14 Sunday after Pentecost August 25, 2024
Matthew 6:13c
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 40:21-31
Revelations 7:9-17
Hymns
23, 511, 427:1-3,7, 44
Hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) (TLH) unless otherwise noted
Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail
Prayer of the Day: O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Bread of Life. We pray this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
In Christ Jesus, through whom our world was created and by whom it is now preserved, dear fellow redeemed:
We are once again in an election year. The claims and counterclaims by the various candidates and political parties are filling all media sources. For some people political discourse is exciting and stimulating, while for others all the talk about politics can quickly become depressing. In either case, the reason for the reaction is because politics involves power—power to do what some consider good, or power to do what others consider bad. Will the Democrats retain the power of the Presidency? Will the Republicans gain control of the U.S. Senate while retaining their advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives—thus gaining additional power in the Legislative branch of our government? Much, it would appear, is at stake?
The Doxology of the Lord’s Prayer, which we are considering today, helps us put things in perspective. It reminds us not to view politics as the solution for all the problems facing our society. We ought not assume that if only the Democrats, or if only the Republicans gain more power in our upcoming elections—all will be fine, or all will be catastrophic. We do not want to place our trust in the power of any human being or human organization. True power and the proper exercise of that power lies with our Savior God! Let us, therefore, put our trust in Him and consider this morning the fact that THE DOXOLOGY OF THE LORD’S PRAYER EXPRESSES OUR CONVICTION that God governs our world, that God guides our lives, and that God answers our prayers!
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray “for Yours is the kingdom,” He was instructing them in the basics of social studies. He was revealing that God governs our world! This is a concept which, while true for God reveals it, remains unknown or is denied by most people in our world. Because of the separation of church and state, public schools in our country cannot introduce a study of God’s role in history. Unfortunately, because God is seldom mentioned in connection with the affairs of this world, the impression is given to millions that God plays no role in our world or its history whatsoever. Thus, God is relegated at best to a back-seat roll of providing comfort and help to private individuals. The thought that God governs the world has become a foreign concept, viewed as unworthy of consideration by secular historians and doubted even by many Christians.
Years ago, a Christian student studying history at a secular university was required to take a course entitled Historiography—the history of the study of history. He waited for the entire semester to discuss the role of God in history, only to be greeted by silence when he brought the topic up in the final class period. Another student, who happened to be a pastor, dismissed the topic, saying that when you are talking about God, you are not talking history but philosophy. Later, in a private conversation with his advisor, that student was told that while most of the professors in the history department had opinions on the subject, none of them would voice them publicly.
My dear friends, let us not fail to realize that history is indeed HIS-story. Our God both created and governs this world. Consider the example God made of Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of the ancient Chaldean kings. When Nebuchadnezzar refused to acknowledge God as the source of his power and success but rather glorified himself, God caused him to go insane for a time. It was only after Nebuchadnezzar confessed that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 4:25), that he was restored to his throne. Paul told the truth in Athens when he stated: God “has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:26-28). History is not just a collection of dates and names, which describe the exploits of famous men and women. No, history is a study of God’s control and guidance of all human affairs.
For instance, you can learn that Martin Luther lived in the 16th Century and began what became known as the Protestant Reformation in any classroom, but it is only within a Christian classroom that you are taught to understand that God moved Martin Luther to use his time and talents, so that God might once again restore the gospel to the church and thereby renew the hope of salvation for millions of souls. Christian education recognizes and proclaims God’s role in the history of this world, even as it proclaims the truth that God will one day end the history of this world.
Recognizing that God governs our world calls for a living faith and instills a vital confidence within the hearts of believers, for it is a fact that God “raised (Christ) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is name, not only in this age but also in that which is to come…. (Yes, God) put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:20-23). Truly, THE DOXOLOGY OF THE LORD’S PRAYER EXPRESSES OUR CONVICTION that God governs our world!
It also EXPRESSES OUR CONVICTION that God guides our lives! When we pray not only “for Yours is the kingdom,” but also “for Yours is…the power,” and when we recognize Paul’s statement that Jesus is the “head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22) to be true, we are confessing that God guides our lives! This is a truth, of course, which Scripture clearly identifies, and which should bring us the greatest of comfort. It enables us to live our lives with confidence! The Psalmist David assures us concerning God and His great interest in our personal lives: “Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Ps. 139:16). In other words, God has a plan for each of us. The exciting challenge of our lives as His children is then to discover and fulfill that plan!
The apostle Paul indicates the very same thing when in Ephesians he writes: “We are His (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (2:10). Every morning that we awaken as God’s special creations, He has prepared good works for us to do! We can begin each day with a prayer that God would guide us to discover and direct us to accomplish His gracious good will in our lives and for the blessing of others! Always keep David’s very familiar statement in mind: “Commit your ways to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Ps. 37:5). We do not live in a mindless universe all on our own and without any divine help or guidance. What a barren and unfortunate outlook that is! Christian education provides the basis for a meaningful existence filled with purpose. It informs us of God’s ultimate goal of bestowing upon every believer eternal life in His presence in heaven!
God’s guidance may be very apparent at times in our lives. Each of us may well be able to point to incidents within our lives where that guidance was clearly seen. On the other hand, God’s guidance may also seem to be mere coincidence. Think of the Old Testament history of Ruth. We are told that after Ruth returned to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi, she decided to support herself and Naomi by gleaning. The text tells us that “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz” (Ruth 2:3). That was no coincidence. Rather, God guides all things for our good as we seek both to love and to serve Him. For Ruth that guidance led ultimately to her marriage, her family, and becoming through that family life an ancestress of Jesus! The Bible assures us: “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). Truly, THE DOXOLOGY OF THE LORD’S PRAYER EXPRESSES OUR CONVICTION that God guides our lives!
It, finally, EXPRESSES OUR CONVICTION that God answers our prayers! When we pray “for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen,” we are expressing both adoration and confident expectation! When we turn to our heavenly Father and to our dear Savior in prayer, we acknowledge our dependence upon them and in so doing we glorify them! We are recognizing them as “our refuge and strength” (Ps. 46:1). We are recognizing them as the Givers of “every good and perfect gift” (Jam. 1:17). We are doing what God urges us to do: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). We then punctuate our prayers with confidence in our gracious God by saying: “Amen,” which means, “yes, indeed, it shall be so!”
One of the glories of the Christian education is the privilege of leading children to pray and in prayer. Prayer is communication. Good instruction in communication is recognized by all as vital to the educational process. Yet it is only with Christian education that the most vital of all communication—communication with our Creator and Redeemer God can be both taught and practiced. Let us recognize, dear friends, the vital role Christian education plays in our midst and what vital gifts it bestows upon our children!
In conclusion, may we never allow our prayer life to degenerate into a mindless repetition of words. Prayer is not to be a last-ditch attempt to find a resolution of our problems, nor a superstitious attempt to influence the powers above. No, let us pray with confidence this Lord’s Prayer and indeed all our prayers, for our Lord Jesus wants us to pray and has promised to answer our prayers. “Prayer,” as the hymnwriter James Montgomery once expressed it, “is the Christian’s vital breath, the Christian’s native air” (The Lutheran Hymnal 454:5). As God’s children, we will want to communicate with our heavenly Father. He, who has redeemed us by the blood of His own dear Son, and who has sanctified us by the powerful indwelling of His Spirit, promises both to listen and respond to us. Paul reminds us of the blessed results of prayers offered with confidence and conviction, when he writes: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
Consequently, do not allow all the talk about politics and political power going on in our country at this time to disturb you or to distort your understanding that your God is all-powerful and has entrusted all authority in heaven and on earth to His Son, your Savior Jesus Christ! Pray with confidence: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Amen.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.