Christmas Series 2025-Hope

Hope

My Bible, My Help, My Hope

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Today is the first day of‘‘ADVENT.’’

You may be wondering: What exactly is Advent? ...and that’s a good question.

The word Advent literally means: Arrival. Coming. or Appearing.

It’s a word that’s used to define a particular season of waiting and preparation.

Advent is a time where we look back to Jesus’ birth (that was the first Advent)

... but it’s also a time where we look forward to His return (which is the second Advent).

As I was thinking about that first Advent, this week... I was thinking about the Israelites that were living their lives in that day... just like we are living our lives in this day.

What do you think the Israelites were doing?

They were WAITING!

They had heard the prophecies, and they knew the word of God... and now, they were waiting patiently and trying to live their lives faithfully... as they anticipated the coming Messiah.

And then what happened next in the timeline?

...Christ came... and the wait was finally over!

Christmas happened... and God fulfilled His promise.

He did what He said He would do... and He gave His One and Only son for us!

That happened over 2,000 years ago... And yet today, we are still waiting!

We know that Jesus came.

We know that God kept His promise and through Christ Jesus he changed the world.

But now we’re waiting for His next promise to be fulfilled.

We’re patiently waiting... and we’re faithfully anticipating... the second coming of Jesus Christ.

We’re in a season... of ADVENT.

We’re in a season... of waiting.

We are all VERY familiar with what it is to WAIT... aren’t we?

We wait everywhere we go.

I read an article this week from Deputy.com that talked about how we spend our time.

They article discuss a study that analyzed U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data to determine how much time the average American spends on tasks — like working, cleaning up around the house, or catching up with friends — throughout their lifetime.

Key Findings

Over the course of a lifetime, Americans on average will spend more time working (15 years, 3 months, and 7 days) than they will relaxing (13 years, 11 months, and 9 days).

In a lifetime, Americans spend on average:

28 years, 2 months, and 5 days sleeping

15 years, 3 months, and 7 days working and doing work-related activities

13 years, 11 months, and 9 days relaxing and doing leisure activities

7 years, 7 months, and 6 days doing household activities

5 years, 7 months, and 13 days socializing and communicating

4 years eating and drinking

1 year, 5 months, and 16 days traveling to work

We all know how to spend our time, but we struggle to wait.

So the question is, How do we wait FAITHFULLY?

Today, our focus will be on Waiting with HOPE from the book of Isaiah.

You probably know... in the book of Isaiah is one of the first places we hear about a baby that God would send to the earth. [Isaiah 7:14] says, ‘‘Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.’’

Notice, Isaiah said-The Lord himself WILL... give you a sign.

The virgin WILL conceive and have a Son... He said, ‘‘These things are going to happen.’’ God told his people... I WILL send you hope... and that hope is coming in the form of a baby.

God promised HOPE to a lost generation.

Hope is a confident expectation and trust in God’s promises.

It is not merely wishful thinking but a firm assurance based on the character of God, His faithfulness, and the fulfillment of His Word.

Biblical hope is deeply rooted in faith and centers on the belief that God will bring about His eternal purposes, even in the midst of present challenges.

The Bible describes hope as:

A part of faith: Hope is a part of faith that focuses on the future. Faith is the larger term, as it can also focus on the present and past.

An eager expectation: The Hebrew word for Hope means "to wait with expectancy" or "to look for".

The act of binding: Hope can also mean "to bind and gather", which can be interpreted as binding God's promises to yourself.

A state of anticipation: Hope is a state of always anticipating something better

Have you ever wondered why God chose to send hope to the world... in the form of a baby?

He could’ve chosen to deliver His gift of salvation to the world in so many ways... and yet, God’s symbol for hope... was a baby.

When you think about it... even today, babies represent hope in so many ways.

Hope for the world... hope for the future.

Hope for a better day or a better life.

But this baby... the One God would send... would be different.

God said the baby would COME TO the world... and this baby... would CHANGE the world.

Can you imagine what it must have been like... to be in a synagogue 2,500 years ago... as the Rabbi would take the scroll of Isaiah and read the prophetic word of God over the people?

Can you imagine living in this season of ADVENT... having to WAIT for the first Christmas?

You may not realize this... but God delivered this message to His people... roughly 700 years before the birth of Christ.

Let’s not just skip past that fact today.

Let’s pause for a second and take into consideration how long 700 years really is.

America is only 246 years old

Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered this land... 530 years ago.

700 years is a long time to wait for something! ... but once God told his people, ‘‘A baby is coming!’’ ...that’s how long they had to wait.

God said, I WILL send you a sign... The virgin WILL conceive and have a Son... and then ... the wait began.

For 700 years, God’s people were waiting for Christmas.

They were waiting for deliverance, they were waiting for a land, and peace and justice.

They were waiting for God’s Kingdom to come, and for a ray of hope to arrive.

They were waiting for restoration and forgiveness and for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

God’s people were waiting for JESUS!

Have you ever wondered how people were saved... prior to Jesus coming to the earth?

After all, we’ve grown up hearing the Gospel, which is based on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ... so if that’s the case, how were people saved, prior to that happening?

The answer: People have always been saved-by grace through faith.

That’s what it says in [Ephesians 2:8] ‘‘For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.’’

Before Christ came in the flesh... many people were saved by grace through faith.

- Abraham was saved by grace through faith-In [Romans 4:3] Paul pointed to Abraham’s life and said, ‘‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.’’ Abraham was saved... and he died roughly 1638 years before Christ was born.

So, when you read about those in the Old Testament who believed in God... trusted in God... lived by faith in following God... just remember, they were saved... by grace through faith...

just like we are today.

They were saved looking forward... to the cross.

We are saved looking backwards... to the cross.

What I mean by that is this: We have THE WORD OF GOD... in printed form.

We have the Old Testament... and the New Testament.

We can read the Messianic prophecies... then turn a few pages and see the fulfillment of those same prophecies through the life of Jesus.

We can read God say through Isaiah I’m sending hope to the world in the form of a baby... and then flip over to [Luke 2:7] which tells us: ‘‘Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger...’’

God has revealed Himself to us... and His truth to us... in so many ways... so for people like me today, faith isn’t a leap into the darkness... it’s a leap into the light.

When we run away from the darkness and into the light... we’re leaping towards a God that has been consistent since day 1.

When you consider all God has done to pave the way for us to believe... having faith today seems simple and easy... compared to those who believed... before Christ.

When you sat down in that seat... you did so with a complete faith today... you sat down, believing that your seat would hold you up.

But the reason you had so much confidence in that... is because so many people throughout the years have sat in that same chair... there’s a pattern that says... this chair will hold me!

There was a moment in time... when people had faith... prior to having a long, extensive pattern.

Those that had a BC (before Christ) faith-didn’t have the evidence that we have... and the resources we have... they didn’t have hundreds of years of archeological digs, uncovering evidence that supported what the Bible says... all they had was the voice of God... and yet... many people believed God’s voice and in doing so, they showed us... what real faith looks like... as they WAITED for Jesus.

You know how they waited?

They looked BACK-and saw how God had been faithful since the very beginning.

They looked AROUND-and saw the faithfulness of God in their present, it didn’t matter the circumstances... God was faithful... and they could see it.

- They looked FORWARD-and they believed that God would continue to be faithful... that He would keep His promises... and that He would send them hope, just like He said He would.

That’s FAITH. It’s trusting that God will do... what He promised He would do.

I want to share with you 2 things the Bible teaches us about waiting patiently:

1.God always fulfills His promises

[Joshua 21:45] says, ‘‘None of the good promises the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.’’

And that same thing can be said... of God’s promises to the world.

God has never broken a single promise. Like it says is [Lamentations 2:17a NIV] The Lord has done what He planned; He has fulfilled His word, which he decreed long ago...

God always fulfills His promises... but you know what I’ve come to realize?

2.God’s promises aren’t always fulfilled in ways we’d expect

Sometimes...

God fulfills some promises in expected (natural) ways. He does what we would expect Him to

do...

When God told Pharaoh that he was going to send a plague of frogs, he did just that in (Exodus chapter 8).

When He told David that his son would build the temple... Solomon was born and he built the temple.

- Jesus said the temple would be destroyed with not one brick left on another, and in AD 70... it was completely demolished (Matt. 24:2)

God fulfills some promises in unexpected (supernatural) ways.

He does things we would never expect Him to do...

It’s easy for us to understand God sending his people into battle with the promise of victory and then giving them the strength and strategy to overcome their enemies... but there are other times, where God does completely the opposite of what we expect Him to do...

- Gideon has 32,000 soldiers, trained and ready for war... and God says, I need you to narrow that down to 300 men... because I’m going to make it where those 300 men are going to get the victory over 135,000 enemy soldiers... (Judges 6)

- He caused the walls of Jericho to collapse (Joshua 6)

- The Angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 Assyrians (2 Kings 19:35)

God has fulfilled several promises in expected (natural) ways... but He’s also fulfilled many promises in unexpected (supernatural) ways.

The same is true in the Christmas story-think back to Advent #1 (and that season of waiting)... Think about all of those who were living with a BC Faith, looking forward-and waiting for God to fulfill His promise in sending His Messiah.

What exactly... were they waiting for?

Have you ever thought about that?

What were the Israelites expecting in a Messiah?

He would be a Jewish leader

- (Deut. 17:15) They were expecting a charismatic leader who would inspire the entire nation of Israel to follow Him.

He would be a Judge

- (Jer. 33:15 says the Messiah would be a fair judge... so they were expecting this Jewish leader to be knowledgeable of Jewish laws and commandments and be proficient in enforcing them.)

- He would be from the tribe of Judah

- (Gen. 49:10) ‘‘the scepter will not depart from Judah’’

- From the line of David (2 Sam. 7:12-16)

- ...and Solomon (1 Chron. 22:10)

- He would be a military leader

- (He would come and free God’s people from captivity. To the Israelites-they were expecting a military takeover when the Messiah came. They had been in exile, and they were counting on the Messiah to free them... so they could reclaim their Jewish heritage and become God’s people again.)

- He would be a world leader

(Isaiah 2:4 said that the Messiah’s government would establish peace in the world... and that peace would come because the world would serve one God)

- He would be an ordinary man

- (In their defense, all previous prophets had been ordinary men... All of their kings had been ordinary men... So, they were expecting the Messiah to be the same... an ordinary man.

- They weren’t expecting him be fully God and fully man... and I’m not sure why... because Isaiah told them He would be God.

[Isaiah 9:6] ‘‘For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.’’

- When Jesus came... He didn’t come as a gifted and talented human being with great charisma and leadership skills... When Jesus came, He was fully God and fully man.

- And in His life, and through His life... He fulfilled every qualification that the Messiah was supposed to fulfill.

The Israelites were EXPECTING one thing as they waited... and yet, God fulfilled His promise in a way that was UNEXPECTED.

They thought they wanted a certain thing... they thought they needed a certain thing... but God provided something else... (someone) else... that far exceeded all expectations.

The Israelites were waiting for a judge, a leader, a worshipper, a warrior, and a conqueror... and yet, Jesus is all of these... and so much more.

When Jesus came down that was God keeping his promise of HOPE!

We can have HOPE today... because our God is a promise-keeping God [Psalm 145:13] says, ‘‘The LORD is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.’’

Get this today-God will keep His promises-but many times, He will do so in ways you would never predict or expect.

Don’t forget what is says in [Isa. 55:8-9]. ‘‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.’’

This is the LORD’s declaration. ‘‘For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’’

We may think we know what God should do... but He reminded us here... His ways are always better than our ways!

Today, many of us are walking through a season of waiting... Yes, we’re waiting for Jesus to come back... but perhaps you’re in another kind of ADVENT season as well... and today you’re asking: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT?

Let me give you 3 thoughts from God’s word, that may help answer that today:

1. Praise While You Wait Psalm 107:21 (ESV) says,Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

2. Wait patiently [Psalm 130:5] says, ‘‘I wait for the LORD; I wait and put my hope in his word.’’

3. Wait with expectation [Psalm 5:3] “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

And as you apply these things to your season of waiting... don’t forget to apply what we learned from those early believers from the first Advent.

How did they construct such a strong faith... a hopeful faith... with only the voice of God?

- They looked back-Look back in your own journey and remember how God has been faithful

to you.

They looked around-and in the same way... I’d encourage us all to Look around at God’s provision and power... and His faithfulness to us today.

- They looked forward-and they trusted God. And today, I believe He wants us to do the same. Look forward with great faith and believe God will do what He’s promised He would

do.

There’s nothing our God cannot do! And because that’s true...

We can live with great hope and anticipation today!

We’re no longer waiting for the SAVIOR to come...

...God said He would come, and He did. [Luke 2:11]

Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

We’re now waiting for our King to come BACK!

...God said He would come back, and guess what... He will!

[Rev. 1:7 ESV] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Are you ready for that day?

Are you ready for Jesus to come back for his bride?

LISTEN TO ME... He’s coming!!! READY OR NOT... HE’S COMING BACK!