KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:14 KJV “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

Bishop David Oyedepo said Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said. We must learn to take Him at His word. In verse 13 of John 14, He says whosoever shall ask anything in His name, He will do it. In the next verse He repeats that word and says ‘if’ you shall ask anything in His name He will do it. If is a condition that depends on you, choosing to ask, or not to ask. This statement means you are bound to have Him, responding to your demand, so long as you ask.

The Lord assures all His Children to ask. He says if we would make a demand for anything, He would honour it. This is an assurance to believe when you ask. It also assures us not to limit ourselves in any way we desire. Nothing is too big for Jesus to do for us. Receiving answers has two parts. These are

1. Speaking forth the word, or asking the condition to change.

2. Believing in your heart that God has answered and that you have the answer

This principle is seen in Rom 10: 10 ” For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, and Mar 11:24 KJV” Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”.

A lady went to Archbishop Benson Idahosa, with a divorce document from her husband. The man of God said, your husband is coming tomorrow. The woman wondered; how will this be? To her amazement, the man came back, pleading with the wife that he knew not what came upon him. How did the man of God do it? He operated according to John 14:14. When he said the husband was coming the next day, he believed that what Jesus said is truth, and that Jesus had responded positively to his word. Let nothing be too big, to get answers and miracles from Jesus. Believe in your heart that He heard and answered you, when you prayed.

THOUGHT: JESUS CANNOT LIE

FURTHER STUDIES

Heb 6:18 KJV “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”

Num 23:19 KJV God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

KEY SCRIPTURE: Joh 14:13 KJV” And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

We have encountered the Lord Jesus talked about prayer on many occasions. In all those times, He asked us to ask the Father in His name, and the Father would answer us. An example is John 16:23 KJV “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” He said in this verse that we will not ask Him, but ask the Father in His name, and the Father will answer. He repeated this same statement in John 15:16, 16:24, and 16:26. This verse explains how we approach the Father to bring our requests.

In John 14:13, the word ‘ ask’ means to demand that a condition changes in Jesus’ name. This time it is not a request unto the Father, but you are asking or demanding a situation to change. An example is what the Lord said in Mark 11:23. He said: “whosoever shall say to the mountain be removed, and be cast into the sea, and doubts not in his heart, but believes that whatever he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he says”.  The child of God is not making a request here, but asking a condition to change. This is done in the name of Jesus. The Lord Jesus said, in that situation He would honour that prayer, to bring glory to the Father.

When apostles Peter and John, met the crippled man, at the entrance of the temple in Acts 3. The Bible said Peter said to the man, after he asked for arms, saying, ” Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” The man who was a born cripple, walked that very day. Peter did not ask the Father in Jesus’ name; he rather commanded the situation to change in Jesus’ name. It is at such moments that the Lord says if any of the children of God would command, demand, or ask in His name, then He would surely show up to honour that act of faith. In such moments, the child of God need not consider how serious or big the condition might be. All he needs to know is, Jesus is with Him, and He would do it, to bring glory to the Father.

Dear child of God, do not complain about the problems, or mountains, speak to the situations, telling them what you expect to happen to them, and Jesus, who is ever with you would cause what you said to come to pass.

THOUGHT: JESUS WAITS FOR YOUR COMMAND TO THE CONDITION, SO HE WOULD ACT.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 9:34 KJV” And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.”

Mark 16:20 KJV “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:10 KJV “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Great leaders leave behind them strong legacies. This is seen in the exploits of his or her followers. The Lord anticipated men and women who came after Him, to make a great impact after He has left the scene. He said those who would believe in Him, would do greater works than He had done. The Lord was very much concerned about the effective continuity of what He had initiated. He was looking forth to them doing far better than He had done. The Lord performed outstanding miracles of healing, feeding multitudes, walking on water raising, and many more.

What does it take to do this greater work than the Master Himself? The Lord said, those who believe in Him, are those who would do this greater works. ‘Believing ‘in this context means accepting everything about Him. It means to cast your life on His word. Jesus once taught that a servant is not greater than his master. This means to experience what your master had, you must take the path of your master and approach your task with the altitude like the master. You must be ready to endure some of the challenges he went through. The assurance in this word is that, His spirit will cause you to see the greater impact and mightier works. The basis to do greater works lies in having that submissive heart to follow the way the master went.

A look at the life of Elisha who took over from Elijah reveals one who did almost double of what his master did. As said above Elisha was very submissive to the will of God in going the way of his master went. The results of the works are a product of the Holy Spirit. It is the desire and the will of God to make the later days or later works, exceed the former. Isaiah 43:19 KJV Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. It is the desire and mandate of God to always do new and greater works in comparing with what He had done earlier.

There is no need for any servant to feel he is anything bigger than his master, if he should discover, the results he is having are far greater than his former master. These things show the word of God is prevailing and being fulfilled.

THOUGHT: TO SEE GREATER WORKS, BELIEVE IN THE MASTER, GO HIS WAY, AND THE RESULTS WILL PROCEED FROM THE SPIRIT

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 10:24 KJV” The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.”

John 6:29 KJV” Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Joh 14:10 KJV” Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

We continue with Jesus’ answers to His disciples, concerning His relationship with the Father. We have learnt in our previous discussions that, our Lord Jesus is God, yet for the purpose of coming to give His life for the salvation of all men, He had to lay down His glory as God., and took on the nature of men. This was the only legal grounds for His sacrifice for all men, to be acceptable. If men sinned, then a man must die for them. Phi 2:6, 7 KJV” Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”

At the end of His ministry, He asked the Father to give Him back the glory He had with Him, from the beginning of the world. John 17:5 KJV” And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (Note: He asked the Father to glorify Him with Himself. This fully shows He is God) Phil 2:5 and 6, explain why the Lord in some cases talked as if He was inferior to the Father. He did so because He had laid down His glory as God, which He asked the Father to honour Him with after He had come to the close of His work on earth.

Now, Jesus said, the Father in Him was the one leading Him, and speaking through Him. We know that God the Father is always on His throne in Heaven. Do you remember that, on the day of his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Him, in the form of a dove? All that the Lord did, was through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The secret of the Lord’s success was through the Holy Spirit. The Christian also has the same Holy Spirit at work in us. The Lord never acted or did anything on earth in His capacity as God. Everything He did was through the ability of the Holy Spirit. He said the words that I speak, I do not speak them from my mind, but the Father who lives in me. He considered the Holy Spirit as the Father in Him. He treated Him with the Highest reverence. It is possible for children of God to walk like Jesus walked. It begins by knowing and accepting that the Holy Spirit in you is the Father, and must reverence Him greatly and above everything.

THOUGHT 1: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FATHER IN YOU, YIELD TOTALLY TO HIM IN AWE OF HIS PRESENCE

THOUGHT 2:  IF GOD IS IN YOU WHAT CAN OVERCOME YOU?

FURTHER STUDIES

John 14:16,17 KJV” And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 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.”

John 16:13 KJV” Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Joh 14:9 KJV “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 how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

We continue with the deity of Jesus. The Lord Jesus kept explaining this very thing to His disciples that, anyone who sees Him, has seen the Father. It is very important to know and believe that Jesus and the Father are one. You can only be saved if you believe that Jesus is God, for it is only this highest divine blood that can wash away your sins.

Apostle John introduces His epistle by saying,” In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. It said   in the verse 14 that, this same word took on flesh and came through a virgin, and was born into this life. Jesus existed in eternity as the word of God. He was not created, or born as men give birth to their children.

Only God the Father could say He is the alpha and omega, that is the beginning and the end. Listen to the Lord Jesus speak in Rev. 1:8; He said, ” I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Please consider some of the words He used in this verse; He said He is, He was and He is the one to come again. Consider the last word, the almighty.  Please who is the almighty? God the Father of cause. If Jesus says, He is almighty, then He is God.

When apostle Paul was bringing his letter to the Corinthians to a close, He said in 2Co 13:14    as follows ” The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” In this scripture we see, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit playing various roles in the stability of the children of God. The scripture clearly said, the grace of our Lord Jesus, yet some people would never accept that, it is the grace of Jesus, rather they claim it is the grace of Jehovah. Well Jesus is still Jehovah. Jesus’ name means Jehovah is Saviour.

We also consider one verse that reveal our Lord Jesus as the great God. Titus 2:13 KJV” Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” We know our Lord Jesus is going to appear in the clouds and the scripture identify Him as the great God and our Saviour. Glory be to God.

THOUGHT: ACCEPTING JESUS AS GOD, IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUR SALVATION

FURTHER STUDIES

Joh 10:30 KJV “I and my Father are one.”

Joh 10:33 KJV “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:7 KJV” If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

May we be reminded that we are still taking a walk with Jesus through the gospels. We are presently considering the gospel of John. In the gospel of John, he presented Jesus as the Son of God. The gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as the king, whiles Mark presents Him as the servant and Luke shows Him as the Son of man. When Luke  referred  to Him  as the  Son of man it simply means He is of the human kind not just because He was born by a woman. When He is also called Son of God, it also means He is divine. In today’s study the Lord said if you see Him, then you have seen the Father.

What did the Lord mean by the statement, if you see Him then you have seen the Father? Did He mean that He is the same as the Father? The scriptures show that God is three persons in one God. This is what the early fathers called the Trinity God is one, yet He has revealed Himself as three distinct persons, that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matt 28:19 KJV “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”: The scripture did not say in the names, but in the name that is singular. We see the trinity in the following verses: 1 Corinth 12:5,6,7. Eph 4: 4,5,6., 1 Pet 1:2.

In Isaiah 9:6 KJV reads, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Consider the names of the Lord in the above verse. He is called, Wonderful, Counsellor, who is predominantly known as the Holy Spirit. He is also called the mighty God and the everlasting Father. These scriptures show that Jesus is God, and one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, if you have seen the Lord Jesus then you have seen the Father.

THOUGHT: JESUS IS NOT LESS IN RANK THAN THE FATHER, HE IS ONE WITH HIM.

FURTHER STUDIES

1Peter 1:2 KJV “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

1Tim 3:16 WEB” Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:  God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:6 KJV “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Someone said, “you Christians claim Jesus is the only way”. The truth is we did not say that, it was Jesus Himself who made that statement. We only repeat what He said. No one beside Jesus ever said so and proved it. None of the religious leaders with a sizable following said so. Only Jesus made that claim. Just consider another strong unambiguous statement He made about Himself. John 10:9 KJV” I am the door: by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” He did not mince any word in this statement. He says He Himself is the door to salvation.

How audacious could one be in making such uncompromising statements. Please note this, these are not claims, that we are making about Him. He said He is the way. He is the truth and finally He is the life. Among all that He said is the fact that He is the truth. Now to you who has not surrendered your life to follow Him, what do you make of the fact that He said, He is the truth, meaning He does not lie?

Who is a liar? Every liar has three characteristics that clearly portrays them.

1. A liar says he has something yet he does not have it.

2. He says he can do a thing which in reality he cannot do it

3. He has done a thing yet he has not done it

All these cannot be said about our Lord Jesus. He said He has life and indeed all who believe in Him have experienced this life. He said He can save anyone who believes in Him, and true to His word, any man who believed in Him has been saved from sin, , and satanic harassment. Lastly whatever He claimed He’s done, indeed he did it. He claimed He bore our sins on the cross, and indeed, He carried away our sins and sicknesses, He did take away the sin of the world. The certainty of His claims is the fact that everything He said has been proved in His life.

Now, what are you going to do with Jesus? Would continue arguing against Him, and remain in your sins, or you would humble yourself to Him and joyfully taste of His goodness and power to save, heal, lift and bless. All He has promised can only be received through humbling yourself to Him.

THOUGHT: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO FIGHT TRUTH, JUST BOW TO IT AND BE SET FREE

FURTHER STUDIES

Joh 8:32 KJV” And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

2Thess 2:10, 11KJV” And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:4 KJV” And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”

The Lord after speaking of His mission to heaven and back, said His disciples know the place where He was going, as well as the way to this place. These men have lived all their lifetime on the earth, yet the Lord said they know the place. What did He mean. Jesus’ life in totality was a manifestation of the kingdom of heaven on earth. He demonstrated to them the life in the heavenly kingdom. Jesus led a life that was in charge of all situations, with no problem that could not be put right. He consistently led his life to please the Father. He brought the heavenly atmosphere to them. In a way, these men had had a foretaste of life in heaven through their encounter with the Lord Jesus.  Jesus was right when He said you know the place.

He also said, you know the way to this place. What was the way to heaven? Jesus Himself is the way John 14:6. The way is not a set of practices. It is also not a kind of doctrine that one needs to go there. The way was a comprehensive package. It involved

1. The way is a person who becomes access to the place, this person must be divine. Jesus revealed by His life, and words that He is God. John 17:5, Phil 2:5,6.

2. The way to heaven or the Father must give life. The condition of men is not a lack of doctrines, but man is spiritually dead and needs life. Jesus is the one who gave us that life.1Jn 5:11 KJV” And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son”.

3. The third package of the way is that, it must be the truth and everyone must be certain about what He says and does. The Lord Jesus proved that He is reliable in all things. He proved that by resurrecting from the dead. He proved that when He ascended to heaven in the full glare of about one hundred and twenty people. JESUS is that truth.

Some have argued that there are a number of ways to get to the Father, yet none of these ways that   these people claim, provide even one of these requirements that gives access to heaven or the Father

Jesus is not a myth, but a real person who demonstrated fully that He is able to save heal and resurrect all who trust Him. Dear one, Jesus is the way and the sure way.

THOUGHT: JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY

FURTHER STUDIES

Joh 14:6 KJV “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Acts 4:12 KJV” Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:3 KJV “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

The Lord Jesus will come back again. This is a message many have heard so much, and some even feel, His coming has been long overdue and should not be bordered about it. Some preachers or pastors also think, He has delayed in coming and so, people should forget about His coming back. The second advent of Jesus has been spoken off throughout the bible. The Lord Jesus Himself kept saying it till He was taken up into glory. On the day of His ascension to heaven, the bible said two men wearing white apparel, stood close to them, and said, Acts 1:11 KJV “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. “

Our key scripture reiterated the same message that the Lord, after preparing a place of rest for His people, will come back. One of the signs that He mentioned, pointing to His coming back, is the abounding of iniquity. (Matt 24:12) Human beings are now evolving sinful acts to spite God and to provoke his anger. I heard of an open-sex competition in Sweden. Men and women will perform sex on stage to be watched by multitudes with judges to choose the best performers. I believe if this is done for heterosexuals, then homosexuals will also demand that they be given the right to go into that competition. These things are private matters and are done in secret, but to openly celebrate it, put it in an unprecedented level.

 Any nation that endorses LGBTQ+ practices acknowledge in disguise that, there is no God over this world, and men should be allowed to practice what pleases them.

 The scriptures teach that God’s longsuffering and patience   for men to repent, is a factor that has influenced His coming.2Pe 3:9 KJV” The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Our world is terribly engulfed in sin. The Bible has been taken out of schools in the so-called elite nations, and are bringing witchcraft and the worship of Satan into its place.

Jesus is surely coming back. If the grave could not keep Him dead, then He would surely honour His word to come back. If His Spirit is still working in the midst of men, working strange miracles, like giving new eye balls, new kidneys, new ovaries to women whose ovaries were surgically taken off to save their lives. If the Lord is still doing these creative miracles as He said,  then what He said about His coming is also true.

Dear reader, do not join those who say the following, 2Pet 3:4 KJV “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” This statement is a scriptural prophesy and it is playing right before us. Repent of your sins and surrender your life to Jesus. Confess Him as your Lord and Saviour and get serious serving Him. Jesus will come again. To some, their meeting His coming is when they die, of which, many have tasted it, and I believe have miserably regretted their stubbornness when they were alive.

THOUGHT:IT IS ONLY WISE TO SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO JESUS.

FURTHER STUDIES

2Peter 3:8 KJV” But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

2Peter 3:10 KJV” But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:2 KJV” In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Jesus was consoling his disciples, who were affected with grief at the idea of his separation. To comfort them he addresses them in this language: “The universe is the dwelling-place of my Father. All is his house. Whether on earth or in heaven, we are still in his habitation.

In that vast abode of God there are many mansions. The earth is one of them, heaven is another. Whether here or there, we are still in the house, in one of the mansions of our Father, in one of the apartments of his vast abode. This we ought continually to feel, and to rejoice that we are permitted to occupy any part of his dwelling-place. Nor does it differ much whether we are in this mansion or another. It should not be a matter of grief when we are called to pass from one part of this vast habitation of God to another.

 I am indeed about to leave you, but I am going only to another part of the vast dwelling place of God. I shall still be in the same universal habitation with you; still in the house of the same God; and am going for an important purpose – to fit up another abode for your eternal dwelling.” If this is the meaning, then there is in the discourse true consolation. We see that the death of a Christian is not to be dreaded, nor is it an event over which we should immoderately weep. It is but removing from one apartment of God’s universal dwelling place to another – one where we shall still be in his house, and still feel the same interest in all that pertains to his kingdom. And especially the removal of the Saviour from the earth was an event over which Christians should rejoice, for he is still in the house of God, and still preparing mansions of rest for His people.

He added, if it was not so, I would have told you. By this He was saying , I have concealed from you no truth. You have been cherishing this hope of a future abode with God. Had it been ill founded I would have told you plainly, as I have told you other things. Had any of you been deceived, as Judas was, I would have made it known to you, as I did to him.”

THOUGHT: THE CHRISTIAN’S ABODE WHETHER HERE OR IN HEAVEN, ARE ALL IN THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER, ALTHOUGH IN HEAVEN, WE GET INTO THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF THE FATHER.

FURTHER STUDIES

2Corinth 5:8 KJV” We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

2Corinth 5:2 KJV For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: