“In that Day….”
by Pastor Edwin Lehmann on May 3, 2024 in John 16:23-24
Fifth Sunday after Easter – Rogate May 5, 2024
Text: John 16:23-24 (Gospel: 23-30) Historic Series 24:2444
Theme: In that Day….
In years gone by people utilized a certain black stone, called a touchstone, to determine whether precious metals or gems were genuine. The black stone helped them guard against counterfeit money or fake jewelry.
In those days the gold or silver content of coins was not well governed. Gold, silver, and precious gems were often mixed with other substances and then passed off as authentic. The sham diamond might sparkle brilliantly, fool’s gold might glitter brightly, but let the touchstone be applied and the true character would at once appear. Touchstones are still in use today. But the word today is used more often in the sense of any standard test or criterion that determines the quality or genuineness of a thing. Let the touchstone be applied, and the real character at once appears.
It could be said that there is such a touchstone by which those who profess faith in God can discover whether that faith is genuine or not, whether their religion is “pure gold” or inferior metal, whether they own the pearl of great price or only a worthless imitation. That touchstone is prayer. Prayer is a person’s personal communication with God who communicates with us through His Holy Word. As a man communes with God, so is he.
However, not every cry of distress, nor every appeal for divine intervention and help is prayer. Many so-called prayers lifted to the heavens are displeasing to God and make a mockery of His name. They are sham requests. To pray properly and in a truly God-pleasing way is something we learn only through the Lord Jesus. Without Him there is no true prayer. In our text He said, “In that day you will not ask me anything. But I tell you whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. Ask and you will receive so that your joy may be complete (filled up).” In that Day….
I. …you will not ask Me anything. What did He mean by that?
On Maundy Thursday evening after celebrating the Passover, Jesus and His disciples were on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. He told them, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” It is an astonishing thing that the disciples didn’t know what He was talking about because that night and for awhile before it our Lord told them that He would suffer and die but would rise again from the dead. He would be seen by them alive, then He would ascend to His Father above and enter eternal glory in heaven. Quite often in those days He had told them. Yet they failed to understand His words, and in puzzlement discussed it among themselves.
When Jesus saw that they wanted to ask Him about this, He said, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world (His enemies) rejoices…. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that Day you will not ask me anything.” What did He mean?
He was telling them, “When I rise from the dead, you see me alive again, you see me ascend to my Father in heaven, and I send you the Holy Ghost, then you will be able to understand what my task on this earth was. My task is to die to pay for your sin and to rise again to life to show that my sacrifice for you was acceptable to God. You have the sure hope of eternal life. By faith you will then comprehend many a saying of mine which now seems dark and puzzling to you. Then no questions will arise anymore in your hearts or be on your lips as to who I am – the Savior from sin.”
This is just what happened. In that Day when the disciples saw Jesus die, they wept and their faith in Him wavered. But when He rose from the dead and came to them alive again, they rejoiced to see their Lord. Then when He left them one more time, ascending into heaven, they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem, rejoicing greatly. Ten days later as they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, they recognized the whole counsel of God for our salvation as He revealed it. Did they humanly understand it all? Probably not, no more than you humanly understand everything. But no longer were they asking anything. Instead, they set out to preach this in all the world. In that Day they got it.
And how about us? Do we know and recognize what we need to know for our salvation? Do we know what God has planned in that and wishes for us? Do we see Jesus’ life and words in the proper light so that we no longer are asking anything of Him? Do we trust Him in all matters that He has told us concerning our temporal and eternal future? He has told us everything that we absolutely need to know for salvation. There is no more to say than what the Bible tells us. Do we trust Him and take comfort in it? Are we sure of our forgiveness and eternal life with Him? Do we rejoice in the Lord and walk in the garments of salvation with which He has clothed us? If so, then that day of rejoicing has dawned upon you, when you no longer ask Him anxious questions. Your faith in all that He has already told us is the touchstone that brings you the blessings of His love and power.
That day of salvation has dawned. It’s here. Receive it to your joy, and you will not ask anything more of Jesus.
II. But… you will ask many things of the Father in Jesus’ name.
That is the way it must be when we, as the children of salvation, pray. We must ask the Father in Jesus’ name. Without asking in Jesus’ name, it is not prayer.
The other night as I watched news of happenings in New York and Los Angeles, I saw Muslims, wrapped in prayer shawls, prostrating themselves on the ground to Allah. That was not prayer for they do not come before the Father in Jesus’ name. The same is true of Jews and any other religion which does not approach God in Jesus’ name.
I have seen Christians in name light candles and pray to Mary and to saints who died long ago. That is not prayer for again, they do not come before the Father in Jesus’ name. We must approach God in Jesus’ name. As long as one does not recognize Jesus for what He is in truth and the salvation He alone has won for us before God, one cannot and does not pray in His name.
On the other hand, the only proper and acceptable prayer to God must be made in His name. For if one does not recognize that only Jesus reconciles us to God and makes us once again God’s dear children, it is impossible to have confidence in God and talk with Him as dear children would to a dear father. That is the reason that only the prayers of those who approach God trusting in Jesus as their Savior are acceptable to Him.
So then, if we acknowledge Jesus and His salvation and are sure that He has reconciled us to God, even as promised, then we can in all confidence approach God with our petitions. We will ask for good and beneficial things in which the promised Holy Spirit will guide us through the Word. Trust in it for Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you…Ask, you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
Dear Friends, consider once more what you hear. The Lord Jesus, who is the truth and therefore always speaks the truth, urges you in a most friendly way to ask the Father for every good thing in His name. Even more, He assures you that the Father will not refuse you because of Jesus. He wants to hear what you have to say. He gives you the Holy Spirit to guide you. He gives you His Word, where it tells you what pleases Him. And then He urges you wholeheartedly to come to Him in Jesus’ name.
Oh, the grace and favor God bestows upon us – poor sinners though we be! Could we then in the face of such divine grace seek to make our way through this oftentimes troubling earthly life foolishly trusting in ourselves and our own ability? Could we in the face of such precious promises doubtingly and timidly approach such a gracious God and Father as though His invitation to us is not a serious one? Heaven forbid that we approach Him like that!
So, dear friend, come with the confidence of a child that knows his father loves him. “Every giving is good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (Ja.1:17). Ask in Jesus’ name. And if your heart is timid, then look to God’s Word again until the day dawns and the Morning Star arises in your heart once more. In that Day you will find joy to ask in Jesus’ name for all that you truly need. That is the touchstone of genuine faith. God grant it to us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Zion Lutheran Church of Springfield
4717 S Farm Rd 135 (Golden Avenue)
Church phone: 417.887.0886 Pastor’s cell phone: 417.693.3244
www.zionluthchurch.com email: revelehmann@gmail.com
You can also find us on Facebook
The Fifth Sunday after Easter Rogate – “Pray” May 5, 2024
“I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you.” John 16:13
Welcome: The family of Zion welcomes you as we worship the Lord today. We encourage children to worship with us. However, if you need to leave with your child, there is a nursery room to the right as you exit the sanctuary. The rest rooms are located in the hallway between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. Visitors, please sign our guest book to the right, just outside the sanctuary. We’re glad that you are here and pray that through our worship the Lord grants you peace.
U p o n E n t e r i n g G o d’ s H o u s e
“With the voice of singing declare and tell this: send it out to the end or the earth. The LORD has redeemed His servant, Jacob. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth! Sing forth the honor of His name” (Is.48:20; Ps.66:1-2).
W h a t T h i s S u n d a y i s A b o u t
Ask in My Name. “Rogate” is the Latin command to pray. The name is derived from the Savior’s command and assurance in the Gospel Lesson today that His disciples readily come to the heavenly Father in prayer in Jesus’ name: “Whatever you ask in my name, He will give you.”
This Sunday brings to a close the celebration of the Easter Season. It feels the nearness of Jesus’ Ascension which is celebrated this coming Thursday, 40 days after His resurrection.
In a normal season this day and the week of prayer that followed came when the seed in the field was beginning to spring to life and grow. So, faithful Christians of the distant past met in the fields to invoke God’s blessings upon what they had planted.
So it is that we pray: Father of lights, every good and perfect gift comes from You. Inspire us to think those things that are true and long for those things that are good, according to Your will; for Jesus’ sake. Amen
T h e W o r d o f G o d f o r T o d a y
(The Lessons of the Day are from the Historic Pericope Series of the Christian Church.)
The Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 55:6-11
The Lord calls His people to a life of repentant faith that seeks Him in His Word and approaches Him in prayer. As they seek Him and His ways, He promises to bless them. His word of blessing is like the rain and snow that nourish the seed in the ground with life-giving water.
The Epistle Lesson: James 1:22-27
After hearing the Word of God, James exhorts the people of God to action in their lives of faith. “Hearing and doing” go hand in hand. So, God’s people approach Him, putting faith in His Word into action through prayer and Christian living.
The Gospel Lesson: John 16:23-30
During His farewell discourse with His disciples before His crucifixion, Jesus promised to send them another Counselor, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s work would guide them in their lives of faith, in which prayer would play a big part as they came to the Father in Jesus’ name.
O u r P r a c t i c e o f H o l y C o m m u n i o n
Out of deep love for the truth of God’s Word and precious souls, we follow the practice of Close Communion in our congregation. This has been the practice of Christians for centuries and reflects the Bible’s teaching on unity of faith in the reception of the Supper (1 Cor.10:17). It does not judge a person’s heart but anticipates agreement in that which God says. Since we do not wish to put anyone in the position of declaring such agreement with us before study in the Word is possible, we ask that only those who are communicant members of this or another Wisconsin Synod or ELS congregation come to receive the Sacrament.
The Organist: Jane Rips The Preacher: Pastor Edwin Lehmann
Point to Ponder: “Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock at night. A Christian without prayer is like a body without a soul – a living corpse. There is no prayerless Christian. There are no (mute) children among those born of God. They all have the Spirit of prayer by which they not only speak, but cry, ’Abba, Father.’” — words on prayer by Dr. Leighton
Outline of Our Worship
The Preparation
Opening thoughts on the Service.
The Entrance Hymn: #631
Order of Worship: The Service: Setting One with Holy Communion: page 154-160
Prayer of the Day
The Ministry of the Word
Isaiah 55:6-11
James 1:22-27
Gospel Acclamation: Easter pg.161
John 16:23-30
Sermon Hymn: #722
Sermon: John 16:23-24 “In that Day….”
The Nicene Creed pg.162
Our Response to the Word
Prayer of the Church: pg.164
The Offering
The Lord Blesses Us
Preparation for Holy Communion Hymnal page 165-169
(Visitors: Please read the box above regarding Holy Communion)
Consecration and Distribution
Distribution Hymn: #721 & 669
Thanksgiving & Blessing Hymnal page 170
Closing Hymn: #928
Silent Prayer
Fifth Sunday after Easter “Rogate” – Historic Series
Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 55:6-11 Seek Me! Call on Me! Turn to Me!
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found! Call on him while he is near!
7 Let the wicked man abandon his way. Let an evil man abandon his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord,
and he will show him mercy. Let him turn to our God because he will abundantly pardon.
8 Certainly my plans are not your plans, and your ways are not my ways, declares the Lord.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my plans are higher than your plans.
10 Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it.
Epistle Lesson: James 1:22-27 – Hearing and Doing Go Hand in Hand.
22 Be people who do what the word says, not people who only hear it. Such people are deceiving themselves. 23 In fact, if anyone hears the word and does not do what it says, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own natural face in a mirror. 24 Indeed, he carefully looks at himself; then, he goes away and immediately forgets what he looked like. 25 But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues to do so—since he does not hear and forget but actually does what it says—that person will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone considers himself to be religious but deceives his own heart because he does not bridle his tongue, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Gospel Lesson: John 16:23-30 – “Whatever You Ask in My Name…”
23 In that day you will not ask me anything. Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.
25 “I have told you these things using figurative language. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you using figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I am not telling you that I will make requests of the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am going to leave the world and go to the Father.”
29 “Yes!” his disciples said. “Now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative language. 30 Now we know that you know everything and do not need to have anyone ask you anything. For this reason we believe that you came from God.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version® (EHV®) © 2019
Calendar & Announcements for Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
| Today
May 5 |
Monday
May 6 |
Tuesday
May 7 |
Wednesday
May 8 |
Thursday
May 9 |
Friday
May 10 |
Saturday
May 11 |
Next Sun.
May 12 |
| 9:00 am
Divine Worship Service with Holy Communion online -Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Bible Study
Easter 5 – Rogate |
The floor in the fellowship hall will be cleaned and | waxed this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. | 11 am Midweek Bible Class
|
9:00 am
Divine Worship Service online – Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Bible Study
Sunday after Ascension: Exaudi |
A Brief Bible Study on God’s Word for Today
The lyrics to a Christian song exclaim, “Everything I need, I already have!” Is that true for you? Through faith in Christ Jesus, we know that we are members of His saved family, and that heaven is ours. We know that we can come to the Father through Christ in prayer to request in Jesus’ name any need we have. But not everyone in our insecure world today enjoys that confidence and conviction. May we use our time of grace on earth wisely to seek God in His Word and to pray for ourselves and others to grow in our knowledge and trust in the salvation that God has prepared for all who believe in Him.
The Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 55:6-11 (the answer is found on the back side)
- What urgency do you sense in the words “while He may be found” and “while He is near”?
- How are God’s thoughts and ways higher than man’s?
Those We Remember In Our Prayers: Greg Miller; William & Laurie Moon; Kirsten Jaster (Laurie Moon’s sister); Greg Pierson (Long’s son-in-law); Libya, (Jodi Milam’s granddaughter); Barbara Long; Robbie Woessner; Kay Schmidt at Quail Creek Rehab; Norine Richardson; Lois Wiese; Melissa Morlack-Jaeger undergoing pulmonary and echocardiogram tests; Liz Lisenby, now at home.
Forward in Christ’s newest edition for May has arrived. There are plenty of copies in the narthex for family and friends.
Divine Call Sent At the joint call meeting of Zion and Peace two weeks ago, Pastor Nathaniel Winkel was selected to whom our call for pastor was sent. He is 41 years old and presently serves Mountain Valley Lutheran Church, Eagle, CO. He and wife Tiffany have four children, ages 10-16 years old. Please keep Pastor Winkel and family in your prayers over the next few weeks as he prayerfully considers where the Lord would have him serve in His Kingdom of Grace. More information about him may be found on the bulletin board in the hallway.
Upcoming Services and Events
In the month of May, the following two special door offerings will be taken to help two ministries in the work of the Synod:
– Mother’s Day, May 12 – door offering for New Beginnings Ministry to help serve unwed mothers
– May 26, Memorial Day weekend – door offering for the WELS Ministry to the Military
Thursday, May 16, 6 pm – Initial Get-together of the Planning Committee. Can you join us as we seek
to regroup and formulate plans of inreach within the congregation and outreach into the community?
The Week in Review
Last Sunday Worship: 26; Bible Study: 10; Midweek Bible Class: 5; Offerings: $825.
Next Sunday’s Lessons:
Sunday after Ascension – Exaudi: Isaiah 32:14-20; 1 Peter 4:7-11; John 15:26-16:4 (Historic Pericope Series)
Answer to Today’s Old Testament Lesson Brief Study:
- This was the people’s time of grace. Salvation was close at hand in the Word that was being preached to them. The opportunity for repentance was still being held out to them. Indeed, for God’s chosen people, there was no time like the present. They should wisely use it in coming to Him.
- Man’s thoughts and ways are inherently evil and lead to eternal destruction; the Lord’s are good, righteous, and holy and lead to everlasting life Whereas the weight of man’s sins seems unpardonable, yet God in His mercy forgives them all.
This week I am praying for……
