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Jesus – Our Hope
Nov 27, 2011
1st Sunday of Advent &
Consecration Sunday
Our hope is an anchor for the soul, stable, certain. It
will stand against the testing of time and reaches into eternity, it is
anchored behind the veil in the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ, our high
priest and our forerunner. http://home.hetnet.nl/~antoonwierda/sermons/hope.htm
Scripture: Mark 13:24-37 & 1 Peter 1:3-5
Children’s moment: Advent Calendars
HOPE - Children's
sermon - what is hope?" a feeling that what is wanted will happen" -
what do you hope for?
I hope that people
will remember when they're getting all excited for Christmas - that what we are
celebrating is Jesus' birthday - and that He is God's present to us - and He
gives us the best present - forgiveness & eternal life.
Sermon:
Every year at this
season, we do a lot of things that are tradition – including the celebration of
the ADVENT season – right before Christmas.
Advent means “coming” and it is the waiting for – preparing for – the coming
of something important or momentous – in our case – preparing to celebrate
Jesus’ birth. Advent is a “church thing”
as opposed to what our society as a whole does – which is pretty much celebrate
“the Holidays” [Christmas] beginning as soon as Halloween if over – that’s
almost 2 whole months – 1/6th of the year! Our Advent time is supposed to help us WAIT –
and PREPARE for Jesus’ birth – so we can fully appreciate the meaning of ALL
that happened when God broke into human history – so miraculously – as a baby –
who brought the gift of salvation to the world.
We celebrate Advent
the 4 weeks preceding Christmas day – and this year we’re going to look at how
Jesus’ birth can give US – 21 centuries later – hope, peace, joy & love –
the 4 concepts of Advent Sundays.
Today, the 1st
Sunday of Advent - we focus on the word hope. Great word – great concept -- Just what is hope? What does that word mean? Webster
says hope is “a feeling that what is
wanted will happen: Desire accompanied by expectation”
What do you think of that
definition? It may suffice for some
hopes we have – like,
“I hope it won’t
rain tomorrow – I have plans to go on a picnic”
or “I hope I’ll do well on a test at school” or “I hope my car will start in the morning” –
but Webster’s definition is a little weak when compared to the kind of hope
that is referred to in Scripture.
It’s been said that we can’t live without
hope. Hans Georg Gadamer, a 20th
century philosopher, wrote;” One thing
that especially concerns me is that young people today grow up with very little
confidence, without optimism, and without an unqualified potential for hope.”
(Hans Georg Gadamer, Hermeneutische Entwurfe 6) In an interview marking his 102nd birthday, on February 11, 2002, Gadamer said
: "Man cannot live without hope; that is the only proposition which I
would gladly continue to defend without qualification." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3777/is200407/ain9418638
Renascence, Summer 2004
by Grondin, Jean 2:42 2:36
Do you believe that is true – that we
cannot live without hope?
When I was in college at MU, one of my
majors was Psychology. My profs knew I
was a pastor – I went to college when I was called into ministry & served a
church the whole time I went thru college & seminary – anyway, in one of my
Psych classes we were discussing the idea of hope – and that some say we cannot
live without hope. So , my prof Dr. Woo,
said, “Joan, you are a pastor – what do you think – do you believe we can’t
live without hope?”
While I didn’t have a theological answer –
nor some snappy come-back = I did say – and I do think that when people lose
hope – they lose the will to go on through difficult circumstances – they often
lose the will to live.
Having read Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Meaning” in another
Psych class – and learning how he, as a survivor of a concentration camp, was
able to find meaning in his experience – He and Elie Wiesel, another survivor
who wrote; Without hope there is no survival , were able to endure by finding
meaning in suffering and that included hope.
―
Viktor E. Frankl - “A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility
he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an
unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the
"why" for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any
"how".” 4:15
One insightful pastor,
Ken Boa, wrote in his blog;
People cannot live
without hope. Throughout history, human beings have endured the loss of many
things. People have lost their health, their finances, their reputations, their
careers, even their loved ones, and yet have endured. The pages of history
books are filled with those who suffered pain, rejection, isolation,
persecution and abuse; there have been people who faced concentration camps
with unbroken spirits and unbowed heads, people who have been devastated by
Job-like trials and yet found the strength to go on without cursing God and
dying. Humans can survive the loss of almost anything – but not without hope.
Hope is how we
live. Hope is what gets us from one day to the next.
We live by hope,
and when hope is gone, endurance and joy and energy and courage just evaporate.
Life itself begins to fade. When hope goes, we start to die. One of the most
profound proverbs of the Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a
longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). 
5:32
Heb. 11:1 relates
faith & hope:
Ř
NIV 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope
for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended
for.
Ř
NLT 1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope
for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
We’re going to look
closer at this hope – and explore at least 3 kinds of hope of Advent – the hope
we have in Jesus Christ. 4:30 5:35 6:18
There are many
passages in the OT that brought hope to the people to whom they were first
written. People who were waiting – and
hoping . . . The prophet Jeremiah speaks
of the fulfillment of the promise to the OT faithful - the hope they
anticipated was the coming of the Messiah.
Jer 33:14-16 “"The
day will come, says the LORD, when I will do for
That is a message of
hope. Isaiah also foretold his coming
– and spoke of hope . . . Isa 42:1-9 - he speaks of the one to come: READ
NIV
1 "Here is my servant, whom I
uphold, my chosen one in whom I
delight; I will put my Spirit on
him and he will bring justice to the
nations.
2. . . 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their
hope."
5 This is what God the LORD says-
. . . . 6 "I, the
LORD , have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand. I will
keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people and a
light for the Gentiles, 7 to
open eyes that are blind, to free
captives from prison and to release from
the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
… 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
For centuries they waited for what Isaiah prophesied in chap 9 -
"
the people walking in darkness have seen a great light . . . for unto us a
child is born - unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders, he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne . . . from
that time on and forever. The zeal of
the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."
These passages speak
with certainty of the future coming of this Messiah – and they inspired a hope
within the OT faithful that was much stronger than just “a feeling that what is wanted will happen.” They KNEW it would happen and
their hope was a sure hope.
And so they waited –
anticipating that coming day, as Micah, the prophet wrote, 7:7, “I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior, my God
will hear me.”
It is the coming of that Son - that
Savior – the fulfillment of that certain yearning hope of the OT faithful -
that we celebrate every Advent & Christmas season. For us who live today - in the span of years
marked by AD - this hope has been fulfilled. 8:09 9:14
9:37
We are witnesses and
recipients of the results of His coming into the world. We have this book – the Good News of Jesus
Christ: his birth - his life - his ministry - his death - his resurrection -
his ascension. All of it - for us. As Paul wrote, [Gal 4:4,5] But when the time had fully come, God sent
his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of
sons. 9:49 10:05
The prophecy of
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him
Immanuel. – has come
true. Immanuel - God with us in the flesh - The
1st facet of the hope of Advent –- our hope for salvation has been
realized.
And yet – there is a second facet of his coming – his
Advent – a 2nd HOPE that is yet future. We know, that as Titus 2:13 says, "we
wait for that blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ" .
Although he has come to us as that baby in the stable in Bethlehem, who
grew into the carpenter from Nazareth, whom God declared to be "His beloved Son, in whom He was
well pleased" - - we yet wait for his 2nd Advent - when He will return as the King of Kings, Lord of
Lords - to conquer Satan and all evil once & for all.
So we, who live in
the 21st century – in the new Millennium
- look backward with gratitude to the hope fulfilled in Jesus’ first
Advent - the securing of our salvation -
and we look forward in anticipation of His 2nd Advent - the
culmination of His victory and the ushering in of eternity.
When we speak the
words of the Lord’s prayer “thy kingdom come . . “. We express our desire to SEE the
In Acts 1, as the disciples watched in
wonder – as Jesus ascended to heaven before their eyes – an angel appeared and
said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand
here looking into the sky? This same
Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way
you have seen him go into heaven.”
Can you imagine what it would’ve been like
to stand there that day – to receive that promise? Would that not instill a new hope- an
anticipation within you? It did the
disciples – and once they received the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised – they
boldly proclaimed Jesus’ Lordship, the Church began and the Gospel went forth
throughout the whole known civilized world.
The disciples’ minds may have gone back to when they heard Jesus
speak the words of the passage we heard earlier from Mark. Jesus described some of what would be happening
when he comes back again – the 2nd Advent to which we are looking
forward: . . . . 26 Then everyone will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. 27
And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the
world—from the farthest ends of the
earth and heaven. 12:18 13:12 13:24
Jesus makes it clear no one knows WHEN he will return – but
we are ALWAYS to be ready . . . watching and doing what he has told us to do .
. .
. . . .
, no one knows the day or hour when
these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.
Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that
time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!
. . . 35
You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household
will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36
Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37
I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” 13:56
14:00
We can find the description of his coming
again, in Rev 1:7,8
7Look,
he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be!
Amen.
8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
That
is our future hope – the coming of the
As
G.F. Handel quoted the Scripture in the Hallelujah chorus: Rev. 11:15; “The
kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and
he will reign forever and ever.”
But, now – today –
In 2011 (soon 2012, can you believe it?] we live in “the meantime” – the time
between Jesus’ 1st Advent – as Savior – and his 2nd
Advent as Lord and King. In this
in-between time – there is a present
day hope. For every person who
confesses Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior - another aspect of hope - another Advent – is
fulfilled in his coming into each of our lives, personally – individually.
Rom 5:8;But God demonstrated his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us. Jesus
accomplished this during his 1st Advent – but it becomes real to
each person, individually – when we consciously commit our life to him as
our Lord and Savior.
Rom. 10:9,10 – If you confess with your
mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
confess and are saved.”
And that confession,
that statement of faith and belief results in what Peter describes in 1 Pet 1:3; “ Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead,
into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for
you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the
salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. . . .(8) Though you
have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you
believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy (KJV) joy unspeakable and full of glory)
for you are receiving the salvation of your souls.
WOW! And you can add to that – he gives us His continual presence, even though
we can’t see him, by His Holy Spirit living within us.
Gal 4:6 . Because
you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts, the Spirit who
calls out “Abba, Father” . . .”17:39
17:40
Do you see how the hope of Advent sweeps
through the entire panorama of time – in the past – the hope of the ages – the
coming of Messiah – and the 1st Advent – the fulfillment of that
promise in Bethlehem – and on Calvary and in the empty tomb – to the present –
the coming of Jesus into the heart and life of each of us who acknowledge him
as Savior and Lord.
Paul reminds us that even with the fulfillment
of the hope of the ages past in the 1st Advent – and even with the
present hope of our salvation a reality, there is still a “Not-yet” sense of
hope into the future when Jesus returns in power and glory to reign as King of
Kings Lord of Lords.
In
Rom. 8: 23-25 – “We ourselves, who have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our
adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were
saved. But hope that is seen is no hope
at all. Who hopes for what he already
has? But if we hope for what we do not
yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
These
vss express a reality in our lives as believers. We have the “firstfruits” of our salvation –
the forgiveness of sin, the promise of eternal life & the presence of the
Holy Spirit – and yet – yet – we are still groaning, aren’t we? Because the reality of this life is that
there are still a lot of struggles, questions, doubts and difficulties we WILL&
DO experience in this life – and yet we do look forward to the day described in
that passage in Rev. 1. That is our blessed hope, as Peter called it – the
hope for which Paul calls us to wait patiently.
I think the 4 weeks we celebrate Advent are a
valuable time – to prepare ourselves to celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas –
they are a help to me to avoid the tendency to only think of the “Christmas
season” as shopping and parties and cookies and lists of wants and so on. All that stuff may be fun – but it doesn’t
point us to Jesus – the true reason for the season – as Advent does.
SO – when we think of the Advent Sunday
of hope - that isn’t just a “tradition” it is a description of what Peter says
“ Always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect . . .
What a life full of
hope Jesus offers us - the fulfilled hope of His coming at Christmas in
Bethlehem - the blessed hope of His return, for which Paul says “we wait eagerly . . . we wait patiently . . .” and in the meantime we have the constant hope
and assurance of forgiveness for and cleansing from our sins – and the constant
presence of the Holy Spirit with us.
Thanks be to God for
the hope we have in Jesus!!21:00 20:54
Let
us pray:'
BENEDICTION
- Adapted from Rom
15:13 –
May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope,
in the name of Jesus Christ
·
who was born
in Bethlehem
·
Who is born in your heart – Savior &
Lord
·
Who will come again – King of Kings and Lord
of Lords
And through the powerful presence of the Holy
Spirit within you - - - AMEN
People cannot live without hope. Throughout history, human beings
have endured the loss of many things. People have lost their health, their
finances, their reputations, their careers, even their loved ones, and yet have
endured. The pages of history books are filled with those who suffered pain,
rejection, isolation, persecution and abuse; there have been people who faced
concentration camps with unbroken spirits and unbowed heads, people who have
been devastated by Job-like trials and yet found the strength to go on without
cursing God and dying. Humans can survive the loss of almost anything – but not
without hope.
Hope is how we live. Hope is what gets us from one day to the
next.
We live by hope, and when hope is gone, endurance and joy and
energy and courage just evaporate. Life itself begins to fade. When hope goes,
we start to die. One of the most profound proverbs of the Bible says, “Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life”
(Proverbs 13:12).