Seeking Hope
Notes
Transcript
Confident expectation, ranging in degree from an ordinary desire felt with eager anticipation to a defining characteristic of those who seek God and experience his grace. In the latter (theological) sense hope is a virtue constitutive of God’s people, both Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New Testament.
Mission and Vision
Today is the first day of advent
I want to give you guys some info on advent
Advent is the beginning of the Christian calendar
The color is purple… hints the bulletin and all the stuffs
This is the season of expectation where the ancient church has been celebrating for 2 thousand years.
This season we focus on the birth of Jesus and what that has to do with our lives today
The season of Advent prepares our hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas day
During Advent we focus on themes like expectation, hope, faith, love, peace, joy, light, and fulfillment
It is not for a particular denomination, it is a season for all believers to celebrate if they so choose
We are kicking off a sermon series titled SEEKING
say seeking
To seek something is to intentionally search. To long. to yearn. To desire soemthing
During this Advent, which is a time to focus ourselves on what Jesus coming into the world means… we are going to look at what we seek and how it is ultimately found in Jesus Christ
First we need to define our space. I want to set us up in History
Our story is not about us. We find ourselves stepping into a story that is steeped in history
We are a part of the Story of the redemption of the world
That story didn’t start on Easter or on Christmas mourn, but started way back in the Garden
Let’s talk history
Adam and eve were made perfect and walked in perfect communion with the Lord
They had each other and they had God yet they were tempted by the serpent, that is the devil, to seek for more
there wasn’t more… there was actually less, yet they thought that what they had was not enough and that by seeking fulfillment in another place outside of GOd that they could find it.
They fall and have kids who have kids who have kids
Eventually God decides to create a nation
Israel was the nation that God chose in order to show the world who he is and how he relates to humanity and how holy he is
God picked Abraham out of everyone on the face of the earth
Abraham had 2 grandchildren Jacob and Esau
God chose Jacob
Jacob was crooked. He sought ways to find fulfillment in things other than God… namely his cunning. But he had a transformation where God renamed him Israel
Israel had12 children who became the 12 tribes
These tribes became tribes in captivitiy
While in captivity they lost their identity as God’s holy people. They became like the world they were forced to serve
They forgot how to seek God and began seeking other gods and pleasures and comforts
God remembered them and through Moses brought them out of Egypt
While they were in the desert he reminded them who he was and who they were because of him
He reminded them of his covenant to bring salvation to all people through them
He reminded them of how they were supposed to be different from the world
They eventually became a Kingdom when they entered into the land that God had promised them
While in their land they forgot again who God was and who they were because of HIm
God allowed them to be taken in to captivitiy
They were reminded in Captivity who God was
They were released only to be taken under the opression of regime after regime
Through every season of the history of Israel there was this dicotomy that they had to deal with.
They had the promises that God had given them, but they also had the reality of the world around them not lining up with the ultimate goal of where God was taking them
In their frustration and lack of faith in the Lord they turned to other things to seek fulfillment of the promises that God had made for them
When the world around them didn’t feel like they were the chosen people, when they struggled to find hope and joy and peace… instead of allowing that feeling to turn them towards God they were seeking for that fulfillment in other things.
Anything we use as a substitute for God is called an idol
Now not every single Hebrew had turned away from God.
God had always kept a remnant of people who continued to seek for God’s fulfillment to his promises in him
There was always a remnant that was seeking for Jesus. For the Messiah that was going to bring all promises into fulfillment within the will and ways of the Lord
This is the world that we step into in the Christmas narrative
We step into a world where the hebrew people are living under roman occupation. They are not free and are not experiencing the vitality of life that their scriptures.. our Old Testament.. had promised
WE step into a time where the people of God were seeking for a place to put their hope
And there were plenty of options being presented
The romans told the people to put their hope in Rome. The great empire that promised peace and stability
The religious told the people to put their hopes in works righteousness. Follow the 10 commandments, the tenak, the talmudic teachings, the rabbi’s teachings… follow the law to the letter and beyond and then you can have a hope
The market place told the people to put their hope in wealth
The influence of the world was very present in trying to lead the people away form God’s promise and the Hope that is found only in him.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
What the psalmist is telling us in this section is that we as human beings seek to put our hope in things that will ultimately fail us
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
The psalm is specifically talking about placing our hope in earthly items for our protection when they cannot follow through and deliver
See the children of Israel put their hope in world powers and politics for protection, in the amount of gold they had acquired, in their religious standing… in all the stuff that they could see and earn and understand.
in every season of their history, they found themselves seeking for somewhere besides God to put their hope
Let’s look at our scripture for today
We see that what the Israelites were seeking, what they hoped for was found in Christ
WE see that salvation is what they ultimately hoped for
They sought all sorts of ways to find salvation, some sense of safety and fullness. Some sense that there was wholeness and love and light that secured their now and their eternity
This is found only in Christ
The awesome thing is that unlike the people in the old testament, we are not looking forward to some event.
This Advent, we are waiting for the fulfillment of our hope, right. But we are not waiting based solely on prophecy. Our advent is rooted in the partial realiztion of what Christ has already done for us
Our hope is found in the fact that 2000 years ago Jesus was born as the prophecies foretold, he suffered, he died, and then he was raised from the dead as proof that we can hope in him and not be dissapointed
Hope put in Christ will never ultimately let you down
This is one of the things about this season that the secular world gets wrong
THis is the time of the year when people who are not christians talk about hope and joy and peace.
They borrow our words, but they lack the substance to fulfill in what they proclaim
The secular christmas tells us to put our hope in hope or magic or mystery… and then they make up what that’s supposed to be
They feed us a bunch of fairy tales that will ultimately leave us flat
We are taught to put our hope in wishing on a star, or sending out a letter,… but what happens when our hopes in empty things are left unrealized
reads like this
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
We don’t just need hope in hope.
That doesn’t do anything for us
your hope is only as life giving as what you have hope in
THe things of this world, the fairy tales that we are fed, the world powers that parade around like they are eternal and are the ones we should put our hope in… they will eventually leave your heart sick
But if you are seeking hope this season. Be aware that you can be putting your hope in some things that are great gifts… but they are not what we are supposed to seek for our hope.
Don’t seek hope in family. In the eyes of a child
Don’t seek hope in people. In money. In world powers an security of the stock market
Don’t seek hope in living in your past
The only place to seek hope is in that manger. In the cross. In the empty tomb.
The only place to seek hope where it will never be disappointed is in the REALITY of Jesus Christ and what he has already done for you!
Re-Read
Communion