In faith, we stumb\u00adle over our own ide\u00adas from time to time. In deal\u00ading with this, we feel the chan\u00adging hand of God.<\/p>\n
\u00ab<\/span>Such a day, as beau\u00adtiful as today\u2026such a day, it should never go away.\u00bb The\u00adre was a day in my life when I could have sung that line with all my heart. On the day of my con\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adon! The coun\u00adsell\u00ador explai\u00adned to me, using Isai\u00adah 53, that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that he offers me for\u00adgi\u00adve\u00adness. I unders\u00adtood that, cle\u00adared out my life and accept\u00aded Jesus into my life. To expe\u00adri\u00adence grace like that; to be reli\u00ade\u00adved of guilt like that, was a huge lift for me. It was an inde\u00adscri\u00adba\u00adble fee\u00adling of joy! \tTell each other about your expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced \u00abmis\u00adcon\u00adcep\u00adti\u00adons\u00bb! In faith, we stumb\u00adle over our own ide\u00adas from time to time. In deal\u00ading with them, we feel the hand of God chan\u00adging us. \u00abSuch a day, as beau\u00adtiful as today\u2026such a day, it should never pass.\u00bb The\u00adre was a day in my life when I could have sung that line with all my heart. The day of my con\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adon! The\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[35],"wpfc_sermon_series":[72],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_preacher-bernhard-hohl","wpfc_sermon_series-metamorphose","wpfc-sermon-single","post-3682","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nA short time later I was found again with the pas\u00adtor! The blissful fee\u00adling was gone! The exu\u00adberant joy shrunk, like the foam in a beer glass! \u00abLook\u00bb, said my coun\u00adter\u00adpart, \u00abfaith is like a train: the loco\u00admo\u00adti\u00adve is Jesus Christ, he goes ahead of you; you can compa\u00adre the coal wagon that fol\u00adlows with the Word of God, the Bible. That\u2019s whe\u00adre the power is; tho\u00adse are the encou\u00adra\u00adging pro\u00admi\u00adses and truths; wit\u00adhout them your faith stops! Of cour\u00adse, fee\u00adlings are also part of faith. But this wagon is more likely to be found at the end of the procession!
\nHave you had to cor\u00adrect mis\u00adcon\u00adcep\u00adti\u00adons in your life of faith? The Bible is full of examp\u00adles whe\u00adre peo\u00adp\u00adle had to do this. For exam\u00adp\u00adle, Naa\u00adman, the Ara\u00admaic cen\u00adtu\u00adri\u00adon who was hea\u00adled of lepro\u00adsy by Eli\u00adsha (2 Kings 5); or Mary and Mar\u00adtha, the sis\u00adters of the ter\u00admi\u00adnal\u00adly ill Laza\u00adrus. To the exam\u00adp\u00adle of Mary, the mother of Jesus, we first give our attention.
\nYour encoun\u00adter with God
\nShe also expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced such a beau\u00adtiful day\u2026 When the angel Gabri\u00adel meets Mary in Naza\u00adreth and announ\u00adces to her the pregnan\u00adcy and the birth of Jesus, he greets her with the words: \u00abGree\u00adtings! You have been bles\u00adsed with gre\u00adat grace! The Lord is with you!\u00bb (Luke 1:28 NLB<\/span>). Mary is sho\u00adcked, but the angel encou\u00adra\u00adges her: \u00abDo not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God\u00bb (Luke 1:30 NLB<\/span>). At the begin\u00adning of a life with God, a per\u00adson always encoun\u00adters God\u2019s uncon\u00addi\u00adtio\u00adnal grace. Even if you have not met an angel, at the begin\u00adning of your life with Jesus and throug\u00adhout your life, this unde\u00adser\u00adved grace of God accom\u00adpa\u00adnies you! And from the moment a per\u00adson places his or her life in God\u2019s hands, the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing appli\u00ades: \u00abDo not be afraid, I have rede\u00ade\u00admed you. I have cal\u00adled you by name; you are mine\u00bb (Isai\u00adah 43:1 NLB<\/span>). The angel Gabri\u00adel still tells Mary about Eliza\u00adbeth, her rela\u00adti\u00adve, that she also expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced a mira\u00adcle and beca\u00adme pregnant in her old age. The\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre, it is not sur\u00adpri\u00adsing that Mary imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly sets out to visit Eliza\u00adbeth. They exch\u00adan\u00adge their expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces, rejoice and prai\u00adse their God. Only after three months does Mary go home again \u2013 and then things get turbulent!
\nTur\u00adbu\u00adlent times
\nThe Roman emper\u00ador orders a cen\u00adsus. This means an arduous jour\u00adney of over 100 km for the hea\u00advi\u00adly pregnant Mary and Joseph to Beth\u00adle\u00adhem, Joseph\u2019s home\u00adtown. The birth takes place out\u00addoors becau\u00adse the inn is over\u00adc\u00adrow\u00added. After eight days, Jesus had to be cir\u00adcumcis\u00aded in the temp\u00adle in Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem. Tra\u00advel\u00adling again! I think Mary ima\u00adgi\u00adned ever\u00ady\u00adthing a bit nicer. Her hus\u00adband, the car\u00adpen\u00adter, makes a beau\u00adtiful litt\u00adle bed for the baby. She is sewing the first clo\u00adthes and knit\u00adting cute socks\u2026! And now this, con\u00adstant\u00adly being on the road\u2026 And their chal\u00adlenges beco\u00adme even grea\u00adter. They expe\u00adri\u00adence incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble guidance.
\nIncom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble ways
\nThis includes the flight to Egypt. King Herod the Gre\u00adat sees hims\u00adelf threa\u00adten\u00aded by the new\u00adborn king and wants to extin\u00adgu\u00adish the life of this child. Joseph recei\u00adves ins\u00adtruc\u00adtions from God in a dream to flee to Egypt with his fami\u00adly. That is what they do. Ano\u00adther arduous jour\u00adney! For\u00adeign sur\u00adroun\u00addings, for\u00adeign lan\u00adguage\u2026 After a few months, they move again, back to Naza\u00adreth! Herod the Gre\u00adat is dead. \u00abWhy go to such trou\u00adble?! That would have been a small thing for God to pro\u00adtect Jesus from the mur\u00adde\u00adrous Herod for tho\u00adse months! What is this? Dear God, is the\u00adre real\u00adly no other way? Was it real\u00adly neces\u00adsa\u00adry?\u00bb Have you ever spo\u00adken to God like that? May\u00adbe when you were laid off? After an acci\u00addent? With an ill\u00adness? Or per\u00adhaps God over\u00adloo\u00adked the fact that your home was bro\u00adken into or that many things were sto\u00adlen from you?
\nFami\u00adly problems
\nBack in Naza\u00adreth, the\u00adre are soon fami\u00adly pro\u00adblems. As every year, the \u00abJoseph and Mary\u00bb fami\u00adly goes to Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem for the Pas\u00adso\u00adver. Teen Jesus is also the\u00adre. On the way home after the holi\u00adday, Mary and Joseph sud\u00adden\u00adly rea\u00adli\u00adse that Jesus is not in the teen click. Whe\u00adre is Jesus? The par\u00adents go straight back to Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem to look for him. Final\u00adly they find him in the temp\u00adle in the midst of the tea\u00adchers in ani\u00adma\u00adted con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon! Mary can brea\u00adthe a sigh of reli\u00adef, but she lets out her frus\u00adtra\u00adti\u00adon: \u00abChild!\u00bb she said, \u00abHow could you do this to us? Your father and I were in ter\u00adri\u00adble worry. We\u2019\u00adve been loo\u00adking for you ever\u00ady\u00adwhe\u00adre.\u00bb But Jesus repli\u00ades in true tee\u00adnie-wee\u00adnie fashion, \u00abWhy were you loo\u00adking for me? You should have known I was in my Father\u2019s house.\u00bb But they don\u2019t under\u00adstand what he means. Maria can\u2019t just put this expe\u00adri\u00adence away. She had to think about it for a long time. Mary had to learn to stand back. And Joseph had to rea\u00adli\u00adse that Jesus\u00bb true father is God in hea\u00adven. Stan\u00adding back, rethin\u00adking, let\u00adting go\u2026 On the other hand, it was encou\u00adra\u00adging for Mary and Joseph at that time to know that the\u00adre is still a Father in hea\u00adven who is kee\u00adping an eye on them! Being par\u00adents with the Father in hea\u00adven as a three\u00adso\u00adme, or for sin\u00adgle par\u00adents as a two\u00adso\u00adme, is a gre\u00adat help and reli\u00adef! It brings about a com\u00admit\u00adted sere\u00adni\u00adty! Stan\u00adding back, rethin\u00adking, let\u00adting go \u2013 we all expe\u00adri\u00adence this, also sin\u00adgles, young and old! That is why we all need the hea\u00adven\u00adly Father to car\u00adry us through with His strong hand!
\nJesus grew, the teen\u00adager beca\u00adme an adult and at about 30 years of age his minis\u00adtry in public beg\u00adins. After his bap\u00adtism by John the Bap\u00adtist, here we go! What do you think was Jesus\u00bb first con\u00adcern? a) Choo\u00adsing his 12 disci\u00adples. b) Being tempt\u00aded by Satan in the desert. Or c) Tur\u00adning water into wine at a wed\u00adding. Accor\u00adding to the three Gos\u00adpels Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus was first tempt\u00aded! Satan wan\u00adted to awa\u00adken fal\u00adse ide\u00adas in Jesus: \u00abYou have a huge hole in your sto\u00admach, why don\u2019t you make bread out of the\u00adse stones? Now look at the world from abo\u00adve! So much beau\u00adty and glo\u00adry \u2013 it\u2019s all under your rule when you wor\u00adship me! Today you will do a bun\u00adgee jump wit\u00adhout a rope from the temp\u00adle pin\u00adna\u00adcle abo\u00adve; it is writ\u00adten that the angels will car\u00adry you on their hands\u00bb. Satan is inge\u00adnious in how he can awa\u00adken fal\u00adse ide\u00adas in us humans! It is good to be awa\u00adre of this!
\nBut back to the pro\u00adblems of the Jesus fami\u00adly. One day when Jesus was prea\u00adching, sur\u00adroun\u00added by many peo\u00adp\u00adle, his fami\u00adly wan\u00adted to talk to him. He was told: \u00abYour mother and your brot\u00adhers and sis\u00adters are stan\u00adding out\u00adside asking for you. Jesus repli\u00aded, \u00abWho is my mother? Who are my brot\u00adhers? Then he loo\u00adked at tho\u00adse sit\u00adting around him and said, \u00abThe\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle here are my mother and my brot\u00adhers. Whoe\u00adver does the will of God is my brot\u00adher and sis\u00adter and mother\u00bb (Mark 3:32\u201335 NLB<\/span>). Again: stan\u00adding back, rethin\u00adking, let\u00adting go \u2013 it remain\u00aded dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for Mary!
\nJesus later pre\u00ada\u00adched once in Naza\u00adreth, his home\u00adtown. For the lis\u00adten\u00aders, he was sim\u00adply the son of Mary and Joseph. They were impres\u00adsed by his prea\u00adching, but they could not accept the mes\u00adsa\u00adge from a Naza\u00adre\u00adne. Jesus says about this: \u00abA pro\u00adphet is rever\u00aded ever\u00ady\u00adwhe\u00adre except in his own home\u00adtown, by his rela\u00adti\u00adves and by his own fami\u00adly. Becau\u00adse they did not belie\u00adve in him, he could not per\u00adform mira\u00adcles on them and he only laid hands on some sick peo\u00adp\u00adle and hea\u00adled them. And he was ama\u00adzed at their unbe\u00adlief\u00bb (Mark 6:4\u20136 NLB<\/span>). The peo\u00adp\u00adle of Naza\u00adreth were so angry with Jesus that they would have lik\u00aded to push him down a slo\u00adpe to his death, but they were unable to do so (Luke 4:29\u201330 NLB<\/span>). An embar\u00adras\u00adsing expe\u00adri\u00adence for his fami\u00adly. Such a thing in our vil\u00adla\u00adge! Mary and Jesus\u00bb brot\u00adhers and sis\u00adters have more and more trou\u00adble with his appearance. Con\u00adstant\u00adly the\u00adse argu\u00adments with the most respec\u00adted of the peo\u00adp\u00adle. That can\u2019t be! After a while, it got on their ner\u00adves so much that one day they wan\u00adted to take Jesus home by force. They were con\u00advin\u00adced that Jesus had lost his mind (Luther: \u00abHe is out of his mind\u2026\u00bb). In John\u2019s Gos\u00adpel we read: \u00abFor even his brot\u00adhers did not belie\u00adve in him\u00bb (John 7:5 NLB<\/span>). In anger they with\u00addrew. Yet they would have had so much reason to be proud of Jesus.
\nWe noti\u00adce: Fal\u00adse ide\u00adas are poi\u00adson for faith! Fal\u00adse expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons that are not ful\u00adfil\u00adled fuel anger or even hat\u00adred. When was the last time you were angry with Jesus? May\u00adbe becau\u00adse you don\u2019t get on with him with your col\u00adle\u00adagues? Or becau\u00adse you can\u2019t do any\u00adthing with what Jesus said? Becau\u00adse you would like to expe\u00adri\u00adence more mira\u00adcles from him? Or becau\u00adse you expect more atten\u00adti\u00adon from him? The same is true for us: we have so much reason to be proud of kno\u00adwing Jesus. We have so much reason to be proud of being a child of God. He is our hea\u00adven\u00adly Father whom we may address as \u00abFather\u00bb.
\nThen it is noti\u00adceable that for a long time we hear not\u00adhing more eit\u00adher from Mary or from his brot\u00adhers and sis\u00adters! We only meet Mary again at the cross, whe\u00adre Jesus gives John, his favou\u00adri\u00adte disci\u00adple, the task of caring for Mary, his mother. This is when Jesus\u00bb love for his mother real\u00adly fla\u00adres up again! God is the reason for us to be able to radia\u00adte sere\u00adni\u00adty and con\u00adfi\u00addence in our pre\u00adsent tur\u00adbu\u00adlent and \u00abcovi\u00addent\u00bb times. Our God is still Lord; Lord in every situation!
\nAnd final\u00adly, the high\u00adlight, for me the high\u00adlight! After Jesus\u00bb ascen\u00adsi\u00adon, the disci\u00adples meet regu\u00adlar\u00adly for pray\u00ader in an upper room and it says: \u00abThey all came tog\u00ade\u00adther regu\u00adlar\u00adly for pray\u00ader, tog\u00ade\u00adther with Mary, Jesus\u00bb mother, some other women and Jesus\u00bb brot\u00adhers\u00bb (Acts 1:14 NLB<\/span>).
\nYou will find the ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups on the back page \ud83d\ude09
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead tog\u00ade\u00adther about Jesus\u00bb ser\u00admon in Nazareth
\nLuke 4:16\u201330<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat is the bree\u00adding ground for misconceptions?
\n\tIs a Chris\u00adti\u00adan allo\u00adwed to be angry about Jesus?
\n\tWhat are the steps to get rid of misconceptions?
\n\tWhat car\u00adri\u00aded Mary and Joseph through their dif\u00adfi\u00adcult time? (Cen\u00adsus, no room in the inn, flight to Egypt?)
\n\tWhat is a gre\u00adat help to you in your dif\u00adfi\u00adcult times?
\n\tHow do you think this inge\u00adnious hap\u00adpy ending with Jesus\u00bb rela\u00adti\u00adves came about?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"