Published by admin on 23 Apr 2010 at 06:00 am
WHATSOEVER YOU ASK IN JESUS’ NAME
Could it possibly be that Jesus means exactly what He says, and says exactly what He means? Today let’s consider something the Lord Jesus said, not once, but twice. It is written in John 14:12-15,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
To me, And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, is a blank check that has been signed by the Lord Jesus and handed to any believer for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God And if we weren’t paying attention the first time He said it, He repeated himself, saying, If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
What would YOU ask for if you knew the heavenly Father would grant whatsoever you ask? Would you ask for a huge new home, complete with hired servants? How about a new Ferrari or two? Remember, God is a big God, who knows no limits to His power, and is able to do whatsoever He commits to. Right about now, you’re probably thinking God is looking for a loophole. Or maybe YOU are looking for a loophole. Well, there is one……
If ye love me, keep my commandments. Aha! I knew there had to be a catch! You see, that’s how the Lord knows He can trust you with His power. If you’re not actively working to advance HIS agenda in the earth, then you must be working to advance YOUR agenda. And if you’re building YOUR kingdom, then you aren’t building HIS. And if you’re building YOUR kingdom then you’re not doing the works of the Lord Jesus. So it’s all conditional. But, if you’re meeting His conditions, then He turns over His checkbook to you without reservation and you’re good to go. You know, “whatsoever ye shall ask” is pretty scary, when you consider it. That means God must put a lot of trust into you if He intends to back up that “whatsoever” and put His stamp of approval on it. Can He trust YOU with that kind of power?
That question conjures up visions in my head of giving a five year old kid a loaded machine gun. There’s an awful lot of potential for destruction there when giving power and authority to someone who cannot be trusted with it, who acts selfishly and immaturely. The Lord Jesus granted that power to His disciples. Did it end with the twelve disciples? Not that I can see. The question is: are YOU His modern day disciple? In other words, as I said before, can He trust YOU with that kind of power? Actually, it’s the same Jesus, just a different day. What built His Kingdom some two thousand years ago still builds it today. Exactly what builds His Kingdom? Love, honor, worship, trust, and OBEDIENCE.
Now, I’m going to take it another step. We need to be so close to the heavenly Father that whatsoever we ask for, He will give it, just as He granted whatsoever Jesus asked for. That’s only common sense. We need to get rid of the false thinking that God won’t give us what we ask for, if we are truly His disciples. When we doubt the word of God, we are calling Him a liar and insulting the Father’s integrity, and that doesn’t fly in this world or in heaven. God LOVES His children.
Yet it’s only natural for us to say, well, I love my kids, but I don’t give them everything they ask for. If I did, they’d live on candy and ice cream and wouldn’t do their schoolwork. But you’re judging there, my friend, because not every kid would skip school or live on candy and ice cream. Actually, some kids are quite responsible and want to do what is right. God knows who He can trust and who He can’t. That’s why you see some people who seem to be blessed in everything they put their hand to, and some who you can’t trust out of your sight.
If you want the Lord to be able to trust you with His power, you must show yourself to be trustworthy. And that isn’t done in a day, trust is something that is built up over a long period of time, by your obedience to God’s word. That’s why He said, Keep my commandments. That means, keeping them whether you think God is looking or not. It is written in the first part of 2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. How do you think God shows Himself strong in behalf of His children? By granting them whatsoever they ask for. That’s a pretty big order, but hey, God made the offer, didn’t He? All we have to do is qualify. Take the Prophet Elijah, for example, the Lord knew He could trust him, and Elijah was a man just like any other, except that the Lord used him mightily because he was obedient to do whatsoever the Lord told him to do. Can that be said of you?
Have a look at this. God sent Elijah on an errand, and backed him with power from on high to accomplish that mission, and honored whatsoever Elijah asked for, knowing Elijah loved the Lord with all his heart. I know there’s a lot of scripture here to read, but you need to read it all to get the whole picture.
2Ki 1:2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
2Ki 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?
2Ki 1:4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
2Ki 1:5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?
2Ki 1:6 And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
2Ki 1:7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
2Ki 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
2Ki 1:9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
2Ki 1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
2Ki 1:11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
2Ki 1:12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
2Ki 1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
2Ki 1:14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.
2Ki 1:15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.
2Ki 1:16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
2Ki 1:17 So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.
Now, I don’t know if I would have called fire down from heaven and destroyed those men, but Elijah did, and God honored his words, and we can’t question God’s reasons for doing so. But the point is, God trusted Elijah with His power, and if we can be trusted, He will grant our requests as well. We have to be confident in God’s love for us. So many people aren’t, and therefore, cannot confidently approach the Throne of Grace and make their requests known unto God. Then, they turn right around and tell people that God never gives them what they ask for, when all the time it is a failure on their part to honor the integrity of God.
Will God give ME the things I ask for? He gives me so many of the things I ask for that it makes me consider very carefully what I request. I’m constantly asking myself, when I ask for thus-and-thus, will God’s Kingdom be advanced? Or is it just a selfish want on my part? Do I want this for God’s glory, or for mine? If we honestly test our petitions with these questions, we will soon know if what we are asking for is for God’s glory or not. And if it is for His glory, He will give us whatsoever we ask.