Two-Thirds Is Not Enough - Part B

The idea of in Jesus' name is in Jesus' reputation or by His merit. In other words, you're not standing before God in your name. God, it's me. You know me. I'm coming to you in my own name.

Don't do that. And if you think you can say, I'm coming to you, God, in Skip's name, unless you want to give God a good laugh, I suggest you don't do that. You come in Jesus' name. Each member in the Godhead plays a specific role, and all those roles impact your life significantly. Connect with Skip Heitzig today as he looks closely at each person of the Trinity, showing you how they also demonstrate unity and why it matters to you. Then, stay tuned after the message as Skip and his wife, Lenya, talk about how you can put your faith in action, helping share God's love with children around the world. I love that God works supernaturally naturally, and just the genesis of Reload Love started in a shower, and it was with seeing the horrific acts of terrorism around the world and wondering, what can I do? And that really is something that Jesus wants us to bring salvation. The Holy Spirit pours that into our heart to point others to God.

Be sure to stay with us after today's message to hear the full discussion. Right now, we want to tell you about a resource that will help you get a fuller picture of God's character and nature so you can draw closer to Him. Someone once said that if you want to know about Michelangelo, you need to study what he said, what he did, and what he created. Well, the same is true if you want to know God. You must devote yourself to his words, actions, and what he created.

That is one of the reasons I wrote the book, The Biography of God. It's available now, and I hope you'll join me on this noble, demanding, and even rewarding journey. Here's how to get your copy of my newest book, The Biography of God. Skip's new book is our thanks when you give $35 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air.

Call 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now, as we join Skip Heitzig for today's teaching, we're in John chapter 14. The Father is the source. God, the Son, Jesus Christ, is the subject of revelation. What's the Holy Spirit? He's the supervisor.

He's the supervisor. It's not like Isaiah took out a pen one day and thought, what are some cool thoughts I could write about God? Oh, here's one. Nor was it God saying, Isaiah.

Oh, you couldn't hear me there. Isaiah, Isaiah, this is God. Write this exactly. And he took dictation.

Not at all. But the Holy Spirit enabled these men through their own personalities and styles of writing to write down exactly what God wanted to have written. I get that from 2 Peter chapter 1. For prophecy did not come in old times by the will of men, but holy men spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

All three were involved in that work. Oh, and by the way, when we read the Bible, like tomorrow morning or Tuesday morning, when you open up the scripture and you have your daily devotions, ever come across a scripture, maybe you've read it before, but somehow it's new now. And it's like, wow, that means so much to me right now. That truth is so important to me.

If something is unlocked, how does that happen? It's the Holy Spirit doing that. It's the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 9 and 10. It says, eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of men the things that God has prepared for them that love him, but God has revealed them to us by his Spirit. It's the Spirit's job to do that.

So all three do work and they do it together. No wonder Charles Spurgeon wrote, to have a gospel without the Trinity is like having a rope of sand that cannot hold together. Then Satan can overrun it, but give me a gospel with the Trinity and the might of hell cannot prevail against it.

No man can any more overthrow that than a bubble could split a rock or a feather break in halves a mountain. So that's the first truth that we notice here is that all three do work together and Jesus freely speaks of how these three are involved. The second truth I want you to look at is in chapter 16, beginning in verse 23. Now Jesus is speaking about how we communicate to God. And so I'm calling this all three deserve worship.

Verse 23 chapter 16. And in that day you will ask me nothing most assuredly I say to you whatever you ask the father in my name he will give you until now you have asked nothing in my name ask and you will receive that your joy may be full these things I have spoken to you in figurative language but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language but I will tell you plainly about the father in that day you will ask in my name and I do not say that I shall pray the father for you for the father himself loves you because you have loved me and because you have believed that I came forth from God. Let me encourage you from this day forward to cultivate a sense of the presence of all three persons father son and holy spirit in your life.

And here's how you can start doing that. Whenever you in your reading come across any reference to either the spirit or the son or the father notice what it says about them notice the adjectives and what is expressed about them individually as well as together and then pause and worship the Lord in that attribute that you have just discovered. For example one of Paul's famous trinitarian doxologies I guess you could say closing out the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14 he writes may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. One thing we must avoid is this reductionist tendency to make it the father only or Jesus only or the Holy Spirit only as some like to do it's all three. That's why we rightly sing and I love when Nick again had us sing that 17 or 1674 hymn praise God from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him above you heavenly hosts praise father son and holy ghost.

That's cultivating a sense of his presence. Let's look more specifically at what this text is pointing us to and that is how we pray. Now basically what Jesus is saying is look you guys I've been hanging around you for the last few years I'm leaving you can now come directly to the father himself and when you come to the father come in my name pray in my name. Now this this was very different to these guys. In the Old Testament nobody prayed in Jesus name.

I think you know that. They would simply address God as typically Adonai and they would close their prayer by saying the word amen. Amen which is where we get amen so be it right on I agree. But Jesus says and by the way this is the third time in this message alone where Jesus says you can come directly to the father not just hey God but father in my name John chapter 14 verse 13 whatever you ask in my name John chapter 15 verse 16 all a part of this sermon whatever you ask the father in my name he may give it to you and now here again what we just read now isn't that exactly what Jesus taught his disciples to pray when he said and when you pray pray like this our father who art in heaven now that doesn't mean that we can't pray to Jesus or the Holy Spirit I don't think if you were to begin your prayer dear Jesus God would get mad at you no you can't do that or that if you were to even pray to the Holy Spirit because all three persons are the one God though distinct persons but I do think it's best to follow Jesus teaching that's why when I pray I don't say hey God or Yahweh or Jehovah or God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob I call him what Jesus told me to call him father that's relational a lot more relational than God I can call him father because Jesus told me and when I'm done with my prayer I don't say and I pray this in the name of the Holy Spirit or in Yahweh's name or in your name but I say father I utter my prayer and always close in Jesus name that's how I'm instructed and I believe that the prayer that God directs is the prayer that God expects and I think that's the prayer that God will bless as well what does that mean to pray in Jesus name I'll tell you what some people think it means some people think it's their magic ticket you can ask God for whatever suits your own fancy as long as you tack on the end of it in Jesus name and especially if you emphasize in Jesus name like they do in television that's gonna really go over God's gonna go oh yeah okay you got it now I wasn't gonna give it to you but you got it doesn't mean that nor is in Jesus name a sign that we're done now praying okay over and out in Jesus name I'm stopping now this is it till later means way more than that the idea of in Jesus name is in Jesus reputation or by his merit in other words you're not standing before God in your name God it's me you know me I'm coming to you in my own name don't do that and if you think you can say I'm coming to you God in Skip's name unless you want to give God a good laugh I suggest you don't do that you come in Jesus name because you can eat only have access to God as your father because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross his merit his reputation but if you wanted to have a conversation with like the Prime Minister of England and you were to say I'm coming to you in my name or my buddy Frank you won't get a audience but if you could show by documentation that you come in the name of the President of the United States or the ambassador to England or some office and some representative who has a name in the government chances are you could get an audience in Jesus name now you may have noticed something in what we just read when Jesus tells his disciples about prayer he mentions the father he mentions himself the son there is no mention of the Holy Spirit why is that where's the Holy Spirit how come he's not involved in my communication to God well here's why Jesus described the Holy Spirit in chapter 16 verse 13 and 14 he says when the spirit of truth has come he will not speak of himself or his own authority he will glorify me he's gonna point people to me he's the silent witness not making anything about himself but pointing all the attention Jesus said to me he's gonna glorify me so here's Jesus the son pointing you to God the father as your father and now you have the Holy Spirit glorifying the son and making it all about the son that does not mean the Holy Spirit however is not involved when we pray in fact let me just say definitively the Holy Spirit is the most effective part of our prayer to God in Jesus name do you know that the Holy Spirit is the most effective part of my communication to the father in Jesus name listen to this text this is Romans chapter 8 verse 26 the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses for we do not know what we ought to pray for have you found that to be true I pray a lot I I don't know what the right answer ought to be or exactly what I should be praying for so the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses we do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express again you might think I have no idea what that means what can be one of two things it's either the Holy Spirit's groans to the father some kind of inner Trinitarian communication so that when you pray and the Holy Spirit kicks in and he prays directly to the father according to the will of the father here's an example I pray Lord I need a new computer the Holy Spirit says father cancel that out he didn't need a new computer all he really needs is to get a fixed or whatever that's a little crass earthy example but it could mean that this is the Holy Spirit's interceding the father on my behalf or it could mean when I groan or I cry or my supplications could refer to one of those two in fact one Bible translation the New English Bible renders it this way through our inarticulate groans the Holy Spirit is pleading and that could be a reference to 1st Corinthians 14 a beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit the gift of tongues or by bypassing the intellect we're able to speak directly to the father from the heart to his heart so all three do work all three deserve worship and they're involved in our communication of praise and worship and prayer and finally all three demonstrate oneness please go to chapter 17 John 17 now right now as you're turning you're noticing that the words are still read but this is a different chapter in chapter 17 Jesus is not addressing his disciples like he was in the previous four chapters he here is addressing his father this is the Lord's Prayer the real Lord's Prayer the Lord is praying to his father and look at verse 20 I do not pray for these alone that is his disciples at the time but also for those who will believe in me through their word who's that us we're on Jesus prayer list he's praying about us that they notice this may all be one as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that you sent me and the glory which you gave me I have given them that they may be one just as we are one I in them you and me that they may be made perfect in one that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me maybe you've read that before and you think I don't quite get all this you and me and them and us and what is that all about and now I want to clarify it the triune God Father Son and Holy Spirit and their love for each other and how they get along together is a template for the way you and I ought to relate to one another that's what this means in short why is it that Christian community Christian fellowship Christian friendship Christian forgiveness ought to flow and be enjoyed because it exists between the Father and the Son and implied here also the Holy Spirit in fact it could be said the very purpose God created people was for this reason see in the very beginning in for eternity past it was a family setup Father Son and Holy Spirit they loved and enjoyed and were enriched by that fellowship but God said let us make man in our image after our likeness at some point God decided to make us to expand upon what was already enjoyed between the Trinity that's why we were made we could follow him and enjoy that so notice Jesus is praying for relational unity between us as people to emulate the same kind of relational unity that exists in the Trinity to me this is all important this is ultimately important and ultimately practical is what it tells me the ultimate basis for Christian community I know that term is tossed everywhere these days community the ultimate basis and foundation of Christian community is not humanity well it's because we need and it's because we're alike and we the ultimate basis for community is not humanity it's Trinity it's Trinity and in very practical terms this is what it means the ultimate reason for families to stay together and to look at each other eyeball to eyeball and say I love you I forgive you I'll stay with you and we'll keep our family together isn't because of some legal agreement or some kind of document enforced by the state or by the church but it's because of Trinitarian love I and you and you and me and us and them that they may be one as we are one that's what Jesus is praying let's take it to the church church splits are sinful and wrong not just because it hurts church members but because it violates the unity of the body of Christ which in turns violates the unity between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit so the whole reason we should love each other forgive each other be kind to each other men relationships with each other is because of the Trinity now that takes relationships to the ultimate level does it not it's the ultimate level it's the highest level because it exists between the Godhead that's why Jesus said this is the way the world is going to know that you sent me this is the way the world is ever going to believe anything they ever say about me is because they're like this they do this with each other I heard about a man who visited his friend in a mental institution now his friend wasn't in the mental institution he was one of the guards guarding the patients of the mental institution the hospital and this visitor noticed that his friend the guard oversaw and guarded a hundred patients alone so his friend and observing this said aren't you ever scared that they're gonna like get their heads together and attack you and escape and his friend put his arms behind his head very relaxed feet up on the desk he said listen the whole reason they're here is because of their inability to get their heads together and work cooperatively together it's very very suggestive what I'm saying you see to try to represent God the Father Jesus Christ to the world without unity is insanity they'll see right through it the world sees Christians fighting each other telling them about Jesus they're gonna tune us off like look I can get this on a soap opera I don't need to come to church this is ultimate in relationship they enjoy unity thus we should as well well let me close by saying this one thing we must all guard against is resisting the work of the triune God in our lives it could it be that right now this morning some are being convicted by the Holy Spirit to have a relationship with Christ and make him Lord and Savior could it be that God the Father sent God the Son to die on the cross to pay for your sins and God the Holy Spirit has been telling you for a long time I want you I've chosen you you need me come to my son pray for forgiveness and you've been resisting that notice that the reason God is doing that in your life it's because he wants you part of that circle part of that expansion of what the Father Son and Spirit enjoyed in eternity past to you and I enjoy with him with them in this unity what a thought what a lovely thought that wraps up Skip Heitzigs X message from his series the biography of God now here's Skip and Lenya as they talk about how you could put your faith in action helping share God's love with children around the world but we've been studying the Trinity and one thing we have seen is how all three persons work together in our salvation now Lenya you have ministry partners that you work together with on the field to take God's love and gift of salvation to kids all around the world it's a great ministry we love to highlight it we love updates it's called reload love give our listeners an update I love that God works supernaturally naturally and just the genesis of reload love started in a shower and it was with seeing the horrific acts of terrorism around the world and wondering what can I do and that really is something that the Jesus wants us to bring salvation the Holy Spirit pours that into our heart to point others to God so there is that work I find it astounding that we can raise awareness and funding for reload love and it was a simple idea of melting spent bullet casings and up cycling them into beautiful brass pieces of jewelry like bracelets and necklaces and pendants and our jewelry acts as a symbol of God's redeeming love that you can take something that was meant for harm and turned it into something for good and through this we can provide trauma relief medical supplies academic programs playgrounds and all of these pointing these kids to Jesus so you can partner with us by purchasing a piece of jewelry or make a donation today at reload love.com and a hundred percent of the profits from this jewelry goes to help kids impacted by terror and I'll just say I love how you got this vision you were in the shower you saw what was happening on television you immediately got involved but you take these big steps of faith and then you watch God bless it and what started out as just a heart cry has become this international ministry with partners and you've raised a considerable amount of money to help these kids around the world so once again it's reload love.com thanks Skip and Lenya we hope you enjoyed getting to know Skip and Lenya through this conversation now we invite you to help keep these teachings coming your way as you connect more listeners like you to God's Word visit connectwithskip.com slash donate to give a gift now that's connectwithskip.com slash donate or call 800-922-1888 800-922-1888 thank you. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heissig looks at the problem of pain and what this issue reveals to you about God's character. Connect with Skip Heissig is a presentation of Connection Communications connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.