Month: February 2021

Whatever you ask

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Prayer, Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

“Praying in the name of Jesus”. This simple phrase has been so abused in our modern era. It is based on a section of teaching from Jesus to His disciples where he was responding to a request from Philip for Him to show them the Father.

“Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:8–14, ESV)

This small phrase has been turned into a quick memory verse that is often quoted to support praying whatever we want in Jesus name and expect that God will honor that request as if it some magic incantation.

The context though really does not support this. Jesus tells them that whoever believes in Him will do works greater than the ones that he has done. Those works are the many acts that He has done throughout the gospels. Jesus tells them that it is the Father working through Him that they have seen.

He then goes on to tell them that whoever believes in Him will also do the works He did. Not only those works, but even greater works. Essentially you could say that Jesus will be accomplishing His works through us, and it will be connected to prayer.

This can be seen in what Paul teaches us in Eph 2:8-10…

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, ESV)

We are His workmanship and the works we are to do are the works He has prepared for us. How do we know what those are? The Holy Spirit works in us in combination with the Word of God and Prayer.

I like how the IVP Bible background Commentary puts it…

In this context “name” means something like: those who seek his glory and speak accurately for him, who are genuinely his authorized representatives. Nothing could be further from the pagan magical use of names that sought to manipulate spiritual forces for one’s own ends.[1]

There is a similar verse in John 15 where Jesus is teaching about His disciples abiding in the vine and bearing much fruit.  He then tells them this…

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:7–8, ESV)

So, if His words abide in us, the works we do will be in line with His will and teaching. This is tied together with asking whatever we desire because our desires will be in line with His will.

We see a perfect example of this in the book of Acts…

“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”” (Acts 3:1–6, ESV)

Peter was acting in the power of the Holy Spirit, accomplishing the works that God had prepared for him to walk in.

What can we learn from this? We must be careful that we do not do what the pagans did and use the name as a magical incantation to manipulate God for our own desires. Instead, we need to abide in His words and seek His will through prayer, so that we can do His works for the Glory of God.

[1] Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Jn 14:12–14). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

So that His fear…

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin.” And the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the very thick cloud where God was.” (Exodus 20:20–21, LEB)

Do we today truly fear God? Do we stand in awe and wonder at His amazing works? Do we tremble at His majesty and power? Do we fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell?

I have heard sermons and read articles where both ideas are given weight over the other but the one that has the most weight depends on the position of your heart.

When the Hebrew people get to the mountain of God, He tells them to prepare for 3 days and before He descends upon the mountain to speak to them directly. God was going to test His people to see the position of their hearts. He needed to drive out the world they had known and replace it with a desire to live a life pleasing to God. A life that moves away from sin and toward their savior. The day comes and God descends upon the mountain…

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”” (Exodus 20:18–19, ESV)

The people trembled and were fearful of death. A people still struggling with sin, now stand before a Holy and merciful God, hearing His words and experiencing His presence. They did not yet have the full word of God to guide them into a proper relationship with Him yet. So, the people cry out for Moses to mediate between them and God. This was the fear of the one who could destroy both soul and body in hell.

But God did not leave them there. His desire was to dwell amongst His people. So, he provided instruction on how to live and love the God of their salvation and how to love one another. But it was not the words alone that would change them, but the position of their hearts towards those words.

The people still struggled, but God had a plan and descended again and took the form of a man. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He was crucified, died, and was buried. Then on the third day, He rose in fulfillment of the Scriptures and thus provided a permanent solution to sin and death. Paul would later pen these words….

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–7, ESV)

Through Jesus we have life, and in that life, the fear of God has been transformed. We do not have to fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell, but that through Him our fear is transformed….

“““So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” (Acts 9:31, ESV)

Through Jesus, the salvation of God, our fear is transformed from being afraid and trembling into awe and wonder.  Soloman, a man who wrote many wise things said it well…

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;” (Proverbs 2:1–10, ESV)

To me, this drives it all home. Receive His words, treasure them up within us, be attentive to the wisdom that God provides, turning your heart towards understanding, calling out to God for insight and understanding, seeking out all the God has given us like seeking hidden treasure “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:16–18, ESV)

Jesus is the wisdom of God, and it is through Him that fear is transformed!

Listen to the voice…

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedience, WorshipLeave a comment

“And he said, “If you carefully listen to the voice of Yahweh your God and you do what is right in his eyes and give heed to his commands and you keep all his rules, then I will not bring about on you any of the diseases that I brought about on Egypt, because I am Yahweh your healer.” (Exodus 15:26, LEB)

God’s people had just crossed the red sea by God’s mighty hand, and were crossing the desert and came to a place with water. The water was bitter, and they could not drink from it.

Instead of seeking God in prayer, the people grumbled against Moses. But this was not just grumbling to Moses, the people needed to learn to trust God for all their provision. Moses cries out to God as their mediator, so the Lord had him throw a piece of wood into the water and it turned sweet.

In Ex 15:26, it says that God made this regulation for them, and that he was testing them.

The plan is simple, trust the voice of your God and do what is right in HIS eyes. But the opposite of this is to not trust or do right in His eyes which has a consequence.

This pattern is repeated, instead of grateful hearts seeking the Lord in prayer they grumble and complained, so the Lord says again that He will test them to see if they will walk in His ways.

Today, in all that is going on in the world, death, disease, wars, and violence, it would be easy to fall into the same pattern that Israel did in the desert. But this is not what our Lord desires. In the book of James, the spirit led him to write these things…

“Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him. But let him ask for it in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:2–8, LEB)

Testing of our faith will come, but God is using it to grow us and bring us to maturity. It is very important in all of this that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past but seek God out for His wisdom. Pray earnestly and without doubt, for the Lord is good and desires for us to be more like His Son.

Paul in his letter to the Philippians encourages them with these words…

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be made known to all people. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are pleasing, whatever things are commendable, if there is any excellence of character and if anything praiseworthy, think about these things. And the things which you have learned and received and heard about and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:4–9, LEB)

So, let us not be anxious or grumble. Let us rejoice daily in the Lord and allow His peace to fill our hearts. Thinking every day about the good things that are true, honorable, pure, and commendable. Set our minds on things that are praiseworthy and learn from what we have been given. Practice what Paul said in Colossians.

“Therefore, if you have been raised together with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4, LEB)

So, what does that look like…Pray, and pray often. Immerse yourself in the word of God and listen to his voice and not the voice of the world around you.