2019 Advent - Hope
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Where do you start?
Abraham is certainly a picture of hope! God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation out of him. Yet, Abraham for 25 years did not have even one son with his wife Sarah.
Abraham certainly had to grow in his faith over those 25 years, but he was a man of hope!
Paul described him this way...
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abraham and Sarah were well past the age of having children. There was no hope of having a son. But God… But God makes a promise. So against all human logic, against all worldly wisdom of how things work, Abaham believed God’s promise.
What is hope? Some think of hope as merely optimism. Looking for, and expecting the best. Optimism is more subjective. Its root is in the choice and perception of the optimist.
Is Hope just optimism? No, there was not possible way this could happen. It was not just optimism.
The Hope that God gives is grounded in Objective truth. It is grounded in the Promise of God. And the objective truth is God, who cannot lie, keeps His promises.
The Holy Spirit inspired the author of Hebrews to explain it this way...
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,
saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”
And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Hope is an objective choice to live in expectation of what God will do.
Hope believes what God says, and looking forward to what Him doing what He promises, lives accordingly, because He cannot lie, and always does what He says.
That is what Romans 4:18 is about. Abraham chose to believe God. Look at it again with me.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Even though the world says this is how things go, Abraham chose to listen to God instead. He had hope, because he made the choice to believe God.
Hope is objectively grounded in God and what He has promised.
Abraham is a great example of Hope, and an example for us. For, hope is not just for Him.
Look with me at the passage for today, Hebrews 6:18-20
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Hebrews has been using the example of Abraham, but here it switches from Abraham to us. Notice it says ‘we’ and ‘us’.
God wants us to have hope just as much as Abraham did.
Let’s look closely at this verse.
We who have fled...
Hope flees to refuge
Hope flees to refuge
Fled means to flee for refuge, like in Acts 14:6, when Paul and Barnabas found out that the Jews were planning to stone them, so they fled from the town of Iconium to Lystra and Derbe. They fled from a dangerous situation to a place of safety.
In Hebrews it says we who have fled. We face difficult, sometimes dangerous things in life. What should we do? If we dwell on the situation from a human standpoint, we will have no hope.
If Abraham would have looked at his situation from a human standpoint, he would have been hopeless.
Instead of dwelling on the situation, we need to Flee for refuge!
Where do we flee to? We’ll get to that in a second.
The next thing we see in verse 18...
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
We flee to refuge to take hold of Hope set before us.
To take hold of here is to grasp strongly. It has an element of strength behind it.
Have you ever started to fall, or slide down a hill? I have. Hiking through the jungle were we had about 30 inches of rain a month, the mountain trails could get really slippery! I have had my share of slips and falls. What do you do when you slip and start sliding down a steep path? You reach and grab hold of something to stop you from sliding! You don’t just hold it like you hold a pen, or a flower, or your coat or whatever you hold casually. No, when you are sliding down a hill, you grab hold with all your strength!
That is the word here. You are in a situation where you feel like you are sliding down that mountain path, out of control. You reach out and grab hold of something to stop your slide before you go over the edge… what is it you grab hold of?
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
The hope set before us!! Set before us means that we don’t manufacture it like we might manufacture optimism. No, it is set before us. It is provided for us. Who provides it?
God is providing that rock solid hope for us.
Look at the next verse...
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
It is an anchor! God provides for us an anchor for our souls, our lives, which is firm and secure.
Hebrews describes is as entering the sanctuary behind the curtain.
Back in the day when this was written, the context was the seafaring vessels in the Mediterranean. Often the harbors were small, and not all of the vessels would fit. So some had to anchor outside the harbor. Anchors could hold a boat just because of the weight of the anchor in calmer seas. But if there was a storm, and the anchor had nothing to hold onto, the boat would move.
Story
So, instead of just relying on the weight of the anchor, the sailors would often use a small boat to carry the anchor into the harbor and lodge it in the reef. That is what Hebrews describes.
where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus has placed a firm anchor for us. It is anchored behind the veil. The imagery used is the Temple the Jews used to worship the Lord.
Inside the temple, was the Holy of Holies, behind a thick curtain. This is where the ark of the covenant was kept. The top of the Ark was the Mercy seat where the blood was sprinkled to cover sin.
Jesus was the true sacrifice for our sin. He removed all that separated us from God when He died on the cross. He rose from the grave to give us new life, and a new relationship with God. We have been shown mercy, and we are dearly loved!
Hope is anchored in God’s love!
Hope is anchored in God’s love!
He has placed an anchor firmly in the presence of God. He has placed an anchor in the mercy of God. That is the anchor that holds fast in every storm. We are anchored firmly in God’s mercy and love!
As I was studying this, it reminded me of the passage we just covered in our Monday night Bible Study. Acts 27.
Turn there with me.
Paul is on his way to Rome. He was arrested in Jerusalem under false charges. He was imprisoned for years as a favor to the Jews. Finally, he appealed to go to Caesar’s court as a Roman citizen.
So, he was being transported to Rome as a prisoner. But the journey was late in the year, and it was not a safe time to travel on the sea.
This is a true account of Hope. Let’s look at it together.
We are picking up the story where Paul, who has a relationship with the Roman commander in charge of the prisoners warns them.
“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”
But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.
Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island.
The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.
As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure,
so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.
We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.
On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
At first their hope was in what they could do. They could handle this. Just lower the anchor to slow the ship down. Okay. Now lighten the ship.
When things were getting worse instead of better, they even through over the tackle to lighten the ship more!
They were getting desparate. They had placed their hope in their skills as sailors. They found out that they couldn’t handle this. They were sliding down that mountain and all they grabbed was breaking away and not helping them! They were in danger!
After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.
But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.
Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me
and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
They stopped eating. Why? They were without hope. They had hoped in themselves. They hoped in the sailors. But this didn’t work. Things were not going to work out.
But not Paul. Paul had hope. In the midst of the storm, Paul fled for refuge. Where did he go? He went to the Lord.
Notice where he says, “God to whom I belong.” He fled to the fact that he was God’s. God bought him with the precious blood of Christ. Nothing would happen that God would not be with him, giving him what he needed. God would supply the grace and strength he needed.
Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
Anchor of Hope does not stop the storm, nor stop all trials. No, the anchor of Hope just holds keeps the ship from being swept away by the storm!
On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.
Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.
Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.
Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”
After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
Paul shared the hope of God.
He broke bread and gave thanks to God.
I think Paul told them of Jesus and His love. He shared Jesus!
They were all encouraged.
Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.
Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.
But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.
But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.
The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
Fled for Refuge to God
Held fast to the Anchor of God’s mercy and love
Knew God’s promise
Trusted God
Expressed thanks to God
Praised God
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
Homework:
Read Psalm 9. Look at verse 1 again in light of verse 13. What was apparently going on in David’s life? (verse 13) What did David choose to do? (verse 1). One of the first steps to hope is to remember the Lord, and to choose to give thanks to Him for all of His wonderful deeds. Then, choosing to sing praises to Him is the next step. Read the Psalm again and list the things God has done. Then, make your own list of what God has done for you. Take time to praise Him. Memorize Psalm 9:10.
Read Psalm 16. What does it mean to take refuge in Him? What does verse 4 say will happen when people run after other things thinking that they will provide security? What are the things you tend to look to for refuge, for security in life? Confess those things, and tell the Lord Psalm 16:5-8.
Read Psalm 25. What was David struggling with according to verses 16-19? Again, in verse 20, David is taking refuge in the Lord. How? Read verses 1-3. What is the relationship between trust and hope? Notice again, that verse 1 is a choice David is making. Pray verses 1-3 to the Lord. Memorize Psalm 25:1-2.
Read Psalm 33. Notice the first step again is praising the Lord. What does waiting have to do with Hope? What is the basis for hope in the Lord in verse 18? Consider His love for you. How has He shown his love for you? How is His love for you unfailing? How does His unfailing love impact your struggles? Memorize Psalm 33:18.
Read Psalm 42. Feeling downcast is real. As we experience suffering and trials in this life, we will have feelings of sadness. we will at times feel like God has forgotten us. We will have tears for our food and drink. But, notice how David fought against those feelings. He acknowledged the feelings, and then thirsted for God. He longed to spend time with God. He challenged himself, “Why are you so downcast?” He commanded himself to do what? What did he look for by day? What did he listen to at night (verse 8). Pour out your soul to Him, and then look for His love, and listen to Him.
Read Psalm 119:50. What are some of God’s promises to you?