Hope The prophet candle

Hopelessness

1 a : having no expectation of good or success : despairingfelt hopeless and alone b: not susceptible to remedy or cure

c: incapable of redemption or improvement

2 a: giving no reason to expect good or success : giving no ground for hope : desperateThe situation looked hopeless. b: incapable of solution, management, or accomplishment : impossible

Have you ever felt this? Have you ever felt hopeless? Alone? That there was notsusecptible rememdy or cure? Have you felt imcabable of redemption? Has you situation ever looked hopeless impossibe? Then pay attetion I believe God has a message for you this morning. And if you can’t relate to any of these feelings, your not of the hook. I want you to think of others. There are a lot of people in our world that feels this way and I bet you people here have felt or fell this way now and God could be calling you to give them hope.

God may want you to deliver hope to some one this holiday season. I think this is the sadest place anyone can be that is living without hope. so lets turn to our text.

Romans 8:18–25 (ESV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

As we examine our text this morning, we are going to be considering two advents. Growing up I never understood this aspect of Advent. I always focused on what happened leading up to the birth of Jesus, not realizing that we are still waiting and anticipating the second Advent or coming of Jesus. And we want to exaimne this passage in light of both Advents of Jesus. Let’s begin with verse 18 of Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Let’s begin by looking at first century Israel as they awaited the first Advent of Jesus. What must they have been feeling? They were waiting on God, but what were they waiting for? Let’s look at promise that God made to David from our Old testament scripture reading this morning

2 Samuel 7:12–13 (ESV)

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

So the Jewish people are clinging to this promise that the house of David will have a king sit on the throne forever.

The first thing to remember is that God had not spoken to them in roughly 400 years. Remeber God used Prophets to speak to His people for over 1,000 years and then He went silent. This had to be difficult for the Jewish people. Let’s ;ool at the definition of a prophet. I found this definition of the word prophet on the theology of work website. They define a prophet as someone who is:

Called by God and filled with God’s Spirit, a prophet spoke God’s word to people who had in one way or another distanced themselves from God. In one sense, a prophet is a preacher. But in marketplace terms, a prophet is often a whistle-blower, particularly when an entire tribe or nation has turned away from God.

So before Jesus was born, what sufferings were the Jewish people enduring? They had been ruled by foreignors for over 600 years, enven though they had a promise for the Son of David to sit on the throne forever and the Old Testament contains over 400 prophices about the coming Messiah. But they had been waiting on God to fulfill them and they had not heard form God in over 400 years how must they have felt? Let’s hear from them. follow along on the screen while I read Luke chapter 1 verses 67-79

Luke 1:67–79 (ESV)

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Hebrews 1:1–2 (ESV)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

What a gift the first Advent of Jesus is! May we not loose sight of that is Christmas season. And what a blessing the second Advent will be Amen? Let’s look at verse 19-23

Romans 8:19–23 (ESV)

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Romans 8:24–25 (ESV)

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.