Hopeless No More
Let Earth Receive Her King • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsHopelessness kinds of sneaks up on us. Depedning. We do not wake up hopeless it is a process of allowing small or large disappontment shape our views of the future. If we will continue to draw close to God in times of dispair hope can and will give us the engergy we need to look to an optomistic future.
Notes
Transcript
I am so Glad for Thanksgiving and for the Advent season
I am so Glad for Thanksgiving and for the Advent season
I needed a time where I could gain perspective instead of focus on the worst that this world has thrown at us.
One of the things I noticed during my reflection was how easy it is to be overcome with the “realities” of the day without giving thanks for God’s truly incredible favor toward us.
In taking some time to reflect even in the midst of great turmoil I have realized that I have much to be thankful for. And while I am not thankful for the turmoil and despair that this time has held I am reminded that in spite of everything God’s favor for us all is great.
You see God’s favor is with us even when things do not look like we anticipated they should look like. Being in a difficult position in life whether if be financial, emotional, or even physical has nothing to do with being out of favor with God.
God is not cause of calamity in our lives or in our world. God is not out to teach us a lesson. God Loves us and has given us the written Word to show us just how powerful God’s Love for us already is.
You and I don’t have to beg God to forgive, you just need to confess and then begin to live in the Favor God already has for us. This is the power of Hope...
Hope is what happens in our soul when we give up what we want to happen in our flesh.
Hope is what happens in our soul when we give up what we want to happen in our flesh.
After decades of exile in Babylon, the Judeans are free to return to their homeland, only to find it destroyed and barren. What they thought would be a joyous homecoming has ended in feelings of despair. They told the stories of this place to their children and their grandchildren, only to return to a place that was unrecognizable. Becuase of this they began to blame God for not meeting their expectations instead of praising God for their freedom to begin again.
Isaiah 64:1-9 NLT
1 Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
2 As fire causes wood to burn
and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!
3 When you came down long ago,
you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.
And oh, how the mountains quaked!
4 For since the world began,
no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
5 You welcome those who gladly do good,
who follow godly ways.
But you have been very angry with us,
for we are not godly.
We are constant sinners;
how can people like us be saved?
6 We are all infected and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds,
they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
7 Yet no one calls on your name
or pleads with you for mercy.
Therefore, you have turned away from us
and turned us over to our sins.
8 And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.
9 Don’t be so angry with us, Lord.
Please don’t remember our sins forever.
Look at us, we pray,
and see that we are all your people.
This passage seems like an odd one when talking about hope but in fact it gives us a wonderful progression of steps to move us from hopelessness to hope.
This passage seems like an odd one when talking about hope but in fact it gives us a wonderful progression of steps to move us from hopelessness to hope.
1. Because of their hopeless situation, the Judeans cry out in lament to God.
The Judeans wondered where God was...They thought they had been abandoned by God, and they wanted to know why God would leave them this way.
Lament: an expression of grief or sorrow. a formal expression of sorrow or mourning.
It is ok to mourn what is lost or seemingly wrong…It is ok to enter into a conversation with God asking why…In doing so we can understand that God has not abandoned us but is in fact with us.
However we do not stop with Lament…we then move toward a closer walk with God to help us make sense of things. This is where Lamenting get complicated.
As we reflect on the things that we are dealing with our natural tendency to to assign blame. We blame our spouse, our boss, politicians, clergy or our perceived enemies for our plight.
However sooner of later lament leads us to examine ourselves and our responsibility for our Spiritual, Emotional, and even Physical conditions…In this passage we see the the:
2. The lament of the Judeans leads them to confession.
As they petition God to draw close and reveal God’s power, the lament shifts to confession: they have continued to sin, and no one calls on the Lord’s name anymore.
There is some true honesty happening in this lament-turned-confession. They believe their sin has caused God to turn away from them. They view their righteous acts as “filthy rags” in light of their sin. They are unclean and have forsaken God.
This is a communal confession. It is not just about individual sin. Many of these individuals weren’t even born yet when the nation of Israel entered exile—which means this confession is not about individual acts but about who they are and have historically been as a community of people.
Sometimes decisions of a group or even a government can affect the direction of a culture well after those responsible are gone. The Judeans in this passage were reaping the disobedience of their forefathers…yet they had not until this moment realized they were continuing in a disobedient direction.
Positive Change cannot be achieved until there is an acceptance and repentance of the mentality that got us there.
Albert Einstein said this:
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
This act of confession shows a shift in their thinking.
God is not to blame for their present circumstances. They have a responsibility to own the choices and actions that have gotten them into their current situation.
Even in their desperation, they trust that God is listening to them. Confession and lament often go hand in hand.
3. They reach a point where there’s nothing left to say.
There is a gap in the text between verses 7 and 8. It seems they have expressed so much despair that they have nothing left to say. All that’s left is complete and utter hopelessness.
But then!
4. Glimmers of hope eventually appear.
There is hope—not because of their circumstances. Their homeland still lies in ruin. They have had no triumphal homecoming. They still have nowhere to live. Yet there is hope—because of who God is.
They are God’s people. After the lament and the confession, the people remember their identity. Regardless of whether they have a home, they remain the people of God.
There is hope for us too, even in the midst of our hopeless situations.
It is not only ok to lament it is essential
It is important to confess personal sin
It is important to confess corporate sin even if you were not part of it.
Sometimes we have participated in collective action that has wronged others. Other times we might need to confess our personal attitudes or thoughts in response to others.
Either way our Confession is essential to allow Hope to be more than a concept...
Confession is not about beating ourselves down but about removing the mindsets that keep us in despair.
CONCLUSION
Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin,
but held it up with a smile; "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?" "A dollar, a dollar"; then two!" "Only
two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three
dollars twice; going for three.." But no, from the room, far back, a
gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust
from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody
pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,
said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.
A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make
it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and
gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not
quite understand what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch
of a master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin, A
"mess of pottage," a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on. "He is
going" once, and "going twice, He's going and almost gone." But the Master
comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul
and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.
Myra 'Brooks' Welch
There is hope because God still hears us cry out, just like God heard God’s children cry out hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago. There is hope because God is a good Father who loves us.
Practice Sabbath
Practice Sabbath
Many times we cannot see this hope becuase we are in a perpetual state of exhaustion, which makes it difficult for us to be aware of what is really happening in our Hearts and Souls.
This week I want us to practice a real sabbath. Not just going to church but taking one day this week or if you can’t take one full day take at least one six hour period where you practice sabbath,
Do not do anything that feels like work or that is on any of your to do list.
Spend time doing things that truly restore and energize you.
Be aware that many of things we do during down time actually may distract us but usually do not restore us. (entertainment, social media, shopping etc…)
Suggested Sabbath activities would be sleep, play, feast, time with family and friends, reading, celebration, and maybe time outdoors.
Communion
Communion