December 1st

Happy December 1st and mother nature rang in the new month with a little snow! I was so excited...but then it turned to rain and was all gone!

So on Sunday the advent season began. I had a great book recommend to me by Focus on the Family – Family Advent.

It contains devotionals for each day leading up to Christmas, as well as, interesting facts, games and quiz’s. I’m looking forward to going through it. I purchased 2 for the church library as well.

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus and means “coming”. Over 4 weeks we celebrate the coming, or birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. The 4 weeks represents the four great comings:
1. The coming of his flesh, His birth – which we celebrate on Christmas Day
2. His coming into the hearts of all who believe
3. His coming at the hour of death to the faithful
4. His coming to final judgment.

The first week we focus on the word HOPE. Fred actually preached on this topic on Sunday at Maitland Community Reformed Church (his parent’s church and the one he grew up in). He did an amazing job keeping the focus of Hope directed on Christ and His story. Here it is (sorry its long but its worth the read!)

This past week I took our car to a local shop for some repair work. We hope to get 300,000 km’s out of our vehicles before they need replacing and in order to accomplish this goal, we need to stay ahead of the repairs needed. The shop I enjoy using is more then fair, (in fact its owned by a Dutch family) They allow me to sit in a chair beside the car and watch the repairs being done. However its not always the most well behaved place. The cigarette smoke is almost always billowing to the ceiling. The talk is often inappropriate. The jokes shared, are not worth laughing at. There is one particular employee that loves to talk. He loves to talk about recent bets he has made on NFL football games. through a popular betting system called proline. He shared with me that he picked all the right teams this past weekend except for one, and had he got all the teams right he could have won $12,000. In fact, this has happened to him 5 times, but he has always failed to win the big prize.

In my mind I was quick to point a finger at him until I remembered that this man is lost. Lost people, search for hope in things that are lost. Lost people do not understand Phil 2:21, To live is Christ, to die is gain. Without Christ where would I be? This conversation also caused me to point two fingers back at myself, and ask what are the things that I am placing hope in, that I am bound to loss?

Dictornary.com defines hope as the following:
Hope- –noun A noun, tell me if this sounds like a noun to you.
1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best: to give up hope.
2. a particular instance of this feeling: the hope of winning.
3. grounds for this feeling in a particular instance: There is little or no hope of his recovery.
4. a person or thing in which expectations are centered: The medicine was her last hope.
5. something that is hoped for: Her forgiveness is my constant hope.

However when our Bibles use the word hope they are referring to a word that is the Greek means something entirely different. Hope (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence: - faith, hope.

In Peter, in his first letter tell us that we are born again to a living hope. Our hope is a sure thing. When we hope in Christ, we can be assured that it is going to happen. We can have confidence in our hope of Christ’

The people of Israel when they heard Isaiah prophesies could anticipate with pleasure, expectation and confidence that these things were going to happen.

The Israelite nation needed this kind of hope. The new nation of Assyria had risen to its north and was trying to achieve world domination. Israel had already lost her northern kingdom to Assyria and was in captivity. The southern kingdom was now is a horrible position with an Assyrian army of 185,000 soldiers camping just outside of Jerusalem. God send the prophet Isaiah to give the nation a second chance to turn to Him. Assyria would not occupy the southern kingdom, but Babylon would rise up and take the southern kingdom, if the nation of Israel refused to turn to God.

Isa 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

The people of Israel were in darkness, the future did not look bright. The prophet comforts them with these words. The light of Christ would be brighter than a darkness the nation had faced. The light Christ would come and blast out the darkness of great sins.

This was directly fulfilled at the start of Jesus ministry:
Mat 4:13-17 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Isaiah then continues prophesying that not only would the nation be removed from darkness, but would experience the light of Christ.

Isa 9:3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

You have multiplied the nation! The coming Messiah would be available to all, not just the nation of Israel. This was first illustrated by the wise men that traveled a long way, to see the Christ child. The neat thing about the wise men in that they were not from Israel at all, these were Gentiles. Christ would come and not only free the Israelite nation, but to free all people from their sin. You, God, have multiplied the nation!

Israel was chosen out of God sovereignty and instructed to be the light to the other nations. She was to live as a nation who followed after God alone, providing the light for other nations, that they might see the good works of the Israelites and desire God for themselves. There is a whole process in the law, as to how a Gentile, could join the nation of Israel. Did it work? Sadly no, this is made clear in the book of Isaiah. But now, Christ would come for all nations, all people groups and God’s nations would be multiplied.

Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And the Messiah would come in the form of a humble child. There is emphasis here that this Messiah would both be fully human and fully God. The child would experience all the pains that a normal child experiences growing up, Christ would experience adolescences, young adulthood, and adulthood.

Yet, he would be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Not a Counselor in the sense that he took on Counsel. Never do we see our Lord in the NT ask for advice or wisdom, for the Messiah is the all knowing God. But Counselor in the sense that he would Counsel a group of disciples that would later go on to built the NT church that we have today. A Counselor that we can now turn to and tell all our problems to and ask for advice.

S.M .Lockridge in his most famous sermon uses these words to describe our Mighty God. , Lord of Lord, endurably strong, an all positioned Savior, provides strength to the weak, heals the sick, forgives sinners, delivers the captive. Herod couldn’t kill him, death could not handle him, and the grave could not hold him. That’s my King!

Everlasting Father? Why is that here, why call the Son, father? It simply means that he is the Father of eternity Joh 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.. Nothing could happen without him, and Christ was very really and present at creation. Christ would also come and father the weak, the orphans, the widows and the oppressed. We must understand here however that this is not the start of Christ, for Christ the Lord is an eternal being, was present and active at creation. Jesus himself said Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." Usaul when we refer to someone’s birth it refers to the start of their life. Not so with Christ, for Christ is an eternal being, an eternal King, He always was, and always will be.

Christ is also referred to as the prince of peace.
Prince of peace: Christ would bring peace for sin once and for all,. He would conquer the prince of darkness, conqueror sin. Christ would not come and reign with might on an earthly throne like some expected, but he would come and lead out of meekness and humility. He would bring peace to hearts, paving the way for all sinners.

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

This is hope for us today too because v7 has not happened yet. Christ has not returned yet to place himself on the throne of David, and over his kingdom. He has not established his throne here on earth yet, but he will. And we can rest assure that the Lord of hosts will do this. This is our hope, the prophecy that is still for us and has yet to be fulfilled. Heb 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Php 2:10-11 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

But there is a tension here. Isaiah was written around 750 BC, that means 750 years before Christ was born. Its very likely that the people of this generation where dead for 700 years before the Christ child ever arrived. Is that okay? Can we have hope for the generations that will be here when we are gone? Can we place hope in things that may or may not happen within our life time? Can we go to our death beds with hope that Christ will someday return reigned on earth?

There are many things that Isaiah prophesied that the children of Israel did see, like the rise of the Babylon empire. Prophecy’s like this one looked beyond the present day and into a time frame that even Isaiah would not see while he was on earth. WE HAVE SEEN HERE The bigger question that this places into is, how big is this hope we are talking about. How strong is it and can in conquer time?

Whenever I think of hope, I always think about hard times when I and my family needed hope. Still within recent memory is the loss of my Uncle Stuart Grendel just a few months ago, and 2 summers ago the lost of my Uncle Rudy Grendel. Most of us will remember Rudy. In Uncle Rudy’s last days he was so sick. He had Parkinson disease, and the last few years of life for Parkinson patience’s involve little to no mobility with tremors. My Uncle Stuart was also very sick before he died, lung cancer had taken his breath way. I had the privilege to visit with both Uncles’ before they went to glory. There was such a sense in the room that Christ was there, ever present, and comforting in ways I cannot describe. It was even more clear that to die, would be gain. And as my Uncle’s health faded, this was my prayer. They both had faith and hope. They both were able to assure me that they were going home. To die is gain. Its just the beginning not the end, in fact Rudy once told my mother this!

You see faith, hope and love are very closely connected. You can’t have one without the other two. I Cor 13:13 tells that faith, hope, and love, abide. Its as if they live under the same roof as family. If you have hope that you will see Jesus face to face, then you have faith in him, and not just faith in Christ but faith in that he loves you, and is going to fulfill his promise to welcome you into his eternal kingdom!

For Uncle Stuart and Rudy there was such a sense that the best was yet ahead. There was nothing left on earth for my uncles. Rudy's and Stuarts life and trust was in Jesus. You see:

Hope looks past the sickness, past the hurt, past the failure, and towards the future. It looked past Israel’s despair, and it looks past any despair we may have. Its looks to a day where there will be no more pain, suffering or sickness, where we will see Jesus face to face. Hope takes the pressure off of the present.
– It looks past illness and pain
– Past people who have disappointed us
– Past failure
– Past finical gain
– Past finical lost
– Past conflict
– Past hurt
– Past worldly habits
– In the good and bad times hope gives us something to look forward to, something worth living for..

I Peter 3:15 says: always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

I have recently read “Don’t waste your life” by John Piper. Piper taught me that the reason people don’t ask today about our hope, is because we often live for false hope. If we hope in the things of the world, then we are just like the non-believer, and why would they ask? We are often guilty, myself including in being to much like the world by living for things that give false hope.

As I build relationships with those who do not have a full understanding of who Jesus is, I have come to realize that not knowing Jesus brings a sense of despair, as with the employee at the garage. Lost people put hope in lost things. We see people all around us looking forward to the next big thing, putting hope in whatever will get them through. Hope in the weekend. Hope in my bank account. Hope in my family. Hope in my friends. Hope in retirement. This is not the hope I am talking about.

We hope in a God that will not disappoint, not run out, run way, run out of time, or dry up! To live is Christ! To live for Christ and to die is gain becomes very apparent and real at death, as it did for the apostle Paul as well, but this verse can and should be lived out each moment of every day. Working with families in youth ministry is one of my greatest joys, but its also my greatest heart ship. It’s hard to watch teenagers experiment with the things of the world. I just want to yell STOP, THERE IS NO HOPE HERE, but I don’t because I know it will not work. I just told the parents I serve last Sunday that I have nothing against hockey, dance, school sports, clubs, and swimming but I am against busyness. I am convinced that busyness is a tool of the devil, for he knows that once we are too busy we will not live for Christ and will not have room for God. The things of busyness can quickly become our hope. I see families all the time that get caught in this trap. They fill their calendars right to the brim, and then try and fit the church in, as if the church was like a extra gas in the tank; it’s there in case it’s needed. Oh how this most grieve our Lord. Many of them do love the Lord, but they are distracted. It then becomes my job to show them the power of the bride of Christ. To create environments that are so filled with Christ’s love, and hope where Christ is so lifted up that He becomes irresistible to them!
One of the reasons I am not against sports and clubs is that the world needs us to go and show others our hope! Our families do need many social networks in order to help build the church of Christ.

As I think about my 18 years here at Maitland Church this verse, to live is Christ and to die is gain, comes alive and real. I am convinced that is one of the most loving churches in the area. I was shown the love of Christ here. I was shown that to live is Christ! And don’t stop now, please don’t stop now. Many of you have children and grandchildren. Your grandchildren are part of a generation that is being distracted. The Assyrian army was the distraction and the Babylonian army was the enemy. Today, transportation and the internet have made all things available to our children there are many things that can become the distraction. Work with teenagers that are distracted by academics, money, popularity, pornography, alcohol, drugs and peer pressure. This church, my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, Christian who lived out Phil 1:21, are all people God used to keep me from getting distracted by these things. Otherwise I would be some poor farmer without the blessings of the Lord. We need to be so in enthroned in Christ that that Christ abounds and overflows out of our hearts. Psalm 23 David wrote my cup overflows. He was not referring to his wine goblet, he was referring to his God. We need to be so centered on Christ that Christ overflows through or speech, life, and actions. This is what the generation behind you needs to see.

We can all get distracted. A big distraction for me today can be money, and the building of “stuff”. Every morning I need to remind myself of where my true everlasting hope is, and I do this by opening my Bible.

We cannot get distracted and must live for Christ and die in gain. The children that surround us need to see parents and grandparents who are living for Christ, full stem ahead. If our children see us distracted by the things of this world, they will hope in that. I have seen it, time and time again. Do you think that my Sunday school teachers knew that what they were teaching would make a difference in my life? Maybe, maybe not, but they had hope. You have no idea what your power of influence for Christ will do for your children and grandchildren.

But we also need to admit that living with the hope of Christ is not an easy task. Its November 29th, it’s getting cold, and there is not much sunlight in these days. We all know people, who struggle with depression and who deal with things daily that downcast our souls. I don’t have specific answers to these questions, but I will say that this is why we need one another. This is why Jesus spends so many of his earthly days with the poor, the sick, the orphans and the widows. Some of us have spirits that can be enlightened quickly, while others need more of God’s love from others to help them. Who do you know that could use some hope this week? Who is it that just needs a friend?
As Jesus lives inside of us he desires to be shared. He wants to overflow through our actions and our speech, he wants to love people, and give them his hope. Jesus wants to do this by living through us. Our hope is found in Jesus Christ and the righteousness, grace and forgiveness that he offers us.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5.

To live is Christ, to die is gain! Thanks be to Jesus for the hope he give us! (sermon by Fred Grendel)

If you made it this for - good for you! I hope you enjoyed it. I know it made me think about what I hope for!