In Jesus' Name: A Prayer Strategy for the Church

Marc Reynolds

Epistles of John • Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

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In the final verses of 1 John, we see a prayer strategy that helps us guard ourselves from idols.

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1 John 5:14–21 NASB95

14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. 18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

INTRO: How many of you are planners? You like to have a plan A, plan B, plan C.... You don’t like going into situations, events, or even meetings without knowing what the plan is.

This kind of describes me… I think I used to be more adventurous (My wife might say reckless). But I like to know what to expect and, even if not specific, I like to have a basic plan or strategy.

For instance: if we are going into a meeting, I like to know what it’s about so I can be prepared. If we are going to a social event, I want to know what to expect… and maybe even have an idea of what time I can expect to leave.

On a more serious note, I like to mentally prepare for “in case of danger” scenarios.

If there were to be an intruder in my home- I have a basic strategy.

If there is a fire, I have a strategy… If there is an accident, I have a basic plan.

As Christians, we face some dangers and need to have a strategy to overcome them. The dangers I am talking about are not so much physical dangers- after all, we don’t have to fear death because Christ has conquered death and the grave.

Instead, these are spiritual dangers. These dangers often present themselves as temptations. These temptations fall in the category of either apathy or apostasy- Apathy being a lack of concern for the things of God, and Apostasy being a rejection of God for worldly things.

In both cases, we elevate something over God. Do you know what it’s called when we elevate something over God?

Idolatry.

And so, we see in this letter that John warns the church in Ephesus over and over against the false teachers who sought to tempt them away from Christ. Ergo v. 21.

(READ v. 21)

What we see in the verses preceding this final warning is a Prayer Strategy for the church. I want you to notice that John focuses the church not on the false teachers, but upon Christ. And so as we look at this text together, I hope to show you how we can pray in such a way as to guard ourselves from these great dangers of idolatry that face the church today. The message is titled “In Jesus Name: A Prayer Strategy for the Church”

As always, if you picked up a bulletin, I invite you to use the enclosed sermon guide as we walk through the Scriptures together. Let’s dive in:

The first tactic demonstrated in this text, instructs us to:

Pray According to His Will (14-15)

(READ)

When I pray, often I will end the prayer by saying, “in Jesus’ name I pray...” But this is not some sort of magic phrase that we add on to our wish lists like God is our personal vending machine. Nor is it merely giving lip service to Jesus.

In fact, Jesus taught the apostles to pray this way. Let me remind you of His teaching.

John 14:13–14 NASB95

13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

John 16:23 NASB95

23 “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.

But what does this mean? Well, it does NOT mean that God is like a genie.

Rather, what he is saying is that when we pray in His name, we pray in such a way that God will be glorified. This is not us trying to bend God’s will to ours, but rather praying that our will be bent to His. What we ask is to be in line with God’s plan and purpose.

When Jesus sent out 70 of His followers (Luke 10), he gave them authority (in His name) to cast out demons. They marveled that when they would tell the demons to leave in Jesus’ name, they obeyed! This paints a picture of prayer according to Jesus’ will. If we are to pray according to His will, then we must take up the mission. These disciples had to obey God’s will, and thus they didn’t pray for selfish desires, but rather prayed in accordance with God’s will- for God’s glory.

ILL: Some of you know that I used to work for a construction company. When I needed to buy materials for a job, I went to the lumber yard and placed an order. It was not my account nor my money. In order to place the order however, I had to have a PO #- it was in accordance with the will of boss. (in the name of Mt. West Construction)

Contrast this with James’ indictment in:

James 4:3 NASB95

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

But, There is a great confidence in our prayer when we pray in accordance with His will! And we can know, John says, that if we pray according to His will that He hears us and if we know He hears us, it’s as good as ours!

Here are some helpful questions to see if you are praying according to God’s will:

Does this give glory to God alone?

Does this align with His mission?

Does this reflect God’s righteousness and grace?

To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray according to His will. Next, our strategy to pray in Jesus’ name means we must:

Pray According to His Way (16-17)

(READ)

These two verses cause some challenges for interpretation. People tend to get caught up in the sin leading to death and sin not leading to death.

John doesn’t provide any explanation for these categories, so some argue he is talking physical death others say spiritual death. I believe the best way to understand this is to understand the greater call. In v. 16, we see the command to intercede on behalf of our brother when we see them in sin.

The promise here is that when we do this, God will give life to them, assuming they have not committed the sin that leads to death. I take this to be the sin of rejection of Christ and blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Because the emphasis is guarding against idolatry and the false teachers who peddle it, it makes sense that John is saying that we must pray and work to restore such a brother who has begun to drift into apathy or apostasy.

Jesus modeled this for us in

Luke 22:31–32 NASB95

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

As you may well recall, Peter would go on to deny Jesus 3 times. But Jesus’ prayer was that his faith would ultimately not fail, but rather he would be restored and would go on to be an encourager and leader among the disciples. After Jesus’ resurrection, we see exactly this. Jesus restored the purpose and confidence in Peter’s life.

And that is what He wants to do for the saints who have begun to drift into temptation. Hey, folks, do you look around and see that someone who was once involved in the life of the church has seemed to drop off? Maybe you came in and thought, “Gee, I sure haven’t seen so and so in a while...”

Friend, according to the Word of God, you and I ought to be interceding on their behalf! Have they drifted into bitterness? Have they left the love they once demonstrated for Christ? Have they chosen to lift up something else in the place of our Lord?

PRAY in the name of Jesus for their restoration! Hey, and BTW, this might also mean that you GO to them, seek them out, tell them you are concerned for them and that you love them!

Maybe they have not been properly discipled and they have become disillusioned about their faith… Oh, that you and I would care enough not to let them disappear across the horizon into idolatry without a fight! There is a sin that leads to death...

But if we are diligent in interceding before they are led away by the false teachings of this world, then their faith will not fail and they will be given life- life that is found ONLY in Jesus Christ.

So then, while all unrighteousness is sin (17), we are called as Christians to intercede for one another so that our faith will not fail and that we will have life. This is Christ’s way and His will.

Finally, our prayer strategy to guard against idols means that we:

Pray According to His Word (18-20)

We know this: God is faithful. His promises are true.

(READ 18-19)

In v. 18-19, we see the wonderful promise that Christ keeps those who are His… and Satan cannot lay a finger on us.

What does that mean?

It means that if we have been born of God, we do no live in ongoing sin.

Our lives have been changed and when we do sin, we are brought under conviction by the Holy Spirit (sometimes with the loving prayer and confrontation of a fellow Christian), and we REPENT; turn away from that sin and back to our Lord.

Like the Samaritan woman at the well whom Jesus said, Go and sin no more, so to those who are His are called to live our lives in a manner worthy of the name of Jesus.

It also means that we have no fear of eternity or judgment.

We talked about this a few weeks ago. We stand in Christ’s righteousness. We are accepted because of Him. He holds us, not the other way around.

We live in a world that is in Satan’s dominion… but we are God’s.

So, while we will encounter false teachers, false prophets, and those who have surrendered their lives to the lusts of the world, we do not belong there. WE are different.

Because we are different, the world should be able to look at my life and your life and see the difference. If the church looks just like the world, then it is no longer the church of Jesus Christ.

We pray according to the promises of God’s Word which remind us that our God is the Victor! We pray according to the promise that this whole world will fade away, but God’s Word endures forever. We pray in accordance to His Word which directs our steps and gives us understanding.

(READ v.20)

Did you catch that? We KNOW! It’s in praying according to God’s Word that we have discernment and confidence in our faith.

Sadly for many Christians, they have forgotten how to pray. Our prayers, far from being the avenue of strength for our faith, have become boring recitations of the same old thing…

But that need not be the case! Let us pray God’s Word- seeking His will and way, resting on His promises.

In Don Whitney’s book, Praying the Bible, he says this about what it means to pray according to God’s Word:

“So basically what you are doing is taking words that originated in the heart and mind of God and circulating them through your heart and mind back to God. By this means his words become the wings of your prayers.”

This strategy of praying according to God’s Will, His Way, and His Word is given to us as a body… Do you long for more joy and unity as a church? PRAY this way. Do you long for a stronger faith and confidence in your walk? PRAY this way. Do you long for loved ones to return to the fold of the Good Shepherd? PRAY this way.

As we prepare to enter into a time of response, I ask you- How is your prayer life?

What if today, you were to begin praying differently… What if you began now?

Will you stand and join with me in prayer?

Discuss: What other Scriptures encourage us to pray in Jesus’ name? What do they teach us?

Discuss: How does interceding for others in prayer correlate with the disciplinary instructions of Matthew 18:15-20?

Discuss: On the cross, Jesus prayed God’s Word - specifically Psalm 22 and Psalm 31. What insight do these psalms give to Jesus’ sacrificial death?