The Advent of Hope (2)

This week marks the beginning of the Advent season. Advent is biblical mandate but a way to help us prepare our hearts to truly celebrate Christ’s birth. Next to me we see the Advent wreath and each candle represents a important aspect of remembrance of our Christmas celebration.

Today we light the candle of Hope. Everyone needs hope. It seems that without hope we as humanity are lost.

There are libraries full of books, where all seems lost yet our hero or heroine grabs hold of a the tiniest glimmer of Hope and somehow is able to escape or save the day. There is something in all of us that loves these stories of hope. Perhaps it comes from an innate understanding that all of us need to be rescued from something.

The term of hope is found in some 115 passages of scripture. Not only is it a theme we consistently see in literature and Advent, but it is a major theme throughout scripture.

In the busyness and excitement of the holiday season we often forget that the incarnation of Christ came about because of the need for a rescue from sin’s cold grasp. Jesus was born into our helplessness and hopeless estate.

So I ask the following question today:

What is Hope? Maybe a better question yet, “ In what are you placing your hope?”

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Defines “hope” in this way:

“An Expectation of the fulfillment of something desired or Promised.

Today we start the advent season by looking at two men in scripture Mark and Isaiah, who proclaimed in the midst of despair there is Hope.

I. The Announcement of Hope

Mark 1:1–8 CSB

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. 3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight! 4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark tells us immediately that this is the beginning of something hopeful. Something new. Much like the background of the passage of Isaiah the people of Israel were in a difficult time. All of Israel was now under Roman rule. They were under occupation once again by those who did not worship the true God. Their beliefs and customs were constantly violated. They were in need of something real to hope in.

A rescue was coming.

II. Prophesy fulfilled

Isaiah 40:1–5 CSB

1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and announce to her that her time of hard service is over, her iniquity has been pardoned, and she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” 3 A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

This was written by Isaiah the prophet some 700 years before the birth of Christ. Isaiah was a prophet during a very dark time in Israels history. The people had rebelled against God. As a result the nation had split in two. The northern 10 tribes became the Northern kingdom or Israel and the remaining two tribes became known as Judah. If we were to read the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, We would see time and time again Isaiah warning of the terrible cost of their rebellion. Their cities were burned to the ground. Their fields stopped producing crops. They were attacked repeatedly and eventually conquered by the Assyrians. All Hope had disappeared. In all of this mess, God still had a heart to redeem his broken people.

In Chapter 40 God tells Isaiah the day has come to comfort his people. In this we see a picture of the Gospel message. God told Isaiah that there would soon come a day of forgiveness and Pardon. This prophesy both applied to the people of Israel then but one day an even better hope was coming one that applied to the entire world.

Isn’t awesome that our faith did not just burst onto the scene without warning. Can you imagine if a man came claiming to be God asking us to radically change , repent and follow him, Without any prophesies about his birth. He Just suddenly appeared. Well to us this would appear to be just another fad or cult.

God in his mercy, knowing the skepticism of man’s unrepentant heart prophesied in great detail 700 years before He was born that Hope was coming in the form of a baby.

Trans: Next we see that Both Isaiah and John the Baptist preached that mankind was to prepare.

III. The Preparation to take place

A. Isaiah Preached repentance so that Israel may return and be rescued from bondage.

Isaiah 30:15 CSB

15 For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing.”

This idea of returning is the same idea of repenting. To turn from something to something else.

Trans: Isaiah prophesied there would be another prophet like himself, who would preach repentance.

B. John preached repentance so those listening might accept the rescuer and be freed from the bondage of sin.

Mark 1:1–4 CSB

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. 3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight! 4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

. John’s only mission was to prepare the hearts of the people for the rescue that was about to take place.

So how should one prepare for the rescuer that is coming?

Repent and turn from your sins and then turn toward the rescuer. Jesus Christ.

Application: You see just as it has been from the beginning there is no celebration of Jesus without repentance. There is no receiving him until one has had a change of heart.

III. A Hope to be recieved

Just as Isaiah preached that God’s wrath would be satisfied and there was now Hope.

There would be one that was sent to prepare the way for Hope to enter into the World. There would be a better hope an eternal hope. The scripture describe for is in great deal.

Mark 1:7–8 CSB

7 He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Just like John the baptist, I am here today to tell you there is a better hope. But a message of hope only brings hope is it recieved and believed.

We live in a world that is desperate for some words of hope. Unfortunately, just like in Jesus day many are looking for Hope in something instead of someone. The religious leaders rejected John the baptist message, they would not prepare their hearts by repenting, and so they missed the true hope in our savior. They didn’t want to be saved from their sins.

They wanted a better country a nation free from corruption, racial prejudice against the Jews, and Roman governmental control. They wanted peace and security and had placed their hope in these things.

Sound familiar...

We see this in our time...

People are looking for hope in political systems - I can promise you our politicians will continue to disappoint.

They are looking for hope in a vaccine - I can promise you in this world death will always be present

They are looking for hope in a career - I can promise you it will soon just be another job.

The Answer to our problems are not political, their not systems. It’s the gospel. It is the answer.

They are looking for hope in everyplace accept the one place that can actually deliver.

Isaiah 30:15 CSB

15 For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing.”

Both Isaiah and John the Baptist preached repent and turn and in this you will fine rest, confidence, and true hope.

Closing: Are you willing.

Romans 8:19–21 CSB

19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.