ACTS
Adoration
Confession
Thanks
Supplication
Supplication
2 Personal
Prayer
Requests
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever. Amen.
How are your 2 personal prayer
requests in line with God’s priorities?
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven!
When asking something of God,
pause to consider whether your
request and your life are in line with
his desires.
“If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you.”
John 15:7
John 15:1
The Vine and the Branches
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the
gardener. (NIV)
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the
vinedresser. (NKJV)
gardener, vine dresser = literally, land
worker, “geo + ergon” (γεωργός,
geōrgos, that is, in English, “George”)
John 15:2-3
2 He cuts off every branch in me that
bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will
be even more fruitful.
3 You are already clean [i.e. “pruned”]
because of the word
I have spoken to you.
“prunes” = καθαίρω = kathairō (verb)
“clean” = καθαρός = katharos (noun)
--same idea as “purified by fire”
Remain in me, as I also remain in
you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can
you bear fruit unless you
remain in me. (John 15:4)
--a continuous state of connection,
like a branch or as the root
is part of a tree
--this is a 2-way, 2-person effort
Remain in me, as I also remain in
you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can
you bear fruit unless you
remain in me. (John 15:4)
--this is a 2-way, 2-person effort
--and what is this fruit?
And what is this fruit?
22But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control.
Against such things
there is no law.
(Galatians 5: 22-23 NIV)
And what is this fruit?
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (NKJV)
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God
gave the increase. 7 So then neither
he who plants is anything, nor he
who waters, but [it is] God
who gives the increase.
And what is this fruit?
For one person, planting, for another,
watering . . . And yes, for someone
else:
A quote: I had the honor of introducing
them to Jesus, personally.
All of these are the fruit of remaining “in
Me” (that is, in Christ).
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much
fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
(In contrast:)
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown into the fire
and burned. (John 15:5 NIV)
-----------------------------------------How does this happen? . . .
. . . How does this happen? . . .
If we were to stop listening to the word,
(see verses 3 and 7)
3
You are already clean because of the word
I have spoken to you. . . . 7 If you remain in
me and my words remain in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be given you . .
(John 15:3, 7 NIV)
(. . . How does this happen? . . . continued) or if we
were to stop following Christ’s commands
(see verses 9-10)
9
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my
commands, you will remain in my love, just as I
have kept my Father’s commands
and remain in his love.
(John 15:9-10 NIV)
--------------------------------------------Clearly, if we do not keep his commands, we will
not remain in His love
(and in case we’re not clear about it, just what is
His command? . . . )
12My
command is this: Love each other as
I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no
one than this: to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends. (John 15: 12-13 NIV)
--------------------this is the definition of ultimate love, ultimate care
14
You are my friends if you do what I
command. 15I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not
know his master’s business. Instead, I
have called you friends, for everything
that I learned from my Father I have
made known to you.
“If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you.” (John 15:7 NIV)
Clearly, the main task is to “remain” in Christ, and
trust in His effort to remain in us. Then,
ask for whatever you wish . . .
“The prayer of a righteous person is
powerful and effective.” -James 5:16 NIV
“The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.” -James 5:16
KJV
“The prayer of a person living right with
God is something powerful to be reckoned
with.” -James 5:16 The Message
Scripture marked “The Message” taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995,
1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
“Husbands, in the same way be
considerate as you live with your
wives, and treat them with respect
as the weaker partner and as heirs
with you of the gracious gift of life,
so that nothing will hinder your
prayers.”
1 Peter 3:7
When asking something of God,
pause to consider whether your
request and your life are in line with
his desires.
“A broken and contrite heart, O God,
you will not despise.”
Psalm 51:17
“This is the confidence we have in
approaching God: that if we ask
anything according to his will, he
hears us. And if we know that he
hears us – whatever we ask – we
know that we have what we asked of
him.”
1 John 5:14-15
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not
condemn us, we have confidence
before God and receive from him
anything we ask, because we obey
his commands and do what pleases
him.”
1 John 3:21-22