CHAPTER 6 REVERENT SUBMISSION
How many times have you heard a child say, "Daddy, give me this!" and then listened to the response, "Is that the way I have taught you to ask for things?" Too many times we have approached God in prayer having read only that portion of John 15:7 which says"...ask whatever you wish and it will be given you." When we do that we have the tendency to say to God, "Give me this!" To the other extreme some are tempted to pray saying "I am so unworthy, I don't deserve anything, I am worthless." Jesus has died so that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence (Heb.4:16) Now praise God, we have been purified by his blood (I John 1:7). Having confessed our sin He is righteous and just to forgive us (I John 1:9), and our guilty consciences are washed away (Heb.10:22). As such, our prayers are to be offered unto God with knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus, neither in arrogance, nor false humility. Today we are the very aroma of Christ (II Cor.2:15) and our prayers are as incense unto the Father (Rev.5:8). Make no mistake our Father will hear our prayers, but should we not also see how He wants us to pray, and what conditions if any He attaches before those prayers can be answered?
John 15:7 says, "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you" (emphasis added). There are two conditions in that verse. Remain in Jesus and have His Words remain in you. Verse 16 of that same chapter says, "... bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name" (emphasis added). The requirement of bearing fruit is closely related to the one of remaining in Jesus, for we know from Matt.7:17&21 and John 15:8 that if we remain in Him we will bear fruit.
Mk.11:24 says, "whatever you ask in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Two more conditions. When we pray we must believe that we have received when we pray, and we should ask only when we are sure that we hold nothing against anyone else. At the moment of prayer our request has been granted in the spiritual realm. Therefore, if we hold fast to our faith, it will manifest in the physical realm (review Chapter 4 of Needful Things). Ja.4:3 adds still another requirement when it says "when you ask you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." All these requirements, or cautions regarding answered prayer are set forth in His Word. While there is a further caution in I John 3:22 concerning doing what pleases God, that is the topic of Chapter 7. I mention it now only for reference.
John 1:1 tells us that "in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Vs. 14 lets us know that Jesus is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. John 7:16 tells us that Jesus' teachings came directly from the Father, and according to John 12:50 Jesus said only what the Father specifically told Him to say. In John 6:38 we see that Jesus, who is Word incarnate, was the Father's will on earth. Eph.1:9 tells us that the Father has made known the mystery of His will through Christ. As such, the renewing of our mind not only brings about the transformation of our physical body, but it enables us to know God's perfect will (Ro.12:2). According to Matt.6:10 Jesus prayed that the Father's will be done on earth as it was in heaven, and we know from John 14:31 that Jesus did only what the Father told Him to do (see also John 14:10). Jesus is the Father's will, and Jesus is the Word. Therefore, all we need to do is find it in the Word, and then we know it is God's will. God's Word, His will, was not written so that we would not understand. Quite the contrary is true. Look back to Matt.13:23, which relates the parable of the sower. Therein we are told that a good crop is produced only by the man who hears the Word (God's will), and understands it. While it is true that Jesus is seated on the right hand of the Father, and we are here, we do have His written Word (II Tim.3:16) The Holy Spirit is here now to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). Jesus told us in Lk.8:21 that if we are His brothers and sisters we will hear His Word and put it into practice. Likewise, we find in Mk.3:35 that if we are His brothers we will do God's will. The Word and God's will are inseparable. These facts now bring us back to the topic of our study.
I John 5:14-15 states "This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if was ask anything according to His will He hears. And if we know He hears - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him." We can ask according to God's will by asking according to the Word. When we know that, we know that He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, we know that we have what we asked for. That verse summarizes God's directions to us on, how to ask. In John 11:41-42 Jesus said "Father I thank You that You heard Me. I know that You always hear Me..." In Heb.5:7 we find that Jesus was heard because of His reverent submission. We also can be guaranteed that the Father will always hear us when we submit to His will, which we now know is His Word. Obedience comes from faith (Ro.1:5) and faith comes from the Word (Ro.10:17).
According to Matt.26:42 Jesus asked to be spared from His final ordeal if it was the Father's will. That was total submission. According to Phil.2:8-9 Jesus was obedient unto death and he was exalted by the Father as a result of that obedience and submission (Ja.4:1&10). I Pe.4:17 tells us that judgment will begin with the family of God. That Scripture then asks us what the outcome will be for those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus? IIThes.1:8 answers that very clearly when it says that God will punish those who do not know Him and do not obey the Gospel. After first listing an entire series of diseases and illnesses, Deut.28:45 states that all of those curses will come upon those who do not obey the Lord and His commands. The Old Testament law has been fulfilled (Matt.5:17). According to Mk.12:33 we now know that God's command is to love Him and our neighbors. His will then is that we submit to these new commands.
Throughout the entire Bible we are shown examples of those who heard God's commands and then obeyed. In Gen.12:1 God told Abraham to leave his country, the country where he had lived most of his life. At this time he was 75, yet in vs.4 we see that Abraham obeyed. Heb.11:8 tells us that he had no idea where he was going, but he went anyway. He went by faith, knowing that God was protecting him. Another example is found in Josh.6:3-4 wherein Joshua was given specific directions on how to possess Jericho. I say possess because in the spiritual realm it had already been given to him; however, it was necessary for him to obey God in order for the physical manifestation of God's promise to occur. Being obedient to God, the Israelites did as directed, and in vs. 8-16 we see the physical victory. The blind man at the Pool of Siloam was not healed until after he did all that the Lord had instructed (John 9:11). Similarly, the man with the shriveled hand was not healed until after he stretched forth his hand as directed to by Jesus (Mk.3:5).
According to II Ki.5:14 Naaman would not do as directed, and was not cured of his leprosy until he submitted to God's Word. A careful study of that story shows that all to often it is our pride which gets in the way of our submission. We know that Jesus was exalted because of His submission. Dan.1:8&17 shows us that Daniel was rewarded with knowledge and understanding because he honored God's Word and did not eat food from the king's table (such food would have been unclean under the old law). (The importance of knowledge and understanding to our walk with the Lord is the topic of Chapters 3 and 4 of The Last Enemy). The point I am making is simply this, obedience is one of the things which will help us to obtain this knowledge and understanding.
According to Ja.1:21 we are to humbly accept the Word which can save our souls. Point blank we are being told that it is in our best interests to submit to the Word. We are to listen to the Word and do what it says. When we do, we find that we have placed ourselves in a position to receive the Holy Spirit, for according to Acts 5:32 God has made His Holy Spirit available to those who obey Him. Without the Spirit of God we cannot understand God, or know His thoughts (I Cor.2:11). When we submit to His Word we will be like Daniel - open to knowledge and understanding. We find that the fear of the Lord, or our reverent submission to Him, is the beginning of knowledge (Prov.9:10 & 1:7). Furthermore, we find that knowledge will be pleasant to our soul (Prov.2:10). Wisdom comes from asking God, then standing in faith believing that we have received it after we have asked (Ja.1:5). When we submit to His Word we will do many new things:
1) We will walk in agape love. 2) We will offer our bodies as living sacrifices. 3) We will seek Him in faith - not by sight. 4) We will take our position as priests, offering a sacrifice of praise from our lips. 5) We will seek to be led totally by His Holy Spirit as we renew our mind. 6) We will no longer cling to the desires of our sinful nature, but committing ourselves totally to His service.
His wisdom is supreme and we are to seek after it (Prov.19:8). Not only is knowledge pleasant to our soul, but we find in Prov.24:14 that wisdom is also pleasant to our soul. This wisdom and knowledge, which is pleasant to our soul, enables our body to be transformed as it works upon our mind (soul). We know from I Cor.2:7 that the wisdom which comes from the Holy Spirit is God's secret wisdom which has been hidden from ages past, but which is destined for our glory. Surely then we can see that obedience, or submission to the Word, leads to wisdom which in turn lifts us up.
Jesus was exalted and glorified because of His submission to the Father. Prov.24:14, which told us that wisdom is sweet to our soul, also tells us that if we find this wisdom there is a future hope for us, and our hope will not be cut off. In Ro.8:23-25 we find that Paul's hope was for the redemption of the body. Our bodies are God's temple (I Cor.3:16) - His House (Heb.3:6), and Prov.24:3 clearly states that our house is to be built by wisdom and established through understanding. That comes from submission to the Word. When we submit to the Word, (God's will), act on it, and in faith believe, then we know we have been heard. Since we know we have been heard and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2 & Heb.6:18), speak without acting (Nu.23:19), and watches to see that His Words are fulfilled (Jer.1:12) we know that we have what ever we have asked of Him (John 5:15).