Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Thursday, September 16,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse Phil 2:5, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

John 15:16 Predestined to Glorify God! Protocol for Prayer

John 15:16, “You all yourselves did not choose Me, on the contrary I Myself have chosen you all and appointed you all for the purpose that you might keep on going out (under the authority of God’s Word), and you all might keep on bearing fruit (Divine Good Production), and your fruit, it might keep on remaining (with the result of eternal rewards), for the purpose that whatever you all ask the Father in (the sphere of) My name (God’s protocol plan for our prayers), He (God the Father) may give to you all (answered prayers).”

God gives us power and provisions for the fulfillment of His Pre-designed Protocol Plan for our lives, through preparation, application, rewards, protocol and assurance.

Principles of Praying “In His Name”

1. Christ associates prayer with productivity (fruit bearing) even as He associated it with “doing” in John 14:13.

2. We must accomplish Christian ministry or service not merely by our asking, but by God’s performance, “ask and it will be given to you.”

3. We are instructed to direct our prayers to the Father, yet both Christ and the Father are directly involved in granting our requests. John 14:13 cf. 15:16

4. The “prayer condition” is stated with a third class condition (maybe), yet in a more probable future condition.

Therefore, it is your volitional responsibility to apply God’s protocol to your prayer life, “in the sphere of Jesus Christ”.

5. Fruitful ministries are connected to and dependent upon prayer “in Christ’s name.”

John Walvoord stated, “it is infinite in its possibilities, infinite in its privileges; it is at the center of God’s gracious provisions for our lives on earth.”

6. Christ did not define the concept “in My name”, nor do His disciples display any indication of bewilderment over the expression.

7. Christ did not intend this phrase, “in My name,” to be a fixed formula attached to a prayer.

8. Those who hold a talismanic conception of the phrase “in My name”, (i.e., think it holds special power, especially power to protect them from bad things), fail to realize its true intent.

Jesus referred to something deeper than simply a convenient formula whereby believers conclude their prayers.

9. What’s in a Name?

9. What’s in a Name? a) To the Westerner, a “name” is a device for identifying one individual from another.

b) To the Easterner a “name” expresses some outstanding and particularly marked individuality.

1) The name can describe the nature of the person, i.e., Emmanuel = “God with us”, Mat 1:23.

2) It points to circumstances surrounding one’s birth, i.e., Samuel = “Asked of God”, 1 Sam 1:20.

3) It might refer to one’s appearance, i.e. Esau = “hairy”, or Edom = “red”, Gen 25:25.

4) Among the Hebrews it was indicative of personality or character.

10. When Jesus used the term “name,” He signified the ideas of being, personality, and character.

11. Therefore, “In the sphere of My name” conveys the concept of praying in the sphere of His ownership, protection, presence, power, glory, etc.

That is, offering prayer that is in agreement or harmony with the manifested nature of Jesus Christ.

Grace Fellowship Church Thursday, September 16, 2010 Tape # Predestined to Glorify God, Part 7 Upper Room Discourse, Part 416 John 15:16; 14:13-14 Grace Fellowship Church Thursday, September 16, 2010 Tape # Predestined to Glorify God, Part 7 Upper Room Discourse, Part 416 John 15:16; 14:13-14 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2010