus is Lord) can only reach the destination if we continue to believe in God. Only such a person can say like Apostle Paul “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.” (1 Timothy 4:7)
We must believe in Jesus no matter how bad the situation looks. We must believe that the one who created the heavens and the earth, the creator God, lives inside us – He is in our boat. If we abide in him, he will abide in us.
Friends that is our confidence, that he will never leave us, nor will He ever forsake us. He will never abandon us. Believe in Him, even when walking through a valley, even when walking through a wilderness experience, even when surrounded by enemies. His hands has not shortened nor shriveled – He is able to rescue, He is able to deliver. He is mighty to save.
Believe in Him! Even when the doctor’s report says chances are bleak. Believe in him! Even when your bank statement says zero. Believe in him! Even when your close and dear ones abandon you. Believe in Him! Even when others reject you. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverb 18:24).
The crashing sound of winds and the waves did not wake up Jesus, but the faint cry of His disciples woke Him. My dear brother, my dear sister, just cry out to Him. HE WILL LISTEN & RESPOND!
He can command the winds and the waves and it will obey. He can create things out of nothing. He can heal you! He can bless you! He can restore you! He can fight the battles for you! Just BELIEVE!
Whoever believes will do even greater things: Oh!, how I yearn for this to happen in my own life. How much I desire that all believers would be such. We have been reduced to ineffectiveness because of our lack of faith in God. We have refused to believe in God and have accepted the “status quo” the enemy has presented us with. The church needs to rise up. We need to rise up. We must believe in God …and only then would great things happen in and through our lives. Only then lives would be changed and people will be delivered. Only then will the Kingdom of God grow in this world and the power of the gospel prevail in the lives of many.
Before one believes in their heart, he/she must be transformed in their mind. A conformed mind (Romans 12:2) will conform according to the patterns of this world, but a transformed mind (i.e. the mind of Christ) will always think outside the patterns, boundaries or beliefs of this world. Indeed if we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Christ Jesus, we do have a transformed mind and a regenerated, believing heart.
Let us believe that God can do great things for us. Let us believe that God can do great things through us for others. Believing the Lord is the first step of receiving anything through faith.
John 14: 13-14 — > 13. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Ask and it shall be given: It is important that we ask in order to receive. We often do not receive because we do not ask (James 4:2). Jesus wants to bless us, He wants to give us our heart’s desire. He is challenging us (in John 14) to ask, I would even venture to say, He is “daring’ us to ask. Satan attacks God’s people and causes them to disbelieve. As days go by, we forget to ask thus assuming that God knows and He will give it in due time. The word of God says, “Ask and it shall be given unto you” (Mathew 7:7).
Ask of the nations (Psalms 2:8) and the Lord shall give them. Ask for deliverance and the Lord will deliver. Do not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6), but whatever you need ASK
Philippians 4:6 –> do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Ask in JESUS Name: Asking in JESUS name is biblical. Jesus himself commanded in John 14:14, “ask me for anything in my name, and i will do it”. Even John 16:26 emphasis that we ask in Jesus name
John 16:26-27 — 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Asking in Jesus name shows the Father that we love the Son whom He sent for us. It shows Father God that we approve and submit to His plan and trust him to make eternal decisions for us
When we ask in Jesus name, the Father is glorified. This is exactly what Jesus wants – that in all things and in every-way the Father must take glory.
When we believe and ask in Jesus name, God will give it to us, he will do it for us.
Friends, there is no way we can impact this world with our own strength. We must rely on God’s power – the power of the gospel, the power of resurrection. Only that can save the lost, only that can remove the veil that is covering their eyes. What good is our Christian life when we continue in powerlessness. When God made it possible for the Spirit that raised Jesus Christ to live in you and me, Powerlessness in Christian ministry is inexcusable. Let us shed our pride and declare our total reliance in Christ Jesus. We are the instruments for God.
My prayer is that we would be those that believe like a child and ask great things from the Lord, because we serve a great God. May God richly bless us all in your daily walk.
Pastor Viju Mathai