Sermons

What we are doing today in gathering is not expecting to hear something new, but be reminded of what is true. We all need constant reminders of what is true about God, this world, and us because we easily forget, get distracted, discouraged, or even deceived. We look out at the world and something within us cries out “It shouldn’t be this way!” We begin to search for answers, we seek comfort, and rest for our souls. We desire purpose and wholeness. This is where what we call, The Gospel comes in. The Gospel is the Good news of what God has done for us in Jesus. It provides answers, purpose, comfort, rest, and wholeness. To have Hope remembered it has to be a hope we’ve received. Paul is writing to a church of people who have heard the Good News, received the Good News, are standing in the Good News, and believe the Good News. Let’s remember the Hope we’ve received:

Jesus arrived in humility. God is powerful and glorious, here in Jesus we see God displaying great humility. This characterized all of Jesus earthly life, born in a manger, raise by a poor working family, in a poor region. Homeless during His ministry. In Jesus we see God coming down to us. God has to humble Himself to come to us. Not because we are so great but because we are so small. God meets us where we are at. Jesus left heaven and came to earth for us. That is humility! Hope arrived where it was needed most.

1: God is Good, Mighty, Loving, Wise, and is in control. He is not surprised by any of this, and He is not overwhelmed. He is active in world events and is engaged in your individual story. 2: We (you) are known and loved by God in Christ Jesus. He knows your circumstances, and has not forgotten His promises, so we have a hope that is imperishable, that cannot be contained or restricted. 3: This is a challenging chapter, and while we do not know how long it is, we know it’s not the last chapter. The Story ends very well with Jesus return and reign making all things new with no sin, sickness, darkness, disease, or death. Our forever future is better than our present pain. That is what I want to talk about today. I want us to see where we are going so we can have Hope now in the wilderness for glorious forever city! Before we get to the hope at the end of the story we need to understand where we are in the story.

What are we worried about? I mean the list is pretty long at this point, right? Your individual health, the fabric of society, the state of the economy. We are very fearful people, especially at the front end of this season where all we are used to relying on for routine and stability has been uprooted or restricted. I am talking to everyone. We have fears about how we are going to provide for ourselves or others. Fears of loneliness, fears of what others think of us, fears of not living up to others expectations or our own, fear of loss possessions/job/relationships, fear of the unknown. These fears and concerns are driving and dominating how we live our lives. Fear seems to be the biggest motivator over our decisions and disposition. What is your fear? Why do we fear? We fear things we cannot control or easily predict. We play around with “What if?”. We fear because we recognize the world we live in is dangerous, bad things do happen, and everything is NOT awesome all the time. We say we hope for the best and prepare for the worst, but really, we act with little hope and nearly everything we do is under the shadow of fear.

When do we need hope? Is it when everything is going well in our lives or in the world, where the present seems pleasant and a clear vision of a flourishing future is in sight? Is it when we are led by strong and tender leaders whose virtue, caring character, and defense of justice is plainly visible to all? It is when we have a secure sense of self and we know we are valued and respected in our context even when we bring our full selves to the table? Or...

Listen When it comes to spiritual adoption, this is essentially what God has done for us He has pardoned us by forgiving us of our sins. He has clothed us in the perfect righteousness of his Son. Then he adopts us into his family..... Think about the serial killer and the governor The governor can pardon the killer with a few strokes of his pen He doesn’t have to get personally involved But to adopt the serial killer, he does have to get personally involved By adopting him he has become personally responsible for both his welfare and his behavior.

We are people who have been known loved and saved by the grace of God the Father through faith in Christ Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit to be adopted into God’s family, citizens in His kingdom, individuals with a promised inheritance, a communal body growing in maturity. We were spiritually dead lurching as self-consumed zombies now we have been made alive to contribute good works God has prepared for us walk in. From this new identity we now live a new way in terms of every earthly relationship. Walls racisms, classism, hostility have been torn down. We are forgiven people who forgive others. Our speech and engagement with others is seasoned with grace in good times and conflict. Our sexuality is aligned to God’s design. Our marriages are reflections of love, honor, respect, and self-sacrifice which reflect the truth of Jesus love for His people. Our families are led by firm and gentle fathers and mothers who have children who know they’re loved and respond to love with joyful obedience. As workers and leaders we are all aware we are ultimately under God’s authority so we work and lead for His approval and purposes to bring Him Glory and to promote our joy and flourishing. We hear this, read this, and assuming it’s all carried out perfectly we should have heaven on earth and be coasting toward eternity. And yet…. Our life seems so different. As Ephesians closes, we are reminded of the fundamental truth that while we have been made ALIVE by God, have promises of a forever future with God, and are living a new life for God now, we are not yet home. Reality of life is not us effortlessly strolling through a pastoral glad but trudging through a gory battlefield of opposition, oppression, and ongoing struggle where we wonder if we’ll make it through and if there will ever be real rest, peace, and victory. We need the clarity of understanding conflict, how we are equipped to endure until we can be at a place of eternal enjoyment. Paul, writing to the Ephesian church (and to us), closes this letter with a charge to keep fighting to the end.

This song starts and ends with God’s goodness, His love and his works. They are worthy of singing about! What could be greater than being called “the redeemed of the Lord” who have been delivered from distress. God Saves people from trouble (hand of the foe). Why? Because of His steadfast love. Six times in this psalm it God has a “steadfast love” This is not the same thing as our emotive love. This is a specific type of love that God perfectly reflects. It is a covenant love. God making a promise to love His people, more than a promise it is a “binding” to His people. They are His! This is a song sung by those who have been “redeemed by the Lord” and brought back from distant exile. In this case the song was about the nation of Israel being brought back from exile in Babylon. Unfaithful to God they were scattered by a foreign enemy, but now they are no longer in “trouble” or the hand of the foe, they have been gathered. Apart from God we are all people in exile, separated from where we desire and where we belong and God purchases a people and brings them together from scattered individuals to gathering of His people. God Saves and we celebrate! But saved from what? The song breaks out into four distinct verses/stories showing there is a diversity of distress, and different groups in need of deliverance or salvation. We will see there are no perceivable limits to how and who God is able to save, but there is only one solution. They cry out to the Lord in distress and God answers. Despite sin, God saves. Because of sin, God saves.

Have you ever experienced a generalized anxiousness which seems to have no immediate source? What about a need to control people and events around you, or conversely the reluctance to set a course for yourself? Are you a spendthrift? Miserly? Do you continuously seek the approval of others, or actively avoid contact? Do you avoid decision making? Are you frequently too hasty? Terrified by confrontation? Always up for a good battle? What about you, this morning? Is there an anxiousness in life which hinders your joy? My starting point for this morning is that in many cases these pervasive states of the heart and mind are response mechanisms to a fear different than physical threat. Fear that burrows deep inside us, which requires a completely different solution in order that we may experience joy and flourishing in our lives. We need God’s perfect provision to defeat the enemy we face and his weapon of choice, Fear of Man.