God with the Faithful

 

When I was in High School, several of the people in my home church thought I would end up being a pastor.  They knew my Dad was a pastor and the chaplain at a local hospital, and they knew I loved the church and was very active in it.  Many people were convinced I would end up serving in the local church, but I consistently said no.  

When I was in college, many of my friends said I would end up in the local church as a pastor.  Again, I said no.  I actually said, never, which made them laugh because they said we should never say never to God.  I finally ended up going to seminary and for the first year and a half I continued to say no to the local church.  I then spent some time in a wonderful church as an associate pastor and realized that God had actually made me for this.  

It took years for me to finally say yes to God’s will and God’s plan and through all of those years, God was there.  God didn’t give up on me or turn his back and walk away when I said no, God continued to be with me and led me to a place where I could fully say yes.  When I finally did say yes, it was an uncertain time as I didn’t know where I would end up or if I could really do the job, all I knew was that God was with me.   

Today we are going to look at the story of a young girl who didn’t need years to say yes to God.  In fact, even though she had doubts and fears and questions about what God was asking of her, she said yes to God’s plan quickly.  Her name was Mary.  Luke 1:26-38

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, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

The Elizabeth that is mentioned here is the wife of Zechariah that we talked about last week.  Elizabeth and Mary were cousins and it was in the 6th month of Elizabeth’s unexpected and miraculous pregnancy that the angel came to tell Mary that she was highly favored by God.  While Elizabeth and Zechariah had felt forgotten for most of their life because they had never had a child, Mary was young and at the beginning of her life.  Mary was also faithful, the angel said that she was favored by God.  God saw her faithfulness and was with her.  So God is with the forgotten and God is with the faithful.  God sees Mary’s faithfulness and God is not only with her but God has a BIG plan for her life. 

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 with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to 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.”

God has chosen Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. This is a huge blessing and honor.  Young girls at this time dreamed of being the mother of the Messiah.  Many of them prayed for this honor and blessing, but Mary is confused because as faithful as she is, she doesn’t understand how this can happen as she is a virgin and not married.  

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

I can hear Mary saying to the angel, “While God’s plan is wonderful, it does seem that the timing is all wrong.  Maybe if God comes back next year when I’m married and things are settled down it would make more sense.  Right now just isn't the right time.  What will Joseph say?  What will the people say?  How would it even be possible?”  As faithful as she was, Mary had some doubts and questions. She has some fear about what God is asking of her.  God’s response to all this isn’t to abandon Mary, but to encourage her and offer some more information and assurance.  

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.”

The angel tells Mary that this is going to happen by the power of God and before Mary has a chance to say it can’t happen, he reminds Mary that her cousin Elizabeth who everyone thought could never have a child was already in the 6th month of her own miraculous pregnancy.  What everyone said was impossible had taken place and if God could do that, then God could do this.    

Not only does pointing out Elizabeth’s situation assure Mary that this pregnancy can happen, it also lets Mary know that she will not be alone in what she will go through.  If she says yes to God’s plan, there will be someone she knows and loves who will understand her situation and can help her through it.  I love the reassuring nature of God’s call in our lives.  God never calls us to step out and say yes without giving us both the assurance that it can happen and the support we need if and when we say yes.  

And this is the point Mary is at, will she say yes?  Will she lean into her faith or give in to her fear?  Mary remains faithful and says, yes.  

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary is the picture of faithfulness.  She has doubts and fears about her future and what will happen and how God will accomplish these things in her life, but she doesn’t give in to that fear.  Mary steps out in faith.  She doesn’t know how Joseph will respond and if he will still take her as his wife, but she trusts God to be with her through the uncertainty.  She doesn’t see the path clearly in front of her, she doesn’t know how this story will unfold, but she says yes because she trusts that God will be with her.  

That’s really what being faithful is all about; saying yes to God in the face of fear and doubt and uncertainty because we know that God is with us.  Faithfulness is walking into the purpose and plan God has for us even when the road ahead is not clear and our questions go unanswered.  Saying yes to God really is a journey of faith.  It’s trusting God each step of the way as life unfolds.  

After I said yes, I had an uncertain road ahead as I started the process of being licensed as a pastor.  I had to figure out what Annual Conference I would serve in and I wasn’t sure where to go.  Step by step God led me to PA and finally to Altoona.  Even after I arrived and started serving, I was unsure, uncertain, and questioned God’s will for my life.  In fact, in 30 years of ministry I have continued to have doubts and fears and uncertainty but have trusted that God would lead me step by step as I continued to say, I am your servant God.  Let your word and your plan for me be fulfilled.  And in 30 years, God has never let me down.  

Many of us hear God’s call to do something that might seem big for us and we come to a place where we need to say yes or no.  Will we step out in faith or give in to fear?  If we know God is with us and that God loves us, then fear has no place in our hearts and lives.  The Bible says, perfect love casts out fear and that perfect love isn’t our love for God, it’s God’s love for us.  We might never get to a place of perfect love for God but if we know God loves us, that we are highly favored, and that God is calling us, then in confidence we can say yes and take that first step forward.  

I am grateful and excited for all the people here who have said yes to God and stepped out in faith to explore starting a fresh expression.  A fresh expression is one way we are seeking to be the church in the community and developing worshiping congregations for people who might never enter the church to worship with us.  As we have lifted up this vision of being the church, 26 people said they heard God calling them to think about and they have said yes and are now growing and learning together. 

Like Mary, they have questions about how this is going to work and they are uncertain about the future and what the road will look like, but I thank God they didn’t give in to fear and instead said yes and are allowing God to work in them and through them.  One woman has already invited her neighbors into her home for dessert and some discussion about the Bible and many of them accepted.  When we say yes to God, all kinds of things are possible.  

I see those who are stepping out to explore and start fresh expressions like Mary.  God is working in them to create a time and place where Jesus can be shared and lives changed.  But Mary didn’t go through this alone.  Not only was God with her but so was Elizabeth.  The very first thing we see Mary doing after saying yes to God is going to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  Luke 1:39-45

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

This encounter assured Mary that what was taking place in her was from God, and it also gave her someone to encourage her and walk alongside her through the difficult and uncertain days to come.  Everyone who says yes to God needs this kind of encouragement.  Everyone needs an Elizabeth in their lives to assure them that God is working in their lives and that He will be with them through the difficult and uncertain times.  

Each of those exploring Fresh Expressions needs an Elizabeth, someone who will support them, listen to them, and walk alongside them.  Fresh Expressions as part of our church life isn’t just for those who hear God calling them to step out and lead one, it also involves those who will step out in faith with them.  If you are interested in being an Elizabeth to one of our Mary’s, a supporter of someone who is exploring starting a fresh expression, please reach out and let Pastor David know.  Don’t be afraid to say yes.  Trust God and step out in faith.  

Another ministry that needs people willing to be a support and encouragement to others is Bridge of Hope.  Bridge of Hope works with single mothers who struggle with homelessness, but they don’t just give them money for rent.  In fact, the money is the lesser of the two gifts, the real gift they give is support, acceptance, and community.  Through what are called Neighboring Volunteers, a group of faith-filled people walk with these single mothers and their children to help them get to a better place in life.  

In many ways the Neighboring Volunteers are like Elizabeth.  They offer assurance that God is doing a good work in their lives and they help these mothers face a challenging and uncertain future.  While we are financially supporting Bridge of Hope with our Christmas Offering this year, I also hope that we can support them with 6-10 people who are willing to say yes to being a Neighboring Volunteer.  Let me share with you a video of Tirzah Gibboney talking about the importance of this part of Bridge of Hope’s ministry.

Neighboring Volunteers make a difference.  They help change people’s lives.  Maybe that is the call God has for you.  Maybe it’s to support someone with a passion for starting a fresh expression, maybe there is something more or something greater or something different, but if God is calling you, don’t give in to fear.  Trust God’s perfect love for you which can cast out all fear, and say yes to God.  You are the faithful one, the favored one, and God is calling you.  If you take this step of faith, God will be there.  God is always there because His name is Emmanuel - God with us.  

Next Steps

God With Us - The Faithful

Read the story of Mary.  Luke 1:26-45

● Identify the doubt, fear, and uncertainty Mary experienced in this call of God.

● When have you felt some of these same things when God has called you to step out in faith?

● How does God give reassurance and support to Mary?

What call are you hearing from God?

What doubt, fear, and uncertainty do you feel in this call?

How can God’s perfect love cast out fear and help you step out in faith?

Mary found assurance and encouragement from Elizabeth. 

Who can you support and encourage as they step out and follow God’s call in their lives?

Fresh Expressions form when mutual interests or current needs meet hearts that are open to sharing Jesus.  

26 people from Faith Church are saying yes to God and exploring if leading a fresh expression is part of God’s call in their life.  These people need prayer and encouragement.  If you would like to support these people who have said yes and stepped out in faith, please contact Pastor David at: david.carter@bellefontefaith.com

Bridge of Hope helps provide resources for single mothers experiencing homelessness.  You can support Bridge of Hope through this year’s Christmas Offering, but you can also become a Neighboring Volunteer and support families as they seek to find God’s plan for their lives.  To learn more about Neighboring Volunteers, please contact Tirzah Gibboney at: tirzah.boh@gmail.com

God with the forgotten

 

It’s easy to look around today and think that God has forgotten us.  Not only do we see conflict in Israel and Gaza, but there is the ongoing war in Ukraine, and then there is the war no one is talking about in Sudan where during the past 6 months 9,000 people have been killed and another 5.6 million people have been forced from their homes.  In a season when angels sing about peace on earth, good will toward men, we don’t see a lot of peace or good will and we begin to wonder if God has forgotten us.  

Or maybe you are looking at your home and family and wondering if God has forgotten you.  When prayers for healing, jobs, financial stability and improved relationships don’t seem to be answered, we might wonder if God hears us or if God cares.  Has God forgotten us?  Will God ever respond to us?  Will God provide for us?  I don’t know if you have ever been in that place of unanswered prayer, or if you are there now, but many people have felt forgotten by God and it causes them to doubt God’s presence, God’s power and God’s desire to speak to us.   

This place of darkness and feeling forgotten by God is where the Christmas story begins.  The prophet Malachi, which is the last book of the Old Testament, is considered the last prophet to speak to God’s people.  Malachi served as a prophet about 440 BC, so before the birth of Jesus, there were about 400 years when God had not spoken to His people.  During these centuries, Israel had gone through a period of being ruled over by the Greeks, the Syrians, the Egyptians, and finally the Romans and during all those difficult and dark days, God was silent and the people felt forgotten.

While God hadn’t spoken through a prophet, the people remained faithful and continued to worship.  As difficult as it was for them, the people of Israel continued to worship God in the temple and offer the sacrifices and offerings God had laid out for them.  The ancestors of Aaron continued to be the ones who offered up the prayers and sacrifices for the people, and each year a group of them would go to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Each man had to go once a year and at each gathering they would draw lots to see who would get the honor of going into the Holy of Holies to pray for the people.  

Since that honor was done by lot, a man could go his entire life without ever being chosen.  No man could go more than once in his lifetime, but with so many men in each division, you could go your entire life and never be chosen to enter the holiest place in the Temple to pray.  Can you imagine if that was you?  Every year you make the journey to Jerusalem with the hope that this will be the year you get to go in and pray in the presence of God, but each year the honor goes to someone else.  Each year you pray it will be your turn, but it never happens.  You see everyone else get honored and chosen but it’s never you. You begin to feel like God has forgotten you.

That was Zechariah.  He was a descendant of Aaron who throughout his long life went every year to Jerusalem to help offer prayers and sacrifices, but he was never chosen to go into the Holy of Holies. And it is with Zechariah that the story of Jesus begins.  The story of Jesus’ birth doesn’t begin with Mary or Joseph, the story of Jesus begins with Zechariah.  Luke 1:5-7

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.  

Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, when Israel was ruled by the Romans.  God had not delivered His people from the oppression of foreign nations  and God had not spoken to His people for  400 years about the coming of a Messiah who would set them free or when that might happen.  The people were feeling forgotten.  

And Zechariah, a very old man, had been faithful his entire life.  It says he had observed all of God’s laws and was blameless before God but he had never been chosen by God to pray in the Holy of Holies.  Each year he went with his group to pray at the Temple in Jerusalem, and each year he came home disappointed.  God looked favorably on others but had forgotten him.  

Not only does Zechariah feel forgotten by God because he had never been chosen to pray, but both he and Elizabeth felt forgotten by God because they have never had any children.  Children were a sign of God’s blessing.  If you had a child you were loved and favored by God.  If you had a child, God was looking down on you and He remembered you.  Throughout their long lives, Zechariah and Elizabeth would have both prayed fervently for a child, but God never provided.  God was silent.  God had forgotten them.  

So the story of Jesus begins with a man who feels completely forgotten by God.  God hadn’t spoken to Zechariah’s people for 400 years.  God hadn’t chosen Zechariah to be the one to pray and offer sacrifices in the Temple, and God hadn’t heard Zechariah’s personal prayers, and his wife’s prayers, for a child.  Zechariah must have felt like, three strikes and I’m out.  God has truly forgotten me.  

If that is how you are feeling today, forgotten by God, then you are in good company, and it is here that the story of Jesus can begin in your own life because this is where it all changed for Zechariah.  

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.  Luke 1:8-10

Finally, after a lifetime of waiting, Zechariah had been chosen to offer prayers on behalf of the people.  Zechariah was going to have his chance to go before God and pray.  He was going to pray for God’s deliverance to come.  He was going to pray for God to speak to His people, and maybe Zechariah would have the opportunity to ask God why he and Elizabeth had never had a child.  It was finally his time to pray. Zechariah entered into the Holy of Holies to pray.    

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,  for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.  Luke 1:11-15

Through an angel, God was finally speaking and God spoke directly to Zechariah and assured him that he personally had not been forgotten but that after a lifetime of prayers for a son God had heard him and God was now answering him.  He and Elizabeth were not forgotten and would be blessed with a son, but the angel wasn’t done.

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Luke 1:16-17

What the angel was saying is that their child was going to have the power of the prophets on him and that he would be the one to prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah.  God had not forgotten His people.  Not only was a prophet coming to speak God’s word, but the long-awaited Messiah was coming as well.  Into 400 years of silent darkness, a spark of hope was coming.  It’s the one candle shining in the darkness.  God had not forgotten His people, in fact, God was coming to be with His people.

At a moment when Zechariah felt the most forgotten by God because his people had not heard from God, he had never been chosen to enter God’s presence to pray, and he and his wife had never been blessed with a child, God showed up and said I am with you Zechariah, and I am with my people.  You are not forgotten.   

And YOU are not forgotten.  At those moments when we feel most forgotten by God because our prayers haven’t been answered, or our life hasn’t turned out the way we thought it would or we wanted it to, or if we are just feeling far from God, we need to remember that we are not forgotten.  One of the promises God has made to us is that He cannot forget us.  God said this through the prophet Isaiah.  “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”   Isaiah 49:15-16a

I will not forget you.  I have you engraved on my hands.  I see your heart and life every day.  I know the hairs on your head.  Jesus said that two sparrows are sold for a penny and yet if one of them falls to the ground, God knows about it.  You are more valuable than half a penny, Jesus said, so God is fully aware of your life.  In fact, God knows the number of hairs on your head.   

God has not forgotten us and God has not forgotten His promise to be with us.  God hasn’t forgotten His promise to provide for us and care for us, and God hasn’t forgotten his promise to love us and forgive us. We might feel forgotten by God, but we are not.  Today and through this Advent Season we celebrate Emmanuel - which literally means, God with us.  While it’s easy to feel the darkness set in around us, today we remember that God’s light has come and the darkness can never overcome it.   

Not only is God with us, but God desires to speak to us.  While God used to only speak to His people through prophets, today God can speak to our very hearts through the Holy Spirit.  If we think God is silent and has forgotten us, maybe it’s because we aren’t taking the time to listen.  How can we learn to listen to God?  In this incredibly busy season, how can we slow down so we can hear God’s voice?  How can we “be still” and know that God is with us?  

I know that this is a busy season for everyone.  There are parties at work and among friends.  There are gifts to buy and wrap and mail.  There are cookies to make and trees to decorate, and even at the church there are extra jobs to do and concerts and programs to attend.  In the midst of this busy season, how can we intentionally be still and listen for the voice of God?  

One way we can do this is to set aside a few minutes in the morning or at night to read God’s word.  There are 24 chapters of Luke so starting today we can read the entire life story of Jesus as we prepare to celebrate His birth.  There are also great online devotionals that can help you prepare for Christmas.  If you open an advent calendar with your children, or if you do one yourself, take time as you open the window to read or pray or simply listen for God.  

Like Zechariah, we could also go off by ourselves and pray.  Notice that the angel didn’t speak to Zechariah until he was by himself.  Sometimes we might need to get away by ourselves to be able to hear God speak.  In this busy season, for us to hear God we might have to place ourselves in a quiet place where we can hear God’s voice.  God has not forgotten us and God does have something to say to us. 

Not only should this be a season where we listen to God, but this should also be a season where we listen to others.  Many people not only feel forgotten by God, they feel forgotten period.  David said a few weeks ago that there is an epidemic of loneliness in our country.  Studies show that the people hit the hardest are young adults, older adults, and mothers with young children.  Feeling forgotten and alone can lead to an increase in depression, anxiety, heart disease, substance abuse, and domestic abuse.  

Loneliness also leads to an increased risk of heart disease, strokes, and dementia in older adults.  The holidays are often the time many people feel forgotten and lonely so it’s important for us to not only listen to God but to take the time to listen to others.  

I want to encourage you to find one person in your life that might be struggling with feeling forgotten and take the time to listen to them.  Maybe it’s a grandparent or a grandchild.  Maybe it’s the single parent you know that needs to talk and share, or the neighbor, young or old, whose family all lives out of town.  Maybe it’s the coworker who is struggling through a difficult season and feels isolated.  If each one of us found one person to listen to during this season, there would be less loneliness, more community, and more joy.  As we take time to listen to God, let’s also take time to listen to those around us who might feel forgotten and alone.

This year, the Christmas story begins where it did over 2000 years ago, in a world and among people who at times feel forgotten and alone.  What we celebrate in Jesus is Emmanuel - God with us.  We are not forgotten.  

 

Next Steps

God with Us - The Forgotten

When have you felt forgotten by God?  

When have your prayers seemed to go unanswered?

Read the story of Zechariah.  Luke 1:5-25

Why did the people of Israel feel forgotten by God?

Why did Zechariah personally feel forgotten by God?

How did all that change?

Take time during this busy season to listen for God’s voice.

● Read the gospel of Luke.

● Read and reflect on the words of your favorite carols.

● Use a devotional or prayer app to help you listen to God every day.

Take time during this busy season to listen to those who feel forgotten by God and others.

● Reach out to a coworker or neighbor is going through a hard time.

● Send a note or card to someone who lives alone.

● Invite someone to worship on Christmas Eve.

● Invite someone who has experienced loss to the Blue Christmas Worship.

Fresh Expressions – A Call to Pray:  Pray for the 26 people who are part of our Fresh Expression Cohort as they listen to God and people who might feel forgotten.  Pray for those who will one day encounter God through one of our Fresh Expression worshiping communities.  

2023 Christmas Eve Offering: Bridge of Hope

Homeless mothers with children not only feel forgotten but overlooked. To help these women and children, our Christmas Eve Offering this year will go to support the ministry of Bridge of Hope in Centre County.