Hope Reborn

 

Text: Luke 21:25-36

Focus: Hope, advent 1

Function: to see the mystery of prophecy fulfilled and to come.

²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁴“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Good morning!

Today is the first Sunday in Advent and we are focusing on the advent theme, Hope through the lens of prophecy.

I titled the sermon “Hope Reborn” because it is appears to be a dual prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE and perhaps a prophecy about the second coming of Christ. Many scholars see it that way.

I love the morning texts that Dave forwards on to us. And he sent one asking me for some explanation and coincidentally, it goes in line with the theme of this mornings message.

The text was about how Orthodox Jews who are still waiting for the first coming of the Messiah and are living abroad and have a residence inside of Israel that they are leasing place a clause in the lease that says they must vacate within 15 days if the Messiah appears.

And they do that in the great hope that when the Messiah appears there will be paradise.

Hope is a powerful force and it is absolutely important for us to have hope, I believe, to maintain faith and confidence to face the world.

Remember, Christ came to give us an life without boundaries and has filled us with God’s Spirit so that we live this life for his bringing about God’s reign of love and justice to the world entire.

We are on a mission from God.

But these prophecies can be tricky. Hal Lindsey just died. He write “The Late Great Planet Earth” wherein he describes Jesus returning within 40 years of 1948 when Israel became a nation again.

I was convinced that Jesus was going to return before I became an older man. Now, I am not sure at all.

But we live in that hope of the Messiah coming and making all things right.

And I am not disappointed in my hope because I have been able to help bring about the new Kingdom during my lifetime while God is waiting.

But the kingdom isn’t merely future, it is here and now and it is our privilege to bring it about.

Daniel, in the Old Testament is another book of Prophecy. And in it, he interprets a vision that the king had. It is an interesting story. The king dreamed an alarming dream and required his wise men to tell him the dream and then interpret it or die. Of course, that was impossible for humans. But Daniel, with his life on the line, tells the King that God can give an interpretation. And God reveals the dream to him.

The vision is a statue with a head of gold, a breast made of silver, loins made of bronze and feet made of iron mixed with brittle clay. While the statue is standing, a voice from heaven declares an end to these kingdoms and a boulder is cut out of a nearby mountain and it flies through the air and crushes the statue. Then the boulder becomes a great mountain.

It is highly symbolic and a very accurate description of human history. The dream’s interpretation was that Babylon was the great kingdom with an head of gold. It was then replaced by the Persians who were the breastplate of silver. Who were then replaced by Alexander the Great and the Greeks, the loins of brass. And they were replaced by Rome, the legs of Iron and clay.

The significant thing in the vision is the boulder. It represents the Kingdom of God and it replaces the kingdoms of mankind.

God, I believe, is showing us, through the King and then through Daniel and recorded in the scriptures what hope we can have in the fact that God has something better than what humanity can imagine.

Our hope is in our faith in God. God is indeed faithful and we can rest in God.

He tells us in this passage that when these signs are taking place, to not be afraid, but expectant because our redemption has arrived.

The passage talks about how God helps us in times of tribulation. We are to pray that God gives us the ability to endure and be faithful.

I mentioned that studying these prophecies was a big part of why I came back to Christ. I admit I had a certain amount of pride in my research and I wanted everyone to know what I thought I had figured out.

I continue to study the scriptures to find out what God wants from us and wants for us, so that I can relay it to you as well and continue to build your faith and give you hope. God is faithful to give us hope.

Here is a lesson: We learn through tribulation to rest in God.

In the middle of a trial, we are sometimes faithful and sometimes we are doubting. But our wavering has never changed the faithfulness of God. God loves us as their children and will not let us down.

Jesus is telling them all of this while they are sitting in what history calls Herod’s temple.

Hope is inspired by the Spirit of Christ inside of us. We have the choice to allow it to build our faith, or ignore its vital properties in our lives.

So, as we prepare for Advent, let us let hope continually be born in our spirits and let it radiate Christ’s love to the world around us.