Advent 2022: Hope
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Well, as we said at the top of the service today’s Advent theme is Hope.
I wonder…what does that word mean to you this time of year?
Hope.
When I was a kid hope was a big part of the Christmas season.
(SEARS CATALOGUE)
I spent those four weeks of Advent HOPING for an Atari, or a Six Million Dollar Man Action Figure…or whatever the hot toy was that particular year.
But as I’ve gotten older…I’ve come to realize that what I was doing wasn’t necessarily hoping…it was really wishing.
I wasn’t making a hope list…I was making a wish list.
I’ve come to realize over the years that there’s a difference between the two.
We use them interchangeably—but they are very different words (esp. biblically)
A wish is something we want to be true.
We can wish for anything...but wishing, as they say, doesn't make it true.
For example, I could wish that even though my American football team lost yesterday they might somehow still make the championship game this year.
Probably ain't gonna happen.
A wish is something we want to be true...but there isn't necessarily any expectation that it will be.
But hope…hope is different.
Hope anticipates fulfillment.
Hope...true hope...looks at what we want and believes it will happen.
Hope looks to the promise and evidence before us and finds a solid foundation to build faith and trust.
In other words...
Wishing is all about desire.
But hope…is all about expectation.
A good illustration of the difference comes from the annals of WWII.
On one hand, Adolf Hitler...gathered with his remaining staff in his bunker in Berlin.
The Red Army of the Soviets is moving closer and closer, some estimates put them within a few hundred yards of the bunker.
There are no reserve troops, Hitler's air support has vanished.
The mood in the bunker is dire, but the Fuhrer still imagines a last minute rescue by his Generals outside Berlin.
But the Fuhrer's aides know that such thinking has no basis in reality, it is a futile...wish. And nothing more.
But jump a few thousand miles away to the Pacific, and remember the story of General Douglas MacArthur.
Who, forced to evacuate the Philippines in 1942, famously turns their direction upon landing in Australia and declares with three famous words:
(ANYONE KNOW?)
"I shall return."
That wasn't wishful thinking...that was an expectation.
That was hope.
Can you see the difference?
The Apostle Paul speaks to this subject of hope in our epistle reading for today, finishing with these powerful words in verse 13:
(SLIDE)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”—Romans 5:13 (NIV)
What a beautiful prayer. May the God of hope…fill you with joy and peace…so that you may overflow with hope.
That’s a perfect theme verse for the season of Advent…it even contains three of the four themes I mentioned earlier that we’d be focusing on: hope…joy…peace…and love.
But notice Paul puts a particular emphasis…on hope.
In fact…he calls God the “God of hope.”
Here’s an interesting tidbit for you: when you consider the gods of the ancient near east, the gods of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and the Romans: they had so many gods—gods of war, gods of industry, gods of agriculture, gods of cities, gods of towns, and countless others.
But in all of paganism’s galaxy of gods, none of them had one called “the god of hope.” It’s like that didn’t even occur to them. Maybe they had already given up on hope.
But here’s Paul…identifying God as the God of hope.
Hope isn’t just important for the Christian…it’s a necessity. It should part of who we are as a Christian people.
There's a story that's told...
As dusk fell on the Saturday before Christmas of 1927, two Coast Guardsmen stationed at Wood End in Provincetown, MA spotted the periscope of a Navy submarine breaking the surface of the water just in front of a Coast Guard cutter ship. Within minutes, the cutter had rammed the sub, sending it to the bottom of the bay. The entire crew was held captive in a sunken sub 100 feet below sea level. Rescue ships and divers were immediately dispatched in an attempt to save the crew. As the hours grew to days the weather worsened. After locating the submarine, a Navy deep-sea diver dove down to it and heard a noise coming from the inside. He placed his helmet up against the side of the vessel and realized that the crew was sending a Morse Code message. The diver spelled out the message in his mind being tapped on the hull. It was repeating the same question: “IS…THERE…ANY…HOPE?"
If there is a question which I think best captures the mood of a majority of folks in the world today...it would be that one.
Is there any hope?
It's being asked by men and women giving up on finding a job, by families struggling with illness and loss, by those looking at the cost of living crisis with very real fear in their hearts….
…it’s asked by old and young alike in every corner of the world, those who’ve lost their home through war or natural disaster, those who have no home to lose, victims of famine and disease, the powerless...and the power brokers.
It's a question we all face at one time or another.
Is there any hope?
I think a good phrase to describe much of our world these days is this: we are suffering from a deficit of hope.
I think the pandemic and lockdowns took what was already a shortage of hope…and made it exponentially worse. And for so many people it doesn’t seem to be getting better.
A few years ago…during the Advent season actually…Christian author Ronnie McBrayer wrote these words:
(SLIDE)
"The human species needs a few essentials in order to survive. Without these, life is impossible. Food: Without it, you will starve in a month. Deprived of water, even more crucial, the body will begin to shut down in only three days. Air: It takes only seven or so minutes before brain damage is irreversible. And hope. No one can truly live a millisecond without it."
Do you think he's right?
Is it possible to live without hope?
That's a good question.
A lot of people I know are struggling with that very question, as they see hope seeming to slip through their fingers.
But one of the reasons I think our deficit of hope is so bad right now…goes back to this difference between wishful thinking…and hope.
I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when one of the national lotteries in the States reached a staggering 2 billion dollars.
And I watched interviews with people who were pouring unbelievable amounts of money into buying dozens…even hundreds of tickets.
And it just broke my heart.
Because you’re 300 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to win a lottery like that…and yet so many people were desperate for it.
They were wishing…but I think some of them thought they had hope.
Remember hope isn't an empty desire.
It's an expectant desire that's built on something real and solid.
It’s about trust…it’s about a solid foundation.
Paul talks about that foundation in our passage from Romans.
Right at the very beginning:
(SLIDE)
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide...(WHAT?) we might have hope."—Romans 15:4 (NIV)
See, if hope is expectant, if it's built on something more than just our desire...then it needs some solid ground on which to build a foundation.
And I see in this passage from Romans some important ground that gives us a firm foundation for hope.
The first is from that verse I just read...verse 4.
Paul’s talking…about Scripture. The words of the Bible.
And he says they provide encouragement for us.
And interestingly enough, Paul focuses on this word...endurance.
The stories of Scripture are chock full of folks just like you and me who went through difficult and trying times.
And as we read of their endurance, we are encouraged to endure.
Think of Abraham and Sarah...promised a child, but they had to wait many years for it to come to pass.
Think of Joseph...promised a vision of leadership and purpose, who was sold into slavery, accused of assault, and then spent years in prison.
The list goes on and on...of men and women who endured hardship and pain...trusting in their God to see them through.
Their stories are an encouragement to us. And Paul says they give us hope.
Hope that is built on something real and solid: the trustworthiness of God himself.
God has always shown himself faithful to his people. And he will continue to do so.
So there's the first rock solid foundation for hope: the words of Scripture.
(FORMATIONAL QUESTION—how might you spend this Advent season dwelling richly in the promises of Scripture? HANDOUT)
These words of Scripture are a direct answer to the question being tapped out on the hull of today’s world…Is…there…any…hope?
There is…right here in God’s word.
That’s one solid foundation for our hope.
And here's another one for you this morning:
Starting in verse 9 of Romans 15:
(SLIDE)
“As it is written:
‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.’
Again, it says,
‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.
And again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.’
And again, Isaiah says,
‘The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.’”–Romans 15:9-12 (NIV)
In HIM the Gentiles will hope.
We often use the language that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but it’s not just about a few weeks in December. At all times, Jesus is the reason for our hope.
But all too often we anchor our hope to less trustworthy things. We talked a little bit about this last week.
Our circumstances, our relationships, our bank balance.
But circumstances change, relationships waver, bank balances disappear. Faster these days it seems, am I right?
But then there's Jesus, who says, "I am the same yesterday, today and forever."
Is there anything or anyone else who can make that promise to you?
There isn't.
And I think all of us could do with a bit of a hope-check this morning.
What or who are we putting our hope in today?
Maybe the reason we think hope fails us is that we hope in the wrong things.
We hope in things that will ultimately fail us…and as a result we find ourselves weary and defeated.
Hope needs a firm foundation, and there is no foundation more firm than Jesus Christ.
As we heard in our passage earlier from Isaiah:
(SLIDE)
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”—Isaiah 9:2, 6 (NIV)
Centuries before the first Christmas the prophet Isaiah knew that the way out of our darkness…would be the birth of a child.
So as we approach the celebration of Christmas, we need to be reminded: here is the foundation for your hope.
If you're suffering from a deficit of hope, come to that dirty stable in Bethlehem.
Because it's here that the question finds its ultimate answer:
IS...THERE...ANY ...HOPE?
Jesus says, "Yes, there is. And it's me. Only me."
Not a change in your circumstances, but a change in your experience of who I am and how much I love you.
Can you hear Jesus saying that to you this morning?
Do you need hope?
If you don't...I'd love to know your secret.
Like I said earlier...
Hope looks to the promise and evidence before us and finds a solid foundation for building faith and trust.
Here is the evidence.
Here is the promise.
Jesus was born for you.
Jesus died for you.
Jesus rose for you.
Jesus is coming again for you.
MacArthur's not the only one who said, "I shall return."
My friend, there are good reasons for hope.
But we will never know them if we don't open ourselves to them.
I love Paul's benediction in our passage:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Paul points out that as we step out in faith and trust, hope grows within us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And Paul actually suggests that it's possible to overflow with hope.
Wouldn't that be great?
To not only have hope, but to overflow with hope.
Even to the point when others around us are drawn to that hope?
But that's something only God can do in us.
Let’s ask him to do that right now…please join me in prayer.
(TRANSITION TO PRAYER)