Light Of Hope Advent 1
December 1, 2024 • Pastor Joe Sabolick Ph.D. • Isaiah 9:2, Hebrews 6:19, Isaiah 9:6, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 53:5
Tithes Offerings~
Tis The Season~
The Event That Changed History And Separated Time~
The Light Of Hope~
Isaiah 9:2:
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
First Sunday: Hope, also known as the Prophecy Candle
Second Sunday: Peace, also known as the Bethlehem Candle
Third Sunday: Joy, also known as the Shepherd's Candle
Fourth Sunday: Love, also known as the Angel's Candle
Our culture is a culture with more information at the tip of their fingers-
Than all of human history
YET
WE ARE A
Dis-eased culture
Inferiority-
Despair-
Anxiety-
Guilt-
People numbing themselves with drugs antidepressants
Alcohol
Fear of what’s next
Throughout the centuries
People from the non influent to the affluent-
Every one on the planet
Desires hope and desire to live forever…
Humanity desires Hope
Ecc 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from Beginning to End.
But there was a Star 💫
A light of Real Hope
For God So Loved The WORLD~
This December At New Creation Church As We Approach Christmas~
God Desires To Bring You Emotional Healing-
We Have All Felt~
Distressed
Left Out
Rejected
Isolated
Misunderstood
Loneliness
Jobless
Children’s Astray
Parents Astray
Maybe you are in a spot of feeling insecure worried
From The Beginning Of Creation Until Now
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU
A PLAN FOR THE WORLD HE CREATED
A PLAN FOR YOU WHO HE CREATED~
A PLAN TO REDEEM US
TO REDEEM YOU
Jer 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a HOPE.
TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE~
The Light Of Hope~
The Anchor in the Storm-
Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil
In Gods Love letter to us Humanity
OVER 7 Billion copies HAVE BEEN sold
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
A Child is born.
A Son is Given…
—700 years before His Birth- The Prophet
—Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
—Zech. 12:10
God spoke of how He himself would be pierced-
—Isaiah 53:5
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us
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“A Child will be born” speaks of the Word becoming flesh
John 1,14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
—Gal. 4:4, “But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.”
—Heb. 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
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HE WAS BORN AND GIVEN SO WE COULD BE SAVED FOR ETERNITY-
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—Galatians 3:13
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
Duet. 21: 23
who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.
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In that CHILD WAS~
The Majesty of God…
The Glory of God…
HOPE FOR THE WORLD~
The Omnipresence of God was in submission to the Law So you And I Could Have Hope!
IN HUMAN FORM BECAUSE OUR PRICE OF REDEMPTION COULD ONLY COME THROUGH THE BLOOD~
“A son that was given”
is a gracious gift from God the Father…
He Gave…
JESUS SAID
It was the Father who sent the Son.
— John 8:18, “I am He who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
The Word did NOT give up-
His deity when He joined to human nature and became the person of Jesus, The Christ.
But He Emptied Himself`
Instead,
He SUBMITTED with the limitations of humanity
SO HE COULD REDEEM US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW!
Phil. 2:8
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So, when the Word became flesh.
The eternal became the mortal…
The infinite became finite.
The glory put on sandals
The majestic wore clothing
The creator walked among us
Eternal love eventually became bleeding flesh…
And the government will rest on His shoulders
What does this mean?
The Hebrew word “government”
is (misrah) and it occurs only here and in the next verse.
Isaiah 9:7, “There will be no end to the increase of His government…
Not some frail political reign of man or woman…
Isaiah 22:22, “Then I will set the key of the house of David on His shoulder
when He opens no one will shut when He shuts no one will open.”
John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
We are called out of this world, and into the kingdom of God.
Light Of Hope~
Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And His name will be called
Wonderful
Wonderful Hope
Counselor Of Hope
Mighty God Of Hope
Eternal Father Of Hope
Prince of Peace Of Hope
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His name exhibits Five aspects of His character…
1 WONDERFUL- Hope
Is.9:6
Everything about Him is Wonderful~
Everything about Him is Glorious~
God in Human Form~
He Who Made The Cosmos.
For God So Love The Cosmos~
Colossians 1:16 - (Jesus made all things) All things are made by Him~
The Wonderful ENORMOUS God Who made the Universes and set in motion this planet in this Galaxy~
Humanity wants to know if there are is life on other planets!
How about Life form the one Who Made The planets & the Solor systems-
-The Galaxies-
1000 MPH…
We are Traveling 67,000 MPH
Whirls around the center of our galaxy at 490,000
Miles per hour.
The Bible teaches that Jesus
Christ was
THE visitor from outer-space –
Astounded the angles
He was God incarnate!
The humility of God becoming a baby to save All Of Humanity
That virgin-born baby was God in human form.
Numbers 24:17 There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.
1 WONDERFUL Hope
2 COUNSELOR Of Hope
THE EARTHLY COUNSELOR MUST ASK TO KNOW YOUR NEED -
To do any kind of a throughly accurate psycho analogy takes up to several years of evaluation of that individual-
This Counselor Made You-
He knows you In and Out-
THE WONDERFUL COUNSELOR KNOWS YOUR NEED BEFORE YOU ASK-
A counselor must have knowledge of the person he or she is seeking to advise.
The earthly counselor must ask about your need.
The wonderful Counselor knows what you need before you ask.
Jesus said
Matthew 6:8, “…Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
He Knows Our Past
Injustices,
The Disappointments,
The Hurts,
The Pains,
The Why’s &
The Why Nots…
He is the Wonderful Counselor
Because He has all the knowledge of our past in His heart and mind.
He knows the secrets of your past.
He knows the hidden hurts of your past.
He knows the lost dreams of your past.
He knows all about your past experiences.
Heb. 8:12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
He Knows Our Present
Jesus! The Lord knows your present pressures,
your present temptations, and your present trails.
David said in Psalm
139 You know my thoughts before I think them…
He’s all knowing All loving All Forgiving All understanding
He is wonderful in His knowledge of us.
- He Knows Our Future
Jer. 29:11
He knows the Thoughts He Thinks Toward you Peace Not Evil-
A earthly counselor or psychologist can’t tell you your future~
No one can~
Our Lord knows what is ahead of us.
He Is there for you…
Jesus said He would give you another advocate besides himself~
The Holy Spirit~
John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Jesus gave us wisdom and teaching.
He is the wonderful Counsel.
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Wonderful
Counselor
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3 Mighty God- Of Hope
Jesus Was Is And Always Will be Almighty God`
John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made...
1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
Jesus Said:
John 5:23 - that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
-John 8:24 - “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM He, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:58 - Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
John 10:30-33 - Jesus answered them, “I and My Father are one....
The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
John 14:6-7 - Jesus said to him, “I AM the way, the truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:10 He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”
John 20:28 - And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Acts 4:12 - “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Colossians 2:9 - For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily
1 Timothy 3:16 - And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
John 20:28, “Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Heb. 1:8, “But of the Son, He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.”
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4 Everlasting Father Of Hope
John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
John 14:9, “Jesus said to him,He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
Heb. 1:3, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature…”
Rev. 1:18, “and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
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5 He Is The Hope Of Peace-
He Is the Hope Of PEACE~
What do you need today~
Jesus is the Answer To Every Human Need~
John 14:12
He who believes in Me the works that I do he will do also and greater works than these he will do because I go to the father and whatever you ask I’m my Name I will do it the the Father may be glorified in the Som .. Ask anything in my name I will do.
What do you need?
Forgiveness?
Healing?
Ask for Healing,
Peace he is the prince of Peace,
Deliverance ? He is our deliver,
Has your life put you in debt?
Have you been robbed of your livelihood and provision ?
Abandoned ?
Jesus Said Matthew 6
Ask and It shall Be Given
Seek And You will Find
Knock and the door will be opened~
https://biblia.com/bible/esv/luke%202.14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
Matt. 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Col. 1:20, “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross…”
Christmas is a time of celebration of the birth of the Lord God in our world so that He might save us.
https://biblia.com/bible/esv/isa%209.6 is a prophecy that is fulfilled in Jesus who was born so that He might die.
It was Jesus who was born in a manger so that He might hang on a cross.
In the birth of Christ is
our redemption,
our blessing,
our cleansing,
and all our hope.