ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
The Hymn #457 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
With the voice of singing declare ye and tell this:
utter it even to the end of the earth. Hallelujah!
The Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, from whom all good things do come, grant to us, Thy humble servants, that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be right and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Christ, who hath redeemed us with His blood:
is risen and hath appeared unto us. Hallelujah!
V. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world:
again, I leave the world and go to the Father. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #454 Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire
Immediate Communication with God
The Communion Hymn #652 I Lay My Sins on Jesus
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 #660 Heaven Is My Home
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.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
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.
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.
Background for the Gospel Sermon
Prayer is often taught as the Law, a commandment. In the past, when the movies tilted toward Christianity, frantic families would ask the doctor, "What can we do?" The doctor would scowl and say, "There is only one thing left to do - pray!"
The Scriptures treat prayer a different way. There are hundreds of places in the Bible where people to urged to pray, always on a foundation of God's gracious promises. The reason for this is simple. Prayer can be misunderstood or manipulated many different ways, but the Word of God treats it as the fruit of faith and combines those injunctions to pray with Promises that move us to ask - through trust in God's kindness.
The foundation for prayer is Christ. If we look back, we can see that many prayers have been answered, often in a miraculous way. If that is not sufficient, we know too that without being asked, God has saved our lives and turned bad situations into blessings. There must be a reason so many teachings of Jesus rest on His Creation as the Creation Word. We get to see, hundreds of ways, the order and blessings of that Creation. That inspires trust in the Lord of Creation.
Immediate Communication with God
Introductory
The first three Gospels give us a wealth of details about the birth of Christ, His baptism, and temptations. We have almost all we need to know in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But John's Gospel, besides giving us even more details, explains the meaning of all Jesus did, with a special emphasis on the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel of John is a great aid in sanctification - or, the Christian Life. From Jesus' own sermons we learn what it means to be in His family. Prayer is especially important because asking God is a direct effect of trusting God.
This lesson is part of His farewell sermons, which means they are especially important as His final sermons.
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.
The context is so important. The disciples always asked Jesus, and He was visibly present with them. In the future, without this spiritual advice, they would have felt lost and alone, but Jesus connects them with the Father - in His Name - and states "whatever you ask..."
The first requirement is the promise and permission - Luther -
The first is, that we have from God his promise or his permission to speak to him, and that we remember the same before we pray and remind God of it, thereby encouraging ourselves to pray in a calm and confident frame of mind.
This first rule should be so embedded in us that we do not hesitate to ask or wonder whether we will be heard. Of course, this means developing the habit - if the habit is lacking. No setting is required.
The second rule is the result of observing the first - Luther -
2. In the second place, it is necessary that we never doubt the pledge and promise of the true and faithful God. For even to this end did God pledge himself to hear, yea, commanded us to pray, in order that we may always have a sure and firm faith that we will be heard; as Jesus says in Matthew 21:22: “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Christ says in Luke 11:9-13: “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” With this and like promises and commands we must consolingly exercise ourselves and pray in true confidence.
The repeated promises of Jesus give us the motivation to ask without doubting. And how could anyone doubt? They saw the miracles performed in many categories - such as walking on water, stilling the storm, changing water into wine. He healed many people and greatest of all raised them from the dead - the widow's son, the young girl, and His friend Lazarus.
But we have been trained to see miracles as the the gullibility of ancient times. Or, at best - that was when Jesus established His divinity through His public ministry. The consistent narrative is against faith, and that does have an effect.
3. In the third place, if one prays doubting that God will hear him, and only offers his prayers as a venture, whether it be granted or not granted, he is guilty of two wicked deeds. The first is, that he, himself, makes his prayer unavailing and he labors in vain. For Jesus says: “Whoever will ask of God, let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” James 1:6-7. He means that the heart of such a man does not continue stable, therefore God can give it nothing; but faith keeps the heart calm and stable and makes it receptive for the divine gifts.
Every so often I get a scam promise from a friend. Commonly, if the message is forwarded, Bill Gates will send a reward. The clincher is, "My (unnamed) brother-in-law tried it, and he got a check for $725. It's worth a try."
One woman from decades ago, a parish leader, said she prayed for something from God and got the opposite results. She clearly felt God let her down. She expected obedience from Him, as she did from everyone else. Placing our wisdom above God's foresight is not smart, and being angry with His apparent lack of support betrays a lack of faith in general.
Prayer is not a venture but a Promise of God's goodness. One reason I listed a number of comforting hymns together is a common thread - expressing faith in the midst of terrible turmoil and loss.
It is natural to wonder why some have something we do not - at that moment - but the wondering ceases when all that and more is given, and only through God's miracles. That can take many years or develop in a different way.
5. In the fourth place, some say: Yes, I would gladly trust that my prayer would be heard, if I were only worthy and prayed aright. My answer is: If you do not pray until you know and experience that you are fit, then you will never need to pray. As I have said before, our prayers must not be founded nor rest upon ourselves or their own merits, but upon the unshakable truth of the divine promise. Where they are founded upon anything else, they are false, and deceive us, even though the heart break in the midst of its great devotions and we weep drops of blood.
This is naturally in the flimsy excuse department, because no one is worthy. So we have this enormous gulf between the power and majesty of God - and our own puniness. It is far better to experience and think about this gulf than it is to try and equalize ourselves.
God protects life in so many ways, and some are so obvious we can only say - a miracle. When all the odds are against us, God can change everything in a moment.
The way the resistance is broken down is through an appreciation of God's mercy and miracles. From the regular and methodical miracles in Creation to the special miracles we see from prayer, God shows us what He has done and can do.
Luther put his finger on how so many corrupt the meaning of prayer -
7. In the fifth place, one should so act in this confidence of prayer as not to limit God and specify the day or place, nor designate the way or measure of the prayer’s fulfillment; but leave all to his own will, wisdom and almighty power. Then confidently and cheerfully await the answer, not even wishing to know how and where, how soon, how long, and through whom. His divine wisdom will find far better ways and measures, time and place, than we can devise, even should we perform miracles. So, in the Old Testament, the children of Israel all trusted in God to deliver them while yet there was no possible way before their eyes, nor even in their thoughts; then the Red Sea parted and offered them a way through the waters, and suddenly drowned all their enemies. Exodus 14.
Just as confidence means "with faith" in God, so does this passage remind us that God is able by Himself, without us measuring or predicting...
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh (energy, efficacy) in us,
20 τω δε δυναμενω υπερ παντα ποιησαι υπερ εκ περισσου ων αιτουμεθα η νοουμεν κατα την δυναμιν την ενεργουμενην (energy, efficacy) εν ημιν
This verse should be recited before or after prayer, making us bold to ask anything because God is able to perform anything. We are weak and feeble in so many ways, subject to the wisdom of the world and the fickleness of our own emotions. That is why we need to focus on what belongs to God instead of what we can.
I have seen many miracles and expect many more, because that is the nature of God, hidden from doubters.
As my dissertation subject said to a much younger person, "Spread out your fleece." If you do not remember the Biblical story, look it up again, because it shows how God works against the predictable. Judges 6:3-40.
Isn't that what faithful mothers do?
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