Respond with Hope

Our theme for 2024 is “Possessing the Land.”

We began the year by saying that we want to take hold of purpose and be intentional

Philippians 3:12 NLT

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

How are we doing with that?

We talked about Joshua entering into the promised land.

We worked through the Lord’s prayer “...on earth as it is in heaven.”

And we read through Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians and discussed how we are releasing the Kingdom of God in the earth.

Now we are at advent, looking toward the coming of Christ.

I wanted to remind us again of our overall vision - the four R’s

At the same time, we consider Christ’s coming in terms of the advent theme’s of Hope, Joy, Peace and Love.

So let’s combine those thoughts.

Let’s remind ourselves of who we are called to be as we remind ourselves of who Jesus is and why He came.

We respond with hope.

We are restored to joy.

We release His peace.

And we relate in love.

This is an active “taking hold of” advent.

In the “Everyday Gospel” Christmas devotional by Paul David Tripp, he says that the Bible opens with the themes of creation, fall, and redemption. Tripp says, “They form the lens through which we can look at and understand everything in our lives.”

The first three chapters of the Bible tell us, in a nutshell what the Bible is about.

It is a prologue to the entire story of God choosing a people through which would come a redeemer.

It shows God’s intention, the conflict of the plot and how God would eventually resolve it.

Tripp tells us that, “the first three chapters of the Bible end in glorious hope.”

So if the story of the Bible is creation - fall - redemption,

And the story of our lives is creation - fall - redemption,

and that is our basis for hope.

Romans 15:13 ESV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Then what is left for us to consider is whether or not we recognize the pattern and respond in hope to see the process through to its conclusion.

Creation

Colossians 1:15–16 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Think of a child receiving a brand-new toy—the excitement, the joy, and the wonder of discovery! In the same way, God's creation is like His greatest toy, showcasing His creativity and love. Just as we delight in new experiences, God delights in His creation, revealing His purpose through every flower, animal, and star. It’s a playful reminder that God made the world with intention and joy, inviting us to explore and enjoy it as a part of His purpose.

The Bible says that the world was made by Him and for Him.

Before we consider the problem of sin, we need to consider the real starting point of the story.

The starting point of our story is creation.

Beautiful

Majestic

Glorious

Think of the most beautiful view you have ever seen.

Maybe it was from a mountaintop.

Maybe it was looking out over the ocean.

Maybe it’s your own back-yard garden.

That is God’ creation - the perfect place to be.

And it was meant to be enjoyed!

God created the world to be good.

Genesis 1:31 ESV

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

When we think about Christmas time, we anticipate spending time with friends and family. We decorate. We have delicious food, drinks and tasty treats. We play games, have festive music and give gifts. It’s all designed to make sure that everyone has a really great time! When we talk about the magic of the season, it is the simply the goodness of God expressed through things that we enjoy together.

That’s what it means to be very good!

God created a world where we would have everything that we need.

He created a world where there are so many good things to be enjoyed.

And God demonstrated His goodness and generosity,

not to mention a sense of awe and wonder that could only be described as magical!

Everything that brings us a sense of inspiration was part of God’s creation.

Whether it is the intricacies of an insect or a flower.

To the swarms of fish in the ocean or the flocks of birds in the sky.

Every scientific system and every artistic palette was a product of his vast imagination.

And all of it was for His delight and for our enjoyment.

The best part about God’s good earth was that he created us and he created us for relationship with each other and with Him.

God created you for fellowship with Him.

1 John 1:1–3 ESV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

John reminds us that we were created for fellowship with God and with each other.

John got to know Jesus in the flesh.

And knowing Jesus as a real person reinforced in his mind and in his memory that God created us from the beginning to be in relationship.

One thing that stood out to John about Jesus was that he valued his relationship with John and the other disciples.

So much so, that he made sure they were all properly introduced to God the Father,

And Jesus wanted His disciples to know God the way that He knew God.

John 16:26–27 ESV

26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

The Father Himself loves you.

The God who created the universe cares about you.

The One who made you wants to know you.

And He wants you to know Him.

It isn’t enough that He knows everything, including everything about you.

He wants to see what will happen when you reflect back to Him everything that you know.

Everything that you see and the way that you see it.

Everything that you feel and the way that you experience it.

That reciprocal sharing of thoughts, observations and feelings is called relationship.

That’s what God wants from us.

And what is more, he made everything, but you can’t make relationship.

You can only make a place for relationship and hope that it happens.

You can’t make anyone love you.

You can only love them and hope that they love you back.

Everything that God made was an expression of who He is.

He created us in love and in hope that we might reflect that love back to him.

It all started out so perfect.

When we think about the story of the world and our story, don’t forget that it all started out really great and that is the way it was supposed to be!

Question for reflection:

How can you make this holiday season a time to remember and celebrate the goodness of God?

Fall

Psalm 53:2–3 ESV

2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

So what happened?

I like to listen to “The Bible Project Podcast” when I walk in the morning. On a recent episode, they were talking about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as being an example of an ancient riddle. Adam & Eve are put in this garden with one tree call the knowledge of good and evil and told not to eat from it. They are completely innocent, they only know good - they know nothing of evil. But the tree is called “the knowledge of good and evil.” So they know that evil exists, but they don’t know what it is. And they have no reason to know or to even try it until the serpent comes and deceived them into thinking that what God calls evil might actually be something good that God is holding back from them.

The serpent twists good into evil and evil into good. This made Adam and Eve think that they needed to try it to find out. Before that, everything they needed to know was simply the name of the tree. There is something called evil and if you want to know what it is, just disobey God and eat from this tree.

The devil is still twisting good and evil, making us doubt God and His goodness.

And every generation since Adam and Eve has lost their innocence in pursuit of a lie.

The world is corrupted by sin and evil.

Romans 5:12 NLT

12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

We live in a fallen world where evil has been unleashed.

Why are people greedy?

Why do people oppress and enslave other people?

Why do we hurt the ones that we love even when we don’t want to?

Because we are each determined to define for ourselves what is good and what is evil.

And we usually define good as “what is good for me”

And evil is “whatever I don’t like”

And as long as we define good and evil by ourselves and not according to God we will have conflict, disharmony and disorder.

Most people don’t try to sin, they just do it.

Nobody sets out to be evil, they fall short of what is right and good.

Good is simply being obedient to God.

You wouldn’t think that would be so hard, but the further we get from the garden and that first state of innocence, the harder it is to get back there.

You might even say it’s impossible and, practically speaking, it is.

Except that Jesus did it.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

It would take a God-filled human to turn the tide.

You would think that it would have all been fixed instantly, but it’s not.

Jesus made righteousness possible, but only as we follow Jesus.

My own heart is divided.

James 1:14–15 NLT

14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

When we talk about sin and the fall, the temptation is to talk about it as if it only applies to “other people.”

Yeah, the world is messed up.

People are messed up.

“other people” are messed up.

Does anybody ever say, “I think I might be one of those people?

Maybe, but not usually out loud.

The Bibles says that we are all alike under sin.

In a small town, there was a quirky tradition: every year, everyone would bake a pie and enter it into a contest. But no matter how fancy the pies looked, they were all filled with the same common filling—apples! It reminded me of our human condition; no matter our backgrounds, we all share the same core sinful nature. Like those pies, we may look different on the outside, but inside, we are all alike under sin!

We may look different, but we all have the same filling.

The truth is that all of us are mixed.

Wee have some good in us because we are created good in the image of God.

And we have some bad in us because we have a sinful human nature that wants what it wants.

The bigger question is - are you aware of it?

Because if you are aware of it, you ctan do something about it.

1 John 1:9 TPT

9 But if we freely admit our sins when his light uncovers them, he will be faithful to forgive us every time. God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ, and he will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The bad news is that we all sin, in word, in deed or in attitude.

The good news is that when we confess it, God forgives us.

And the Holy Spirit cleanses us and enables us to change.

Do you know what is the one thing that God wants more than anything else, from each one of us?

He wants us to come to Him; admit that we aren’t perfect and then allow Him to change us.

Oh, and we don’t just do that once; but we do it consistently.

Every moment of every day for as long as is necessary.

Question for reflection:

2. When will you make time to take inventory of your life and give to God what He wants most?

Redemption

Luke 1:76–79 ESV

76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Christmas is a celebration of God’s solution for humanity.

God knew that He would have to come to earth and become one of us.

God knew that the only way to save humanity was as humanity.

That is why Jesus was born.

That is why he grew up and lived a human life.

And that is why He died and rose again.

It was all part of God’s plan to redeem and restore humanity.

That is the story of Christmas and it all begins with Jesus.

Jesus made a way for salvation.

Romans 5:17 NLT

17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Remember how Adam and Eve brought sin into the world?

Jesus became like a second Adam to undo what they did.

How did He do that?

Instead of disobeying God - He obeyed God - absolutely, right up to death.

And because Jesus obey God to death; he unlocked eternal life for all who would follow Him.

His death was a transaction that purchased our redemption.

Imagine you buy a vintage comic book at a yard sale, and it turns out to be worth thousands. You redeem that dusty old book into a treasure! Just like in life, God redeems us; taking us, with all our flaws, and turning us into something of great value in His eyes. If He can do that with a comic book, think of what He does with us!

Redemption means that a price was paid which restored us to the value that we once had.

Jesus paid that price for us with His own life and death.

And then He was raised from the dead to show us that there is a new creation - a life after death that is everything that God intended from the beginning.

Redemption is applied wherever it is received.

That is why the first R is respond.

Jesus did what needed to be done.

He paid the price for our redemption.

He made the way for us to follow.

What is left for us to do is to respond appropriately.

We are restored in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

The bible says that we are a new creation.

Just as when God created the world - beautiful things just appeared!

When God restores us in Jesus Christ, the same thing happens - beautiful things begin to appear!

I once saw a potter at work. He took a lump of clay, which looked like a formless blob. But with gentle hands and patience, he shaped it into a beautiful vase. Likewise, God takes us, with all our imperfections, and molds us into something beautiful. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we are reminded that in Christ, we are new creations—molded and crafted by the Master’s hand! This transformation is both imaginative and joyous.

God who created you in the first place, had a vision for who you should be and what you would become.

OK, so things didn’t go as planned.

We went our own way and wrecked His idea.

But God is patient with us.

He made a way for us to come back to Him.

He redeems us - He doesn’t just throw us out because we ruined our lives.

He incorporates that pain and sorrow, and yes even our mistakes, into a wonderful new plan that He has for us.

The only question left is: “How will you respond to Him?”

Will you allow Him to guide you daily on the path that He has for you?

Question for Reflection:

3. What new thing will you allow God to do in your life this season?