God With Us - Brings Hope

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God With Us  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  32:13
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Aries entitled God With Us I need each Sunday will be another theme in facet of the the truth gone with us beginning today with hope God brings hope and love joy and peace and then Christmas Eve Christ is come and if there's anything that our world needs today, it is Hope and is if there's anything that we need in our lives more than ever. It is Hope.

Let me read to you. first a scripture to begin with way back in the very first book of the Bible towards the beginning and after just after the well sometime after creation Genesis 28 verse 15 God's promise, even then and even though we had ruined things even though sent it into the world that Adam and Eve had partaken of the the fruit disobeying God and every single human after that began to also send against con. That was our and and we too are in that boat, but God promised then what he promises now. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. And God With Us. brings us hope because the alternative is to ask ourselves. What what is your hope in your life? If it is not upon God if it is not Upon Jesus. The world puts his hope in money the world puts its hoping it's its position. It's family name, perhaps it's career. But you see hope for us the Christian hope is that one thing that we long for when all seems lost?

Hope for the Christian is the one thing that when someone has cancer hope is the one thing they're holding on to. Hope is the one thing that a Praying Mother or grandmother or grandfather or father holds onto as they they long and hope for their prodigal child the return to the Lord. Hope is the one thing that you're holding onto when life begins to be darkened by storms that don't seem to have an end. Bottom line. Hope is Jesus and hope is what we celebrate on this first Sunday of Advent.

as we enter this season of Advent the season of Hope I told you earlier that the word Advent comes from the Latin.

It means coming or arrival. And this time of year, this is for the church for the Christian Church. The weeks leading up to Christmas is marked by. Expectation on our part. Yes, we're waiting. The children are waiting more than we are. Right and it's hard for them to wait, but we're in anticipation. And we're longing you remember those when you were young or your child in? Yeah, you you never have to set an alarm clock right for Christmas morning for the little kids right when we we came parents. We we we found that out. I think we set the alarm one time and the kids still got up before us right. You don't have it. You try to wake them up ride them out of bed for school. Good luck to you but on Christmas morning when you put them to bed the night before, you know about your slows of you that had a second story house and have those stairs were too too too too too too too in a kids running down to the tree and then running right back up and they wake you up right at 5 o'clock 4:30 in the morning or something like that and you're like, it's it's in there there. There is no convincing them right that it's not time as soon as they wake up. It is time for to open the gifts and open the presents and so as we grow older adults now. You know what Christmas changes for us? I think the the gifts are still nice, aren't they? But as with the older we get I find that the most important thing is not under the tree. the most important thing from the other relationships Horse remembering who Jesus is who is he's coming to his heart, but some of us long to be with our family our loved ones people that we don't get to be with very often. And for us adults That's What Christmas Means it's relationships it. It's love. An advent the season as we're expecting we're waiting. We're anticipating right and longing for Christmas to come Advent makes us look backward in time. And where we celebrate right? a hope for filled In Jesus Christ, now we're going to talk about he's coming and you know the Christmas he keeps he's coming. He's arrived etcetera, but we know that we live in the the era of Jesus's already, right? He was born and not only did he come But he he said the kingdom of God is here but there's a sense that the kingdom of God came with Jesus but that the king the coming of Christ Kingdom once and for all as he returns for us, his people right is something that's that's in our future. And that this Christmas season Advent we wait for both. We know Jesus kingdom is already here. It's active. It's a short but aren't we're also hopefully waiting for the day when the kingdom of God will be forever more. And there will be no more waiting. There will be no more longing. Cuz it will be our present and forever permanent Eternal reality and are about you but I I long for that day. And until then, you know, we celebrate during Christmas Advent IT, you know, we think of it it is it a celebration this time of year that God came to fix things, right? And I think in our Christian walk we we kind of we kind of fall into that trap. We we think that God is just here to to fix. Our Brokenness which we are if we would admit it broken families some to some of us are we even pray and ask God to fix our broken computers are broken water heaters that happened to us recently broken things, right? Are hurting lives? We think God just comes here to fix things. And it's okay to pray for him to do that. But I want to remind you that advent is the celebration of the fact that God comes to us.

Not that we're hoping it comes to that he fixes things but we're just hoping he comes we long for his presence. It's it's against see it's not the toy that God brings us. Or the fix of this but it's him. It's the relationship in the love like we did when we get older and we get a proper sense of What Christmas Means is adult. I Marvel at the fact and and I think the greatest Christmas present that we could have is that caught God comes to be with us again in a new Fresh and Powerful way that he is God With Us in the darkness that we face in the pain that we endure in the chaos of this Society God comes And you know when God comes he makes a way. He wakes makes a way out of the dark. It makes a way out of the chaos. He makes a way for us to to escape the drudgery in the terribleness of this world. No matter what kind of problems and struggles you are facing right now, no matter what season of Darkness or pain that you are in. Let me encourage you this morning to never abandon hope No matter what's going on in society. No matter what is going on in your life that may be negative that maybe maybe a burden or a sore spot for you or things may seem down. Hope is still alive in Jesus Christ. Even in our deepest pain and what may seem like our most hopeless circumstances. Hope is alive because God is with us.

I want to show three things with you this morning.

about hope the first of which is that hope is based on God's word.

part of this themer this truth of God With Us Is the written word that he has left for us his the Bible we call it. And the word of God the Bible is filled with God's promises to his people both both Longo write a template also for today. The word of God is just not letters on a page. They are a piece of him. It is the the the word of God is a living. They are for us beacons lighthouses that show beacons and point us to Hope. The word of God has reminders that that penetrate our hearts and our spirits and assure us that no matter what we are facing now, no matter how bad tomorrow looks no matter how bad the pain that we are enduring. God will never leave us or forsake us. I can't tell you how many times I've relied on that truth in my own life. That's even more beautiful that that nothing can separate us from him. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, but the only thing they can is our choice to separate ourselves.

Look at Psalm 139. The psalmist wrote where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there if I make my bed in the depths you are there. If I rise on the wings of the Dawn if I settle on the far side of the sea. Even there your hand will guide me your right hand will hold me fast. If I say surely the darkness will hide me in and the light become night around me. Even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to you. That's our hope based on God's word the Bible but it's based on God's spoken word. God does not break his word. Remember a date and a time when your word was your bond when your word was something that if you gave it no matter what you were going to keep it. Hard to find that nowadays, isn't it? But God is the one the Supreme he don't bother of the word that when God gives his word when God gives his promise. He will not go back on his promise. He will not leave his word his truth. His things unfulfilled. Hope then for us is based on God's word, but it's based. on God's character

But who he is. And who he promises to be? There's a the short story. I'm not going to go to tell it fully it in the book of The Gospel of Mark Mark chapter 5 if you're interested in reading it later or going there now verse 25 through 34. It is the the simple story of Jesus Healing The Sick woman who have faith. We don't even know her name by the way, but she demonstrated a bold hope And again to say that she was sick was mile for 12 years. This woman had been bleeding somehow. No one has been able to help her. Doctors had tried but the woman's condition had only grown worse. And as you can imagine this was a condition that would have affected everything about her everyday of her life was a constant remind or of her sickness or disease were and those of you that have dealt with or are dealing with long-term illness that will never go away. You can probably relate to This Woman's desperation. this woman and in this time and in age was it was bad enough that she was dealing with this disease, but by everybody the society the religious she was considered unclean and you know, it wasn't a sense of nowadays were like, oh you just avoided person but Does the shunning the hatred towards this woman the not wanting to even be near touch? This woman would have been devastating to her emotionally and spiritually she was treated as an outcast because of gun. What was just a normal health problem, right?

Even the people maybe in her life that might try to understand your problem. They just couldn't in fact, she didn't understand it yourself. Remember we were talking about a couple thousand years ago. Then the age work there wasn't the medicine of today. And no it now in her desperation. She had heard about this Jesus.

Cuz you think you know gossip and rumor in and use is it, you know, there are some things that I don't I don't even have to turn on the TV or go to the internet to find out the news, right the news comes to me, you know specially in the church. And so she had her the stories from her neighbors, even though they wouldn't get near her. She had should heard them talking about it is stories about Jesus. She'd heard the Miracles that he performed she ate. It was news that you know, everybody knew the news that Jesus had healed the blind the lame. The lepers had fed the hungry. And so something happened inside of her. and before she knew it hope had awakened to see if she had no hope 12 years. This thing was never going away was never stopped in there was no end of it. But all of a sudden the hope of healing the hope of a new life. It just moved her a drove her to take action. And I can't imagine that you know, she's thinking to her. So so if I can just get close enough to touch his clothes his robe. I'll be healed. This Jesus is who he says he is he can heal me. how to bold hope don't you think

it may seem like a small thing even a silly thing really just touch a robe or just touch his sleeve or his robe or whatever.

But that hope once it's born you will do anything. And she didn't care about what people thought of her. She didn't care about the embarrassment. She didn't care about how strange it appeared. If she could just get close enough to Jesus and Reach Out And Touch the Hem of His Garment. And we know the story that when she did. Instantly didn't take a month. Didn't the doctor doesn't know take two aspirin call me in the morning. It was in the treatment of a few weeks a few months when she did instantly and it made all the difference in the world. When Jesus knew it or felt it power went out of it from his being and he has who touched me and of course she's then scared and nervous and she's been found out. but but I I love Jesus reaction to her

because Jesus didn't scold her if I jesus admired her faith her boldness. And Jesus connected with her deeply. and directly because in that moment for that woman, it wasn't philosophy wasn't a great teacher. It wasn't the stories. God and Jesus was with her. And she touched God. And God in that moment touched her. And the healing that came to her life in the peace and the freedom that he gave her changed her life. I don't think just for the rest of your life. I think it changed her forever.

In this is our God. This is the character of our god, this is Jesus. This Jesus is Worthy. He was and Jesus it was and still is today God With Us. And Jesus fulfilled Israel's hope for the Messiah that when he arrived on that first Christmas. Jesus fulfilled the hopes for victory over death when he resurrected on that first Easter. And one day because of that and because of the the hundreds and no I say the thousands of touches of my in my life things that I have seen and experienced an answered prayer and antonym for the thousands of of answered prayers and God's presence in your life. We know together as a church body right The Fellowship of Christ that one day he will ultimately fulfill all of Hope. And he will complete God's work of restoration for all of creation. This is the promise. He he left to us. He gave us when he gave us a foundation of Hope and confidence in boldness this either the Great Commission. We tend to miss it from side. Not only did he tell us to go and make disciples. But at the end of that he gave us probably the most greatest promise in the New Testament, surely. I Am With You Always to the very end of the age which means if your suffering Kansas cancer or a severe illness God promises to always be with you to the very end of that illness. It if you got problems are wounds from the past or if you got a loved one that you're praying for that is lost. Jesus is promised to always be with you to the very end of the age. Have you ever stop to think the fact that I know we're all praying for somebody right? I think we are we're praying desperately for somebody for their salvation. Do you know and understand that the king of all Kings and the Lord of all Lord is Jesus Christ sit at the receipt it at the right hand of God. The father is praying with you praying your prayer with you for your lost loved one. If we win that says surely I Am With You Always to the very end of the age. It doesn't mean that got Jesus is up there. He is right there with you. And he is crying with you and he is laughing with you and he is praying with you and hoping with you. And this is a promise in the Bible out of the word mouth of Jesus worthy to die. Don't know about you but a fuel My Hope even more why because God is true to his character because of who he is. We can take hope in him and the last thing.

Hope is based on God's faithfulness last Sunday during Sunday school class and then Wednesday night with the with the teams. I'm going to show you the story but I was 17 years old when I need 18 years old when I got a job and it was an important job to be before going off to college and I sprained my ankle really bad and I couldn't walk on it and can do anything thought I couldn't do the work or go get that work. But long story short cuz I do tend to make it really long. I prayed not every day, but every not just every hour but every moment every minute I prayed in God for several weeks help me to go to work and be able to to work with this injury and I go home and going to take my shoe off and which was a hard thing to do was so swollen and I can't even put any weight on it. It hurts so bad and it was all different colors and swollen up really bad and such but that was the moment in my life. I accepted Christ when I was 8 years old, but and I was too and I'll try to be a good Christian and all that but that was them on my life working God. Became real to me. God With Us that was my moment. And I could bore you with hundreds and thousands of what the world would call. Well, that was a coincidence. You just got it out and in you worked on that ankle. Well, it was the greatest Coincidence of my life and one of the greatest and I tell you what I've had thousands of coincidences. I g. I pray or I ask God for something that is in his will and it's done. Thousand incidences. I don't know about you if you had those consequences in your life, but all that to say that. I have found God to be faithful. So there is nobody that can tell me on the face of the Earth that God is not real that God doesn't exist or he's a myth or it's just some fantasy or fairy tale that I'm living in my life. I have seen God's faithfulness. I have seen God work in my life and I am betting to Guess that God has been faithful to you and I got his worked in your life. And so my hope this morning is based on this faithfulness, and when we think about the moments and the memories when we've experienced God's work in our lives. You know what? I'm talking about right those times when? You just knew in that moment. This is not a coincidence.

God God is working right now. God is with me. And we have known it in our hearts of Hearts. There's no those times when there's no doubt. God was there God was working. Maybe it's been even recently and I and I bet that it has been pretty recent from any of you. Maybe others that's been a long time ago.

But it whatever circumstance she will you were facing in that moment. The presence of God's spirit was with you. And you knew it was real. What does that do to Hope? What what is thinking about those memories? What about what I was thinking about when I was 17 years old, which was sounds like a no big deal to you. It would not have been at the end of the world if I couldn't work that summer job before going to college. It really wouldn't have but it but I tell you what, I think of that time in my life and I are everywhere I limped. I was going to say everywhere. I walked in that moment everywhere. I limped I knew and sense and felt that God was with me. And every morning I would wake up at like I thank God for the very first day. I got through that day, and I thought well if I praise God, thank you Lord for helping me. There's no way I can go back tomorrow. And then I woke up in the morning. I said well, let me know this go and she know so they'll know that I'm injured and then I'll come home. But I would go and what I said Lord if it's your will I really need this work. I really need the money for going to college here starting in the Fall Would you touch me? And I'll tell you what, I would make it to break cuz I'm Thai wallet. I'll go work and it was Landscaping. By the way. This was Heavy digging and shoveling this it wasn't lightworkers sitting behind a desk or anything and I'll go with them and then I'll work till break time in the morning and then I'll go home because I just can't do it. But Lord if it's your will and I make it to break. I'd make it to lunch. I'd make it to the end of the day. And I thank you Lord for 2 days and every day. This was my day every minute. I was praying to the Lord Lord help me Lord, touch me by the end of that first week. I had I had started that work with a buddy of mine. The foreman looked at my buddy was upset at him. I thought he was upset of the both of us and he looked at him and he said why can't you work as hard as is Paul here. He's the best worker on this Cruise so far and that in that moment. I knew it was God it wasn't me. There's no way. I think I felt like I was a hindrance like I could barely I mean I was working but God was touching me Supernatural and even giving me, you know, a witness to these people that I was a good worker. And you know what? Look at this verse in Lamentations.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. I called to mind right to catch that he's remembering. It's calling to mind everything about God and that's why he has hope. Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail and they did not fail for me when I was 17 years old. They are new every morning great is your faithfulness. You think the hymn writer was inspired to write that him based out of this I say to myself the Lord is my portion. Therefore, I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him to the one who seeks him and look at this. It is good to wait quietly for the Salvation. of the Lord

see when we're grateful. That breeds. Hope gratitude breeds. Hope Thankfulness to God Foster's. Hope acknowledging God and appreciating who he is and what he's done for us that brings hope. These were the words of Jeremiah by the way. Yet this I call to mind he starts off and therefore I have hope. Jeremiah Was it was remembering God's faithfulness. He understood that there is hope there was hope for him today and there was hope in the future because of who God was and what God had done and you know what? That's true. There is hope for us today. And there is hope for our future when we remember what God has done in the past. And God has done greater things for me since I was 17 years old and it was a simple ankle injury. He's done smaller things for me and every single one of those, you know, I stand here today and if I have hope it's because God is always been faithful. He is never let me down. God has never failed me. I have failed him. But he has never and I know that he will never fail me. so this morning that stand

and Lord this morning.

Would you help us? Would you renew our hope? And I want to ask you this morning before I finish this prayer. I want you to think about that what you're hoping for.

Maybe it's illness healing for you or someone you love. babies finances job Maybe it's a broken relationship. Maybe you're praying for someone who's lost and doesn't know Jesus. Whatever you're hoping for.

I I I ask you now. the talk with the Lord and you tell him

I have hope. Cuz you are with me God. And I will continue to have hope.

Because you are faithful. Because of your character and because your word has declared that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Lorde I hope be born in the US. Because of who you are we worship you and adore you this much.

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