Anything in My Name – Part 1

John 14:12-14 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Ask anything in My name, I will do it? What does that actually mean? Are there any qualifiers, implications or boundaries? IS there a catch? Are there strings attached? Jesus did say in Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Pastor Kyle continued in our church’s Sunday sermon series through the gospel of John, stating that the Lord Jesus knew that He was in His last day before His crucifixion. He asked, if we knew it was our last day on earth, what would unload in our worldly knowledge, wisdom and possessions for others?  The source and means to receiving are the three words: “in My name”. Faith is the key that opens the door to Heaven.

Ephesians 2:4-8 “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” 

We receive the gift of God by faith. It is not intellectual assent based on knowledge, nor is it merely believing in God or prayer. Saving faith is trusting Christ for our salvation and eternal life; to save you from your sins and save you eternally by resting upon Christ alone to get you into heaven.  John 1:9-13 explains, “That [Jesus] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Once saved, faith is the key that unlocks the power of God in our life. A faith that God is moving in our the lives of Believers. The body of Believers, with Christ as the head, makes up His church. We (the Christian church) will do more because Jesus only had three years of ministry in His earthly visitation and the church has centuries of ministry in His name. Most faith is “everyday faith” and not far-reaching. But, keep showing up, believing and acting by faith and we shall grow and mature as Christians because faith is a spiritual muscle that gets stronger with use and experience, doing the works that the Lord did. The more that we grow in relationship with God, the more we get to know His heart and faith is an invitation for a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father. As we grow in knowing God’s heart, we gain a better understanding of His Will.

Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message on “receiving in Christ’s name” in the next post.

In Christ, Brian