Ask In My Name
John 16:23-30
May 26, 2019 anno Domini – Redeemer
(Thanks to Pr. David Peterson, Redeemer Fort Wayne, Thy Kingdom Come for all the good thoughts in his sermon which I borrowed for my sermon.)
God had heard reports about the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was going down to check out the cities and if the reports were true, He was going to wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s what He told Abraham. But Abraham asked the Lord to change His mind. If you doubt that prayer has any effect on God read Genesis 18.
Abraham asks God, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” God heard His son Abraham. For fifty righteous people God would save the city. Then, like a backwards auction, Abe bargained God down. What about 45? OK. 40? Sure. Don’t be angry Lord, but what about 30? That’s only 10 less for 40. Alright. 20? Yes. 10? Abraham. OK, “for the sake of 10 I will not destroy it.” Unfortunately, when God sent two angels down to Sodom the men of the city tried to rape them. There weren’t 10 righteous. There was not one who was righteous. Sodom and Gomorrah are no more.
But God’s heart was moved by the prayer of His son Abraham. Today is Rogate Sunday which is the Latin word for “Ask.” Jesus said to the 11, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” And a verse later, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
This summer in our “19 minute or less” Bible Studies we are studying “The Most Misunderstood Verses in the Bible.” The verses of the text would qualify because we often hear them selectively, kind of like a husband hears his wife. We hear “Whatever you ask … God will give you. Ask and you will receive.” What did we fail to hear? Jesus said “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.”
The Name of Jesus is not like the pin number on your debit card. Speaking the name of Jesus does not open up the vault of God’s riches for you to make a sizeable withdrawal whenever you wish. The Name of Jesus is everything Jesus taught and did. It is His Virgin birth to Mary. It is being the true and only God and also true man. Above all it is His death for your sins and His resurrection to declare you righteous before God. Praying in the name of Jesus means you have faith in that name. Faith that trusts Jesus died for your sins. Faith that lives putting to death your old man and letting your new man have free reign over your life. Faith confesses nothing of your name and everything in Jesus’ name. Faith believes God is your Father through His Son.
The problem with prayer for us is that we forget the name of Jesus. We forget how God made us His children. God isn’t a Genie in a lamp granting our wishes or our Butler who comes running when we ring the prayer bell. He is our Father by grace for Christ’s sake through faith. He cannot be your Father apart from the cross of His Son.
Dave Ramsey is a Christian who helps people with their financial problems. I like listening to Dave Ramsey. He’s got some great wisdom and he’s not afraid to call people out for greed and stupidity. I would recommend him to Christian or non-Christian, but Financial Peace University does not include and does not need the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to succeed. Like other fads in Christianity it can lead to the notion that prosperity or better living not Christ is the evidence of God’s love for you.
There’s nothing wrong with praying for prosperity or to be a better person, but don’t forget to pray in the name of Jesus. Consider how Jesus prayed when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus did not have a selfish cell in His body. He was completely without sin– true God and perfect man. He prayed, that if possible, He would be spared the cross. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” He prayed that He would not suffer, but that was not what His Father wanted. His Father wanted something greater than His beloved Son to escape suffering; He wanted you to live. So Christ Jesus drank the cup of suffering, the cup of God’s wrath for your sins. Pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane for what you want (as long as it is not sinful) but don’t expect to get it. Jesus didn’t.
That doesn’t mean you should not ask. Luther teaches us in the Catechism, “With all boldness and confidence we may ask God as dear children as their dear Father.” Fathers, what do your children ask for? I bet they’ve never asked for toilet paper or underwear. They never asked you to go to work so there would be Captain Crunch for breakfast and air conditioning for those hot summer days. They asked for Barbie Dolls and Legos. They asked for cheap plastic toys that broke in 4.2 seconds. They asked for an Apple iPhone 2000 when you could barely afford a flip phone. Most of what we ask God for is frivolous, but that’s what children do. God takes care of our greatest needs without ever hearing us ask for them – the forgiveness for our sins, a church where we can hear His Word and receive His gifts, something to say in the face of death “Whoever believes in Jesus will not die but live.” What do we pray for? Frivolous things that will make us happy.
Does that mean we’d better very careful about what we ask? No, that is not what Jesus says, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Abraham prayed a dangerous prayer for Sodom. God already said He was going to destroy them, but Abe prayed for them and his prayer moved God. He would save the city if 10 righteous were found there. Here’s an illustration I stole from another pastor. You’re riding around with your daughter and she sees a homeless man begging at a street corner. “Daddy, can we give him something?” Which really means, “Daddy, will you give him something?” Truth be told Daddy doesn’t want to give the man anything because that man is on the corner every day. That man takes all his money and drinks it away. That man doesn’t deserve anything that daddy worked for. But his daughter asked and daddy’s hard heart is softened by his daughter’s words and so he gives. The illustration is weak, because God is not selfish like Daddy. Your Father in heaven loves you, more than the best father on earth loves his children. He loves to hear you pray in the name of Jesus because that means you love Him. So go ahead. Ask for a 2019 Corvette or a mansion on the river. He will give you what is best for you, for your faith, for your family, for your church, for your neighbors. He might give you a 2005 Chevy Impala and a modest house in Sauk Rapids. He’ll give you underwear and toilet paper even if you never ask. But most importantly He gives His Son to death and raises Him to life so you can be His child. That’s why you pray, because you believe, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” Go ahead, ask, pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Bruce Timm