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Advent 2019: Hope - Luke 2:21-24 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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So that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in love.
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See this?
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There's only one safe place, one sure deposit for all of us to place our hope in.
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Only one non-leaky vessel, the living God.
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Made the God of hope.
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And in our text, if you read this, made the God of hope,
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we see here that God is both the source of hope and He is the supplier of hope.
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Paul's declaring something to us about the very nature of God Himself.
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God does not just inspire hope in us.
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He is the author of that hope.
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He doesn't just dispense hope out to us.
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Hope is a part of His very nature, His very essence.
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And in the Scriptures alone, the word hope is implied or used 200 times.
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Very distinctive meaning of hope in the Scripture is almost opposite of how we use it in our everyday language.
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We do it all the time.
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Very different.
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But biblical hope is not just wishful thinking or a desire for something good to happen,
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but rather it's a true, confident hope.
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If you're looking for just a simple definition, I think the Bible can sum it up.
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And in this definition of what is biblical hope, here you go.
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A joyful, confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
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A joyful, confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
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Hope implies looking forward to something in the future with joy, enthusiasm, confidence, expectation, surety.
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It doesn't just mean, as the brother said earlier, it doesn't mean just cross your fingers and just hope something happens, knock on wood.
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It's seen in verses like Psalm 62.
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For God alone, my soul waits.
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My hope is from Him.
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So, God is the source of hope and He is the supplier of hope.
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And so, when we say hope in God, again, it's just very different than what most of us use that language for every day.
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Most of our language is centered around wishful thinking, including my own from time to time.
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And here, very simply, I guess wishful thinking could be summed up as forming our beliefs and our decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine or fantasize about.
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So, that's what we think about.
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We want, we fantasize about this and so we really desire for that to happen rather than looking at the evidence behind something and putting our hope in something that's actually real.
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And so, some of you have applied wishful thinking to God.
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And that's led you to say things either out loud or in your heart such as, well, I put my hope in God to do this or that and He let me down.
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Beware, right?
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I humbly want to remind you that hoping in God doesn't just mean hoping that He will bring about a particular circumstance and granting it the way that you wish it to happen.
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That doesn't what hoping in God looks like.
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That's not what it looks like.
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It's good and right for us to go to God and pour out our desires to Him, our requests to Him.
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He invites us to do that.
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But our hope is not based in how He chooses to answer those prayers.
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Our hope is in God Himself, in His character, in His promises, in His relationship and love with us.
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So, hope is in God Himself, in His person.
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So, hope sounds like, regardless of the outcome of this particular situation or circumstance, my hope is in God.
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That's what it sounds like.
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My hope is in God because of Christ.
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And I put my hope in His sovereign plan in working out all things for my good.
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Hope actually says this.
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I think most people in the world can never say this about what they mean when they say hope.
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Job 13, verse 15.
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Hope says, though He slay me, though He kill me, I still will hope in Him.
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That's what true hope looks like.
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It's a hope in the person of God Himself.
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Even if God takes my life, I will trust Him and put my hope in Him.
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Even if He takes everything I have, I will put my hope in Him.
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That's what biblical hope looks like.
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So, most of you are familiar with the story of how Kathleen and I had our daughter.
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Come ask us later.
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We'd love to tell you the whole story.
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But as we were praying for our child, we were putting our hope in God.
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And our hope didn't rest in the outcome of that prayer.
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It wasn't, God, if you give us a child, you're fulfilling our hope.
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Our hope is in you, regardless of whether you choose to do this or not.
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Our hope is in your providence and in your love for us,
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because you've already given us the greatest gift we ever, ever could have asked for in Christ.
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So, that's why one of the reasons why we've named her Kara Hope,
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is because our hope has been in God.
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And it serves as a walking, living reminder of that for us now.
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So then, if God is the God of hope and we are a hopeless people,
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God has to initiate in some way to bring that hope to us.
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You see that?
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If we are a hopeless people, the God of hope has to give that to us in some way.
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And we see this in the first advent of Christ and His coming, His incarnation.
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So, for the rest of the day, we're going to be in Luke chapter 2.
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So, go turn to Luke chapter 2.
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So, oftentimes, we may not see the word hope used in our text,
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but we can read stories in God's word that demonstrate and illustrate what true hope really looks like.
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And one such story is found in Luke's gospel.
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Right in the midst of what we deem as the Christmas story,
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a man named Simeon and a woman named Anna.
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Two reliable witnesses that testify of the identity of the Savior.
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So, we'll start in verse 21.
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Verse 21 of Luke chapter 2.
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At the end of the eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus,
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the name given to Him by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
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And when the time had come for their purification according to the law of Moses,
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they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.
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As it is written in the law of the Lord,
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every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord
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and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord.
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A pair of turtle doves are two young pigeons.
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And here we see our third point, third and final point,
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the arrival of our hope.
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The arrival of our hope.
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And we see in this story, Mary and Joseph coming to present Jesus to be circumcised according to the law
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and that Mary would offer up a sacrifice because after 40 days,
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she would be deemed as pure again for worship.
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So, she offered up two pigeons or two turtle doves.
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And we see this, that our hope has a name.
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His name is Jesus.
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His name is Jesus.
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His very name says salvation.
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The Lord is salvation.
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Our Yahweh is our salvation.
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The promised Messiah of the world.
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The world.
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So, hope dawns at the first advent of Christ coming here.
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Emmanuel, God with us.
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And so, we go on in our story.
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And again, we're going to see these two older people,
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these two elderly saints who stand as two reliable witnesses to testify of who Jesus is.
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Verse 25.
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Now, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
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And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.
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And the Holy Spirit was upon him.
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And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
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And he came in the Spirit into the temple.
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And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law,
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he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
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Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.
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For my eyes have seen your salvation,
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that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
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a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
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And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
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And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother,
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Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel
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and for a sign that is opposed.
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A sword will pierce through your own soul also,
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so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
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So we see this encounter with Simeon.
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His very name means to hearken, to listen,
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the one who kind of waits patiently for something to happen,
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which is a very fitting name for this elderly saint.
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He was righteous and devout, a good man.
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And he was waiting.
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He had been waiting for years for the consolation or the comfort of Israel to come.
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One who would come and deliver the people.
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He was putting his trust in the promises of God's word,
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such as Isaiah 25, where it says,
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It will be said on that day,
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Behold, this is our God.
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We have waited for him, that he might save us.
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This is the Lord we have waited for.
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Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
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He was familiar with the prophet Isaiah who said that.
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So he had been waiting for this day and night.
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So Simeon knew the promises of God and placed his hope fully in them.
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And he imagined the joy in his eyes.
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He was led by the Spirit of God into the temple at that very day,
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at that very moment, and the Spirit impressed on him,
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That is the child.
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Can you imagine the joy in his eyes?
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And how many people would have laughed at Simeon,
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like, Oh, Simeon, that's a touching sentiment,
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but you're too old.
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There's no way you're going to see the Savior.
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And he would respond with something like,
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Well, God promises that he will send a Messiah.
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Yahweh takes true pleasure in those who fear him
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and those who hope in his steadfast love.
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Many of us are wavering in our hope
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because we are not familiar with the promises of God.
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All we've grown very, very nearsighted,
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and we cannot see those promises in our lives.
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So he had a strong anointing of the Spirit,
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and he realized that this is the child
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under the guidance of the Spirit.
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And he understood that that child
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was going to be the very Messiah one day,
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and that many people would rise,
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and many would fall based on that child
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and what that child did.
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And then we move on,
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and then we see another saint,
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an elderly woman named Anna.
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Let's look at verse 36.
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And there was a prophetess, Anna,
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the daughter of Thamuel,
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of the tribe of Asher.
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She was advanced in years,
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having lived with her husband seven years
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from when she was a virgin.
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And then as a widow until she was 84,
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she did not depart from the temple,
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worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
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And coming up that very hour,
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she began to give thanks to God
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and to speak of him
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to all who were waiting
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for the redemption of Jerusalem.
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And when they had performed everything
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according to the law of the Lord,
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they returned into Galilee,
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to their own town of Nazareth.
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And there the child grew
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and became strong,
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filled with wisdom,
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and the favor of God was upon him.
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So you see this older woman.
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I think if you add it up,
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she's about 105 years old.
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She's a devout Jew.
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She's from the tribe of Asher,
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which is remarkable at this time
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because most Jews had no clue
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what tribe they came from
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because of all the captivity and dispersion.
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She was there.
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And clearly,
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a woman in her society
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would have outlived her usefulness.
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She was a widow.
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She was weak.
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She was vulnerable.
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But she didn't fear.
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She had her hope in God.
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There's something very special about her.
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She designated a prophetess,
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which we could talk about later.
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But Anna was fervently devoted to God,
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watching, praying, and worshiping,
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waiting for the redemption of Israel.
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She knew that there was a national cry
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to see the Messiah.
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So that national cry
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was also her own personal heart's cry.
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I want to see the Messiah.
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And suddenly, right in front of her,
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there was the one
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that she had been waiting for.
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Can you just imagine,
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like, walking up to Mary and Joseph
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and be like,
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what's the child's name?
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And they're like,
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she said, they say,
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Yeshua, Jesus.
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And she goes,
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really?
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Is that his name?
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The Lord is salvation?
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And that joy that came over her face
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as she stands there,
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and she turns around
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and starts boldly proclaiming,
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announcing,
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this is Emmanuel.
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O Israel.
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Our redemption is here.
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Our consolation is finally here.
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And she stood there
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proclaiming that
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in the temple grounds.
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So, a story of Anna's hope,
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of Simeon's hope,
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a great hope for us to emulate.
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What are a few things
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that we can take away from this?
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One,
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do you have an evident hope?
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An evident hope.
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Because Anna and Simeon,
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their hope in God was real
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because for many years,
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they lived this out.
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They had a hope in God,
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praying and waiting patiently
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for Him to fulfill His promises.
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And many of us claim
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that we have hope in God,
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but we don't persevere in that hope.
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We turn to counterfeit hopes
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to deliver us from what we want,
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to give us what we want.
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In reality, we grow impatient.
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So, Christmas is a good time
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for us to ponder that
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and to put our hope back in God.
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Also, do you have a hope
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in the promises of God's Word?
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Many Jews knew the Scriptures,
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but they read them
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through a certain lens
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that prevented them
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from actually seeing the Messiah
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when he got there.
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Very clearly, though,
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Anna and Simeon
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knew the promises of God's Word
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and they had their hope
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in that Word.
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They knew what Moses,
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the prophets,
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and the Psalms,
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they knew they had to be fulfilled.
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So, give yourself this season
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to reading God's Word
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and meditating upon His promises
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and ask Him to renew your hope
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in the process.
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It says in Romans 15
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that God has given us
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the Scriptures
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that we might have hope.
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And lastly,
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do you have hope
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to see the true Savior?
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And in the context,
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again, many Jews
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were looking for a Messiah,
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but it was a Messiah
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of their own making,
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one that would deliver them
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from a Gentile Roman rule
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and restore Judah
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back to the former days of old,
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like the days of David.
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And that's evidence
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in their history.
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Very, not long after
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Jesus was born,
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around 4 AD,
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there was a huge revolt
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in Galilee
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and around 2,000 Jews
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were crucified
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trying to bring about
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this new state.
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Simeon and Anna
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had no such hopes
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of that kind of Messiah.
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Their hope was not
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in their circumstances.
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Their hope was only
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that God would send
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a Savior
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to deliver them
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from the bondage of sin.
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That is the Savior
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that we also look back at
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and now look forward to.
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In closing,
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look at Romans 5
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very quickly.
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Romans 5,
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verse 5.
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Do we rightly understand
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who Jesus is?
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And do you want to have
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your hope renewed?
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All of us long
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for a hope
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that does not disappoint us
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and does not put us to shame.
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And in Romans 5,
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verse 5,
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we'll start here,
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and it says,
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hope does not put us to shame
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or hope does not disappoint
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because God's love
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has been poured into our hearts
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through the Holy Spirit
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who He has given us.
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For while we were still weak
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at the right time,
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Christ died for the ungodly.
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So,
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I pray that
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for myself
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and for you
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that our hopes
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would be renewed
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in Christ
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this Christmas season,
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during this Advent season.
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His is the only hope
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that will not disappoint us
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or put us to shame.
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And the God of love
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has poured that out
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into our hearts
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through the Holy Spirit.
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And so,
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let's pray together
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and ask God
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to instill
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this kind of
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gospel hope in us.