Advent Week 1: Hope

Introduction

We come from a long line of hope.

Merriam-Webster defined hope as this: "to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true" or "to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment." another way of saying it is that someone trusts that something is going to be true and come to complete fulfillment.

As Christians, we have the privilege of knowing what the cross looks like and what Jesus did to pay for the sins of His chosen people.

Looking at where we are now in human history, we have it pretty good.

We see in the Scriptures the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament about Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

So today, we lit the candle that symbolizes the idea of hope.

Yet, I do not think we grasp the amazing miracle and fulfillment of the baby in a manger in the little town of Bethlehem.

To the nation of Israel, that baby meant fulfillment.

It meant thousands of years of prophecies and suffering would be fulfilled.

It meant that promises made by God were coming to a head.

God sent prophets into the land of Israel to foretell the coming Messiah, the coming of Emmanuel.

It would not be in their lifetime, but they knew the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would come.

See, the hope was based on the suffering of Israel. It was based on their pain and sin brought by disobedience.

Israel was sinful and disobeyed God; as punishment, they would live in hard times, have unjust kings, suffer famines, and need to follow the Law of God, which was like a mirror that showed just how sinful they really were.

In short, they did not just need a savior; they wanted one. They needed hope.

God's people needed hope because if left to their own devices, they would be in worse shape than they already were.

Today, we will look at some Old Testament prophecies that would bring hope to the people of Israel. In short, this is what the Scriptures are about!

Those Old Testament prophecies led to the salvation that we have today.

However, we are going to start from the very beginning.

See, this baby that we call Jesus, He was the One.

He was the One that has been and always will be.

God's plan to send His only begotten Son to the earth to be the savior was in the works from before the world's creation.

God always intended on that small, little, four-letter word, hope, to mean more than we could ever imagine.

Today, we are going to see the journey to the manger.

But keep in mind, this journey was foretold and meant to be told again.

Why? Just like the manger brought hope to the nation of Israel, it brings hope to all that are lost, sinful, and broken.

Join with me in this summary of hope through the Scriptures.

Point 1: Why There Was Hope, Even In The Beginning

To fully appreciate what hope is, we must understand what circumstances caused us to need hope.

We have to take it back to where the problems of humanity started.

We are going to look at the very first prophecy about Jesus. 

We can find this prophecy after God confronts Adam and Eve about the sin they just committed in the Garden of Eden.

God is talking to the Serpent.

We can see that in the light of this newfound darkness, God had a plan to ensure His people would always be His people.

Would you turn with me to Genesis chapter three?

Genesis 3:8–15 (ESV)

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

And just like that, we have a solution.

Now that solution would take around six thousand years to come to fruition.

Nonetheless, the wheels of redemption were turning. 

God tells the serpent that there will be a time when the Son of Man will crush the serpents head. However, it will come at a cost, it will bruise His heal (this means the physical death of Jesus). 

God's children had hope. This new, baby, creation that just sinned had hope.

God showed mercy and even in Genesis gave a solution.

Not because they wished something good to happen but because God said so! 

Moving forward in time, we see that there was another promise made to help form God's chosen people.

We move to the next key moment in human history with Abraham.

See, God promised Abraham that there would be a blessing to all people through his lineage.

This blessing would affect all the nations of the world!

Turn with me just a couple of chapters over to Genesis chapter twelve. 

We go from the first sin to the first promise to gather God's chosen ones.

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:7 ESV

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

We see that there is a beginning of God's chosen people.

We can see that God promised that there would be a great nation that would live in the land that God had given them.

It would also be the place where Jesus would be born, live, and die.

We have the promise of the Messiah and now the land in which He will be. 

We could skip a couple of generations and come to Abraham's great-grandson named Judah.

You see, Jacob, his dad, pronounced a blessing on Judah that a great king would come from his lineage (now remember, this is keeping in line with Abraham).

It just so happened that the first king that we see from this line of Judah is King David.

The people could have thought that King David would be the one who defeated the Serpent, but it turns out that King David was extremely sinful and could not uphold the stature it took to fulfill this prophecy, so the people of God were still waiting. 

The people of God were waiting for someone who could be the savior of the nation. Someone who could obey all of the Laws that God had given to the people of Israel.

King David fell way short of that tall expectation. 

Finally, however, God makes a promise to King David.

Now I want us to remember this language as we approach the Christmas narrative.

Please turn with me to II Samuel chapter seven.

2 Samuel 7:4–17 (ESV)

4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan,

5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?

6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.

7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’

8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.

12 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.

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

14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,

15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

We see that there is even more hope implanted in the minds of God's chosen people.

Even more so for King David.

God said that there would be an established house in the line of David that would change the world and that He would take the punishment from the men they deserve.

God would make Him a Son, and God would be the Father.

God was preparing His rule for the Kingdom that God the Father would give Him.

This future King we know now as Jesus.

His throne would be established forever!

Can we see how this is getting exciting?

All of this is waiting for the redemption story to reach a climax.

However, it still would be some time before this King would arrive. 

The hardest part is Israel would rebel and turn against God several times. Like a lot!

That is where we get the books of the prophets from.

They would run away from God over and over, yet God would chase after them over and over. 

Finally, we would get the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah proclaimed to Israel the promises of the Messiah.

Let us look at one of them today and see how we get to the little manager in Bethlehem. 

Please turn with me to Isaiah chapter seven, verse fourteen.

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.

Is this starting to sound familiar?

The Messiah would come from a virgin.

Now we are getting specific. 

We see that the prophet Micah says this, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2, ESV)

Can you see why the build-up to the manager was so important?!

Furthering the solid promise, Isaiah says this in chapter eleven, verse one.

Isaiah 11:1 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Who is Jesse?

None other than King David's father!

The promises of God are starting to really take shape. 

The people were watching and waiting. 

By the time that we get to the narrative of the birth story of Jesus, there had been a period of time that was about 400 years of silence.

The people's hearts grew more distant from the promises of God.

The Roman Empire would take control of the land that God had promised to His people.

The last thing that the people of Israel were looking for was a baby.

A simple, beautiful baby. 

Now, let's read of this fulfillment of hope!

Turn with me to Luke Chapter 1:26-38.

Point 2: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

OK, now hope is coming.

Hope is coming from a virgin named Mary, who gave birth to the Messiah.

Now we can see the other prophecies and fulfillment come to life before our eyes.

We have the people, government, Law, lineage, and promise all at once. 

Please turn with me to Luke chapter two, verses one to seven.

Luke 2:1–7 (ESV)

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Point 3: Our Hope

I love what the Apostle Peter, one of Christ's dear friends, says about this time.

1 Peter 1:10–12 (ESV)

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

We live in the fruit of hope.

We live in the fruit of hope that the prophets longed for.

Our hope came in the form of a baby in a manger. 

He would eventually go on to take the sins of His chosen people to the cross.

He would accomplish all things.

There is no better way of talking about this than the sacrament of Communion.

Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (ESV)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,

24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Paul also says in his letter written to the Romans.

Romans 5:6–11 (ESV)

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The whole reason why we have hope, hinges on the simple fact that Jesus fulfilled all that He was sent to do by the Father.

Now, I hope we see why hope is central to the walk of the believer.

The baby in the manger led to the Savior on the cross, not just that but that same Savior returning and reigning forever and ever.

Where is your hope today?