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Advent - adventus = arrival
Advent brings to remembrance 3 things:
Advent is Jesus in Bethlehem
Advent is Jesus in the lives of those who believe in Him
Advent is when Jesus returns
Advent is about recognizing what God, through Jesus, has done, is doing, and will do.
The business of the season can smother the very mystery it is meant to celebrate.
— Frederick Buechner
4 themes of advent: Hope. Peace. Love. Joy.
Jesus born in the manger means hope has come and is available to all, now.
Luke 2:6-14
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people."
Luke 2:11-14
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Understanding Biblical Hope
Most of the time, when we say "hope", we're not actually talking about real, biblical hope; what we usually mean is something closer to a wish.
There's no power in worldly hope.
Hebrews 6:19
This hope is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Our hope is steady because of what it's anchored to.
Hope is a confident expectation that our God is good and He's not done yet.
Hope is confident expectation based on knowing God!
Hope is what kids experience at Christmas!
Christmas awakens stuff but cultural Christmas cannot deliver on what it awakens.
Romans 5:5
Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
It's possible to have a hope that doesn't disappoint, because it's anchored to the strongest force in the universe: the love of God.
Two simple, practical ways to live with hope this Advent:
1. Lift up your soul to God.
Psalm 25:1
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
"Lift up your soul" = bring the Lord what is going on in me.
Nowhere in Scripture are we told to ignore our emotions or pretend they don't exist.
Don't bury it; bring it.
Two things we are called to do with our longings:
Identify Them.
Submit Them.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you.
2. Stay Where You Can See Him.
One of the great temptations at Christmas is the temptation to chase the kingdom without the King.
Exodus 33:1-2
The Lord said to Moses, 'Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, "To your offspring I will give it." I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you," the Lord says, "lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.'
God says, "I will give you the land. I'll even clear it out for you. But I'm not going with you."
Exodus 33:15
If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
Translation: We don't want the gift without the Giver.
If you take the King out of the Kingdom, what you're left with... is just dumb.
Stay Where You Can See Him.
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
1 Peter 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade...