Wai\u00adting for pro\u00admi\u00adses \u2013 bot\u00adtom\u00adless or with ground under our feet? How do we make ends meet?<\/p>\n
A warm wel\u00adco\u00adme to ever\u00adyo\u00adne who is back after the holi\u00addays! Back to your fami\u00adli\u00adar home! This is whe\u00adre I would like to start the ser\u00admon: What is home for you? Is it whe\u00adre you live right now? Or is it your par\u00adents\u00bb house? The other ques\u00adti\u00adon is: What is home for you? Is it also your home? Or your home\u00adtown, whe\u00adre you are a natu\u00adra\u00adli\u00adsed citi\u00adzen? Per\u00adhaps you have an adopted home? Or do you have the same con\u00advic\u00adtion as Paul, who wro\u00adte to Phil\u00adip\u00adpi: \u00ab[\u2026] our home is in hea\u00adven, whe\u00adre the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eager\u00adly wai\u00adting for him, for the return of our Saviour\u00bb (Phil\u00adip\u00adpians 3:20 NLB<\/span>). \tWhe\u00adre do you feel at home? What does it take for you to feel at home? Wai\u00adting for pro\u00admi\u00adses \u2013 bot\u00adtom\u00adless or with ground under our feet? How do we make ends meet? A warm wel\u00adco\u00adme to ever\u00adyo\u00adne who is back here after the holi\u00addays! Back in your fami\u00adli\u00adar home! This is whe\u00adre I would like to start the ser\u00admon: What is home for you? Is it whe\u00adre you live right now? Or is it the\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":7472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[35],"wpfc_sermon_series":[90],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-bernhard-hohl","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-heilig-heilig-heilig","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-7461","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"hentry","11":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nWe are waiting\u2026
\nWe are wai\u00adting\u2026 ok! But eager\u00adly? I don\u2019t know! Some\u00adti\u00admes I have the impres\u00adsi\u00adon \u2013 even of mys\u00adelf \u2013 that we are still too stron\u00adgly groun\u00added! We\u2019\u00adre not glued to the streets, but we are glued to other things. What have you stuck to? \u00abThe LORD<\/span> is good to tho\u00adse who wait for him and seek him\u00bb (Lamen\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons 3:25 NLB<\/span>). Wai\u00adting alo\u00adne can be gruel\u00adling, it takes pati\u00adence, per\u00adse\u00adver\u00adance and a firm faith. Wai\u00adting tog\u00ade\u00adther is easier. If we help each other in this and expe\u00adri\u00adence good, relia\u00adble and fri\u00adend\u00adly rela\u00adti\u00adonships, it is a gre\u00adat help to us! Always in the know\u00adledge: The wai\u00adting of the god\u00adly leads to joy\u2026 (Phil\u00adip\u00adpians 3:20 NLB<\/span>).
\nThe grea\u00adtest help in wai\u00adting is Jesus hims\u00adelf. How does he do that? He has taken us into his heart! In his fare\u00adwell speech, he drew his disci\u00adples\u00bb atten\u00adti\u00adon to the fact that he would soon be going back to the Father in hea\u00adven and said the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing: \u00abIn that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you\u00bb (John 14:20 LUT<\/span>). \u00abYou in me\u00bb \u2013 Jesus has taken his fol\u00adlo\u00adwers into his heart! Just as you have taken him into your life and into your heart, he has taken you into his heart. Jesus has a big heart, in his heart he has room for all of us. \u00abYou in me and I in you\u2026!\u00bb
\nYou have to let this fact pass on your ton\u00adgue for a while and enjoy it! But bewa\u00adre! You can with\u00addraw yours\u00adelf from the heart of Jesus. In the Gos\u00adpel of John, Jesus talks about this in the vine para\u00adble. You all know this: \u00abI am the vine, you are the bran\u00adches\u2026 He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit\u2026 He who does not abide in me is cast away and withers, and is burned\u00bb.
\nHow do we stay in the heart of Jesus? If we thank him again and again for taking us into his heart. When we say to him \u00abI love you\u00bb, \u00abI like you\u00bb or simi\u00adlar. We remain in Jesus\u00bb heart if we also value this clo\u00adsen\u00adess, lis\u00adten to Jesus and also talk to him. In other words, read the Bible and pray. Open the Bible! God speaks to us most cle\u00adar\u00adly through his Word! He can also spark into your mind, or speak to you through other peo\u00adp\u00adle. Here in the ser\u00advice or in the small groups. Com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon is ever\u00ady\u00adthing, also in our rela\u00adti\u00adonship with Jesus. Last Tues\u00adday we met again in the small group and last night we had a sum\u00admer par\u00adty tog\u00ade\u00adther. If we stay con\u00adnec\u00adted with each other like this and wait tog\u00ade\u00adther for our future in hea\u00adven, we can alre\u00ada\u00addy beco\u00adme a bit at home the\u00adre and deve\u00adlop home\u00adli\u00adke feelings!
\nAbraham\u2019s story
\nAbra\u00adham has a remar\u00adkab\u00adle sto\u00adry about wai\u00adting! God said to him \u00abgo\u00bb \u2013 and he went, even though he did not know whe\u00adre God wan\u00adted to send him. God sent Abram out into the world with the words: \u00abGo from your fat\u00adher\u00adland and from your kind\u00adred and from your father\u2019s house to a land that I will show you\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 12:1 LUT<\/span>).
\nAbram was alre\u00ada\u00addy mar\u00adried when he moved with the who\u00adle clan of his par\u00adents from Ur in Chal\u00addea over 1000 km to Haran in the north. And now, with a full 75 years under his belt, he is sup\u00adpo\u00adsed to pack his bags again and set off! Inde\u00aded! He does it! So Abram went out, as the Lord had said to him (Gene\u00adsis 12:4 LUT<\/span>). He takes his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot (the son of his decea\u00adsed brot\u00adher), his ser\u00advants and maids \u2013 and off he goes! I would love to go on holi\u00adday like that, it would be exci\u00adting and adven\u00adtur\u00adous! But a move into the unknown would be much more challenging!
\nGod leads Abram and Sarai into the land of the Caana\u00adni\u00adtes. After about 600 kilo\u00adme\u00adt\u00adres, they stop in She\u00adchem. God appears to Abram the\u00adre and says: \u00abI will give this land to your des\u00adcen\u00addants. And Abram built an altar the\u00adre to the LORD<\/span> who had appeared to him\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 12:7 LUT<\/span>).
\nThe Canaa\u00adni\u00adtes had no idea about the God of Abram, but ser\u00adved other gods. Abram did not want to join in and built an altar to his God, the Almigh\u00adty. Abram was a true nomad: From She\u00adchem, the jour\u00adney con\u00adti\u00adnues to Bethel, whe\u00adre Abram builds the next altar to wor\u00adship God. After some time, a gre\u00adat fami\u00adne forces them to break down their tents and move to Egypt. The\u00adre, their flocks had grown so lar\u00adge that Abram and Lot had to part with all their pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adons on their return. Lot moves to the water-rich regi\u00adon of Sodom. Abram stays in Bethel and later moves to the regi\u00adon of Hebron. The\u00adre, God con\u00adfirms his pro\u00admi\u00adse to Abram: \u00abLook around you on every side. All this land that you see, I will give to you and your des\u00adcen\u00addants as a pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adon fore\u00adver. And I will give you so many des\u00adcen\u00addants that they can\u00adnot be coun\u00adted \u2013 like the dust on the ground\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 13:14b-16 NLB<\/span>).
\nIf I had been Abram, I would pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly have thought: \u00abWhy should I look at this land, it does\u00adn\u2019t belong to me yet! Now I\u2019m almost 100 years old and I don\u2019t have any des\u00adcen\u00addants yet, except Ishma\u00adel from the maid\u00adser\u00advant Hager, which is more of a faux pas for me!\u00bb God makes a coven\u00adant with Abram in Hebron, his next place of resi\u00addence, and gives him and his wife new names: Abram is now cal\u00adled Abra\u00adham and Sarai is cal\u00adled Sarah. God also pro\u00admi\u00adses Abra\u00adham that he will soon have a son with Sarah! This is a laug\u00adhing stock for Abra\u00adham! \u00abThen Abra\u00adham fell on his face and laug\u00adhed, and said in his heart, \u00abShall a child be born to me when I am a hundred years old, and shall Sarah, nine\u00adty years old, bear him\u00bb \u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 17:17 LUT<\/span>).
\nShould any\u00adthing be impos\u00adsi\u00adble for God?
\nSome time later, they are visi\u00adted by three mes\u00adsen\u00adgers from God, who also per\u00adso\u00adnal\u00adly announ\u00adce to Sara that she will have a son in a year\u2019s time. Sara can\u2019t stop laug\u00adhing eit\u00adher. \u00abWhat, now at our age we are still sup\u00adpo\u00adsed to cul\u00adti\u00adva\u00adte love, and my hus\u00adband is also very old!\u00bb She must have thought: They could have come a litt\u00adle ear\u00adlier! The three men have a short ans\u00adwer rea\u00addy for the two of them: Should some\u00adthing be impos\u00adsi\u00adble for God?
\nHave you ever thought: Dear God, why did\u00adn\u2019t you inter\u00adve\u00adne ear\u00adlier? Don\u2019t we some\u00adti\u00admes have trou\u00adble wai\u00adting for God to act? Did\u00adn\u2019t God say? This was like an inspi\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon from God for me, why does\u00adn\u2019t he react? Whe\u00adre is it stuck?
\nAbra\u00adham repea\u00adted\u00adly recei\u00adved a clear pro\u00admi\u00adse: Des\u00adcen\u00addants as many as stars in the sky; des\u00adcen\u00addants as many as grains of sand on the shore of the oce\u00adan! And now he is old, soon to be 100 years old and the first des\u00adcen\u00addant of Sarah and he is still miss\u00ading! But oh mira\u00adcle! The pro\u00admi\u00adse is inde\u00aded ful\u00adfil\u00adled! Isaac is here! But what about the taking of the land? Abra\u00adham could see the future land for God\u2019s peo\u00adp\u00adle, but he remain\u00aded a stran\u00adger here. He always had Canaa\u00adni\u00adtes around him who wor\u00adship\u00adped their gods. He lived the\u00adre, but he was some\u00adthing of a home\u00adl\u00adess man. It was not a real home.
\nThis was also the case for his des\u00adcen\u00addants Isaac and Jacob. In Hebrews 11 we read: \u00abAll the\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle belie\u00adved until they died wit\u00adhout having recei\u00adved what God had pro\u00admi\u00adsed them. But they saw from afar what had been pro\u00admi\u00adsed to them and rejoi\u00adced in it, for they had reco\u00adg\u00adnis\u00aded and testi\u00adfied that they were only guests and stran\u00adgers here on earth. And they con\u00adfes\u00adsed that they were loo\u00adking for a land they could call home\u00bb (Hebrews 11:13\u201314 NLB<\/span>). Here we rea\u00adli\u00adse how some\u00adthing con\u00adnects us to the\u00adse foref\u00ada\u00adthers in faith! We are also pro\u00admi\u00adsed a land! Our goal is the king\u00addom of God in glo\u00adry. Don\u2019t we as Chris\u00adti\u00adans in our neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood often feel very simi\u00adlar to them back then? Stran\u00adgers, whe\u00adre you live! At work, in the class\u00adroom, in the lec\u00adtu\u00adre theat\u00adre\u2026 We are con\u00adfron\u00adted with many idols and gods! We encoun\u00adter many ungod\u00adly things in this cra\u00adzy world. We are human beings just like ever\u00adyo\u00adne else, with fee\u00adlings, with cha\u00adrac\u00adter, with inte\u00adrests, with likes and dis\u00adli\u00adkes\u2026 but the spe\u00adcial thing is Christ in us, our new creature!
\nAbra\u00adham held on to his faith through ever\u00ady\u00adthing. Paul calls us to do the same in 2 Timo\u00adthy. \u00ab[\u2026] live your life in the faith and love of Christ Jesus. Careful\u00adly guard what has been ent\u00adrus\u00adted to you; the Holy Spi\u00adrit, who lives in us, will help you\u00bb (2 Timo\u00adthy 1:13b-14 NLB<\/span>). The Holy Spi\u00adrit helps us to be strong in faith. Ano\u00adther help is pray\u00ading for one ano\u00adther. We were able to expe\u00adri\u00adence this per\u00adso\u00adnal\u00adly in an impres\u00adsi\u00adve way. When we took up our last posi\u00adti\u00adon at Viva-Chi\u00adle Zug short\u00adly befo\u00adre the turn of the cen\u00adtu\u00adry, we soon gai\u00adned a dear woman to pray for our who\u00adle fami\u00adly. She has been pray\u00ading for us, Ros\u00adma\u00adrie and I, for our two child\u00adren, their spou\u00adses and for all our grand\u00adchild\u00adren for 25 years now. She will be 94 years old next Wed\u00adnes\u00adday, but still knows all our names! This woman was a gre\u00adat help to us! Do you pray regu\u00adlar\u00adly for peo\u00adp\u00adle who are dear to you? Then keep at it, becau\u00adse you are such a gre\u00adat bles\u00adsing for the\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle, visi\u00adble or invi\u00adsi\u00adble. Be the\u00adre for each other. Be strong tog\u00ade\u00adther! Wal\u00adking tog\u00ade\u00adther with Jesus. Belie\u00adve tog\u00ade\u00adther. Hope tog\u00ade\u00adther. Wai\u00adting together.
\nJesus gets my final word: \u00abI do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanc\u00adti\u00adfy them in the truth; your word is the truth. As you have sent me into the world, so have I sent them into the world. I sanc\u00adti\u00adfy mys\u00adelf for them, that they also may be sanc\u00adti\u00adfied in the truth\u00bb (John 17:15\u201319 LUT<\/span>).
\nAmen
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small group <\/p>\n
\n\tIs the\u00adre an area that you would call home?
\n\tWhy is it important that we do not lose sight of our future home with Jesus?
\n\tWhat does it mean to you to have a firm place in the heart of Jesus?
\n\tDo you think it is wrong of God to make his pro\u00admi\u00adses known so ear\u00adly that tho\u00adse con\u00adcer\u00adned can\u00adnot even expe\u00adri\u00adence it?
\n\tWhat was God thin\u00adking of when he pro\u00admi\u00adsed Abra\u00adham des\u00adcen\u00addants as many as the sand of the sea or as many as the stars in the firmament?
\n\tWhen, how and whe\u00adre have you felt a cer\u00adtain stran\u00adgen\u00adess as a Chris\u00adti\u00adan among tho\u00adse who think differently?
\n\tDo you have loved ones for whom you pray blind\u00adly (wit\u00adhout always kno\u00adwing if it will happen)?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"