Today we continue our series, “As Jesus Is”, under the banner of the overall series for the year, “Supernatural Manifestation.” Today we will continue to look at 1 John 4:16,17 and John 14.
The Apostle John said:
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
(1 John 4:16, 17 KJV)
Jesus said the following, in response to a question from Philip:
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
Jesus answered, “Philip, I have been with you for a long time. So you should know me. Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father too. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The things I have told you don’t come from me. The Father lives in me, and he is doing his own work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done.
I can assure you that whoever believes in me will do the same things I have done. And they will do even greater things than I have done, because I am going to the Father. And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son.
(John 14:8-13 ERV)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God requires us to ask.
a) In John 14 Jesus made it clear that He and the Father were ONE. In John 17, Jesus drove home the same message and then prayed that WE would be ONE with both Him and the Father. It is clear that Jesus expected us to live with the same mindset He had. When you see yourself sa ONE with the Father, you are in position to allow God to flow through you in ways that exceed human power, ability and strength.
b) After driving home the message of ONENESS with the Father, Jesus boldly declared that those who believed in Him (which means US), would actually DO what He did. We are supposed to think like Jesus thought and then live like Jesus lived. The works that He did, we are supposed to do, and this came straight from the lips of Jesus.
c) After driving home the message of ONENESS with God and then making it clear that we are supposed to do what He did, Jesus said the following: “And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son.” The point I will drive home today is that God requires us to ask! Many of us have not operated in the supernatural, because we have not had the boldness to ask for it. James said, “You have not, because you ask not” (James 4:2).
d) You will never experience what you do not attempt and you will never attempt what you don’t even have the courage for ask for.
e) Jesus told us that the Father knows what we need before we ask (Mat 6:8), but He still requires us to ask. When we ask, in faith, we are coming in alignment and agreement with God.
f) God made us free moral agents. He gives us the right to make our own decisions. This means God will not force Himself upon us. If we want to experience God’s best, we will have to align ourselves with it; and this includes asking for what He already planned to give us and to do through us, from the foundations of the world.
2. Having the courage to ask for and attempt the supernatural is all about bringing glory to God.
a) After driving home the message of ONENESS with God and then making it clear that we are supposed to do what He did, Jesus said the following: “And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son.” Jesus made it clear that we must ask, and He also pointed out that when we ask, it should be with the intent of bringing glory to His name!
b) In John 17 Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify me, that I may glorify thee!” Jesus did not ever attempt to draw attention to Himself. He lived His life with a singular focus on bringing glory to the Father. In John 14 Jesus explained that when we ask the Father for things, in His name, we should so with the intent of bringing Him glory and not ourselves.
c) When you enter every day with the mindset that you are in Christ and Christ is in you, that you are ONE with God, that you are just like Jesus in this world, and that you have been given the right to ask the Father in the name of the Son, you can have the boldness to ask for the impossible, because know you are asking to bring glory to His name; and not your own!
d) When you ask for the impossible to bring glory to God and not yourself, you are operating in boldness and humility at the same time. This is the way Jesus lived and it is the way we get to live, when we see ourselves as ONE with Him.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I am ONE with You and You are ONE with me. I am supposed to do what Jesus did. I declare that I will. I boldly ask for the supernatural. I boldly petition You for the impossible. And I do so in the name of Your Son, for Your glory. Father, glorify me, that I may glorify thee. When the spotlight is on me, I am quick to deflect the glory up to You! This is the way Jesus lived and it is the way I live. As Jesus is, so am I, in this world! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
