Sermon in Seattle 16.03.2014

Good morning in God's Feast. Welcome to this morning's service. Why don't we begin this morning by quietening our hearts in prayer and thanksgiving.

Dear Heavenly Father, You who have again allowed us to come together around Your Word. We ask You that You would be with us through Your Spirit to open Thy Word unto us. That You would give us ears to hear and hearts to believe.

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask You also to remember those who are unable to gather together with Your children. It is such a blessing that You have given us each other in this fellowship of believers to gather with around Your Word. And we remember those who are in faraway places on the lonely outposts of Your walls of Zion that You would comfort them and uplift them.

Also, dear Heavenly Father, we would ask You to comfort those in sorrow. Comfort those who are sick, who are homebound. Send Your angels unto them. Give us strength as believers to visit those who are sick and alone.

Above all, we thank You, dear Heavenly Father, for Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus, who You gave on our behalf that through Him and believing on His merit work, You have opened the way to heaven by faith.

And all of these prayers we enclose in that prayer that Your Son has taught us. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I thought that I would read for our mutual study this morning a portion of God's word that is recorded in Matthew in the seventh chapter verses seven through twelve. That's a little different than the text I had told you, Paul. And I read these words in Jesus' name as follows.

Ask, and it shall be given unto you. Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth. And to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?

Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. For this is the law and the prophets. Amen.

The theme for this Sunday is faith and prayer. And you may even have noticed the song that we sang prior, just prior to the beginning of services talked about prayer. Our text also speaks to us about prayer. And it is these themes that are set aside in the church calendar so that we can study and we ask that if it is God's will that He would allow us to study around this topic this morning of faith and prayer.

The text we can see starts with this that someone is asking and we are instructed and this is part of that sermon on the mount that Jesus gave. And so Jesus is teaching us and instructing us to ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.

This topic of prayer is one that we may take for granted in everyday life. Prayer we are instructed to pray as it says in another place in the Bible that we should pray without ceasing. And maybe there are times in our life where we do remember to pray or that we pray more often. But also when we in our life of faith when we even sigh that is if we were shouting in the ears of our Heavenly Father.

Our Heavenly Father hears our prayers. He who is the creator of all things whose hands our life are in. He who sees all who knows all as we often say he who is omnipotent. He gives us the permission to personally speak with Him and talk with Him through prayer.

So I would say that it would be good for us to pray, to pray without ceasing, to as it says in that song to commit all our cares and sorrows to the Heavenly Father.

And so we would ask then that what would we pray for? As our text says ask and it shall be given you, seek and it shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you, for everyone that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

What is it then that we should pray for? Sometimes I think our temporal portion becomes dissatisfied with those things maybe earthly possessions that we have and maybe we would tend then to pray that God would give us more temporal goods or a better job, higher paying job or a better place to live. But is that the most important thing to pray for? We would have to say no.

That these matters of the temporal life even though they are important and we can even God allows us and gives us that opportunity to even pray for those things that we would also remember to be content with what God has given us, to not look at others to see what they have and to think that we would be better off with this or that situation. But may God give us each a heart that is content with what we have.

But we do have the privilege to strive for better or for opportunity other opportunities in this temporal life and as often has been said that even Martin Luther said in this way that if he knew the end of the world would be tomorrow he would still plant an apple tree today and that we do continue in this daily life but that we would not forget the most important matter in our life this our living faith.

And wouldn't it be infinitely more important, much more important for us to pray for this that God would keep us as His child, keep us in the care of the congregation, to give us ears to hear and hearts to believe that which is spoken by and through the Spirit in God's kingdom to concentrate on those eternal matters instead of the matters temporal matters of this life.

But our text also speaks to us here of one that is seeking and when we think of prayer we know that prayer is our conversation with God and that God promises to hear our prayers but praying is not that which makes us heaven acceptable. This is a doctrinal matter and a difference between true faith and the false doctrines of this world that faith is what will get us to heaven it is not prayer.

And we have in the Bible very clear examples of this how faith cometh by hearing and the precious gospel that is proclaimed the forgiveness of sins in Jesus name and precious blood as it is spoken in our visitation or our day.

But there are very clear examples in the Bible the example of Peter and Cornelius or the Ethiopian eunuch where there were unbelievers who were praying and God they were seeking and God did answer their prayer through sending one of His servants was it Peter that visited Cornelius and Philip who visited the Ethiopian eunuch God sent them there through the Spirit to preach the gospel to reveal the address of God's kingdom them to them through the spoken word the gospel one to another.

The prayer did not forgive the sins the prayer did not make them heaven acceptable but it was this spoken gospel and when those Peter Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch when they believed that gospel then through faith they were heaven acceptable.

And maybe even the clearest example was that of Saul of Tarsus who was there on the road to Damascus to persecute the believers and he was struck blind by God or Jesus himself and he had to ask what must I do he was speaking there directly to the Heavenly Father but the Heavenly Father did not forgive him his sins grant him forgiveness or faith there directly.

But you remember that he had to go there be led by the hands to Ananias that one who in Tibonus in fear went to preach the gospel to that powerful man who was no longer powerful he was blind and helpless a grace beggar and he preached the gospel to him and then as if as scales fell from his eyes his eyes were opened then he was able to believe the gospel and to start that journey of faith.

And so it is even in our day that the Spirit the still lives and dwells in God's kingdom the Spirit of God lives here with you and me dear brother and sister this power of God unto salvation for all who would want to believe as Jesus even said there to his disciples that he would send the comforter that would teach in all things and then there behind closed doors he breathed on his disciples and said receive ye the holy ghost whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosoever sins ye retain they are retained.

Think of that dear brother and sister the Heavenly Father in his great love has given you and I that power to free each other from the sins of the journey God is God as if is so close to each of us as close as the next believer sitting there by our side.

This is the love of the Heavenly Father that he has given this great gift of faith and this promise to each of us that if we just believe then we are heaven acceptable.

And dear brother and sister this same gospel belongs to each of you personally even this morning that you can uplift your hearts to believe all sins forgiven in Jesus name and precious blood be comforted and uplifted the Heavenly Father wants each of you to reach heaven's home and he gives us our dear brothers and sisters here to travel with us to speak of the way and the journey and to preach the gospel one to another.

And so dear brother and sister remember to use this gospel but also remember to use this privilege that God has given you that you can approach Him in prayer to speak personally to Him and He has promised to hear your prayers as it says that he who hears in secret will reveal openly.

And then our text continues or what man is there of you whom if his son asks bread will he give him a stone or if he asks a fish will he give him a serpent.

Jesus speaks to us in a clear way that the love of a son or a parent to their children that if your little one asks you as they do my children ask me dad I'm hungry we give them food we give them bread we don't turn and give them a stone and if they ask for fish we don't give them a serpent or something that is poisonous no we give them what they need and what they ask for.

But then the text continues that if ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him.

And so here it is showing first the separation between God and man where God is all powerful good as it says God is love but it reminds us as if a picture how much more the Heavenly Father is than us as humans as evil or sinful people that he promises to give us much more than we know.

And then it continues that therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you do even so to them for this is the law and the prophets.

This speaks to us about the golden rule or this which would be a fruit of our faith that we would always want to do those things to others that we would want returned to us and we even remembered I believe it was last week or was it two weeks ago in our group Sunday school the topic was surrounding this of friendship and even of our actions one to another and you children heard about this that you would want to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But it's not only to the children that this instruction belongs but it belongs to all of us that we would be loving and forgiving and kind one to another.

And how is it that we are able to do this it is through the strength that God gives as a fruit of our faith as we often say the righteousness of life follows the righteousness of faith that faith makes us heaven acceptable but then it teaches us to do those good things as fruits of our faith that these works do not make us heaven acceptable but it says in the Bible that these two faith and works are inseparable that where there is faith there will be good works.

And this greatest gift of faith or this greatest fruit of faith is this love one towards another and it even says in this way in this last part in our text after it says this that men should do to you excuse me after it says this that whatsoever ye would that men should do to you do ye even so to them for this is the law and the prophets that is the entire fulfillment of the entire Old Testament is this that is how important it is this love that we would have one to another.

And this greatest love not just that love of friendship just not that love of between spouses but this deepest love of the undying soul this spiritual love that we would want to speak to one another when we see each other going astray when we see one who is troubled that we would want to help them get to heaven and to above all preach them the gospel of the forgiveness of sins.

This is the greatest love that we have one to another and the greatest love that God has for each of us that he has given us this faith that has made us heaven acceptable this gift he has given to you and to me and we want to care for this gift through that gospel.

And so again as if from the heart of the Heavenly Father you can uplift your hearts to believe your last doubts and sins forgiven in Jesus name and blood unto peace freedom and joy and I also need this gospel may I yet believe.

I want to travel together with you dear brother and sister in Jesus name Amen.

Let us close this morning's service and this service for today as there is this week for as there is a discussion this evening and no evening service we will close this service for this week in prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father you who have again allowed us to gather around your precious word maybe it's so grafted into our hearts as to bring forth the fruits of righteousness to the honor and glory of your name.

The Lord bless us and keep us the Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us the Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost Amen.