Rogate Sunday 2023. "Confidently And Cheerfully Await the Answer."

Vimeo Link for Rogate Service

 Bethany Lutheran Church

Springdale, Arkansas

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Hymn #457     What a Friend We Have in Jesus
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

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

Collect

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 #458                Our Father Thou

Confidence - With Faith

The Communion Hymn #653   Now the Light Has Gone Away
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 

 

Prayers and Announcements

• The Ascension Holy Communion Service is Thursday, May 18th, 7 PM Central Daylight.
• Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Kermit and Maria Way, Callie and her mother Peggy, those suffering from emotional distress and those with metabolic disorders.
• Mothers honored today:

“Believing mothers consecrate children

On the road that Jesus walked.”

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson 

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.

Confidence - With Faith

An Outline for Prayer - By Martin Luther - Rogate, Second Sermon, Lenker Edition

1. "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.
2. In the second place, it is necessary that we never doubt the pledge and promise of the true and faithful God. 
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. The other wicked deed is, that he regards his most true and faithful God as a liar and an unstable and doubtful being; as one who can not or will not keep his promise; and thus through his doubt he robs God of his honor and of his name of truth and faithfulness.
4. 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.
5. 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."

The best way to understand prayer is to start with Luther's summary, found in the two sermons for Rogate in the Lenker edition (published with Norma Boeckler's artwork by our little congregation because the Lutherans in America were either ignoring the 500th Anniversary or mocking the event).

Like the Small Catechism, his sermons are not high-flying or dogmatic or more complicated than Thomas Aquinas. Instead, they are written in plain, simple language, explaining the Word of God to us.

Prayer is especially important, because there are so many ways to misunderstand or ignore this great gift which God has given to us through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior. Rather than comment on so many confused and confusing theories, why not begin with the simple words of Scripture.

1. "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.

Luther says "confidently" twice or more in this sermon, and that is the Latin word for - with faith. No wonder some banks are named Fidelity. To begin this exercise, we should start prayer with faith and a cheerful attitude. The source of this faith and cheerfulness is the Word of God, the Promises of God. People often get this matter confused. The energy of God's Word is the Holy Spirit, because, as Jesus taught in the Gospel of John, the Spirit takes from the Father and the Son and gives to us.

Prayer is not testing God to see if His power and grace are adequate for our needs. We fall into first looking at conditions and requirements, so that is why we need to have the right attitude toward prayer since the original word means asking.

When we know the stories of the Bible, especially the New Testament, we can see why Luther begins with faith and a cheerful attitude. The Canaanite woman never stopped pleading for her daughter's health, even when the disciples grew weary of it - not even when Jesus appeared to rebuke her (take bread from  the mouths of Israel' children?). The lepers ignored being silenced by the crowd when they said "Lord have mercy on us." The parable of the judge is the perfect parallel where the woman kept asking and was only answered because the judge was fed up with all the asking. 

KJV Luke 18:18 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

This is one of those unusual stories, because the judge is not a good person. He answered the widow only because he was tired of her. How much more does God care for the elect? 

In the second place, it is necessary that we never doubt the pledge and promise of the true and faithful God. 

Instead of being busy with whether this outcome or that is going to happen, we should be crushing the doubts that block and plague us, because those battles harden us against the Scriptures and their meaning.

We are in an era where there are thousands of books, magazines, lessons, sermons, etc where the basic truths of the Scriptures are denied, mocked, and repudiated. Each generation seems to grow worse in this regard, though many remain faithful. I have been exposed to the constantly repeated denials of these basic truths, coming from learned men who were honored and rewarded in so many ways. Their key to success is having a way to cite the Scriptures and give them another meaning. "The Easter faith of the disciples" might be Scriptural but it is used to say - the disciples imagined Jesus was raised from the dead, even though His grave was robbed. Therefore, Jesus has risen whenever someone thinks so." All miracles are reduced to what the speaker or scholar allows - in order words - very little at all, more like Christian Science than a miracle.

We address doubt by starting with the source of faith - the Scriptures - and should make ourselves as familiar with them as we are with our favorite topics: the Packers, special sales, and earthworms for fishing or gardening.

The Scriptures can be attacked and are the object of many assaults, but knowledge of them and witnessing to their power can flatten the false teachers and rob them of their weapon

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. The other wicked deed is, that he regards his most true and faithful God as a liar and an unstable and doubtful being; as one who can not or will not keep his promise; and thus through his doubt he robs God of his honor and of his name of truth and faithfulness.

Prayer to God in the Name of Jesus is not a lottery ticket. This is where the individual can fall into doubt and can question himself as whether he is likely to have the prayer answered or doubts God as willing to help. 

There is no sin so great and terrible that God cannot forgive - except for rejecting faith in Christ, the sin against the Holy Spirit. The Universalists have that tied down with truckloads of knots - very popular - "everyone is already saved." Those who keep mouthing and lecturing on Universalism find themselves increasingly hostile to the Gospel. 

Two Church Growth pastors became atheists this way. One began mocking his own family going to church - he joined an insurance company. Another joined a charity for attacking Christians and complained to Christian News, saying that I was unkind to his favorite obsession.

People must discern what is correct through faithful Bibles (KJV) and books (Luther and the German Reformation, American Lutherans who revived the Reformation - Loy, Krauth, Schmauk, Jacobs).

There are two groups in America. One loves Luther's Biblical teaching and rejects the fads. The other loves the fads and loathes Luther and the German Reformation.  

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.

Even back then in Luther's day, people were more inclined to think of their worthiness rather than relying on the power of God's Word. Being overwhelmed by the Law and distortions of the Gospel, people will think they are not good enough. However, the one key element, so often bypassed, is faith in Jesus Christ. He pours out His grace, which is His role. He strengthens and encourages us.

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.

God is not managed. In the LCA we were trained by Management by Objectives, Peter Drucker - or Dreck. He settled down among the Church Growthers to apply his failed corporate methods to churches, to fail there as well. Somehow WELS and LCMS had exactly the same slogans and methods, though they shunned other synods and raised the ominous Left Boot of Fellowship in the direction outsiders (except Drucker).

Whether instructed by Drucker or Enthusiasts - who had their own dreams, the Christian Faith has suffered greatly for entrusting their faith in mankind and having little left for God.

The best approach is to have some reading of the Bible, all the time. John's Gospel is the simplest but also the most profound. Ephesians wraps up all of Paul's writing in a few chapters. The Psalms contain the greatest amount  of God's wisdom in the shortest of poems.

Miracles happen through prayer because God provides according to His wisdom and long-term view of our lives. I have seen three small children overcome the ultimate threat and become unusually healthy. No one thought that was possible...until it happened. Miracles great and small happen because of faith and God's Promises.

Mother's Day

Most of all, we should pray for mothers we know, and grandmothers and great-grandmothers. We should be thankful for all they did and tried to do in spite of us. My mother said she learned how to teach junior high boys by having three boys at home. I asked, "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" She smiled knowingly.

Mothers should be thanked, surprised, taken out to dinner, and recognized the year around. Those who have lost mothers young know what means.

Today I extended the annual Roses for Mothers to a second block. Every household got one or more roses. It is fun to do that, no matter where someone lives.

We took roses and daffodils to Christina's engineering job in Columbus, whenever they blossomed. It led to one woman receiving roses from her husband for the first time. The boss was thrilled when his favorite flower, the daffodil (for the Welsh) appeared at work. He begged for his own.