Palermo Christian Church
| Answered Prayer |
John 15:7 tells us, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” This is a tremendous promise given to us in God’s word. We often look at words that sparkle in their brilliance. We are dazzled by the promise, open to all the possibilities open to us. But our experiences do not match our first impressions. We have asked and God has said no. We asked what we wished and our wishes were not given to us. We hear preachers on the radio or TV promise God’s blessings on our health and finances. They claim that if we believe, we will receive. But they lie to us. Many have prayed for their health and have believed God would heal, but did not experience healing. Many prayed for wealth, but remained in poverty. So we face the deepest disappointments in our times of prayer. Why is it that this happens to us? I will tell you, and I say this kindly, that we are not in tune with God. What is important to our heart is not what is important to God’s. Our wishes are not always his desires. Our priorities rank low on God’s scale. This promise comes with two conditions: If you abide in me and my words abide in you. What does the first of these mean, “If you abide in me”? Let’s look at the text for clues. Verse 2 – “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…” Would you not agree with me that the branch that is cut off no longer abides in Christ? Why is the branch cut off? It bears no fruit. Verse 3 – “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you…” This verse sets up a situation of the clean vs. the unclean. “6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.” John 13:6-11, NIV. These verses from the same book by the same author just two chapters before make the same contrast. The clean are those who are disciples, the unclean is the one who will betray Jesus. In our passage in John 15, we might take a different tact. We might say that the word “clean” equals “pruned.” In this case, if we go back to Judas, the betrayer, he refused to be pruned, he was not fruitful. But another step in this passage tells us that those who are disciples are those who are clean or pruned by the word of Jesus. In other words, the disciples listen, accepted and obeyed the words of Jesus. Judas did not. He got close to Jesus, he listened, but he did not bear fruit. God’s word never took root in his life. He walked away from Jesus. Verse 5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit…” Again we see the tie between abiding in Christ and bearing fruit. Verse 7 – “If you remain in me…ask what you wish, and it will be given you.” This is the promise we started with. So what does it mean “if you remain in me…” ? Our study shows us two things will be true. First, you will be pruned or clean by the word of Jesus. Second, you will bear fruit. Verse 8 pulls this all together. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…” Which leads us to the second condition of this passage, “…and my words remain in you.” We have already established that Judas was unclean because he did not believe what Jesus said. He never bore fruit. The words of Jesus were all around Him, but they never entered his heart. Instead of following Jesus, instead of obeying his word, he betrays Jesus. So also, the one in whom Jesus abides is the one in whom Jesus’ words live. We take his words seriously. His warning is our warning. His promise is our promise. His command is our command. His words live in us. They determine who we are, what we do, what we say, and how we do and say what we do and say. An illustration of this is clearly given in John 6. In verse 60, the text tells us that “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Notice that we are talking about disciples here, people who are attached to Jesus, people who sit at his feet and learn from him. Verse 61 – “Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.” What an astonishing statement. In 2008 when we think of someone who is tagged a disciple, we see someone who believes. But in 30 AD or whenever Jesus was speaking, he clearly says to his disciples, “Some of you do not believe.” Jesus knew those who would not believe. This is the group in verse 66. “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” He also knew two other groups. Those who would believe. “67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” The one who would betray him. 70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)” John 6:67-71, NIV. So in John 15, when Jesus talks about those who are in the vine, he is not assuming that they are believers. Rather, he assumes that they are learners. A learner is not a believer. When you become a believer, you receive what you have learned. You believe it. We have mistaken church attendance for being a Christian. We have mistaken attendance at Bible study or small group as an indicator of Christian faith. What makes a person a Christian is not that they are learning, but that they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” When a person believes that Jesus is the Holy One of God, when they really believe this, then they will obey his words. For many years I have heard speculation on what kind of fruit Jesus speaks of in John 15. The two major answers to the question, “What kind of fruit is Jesus speaking of…” are this. First, some say that the fruit spoken of here is the fruit of the Spirit. People will show more love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness and faith. Second, some say that the fruit spoken of here are souls won for Christ, that the Christian will lead others to Jesus. I would like to give you a third option, one that fits the context and does not negate the other two. I would define the fruit that Jesus speaks of as obedience to Him, obeying his teaching. Did the disciples who left Jesus obey Him? No, because they did not believe his words. To them, to think that Jesus came down from heaven and was going back was more than they could take. They rejected Jesus’ words. But the disciples who stayed with Jesus believed. They accepted Jesus’ words and, through the power of the Holy Spirit given on the day of Pentecost, lived them out in their daily lives. By this was their Father glorified. The early church loved one another as Jesus taught them. They re-taught Jesus’ teachings as Jesus told them to do. They went to Jerusalem, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of their known world, all in response to the teachings of Jesus. It was to Jesus’ disciples, those who believe in Him and had a desire to follow his teachings that this promise is given. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you will and it will be given you. What do you need to do the will of God? What do you need to move forward as a disciple of Jesus Christ? What do you need to obey the teachings of Jesus? Whatever it is, the Bible promises you this: If you ask, you will receive. Is there a sin in your life that hinders you from moving forward? Ask God for help in removing it and he will do it. I can name people who have been convicted of sexual sin, addicted to alcohol, mean to their families and friends, who, when they fell under conviction and had the desire to live a life that pleased God, find victory over sin in their lives. But one characteristic that they all had was the willingness to be pruned. They were willing to be rebuked by the word of God. They didn’t fight the word; they embraced it. And God helped them get the upper hand on the sin in their lives. I have known of people with a burden. They have sensed God calling them to the mission field or to do a special ministry. Because the burden was from God, God provided the finances needed to serve Him. He answered their prayer. I have seen people who had a test put before them. They were going into a hostile environment and they didn’t know what to say. They prayed, “God, help me to say what you want me to say. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer” (Ps. 19) and God gave them the right words and the right spirit. If you abide in Christ and his words abide in you, ask what you will and it will be given to you. You can take it to the bank. Selah!
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