Hope
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Advent 2020: We celebrate the coming of the birth of our King, as we look forward to the 2nd Advent of Him to bring us into eternity
Hope
In the worst of times God’s people have a nevertheless to comfort themselves with, something to allay and balance their troubles; they are persecuted, but not forsaken (2 Co. 4:9), sorrowful yet always rejoicing, 2 Co. 6:10. And it is matter of comfort to us, when things are at the darkest, that he who forms the light and creates the darkness (ch. 45:7) has appointed to both their bounds and set the one over against the other, Gen. 4:4. He can say, “Hitherto the dimness shall go, so long it shall last, and no further, no longer.”1
1 Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1095.
What is Hope?
defined by many to be a trivial pursuit
an attempt to make yourself feel better even though circumstances say otherwise
biblical Hope
Where there is a belief in the living God, who acts and intervenes in human life and who can be trusted to implement his promises, hope in the specifically biblical sense becomes possible. Such hope is not a matter of temperament, nor is it conditioned by prevailing circumstances or any human possibilities. It does not depend upon what a man possesses, upon what he may be able to do for himself, nor upon what any other human being may do for him. 1
1 R. V. G. Tasker, “Hope,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 480.
Hope is what we need, hope is what we have
Provision (2-3)
Provision (2-3)
Darkness of oppression
Assyria strong and Israel weak
oppression seen as darkness
Sin is oppression
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Darkness of sin
when you know it is wrong, you can feel it
Gladness
Provision in harvest
provision in spoils of war
Let’s be glad
light reveals the truth
reveals darkness and sin
we can choose the right path
once in darkness, now in light
Victory (4-5)
Victory (4-5)
picture of victor burning garments of enemy
sin no longer has a hold!
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
We have VICTORY! (emp)
Hope in a child (6-7)
Hope in a child (6-7)
Israel longed for Messiah
to bring light to dark existence
gov. on his shoulders
He will rule
easy yoke to bear
meant much to a people who were enslaved
Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace
WC - no longer trust in men, Kings failed to seek God
MG - no one stronger, no longer oppressed
EF - here forever, care, love, protection never ending
PP - no more fighting, battles, peace brought by him and is lasting
Same for us
Hope
the longing for what is to come
Romans 8:24-25For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
In 1965, naval aviator James B. Stockdale became one of the first American pilots to be shot down during the Vietnam War. As a prisoner of the Vietcong, he spent seven years as a P.O.W., during which he was frequently tortured in an attempt to break him and get him to denounce the U.S. involvement in the war. He was chained for days at a time with his hands above his head so that he could not even swat the mosquitoes. Today, he still cannot bend his left knee and walks with a severe limp from having his leg broken by his captors and never reset. One of the worst things done to him was that he was held in isolation away from the other American P.O.W.s and allowed to see only his guards and interrogators.
How could anyone survive seven years of such treatment? As he looks back on that time, Stockdale says that it was his hope that kept him alive. Hope of one day going home, that each day could be the day of his release. Without hope, he knew that he would die in hopelessness, as others had done.
Such is the power of hope that it can keep one alive when nothing else can.1
1 Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively, Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989).
Conclusion
Conclusion
We have hope in our salvation
freedom from sin and temptation
freedom from eternal consequences of our sin
an eternal home in Glory
We hope is the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Where is your hope?