The Hope of Renewal

Good morning! Welcome to the Vineyard. If this is your first time, my name is Kevin and I’m the pastor here. Our vision at the Vineyard is simple - we want to embody Jesus to our neighbors. This happens by growing in three ways, through what we call our pillars.

First, is Presence. We want everyone to experience the presence of God. This is what transforms us to love him and others. God’s presence is where we become fully alive. We want you to know the Father.

Then, Formation. God doesn’t just love us; he is forming us to be his people who can carry his life and love to those around us. Formation is where we learn to embody the Jesus way of life. We want you to imitate the Son.

Finally, Mission. Being on mission is how we join God in the work he is doing to bring his reconciliation, justice, and mercy to earth. This is how he is bringing healing and renewal to the world. We want you to partner with the Spirit.

Presence. Formation. Mission. Be thinking about your next step. Where is God calling you to go deeper with him?

Suggest a way to grow in all three - become an intercessor! Sacrifice one hour to pray for our church, our leaders, our ministries and mission, our protection, and for the power of the HS.

Pray...

Intro

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We are starting a new series called The Gospel BC: The Story of Jesus in the Old Testament. I’m going to attempt something I’ve never done before, which is to tell the good news of Jesus as found in the OT, with references made to the new. Did you know the gospel is in the OT?

One of my favorite post-resurrection stories is that of the disciples who encounter the risen Lord as they are on their way to Emmaus. Of course, they don’t know it’s Jesus at first. As they relate to the stranger the terrible things that happened in Jerusalem, and of their disappointment because they thought he might have been the Messiah, Jesus begins to teach them. Luke 24:25-27 “Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.”

Of course, the scriptures here are the OT, because the NT hadn’t been written yet. So for the next several months, as we work our way through the church calendar of Advent to Pentecost, I want you to hear the Jesus story as found in the OT scriptures. I hope as we go along you will not only be encouraged about the hope offered in Jesus, but that you will also gain more understanding of how to read the OT in ways that are relevant to us.

Today’s message is called The Hope of Renewal. Advent invites us to anticipate something. Not Christmas. That is backward looking. Advent invites us to look forward, and to do so in hope that renewal is coming. The enemy is a liar. His lies sound something like this: things will always be like this. They will always be like that. You will always be like that. Advent exposes this lie. The Advent idea this morning is that Times are troubled, but the renewal of all things has already begun in Christ.

Troubled times

Read Isaiah 2:1-5

Isaiah sees into the future. The nation has escaped the frying pan only to jump into the fire. Judgment and exile are on the horizon, and in just a few short years life as they know it will be suddenly over as they see the armies of Babylon camped around their city. The immediate future is bleak.

Advent forces us to stop and take stock of our time as well. We also live in troubled times. I don’t need to recount to you just what we’ve seen in the last few years. The daily news and the stock market tell us things are bleak.

I wish I could only see trouble when I look outside myself. But the greatest trouble I’m confronted with daily is my own. I can be petty and unforgiving. I let bad habits control me at times. I’m troubled about situations in my family. My situation - and maybe yours too - also feels bleak at times.

But Advent reminds us that these situations aren’t God. And at the end of the day, they don’t get to set the agenda for the world, or for our life. Just as in Isaiah’s day, God has a plan for the world, and he has a plan for you. A plan to bring peace and harmony and thriving. A plan for renewal of all that is broken. This is the message that Isaiah communicates in our passage today.

Times are troubled, but the renewal of all things has already begun in Christ.

In days to come

In spite of what’s broken, in spite of what we might see on the horizon, God is at work healing and restoring this world. Isaiah sees this as the ultimate future and truth.

“In days to come”.  Isaiah speaks of a great reversal of fortune. Yes, things may look hopeless now. Rough times may be ahead. But this isn’t the final story. In days to come it will be the Lord’s house that is established as the highest point. This is poetic language to describe what Jesus would call the kingdom of God. The rule and reign of God on earth. And under his rule the nations will stream to him, to learn to walk in his ways. When he is lifted up, he will draw all people to himself.

And as a result of his reign, peace will finally come to earth. Again in Isaiah we hear this poetic description of swords and spears being converted to tool of agriculture and human thriving.

“In days to come” is still in the future for Isaiah. He can’t see it yet, but he knows it will happen. But at Advent we announce the good news that that day has come. The “days to come” have come in Jesus Christ. With his first advent the kingdom of God has been launched. God’s plan to heal and renew the world has been set in motion. Isaiah’s vision is now coming about in Jesus.

Times are troubled, but the renewal of all things has already begun in Christ.

Renewal of all things

Not everything is renewed yet, and during Advent we look forward in anticipation to the day to come when Jesus will return to establish in totality his rule and reign, when everything is finally and totally renewed.

But we don’t have to wait to begin experiencing his renewal. This is our Advent hope. Certainly, there is some things that won’t be renewed until Christ once again stands on earth as the uncontested Lord. But renewal is available now, and it touches every part of our life.

Spiritually, we can be renewed in our relationship with God. We can enter into a relationship with him through Jesus. We can re-new and re-build our relationship with him if we’ve walked away.

Physically, we can be renewed to mental, physical, and emotional health by the power of God’s Spirit at work in our life. This can happen as the result of a miraculous touch from God that heals you in an instant, or it can be the slow and steady work of transformation as the Spirit applies God’s truth to your life.

Relationally, God isn’t only renewing us to himself but to one another. By the inner power of the Spirit we can walk in forgiveness toward those who have hurt us, and we can be reconciled to those we have wronged. If you have any brokenness in your family like I do this is incredibly good news.

Missionally, we can be agents of God’s renewal to others. Isaiah speaks of the nations streaming to the Lord’s house. Guess what? We are the nations! And God is calling for more, and he is calling through us. We can be agents of his peace and reconciliation to those who are far from God, who feel like they’ve gone too far to ever come back. We can speak against the lies of the enemy and say, ‘no, this ISN’T how it’s always going to be’.

Whatever is broken in your life, whatever weight you carry, wherever sin has touched you or those you love, the Advent hope we have in Jesus is that renewal begins now.

Wakefulness

This is the hope that Advent reminds us of. But Advent also calls us to wakefulness.

Matthew 24:36–44 (NRSV)

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Contrary to some interpretations, this is not a warning about the Rapture. It is a warning that when Jesus returns only those who are watching and waiting will remain. We who love the Lord must remain diligent to not be compromised or lured into complacency by our secular culture. We must not succumb to the lies and hopelessness of the enemy. We must not allow ourselves to go to sleep spiritually from the excuse that “people have been predicting the return of Christ for centuries”. No, I’m not saying I have an inside track that he is coming in our lifetime; I’m saying that regardless of when he comes, how will he find you?  Because you WILL see him, whether it is in his glorious return, or because you meet him in death. How will he find you?  Awake or asleep?

Our Advent hope reminds us that the day of renewal and healing is coming, and has already begun. And the call is to open our eyes and join God in what he is doing in the world, and in what he wants to do in our own life.

Isaiah closes with “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord”. How might we do that today?

Commit your life to Christ. (Show Next-Steps slide) Re-dedicate yourself to him is that is appropriate. Lead in prayer and invite to next steps...

Maybe God is inviting you to deepen your relationship with him during this season. Perhaps he is calling you to greater consistency in worship, or maybe growing in your prayer life. To help with this second thing, I’ve re-printed some booklets on prayer if you feel God calling you to grow in that area.

Finally, is God calling you to missions? Not overseas, but serving in his mission right here by getting involved in ministry. If so, use the Connect Card to let us know you are interested in that.

The good news in Isaiah is that God will come to set the world right again. The good news of Jesus is that he already has. Times are troubled, but the renewal of all things has already begun in Christ. Amen.