Sermon

December 3, 2003
Advent
Genesis 18:9-15 & 21:1-7
Pastor Ben Berger

Are You Waiting for the One to Come - with laughter?

Ha! Yeah right. Like that's going to happen. Ha, ha, ha! Yeah, I can't believe that happened. Two different kinds of laughter. One expresses doubt; the other expresses joy. Either is a possible response to a promise. "You've won a million dollars." Ha! Yeah right. Whatever. Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, I've won a million dollars. "The Packers are going to the Super Bowl." Ha! That'll never happen. Ha, ha, ha. We're going to the Super Bowl. "The Savior, Jesus, is coming." Uh-huh, sure. We've been waiting forever. I don't think so. Yes, finally he is here. This advent season we are waiting for God to fulfill his promise to send our Savior - the One to come. Are You Waiting for the One to Come - with laughter? We'll find the answers to that question by seeing how Sarah waited for the One to come.

In Genesis chapter twelve God appeared to Abraham. God asked Abraham to pack up all his belongings to move to a new home. He didn't tell Abraham where he would be going, just somewhere, to the place I will show you. At that time God also made any number of promises to Abraham. He promised: I will make your name great. I will make you into a great nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through you. Of course, for any of these promises to happen, Abraham would have to have a son. At the time he was seventy-five and his wife, Sarah, was sixty-five, and they still didn't have any children. Certainly Abraham could have responded to God's promises with doubt and one great big HA! He didn't; in faith he packed up his belongings and left.

Twenty-four years later, when Abraham was ninety-nine, the LORD appeared to him again. Abraham was still waiting for God to fulfill his promises; he was still waiting for a son. God reaffirmed his promise. He told Abraham that at the same time the next year Sarah would have a son. While this conversation was taking place, Sarah was listening from the tent. When Sarah heard the promise, she laughed. She laughed with doubt. She must have said to herself, "Next year I will be ninety years old. At the age of ninety I'm going to have a son? Yeah right."

The LORD knew that Sarah had laughed, and he called her on it. He asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Sarah responded, "I did not laugh." And God said, "Yes, you did laugh." Then he reconfirmed his promise. He said that he would return the next year, and Sarah would have a son.

God has made any number of promises to you. I've always thought it would be interesting to just start reading the Bible and write down every promise God has made. Here are some of the promises God has made to you. "I will forgive your wickedness and remember your sins no more," (Jeremiah 31:34). "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us," (Psalm 103:12). "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Romans 6:23). "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast," (Ephesians 2:8-9). "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him," (Romans 8:28). "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path," (Psalm 119:105). "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," (Jeremiah 29:11). "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," (Matthew 11:28). Those are God's promises to you. Of course, for any of these promises to happen, God would have to keep one final promise. He would have to send a son, the One to come.

How will you respond to such great promises? How will you wait for the one to come, the only one who can fulfill these promises? Will you laugh with doubt? *sigh* I don't think God can forget my sins. I have done some pretty bad things. I don't think God can remove my sins because I have sinned so many times. Ha! I just can't believe that God would give me eternal life for free, no strings attached. My gut tells me that I have to do something. I at least have to go to church or be nice to others, right? Good? You're telling me that this will work out for good? What good could come from losing my job? What good could come from someone's death? I'm not buying it. I think God is punishing me. I know that God said his Word would guide me, but I don't understand how. I don't know where to go to college. I don't know whom I should marry. We don't know if we should move or not. And rest? When is the last time I had rest? I come to church; I read the Bible. I am weary and burdened, but I don't find any rest.

Such responses laugh at God's promises with doubt. When we laugh at God's promises with doubt, God will call us on it. He will stand in our face and ask, "Do you question me? Is anything to hard for the LORD?" If we make excuses, he will not accept them. He will only accept our repentance. Then he will reconfirm his promises for us. He will forgive us and give us a second chance. He will encourage us to wait for the one to come not with the laughter of doubt, but with the laughter of joy. That's what God did for Sarah.

God kept his promise to Sarah. In Genesis twenty-one we're told, "Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him," (vv.1-2). Is anything too hard for the LORD? No! God did just what he said he would. He gave a son to Abraham and Sarah. And, God did it just when he said he would. Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. There was no doubt that this child was the result of God's promise. The next verse tells us that Abraham named his son Isaac. That's ironic. Do you know what the name Isaac means? It means, "he laughs." God remembered how Sarah laughed at his promise, and so did Abraham. The name Isaac would be a constant reminder.

But now God heard a different kind of laughter. Now Sarah laughed with joy. Verse six reads, "Sarah said, 'God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.'" Sarah herself saw the wonder of God's miracle, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age," (v.7). Sarah laughed all right. She laughed with joy. I can't imagine the joy she must have had at the birth of Isaac.

That joy quickly turned to faith. Remember, the birth of a son was only the first step to all of the other promises God had made. Abraham and Sarah were eager to see their family grow into a great nation. They were especially eager to see the one who was to come, the Messiah, the one who would save them. God promised that all nations on earth would be blessed through this one to come. Now Sarah laughed with joy and faith as she waited for the One to come.

God has kept his promises to you. God sent the One to come. God sent his son. His name is Jesus. The name Jesus means, "he saves." Jesus is your Savior. Jesus fulfilled all the promises you heard earlier. He died on the cross to forgive your sins. He lived a perfect life and rose from the dead to give you eternal life, for free with no strings attached. As a result, all things will work out for your good, for your eternal good. Regardless of what happens on this earth, you will go to heaven. That's your good. Jesus guides you with his word. He tells you what things will make your life go better; they're called the commandments. They are not rules to restrict you, but guides to protect you. He helps you make decisions by telling you what pleases God. And, he gives you rest. That takes us back to the forgiveness of sins. When we focus on receiving God's spiritual blessings, we will receive them and life will slow down. Receiving forgiveness in Jesus' true body and blood at Holy Communion and hearing Jesus' promises when in his word will give us all the rest we want.

How will you respond to God's promises? I pray that you will laugh with joy. Rejoice! Be happy! Smile! Have you seen those commercials where one person just tells everyone the good news? I lowered my cholesterol. I saved 15% on my insurance. That's the attitude we can have in response to God's promises. My sins are forgiven! I'm going to heaven! Everything will work out for good! God helped me decide! I found rest in God's word and sacrament! Just saying those things will make you laugh with joy!

And, you can also wait for the One to come laughing with joy. I'm sure that every year at Isaac's birthday, Abraham and Sarah had a chance to talk about Sarah's laughter. Sarah might have remembered how she doubted at first. Then they could celebrate how God kept his promise. This advent we can look forward to the celebration of God keeping his promise. We can look forward to the birth of his son. Are we waiting for the One to come - with laughter? No -not with the laughter of doubt, but Yes - with the laughter of joy.

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