Hope

The season of advent reminds this is a season of waiting and anticipation.

It serves as a reminder that in an ever darkening world God’s light shine brightly.

I read the following recently:

I call myself a cultural Christian…. If I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I’d choose Christianity every single time…. [A]lthough I do not believe a single word of the Christian faith…. It seems to me to be a fundamentally decent religion.

Dawkins is not alone. All over the Western world, high-ranking atheists, skeptics, and a host of others are beginning to see Christian theism in a different light—with many converting. Author Justin Brierley’s latest book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, chronicles this amazing development.

Though the darkness around us is deepening, the flame of God’s Spirit is growing brighter, penetrating the shadows in surprising ways.

There is always hope!

Israel had been promised a savior, the Messiah.

Generation after generation they waited, anticipating that maybe their generation would be the one of His appearing.

Through the prophets God had a long standing promise.

A King was coming, God’s Messiah, God’s anointed.

They anticipated His appearing, His Advent.

Advent means appearing.

The king would be unlike any other king ever.

Jeremiah 33:10–16 NASB 2020

10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without animal,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, “Give thanks to the Lord of armies, For the Lord is good, For His mercy is everlasting,” as they bring a thanksgiving offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord. 12 “This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their flocks. 13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord. 14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’

Are you ready for the message God has for us today?

Cool, grab your pen, open your bible, take the sermon sheet and let’s dig in!

The Time of The Prophecy

At the time of this prophecy Jerusalem, Judah, and Benjamin were a wasteland.

The people were under Babylonian captivity, it was 588 B.C.

As bad as it is what Wa only going to get worse, 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar would return and totally destroy the Temple and Jerusalem!

Yet, even at this time was no joy, no noise, no hope, no bustle of people going in and out of the city.

Along with God hope had left Israel.

How often Israel had misunderstood.

They wondered how the God of David had not kept His promise and deserted them.

The Children of Israel forgot that it was they who had deserted God.

Israel has left worshipping God for idolitry.

Thus, they found themselves in exile and ruin.

Still the promise of Messiah remained as a small glimmer of hope.

The promise is found in our passage in verses 14-16.

The King will have a Name

In verse 16 the Name is given, The Lord our righteousness.

Yahweh-Tzideknu — Yahweh our righteousness.

Righteousness — adherence to what is required according to a standard, like a moral standard.

This title looks forward to a King who would be righteousness for the people of God.

There is no righteousness in themselves — Isaiah 64:6

Isaiah 64:6 NASB 2020

6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.

A proverb also teaches — Proverbs 14:12

Proverbs 14:12 NASB 2020

12 There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.

Righteousness is not in them; they could not save themselves, and they needed a king to do what they could not, they needed God’s Messiah.

Unto Us A King is Born

Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise

Luke 1:32–33 NASB 2020

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Jesus is our righteousness — Philippians 3:9

Philippians 3:9 NASB 2020

9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

1 Corinthians 1:30 NASB 2020

30 But it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

We find in Jesus a righteousness we do not have in ourselves.

There is another way Jesus fulfills this promise, you see there was another King of Righteousness.

Hebrews 6:18–20 NASB 2020

18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Melek-Tzedek — King of Righteousness.

The title given to God’s anointed is no accident, it is intentional.

As our righteousness Jesus also serves as our priest.

However, instead of a King of Righteousness, Jesus’ name is Yaweh is Our Righteousness.

That name is why Jesus is the King of Kings!

Romans 3:9–12 NASB 2020

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written: “There is no righteous person, not even one; 11 There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; 12 they have All turned aside, together they have become Corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.”

Only Jesus could do for us what we could not do ourselves, He is our righteousness.

Apart from Jesus there is no righteousness!

Conclusion

None of us can be righteous on our own.

Here in lies our hope Jesus is our righteousness.

Hope for us comes in the fact that God fulfills His promises and at the appointed time Jesus was born into this world, unto us a king is born the Lord our Righteousness!

So, what are you going to do today based on what God has said?