Track 1: Call upon God in the Day of Trouble
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
In today’s Old Testament reading. Abraham was distressed. He was concerned about his slave Hagar and her son:
The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you.
We remember that at one point, the son of Hagar was birthed at the request of Sarah. Sarah had not had the son promised by God; Because of her unbelief, Sarah had asked Abraham to have a son through Hagar; Now Hagsr’s son, Ishmael, was no longer needed. Isaac had taken his place as the rightful heir.
God spoke to Abrsjasm:
As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
Hagar was now without food or water. She was in danger of losing her life and that of her son. Scripture tells us: “She lifted up her voice and wept.” She had little faith, but what she had, she exercised.
The psalmist wrote:
Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and in misery.Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful;
save your servant who puts his trust in you.Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God;
I call upon you all the day long.Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
and great is your love toward all who call upon you. (Psalm 86:1-5)
God provided for Hagar in her day of trouble. The psalmist wrote:
Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)
God makes promises to us, but we need to call upon him in our days of trouble. To do that we must believe in him. The Apostle Paul wrote:
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? (Romans 10:14)
Our Christian witness is vital to the lives of unbelievers and those who have given up on God. We need to bring to them the assurance of the psalmist:
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:18)
Are we able to call upon the Lord in our day of trouble? Satan wants to steal our faith. He wants us to be in despair. We need to remember that our God is loving. He is our provider. In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us:
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:26-31)
Let us never forget who we are in Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:1-11)
Track 2: More Value Than Many Sparrows
Jeremiah 20:7-13
Psalm 69: 8-11, (12-17), 18-20
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
In today’s appointed readings Dod tells us how valuable we are to him. We are his children. He protects us like any good father would protect his children. In Jeremiah, we read:
O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers. (Jeremiah 20:12-13)
God saves us, but he also tests us. Why would he do that? The psalmist writes:
Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach,
and shame has covered my face.I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me. (Psalm 69:8-10)
We live in a fallen world. It is ruled by powers and principalities who hate God and his creation. When we identify with God in any way, these rulers hate us. We need God’s protection.
The psalmist continues:
In your great mercy, O God,
answer me with your unfailing help.Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up;
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me. (Psslm 69:15-17)
Do these descriptive words that the psalmist uses seem familiar to us. We read about the mire or swamp of our government, regardless of the nation we live in. What happened to a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people?” People are first to God. He came to earth to redeem us from the penalty of our sins. He loves us so much that he died for us.
The evil we see today, that was hidden from view, is now being exposed.
“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:26-31)
Let us hold onto our faith in God. Though it appears that the Devil is winning, he is not. The Devil will do everything to steal our faith. He sends us trouble and then blames it on God. He lies to us and tells us that God does not love us. Let us remember the words of Jesus:
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Preaching the Lectionary 