Episode 1379: Our Shocking Hope

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1379 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:06] Jenny Toh: I'm

[00:00:09] Jenny Toh. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence, and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures. to live out your calling. Having the ability to find alignment between your true values and your life is key. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.

[00:00:40] Scott Maderer: We're

[00:00:45] still not alone. We're not alone. What we see in front of us, those moments of darkness are not all there is. We are headed somewhere. History is headed somewhere, and we may not know exactly what it [00:01:00] is, or exactly what it's going to look like, or exactly what it's going to happen, but that someplace is what we call the kingdom of heaven.

[00:01:07] It is life itself. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your wisdom. And your treasures for your True calling. In the Inspired Stewardship podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:41] Today's spiritual Foundation episode, I talk about Isaiah chapter 64 verses one through nine and Mark chapter 13 verses 24 through 37. I share why Advent is a reminder, not just of the past, and I also share how we are called to hope in the face of all that is coming. [00:02:00] Isaiah chapter 64 verses 1 through 9 says, Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake at your presence, kindles brushwood, and the fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence.

[00:02:20] When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any god beside you who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who gladly do it right, those who remember in your ways.

[00:02:38] But you were angry, and we sinned, because you hid yourself, we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our inequities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name or attempts to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from [00:03:00] us and have delivered us into the hands of our inequity.

[00:03:03] O Lord, you are our father, we are the clay, and you are our potter. We all are the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember inequity forever. Now consider, we are your people. Mark chapter 13 verses 24 through 37 says, but in those days after that suffering, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

[00:03:33] Then they will see the sun of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. From the fig tree, learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

[00:03:51] So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass [00:04:00] away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth

[00:04:04] will

[00:04:04] Scott Maderer: pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about that day or hour, no one knows. Neither the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father.

[00:04:15] Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on watch. Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come. In the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.

[00:04:40] And what I say to you, I say to all, keep awake. So it's the Advent season, and if you're a follower in the Christian year, you might have this feeling of, Yikes, it's Advent! How did it get to be Advent already? Yes, there's decorating at [00:05:00] the Christmas, for Christmas at the church. And yet, Advent still sneaks up on us.

[00:05:07] Christmas sneaks up on us. This season sneaks up on us. It feels like it's too early. It came too soon. And we're not ready. We have too much to do. Our list keeps growing longer. Our accomplishments keep growing fewer. For everything we check off, there's six more tasks that slip onto the list. And how does that even happen?

[00:05:30] Which is precisely why We have the season of Advent. It's why we need the season of Advent. The originators of the Christian calendar knew that we'd need a swift kick to get the new year started. So Advent begins with a call to get ready. Because, we aren't ready. Worse than that, we've forgotten that we even need to get ready or have anything to get ready for.[00:06:00]

[00:06:01] We often think we're supposed to be getting ready for a celebration of the past the observation of a historical event, something that God did at one time in one place. And yes, we're grateful for it. We're defined by it. We try to live differently because of it, but it's old news. It happened in the past.

[00:06:22] It's been there, done that. But that's not... what we're asked to be getting ready for. That's not what we're waiting for. That's not what we're looking for. You look at the Isaiah reading, this historical remembrance isn't what it's really talking about. Instead, it's talking about a new reality. Open the heavens and come down in the present.

[00:06:51] Our faith tells us that you are here, but we need to know it. We need to see it. We need to feel it for ourselves and know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Shake [00:07:00] us up so that we can move back into a moment of certainty. We've begun to wonder. We've begun to doubt. So do it again, Lord. Show up again. And this is where that historical observance comes in.

[00:07:13] This is where telling the story over and over becomes important. Not just so that we can look back with a sigh and have nostalgia and long for the good old days. Not so that we can wistfully wish for the blessing that they had back in the day but so that we can learn to recognize it when it comes again.

[00:07:37] This is what Advent is asking us to do. To pay attention to what is and what might be. Not just to look back at what was. At this time in Isaiah, the people of God were in exile, their nation had been shaken, their comforts were taken, and yet that longing for comfort and security that [00:08:00] they had, they'd taken for granted.

[00:08:02] And so they began to look elsewhere, and that's when they realized that their faith was shaky as well. Their faith needed a boost, so they looked backwards, but they also looked forward at the same time. The mountains of our society are shaken, so shake the mountains. They needed an advent to come swiftly upside their head.

[00:08:28] They needed a hope that was shocking to them. We remember, they claim, we remember how you used to deal with us, and we want that again. We want to remember as you remember, God. It may seem like they were trying to remind God, but in truth they were reminding God. themselves. They were looking backwards, not just so they could have the nostalgia about what once was, but rather so they could spur themselves on to live differently.

[00:08:59] [00:09:00] Advent is a reminder to get out of your sense of complacency. Not contentment, but complacency. It's hard to be complacent if things are tough, but when things are going well, that's when we need An advent upside the head to get us out of that complacency. Even in the gospel message this week, it's a call for hope.

[00:09:25] It may not sound like it at first glance. It may sound rather shocking. But the truth is, there's hope in the core of that message. They talk about the sun will be dark and the moon won't give its light. At the, what hour this will happen, no one knows. And yes, we need to be worried about it or nervous about it in a way, not truly worried, but in expectation because there's a lot to do and there's a deadline to meet.

[00:09:55] But yet we also hear the promise that the master is near, [00:10:00] not as a threat, but as a promise. We're still not alone. We're not alone. What we see in front of us, those moments of darkness, are not all there is. We are headed somewhere. History is headed somewhere, and we may not know exactly what it is, or exactly what it's going to look like, or exactly what it's going to happen, but that someplace is what we call the kingdom of heaven.

[00:10:25] It is life itself. That's what we long for in the end. So when we forget that we're looking for things, that we're looking for anything, that we're hoping for anything, Advent comes to remind us again, to remind us to stay awake and watch. Thanks for listening.

[00:10:55] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. podcast. [00:11:00] As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor. Go over to facebook. com slash inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and market that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there.

[00:11:38] Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.