“For Whose Sake?”  Romans 8:26-39  LMPC Dr. Sloan  7-27-08

When most people look at this passage they see the verse – “All things work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose.”  That is an amazing verse. Some may hear the verse, often read at funerals that “Nothing can separate us from the love of God- not trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword?”  These are tremendous verses.  But they are brought together by a larger theme still and that is prayer.  Paul’s main theme here is prayer.  All things work together is a part of the way God answers prayer.  That nothing can separate us from the love of God is an assurance that God hears our prayers even in the midst of terrible things in life. My sermon today follows the passage- we pray by the Spirit, with perspective, and because of His love.  

[Read Passage]

Sometimes someone will ask.  Does God know everything? I’ll say, “Yes.”  Then they will ask, “Does He know what we need before we even ask?”  I’ll say, “Yes.”  Then they say, “Well why should I pray?”  Good question- If God really knows everything before we ask, why ask?   But that it has the wrong focus.  The focus of prayer is not on ourselves but on God.  If we define prayer only as “getting God to answer our requests” then we have missed the whole point.  In our consumer society, we have turned the definition of prayer into an impossible thing.  It is like we have turned prayer into a magic lamp that we rub, and if God doesn’t answer it the way we want it to be answered we think that prayer is therefore useless. If God knows what we want before we rub the lamp, why rub?  Our catechism questions clarifies this.  The second question especially defines prayer as communion with God.    It is communion because it is communication.  It is talking to God. Part of that conversation is focused on God (Adoration), part of it is focused on asking God to forgive us (Confession), part of it is thanksgiving, and part of it is asking God to supply our needs (Supplication).  The old pneumonic acrostic is ACTS- adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.  If all we do is ask God for things (supplication), then our conversation is quite selfish, and our communication and communion is limited.  Paul teaches us a lot about prayer here.

                Part of growth in prayer is learning how to listen, for prayer is not just our communication with God, it is also our opening ourselves up to God so we can hear.  We hear best when we can say, “Not for my sake, but for your sake O Lord.  Not my will but yours be done.”  This whole passage speaks to this great idea of prayer and that God helps us to pray while we submit to His will. 

I. THE SPIRIT HELPS US TO PRAY- The great thing about prayer is you don’t have to have it all together, with just the right words and say it in just the right manner.  What counts is the heart, and the Holy Spirit takes what is in the heart and translates it to the Father.  It is not the position in prayer (standing, sitting, prostrate, eyes open/closed that counts).  Some religions emphasize position/ flowery words. For us it is the heart and the Spirit speaking.

                a. We don’t know what- Okay, so prayer is not supposed to be about me, but about God.  Maybe you feel totally inadequate to pray.  There have been numerous books written about the secret to prayer.  Do you know what the real secret to prayer is?  The real secret is to just do it.  If you don’t do it, you’ll never get there.  If you don’t pray then you won’t have a chance.  Maybe you have been mad at God.  Maybe you feel God has told you no one to many times.  So… what now?  If you believe in a God to be mad at, are you really going to clam up? 

                b. We don’t know how.  We do not know how to speak the language of God.  There have been lots of translation goofs over the years.  I remember going to Korea and a friend of mine was preaching.  He had studied Korean very hard and was quite confident.  He meant to see at the benediction, “let us pray.”  Instead he said (in Korean), “and now you must all bow down to me.”  President Bush, who sometimes has trouble with pronunciation was speaking to the Spanish president Jose Aznar” and called him “Ansar” which means “goose.”  Even companies get it wrong.  Irish Mist drink tried to market their products in Germany but they didn’t sell well because “mist” in German means manure.  My point is this- sometimes we don’t know exactly what to say or how to say it.  We feel inadequate.  That is good.  It is clear from our passage that even Paul felt inadequate.  But the Spirit translates our requests, even our groans for help so God hears u. 

Both the Spirit of Christ and Jesus Himself are interceding for us in these verses (the Spirit vs. 26; Jesus vs. 34).  In other words God is not ignoring us.  The Spirit of God and the Son of God are our lawyers- our advocates, our intercessors. They teach us to pray God’s will. To pray “in the name of Jesus” means in part to access Jesus as our advocate and intercessor (like a key).  But it also means to pray not for our immediate will and sake, but for His will and sake.                

II. THE ANSWER IS A PART OF A WHOLE- Paul also is encouraging us to look on the answer to prayer in a bigger light.

                A.   All things work together for good.  We are quick to label events bad or good depending on how they satisfy us instantly.  But sometimes hard stuff makes us stronger and better.  The image often used is a tapestry. On the back of the tapestry it doesn’t make sense but if we could look on the other side it would make sense.  Things work together and the finished work is the prettiest work.  When they were digging up the clay it was hard for me to envision the Celebration Garden.

A little boy was riding the train in the hot and humid heat of South Carolina. The trip was a boring, hot, and tiresome.  A woman next to him asked, “Are you tired of the long ride?”  He answered, I am tired.  But I don’t mind it much.  My father is waiting at the end of the ride in Columbia, and I just talked to him on my phone.”  Prayer is a way of talking with God, knowing that the good results are at the end.
                B. Salvation is a part of the answer.  Paul just doesn’t say that all things work together for good for everyone, he adds “for those who love him who are called according to his purpose.”  Christians have a strong hope of heaven and the resurrection.  Right after he says all things work together, he speaks of salvation in terms of predestination, calling, and justification.  One of the greatest prayers we can have as an individual is “Lord save me.”  It is not the greatest prayer, but it is an important one.   The answer is assured even if this life provides us with little blessing and much trouble.  
                We really take credit and glory away from God when we do not recognize that God can change someone.  If we are only looking for improvement instead of conversion, then we downplay the power of God.  There are some who say that you have to have a dramatic conversion to the faith or you’re not a Christian. They are wrong.  There are people who grew up always knowing the Lord, raised in a Christian family.  When my children were born my dream as a father was that they would always know God.  Some really do grow up into the faith.  Billy Graham really emphasized conversions in his ministry.  But his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, never knew a time when she did not know the Lord.  She was the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries.  But there are others who downplay the role of conversion as if God can never change someone.  I can tell you that I grew up in the church, but fell away with my own pride and questions, and fell into meaninglessness, sin, and despair.  I know what God has done for me, and I am truly grateful.  But there are countless others.  The very first Christian sermon at Pentecost was a call from Peter to repent and be converted.  Conversion means change.  God can transform and change people.  As a minister I can tell you stories of people who have had tremendous spiritual experiences that have transformed their lives.  Mark was a drug addict who gave up his addiction dramatically when he accepted Christ and has been clean for 17 years now.  Prison Fellowship has some amazing statistics about how having a conversion to Christ has helped change prisoners and kept them out of  jail.  Statistics are that those who attended 10 or more prison fellowship events were 64% less likely to go back to jail after their release.  

Felix Muniz was a prisoner over seven years ago.  He had a dramatic conversion and now has gone back to school and received his bachelors in Psychology, and his master of divinity and doctorate of ministry.  He is a minister.  Do not make light of the power of God. 

III. GOD’S LOVE INSURES HIS CARE =The basis for prayer is found in the love of God.  Because God loves us, He cares for us.
                A. He who did not spare his own son (32)- will freely give us all things.  If God loved us enough to come down for us, will he not care for us?
Jesus said in a similar verse “seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” 

The idea is that God loves us enough to send His Son, will He not listen to our prayers?  Does somebody really think that God doesn’t want to give or care for us?
                B. Even in the face of the worst life can do, God shows His love. I like the way the New Living Translation gives verse “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” Certainly Paul faced these things. We have bought into the heresy of the world that if you are a Christian then everything better go your way, or there is no need in being a Christian.  Look our Lord died as he was being tortured.  Paul was beaten, stoned, and in the end martyred.  Let us not pretend that everything will go our way.  Who has everything go there way?  What do the health and wealth people say when you face a cross or lose your job?  But the power of Christ is seen when Jesus could pray for God to forgive those who were crucifying Him.  The power of prayer- not my will but thine be done- into your hands I commend my Spirit.”  This is prayer for Christ’s sake.  Prayer is not asking for something like prayer was when Jesus prayed before the cross, “Not my will, but thine be done. And then “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”  William Barclay says this is the greatest  prayer. 

                The old Book of Common Prayer contained some of the best written prayers around.  Most of them ended with the words, “For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, and in his name we pray, Amen.” For example, Bless, O Lord, thy gifts to our use and us to thy service; for Christ's sake. Amen. This is an important concept.  For in the end, we focus not on our own sakes, but for the sake and glory of God.  .  It is not simply asking.  It is far greater- it is communication. 

Who do you live for, and who do you pray for.  These questions are not very different.  In the end we do not live for ourselves and we do not pray simply for ourselves.  We pray for Christ’s sake- for his benefit, his glory, his honor above our own. 

                Bobby Richardson grew up in SC was an all star with 5 golden gloves for the NY Yankees at second base, and came back to SC where he coached for USC leading them to the WS.  I heard him speak as a boy at my church.  At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson, offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity and poignancy: "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen." Let us learn to pray God’s will for Christ’s sake.  Amen.