Comfort: Into the Unknown
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Prayer...
Prayer...
Let us pray…God, we come to you this morning, standing in the glow of Christmas Eve and anxious of the New Year that is coming. Guide our hearts, our minds, and our spirits to focus upon your still speaking voice as your comfort for us is proclaimed in this day, Amen.
Facing the New Year Together!
Facing the New Year Together!
Today is the last Sunday of our calendar year and there is much to celebrate but also much that is unknown. As we look over the last year, there has been much to be sad about…we have lost dear friends and family members, we have seen many things happen to cause us distress and turmoil, and there is also much to look fondly upon as memories of what we were. On the flip side of that, there is so much to be joyful about as we close out 2019 together…we had an amazing Christmas Eve service and we have seen folks celebrate the work that we are doing in this community and beyond.
As I sat beginning to prepare myself for this time of reflection, I read a piece from my favorite devotional writer and I feel compelled to share that with you this morning…This is titled, “Something New”…Chris Tiegreen wrote...
Something New
Something New
“God is doing something new.” There’s never a moment when that’s not a true statement. We may not see the new thing he is doing, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t doing it. The God who creates, reveals, teaches, prepares, renovates, and restores is always up to something in virtually everyone’s life. He is always on the move. The idea of a god who created the world and then left it alone is foreign to God’s revelation of himself. He told us long ago he would create a new heavens and a new earth, and he told us not to remember the things of old (Isaiah 65:17). He recreated us as new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). He gave us examples of people who leave old things behind and press on toward the new (Philippians 3:13). “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5 esv), he assured us. We do not live in a stagnant culture or kingdom. We serve a dynamic God.
That’s especially gratifying when we wonder how long it will take for his promises to unfold. He’s already unfolding them, even in ways we cannot see. It’s also gratifying whenever we feel stagnant or stuck, craving a new direction or opportunity in life. He’s working, preparing, calling us into something more, even when doors for it haven’t opened yet. There are “suddenly” moments in God’s kingdom, some of which have taken years, decades, or centuries to set up. But when they come, they come in a hurry.
That’s why boredom is never a kingdom characteristic. Neither is complacency or lethargy. When we feel that way, all we have to do is envision what God might be doing behind the scenes. Ask him for eyes of faith to see it. Right now, in this moment, he is working on something new”...The God who sent the Son into the world, a drastic change in the way people thought and someone who consistently challenged people to think in new and unexpected ways, also sends comfort to those who are in the midst of turmoil…Jesus was that comfort…and so we can be comforted as well because we have received the Son, who was sent into the world, yes to change it for the better, but also to give us a physical representation of God’s ultimate comfort. As we move forward together into the New Year, I want us all to consider how God might be trying to comfort others through us...
Comfort within the fellowship of believers
Comfort within the fellowship of believers
As we consider that this morning, I want to give you one more piece from Paul...
For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
Promises of comfort
Promises of comfort
All throughout Israel’s history, God has provided means and ways to receive the comfort promised. Today’s passage from Isaiah is just one minor and I mean minor, example of God’s promised comfort for the people God loves…let’s look at one verse in particular this morning...
I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.
Isaiah wrote these words for those who had been suffering in exile and are now returning to the land from which they were torn. The problem is that they thought, by returning to Israel, the Promised Land, that they would be returned to full status and live the life that was promised. Unfortunately, Israel was still under foreign rule. The people who returned, found life to be hard and miserable. I think some of us can relate to this feeling at points in our own lives. But yet, God wanted them to be happy and secure, God wanted to comfort them. And so Isaiah writes these words for those whose hearts are failing them in the moment...
In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.
While we may never know how God is carrying us in these times and in those moments when we feel despair, we are being reassured that God’s comfort does not and will not leave us. Which is why Thursday’s devotional struck me so much...
God reassures us so many times that we are cared for and loved. God tells us in the Prophets, in the writings on Jesus’ life, in the letters that Paul wrote to the many churches he helped to birth, and even in the revelations of John. Now, I cannot give you all of them this morning but I do, on this last Sunday of the calendar year, want to give you a few that might help us to get through whatever we might be individually struggling with...
When we are worried...
When we are worried...
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
Isaiah gives the people living in exile the comfort that God has not abandoned them but rather walks beside them in all things...
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
These words from Paul reminds us every day that God is With US. No matter what comes to pass, God will guard us and protect us. Does this mean that we won’t face troubles…absolutely not, but it does give us the reassurance that when troubles come, God stands beside us and journeys with us through all things...
When we feel lonely...
When we feel lonely...
We are not only promised God’s presence when we feel anxious and worried, but God stands beside us in all things…the best example of promise is found in the Book of Psalms…
Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Here Asaph, a recorder or secretary of King Hezekiah who was king of Judah and succeeded as king after Ahaz (a king we have heard about throughout Advent), reminds us that God stands beside us when we feel like we are standing against all forces on our own. Remember, Isaiah wrote about how the kingdoms of Israel and Judah would one day be separated from their lands and be sent off to foreign lands. They would stand in places where they knew no one, where they would be separated from their ancestral home, where they would be far away from family and friends that they have known. I cannot think of a better way to imagine feeling all alone. Yet, here in the Psalm, Asaph wrote that no matter what befell him, he would always know that God was leading him into the future that God had in store for him...
When we feel exhausted or weary...
When we feel exhausted or weary...
Again, I am going to turn to Isaiah as the perfect example of God’s comfort in times of weariness…I know that I have often found myself weary beyond all understanding at times in my life and I venture that many, if not all of us, have felt like we are too darn tired to carry on, yet there is comfort from God that our strength cannot compare to what God will do for us...
Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
While this seems a bit of a stretch for many of our human minds…it is what God ensures us. Even Christ gave us comfort that we could lean on our faith and trust that he would stand beside us when we are tired, weak, and weary...
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Again, we might not be able to fully understand or comprehend what this means for us but it is there, if we just rest and rely on God’s strength. It takes only the faith of a mustard seed and yet we often think that we need to do everything on our own. This is not the case…because we believe, because we have faith in what we cannot see, we can be comforted...
When we are discouraged...
When we are discouraged...
One final thought of a promise of comfort…this time from Paul...
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
I guess the whole point of this morning for us today is that when we cannot find the strength to carry on, physically, mentally, or spiritually, we need to rest and trust in the aspect of God’s love that will not waver or leave us. In this final Sunday of December and as we look toward the future that God has in store for us in 2020, I ask you to hang on these words...
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
Amen.