I enjoy celebrating Advent first, and then celebrating Christmas. You see, our world has commercialized Christmas so much so that what used to be a fairly sacred time of year is now only talked about in terms of company profits, consumer spending, Hollywood blockbuster movies, TV events, finding the right gift or buying the newest gift on the market, and 24 hour/7 day a week “holiday” music. Even those of us who still celebrate the birth of our Savior tend to get “wrapped up” in all of the commercialism and the busyness.
But Advent causes us to stop – and it allows us to relax, and to focus, rest, meditate, and celebrate the birth of Christ. During the very first week of Advent we focus on hope. But what is HOPE? It is such a misunderstood word – we use hope as word that carries much uncertainty – “I hope the Patriots win the Super Bowl” or “I hope we can build a new building soon.” But our hope – the way we use the word – is not the same way the Bible speaks of hope. The Bible speaks of hope as something that is certain to happen because God said it would happen – what we call a “confident expectation” (say that with me).
We have spent the past three months talking about a related word – faith – do you remember what faith is? Faith is trusting in and acting on what God has said. Hope is similar, in that it also trusts in what God has said, but there is a unique and powerful difference. Let me give you an example of each:
AN EXAMPLE OF FAITH - The Bible says in Matthew 6:33 (screen) – “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” What is the instruction? Make God’s kingdom your primary pursuit and what…? These words of Christ hold a great promise, don’t they? Pursue God first, and all your needs will be taken care of. This promise requires faith. Any promise upon which you can act and bring a result requires faith.
AN EXAMPLE OF HOPE – Isaiah 9:6-7 – Let’s read it together again.
6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
This is a promise of God that has been partially fulfilled, right? And there is more to come, because right now the government doesn’t rest on His shoulders, and He does not currently rule over all the earth. So is this is a promise to you and me? But where is the action that you can take on this promise? There is none. So my response to this promise is HOPE – I confidently expect that the Lord will bring about what He says. Hope is “confident expectation” – hope says, “One day, Jesus Himself will return and fix this world’s mess! That’s WHAT? HOPE! A promise upon which I cannot act but only wait requires hope.
A promise with action requires my faith while a promise with no action requires hope – my confident expectation. Turn to Heb. 11 – let’s read vs. 13-16 together (sheet):
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
As we have looked at the great “Hall of Faith” over the past few months in Hebrews 11, this is also a Hall of HOPE, because sometimes no matter how much men and women of God believed and trusted, the promise of God didn’t happen within their lifetimes. No amount of faith could have brought about the promises of God, and so they died “still believing” - they had HOPE that God’s promises would happen whether they saw them or not.
There is great strength and freedom that HOPE can give to us. To start Advent (what does Advent mean? Coming), I want us to see how HOPE can make us stronger and empower us. The first week of Advent is a time for us to remember that the Jews for thousands of years held onto the hope of the Messiah coming, and that Hope was fulfilled at Jesus’ birth. That pushes us to confidently look, as Paul reminds us in Titus 2:13, to “look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.” The first Advent makes us look forward with hope and anticipation to the 2nd Advent. If God followed through with His promise the first time, He WILL DO SO AGAIN when Jesus comes back! Israel’s hope was the first Advent; our hope is the 2nd Advent.
But is hope practical? Why is hope important to me today? You say, “Great, Pastor - God’s promise was fulfilled when Jesus came. Now what?” Let’s take the last part of our time together and discover how HOPE makes me stronger:
1. Hope motivates me to keep looking forward - expectantly.
Notice the phrase in Hebrews 11:14 (on sheet) – “people who say such things are looking forward” – that is HOPE. Hope motivates to never settle into the present. It reminds me that the future is so much brighter because one day every knee will bow before God (Phil. 2:10). Hope is my motivation to not let today’s worries, hurts, frustrations, or temptations become the focus of my life – I will keep looking forward; I will keep praying “May Your kingdom come soon, Lord!”; I will keep asking God to do His work in the world, in my life, and in the lives of my loved ones.
Bill Hybels, a well-known pastor and author, wrote about an experience He had after a baptism service in his church. He wrote: “I bumped into a woman in the stairwell who was crying. I thought this was a little odd, since the service was so joyful. I asked her if she was all right. She said, ‘No, I’m struggling.’ She said, ‘My mom was baptized today. I prayed for her every day for almost 20 years. The reason I’m crying is because I came this close to giving up on her. At the 5-year mark I said, “Who needs this? God isn’t listening.” At the 10-year mark I said, “Why am I wasting my breath?” At the 15-year mark I said, “This is absurd.” At the 19-year mark I said, “I’m just a fool.” But I just kept trying, kept praying. Even with weak faith I kept praying. Then she gave here life to Christ, and she was baptized today. I will never doubt the power of prayer again.”
HOPE UNDERSTANDS THAT IF ALL I CAN IS PRAY AND WAIT, THAN THAT IS WHAT I WILL DO AND I WILL BELIEVE THAT THE LORD WILL HEAR ME AND RESPOND! Hope keeps looking forward. Where’s your hope today? What has God said He will do, WHAT/WHO has He burdened you to pray for that you need to recommit yourself to today? Hope is so practical and empowering, and there is a second way that hope makes me stronger:
2. Hope encourages me with the fact that God isn’t done working yet.
Isaiah’s prophecies, and in particular from the passage we have focused on today, was a reminder to Israel that although the world around them was violently coming against them, and there was war, desolation, destruction, hunger, and pain, God had not forgotten them and there was hope for a better world coming – “a son is given – He will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace – His rule will never end” – almost as if God was saying, “Don’t give up no matter how bad it looks! I am not done working!”
We need that reminder too, don’t we? How bad is your world looking right now? Are the finances hurting; is school difficult; is your future path not lighting up like you thought it would; are your children rebelling; is your job a mess; are you struggling with your ex-spouse; is your health declining? Hope is your message today – KNOW WITH CONFIDENCE THAT GOD ISN’T DONE WORKING YET! Phil. 1:6, a verse that points us to the 2nd Advent, gives us hope as it reminds us “that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Hope is empowering, isn’t it? It helps us look forward, it reminds us that God is far from done in His work, but there is a third way that it makes me stronger:
3. Hope frees me from always trying to make things happen.
Say this with me – “It’s not about my power!” There are promises that aren’t contingent upon my action, just upon my hope – my confident expectation. I have referenced this verse over and over again (and will continue to do so), but Romans 8:37 reminds me that I am an overwhelming conqueror, right? Do you realize that when Paul wrote that, he never said we are overwhelming conquerors because we are so strong or so faithful or so loving or so effective in service? He wrote that we are overwhelming conquerors through the love and power of Jesus Christ. In other words, I AM AN OVERWHELMING CONQUEROR BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD DOES, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT I DO! Tell the person sitting next to you “It’s not about your power!”
We need to let HOPE free us from always trying to make things happen on our own – there are just some things that are left up to God and my trusting and expecting HIM to bring it about. I love what Isaiah prophesies in 9:7 – the very last phrase – “The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
It’s not MY passionate commitment that will make God’s promises come – it’s not my passionate action or preaching or counseling or service or parenting or ability or anything! I am FREE to walk in HOPE because the PASSIONATE COMMITMENT OF THE LORD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN! Let the freedom of that statement empower you today, and renew your confident expectation in the Lord to do all the things that you cannot do. When God’s ready, He’ll make it happen!
Let me give you one more way that HOPE empowers me to live:
4. Hope forces me to honestly evaluate my walk.
Ask yourself this question - do I trust God’s word because I can make things happen when I act out in faith? What happens to my confidence in God when all I can do is wait for God to deliver?
We hate to wait, don’t we? We hate to think that there are situations in which we are incapable of making something happen. And in this first week of Advent and focusing on Hope, we need to honestly evaluate our walk – is my confidence in God strong even when I can’t do a darn thing but wait?
When Isaiah made this prophecy, there were those in Israel who received what he said and those who did not. This prophecy was an encouraging word during a discouraging time. The nation was headed towards enemy captivity because as a whole it had rejected God. But there was a remnant of people who still followed God, and this prophecy is given to them to keep looking for deliverance even though everything is currently going wrong. This remnant had to go through the bad times just like everyone else, but they had HOPE – “a child is born, a son is given.”
Isaiah would later go on to prophesy to this remnant who kept on hoping, confidently believing that God would do what He said – Isaiah told them this: “those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
Being refueled by HOPE today will allow you to soar, to be renewed, to be relieved of weariness and to walk without stopping. Will you walk in hope?
