Rejoice in Our Great Hope
So if you've been with the last 4 weeks 3 weeks we've been talking about Advent the Blessed. Hope of Jesus Christ in the anticipation that would be building up for people looking forward to the birth of the Messiah and we spent the last few weeks talking about this whole then I'll just hope bring conflict within our own hearts and souls and how this hope is a gift that has been packaged for us in this morning. We're going to look at a text that maybe isn't it's often considered on the Sunday right before Christmas. However, it's part of this Christmas story that we have for you this morning. It takes place about 40 days after the birth of Jesus and I want to read this to you and verse 22 of Luke 2 And when the time came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to prevent him to the Lord as it is written in the law of the Lord every male who first opens the womb Shall be Called holy to the Lord and offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord a pair of turtle doves or pigeons. There was a man in Jerusalem. His name is Simeon and this man was a righteous and devout waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him and I've been revealed to him by the holy spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ and he came in the spirit of the temple and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. He took him up in his arms and blessed God and said Lord now you are letting your servant depart in peace. According to your word for my eyes have seen your salvation. They have prepared in the presence of all that you prepared in the presence of all your people a light for Revelation to the Gentiles and for Glory to your People Israel and his father and his mother Marvel and what was said about him and Simeon blessed him and said to marry his mother behold this child of the pointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. And for a sign that is opposed and a sword will pierce through your own soul thoughts from many hearts may be revealed and there was a prophetess Anna the daughter of phanuel of the tribe of Asher should have danced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin and then a widow and tell she was 84. She did not depart from the temple worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day and coming up at the very hour should begin to give thanks to God and speak of him to all we're waiting for the Redemption of Israel. Just a minute remove yourself from this setting and imagine yourself around a dinner table with friends. And there is you're talking about life and experiences. Maybe the idea of some churches are Church Gatherings. You've attended or participated in comes up. Are you sure about some sermons that impacted the very few that stuck with you and just changed your life. You heard something and it moved in your heart and you shared some of the harder experiences that you walk through. And maybe you shared some of the more weird experiences. You've walked through weird things happen for me when I was living in Hawaii my friend invited me up to the Hill Country. I think it was Pukalani was the name of this little town and they were doing an all Church all the churches worship gathering for just young people. And so we decided to head up into the Hill Country and to visit this event that was going on and as we gathered lights were dimmed the stage with lit up there may have even been a fog machine or two and I thought this is a little different than what I'm used to but it's in the name of Jesus at this Gathering of all churches. I mean, you got Pentecostal and Baptist and conservative Baptist just array of Dan jellicles from the island of Maui. Let's just say the Pentecostal seem to have a lot more fun than the Baptists at this Gathering and that you're giggling and I'm cool with that David danced unto the Lord there is even moments for they were shouting. They were excited and parts of a song and I'm thinking they're cheering him on event. It got weird when I say weird, I grew up in an Assembly Church on the Sunday night Gathering I went to every week. Thanks Mom and Dad these little sweet old ladies would always just in the middle of whatever worship was happening with blurred out and some unknown tongues. I was familiar with kind of different. Alright, but I mean, It started just laughing and laughing and a knocking one another over and I was like I am out of here. I'm done. Okay, I am not going to partake in this and so whenever I get a chance to share that story that experience. Yeah, that was weird. And I tell you something this story here is weird. Let me set the stage Mary and Joseph bring baby. Jesus to the temple and they're they're going to have a nice baby dedication to the Lord David. Therefore. This picture is Sunday morning at redeemers much like this and because we have a lot of useful people in this church. We see a lot of babies born and we get the opportunity to dedicate a ton of children in this church is something I love doing pray over our children praying over our parents. No picture this Sunday morning. They're getting ready to receive this child and some weirdo come out of nowhere running up on stage and intercepts the hand off of the babies to Pastor Bratz. I can die now I am so happy. I see hope how many other reaching for your Shield I know like 90% of our church is it just the way it is in here? Okay, we are going this guy is a notch. What is he thinking what's going on? This is weird and then the lady, it's the lady who never leave the church grounds. She's always there and she starts saying Redemption is here and hold this year and she's handing out pamphlets in the back and everybody is going in the world is
And it's interesting because In this passage the priest they miss it. The religious rulers they don't show up those who you would think would know about Jesus the birth of the Messiah those who would have had heard the ripple effect through hair. It's that something happens. If somebody was born that you would think for just a moment maybe possibly somebody else in that realm would have showed up to a big knowledge that Jesus but you have these two people a prophet and a prophetess who seem to be somewhat Loli and on the outskirts of society. We don't know much of their background and upbringing but it is to begin to Herald the message of the gospel. And what do they say? He says here so interesting to me and he talks about the consolation of Israel deep groaning this longing this desire that's placed inside of his real to be what's the people of God under the rule of God's however, they been so far removed from that because now they're under the hand of Rome. They're not a free people. Yes, they can worship their gods for they don't govern and Rule themselves in a way in which they think they ought to be able to they can feel the oppression that can feel that the difficulty in their everyday life as they walk around the streets of Jerusalem Palestine Roman guards, who are there it's others who are working on the temple and they would have had this longing there's brownie within their heart for something to Set straight and something to be made, right and it's interesting that he uses these words because as we talked about so often every single person in this room has some sort of deep longing and groaning that's placed deep inside of them that realizes this world is not as it should.
What is far from it? It is broken. hard difficult
we suffer pain and loss and emptiness. And there's a desire for something to make us fully full and complete and satisfied. There's a deep groaning with an each and everyone of us groaning. That longing is for the king the king of kings and Lord of lords. If you don't know this, you don't realize this you don't understand this. I want you to hear this today, you will spend your entire life searching for something to fulfill and satisfy your heart and here in this passage. We get this crazy old dude who goes I have seen salvation. I have seen the Lord help I can die. Now the very thing that human beings fear most He says I'm at peace with everything because I have seen Salvation And as we look at this text this morning, it brings a huge amount of comfort to our hearts that are long and are searching that are trying to be satisfied and filled up and the problem the problem that we face as a culture today is a CS Lewis tag. We are far too easily satisfied as a people, aren't we? We are far too easily satisfied with this idea that if I just get some stuff if I just get some time off if I just get the family around me. That'll give me enough to get through to the next week the next year. The next season. I can be content with that. And here we see a man who is hopeful expectation. I take one look at Jesus and he says this this is peace. This is hope this is what I have been looking for my whole life. And I want us to consider his faith here this morning. I don't want us to even consider the idea of space here this morning. Because City and doesn't have the same view as those who were around Jesus Earthly Ministry. He did not witness his life burial and Resurrection when he said these things nor does he have the same kind of hindsight that we get but we don't see in the same time. We'd at least had I witness is an account are left for us. And he says I don't have to see this child grow up. I don't have to see him multiply Fish and Loaves to convince me that this is the king or to turn water into wine or to see the Transfiguration. I don't have to be I witness to what he has done. I have seen all I need to see I can die in. Peace.
Who in here? But that kind of hope and peace. Where in the world do we even get that from and as we think about Christmas? And there's so much that goes into this time of year and there's so much commercialization of its rights getting gifts and being busy and bacon great things all kinds of things to cause us to be far too easily satisfied this text brings us back to the Stark reminder of what it means to follow into love Jesus, but he is enough now, you look down just a little bit you look at Anna and her life. Our life is hard and difficult.
Got married cited fantastic 7 years later. She loses her husband. And now she's a woman who just simply sits around the temple and seeks God, you're the love about her and the placement in the story is not just a proclamation that she makes in it, but this woman who's been through tragedy and difficulty this woman who's had Hard Times doesn't let her circumstances wreck her face. circumstances tend to be Faith Wreckers, don't they Circumstances tend to be Faith Wreckers what I mean by that when we go through hardship and difficulty begin to question the very goodness of God, how could you allow this to happen? How could this take place in my life? Even when it's something that we don't directly cause an engine to shake our fists in the hands that were once raised in Praise during times of goodness. We're seasons were healthy and we were well and we Lifted Me said How Great Thou Art your wonderful magnificent and then we tend to go through something difficult. And those were his hands turn to clench fist you say, how dare you God. I'm a good person.
I'm thankful. I love you. Why why you allow these things to happen the things that make people really angry at God? Only walk through certain circumstances and trials and difficulties and we look at this woman and we see and we read about her and though she went through a hardship. So people would have noted her life and she was like she was faithful and prayer. Pasta, and she continued to show up. It was so true about this section of scripture. Vivian says Jesus is going to be a reveal revealer of your hearts. We looked at this little bit more in-depth last week, but Jesus Jesus puts in water to places either for him or against him. And we see this woman and she saying this child he is redemption. He is Hope and threw her tragedy and loneliness she saying I have now achieved the Redemption of Jerusalem, and she pointed she Herald that you talked about Jesus and what I love about this is up to this point who has made big proclamations about Jesus. You got some Angels We Have Heard On High right? They should have to the Shepherds and they declare the good news of the Gospel. You had some Magi who traveled from the east of the begin to this was actually after this event years later show up a year later show up and talk to her and say look, where is the Messiah the king of Israel? She got these men.
Who else you have to lowly Faithful Servants? one of the things that I take away from this these are some of the first two people to preach the good news of the Gospel. We often think to be great preachers we have to articulate so well, but I'll tell you what better preachers Don't Preach a better gospel.
Better preachers Don't Preach a better gospel. Maybe they can packaged it real nice and tight, but it doesn't make it better news because of the way they presented the good news of the gospel for all is a presentation that all can actually given us the Hope in this gospel is come to stay unlike every other God. He secures the steps to reach me. Here's how you can obtain this high and lofty state next to me. You can climb these towers you can look at the stars and you can gaze and you have to be righteous in this way. We have a God who does you cannot reach me on any of those ways. I'll tell you how you're going to come to me. I'm going to come to you in a humble and lowly estate. And that is the good news of the gospel and it's coming through Ordinary People. We looked at this a few weeks back who in here feels terribly ordinary. I mean, that's me. I feel that way. So often life can be a grind and we get up and we serve we go to work jobs. Sometimes there's some highs and sometimes there's some lows but life tends to be so ordinary and if we look at these two people they were terribly ordinary. Nothing spectacular that we read about them except for the fact that they were faithful this morning or a follower of Jesus don't complicate faithfulness.
Does reconsider and we think I'm what does it mean to be faithful? What is this woman noted for her prayer for fasting showing up. She's not noted for going across to all of Jerusalem and all of Israel and into other nations. She's not known for doing something absolutely spectacular in mind blowing and going. Yes, of course, that's why she's you she's known as a woman has suffered and was faithful and God shows up and moves in her life. the word for us in here Church remain faithful remain faithful remain faithful for the people that you're praying for for their eyes to be open to the gospel remain faithful and speaking truth and love to those you come in contact with Remain faithful cuz you don't know how your hospitality could just begin to show a little bit of a glimmer of hope and life and love into somebody's life and it's often the most ordinary and mundane moments of Life. The gods boom shows up as a faithful servant unto him. Be faithful. Is one last thing I want to look at this morning. I promise you guys a short message. I'm delivering on that Unfaithful. All right. Hope hopefully seeing here is not a perspective in a person. Hope is not a perspective. Hope is a person in him there is salvation in him. There is redemption today. We hear a lot of ideas. I had to be a happier person. Everybody wants to be happier. Amen. Amen. So we eat this stuff up and we read the books and often. It says you're bummed out get a new perspective get a better perspective over the last couple of months. I often just listen to other sermons and people who teach and I've heard the same story that's played throughout some of these sermons and they tell of the Olympic medalist. Give me heard this before. Olympic medalist, who do you think is happier a silver or bronze winner? You think of silver when it would be happier? Right? Well check this out through what they call some kind of facial studies or I don't know what that is, but they can judge by the way people react and their smiles and they're those things I can gauge how happy a person is and they say on average a bronze medalist is happier than a silver medalist. Do you know why a bronze medal? This is simply thinking I got a metal. I'm not a complete loser. I'm somewhat good at what I do with the silver medals has thinking I almost got it. I almost got the gold. What if I landed that last triple Axel whatever thing?
Toledo now what if I had just made it and so what people will say then is what kind of think like a bronze medalist now, I like this and I don't like this. Here's why it all revolves around the how hope is not just adopting a new attitude or outlook on life. Hope is not looking at poor Ana. At least I'm not like her at least I didn't suffer like her. I have it so much better than her go that family down the road. At least I'm better than them more righteous than them. I get along much fighter in life than them. Hope is not just simply looking at somebody else and save at least I'm not like that or at least I'm not in those situations, but that's what some would have you to think to get a better perspective to look at your own life and sake at least I'm not like that kind of thinking where it simply is just change for some sort of positive thinking maybe things will get better. Look the only way The only way to alter thinking is to have something from outside of us that is more powerful than us. Come upon us to radically change S psalm 42:5 Should tell him that you're here this morning the song that says why are you downcast? Oh my soul. Did you know godly people have bad days. Did you know Kings have bad days. Did you know people men like David women have for after God's heart have terrible seasons in life and they write things down and it makes scripture here for this man and they say things like why are you cast down? Oh my soul. That does not sound like a song. We're going to sing later. Does it ever right? We're not turning that one in the scripture right now to try try James some songs with scripture. We make songs. What does he say? Why are you cast down? Oh and the Lord he doesn't say maybe I'll get back to the Palace. Maybe I'll get back to ruling and reigning. It doesn't say what least I'm not. At the bottom bar in the totem pole in my Army and I got to work this week know he says in the Lord. Yes. It's a change of perspective. But first it's a change of heart that change of heart can come because the king who rules our heart absolutely changes Our Lives if hope is just a perspective that can be taken away from you. Whatever it is, you want to get or gain you think will satisfy you can be just as quickly ripped from you but one hope is a heart change because of what God has done like Simian we can say I can die now in peace because I have seen salvation. Is that something more I need to do to gain to get? But I can have absolute Lasting Hope because of what God has done a few things. He says in here. The later on the Psalms and some 42 I say the same thing. Hope in God. I shall praise him. I will remember him are you downcast? Probably not today because we're still anticipating Tuesday, but possibly today because you're never going to have a Christmas like you had 20 years ago too much in life is changed too many people that were close to you are now gone. They've been lost through the pain of death for divorce through broken relationship and we're constantly trying to get that feeling back up inside of us, but we can't work it in. What are we to do? We hope and God what are expectations are wrapped up in who God is good not what's under the tree or in the driveway Tuesday morning, it will radically change our perspective because of things under the tree can be taken from us, but we still have hope nothing in the driveway can be driven into the ditch by your 16 year old. You can still have hope is that isn't for your home lies, praise God praise God. Why are you downcast cuz you been praising in the wrong direction? And he looks so much inward think of yourself in a certain way and lift yourself up. Maybe you praise everyone and everything else around you that you don't praise God. Add a week this week day. Don't study and I just like my wife knew it. She's not in here today. I came out like what's wrong with nothing. I couldn't tell her what was wrong. I just have one of those days where I felt Down cast. That's why I turn to Psalm 42 this week's plywood directed a lot of what was going on that I found myself after my jog on the trail going God you are good. Regardless of how I feel regardless of what I've walked through what others around me are walking through you are kind you are generous you are loving you are faithful. So I will hope and you mean the third thing he says the song I'll remember the Lord. This is great. Cuz he's looking back on the Redemption of Israel out of Egypt in The Exodus story was just a shadow of the Redemption of what God has done in our lives. I'll remember that. I am redeemed. Are you downcast you want to change a perspective? You need a brand new Foundation? Not just a different outlook on life, but I radical New Foundation. Where does it come from that comes from knowing him? What does it look like when a close out with this looks a lot like the Apostle Paul, which I wish I could always say this. I think of Paul and his new Foundation he wants with a persecutor of Christians. I've met the true and living God in his heart transform to be set on mission for God in a very radical way wasn't if you read a story throughout acts and some of the things for detail in the Epistles and we read things like because he'd been so changed. He says I'm going to live our lives for Christ. If you want to kill me that's game.
He said I'm fine with either cuz to live is Christ to die is gain he goes on to say things like you want to put me in prison. I'll just convert all your jailers. I'm going to tell them all about Jesus. I'm going to lift his name up on high. We're going to sing praises people are going to get saved. You can't put me in prison without having Revival happen. He says things like you want to beat me I could decipher Jesus. This is fantastic. You can't get this guy down by. Toll Foundation has been changed to the coming of Jesus. Shift everything in our lives and this is how we sum up our time spent in Advent. What do you make a Jesus? Erratically altered your entire life. Or is he just your Sunday thing you do and visit? Feels good to sing some songs to punch in Punch-Out when you're done. Or has actually radically moved in your life. Have you embraced who he is and what the gospels tells about him to be worshipped. We love do we exalt him this question. Is he sensual the question is not. Is he a king the question is? Is he your king spray God. Thank you for your word today. Thank you for the hope of Jesus Christ. I pray that your Holy Spirit. You're moving on hearts in here today hearts that are at War within themselves. Hearts that are against you that would be so often be drawn towards you I would move in us and work in us we pray in the name of Jesus Amen.