For centuries, the church has celebrated our Savior's birth for 4 weeks. That celebration is called Advent, which means, Coming. It is a celebration if Jesus' first coming and anticipation of his second coming. We celebrate God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises to send to us a Rescuer, a Redeemer, a Savior. If you believe that Jesus really did come, that God was faithful to all his promises in the OT, then you believe that Jesus is coming again.
The first promise that God would send a Savior is found all the way back in Genesis 3:15 after Adam and Eve sinned and God cursed the serpent. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.
Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke to His people about this promise and gave them things to watch for in order to recognize the Savior’s coming. God revealed that The Messiah would be born in the line of David (Isa. 9:6-7), He would be from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10) Born in the town of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). He would be a Man of Sorrows—crushed, despised and rejected—justifying many through what He suffered (Isa. 53). He would be a light overcoming darkness (Isa. 9:2), He would Good News to the poor (Isa. 61). He would walk in the power of the Spirit (Isa. 42:1).
God also reminded His people not to lose heart as they waited for him to come. God did not fulfill His promise right away. His people waited a long time. They spoke of the promised Rescuer from generation to generation, enduring cycles of war, rebellion, captivity and restoration. They watched and waited—anxiously, expectantly—for God’s faithfulness.
We can all identify with feeling hopeless, helpless and in desperate need of rescue. Especially the weight of sin, which is so heavy and inescapable. We see sin's power in violence, hate, selfishness. We know its effects—both our own sin and that of others. Our world is full of evidence that something is wrong and needs to be made right. The reason we celebrate Advent is because the story of the Garden doesn’t end with man’s rebellion—but with God's redemption.
Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The celebration of Advent is a celebration of the character of God. Christmas reveals to us Who God is what He is like.
God sees our suffering, hears our prayers and moves in compassion for us.
Psalm 34 When we suffer, we wonder, "does God see what is happening?" Advent reminds us that God does see. He knows our suffering.
God hears our prayers. Psalm 18:5-6
We all know, that when someone is suffering, seeing and hearing is not enough. When someone you love is suffering, you have to be there. You have to grieve with them, you have to share in their suffering.
I can sympathize with someone who is suffering, from the outside, looking in. I cannot say "I know what you're going through, how this feels, how this hurts." But when I have suffered what this person has suffered, I can empathize with them. I can say, "I know your suffering, I know your grief." God has entered our suffering.
God moves in compassion for his people.
Remember this promise from 2 Corinthians 4:
Your suffering, your trial, is meaningful because god is using it to prepare for you an eternal glory that will far outweigh it.
This morning God is telling you to trust him in the midst of suffering. We see in Advent the God who sees our suffering, He hears our prayers. And he moves in compassion on our behalf.