Let us turn to God's Word in
that portion that we were considering this morning in the Gospel according
to St. John chapter 14. I'll read again
the passage from verse 12 through to 14. John 14, reading from
verse 12. 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 anything in my
name, I will do it. The text opens of course with
that double verily, truly, truly we might render it. And how significant when the
Lord prefixes any of his teaching in such a fashion. He is that
one who himself is the truth. As we see previously at verse
6, I am the way, the truth, he says, and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. He is the Amen. And that is the
literal meaning, of course, of this word verily. It opens Amen. Amen. And Christ is the Amen. The faithful
and the true witness. And so there's that sense in
which he doesn't need to prefix any of his teachings in such
a fashion. It simply emphasizes to us the
significance of the truth that is being declared in these particular
verses. Well, we looked more particularly
this morning at verse 12, And I want us now to move on
to consider the content of verses 13 and 14, where he speaks of
prayer. He says, 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 anything in my
name, I will do it. And I want to really speak on
the subject of prayer as the greatest work. Prayer as the
greatest work. We thought this morning in that
twelfth verse of the great work, and then the greater work. He
that believeth on me, Christ says the works that I do, shall
he do also. And I said then that that
work that he is speaking of is the mighty works, the miracles,
the great deeds that Christ performed. and those miracles that were
the authentication of his ministry and how the apostles also would
have power to perform such works when he sends forth the twelve
to preach the gospel he also gives them power to perform miracles. Those were the great works and
we said also that when he goes on to speak of them doing greater
works and greater he says than these shall he do because I go
unto the father and I said then that that greater work is the
work of grace the salvation that comes into the souls of sinners
that's the great message that the apostles were to preach As
we see in the Acts of the Apostles, and as we see in the Epistles
that follow, as they went everywhere preaching the Word of Truth,
so there were those who were saved by the grace of God, thousands,
3,000 on the day of Pentecost. And then just a few days later,
another 5,000 men owned And so there were multitudes of men
and women being wrought upon by the Holy Ghost. And Christ,
remember there at verse 12, speaks of those greater works, in association with Himself,
who having finished His work, has now returned to the Father.
Greater than thee shall He do, because I go unto my Father. Always because Christ has finished
the work of salvation, risen from the dead, ascended on high,
entered heaven itself, shed abroad the Holy Ghost, that these greater
things should be accomplished. But then he goes on to speak
of prayer in verses 13 and 14. And as I said, I want us to consider
this as the greatest work of all. Remember the words that
we have in Isaiah 45 11 when God says to his people concerning
the work of my hands command ye my. What a work is this that
we in our prayers should come and command God concerning all
of his works. And so the Lord here speaks of
how whatever they ask He says He will do. And there's a repetition. In verse 13 He says, Whatsoever
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do. And then He says much
the same again in verse 14, If ye shall ask anything in my name,
I will do it. There's repetition. And the repetition
is not without some significance. Why is there repetition? Because
we are fools. and we're slow of heart to believe
all that is written here by the Prophet. Slow of heart to believe
all that God has said and promised in His Word. And so it needs
to be repeated to us. And we have to confess that fact.
It must be with us, precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.
Oh, we're such dull scholars. in the school of the Lord Jesus
Christ, but what a teacher is Christ himself. And so, let us
turn to consider this greatest of works. 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 anything in my
name, I will do it, says Christ. Dividing the subject into two
parts, first of all, I want to say something with regards to
what I'm going to term the limitations of prayer. The limitations of
prayer. And then in the second place,
in contrast, the largeness of prayer. First of all, I use the
word limitation. What do I mean? Well, in a sense,
we have to acknowledge that there is no limitations with regards
to our prayers. It says, whatsoever ye shall
ask. And then again it says, ask anything. And these are indefinite pronouns,
aren't they? There's nothing very specific
here, whatsoever. Anything. There's no restriction
there, no limitation. But then we have to observe how
that these pronouns are each of them linked to Christ. It's in my name. Whatsoever is asked in my name. And he says again, ask anything
in my name. So here is the limitation. Here
is the limitation. It must be in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. So in all our prayers we have
to come and we have to invoke that name of Christ. That is
the only way we can ever pray. He says, as I've already intimated
previously at verse 6, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. There is no other way of access. There is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So is that really
prayer when that name which is above every name is not being
invoked by the person who is praying? No, I'm not... saying that we necessarily have
to always utter that expression for the sake of Jesus Christ.
I think it is good and wise and proper that we should do that,
certainly in public prayer. But surely
when we come to pray, even in the secret place, maybe when
we're lying on our beds in the midst of the night and there
are those things upon our minds, and we're trying to pour out
our souls to our God, we might not be always saying, for the
sake of Christ. But that's the spirit in which
we're praying. We always recognize that there
is no other way, no other mediator. except that man who is the great
high priest of our profession. And so, there is this limitation
then. Although we have these indefinite
pronouns being used whatsoever, in the one case and anything in
the other case, yet it's always that we come through the Lord
Jesus. but then also Christ's interests
Christ's interests are also to be paramount in our prayers that
is to be our principal concern His name and all that that name
declares the honour of that name the glory of that name or remember
how James says you have not because you ask not and then you ask amiss or you
ask and you receive not because you ask amiss that you might
consume it upon your lusts we're not to ask for those things that
will simply satisfy ourselves we're to make our needs known
we're to order our cause before God's mercy seat but the principal
concern that we should have is Christ And doesn't the Lord remind
us of that in that pattern prayer that we read? We looked at it
only last year on Thursdays. I think it was when we were having
zoomed prayer meetings. And we went through those petitions
and we remarked then of the order of the petitions. Now that what
stands in the first place are those requests that concern God. His name, hallowed be thy name. His kingdom, thy kingdom come. His will, thy will be done in
earth as it is in heaven. And then we're to move on to
those petitions that concern ourselves, our daily bread, the
forgiveness of our sins, the preservation of us so that we
don't wander into the paths of temptation and so forth. There
is instruction, surely, in what the Lord is saying there. The
end, the aim of our prayers are important, and they must be right.
And we don't only have the teaching of the Lord Jesus. We read that
passage in Luke 11, where the disciples come and ask Him, teach
us how to pray, and He responds, and He is teaching them there.
But He doesn't just teach them, does He? He doesn't just teach
them by word of mouth, he teaches them by example, by the way in
which he conducts himself. And those favored disciples who
were with him there in the garden of Gethsemane, when he was pouring
out his soul unto his father in prayer, how did he pray? Oh,
he says to the father concerning that awful death that was before
him. And remember that he was well
aware as to what was going to happen. He had set his face to
go to Jerusalem because he knew that the time had come. He had
been speaking to the disciples how there he would be taken,
crucified and slain. And there he's wrestling with
God in his prayers, and what does he say? If thou be willing,
take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. Oh, he doesn't just tell the
disciples, how thou to pray, and to say, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven, but he prays
in that very fashion himself. He prays that God's will should
be done. And that really, surely is to
be the burden of our prayers. That limits our prayers in a
certain sense. The Lord says, Whatsoever ye
shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my
name, I will do it. But the Lord's will, when we
think of Him in the state of His humiliation, when we think
of Him as the great mediator of the covenant, how His will,
when He's manifest in the flesh, is always subject to the will
of the Father. That is the burden of all His
prayers, and that must be the burden of all our prayers, Thy
will. Thy will be done. Now, One might then say, well, what's
the point, what's the purpose of prayer? If God's will is paramount,
and if God's will is sovereign, and we are told that that is
the case quite clearly, in heaven and in earth, he doeth according
to his will among the armies of heaven, and the inhabitants
of the earth, none can stay his hand or say to him, what doest
thou? The psalmist says that God is
in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he pleased. Now, if
all of that is true, and God's will is paramount, and God's
will is a sovereign will, what is the point of prayer? What
is the use of prayer if God is going to do his will in any case?
Well, the answer to that question is that God has not only appointed
the end, but He has also ordained the means whereby He's going
to accomplish that end. And what is the means that God
has ordained? It's prayer. He says, I will
yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it
for them. He will do it. He will do it
for them. But how is he going to do it?
I will be inquired of. Now, those words, as you know,
appear at the end of Ezekiel 36 So, they're associated with
the Babylonian captivity. That's the period when Ezekiel
is ministering. And in the next chapter, chapter
37, we have the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, which represents
Israel languishing in captivity. They're compared there to that
valley that is full of bones and they're very They're very
dry, they're very dead. What hope is there? Well, God is going to restore
them. And in the vision, of course,
there's that prophesying and praying to the four winds, and
the bones come together, then they're covered in sinews and
flesh, and then breath comes into them. And they stand as
a great army to representation of how God is going to restore
Israel out of captivity. And how did God do it? He did
it by prayer. And we read the prayer of Daniel,
that remarkable prayer of Daniel. And why was it that Daniel prayed
as he did? Well he tells us there, in that
9th chapter, in the first year of the reign of Darius. He says,
I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years whereof
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he
would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
What is he reading? He's reading Jeremiah the prophet.
He's reading the words that we have there in Jeremiah 25, verse
12, and probably also words that we find later in chapter 29,
verse 10. and he's reading these words
of the prophecy that was given to God, or given by God, I should
say, to Jeremiah, and he's praying over the Word of God. He understood
that God was going to accompany 70 years in the desolations of
Jerusalem, and he says, and I set my face unto the Lord God, to
seek my prayer and supplications and fasting and sackcloth and
ashes and I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession. He is moved to prayer. He is
moved to prayer and that's how God works, is it not? He moves
his people to pray. and as his people pray God is
going to accomplish his ends all that the Lord would grant
to us such a burden of prayer all that I might know a burden
of prayer doesn't one so many times have to confess those days
which are really prayerless days prayerless days the days come
the days go we're busy we're occupied about many things we
don't plead as we ought with God but Daniel was so moved to
his prayer, and he didn't pray in vain. Oh, he didn't pray in
vain. He says there at verse 20, whilst
I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the
sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before
the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God, yea, whilst
I was speaking in prayer, Even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen
in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly, swiftly
touched me about the time of the evening oblation. See, it's
while he's speaking in prayer. He hasn't finished speaking in
prayer. And what does the angel Gabriel say to him? At the beginning
of thy supplication, the commandment came forth, and I am come to
show thee. Why, as soon as he began to pray, before ever he'd
really uttered his prayer, the commandment came from God, sending
the angel to tell him that he was not praying in vain. Before they call, I will answer. While they are yet speaking,
I will hear, God says. For he does not say to the seed
of Jacob, Seek him, I face, in vain. This is a great work, is
it not? to pray. It is the greatest work
we could ever know whilst we're living on the face of the earth.
Again I remind you of those words Isaiah 45,11 God says concerning
the work of my hands command ye me. In Christ you see we can
come and we can know that boldness and that access with confidence
that is by the faith of Jesus Christ. Well, that's not presumption,
that's scripture. If we're praying the rites, if
we're invoking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we are
concerned primarily for the honor and the glory of his name, then
we'll know that boldness. So there are limitations in a
sense. Maybe limitations is not the
right word, but It's quite clear here that our prayers must always
be in and through Christ. It's in my name. And he says
it twice, in verse 11, again in verse... Sorry, he says it
first of all in verse 13, and again in verse 14. In my name. And so, let's turn in the second
place. and look more particularly at
the largeness, the largeness of prayer, and that really is
what stands forth so clearly and so plainly in these verses. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my
name, I will do it. Or David says in the Psalm, the
Lord answered me and set me in a large place. Is it not wonderful
when the Lord enlarges our hearts in prayer? O Lord enlarge, ask
antithought, to know the wonders thou hast wrought. We are to
recognize that God is the one who is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think. John Newton says, now I'm coming
to a king, large petitions with thee bring, for his grace and
power as such, none can ever ask too much. And the problem
is, we're doubting Christians. We sang that hymn just now, doubting
Christians. We're so straightened in our
own hearts because of the unbelief that's in us. And we forget what
God has said. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, shall he not also with him freely
give us all things? This is the God that we're dealing
with when we come to pray. We should come then with large
prayers, large petitions. We're not to restrict and limit
God by our unbelief. always to recognize how good
and how gracious our God is remember what we said this morning
concerning that expression at the end of verse 12 because I
go unto my father greater works than these shall
he do because I go unto my Father and then he goes on to speak
of prayer. He's going on to the Father of course, he's entering
into another aspect of his priestly office here upon the earth. He
is principally a sacrificing priest. Oh yes, he prays that
great prayer of chapter 17. but here we see him as that one
who has come to make the great sacrifice for sins and then he
enters into the holy place, not made with hands, he enters into
heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Oh,
he has gone to that place. And what is the significance
of going to that place? Well, the Father has vindicated
him, he has risen from the dead he has ascended on high and he has gone there receiving
gifts for men yea for the rebellious also it says and what is that
principal gift? well he gives that greatest of
all gifts even the Holy Spirit himself being by the right hand
of God exalted, having received of the Father the promise of
the Spirit. He has shed forth this which
ye now see and hear, says Peter there at Pentecost. And remember how in this chapter
and in the chapters that follow he is so much speaking of the
coming of the Holy Spirit. What does He say here at verse
16? I will pray the Father, and He
shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever,
even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him. For He
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. He speaks of that
gift that's going to bestow, that great gift of the Holy Spirit. what a gift it is and we read
those words also tonight in Luke 11 if ye then being evil know
how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
or can we not ask if Christ gives the Holy Spirit because he has
received of the Spirit from the Father can we not ask that we
might know the Spirit and we need the Spirit well we need
him constantly to come to minister to us remember then the context
here what we were saying this morning concerning that great
work and then that greater work the great work of the apostles
that they also could perform miracles. Just as Christ was
authenticated in his ministry by the miracles that he performed,
so likewise those mighty works authenticated the ministry of
the apostles. And I remind you of those words
in Hebrews 2, verses 3 and 4, how shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first
began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him, God also bearing them witness, for mark
that God bears witness with signs and wonders and with diverse
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will. Or verily, verily, I say unto
you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he
do also. And so it was with those apostles. But then we went on to speak
of greater works. The greater works spoken of at
the end of that twelfth verse. We remarked on the significance
of the word in italics because it's not the translation of any
word that's there in the original, it's one that's been brought
in. In the translation, literally
it says, and greater than these shall he do. Not works of miracles,
but something greater than that. Greater works we might say, greater
things we might say. And what are those greater things?
Well, they're spiritual works. I remind you, they are spiritual
works. They are works associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
They are those inward works of grace that the Spirit will accomplish
in the souls of sinners. Remember the language there in
chapter 7 verse 39, the Holy Ghost was not yet given, it says,
because Jesus was not yet glorified. The Holy Ghost was always there,
He was there in the Old Testament. He's here at creation. The Spirit
of God moving upon the face of the waters. He's here in the
Psalms. Why, all those holy men, those
prophets of the Old Testament, they spake as they were moved
by the Spirit. And there in Psalm 51, what does
David say? Take up thy Holy Spirit from
them. He had sinned so grievously in the matter of Bathsheba and
Uriah, her husband, he was guilty of grossing. and his fear was
God would take the Spirit away. The Spirit was there and yet
there was to be a glorious coming of the Spirit and that was what
occurred on the day of Pentecost when the exalted Christ having
received of the Father that promise shed abroad the Holy Ghost. And again remember how the Lord
is speaking of that here in chapter 16 Verse 7, Nevertheless I tell
you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto
you. And then he speaks of his work.
Reproving the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment. These
are the greater works, you see. These spiritual works will take
place in the souls of many sinners. And as we said this morning,
we have the record there in the Acts, under the preaching of
Peter, how they were struck, how they were pricked to their
very hearts, and they cried out, men and brethren, what shall
we do? Or they fly to works, in a sense. They fly to a covenant
of works, what shall we do? Well, there's nothing to be done. It's done. believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And 3,000. 3,000 were converted on that
day. Then in Acts 4 verse 4, 5,000 men let alone a multitude
of women also. Oh it was multitudes both of
men and of women that were being wrought on by the Holy Spirit. And what is this? It is all the
fruit of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, because I go unto
my Father. He would return to the Father
having done all the will of the Father, having finished the work
that the Father had given Him to do. Returning to Heaven. and there
exalted at God's right hand. Oh, He bestows all that is necessary
for salvation. He gives the Holy Spirit. He
gives repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He's the author. He's the finisher of faith. All salvation clearly, evidently
is of the Lord. This is all the fruit of His
sufferings. And notice here the connection
then between Christ and the accomplishment of his work and then we have
Christ ascending and sending the Spirit bestowing the Holy
Ghost, the coming of him and then we have prayer. That's what
we have in the text is it not? Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name as He has gone to the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession
for all that come to God by Him. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it, He
says. I will do it. And so even when he comes to that gift
of the Holy Spirit remember what we're told at the beginning of
the Acts in the opening chapter of the Acts they all continue
to do an accord it says in prayer and supplication with the women
and Mary the mother of Jesus and his disciples they're already
moved to pray as it were and as they're praying and as they're
pleading with God so the spirit descends because immediately
after what we read at the end of Acts chapter 1 when the day of Pentecost was
fully come They were all with one accord in one place and suddenly
there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and
it filled all the house where they were sitting and there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each
of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began
to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Oh what a remarkable What a remarkable
event it is. Or we can think of the words,
the words of the hymn writer. I did wonder whether we might
sing this hymn tonight, 1073. But again, it's an 8-7 meter. We seem to know very few 8-7
tunes. But I was thinking of that second
verse of 1073. Come thou best of all donations,
God can give or we implore. Having thy sweet consolations,
we on earth can wish no more. What a gift it is that the Lord
Jesus Christ has bestowed. Even the gift of God, the Holy
Spirit, and He comes to us as that Spirit of grace and of supplications. Oh, we know not what to pray
for as we ought, says Paul, but the Spirit helps our infirmities. And He maketh intercession for
us with groanings that cannot be uttered. And we're told, He
that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God. The gift of the Holy Spirit But
here also, as we have the Son, and the Son returning to the Father
and bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit, so we also have
the Father. Lord God is everywhere in the
Bible. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And see what the Lord
says here at the end of verse 13, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. He's at the aim. He's at the
end of all our praying. When Paul writes those words
at the end of Ephesians chapter 3, unto him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. according
to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end what a
doxology and he's speaking of prayer and the God who is able
to do exceeding abundantly even above and beyond anything
that we could ever imagine That's what he says, or we could
ever ask or even think unto him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus. It's the same really as we have
here, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Oh, in that covenant, that covenant
of grace, that economy of salvation, we know how the Father is the
One who sustains all the majesty of the Godhead. And the Son stands
there as that One who comes as the surety of His people, and
because they are partakers of flesh and blood, He partakes
of the same. He's made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. or he can say then
my father is greater than I my father is greater than I he comes
you see on that specific mission we were saying it this morning
and we have those words in 1 Corinthians 15 that great
15th chapter of 1 Corinthians and look at the language that
we have there at verse 24 then cometh the end when he shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
Verse 27, For he hath put all things under his feet. But when
he saith, All things are put under him, it is manifest that
he is accepted, which did put all things under him. And when
all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also
himself be subject unto him, that put all things unto him,
that God may be all in all again." It's the Son you see in his mediatorial
office. That the Father may be glorified
in the Son. Oh, this is the great aim and
object of our prayers. and yet we know that Christ himself
as the eternal son of God is one equal to the father he and
the father are one as we said again earlier today the words
that he speaks to Philip. Verse 8. Philip says to him,
Lord, show us the Father, it suffices us. Jesus saith unto
him, Have I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not
known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And thou sayest so, then show
us the Father. Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? Father, Son and Holy Ghost
have one. And Christ, Christ hears prayers. And Christ answers prayer. He
says here that will I do, I will do it. Or if we're looking to him, if
we're looking to him as that one who is the author and finisher
of faith, you say where can I obtain faith? Christ gives faith. Where
can I find repentance? He's exalted a Prince and a Saviour.
To give repentance we have to ask. It's the greatest work we could
ever do, is it not? To come and to have dealings
with God and to pray to Him and to plead with Him and to ask
gifts of Him. Ask and it shall be given you.
Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
unto you. Then you see in our prayers acknowledging,
confessing our complete and our utter dependence upon God. That's
what prayer is. That's what prayer is, is it
not? In prayer we acknowledge the
greatness of God and we confess all that we are. Weak, helpless,
poor, miserable, vile sinners and yet O in Christ, even such
as that can come where God is. O God, grant that we might know
then that boldness, that access with confidence that is by the
faith of Jesus Christ. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do. That the Father may be glorified
in the Son, if ye shall ask anything in my name, Christ says, I will
do it. Amen.