Rogate, The Fifth Sunday
after Easter, 2013
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn # 202 Welcome Happy
Morning 4:28
The Confession
of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The
Gospel
Glory be to
Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 207 Like the
Golden Sun 4:76
Five Parts of Prayer
The Communion
Hymn #305 Soul, Adorn 4:23
The Preface p.
24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior 4:24
KJV James 1:22 But be ye
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if
any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way,
and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If
any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but
deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion
and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the
world.
KJV John 16:23 And in that
day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have
ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh,
when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly
of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you,
that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you,
because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came
forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world,
and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou
plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all
things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that
thou camest forth from God.
Fifth Sunday After Easter
Lord God, heavenly Father,
who through Thy Son didst promise us that whatsoever we ask in His name Thou
wilt give us: We beseech Thee, keep us in Thy word, and grant us Thy Holy
Spirit, that He may govern us according to Thy will; protect us from the power
of the devil, from false doctrine and worship; also defend our lives against
all danger; grant us Thy blessing and peace, that we may in all things perceive
Thy merciful help, and both now and forever praise and glorify Thee as our
gracious Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and
reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Five Parts of Prayer
- God’s Promise.
- Faith.
- Specific petitions.
- Asking.
- In the Name of Christ.
I am following Luther’s
outline in the first of three sermons found here –
The topic of prayer is potentially enormous, especially
since the subject has been abused and distorted so badly.
Prayer is based upon the Gospel Promises, not upon the Law.
Whenever prayer passages occur in the Bible, they are accompanied by the
Promises of God. Therefore the motivation is Gospel rather than Law, believing
rather than doing.
Not only do people turn prayer into law, but they make that
clear by saying, “You have to pray harder,” which sounds like weeding garden or
sanding a tabletop. They should be emphasizing
believing rather than doing, believing in God’s grace and love rather
than Olympic level prayer.
KJV John 16:23 And in
that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have
ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full.
Lenski:
24) Up till now you did not ask anything in my name. Keep
asking, and you shall receive in order that your joy may be fulfilled. In
14:13, 14 the matter of asking in Jesus’ name is stressed as something that is
altogether natural for disciples of Jesus. So in 15:16 “in my name” again
appears as a matter of course. Now, however, we learn that “in my name”
pertains to the Giver as well as to the petitioner; as we pray, so the Father
(or Jesus, 14:13, 14) gives “in my name.” Hence the disciples must use this
name. They must in all their needs come not merely with the name “Jesus” on
their lips or attached to their prayers but with the revelation (name) of Jesus in their hearts by faith. Up
to this time, Jesus says, the disciples have not prayed in this manner. Some
think that Jesus points to a shortcoming, a weakness, a fatal deficiency in the
praying of the disciples. If this were the case, the blame would fall on Jesus
himself, since he delayed until this time to impress upon the disciples the
necessity of using his name in prayer. Until this time Jesus himself had
allowed the disciples to pray as all true Jews prayed in connection with the
name of God as it was known to them from the old covenant made with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. In their prayers hitherto they used the Old Testament
promises and prayed in connection (ἐν) with them. But now the fulfillment of these
promises had arrived in Jesus; in a few hours the new covenant would be sealed
with the blood of Jesus. Thus faith had to advance and to embrace this new
covenant, the fulfillment of the old promises in Jesus. It thus had to use
Jesus’ name and revelation when praying. The reason for the advance to Jesus’
name is objective. The Spirit will take “of mine” and will report this to the
disciples (16:14, 15). Thus subjectively, too, the disciples will now turn to Jesus’
name. Refusal so to do would mean the rejection of the revelation (name) of
Jesus.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel.
Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 1100.
God’s Promise
This section introduces a
problem, but that comes with the wrong emphasis, in my opinion. Jesus is giving
His final words to His disciples, before the crucifixion, so He is talking
about the future when they pray – an encouragement that will give them hope and
strength when they feel alone. They were never alone up until now, so their
prayers are going to change in wording.
The power of a name is
dependent upon the power of the person named. Government officials issue orders
in the name of a governor or a president, the military in the name of a
general. In the British Empire, many things are done in the name of the Queen.
How much greater is
something done in the Name of Jesus, with God the Father answering petitions?
And this is something altogether different, because we are not asking in power
but in friendship, as family, because we are brought into God’s family by faith
in Christ.
God’s promises are great in
this regard. They rest upon the power of the Gospel itself. The beautiful
Christmas hymn by Gerhard expresses this well.
Thou Christian
heart, whoe’er thou art,
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, in mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him—how greatly God must love thee!
Likewise, Luther wrote in
his Christmas hymn:
Thus hath it pleased Thee to make plain
The truth to us, poor fools and vain,
That this world’s honor, wealth and might
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Here in my poor heart’s inmost shrine,
That I may evermore be Thine.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song.
Someone who is loved will
not hesitate to ask. Doubting and not praying go together. Doubting God’s love
means questioning the grace, mercy, and love revealed in the Scriptures. As
Chytraeus wrote, doubting God’s goodness is a sin. All sin begins with lack of
faith.
In contrast, joy comes from
relying on God’s Promises and asking for His help and guidance.
25 These things have I
spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak
unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that
day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the
Father for you:
Faith Explained
The resurrection and
ascension of Christ will be those events which will fill the disciples with
such faith that they will start applying the lessons taught in those three
years. And yet it was not easy to reach that state, because they were scattered
by genuine fear and almost in a state of paralysis. God allowed them to go
through that agony so they would strong enough to face the opposition of the
Roman Empire and the leaders of all other religions. They had the pagan leaders
opposing them and the Jewish leaders at their backs. In fact, they expanded the
opposition by their mission efforts.
And Paul did not make things
better by switching sides. We see that same conflict today when someone leaves
the fold of whoopy-entertainment worship or UOJ. The former friends are more
bitter in their opposition for losing someone. The closeted apostates do not
want someone to discover the meaning of faith, and the rationalist-Pietists do
not want someone to take the Confessions seriously.
Faith puts all the emphasis
upon God’s power and wisdom, casting away all the arrogance and pride of human
vanity. Every time I see people bragging over buildings, I wonder about who
will heat and repair them in a few years. They brag about “success” but do not
boast about the cross, or even mention fidelity to the Word.
This faith is God’s
Creation, because the Holy Spirit works through the Word to convict us of our
lack of faith. On one side is all that God has done throughout the Bible. On
the other side is man’s doubtfulness and fears, insecurities and anxieties. So
–
Thou Christian
heart, whoe’er thou art,
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, in mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him—how greatly God must love thee!
Gerhardt knew that from experience
– the sorrow and the joy.
Faith is not an emotion, but
faith affects our emotions. That is why our greatest pain is emotional and the
best remedy is faith in the Gospel Promises. Faith then changes what we do and
how we do those things.
I see that with college
students giving a speech. I have to remind them that their stage fright is all
in their heads. They can speak to their friends from the front of the room and
do a great job. One walked to the front as if to her own execution. We talked
that over and the next time she was her bright, funny self and was a perfect
example of how to give a speech. It was all in her head.
Luther is especially good
about these emotional conflicts, because he experienced them. He was wise
enough to identify opposition as a good thing, a sign of God’s blessing,
something to be valued rather than regretted.
That is shown in so many
ways. The faithful do not experience the material success of the apostates, and
the apostates jeer at them for this. Look at how small and unimportant you are,
the opponents say. Look at how well we are doing – we have all the big money
people on our side.
The things that happen are
utterly predictable – the betrayal of so-called friends, the shunning, the
people rejoicing in the harm they do. That teaches the faithful that whatever
we cling to can be left behind for the greater treasure of the Gospel. And
there are many spiritual rewards that come with it.
27 For the Father himself
loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from
God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I
leave the world, and go to the Father.
Specific
Petitions
This Father-Son relationship
is constantly taught in the Gospel of John, not that it is absent elsewhere. We
hear it so often, as if to show us that the Trinity gives us a similar
relationship. Just as the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves us, and gives
us the same relationship to the Father as his own.
KJV John 10:38 But if I do,
though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe,
that the Father is in me, and I in him.
And the Holy Spirit is
always at work teaching us about this relationship we share. That is why we can
and should make specific petitions, asking God according to our needs and the
needs of others.
Luther:
8. The third requisite of true prayer is, that one must name
definitely something that he brings to God or for which he prays; as for strong
faith, for love, for peace, and for the comfort of his neighbor. One must
actually set forth the petitions; just as the Lord’s Prayer presents seven
petitions.
This is what Christ means by the words: “If ye
shall ask anything of the Father.” “Anything,” that is, whatever you are in
need of. Besides, he himself interprets this “anything” and says: “That your
joy may be made full.” That is, pray for all things you need, until you have
acquired even all and your joy is made full; and his prayer will first be fully
answered on the day of judgment.
27 For the Father himself
loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from
God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I
leave the world, and go to the Father.
Ask
What makes ask in prayer? It
is the certainty of its value and effect. The Gospel of John emphasizes the love
of the Father toward the Son, and the love of the Father for all believers. Fear
and doubt keep people from asking, while love encourages people to ask.
Children love and trust
their parents, and we know there is no end of asking there. Children will make
the most outrageous requests because they are not afraid of losing their
parents’ love from asking.
This section of the lesson
also reminds us that the disciples were still thinking of an earthly Messiah. The
Savior as the Son of God was completely shown to them in the resurrection and
ascension. The divinity of Christ then helps us with asking. We are asking from
God Himself.
29 His disciples said
unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we
sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask
thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
In the Name of
Christ
We know more about Christ if
we have grown up with the Scriptures and had them explained to us. They also
grew up with the Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament, but much of the
content was obscure to them.
We think in terms of the
Trinity, and they had the Trinity in the Old Testament, but not fully explained.
This phrase “in the Name of
Christ” teaches us to pray in His Name, because He has that power, that love
from the Father, and that love for us.
To avoid the Name of Christ
is a matter of joining with all other religions, to give them equal or superior
status. When people want to blend in, they drop, “in the Name of Christ.”
When they are banned from
using the Name of Christ in a prayer, they should excuse themselves from that
association, whether it is the Masonic Temple or the ecumenical gathering of all
the right people.
Prayer
"The Christian's faith trusts in the ordinary means. Prayer is not a means of grace. Means of grace are divine appointments
through which God uniformly offers blessings to all who use them. Faith is the means by which the
blessings are received and appropriated. God gives us bread, when we ask it,
not through the channel of prayer, but through the ordinary channels of His
providence. He gives us
grace when we ask it, not through prayer, but through the ordinary means
appointed for this end, namely the Word and Sacraments. He who despises these will as little
have grace as he who refuses to accept bread produced in the ordinary way of
nature. Faith asks with
confidence, and trusts in the ordinary means of God's appointment for the
blessings asked."
Matthias Loy,
Sermons on the Gospels, p. 387.
"Prayer is made vigorous
by petitioning; urgent, by supplication; by thanksgiving, pleasing and
acceptable. Strength and
acceptability combine to prevail and secure the petition."
Sermons
of Martin Luther, 8 vols., VI, p.
107. Philippians 4:4-7.
"The Lord's Prayer opens
with praise and thanksgiving and the
acknowledgement of God as a
Father; it earnestly presses toward Him through filial love and a recognition
of fatherly tenderness. For
supplication, this prayer is unequaled. Hence
it is the sublimest and the noblest prayer ever uttered."
Sermons of
Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
VI, p. 107. Philippians
4:4-7; Matthew 6:9-13.
"In like manner, St. Paul
says that God's ability is thus proved, in that He does exceeding abundantly
above and better than we ask or think. Ephesians 3:20. Therefore, we should
know we are too finite to be able to name, picture or designate the time,
place, way, measure and other circumstances for that which we ask of God. Let us leave that entirely to Him, and
immovably and steadfastly believe that He will hear us."
Sermons of
Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
III, p. 179f. Ephesians
3:20.
"Only begin this [prayer, self-examination], I say, and see
how you will succeed in the task; and you will soon discover what an
unbelieving knave is hidden in your bosom, and that your heart is too dull to
believe it."
Sermons of
Martin Luther, 8 vols.,
II, p. 257. Mark
16:1-8.
