November 28, 2021 ~ First Sunday in Advent ~ Sermon & Zoom Worship Video Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/kaCHVsY7MzQrfSW0m52QN1MUD7C8Hy1PyqqlGzANeQSYMyWKEo7wx-idOKrjVXtI.rKZ0yzJPzNwXkXCk

1^st Advent                                                                               11/28/21—Highland—Meute

“Hints of Hope” Advent Series: “I Will Fulfill the Promise”

Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Luke 21: 25-36

Pearl: God is a promise keeper.

Function: To build listener’s confidence in the Lord who keeps promises as fulfilled most magnificently in the gift of Christ who “is our righteousness.”

Jeremiah spoke to God’s people in a hopeless time.

1. They had no temple. It was destroyed by enemy invaders.
2. They lost fields and crops and lands and possessions.
   1. Yet the Lord promised that their holy city Jerusalem would be restored as well as Judah. They would be made to be healthy again.
3. In the very heart of all their woes, when all seemed to be lost and there were no signs of vitality anywhere to be seen, a word of hope and promise came through the mouth of Jeremiah.
   1. “In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without human beings or animals,’ in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without inhabitants, human or animal, there shall once more be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord…for I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord” (Jer. 33: 10-11).
   1. The holy city was in shambles. Yet the God of Israel sounded a “hint of hope.”
      1. Later on behalf of the Lord Jeremiah said, “…I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land…and this is the name by which [this righteous Branch] will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness’” (Jer. 33: 15, 16b).
   1. The celebrated heritage of King David would continue.
4. King David was the most celebrated of the rulers of Israel. This was the one king who most pleased the Lord God. Most of the kings of Israel and Judah failed in significant ways. While David took a deep fall from grace, he humbled himself before the Lord confessing and repenting of his sin.
   1. So he maintained the deep favor of the Lord.
   1. The Lord promised to always preserve the heritage of King David.

It so happens that the Lord God is a promise keeper. God will fulfill promises.

Think of some of the significant promises God made to people from scripture.

1. God made promises starting with Adam and Eve.
2. Promises to Noah and to Abraham.
3. Promises to Jacob and Esau.
4. Promises to Joseph and Moses.
   1. And God kept his promises because God is a promise keeper.

Promises faithfully kept are what sustain us in difficult times when hope is fragile or faint.

1. When hope is fragile or faint remember that the Lord is the original “promise keeper.”
   1. There is such power in promises kept.
   1. Some years ago there was a wildly popular Christian men’s movement called Promise Keepers. Started by University of Colorado football Coach Bill McCartney stadiums were filled numerous times through several years in big weekend long conferences designed to call men to step up in their faith and to be Promise Keepers themselves.
   1. I myself attended several of the rallies. The movement was based on “Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper.” Those seven promises are the following. A Promise Keeper is:
      1. Committed to honoring God through worship, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit;
      1. Committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men understanding that ne needs brothers to help him keep his promises;
      1. Committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity;
      1. Committed to building strong  marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values;
      1. Committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor and by actively giving of his time and resources;
      1. Committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity;
      1. Committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
2. But it all started with God; God is the original keeper of promises.
   1. While the Lord brings discipline, it is never for condemnation but the purpose of the Lord’s discipline is for restoration.
      1. The nations of Israel and Judah experienced the discipline of the Lord, suffering for their waywardness as nations. They lost their standing and favor with God.
      1. But God never stopped loving them. God forgave them and restored them.
         1. Through experiencing the consequences of their waywardness they were drawn back to God.
   1. People can always count on this aspect of God.
      1. “…the Lord is good…his steadfast love endures forever!” (Jer. 33:11).
   1. With God, the promise keeper, there is hope, no matter how faint or dim.

The “righteous Branch” appeared in Jesus of Nazareth.

The motif of a Savior is powerful, appearing constantly all through art and literature, especially now as people look to put their faith and hope in someone to save them and solve their biggest problems.

1. Theologically we believe about Jesus Christ that he is “our righteousness” fulfilling Jeremiah’s very prophecy—“the name by which [the righteous Branch] will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness’” (Jer. 33:16b).
   1. Jesus is Lord. So Jesus is our righteousness.
   1. We are righteous to the extent that we relate to Jesus and that we dwell in his Way.
      1. Our righteousness is an outflow of the very heart and mind of Christ radiating out of us.
2. As people live out the spirit of Christ people find hope.
   1. A young woman named Maria (16) who lives in Cleveland, OH, was moved by the plight of young people her same age in foster care. When they age out they have no place to go and barely anything with which to set up housekeeping.
   1. She wanted to do something to help. She looked into the matter and learned that a significant need was for furniture. So Maria went to her dad and his friends for guidance and help and she started an organization called “Chair-ity.
      1. They have given furniture to nearly 200 young adults in homes across six Ohio counties.
         1. She said watching the recipients’ faces when they receive a bed, a couch, whatever, is transformational.
         1. She treasures the memory of delivering a gold lamp to a woman and watching her polish it lovingly, getting rid of smudges and fingerprints.
   1. Young Maria is living out the spirit of Christ, imparting life and hope to others her age who think their blessings have run out (“Readers Digest,” October ’21).
3. When the Lord Jesus is your righteousness you are an agent of hope.

The Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever. Since this is the case God will fulfill the promise.

1. Only a few chapters before today’s reading from Jeremiah is the beloved verse, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jer. 29:11).
2. That Jeremiah proclaimed such a strong word of hope is significant. In his own life he knew significant spiritual struggles with God. While he was a man of faith he wrestled with God. He endured many trials and afflictions.
   1. So his pronouncements of the faithfulness of God are the more profound.
   1. He is known as the weeping prophet from several personal laments recorded in Jeremiah.
3. That Jeremiah commended hope in God is compelling due to his own personal faith struggles.

You and I have something more than Jeremiah. We know the identity of the “righteous Branch.”

1. Attach your hope, however dim or faint, to Jesus Christ.
2. The author of Hebrews wrote that he is “a sure hope and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:19).
3. As we hang our hope on Jesus Christ we join ourselves with the one through whom God said, “I will fulfill the promise!”

Promises kept are “hints of hope.”