Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Wait on the Lord Pt.8

Let's turn to John, chapter 14. We'll pick up where we left off this morning. Many Christians read through these passages where the Lord has revealed to us His will as it pertains to prayer and the power and authority of His name; they pick chapter 14, verse 14, and give little attention to all of the surrounding context of what's being said. If we could take chapter 14 of John, verse 14, and have it stand alone as the truth, think of what might be done with this authority and this power. "If ye shall ask any think in my name, I will do it." If that promise stood alone, then who becomes lord? We do, because now we have a power that's used at our will, our discretion. Anything that we desire, anything we would ask, then, He is obligated to do because we've related to His name to bring it to pass. It goes contrary to every truth in the Bible that relates to the lordship of Jesus, yet so many people have tried to emphasize that part if it.

What Jesus is emphasizing to us here is this: "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (verse 13). All of the authority that comes with the name of Jesus is for the purpose of glorifying the Father. It's not for causing you and me to be more successful in our lives. It's not to cause us to be free from all of the suffering that the world has to endure under the lordship of Satan. It's not a "get rich quick" scheme. It's not in lieu of all of the mental and psychological pressures that are upon humanity today, that cause us to live a quiet and peaceful life without care or anxiety. He has provided for all the victory necessary in every one of those things that we addressed; but it doesn't have to do with our volition, with our direction or administration. It has to with our trust and reliance upon His care for us, and His provision through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We began to see this morning the context of these passages. As He relates this to us, He said that if we were going to be a people that truly loved Him and become candidates for this authority working in our lives, we were to keep His commandments. He goes on in the narrative into chapter 15. This is a passage that we're all very familiar with. It gets into the parable that the Lord taught us on the true vine. One of the things that we find out in chapter 15, verse 5, is this: "without me ye can do nothing." You say, "Well, I don't need Him. I have His name." No. God and His Word are one; and God and His name, as we're going to see, are one. You can't have the name exclusive from the person. They're one and the same. That's where the name gets its power and its authority.

In the fifteenth chapter, we begin to see that there's a necessity to abide in Him. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (verse 7). So we see another aspect of praying successfully and praying under the anointing of the Spirit of God. That's the fact that we're longing for that abiding relationship. We're really seeking His presence and not His power. The power is present in the presence. Many people are exclusively looking for the blessing, looking for the answer to prayer, looking for the power; and the greater thing is for us to seek the presence of God. He makes it very clear in this parable. He says, "Look, what it's all about, really, is getting you into My presence where you will abide in Me. As you do, then you're going to begin to bring forth spiritual fruit in your lives." That fruit is going to be the submissiveness, the surrender of our lives and our will to His, that willingness to take up the cross daily and to die to self, and to "count everything loss," as the apostle says, "that we might win Christ." It only comes from that abiding relationship.

As we begin to abide in Him, the Spirit begins to bring forth more Christlikeness and fruit. The minute fruit begins to manifest--obedience, reliance in His lordship--something very interesting comes immediately at that time. It's a purging process. For everyone who begins to bear fruit by abiding in Him, what's the next thing that He does? "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it..." (verse 2). He purges us. For what purpose? "...that it may bring forth more fruit." It's His will that you bring forth "much fruit." We realize that as we're abiding in Him and His words are abiding in us, that all of our prayer life should do these two things. Number one, bring glory to God; and number two, we should be praying--as the Spirit is praying through us--according to the will of God that we might bring forth what? "Much fruit." Start by bringing forth "more fruit."

I want to ask you a question as we continue on in this study. How much of your prayer life is about bringing forth fruit unto God, and how much of it is about making life a little bit easier--getting out from under the emotional pressures, getting out from under the physical pain, getting a new zip code (movin' on up with the Jeffersons) because the thing in our country today is that Christians must be prosperous and powerful in positions of political authority--and all of these things that are coming with that Kingdom Now theology that runs so strong in the church today in America? All of the political activism: "If you're not part of that, then you're really missing the will of God today." So many that are the real well-known ministries in our land today are hooked into that political system.

As I was coming this morning to service, I heard our brother down at McLean Bible Church on the radio. He was talking about the fact that he had gotten a call about--I don't know if this is a current event or not--some march that was going on. He said he had his secretary call back the Post to say that he had no comment. He sees the next day in the paper: "The pastor of McLean Bible Church said that he had no comment." All around, surrounding his declaration of "no comment" were leaders in the nation talking about those who wouldn't take a stand politically, and who wouldn't get involved for social programs. He said, "I got in this mess trying to stay out of it." I hope he learned something that I learned a long time ago. That is, don't even call them back to tell them you have no comment.

It's very important, then, for us to understand our need to rely upon God alone, and to realize that He's calling us into a place of realization that without Him we can do nothing. Without His method of seeking first the kingdom of God, there's not a thing that we're going to build that's going to stand. As you read through this passage, we see that "ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (verse 7). It's not what we "will" from the carnal or the temporal perspective, but what we "will" to bring forth more fruit. In other words, "Whatever you ask to bring forth more fruit shall be done unto you." As you're abiding in Him, you're bringing fruit. You're abiding in Him, and His words are abiding in you. He's purging you that you would bring forth more Christlikeness. In the midst of this, whatever you ask in order to be more like Jesus, He will do--verse 13 of chapter 14 says, "that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

We begin to see, then, that prayer is not just about meeting our temporal, daily needs. It's first and foremost about establishing Christlikeness in every one of our lives and the establishing of the kingdom of God for the glory of God. That's why the model prayer goes like this: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth" (Luke 11:2). We see then, what is the preeminent part of all of our prayer lives. Let me ask you again. As you're praying, are you praying first and foremost about the kingdom coming with power? Even here in this community, let me ask you something. As we're praying, are you praying for doors of utterance to be open that we might be able to proclaim the goodness of our God and the redemption of our Lord Jesus through His blood?

We saw this morning in Acts, chapter 10, what it was that Jesus commanded them to do: to go and bring forth this message and share the truth that Jesus is the judge of the quick and the dead. Are you praying for those doors of utterance? This should be what's burning in our hearts. If we're abiding in Him then we're going to have the same heart as Jesus has; and Jesus' heart is not taken up with what you're driving or where you're living, but it's looking on the fields that are white unto harvest. Are you praying about lost souls with a fervency like you've never prayed before? If you're not, then you're probably missing what the Spirit is saying to the church today, the hour that we're living in.

As representatives and ambassadors, is this what we're believing God for? What about a prayer for the visitation of God in our midst that would be absolutely supernatural, that the Father would be glorified in the Son? Wouldn't it be kind of neat in our day and in our generation to see a revival, to see a revival that was birthed by the Holy Spirit and not television exposure and mass mailings? Wouldn't it be great to see a revival that was spontaneous, supernaturally spawned by the power of the Holy Spirit and the true awareness of the lordship of Jesus Christ in our midst, that people would be overwhelmed by the glory and the power of His presence? Maybe we ought to start praying to that end instead of some of the other things that have been at the top of our agenda. Until we begin to be touched with the heart of God, and we begin to seek and to save that which was lost, then we're not really praying in His name. In this morning's session we said that "praying in His name" means representing Him, being identified with Him. He said, "I send you forth. They hated Me; they're going to hate you. Those that hear you have heard Me." To identify with that name then, we need to identify with the purpose for which He was sent.

That even affects us in the way that we begin to pray as it pertains to spiritual warfare. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). He said, "I've destroyed his works. I've made a show of him openly. Therefore, I want you to go in complete assurance in My name, that I'm going before you and preparing a way, and My glory is going to be your rear guard." "I give unto you power...over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19). True prayer has to do with rejoicing in that victory that's already been won. It's not about praying for a victory; it's about going and walking in the victory that's already been provided through the work that Jesus has accomplished.

How about going to the job tomorrow and expecting to see those that have been the hardest in opposition to the gospel already prepared, because of what Jesus has accomplished? How about believing tomorrow that as you go on the job the Holy Spirit has gone before you, and that the power and the authority of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be sufficient to illuminate his heart? "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). "Yeah, but I've talked to them so many times!" One more. One more time in faith. One more time in the name of Jesus. This time, go with the same compassion that Jesus has for them. This time, go knowing that's the purpose for which the Son of God was manifest. That's going and praying in the name of Jesus. It's a powerful, powerful realization.

He goes on in the fifteenth chapter over into verse 16. He said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." You see, there it is again. We understand that whatever we're asking in His name has to do with fruit bearing. When I talk about "fruit bearing," I'm not just talking about soul winning. I'm talking about bearing into this lost world the continued image of Jesus Christ. As He, Himself, declared that if we would go in that power of the Spirit, those that would hear us have heard Him. What a powerful statement: that we are the visible representatives of Jesus' lordship as we go forth as ambassadors! Begin to have confidence in your words as you speak representing Him, that they will carry power and authority to pull down strongholds. It's not just saying the name of Jesus; it's believing that when you speak you are representing His lordship and His presence there at that time. Faith in His name is the assurance that we are representing Him, at that time, for the glory and the purposes of God. That's what allows us, then, to pray in true biblical faith and in the authority of the name of Jesus.

It's not just putting the name of Jesus behind one of our wish lists. It's not just taking a universal, biblical promise and by our own will trying to assert that by putting the name of Jesus to it. I'll give you a for instance. We're talking about prayerfully moving in the wisdom of God and in the power of God. You can, all you want, take the example in the Scriptures of Peter walking on the water, and you can attach the name of Jesus to it all you want; and you're sinking. "I'm walking on this water in the name of Jesus, that men could see the power of God and they would believe. In the name of [blub, blub, blub] Jesus." Then we have to revive you and give you some CPR. Not only do we have to revive you physically and get your lungs cleared out, but now you're confused and wondering why God didn't answer your prayer.

We go back to that great miracle of Peter walking on the water, and we realize what birthed the faith in his heart. It was the current word that was spoken of the Lord: "Come!" Before you get out of the boat to walk on water--it's recorded in the Scriptures that it was done, but is it for everyone and is it for this moment? That's what we have to discern in our prayer lives, as we're constantly praying, waiting on God, and poring over the Scriptures. Everything--listen to me, beloved--everything we're sensing in our spirit on a daily basis, that we believe God is saying to us, must be filtered through our knowledge of the Word of God; and that knowledge of the Word of God should make you aware of the vileness of your own heart. Look back at your own track record. Let me ask you something tonight. I want you to be as honest with yourself as you know how to be. How many times have you heard that voice of what to pray for, and now that you've matured a little bit, you're able by hindsight (which is 20/20) to come to grips with and really 'fess up to the fact that what you really heard was your own will? You tried somehow, the best you could, to make it look good in light of the Word of God and the promises of God, and you tried to vindicate your decisions and your actions by universal promises. God didn't speak it to you. It was your own lust; it was your own desire, and it was not the Spirit of God. Does anybody here know what I'm talking about tonight? That's why it didn't come to pass.

I want to look at a few things that will show you about relating to the name of Jesus, and what it means to walk in true biblical faith. Again, it's in the life of Peter. Turn back, if you would, to Matthew's gospel. I want to go through Matthew, chapters 15 through 17, and look at a little narrative here that's dealing with Jesus revealing His lordship to Peter. Peter is someone I can identify with in the Scriptures. I really wish I could identify with John, but I think there's a little more of Peter in me. I wish I had some more Paul, (a little bit of Mary,) and to be able to see the different character traits in us. There's so much Peter in me. What a process for Jesus to empty Peter of himself!

As you look at the passages here, it's very interesting that Jesus is dealing with the continual opposition of the Pharisees. They come and they ask Him the questions. "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" (Matthew 15:2). Jesus responds, "Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" (verse 3). Those guys took such a beating. You think they would have eventually just figured out to stop asking all of these questions, but there's a compulsion in natural man to oppose the wisdom of God; and God continually shows them foolish.

He said, "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. This people [there's a religious people that] draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their hearts are far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (verses 69). "Those that worship Him," He says, "must worship Him in spirit and in truth." He said, "In vanity are they worshiping Me. They're worshiping Me after the teachings and the traditions of men." Tragically, most churches and a lot of Christians are more influenced today by the traditions of Christianity than they are by the revelation of God's Word. There's more commitment to the traditions of the denomination that they're involved with than the actual presence of the Spirit of God and the lordship of Jesus in their midst. There are some of us here this evening that have been saved long enough to build our own traditions. We need to take a look again at whether they're the traditions of men, and whether our worship is in vain.

There has to be, then, a constant renewing of the revelation of God. The one thing you'll find out about your relationship with God is this: it is always progressive. Don't get stagnant; it is not static. There's always something new to learn. I'm not talking about new revelations that are extra-biblical, because the truth of God is revealed to us through His Word. "Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). We understand very clearly that everything has to be judged by the Word of God, the "more sure word of prophecy." It doesn't matter what you're sensing in your spirit, what kind of dream or vision you've had, or what kind of voice has spoken to you. "If anybody comes and brings a different message than this," Paul said, "let him be damned to hell." It's a powerful statement. "I don't care if it's an angel, or any other apostolic role. If anybody brings you any other message, let him be anathema, accursed."

For you and I to move effectively, there has to be a continual revealing of God to us through His Word, and a continual revelation of ourselves through our constant time spent in the Word of God. The power of prayer will be in direct correlation to the amount of revelation you receive from the Word of God. The amount of true biblical revelation, rhema, will be in direct correlation to the time you abide in Him and His words abide in you. In other words, the more time you spend in His presence and the more times you do what He tells you to, the more revelation you'll have. To him that has shall what? "More be given." He that doesn't use what he has, even that, the Lord said, will be taken from him, and given to someone that will do it.

Here we are with these admonitions, and Peter is learning this in the school of hard knocks. Jesus is giving forth this revelation, and the Pharisees are being rebuked by the Lord. It's a very interesting process. They came to Him and said, in verse 12, "Jesus, you've offended the Pharisees." Many that are concerned with the traditions of men and the praises of men would have gone and tried to somehow smooth this thing over. They would say, "Well, you really didn't understand. What I was really trying to say was...." Jesus' response to all that was this--Listen--"Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (verses 13-14). He begins to reveal to the disciples how He wants them to relate to the hypocrisy and the leaven that's among Christians and professed believers. He says, "They're seeking the favor of men, and I'm looking for someone that will be jealous for My Word."

We're talking about becoming candidates for hearing the Word of the Lord that brings faith, that causes us to pray effectually and move mountains; not according to our will, but seeking the glory of the Father. The way we become candidates is by denying the traditions of men and being jealous for the revelation of God's Word exclusively: "What does the Word of God say? What is God wanting to do at this moment? How can I best serve Him and bring Him glory through the declaring of His Word?" People are going to ask you, "Why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you saying these things?" "Because God told me that this is how He wanted me to represent Him at this moment, for it is written...." Peter is learning that, and he's watching the distinction being made at this particular time. He begins to give them an understanding of what true worship is all about, and the healings and the deliverances that take place at this particular time.

As you continue to read through the narratives here, we go down into chapter 16. We see that as these signs and wonders are being done, and Jesus is healing all of them, verse 30 says that people were wondering at the signs and wonders. Now another group began to follow, and they are the sign-seekers. There were those that were arguing for doctrine that were the Pharisees. Now we find people that were coming that were sign seekers. "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven." When you pray, don't be praying for signs. Don't be asking God to prove His Word to be true. His Word is true; it's sure to a thousand generations. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will not pass away. Praise God! It doesn't matter whether or not you understand it. It doesn't matter whether one promise has ever affected you in your life. It makes no difference whether you can stand up and say, "I know that I prayed specifically, and God heard my prayer. Here's the answer to it." If you never have one visible expression of God answering prayer other than your regeneration, you have sufficient to stand and say, "I want to tell you something. God's promises are yea and Amen. They're sure to a thousand generations. He's not a man that He should lie, because God's integrity and the integrity of His Word is not verified by my experience but by His person." There begins to be a jealousy for God's revelation, and it doesn't become an experiential thing. The moment it does, we're forced into this sign-seeking relationship.

Jesus says, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign" (Matthew 16:4). Prayer is not sign seeking. Prayer is not a sign-seeking venture, trying to get some demonstration of God's power or some response to prayer so we might know that God's Word is true. It's the deception of the world's system. He said, "A wicked [evil] and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." Jesus said you have one sign, as a Christian, that God has given. It's a sign given to you and I, and it's a sign that is given to the whole world: it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We're only a couple of weeks away from Easter, as we celebrate His resurrection, but it's to be celebrated daily. It's the sign that was given. We know that our Redeemer lives.

As He's giving them this understanding, Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (verse 6). They began to get concerned and say, "You know what the problem is? We didn't bring any bread for the journey." They're applying this to natural leaven. Jesus says, "O ye of little faith" (verse 8). We're going to talk about the prayer of faith in our next session, and I want you to see what biblical faith is all about. "O ye of little faith." He is rebuking them now because they had little faith. "Little faith" was the inability to discern between the natural and the spiritual. "Little faith" made the temporal things more important than the eternal things. "Little faith" perceived that somehow their failure to bring natural resources was going to keep God from doing His will. That's "little faith."

Jesus says, "Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up [were left over]? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up [the abundance of My visitation]? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?" (verses 9-11). "How is it that you can't understand that what I'm talking about is your awareness of this leaven being their false doctrine, their trust in the traditions of men, their trust in their own strength and in their own righteousness?" Look at verse 12; it's the "doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." These were a people that were jealous and zealous for the commandments of God, but they put their traditions equal to the commandments of God--their perception, their application--and it dilutes it to where it's ineffectual because "without Him we can do nothing," the Scripture says.

Watch the progression that I was talking about. In the midst of all of this that's going on, these sessions now that have been taking place, a very interesting thing happens. He sets them apart in Caesarea and He says, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" They began to give the answers. We're aware of this passage of Scripture. "And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona" (verses 14-17). Check this out! "You're a blessed man, Simon." Now, what caused him to be blessed? He's a man that just received revelation.

"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build..." Build the Catholic Church? No. It didn't say that, did it? So many have falsely understood that the church was to be built upon this man, Peter. It was not built upon Peter. It was built upon Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone, and all of the apostles and the prophets equally shared in the foundation; but Jesus was the Chief Cornerstone. "Be careful how you build thereon," the apostle Paul said. This was not an elevating of the man, Peter. It was an elevating of the revelation that was given to him. "On this rock...." What rock? Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone, the revelation that had given it to him, the rock of God's visitation to man. "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (verse 17). "You're not limited to your own natural understanding or your own natural abilities, but I've given this to you, and it's become a reality."

I want to show you that just as real a truth is going to be spoken again in just a moment, and he [Peter] is not going to get it. Jesus says, up in verse 21, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." "Be it far from you, Lord. It shall not be, in the name of Jesus. By my faith I declare it, the words of my mouth: it shall not be!" Watch: "But he [Jesus] turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me" (verse 23). What powerful words! Any statement or action we take that is contrary to the revelation of God brings this kind of response from the heart of God. Every time you take it upon yourself to deny what God is revealing to us, you are going to get this kind of a response from God.

He tells us what the motive was. The proper motive for praying we saw in John 14, verse 13: that the Father might be glorified in the Son. He said, "Thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." "I just talked to you about the traditions of the Pharisees, and in the midst of all of that I gave you revelation of who I am. You couldn't have come close to answering that question, but it was revealed to you by My Father; and I called you a blessed man." What a contrast we find here.

Listen. Do you think that he still had head knowledge of that revelation that been given to him in Caesarea Philippi? Sure he did: "Thou art the Christ." I think Peter misapplied this. He thought he was the pope. He savored the things of men. "I'm going to be the head of this organization. I always knew God was wise. He chose me to be the leader," is what Peter is saying. It was all about the glory of the Father and the authority of the multifaceted body of Christ, the church, the visible representative of Jesus. What a contrast here! I hope you can see it. I want to try to communicate it as clearly as possible tonight. At one time, revelation is given and he gets it; and at the next moment, God speaks to him just as clearly and he rebukes God. "No way! There is no way that can be!"

If we are going to pray effectively in the name of Jesus, we're going to have to respond to the Word of God, every time He speaks to us, in the affirmative. Many times you're going to just have to be plain truthful with Him and say, "Lord, I don't see it. In fact, I am absolutely scared out of my mind, but You watch over Your Word and You perform it. If what You tell us to do is go against the enemy and just sing and send forth the praisers first, then that's what we're going to do. It looks to me in the natural like it's going to be a slaughter, but we're going to go out because You've declared this as Your method, and we're going to worship." The Scripture says that the Lord set up ambushments against them. "I want you to march around the city, and I want you not to say a word. Then after seven times, shout, and the walls will come down." It seems foolish to man. "Nevertheless, at Thy word."

The prayer of faith is when we can come to the place where we say, "I don't understand it, but nevertheless it's Your Word. I'm jealous for Your glory, not just in the world, but in our own lives." Do you want God glorified in your own life? Do you want Him to be able to build in you a relationship? God rejoices in His personal relationship one on one with you. He wants to see you free, healed, and strong, and so He's purging that you might bring forth more fruit. Prayer enables us to appropriate the grace of God necessary to endure the chastening. Prayer enables us to appropriate the grace of God to endure the chastening. "I sought the Lord three times to deliver me, and what I heard was, 'My grace is sufficient for you,'" the apostle Paul said.

There is misapplication of promises that you and I both know, and that I firmly believe in and I know that you do. I personally believe that by the stripes of Jesus we're a healed people. I believe that. I believe that all power and all authority has been given unto us over all the power of the devil. I don't care what kind of messenger of Satan has been sent to buffet me. In the name of Jesus Christ, we can bind; we can loose; we can cast out; but I want to tell you something, beloved. If you know that your heart is right--if you know that your motives are for the glory of God, if you know to the best of your ability (and none of us knows our heart perfectly, except the fact that it's desperately wicked and that we can't know it)--we can come and in confidence say, "Father, if it's possible let it pass; but nevertheless, not my will. Thy will be done." If we know that's the spirit that we're praying in--we've drawn on the promises of God of "all power and all authority over all the power of the devil," and "by His stripes we're healed," and "what things soever we desire when we pray, if we believe that we've received them, we shall have them," and "this is the confidence that we have: that if we're asking according to His will, He hears us; and we know that if He hears us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him,"--and circumstances still don't change, then guess what? We need to believe that what He has given us is grace. Stop trying to force our understanding of His promises, and just boldly say, "One thing I know is this. I want to tell you something. Our God will deliver us; and even if He doesn't, we're not bowing our knee to yours. Period."

Now you've moved into the same realm that Paul was able to move into. He was learning that revelation. A lot of us seem to think that Paul just kind of got these great revelations, and he had all knowledge. Paul learned the same way you and I do, through trials and through persecutions. Paul didn't know this until it was revealed to him. Now the man comes to where he can rejoice in tribulation, and count the presence more precious than the deliverance, and thank God in the deliverance, and expect the deliverance.

It's very important if we're going to pray, that we can pray with a boldness that's initiated by revelation, and not by personal initiation. We talked about praying in the flesh. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). We talked about that which isn't acceptable praying: to where you're all worked up, screaming, trying to work, and beating yourself like the prophets of Baal did. It doesn't have anything to do with the energy expelled or anything else; it has to do with the persuasion of the revelation. We move in, we begin to declare what God has said, and we become unmovable in our adherence to it.

Now, watch. He said, "Thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Solution to missing the revelation when it's spoken: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (verses 23-25). If all of your praying has to do with preservation of natural things, you're guaranteed to lose it. If all you're about is trying to preserve the natural things, if your prayer life is more intense about the things that are of the natural--you're trying to hold onto a certain standard of living, a certain comfort zone in your physical man, your mental stand, your emotional state or whatever it might be--if you try to save your life you're going to [say it] lose it.

"If you'll take up your cross, if you'll lose your life for My sake, then you're going to find it," Jesus says. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (verses 26-27). You'll see it in the context of these passages, as you look back in these passages that we've been dealing with. Jesus says, "If you're ashamed of Me and My words, then I have to be ashamed of you." We're talking about praying the prayer of faith, praying in the name of Jesus; and it all has to do with abiding in Him and His words abiding in us, watching the process of revelation, and how it works practically, to Peter.

I wonder what Peter's response might have been without the revelation? "Who do men say that I am?" Peter always had an answer, didn't he? He was the first guy to let 'er rip. If he had spent a little more time reading the Proverbs, he would have realized that if you keep your mouth shut, people will think you're smart. Have any of you found that out? Some of you got through life that way. You go into the meeting, the board meeting, where people are kicking ideas back and forth, and they all think you're sharp, analyzing what they're saying--and you're out to lunch somewhere.

One of President Eisenhower's advisors came to him. He said it was one of the best pieces of advice he had ever gotten in his life: never miss a good opportunity to keep your mouth shut. I miss those all the time. God has enabled me as I've grown in different areas, not to be so quick to speak. It's an indicator of someone who has a lot of self-confidence, confidence in their own perception and opinion. Opinions are based upon pride and preference. We need to be people that speak truth, and so jealous for truth that we don't have anything to say if it's not the truth. You realize how worthless your own opinions are on subjects. I'm not talking about the trivial things of your daily discussions of sporting events, and who the Sweet Sixteen is going to be. Everybody has an opinion, and one is going to be right, whoever picks the winner. I almost said "Kansas," but I don't know anything about college basketball. I don't watch it. It's not interesting to me, and pro basketball is less interesting. Those guys, they don't even play by the rules. "Oh, did you see that move he made?" I could make a move like that if I could take five steps. That's my opinion; it's not worth anything.

Let's finish with this for tonight. Jesus said, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works [his representation of Me, the fruit he bears that remains, the one that abides in Me and allows My Word to abide in him, which washes him with pure water, that fifteenth chapter of John says]." The purging process that's taking place bringing us into a conforming to the image of Jesus. What was it that caused him to hear the revelation this first time? We asked, "What might his opinion have been without the revelation?" It might have been one of those that the populace was holding to: John the Baptist, Elias, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Those all seem to be logical. Peter would have probably held to one of those, but he would have never come up with "You're the Christ, the Son of the living God." Flesh and blood, natural wisdom, experience will never lead you to the revelation of God or His will. It comes specifically by the Holy Spirit that's been given to dwell within us and to speak His commandments.

You see, the question that was asked by the disciples: "Lord, You're going but You're to come again, and the world is not going to see You. How is it that You're going to reveal yourself to us, and nobody else is going to know?" Jesus said, "It's going to be through My Word." You can get professors of literature out there, and they can read this. They're not going to see Jesus. They're going to have a preconceived idea of what this literary status might be. They're going to have a preconceived notion of the world's religions and why religion exists in the first place. With all of those prejudices, they're going to read this Word, and they're not going to see the same Jesus that you and I see by revelation. Because He abides within us, we can understand the Word of God; we can see it properly applied in any given situation.

That's what I'm trying to encourage you in tonight. As you get involved in circumstances, don't just go off half-cocked and think, "Well, I know what the Word of God says about this, bless God. In the name of Jesus, we'll bind or we'll loose, we'll rebuke or we'll lay hands on," or whatever it is. Stop and be quiet and hear what the Spirit of God wants to say at this moment. You're going to see one thing about Jesus that's very interesting. After all, we're here to represent Him. He responded differently, distinctly, to every given circumstance and fulfilled the covenant of God in a myriad of ways. Most of us have the tendency to pick and choose our favorite ways, and to say, "That's truth. That's God's method. That's how God does things." You need to be very careful that the leaven of the Pharisees isn't affecting your perception of the revealed will of God--the traditions that even you have set because of your own personal preferences--that you can't hear the Word anymore. When we come to God, let's humble ourselves. Let's come to Him with a brokenness and a desire to see Father glorified, and to be able to effectively say, "Lord, I want Your will done in my life. I want men to see the works and glorify You." It's our hearts' desire, Father, and we ask it in the name of Jesus.

As we continue in this study, we just ask that prayer would not just be mechanical to us, that it wouldn't just be looking up a promise, reiterating it, and attaching the name of Jesus; but that prayer will have been touching the heart of God. You've said in Your Word that Your words would not return unto You void, but they would accomplish that whereunto You've sent them. We understand that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. You send Your Word and heal. Your Word will not return void, but accomplishes that whereunto You've sent it. Your Word is constantly coming to the hearts of men. Do we have ears to hear? Father, give us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church; not a preconceived notion, but what are You saying to me at this moment? I can quote all kinds of promises, but which one are You wanting to apply to me at this moment? As I survey my life, Lord, I've lied to myself a lot of times. I think I've heard from God, but it was my own will. It's what I wanted to do, and I knew some promises that would back it up.

Can we come to that place of being jealous for the heart of God? Can we humble ourselves to the degree that probably the greatest Christian known did, when he sought You for deliverance and was satisfied with Your grace? He probably quoted some pretty good Scriptures in the process. You don't answer to us. We don't have to understand, and so we will boldly say what Your Word has declared and leave the manifestation up to Your lordship, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. As Gary plays, that's the thing that we want you to meditate upon: boldly saying what God has said in His Word. Listen. Boldly say what God has said in His Word, and then act upon what He reveals to you. If you can hear what I just said, that phrase will change your life. Abiding in Him, and His words abiding in you; and then through the purging process you get the revelation. Without Him, without the revelation, you can do nothing. You can abide, and you can know, but you can do nothing. I will boldly declare that "the prayer of faith saves the sick, and the Lord raises him up." I will boldly declare that
"what things soever I desire when I pray, if I believe that I receive them, I shall have them," and when I stand praying I will forgive. We want to leave little things out. If God hasn't purged you enough to where you can forgive, don't bother with the believing. It's not going to work. Every prayer affects more than what you understand. Every invasion of God into our realm of the natural--He transcends all spheres of spirit and matter--has consequences that we may never be aware of until eternity. So we just say what He says; we act upon what He reveals to us, and He confirms His Word with signs following. Do what you know to do, and trust that God will be glorified as He works in us to will and to do His good pleasure.

Let's sing it together. "I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice/To worship You, O my soul, rejoice...." He said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you...." "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you; if you abide in Me; if you seek Me early and My Word becomes more than your necessary food; when you commune with Me through My Word; when you meditate upon My Word day and night, as Joshua says." That word "meditate" means "to mutter," speaking the Word day and night, speaking the Word day and night. The Word has been revealed to us. "Lord, I'm so anxious." "Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Then from that revelation, He can give you revelation and it will refresh you. You keep abiding in Him, meditating and muttering on the Word of God. You declare His goodness, and you thank Him that a broken and contrite heart He'll not despise. You thank Him for the bold access and the confidence that we have in Him. In the midst of just muttering His Word, fellowshipping with Him, you declare His majesty. "It is written that no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. It's written that your enemy comes against you in one way, and flees in seven. It's written that everything you touch and every place you put your foot, He gives it you; and you prosper." Your heart begins to rejoice. You say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, Who forgiveth all of thy iniquities and healeth all of thy diseases." As you become aware of your depraved condition, you say, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence. Take not your Holy Spirit from me." You're communing with Him. You're abiding in Him and His words are abiding in you. You're meditating day and night, and you believe that His word is alive and powerful. It's alive; it's a living entity. It's not just what I have in my head. I open this book, I read it again, and it becomes life to me one more time. It has done it a thousand times. That's where faith comes. You're reading it again and again; you're meditating and muttering, and you're saying what God says. Then you're illuminated and you say, "It is written." How many verses does it take? How many hours does it take to get one of those revelations? There is no formula. You just meditate day and night. Then shall your way be made prosperous, and then shall you have good success.

When do you hear from God? When you seek for Him with all of your heart, then you'll find Him. When you get into this Word and it is more than your necessary food, and you say, "I'll not let You go until You bless me." Have you been satisfied to read enough Word to meet the quota for the day, or has it become your necessary food? Do you stay in His presence through His Word until you've been refreshed, until you know the word of the Lord to you? Abide in Him and let His words abide in you, and then you can ask what you will and it will be done. Make it real, Father. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Before you go, turn to somebody and say, "Let His words abide in you." Praise God. Go in peace; God's love go with you.

Back to Top | Audio   |   Purchase Audio   |   Bible Teachings   |   Print