Asking And Receiving From God John 14:14-15

Text:  “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened…If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”

Matthew 7:7-11.

Good morning, Christian in need!  What are you in need of today?  Having an all-sufficient Father in Heaven, is it not time to ask Him to supply your perceived need?  After all, the Scriptures teaches us that we can have just whatever we desire - don’t they? 

Oh no they do NOT!  Read on, my friend, and become more aware of a grievous error being taught in the church today.  (Psalm 119:105)

I have heard some TV Evangelists say, “Just name it and claim it, brethren!”  I have also heard some utterly foolish things said, such as, “I bind you, Satan!”  

What a load of old twaddle!  We Bible-believing Christians must not listen to such erroneous nonsense!  We are encouraged in God’s Word to ‘test’ such spirits.  The Devil would tear us to pieces if it were not for God’s Spirit! 

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”  (1 John 4:1)

But how are we mere mortals to even begin to test beings in the Spiritual realm?  How are we to know if what we are being taught is truth, or error?

Praise God, He has given you and me a ‘yardstick’, a Spiritual measuring rod; a sure tool with which to discern God’s truth from the spirits of worldly error.  We have been blessed with our Bibles, God’s Holy Word.  Hallelujah!  (The King James Version)

“Sanctify them (regenerate Christian believers) through Thy truth; The Word is truth.”  (John 17:17)

“To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this Word (the Word of God revealed in our Bible), it is because there is no truth in them.”  (Isaiah 8:20)

Okay, so how do we know that the ‘Name it and claim it brigade’ of TV evangelists teaching such tripe are teaching error?  Let us look into God’s Word to find the answer.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

What our fallen heart’s desire is not always what the Lord God would want us to desire for ourselves.  We have an old nature that is incurably sinful; always prone to covetousness and sin; and which will perpetually seek selfish things until these bodies of death actually die and return to the earth from whence Adam was made.  This is a fact, my friend.  We are very real sinners - even we who are graciously saved by Christ Jesus, our very real Saviour.

Look at the apostle Paul’s self-revelation of sinfulness:  

“For I know that the law (Ten Commandments) is Spiritual; but I am carnal, sold (by Adam) under sin.  For that which I (should) do I allow not; for what I would (do), that I do not; but what I hate (sin) that I do…For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would (do) I do not; but the evil which I would not (do), that I do.”  (Romans 7:14-19)

Furthermore, you and I latter-day Christian believers are no different than Paul.  We are weak in Spiritual matters and so very prone to disobedient sin.

“…For there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Christ’s perfect sinlessness).”  (Romans 3:22-23)

So, back to our initial premises:  We do not always ask the Lord for things according to His Holy will, but we do sometimes try to ask Him to supply the totally selfish desires of our carnal hearts.  God cannot grant such requests.  Ever!

“Ye lust, and have not; ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not (according to Godly desires!).  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts…Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth (continuous verb: lusts, and continues to lust) to envy.”  (James 4:1-5)

‘Name it and claim it’ at all times IF what you are ‘naming and claiming’ is according to the revealed will of our thrice Holy Lord God.  Come, ask now.

Thought:  Praying for what God inspires us to request: we shall have our requests, but at all times according to His Own Sovereign will alone.

Seeing the Invisible Father! John 14:7-13

Text:    “No man hath seen God (the Father) at any time; the only begotten Son (Christ Jesus), which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” 

John 1:18.

          “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He (Christ Jesus) hath seen the Father.”

John 6:46.

Good morning, faith-seeing Christian!  Having been granted God’s free gift of saving faith - you can look, as it were, with the eye of faith and clearly see the Face of the Father in Heaven.  Only the eye of faith can see God the Father.  God the Father can only be seen in the Person of His Son, Christ Jesus.  Praise God that we can actually see all the attributes of God our Father, in the risen Jesus!

“(For we walk by faith, not by sight)”  (2 Corinthians 5:7)

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (fit) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son: in Whom we have redemption through His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” (Colossians 1:12-15)

The Lord God Almighty informed Moses of the fact that “…Thou canst not see My Face; for there shall no man see Me, and live.”  (Exodus 33:20)

However, God also assured Moses that His Presence would go with him always.  Hallelujah!  It is the same for you and I who know Christ Jesus as our own and personal Saviour and Lord.  Wow!  What a privilege to have!  We can actually walk in the Presence of our thrice Holy Lord God.

“And He (God Almighty) said unto him (Moses), My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  And he (Moses) said unto Him (the Lord God), If Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”  (Exodus 33:14-15)

Therefore it is blatantly clear, that the Lord God Jehovah of the Old Testament time, is revealed to us in the New Testament time as Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living Lord God.  At last, we who believe can see God face to face - when we contemplate our Saviour, Christ Jesus, in the pages of God’s Holy Word.  What a heart-stirring fact of Holy Scriptures!  Thanks be to God!

Like Jacob, when he was permitted to wrestle with the Lord God at Peniel, we Christians can see, with the eye of faith, the Face of God in Christ Jesus.

“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (the face of God); for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”              (Genesis 32:30)

The Lord Jesus had just informed his close disciples that He was going off somewhere to which they could not immediately follow Him - Heaven.  He was going there in order to ‘…prepare a place…’ for them, and of course for we latter-day believers also.  Thus their hearts were heavy and dread and doubts were flooding their souls.    (John 14:1-6)

If Christ Jesus was going off to fulfill His Eternal purpose, the disciples - especially Thomas and Philip - needed some reassurance that God the Father would remain with them, otherwise they believed they would very quickly be vanquished by the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  They needed reassurance of God the Father’s Presence.  They wanted to see His Face.  (John 14:5;8)

This was the point when Jesus dropped an Eternal bomb-shell of truth upon His followers, and upon we latter-day Christians who follow Him by faith.

Christ said:  “…he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me?…” (Vs.9-10)

Once more Jesus had sought to explain the mystery of the Eternal God-Head - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all three Persons, yet only One God.  Something we can only ’see’ through the eyes of Christian faith, which is God given.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them Eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man (including ourselves!) pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are One.”  (John 10:27-30)

Thought:  We clearly see the invisible Father in the loving face of Christ Jesus our Lord - when we look through faith-filled eyes.  Let's look to Christ and live!

‘…the Way Ye Know…’ John 14:4-6

Text:  “And whether I go (Heaven) ye know, and the Way ye know.”

                                                                                                              John 14:4.

          “And an highway shall be there, and a WAY, and it shall be called The Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up there on, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there; and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads…”

Isaiah 35:8-10.

Good morning, wayfaring Christian!  How are you faring on your Spiritual journey today?  Are you beset before and behind with potholes, and enemies on your pilgrim path?  Are you bone-weary in your journey Home to be with the Christ of God?  Take heart, weary wayfarer - Jesus brings you hope anew.  The Lord speaks these strong words today to your Blood-bought heart:

“Fear thou not; for I (Christ Jesus) am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.  Behold (look and see), all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall perish.  Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee; they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.  For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isaiah 41:10-13)

Hindsight is always wise.  Two thousand plus years on, you and I who are Spirit-born Christians can easily detract from Christ’s disciples of the time and ask, ‘Well, had the disciples a faith much weaker than our own?’  ‘Did they not know that Christ Jesus was the only way to Heaven?’

Nonsense!  We only know a lot more today as a result of the initial experience of Christ’s contemporary followers. We are, in fact, ‘standing on the shoulders of Spiritual giants.’  The Thomas’ of the Christian world asked all the difficult questions.  However, they were just the right questions to ask - that we latter-day disciples of Christ might be furnished with such wise and all-knowing answers.  Praise God for the record of Christ’s eye-witness apostles!

The Lord Jesus Christ was about to be arrested; brutally scourged; cruelly beaten; and Crucified on that Roman Cross - to make the only way to Heaven for Hell-deserving sinners such as you and me.  Scriptural fact!

This being the case, the Lord informed His disciples of these coming events, yet, in His ever-loving compassion and care for them, encouraged them not to ’…be troubled…’  Christ had come to suffer and die for us, ’…His people…’, in order to make THE WAY to Heaven for us who would believe.

Not only was Christ Jesus about to make the WAY to Heaven, by His Atonement Sacrifice on the Cross - but He clearly taught His disciples that He was indeed THE WAY - therefore, they were not to be unduly troubled.

“Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”  (John 14:6)  Nothing could be clearer.

But what did He mean to impart to His disciples?  He was about to make the way to Heaven, but He was also teaching them, and us, much more about being the way!

He was, in fact, saying to His followers:  “Look, I am about to make the only way to Heaven for you - and all who will believe the Gospel and receive My Salvation.  But, if you are My disciples, My followers; then you have to prove you are so by walking in the way that I have shown you!”

“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you (into Salvation) is Holy, so be ye Holy in all manner of conversation (entire lifestyle); because it is written Be ye Holy for I am Holy.”                     (1 Peter 1:14-16) 

“And an highway shall be there, and a WAY, and it shall be called The Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those:…but the redeemed shall walk there; and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads…”

When Christ said: “…No man cometh unto the Father, but BY Me.”  He had a double lesson to teach.  1. He would be the only WAY to Heaven, via His sinless Sacrifice on the Cross.  2.  Christ likeness - by personal and continual striving for holiness - would be the proof of a true repentance and Christian faith.

Thought:  Let us strive diligently to walk in THE WAY with THE WAY, Christ Jesus.  “…the unclean shall not pass over…’ God’s Highway.

Heavenly Properties Inc John 14:1-3

Text:  “In My Father’s House (Heaven) are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place (a property) for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

John 14:1-3.

Good morning, incorporated Christian!  Our Father, the Living Lord God Almighty, has graciously granted you and I faith to believe (trust) in His Son, Christ Jesus, and receive His promise of Eternal life - bought and paid for in full at Calvary’s Cross.  God the Holy Spirit has, in His own perfect time: quickened you and I with faith; caused us to know we are sinners deserving of Hell; allowed us to recognize Christ’s impeccable righteousness as the only merit for Heaven; and assured us of the great judgement that will one day come upon all mankind.  (John 16:8-11) (Ephesians 2:1-6)

Therefore, by God’s grace, we have been ‘incorporated’ into the mystical and Spiritual Body of Christ - the true church - and are, even now, members of what we might call ‘Heavenly Properties Inc.’  Hallelujah!  We are made, in Christ Jesus, Eternally rich indeed!

Definition:  Incorporate (v.t.) to form into a body; to combine into one mass; to absorb; to form into a corporation; to admit to a corporation; to unite into one mass; to form a corporation… (The Chambers Dictionary page 814)

“For as the Body (the church) is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one Body, being many, are one Body: so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the Body (the church) is not one member, but many.”  (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)

In this miraculous, Spiritual manner, the Lord has incorporated you and I, with all regenerate Christian believers, into one complete Body - His universal church.  There is no other real Christian ’church’. We are one in Christ Jesus.

“There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye (true believers) are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Bonded together in Christ we are ‘Heavenly Properties Inc.’  Hallelujah!

The sure and only Foundation of our Spiritual Incorporation is the Son of the Living Lord God Himself - Jesus, the risen Christ.  What a certain Foundation!  He is the “The Stone which the builders (Jewish nation) refused…(He) is become the Head Stone of the corner.”  (Psalm 118:22)

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.  But let every man/woman take heed how he/she buildeth thereupon.  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

In today’s Bible reading we find the Lord Jesus informing His disciples of that particular time; and of course, through their Gospel record, all followers of Christ today - that He was going off to the Heavenly Realm to ‘…prepare a place (property) for…’ us.  In fact, the Lord describes these Heavenly properties in the same verse of the Scripture passage (verse 2) as ‘…mansions…’  Wow!  One day you and I who believe in Christ are going to be allocated a Heavenly Mansion!  What an expectation for sinful souls!

Definition:  Mansion - (noun) a large house; a manor house; a house…abode…a resting place…; a dwelling place, etc.  (The Chambers Dictionary, page 978)

Using our ‘sanctified imagination’, surely we can see that if the Lord Jesus, as Creator Lord, took a mere six days to Create all the breath-taking splendour of this world in which we live - then, being now gone for over two thousand years of our time, what the Lord is preparing for you and I shall be a wondrous, out-of-this-world, opulent dwelling place indeed!  Wow!

Furthermore, the Lord Jesus has promised us that not only is He preparing this Heavenly Mansion for us, but He Himself will personally ‘…come again…’ meet us, ’…and receive us unto Himself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’!  If this prospect does not thoroughly excite you, my friend, nothing else in all this life ever will!  Hallelujah!  What Divine generosity!

“…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) 

Thank you, Lord God, for this Eternal blessing!

Thought:  In Christ’s Presence - mere ’door-keepers’ are richly blessed! 

Proof Positive of Discipleship John 13:31-38

Text:  “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this (proof) shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

John 13:34-35.

Good morning, proven Christian disciple!  You and I have been saved by grace though faith in the once for all time Atonement Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living Lord God, at Calvary’s Cross.  We trust not in ourselves for Salvation - or any so-called good works that we could ever do.  Our Salvation is totally ‘…of the Lord…’ God, and by His matchless grace we are granted a Standing before His Holy throne - in His Son, Christ Jesus. 

Hallelujah!  We are genuine Christians, and we know it.  We are genuine Christians if we seek to continually show it.  Glory and praise to the Lamb!

“When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thine Holy temple.  They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.  But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.  Salvation is of the Lord.”  (Jonah 2:7-9

“Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal life.”  (Titus 3:5-7)

“Yes, Dr McClinton, I am already aware of this truth - but you have addressed this study to ‘…proven Christian disciples…’, therefore, how do I actually PROVE to myself that I am indeed a genuine follower of Christ?”

In order to adequately answer such a frequently asked question, I immediately return each reader to our selected text for today.  Please read it again.  We prove we are genuine followers (disciples) of Christ Jesus by the obedience we seek to practice continually to His written teachings. 

False ’Christians’ will not seek to obey the risen Christ - self still rules in their unregenerate, disobedient hearts!

Furthermore, our text for today’s study clearly sets out Christ’s commandment to every soul who would faithfully follow after him and partake of His great and Eternal Salvation:  we must love one another.

“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”              (1 John 4:7-8)

Now, let us bring this Biblical principle into the everyday world in which we live, and ask ourselves the vital questions:  Do we love our Christian brothers and sisters?  Do we manifest such a Christian love that might prove beyond any doubt that we are in fact genuine followers of Christ?  Well?  Do we?

How many times do we learn of professing Christian congregations who are reputed to be ‘…sound in the details of their Biblical doctrine, but sadly lacking in any real Christian love.’?  What a dismal situation!

‘The Pastor is detested because of his imperfections‘; ‘the choir sung that piece out of tune again‘; ‘the worship and praise was too happy-clappy‘; ‘the service went on too long‘ - many sing ‘I surrender all’ then, when they think about the cost of such committed surrender, sit with long faces devoid of any semblance of true Christian joy and love.  What a sad state to be in!

Dry formalism is commensurate with latter-day Phariseeism - beware!

‘Happy-clappy’ liberalism is superficial, needing Biblical instruction - beware!

False love devoid of Scriptural truth is a dangerous balance - beware!

Carnal discord among professing brethren is forbidden - beware!

Strict, ritualistic religion and piety leaves Christ outside the church - beware!

The Lord Jesus in today’s passage for study is admonishing His disciples to truly love one another, encourage one another with such love; be there for each other in a spirit of mutual love and willingness to forgive faults.  (James 5:16)

We the Church - universal and international - the true Body of Christ in this 21^st Century; need to care for each other and strengthen each other with love and truth in a fine balance.  In this manner, we can all ‘…grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”  (2 Peter 3:18)

Thought: How can we say we love God, yet detest our brethren in Christ?  If we are loved by God, let us seek to love one another.  Discipleship requires proof!