ReDiscovering Hope - How to put the Wonder back into life
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Good Morning! - … Really good to hear from Andy and Jenny Sheer… and to meet their baby William … We are in our third Advent sermon series entitled Hope Rises… Advent is all about having our hearts prepared… We can get so used the traditions of Christmas… that we fail to have “fresh eyes” and see something new in the coming of Christ. This morning we going to be talking about the connection between Hope and Wonder… Sermon is entitled..
“ Rediscovering hope.. How to put the wonder back into life!’
There was a lady who was preparing her Christmas cookies. There was a knock at the door. She went to find a man who was looking for some Christmas odd jobs. He asked her if there was anything he could do.
She said, "Can you paint?"
"Yes," he said. "I'm a rather good painter."
"Well," she said, "there are two gallons of green paint there and a brush, and there's a porch out back that needs to be painted. Please do a good job. I'll pay you what the job is worth."
He said, "Fine. I'll be done quickly."
She went back to her cookie making and didn't think much more about it until there was a knock at the door. She went, and the obviousness of his painting was evident: he had it on his clothes.
She said, "Did you finish the job?"
He said, "Yes."
She said, "Did you do a good job?"
He said, "Yes. But lady, there's one thing I'd like to point out to you. That's not a Porsche back there. That's a Mercedes."’
Christmas is a time of Surprise and wonder.
Psychologists tell that having sense of wonder about the world a is important for our wellbeing and our sense of purpose in the world.
Wonder - speaks of our need to be engaged and impassioned with the world and take pleasure in it, attuned to it and fascinated by it. Grateful for it. Psychology Today
There are basically three ways that God has revealed himself.to us... - God has Revealed himself through His word… we call that Divine Revelation… God inspired about 40 writers to write 66 books in the cannon of scriptures…they are God breathed or inspired...
God has revealed himself through special revelation — supernatural appearances… In the Bible we see that God spoke through dreams and visions… Through angels, burning bushes, through miracles..
God has also revealed himself through General Revelation - Nature…
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
The reformer Martin Luther said..
“The deficiency of faith is made evident by a lack of wonder, for nature is a revelation only to those to whom God has already been revealed.”
In other words some Natural revelation gets left out of our theology… We may be deficient in the area of WONDER...
Here is the thing it is only the believer or Theist who is going to look at a sunset and say, ‘God is amazing look all the colors in his pallot” — We have the best Sunsets right here is Richvale..
An Atheist might see same exact sunset and attribute it dust particles…and the suns rays.
One thing I love about children is that they see almost everything through “Fresh eyes”
They naturally have this sense of wonder and curiosity about the world…
A Child will be walking and stop and take not of a ladybug, butterfly or beatle - they will pick anything that looks gross and in-fact the more gross it looks the more curious they become---
Children are fearless…they want to jump in puddles and dig in the dirt.
Children don’t worry about getting dirty. — they are not thinking about hi-gene… they are not thinking about germs when they they put in thing in their mouth...they will taste the play-do or the mud pie…
Why? Because Everything is an experiment?
The Advent of Christ Coming is really something that ought to bring a sense of Wonder…
John Stott tells of Lancelot Andrewes (17 Century preacher) Who talked about wonder and amazement in his Christmas sermons and the implications of the incarnation… He would be amazed at Jesus being a baby in a manger.. He pondered on - The Word being without words, Eternal Word not being able to speak a word…
Andrews said -
“There lieth he, the Lord of glory without all glory. Instead of a palace, a poor stable, instead of a cradle a manger, no pillow but a lock of hay; no hangings but dust and cobwebs; no attendants but in the midst of animals.”
Several hundred year before Christ coming - There is this powerful prophecy by Isaiah proclaimed that a son would be given and he would be King a righteous ruler … He would be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, Everlasting Father and the prince of peace… while other rulers would come and go his kingdom would increase and be established forever.... When Christ is born it is was quite the opposite… There wasn’t a Righteous Ruler..
Israel the other gentile nations were subject to Roman Rule..… Rome was enjoying the Roman Pax a time of peace and prosperity there were no wars....
Caesar Augustus began all kinds of building programs and set up a massive system of centralized government, regulating commerce and trade. He strengthened the military and for his entire reign Rome was at peace. He did much to advance the culture of the Roman empire.
Towards the end of his life he said ‘I found Rome bricks and I made it marble.’
The way that Augustus funded his building program was through heavy Taxation.. This is where Luke picks up in Chapter 2..
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
Charles Dickens in his “The Tale of two Cities starts off with the words with the famous words, “ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” — What he was referring to was the French Revolution in 1775 but he was comparing it to his own day…1859… This is kind of the world that Jesus was born into… If you were a Roman Citizen --- It was the best of times --- you had the Roman Pax, time of enovation, beautiful arctecture structures.. human advancement… Good time to be alive.
But if you were not a Roman Citizen your were probably part of the lower class and still subject to Roman laws, regulations and taxations..
Luke tells us this very human story of Joseph and Mary and their journey to Bethlehem… The only reason why Joseph and Mary are headed to Bethlehem and it because Caesar required the whole world to be registered and everyone had to return their town of birth..
There would have been some hardship in this 70 to 80 mile journey that took three full days of travel.… It probably pushed them beyond their budget… We know Mary is in her last trimester of her pregnancy and is probably very uncomfortable… To Make matters worse when they arrive in Bethlehem tired, dirty and dusty… There are no vacancies - places to stay in the town ..all they could find was a stable (cave) a place for their animals… this was their only option.... Jesus is born into really hard conditions… It was was very simple and ordinary...
There are no trees or lights, just a manger and animals and a too-crowded inn…
What causes wonder in these Verse … On throne is Caesar Augustus.. who considered to be Sovereign and all Powerful… godlike.... But laying in the Manger in this little town is the one whom Isaiah called the Wonderful Councilor the Almighty God.. Whose Kingdom would increase… Her is the thing God is still in control…Caesar is God and God is still on his throne.. Augustus’s decree went out in God’s perfect timing and according to God’s perfect plan to bring his Son into the world.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
T/sHope comes with Regaining a sense of wonder in life…
1. Re-discover Wonder in your Uniqueness.
1. Re-discover Wonder in your Uniqueness.
While Mary and Joseph are in Bethlehem just outside the city limits are the Shepherds watching over their Flocks… When Suddenly they are faced with this Great wonder in the Sky.. First Gabriels appears and then a heavenly Choir of Angels come praising God.
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
Isn’t it fascinating that when God chose to announce the birth of the Messiah to the world, he didn’t inform the rich and powerful leaders of the day?
It wasn’t too the religious Elite.. but instead he chose to announce it to shepherds
Why would God choose Shepherds? It’s been suggested that..
Shepherds are not easily fooled. They are practical men of the world who have little to do with fantasy. If they said that they saw angels and went and found the Messiah, then you could believe them.
Its also been said that Shepherds were often thieves and couldn’t be trusted.. That would explain why they were not standing in line to regester as tax payers… But for some reason God Chose to reveal himself to these men first..
The fact that God uses the ordinary maybe deprived people in culture .. should really cause us Wonder…
God does not discriminate…the reason is that He knows our individual uniqueness.. God chose Mary out of all the woman in history on purpose…He knew each individual shepherd on the hill side.. each character good and bad..
David in psalms 139 talks about the omniscience of God…God is everywhere --- Even if he made dwelling in Sheol the furthest point from God… He is there… if you change your address to the deepest part of the ocean you are there… Nothing escapes God’s light… David gives us this verse..
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
What does this mean in regard to Hope?
D.A Carson says,The psalmist is not written by one who trying to escape God if he could but rather by one who knows he cannot escape God and finds nothing to regret..
For the psalmist Omniscience is comforting it means that God has complete knowledge of me! Strengths and weaknesses… because as creator understands me…this causes David to wonder.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Not only am I fully known by God but God is with me in every place
You might think that you are living through your darkest day --- yet God does not see your circumstance the same as you… God is interested in you… you are the most important value to him.
God as creator means sovereign ownership of every part of me; and holiness --- His only expectation of me is that I become more like him.
There is something unique… What is your uniqueness? How God wired you..
T/sHope comes with Regaining a sense of wonder in life…
1. Re-discover Wonder in your Uniqueness.
2. Re -Discover the Wonder in the Message
2. Re -Discover the Wonder in the Message
In the last couple of years Gender Reveal Parties have seem to be a trend with young expecting Parents. If you not familiar with this term...
A Gender reveal party can be a surprise for everyone attending (including the expecting parents) or, the parents already know what they’re having, but want to spread the news in a creative way to family and friends.
Most gender-reveal parties involve a cake, or cupcakes, and a trusted friend or family member in possession of the results from the 20-week ultrasound. He or she bakes a cake filled with icing, and pink icing inside means girl.Blue means boy.
Invite your guests, cut the cake, cheer and post the results across your social feeds....
Now, on the back hills of Bethlehem is not a Gender Reveal but a God reveal party... .
The angels appear to the Shepherds in the middle of the night in a spectacular fashion…Good News of Great Joy.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
This should cause us to wonder… How important is this message… that God would send angels. Good News of Great joy.. Is the word Evangelion --- where we get the word evangelist… The angels were the first Evangelists proclaiming Good News… Rediscover hope when we discover the Wonder of the Message.
Dr. Darryl Bock Professor NT at Dallas Seminary… tells us how the Four gospels fit together..In the gospels we have four accounts or distinct stories of Jesus from four angles…
Synoptic Gospel made up of 3 gospels - Matt, Mark and Luke…and then you the gospel John is on its own.. The difference is the perspective of the storiesl
In 3 Gospels the story is told from the earth up… that is the way the story begins and proceeds.. you have the birth of Jesus and the baptism the life ministry of Jesus… Linear.. earth..
John tells the story from the perspective of Heaven down...
He begins with - Divinity of Christ.. that
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
John does all the heavy theological lifting for us in knowing who Jesus is... telling us from the start that Jesus is God who became incarnate.
Dr.Bock says
So it’s no accident that three of our Gospels tell this story from the earth up, while one chooses to tell it from heaven down.. because we need both perspective… but from Earth up perspective (synoptics) we get to appreciate how the story of Jesus impacts people one piece at a time…
As the narrative progresses we get a fuller appreciation of who he is… The baby in the manger — progresses to the rugged cross on Calvary and lays down his life for mankind… Not only do we wonder at the scene in the stable but also at the foot of the cross...
What causes the shepherds to wonder? The first is the Delivery method.
a. Message delivered by Angels
God uses Shepherds and Mangers but God also uses Angels… We have these Theophanies or appearances of God throughout the scripture… God alway had a purpose for making himself known.. When God called Moses to deliver Israel - He appeared to him in the burning bush… Cause Him to wonder…
The Bible is a supernatural book.
There is nothing natural about a virgin Birth… there is nothing natural about life of Christ and the miracles that Jesus performed… Nothing natural about the resurrection..
2. Message came with a sign.
Often in the Scriptures the word sign means a miracle, but here it is describing that which gives sure direction.The angel describes a sign: the shepherds will know this announcement is true when they see the child in a manger.
That the baby would be wrapped in cloths was indicative of the common way infants were cared for. What was uncommon was the final, climactic phrase in the angel’s description: the child would be lying in a manger—hardly the place where one would expect to find
The angelic announcement does not come in mystical isolation; it connects to concrete events.
In Bethlehem that night there might be one or two babies wrapped in swaddling clothes, but only one lying in a manger.
3. Message came to restore a Relationship
Peace speaks of restoring harmony..
That God came to us to remove every barrier between himself and us.... Hebrew word shalom... It speaks of Completeness, Wholeness, Soundness, deliverance and salvation.... It speaks of reconciliation with God.
Message caused them to respond… Let us God to Bethlehem… Their curiosity leads them to go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.
T/sHope comes with Regaining a sense of wonder in life…
1. Re-discover Wonder in your Uniqueness.
2. Re -Discover the Wonder in the Message
3. Re- Discover the Wonder of Praise
3. Re- Discover the Wonder of Praise
What does Praise mean?
The whole of the Bible is punctuated with outbursts of praise. In the OT it is connected with making a noice… Halal where we get the word Hallelujah… Another word is Yada which more of an action of gesture that is associated with praise.. For example praise through lifting ones hands....Zammar is associated with playing or singing… I remember when we attending at Seminary at the song leader playing the electric guitar did a solo in the middle of worship… It was pretty incredible… so it was loud… not everybody scene… but none the less it was praise… Eucharest mens to give thanks.. Praise means to bless...
It mean to magnify... to increase in Honor...
it's what you do with telescope... Not that the object gets bigger but your perception of the object changes.... We can’t make God bigger than He is… We can just magnify God.. Mary praised God...
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
God becomes enlarged and she praises his greatness.
C.S. Lewis, when he was becoming a Christian (but he wasn’t quite there yet), one of the things he struggled mightily with was the fact that in the Bible, over and over again God commands people to praise him.
Lewis said, “I know people who like to be praised. Everybody hates them! What a stuck-up God this is!
But as he thought about it more deeply ... he realized he missed something important..
"the most obvious fact about praise—whether of God or anything— enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise."
If you enjoy a peace of music or some dancer or artist perform ... you normally show appreciation through praise.
God doesn't need your praise... The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit have been glorifying each other for all eternity.... there are host of angels who praise God.
God did not create us and then commanded us to praise him because he was trying to get it. He already had it, so why would he command us to praise him? Because he wants us to have the same joy he has...
Praise competes the circle of Enjoyment Praise is simply saying thank you for all he has done.
These Shepherds were transformed by this encounter with the Angels… and it led to Praise.
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
a. Wonder of the Incarnations transforms these Shepherds - How did it change them?
They discover their Voice..
They become worshipers… they find their singing voice… their voices of Praise… Each of us has unique voice… We have all these songs in the Advent Story —
You have Mary’s song the Magnificent… You have Elizabeths song… You have Zachariah song...
Then you have the Shepherds song… These rough Shepherd men praising cause us to stop and think that is unusual..
Hope is connected to singing... all the spiritual songs were written during dark days.... think of the rich African American heritage in music came from days of pain… seeking hope..
b. Mary Hid these things in Her heart… Can you imagine having these Shepherds -
rough and rugged men gathered in the Maternity ward ---
going crazy about your baby..
Mary took all this in… She pondered these things in her heart. One of the things that we need to know about Revelation is that its Treasure…
Thinking about what we do with our valuables… we lock them up or we hold onto them… Today these expensive cell phones and we conscious about where we put them… because they have value and expensive to replace.
When God shows treasure in his word — We are to put them somewhere safe.. .. Why because you may need them one day…
The Shepherds were not only changed into Praises but they became evangelists, for the basic definition of evangelist is one who “proclaims good news to others.”
The angel had delivered “good news” to the shepherds (v. 10), and they in turn felt compelled to share that good news with others.
The shepherds knew very little about the Messiah. They had not yet witnessed his ministry, his death, or his resurrection. They had not had the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ work, to mature within the fellowship of his church, or to read the New Testament Scriptures.
But they were ready to witness to what they did know regarding Jesus. The shepherds returned to their fields, to their occupations each day. But they continued to share the good news of what they had seen and experienced in the manger...
Conclusion
Circumstances can come into our lives… where we can loose this magnicant sense of wonder.
All around Joseph and Mary are circumstances outside of their control…Everything pointed to obscurity, poverty, and even rejection.
They faced with financial, physical challenges!
What made the difference ? Is they had Hope… Remember they had not yet seen the miracles…they looked forward with faith to the promises… We on the other hand have an advantage --- we have the advantage of looking back from the perspective of the Cross..
What great and awesom
The promised Messiah and Savior… Mary and Joseph had hope.... even though we loose control… God never lost his hand on the wheel of history… God has never fallen a sleep… the great shepherd never falls asleep on his watch…he keeps Israel never slumbers or sleeps- As we close this morning… My prayer for us this Christmas is that we maintain the wonder...
John Piper prayed this prayer.
O God of wonder, enlarge my capacity to be amazed at what is amazing, and end my attraction to the insignificant. -