Looking Forward with Hope

Praise and Prayer

Today marks the beginning of Advent. Advent is the very first season of the church year and includes the month leading up to Christmas.

The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” It is a time we celebrate the arrival of Jesus at His birth and we look forward to His coming again in the future. That’s why you will hear people talk about the first Advent and the second Advent.

All Christians recognize this time of year as special but not all celebrate it the same way. Some churches will only take part in the Advent on the week of Christmas. The more traditional denominations celebrate the whole month.

I tend to lean into the church calendar on this one. The Advent is my favorite time of year. So, for the next month we might do things a little different. Lets begin the Advent!!

What is something you hoped for when you were a child?

Hope can come in a lot of different forms. As a child your hope might be as simple as what you are going to get for Christmas. But as we get older hope changes and we can begin to hope for a better job, a brighter future, or good news about our health.

I heard a story this week, Army Sargent Lloyd Ponder knew what it meant to hope. He spent most of WW11 in a Japanese POW camp, and came to the conclusion that if you don’t have hope you don’t have anything. He needed hope to survive. Hope depends on our situation.

Hope is really what the Advent is all about. Before the Lord Jesus came into the world the nation of Israel had hope of a Savior. They were watching and waiting for the Messiah to come.

As we begin to approach this Advent season, we are going to think about the hope that was fulfilled in our salvation!!

The Point; We have a sure hope because Jesus came to us!!

Isaiah 40:1–2 ““Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.””

What does God say has ended for His people in Vs. 2? (War)

What does God say has been removed in Vs. 2? (sin)

The book of Isaiah turns on a dime in chapter 40. Everything changes. After several chapters of God passing judgment on Judea, Israel and the surrounding nations, suddenly there is hope.

Vs. 1 says, “Comfort, comfort, and this is the only time in all the prophecies of the Old Testament we see this word “comfort.” It means to console and that is what God wanted to do for His people.

The prophets are full of doom and gloom, and warnings, but God says, through the prophet Isaiah, in the middle of all of the conflict and idolatry there will be comfort.

This was good news for them, that just over the horizon there was a hero coming. The best part of it all is; they didn’t deserve it. They were not going to be comforted because they got their act together but because God wanted to comfort them.

That is what this time of year is all about. During this Advent season we need to realize just like Israel was in the days of Isaiah the world is still under the weight of sin.

It is everywhere all around us. But in the same way God promised comfort to the nation of Israel, He promised us comfort and He delivered on that promise with Jesus. He brought comfort not only to Israel but to the world.

Matthew 11:28 ““Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Who does Jesus say He is going to give rest to?

That’s the good news. Jesus didn’t come into the world and say, “come to me all you who are perfect,” or come to me all you who have your act together.”

No, He said come to me all you who are tired and exhausted by the world, and I will give you rest.

Notice the phrase “speak tenderly” In Isaiah 40:2. That literally means to “speak to the heart.” Speak to the soul, that inner man that is in turmoil. And what does He say, the war is over, and your sin has been pardoned.”

This is obviously speaking of what the Lord Jesus Christ did when He came into the world and gave His life on the cross!! Today, our work is done and our sin is forgiven!!

What brings you comfort when you are going through a tough time? Where do you turn when your inner man is in turmoil? (Prayer, fellowship, my wife)

Isaiah 40:3–5 “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.””

Where does God say the voice is crying? “in the Wilderness.”

This is a passage that should sound familiar to us. It is attributed to John the Baptist in the New Testament as one preparing the way for the Messiah.

But the wilderness in the scripture represents desolation, barrenness, and separation, and gives us the idea of being disconnected from God. It is when you feel like you are on the outside looking in spiritually.

When nothing seems to be going right in your life, and maybe you feel abandoned by God.

But the amazing thing about the wilderness is; That’s where God does some of His best work in our life!! Sometimes we have to be in difficult spots before we will begin to listen to God!!

The most difficult time to hear from God is when everything is going great and you are living high on the mountain top, but it is when you are down in the valley that you have your spiritual ears open.

That is what the wilderness in this passage is describing; those down in the valley moments.

I am reminded of Moses in wilderness. He thought his best days were behind him in Egypt until God called him from the burning bush. Elijah was in fear for his life, on the run from Jezebel, in the wilderness when he heard the still small voice of God.

And Jesus was in the wilderness of temptation when He defeated Satan and was ministered to by angels. Sometimes our greatest hope begins when we are in our lowest places in life.

Notice Vs. 3 says, “Prepare the way for the Lord.” This is a call to action. This is a call to get ourselves ready for God. Just like they had to make the paths straight for the Messiah to come we have to prepare our hearts for Jesus. We have to remove the obstacles of sin that prevent us from worshipping the Lord.

Where do you see God’s glory in the world today? Gen z!!

Isaiah 40:9–11 “Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” Behold, the Lord God will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

What does Vs. 10 tell us God has with Him? (reward) And before Him? “Work” in the KJV is the word recompense. It means judgment or punishment is before Him.

Isaiah is looking forward to the millineal kingdom here. Isaiah would prophecy about Christ in two ways; the suffering servant and the reigning King, because Isaiah was unable to see the gap in time that would take place between the two.

We are all familiar with reward. Jesus came into the world and His reward goes to those who believe. He rewards us with eternal life and so much more. But His recompense is the punishment of judgment that comes to the unbeliever.

So, while everyone celebrates Christmas we celebrate it for different reasons. For the Christian it is sacred. For the world it’s a holiday.

Vs. 9-11 is a prophetic poem by Isaiah. It is a Messianic poem that speaks of the messiah coming in strength and shattering the status quo!!This entire passage speaks of change and revelation and reward!! Vs. 11 talks about the nature of Jesus.

He is the shepherd that tends His flock!! He is there protecting those who belong to Him.

He is the shepherd that gathers. Jesus is the one who pulls us all together as the family of God! From every tribe, nation, and tongue of the world.

And He is the one who carries and leads. He is the good shepherd who carries us to the bosom of the Father and He doesn’t drive the flock in fear but He leads us like little ewe lambs (those that are with young) into peace and hope!!

How has your life been rewarded for following Jesus?

The Christmas season is all about hope. It’s about waiting in anticipation of Jesus. And Jesus is Emanuel, He is God with us. He is worth all the preparation and anticipation that we go through waiting on Christmas day.

In the same way it is a blessing to see a child opening a gift on Christmas morning, it should be a blessing to us to remember the greatest gift ever given was Jesus. John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

The whole point of the gospel is we are apart of the story. He lives in us and one day we will live together with Him in heaven and all of those we have lost and loved will be reunited.

Jesus is the king worthy of our worship. He is the shepherd worthy of our loyalty. He is the Lord worthy of our service, and He is the promise worthy of our hope!!

How can we share this message of hope with others?

We can pray. Our hope is in Christ and we can ask God to bring that hope alive in someone’s life. Someone we love and care about.

We can write; Maybe there is someone in your life who is struggling. You could send them a word of encouragement. Tell them you are praying for them this Christmas season and that you pray Christ would be a blessing in their life.

We can serve. We can find someone in need and help them in some way. Maybe just decorating for Christmas or offering some type of generosity to them.