Sermon Hebrews 6:19-20 “Hope”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Hebrews 6:19-20 “Hope”
December 2, 2018

Listen to this sermon.

Today we begin a new church year.  The church year that begins today is divided into two broad seasons.   In the first season, we remember the events of Jesus’ life with Advent and Christmas when we remember the birth of Jesus.   It will continue through Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection in Epiphany, Lent, and Easter.   And the first broad season concludes on Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world. 

The second season of the church year is called “Ordinary Time.”   It not really ordinary.   Rather we talk about parts of the Bible that deal with things other than the important events of Jesus’ life.   So we begin today a journey through the church year.   We will get started, but first, let’s pray. 

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

When I was in business in Washington DC I had to drive a lot to visit customers and talk to prospects.   Before I would drive to meet with someone I would call first and ask for directions.   I would be careful to write down landmarks that would guide me on my journey.  Then I would open an ADC map book for Metro Washington and would figure out my best route.   Then in the car, I would listen to the radio for traffic information so I could avoid congestion and accidents.

When I traveled away from Washington, I would go to AAA and get a triptik.  As a member of AAA, I would go to the office and tell them where I wanted to go.   They would bind together a series of printed maps which I could follow.
When I went to California to attend seminary I tried something new.  I went online to Yahoo Maps and searched for the best route from Washington DC to Pasadena California.  I noted each city on the journey at an about 500-mile interval.   Then I searched for and booked reservations at Hampton Inns every 500 miles or so across the country.   My final task was to print directions from Hampton Inn to Hampton Inn for each day of an eight-day journey.   With these maps and reservations, I was ready to go.

Today I use Google Maps on my Android phone.   I have each of you listed in my contact list.   So all I do is type in your name and a map from my location to your house pops us.   I then follow the map, using GPS, right to your front door.
Technology has changed how we journey from one place to another.  But one thing remains the same.   You must know where you are now and where you want to go. 

As Christians, we are on a journey.  We going places.   We do not stand still.   The starting point in our journey is to take a step of faith.  We see this in Mary’s story.

Luke 1:26 … God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

If Grace woke me up in the middle of the night, with the story of an angelic visitation, I would tell her to go back to sleep because it was just a dream.   But for Mary, the visit of the angel Gabriel was not a dream.  Gabriel told her an absolutely unbelievable story.  She, a virgin, would conceive.  Her baby will be the Son of God.  Who could believe that?   Mary did and she agreed to it.   Mary took a step of faith and began her spiritual journey.

That is where our Christian journey starts, faith.  We take a step in faith and our journey begins.  It might be that we go with a friend to a youth group outing.   Or maybe a coworker invites us to church.  Maybe a neighbor comes over to pray with us at the death of a loved one.  Maybe we see a preacher on Youtube who has something interesting to say.   These things happen all the time.   Your Christian journey starts with you saying yes to an invitation to attend a youth event or a church service or a prayer group or a Bible study.   You don’t know what will happen.  But you act in faith that God that wants you to take this first step.

So faith is where the Christian journey starts.  Like Mary, we respond to an invitation and take a step of faith.  This leads us to a question.  If faith is where we start, then where do we end up?   Where does our Christian journey end?    Our journey which begins in faith ends in hope.   Let’s go back to Mary.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Hope is when we believe that God’s promises will be fulfilled.
Steve was just starting Middle School.   And made the soccer team.   This was the thrill of his young life.  It was what he always wanted.   He was so excited and asked Dad to come to his first game.   And he jumped for joy when Dad said, “Yes!”   But that afternoon when the game started Steve’s dad wasn’t there.  Steve was so disappointed.   He tried not to cry when his father came home.    His dad told him, “I had to work late.” 

The next game was scheduled for Friday night.  So on Monday at breakfast, Steve asked his father again to come.   And Dad said, “Yes, this time I’ll make it.”   Steve couldn’t wait to play in front of his father.  But when the game started, Dad was not there.   He had to work late again.
Steve had hoped that his father would keep his promise to come to his game.   But his father proved to be unfaithful.   And Steve said, “I hope my Dad will come, but he probably won’t.”

Hope is where we expect our desires and needs satisfied, and promises kept.  When someone makes us a promise we hope that it will be carried out.   We trust that the person making a promise is faithful.  If so then our hope is strong, built on confidence.  If not then our hope is weak, built on nothing.
We know what our hope is as Christians.   It is nothing less than eternal life in the resurrection.   This is the end of our journey.     But will we get there?   Is God faithful?   Will God keep his promises.  Let’s go back to Mary.

Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

Mary certainly believed that God was faithful.    She was filled with confidence that God would fulfill his promises.  How could she be so sure?  Mary knew scripture.  In the Bible, God is faithful to God’s people.   By being familiar with Bible stories, Mary was able to recognize God at work in the world.   And when she recognized that it was God, the God of the Bible, who made promises to her she believed that those promises would be kept. 

That is why it is so important for you to study the Bible.   In the Bible, you will hear how God has acted in the world with his people for thousands of years.   Then when you see God acting in your world you will know that it is God.  And if that God makes you a promise you can have hope with confidence that that promise will be carried out.

We have been promised eternal life by Jesus.  This is our Christian hope.  Will Jesus carry out this promise?  Is Jesus faithful?   Is Jesus trustworthy?  The author of the Book of Hebrews certainly thinks so. 

Hebrews 6:13 When God made his promise to Abraham since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

So God was certainly faithful to his promise to Abraham.   And we can believe that God will be faithful to us too.   And if God is faithful to us then our hope is justified.  We will be resurrected to new life.   And this hope is the foundation of our faith.

19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.

The starting point of our Christian journey is a step of faith.   Our destination is hope in the promise of resurrection to eternal life.   We have confidence that Jesus will fulfill this promise because God has always been faithful to the promises he makes to his people.  So let’s enter these coordinates into our GPS:  Our current location is faith.  Our destination is our hope of eternal life through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.  Let’s get started on our Christian journey.  Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank you for the blessing of faith.   Bless us in our Christian journey from faith to eternal life.   Fill us with hope and the assurance of your faithfulness.   This we pray in name of Jesus, the anchor for our souls.  Amen.