Kort sammandrag av Ivars predikan :
Brief summary of Ivar's sermon:
He started from the psalm 23, incidentally he did that the last time he visited Bergsjö as well, which was in February -2020 just before everything shut down, due to covid-19!
These days it´s unusual today to find a really happy person - it´s more common to meet people who complain about everything and a little bit more! If nothing else is wrong, you can at least whine about the weather! It's too dry, it's too wet, it's too hot or it's too cold etc ....
But as an old village original here said a long time ago; Do not live on Whiniingstreet, instead move to Thankgivingsroad !!
Yes, the fear of God combined with contentment is indeed a great gain. 1 Tim 6: 6
The psalmist David was pleased that the Lord was his shepherd, and that goes a long way, even for us today.
"Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
Fear is a very human feeling that hardly any of us can say we are completely free from. Even the heroes of the Bible were affected by fear, this is showed in countless places. But here says David who went through a lot .... fought bears and defeated Goliath to take some examples….says ... I fear nothing for your cane and staff comfort me! The truth is that God is always with us if we walk in transparency, and surrender can fulfill us, it gives liberation from fear.
Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4: 6 both say that God is our father and we can call him Abba Father.
Everyone was afraid of the strict judge but not his little daughter- she happily jumped up on his lap and called him dad and gave him a big hug.
There is fear of not being enough! Performance anxiety - you want to earn God's approval with deeds, or you constantly compare yourself with others and think that you yourself fall short!
But Psalm 23 does not talk about people but only what God does!
It is God who works through every obedient being. It does not matter who you are or what conditions or gifts you have - God uses and multiplies what exists!
Read and ponder the miracle of the Bible and understand that he is the same today!
Mark 6: 45-52 Jesus came at the right time and calmed the storm!
Also notice that the disciples were in God's will even when the storm came against them. It was Jesus who had sent them away by boat!
We are not spared from adversity and trouble but we are promised help out of it at the right time because he is always with us!
One can have fear because the answering of the prayers take a long time ...
Dan 10:12 God heard Daniel's prayer at once but the angel was a little delayed on the way ...
Luke 1:13- Zechariah's prayer was heard but God waited until it was impossible in human eyes to fulfill it.
He told of the pious Bible teacher who prayed for his helpless son all his life and how the son when he suffered from a serious illness must have capitulated on the deathbed and erupted. "I see Dad's prayers surround me like retaining walls" and then he gave his life to Jesus and were saved.
At last. One can fear the doom of the world.
The whole world is judging climate goals and global warming, you read about disasters that increase in intensity, droughts here and floods there, earthquakes and hurricanes etc in all infinity ...
But we have read in the end how it all ends (like the impatient book-reading boy who slept well because he knew that the hero Jim managed in the end!)
Many long sports competitions are not decided until the finishline. You can ski for three hours, but it is important to have the right position and strenght left in the last seconds when the finishline is near! And sometimes someone comes at the end and sprints past everyone because he has saved the strength for the finishline.
We have access to Facit! Jesus will come back to set everything right and create the kingdom of peace, we do not need to fear but can instead comfort our neighbors and friends in the world who live without hope in life. Amen
This short recollect made by Håkan Jonsäll


