This weekend, Doug came and spoke to us about hope, the theme of the first Sunday of Advent.
1This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.a It began 2just as the prophet Isaiah had written:
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way.b
3He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’c”
7John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. 8I baptize you withd water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
(Mark 1:1-3, 7-8)
Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus”, which means “coming”. The Jews had someone coming for them, and He came for us too.
Advent is the period of time leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ.
We will be looking at 4 themes in our series on Advent, plus an additional one for the Nativity.
Hope
Joy
Peace
Love
Jesus is hope. You can’t extinguish hope. The Apostle John calls Jesus a light.
5The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.b
(John 1:5)
Doug also brought us a walk through Isaiah 42, also illustrating how Jesus is our hope.
Isaiah was the most famous of the major prophets, probably *the* most famous. He was certainly the most quoted prophet in the New Testament, that’s for sure.
His book can be split into three parts, with an overlap between parts two and three.
Chapters 1-39: these chapters are very hard hitting. The Jews had fallen short of God’s standard. God commanded them to repent, or else judgement would befall them.
Chapters 40-55: God calls out comfort to His people.
Chapter 40-66: No human is good enough to meet God’s standards, so God would come for His people Himself.
1“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
He is my chosen one, who pleases me.
I have put my Spirit upon him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2He will not shout
or raise his voice in public.
3He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
4He will not falter or lose heart
until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.a”
5God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out.
He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
life to everyone who walks the earth.
And it is he who says,
6“I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel,
as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations.
7You will open the eyes of the blind.
You will free the captives from prison,
releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
8“I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to anyone else,
nor share my praise with carved idols.
9Everything I prophesied has come true,
and now I will prophesy again.
I will tell you the future before it happens.”
A Song of Praise to the LORD
10Sing a new song to the LORD!
Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!
Sing, all you who sail the seas,
all you who live in distant coastlands.
11Join in the chorus, you desert towns;
let the villages of Kedar rejoice!
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
shout praises from the mountaintops!
12Let the whole world glorify the LORD;
let it sing his praise.
13The LORD will march forth like a mighty hero;
he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.
He will shout his battle cry
and crush all his enemies.
14He will say, “I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
I will cry and groan and pant.
15I will level the mountains and hills
and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
and will dry up all the pools.
(Isaiah 42:1-16)
In verse 1, the word “servant” is used. Moses, Abraham and David are servants, and we, as followers of Christ, are called to be servants too. We will always serve one master. Jesus said that nobody can serve two, and He tells people that before they become born again, they are slaves to sin. He frees is from serving our sin, so that we can instead serve Him.
There was once a famous preacher called Charles Spurgeon. At 17 years old, he was out in the snow and he was reminded of some Scripture, that his sins are crimson and yet could be white as snow. He was born again, followed the call to ministry, and started a church called the Metropolitan Tabernacle. It very quickly grew from 12-400 people, and Spurgeon followed the call of God, preaching to thousands of people in his lifetime. He became known as the Prince of Preachers.
Oh to live like that and live with the hope of Jesus. He came to provide eternal life for us. If we turn to Him, we can experience the hope of eternal life, a future on a new earth, with no more sin or suffering. This hope protects us against the most difficult aspects of life in this age. Come to Jesus and experience hope like you never have before!