John 15:16
Sunday Morning Bible Study
October 13, 1996
Introduction
We are in the time of the last night before Jesus' death.
We've been looking at this message that Jesus has been giving His disciples using the analogy of a vine and branches.
The whole point has been to demonstrate that if the disciples maintain a close, living relationship with Him, that they would have "fruit" in their lives.
:16 A Purpose For Living
:16 Ye have not chosen me,
In Jesus' day, the usual thing for a disciple, or learner, to do was to go pick out their own teacher, to pick out their own master.
One of the early Rabbi's, Joshuah ben Perachiah used to teach, "make", provide, or chose "thyself a master" (quote from Gill).
But for Jesus' disciples, it didn't quite happen this way.
:16 but I have chosen you
chosen - eklegomai - (out of + to speak or command) to pick out, choose; choosing one out of many, i.e. Jesus choosing his disciples
Illustration:
It's kind of like when you were in grade school, and it was time to choose teams for kickball at lunch time.
All the kids get in one big line, and the team captains "choose them out" of the group, onto their team.
Some of the guys may have been thinking, "Wait a minute Jesus, I was the one who decided to follow after You ..."
From our perspective, we think that we're the ones that are making any kind of decision.
But in reality we've chosen Him only because He's already chosen us.
Jesus said:
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (AV)
And His choosing us took place a LONG time before we chose Him.
Paul wrote that "
Warning!
You can get extremely wierded out on this if you're not careful.
Some people have gone to such an extreme that they don't think there's anything you can do to get saved, it will just happen.
They think that it would be futile to think of asking Jesus to be your Savior, because you're the one doing the work.
They think it's a waste of time to tell people about Jesus, since if they're chosen, they'll find out about it.
We're dealing with issues that cross several dimensions, and it's difficult to comprehend fully.
From the perspective of eternity, God choose us first.
Yet from our earthly perspective, there is a definite time when we must respond and open our heart to the Lord.
Even though the Father had to draw the disciples to Jesus, they had to respond and follow.
Illustration:
Spurgeon: As we approach the gates of heaven, we'll see written overhead as we enter, "Come, Whosoever Will". Then, as we pass through the gates and look over our shoulder, we'll see the backside, where it reads, "Chosen Before The Foundation Of The World".
What's the point with all this?
Lesson:
You are hand-picked by God.
Jesus had lots of people to choose from, but He chose that special group of twelve (minus one) disciples.
Illustration:
Do you remember what it felt like to be chosen on a team for kickball? It feels GREAT!
Do you know what it's like not to be chosen? It feels ROTTEN!
Learn to rejoice in being chosen.
Wait a minute!
"Okay", you say, "how can I know if I'm chosen or not?"
If you choose to respond to God's pull on your heart, and follow Jesus, then you're chosen.
If you don't, you may not be.
Though it's also possible that you're just being stubborn.
:16 and ordained you,
Somehow we look at this word "ordain" and think it's some kind of religious ritual.
After all, these are the disciples, and after Jesus got done with them, they probably even wore those black shirts with the funny collars on them.
ordained - tithemi - to set, put, place; to establish, ordain
This isn't talking about some religious ritual, this is talking about how Jesus places us, He puts us in a job designed just for us.
He's got a heavenly "placement service".
He's got a job for them to do.
It's not just something for people with "Rev." in front of their name, it's for all of us who claim to be His disciples.
Illustration:
A good team captain not only picks who's on his kickball team, but knows what position each person should play, and puts each person in their best position.
Lesson:
You have a purpose.
One of life's most troubling questions is "why am I here?"
It's a question that many teenagers ask.
They start to taste adulthood, and begin to wonder what life's all about.
It's also a question that people in "middle age" ask, some going through a "mid-life crisis".
Men and women who have put a few years under their belt begin to wonder why.
So they try a career change.
They try a wife change.
And they're still unsatisfied.
You have a design to your life, and until you discover what God has in mind for you, you will forever be frustrated.
(Eph 2:10 KJV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Illustration:
My dad designs airplanes. A great deal of thinking goes into each curve, each part, each detail.
It's all to accomplish a purpose.
But imagine a farmer who buys a brand new jet airplane, takes it home, hooks it up to a plow, and tries to plow his field with it.
Ridiculous!
God has a design for you as well.
Until you find what He's made you for, you will never be satisfied, nor will you accomplish what He's made you to do.
Back to our text:
Jesus has chosen us and ordained us to accomplish two sets of things, and the first set includes three things:
1) That we should go
2) That we should bear fruit
3) That our fruit should remain.
:16 that ye should go
One of the things that Jesus chose the disciples for (we're included) was ...
Lesson:
Get out and tell the world.
I think that sometimes we fall into the mindset of thinking that somehow if people are to be saved, they'll just show up at church one day.
True, it can happen that way.
But for most of us, it happened when somebody reached out and brought us to the Lord.
Jesus said:
Matt. 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
"But wait", you say, "Jesus is telling this to the twelve disciples, not to us!"
Yes, He told the disciples to do this, but look at what He commanded them, to teach others "
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you", and that includes telling people about Jesus.The command to tell people about Jesus applies to all of us.
Have you ever wondered why we aren't just taken to heaven immediately after receiving Jesus?
One of the main reasons why we still have to hang out on earth is to be here to tell others about Jesus.
:16 and bring forth fruit,
This is part of the purpose in our lives
We've talked a lot the last few weeks about bearing fruit.
It has to do with the kinds of things that God will naturally produce in your life as you maintain a close, living relationship with Him.
It can involve changes in attitudes (love, joy, peace)
It can involve changes in actions (turning from sin, doing good things)
It can involve people coming to the Lord.
:16 and that your fruit should remain:
Part of God's purpose for our lives involves lasting fruit.
That means PERMANENT changes.
Not just ones that last a few weeks or months, but ones that don't change.
Lesson:
Good fruit lasts.
It's only fruit that comes from abiding in Christ that can fulfill this.
It's only the fruit that Jesus produces that lasts.
If it's some kind of result based on our own trying and efforts, it isn't going to last.
Illustration:
You can keep a pig clean and dressed up in doll clothes only so long before it finds a mud puddle to wallow in.
If it's fruit based only on an emotional experience, whipped up by soft music or tear jerking stories, it isn't going to last.
Illustration:
The revivals that took place under the ministry of Charles Finney were amazing because of the lasting effects.
Under many ministries, it's unusual to have more than 10% of those who make decisions for Jesus to continue on.
But under Finney, it was closer to 90% that continued on in the Lord.
Why?
His ministry was based greatly upon the Word of God, and powered by the Holy Spirit and prayer.
He avoided emotionalism, even dismissing some meetings because people were getting too emotional.
The emphasis always seemed to be on individuals learning to get right with God, not on some action like going forward.
:16 that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Here's the other "set" of things that Jesus has chosen and ordained us for, another purpose for living.
Lesson:
God is serious about us learning to pray.
I don't think Jesus is saying that if we pray the magic words, "in Jesus name", that we will automatically get everything we ask for.
The language leaves room for a lot of questions in the Greek.
It's not stated as an absolute fact.
It's more like, "that whatsoever you might ask, He might give it to you."
Just what are God's requirement in prayer?
Review this checklist of basics with me:
1. Your heart needs to be right with God.
On one hand,
Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]: (AV)
On the other,
Ps 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (AV)
Here's 99% of the battle.
If we would only stop to get our hearts into line with God's heart, most of our problems in prayer would end.
Prayer ought to be a delight, and when our hearts are right, it is.
Getting your heart right is the start.
Quote:
I can give a prescription that will bring revival -- revival to any church, or community, or any city on earth.
First: Let few Christians get thoroughly right with God. If this is not done, the rest will come to nothing.
Second: Let them bind themselves together to pray for revival until God opens the windows of heaven and comes down.
Third: Let them put themselves at the disposal of God for His use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That is all. I have given this prescription around the world... and in no instance has it failed.
It cannot fail.
-- R.A. Torrey
2. Have a little faith.
Learn to put it into God's hands.
Learn to expect an answer.
Jesus said,
Mt 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (AV)
God desires that we learn to trust in invisible things, including Him.
But don't be fooled, it doesn't take much faith:
Jesus said:
Mt 17:20 ... If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (AV)
The point was not to say that faith was some kind of awesome nuclear force that is so compact and powerful.
The point was to say that it doesn't take much faith for God to answer.
Even the man who was weak in faith and said "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mr 9:24), even that man Jesus helped.
3. You need to be asking according to God's will.
John writes:
1Jo 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (AV)
If we ask according to God's will, we'll have the requests.
Illustration:
In an interview with the great inventor of the Telegraph, Samuel F.B. Morse, George Hervey inquired, "Professor Morse, when you were making your experiments at the university, did you ever come to a standstill, not knowing what to do next?"
"Oh, yes, more than once."
"Then what did you do?"
"I've never discussed this with anyone, so the public knows nothing about it. But now that you ask me, I'll tell you frankly -- I prayed for more light."
"And did God give you the wisdom and knowledge you needed?"
"Yes, He did," said Morse. "That's why I never felt I deserved the honors that came to me from America and Europe because of the invention associated with my name. I had made a valuable application of the use of electrical power, but it was all through God's help. It wasn't because I was superior to other scientists. When the Lord wanted to bestow this gift on mankind, He had to use someone. I'm just grateful He chose to reveal it to me."
In view of these facts, it's not surprising that the inventor's first message over the telegraph was: "What hath God wrought!"
How do I know if I'm asking according to God's will?
Is your heart right? Do you trust God will answer?
Then do #4 until you find out.
4. You need to persevere in praying.
There are some people that give you the impression that if you just have enough "faith", that you only have to ask once, and you will magically have your request.
They obviously haven't read their Bibles.
Did Jesus lack faith in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He prayed the same thing three times? (Mat.26:39-44)
Did Paul lack faith when he prayed for his thorn in the flesh to depart, and it still didn't go after three times? (2Cor.12:8-9)
Jesus taught:
Lu 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them [to this end], that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; (AV)
The implication from the story Jesus tells is that we ought to keep coming to God over and over and over again with our requests.
I think there's room here for growth in our praying.
I think that the more we pray, the better we get at it.
And that's one of the things that happens when we keep persevering in prayer.
Don't look at verses like this one in John and say, "Gosh, I fall so short of prayer, it could never be like that for me ..."
This is our goal, this is where God wants all of us to be.
And it just might take a little work on our part, learning to pray.
Closing Quotes
Illustration:
C.H. Spurgeon once said, "Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might."
Illustration:
The brilliant scientist Sir Isaac Newton said that he could take his telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space. Then he added, "But when I lay it aside, go into my room, shut the door, and get down on my knees in earnest prayer, I see more of Heaven and feel closer to the Lord than if I were assisted by all the telescopes on earth."
Lord teach us to pray!