HOPE. Ist ADVENT - HOPE. 1/ Unexpected Hope. Introduction: Time of Preparation

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Kathlyn Cross
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Ist ADVENT - HOPE HOPE Introduction: Time of Preparation Advent is a time of preparation. Preparation to remember and to celebrate Jesus coming to the earth as Emmanuel, God with Us!

Is the calendar full? Have you done your Christmas shopping? Only 21 sleeps until Christmas!!! What else do you have to prepare?

1 Ist ADVENT - HOPE HOPE Introduction: Time of Preparation Advent is a time of preparation. Preparation to remember and to celebrate Jesus coming to the earth as Emmanuel, God with Us!! Have you got your tree up? Have you untangled your lights? Have you done your guest list? Decided on the menu? Is the pudding hanging up? Have you written your Christmas cards or letter? Is the calendar full? Have you done your Christmas shopping? Only 21 sleeps until Christmas!!! What else do you have to prepare? I wonder how often we prepare ourselves for the message and meaning of Christmas in our lives and all that it meant when Jesus first came, when we came to know Him and what it means for us today. I wonder what the preparations would have been like in heaven for that first Christmas? Why did God decide to send Jesus at that time? What was the rationale behind sending the Kings of Kings as a baby? A helpless, dependent child instead of a mighty warrior? Would there have been much discussion with the angels? Whose idea was it for the angels to sing? Why was the unexpected chosen over what everyone thought should have happened? Let s have a look and see what may have gone on as Heaven planned, prepared and implemented Jesus departure for Bethlehem. Please watch if you can: An Unexpected Christmas Link: Well, you weren t expecting that were you? 1/ Unexpected Hope How much do we take the story for granted? Do you still marvel at all that God did? It is still miraculous and amazing. Why did the God of the Universe not send Jesus in the way everybody was expecting, surely more might have come to follow Him, but God s ways are not our ways, obviously and thankfully. The dictionary definition of Hope is, a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen, a dream, an aspiration. Wikipedia says Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. What do you hope for? What do you wait expectedly for? The media often has us on the edge of our seats, waiting expectantly for things to happen!! 1

We have been waiting the last few days for the Big Rains to come and they have but not necessarily in the places they were expecting. But they aren t over yet!

! Who here likes Star Wars, I am a big fan and I can t wait for Episode 8 to come out in about 10 days time. I am waiting expectantly.

And when we see Obi wan Kenobi (before the first 3 episodes came out) we weren t expecting him to be the old hermit yet powerful Jedi Knight that he was!

What we do know is that He too is our only Hope, only He is be able to reconcile us to our loving God for the relationship we were created to have!

2 We have been waiting the last few days for the Big Rains to come and they have but not necessarily in the places they were expecting. But they aren t over yet!! Last week, there was lots of speculation about another Royal Wedding, the media seemed to know the exact day and hour it was to be announced, and sure enough!! Who here likes Star Wars, I am a big fan and I can t wait for Episode 8 to come out in about 10 days time. I am waiting expectantly. There is a scene where Princess Leia is sending a message via her droid, to Obi wan Kenobi crying out for help saying, Help me Obi wan Kenobi, you re my only hope. And when we see Obi wan Kenobi (before the first 3 episodes came out) we weren t expecting him to be the old hermit yet powerful Jedi Knight that he was!! The world was not a happy place when Jesus came. God sent Jesus at the right time to be its Saviour. We might wonder why at that time in history? Why a baby? Why not as the King He was? What we do know is that He too is our only Hope, only He is be able to reconcile us to our loving God for the relationship we were created to have!! Philip Yancey says in his book The Jesus I Never Knew, Before Jesus, no pagan author had used the word humble as a compliment. A humble God is an absolute oxymoron. The mighty God became very, very small; a foetus, and grew in the womb of a young single, peasant girl. The God who roared, who could order armies around like pawns on a chessboard, emerged in Palestine as a baby who could not speak or eat solid food, or control his bladder and was depending upon a young teenager for shelter, food and love. What courage, did it take for God to send His Son in this way? How did God the Father feel that first night in Bethlehem, when helpless as any human father he watched His Son emerge smeared and covered with blood to face a fierce, harsh, cold world. He watched Him born covered in blood, He would later watch Him die covered in blood. God, who knows no before and after entered time and space. God who knows no boundaries took on the shocking confines of a baby s soft skin, the perilous restraints of mortality. He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. But the few witnesses on that Christmas night saw none of that, they saw an infant struggling to work, those never-before- used-lungs. Here was the unexpected hope a world was waiting for. And the angels sang, all the glorious heavenly hosts, wanted to sing and herald in his birth but for who did they sing, some poor, nameless shepherds, illiterate hirelings!! Shepherds had such a poor reputation that the proper Jews lumped them together with the godless, nobodies. Auden in his famous poem, For the Time Being: A Christmas Ontario [at the stable] says the wise men proclaim, O here and now our endless journey stops but the shepherds say, O here and now our endless journey starts. The shepherds that night would not have been expecting to be summoned to the bedside of the Messiah, their long awaited hope was revealed to them, not the proper Jews. 2

By all appearances there was no hope in the days of Isaiah. It appeared that the nation of Israel was quickly coming to an end.

Isaiah 9:2 says, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. A child would be born that would bring hope into the hearts and lives of the hopeless.

3 By all appearances there was no hope in the days of Isaiah. It appeared that the nation of Israel was quickly coming to an end. But out of the darkness a voice was heard that spoke of the Light of Hope that would touch the very soul of man. It was to be the Hope of Christmas! Isaiah 9:2 says, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Isaiah 9:6 says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. A child would be born that would bring hope into the hearts and lives of the hopeless. 1 And at the time that Jesus was born, there was also strife and terror, with evil, tyrannical kings and rulers, daily executions, political unrest and corruption. Truly the words from the carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem rang true that night and still do, The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. 2/ A Long Expected Hope Tertullian a 3 rd century author and theologian said, Hope is patience with the lamp lit. In the Luke reading we have 2 incredibly patient people waiting for the Messiah, hoping they would see Him in their life time. Simeon and Anna would have lived a large part of their lives in the latter part of the 400 years silence between, Malachi and the birth of Jesus. V. 26 says Simeon told he would not die until he saw the Christ. What a moment that must have been, after the silence of God, it was he, it would seem, who God first spoke to with a promise, he would not die before he has seen the Messiah. What a promise? Legend says, Simeon was perhaps around 113, when he first saw Jesus. Can you imagine living that long waiting for Jesus to come? - but he waited. Not in an impatient way, but faithfully. He believed what the Holy Spirit told Him and he waited in a devout way for the Christ. What are some promises God has made to you that have not yet been fulfilled? Wait, it s hard but wait patiently and look for the answers in unexpected ways for that seems to be God s precedent. I reckon perhaps we miss many answers to promises we have been given because we expect them to be answered in the way we want or in the way we think God should answer them. Look for answers in the unexpected. Then there s Anna. All we know about Anna, she was married for a few years, then she was a widow for 84 years. So she was probably close to 100 too. A widow back then was on the lowest rung of society; they were the poorest of the poor. And women did not own property, so unless she had other family she had no place to live. Widows were often exploited by the law and all they had was taken away from them. So if a woman became a widow early in life, like Anna, they would ?ref=SermonSerps 3

4 have remarried, and quickly - but she didn t. She took a life of misery and possibly poverty rather than get married to ease her financial burdens. So she would have been noted as a faithful or devout person (not that it helped her circumstances) and verse 37 says, After her husband died, she never left the Temple, worshipping God, fasting and praying every day, every day for 84 years!! That is faithful!! Can you imagine going to church and worshipping every day for 84 years? Part of the reason these people saw Jesus, was they were waiting and looking for Jesus. They were faithful to God, more faithful than others who were simply happy to do the religious requirement, do the routine, the bare minimum of faith. They were waiting, even as they had aged so much and grew closer to death, they had not given up hope, their hope rested in the unseen God whom they believed would keep His promise. Oh, they must have doubted at times, why should they see the Messiah, they were not priests, they were just ordinary people, why would God reveal himself to them. There was nothing special about Mary or Joseph that would have made them stick out day. They were just bringing another baby to the temple to be prayed for and circumcised, something that parents did all the time. No one at any time says, Here s Jesus. Here s the Messiah. But both Simeon and Anna, recognize Jesus straight away without consulting one another either. Simeon, he was led by the Holy Spirit to the Temple, God told him to go to the Temple, without knowing why. Simeon just went and sees this Baby and knows. He knows! He knows so well that he just walks up to them, Can I hold your Baby? Are you doing what you can to get to know God? Are you devout? Have you given all to him? Simeon and Anna were so faithful they immediately recognised Jesus when they saw Him. Do you recognize Jesus today? Where do you see Him? 3/ Hope is Still our Gift Today Leunig The hope of the world was born at Christmas through a baby Jesus. But hope is not automatic. In fact, sometimes hope can be hard and elusive. Sometimes our circumstances seem anything but hopeful. So often life does not go the way we hoped it would, or even how we planned it. It can have all sorts of dips and bumps, swerves, highs and lows. One of Leunig s classic cartoon depicts, how life should be, and then it s reality!! How do we sustain hope in the midst of disappointment and difficulty? How do we keep from being completely overwhelmed by trials and pain? How do we maintain an attitude of hope when everything in us wants to yield to despair? When we can t see a way out? When giving up seems easier because we are so tired and worn out? 4

We ve all faced situations where there seems to be little objective reason for hope in our jobs, in our marriages, in relationships with family members.

How do we hold on to hope during those times when our circumstances seem hopeless? Martin Luther King says, We must accept finite disappointment, (it s inevitable) but never lose infinite HOPE.

5 We ve all faced situations where there seems to be little objective reason for hope in our jobs, in our marriages, in relationships with family members. Some of us have faced seemingly hopeless medical, emotional or financial problems. Some of you, right now, may be in situations that seem hopeless and you are tempted to give up hope. How do we hold on to hope during those times when our circumstances seem hopeless? Martin Luther King says, We must accept finite disappointment, (it s inevitable) but never lose infinite HOPE. Hope is something which cannot be taken away. In the Concentration camps Viktor Frankl notes that those who gave into despair, rarely survived, hope was what kept many people alive. It s important for us to remember the hope that Jesus brings. The Incarnation, God becoming a man, is the very reason we can have hope. Without Jesus, we have no hope and only death to look forward to). But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, we are no longer hopeless! Revelation 1:4 says, There will be no more tears, no more pain, no more death and no more sorrow, I will wipe away your tears. There is a beautiful acrostic using the letters of the word, HOPE - Hold On Pain Ends Listen to what the Psalmist writes in Psalm 33:20-22 We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. When your situation starts to seem hopeless, just stop. Say, Lord, I don t know what to do. I m not sure how to handle this. But I want to trust and put my hope in you. I m relying on You to resolve this situation. Please show me what to do. Help me to look for you in the least likely of places What will happen if you pray something like that? Can I guarantee that nothing bad, nothing unpleasant, nothing painful will happen? Of course not!! Can I guarantee you the outcome you desire? Unfortunately, no. Our hope is not in what we hope God will do. Our hope is not in one specific result. Our hope is in God Himself. We trust Him to do what is best, and that may not be what we expect or desire. But what I can guarantee is that God will prove Himself faithful to you, and that He will not disappoint you. You won t regret putting your trust and hope in Him. In June 1995, 6 months our family had moved to our new home we built in Glenrowan, David and I believed we received a call to minister at Kew Baptist Student Hostel, beginning in We applied for the job and we didn t get it and we were puzzled because the call wouldn t go away. In October the following year we heard the job was vacant again because the previous person hadn t worked out. So we applied again and we didn t get it again. By this time we were pretty frustrated because we only wanted to go there if God wanted us there and if He didn t want us there we just wanted Him to take away the call that was still so strong. Then the following October again we heard the position was becoming vacant as the person wasn t staying on. We were puzzled and decided perhaps this was too much about what we wanted so prayed and decided not to apply, our rationale being if God wanted us there He would make it happen. The next night the minister from Kew rang and asked us if we would consider coming in for an interview. The people who interviewed us this time couldn t believe we hadn t been put on the first year we applied. We packed up in January 5

1998 and moved to the Kew Baptist Student Hostel. I believe God said, some day you will know why you didn t get the position in those first 2 years.

palliative relief and is dying in hospital. We both loved Glenrowan and the plan was to return there.

So I was desperately praying please God give David some more time so as we can get back to Glenrowan. And I heard a sort of audible voice simply say, I already did!

6 1998 and moved to the Kew Baptist Student Hostel. I believe God said, some day you will know why you didn t get the position in those first 2 years. Fast forward 3 years, 5 years after the initial call; my husband David has been diagnosed with an aggressive tumour and at this exact time 17 years ago, he has just had a huge operation for palliative relief and is dying in hospital. We both loved Glenrowan and the plan was to return there. I really wanted him to have some more time there but David wasn t as fussed, if he couldn t mow the lawns he didn t want to be there. So I was desperately praying please God give David some more time so as we can get back to Glenrowan. And I heard a sort of audible voice simply say, I already did!! I was overwhelmed and overcome with emotion when I put it all together. For little did I realise, that all the time I was frustrated and upset we hadn t got the position in Kew earlier, God was actually answering a prayer I was going to pray 5 years down the track. If we hadn t had that extra time in Glenrowan back then, I probably would never have returned. God isn t bound by time and space, He knew what was best for us and what the desires of my heart were going to be 5 years down the track and he granted them. Granted, not in the way I would have chosen, totally unexpected but never the less, proving His faithfulness. Conclusion: Renewing our Hope Our faith is a faith that looks forward to the future, to the time when God s promises will be fulfilled. That was true for God s people prior to Christ s birth, as they looked forward to the promised Messiah; it was true for Mary and Joseph as they looked down at their newborn son, knowing that the time for the fulfillment of God s promises had finally come, it was true for Simeon and Anna who waited a long time, and it s true of us today as we look for OUR God to reveal Himself to us and as we look forward to the return of Christ. So this Christmas let s ask God to renew our hearts and like those of the first Christmas, let s look for Christ in the unexpected, for that is where we are most likely to see Him fulfill our hopes, answer our prayers and anchor our hope. Remember it was out of the darkness, at creation, where God brought forth light. In a harsh, difficult, dark time God sent His son to be the Light of the world, when Jesus died at Calvary and our debt was cancelled the world went dark and 3 days later in the darkness of a borrowed tomb, Jesus is raised in the light and power of the Resurrection. When the world is again in a dark, awful place, and we are heading there, the Prince of Peace will come again, but this time as the mighty King we expected last time. My friends, God s word clearly testifies to us it is in the dark where the candle of hope burns brightest. In the meantime, Psalm 31:24 says, Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord. Ange van der Leeuw 3/12/17 6

Advent Devotions for Family Worship

Advent Devotions for Family Worship For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,