Calvin Synod Herald, 2007 (108. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2007-01-01 / 1-2. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HER AI. D

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God gives us a new day each and every day when He allows us to open our eyes. Each day has its own blessings, its own opportunities. We must respond to His gifts by making proper use of them, not ignoring them, not “burying” them. We must determine to use each and every day as God intended. Not just “existing” but growing, not “marking time” but moving forward in life.

“For everything there is a season... He has made everything beautiful in its time..This is a time for growth, for appreciation of what the Lord has given us. This is a time to try new ideas, to find new ways of serving our Lord, new ways to reach out to others, perhaps even new ways to give thanks.

Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop

Prayer Starts with Respect

Psalm 83:1-18; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 / Psalm 86:1-17

I. Christian Prayer Isn’t a Mystery,

But What Did Jesus Mean?

A. Early believers asked Jesus how to pray. “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.” (Luke 11:1)

B. Jesus answered the request with a beautiful pattern. “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed he thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” (Luke 11:2)

C. The proper approach to God is not a matter of personal choice or developing fashion; Christianity is not strong on new ideas. “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18)

II. Our Father

A. God identifies Himself as the father of the covenant people, the people of the Bible. “Do ye thus requite the LORD, 0 foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?”

(Deuteronomy 32:6)

B. When Christians speak of God as Father, the term is richly redemptive; God is the maker and restorer of a people with whom He identifies and to whom He will be faithful when everything else in life fails. “Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, 0 LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. ” (Isaiah 63:16)

C. The human purpose cannot be comprehended apart from the Fatherhood of God. “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. ” (Isaiah 64:8)

D. When Christ went to the cross, He restored a broken

relationship, restoring the blessed hope of an eternal relationship with God. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12)

III. Which Art in Heaven

A. Heaven is first where God is and where He will take believers when they die. “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ” (John 14:2)

B. Heaven is the administrative center of reality. “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,” (Hebrews 12:22)

C. Recognizing that God is now in Heaven testifies a commitment to God’s plan for the Christian’s life and the eventual triumph of God. “Him that overcometh will 1 make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” (Revelation 3:12)

IV. Thy Name

A. When God revealed Himself to Abraham He displayed the mighty acts of His character rather than an image or a designator; the name of God is the reality of experience with Him. “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children ’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. ” (Exodus 34:6-7)

B. When Moses asked specifically Whom he represented when dealing with Israel and Egypt, God answered. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Exodus 3:14-15)

V. Hallowed

A. Respect for God is life’s ultimate dividing line. “To

the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” (Psalm 14:1)

B. Literally hallow means to make holy and is illustrated in the ordination of Israel’s priests. “And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without

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