As a family, we have these different traditions, right? We have these different things that we do. One of those is this thing called a collection of talks. You've probably heard us say that multiple times, and you're probably going, a collection of talks? Like what? Well, think about it this way, right? A lot of people use the word series, but the thing with a series is, what do you do with a series? You binge it, and then what happens to it? You forget about it. It goes away, right?
Like it's somewhere back there, and maybe you'll find it if somebody, you know, you talk to somebody, and you see anything good, and you're like, I don't know, and you can't remember it. But the idea behind a collection is, a collection is something that it's impactful to you. It means something to you. And so a collection you keep, and a collection you display.
And so the hope is that as we go through these collection of talks, that some of those will be things that you collect, and you keep, and you use. And so it's just a way that we kind of put language to it. Right now we're in a collection on Advent, and you may be going, what is Advent, right? If you're like my kids, so my 13 and 11 year old, guess what they got? They got Advent calendars. And you may go, that's as far as my understanding of Advent goes, right?
Like the little calendars that you open, and there's chocolate inside. My kids got two each this year, and so they're like doubled up, and then they were behind, and the other day, my little one was sitting on the couch with me, and she's trying to figure out how many pieces of chocolate she can get that day, because hey, I'm behind, right? So how do I get extra today? And so, not maybe your understanding of Advent. You're like, that's as far as it goes.
What Advent is for the church is it's a time for us to slow down and remind ourselves of why we are celebrating this time of year. It can come really easy to be distracted. So what Advent does, it pulls us back why, so that when the 25th comes, and we go through all the celebrations of the 25th with our family and loved ones, and we get to the end of that day, we don't go, oh yeah, and Jesus. But instead we start the other way, right?
We start with, hey, it's all about Jesus, and that's why we get to do all of this. And if we're not careful, it can be really easy to miss what the season is, because I don't know how you feel, but December feels like a blur so far. And I don't want, for me personally, I don't want the 25th to be that. So what Advent does is it slows us down. It reminds us of things like the last few weeks. The idea that God, we started out a couple of weeks ago, right, like that God is happy to be with you.
That's the definition of joy. That what that's supposed to be designed to do is knowing that God's face is towards you, that he is happy to be with you, it creates joy in us, right, and it creates attachment to God. We talked about that week one. And then last week, Pastor Todd was here, and he's talking about peace. And he's going, hey, because Jesus is happy to be with you, then you can have peace, right?
Because he's happy to be with you, Jesus, who is our peace, who is the prince of inner fullness, can give you peace on the inside. And so the idea is that as we walk through this year, we're focusing on this idea that God is happy to be with me. I tried this out this week, you guys. I'm sitting at a stoplight, and you know, stoplight, there's nothing to do, right? You're just sitting there.
I go, wait a minute, you're happy to be with me, the God of the universe, right now, at a random stoplight in Prescott, you are happy to be with me on a mundane day in the week. And God's like, yep, I am happy to be with you. We just don't think of God that way. We think of God as distant. We think of God as he's out there, and maybe he's happy with us, maybe he's mad. And the whole point is just to pull it down and go, no, he is happy to be with you.
And today we're gonna lean into, he is happy to be with you, therefore you have hope. Therefore you have hope. And have you ever noticed, this time of year is just full of festivity, right? Like everywhere you go, you walk in a store, what do they got planned? Christmas music, right? Like everything is happy and kind of upbeat. They got decorations out. They want you to know it's Christmas, right? And then you go to your whatever coffee shop, and what are they doing?
They're giving you a cup that is decorated for Christmas, and they're going, hey, what drink do you want that reminds you of Christmas? And so, years ago we had somebody on staff and they're like, gingerbread latte is like Christmas in your mouth, right? Like so whatever that is for you, and it's this warm, like, oh, it's so good, it's Christmas, and everything is upbeat, and it's moving towards people showing up and celebration.
And yet, and yet, and yet, Christmas can be one of the most painful experiences. You know what I mean? Like when you sit around your table on Christmas day, and there's a seat that's empty, that's painful. Or you're in a season where everybody's telling you about all the stuff they're getting for their person and their people and their family, and you're going, we're actually in a season of scarcity. That's painful. That's painful.
Or you're in a moment where you didn't anticipate losing your job in the Christmas season. That's painful. Or you got relationships that just won't get right, and because it just won't get right, they're not going to be a part of your world this year. That's painful. That hurts. And in the midst of a season that is full of so much joy, and it should be full of so much joy, it can also be immensely painful. And inside of that, inside of that, is why Advent is so important.
And today is so important because it reminds us there is hope. There is hope. Now, what is hope? Because I think culturally, we confuse hope. Here's what I mean. We have the idea of hope being like a wish, but a wish and hope are very different. A wish is not based on anything. For example, I wish it would snow Christmas day. I have nothing to base that on. It's just a wish that I have. I wish that I would win the lottery. I have nothing to base that on. I just wish I would do it.
And some of you are like, well, you gotta buy a ticket. Okay, right? But I'm not basing on anything. I wish when I walk out there, there's a new car sitting out there, right? I don't have anything to base that on. Nobody's talking to me about a new car, but I wish it's there, right? A wish is not based on anything. Hope, on the other hand, is different. Hope has an object. Hope is based on something. Here's what I mean. Any Browns fans in the room? We've got one way at the back. Anybody else?
One and Elke on the online family. You are the only ones. Here's what I mean. Only ones, here's what's interesting about Browns fans. Okay, I'm talking about the Cleveland Browns football team just to give you context if you're not a sports person. Every year, this is what happens if you are a Browns fan. There is something called the draft. And at the draft, the Browns will get a really good pick every time. And there's a reason for that. Not sure what it is. But they get a pick, right?
And every year, kid you not, oh, this is our year, bro. Really? Yeah, this is our year. Why? We drafted this person. Hope, hope has an object. They're going to the Super Bowl. Why? Their hope is the Super Bowl. Why? Because we got that draft pick. Our hope, our hope, our hope in this season is not a wish. Our hope is based on a person. The object of our hope is the person of Jesus. That's what we're reminding ourselves. Wait, wait, wait, who is this Jesus?
He's the God who is happy to be with you right now. He is happy to be with you. And therefore you have hope. Here's what I mean. There's some stories that kind of highlight this. The first one is out of the Christmas narrative in Luke chapter one. It says this in verse 26. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
The angel went to her and said, greetings, greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. Okay, jump back a couple of weeks ago. What did we learn about the Lord being with us? That is him telling us he is happy to be with you. So what do you get with Mary right here in the outset? Hey, you are highly favored. That language of highly favored is that God's face is on you. You have the grace and favor of God, right? So God is, his face is towards you and Mary, he is with you.
He is happy to be with you, Mary. Verse 29, Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor. You have found favor with God. What does he reiterate? God's face is towards you. He is on your side. He is happy to be with you, Mary. You will conceive and give birth to a son and you will call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin. The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the most high will overshadow you. So the Holy one to be born will be called the son of God.
Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail. Some of you need to circle that, highlight that, put it on your fridge, remind yourself daily, no word from the Lord, no word from God will ever fail. I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May your word to me be fulfilled, then the angel left her.
Okay, so context of the story, Mary at this point is probably a middle schooler at best, right? We think right around the age of 12, 13 years old. And so you have a middle schooler who is betrothed, because culturally this is how it works, she's betrothed. She is engaged to a man named Joseph. Now where is Joseph? Joseph has come, he's done what's needed to with the whole betrothal, he's gone back now, and he is preparing a place for his bride.
When he has prepared his place at his father's house, he will come back and now get his bride. There's a whole picture of scripture there that we'll talk about another time. She is waiting, so she has decided her future. She knows her future is with Joseph, and when he comes back to get her, they are gonna go and they're gonna have a wedding ceremony, and then they're gonna begin this life together, right?
There's gonna be everything that she'd hoped and imagined that she would have within that culture. She's expecting to be able to have babies, and she's gonna grow old with Joseph and have all of her kids around all that. She has a life direction. She knows where life's going. She knows what her future looks like. And it's in the midst of that that an angel out of nowhere shows up and goes, hey, Mary, you know that future you thought you had? Surprise, right?
And now what happens, now what happens is Mary's whole moment, we think of this moment as one of those like it's this holy moment. Can you imagine what is happening inside of her? My whole direction and future just changed. But notice, notice what happens to her. She ends up saying, I am your servant. May your word be as it said. How did she get there? Well, there's this little phrase, I am with you. God declared to her what? I am happy to be with you, my Lord. I am happy to be with you.
Therefore, Mary has hope in God's future for her, not what she's holding onto. How does she release her future to God? She releases it by knowing what? You are God and you are happy to be with me and your favor is upon me, which in this culture, in this context, that's a really huge deal that God's face would be towards you. That God is happy to be with her, therefore what? I can trust you with my life direction and my future. I can trust you, why?
Because you're happy to be with me and no matter where I go, even on a mundane stoplight, on whatever day it was, in Prescott, you are with me, you are happy to be with me and my future is secure in you. You see, what happens is, if we're not careful, the opposite version of this story is Mary goes, actually, that doesn't fit into my plans, God. Actually, I don't know if I trust that. What's gonna happen to me when people find out I'm pregnant and I'm not married? Like my life could be at stake.
She doesn't know how this all works out. She doesn't know the future that we know because we have the rest of the story. For her, she's in a real time moment going, this could cost me my life, but I have hope. How does she have hope? Because of the God who is happy to be with her. You realize that's the same God that's happy to be with you and you can trust him with your direction and your future. There's another story.
John chapter two, if you've been around church, you're familiar with it, but John chapter two, verse one says, on the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, they have no more wine, woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you to do.
So the context of this story, right? There's a wedding happening. And at a wedding in those days, it was the job of the host, the people putting it on, to have enough wine, to have enough food and enough provisions for everybody that had been invited. If you ran out, it was shameful to you. It was a disappointment. It was your family would be looked down upon. So in this moment, what you have is you have an issue of provision. And in this moment, you have Jesus' mother, and what does she do?
She's like, wait, wait, wait, wait. I know who's at this wedding. I know who's happy to be here. How do we know that Jesus is happy to be there? Because he was invited. The disciples didn't drag him in like, come on, Jesus, we're going to a wedding, right? Like, come party with us. Jesus is invited, and it says that he is there, which means that when you accept an invitation, I am happy to be with the people that I'm with in whatever the invitation is towards.
Jesus is declaring by his presence, I am happy to be at a wedding, where yes, there is dancing. For some of you, you're like, wait, Jesus went to a dance? Sure did. I think he broke it down, personally. Wait, there was wine? It sure was. And I believe Jesus had a glass. I didn't say two. Just kidding. Corny church jokes, David, corny church jokes. Jesus is happy to be at the wedding. And Mary, the mother of Jesus, knows he's here. Therefore, in the lack of provision, I can have hope.
So what does she do? She goes to the servants. Hey, you guys, whatever he tells you to do, do. Notice what she didn't do. Hey, you guys, I want you to get six jars of water. Actually, let's just make it three. We'll make it easy on him. And she goes, I'm going to go get six jars of water. Let's just make it three, we'll make it easy on him. She doesn't hope, hope in this moment. She knows Jesus is there. He's happy to be with them, right?
She knows that she has hope in what he can do because he is there. But what does hope do, right? Because hope, if you want a definition of hope, hope is confident expectation. But confident expectation is not setting the outcome. And a lot of times what happens when we are hopeful is we're not hopeful, we're making demands, right? Okay, God, I hope that my future is this. I hope that this happens.
I hope, and then what happens is because we're hoping in an outcome and not a person, when that doesn't happen, we get disappointed, and we turn around and go, where were you, Jesus? She doesn't do that. She goes, hey, he's here, he's happy to be here. We have hope because he's here. And so in the midst of that, she goes, hey, whatever he tells you to do, just do it. And what does Jesus do? Oh, he doesn't do one jar, he does six.
And they fill them to the brim, and when they taste the wine, they go, this is the best stuff we've ever had. Why? Because Jesus was happy to be there, his mama had hope in what? In his provision. I don't know where you're at in provision. I don't know what your needs are. But whatever situation you are in, I do know this, that he is happy to be with you in that situation. He has not abandoned you. Sometimes in church world, we can get weird, right?
Like that if you're having financial issues and God is mad at you, God is not mad at you, he is for you. This whole story declares how much God is for you and wants to walk alongside you and be in relationship with you, even in the midst of the lack of provision. As in that story, in Luke, if you were here last week, you heard Pastor Todd talk about it. But in 22, it says this, one day, Jesus said to his disciples, let us go over to the other side of the lake.
So they got into the boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. I love that this story is captured by other authors, other eyewitnesses, and one of them says this, that he fell asleep on a cushion. And here's what I love about it. I think he brought the cushion, right? We often think of Jesus like, oh, he must have roughed it. No, he had a cushion that I think he brought. That's all I'm saying. And then I just gave you biblical reasoning of why naps are spiritual, okay?
So those of you that love your naps, you just got biblical backing for when you get grief. So you can take a nap. A squall came down on the lake so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him saying, Master, Master, we're going to drown. You ever wonder? I don't know how you are as a nap person, this is a total side note. Don't know why I'm saying this, but here we go. You ever take a nap?
I'm not a nap person, meaning if I go over 20 minutes, when I wake up, it takes me like 45 to even come around and recognize what state I'm in. I wonder what Jesus like, was this like groggy Jesus getting up? You know what I mean? Like, what kind of nap person was Jesus? Master, Master, we're going to drown. Welcome to how I read the Bible. Sorry. He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters. The storm subsided and all was calm. Where is your faith?
He asked his disciples in fear and amazement, they asked one another, who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him. If you were here last week, you heard Pastor Todd, as he talked about this idea that they were experienced fishermen, right? Like they've been on the water how many times? They understood how the water worked. They understood how in that area, the storms came in quickly.
And so for experienced fishermen, how fast did the storm move that all of a sudden it went from, hey, everything's good. Everything's calm to, I think we're going to drown. I don't know if we make it out of this. All right, there's these experienced fishermen that understand the danger that they were in. And in the midst of that danger, I want you to see something. I don't think they picked Jesus up, threw him over their shoulder and said, hey, we're going in the boat, right?
I think Jesus walked onto the boat with his cushion. Another author captures it. He goes, hey, is Jesus, Jesus came along just as he was. What was Jesus? He was tired. He'd done a whole day of ministry. He was exhausted. He gets in the boat, the nap is proof of his exhaustion. But what? He is happy to be. He steps on the boat willfully with who? With his friends and his family, his disciples. And he is happy to be with them in the boat. And you know what?
When he woke up, he was happy to be with them where? In the storm. You see, sometimes I think we think that Jesus is running out of our storm. But notice what the disciples do. The disciples are in the midst of, oh, we're going to die. We're not going to make it. Where do they go? Their hope is in what? Jesus, God, who is happy to be with them. Therefore, they have hope in their storm. Can I tell you today that Jesus has not abandoned your boat in the storm? He's in the storm with you today.
And guess what? He's not there begrudgingly like, oh, came along because you hauled me with you. He's there happily in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the pain, in the midst of the suffering, in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the out of control, in the midst of, I don't know how this turns out. He is in the midst of it with you. And he is happy to be with you. Therefore, you have hope because Jesus is with you in the storm.
That's what Christmas tells us, is he is happy to be with us. This idea of suffering, this idea of pain, affliction. Romans picks up on it, it says this in verse one. Therefore, since we have been justified, okay, that means to be set right, right? We've been set right with God through faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. If you were here last week, that's everything Todd was talking about. We have peace with God, why? Because of the God who is happy to be with me.
Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast, that word boast, that word boast is to rejoice. What are we rejoicing in? We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. So we rejoice in everything that God is. Then it carries on. Not only so, but we also glory in the hope but we also glory, that word glory is also rejoice. Right, we rejoice in our what? Suffering. That is the opposite message of everything you get in life.
Everything in life is like, hey, how to take that out of your life to make your life better. Right, like how to do this, it'll make that better. Right, like how to, everything is about, how do we get rid of everything that's hard and difficult and painful? That word suffering right here, the word suffering is real hardship. The word suffering is affliction, difficulty. Wait, we rejoice? I'm supposed to rejoice in things being hard and difficult? Yeah. Well, that's the opposite. Why?
Because we know that suffering, hardship, affliction, pain produces perseverance. And perseverance, character. And character, what's the last one? Hope, a confident expectation. Where is a confident expectation in the God of the heavens? How is that built? Through suffering, through pain, through hardship, through difficulty. Through difficulty, what is being built in me that my expectation of God would actually grow?
That I would be more confident in God because of what I'm going through than I would have been without it. And why can I be confident? Why can I have hope? Why? Because the God, the God who is happy to be with me is in the pain, in the suffering with me. He has not abandoned me. He is not ashamed. It's this idea that within our suffering, what is God building? Endurance. He's changing you, your character. You'll have character that you did not have before.
You talk to anybody who's been through something with Jesus, they'll tell you how much they grew in that season. They'll tell you how much they changed in that season. They'll tell you how much more confident they are in the God who is happy to be. And what do we do? We go, no, no, no, no. I gotta get rid of suffering. I gotta get rid of hardship. Why? Because I'm not confident. Because it's uncomfortable and I don't like it.
And God goes, what if that's the very thing that's gonna build your hope in me? Why? What else? Verse five. And hope does not put us to shame. You know what that word shame is? Disappoint. Hope, confident expectation, and Jesus who is happy to be with you does not disappoint. It does not disappoint. Why? Because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
You step back in when Jesus was talking to the disciples before he went to the cross, guess what he tells them? Hey, this is great. I'm face to face with you, but I gotta go away. I gotta go away so that it can get better. And can you imagine being one of the disciples, you're face to face with Jesus and he goes, hey, it's gonna get better if I leave. You're like, I don't think so. And what he's getting at is he then says that the Holy Spirit needs to come.
God himself in spirit form needs to come. Why? Because Jesus was locked to one place with one person at one time. So if you were in suffering in a boat, he could be with you, but he couldn't be with me. And so what happens is, he says, I gotta go so the Holy Spirit can come. What happens when the Holy Spirit comes?
He indwells those who believe, those that have said yes to Jesus, stepped into relationship, the Holy Spirit, and dwells them, God is so happy to be with you that he lives on the inside of you. That's how much he longs to be with you. And what does it say that the Holy Spirit's doing? He's pouring out his love where? In the core of who you are, so that you can have confident expectation in whatever you face. You can have hope. Why?
Because the God who is happy to be with me in the form of the Holy Spirit has never left me, right? And because of that, what? I can have hope. I can have hope. And we stand in a weird spot, right? Because Advent is about the arrival of. But we stand in a weird spot. Because we stand and we look back to a manger that God showed up in in person as a baby. And as that baby grew, he went to a cross where he declares his love for you.
And then he went to a tomb where he conquered death once and for all. Right? We stand here today with everything we face and we know all of that is true. You know what all of that is supposed to do for you in the present? Is energize your hope. Because all of that tells you how much he was willing to go through to be with you in what you are in. And then guess what? You stand here knowing that God is with you. Knowing what the end is.
You know the future where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more death, no more mourning. Right? There will be nothing that we experience here in regards to the suffering there. So we know standing here that we are ready for what is there. And we have hope that even if it doesn't change here, it will change there. I don't know. I used to hear old people say this. They used to go, oh, I got a favorite Psalm. I was like, ah, what is it?
And they would say, Psalm 23. I'd be like, that's so cliche. You know what one of my favorite Psalms is? Psalm 23. Talks about God being our shepherd, right? The one that cares for us. The God who is happy to be with me is with me, therefore I lack nothing. I lack nothing. And verse four, it says this, even though I walk, even though I live, even though I'm going through the darkest valley. Yeah, some translations say the shadow of death. I will fear no evil for you are what?
With me, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I can walk through the darkest valley. The shadow of death is upon me. I may not make it out alive, but I am not scared. I am not living in fear of everything around me. Why? Because he is happy to be with me. Therefore I have hope in the outcome. See how that works, right? What he's saying is I'm not living in fear. You know what fear is? Fear is the opposite of hope because fear focuses on me.
Fear focuses on all the things that I'm trying to control, all the things I'm trying to do. And hope says, no, my hope is in an object and it's not me. It is the God who is happy to be with me. And then in that, he then says your rod and your staff. These were tools of a shepherd, protection and provision. They guided, they protected when needed, and they also guided what, to where health and where the sheep could flourish. He goes, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Even in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death. Your provision and your protection leads me. You guys, this is great. We get to walk through the Bible. We get to understand hope, but can I be honest with you? I don't want this to just be a church thing. And here's what I mean. I came across a term recently, positive toxicity or toxic positivity is probably a better way to say it. And I feel like I grew up with that. Here's what I mean.
When it came to real things of life, when it came to real struggles, when it came to suffering and trials and afflictions and pain and difficulty, here's a verse. I'm not saying we shouldn't give verses to people, but it was like, here's a verse. I don't wanna talk about that. I don't wanna know about that. You need to get over that. Or a really quick Christianese, saying was made. And I just wanna encourage us. Can we please be real?
And what I mean by real is this, that if God has you in the midst of suffering, he has you in the midst of suffering. And that's okay, because he is in it with you. And while we pray and we hope, and while we pray and we hope that it turns out the way that we hope, we trust the God who is in control. Here's what I mean, right? Like you hear this and you go, okay, John, like I'm hopeful, but I feel like it's disappointing me. I shared with you a couple of times now.
Watching my wife go through what she's going through, I said it was six years, I think last time I shared the story, I got home, she told me it's actually nine, going on 10. And I'll tell you that I have prayed specifically and hoped and hoped and hoped. But the hope isn't in the outcome. The hope is in the person. The hope is in this Jesus who is in the midst that is happy to be with her in the struggle, happy to be with me in the struggle. And I can pray and I can have hope with confidence.
You know why? Not in the outcome of this life, but in the outcome of the person of who Jesus is, that he is the one who restores all things and makes all things new. So no matter what in this life, my hope is in that he is in it with us and that he will carry us and that he will sustain us and that he will use it and hope that he will be with us and hope will be built and we will be more confident and have a greater expectation of God because of what we are in.
Don't get me wrong, if God healed her right now in this service, I'll do back flips and I can't even do them. But don't miss, don't miss that our confident expectation is not in the Jesus of now, it's in the Jesus of all eternity. And she will be healed. And she will be healed. And whatever, whatever, whatever you are walking through, there is hope. Why? Because Jesus is happy to be with you in it. You talk to my wife, the greatest thing I've seen is her faith in this whole thing.
She is a different woman in how she trusts God. If you would have told me that to start, I wouldn't have believed you. What are you trusting in today? What is your hope in today? Because it needs an object. What are you resting on in the midst of where God's got you? Would you pray with me, God, we're so grateful today. We're grateful that you are the God who is all powerful and who is the one who is powerful, powerful enough to create everything that we see.
You are the God who is self-sufficient. You don't need anything. You're not lacking anything. God, we trust you today. God, we choose to make you our firm foundation today. Even in the midst of times in life where things seem painful and unsettled, God, we place our hope, our foundation is in you, the God who is happy to be with us. Would we build our life on the foundation of you and you alone? Would our hope, would you be the object of our hope?
And Jesus, would you remind us that you are happy to be today, right here, right now with us? We are grateful when everybody said, amen.