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Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit. So shall you be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love. Even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love, these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you.
And that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greedy law hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends. Yeah, my friends, if you do whatsoever I commend you henceforth, I call you not servants, where the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I've called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father.
I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, That whatsoever he shall ask for the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.
If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own.
But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
Therefore the world hateth you remember the word that I said unto you.
The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my sin, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sinned. But now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my father also.
If I had not done among them the works with none other man did, they had not had sin. But now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father.
He shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Well, in the seventh verse we have the subject of prayer brought up a very important and necessary thing in our Christian life, Because if we're really going to be fruitful for the Lord, there has to be that prayer which is private communion with the Lord. And so we see two things mentioned in this seventh verse. If he abide in me, and my words abide in you, he shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
That is abiding in Christ. Is that in communion? But my words abide in you.
Would show that our request would be, according to the word of God, quite possible for us to ask for things that are not according to the word of God. And a little God sometimes in his governmental ways, might grant things like it says in the Psalms. He gave them their desire. He sent leanness into their souls, because they asked for something that was not for their good or for his glory. And so in all our prayers there should be that desire that we would.
His will. And if he sees fit to deny it to us, well, he see he knows what is best. But if we are in communion with him, then we'll ask for what is pleasing to him personally. I was helped very much by a remark in Mr. Darby where he said that prayer is based on the privilege of having common interests with God. I think that's a very lovely thing to think of in connection with prayer.
Perhaps to make it very simple, I could put it like this. Supposing that you have a desire to give something, we'll say to your wife, and you've chosen something that you really feel would be nice for her. And then one day before you give her the gift she asked you for the very thing that you had planned to give her. Isn't there a joy, you say? Oh, isn't that lovely? That was a very thing that I had planned to give her, and now she's asking for it.
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Well, your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye asked him.
And brethren, He brings our souls into communion with him, so that we have common interests with him.
And that we ask for those things that are pleasing to Him. And then, as we see also, there is the matter of communion.
Abiding in Christ is the thought of communion, not merely intelligence that we ask for the right thing.
But even if I did give to my wife something that I thought she would enjoy and that she wanted, if it wasn't accompanied by love, if it wasn't accompanied by a mutual feeling of love to one another, it would lack something in the element of it.
And I believe that this is brought before us here in this chapter, and how needful, and that we read the word of God. Then we come, become intelligent as to His mind as revealed in His word, And then that we keep close to Him, That we ask for what is suited to the occasion, suited to the protect, particularly present need, which the Lord sees and knows and delights to have us see the need as He sees it, and ask for what's pleasing to Him.
It's nice to see that this seventh verse we've been discussing is really brings out the the verse that we commenced our conference with at the beginning of the first prayer meeting. And it's rather nice to see the basis, the prerequisites that are necessary to have the promise of answered prayer. That's really what this is on the 7th verse. But we had this this first read to us from first John five at the beginning.
And I thought it was rather lovely in verse 14 and 15.
This is the confidence, could say boldness that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatever whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petition that we desired of him. Well, we began with a prayer meeting.
And I believe we come closer to A1 mindless in the unity at that moment, that meeting before a conference.
As we do, as we begin our remembrance meeting, because there were very close to his.
Will all of us. And so we prayed with confidence that the Lord would undertake.
And meet the needs and feed us according to our buried needs. And it's lovely. We expect that prayer to be answered. This is individual in the in the Epistle of John, but it comes out the same in in As to the assembly, which is a higher truth in Matthew 18, I won't turn to it, but we have the same truth there when we're gathered to his name and we ask corporately. It's lovely, isn't it? And of course it depends on the abiding.
Having thoughts in common with him and his word according to his word. And I was thinking we have that that help that we we so need. I believe in Romans 8 we bring it brings that point out. So nice in Romans 826.
The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we are. We have to often admit that individually and as an assembly. But the Spirit itself maketh intersection for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, And he that searches the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intersection for the sake according to the will of God.
Wasn't it lovely that when we're together, you know, the Spirit does that? We're failing creatures. We sometimes don't know what we should pray about even, and we come to the prayer meeting and that's no reason not to commence Praying, brethren, there's things we can pray about, we know, and many of the things are just thanking him for what he's already undertaken. As there is all the past prayer. That's a good thing to do. And while you're praying, the Spirit brings things.
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To your heart that you should have thought of yourself. I think it's sort of nice, isn't it, that we have the whole thing, But it's predicated upon abiding in Christ and His words in you. That's it.
The matter of confidence in prayer, I believe, is important too. And confidence in prayer is according to communion with the Lord, but God's answers to prayer according to his own heart. If you turn to 1St John again and the 4th chapter, I think there's something there that is helpful to notice.
First John chapter 3. I should say 1 John chapter 3 and verse 20.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God, and whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Notice there are two conditions that are brought before us here in the 20th verse if our heart condemn us.
And in the 21St verse, if our heart condemn us not.
And when the heart condemns one, there isn't confidence in prayer. But when there is really the heart not condemning, that would be when we're in communion with him, then there is that confidence that he gives. It's very lovely to see that God answers prayer according to his own perfect wisdom and love. We find, for instance, that they were gathered together in the Book of the Acts, praying for Peter, who was in prison.
Well, there wasn't a great deal of faith in that prayer meeting. But did that limit God? No. God came in and answered.
Even the law there wasn't that faith that there ought to have been, And Peter came and stood before the gate.
And so I just like to say in connection with this passage there in first John chapter three, that these two conditions are brought before us.
Of sometimes illustrated it. Like supposing a father has two sons, One walks real close to him, one enters into his mind and will, the other itself will. The time comes that these boys want to make a request of their father, the boy who isn't walking close to his father who's self willed.
He comes and he makes a request from his father. Well, maybe his father keeps him waiting a little while. The boy doesn't have confidence, he said. I'm going to coax my dad. He doesn't have confidence because he hasn't been walking close. But the father is above all that.
And after a while, he says, what I'm going to do it for him. He'll he'll know I love him. And so he comes in and he answers what the boy requested. But the boy didn't have confidence. I believe, brethren, that's the force of that expression. God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things. And isn't it lovely that even when our faith is weak, that if we're willing to commit ourselves to his will, that he comes in in spite of it?
Now in the other case, the boy comes who is obedient. Now he has confidence. He knows his father. He knows he's asking for something that his father would be pleased to give him. He knows the heart of his father a lot better because he's close to him. Both the boys get their request.
But one of them had confidence and the other didn't. Why did they get the request? Because their father's heart was greater. He was above all situations like that. And that's a wonderful thing, brethren, that God, if we commit things to him, will come in, and if we leave things and just seek only his will, he'll come in. But there is a special joy in being near to him, being confident in his love and in his care.
In communion with Him. And I believe that's what's set before us in our passage. But I just mentioned the other because often we find I find perhaps others do too. There's a lack of confidence and yet we see that we were asking for something. We're almost surprised, like they were when Peter stood before the gate. Why? Well, because God's heart is so large and he delights to bless. Let's never lose sight of that brethren. His love is a continuing love as we go on in this chapter.
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Father hath loved me. So have I loved you. We need to have the confidence of that love. But we also need to keep close to him, acquaint ourselves with His word that so that what we asked for is pleasing in His sight. That's very important, isn't it? His word. We know that if we're going according to His word, we're going to have an answer to our prayer. It's a wonderful thought, isn't it? And we can know His word. And I was thinking of Nehemiah when he prayed in the first chapter of Nehemiah.
He had a great burden on his heart. He didn't really ask for the answer. He just claimed his word. I know, Nehemiah said in chapter one, verse 8. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commanded thy servant most. He leaned on that, and he depended on it. And brethren, you know all the all the all the promises of God are in Christ. Yeah, And in him. Amen. We can claim them and we can claim them in prayer.
That's confidence, isn't it? Oh, there's sometimes we're not quite sure. But thank God for the Holy Spirit indwelling us individually.
And corporately, we have everything we need. We ought not to hesitate in prayer. I I don't know. I I know there's a godly pause, but I think it's a very healthy situation in a prayer meeting when a brother continues right after a brother. I I don't. I'm not saying there shouldn't be a pause, but it's a shame when there's a long pause and some don't get to pray. We have too much to pray about, brethren, that we should not take advantage of an hour.
That verse, if you abide in me.
That's communion, and my words abide in you. That's intelligence.
In the mind of God, the only way that we can have intelligence in his thoughts is through His word. And so now we can pray intelligently according to the word of God. If we ask anything according to His will, he heareth us. And we if we know that he hear us, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him. In the 14th chapter, verse 12, the Lord says, 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.
The Lord was about to take up a new position on high back, with the Father having accomplished redemption and sent down the Holy Spirit, which he talks about in the following verses in John 14 and so the disciples in the book of Acts under the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Did greater works than the Lord Jesus did. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached and 3000 were converted to Christ. That never happened.
During the life of the Lord. But it did happen once the Spirit of God was given greater works.
And then he says in verse 13, And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name.
That will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son in my name.
Is an expression that implies his absence here and his session at the right hand of God. We ask in His name. We're gathered to His name. He's not here, He's in in the glory. So we're gathered to His name. When he comes for us, we will be gathered unto Himself, which is different. Then we will be actually with him. But when we're gathered to His name, he says, There am I in the midst of them.
Not visibly, as it will be so in the glory. But he himself is there in a spiritual sense. But here it's prayer in his name, that is the name of the one that the world has rejected here and sent back with a message. We will not have this man to to reign over us. We now present our petitions in that name, the name which he has exalted above every name, that at that name of Jesus every knee should bow heavenly, earthly and infernal beings.
And every tongue confessed that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And now we present our petitions.
In that name. Now to just say at the end of a prayer that might be selfish, that might just have my own interests, I ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus that not it's not a prayer in his name. His name implies all that is according to his will, all that is of himself. And that's what we have in chapter 15. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what she will and it shall be done.
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Unto you. So to ask in his name is to ask according to all that that name means to the Father. And James says he asked and received not, because he asked, amiss that she may consume it upon your lusts. Well, that's not asking in his name, is it? So if his word abides in us, we will ask intelligently according to the word of God that's asking in his name.
There's a whole movement afoot in Christendom, and it's based upon a verse in Mark. If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believe it, and they deify belief or faith and make that a God, so to speak, it's not the strength of our believing, it's the object of our faith that counts. It's believing God. It's believing His word, and it's asking in accordance with that.
That's where the power is, and not in something that resides within me. If I've asked and haven't received, it's because I'm so weak in my faith. While the Lord says, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, the very littlest thing ye shall ask and it shall be granted you. It's not the strength of our faith. It's nothing in us that produces results. It's the word of God and the soul being moved by the Spirit of God to ask according to His word.
There is also the thought of asking according to his will we find in the Psalms that says He gave them their desire, He sent leanness into their souls. And brethren, there is a danger in prayer of wanting something, whether it's the will of God or not. Just thinking that we can't live without it and asking God to give it to us and not really desiring to have His will in the matter. Now that's a dangerous thing.
Because when the children of Israel got what was not for their good, had only made them sick, as you remember, He reigned those quails upon them, and then they were sick because they had their desire, but it wasn't according to his will. So I believe it's good for us, when we pray, to always qualify it with that that if it be thy will, that's very as it says in James, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this.
Or that I believe, too, that there is the matter of submission to the will of God.
Turn over to First Peter, because I believe this is an important thing in our lives, and as our brother's been saying, there is an emphasis being put on what they call prevailing prayer in Christendom, and it's good for us to see the way the scripture presents it. First Peter, Chapter 5.
Verse 6.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him. For he careth for you be sober. Be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. After that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
One of sometimes said, we are very fond of that verse. The seventh verse place it on our walls, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. But I believe, brethren, it's good to remember the verse before as part of the sentence. Notice what it says. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.
I think we've all had the experience of having some care pressing upon us.
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We brought it to the Lord and we just couldn't seem to leave it there. We couldn't commit it into His hands. But I believe if I can speak of my own heart, it's usually because we haven't submitted to His hand in the circumstance that he might have allowed to take place in our lives.
We haven't humbled ourselves. I found even that sometimes when you have a car, you can't seem to leave it with the Lord. That you really get before the Lord and humble yourself that he has allowed that circumstance sometimes thought of it in this way. Supposing the Lord came to me at that time and said, Gordon, you're not very happy with the way I've ordered things in your life. I could change them and make them just the way you like them, because I have all power.
Would you like me to change them and make them the way you'd like? Or would I have the grace to say, Oh, please, Lord, just give me the grace to accept it, to take the humble place, to acknowledge that this has been allowed of thee and brethren, I have found that when you do that, you can leave your care with the Lord. But what if we don't leave our care with the Lord? That's when the enemy comes in. And as it tells us here he comes in like a roaring lion.
And many a dear Christian, he's prayed and prayed about something. And the Lord hasn't come in. He hasn't been able to leave the care with the Lord. And he he gets very discouraged because he really can't see why God didn't order things the way he'd like to have them. And perhaps the Lord's answer was like it was with Job. But Job, I wanted to humble yourself. I want you to take the true place before me, and when we have done that.
Then we can just peacefully commit it to the Lord and say, Lord, please just give me grace to accept it. And so as he goes on to say, we resist this attack of the enemy and confidence in God and recognize that every good thing that comes is on the ground of pure grace. Is there one blessing that I've ever received, whether it's salvation or anything else that I can say, I deserve that now it's all grace.
And so he passes us through in his ways, in wisdom and love of Kyle in our lives.
As it goes on to say after that you have suffered a while, he sees that process is necessary for our good and for our blessing. Well, I just mentioned this because I think many have a problem. Well, I have tried to commit this to the Lord. I just can't seem to leave it with him. I don't seem to have peace in my soul. Well, brethren, let's not forget the first part of the verse. Humble yourselves, take it from him, submit to his hand and just.
Tell him that you want to have that spirit of submission and recognize that all his dealings with us are in grace, and I believe many of the problems would cease. I don't say the trial would be immediately removed after that. She has suffered a while. Maybe God sees that I need that little time of suffering, that little time of waiting, that it's good for my soul and for his glory. But it is a wonderful scene ahead me, ahead of me. He's called us to his eternal glory.
By Christ Jesus, they're all the hard questions will be answered there. Everything will be perfect. But down here, we're just on the way, brethren.
In Matthew 11 The Lord Jesus is the rejected 1.
And he pronounces woe upon the cities where his mighty works were done. Woe to the curse, and woe to thee, Bethsaida. Or if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyron Sidon, they would have repented. And thou Capernaum the city where he was raised, where he spent much of his time anyway.
The mighty works were which were done, indeed had been done, in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have continued.
And then he lifts up his eyes to heaven, and says, I thank thee, Father, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, Even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. And there's the submission on the part of the blessed Lord to the will of the Father, as Gordon has just been saying, submitting. And then he invites at the end of that chapter us to come to him. Come unto me.
The home to home to the subject, the lowly one, the one who found his delight in submitting to the Father. And even in the face of the bitterest disappointment that his own rejected him, and he felt it keenly, deeply in his soul, he wept over Jerusalem, Oh, Jerusalem, How often would I have gathered as a chicken her as a hen, her chicks, And he would not.
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And then he invites us. Come unto me, all you that labor, and our heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me what was his yoke? It was the yoke of submission, the yoke of obedience, the yoke of subjection to the will of another. He could say, I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. That was his delight.
And he invites us to take that same place in lowly submission to the perfect, the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. He always wants the best for those.
Who are his own and he always gives the best to those who leave the choice with him.
I'd like to ask a question about the 11Th chapter of Luke in connection with importunity in our prayers. We've been speaking about communion and intelligence and I I've enjoyed a few thoughts, but I just wanted to hear my brethren. I think this has to do with.
A subject that is near to the hearts of all the parents that are here.
In the 11Th of Luke and the ninth verse, the Lord Jesus says.
And I say unto you, 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 find it, and to him the knocketh that shall be opened.
And then we get a remarkable analogy to a Father. It says, If a son shall ask bread of any of you, that is a Father. And this presents a remarkable picture, because our ninth verse of our chapter is such a foundational blessed truth. The Lord Jesus says, as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue, ye.
In my love.
The love of the Father is brought out here in a way that has been a comfort to the Lord's people for all these many centuries.
I can think of many times in my own case where I would want to encourage myself.
In trial and difficulty. And this verse would come to mind. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. And then it says, continue, ye and my love. But you know, some of us are fathers, we had children, and we tried to raise them for the Lord, and many of us have failed in many ways in this.
Responsibility. And so the Lord Jesus and speaking here, he speaks about a circumstance of a son asking bread of any of you that is a father. And he says, will he give him a stone? And how many of us have maybe to make an application here? We've had the Stony spirit, the hard, you know, they got an expression in the world. They call it stonewalling. And we think that because we're in a place of authority or.
Oversight that we we forget about the compassions of God as fathers. And so it says will he give him a stone And then it says if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent. Well with our children there are needs that come along that that might that might portray in some way.
Like a little boy's daddy take me fishing. I just use that for an illustration.
We could apply it to a little child, maybe drawing a picture. That's a knee. They have interests, and these interests need to be tended to instead of giving them, denying the interest. Well, if they the interest of our children is denied, what can be taken up? Well, the enemy, the serpent is right handy with all of the other availabilities of our generation. I just mentioned this, and I hope that it's not too much of an aside from what we've been, what we had before us.
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But how to bring these things down to our family's brethren? I wish that someone had brought this before me. When my family was younger, I might have done things a little different. But then the next one, it says about the.
The egg. Or if it shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Well, the egg would speak of fruitfulness, wouldn't it? And it would speak of those things that have to do with reproduction and how the enemy would come in and spoil all of that.
The opposite, the scorpion would be in the 7th chapter of Proverbs about that, that woman there, and the evil that's connected with the turning, aside from what God intended to be fruitful.
But then it ends up and it says, if he then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. And some of us, we missed the queue. I have to confess, brother. And I missed much of this when my family was younger. But I just bring them out. I just mentioned them for our consideration. But then it says that ye, them being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. And here's where it ties in with what we have in our 15th chapter. How much more shall your heavenly Father?
Notice it's fall. It's falling. The Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. And so on the day of Pentecost this came about. You did not well, I just mentioned these things in view of this wonderful verse in the ninth, this wonderful ninth verse. As the Father hath loved me, there's a measure and I go back to the third chapter in the 16th verse.
And the Lord Jesus says there for God.
So loved. So loved. So love. How much does that entail? What is that word soul take in brethren? Or could we ever measure it? But here he says, as I have loved you.
Have I loved you? Continue, ye and my love. Well, these are things that have to come down to where we can demonstrate them and we should demonstrate them. I think that's the burden of what the Lord's ministry is about, that you and I would be as disciples. That would very much fruit. We would display these things. But where does it start? Well, as fathers, as parents, it goes right back to the home, doesn't it, with our children. And I just mentioned these things. I hope that it's not too far, aside from what our subject is in the chapter.
But perhaps an application that would be considered?
When you think of that verse that Bob you've brought before us, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Is it possible to receive a greater gift? No.
The greatest gift, I think, of Romans 80, that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely?
Give us all things and there they were in Acts 1.
Praying for the Holy Spirit. He has come and formed the one body, and we're members of that one body. The Spirit has been given that prayer has been answered, the greatest gift characterizing the day of grace in which we live.
He's given us all that he could give in the way of blessing. Can we doubt his love?
I was thinking of the case of Joseph in dealing with his brethren, Speaking of importunity and prayer. Why? His brethren came, and Joseph let them feel that there was a distance between he and them, and he dealt roughly with them. But it wasn't that he felt that way toward them, turned aside and left. Yet he wanted to bring repentance in their hearts.
It wasn't until he had really broken them down that his heart could blow out and give them far more than they had come, for they had just come for enough provision to take care of them in the Famine. But he brought them right there to share all the good of the land and his company above all. And so that's what the Lord desires to do for us. But this matter of importunity is, I believe, to teach us that very often there is a distance between ourselves and Him that we need to recognize, that we need to judge so that we would be closer to Him.
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And in its application there in Luke, I believe it has to do with the godly Remnant and what we have in the Psalms. Their prayers asking for God to come in really are the answer to this. And so they continue through those seven years of tribulation, asking God to come in. And finally, when they're broken down and like Joseph, they see the Lord, the wounds in his hands, then he brings them into a far larger blessing than they had ever expected.
Deliverance from their enemies was wonderful, but to be brought into that Kingdom blessing.
Far beyond their best expectations. Well, I believe there are more or lessons in this. So I'm saying this because some might think, well, should I keep on praying? Well, sometimes the Lord lets us do that. And we discover as we continue in prayer that perhaps we're not quite as near to the Lord as we should be, and that there's something that He is trying to produce in us. But let us never doubt his heart. It's full of love. It's full of desire for our blessing.
He'll not be satisfied until everyone of his own is supremely Blessed Brethren. But down here we're still in school, we still have lessons to learn and who teacheth like him. So he sees what is best, and I think it's connected, as our brethren have been saying, with what follows.
Herein is my Father glorified that she bear much fruit. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. What He is seeking to produce in US is that likeness to Christ, the life of Jesus manifested in it in US. And this can only be as we walk in the sunshine of this love. And so we need to often repeat to ourselves that verse. As the Father hath loved me, could we think of any limit to the law of the Father has to His Son?
Well, he says, so have I loved you. And so, in a day of apostasy, we find that thought brought in in Jude. Keep yourselves in the love of God. We can't keep ourselves from stumbling. The Lord alone can do that. But we can, as it were, keeping the sunshine of His love. Get up each morning and think of how much He loves us. Kneel in his prayer and not only make requests, but think of His love and think of what He has done for us.
So there's a connection here. I believe in what is brought before us in regard to prayer, and now fruit bearing and abiding in His love. It all is bound up together, so to speak.
Nice to see how that is tied in with the fruit bearing we've been considering.
Because the prayer coming in and then the purpose or the result in the eighth verse.
That my Father may be glorified, you know, when fruit is born.
Of a child of God. It's because it exalts his Son. Either we reflect him or we show him. Or that love of Christ comes out, which constrains us and goes on. But it does say at the end of verse 5 without me you can do nothing. And so that brings in verse 7 prayer. And the basis of prayer being answered to it is lovely to see that. And brethren, when we have anything that we desire to do for the Lord, let's be sure we tap into the power.
Let's be sure we not only get His will according to His word, but that we get the power. Let the Lord Himself and God our Father is with us in this. Then they'll be fruit. That's the real thought, isn't it, that we look to Him in prayer. The least little thing can quickly be connected with the power and not only his mind, but the power that virtue is so important that comes from Him in prayer.
I think we need to be careful that we don't get the attitude of being just haphazard in our prayer and well if it's God's will, no answer and if not he won't. And give a quick prayer about a certain matter and say, well, I don't want to to knock too hard because I don't want to go against his will. But if we do know something that is his will, we have the principal in James where it says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much and he lied to us used there as the example.
If you think about Elijah, he he knew that he had the will of God.
When he prayed for the famine, and it says that he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Now we don't read about that earnest prayer that he prayed that it might not rain. But we do read where he prayed that it would rain again. And when he prayed, then we read how he was down on his knees with his head to the ground and earnest prayer. And he sends the servant. He says, go look and the servant goes and looks and well, I don't see anything. He says go look a second time. This goes on till the 7th time. And finally he says, well, I see a little cloud that size of a man's hand.
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Just that little cloud was enough and he knew that God was going to answer his prayer. And we see Abraham where he interceded with God down to if there were 10 righteous souls in Sodom. And so I think these are are examples like the Lord too, where he prayed all night before choosing his disciples, and also in the Garden of Gethsemane and the agony where he sweated it were great drops of blood.
I think we see in that that if we do know that, it's God's will.
Whether we're praying for a loved one that's not saved. Whether we're praying for somebody who has missed the path and and we we can know that we can pray intelligently that there should be that earnest prayer and God will reward it. We may not see the answer right away. It's been pointed out that Abraham may have died believing that Lot had perished or not knowing whether Lot had perished or not in the flames of Sodom and Gomorrah because he left off talking to God when they were at can righteous souls and God left off speaking to him and then the next thing you know Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed. And we don't read that Abraham and lots of paths ever crossed after that.
And so perhaps they never met again in this life. And yet Abraham gets to the glory, and there you'll see the fruit of his prayers in being answered. Remember a story about a mother who was praying? I think there's a track written about this for her son who is had gone away from the Lord, rejected the scriptures, the gospel, and he'd been out on a ship and a wave had come and watched him overboard.
And the mother was at home. And one day one of the sailors, a comrade of this man, came to tell her of the death of her son. And he knocked on the door, and he said, And he told her what had happened. She said, well, tell me something. You knew him? Had he accepted the Lord before he died? She said. Well, he said, Well, he went over the rail, cursing. God, she said. Well, then he got saved beneath the wave. Well, the way the story ended was his son had not died but had washed up on the beach.
Come to a cottage of a Christian man who had led him to the Lord. One day that man was able to come home and see his mother, who thought he was dead, and her faith was answered. So I think it's important to emphasize that side of it, too, that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, and that we shouldn't be haphazard in our prayer if we want to see souls saved, if we want to see our assemblies strengthen, we can look at the problems in the meeting where we're at, and we can either be a part of the problem or we can be a part of the solution.
And I believe being a part of the solution comes when we begin in earnest prayer for the Lord to come in and meet the need and he will.
In Isaiah 64 there's a nice verse that relates to that.
I've often enjoyed it's verse 7, Isaiah 64 and 7.
Says There is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. For thou hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because of our iniquities.
Just that expression. There is none that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. In what way can we take hold of the Lord? It's through His precious word, and they're just thinking. And I'd like to give a verse that the Lord has encouraged me as a parent to other parents here in connection with our children in Matthew chapter 18 that we can use to lay hold on the Lord for our children.
Matthew chapter 18 and verse.
The Lord Jesus is Speaking of the little ones. And he says in verse 12, How think ye if a man have 100 sheep, and one of them be gone astray, that they not leave the 90 and 9 And goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which has gone astray, that so be that he find it. Verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the 90 And 9 went not astray.
Verse 14 Now Even so, it is not the will of your father.
Which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish? There's a very definite pronouncement on what the will of the Lord is, Brethren, We as parents have to confess we fail, and that's why failure comes in with our children too. And we have to admit that if they're going to receive the Lord's blessing, it's not going to be on the ground of our faithfulness.
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Not to excuse our unfaithfulness, but it's got to be on the ground of His sovereign grace, not on the ground of our faithfulness. And so there's a very definite word that we can go to the Lord. We can say in effect, Lord, it's not my word, it's not my thought. It's your thought here. It says it right here in the word, and I'm here. And in that sense we lay hold of Him.
For those little ones that can be applied in many other areas too. And we have definite verses from the word of God as to what His will is in our lives.
Nice to see, as we've been considering the fruit as a result of abiding in himself and His word and praying. Well now there's joy too, and it's lovely to see that, but it comes in with love 1St and it's remembering how much we're loved.
As the Father loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. I believe that word continue would be the same as abide again the same thought abide. It's living in the good of it always. And then he says, if you keep my words, my commandment, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abiding His love. And now there's another resolve. The 1St is, of course fruit, which is?
Outward and it's observing much.
Father, and delightful to our Father, but he's always so faithful to us, and there's joy that we have. And I think it's so beautiful to see that my joy might remain in you and your joy might be full. This is the result of it, a result of dependence and obedience and prayer. Well, fruit is wonderful. But, brethren, what about that joy, that joy that the world knows nothing about and can't know? It's something that's very precious.
What is his joy? His joy is obedience doing His Father's will. Rather simple, but that's it. We get it so nicely, do we Not in Hebrews 12, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame He had joy in that he had a sense that he knew he was doing the Father's will. Isn't that lovely? Even so, Father, not my will, but thy will be done.
And brethren, there's a special joy that comes. It's nice if there's fruit that's grace, but I like the love that brings in that joy that you can have no matter what the circumstance that will result in fruit also.
Notice in the 14th chapter, verse 15, the Lord says if he loved me, keep my commandments.
So the proof of love is obedience. If you love me, keep my commandments. Little child will come to his mommy or daddy and say I love you. But they're not obedient. That is not the way to demonstrate love.
The way to demonstrate it is in obedience. And notice chapter 15, verse 10 is, you might say, the reciprocal way of saying that He says, if he keep my commandments, if you are obedient, ye shall abide in my love. If you love Me keep my commandments, and if you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love His path.
Was a path of subjection and obedience to the Father.
In every step he took he never from the point in time when he became a man, he never got out of the place of subjection. So he was always, always, always abiding in the Father's love, demonstrating His love for the Father.
By obedience the 14th chapter, verse 31. But that the world may know that I love the Father. He wants the world to know that he loved the Father. As the Father gave me commandment, Even so I do. That is his obedience to the Father's word, His commandment. His will was proven by his pathway. His love for the Father was proven by his pathway of obedience.
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And so it is with us. If you keep my commandments, you should abide in my love.
Trust and obey. Bob was just telling us, going on to the next verse, Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. So obedience results in abiding in His love and in having his joy fulfilled in US.
Would you say that the spring of desire in our hearts is really that love, The love of God shed a broad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost? And this is what gives us the spring of desire to be obedient. If someone came along and said, Thou shalt be obedient, that gets back to the Lord as that this too, and thou shalt live. But when I look at the wonderful work of Calvary, and I see the one that died for me on the cross, and I hear these words of love, as a Father hath loved me so, if I loved you.
This should be the spring of desire. It's the it's the wind up in my heart that gives me to for my feet to follow in obedience. Wouldn't you say that, Brandon? And sometimes we get the cart before the horse. We try to put what we do, what we've done, or what we're trying to do as as a measure of response or obedience. But really the spring of our desires all comes from His love to us, and it says we love him because.
He first loved us. That's where it starts with it. The law commands obedience to the first man who does not have the divine nature. So it forbids the very things that the old nature desires. And so it's a it's a *******. But the command of Christ is addressed to to the new nature, to the new man, and it delights to run in the way of his commandments. So it's a law of liberty and blessing.
The Lord Jesus never obeyed out of compulsion. He didn't obey, as we often do. Well, I don't like it.
But I'll do it because you told me to. Oftentimes we hear that from our children. That's not the way the Lord obeyed. We're sanctified to the obedience of Christ. His obedience was I delight to do thy will, oh God, I delight to do thy will. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. That was his delight. No having to resist a nature that was contrary to it, We have to deal with that.
But he never had that nature, and it was his delight to do it. So if we hold the old nature in the place of death, and nurture the new, and live in communion, we will delight as he did in His blessed will. The whole spring is on love, isn't it? It's really that I was thinking in Deuteronomy 7 when the Lord was reminding them now of His love. He said, Thou art the holy people under the Lord thy God.
The Lord thy God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth. What was the basis of it? Because the Lord loved you. That's lovely, isn't it? It's no other divine love. There was no other reason that they were His people. Earthly, there's no other reason where his people heavenly. It's that spring and it's that source. And then you know the very last thing he said to them in Malachi.
Renders your heart when he realized he had to say it. I have loved you, says the Lord. He had to say it. He had to say it. And they they questioned it. They questioned it. And you know, brethren, that's the only springboard for us to be fruitful and happy and joyful is to be occupied with how much he loves us. You know, that was the that was the fault of the Ephesians. They left that first love. They didn't lose it. You can't lose it.
You can leave it. You can forget it. You could be cold about it. But, brethren, we got to get back to that. We love because he first loved us. That's the source of everything. It's good to remember always that his love is unconditional. He loves because he is love. He loves the Sinner. It's like a love that's in the heart of God, that is toward us, toward the center, not because of anything in him.
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God commandeth his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Let's all remember this, brethren. God loves us because he is love, but our enjoyment of that depends upon obedience. We see this in a practical way, often in a family. I'm sure everyone has heard a child that's rebellious say, oh, my dad loves my brother better than he loves me, But why does that child not enjoy his father's love? Play his father's heart's yearning over him? He feels terrible that the boy feels that way.
But if that child would be more submissive and obedient, he would just experience something of the laws that was there. He wouldn't bring a love into his father's heart. It was there all the time. And so that's, I believe, what we have in these two verses, Brethren. First of all, the unconditional love. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. There's no if in that verse. It's just because God is love. But now there is an infant, the next verse. If you keep my commandments, he shall abide in my love.
And if there's anything allowed in your life or mine that is not according to the mind and will of God, it's going to hinder our enjoyment of His love. But I like that little hymn that we sometimes sing. Still sweet is to discover if clouds have dimmed by sight. When past eternal lover toward me as heir, thou art bright. Let's get that firmly in our souls that love is unconditional, always given.
In the times when it was perhaps least deserved, but because God is love. But let's learn more of walking in the past that is according to his words and will abide in his love. And that was our brethren have been saying the pathway of the Lord Jesus. He always walked in the consciousness of His Father's love because he always walked in a way that was pleasing to him. And that's the pattern that he's left for us. And since we have his life.
Since we have the Holy Spirit, we have the power to walk in the enjoyment of that here.
Let's just turn to him and say, Lord, give me grace to walk in that path that's marked out and it'll be a happy and blessing path. Could we sing the last two verses of 142?