God With Us brings Hope

When Hope Seems Lost

Have you ever heard those stories about someone lost at sea? In the summer of 2017, two longtime commercial fishermen—John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski—set out to fish from Montauk, Long Island. As they headed out to sea, about forty miles offshore, Anthony was sleeping below deck while John started to get things ready for the catch they would soon begin to haul in. He was pulling on a handle with all his might when it snapped, sending him sprawling backward—and right off the back of the boat.

The boat was on autopilot, so it just kept cruising. As soon as he resurfaced from under the water, John began screaming for help even though he knew there was no way Anthony would ever hear him. And Anthony did not hear him.

John watched the boat go up and over the crest of a wave, and then it was gone. Like that, he couldn’t see it anymore. He was alone, treading water in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, without a life vest, thinking this was the way he was going to die.

Can you imagine what that must have felt like? If there’s ever been a hopeless situation, that has got to be it.

Or is it?

While John was trying to calm down, quiet his thoughts of certain death, and stay afloat, he realized that his boots were very buoyant. And he got an idea. He took one off, emptied it out, and plunged it back into the water so that it created an air pocket. It did. And it floated. So John stuck his boots under his arms as flotation devices.

At least he could stay afloat. A flicker of hope.

John thought of his family and the fact that no one, anywhere, even knew that he was missing. Except maybe the two sharks that swam about fifteen feet away, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to care. He tried to set goals, beginning with just living till morning.

Four hours later, Anthony woke up and realized John was gone. He called the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard began its search procedures, even though the Coast Guard commander admitted he didn’t have much hope of finding John in so much open water.

On the boat, Anthony found the broken handle and knew what John must have been doing when he went overboard—which also meant he knew the ocean depth of where he would have been doing it.

John made it alive to morning and tried to keep his hope alive. But the hours kept passing, and there was no sign of help. Finally he spotted a fishing buoy and was able reach it and climb onto it. This was a new surge of hope.

In less than an hour a Coast Guard helicopter flew nearby and spotted John waving and splashing. They pulled him up to safety. “We’ve been looking for you for nine hours today,” the Coast Guard rescue diver told John. “Well, I’ve been looking for you for twelve,” John answered.

[For more context, the story can be found at Sunday Morning, CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lost-at-sea-a-harrowing-story-of-survival/.]

Miraculously, John Aldridge survived. What an amazing story! And what amazing hope! If it were most of us out there bobbing alone in the middle of the ocean, we probably would have given up hope that there was even a chance—a sliver of a chance—to survive.

But hope is like that. Hope is the whisper that maybe, maybe these boots will float if I turn them upside down.

Do you identify with John?

Do you feel like all hope is lost?

Advent

Advent is actually a season of hope. The word adventmeans “coming” or “arrival,” and the season is marked by expectation, waiting, anticipation, and longing. Advent is not just an extension of Christmas—it is a season that links the past, present, and future. Advent offers us the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, to celebrate His birth, and to be alert for His second coming.

Advent is not a celebration that God comes to fix things—from broken computers to broken families to broken and hurting lives. Rather, simply, Advent is a celebration that God comes. God comes to be with us. He is the God with Us. In the darkness, in the pain, in the chaos, He comes. And He makes a way.

Hope Began in the Garden

The first time humanity had a reason to lose hope was the first time we were disobedient.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, it broke the direct connection we had with God. This was a connection Adam and Eve enjoyed freely with God, and now it was broken.

Even after they sin, we see God clothe them and care for them in Gen 3:21 “21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

God from Genesis, gives humanity hope in the Savior who would come. The people wait, and wait, for the Savior who would come and restore the human race to God. We see an example found in Isaiah who lived seven hundred years before Jesus.

Please turn with me to Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV

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.

Isaiah 7:14 RVR60

14 Por tanto, el Señor mismo os dará señal: He aquí que la virgen concebirá, y dará a luz un hijo, y llamará su nombre Emanuel.

700 years before Jesus, the promise of IMMANUEL is given. Remember that Immanuel literally means, God with Us.

For so long God had seemed distant and unreachable, and the prophet declares that “God with us” is coming.

In Chapter 9, we see the prophecy in detail as they read this morning. Let’s read it again:

Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:6–7 RVR60

6 Porque un niño nos es nacido, hijo nos es dado, y el principado sobre su hombro; y se llamará su nombre Admirable, Consejero, Dios Fuerte, Padre Eterno, Príncipe de Paz. 7 Lo dilatado de su imperio y la paz no tendrán límite, sobre el trono de David y sobre su reino, disponiéndolo y confirmándolo en juicio y en justicia desde ahora y para siempre. El celo de Jehová de los ejércitos hará esto.

You may be wondering how that hope promised to people of Israel for generations upon generations affects you today.

How does the Hope of “God With Us” matter to us today?

Many of you have heard me preach about Hope at Christmas for years.

We live in a time that I wonder if we use the word “hope”, but don’t really mean anything by it.

Hope looks to the future. When the future looks hopeless, we quickly slip into depression or other problems. If you are there, I want to you to hear me clearly this morning:

We Have Hope Only Because He Lives!!!!!

No matter how dark things get, no matter how deep the pain is, no matter how hopeless things seem, JESUS LIVES!!!

BECAUSE HE LIVES, WE CAN FACE TOMORROW!

Hope is found in HIM!

Let’s look at three unchanging truths we can base our hope on everyday of our lives:

HOPE BASED ON GOD’S WORD

HOPE BASED ON GOD’S CHARACTER

HOPE BASED ON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS