Sunday December 1st Service_transcript.txt

[0.40 --> 2.40]  So we were praying for baby Kale last week,
[2.86 --> 4.58]  and in the 9 a.m. service this morning,
[4.68 --> 8.04]  I was sitting beside the nurse who prepped him for surgery.
[8.24 --> 10.34]  And I thought, it's kind of cool how we pray for doctors and nurses.
[10.90 --> 12.86]  And in this case, you're praying for someone in our own church.
[13.22 --> 16.10]  And it made me very grateful for the work that many of us do
[16.10 --> 17.64]  week in, week out to care for others.
[17.88 --> 19.06]  And it just so happens that this week,
[19.10 --> 20.94]  we had someone in our own church caring for little Kale.
[21.28 --> 22.42]  So praise the Lord for that.
[23.16 --> 24.76]  Another piece of gratitude, as you can see,
[24.76 --> 27.02]  we're in the season of Advent, is the banner,
[27.22 --> 29.60]  or I should say Hope Art Collective team and the decor team.
[29.94 --> 31.68]  Thank you so much, as well as the lighting,
[32.10 --> 35.28]  for making this space beautiful and giving us the gift of art.
[35.40 --> 39.46]  Do come up during this series and take a look at some of the nuances to the art
[39.46 --> 43.22]  that's going to open up as we preach through this series on words of waiting.
[44.86 --> 48.16]  As was already mentioned, we're in the season of Advent,
[48.26 --> 49.26]  which is the season of waiting.
[49.40 --> 51.62]  And we have some traditions in Advent.
[51.62 --> 52.64]  One of them is this.
[52.98 --> 57.50]  Pastor Dave always rants about how much idolatry there is in this season.
[57.62 --> 58.60]  So I'm going to do that as tradition.
[58.60 --> 62.98]  I want you to know that an author I like describes Advent,
[63.32 --> 65.50]  or I should say Christmas in the Western sense,
[65.90 --> 68.38]  as a month-long pagan festival of consumption.
[69.84 --> 70.74]  I'll say it again.
[70.86 --> 73.46]  A month-long pagan festival of consumption.
[74.24 --> 77.04]  And his point is, for most people, it has nothing to do with Jesus.
[77.78 --> 78.76]  It is wastefulness.
[79.26 --> 80.52]  It is rushed through the mall.
[80.64 --> 81.94]  It is useless spending.
[81.94 --> 84.16]  That is not our story.
[84.76 --> 89.62]  And I'm inviting you to creative and bold resistance to worthless consumption.
[90.68 --> 91.86]  Spend less.
[92.38 --> 94.28]  You do not need more stuff.
[94.76 --> 98.94]  We need to be a people of contentment and of generosity to where the needs really are.
[99.02 --> 99.88]  So are you with me on this?
[100.54 --> 101.78]  You're willing to have hard conversations?
[102.24 --> 103.20]  Here's my dream.
[103.20 --> 107.84]  My dream is that our kids, who are growing up in a consumer culture,
[108.20 --> 112.26]  when they get together on Boxing Day or they get together when school starts again,
[112.52 --> 114.92]  they do not ask the first question being,
[115.36 --> 116.66]  what did you get for Christmas?
[117.66 --> 119.06]  That is the wrong question.
[119.62 --> 124.30]  And we need to form our kids to know that the center of Christmas is the coming of our Savior.
[124.98 --> 126.18]  And we do that in many ways.
[126.46 --> 128.22]  But now I'm preaching a different sermon within a sermon.
[128.38 --> 133.94]  So the way that we want to do giving this year is by giving to local needs in our city.
[134.04 --> 136.78]  Sometimes we raise money for wells where people don't have access to wells.
[136.92 --> 139.62]  Other times, like last year, we raised money for refugee sponsorship.
[139.90 --> 144.92]  This year, we're giving to two specific needs in our community through two partner organizations.
[144.92 --> 147.10]  The first is Safe Families.
[148.08 --> 150.12]  We did an interview on our stage about Safe Families.
[150.56 --> 152.98]  This organization comes to people in crisis in our neighborhood,
[153.52 --> 156.76]  often takes kids for a little while so mom and dad can get healthy
[156.76 --> 160.28]  and get the care they need, whatever that care is, so families stay together.
[160.68 --> 163.22]  There's a number of families in our community where that's the reality.
[163.98 --> 167.60]  But secondly, and relatedly, we're going to partner with Healing Place.
[168.12 --> 170.02]  That is a counseling practice in Cloverdale.
[170.38 --> 172.42]  One of the owners of it attends our church.
[172.42 --> 178.40]  And they provide Christian counseling to anyone who needs it, regardless of their income.
[178.72 --> 182.56]  So some people walk in off the street with great need, and they will receive care.
[182.64 --> 187.14]  And so we're going to raise money that subsidizes the cost that these people can't cover
[187.14 --> 189.92]  so that anyone in our city can receive counseling there.
[190.50 --> 191.80]  So you see how these needs fit together.
[192.00 --> 193.74]  These are real practical needs in our community.
[194.12 --> 195.50]  Mental health, families in crisis.
[195.50 --> 201.02]  And if you go to our website or on our church app to give, you'll see neighborhood needs as a drop-down menu.
[201.32 --> 202.88]  That's how you can give to these things.
[203.30 --> 206.98]  And trust me, that's a meaningful way to spend our money over Advent.
[207.86 --> 210.74]  It sure beats plastic that doesn't get used after January.
[211.20 --> 211.70]  Just saying.
[211.80 --> 217.44]  I remember reading like two years ago, 70% of gifts given to kids don't get used after January.
[218.30 --> 219.56]  Let's give to the needs in our neighborhood.
[219.56 --> 219.64]  Good.
[221.72 --> 222.12]  Sorry.
[223.82 --> 225.14]  That's what we can clap about.
[227.28 --> 230.22]  So we're doing a sermon series called Words of Waiting.
[230.98 --> 233.96]  And as Jonathan mentioned at the beginning of the series or the service,
[234.18 --> 242.82]  we're going to be looking at what it means to wait for Jesus coming with hope, with peace, with joy, and with love.
[242.88 --> 246.92]  And each week you'll see a corresponding picture on our banners that we're going to open up in each series.
[246.92 --> 249.12]  And this morning we're looking at hope.
[249.86 --> 255.10]  And if you have a Bible, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 40, and I'm going to read the end of this passage,
[255.48 --> 257.98]  but I'll be referring to different parts of it throughout my sermon.
[258.10 --> 264.40]  So Isaiah chapter 40, starting in verse 27.
[264.40 --> 272.38]  Why do you complain, Jacob?
[273.24 --> 277.48]  Why do you say, Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord?
[277.78 --> 280.72]  My cause is disregarded by my God.
[281.74 --> 282.94]  Do you not know?
[283.98 --> 285.26]  Have you not heard?
[286.16 --> 291.28]  The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.
[291.28 --> 298.36]  He will not grow tired and weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
[299.54 --> 303.04]  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
[303.52 --> 306.86]  Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
[307.44 --> 311.22]  But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
[311.78 --> 313.56]  They will soar on wings like eagles.
[313.70 --> 315.28]  They will run and not grow weary.
[315.74 --> 318.58]  They will walk and not be faint.
[318.58 --> 320.58]  But this is God's word.
[324.28 --> 328.38]  Well, I want to share a story with you about a little community in Connecticut.
[329.56 --> 333.46]  There's a community in Connecticut that was situated at the bottom of a valley.
[334.22 --> 339.48]  And they just so happened to have this community in a place that the government decided there needed to be a water reservoir,
[339.94 --> 343.84]  which would require them flooding the valley where many of the homes are situated.
[343.84 --> 350.72]  What the government did was make this announcement and then buy up a lot of the properties so that people could relocate and say,
[350.84 --> 354.22]  hey, you have a few months to over a year to find a new place to live,
[354.34 --> 358.32]  but at this time next year we are flooding this valley for the sake of everyone else having water.
[359.60 --> 366.76]  Now, I want to ask you to imagine what it was like for that community between the time of that announcement,
[367.46 --> 371.18]  of the flooding coming and the relocation, and the time it actually happened.
[371.18 --> 373.24]  What do you think it was like for them?
[376.68 --> 380.20]  That community in that short amount of time fell apart.
[381.30 --> 383.68]  People stopped caring about how the business was running.
[383.80 --> 384.86]  Many people left early.
[385.24 --> 386.52]  Garbage was left on the street.
[386.74 --> 388.66]  Very few repairs were done to anything.
[389.14 --> 396.00]  And the mood of the community was that of despair because they had no hope for the future of that place.
[396.26 --> 398.14]  They knew it was getting flooded.
[398.14 --> 404.52]  And this story of this community in Connecticut is a great illustration about the power of hope.
[405.48 --> 405.74]  Right?
[406.10 --> 409.26]  When you have a hope for a future that is better than the present,
[409.46 --> 412.68]  it shapes the way you live in very powerful and positive ways.
[413.02 --> 417.78]  If you lose hope for a future being better than the present, it will shape how you live.
[418.02 --> 422.30]  And in this case, it was one of despair and giving up on that place that you lived.
[422.78 --> 425.54]  Hope is a very powerful thing.
[425.54 --> 426.54]  Hope is a very powerful thing.
[426.54 --> 431.06]  We were created to live with it, and there are devastating effects when we lose it.
[432.30 --> 435.76]  And I will say, and you probably already learned this, but this is something hitting me recently.
[436.94 --> 440.10]  Everyone, no matter where you live, no matter where you were born,
[440.56 --> 446.68]  you will always have a reason or a circumstance that causes you to question your hope.
[446.68 --> 451.38]  You will have some crisis, something going on in your life or your family that makes you wonder,
[451.50 --> 454.28]  will the future actually be better than the present?
[454.40 --> 455.16]  And can I hope?
[455.22 --> 457.12]  Hope is a fragile thing.
[457.72 --> 460.50]  And many of us struggle to have it.
[462.38 --> 465.04]  Just before we dive in, let me ask you the question.
[465.84 --> 468.42]  Would people describe you as a hopeful person?
[469.22 --> 471.32]  Would your friends and family members who know you well, would they say,
[471.38 --> 473.02]  yeah, there's a hopeful person?
[473.40 --> 474.74]  They anticipate a better future.
[474.74 --> 482.02]  Harder question to answer, even, is do we as a church with the name Hope Community Church,
[482.34 --> 484.50]  do we live as a community of hope?
[484.58 --> 487.46]  Do visitors who come in, people who get to know us, would they say,
[487.54 --> 493.34]  yeah, this is a church where they live in a sense of hopeful expectation for a better future?
[495.58 --> 497.74]  In the video we watched at the beginning of the service,
[497.82 --> 503.36]  they described hope as imagining and waiting for a future that is better than the present.
[503.36 --> 507.14]  And you should know, by the way, the two words for hope in the Old Testament in Hebrew
[507.14 --> 510.06]  both translate interchangeably with waiting.
[510.26 --> 511.46]  To wait is to hope.
[511.68 --> 513.08]  To hope is to wait.
[513.50 --> 516.96]  And hope is a huge part of the story of the Bible.
[517.78 --> 520.38]  Because regardless of where you read the Bible,
[520.96 --> 523.94]  you will realize that God makes these huge promises,
[524.14 --> 526.08]  and I do mean huge promises,
[526.22 --> 527.42]  in the Old and the New Testament,
[527.42 --> 533.04]  and He invites His people to wait for Him to make good on those promises.
[533.66 --> 536.76]  Let me share just a few of the promises that God makes in the Scriptures.
[537.00 --> 542.58]  One is to reverse the effects of the curse on creation and bring blessing.
[543.76 --> 546.74]  Another promise He makes over and over again in the prophets
[546.74 --> 551.26]  is to stand against oppression and violence and bring justice and peace.
[551.26 --> 553.04]  That's a big thing to promise.
[553.78 --> 556.38]  Another one is to overcome the power of sin
[556.38 --> 560.18]  and bring healing and restoration to human life and the whole world.
[560.96 --> 561.92]  Or how about this one?
[562.46 --> 566.62]  A promise God makes to overcome the power of death itself
[566.62 --> 568.72]  and bring resurrection life.
[569.32 --> 572.18]  Those are just a few of the promises God makes through the Bible
[572.18 --> 573.50]  and the Old and New Testament.
[573.72 --> 575.14]  And no matter where you read,
[575.14 --> 581.16]  you will find people in the Bible waiting for God to make good on those promises,
[582.02 --> 585.96]  holding on hope for God to do what He said He was going to do.
[586.34 --> 587.54]  And when you read the Bible,
[587.64 --> 590.08]  you'll also learn that that was a struggle,
[591.00 --> 592.12]  a real struggle.
[592.92 --> 596.50]  People find it very difficult when they walk through the mud of life.
[596.66 --> 600.78]  They experience the pain, the difficulty of death and sickness and all the rest.
[600.96 --> 604.26]  It's hard to hold on to hope that something better is coming.
[604.26 --> 606.24]  Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.
[607.42 --> 611.66]  And if you do, you'll know exactly what Isaiah 40 is about.
[612.26 --> 615.04]  Isaiah 40 is a passage written to people
[615.04 --> 619.20]  who are struggling greatly to hope for a better future.
[620.16 --> 621.72]  And let me read for us how it starts,
[621.80 --> 624.06]  because interestingly, it starts with a complaint.
[624.80 --> 626.36]  Isaiah, who's the writer of this book,
[626.50 --> 629.04]  he's sort of rehearsing back to the people of Israel
[629.04 --> 630.30]  what they are saying.
[630.36 --> 632.02]  And listen to what he says in verse 27.
[632.02 --> 633.56]  He says,
[633.76 --> 635.18]  Why do you complain, Jacob?
[635.94 --> 639.20]  Why do you say, Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord?
[639.40 --> 642.64]  My cause is disregarded by my God.
[643.54 --> 644.26]  You ever been there?
[645.40 --> 647.72]  Ever been frustrated with God for unanswered prayer,
[647.84 --> 650.22]  for not seeming to hear the things you're bringing before Him?
[651.24 --> 653.04]  Interestingly and coincidentally this week,
[653.14 --> 654.78]  I was being led through a devotion,
[655.32 --> 656.32]  to audio devotion,
[656.32 --> 658.96]  and it invited you to speak your heart to God
[658.96 --> 661.44]  about the things you feel He hasn't answered in your prayers.
[661.84 --> 663.28]  And that's a very vulnerable thing.
[663.36 --> 665.36]  It's also a very powerful thing to pray, right?
[665.44 --> 668.54]  Lord, I've prayed this for people with real need,
[668.68 --> 670.84]  and I don't sense that you've answered that prayer,
[670.96 --> 672.26]  and I'm bringing that before you.
[672.52 --> 673.90]  That's where Israel was.
[674.56 --> 675.72]  That's exactly where they are.
[675.76 --> 677.12]  And now I'll tell you why.
[677.50 --> 679.62]  Do you know what's going on in Israel at the time of Isaiah?
[679.62 --> 679.74]  Yeah.
[681.24 --> 682.82]  So Israel's in two sections.
[682.92 --> 683.94]  There's the north part of Israel,
[684.04 --> 685.24]  and then there's the south part of Israel.
[685.42 --> 688.68]  The north part of Israel just got decimated by the Assyrian army.
[689.38 --> 692.06]  Like this giant new mega power of the world
[692.06 --> 694.78]  just rolled into Israel, which is a small nation,
[695.02 --> 697.08]  and just took over many of the northern tribes.
[697.46 --> 699.00]  If you ever go to the British Museum, by the way,
[699.30 --> 702.22]  they have artifacts from Assyria
[702.22 --> 704.94]  showing Israel paying tribute to the Assyrian victory.
[705.04 --> 705.48]  It's crazy.
[705.48 --> 707.68]  It made me just realize that this is history.
[707.68 --> 710.80]  So the whole of the north gets destroyed by Assyria.
[711.14 --> 712.96]  Isaiah and Judah in the south,
[713.32 --> 716.48]  they're literally waiting for Assyria to come back and destroy them.
[717.34 --> 719.22]  That's the context of this passage.
[719.48 --> 722.06]  So you can imagine why Israel's saying,
[722.58 --> 724.36]  what in the world is God doing?
[724.62 --> 726.62]  Why is the northern tribes being destroyed?
[726.82 --> 728.94]  Is Assyria going to come back and take us over?
[729.08 --> 732.42]  Like zero sense of safety or peace or security.
[732.64 --> 734.24]  They've got their questions for God.
[734.24 --> 739.12]  And it's in light of that that we now get to hear Isaiah speak back to them
[739.12 --> 740.84]  some pretty profound words.
[741.68 --> 743.14]  This is what he says in verse 28.
[744.14 --> 745.46]  Do you not know?
[746.54 --> 748.08]  Have you not heard?
[748.78 --> 751.02]  The Lord is the everlasting God,
[751.24 --> 753.34]  the creator of the ends of the earth.
[753.48 --> 755.54]  He will not grow tired or weary,
[755.78 --> 758.62]  and his understanding no one can fathom.
[758.62 --> 761.24]  Now, notice here,
[762.04 --> 764.38]  Isaiah doesn't minimize the fear
[764.38 --> 767.08]  or all the anxiety his community has.
[767.14 --> 768.54]  He doesn't say, it's actually not that bad.
[768.88 --> 770.54]  I think it's a terrifying reality.
[770.84 --> 773.98]  But what he does is point them to the character of God.
[774.86 --> 775.92]  And it's at this point,
[775.96 --> 778.74]  I want to point out a dynamic we see all over the Bible.
[779.30 --> 780.58]  And once you see it one place,
[780.60 --> 781.70]  you'll notice it many places,
[781.70 --> 784.78]  that in order to instill hope for the future,
[785.56 --> 788.78]  Isaiah is constantly pointing people back
[788.78 --> 791.50]  to both who God is and what God has done
[791.50 --> 794.54]  to give them a sense of what God is still able to do.
[795.44 --> 796.56]  So he's constantly saying,
[796.76 --> 798.80]  let us look back together at who God is.
[798.88 --> 800.36]  Let's look back at what he's done.
[800.58 --> 803.32]  And that will remind you that your life in our world
[803.32 --> 804.86]  is in the hands of a God
[804.86 --> 808.62]  who cares and has power to do something about it.
[809.50 --> 810.30]  Like, listen to what he says.
[810.30 --> 811.50]  He's like, have you not heard?
[812.48 --> 813.64]  Do you not know?
[814.34 --> 816.64]  Your God created the whole world.
[817.70 --> 819.66]  Your God rules the nations.
[820.40 --> 822.98]  Your God does not get tired.
[823.78 --> 824.82]  He doesn't need sleep.
[825.18 --> 826.28]  He doesn't take naps.
[826.56 --> 830.68]  He rules over the world with a sense of eternal power.
[831.30 --> 832.94]  In fact, if you read earlier in Isaiah,
[833.30 --> 836.12]  he says to the people, who can you compare God to?
[836.72 --> 837.94]  Right, he rules the nations.
[837.94 --> 839.34]  He has total authority.
[839.34 --> 840.72]  And it says this specifically,
[840.96 --> 843.30]  he brings princes down to nothing.
[844.22 --> 846.90]  And that's a specific reference, by the way, to the Exodus,
[847.40 --> 849.26]  which Isaiah and many other biblical writers,
[849.34 --> 850.38]  you'll know, you read the Old Testament,
[850.70 --> 851.70]  they're constantly saying,
[851.84 --> 854.78]  do you remember what God did in the Exodus?
[855.50 --> 856.56]  And it matters right now
[856.56 --> 859.62]  because that was the time when Israel watched God
[859.62 --> 862.86]  roll into Egypt, which is the Assyria of that day,
[862.86 --> 867.14]  and go toe-to-toe with the Pharaoh who was claimed to be a son of God
[867.14 --> 871.56]  and showed Pharaoh just how much power and authority he had
[871.56 --> 873.02]  as he brought plagues.
[873.02 --> 877.04]  And then he brought this little slave nation out of this Egyptian power
[877.04 --> 879.18]  with a sense of ease and authority.
[879.18 --> 883.26]  That's the kind of God we worship.
[884.26 --> 884.98]  And Isaiah is saying,
[885.08 --> 887.16]  if you want to learn how to have a hope for the future,
[887.84 --> 891.16]  look back on who God is and what he's done.
[891.66 --> 894.42]  Sort of the receipts to show that God comes through
[894.42 --> 895.96]  on what he says he's going to do.
[896.92 --> 898.06]  And it's out of that
[898.06 --> 900.46]  that Isaiah has the boldness and the confidence
[900.46 --> 903.64]  in both Isaiah 9 and 40 and 41 and 42
[903.64 --> 905.46]  to give these powerful,
[905.60 --> 907.56]  and I do mean powerful prophecies,
[907.78 --> 908.92]  on what is coming.
[909.68 --> 911.90]  The reason you always hear Isaiah during Advent
[911.90 --> 913.50]  is because he's the one who says,
[913.86 --> 915.58]  the glory of God is coming.
[915.98 --> 918.60]  He's going to reveal the light that shines in the darkness.
[918.92 --> 920.96]  He's going to show his authority over the nations,
[921.08 --> 922.02]  and it comes through what?
[923.26 --> 924.24]  A child.
[925.38 --> 925.54]  Right?
[925.68 --> 927.82]  Last year we preached on Isaiah 9
[927.82 --> 930.72]  where this child is going to be the wonderful counselor,
[931.26 --> 932.84]  the mighty God, the prince of peace,
[933.04 --> 934.42]  the everlasting father,
[934.60 --> 936.46]  and he's going to rule the nations with justice.
[936.74 --> 938.14]  He's going to stand against oppression.
[938.50 --> 939.80]  He is going to be the one
[939.80 --> 941.64]  that establishes the kingdom of God.
[941.92 --> 943.98]  And Isaiah, in the midst, think about this,
[944.28 --> 947.14]  in the midst of Assyria invading Israel,
[947.70 --> 950.96]  he's saying, we have hope for the future.
[951.62 --> 952.86]  The glory of God is coming
[952.86 --> 954.50]  because he's been faithful in the past.
[955.44 --> 956.20]  That's profound.
[957.82 --> 960.74]  And it's at this point I want to acknowledge
[960.74 --> 962.72]  that we live in very, very different times than Isaiah,
[962.88 --> 963.22]  don't we?
[963.40 --> 965.20]  We're not worried about Assyria coming into Surrey
[965.20 --> 966.14]  that I know about.
[967.36 --> 969.36]  But we do have things that threaten our hope.
[970.12 --> 971.26]  A lot of different things.
[971.32 --> 972.14]  And maybe for you,
[972.34 --> 974.04]  it's sort of the big picture things.
[974.14 --> 975.68]  You look at the news around the world,
[975.76 --> 978.00]  you look at rising war and escalating violence,
[978.16 --> 979.32]  and you think, this is awful,
[979.52 --> 980.48]  and it keeps you up at night.
[980.84 --> 982.52]  Or perhaps it's economic pressures
[982.52 --> 984.44]  that you see all around the globe as well,
[984.48 --> 985.18]  as well as in Canada,
[985.18 --> 987.88]  and you think, do our kids have a future in this world?
[988.48 --> 990.38]  Or perhaps you think of climate change.
[990.46 --> 992.54]  You think, man, what's going to change in the future
[992.54 --> 993.84]  as things develop,
[993.96 --> 996.16]  and we have all these new challenges related to climate?
[997.08 --> 999.74]  Or perhaps your challenges are closer to home,
[1000.44 --> 1002.32]  as many of ours are, right?
[1002.88 --> 1004.14]  It's divorce in the family.
[1004.14 --> 1007.30]  It's kids having problems
[1007.30 --> 1009.18]  that you as a parent feel unable to solve.
[1009.30 --> 1010.84]  Kids walking away from the faith.
[1010.92 --> 1011.66]  It's the loneliness.
[1012.30 --> 1014.18]  It's the brokenness of families.
[1014.32 --> 1016.36]  It's the grief that comes with losing a loved one.
[1016.54 --> 1018.42]  It's the sickness from the cancer diagnosis.
[1018.76 --> 1021.36]  All of these things etch away in their own way
[1021.36 --> 1024.68]  at our hope for a future that's better than the present.
[1025.60 --> 1027.18]  And I think if we're honest with ourselves,
[1027.32 --> 1028.30]  even this morning,
[1028.90 --> 1031.74]  there are so many things that burden us to a place of saying,
[1031.74 --> 1034.08]  do I really have hope?
[1035.52 --> 1036.92]  And it seems to me then
[1036.92 --> 1041.46]  that we need to allow Isaiah to minister to us.
[1042.38 --> 1043.98]  And Isaiah's not doing anything novel.
[1044.14 --> 1046.00]  The New Testament writers do the same thing.
[1046.54 --> 1049.50]  They instill hope in us by pointing us back.
[1050.38 --> 1051.66]  In their own way,
[1051.78 --> 1053.38]  the New Testament writers are all saying,
[1053.64 --> 1054.60]  have you not seen?
[1055.30 --> 1057.84]  Have you not heard what God has done
[1057.84 --> 1060.26]  in this sending of Jesus?
[1061.74 --> 1064.10]  And let me just pause and help us remember
[1064.10 --> 1067.58]  that the reason we're here in worship this morning
[1067.58 --> 1071.46]  is because God made good on His promise, right?
[1071.86 --> 1073.34]  That child came.
[1074.32 --> 1075.70]  That promise that Isaiah made
[1075.70 --> 1077.48]  and many others of a servant who would come
[1077.48 --> 1078.82]  to take up the rule of God
[1078.82 --> 1079.98]  and establish His justice
[1079.98 --> 1083.22]  came with the birth of Jesus Christ.
[1084.20 --> 1085.44]  God made good on it.
[1085.46 --> 1086.70]  And the reason we're worshiping here
[1086.70 --> 1088.30]  is because something happened
[1088.30 --> 1090.14]  that shows that God is faithful
[1090.14 --> 1091.66]  and we can have hope.
[1093.22 --> 1095.08]  I don't know if you need this as much as I do,
[1095.56 --> 1096.56]  but on a regular basis,
[1096.70 --> 1098.86]  I'm trying to make a part of my daily practice
[1098.86 --> 1100.92]  giving gratitude to God
[1100.92 --> 1102.70]  for the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
[1103.62 --> 1107.02]  Because I am not necessarily optimistic all the time.
[1107.44 --> 1108.42]  And I think the older you get,
[1108.48 --> 1110.06]  the more reasons you have to despair.
[1110.62 --> 1112.84]  And I find that I don't have a lot of things in my life
[1112.84 --> 1113.46]  that will make me think,
[1113.54 --> 1115.26]  yeah, I have a security because of this,
[1115.26 --> 1118.62]  other than the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
[1119.70 --> 1120.84]  And if you're someone who's struggling
[1120.84 --> 1123.32]  with whatever it is about the Christian faith,
[1123.60 --> 1125.50]  start with Jesus and the resurrection
[1125.50 --> 1126.66]  and move from there
[1126.66 --> 1128.26]  because everything hinges
[1128.26 --> 1130.36]  on whether or not there is an empty grave.
[1130.98 --> 1131.90]  And I'll say at Advent
[1131.90 --> 1133.46]  that the cradle of Advent
[1133.46 --> 1136.26]  always moves to the cross of Easter, right?
[1136.26 --> 1138.00]  Jesus was sent into the world
[1138.00 --> 1140.30]  to accomplish salvation for the world
[1140.30 --> 1142.00]  by defeating the power of sin,
[1142.36 --> 1143.56]  overcoming death itself,
[1143.88 --> 1146.22]  and restoring all things in his resurrection life.
[1147.64 --> 1150.16]  And hope is built only around the fact
[1150.16 --> 1154.38]  that Jesus Christ gained victory over the cross.
[1154.80 --> 1156.46]  He gained victory over Satan
[1156.46 --> 1158.20]  and the tomb is empty.
[1158.86 --> 1160.48]  I think of all these passages,
[1160.66 --> 1162.38]  specifically 1 Corinthians 15,
[1162.68 --> 1164.36]  where Paul's just giving this beautiful teaching
[1164.36 --> 1165.00]  on the resurrection.
[1165.18 --> 1166.96]  Then he says, hey, if it didn't happen,
[1167.22 --> 1169.06]  we're in serious trouble as Christians.
[1169.06 --> 1171.20]  If the resurrection did not happen,
[1171.52 --> 1174.18]  we are to be pitied and mocked above all others
[1174.18 --> 1176.24]  and our hope is in vain.
[1177.12 --> 1178.38]  And the reason he says that
[1178.38 --> 1181.62]  is because he knows Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
[1182.26 --> 1183.24]  And because of that,
[1183.82 --> 1185.88]  we have hope for the future.
[1187.08 --> 1189.42]  I invite you, even over the coming weeks,
[1189.80 --> 1192.14]  to constantly find ways to look back
[1192.14 --> 1193.86]  to the finished work of Jesus
[1193.86 --> 1195.82]  as the thing that gives you hope.
[1196.90 --> 1198.02]  A writer I quite love,
[1198.02 --> 1199.04]  his name is Leslie Newbegin.
[1199.50 --> 1200.98]  Missionary in India for 40 years,
[1201.08 --> 1201.92]  came back to Europe,
[1202.14 --> 1203.18]  to struggling churches,
[1203.36 --> 1204.38]  and someone once asked him,
[1204.60 --> 1206.80]  are you an optimist or a pessimist?
[1208.04 --> 1208.90]  You know what he said to that?
[1209.66 --> 1211.86]  He said, I am neither an optimist or a pessimist.
[1212.12 --> 1214.10]  Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
[1215.28 --> 1216.12]  Because in that sense,
[1216.14 --> 1217.86]  it doesn't matter how we feel about the future,
[1217.94 --> 1219.64]  it doesn't matter what our wishes are for the future,
[1219.82 --> 1221.16]  we can't change our circumstances,
[1221.16 --> 1223.82]  but what most certainly changes the future of the world
[1223.82 --> 1226.42]  is that Jesus Christ broke death itself,
[1227.16 --> 1230.20]  that Jesus Christ overcame the power of sin itself,
[1230.72 --> 1232.66]  and as a result, we have hope for our bodies,
[1232.76 --> 1233.64]  we have hope for the world,
[1233.80 --> 1234.84]  we have hope for the future.
[1237.38 --> 1239.18]  Isaiah invites us to look back.
[1239.68 --> 1241.86]  I want to say this as well on a personal level.
[1242.62 --> 1244.08]  I don't know if this is true for you,
[1244.16 --> 1245.14]  but it's certainly true for me.
[1245.20 --> 1247.10]  In the seasons where I feel like I'm in the valley,
[1247.10 --> 1250.40]  where I'm feeling the weight of the brokenness of the world,
[1250.68 --> 1253.10]  there is a sense in which as I look back on my life,
[1253.16 --> 1255.76]  I can say, thus far God has walked with me.
[1256.66 --> 1257.76]  No matter what we've seen,
[1257.86 --> 1258.78]  no matter what we've experienced,
[1258.90 --> 1259.80]  no matter what we've gone through,
[1260.08 --> 1261.52]  God has walked with me thus far,
[1261.60 --> 1263.04]  he's been good to me thus far,
[1263.20 --> 1264.54]  and I can trust him with the future.
[1265.82 --> 1267.92]  And I think the more we stop even to take stock
[1267.92 --> 1270.66]  of God's specific love to us, right?
[1271.04 --> 1273.36]  Because God's love is very particular in a big way
[1273.36 --> 1274.18]  through the work of Jesus,
[1274.52 --> 1276.62]  and his love is very particular to us
[1276.62 --> 1279.34]  in the muck and the mire of life that we walk through.
[1279.78 --> 1281.02]  He's with us in it.
[1281.56 --> 1283.16]  And as we look back and we take stock,
[1283.26 --> 1285.04]  we say, okay, if God's been faithful thus far,
[1285.38 --> 1287.22]  he's got me for the rest of my life.
[1287.70 --> 1289.34]  And even if there's suffering and pain,
[1289.70 --> 1291.50]  he's gonna be with me through that as well.
[1296.14 --> 1298.38]  Now I want to finish with what I think
[1298.38 --> 1301.04]  is a very powerful part of this passage.
[1301.12 --> 1302.22]  I just want to be honest with you.
[1302.46 --> 1303.94]  I wrestled with these words.
[1304.12 --> 1304.82]  There's a piece of me that thinks
[1304.82 --> 1306.14]  I still don't quite understand them.
[1306.14 --> 1307.74]  And yet they're the most beautiful words
[1307.74 --> 1309.02]  in the passage, in my opinion.
[1309.46 --> 1310.22]  So I'll read them,
[1310.30 --> 1311.36]  and then I'll work it out with you.
[1311.42 --> 1313.02]  This is verse 29 and following.
[1314.32 --> 1315.08]  Beautiful words.
[1315.16 --> 1316.54]  I bet you've seen these in postcards.
[1317.20 --> 1318.76]  He gives strength to the weary
[1318.76 --> 1321.50]  and increases the power of the weak.
[1322.22 --> 1323.82]  Even youth grow tired and weary,
[1323.94 --> 1325.24]  and young men stumble and fall.
[1325.70 --> 1328.12]  But those who hope in the Lord
[1328.12 --> 1330.30]  will renew their strength.
[1330.94 --> 1332.82]  They will soar on wings like eagles.
[1332.88 --> 1334.24]  They will run and not grow weary.
[1334.24 --> 1337.52]  They will walk and they will not be faint.
[1338.66 --> 1340.32]  Aren't those moving words to you?
[1340.90 --> 1343.30]  And here's the dynamic that I'm trying to figure out.
[1343.62 --> 1346.74]  God promises to give strength to people
[1346.74 --> 1351.36]  who are weary and weak as they wait for him.
[1351.68 --> 1351.92]  Right?
[1351.98 --> 1353.00]  That's the sort of the dynamic.
[1353.16 --> 1354.76]  It's like there's a certain posture
[1354.76 --> 1357.70]  that leads to the working and the strengthening,
[1357.88 --> 1358.98]  and that is the posture of waiting.
[1359.34 --> 1360.32]  And there's a piece of me that's like,
[1360.32 --> 1363.04]  I think I understand that, and I'm not sure I do.
[1363.12 --> 1364.52]  But here's what I will say to you.
[1364.92 --> 1367.48]  I know from my pastoral experience
[1367.48 --> 1369.20]  that this is a very real thing
[1369.20 --> 1370.16]  because I've witnessed it.
[1370.86 --> 1372.96]  I've seen so many people in the midst of crisis
[1372.96 --> 1374.94]  when the news from the doctor is bad,
[1375.00 --> 1377.34]  when the family is in a major place of pain,
[1377.48 --> 1378.18]  where they say,
[1378.24 --> 1380.48]  all right, Lord, I've got nothing but you,
[1380.60 --> 1381.76]  so I'm clinging to you,
[1381.82 --> 1383.30]  and I'm waiting on you to act,
[1383.30 --> 1385.52]  and God works.
[1386.06 --> 1386.26]  Right?
[1387.08 --> 1388.18]  I'll give you two examples.
[1388.34 --> 1390.58]  One is, two weeks ago,
[1390.66 --> 1392.36]  before Cale went into a surgery,
[1392.44 --> 1393.36]  I was on the phone with Carrie,
[1394.00 --> 1394.96]  and I said to Carrie,
[1395.12 --> 1396.92]  Carrie, a lot of people are praying for baby Cale,
[1396.98 --> 1397.64]  and she responds.
[1397.70 --> 1398.36]  She almost cut me off.
[1398.42 --> 1399.94]  She's like, I know people are.
[1400.56 --> 1403.32]  I can feel the power of those prayers.
[1404.20 --> 1405.18]  God's strengthening her.
[1406.30 --> 1407.42]  The second time,
[1407.50 --> 1408.88]  this happened about a month and a half ago,
[1409.30 --> 1410.82]  and now I'm going to point out our banner.
[1410.82 --> 1413.58]  So, John Mayhew made these banners.
[1413.74 --> 1414.90]  Can everyone on this side see?
[1415.34 --> 1416.58]  So, the image for hope,
[1416.66 --> 1417.34]  this is so good.
[1417.42 --> 1418.76]  It's a hospital room, right?
[1419.30 --> 1421.10]  The place where a lot of hope is lost,
[1421.28 --> 1422.72]  and there's a woman on the bed
[1422.72 --> 1423.60]  who's clearly praying.
[1423.66 --> 1424.18]  Her hand is up,
[1424.24 --> 1426.26]  and there's another person interceding for her,
[1426.56 --> 1428.32]  and what makes me very moved by that is
[1428.32 --> 1430.32]  when Brittany and I visited Nell Volcanier
[1430.32 --> 1431.80]  a month and a half ago,
[1432.02 --> 1433.00]  Nell, as you know,
[1433.04 --> 1434.70]  is going through cancer a second time,
[1435.18 --> 1437.24]  and there's something very scary about cancer
[1437.24 --> 1438.16]  at the first time,
[1438.24 --> 1439.84]  but it's very scary the second time,
[1439.84 --> 1441.26]  and she's at home.
[1441.46 --> 1442.56]  She's receiving treatment,
[1443.00 --> 1443.46]  and, you know,
[1443.50 --> 1445.32]  we're kind of sitting in silence for a while,
[1445.48 --> 1447.42]  and Nell breaks the silence by simply saying,
[1447.78 --> 1449.46]  I can feel God strengthening me.
[1450.22 --> 1451.14]  I was like, whew,
[1451.98 --> 1453.68]  that's what God does.
[1454.64 --> 1456.10]  That's who God is.
[1456.18 --> 1458.56]  He gives strength to weak people
[1458.56 --> 1460.08]  because He loves them,
[1460.12 --> 1461.44]  and He gives power to those
[1461.44 --> 1463.06]  who feel that they've got nothing left
[1463.06 --> 1465.02]  in a very beautiful and mysterious
[1465.02 --> 1466.46]  and personal way
[1466.46 --> 1468.48]  to those who are waiting on Him,
[1469.08 --> 1470.72]  and I know,
[1470.84 --> 1471.80]  even as I preach this,
[1471.86 --> 1473.20]  there's a lot of us this morning
[1473.20 --> 1474.54]  who are carrying a lot.
[1475.62 --> 1476.84]  Receive that for you.
[1477.82 --> 1479.00]  God is not changed.
[1479.74 --> 1482.06]  God is not asleep at the wheel of your life,
[1482.24 --> 1484.28]  and He gives strength to the weary
[1484.28 --> 1485.50]  and power to the weak
[1485.50 --> 1489.34]  that is available to every single one of us.
[1490.54 --> 1491.26]  Receive that,
[1491.26 --> 1493.44]  whatever it is that you are carrying.
[1493.60 --> 1495.60]  I know all of us have reasons
[1495.60 --> 1496.50]  to wonder if the future
[1496.50 --> 1497.40]  is going to be better than the present,
[1497.72 --> 1498.96]  and we hear God saying,
[1499.60 --> 1501.88]  I give strength to the weak.
[1502.76 --> 1504.22]  I give my power
[1504.22 --> 1506.52]  to those who feel like they've got nothing left,
[1506.70 --> 1509.06]  and there are testimonies within even our church
[1509.06 --> 1511.10]  that say God does that.
[1511.74 --> 1512.66]  This is not a lie.
[1512.76 --> 1513.52]  This is not a gimmick.
[1513.74 --> 1515.04]  This is not just words on a page.
[1515.12 --> 1517.00]  This is the real-time power of God
[1517.00 --> 1518.80]  available to the weak
[1518.80 --> 1522.08]  as we wait on Him.
[1525.12 --> 1528.18]  So Isaiah gives the church a gift this morning.
[1529.12 --> 1529.60]  He says,
[1529.70 --> 1531.26]  if you're struggling to hope,
[1532.04 --> 1533.42]  look back.
[1534.76 --> 1537.16]  Your God is the creator.
[1538.00 --> 1539.24]  Your God does not tire.
[1539.38 --> 1540.12]  He does not rest.
[1540.12 --> 1541.36]  Your God is the one
[1541.36 --> 1543.54]  who has control over all things,
[1543.92 --> 1545.26]  and He has accomplished
[1545.26 --> 1547.06]  what He promised to do
[1547.06 --> 1548.74]  through Jesus Christ.
[1549.64 --> 1550.70]  And if He's been faithful
[1550.70 --> 1552.16]  in His first coming, church,
[1552.46 --> 1554.54]  you can trust that He's going to come again.
[1555.58 --> 1557.52]  And I'll say this as best I can.
[1558.16 --> 1559.40]  Jesus is coming.
[1560.22 --> 1560.90]  Right now,
[1560.96 --> 1562.42]  He's sitting at the right hand of His Father.
[1562.56 --> 1563.82]  He's ruling over creation,
[1564.14 --> 1567.16]  and the reason He hasn't yet come in His glory
[1567.16 --> 1569.78]  is so more people can be drawn into the family.
[1570.66 --> 1572.10]  More people can experience
[1572.10 --> 1573.70]  the goodness and the power of God.
[1573.70 --> 1575.44]  More people can experience
[1575.44 --> 1577.46]  the life with Him eternally.
[1577.90 --> 1578.76]  And when He comes,
[1578.86 --> 1579.98]  your tears and my tears
[1579.98 --> 1580.78]  will be wiped away.
[1581.30 --> 1582.44]  Our pain will be gone,
[1582.64 --> 1584.54]  and we will be given resurrected bodies
[1584.54 --> 1586.98]  to live in a resurrected world forever.
[1587.48 --> 1589.86]  And that is worth waiting for.
[1590.92 --> 1592.06]  Let me lead us in prayer.
[1598.62 --> 1600.40]  Father, I want to thank You for Your Word.
[1600.40 --> 1603.70]  And I pray that these words from Isaiah
[1603.70 --> 1604.92]  would be good news to us,
[1605.02 --> 1606.20]  whatever it is that we carry.
[1607.30 --> 1609.34]  I pray specifically for those this morning
[1609.34 --> 1610.56]  who feel very weak,
[1611.38 --> 1613.30]  who feel very weary
[1613.30 --> 1615.64]  of pain and loss and grief.
[1615.98 --> 1617.48]  And I pray that You would give them
[1617.48 --> 1618.62]  everything they need,
[1618.70 --> 1620.50]  and that You would give them strength
[1620.50 --> 1622.32]  and power
[1622.32 --> 1624.42]  to meet the challenges of life.
[1624.42 --> 1626.74]  I thank You, God,
[1626.78 --> 1627.66]  that the tomb is empty,
[1628.66 --> 1630.16]  and that because it's empty,
[1630.26 --> 1631.30]  we can live with hope.
[1632.06 --> 1633.06]  And we pray, Jesus,
[1633.14 --> 1634.18]  that You would come soon
[1634.18 --> 1635.02]  to bring Your healing
[1635.02 --> 1636.56]  and Your life
[1636.56 --> 1637.90]  to a world that needs
[1637.90 --> 1638.98]  Your healing and life.
[1639.62 --> 1640.82]  We pray this in Your name.
[1641.06 --> 1641.30]  Amen.
[1641.30 --> 1641.44]  Amen.
[1642.20 --> 1642.30]  Amen.
[1642.30 --> 1642.74]  Amen.
[1642.74 --> 1642.80]  Amen.
[1642.80 --> 1643.30]  Amen.
[1643.30 --> 1643.36]  Amen.
[1643.36 --> 1643.42]  Amen.
[1643.42 --> 1643.48]  Amen.
[1643.48 --> 1643.54]  Amen.
[1643.54 --> 1643.56]  Amen.
[1643.56 --> 1643.64]  Amen.
[1643.64 --> 1645.48]  Amen.
[1645.48 --> 1645.54]  Amen.
[1645.54 --> 1645.58]  Amen.
[1645.58 --> 1645.64]  Amen.
[1645.64 --> 1645.68]  Amen.
[1645.68 --> 1645.70]  Amen.
[1645.70 --> 1645.72]  Amen.
[1645.72 --> 1645.78]  Amen.
[1645.78 --> 1646.28]  Amen.
[1646.28 --> 1646.68]  Amen.
[1646.68 --> 1646.70]  Amen.