The Path of Answered Prayer
prayer • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
THE promise of the Father's giving whatsoever we ask is here again renewed, in such a connection as to show us to whom it is that such extraordinary influence in the council chamber of the Most High is to be granted. I chose you,' the Master says, and appointed you that ye should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, and then He adds, to the end, that whatsoever ye,’ the fruit-bearing ones, shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it to you.'
This is the fuller expression of what He had spoken in the words If ye abide in me.' He had spoken of the object of this abiding as the bearing fruit,' more fruit,' much fruit; in this was God to be glorified and the mark of discipleship seen. No wonder that He now adds, that where the reality of the abiding is seen in fruit abounding and abiding, this would be the qualification for praying to obtain what we ask.
Entire consecration to the fulfillment of our calling is the condition of effectual prayer, and is the key to the unlimited blessings of Christ’s wonderful prayer promises.
Some Christians fear that such a statement is at variance with the doctrine of free grace. But surely not of free grace rightly understood, nor with so many express statements of God's blessed word.
1. Moral Foundation:
1. Moral Foundation:
The Ten Commandments provide a set of moral guidelines that have been influential in Western ethical thought. They emphasize principles like honesty, respect, and responsibility, which are foundational to a well-functioning society.
2. Universal Values:
2. Universal Values:
While rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition, many of the commandments reflect universal values that transcend religious boundaries. For example:
Prohibition of murder (Thou shalt not kill): Encourages respect for human life.
Prohibition of theft (Thou shalt not steal): Promotes respect for others' property.
Honoring parents (Honor thy father and mother): Fosters family values and social stability.
Truthfulness (Thou shalt not bear false witness): Encourages honesty and trustworthiness.
3. Character Development:
3. Character Development:
Exposure to the Ten Commandments can contribute to character education. They offer students a framework for understanding right and wrong, helping to develop virtues such as integrity, empathy, and self-discipline.
4. Social Cohesion:
4. Social Cohesion:
Adhering to shared moral principles can strengthen social cohesion. When individuals follow common ethical standards, it promotes mutual respect and cooperation, reducing conflicts and fostering a sense of community.
5. Historical and Cultural Literacy:
5. Historical and Cultural Literacy:
Understanding the Ten Commandments helps students gain insight into the historical and cultural foundations of many legal and moral systems. This knowledge is part of a broader education that includes the study of significant historical texts and their impact on society.
6. Ethical Reflection:
6. Ethical Reflection:
Displaying the Ten Commandments can encourage ethical reflection and dialogue among students. It provides an opportunity to discuss and critically analyze moral issues, helping students to develop their own moral reasoning.
7. Guiding Behavior:
7. Guiding Behavior:
For many, the Ten Commandments serve as a personal ethical guide. Having them displayed can serve as a daily reminder to act in accordance with these principles, potentially influencing behavior positively.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Let us love in deed and truth;
hereby shall we assure our heart before Him. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."
Or take the oft-quoted words of James: The fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much; that is, of a man of whom, according to the definition of the Holy Spirit, it can be said, He that doeth righteousness, is righteous even as He is righteous.'
Mark the spirit of so many of the Psalms, with their confident appeal to the integrity and righteousness of the supplicant. In
David says:
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, And I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; With an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; And with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
1 Lord, Who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh the truth in his heart.
Psa 153
Psalm 26:1–6 (KJV 1900)
1 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my reins and my heart Letting the Lord examine me
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: And I have walked in thy truth. Meditate on Lovingkindness/ walk in truth
4 I have not sat with vain persons, Neither will I go in with dissemblers. With Whom I fellowship is important
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; And will not sit with the wicked. Inner view and emotions about evil doers
6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: So will I compass thine altar, O Lord: Cleanliness and separation from evil
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this; If there be iniquity in my hands;
4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (Yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)
5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; Yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, And lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.
If we carefully consider such utterances in the light of the New Testament, we shall find them in perfect harmony with the explicit teaching of the Savior’s parting words:
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love Ye are my friends if ye do what I command you.
The word is meant literally: I appointed you that ye should go and bear fruit, that, then, whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you!'
Let us seek to enter into the spirit of what the Saviour here teaches us. There is a danger in our evangelical religion of looking too much at what it offers from one side, as a specific experience to be obtained in prayer and faith. There is another side that God's word puts very firmly, that of obedience as the only path to blessing. What we need is to realize that in our relationship to the Infinite Being whom we call God who has created and redeemed us, the first sentiment that ought to animate us is that of subjection: the surrender to His supremacy, His glory, His will, His pleasure, ought to be the first and uppermost thought of our life. The question is not, how we are to obtain and enjoy His favour, for in this the main thing may still be self. But what this Being in the very nature of things rightfully claims, and is infinitely and unspeakably worthy of, is that His glory and pleasure should be my one object. Surrender to His perfect and blessed will, a life of service and obedience, is the beauty and the charm of heaven.
Service and obedience, these were the thoughts that were uppermost in the mind of the Son, when He dwelt upon earth.
Service and obedience, these must become with us the chief objects of desire and aim, more so than rest or light, or joy or strength: in them we shall find the path to all the higher blessedness that awaits us.
Just note how prominently the Master places it, not only in the 15th chapter, in connection with the abiding but also in the 14th, where He speaks of the indwelling of the Three-One God.
In verse 15, we have it: If ye love me, keep my commandments, and the Spirit will be given you of the Father.
Then verse 21: He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he shall have the extraordinary love of my Father resting on him and the unique manifestation of myself.
one of the highest of all the exceeding great and precious promises:
Jhn 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Could words put it more clearly that obedience is the way to the indwelling of the Spirit, to His revealing the Son within us, and to His again preparing us to be the abode, the home of the Father? The indwelling of the Three-One God is the heritage of them that obey. Obedience and faith are but two aspects of one act,-surrender to God and His will. As faith strengthens for obedience, it is strengthened by it: faith is made perfect by works. It is to be feared that often our efforts to believe have been unavailing because we have not taken up the only position in which a large faith is legitimate or possible -that of entire surrender to the honor and the will of God. It is the man who is entirely consecrated to God and His will who will find the power to claim everything that His God has promised to be for him.
Applying this in prayer is very simple but very solemn.
I chose you, the Master says, and appointed you that ye should go and bear fruit, much fruit (verses 5, b), and that your fruit should abide; that your life might be one of abiding fruit and abiding fruitfulness, that thus, as fruitful in my name, He may give to be able to pray the effectual prayer for much grace to bear fruit, and have wondered that the answer came not. It was because we were reversing the Master's order.
We first wanted comfort, joy, and strength so that we could do the work quickly and without feeling of difficulty or self-sacrifice. And He wanted us in faith, without asking whether we felt weak or strong, whether the work was hard or easy, in the obedience of faith to do what He said: the path of fruit-bearing would have led us to the place and the power of prevailing prayer. Obedience is the only path that leads to the glory of God. Not obedience instead of faith, nor obedience to supply the shortcomings of faith; no, faith's obedience gives access to all the blessings our God has for us.
The baptism of the Spirit
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
the manifestation of the Son
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
the indwelling of the Father
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
the abiding in Christ's love
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
the privilege of His holy friendship
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
and the power of all-prevailing prayer
16 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.
all wait for the obedient.
Let us take home the lessons. Now we know why we have not had the power in faith to pray prevailingly.
Our life was not as it should have been: simple downright obedience and abiding fruitfulness were not its chief marks.
And with our whole heart, we approve of the Divine appointment: men to whom God is to give such influence in the rule of the world, as at their request to do what otherwise would not have taken place, men whose will is to guide the path in which God's will is to work, must be men who have themselves learned obedience, whose loyalty and submission to authority must be above all suspicion.
Our soul approves the law: obedience and fruit-bearing, the path to prevailing prayer. And with shame, we acknowledge how little our lives have yet borne this stamp.
Let us yield ourselves to take up the appointment the Saviour gives us. Let us study His relation to us as Master. Let us seek no more with each new day to think in the first place of comfort, joy, or blessing. Let the first thought be: I belong The one thing He commands us as His branches is to bear fruit. Let us live to bless others and testify of the life and the love in Jesus. In faith and obedience, let us give our whole life to that which Jesus chose us for and appointed us to--fruit-bearing. As we think of His electing us to this and take up our appointment as coming from Him who always gives all He demands, we shall grow strong in the confidence that a life of fruit-bearing, abounding, and abiding is within our reach. And we shall understand why this fruit-bearing alone can be the path to the place of all prevailing prayer. It is the man who, in obedience to the Christ of God, is proving that he is doing what his Lord wills, for whom the Father will do
whatsoever he will: Whatsoever we ask we receive, because we keep His commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY!