“Noticing God at Work” 2012

Isaiah 51:1-6 1 Thessalonians 3:9-4:1

Isaiah 51:1-6

51Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. 3For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. 4Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples. 5I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.

1 Thessalonians 3:9-4:1

9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith. 11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. 4Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.

Today we are beginning the season of Advent,

a time when we can focus on hopeful watching and waiting

for God’s promises to be fulfilled and realized

along our spiritual journey toward Bethlehem …

… and we don’t want to miss out

on any of the sights and wonders along the way.

When I was a young boy, after dinner each night,

we took turns opening that day’s flap on our Advent calendar …

and we looked forward to seeing the picture underneath,

as day by day we worked our way toward Christmas

and the manger scene behind the last window.

I remember that back then, the weeks à

between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed like an eternity,

but now, how quickly the time flies by in a flash …

… and I miss that wonder and my eager anticipation of those days.

If you were enjoying some great music at a concert,

you wouldn’t want the musicians to rush to the end,

or play just the first few notes then skip to the last note…

Advent is like that, far more than just arriving at a destination…

… done properly, Advent includes anticipation à

as we savor the sights and experiences along the way.

When I traveled in the Middle East during seminary,

I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,

and I was determined to absorb every bit of it I could.

In contrast, some of my fellow students,

started playing hearts or spades at every opportunity;

riding on the bus between the sites we visited,

whenever we sat and had to wait in a hotel lobby,

or after dinner when we were free to wander.

Do you think that today,

they even remember who won or lost those card games?

I have rich memories of seeing

wonderful and amazing things outside our bus windows,

conversations with other travelers while waiting,

and all that I noticed and experienced

when free to walk and wander the city a night.

I didn’t just go from destination to destination,

but intentionally, I savored and drank deeply

and experienced every bit of the journey all along the way.

I want to live out and experience my Advent like that,

for I want much more than just letting the season pass me by,

or to arrive at Christmas without having received

the full measure of blessings that God intends for me.

The prophet writing in Isaiah 51

is urging the people to do more than just pass through life.

This passage was written toward the end of the Babylonian exile,

and it points out, that for those who will bother to notice,

they will see and recognize that God is already at work.

The text is a hopeful and repeated call to pay attention

àcalling the reader to listen…, to look…, to lift up your eyes.

Be alert for the fulfillment of God promises and saving purpose.

As we read in vs. 4,5

Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me … I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope.

The message is about recognizing hope,

because God’s healing and salvation have already begun.

The 1^st Thessalonians passage we read

is also about recognizing the ongoing workings of the Lord.

The background is that Paul and Silas,

as missionaries proclaimed the Gospel among the Thessalonians.

But there had been fierce opposition, a riot ensued,

and after just three weeks they had to flee for their lives,

and left behind a fledging new church development.

Later on, Paul sent Timothy back to check on them,

who brought back encouraging and glowing reports

about their faithfulness and how well they were doing.

Paul was of course pleased and thankful to God

for having sustained them despite inadequate preparation.

The Apostle writes that he longs to be with them again,

and wants to fill in the holes of their Christian education,

with material there hadn’t been time to cover before…

… for Paul wanted them to be ready for when Christ comes again.

This is a joyful hope and celebration passage,

grateful that God is at work, is accomplishing among them,

and by staying on track, surely the best is yet to come.

Months ago,

when I read this text preparing for the sermon today,

I was struck by Paul’s grateful and hopeful language.

It faithfully expresses my sense of Advent this year,

gratitude and hope for all that God is doing among us

and accomplishing through the ministries of our church.

Both of the Bible passages we read today

are about recognizing God’s hopeful promises & assurances,

and though troubled, our world isn’t just stumbling along,

nor are is our world spinning wildly out of control…

… but rather, God does have a plan and purpose in place

and it is God’s desire to bless, to show mercy and compassion,

and God is present with us now fulfilling His word…

for the Creator of all things is also the Completer of all things.

Being faithful was not easy for the Thessalonian Christians,

for their struggle with persecution had been intense,

but clearly God was with them every step along the way.

In this text, Paul is urging them, to notice and be grateful,

for that would encourage and strengthen their faith,

which is a suitable benediction for us during Advent:

vs. 12-4:1

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.

So what does that mean for us during Advent?

I am pretty sure the world has long stopped listening or caring

when we rail & complain against misunderstanding of Christmas,

with its stress on gifts, parties, sentiment and consumerism…

… and if we do focus on this world’s confusion and failings,

that will detract from our joy & delight of Advent & Christmas.

I don’t want

to spend my Christmas angry and frustrated with the world,

and I don’t want the world to see that attitude in me,

for that certainly won’t attract anyone toward Christ.

So I am shifting my attention away from all that other stuff,

so I can look with gratitude to whatever goodness there is…

… for if we are attentive, there are countless examples and signs

of human lives being touched by God’s grace and compassion.

If we choose to see it, there is plenty of God’s good to be seen,

and the flow of God’s blessings to receive and celebrate.

This year, I am going to notice where I see that God is at work,

and I intend to practice

unrestrained gratitude and intentional joy,

- by keeping my focus on God-sightings…

… and each day during Advent I am going to ask,

where have I seen and recognized God’s gracious love?

Yes, absolutely there is much that this world gets wrong,

reason this seasonal for aggravation, frustration & stress,

but there are also wonderful and remarkable ways

that God’s compassion and mercy still gets through…

… flowing in its gracious abundance beyond all boundaries

overflowing in ways beyond us and out into this world…

…and isn’t that cause enough for grateful celebration?

When my parents took my sister, brother and I on a trip by car,

we always played travel games

of trying to spot certain things as we passed by.

We had Bingo-like game sheets where you could mark-off

specific items that you tried to spot along the way.

This year I am collecting an Advent list of God’s grace I see,

instances of God at work, signs of God active in our world.

Each day,

I am going to start with a prayer asking God to open my eyes,

and my heart to recognize signs that God puts before me.

And at the end of my day, go over that list.

I want to remember the love, mercy and grace I saw that day,

and thank God for where I saw his hand at work each day.

I intend to focus on

signs of God at work in my life and in my world day by day,

My Advent project for is to nurture and grow

a more thankful, joyful and hopeful heart this year.

Instead of hearing my criticism, griping or complaints,

I want others to see in me, the joy and peace of our Lord,

His love, forbearance and humble gentleness through me…

… while I try to see whatever it is that God is up to this year!

To put it simply, I intend to be a Christmas card this year;

a sparkling scene of Christmas joy and peace on the outside,

and a message of God’s grace and love on the inside…

… perhaps even Paul’s message to the Thessalonians, vs. 9

How can I thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that I feel before our God because of you?

Our Advent journey begins at the Lord’s banquet table of grace,

a sign that declares how very much God loves each one of us,

and calls us to proclaim His grace & presence to the world.