The Hope That Transforms

TITLE: THE HOPE THAT TRANSFORMS

SCRIPTURE: ROMANS 8:24-25

All eyes in Christendom have turned upon celebrating Christmas. In fact, this is what many Christians make of Advent, if they have even heard of it or think of it at all. The reality is advent is only distantly related to Christmas. It was celebrated long before Christmas in the church. Instead of centering on the birth of Christ and making sure the church is decorated properly and the proper dishes prepared, advent centers upon the second coming of Christ. Advent has been called a “mini-lent” by some as it centers around making sure we are ready for the day of His appearing.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the insanity of our times. If you only read the news headlines every day, it’s nearly impossible to keep from being sucked into the hopelessness that fills the lives of so many around the world, especially this time of year.

• We need Hope to Live

• We need Hope to fulfill our calling to the world

• That’s why I love the Advent Season

• It’s all about Hope

• Jesus Christ came into the world that we might have the hope of eternal life — with Him, in Glory, forever!

We as Christians share in the desire to be hopeful. What is different is what our hope is grounded in.

• It is not based on the next election

• It is not based on some government intervention

• These may or may not improve things

We might hope for a better job, or at least the prices go down at the grocery store. We are bound to be ultimately disappointed if we place our hope in anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ and His promises to us. Hope is transformational. We know all too well that we are not yet what we should be. We also despair that we are in ourselves powerless to change the situation. We seem to cry out with the APOSTLE PAUL “O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM. WHO SHALL SAVE ME FROM THIS BODY OF DEATH?” But as soon as we say this, we realize there is an answer. “THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST - THERE IS HOPE.”

In the text for examination we are pointed to the fact - we are saved by hope.

• Hope and Faith are closely related to each other

• HEBREWS 11:1 tells us that Faith has an unseen dimension to it - just like Hope

• Faith, like Hope, has the expectation that what is unseen will become visible reality

• I CORINTHIANS 13:13 pairs Faith and Hope along with Love

• So we are saved by Hope as well as by Faith

• Faith provides the grounds of our Hope which is in Jesus Christ

Soren Kierkegaard once described “faith” as “a leap in the dark.” He felt one needed to deny the ground he stands on and leap into the dark.

• But this is not faith at all

• Faith has content

• We do not deny reality and make a desperate leap into the abyss, hoping that there is someone up there to catch us

• HEBREWS tells us that faith is a “Substance”

• Something that is Substance is a Something

The Greek word used there is, “Hypostasis” has the idea of foundation or ground.

It is where we get our Theological Term -- Hypostatic Union which is a technical term in Christian theology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one personhood. What we need to do is to build faith upon this foundation. Paul tells us more about this foundation, which is Jesus Christ. This foundation became visible to us in the incarnation. The word became flesh.

• What the Jews had hope for had become reality

• To those who believe and believed, that hope has become reality

• This is no longer a Hope

• John tells us that the Apostles had SEEN, BEHELD, HEARD and TOUCHED this Word of Life

• This is why Advent is not Christmas

• We do not hope for a baby in a manger

• We do not prepare for the coming of the Christ child, even if it is understood as making room in our heart for Him

• We believe that Christ has come

We also believe that Jesus lived in Palestine some two thousand years ago, teaching about the Kingdom of God and doing many mighty works.

• We believe that He was rejected by His own people - suffered under Pontius Pilate - was crucified for our sins – died - and was buried

• We believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day - and was seen by many witnesses over the space of forty days