1 The Power Of Hope
Advent Through the Old Testament • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2,213 viewsBig Idea: Our hope is in a reliable God, a righteous Savior, and restored future.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
The Power of Hope
The Power of Hope
What is hope? Hope is an abstract idea. A feeling. An emotion or internal understanding. Hard to compare to anything visible.
Hope is a sense that things are going to be great or get better. The desire or longing for things to go our way.
Hope quotes: I hope you feel better soon. I hope we can get together again. We hope to grow as a church family.
Hope is a vision for better days that changes us in the present.
High Hope
High Hope
When we have great hope, and our hope is anchored in something sure and reliable, it changes us. It motivates us to reach out for what we’re hoping in. To improve and build.
No Hope
No Hope
What happens when we don’t have hope? It is difficult to function. We don’t have that drive to work for.
Lose All Hope
Lose All Hope
Losing all hope has a similar but negative effect as high hope. Losing hope causes us to take stupid risks and not care about the end result. Self destructive.
There is great power in hope. Today we begin our Advent journey – the waiting – with hope. Hope for the better days to come.
We’ll see the basis for our hope and the powerful impact that has on our lives.
Background - scripture ready slide
Abraham – Isaac – Jacob/Israel. Moved into promised land. Disobeyed God. Asked for a king. Series of good and bad kings. Eventually the kingdom divided into Israel and Judah. Holy city Jerusalem in Judah.
Jeremiah – the prophet of hope ministered through the last 40 years of Judah’s history (divided kingdom) to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586.
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah was appointed by God at 16 in 627 BC.
Jeremiah was appointed by God at 16 in 627 BC.
He reigned under Josiah who was a good king that restored worship in the temple. Three other short reign kings who were not good, and then finally Zedekiah. Throughout the good and bad, trials and persecution, Jeremiah always stayed faithful to God and His message.
Jeremiah consistently called the people, priests, and leaders out for idolatry and urged them to return to God.
In chapter 25, he prophesies Israel will be in captivity for 70 years and then return to reestablish the nation. He told the kings to surrender to Babylon.
Then in 587 BC Jerusalem under siege by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of King Zedekiah.
1 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 2 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
Zedekiah believes he can beat Babylon.
Zedekiah believes he can beat Babylon.
Jeremiah warns Zedekiah that it’s over. If he surrenders, he will live. This is the word of the Lord.
Jeremiah’s basic message was this: Look deeper, king, because this isn’t a military thing; it’s a spiritual thing. In other words, the people of God have rejected the covenant of God = idolatry, or spiritual adultery.
The other spiritual leaders and prophets were falsely telling the king what he wanted to hear, that he will beat Babylon, so Jeremiah is accused of being a traitor and put in jail.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
Isaiah 31:31
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
,
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Isaiah 31:33
Isaiah 31:31
In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant between God and His people – not of law and works written on stones, but of love and faith written in the heart.
Isaiah 31:33
In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant between God and His people – not of law and works written on stones, but of love and faith written in the heart.
In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant between God and His people – not of law and works written on stones, but of love and faith written in the heart.
In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant between God and His people – not of law and works written on stones, but of love and faith written in the heart.
In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant between God and His people – not of law and works written on stones, but of love and faith written in the heart.
In chapter 31, Jeremiah prophesied a new covenant between God and His people – not of law and works written on stones, but of love and faith written in the heart.
Chapter 32, while Jeremiah in prison another prophecy comes from God that Jeremiah is to buy a field from his cousin as a statement that Jerusalem will be restored after the 70 years of exile/captivity.
Leads to prophecy of restoration, peace, and prosperity.
(Is this like a holy time-out? A God-given spanking? Pain, injury, waiting, then restoration)
Leads to prophecy of restoration, peace, and prosperity.
Chapters 30-33 known as the Book of Consolation or Book of Hope.
Read
14 “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
Read
Hope Begins With a Promise
Hope Begins With a Promise
14 “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
V.14 The days are coming when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
The days are coming when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
Notice that hope, according to the Bible, is a vision for better days: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord.
All throughout the Old Testament there are hints and pictures and clues that say the same thing: Better days are coming. The clues and pictures are so powerful they should take our breath away.
Hope is based on faith in God and the proof of His faithfulness in keeping His promises.
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Faith and hope feed each other. We hope in the promise, and our faith grows which increases our hope
Faith and hope feed each other. We hope in the promise, and our faith grows which increases our hope
Hope is based on faith in God and the proof of His faithfulness in keeping His promises.
If the story of Jesus, his birth, life, love, death, resurrection is not true, we have no hope.
We can believe it is true by backtracking to what Scripture tells of God’s promises and fulfilment.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’
15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings.
and promises of blessing when they obeyed, curses when they did not. Not just the obedience but focus. On God or on idols
(Check out these promises and then also look at , . Promises to give them the land and make them a great nation. Also to Abraham. Etc.)
To Abraham Land, Great Nation, Bless all people through you
We read throughout the Old and New testaments of God’s fulfilment of these promises.
Our hope begins with a promise. A promise given by the one who is forever true. A promise of better days to come.
Hope Is Centered On a Person
Hope Is Centered On a Person
15 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
15 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
The vision for a better future (v.14) isn’t just wishful thinking. It isn’t just a matter of having enough faith. It isn’t about a season or a program or a better way of life.
The vision for a better future (v.14) isn’t just wishful thinking. It isn’t just a matter of having enough faith. It isn’t about a season or a program or a better way of life.
The vision for a better future (v.14) isn’t just wishful thinking. It isn’t just a matter of having enough faith. It isn’t about a season or a program or a better way of life.
v.14 The days are coming. v.15 In those days… at just the right time
Our hope is centered on the person of Jesus.
v.14 The days are coming. v.15 In those days… at just the right time
Hope begins with a promise that points to a specific Person – Jesus the Messiah. Christ in the NT
Our hope is centered on the person of Jesus.
I will make a righteous Branch.
Righteous = right standing. Always in the right. Perpetually doing the good and just.
Our hope is centered on the person of Jesus.
Righteous = right standing. Always in the right. Perpetually doing the good and just.
A new branch, offspring coming out from the line of David
King David – so a King. The line that was promised to rule forever.
God’s promise throughout the Old Testament is to raise up a King, a King like David but better, a King to rule the people and bless the whole earth.
To Adam and Eve after they fell
Our hope is centered on the person of Jesus.
To Adam and Eve
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
To Abraham Land, Great Nation, Bless all people through you
To Abraham
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Land, Great Nation, Bless all people through you
Bless all people through you, through your line, your future Son
Through the prophet Isaiah
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
,
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
Back in Jeremiah 33
16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
15 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
v.16 in short term Judah saved and Jerusalem live in safety.
(change to The Lord Our Righteousness)
v.16 in short term Judah saved and Jerusalem live in safety.
v.16 in short term Judah saved and Jerusalem live in safety.
In the long term prophecy, Name declared over Jerusalem The Lord our Righteousness. but also a name of Jesus the Messiah.
The Lord Our Righteousness in Hebrew Jehovah Tsidqenu. Play on the name of king Zedekiah
Zedekiah failed Jerusalem. Jehovah Tsidqenu will rescue and restore.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
our Righteousness
our Righteousness
The Gospel – the Good News is based on this hope as well.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Righteous One who did not sin became unrighteousness for us, took our sin on Himself.
The Righteous One who did not sin became unrighteousness for us, took our sin on Himself.
SO THAT we could become righteousness.
Our hope begins with God’s promise and is centered on the Person of Jesus – Messiah, Christ, Savior, Lord our Righteousness
Hope Changes Us In the Present
Hope Changes Us In the Present
When you fully realize what this Good News means – the promised King rescuing you from your sinfulness and placing on you His own righteousness – the hope we have in Him transforms us.
This transformation grows in us a new way of thinking, a new set of priorities, a new approach to how we make decisions, a new longing to reach the promised future life with Jesus.
We are changed, we are wrecked for this world, we are living with our heads in this world and our hearts in the next world that is promised.
Not only does this hope change us in the present, it gives us a different approach to the future because the real Power of Hope is that…
Hope Motivates Us to Risk
Hope Motivates Us to Risk
Hope provides us with a vision of God’s future which motivates us to risk.
We see this same response in Jeremiah.
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.
3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
Prophecy that Babylon will break through and defeat Jerusalem and take Zedekiah captive
(just 3a)
Prophecy that Babylon will break through and defeat Jerusalem and take Zedekiah captive
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me:
7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’
8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ “I knew that this was the word of the Lord;
9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.
He bought the land knowing it would fall out of their hands for a time, but risking for the future (70 years) as promised.
(just 9a)
He bought the land knowing it would fall out of their hands for a time, but risking for the future (70 years) as promised.
After the transaction is complete, Jeremiah prays.
v.22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors
v.24b-25 because they did not obey you (idolatry) all these things happened just as you said they would. And you told me to buy land and have the transaction witnessed.
v.42-44 God promised to return the people to the land promised to them. Fields will be bought with silver, transactions witnessed. God will restore Jerusalem
Based on God’s record of keeping His promises, and based on God’s word to Jeremiah, he was willing to risk for the future.
Jeremiah risked being thrown in jail. Risked being killed. Risked to buy land as a prophetic guarantee that God’s word was true and His promise would happen.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Today on our first Sunday of Advent we celebrate the hope we have in the coming promised person.
Promise of the Person who transforms our today and gives us hope for all our tomorrows.
We are sure in that hope because of God’s forever faithfulness in keeping his promises.
And not just the promise of the birth of our Savior but the future hope as well.
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
(just 15a)
Big Idea: Our hope is in a reliable God, a righteous Savior, and a restored future.
Big Idea: Our hope is in a reliable God, a righteous Savior, and a restored future.
Big Idea: Our hope is in a reliable God, a righteous Savior, and a restored future.
What About You?
What About You?
What are you placing your hope in? Who are you placing your hope in?
Is your hope centered on the person of Jesus our Savior and Lord of Righteousness?
Have you allowed the Lord of Righteousness to transform you? Transform your heart and mind and priorities?
How does the hope of a future restoration by Jesus motivate you to risk today?
What are you willing to risk today?