Advent 1: Hope

Intro:

Welcome to Advent 2020!

The advent wreath is a teaching tool that has been traditionally apart of Catholic as well as Christian tradition for hundreds of years.

Today, we will focus on Advent in general and the candle of hope in particular.

1. Advent means “coming or arriving or appearing.”

a Our Lord’s advent/coming to earth was a history-changing, life-changing event.

aa Had baby Jesus not been born in a manger in Bethlehem we would not have had the man Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

bb He’s not done yet!

b Advent has historically tied the Jesus first coming (manger at Bethlehem) to the Jesus’ second coming.

Jesus came to save us.

He did this in fulfillment of Scriptures

The odds:

People love to play the lottery. Dreams of big money come along when the jackpot is over $100 million dollars! But, the odds of winning the lottery are not great. They aren’t even good. They are 1 in 258.9 million. Here’s a list of things that are more probable than winning the lottery:

1. Being audited by the IRS – about 1 in 175

2. Catching a foul ball at a baseball game – about 1 in 563

3. Being struck by lightning – about 1 in 12, 000

4. Losing an Appendage in a Chainsaw Accident - about 1 in 4,464

5. Going to the E.R. With a Pogo Stick-Related Injury – about 1 in 115,300

6. Being killed by a meteorite - about 1 in 700,000

7. Becoming a movie star - about 1 in 1.5 million

8. Dying from hot tap water – about 1 in 5 million

9. Dying in a plane crash – about 1 in 11,000,000

Jesus fulfilled hundreds of OT prophecies

. Picture yourself in the biggest wide-open space possible. Then stretch that space out by nearly 400 miles in every direction. That’s approximately the size of Texas, the second largest state in the United States, at 268,581 square miles. Now imagine silver dollars stacked two feet high across all of that space. Somewhere in there is one silver dollar painted red. Your job is to find it. A helicopter will drop you in. You have one chance to pick up the correct silver dollar. And you’ll be blindfolded, of course. If you find it, millions of people’s lives will be saved. If you don’t, the whole world goes up in flames. Sounds like a video game with impossible odds, doesn’t it?! But those are exactly the odds of one man fulfilling just eight of the prophecies of fulfilled by Jesus’ life. [http://thepropheticvoice.info/2019/08/16/the-improbable-christ/]

Since He fulfilled prophesies related to 1st advent, we can rest assured He will fulfill the rest.

aa The snatching away His bride 1 Thess. 4. 13-18 in the Rapture and the coming of Christ to earth to rule and reign in Rev. 1.7, 19:11-16.

Revelation 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.

Revelation 19:11–16 ESV

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

bb The first advent of Jesus Christ set up the hope of believers in the promised second advent.

2 We find ourselves in the “between times.”

He has come and is coming again, but what do we do until He gets here? BETWEEN TIMES!

a We long for the time when Isaiah 9:6-7

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

b We believers and the creation itself is waiting for Jesus to come again!

aa Rom. 8.18-25

Romans 8:18–25 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

bb In between we will follow Mark 12.29-31.

Mark 12:29–31 ESV

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

cc We long for the day when the long-expected Jesus comes for His bride, brings peace and justice and righteousness to the world.

3 The Advent wreath teaches us to bring the two advents together

(the one that has already happened 2,000 years ago) to the one that is coming quickly, Jesus’ second advent.

a The basic advent wreath consists of a circle, usually surrounded by green evergreen with four candles (3 purple/1 red or pink) and white candle in the center.

aa The circle of the wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity/endless mercy which has not beginning & no end.

bb The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God (newness, renewal, revival, eternal life)

b The candles remind us that Christ, the light of the world, has come into our sin darkened world to bring newness, life, and hope.

aa The four outer candles represent the period of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

bb Three purple/or blue candles (symbolize royalty), used during the Easter (or lenten) season to symbolize the suffering of the holy week. (Matt.27.27-31.)

cc The red (or pink) candle is traditionally seen as the candle of rejoicing, Rose of Sharon, encouraged to wear red to church, we are going to use it as a candle to remember the blood atonement paid by Jesus at Calvary.

c Each Sunday we’ll light a new candle plus the candles we’ve lit in prior weeks.

aa Symbolizes our waiting experience as we anticipate the coming of the Lord.

bb As more and more light is given off the more the darkness flees.

cc Each new candle reminds us that something is happening and that more is yet to come.

dd The center candle is the “Christ Candle” God keeps His promises! Faithful & true. All of his promises are “yes” and “Amen.”

Conclusion:

We will spend our Advent season looking at how God’s promises are progressive.

Today, Bethlehem and how God had promised His people in the Old Testament that He would not leave them w/o a shepherd to guide them.

a Draw attention to the expectation of a coming Messiah, Anointed One.

aa Suffer abuse from kings, governments, half-hearted religiosity but God would raise up a righteous King, Good Shepherd.

bb This golden thread is woven through out the pages of the OT & NT.

b The King is Coming and we shall see the King when He comes!