Weekly Seed of Faith 12/14/20

Seed of Faith – ADVENT LOVE IN LOST DREAMS   By Pastor Dave  
‘”But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'” Matthew 1:20

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

It is only a few weeks before we celebrate the birth of Christ.  Christmas!  Are you ready?  Are you ready for Christ to be born anew in your heart and home and in your holidays?

Last week, we started our Advent series. Advent means “coming” and, for sure, whether or not we are ready, Christmas is coming! There are four Sundays in Advent. Today is our second Advent message. We have two Sundays left in order for us to focus on preparing our hearts, our homes, our holidays for the celebration of Christmas! Our first Advent Sunday we heard about “Hope in Harrowing Times”. We talked about Zechariah and Elizabeth who had waited many years to have a child.  They were old, their hopes had been dashed and delayed. We learned that the Christmas story occurs after a 400-year silence from God; from Malachi to Matthew–silence! The people of Israel had been hoping and waiting for their Messiah for 400 years.  Their hope had been long delayed.  They are now being ruled in their own homeland by a Roman Emperor. Can we imagine that scenario?

Zechariah and Elizabeth, and the people of Israel, all understood having hope in harrowing times. Their story reminds me of our story today. I always ask you to put yourself into the story of the Bible. With COVID-19, I think we can all understand trying to keep our hope alive.

What about you?  Have you ever had your hope delayed? Have you ever had a day or two where you have lost hope in these harrowing times of Covid-19?  I know I have; my hope has been stretched to the limits this year with the death of mother-in-law, my brother, and my dad.  And besides all of this grief, there is just the plain grief of 2020/COVID-19. Church isn’t what it used to be. Everything had changed.  I think we are all aware of the sorrow we feel from of the loss of what we called “normal”.  I am sure we can all relate to having our hope delayed. I pray every day that we can find hope in these harrowing times. Thank God for Advent!

Thank God! We have lit the candle of HOPE—Heaven’s One Promise: Emmanuel.

Today we are going to study Joseph. We are going to see how God’s love endured for Joseph. Do you know that the definition of “endured” means “to suffer something painful or difficult patiently”?

Do you believe that God’s love will endure for you in this time of Covid-19 shutdown, lockdowns, quarantines, loss, illness and even death? Will your love endure as you suffer through this painful and difficult time?

Advent hope brings God’s enduring love; a love that will help us to suffer through this painful season, this difficult time, patiently. There is no other way. We have all been placed into this Covid-19 season and, with God’s love, we will endure. We may suffer but we will endure.

Think about Joseph for a minute!  What was going on in his mind?  He was at his father’s house preparing a place for his lovely bride.  He had been working, planning, and dreaming about his future and the life he and Mary would have together. What were his hopes and dreams? Was he thinking about how many children they would have?  Would they be boys, or would he have girls? Was he hoping to build up his father’s business so that they could have camels and lots of sheep?  Was Joseph dreaming of taking his family on yearly vacations to the Sea of Galilee?  Was he hoping and dreaming of bringing the family down to Jerusalem for the yearly festival of Passover?

Joseph was a happy man at this point in his life.  He was going to be married and his life was looking good. And then one day, it all came crashing down.  Mary was pregnant!  How could this be?  What would people think?  What would people say?  His beautiful bride-to-be was pregnant?  Mary told him about her encounter with the angel Gabriel and what the angel said: “Mary, you are highly favored.  The Lord is with you, Mary.  Do not be afraid—you are going to be with child!  Name him Jesus.  He will be called the Son of the Most High!  Nothing is impossible with God, Mary!” (Luke 1:30-32)

Does Joseph believe Mary?  No! His dreams were LOST!  His dreams are shattered!  His hopes are dashed! What happens next in this story?  Have you entered this story? Are you Joseph? Mary? The angel? Are you the parent of Joseph? Or the nosy next-door-neighbor?

The word states that Joseph was a “righteous man”; instead of making Mary’s pregnancy public and shaming her, Joseph decides “to dismiss her”.  The Greek word Matthew uses is ἀπολύω [apoluo /ap·ol·oo·o/] — “to set aside, to put away.” Joseph sets Mary aside.

Dismissing is the common word used in their culture for divorce.  Joseph did not want to disgrace Mary.  She could be stoned for being pregnant and not married.  Joseph loved Mary deeply, but he did not believe Mary’s story. He decided to set her aside, put her away, and dismiss her. And by now, he’s exhausted and goes to sleep!

Lost Dreams!  Dreams shattered.  Have you ever been there?  Are you there now?

So What?
How many of us feel like Joseph? Enter 2020. We started out our year believing that 2020 was going to be a year of perfect vision, you know—20/20! And…maybe, just maybe, 2020 is actually, in all reality, truly becoming a year of perfect vision to each one of us. I do not know about you, but I know that my focus is on my faith, my focus on God is the only thing that is helping me to patiently endure this season. Money cannot buy me out of this situation. The law cannot help me. Position or power—they cannot get me out of this, either. I have one thing that has come into perfect vision for me: my relationship with God.

Wonder if this is where Joseph found himself?

Have your dreams been lost?  Have your dreams been shattered? Maybe you have lost your dream home.  Maybe you cannot get ahead and stay ahead.  Maybe your health is an area of concern, especially right now with this pandemic. Maybe you have been dealing with depression or anxiety.  Maybe there is a relationship in your life that has been broken and you wonder if it will ever be repaired. Maybe your dream job has been eliminated and you are the one out looking for employment in a covid world.  We are living in a time when dreams are being shattered right and left—and if it is not your turn on the dream smasher/chopping block—then I bet that you know someone whose dreams are being smashed against the rocky cliffs of the storms of life as we share this devotional.

Joe does what any man would do. He decides a nap is in order.

Can you imagine what happened when Joseph woke up from his nap? Joseph had a dream. He heard from the Lord through an angel in a dream.  Did you notice what Joseph did in verse 24 of Matthew 1?

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  He had no union with her until she gave birth to a son…and Joseph named the baby– JESUS.

When Joseph woke up from his “pull the covers over my head and sleep the world away” dream…he got up and did EXACTLY what the angel told him to do.  He did not talk it over with his Dad, he did not ask his best friend for advice, he did not go to work and take a poll on what everyone thought he should do. He obeyed.  He went and took Mary as his wife.  Remember the home he built?  He went and got Mary and brought her new home to live with him. He did not care what others would say when they found out she was pregnant.  Joseph had been visited by an angel in a dream. “Mary, I love you. Come home with me.  Be my wife. I get it. An angel visited me, too. We’re naming our son Jesus!”   And…just like that Joseph was given a new dream and a new promise—”the baby is from the Holy Spirit and you shall name him Jesus and they shall call him EMMANUEL—God with us!”

The “so what” for us today is the exact same “so what” as it was for Joseph:

(Put your name here), it is going to be okay.  I know this is not what you had planned.  I know you do not have a clue why this is happening…but the baby’s name is Jesus — He will save you from your sins.  You shall call him EMMANUEL—GOD IS WITH YOU.  

If your dreams have been shattered or drastically altered, I want you to hear what the angel said, “EMMANUEL, GOD IS WITH YOU.  Do not be afraid—GOD IS WITH YOU.  God will reshape your shattered dreams.  Wake up and do what you know to do—because GOD IS WITH YOU.” 

GOD IS WITH US.

Say it out loud right now, “GOD IS WITH ME.  I MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS HAPPENING ON THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN BUT I TRUST THAT GOD IS WITH ME.”

This coming week, as you go about your life, look with Joseph eyes.  Wear the Joseph style sandals. Joseph did not get to live his well-planned-out-dreamlife, his dreams fell silently shattered on the dirt floor of his life…but because of a baby named JESUS–God reshaped Joseph’s dreams into more than Joseph could have asked or imagined. “How can the son of man be father to the son of God?” Look up that song, “JOSEPH’S SONG”. Give a listen. Put Joseph’s sandals on. Yes, dreams have been shattered. BUT GOD…EMMANUEL…is with us.

God’s enduring love had a plan from the very beginning of time. God’s enduring love had a plan for Joseph. God’s enduring love has a plan for you.

See You Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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Romans 11:25-32 God’s Irrevocable Covenant and Call

 

We have been studying Paul’s unfolding of the purposes of God in history, focusing on the nation of Israel, and we come in Romans 11:25-32 to the last of the seven points Paul is making. His theme here is the future conversion of the great mass of Israel in the final days. Clearly this section is the culmination of what Paul has been saying in chapters 9 through 11 of this letter.

He introduced his line of thought in verse 6 of Romans 9, wondering rhetorically if God’s purposes in history may have failed, since so many Jews, God’s specially chosen people, have rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Our earlier studies have shown that Paul denied this implication and has been giving reasons for an entirely different view, namely, that God is still in control of history. Therefore, all that has happened both in the rejection of Israel and the conversion of Gentiles has been according to God’s wise and perfect plan.

This brings us back to the specific mystery Paul is writing about here, namely, that the mass of Israel will be saved. Why is it a mystery? Obviously, because it is not something any of us would ever figure out by mere reason or deduce by observation. As far as we can see, Israel has been rejected permanently. We do not see even a glimmer of national restoration. But what we cannot see or deduce Paul declares by revelation to be a future fact: “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,” and then “all Israel will be saved” (vv. 25-26).

We come to the subject of God’s covenant in verse 27. A covenant is a solemn promise, usually ratified in some formal way. Strictly speaking, all covenants are unconditional from God’s point of view. God sets the terms, and the terms do not alter. They may be without condition: “I will do this, regardless of what you do.” They may have multiple responses, depending upon what human beings do: “If you obey, I will bless you; if you do not, I will judge you.” But what God promises to do is irrevocable from the start. Why? It is because God is God. He is sovereign in all He does, and He is faithful. He keeps His word. And also because He foresees or, which is a better way of saying it, determines all contingencies. We are not like that. We make promises and then are unable to keep them, because things happen that we could not foresee or because we change. But God does not change, and nothing surprises Him. His purposes at the end are exactly what they were at the beginning.

Anyone who has been studying Romans 11 carefully will be aware that verses 28-32 are a summary of what Paul has been at pains to prove earlier. The earlier teaching is summarized in verses 28-29: “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gift and His call are irrevocable.” But how can Paul say this? On what possible basis could Paul suppose that one day the Jews as a people would be saved? There is only one answer. It is the character of God. God is unchanging. Therefore, His plans for the Jews are unchanging, and His call, which puts His plan into action, is irrevocable. To put this in simple language: God chose the Jews to be His special people, and nothing that has happened since, or will happen, can change that choice or relationship.

In verses 30-32 the summation is repeated: (1) the disobedience of Israel had led to the showing of mercy to the Gentiles, and (2) the mercy shown to the Gentiles will in time lead to Israel’s blessing. Yet Paul is never merely repetitious, and what is new in this section is the emphasis on mercy. This means that here Paul’s summary is extending further back than over chapter 11 alone. It is going all the way back to chapter 9, where the mercy of God was carefully discussed (Rom. 9:14-16, 18).

But we have come a long way since Romans 9, haven’t we? There, Paul was explaining how mercy accounts for God’s saving some and not others. But here in Romans 11, he is thinking of mercy inclusively rather than exclusively. That is, having pursued to the end his teaching about God’s historical dealings with the Jewish people and having prophesied a time of future Jewish blessing, Paul observes that in this way God is showing mercy to all (Rom. 11:32).

That verse does not teach universal salvation, of course. If it did, it would be contradicting Romans 9. Paul is talking about Jews and Gentiles as groups of people, not as individuals. But he is nevertheless inclusive in his assessment of God’s mercy. Although neither Gentiles nor Jews deserve mercy, God is merciful to both. That’s the point; and it’s the important insight that leads Paul, the formerly self-righteous Jewish patriot and proud Pharisee to regard all human beings as equal before God. If you are prejudiced against other people in any way, if you think yourself to be superior to them for whatever reason, it is because you do not understand the nature of your sin or God’s grace.

If you have found mercy, you must make it widely known. We know that God has mercy on whom He wills to have mercy and compassion on whom He wills to have compassion. God is sovereign. But there is nothing in the Bible that hinders you from saying as clearly and as forcefully as you can that God’s very name is Mercy and that He will save all who come to Him for it. God has never turned a deaf ear to anyone who asked for mercy. He has never rejected any person who has believed on Christ Jesus. Do you believe that? Will you come? If you do, you will find God to be exactly what Paul declares Him to be in this passage: the God of mercy who saves many through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 11:25-32 Reflection Questions:

How can righteousness be attained? Who succeeds in being righteous? Who fails? Why?

How is God’s mercy showered on all in verses 25-32?