The WONDER of HOPE

(S1) — The WONDER of CHRISTmas

Ever gaze in WONDER at the beauty of…stars, creation...?

Slow down…Look even more intently at the WONDER of Christmas…?

SILENT NIGHT — Christmas Eve — Candlelight

I need Christmas more than ever this year! How about you?

Advent — The wonder of PEACE, JOY, LOVE, GIFT...

The PROPHETS — The wonder of the first Christmas — HOPE

Isaiah 9:6 “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

For 100’’s of years, people waited in Hope...

Mark 1:3 “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!.

Like a gift READY to be opened, Jesus was the greatest gift God gave to the world...

A child’s anticipation of Christmas

(S2) —

The WONDER of Christmas is how God chose to give HOPE to the world.

How do we find this HOPE when it seems lost in the weeds of violence, fear, political unrest, unfaithfulness, worry, uncertainty...

We LISTEN in wonder to the promises of God — We ANTICIPATE in wonder by looking for the signs — We SEEK out the greatest gift in a little town called Bethlehem — We WAIT in wonder for that most Holy Night to happen again in our hearts.

How do we find this HOPE — We look to JESUS! Will you open your HEART to the GIFT of HOPE this Christmas?

PRAY

Who is good at keeping secrets? Trouble waiting for Christmas to give that one gift? Who likes to guess?

3 Packages — Easy — Harder — Difficult

GOOD NEWS of Advent — There is no guessing with God — The package and its contents are clearly given to us through the VOICE of the prophets, that a savior would come

(S3) — But still, we have to open the gift...

As we seek out the wonder of Christmas, we begin advent with the end in mind

Revelation 22:20 (NLT)

20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Jesus speaks — 3X in this chapter, saying “I am coming soon!”

Maranatha — Two words, Maran'athah, meaning, "our Lord comes," or is "coming."

1 Corinthians 16:22 “If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. (Maranatha) Our Lord, come!”

Jesus words as plain as they were, were both words of WARNING and HOPE

“The early church faced persecution. Life for a Christian under Rome was not easy. The Romans required everyone to declare that Caesar was god. The early Christians knew that there is only one God and one Lord—Jesus Christ—and in all good conscience they could not call Caesar “Lord,” so the Romans looked upon them as traitors, persecuted them... Yet, the believers’ morale was lifted by the HOPE of the coming of the Lord. “Maranatha!” became their common greeting.

Like a gift READY to be opened, the WONDER of Christmas is found HOPE that Jesus HAS come…and that Jesus WILL come again. HOPE is where we find the wonder of Christmas in a world that seems lost in its brokenness...

(S4) — Hope is...

The assurance in BELIEVING that Jesus has come, with the anticipation of FAITH, that Jesus is to come again.

HOPE in the savior who HAS come — HOPE in Jesus who IS to come

“Years before Jesus ever fulfilled the hundreds of prophecies that pointed to His arrival that first Christmas, God had HOPE in His heart for His people.”

300+ prophecies by God of Jesus’ first advent — Each one was a promise of hope that God had not forgotten them.

Isaiah 7:14 (NLT) Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

All who believed WAITED in ANTICIPATION of God’s presence on earth

Luke 1:28 “ Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus

(S5) —

The words of God through the prophets gave them HOPE — Hope in Jesus who was to come and is to come again.

When we unwrap this gift of hope, 3 truth’s that come to light, about this gift — The focus of our wonder this first week of advent.

I. Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of things to come!

One thing is very clear in all of God’s word — Jesus’ advent was always in the picture

Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.”

Jesus was the fulfillment of things to come by his own admission...

Luke 4:20 “He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!””

(S6) —

Jesus by his coming FULFILLED God’s PURPOSE. Yet his plan to save us is not finished...

Revelation 22:12–13 (NLT)

12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Jesus was always God’s plan — He was a part of God’s first creation…and will be a part of God’ new creation. He is over what is happening now and what is going to happen.

“Look, I am coming soon,

Hope says, Jesus will have the final say! It’s a gift yet to be opened. One that will make all things right one day...

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35: 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. “Biblical History moves us towards the decisive fulfillment. The same Jesus Christ who stands at its beginning and at its center also stands to greet us at its end.”

The wonder of HOPE in Jesus who has come and is to come, helps us find our purpose, in God’s greater plan.

(S7) — Hope shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of things to come.

The HOPE and wonder of Christmas is found in....

II. Jesus is the FORGIVENESS we need!

God’s presence with the faithful was clear...

GARDEN (Walked with them) — Creation of a nation (Abraham) — DELIVERANCE — COMMANDS — Wilderness JOURNEY (Cloud by day, fire by night) (Num. 14:14) — PROVISION (Manna ) (Deut. 8:16) — PROTECTION

And yet, there was brokenness — Defiance, Infidelity, Ignorance, lack of trust…SIN — Need for a SAVIOR to REDEEM HUMANITY

Genesis 3 depicts the initial moment when the works of the devil personified in the form of the serpent were let loose on God’s creation through human disobedience. From that instant forward, we needed a Savior.

From that minute forward, people needed hope. “

Genesis 3:15 “I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, for a moment, even Jesus needed the hope of his father in heaven — Lord take this cup from me...

Jesus is the FORGIVENESS we need…not only because of his birth, but because of what he accomplished on the cross.

Matthew 1:21 (NLT) And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus was born to give us hope in life by destroying the plans our enemy — The Garden restored is without sin and death. Filled with life!

(S8) —

Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.”

Hope is the blessing of forgiveness found in Jesus — Entry into ETERNAL WONDER — Life everlasting sustained by taking in the full goodness of God...

Verse 15 tells us whats in store for those who don’t seek the forgiveness needed for redemption

Revelation 22:15 “Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.”

What can we do to find HOPE this Christmas? Open the WONDER of the FORGIVENESS offered in Jesus who has come and is to come again!

(S7) — Hope shows us that Jesus is the FORGIVENESS we need!

The HOPE and wonder of Christmas is found in....

II. Jesus is the one to FOLLOW

Three words Jesus said to his first disciples as he met them…Come follow me. It was more than about seeing Jesus, they had to follow him. It was then that they began to open the gift of Hope.

What did the three magi do to find Jesus? It was more than about seeing the sign. They had to seek it out. Follow the way God gave them — STAR. There they found Hope lying in a manger.

(S8) —

Revelation 22:16–17 (NLT)

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

Jesus is our sign of hope, our bright and morning star who shows us the way.

Those who choose not to follow…Herod saw the star, but did not go with the wisemen to see yet many choose to call him lord.

Revelation 22:18-19 “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.”

To find true hope, we have SEEK the WORD of God, and accept the invitation to FOLLOW Jesus…Come...

Christians are the people under the Gospel. We are biblical Christians. ”The book ends as it began—with the first love that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. The book ends with the assurance of the faithfulness of that love. Amen! Here is the rock upon which to build your life: the faithfulness of the love of Jesus Christ. It will last. The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35: 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation (All Who are Thirsty)

What can we do to find HOPE this Christmas? Choose to FOLLOW the one God sent. Jesus who will come again!

This expectation of the return of Jesus Christ is to give us more meaning and, indeed, more importance to our life and ministry here and now. The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35: 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation (Come, Lord Jesus)

Hope shows us that Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of things to come…Jesus is the FORGIVENESS we need…Jesus is the one to FOLLOW — our bright and morning star.

(S9) — The message is clear, the gift recognizable in the baby Jesus, yet its still a surprise a gift we need to open...Jesus gets us...

Revelation 22:20 (NLT)

20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Amen — So be it!

This world is broken and can be fixed only by Christ’s final intervention. Living in hope is anticipating his return. It should motivate us to become intensely involved in God’s mission in this world.

Crying out for Christ’s return is also crying with the Spirit for people to “come” and experience the free gift of life while there is still time. Revelation (Teaching the Text)

What can we do to open this gift of Hope anew this Christmas?

SIT in WONDER more...of Jesus who is the FULFILLMENT of God’s promise

SEEK Jesus daily…by opening the gift of FORGIVENESS

SET your heart to FOLLOW Jesus...

VIDEO

Resources

M. Robert Mulholland Jr., “Revelation,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: James, 1–2 Peter, Jude, Revelation, ed. Philip W. Comfort, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2011), 599.