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INJ
St John 16:23-30
'Baptism and Prayer'
Divine Service
Rogate, The Fifth Sunday after Easter | April 27, 2008
Dear Brooklyn, and All the Baptized,
Baptism is great. After all, the Bible says, “saves us” [1 Peter 3:21]. Jesus promised “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” [St Mark 16:16]. Baptism forgives sins, like Peter preached on Pentecost, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:38] Paul preached the same thing. “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins.” [Acts 22:16]
Baptism washes away our sin [Ephesians 5:25-26], cleanses our conscience from guilt before God [1 Peter 3:22]. It delivers us from the sin, death and the devil, gives us the Holy Spirit and the sure hope of the resurrection to life. In baptism we are joined to the cross of Jesus; we die with Him and we rise with Him to newness of life [Romans 6:4]. Baptism gives us a new heart and a new name. In our baptism we are clothed in Christ [Galatians 3:27], we have put on Christ, clothed in His perfection. Brooklyn, a few minutest ago Jesus wrapped the gleaming white robes of His righteousness around you, robes befitting a saint. Baptism is great.
And we all have it; we are the Lord's baptized. And we speak about our baptism like this, “I am baptized.”
Professor Pless reminded us of this in the Funeral Planning Workshop a couple weeks ago. We don't say, “I was baptized,” but, “I am baptized.” Imagine if someone asked you, “Are you married?” and you answered, “I was married.” Then imagine you wife's elbow in your ribs, or your husband's face, “You were married?!” No, we say, “Yes, I am married.” “Yes, I am baptized.” This is who we are, now. It is our current reality. We never leave the font.
The early Christians used a fish as their symbol. We understand that in Greek the letters that spell fish (IXTHUS) from a useful acrostic, “Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior.” But here's something more, like a fish out of water dies, so is a Christian who leaves the blessings of baptism. We have baptism, and better, baptism has us. “I am baptized; I am saved; I am forgiven; I am a child of God, His name is on me.”
And this is where we are headed, because I want to consider this morning the connection between baptism and prayer, and we find the connection when we consider that in our baptism we are adopted into the Lord's family.
When someone is adopted they are given a new name. The name of their father. And in this new name they are part of a new family. This is how it is with you, Brooklyn. Your father gave you his name when you were born, “G”. And now your heavenly Father has give you His name, the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. You are part of the Lord's heavenly family, the sons and daughters of the King.
“Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the children of God.” [1 John 3:1, see John 1:12,13] This is why the Bible calls baptism being “born again” or “born from above” [see John 3:5, Titus 3:5], in our baptism we are brought into a new family. We have a new heavenly Father.
And this is how baptism gives us the privilege of prayer. When the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray, He says, “When you pray, say, 'Our Father, who art in heaven...'” Our Father. Not just anyone can say that, but only the Lord's children.
The unbeliever can't. They do not have God as their father, but the devil, as Jesus says of the Pharisees. But by faith in Christ and by our baptism we are recreated into His children. When the Lord gives us His name in our baptism, He gives us, among other things, access to Himself.
This has happen to you, that you're walking in some crowded place and you drop something. Someone else picks it up and runs after you, but they don't know your name. So they're shouting, “Hey, you there! Sir! Excuse me!” And we don't notice until they reach us, panting, “Sorry, you dropped this,” and we thank them. Someone could yell all day, and we'd never notice, but if someone knows your name. “Bryan.” They could whisper, and you hear it, and you turn around to see who's calling you.
This is how it is with the Lord's name given in baptism. All the things shouted at heaven apart from faith is just a bunch of clamor and noise. Remember the 500 prophet of Baal, jumping around the altar and singing and shouting all day, even cutting themselves, and there is no answer. But when we are given the Lord's name in baptism, all it takes is a whisper, “Daddy, Abba, Our Father” and all of heaven is listening, and is poised, ready to answer our prayers.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My Name He will give you” [John 16:23] says our Brother the Lord Jesus. To pray “in Jesus' Name” means to ask as dear children ask their dear Father, it means to pray in faith, knowing that the Lord has promised to give us all that we need.
This is how Jesus teaches us about prayer.
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! [Luke 11:9-13]
If earthly Fathers know how to give good gifts, or at least not really really bad gifts (like scorpions and snakes in place of eggs and fish), how much more does our heavenly Father know and give to us good gifts?
So it is for you, Brooklyn. The Lord has wonderful gifts for you. Already today He has give you the gift of your baptism and the forgiveness of all your sins. You are a blessed child of God, and He has promised to bring you, together with all of His people, all the way through death to life eternal. You are baptized. And as we are all on our way to this life we pray with boldness and confidence that the Lord would keep His promises with us, and give us all that we need, that our joy would be complete.
May this joy and confidence and peace be yours in your Christ Jesus, for His death and resurrection were for you. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO