Wait on the LORD: be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart;
wait, I say, on the LORD.
- Psalm 27:14
and he shall strengthen thine heart;
wait, I say, on the LORD.
- Psalm 27:14
Sermon Podcast 
No current service |
Search sermon archives:
No current service |
Search sermon archives:
> Pastor's Blog
Pastor's Blog
The Apostle Peter writes in his second epistle of the importance of us not forgetting the principle things, referring to them as "these things," with his people. In the following four verses of he pours out his heart concerning "these things."
NLT 2 Peter 1:12 I plan to keep on reminding you of these things-- even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth.
13 Yes, I believe I should keep on reminding you of these things as long as I live.
14 But the Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that my days here on earth are numbered and I am soon to die.
15 So I will work hard to make these things clear to you. I want you to remember them long after I am gone.
Prayer is certainly one of °these things° of which much is spoken about in the Bible and much is written about in today's world. We know of the importance of prayer, we understand the power of it, but yet it remains one of the most difficult disciplines of grace that have been given to us to master. Yet it is through the regular and continual exposure to the plans and purpose of God that we are able to be reminded of and directed toward the right mind, heart and attitude towards prayer, and thereby, the practice of it.
As we think about prayer in relation to what the Apostle Peter has written in his letter, we realize that it is needful for some of us to on occasion be exposed anew to the teachings and examples in the Scripture concerning prayer. There are many rich examples in the Bible of the experiences of those who have come to "live a life of prayer" in the body of Jesus Christ. There are also those who live today who have yielded themselves and are yet yielding themselves to a "life of prayer." It is not so much that they have mastered prayer, but that they have come to understand and experience in a greater way what it means to live in the body of Jesus Christ. But yet we know that from the testimony of others and through our own experience, prayer is not something that comes naturally to us. So, we desire to be reminded of that which the Lord has taught us about, of that which He has given us clear example through His life, and of that He calls us to imitate:: We would be a praying body.
Utilizing visible things as reminders of past occasions of the deliverance of God is nothing new, for we read in the book of Joshua and of how the children of Israel were told to keep before themselves and succeeding generations 'stones of remembrance." These reminders were to keep in their memory of their being brought through the river Jordan by the Lord. Verse 24 gives that which the Lord wanted them to be reminded of through the visible sign of the stones that were left in a conspicuous place so that as they went through their everyday life they would not forget, but would be reminded. The stones were not only for the children of Israel, but were for all people as the verse indicates
1) All people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty
2) That they, the children of Israel, would fear the Lord their God forever.
Joshua 4:21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
All of us have wall hangings in our homes. Some we have purchased ourselves, but others have been given to us by those who wished to bring us encouragement. Some of these things are of a spiritual nature, some are not necessarily so, but they are all there for the purpose of bringing blessing to the hearts and lives of ourselves and to those with whom we have fellowship. Look around your home and attempt to recall to memory of the occasion in which a particular "blessing" was inherited by us, purchased by ourselves or which was given to us. We think on the meaning that is given from either the message or the symbolism on the wall hanging and are blessed anew by the message. Additionally, when someone has given us this type of gift that is designed to bless us, we are again appreciative of the kindness that was extended to us by someone who cared and does cares. A gift that is given to us and which is left in a conspicuous place will be a continual source of blessing to us.
Marion Daniels has knit together over 7500 feet of yarn in the making of this app 4'x4' wall hanging of the Lord's Prayer, which will be our subject of meditation today. May we be renewed in our awareness today of the richness and the depth of what we have been given by Jesus in the prayer that He taught us. May this gift that has been given to us as a congregation be an encouragement as well as inspiration for many years to come. May Marion be blessed for her the kindness and love she extends to us in our congregation.
We will use as the basis of our meditation the first four verses of the 11th chapter of Luke's Gospel. But before we read that, we will read the first 8 verses of the 6th chapter of Matthew's Gospel.
KJV Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Jesus addresses the giving of alms, prayer and fasting in this teaching which was part of His Sermon on the Mount, which is contained in chapters 5-7. He cautions against not doing these things to be seen by others, to resist the temptation to "keep score ourselves", but to practice these disciplines of grace with the awareness that we do all these things before our Father, to be seen of Him. We are told that the Father, who sees in secret, will give the appropriate reward. We are then instructed that since our Father knows our needs before we ask him, that we are not to use vain repetitions as the heathen do, thinking that they may be heard for their many words. Then Jesus tells us: Matthew 6: 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father, which are in heaven and so forth..
What is prayer?
Let John Calvin (1509-1564) answer our question: ‘Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to him, or of exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things.’. Luther put it more succinctly still: ‘By our praying ... we are instructing ourselves more than we are him’.
1. Jesus taught about prayer in the gospels.
To reiterate what was said above, as Jesus gave His teachings on prayer, He gave caution against three errors: Hypocrisy, Self Promotion and Empty Talking. He included the giving of alms, praying and fasting in in His counsel, which begins in chapter 6 of Matthew.
In being taught how to pray, we are aware that it is neither the praise of men, nor a ground for self-commendation, but rather the approval of God that guides our journey towards a more intimate relationship with our Father in heaven through prayer.
Additionally, we experience for ourselves the struggle that often faces us as we commune with our and are reminded of why Jesus instructed us to enter our closet, and AFTER we have shut the door, to pray to the Father who sees in secret. The following illustration is something perhaps that we may be able to relate to...
A little girl was being instructed by her father of the importance of thinking on the meaning of the words in the Lord's Prayer and of how it was a special time of talking with and hearing from God. He went on to say that she should try her hardest not to think about anything else while she is praying. He told her that if she could pray the whole prayer without thinking about anything else, he would give her a horse. The girl began to pray and after she said, "Give us our daily bread", she said, Daddy, "Can I have a saddle with it?"
2. Jesus prayed (There are at least 27 prayers of Jesus recorded in the Bible)
He began His ministry with prayer.
KJV Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
KJV Luke 5:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
KJV Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
KJV Luke 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
KJV Luke 9:18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
KJV Luke 9:28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
KJV Luke 9:29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
KJV Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
KJV Luke 22:39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
KJV Luke 22:40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
KJV Luke 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
KJV Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
He ended His earthly ministry with a prayer of blessing.
Luke 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
3. As the body of Jesus Christ, we are called to prayer
KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
KJV 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
KJV James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.
Therefore we ask the Lord to teach us to pray, even as the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
4. Lord, Teach us to pray
KJV Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
KJV Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
KJV Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
KJV Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
From Luther's Small Catechism, we are reminded of the meanings of each one of the petitions. May those teachings that we learned as a young person be renewed in our minds and inspire us to a new appreciation for what the Lord has given to us in His prayer. There are four parts to the Lord's Prayer
1. Introduction
2. First Three Petitions: God's name, God's rule, God's will
3. Second Three Petitions: Our dependence, our need for forgiveness, our need for protection by God
4. Conclusion: His kingdom is powerful, glorious, eternal
Introduction: Our Father Who are in Heaven
What is meant by this?
God would hereby truly invite us to believe that He is truly our Father, and that we are truly His children, so that we may ask of Him with all cheerfulness and confidence as dear children ask of their father.
In telling us to address God as ‘our Father in heaven’, the concern of Jesus is not with protocol (teaching us the correct etiquette in approaching the Deity) but with truth (that we may come to him in the right frame of mind). It is always wise, before we pray, to spend time deliberately recalling who he is. Only then shall we come to our loving Father in heaven with appropriate humility, devotion and confidence.
Further when we have taken time and trouble to orientate ourselves toward God and recollect what manner of God he is, our personal, loving, powerful Father, then the content of our prayers will be radically affected in two ways. First, God’s concerns will be given priority ... (‘your name, your kingdom ..., your will ...’). Secondly, our own needs, though demoted to second place, will yet be comprehensively committed to him (‘Give us ..., forgive us ..., deliver us ...’). (John Stott)
The first three petitions in the Lord’s prayer express our concern for God’s glory in relation to his name, rule and will.
First Petition: Hallowed be Thy Name.
What is meant by this?
The Name of God is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be hallowed also among us.
How is this done?
When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. This grant us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God's Word teaches, profanes the Name of God among us. From this preserve us, heavenly Father.
Second Petition: Thy kingdom come
What is meant by this?
The kingdom of God comes indeed of itself, without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may come also to us.
How is this done?
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit; so that by His grace we believe in His Holy Word and lead a godly life, here in time and hereafter in eternity.
Many great kingdoms have rose, but they have all disappeared and are now history. The great Babylonian Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Russian Royal Families, the British dominance in Europe have all disappeared into the past, but the kingdom of God came with Jesus and yet reigns today through the King Jesus.
The Third Petition: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
What is meant by this?
The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done also among us.
How is this done?
When God defeats and hinders every evil counsel and purpose, which would not let us hallow God's Name nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our own flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His gracious, and good will.
In the second half of the Lord’s prayer the possessive adjective changes from ‘your’ to ‘our’, as we turn from God’s affairs to our own.
Having expressed our burning concern for his glory, we now express our humble dependence on his grace. A true understanding of the God we pray to, as heavenly Father and great King, although putting our personal needs into a second and subsidiary place, will not eliminate them. To decline to mention them at all in prayer (on the ground that we do not want to bother God with such trivialities) is as great an error as to allow them to dominate our prayers. For since God is ‘our Father in heaven’ and loves us with a father’s love, he is concerned for the total welfare of his children and wants us to bring our needs trustingly to him, our need of food and of forgiveness and of deliverance from evil. We seek God for our daily needs, we seek Him for forgiveness and we seek Him so that we would be preserved from temptation. We are underscoring our total reliance on God. (John Stott)
The Fourth Petition: Give us this day our daily bread.
What is meant by this? God gives daily bread indeed without our prayer, even to all the wicked; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to acknowledge this and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread? All that belongs to the wants and support of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, cattle, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, order, honor, true friends, good neighbors, and the like.
God never missed one day in providing manna for His people in the forty years in the wilderness and that which He had spoke to them concerning His warnings always came true. He fed them in a way that He had never done before, therefore can He not provide for us in ways that He has never done before? Yes, He can and He will.
We are God's personal concern, for He is our Father and He knows best.
God is able to discern between our needs and our desires.
Whatever God gives us is not mine only to use, but rather it is to be used to share with others. If some do not have as we do, we are to help those who have needs.
The Fifth Petition:And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
What is meant by this?
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer; for we are not worthy of anything we ask, neither have we deserved them; but we pray that He would grant them all to us by grace; for we sin much every day and deserve nothing but punishment. And on our part we will heartily forgive and readily to good to those who sin against us.
The Sixth Petition: Lead us not into temptation.
What does this mean?
God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our own flesh may not deceive us, nor lead us into unbelief, despair, and other shameful sin and vice; and, though we be tempted, that we may still in the end overcome and obtain the victory.
But Deliver us from evil.
What is meant by this?
We pray in this petition, as the sum of all, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil of body and soul, property, and honor, and at the last, when the hour of death shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of sorrow to Himself in heaven.
Thus the three petitions cover all our human need - material (daily bread), spiritual (forgiveness of sins) and moral (deliverance from evil). What we are doing whenever we pray this prayer is to express our dependence upon God in every area of our human life.
Conclusion: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
What is meant by this?
That I should be sure that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him, for He Himself has promised to pray, and has promised to hear us.
Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.
We need to remember that he loves us with most tender affection, that he sees us as his children even in the secret place, that he knows all their needs before they ask him, and that he acts on behalf of us, his children by his heavenly and kingly power. If we thus allow Scripture to fashion our image of God, if we recall his character and practise his presence, we shall never pray with hypocrisy but always with integrity, never mechanically but always thoughtfully, like the children of God we are.
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, your Son taught us that we are to pray, He taught us how to pray and He emphasized His teachings with action. For He spent many hours with you in the communion of prayer, sometimes all night. Father, help us to grow in our dependence upon you and diminish in our self reliance on self. May we see come before your Word in humble, sincerely and truthfully, seeing ourselves as we truly are: prone to trust in self, prone to forget that you are our Father who truly loves us, who knows what is best for us, and who filters every trial that we experience through love.
May we as a part of body of Jesus Christ here in our congregation grow in our awareness of the power of prayer, may we participate in a greater way in this grace of prayer and fellowship. May those in the community come to see the effects of our praying congregation, that they would see this church as a house of prayer.
As we learn to pray, dear Father, may we lean upon your promises which are recorded in your Word. May we continue to trust you inspite of that which we see as a setback in our lives, knowing that what is a setback to us is for You an opportunity to being blessing into our future lives.
As we intercede in prayer for one another, may we remember that we are the link between the one we are praying for and the One to whom we are praying. We are in the middle and You long to have us ask You to bless someone else. When praying through to the answer to whatever is before us, let us not let the worsening circumstance hinder us from continuing in prayer. Let us not give in to hopelessness when dealing with seemingly futile situations, but rather trust you in your promises.
Lord, Will you teach us to pray?
In the name of and for the sake of the name of Jesus, Amen.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always!
Pastor Orval Wirkkala
NLT 2 Peter 1:12 I plan to keep on reminding you of these things-- even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth.
13 Yes, I believe I should keep on reminding you of these things as long as I live.
14 But the Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that my days here on earth are numbered and I am soon to die.
15 So I will work hard to make these things clear to you. I want you to remember them long after I am gone.
Prayer is certainly one of °these things° of which much is spoken about in the Bible and much is written about in today's world. We know of the importance of prayer, we understand the power of it, but yet it remains one of the most difficult disciplines of grace that have been given to us to master. Yet it is through the regular and continual exposure to the plans and purpose of God that we are able to be reminded of and directed toward the right mind, heart and attitude towards prayer, and thereby, the practice of it.
As we think about prayer in relation to what the Apostle Peter has written in his letter, we realize that it is needful for some of us to on occasion be exposed anew to the teachings and examples in the Scripture concerning prayer. There are many rich examples in the Bible of the experiences of those who have come to "live a life of prayer" in the body of Jesus Christ. There are also those who live today who have yielded themselves and are yet yielding themselves to a "life of prayer." It is not so much that they have mastered prayer, but that they have come to understand and experience in a greater way what it means to live in the body of Jesus Christ. But yet we know that from the testimony of others and through our own experience, prayer is not something that comes naturally to us. So, we desire to be reminded of that which the Lord has taught us about, of that which He has given us clear example through His life, and of that He calls us to imitate:: We would be a praying body.
Utilizing visible things as reminders of past occasions of the deliverance of God is nothing new, for we read in the book of Joshua and of how the children of Israel were told to keep before themselves and succeeding generations 'stones of remembrance." These reminders were to keep in their memory of their being brought through the river Jordan by the Lord. Verse 24 gives that which the Lord wanted them to be reminded of through the visible sign of the stones that were left in a conspicuous place so that as they went through their everyday life they would not forget, but would be reminded. The stones were not only for the children of Israel, but were for all people as the verse indicates
1) All people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty
2) That they, the children of Israel, would fear the Lord their God forever.
Joshua 4:21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
All of us have wall hangings in our homes. Some we have purchased ourselves, but others have been given to us by those who wished to bring us encouragement. Some of these things are of a spiritual nature, some are not necessarily so, but they are all there for the purpose of bringing blessing to the hearts and lives of ourselves and to those with whom we have fellowship. Look around your home and attempt to recall to memory of the occasion in which a particular "blessing" was inherited by us, purchased by ourselves or which was given to us. We think on the meaning that is given from either the message or the symbolism on the wall hanging and are blessed anew by the message. Additionally, when someone has given us this type of gift that is designed to bless us, we are again appreciative of the kindness that was extended to us by someone who cared and does cares. A gift that is given to us and which is left in a conspicuous place will be a continual source of blessing to us.
Marion Daniels has knit together over 7500 feet of yarn in the making of this app 4'x4' wall hanging of the Lord's Prayer, which will be our subject of meditation today. May we be renewed in our awareness today of the richness and the depth of what we have been given by Jesus in the prayer that He taught us. May this gift that has been given to us as a congregation be an encouragement as well as inspiration for many years to come. May Marion be blessed for her the kindness and love she extends to us in our congregation.
We will use as the basis of our meditation the first four verses of the 11th chapter of Luke's Gospel. But before we read that, we will read the first 8 verses of the 6th chapter of Matthew's Gospel.
KJV Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Jesus addresses the giving of alms, prayer and fasting in this teaching which was part of His Sermon on the Mount, which is contained in chapters 5-7. He cautions against not doing these things to be seen by others, to resist the temptation to "keep score ourselves", but to practice these disciplines of grace with the awareness that we do all these things before our Father, to be seen of Him. We are told that the Father, who sees in secret, will give the appropriate reward. We are then instructed that since our Father knows our needs before we ask him, that we are not to use vain repetitions as the heathen do, thinking that they may be heard for their many words. Then Jesus tells us: Matthew 6: 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father, which are in heaven and so forth..
What is prayer?
Let John Calvin (1509-1564) answer our question: ‘Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to him, or of exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things.’. Luther put it more succinctly still: ‘By our praying ... we are instructing ourselves more than we are him’.
1. Jesus taught about prayer in the gospels.
To reiterate what was said above, as Jesus gave His teachings on prayer, He gave caution against three errors: Hypocrisy, Self Promotion and Empty Talking. He included the giving of alms, praying and fasting in in His counsel, which begins in chapter 6 of Matthew.
In being taught how to pray, we are aware that it is neither the praise of men, nor a ground for self-commendation, but rather the approval of God that guides our journey towards a more intimate relationship with our Father in heaven through prayer.
Additionally, we experience for ourselves the struggle that often faces us as we commune with our and are reminded of why Jesus instructed us to enter our closet, and AFTER we have shut the door, to pray to the Father who sees in secret. The following illustration is something perhaps that we may be able to relate to...
A little girl was being instructed by her father of the importance of thinking on the meaning of the words in the Lord's Prayer and of how it was a special time of talking with and hearing from God. He went on to say that she should try her hardest not to think about anything else while she is praying. He told her that if she could pray the whole prayer without thinking about anything else, he would give her a horse. The girl began to pray and after she said, "Give us our daily bread", she said, Daddy, "Can I have a saddle with it?"
2. Jesus prayed (There are at least 27 prayers of Jesus recorded in the Bible)
He began His ministry with prayer.
KJV Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
KJV Luke 5:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
KJV Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
KJV Luke 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
KJV Luke 9:18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
KJV Luke 9:28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
KJV Luke 9:29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
KJV Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
KJV Luke 22:39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
KJV Luke 22:40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
KJV Luke 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
KJV Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
He ended His earthly ministry with a prayer of blessing.
Luke 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
3. As the body of Jesus Christ, we are called to prayer
KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
KJV 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
KJV James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
KJV 1 Thessalonians 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.
Therefore we ask the Lord to teach us to pray, even as the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
4. Lord, Teach us to pray
KJV Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
KJV Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
KJV Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
KJV Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
From Luther's Small Catechism, we are reminded of the meanings of each one of the petitions. May those teachings that we learned as a young person be renewed in our minds and inspire us to a new appreciation for what the Lord has given to us in His prayer. There are four parts to the Lord's Prayer
1. Introduction
2. First Three Petitions: God's name, God's rule, God's will
3. Second Three Petitions: Our dependence, our need for forgiveness, our need for protection by God
4. Conclusion: His kingdom is powerful, glorious, eternal
Introduction: Our Father Who are in Heaven
What is meant by this?
God would hereby truly invite us to believe that He is truly our Father, and that we are truly His children, so that we may ask of Him with all cheerfulness and confidence as dear children ask of their father.
In telling us to address God as ‘our Father in heaven’, the concern of Jesus is not with protocol (teaching us the correct etiquette in approaching the Deity) but with truth (that we may come to him in the right frame of mind). It is always wise, before we pray, to spend time deliberately recalling who he is. Only then shall we come to our loving Father in heaven with appropriate humility, devotion and confidence.
Further when we have taken time and trouble to orientate ourselves toward God and recollect what manner of God he is, our personal, loving, powerful Father, then the content of our prayers will be radically affected in two ways. First, God’s concerns will be given priority ... (‘your name, your kingdom ..., your will ...’). Secondly, our own needs, though demoted to second place, will yet be comprehensively committed to him (‘Give us ..., forgive us ..., deliver us ...’). (John Stott)
The first three petitions in the Lord’s prayer express our concern for God’s glory in relation to his name, rule and will.
First Petition: Hallowed be Thy Name.
What is meant by this?
The Name of God is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be hallowed also among us.
How is this done?
When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. This grant us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God's Word teaches, profanes the Name of God among us. From this preserve us, heavenly Father.
Second Petition: Thy kingdom come
What is meant by this?
The kingdom of God comes indeed of itself, without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may come also to us.
How is this done?
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit; so that by His grace we believe in His Holy Word and lead a godly life, here in time and hereafter in eternity.
Many great kingdoms have rose, but they have all disappeared and are now history. The great Babylonian Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Russian Royal Families, the British dominance in Europe have all disappeared into the past, but the kingdom of God came with Jesus and yet reigns today through the King Jesus.
The Third Petition: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
What is meant by this?
The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done also among us.
How is this done?
When God defeats and hinders every evil counsel and purpose, which would not let us hallow God's Name nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our own flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His gracious, and good will.
In the second half of the Lord’s prayer the possessive adjective changes from ‘your’ to ‘our’, as we turn from God’s affairs to our own.
Having expressed our burning concern for his glory, we now express our humble dependence on his grace. A true understanding of the God we pray to, as heavenly Father and great King, although putting our personal needs into a second and subsidiary place, will not eliminate them. To decline to mention them at all in prayer (on the ground that we do not want to bother God with such trivialities) is as great an error as to allow them to dominate our prayers. For since God is ‘our Father in heaven’ and loves us with a father’s love, he is concerned for the total welfare of his children and wants us to bring our needs trustingly to him, our need of food and of forgiveness and of deliverance from evil. We seek God for our daily needs, we seek Him for forgiveness and we seek Him so that we would be preserved from temptation. We are underscoring our total reliance on God. (John Stott)
The Fourth Petition: Give us this day our daily bread.
What is meant by this? God gives daily bread indeed without our prayer, even to all the wicked; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to acknowledge this and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread? All that belongs to the wants and support of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, cattle, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, order, honor, true friends, good neighbors, and the like.
God never missed one day in providing manna for His people in the forty years in the wilderness and that which He had spoke to them concerning His warnings always came true. He fed them in a way that He had never done before, therefore can He not provide for us in ways that He has never done before? Yes, He can and He will.
We are God's personal concern, for He is our Father and He knows best.
God is able to discern between our needs and our desires.
Whatever God gives us is not mine only to use, but rather it is to be used to share with others. If some do not have as we do, we are to help those who have needs.
The Fifth Petition:And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
What is meant by this?
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer; for we are not worthy of anything we ask, neither have we deserved them; but we pray that He would grant them all to us by grace; for we sin much every day and deserve nothing but punishment. And on our part we will heartily forgive and readily to good to those who sin against us.
The Sixth Petition: Lead us not into temptation.
What does this mean?
God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our own flesh may not deceive us, nor lead us into unbelief, despair, and other shameful sin and vice; and, though we be tempted, that we may still in the end overcome and obtain the victory.
But Deliver us from evil.
What is meant by this?
We pray in this petition, as the sum of all, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil of body and soul, property, and honor, and at the last, when the hour of death shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of sorrow to Himself in heaven.
Thus the three petitions cover all our human need - material (daily bread), spiritual (forgiveness of sins) and moral (deliverance from evil). What we are doing whenever we pray this prayer is to express our dependence upon God in every area of our human life.
Conclusion: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
What is meant by this?
That I should be sure that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him, for He Himself has promised to pray, and has promised to hear us.
Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.
We need to remember that he loves us with most tender affection, that he sees us as his children even in the secret place, that he knows all their needs before they ask him, and that he acts on behalf of us, his children by his heavenly and kingly power. If we thus allow Scripture to fashion our image of God, if we recall his character and practise his presence, we shall never pray with hypocrisy but always with integrity, never mechanically but always thoughtfully, like the children of God we are.
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, your Son taught us that we are to pray, He taught us how to pray and He emphasized His teachings with action. For He spent many hours with you in the communion of prayer, sometimes all night. Father, help us to grow in our dependence upon you and diminish in our self reliance on self. May we see come before your Word in humble, sincerely and truthfully, seeing ourselves as we truly are: prone to trust in self, prone to forget that you are our Father who truly loves us, who knows what is best for us, and who filters every trial that we experience through love.
May we as a part of body of Jesus Christ here in our congregation grow in our awareness of the power of prayer, may we participate in a greater way in this grace of prayer and fellowship. May those in the community come to see the effects of our praying congregation, that they would see this church as a house of prayer.
As we learn to pray, dear Father, may we lean upon your promises which are recorded in your Word. May we continue to trust you inspite of that which we see as a setback in our lives, knowing that what is a setback to us is for You an opportunity to being blessing into our future lives.
As we intercede in prayer for one another, may we remember that we are the link between the one we are praying for and the One to whom we are praying. We are in the middle and You long to have us ask You to bless someone else. When praying through to the answer to whatever is before us, let us not let the worsening circumstance hinder us from continuing in prayer. Let us not give in to hopelessness when dealing with seemingly futile situations, but rather trust you in your promises.
Lord, Will you teach us to pray?
In the name of and for the sake of the name of Jesus, Amen.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always!
Pastor Orval Wirkkala
When we were recently at the funeral of my niece, Laura, in Washington State, letters were read that had been written by herself to her husband and to her daughter, which were to be read upon her passing from this life. In the letters she expressed her love for them, her appreciation and thankfulness for the relationships she had had with them, but she also pointed them to the future, emphasizing to them of the importance of knowing Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. The minister who preached the sermon did a fine job of then connecting the letters that she had written with the Letter (The Bible) that God has written to us in which He expresses to us of His love for us, of the need/necessity of our getting to know Him as our Saviour and Lord through Jesus Christ, doing this by bringing us into union with Himself and His Son.
It was encouraging for me to hear the letters that were read as it had been my privilege on occasion to visit with Laura in her lastt years on the phone during which she shared some of her personal struggles with me. She was able, by the grace of God, to leave her past and to press forward toward the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus, looking to the Author and Finisher of her faith, Jesus Himself. It was particularly encouraging for me and continues to be, as I reflect on her life with her health struggles, her personal struggles, in that she was able to live in forgiveness of her past, she was able to live in grace of the present and therefore, she looked to the future with expectation and hope. She could do so because her hope and joy was grounded in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This came forth clearly in her letters to her loved ones.
One of the greatest struggles we have in our lives is accepting the reality that what God has done for us through His Son is sufficient and that there are no additions that we must provide on our behalf in order to be reconciled/reconnected to God. We are called upon to believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ. God has done all the work, and we are called by God to believe upon that which He has done for us in Christ.
Laura, using a similar pattern, wrote the letters to her loved ones, in that she first affirmed her acceptance and love for them before giving them some guidance and direction for their lives, in that she longed for them to know her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. In her letters, she followed the same pattern that God did in showing of His love for us. He first affirmed our value in Him by reconciling'reconnecting us unto Himself through Jesus, and He calls upon us to believe this for our eternal salvation. This is always the pattern with which our God approaches us in order to bring revelation of Himself to us.
First comes relationship, and then direction. And it is ever so important that our relationship with him be based upon what God has written as the basis of the relationship that He wants to establish with us. And not only establish, but to grow as well. He wants us to grow closer in oneness of heart with Him. That means go grow in our awareness and experience who we are in Him. It means that we are become participants in the body of Jesus Christ and partakers of the divine nature.
From these initial remarks, then we understand that all relationships need grace and truth to be established as well as to grow. But they need one more thing also: What do you think that is? They need time. The Apostle Peter, who wrote this letter, (2 Peter) the opening part of which we are going to read and meditate upon, certainly is a case in point in that Jesus, on the first occasion when He saw Peter, pointed to that which He saw Peter becoming in the future. (John 1:35-42)
Shortly after that He called Peter to follow Him so that He could make him a fisher of men. (Matthew 4:18-29)
Then for three years Peter struggled with what it meant to be a follower of Jesus as well as a fisher of men, not really coming to understand and experience what it was all about until after the Day of Pentecost. On that day when He was filled with the Holy Spirit, He begin to see in a clearer manner of that which Jesus had meant for Him to come to know and to experience through the knowledge of His suffering and resurrection. He begin to preach Jesus Christ and even though he continued to be subject to the frailities of his human nature, he nevertheless spoke of the rightousness of faith. He pointed to the finished work of Jesus Christ in his preaching, by his life and in his writings.
Laura needed grace, she needed truth, and she also needed time to gro.
Peter needed grace, he needed truth, and he also needed time to grow.
We need grace, we need truth, and we also need time to grow.
Our relationships with one another need grace, they need truth, and they also need time to grow.
Those we desire to lead to Jesus need grace, they need truth, and they also need time to grow.
KJV 2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to (by his) glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Luther: "The knowledge of God is not only that we believe that He created all things, it is not only that we believe that the Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered, died and rose again, but that we believe that God is our God and that Jesus Christ is our Christ."
As we wrote earlier, we live in the knowledge and experience in this union with Christ through the His finished work. This is our experience through faith. This is what it means that we have obtained "like precious faith." Because we have this experience, which must come through repentance toward God and because of faith in Christ Jesus, we are living in the growing awareness and knowledge of the grace and peace of God and of Jesus our Lord. Peter here expresses the wish that this grace and peace from God would be increased in us, that it would be multiplied. This is much more than the word "adding" would imply, as we can easily see that the if one takes the number 5 and doubles it, one comes up with the number 10. But if you multiply 5 times 5, one arrives at 25. We will come to the word "add" later.
Let us prayerfully consider to what Peter may be referring to with becoming a "partaker of his divine nature," which he writes about in verse 4. In verse 3, he refers to the reality that God has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to/by glory and virtue. In verses 3 and 4, the foundation is laid, which is the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Everything is built off of this reality. If we do not have this as our foundation, the rest of the text is meaningless for us, for it will become a work by which we will try to fix our problems and strive to improve our life with external means. We must believe and live in the experience that God has given us all that is needed in our union with Him and that everything that is His is ours. Jesus, in His high priestly prayer, alluded to this "oneness" when He prayed for us shortly before He gave His life for us.
John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
The Apostle Paul referred to this union, comparing it to a building in which God lives through His Spirit.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
In other words, we are to be in practice what we already are. When we have troubles in our life, we think that all we need is a verse or two, but we need a lot more than that. We need to understand the first four verses of 2 Peter 1 in that we have been given all things which pertain to life and godliness. We have much more than a life coach who can give us a few principles or bible verses. We are in union with the living God, for He dwells in us by His Spirit. God has given us all things that are needed when He has given us salvation. On Christmas Eve, remember getting a toy that required batteries but there were no batteries, and all the stores were closed. God has given us the gift with the batteries, the power, the Holy Spirit.
Now Peter addresses that age old question that has plagued and continues to plague the church: Since we are saved by grace through faith, are works needful? He says, they are not only needful, but that they will follow a faith that is living. And they are evidence of that our faith is alive and not dead. Here are a few verses which speak of faith, in the negative and in the positive.
KJV James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
KJV Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
KJV 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
KJV 1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
KJV 1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Note that it goes from relationship with God, to our relationship with others. This is the pattern we see in the Ten Commandments, in the Beatitudes and even somewhat in the Lord's Prayer. God always addresses first His relationship to us, (v 1-4) our relationship with Him (v 5-6)and then our relationship with others. (v 7) Let us look at verses 5-7.
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; (moral goodness) and to virtue knowledge; (understanding of what is right according to God)
6 And to knowledge temperance; (self control) and to temperance patience; (steadfastness, endurance, perserverance) and to patience godliness; (reverence, respect, piety towards God)
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness;(Christian love toward one another) and to brotherly kindness charity. (Love to not only Christians, but to everyone, for as Christians we have no enemies)
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luther: "That is, if you do works of these kind, you are on the right path and have a true faith, and the knowledge of God is active and fruitful in you. Therefore see to it that you do not make light of this. Hold your body in subjection, and do for your neighbor as you know that Christ has done for you."
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Christianity does not stop when we come into a saving relationship with Jesus. If we are truly united with Him in union, it cannot be so. How can one plant good seeds and they not come forth into beautiful flowers? Or a beautiful harvest of corn? The nature of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is to grow and to flourish for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. For the glory of God is to save sinners through His Son, Jesus Christ. Peter, in the beginning of this chapter prays that our knowledge of who we truly are in this union with Christ would grow exponentially, that it would multiply in our knowledge. Then he calls upon us to build upon this awareness and experience by adding to our faith through yielding ourselves to the constraining influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives for the benefit of the growth of the kingdom. We must always remember that the end of our growth through this process is not our "increased spirituality," but rather the goal is that we would be a spiritual blessing to others in that they would come to know and experience the saving work of Jesus Christ. Peter warns us against retreating into ourselves, whereby we become blind to that who we are in Christ, forgetting that He has wiped our slate clean through His atoning for our sins.
As we meditate upon these truths, and struggle to understand not only the meaning of them as well as the application of them into our lives, perhaps a couple of modern day experiences will assist us in seeing just what it is that Peter is teaching us in these verses. One is from our sister in Ghana, Alice Magola, who is in fellowship with the Foreign Mission Board of our Federation of churches and the other illustration is from a young mother who sent me an email some time ago.Here Alice shows us the meaning of compassion: Experiencing pain and hurt because of suffering combined with a desire and willingness to minister to those who are in need, spiritually, physically and economically)
"I thank God that He has been faithful to all of us including everybody reading this report. Many of you will be touched in one way or another. If a neighbor, work mate, a relative to us or someone we know – and the list goes on – pass away due to Aids, surely we are affected. I for one have badly been affected as quite a number of my relatives and some friends died untimely deaths due to Aids. Some it was due to not living right but some were innocently infected by either spouse or blood transfusion. This is the sad part of this disease. I have chosen therefore to turn my pain into something that can change somebody’s life. To show the Agape type of love – and I pray that God will always help me not to judge why people are in that situation. I just want to show them to the Cross of Jesus. Hallelujah!!'
Alice Magola
The person that sent me the email had read this daily devotion by Oswald Chambers, which he entitled "THE WATERS OF SATISFACTION SCATTERED," using this following scripture verse as his basis.
Nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord."2 Samuel 23:16
What has been like water from the well of Bethlehem to you recently - love,friendship, spiritual blessing? Then at the peril of your soul, you take it to satisfy yourself. If you do, you cannot pour it out before the Lord. You can never sanctify to God that with which you long to satisfy yourself. If you satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you; you must sacrifice it, pour it out, do with it what common sense says is an absurd waste. How am I to pour out unto the Lord natural love or spiritual blessing? In one way only - in the determination of my mind. There are certain acts of other people which one could never accept if one did not know God, because it is not within human power to repay them. But immediately I say - This is too great and worthy for me, it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out unto the Lord, then these things pour out in rivers of living water all around. Until I do pour these things out before the Lord, they endanger those I love as well as myself because they will turn to lust.We can be lustful in things which are not sordid and vile. Love has to get to its transfiguration point of being poured out unto the Lord. If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you clutched it for yourself; whereas if you had poured it out unto the Lord, you would have been the sweetest person out of heaven. If you are always taking blessings to yourself and never learn to pour out anything unto the Lord, other people do not get their horizon enlarged through you.
This part of the devotion really moved that person.
"If you are always taking blessings to yourself and never learn to pour out anything unto the Lord, other people do not get their horizon enlarged through you."
The person's comments:
"I'm not sure how that will play out exactly... I will let you know how things develop. I reached out to a few people today, who I believe are unsaved or struggling in their faith. I was thinking of texting them once a week, just with a bible verse or encouragement of some kind. Today I asked if there was anything I could pray for them specifically, and 3 out of the 4 responded to that with requests. So, I don't know what will happen. I will pray about it, and see where God leads".
These are personal experiences of two people who are living union with Jesus Christ and they are seeking to add to their faith, not for merit of self, but rather to live in outward expression of that which they are as a result of being united in the body of Jesus Christ. Their desires are becoming the desires of God even as yours and mine are. Peter continues on with his letter to his beloved readers, concluding with the encouragement that they/we would give diligence to that which he has written concerning our living and active faith. In verses 12-15, he pours out his heart to them/us, not wanting that "these things' would be forgotten, but that they/we would remember them always. May we never forget that which the Lord has done for us, that which He has given us, and that which He calls us to be as His people.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
Let us pray
Lord, thank you for your grace, thank you for revealing your truth unto us through your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Word. You have come to us, you who knew no sin, and you became sin for us that we might be reconnected with you through faith.
Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit inspired and written Holy Word, so that we might remain grounded upon that which you have established. Thank you that we have those around us who by their words and examples encourage us as well as challenge us so that we would not be stagnant in our relationship with you.
Lord, as they speak with us and to us, may we would not forget that we have been forgiven our sins and that we do not need to allow them to torment us any longer. Lord, help us to be servants of one another, rather than expecting to be served. Please keep these things in our remembrance so that we would not forget who we are in Christ Jesus. For in Him we have been given all things which pertain to life and godliness. We have no need of anything else.
Help us to see ourselves as you see us and that which you desire to work in us. And then Lord, help us to see and to treat one another as you see them and what you desire to accomplish in them through knowledge and experience. We have this in remembrance that your Son saw Peter in the beginning of his life as an opportunity for His grace, rather than a liability in His kingdom. Lord, you ministered grace unto Peter, you placed truth in front of him, but you were also very patient with him and in your time, he came to understand and experience the power of your resurrection. We thank you for your grace, your truth and your patience toward us, Lord. Amen.
Together in His grace,
Pastor Orval Wirkkala
It was encouraging for me to hear the letters that were read as it had been my privilege on occasion to visit with Laura in her lastt years on the phone during which she shared some of her personal struggles with me. She was able, by the grace of God, to leave her past and to press forward toward the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus, looking to the Author and Finisher of her faith, Jesus Himself. It was particularly encouraging for me and continues to be, as I reflect on her life with her health struggles, her personal struggles, in that she was able to live in forgiveness of her past, she was able to live in grace of the present and therefore, she looked to the future with expectation and hope. She could do so because her hope and joy was grounded in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This came forth clearly in her letters to her loved ones.
One of the greatest struggles we have in our lives is accepting the reality that what God has done for us through His Son is sufficient and that there are no additions that we must provide on our behalf in order to be reconciled/reconnected to God. We are called upon to believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ. God has done all the work, and we are called by God to believe upon that which He has done for us in Christ.
Laura, using a similar pattern, wrote the letters to her loved ones, in that she first affirmed her acceptance and love for them before giving them some guidance and direction for their lives, in that she longed for them to know her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. In her letters, she followed the same pattern that God did in showing of His love for us. He first affirmed our value in Him by reconciling'reconnecting us unto Himself through Jesus, and He calls upon us to believe this for our eternal salvation. This is always the pattern with which our God approaches us in order to bring revelation of Himself to us.
First comes relationship, and then direction. And it is ever so important that our relationship with him be based upon what God has written as the basis of the relationship that He wants to establish with us. And not only establish, but to grow as well. He wants us to grow closer in oneness of heart with Him. That means go grow in our awareness and experience who we are in Him. It means that we are become participants in the body of Jesus Christ and partakers of the divine nature.
From these initial remarks, then we understand that all relationships need grace and truth to be established as well as to grow. But they need one more thing also: What do you think that is? They need time. The Apostle Peter, who wrote this letter, (2 Peter) the opening part of which we are going to read and meditate upon, certainly is a case in point in that Jesus, on the first occasion when He saw Peter, pointed to that which He saw Peter becoming in the future. (John 1:35-42)
Shortly after that He called Peter to follow Him so that He could make him a fisher of men. (Matthew 4:18-29)
Then for three years Peter struggled with what it meant to be a follower of Jesus as well as a fisher of men, not really coming to understand and experience what it was all about until after the Day of Pentecost. On that day when He was filled with the Holy Spirit, He begin to see in a clearer manner of that which Jesus had meant for Him to come to know and to experience through the knowledge of His suffering and resurrection. He begin to preach Jesus Christ and even though he continued to be subject to the frailities of his human nature, he nevertheless spoke of the rightousness of faith. He pointed to the finished work of Jesus Christ in his preaching, by his life and in his writings.
Laura needed grace, she needed truth, and she also needed time to gro.
Peter needed grace, he needed truth, and he also needed time to grow.
We need grace, we need truth, and we also need time to grow.
Our relationships with one another need grace, they need truth, and they also need time to grow.
Those we desire to lead to Jesus need grace, they need truth, and they also need time to grow.
KJV 2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to (by his) glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Luther: "The knowledge of God is not only that we believe that He created all things, it is not only that we believe that the Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered, died and rose again, but that we believe that God is our God and that Jesus Christ is our Christ."
As we wrote earlier, we live in the knowledge and experience in this union with Christ through the His finished work. This is our experience through faith. This is what it means that we have obtained "like precious faith." Because we have this experience, which must come through repentance toward God and because of faith in Christ Jesus, we are living in the growing awareness and knowledge of the grace and peace of God and of Jesus our Lord. Peter here expresses the wish that this grace and peace from God would be increased in us, that it would be multiplied. This is much more than the word "adding" would imply, as we can easily see that the if one takes the number 5 and doubles it, one comes up with the number 10. But if you multiply 5 times 5, one arrives at 25. We will come to the word "add" later.
Let us prayerfully consider to what Peter may be referring to with becoming a "partaker of his divine nature," which he writes about in verse 4. In verse 3, he refers to the reality that God has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to/by glory and virtue. In verses 3 and 4, the foundation is laid, which is the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Everything is built off of this reality. If we do not have this as our foundation, the rest of the text is meaningless for us, for it will become a work by which we will try to fix our problems and strive to improve our life with external means. We must believe and live in the experience that God has given us all that is needed in our union with Him and that everything that is His is ours. Jesus, in His high priestly prayer, alluded to this "oneness" when He prayed for us shortly before He gave His life for us.
John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
The Apostle Paul referred to this union, comparing it to a building in which God lives through His Spirit.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
In other words, we are to be in practice what we already are. When we have troubles in our life, we think that all we need is a verse or two, but we need a lot more than that. We need to understand the first four verses of 2 Peter 1 in that we have been given all things which pertain to life and godliness. We have much more than a life coach who can give us a few principles or bible verses. We are in union with the living God, for He dwells in us by His Spirit. God has given us all things that are needed when He has given us salvation. On Christmas Eve, remember getting a toy that required batteries but there were no batteries, and all the stores were closed. God has given us the gift with the batteries, the power, the Holy Spirit.
Now Peter addresses that age old question that has plagued and continues to plague the church: Since we are saved by grace through faith, are works needful? He says, they are not only needful, but that they will follow a faith that is living. And they are evidence of that our faith is alive and not dead. Here are a few verses which speak of faith, in the negative and in the positive.
KJV James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
KJV Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
KJV 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
KJV 1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
KJV 1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Note that it goes from relationship with God, to our relationship with others. This is the pattern we see in the Ten Commandments, in the Beatitudes and even somewhat in the Lord's Prayer. God always addresses first His relationship to us, (v 1-4) our relationship with Him (v 5-6)and then our relationship with others. (v 7) Let us look at verses 5-7.
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; (moral goodness) and to virtue knowledge; (understanding of what is right according to God)
6 And to knowledge temperance; (self control) and to temperance patience; (steadfastness, endurance, perserverance) and to patience godliness; (reverence, respect, piety towards God)
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness;(Christian love toward one another) and to brotherly kindness charity. (Love to not only Christians, but to everyone, for as Christians we have no enemies)
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luther: "That is, if you do works of these kind, you are on the right path and have a true faith, and the knowledge of God is active and fruitful in you. Therefore see to it that you do not make light of this. Hold your body in subjection, and do for your neighbor as you know that Christ has done for you."
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Christianity does not stop when we come into a saving relationship with Jesus. If we are truly united with Him in union, it cannot be so. How can one plant good seeds and they not come forth into beautiful flowers? Or a beautiful harvest of corn? The nature of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is to grow and to flourish for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. For the glory of God is to save sinners through His Son, Jesus Christ. Peter, in the beginning of this chapter prays that our knowledge of who we truly are in this union with Christ would grow exponentially, that it would multiply in our knowledge. Then he calls upon us to build upon this awareness and experience by adding to our faith through yielding ourselves to the constraining influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives for the benefit of the growth of the kingdom. We must always remember that the end of our growth through this process is not our "increased spirituality," but rather the goal is that we would be a spiritual blessing to others in that they would come to know and experience the saving work of Jesus Christ. Peter warns us against retreating into ourselves, whereby we become blind to that who we are in Christ, forgetting that He has wiped our slate clean through His atoning for our sins.
As we meditate upon these truths, and struggle to understand not only the meaning of them as well as the application of them into our lives, perhaps a couple of modern day experiences will assist us in seeing just what it is that Peter is teaching us in these verses. One is from our sister in Ghana, Alice Magola, who is in fellowship with the Foreign Mission Board of our Federation of churches and the other illustration is from a young mother who sent me an email some time ago.Here Alice shows us the meaning of compassion: Experiencing pain and hurt because of suffering combined with a desire and willingness to minister to those who are in need, spiritually, physically and economically)
"I thank God that He has been faithful to all of us including everybody reading this report. Many of you will be touched in one way or another. If a neighbor, work mate, a relative to us or someone we know – and the list goes on – pass away due to Aids, surely we are affected. I for one have badly been affected as quite a number of my relatives and some friends died untimely deaths due to Aids. Some it was due to not living right but some were innocently infected by either spouse or blood transfusion. This is the sad part of this disease. I have chosen therefore to turn my pain into something that can change somebody’s life. To show the Agape type of love – and I pray that God will always help me not to judge why people are in that situation. I just want to show them to the Cross of Jesus. Hallelujah!!'
Alice Magola
The person that sent me the email had read this daily devotion by Oswald Chambers, which he entitled "THE WATERS OF SATISFACTION SCATTERED," using this following scripture verse as his basis.
Nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord."2 Samuel 23:16
What has been like water from the well of Bethlehem to you recently - love,friendship, spiritual blessing? Then at the peril of your soul, you take it to satisfy yourself. If you do, you cannot pour it out before the Lord. You can never sanctify to God that with which you long to satisfy yourself. If you satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you; you must sacrifice it, pour it out, do with it what common sense says is an absurd waste. How am I to pour out unto the Lord natural love or spiritual blessing? In one way only - in the determination of my mind. There are certain acts of other people which one could never accept if one did not know God, because it is not within human power to repay them. But immediately I say - This is too great and worthy for me, it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out unto the Lord, then these things pour out in rivers of living water all around. Until I do pour these things out before the Lord, they endanger those I love as well as myself because they will turn to lust.We can be lustful in things which are not sordid and vile. Love has to get to its transfiguration point of being poured out unto the Lord. If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you clutched it for yourself; whereas if you had poured it out unto the Lord, you would have been the sweetest person out of heaven. If you are always taking blessings to yourself and never learn to pour out anything unto the Lord, other people do not get their horizon enlarged through you.
This part of the devotion really moved that person.
"If you are always taking blessings to yourself and never learn to pour out anything unto the Lord, other people do not get their horizon enlarged through you."
The person's comments:
"I'm not sure how that will play out exactly... I will let you know how things develop. I reached out to a few people today, who I believe are unsaved or struggling in their faith. I was thinking of texting them once a week, just with a bible verse or encouragement of some kind. Today I asked if there was anything I could pray for them specifically, and 3 out of the 4 responded to that with requests. So, I don't know what will happen. I will pray about it, and see where God leads".
These are personal experiences of two people who are living union with Jesus Christ and they are seeking to add to their faith, not for merit of self, but rather to live in outward expression of that which they are as a result of being united in the body of Jesus Christ. Their desires are becoming the desires of God even as yours and mine are. Peter continues on with his letter to his beloved readers, concluding with the encouragement that they/we would give diligence to that which he has written concerning our living and active faith. In verses 12-15, he pours out his heart to them/us, not wanting that "these things' would be forgotten, but that they/we would remember them always. May we never forget that which the Lord has done for us, that which He has given us, and that which He calls us to be as His people.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
Let us pray
Lord, thank you for your grace, thank you for revealing your truth unto us through your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Word. You have come to us, you who knew no sin, and you became sin for us that we might be reconnected with you through faith.
Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit inspired and written Holy Word, so that we might remain grounded upon that which you have established. Thank you that we have those around us who by their words and examples encourage us as well as challenge us so that we would not be stagnant in our relationship with you.
Lord, as they speak with us and to us, may we would not forget that we have been forgiven our sins and that we do not need to allow them to torment us any longer. Lord, help us to be servants of one another, rather than expecting to be served. Please keep these things in our remembrance so that we would not forget who we are in Christ Jesus. For in Him we have been given all things which pertain to life and godliness. We have no need of anything else.
Help us to see ourselves as you see us and that which you desire to work in us. And then Lord, help us to see and to treat one another as you see them and what you desire to accomplish in them through knowledge and experience. We have this in remembrance that your Son saw Peter in the beginning of his life as an opportunity for His grace, rather than a liability in His kingdom. Lord, you ministered grace unto Peter, you placed truth in front of him, but you were also very patient with him and in your time, he came to understand and experience the power of your resurrection. We thank you for your grace, your truth and your patience toward us, Lord. Amen.
Together in His grace,
Pastor Orval Wirkkala
<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Next >>
9/10 :Church Family Camp weekend
9/11 :Church Family Camp weekend
9/12 :Church Family Camp weekend
9/19 9:10am:Sunday School res...
9/24 :Fall Youth Rally
See Full Calendar...
Stonelake family, As they grieve the loss of Vicki's mother, Virginia.
Read more...