THE HOLY SPIRIT INTERCEDES!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 44:6-8
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Sermon Text; Romans 8:26-27
You have burdens. We all have burdens.
Your burden may be that you live with a husband who is extremely difficult to get along with, which brings stress and difficulties into your life day, after day, after day. Your burden may be that you have children who are rebellious. Or perhaps, your children are handicapped. To see them suffer is a painful, a great burden and difficulty for you.
Your burden may be that you have chronic pain, some kind of illness, or an ailment that makes it difficult for you to participate with your family. It may make it difficult for you to participate in the activities of life that you want to be a part of. This becomes a very heavy burden for you to carry.
Your burden may be that you have lost a loved one and you are sad and lonely. Grief and loneliness is a burden that is very, very heavy to bear.
Burdens come into our lives. They come into everyone’s life. They can be so heavy that at some point we finally feel helpless, as if there is nothing we can do. We finally feel as though there is nothing that we can do, to take this burden away.
Even the unbelieving world knows what to do, when these burdens are so heavy that we feel helpless. Even the unbelieving world knows that there is a God who is almighty. And, even the unbelieving world knows that if only they could take those burdens to that almighty God in prayer and ask that almighty God to help them, He would have the power to help them with their burdens! "If only I could go to His throne and make requests of Him, I know He could help me."
However there is a great problem. The problem is this: The Bible tells us that we do not deserve to have access to the Throne Room of God. There is not one of us in this room who deserves to be able to walk into that Throne Room with our hurts, with our troubles, and with whatever burden is in our lives. We do not deserve to be able to stand before the throne of the Almighty, Holy God and make any requests of Him at all. In fact the Bible says, "Your sins have separated you from God." The Bible tells us "God does not hear the prayers of the unrighteous." And, the Bible pictures it, as it were, as a great, great curtain - a huge, thick curtain that separates us from the Throne Room of God. That curtain is our sin. That curtain makes it impossible for us to have any access to the Throne Room that we need and want access to.
If that troubles you, if that bothers you, if that burdens you, then look to the cross. Look to the cross, because the Bible tells us something about the cross that is critical for people who want to pray. The Bible tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. There is the Bible's picture of the curtain of sin that separates us from God. It was totally torn in two, when Jesus died on the cross.
And, now because of what happened on the cross, you and I have direct access to the very Throne Room of the Almighty God. We can bring our burdens and prayers to the Almighty God. Why? We can bring them to God, because on the cross, those offenses that kept us from going to the Throne Room of God have been removed as far as the east is from the west! On the cross, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, has purified us from every sin. Because of what happened on the cross, through Jesus Christ, God does not see our sins anymore! They are gone and He sees us for Christ's sake, as holy people!
Every Christian should understand that the cross of Christ not only gives us
the great benefit of the forgiveness of sins,
the eternal benefit of the forgiveness of sins,
the great and eternal benefit of Heaven itself,
but also many other benefits!
One of those great benefits, because of what happened on the cross, is that I have the right, I have the right to walk into the very Throne Room of God, with my burdens! Sinner though I may be, because those sins have been removed, I can go into the presence of the Holy God, for Christ’s sake! And, I have the privilege, the great privilege of going to God in prayer, because of what happened on the cross. I have access, direct access to God, because of what happened on the cross. The cross gives us direct access to God, in prayer.
But, as Christians we also know that there is another cross that is in the life of each Christian. That cross is what Jesus was talking about, when He said, "Whoever would come after me, must take up his cross and follow me."
In the life of a Christian there are crosses, there are burdens that we have to bear.
The burden may be something that is related to your Christian faith. Maybe people are making fun of you, avoiding you, or rejecting you, because of your Christian faith.
The cross may be the fact that you have a husband who is difficult to live with.
It may be the fact that you have children who are rebellious or are handicapped.
It may be that you have an ailment.
It may be that you are poor and can hardly put food on the table, or a roof over your head.
But, every Christian has burdens, crosses to bear in their life. And, while the cross of Jesus gives us direct access to God’s Throne in prayer, the crosses that we bear, draw us to that Throne Room. They show me that I am helpless and that I need God. I need Him in my life. I need His help. I need to go to His Throne Room. I need to bring this burden to God. And so, through those crosses, the Holy Spirit urges us, encourages us, and prompts us to walk into that Throne Room of God with our burdens and pray. When burdens come into your life, and you have that cross to bear, what do you pray for? As Christians, we pray that the burden will be removed. After all that is why we are Christians. We are Christians because we know that Jesus has defeated all of our enemies and He will finally deliver us from all of our enemies, all of our burdens and all of our cares. And, so we do pray for deliverance from our burdens, as well.
We may pray, "God, please take away this pain. Please take away this illness. Please help me be able to get along with my husband. Please help my child. Please allow that handicap to go away."
We pray that the burden, that cross, would be removed. But here is what I want you to think about today, in particular. What if when you pray that the burden be removed, what if you are praying only for a "bowl of soup"?
Let me explain what I mean. There was once a pauper who was permitted to go into the Throne Room of a great and powerful king. The pauper walked into the Throne Room of the King. The King looked at the pauper and said, "What is it that you ask of me?"
And, the pauper looked up at the King and said, " King, all I ask for, from you, is a bowl of soup."
The King looked down at the pauper and he said, "You have come before a king. You have come before someone great. Don’t ask for a bowl of soup. Ask for something great."
What if when we go before God and we ask God to remove this burden from us, what if we are only asking for a "bowl of soup"? What if there is something even greater, that we could be asking for, but we don’t know what it is, and we don’t know if we should even be asking for it!
Listen to what our scripture reading says. It says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s Will."
What if I am asking for a "bowl of soup", when I bring my burdens to God, and there is something greater that I could be asking for? This scripture reading should be of great comfort to any Christian who is concerned about that.
This scripture reading reminds us of several things. Number one is this. I don’t always know what God’s Will is, in my life. I don’t know if it is God’s Will that this burden is removed. I don’t know if that is the best thing for me. But, the Holy Spirit, who lives in me by faith, who lives in my heart, who loves me and is God Himself, knows exactly what I need.
He knows exactly what is best for me!
He knows exactly what it is that will keep me
strong in my faith,
keep me growing in my faith,
keep me walking in my faith
with
Christ as my Savior, and
ultimately
take me to that Throne Room in Heaven
for all eternity!
The Holy Spirit knows things about me that I can never know. The Holy Spirit knows my deepest heart and my deepest thoughts, even more deeply than I know it, because He is the all-knowing, almighty God. The Holy Spirit knows all of my past and all of my future. He knows all of my thoughts and deeds. He knows all of the people who have touched my life and He knows all about them! The Holy Spirit knows an infinite number of combinations of things that could happen to me. He knows the results of every single one of those combinations. He knows exactly what would happen if this burden were totally removed from me. He knows how this would affect my faith life. He knows how it would affect the lives of those around me. He knows exactly what would happen if this burden were lightened by one degree. He knows what would happen if it were lightened by ten degrees. He knows what would happen if were lightened by fifty degrees. He knows what would happen if this burden were removed in one day, or five days, or five years or fifty years. He knows what would happen if this burden were made heavier by one degree, or five degrees, or twenty five degrees.
The Holy Spirit knows all.
He knows
exactly what is
best for me!
This scripture reading tells us that when we don’t know what to pray for, or how we ought to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. That should be of great comfort to a Christian. That means that when I come before the Throne Room of God and I pray, "God, Please remove this burden, if it be Your Will", and I have only asked for a "bowl of soup", there may be something greater I could have asked for, something far greater that I could have asked for, that I don’t even know about. I can be comforted in knowing that the Holy Spirit will ask for the greatest thing, for me! The Holy Spirit will ask for the greatest thing for me that could possibly be asked for!
The Holy Spirit knows not only me, but He knows the Will of the Father, because He is God. The Holy Spirit and the Father are one. He knows the Will of the Father. The Holy Spirit knows that the Will of the Father for me is nothing but that I have the greatest! Not just a "bowl of soup", but a great feast! Not just a "bowl of soup", but the entire kingdom!
How could God have a greater will for me, than this?
It is the Father’s Will for me that
His own Son died for me!
Can God have a greater will for me than that?
It is the Father’s Will for me that
my sins are removed from me!
I can stand before His presence,
holy in His sight, because of Christ!
Can the Father have a greater Will for me than that?
It is the Father’s Will for me that
I have the victory over that great enemy Satan and
that victory is in my hands!
Can the Father have a greater Will for me than that?
It is the Father’s Will for me that
I have the victory over death itself!
Can the Father have a greater Will for me than that?
It is the Father’s Will for me that
I spend eternity in God’s presence in Heaven!
Can the Father have a greater will for me, that that?!
The Holy Spirit knows the Will of the Father. And, the Holy Spirit’s Will is also in complete line with the Father.
God’s Will for us is not just a "bowl of soup", but it is a feast! It is a banquet! It is the Kingdom! It is the greatest thing possible!
And, so when we bring our prayers to God, and we ask for a "bowl of soup", we know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He asks for something even greater. He asks for the feast! He asks for the banquet! He asks for the Kingdom! He asks for the greatest thing!
And, if that means that the burden be removed, that will happen. If it means that the burden might be made heavier, that will happen, because God’s Will for me is that I have the greatest and He will give that to me.
All of us sometimes ask for only a "bowl of soup". When Joseph’s brothers threw him into the pit, he probably prayed, "Please help me get out of this pit, and help my brothers like me again." But that was only a "bowl of soup". It may have even looked to him like God took his request, tore it up and threw it back into his face, because instead of getting out of that pit and being set free, he was sold into slavery. He was then a slave for a number of years. Finally, he was thrown into prison for a number of years. And, that burden got heavier on his shoulders. It looked like God had thrown away his requests all together. But instead God was giving him something far greater than he had ever asked for. Through the process of time and events, God knew that while in prison, Joseph would interpret the dream of Pharaoh. And, as a result of that, Joseph would be made second in command in the whole Kingdom of Egypt. When the great famine came, and Joseph’s brothers and father needed to be delivered, Joseph could deliver them, so that they could live, and the line of David could continue. Instead of getting a "bowl of soup", Joseph got the feast.
There are people who sometimes say prayers are sometimes unanswered. In fact, I even heard a country song that sings about unanswered prayers. It is the idea that if I don’t get exactly what I ask for, (the burden be removed) then God didn’t answer my prayers.
But Brothers and Sisters, that is not the case at all.
That is not the case at all!
In fact Martin Luther said it is just the opposite. He said that if you pray that your burden be removed, and your burden is not removed, and it looks like God is throwing your requests back in your face, then you should rejoice. Because then you know that you have only asked for a "bowl of soup" and the Holy Spirit knows far better. He has asked for something great for you. And, God is going to give you something great, for Christ’s sake, because He loves you and He wants to keep you.
When a Christian, who is sick prays, "God deliver me from this sickness, if it is Your Will" and the sickness doesn’t go away, then the Christian knows he got exactly what he prayed for.
I got exactly what I prayed for! I prayed "Deliver me, if it is Your Will." And, I got God’s Will. His will for me is not a "bowl of soup", but it is the greatest thing! And so a Christian in his prayer life, can be very confident. I pray because Christ gives me access to the Throne Room of God. And, even when I don’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit becomes my Simon of Cyrene. He takes hold of my cross and He brings that cross before the Throne Room of God! He asks for the greatest things, and the Father gives those to me! As a Christian, I go forward with confidence!
Amen.
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