 This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it President David Beauchard Dean Jewel Longnecke pastors and leaders gathered for this conference sponsored by Anabaptist Mennonite biblical seminary my brothers and sisters in Christ what a joy it is for me to be here with you even virtually the theme of this conference is thriving together and Our text for the evening is Isaiah 48 28 through 31 Do you not know? Have you not heard the Lord is the everlasting God the creator of the ends of the earth He will not grow tired and weary and his Understanding no one can fan them. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak even youth Grow tired and weary and young men and women stumble and fall But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not think Or just a few moments if you will pray with me, I'd like to speak to you from the topic dare to hope dare To hope God let the words of my mouth the meditation of all of our hearts be found acceptable in thy sight because you alone Oh God are our strength and our redeemer. I pray that in the next few moments God I would Decrease and you would increase so that the people will hear and see none of me But all of you It's in your strong and mighty name that we pray the name of Jesus Amen Last year 2020 was a difficult year by anyone's estimation Discovering that there was a coronavirus that quickly spread like wildfire and proved fatal We were placed on a stay-at-home Order this meant the closing of anything that wasn't considered essential schools businesses athletic events and even churches The first emotion that most experienced was fear the fear of the unknown fear of what would happen to us our family members and friends fear of What would become of our churches? While some churches have been able to weather the storm with online services and giving others have struggled to survive Decline in memberships resources and the inability to rapidly change to meet the demands this pandemic has placed upon us Made all of this seem like an impossible situation to get through Needless to say people all over the nation and the world have struggled with this crisis The loss of life has been devastating Every one of us knows someone who has died because of COVID-19 The economic distress has been overwhelming as people lost jobs and then had to figure out how to maintain their households Feeding themselves and or their families with no money Many are still trying to make sense of it even as proclaimers of the gospel and women and men of faith We must admit at times. We have felt anxious as well Though we are intelligent people creative and resourceful people who usually can figure things out and come up with a plan of action This one has us all in a quandary Trying to figure out what to do next and if that wasn't enough There was social unrest brought on by the senseless police brutality and others taking black lives The protests that we thought would never end and wondered if they should Provided a prelude to one of the most difficult election seasons in recent history Due to the belief by many that the election was fraudulent There are some who still believe the new president is not legitimate and stormed the capital to make their point So tell me how are you feeling about the times that we are living in? Do you feel like we are living in hopeless times? Does it feel like God has forgotten about us that God has vacated the premises and left us alone to fend for ourselves? Though God claims to love us with an everlasting love In the minds of some It is not obvious If God cared why would he allow such bad things to happen to good people if God cared Why has he permitted such destruction to take place in our nation and world if God really cares Why doesn't he say or do something to stop this pain and devastation in the lives of so many people? are living hopelessly Hopeless is what you feel when everything in your life has fallen apart and you're not sure you have the resources or the strength To put it all back together again Hopeless is what you feel when you have performed too many funerals in socially distant spaces or at grave sites Wondering if the loved ones have had sufficient clothes You're hopeless is what you feel when you look at the world at large and those who are in charge and wonder How they will lead us out of this mess we're in Hopeless is what you are when you know that you have messed up And deserve the madness that you're experiencing so you resolve to live with it. But how long All you ask Is there no end to what you are going through The problem in our nation and in so many of our lives is not simply the circumstances that we are dealing with The problem is that too many of us are living with a loss of hope A loss of hope will cause you to become insensitive to the atrocities that confront us every day Hopelessness will make you numb after a while to all the pain and loss around you Hopelessness makes a skeptical of the voices is promising a better tomorrow and a better world Hopelessness also paralyzes you and makes you think that you have no power to change the circumstances in the world at large Or in your own private little worlds in particular and so you do nothing Someone said when you think you can you can't but when you think you can't you don't even try The worst thing that we can do is Nothing It's so easy to get a trap there when you think you have no options no way out But there is always a way out When you have hope We dare not allow the circumstances of our lives to continue to discourage us robbing us of the will and the power To conquer whatever we are faced with whether it's the pandemic the poverty in our nation That has become exasperated by it the threat to our democracy and unity as a nation The challenges that we face as people of god Seeking to worship And represent him I stopped by to remind you tonight that as the people of god giving up Is not an option We dare to hope In hopeless times our god is a god of hope This is the unequivocal message of the scriptures god is the hope of the nation as well as the people who populate it That's what the prophet germaya addresses god calling him. Oh hope of israel It's saviour in times of distress He is also our personal hope as the psalmist attest in 71 5 for you have been my hope Oh sovereign lord my confidence Since my youth What is hope? Usually when we think of hope we define it as expectation and desire But the biblical concept of hope is so much more It's also trust and confidence and refuge In god When you dare to hope in god you have an expectation of a favorable future a desired outcome under god's direction When you dare to hope you expect good things to happen You face each new day each challenge with the expectation that god will see you through in the old testament The most frequently used expressions of the word hope are the words kava To wait to expect and bata to be full of confidence So from our perspective as the people of god hope is desire with undaunted perseverance It's an expectation with confidence It is to hope against hope to hope without any basis for expecting fulfillment except You know who god is that god is able and god has promised I know the plans i have for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future How then can we be hopeless? All of us know personally how easy it is to lose hope even as sons and daughters of god Given all that we are faced in the world and in our personal and professional lives We can so easily become overwhelmed and lose perspective God understands us and our struggle to remain hopeful in the face of difficult and discouraging times It's for this reason that he speaks through the prophet isiah to his people then and now As a result of their continued disobedience and rebellions against god The people of israel had lost everything and were living in exile in babalon the oppressive regimes of the syria and babalon had taken its toll Life had gone from bad to worse with no end to the madness in sight sounds like the world that we are living in right now The enemies victories over israel made it appear that they were stronger than god The nations the people who worship idols seem to be getting away with their wickedness and sin while israel continually suffered Rather than trust Israel has started to complain You know how we do when our backs are up against the wall when we are overwhelmed discouraged and feeling defeated God has forgotten about us. He obviously doesn't know what we're going through or he just doesn't care They could see no end to their predicament and so they had given up hope But god in his providence Had the prophet isiah pinned these words of encouragement to israel You do know what providence means. Don't you pro before a video to see God sees what you need even before you have a need and provides it at just the right time Isiah wrote these words to israel some 700 years before they found themselves in trouble god knows everything There is to know about us in our circumstances before the foundation of the world He knew where we would be and what we would be going through at this time in history And he provided us with this word through the prophet isiah the word Is an invitation to hope and an incentive to do so Isiah says they who hope In the lord will renew their strength. They will soar on ex ex egos. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint isiah could make such a bold assertion to the israelites in the midst of their trial because he was focusing on the majesty and greatness of our god in this entire chapter Which gives us hope we can dare to hope because god is greater than the circumstances behind us In verses one through eleven as the remnant in babelan look back over their lives They saw their failure and sin and needed encouragement God instructed the prophet to speak comfort to his people to speak tenderly to their hearts Isiah was to speak a word of pardon to the people of god Despite the fact that they had sinned greatly as individuals And as a nation through idolatry and injustice and immorality and insensitivity to his messengers They were still his people Though he had to chasten and allow them to experience the consequences of their disobedience He would never forsake them on the heels of judgment god speaks a word of comfort to his people prophetically telling her that their appointed period of hardship is over their sin has been paid for And they had received from the lord's hand a gift of grace hallelujah In other words the exile is not the last word for the lord's people God has a plan and purpose for their nation that they will be a blessing to the whole world It's the same with us This pandemic these protests this this unity this craziness that we are going through all of the troubles That we see in our churches is not the last word god is a gracious and forgiving god The psalmist says in 103 9 the lord is compassionate and gracious slow to anger abounding in love He will not always accuse nor will he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us As our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities for as high as the heavens are above the air So great is his love for us as far as the east is from the west so far Has god removed our transgressions from us When you find yourself in a mess of your own making no need to despair or be hopeless god is not through with you God never gives up on us. This is our hope. Don't give up. Look up God's grace is greater than our sin God is madly in love with his people and is ever reaching out to us to be reconciled The prophet talked about a voice calling in the wilderness preparing the way of the lord in those days When a king was coming the rose had to be prepared every valley raised the mountain and hills brought low The rough places made smooth to ensure safe passage All the gospel writers use this scripture to refer to john the baptist the wilderness preacher Who prepared the way for jesus christ? john came as a voice crying in the wilderness Telling the people to prepare for the coming of the lord by returning to write relationship with god What a word for us during this season of our lives the reason for our hope Is jesus christ as the people of god we can dare to hope because of god's manifested salvation in christ He is the source of all of our expectations the affirmation and fulfillment of all god's promises god came to earth In jesus and his glory was revealed to us the promise of god's coming and deliverance of israel was undoubtedly met with some skepticism But isaia made clear that there's a major contrast between humans and god In verses six through eight he says people are like grass and their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field that soon withers So we cannot depend on them, but the word of our god Endures forever When god makes a promise he will fulfill it god will do what god says he will do God watches over his word to perform it you can depend on god god will never disappoint you god will never fail you when you dare To have hope You take god at his word because god is a god of his word Once again in verses nine through 11 isaia talks about god's coming as a sovereign king with power and his arm rules with him Which talks about his strength? god is a mighty king with all power in his hand, but he's also a shepherd Who tends to his flock? Protecting and providing for them god takes care of his own The song ride is set it this way be not dismayed whatever be tied god will take care of you beneath his wings of love abide god will Take care of you God is greater than the circumstances before us In verses 12 through 26 isaia seeks to help the people put the circumstances of their lives in their proper perspective You see like you and i they were focusing on the wrong things people presidents pandemics situations beyond their patrol control and even those that they could do something about And what they saw caused them to trip But when you behold the greatness of our god hallelujah Everything else can be seen in its proper perspective Using a series of five rhetorical questions isaia makes clear that god is greater than anything or anyone on earth Or in heaven when he created the world he didn't need anyone to assist him He's so great that he could hold all the waters of the globe in his hand and measure out the heavens With the breath of his hand all the dust of the earth could be contained in one of his baskets And the mountains figuratively speaking could be weighed by him on a small scale No one is equal to him nobody greater than our god in power or knowledge He doesn't need to consult anyone about anything take counsel about what he needs to do There are no moments when god does not understand Paul quotes isaia in romans 11 33 in praise of our god Oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of god how Unsearchable his judgments and his past beyond tracing out who has known The mind of the lord or who has been his counselor Who has ever given to god that should god should repay him for from him and through him and to him Are all things to him Be glory hallelujah forever and ever amen The bottom line is this God is greater than our problems greater than your situation greater than the opposition greater Than anyone or anything else in all the world god is large and in charge This is god's world the nations are a drop in a bucket compared to him Nothing is beyond his control. So isaia asked the question In verse 21 do you not know have you not heard have you not understood? Since the earth was founded That he sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people look like grasshoppers He has complete control He appoints and disappoints Presidents and governors and leaders in every sphere He can bring them down in an instant when we are tempted to be anxious about the state of this nation And whether or not it will spin out of control We have to be reminded that god rules and super rules Nothing can happen that god does not permit god is greater than our circumstances Somebody has defined circumstances as those nasty things we see when we take our eyes off god If we look at god through our circumstances He will seem small and very far away, but if by faith we look at our circumstances through god He will be near and will reveal his greatness to us To whom will you compare me god says or who is my equal? Lift up your eyes. Look to the heavens. Who created all of these? My brothers and sisters When you are feeling small and insignificant wondering if you are important enough for god to come see about you Remember that the god who named and numbered the stars knows your name and the very hands of your head are numbered He also knows what you need when you need it and will be there right on time when we look at god and all of his greatness This is a cause for celebration and praise Praise is recognition of the greatness of our god God is great and greatly to be praised when we think of the goodness of jesus and all that he's done for us We are prompted to give him praise glory and honor from the rising of the sun To the going down of the same somebody help me praise him Praise him But as i told you earlier Instead of celebrating the greatness of god isra was complaining Because they felt that god didn't know their situation Oh, he wasn't concerned about their problems God is greater than the circumstances behind us God is greater than the circumstances before us And god is greater than the circumstances within us The people of israel having grown tired and the struggle didn't even think they had the strength to recover Even after their deliverance They didn't feel like they had the strength to rebuild jerusalem. They like us were feeling powerless drained tired Sick and tired of being sick and tired God knows how we feel and what we fear as we look to the future and what happens After this pandemic is finally open and we return to our church as a win We look at our nation and the great divide that we are faced with having to try to repair Or whatever your concern is at the moment He knows that some of us have grown weary Even our young people have grown tired and are struggling to survive in this pandemic But god is more than sufficient to meet our every need We could never obey god be faithful remain focused and hopeful in our own strength But we can always trust him for the strength we need For whatever we need to accomplish When we trust ourselves and others we will faint and fall But those who hope In the lord will renew their strength The word hope is the hebrew word kava as i told you earlier Which means to trust to have confidence In god, but it also means to wait Patiently that's the way the king james version renders it they that wait on the lord But to wait on the lord doesn't mean to sit around and do nothing It means to wait on god Expectedly to look to god for all we need to be certain to be confident To worship god in the spirit of holiness to give god the praise that he is worthy of Hope is an active waiting while you wait you are praying you are studying you're meditating on his word His character his power Hope Is also a trustful Rest Here it is a participle pointing to a maintained relationship Which means that you are constantly working on your personal relationship with god if you're going to rush rest In him Then you need to know him Not just casually But intimately When you hope in the lord Your strength will be renewed the word renewed comes from a word whose basic meaning is to change or to exchange Taking off the old and putting on the new like an eagle when he goes through a period of molting The eagle strength is literally renewed after each molting season It's only after the eagle has put off his old feathers so to speak that he actually receives strength To soar above his enemies It's the same with us when we take off the old stuff that worry the care the fret the anxiety The weight of the concerns That we are able to so Like the eagles So to be renewed is to put on fresh Strength or to keep on putting on Strength it's a different kind of strength It's god strength a strength that allows us to soar to soar to soar To soar means you can run or easily handle the exceptional demands of life You can run and not be weary And you can also walk and deal with the ordinary daily grind You know what i'm talking about pastors Through our hope in him Our strength is renewed and we have power To soar when there is a crisis to run when the challenges are many to walk faithfully in the day to day Demands of life when we hope In the lord We look to him With confidence for all we need it's to trust him with all of our hearts and lean not to our own understanding In all our ways acknowledging him he will direct our path He will give us certainty in uncertain times clarity about our next move piece that passes all understorage and courage To press all No matter what it looks like Or feels like They that hope in the lord can handle anything Amen