The Hope of the World!
We have just come through the Thanksgiving season. Families
and kids eagerly await the next big holiday, Christmas. The commercial World
kicks into high gear, alluring customers with early Christmas gifts. Doing so
makes it easy to bypass another critical season in our lives. In recent years, many
Christians have discovered a 5th-century tradition called Advent.
Karl Barth, the
Swiss theologian, exclaimed, "What other time or season can or will the
Church ever have but that of Advent!"?[1] Instead of living between these two beautiful
realities of Jesus' first and second coming, we get caught up with the culture
and cultural wars around us. Rediscovering and celebrating the Advent season is
critical for our Christian Faith and purpose.
For the next four Sundays at Hope Church, we slow down
and observe this beautiful tradition of keeping the advent wreath, symbolizing the
eternal life that Jesus brings. The lighting of four candles represents the
four enduring promises of God to humanity. We sing classic advent hymns and
reflect on hope-giving scriptures about Christ's first and second Advent. On this first Sunday of Advent, we light the Purple
Candle, Prophecy, or Hope Candle. I title this sermon: The Hope Of The
World. Isaiah 9:1-7
When we want to describe the feeling
of an anticipated future that will be better than the present, we might get
giddy, anxious, or unsure, but most of us know that feeling. That is called
Hope. Hope is essential for a healthy human existence. It is a critical concept
in the Bible. As long as humanity lasts, Hope will last. (I Corinthians 13:13).
Perhaps based on this Biblical concept, we have the proverb "Hope
Springs Eternal." It came from a line from Alexander Pope's 1732 poem An
Essay on Man. He wrote: "Hope springs eternal in every human breast."
Biblical Hope is based on a person,
which makes it different from optimism. Optimism is about choosing to see, in
any situation, how circumstances could work out for the best. But biblical Hope
isn't focused on circumstances. In fact, hopeful people in the Bible often
recognize there's no evidence things will get better, but you choose Hope
anyway.[2]
In the O.T., two Hebrew words were
used for Hope. The first is yakhal, which means simply "to wait
for." Like in the story of Noah and the ark waiting for 190 days for flood
waters to recede. The other is qavah, which also means to wait, with the
feeling of tension and expectation while you wait for something to happen. So,
in Biblical Hebrew, Hope is waiting, but waiting for what? Isaiah 9:1-7
explains what the nation of Israel was waiting for.
At the time of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-7,
Israel went through a dark period of hopelessness. The nation was sinking into
self-destruction. People were worshipping idols, consulting mediums, and
spirits of the dead. They were hungry, weary, and angry, cursing their king and
God. It felt as though God had abandoned them. Amid such depressing
circumstances, Isaiah said, "I will wait for the LORD who has turned away
from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my Hope in Him." Isaiah 8:17
calls the nation to wait on God, the Hope of Israel.
II.
Five Promises of Hope. (Isaiah 9:1-5)
The plight of the
hostages and the agony of their loved ones is incomprehensible. Amidst such
horrifying circumstances, we pray that this time of darkness and despair will
soon end. That is the promise of Hope for Israel then and now and for all those
going through a period of darkness and suffering. If you are depressed and
discouraged, put your Hope in God.
Secondly, people who walk in darkness will see a great light. A
light will shine for those who live in a land where death casts its shadow. God
becomes the light for those who walk in darkness (sin) and brings life and
healing to those experiencing physical and spiritual death.
Thirdly, God will increase resources and enlarge the impact of
those who hope in Him. Fourthly, God will break the bondage of
sin and set His people free by removing those who oppress them. Fifthly,
God will put all wars to an end by finally destroying Satan, the arch-enemy of
God's people, which will happen at the end of the age. These promises of Hope
were first made for Israel and applied to us. Who can fulfill these promises of
Hope?
III. The Hope Of The World:(Isaiah 9:6-7)
Isaiah prophesied
that God would give the nation of Israel a son who would become the Hope of the
World. Vs. 6-7, "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The
government will rest on his shoulders." All answers to the despair of the
people of Judah were found in a son who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and
Prince of Peace." Discovering the Hope of the World is the ongoing theme
of Advent.
Isaiah gave four
names to the Hope of the World. He said He would be called: "Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He explained
how he would bring peace to this troubled World by establishing His righteous
government on earth.
Fast forward to
the New Testament Era to discover who this Hope of the World is. In the
Christmas story, we will read these words of the angel Gabriel to the virgin
Mary. "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him
Jesus." Luke 1:31. The English name Jesus comes from the unique Hebrew
name for God Yeshua, which means salvation.
The Hope of the
World is Jesus, Yeshua. Jesus declared that he was the Hope of the
whole World, referring to Isaiah's prophecy. "I will put my Spirit upon
Him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations… and his name will be the hope
of all the world." Matthew 12:21." Only to those who believe in
Christ will He give them this eternal Hope
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again because God
raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, we live with great expectation, and we
have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you,
pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay." I Peter 1:3-4
There are two kinds of Hope: Earthly and
heavenly Hope. Earthly one is unreliable, while heavenly one is reliable
because God gives Hope. Jeremiah 29:11. When we put our Hope on people and
things, they disappoint us. The blessed Hope of salvation developed through
enduring hardship will never disappoint us. Romans 5:5 We grow weary when we
wait for our leaders to deliver things. "But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run
and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 I pray
that God, the source of Hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace
because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident Hope. Romans
15:13
