December 12, 2021 - Can my weary soul rejoice again?

Night of our, dear savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining until he appeared in the soul, felt its worth.

2000 years ago when the world seems still in life was going on and it's normal. Frustration. There was a flurry of activity in the Heavenly Realm. To us. It appear. That nothing would ever change. But soon, happen would burst into life right in front of our eyes.

That night long ago, when most people were fast asleep, a group of Shepherds were watching their sheep. He probably had a fire going quietly chatting amongst themselves. There, wasn't a sound of round, except the sound of sheep doing what shape do at night in the pasture.

And in that quiet, in that hidden place. A burst of light appeared in the angels from Heaven saying to the shepherd's glory to God in the highest and peace on, whom his favor rests.

Can you imagine yourself sitting there by the fire with the warm glow on your skin?

You might have a soft blanket wrapped around you, in a warm cup of drink in your hand.

It might feel like nothing will ever change. It may feel like heaven is silent for you. It might feel like God has no interest in your life. It may feel it. All around is Darkness. Nothing silence.

But God.

God bursts having into our world and gives us that thrill of Hope.

God is always working behind the scenes for you for your good is Angels announced piece on those with a for those on whom his favor rests. That's you is favor rests on you. He is called wonderful, counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting father Prince of Peace Emmanuel God With Us.

Our God is a god of the suddenlies. He's the one that shows up and changes everything. He's the one we can miss. If we don't look.

You can again know the thrill of Hope.

You can know that regardless of what you're feeling say, at the right moment, having will burst in with lights. And singing will be over you. He rejoices over you with singing.

A thrill of Hope, the weary World rejoices.

For Yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.

Do you remember the thrill of Hope?

You know, what a weary Soul feels like, right. Yeah.

You and I can have weary Souls. We need real hope to keep us rejoicing. We need that under that understanding that God is with us.

The problem is that hope deferred makes the heart sick.

Is your hope and disappointing you?

Is your hope deferred?

let's think of other players in the story that it's such a wonderful accounting for what who got is and what he wants to do for us. What about the wise men who traveled so far?

Can you imagine yourself walking under a Starlit sky? Can you see the twinkling lights? So, vast in the darkness is far as your eye can see.

That Kind of Night Sky, I can make you feel so insignificant and so lost.

One of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. He's yelling at the sky and he says, I am significant. And two frames later, you can put that up on the screen, actually two frames later. He says, says, yelled the speck of dust. Can you show that side? That's it. So beautiful.

We can we can have that. That can be us.

We can feel so insignificant so lost.

But sometimes lost is okay.

The Magi might have felt lost. They didn't know where they were. They didn't know where they were going. But they knew they had to follow the star.

Sometimes we get so determined, not to get lost.

But this year, we all find herself. Last week. We have our five-year goals and our life plans are out the window, you know, we may have had serious health problems, come up. We may have had relationships collapse. We may have had financial difficulties, and some of us have had all three and and and it's during a pandemic.

There is never been a better year to know to really know to live with hope that will not disappoint. The hope that can't be deferred.

We have been waiting and we have been floundering. We've had the goalposts move again and again and again. We thought there were answers and we've been disappointed. We've been told to wait and we've been told to be patient and we've been told to wait more and we've been told to have more patience.

I want you to remember today that hope can take you to places that you've never imagined.

We might not even know what we're looking for, but we may find cod in a way. We didn't expect.

You need to be like the wise men who followed the star.

What's the star for our weary soul?

It's hope. It's real hope.

It's the thrill of hope that allows our weary soul to rejoice.

Real hope comes with real faith, in and faith is simply our natural response to his revelation. Shepherd's weren't filled with hope until he changes were there.

Were they waiting? Yeah, did they want things to change? So yeah. Were they happy with their current lot? Probably not.

But God showed up.

And hope sprung out.

You can have peace and joy and hope at all times, and in every situation. It doesn't come from sticking your head in the sand. It's not a guarantee when everything is sunshine and rainbows. It's a walk of faith. And the good news is God, empowers us to accomplish every good work, prompted by our faith.

And faith is our natural response to his Revelation. It's not something we have to stir up in ourselves. We need to look to God.

And respond to his Revelation to us.

Let me give you a tool that will help you. Hope when you have a weary Soul because if you don't have a weary Soul, you will at some point.

We all need to know how to really hope. It's the hope when it hurts tool.

I want to tell you to hope that's the acronym. You're going to hold on to testimony. You're going to operate in reality. You're going to pour out your heart to God and you're going to engage with your whole heart.

What do I mean? Hold on to testimony Revelation 12:11? Says they overcame him. These were the Saints, they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. I didn't love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Testimony is so critical with hope. What has God done in your life? What has he done? In other people's situations? What is he done in this book? Because if he's done it for them, he'll do it for you. If he's done it before. He'll do it. Again. He is God. He does not change. He will do it again.

You we need to remember to tell our stories and tell her testimony. Maybe I'll lose the most of, you know, I've started wearing hearing aids. I have not been loopy in that whole time since I've been wearing hearing aids. That's a game-changer for me, how big of a game-changer will Karen. And I from the time that we looked at a condo said, hey this might work to, we sold our house and bought a condo in 20 days. Like okay, the market is hot. I'll come every other Home in our neighborhood hasn't sold yet. Market is hot. How come we got it? The condo for the low price. That's God. I'm telling you. You can say it's the market. I'm saying, it's God I can know, I know this cuz everytime there we had troubles trying to get this thing worked out every time. There is troubles. There was an answer that was better than I thought. Was it first? Cuz God kept on, I felt his pleasure on me. I still feel as pleasure on, I've got to move, we've lived in this house for 16 years. We got a lot of stuff to move and get rid of, and Anna yet. Okay, one one, at a time. One room at a time. One step, at a time. God's going to help us do it. He will do it. Now like that makes my soul Rejoice. I'm very excited.

And I know if you're going through stuff. That's really, really hard. That might not excite you. Well, that's okay. Maybe you got to sell a house sometime and that's where it will help you. But we need to share our stories. We need to talk about the good things. God has done. We need to remember them. If nothing else. I want you to start journaling these things down. Journal yet, you're writing them down for things, you do in a journal, you write down your problem. You write down your prayer, you write down your promise that God gives you and you write down the praise. 24-piece. It's the problem, the prayer, the promise in the phrase. Those are the things you write down. You might not everyday, be able to write something down. But what you can do is you can go back through that journal. And I tell you, I I did this after my heart attack. I've been doing it for years. But after my heart attack, I could for all my problems to God, and when I read it over, I I I realize he was getting me to praise him in the midst of it. And I'm amazed of where I am now and how he's transformed me where I was to where I am now. I've got that record because I've written that down. It might not be for anybody else. I'm a little bit hesitant to publish his stuff, but it's it's for me.

Use a journal write down those things. Collect other people's testimony. When somebody tells you what God has done and it's good when it rings. True here. Write it down. Like get it. I've been cleaning out files and it's like okay. I've got prophecies over our lives that we go and we listen to there. There video Summer video, audio files kneeling and Those are good too. Cuz those are the promises that God's given you and it's good to remember those things. It in this book. This Is My Life Bible. I had in 1984 and I've got notes in the margin all throughout it. Where God has answered prayers, where he has spoken to me directly. And when I read through this, I remember those times. I remember those things. I remember, I knew so much more in 1984 than I do. Now. Like, I didn't do that back, then that's incredible. Why did that change my life?

remember testimony, testimony, testimony testimony The Saints overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony you need to make use of testimony if you want to have hope that won't disappoint. Hope. That won't be deferred. You need to make use of testimony. Hold on to testimony question. I'm asking you and you can ask yourself and ask. Holy spirit. Is am I holding on to the testimony of what God has done. Am I holding on to the testimony of what God has done, if I'm not start doing it. Start writing these things down, start remembering and start leaving messages on it. You got a phone, you can leave yourself memos. There are ways you can do this so that you can remember. The good things God is telling you cuz he is. Yes, you remind you of what you've know. He teaches you new things. He sends people around you. That can encourage you and bless you and you got to make use of those things. You got to read that there are tools for you. Bo and hope I want you to remember, you going to operate in reality? They have real hope. It's not sticking your head in the sand. Hebrews 12 verse 7, says in, dear 12/7. Says endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as children. This is Sons For What Child Is. Not is not disciplined by his father.

When? We feel like we're floundering. We need to remember if God, it might not be from God.

I'm not even I'm not going to give God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal kill and destroy. I don't believe covid is God's judgment on the world. I do believe that if I treat it as discipline. I'm in, I'm in the right place. What I'm going through, it's to make me more like, Jesus. What you're going through is to make you more like Jesus. So instead of asking I got that somewhere else.

American myself instead of asking. Why me God, it's God. What do you want me to learn? What do you want me to learn in this?

There is a. James Bond. Stockdale was the highest ranking. Naval officer who was taken prisoner during Vietnam. and, Jim Collins the author of from good to Great interviewed, him, and record his interview in that book. And he asked him how how did he get through? Like, what do you do with that evolve? First question was Who didn't make it through? and, James Bond. Stockdale said it's it was the

The optimists didn't make it. What you meant by Optimus, we're the ones who said we're going to be out by Christmas and Christmas with, Christmas rube go and they're still in it or we're going to be out by Easter. Easter would come in Easter, would go bring me out by summer, summer with common summer, would go and they would die of a broken heart because they're hope continually was deferred.

We can't hope in that way. It's not God's going to show up for me and it's going to be Tuesday. It's God is going to work all things together for good. I know that that's the confidence. Stockdale Paradox is something a tournament Jim Collins coin? Because Stockdale said that she said this is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end that you can never afford to lose with a discipline to confront. The most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. Let me say it again. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end that you can never afford to lose. With the discipline to confront, the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever. They might be.

Treat all hardship as discipline. God is forming Jesus, in you.

Operating the reality is Christians were really good of putting on plastic masks and saying, God is good. When inside we are from blank. Operate with the most brutal facts of your current reality deal with them with the help of holy spirit. With the empowerment of God, you got you'll get you'll get through, it will help you. Don't ignore it. Don't push it aside. Don't stick your head in the sand. Speak the truth. Have others. Speak the truth in love to you.

But no. God is going to work it all together for good.

I know when you're in the middle of it that it it seems trite. It's not right. Its profound. It's got to be real. It can't just be this. You got to know what here.

You got to know how to trust God. That's what hope is for our discussion. Your hope is trusting God. And when we trust God, it doesn't matter what happens. Our plans. Yeah, my plans fail all the time. I've learned to be okay with that. What he's told me to do like sometimes I know God. Do I wait on God, I want to know exactly what he wants. What I want him to recognize that. I am doing that and then the plans change and it's like all well.

But I know I trust God enough to know. He just wanted me to get moving and some some direction. And then he can move me where he wants me to go. Sometimes other times the work that I've done here to move there. It's that I accidentally ripped books that way because it's like I'm going to go in and then no, it's this way. And then, three months later. It's like almost finish this book. Why didn't I finish this book? Oh, yeah. That's why there it is.

Question, you can ask yourself, is MI confronting the most brutal facts of my current reality.

God's help. You can Don't be afraid to do that. You want real? Hope you don't want. Hope they can be deferred.

The P4 hope I want to encourage you to pour your heart out to God for what does Philippians 4:6 say you for this for me many times. Don't worry. Don't be anxious about anything but in everything with prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes when I read that, I think I give across the idea that, you know, it says, suck it up buttercup kind of attitude. Please don't hear that. Although with my kids. I've told him many times to suck it up buttercup, but

I, I

How do you say? You got to be able to pour your heart out to God. The Psalms of lament are there for us to have the words to pray to God. Two-thirds of the Psalms are Psalms of Lament. When you don't know what you're feeling, keep on reading in the song, so you find out how your feeling is somewhere in there. It's got the feeling that you feel. And yeah, maybe the enemy is not coming in like a flood. Maybe they are not. Maybe it but that's how it feels. And when you get one with, that's how you feel. That's the one you pray over and over and over again, because almost every one of those psalms of lament will turn it back to praise. Will turn it back to Thanksgiving, but they don't start with that. They start with the pouring out of your hearts.

I think one of the best tools we can learn in this. Walk of faith is to be honest before God and call crap crap.

God this is not what you designed. This is not what is good, but you are going to turn it for good. So I'll praise you in spite of

Not, you know what I'm saying? Portal your heart to God. There's some good songs in there that just ring, so true. And sometimes when I read them out, it's it's I get amazed that someone 3000 years ago felt the same way I feel now. 3000 years ago.

Is the psalm of David that's when it was written. That blows blood that that God knows me better than I know myself. Because he's been working with people a lot longer than I've been alive.

Portal your heart to God.

Feelings, might not make proper theological sense. That's the problem we have with Christianity is as Christians. We think we can't be offended at God. We think that we can't save like cuz like it in the book. It says I You Are The Potter and the clay. I'm the work of your hands. Yes. That's true. But if you don't believe that here to repeat, that is cognitive dissonance. How do you get that to feel like it's here? You pour your heart out to God. You you're the one of the tools that that it's it's a simple phrase. Oh, I think I'm taking that from the other place. To it might not eat my, it might not be true. But it feels like it's true.

Your feelings are so important because they show you what you really believe. If you can say, like, I believe God's going to work it all out for good and yet, I feel like I'm worrying all the time. What do you really believe? God's going to work it out to get if you're worrying all the time. No, you're not. Okay. So let's deal with that worrying all the time. because if you can deal with that feeling, You can know he's going to work at all over for good. You can know, you can know.

Or your whole load part of the god question you can ask yourself is am I making use of the mint? Make use of Lament. Whether it's in your Journal that you're writing out, whether it's in your quiet time alone, with God, all that. That's the thing. I'm most of the Psalms of lament, not all of them. Most of them are personal times with God. It's not that you get together with friends and make everyone miserable. There are limits that our community limits. There is a time. I think now could be a time that is a community. We can pour out a limit. This whole season of covid-19. We can't really meet together. We can't. Celebrate people's lives at funerals. We can't hold little babies in her arms at one really hits. but, I think there is there there there is time for us. We can't just we got a praise him in the storms. Yes, but we need to before I go to a real feeling to God. It doesn't scare him. It doesn't it? We're not it. Strengthens your face. If you think it weakens your faith, you're wrong. It's strengthens your faith to know. God, I can trust God with with this limit. And you still trust double? He's not offended. In fact, he's using that. To make me who he wants me to be.

Am I making you supplement? The e in hope? I want to encourage you to engage your whole heart with hope. Why? Because in our discussion here, hope and trust are very similar and we need to trust in the Lord with all of our heart. If I trust in the Lord, I will have hope. It just, it comes. I'll read that verse at the end.

I was so tempted. I was going to try to fit the entire chapter of Isaiah 40 into this message, because it is so good and so timely. So, read that on your own this week, but let me just read from verse 26 or 27 today, Isaiah 41. Is why do you say, oh, Jacob, the complete o Israel. My way is hidden from my Lord. My cause is disregarded by my god. Do you not know, have you not heard the Lord is the Everlasting. God the creator of the ends of the Earth, you will not grow tired, and weary, and his understanding. No one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the week. Even youths will grow tired and weary even young man, will stumble and fall, but here it is. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up with wings as eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.

Oh my goodness.

We hope in the Lord with all of our heart. We need that kind of hope that hope that will not be deferred. You know, some of us sometimes we sore when God gives us hope we sore. Sometimes we run. It sometimes it's it's a walk. That's all we can do. But we do it. Cuz we got hope. We've experienced his Revelation Revelation, and we responded faith. And that's one who Springs out.

There's a decision that wouldn't, you know what I'm saying? Trust in the Lord, with all your heart and hope in the Lord, with all your heart that I'm talking there. It's a decision of the mine. It's a, it's a action of your being. If there's a decision, there's an action, if there's an emotion to Hope, right? The decision is a, you need to speak to your soul. There are times you need to speak to yourself. I I like how the passion translation French literates Psalm 42. It says, so I say to my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be disturbed for. I know my God will break through for me and I'll have plenty of reasons to praise him all over again. Yes. He is my Saving Grace. When you feel like hope is slipping away when you feel weary in your soul. If you need to speak to your soul and say yet, I will praise him, my savior. My God. Yes, he will make a way where there is. No way. Yeah, you make that decision. You declare his praise, you do. It's a decision. You've got to decide to do that.

Also in action, hope is an action. There are things that we can do. That will help us have hope.

Proverbs 3. Five says, trust in the Lord, with all your heart, don't depend on your own understanding, seek his will in all you do and he'll show you what path to take. These are just examples of actions that can help with hope. Okay, the first there I'm nuts, actions will help you get going first action. You can do to help with hope is to rest.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to take a nap. Can you show the next slide? Cuz that's a good image to? Not that one. The next one. Jesus Took naps be like Jesus.

Yeah, when you're weary in your soul.

Rest is a wonderful thing that God blesses us with, okay? He blesses his people with when there's a good proverb in there. I didn't look out, but he blesses us with sleep. Another thing that can help with hope is exercise. Now this one is just kind of funny. I wanted to go jogging but Proverbs 28 says the wicked run when no one is chasing them. So there's that. That's not the attitude to have, you know, like I said, sometimes we we we fly, sometimes we run. Sometimes we walk, if you can't run walk. Do do something.

I don't like we had to sell our house. So we moved our bread Mill from our bedroom. So it looks bigger. And that was a big job to move that treadmill to into the garage, but we haven't like I mean, I'm not on a treadmill cuz it's a stacked up. Ready to move. So I have to figure out how I can exercise because I'm not walking out on those streets with all this ice. That's for sure. But anyway, that you can do it, you can do it skates. It's all that people were skating down the streets of Edmonton this week.

Another action you could do is you participate in life, giving relationships.

To have hope we need each other. We need to trust each other. We need to share with each other. We need to build each other up. Proverbs. 12:25 says, worry weighs a person down but an encouraging word. Cheers them up, but a good word. Cheers them up.

We need each other in this.

Journey of Hope.

Do we make the decision to hope? We put her actions in the place so that we can hope. And the emotion is peace. We need to let peace rule in our hearts Colossians 3:15. Tells us just that. I let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts for his members of one body. You were called to peace and always be thankful.

Nothing is worth it. If it cost you your peace. Worry isn't worth it. If it cost you your peace. Planning isn't worth it. If it cost you your peace. Hoping isn't worth it. If it cost you your peace. What am I saying there? I'm saying real. Hope will give you peace. Not cost. You. Peace. If you think okay. I hope that it's going to happen by this date or I hope that's going to happen there or I hope this is how it's going to work out and you don't have peace in that declaration.

That's not real. Hope.

Now remember, God, can speak anything directly to your heart and he can tell you by this date. That's what's going to happen. And that gives you hope. You know, it's from God and not, you're not working it up in yourself because you have peace, you have peace at. This is how it's going to happen and you follow that path of peace. That's the difference. When we work it up in ourselves. It could be hope that Stafford. When we hear from God, we're going to have peace in that. so,

Let me give you a simple example. Like I've been taught and I totally agree. When you prophesy over someone, you never prophesied that they're going to get pregnant. Like, even if like you, you were, you have to make sure it's got because to give someone that kind of message. When you haven't heard from God. It's really presumptuous.

And yet, I know lots of ladies who were trying to get pregnant and got spoke to them and they were totally certain. So yeah.

What I'm saying is listen to God. What is he saying? Put your trust in that. Don't put your trust in something that you've worked up in your own imagination.

Your own plans, your own stats, your own. You know what? I'm talkin, but we've all done it. We've all done it.

Nothing is worth it. If it cost you your peace.

Do I hope with my whole heart? That's the question you can ask yourself.

Max Max Lucado describes hope this way and in his book God came near he says it's a zany unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in a Flash to see our reaction.

That's the hope. God has for us. That's the hope that won't be deferred.

So can a weary Soul Rejoice again? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Don't let another day go for you embrace. The hope that God is God. Did take on flash and camp out for a while. He is a god with us, God is here. Now. God is with you always. He will work all things together for good. You will finish the work. He started in you, he will speak in break in and change everything when it's time.

Your hope will not be disappointed. When you put your hope in God, alone. When it's in God alone.

So remember the hope when it hurts tool you hold onto testimony you operate in reality. You pour out your heart to God and you engage with your hope, your whole heart. I want to leave you with Romans 15 3. Is May the god of Hope? Fill you with all peace and joy as you trust in him that you will overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit. Will you stand with me? And we pray?

One thing about Hope is that I know it's transferable. Cuz I've hung around people who have hope and it's gotten all over me. so, I want to pray for us here now, and for everyone watching now or watching later that if you need hope, Holy Spirit. The God of all hope will fill you with peace and joy as you trust in him. I have confidence to know that, that's

You can trust the one who stressed a Bible. The Holy Spirit right now. I pray for a special anointing of Hope the fall on us. Hope that is based totally on. You got hope that it's Springs up. Joy and peace. Lord. In the name of Jesus. I pray for desperate situations. I pray for situations of hell that need photo recovery. I pray Lord God for situations of relationships that need restoration or completion. God speak to those places and give real hope real Joy, real peace, real life. I pray Lord God for those that have a financial difficulties Lord that need real hope. And a real plan out. Lord Lord. I speak everything. Lord. Got me. We live with Open Hands, knowing that Lord, you provide all that. We need. You bless us in the Heavenly Realms with every spear. Show blessing and we can trust. You got that you are working all things together for good because you are good and you want good for us. And you will make a way where there is no way and you will speak life and you will speak hope and you will be gone. Thank you. God for coming near to us and Lord. Thank you. That we can praise you regardless of what's taking place and thank you, God, for that, yet when we praise you, because you are our savior and our God, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you.

well, thank you so much, Pastor Trevor for that message and