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The Gospel of John VI - Lesson 6

                   A Message for Troubled Hearts                                 John 14:1-31                                  (Continued)

  1. THE MESSAGE OF COMFORT (John 14:1-14) (Continued)
    1. The Comfort of a Place (John 14:1-3) (Continued)
      1. A place of plenty (John 14:2a)
        1. The Father’s house (Psalm 23:6; Hebrews 11:10, 16; Hebrews 13:14; Revelation 21:10-11, 22-23)
          1. A house of mercy (Psalm 5:7; Psalm 52:8)
          2. A house where God is honored (Psalm 26:8; Psalm 84:4)
          3. A house to be desired (Psalm 27:4)
            1. To behold the beauty of the Lord
            2. To enquire of the Lord
          4. A house of joy and praise (Psalm 42:4; Psalm 116:18-19; Psalm 134:1-3; Psalm 135:1-2)
          5. A house of sweet fellowship (Psalm 55:14)
          6. A house where we will be satisfied (Psalm 65:4; Psalm 84:10)
          7. A house where God’s saints will flourish (Psalm 92:13; Psalm 112:9)
          8. A house of holiness (Psalm 93:5)
        2. The many mansions (Hebrews 12:22-23); compare these mansions to the chambers of the temple (1 Kings 6:5-10; Ezekiel 41:5-7; 1 Chronicles 9:33; Ezra 10:6; Nehemiah 13:4-9; Jeremiah 35:1-4).
        3. The certainty of this promise – “I would have told you.”
      2. A place of perfection (John 14:2b; Ephesians 1:3)
        1. Prepared by Jesus Christ
        2. The purpose of His departure
      3. A place of welcome (John 14:3a; Matthew 11:28-30)
        1. I will come again.
        2. I will receive you.
          1. Those who have received Him (John 1:11-12; Acts 2:41; Colossians 2:6)
          2. Will be received by Him (Romans 15:7)
      4. A place of communion (John 14:3b; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
        1. The place of the Son
        2. Is the place of the saints
    2. The Comfort of a Path (John 14:4-6)
      1. The path declared (John 14:4)
        1. The whither; that is, where He is going
        2. The way; that is, the way to get there
      2. The path concealed (John 14:5; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
        1. Not even the whither
        2. Certainly not the way
        3. The recorded comments of Thomas
          1. A foolish offer to go die with Jesus (John 11:16)
          2. A question of where Christ is going (John 14:5)
          3. A refusal to believe without seeing (John 20:24-25)
          4. A strong statement of faith in the Saviour (John 20:26-29)
      3. The path revealed (John 14:6)
        1. In the person of Jesus Christ – the I AM (Exodus 3:14)
          1. The way (John 1:51; Hebrews 10:19-20)
          2. The truth (Revelation 19:11)
          3. The life (John 11:25; Colossians 3:3-4; 1 John 5:11-12)
        2. As the only way to the Father (Acts 4:12)
    3. The Comfort of a Person (John 14:7-9)
      1. The revelation of His person (John 14:7)
        1. To know the Son is to know the Father.
        2. The way to know the Father is to get to know the Son (John 14:6).
      2. The question concerning His person (John 14:8)
        1. The request of Philip
        2. Show us the Father.
      3. The manifestation of His person (John 14:9; John 1:14, 18)
        1. His time with the disciples
        2. The ignorance of Philip
        3. The Father is seen in the Son.
        4. The Father has already been shown to the disciples.
    4. The Comfort of God’s Power (John 14:10-12)
      1. The power of the Father (John 14:10)
        1. The requirement of faith
          1. That the Son is in the Father
          2. That the Father is in the Son
        2. The source of His words
          1. Spoken by the Son
          2. Originating from the Father
        3. The source of His works
          1. Seen in the Son
          2. Accomplished by the indwelling of the Father
      2. The power of the Son (John 14:11)
        1. Faith in the words of the Son
          1. That He is in the Father
          2. That the Father is in Him
        2. Faith in the works of the Son
      3. The power of the disciples (John 14:12)
        1. By the application of faith
        2. To do the works of the Son
        3. To do greater works than the Son
          1. Greater in variety (Mark 16:17-20)
          2. Greater in volume (Acts 5:12, 16)
          3. Greater in eternal importance (Acts 2:41; Acts 4:4)
          4. Greater in geographical extent (Romans 15:20; 2 Corinthians 10:16)
        4. To do them after the departure of the Son
    5. The Comfort of Our Prayer (John 14:13-14)
      1. The particulars of prayer – “whatsoever ye shall ask” (John 14:13a)
        1. The subject of prayer is not limited (Philippians 4:6).
        2. The scope of God’s power is not limited (Matthew 21:22; John 15:7; Ephesians 3:20; 1 John 3:22; 1 John 5:14-15); this does not mean that there are no qualifications for the answering of prayer. Even the scriptures just listed require faith, praying in Jesus’ name, abiding in Christ, obedience, and praying in the will of the Lord.
      2. The person of prayer – “in my name” (John 14:13b, 14; John 15:16; John 16:23, 24, 26)
        1. The biblical concept of name
          1. Name in scripture represents the very essence of the person.
          2. A person's personality, character, reputation and authority are all wrapped up in his name (Proverbs 22:1; Ecclesiastes 7:1).
        2. The importance of God’s name
          1. God’s name is a declaration of the greatness of His person (Psalm 8:1; Psalm 103:1; Psalm 113:1-3; Psalm 148:13).
          2. Because God’s name is excellent, we are to exalt it in our prayer and in our praise.
            1. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9).
            2. One day every knee shall bow at the feet of Jesus (Romans 14:11). “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).  His exalted name brings worship and praise.
        3. Acting in the name of another
          1. First , you come by the authority of the other person.
            1. You are not coming in your own authority but because someone else authorized you to take these actions.
            2. When David fought Goliath, he came unto him "in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied" (1 Samuel 17:45).
          2. Second , when you come in someone’s name, you come in his stead.
            1. The person to whom you come is expected to react to you, not on the basis of who you are, but as if the person who sent you was there himself.  They are to treat you as they would treat the one who authorized you to come.
            2. When David sent servants to Nabal to ask for food,  "they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David" (1 Samuel 25:9).  Therefore, when Nabal insulted David's servants (who came in David's name), he insulted David just as directly as if he had spoken to him to his face.
        4. Application to praying in the name of Jesus
          1. First , it means that when we come to the Father, we come because Jesus sent us.
            1. We are sent to Him by His own Son.
            2. We walk into the throne of grace in boldness (Hebrews 4:16).
          2. Second , the Father is obligated to treat us as He would His own Son because we come in His stead.
            1. We represent the Son when we come to the Father.
            2. We are accepted in the beloved.  Since Christ is the beloved Son, that means that the Father accepts us as He would His own Son (Ephesians 1:5-6).
            3. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ.  We share in the same inheritance (Romans 8:17).
        5. Conclusion: You see the benefit of coming to the Father in the Son’s name.  However, is this just referring to adding a phrase to the end of our prayers?  No!  It is much more than that.  It means that you come to the Father with the knowledge that your only right in approaching Him is that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that He Himself has sent you to the Father.  It means that you know that you are totally unworthy of receiving anything from God and that the only reason God should grant your requests is that you come in Jesus’ name.  It is not a magic formula, but a heart attitude.
      3. The purpose of prayer – “the Father…glorified” (John 14:13c)
        1. The Father to be glorified
        2. The Son to be the instrument (John 13:31; Romans 8:31-32)
      4. The product of prayer – “I will do it” (John 14:14).
David Reagan

Daily Proverb

Proverbs 28:2

For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.