Saturday, December 22, 2018

Advent 2018: Are We Ready for Hope? Reasons for Hope in Troubling Times


Three weeks ago I had the privilege of preaching on the first Sunday of Advent at Clover Baptist Church in Clover, VA. You may find the notes for my sermon below. Merry Christmas! 

Are we ready for Hope? Reasons for Hope in Troubling Times: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-36

Introduction: 
Today marks the first Sunday in the Advent season. For those churches who celebrate by following a liturgical calendar, the first Sunday of Advent is a time for lighting the first candle on the Advent wreath and discussing the idea of Hope. The concept of Advent as a season is established on the idea of expectation and preparation for the celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, the Incarnation of God in flesh—that is, the first coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem. In the West we celebrate this day as December 25, Christmas day. Our American culture is skilled at anticipating Christmas. In fact, some may say we enter into a bit of overkill in that “anticipation”! We so engorge ourselves on Christmas spirit that we are bloated with the stress of the season, and nearly sick of Christmas music by the time the twelve days of Christmas actually arrive. Part of that is because this first “coming” of Jesus has already come, and we have attached a date to it. We know when to expect it, so we build up anticipation as we count down the days (maybe even the hours) until the event happens.

It was not always so. The first of our two texts (from Jeremiah) represents a time prior to this blessed first coming. The prophet Jeremiah had been imprisoned (33:1). The armies of Babylon, were advancing on Jerusalem. The streets of Jerusalem would soon be filled with the corpses of her people (33:4-5). Jeremiah's prophecies of judgment that put him in prison were coming true. For nearly 400 years, descendants of David had occupied the throne of Judah. God promised David's house and kingdom would endure before Him forever (2 Samuel 7:16). But soon the Babylonians would destroy David's city, burn Solomon's temple, and take David's heirs into exile. It was a time of trouble and distress, but not one without some hope. In the midst of catastrophe, Jeremiah spoke words of hope. He spoke of a restoration, which included the line of David. To a people soon to be devastated by loss, Jeremiah's prophecy offered promise, an anticipation of the hope of rescue. God was still faithful. The house of David might be cut down, but God can bring life out of death. A branch would sprout. God would send the Messiah. (READ Jeremiah 33:14-16)

The time of Jeremiah isn’t really unfamiliar to us. Although we get ready to celebrate the first coming of Messiah prophesied by Jeremiah, we also face times of trouble. Our world is not always a safe place. In fact, if you read the news it seems to get worse every day. In the spirit of those “end” times or troubled times, our second passage resounds like a thunderclap. In the middle of bows, ribbons, lights, cheery Christmas music, and the ongoing reminder that God sent his Son and became one of us, we also find ourselves in trouble or trials, a little distressed, feeling a bit like things are quickly falling apart. In Luke's Gospel, we find words from Jesus that we may pair up with the words of Jeremiah. Rather than speaking of a coming Messiah, a babe in a manger, or a “holy night” in which angles sing and shepherds and wise men rejoice, Jesus speaks of a time of shaking and judgment. This is an apocalyptic second coming of Messiah that will resound with God’s justice and holiness. When Messiah returns a second time, things will be a bit different. (Read Luke 21:25-36)

Both of these passages are delivered in a context of troubled times (current for the Jews in Jeremiah’s day and somewhat more distant for the recipients of Jesus’ words). Yet both passages also remind us that there is “hope”. That in this season of Advent (first or second), we can find reason for hope in spite of the trouble. Are we ready for hope?

Our passages today point us to three reasons for hope: 1) God’s timing is right, 2) God’s Word is reliable, and 3) God will rescue his people. If you are ready for some hope in troubled times, then let’s take a closer look at these.

Are we ready for hope? Hope can be found in reliance on God’s timing.

Point 1—God’s Time is Right: Days are coming (Jer)/there will be signs (Luke)
"But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, . . ." - Galatians 4:4 (HCSB)

"Jesus’ arrival during the Roman Empire’s Pax Romana (the peace of Rome) was perfect timing. The known world was united by one language of commerce. A network of global trade routes provided open access to the whole world. All of this guaranteed that the gospel could move rapidly in one tongue. No visas. No impenetrable borders. Only unhindered access to help spread the news of the Savior whose crucifixion fulfilled the prophecy of the Lamb who would be slain for our sins. All in God’s perfect timing!" - Joe Stowell (President of Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, Michigan)

"All history is in God's hand. He knows the best season for sending help to His church and new light to the world. Let us not be anxious about the course of events around us, as if we knew better than the King of kings what time relief should come." J. C. Ryle

If we think God has forgotten us, we need to think again. When the time is right, He’ll show up, and when He does, we’ll be amazed at His timing!

When the Jews faced exile in Babylon, God sent Jeremiah to prophesy not only doom and gloom, but also to speak of a future and a hope. In the time of Jesus, God fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah to send a branch. In the future, he will send this Son to establish an eternal kingdom based on the promise to David that seemed to end so long ago. In other words, the times are in his hands. What are we waiting for to which we think God is late in responding? Where are we thinking God is “missing the mark” in our lives? If his timing was right in all these things, why do we think he will be late now? Where is our hope?

Are we ready for hope? Hope comes from trusting God’s timing. God is on time and reliable. Hope also comes from a realization that God’s Word is reliable. He does what he says he will do! Are we ready for hope?

Point 2—God’s Word is Reliable: Fulfill the good word (Jer)/none of his words will pass away (Luke)

These verses remind us that God had not forgotten His promise or His people.

"The Bible is full of God’s promises to provide for us spiritually and materially, to never forsake us, to give us peace in times of difficult circumstances, to cause all circumstances to work together for our good, and finally to bring us safely home to glory. Not one of those promises is dependent upon our performance. They are all dependent on the grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ." - Jerry Bridges

Adoniram Judson: "The future is as bright as the promises of God."

The passages from Jeremiah and Luke represent a promise and a proclamation of what will last forever: Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s words and promises will never pass away. These are the words of Messiah Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God.  Even though the world may be cast into oblivion, the word of God remains. Jesus not only says what God wants us to hear, Jesus’ very life is the revelation and expression of what we need to know about God (John 1:18). Jesus explains God (and his plan) by both his Words and his life. Where is our hope placed? Do we rely on what God has said, or are we confused and conflicted by the terrifying “signs of the times” that take our minds off of jingling bells and Christmas wreaths and cause us to worry that things are going horribly wrong?

Are we ready for hope? Hope is found in trusting what God has said, but it also recognizes that God isn’t finished yet. If God’s Word is reliable, then we can count on the fact that God will rescue those who trust him. Are we ready for hope?

Point 3—God will Rescue his people: Justice and Righteousness (Jeremiah)/redemption draws near (Luke)

God will fulfill his Word, he will keep his promise. One part of that promise is rescue for those who trust in him. God will provide justice, righteousness, and redemption for all those who welcome the first coming of Jesus and look forward to his second coming!

What does it mean to live in hope and expectation?  It means we build ourselves up with hopes of what can be in the redemption promised in Jesus.  It involves making preparations and plans.  It involves living in particular ways so that we find ourselves prepared for what will happen when Messiah returns.

Christians should be a people yearning to keep hope alive, to see beyond what we see, to perceive something higher, and deeper and richer than what we can merely observe with our eyes. We are called as beloved children of God to push beyond just what we can see, into the things for which what we can hope. Paul reminds us, “Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25)

The hope that we are to have as Christians pushes us into some apparent yet wonderful absurdities—like the idea that God became one of us, he became a helpless baby. God became one of us and took on our sin and suffering. God even died for our sins, but then he got up out of the grave.

Christians who look at Jesus in the manger and say “Yes, that is what God looks like,” or gaze at Jesus hanging on the cross and declare, “There is God too,” may seem simply absurd, but at least our faith encompasses birth and death, life and suffering, and declares that none of it is outside of God.

Everyone in the human race wants a life that is fulfilling, a life that is full of purpose and complete. In Jeremiah’s time, the people were using the promise of the Davidic dynasty as an excuse to pursue what they wanted by looking everywhere but to God. Today we use technology or prosperity or even trouble as an excuse to look for fulfillment in things that do not honor our Creator. But that which we want will never be ours until we recognize that we need a right relationship with our creator that has been provided through the sacrifice of the Messiah Jesus. That is our rescue; that is our hope!

Christian hope is standing right in the middle of life, the middle of the signs of the end of the times, and raising our heads because even in the middle of it all we get a sense that our redemption, our rescue is drawing near. That is a powerful image—in the midst of the chaos, standing on our tiptoes to catch a glimpse of what is promised beyond what we can see.  In the midst of the madness leaning towards redemption, towards rescue, moving toward hope like the sun flower moves towards the sun as it travels across the sky. Our hope is in God’s ability to keep his promises in his time.

Are we ready for hope? Are we recognizing that God’s timing is right, his Word is reliable, and his rescue is sure? Are we ready for hope?

It is interesting to discover that for the Jews in the pre-Christian era hope in the coming of the Messiah—the one who was to restore the fortunes of Israel—was dependent on God, but also place a requirement his people to act, to respond to his promise. God required, even demanded, human action. God's promised people were not to wait passively for God to bring justice to the widow and the orphan, they were to make sure that the widow and the orphan were taken care of in real time.

As we prepare our hearts to welcome the incarnate Word, the new born babe in Bethlehem . . . as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Salvation and Hope . . . are we also preparing ourselves for his second coming? Are we anticipating his second advent with the same expectation and hope as we celebrate the first? Are we ready for hope to appear in the sky? Are we working with God to act as his agents until he returns?

Conclusion: How should we respond to these things?

Rely on God--trust him for our rescue, for our redemption, for our salvation

Respond with obedience—we should imitate Jesus, be the hands and feet of God

Find our hope in God’s right timing, God’s reliable Word, and God’s rescue.

Thanks for reading! 



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