The Wonder of Hope

Hope

So here’s where we’ve been: We’ve looked at the Wonder of Love, The Wonder of Peace, The Wonder of Joy, and today we’ll look at the Wonder of Hope. What we’ve said so far is that we can probably experience all of these things in day-to-day life, but only in limited fashion.

The Wonder of Christmas is that when Jesus was born, as Matthew wrote, Immanuel - God with Us, Complete Love, Perfect Peace, Unending Joy, and Secure Hope is what He brought to us.

He brought those as the savior of the world.

There’s a slight difference with Hope…at least in my view. Jesus’ love, His peace, and His joy…all lead somewhere for us. Receiving those things from Him lead us to a Hope that is secure. We’ll look at this more in the short time we have together today.

Hope

Isaiah 7:14, John 10:10, 1 John 3:8, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 Corinthians 11:26, Revelation 19, Revelation 22:20-21, Hebrews 2:14-17, Hebrews 9:26-28

Part of the Wonder of Christmas is how God chose to give us Hope. For years and years before Jesus was born, hundreds of prophecies were written that pointed people to something that would happen in a specific place at a fairly specific time.

While biblical scholars are not united on the exact number of Old Testament prophecies that foretold of the coming Messiah, most agree that there were over 300 of them. Each of them gave hope to those listening and reading…that at some point in time, God would intervene in this world.

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Some 700 years later, these prophesies came true as the virgin Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. They named Him Jesus because He was to save the people from their sins. That’s the reason Jesus was born; He was our Savior who could rescue us from our sins which separated us from holy God. Again, we don’t just celebrate that he was born, we celebrate why he came

Jesus was born to give us hope

He came to destroy the plans our enemy, the devil

Genesis 3 depicts the initial moment when we were separated from our creator.

From that instant forward, we needed a Savior.

From that minute forward, we needed hope…not wishful hope. But a hope that simply said, “One day God will take care of this for us.”

Jesus came as a baby, and then years later articulated His mission.

John 10:10 CSB

10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Jesus let us know that each and every day we’re experiencing two different agendas that are on a collision course regarding our lives.

One is the thief's agenda: the enemy, the devil, Satan; his agenda is to steal, kill and destroy our lives.

However, Jesus also communicated that His agenda was that He left His place in glory, Heaven, and came on a rescue mission.

The disciple John reminds us,

1 John 3:8 NIV

8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

That’s our hope.

And that’s pretty clear isn’t it.

Don’t you love it when the Bible is clear? It is so enjoyable when you don’t have to wonder, “Now, what’s it saying? What does that mean?”

The devil, whom Peter describes in his letter (1 Peter 5:8) as “your enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” is the same one Jesus was talking about who is out only to steal, kill, and destroy your life…that doesn’t sound hopeful.

And here we are. Christmastime. When we celebrate because Jesus came to pick a fight with our enemy who was trying to destroy our lives. He’s here. He arrived. And in a very special way. As one of us.

Translation: It’s as if Jesus said, “If you want to be about destroying things, Satan, I’ll show you what it means to destroy! I will go all the way to the cross and disarm you, as well as this. I’ll cancel the payment of sin for all of humanity who puts their faith, hope, and trust in me.

I’ll come as an innocent baby. I’ll go to the cross as a perfect sacrifice. I’ll defeat death and enjoy a glorious resurrection. Then, 40 days later, I will ascend to Heaven and send my Holy Spirit to empower and lead my followers. My Father promised I would come in time, and make no mistake; I will come again to claim what is My own. The next time I will come riding on a white horse with fire in My eyes, a crown on My head, a robe dipped in blood and the armies of heaven following Me on white horses with a prominent tattoo on My robe and thigh that reads: King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Pretty intense, huh?

Does that sound like something we can have hope in? Is that something to celebrate at Christmas? Absolutely!

It’s what we remind ourselves of when we take the Lord’s Supper and say in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

You’re not just proclaiming it to the people around you. You’re proclaiming that you believe that baby came for you. Died for you. And that you have named Him Lord over your life…you’re proclaiming that to the evil forces that are around us all the time…what Paul talked about in Ephesians. You’re hope does not lie in them…you’re hope is in the one who came to save you.

Broadman’s Commentary notes that over 500 hope-filled times in the Scriptures it speaks of the return of Jesus.

Our Savior, Jesus, is not a pacifist wimp without a plan. He is a warrior King who came to destroy the works of the devil and to rescue us from sin, death, Satan, and hell; and He is coming again one day soon. Therefore, we have a blessed hope this Christmas season no matter what situation we may be in in this part of life.

Two short passages in Hebrews 2:14-17 and Hebrews 9:26-28 pair so well with the words we just read in John 10:10 and from 1 John 3:8. These words from Hebrews give more dimension to this abundant life Jesus came to give us and the hope we have now while we wait for His return.

Hebrews is a powerful letter that is meant to encourage Christians going through tough seasons in life. If you’re just trying to make it through December, Hebrews is for you. If you are going through a tough season of life, dealing with difficult circumstances, feeling pressed, pulled, beaten down, and discouraged in some areas of life, then Hebrews is meant for you. It’s certainly meant for me.

Let’s read and talk through Hebrews 2:14-17

Hebrews 2:14–17 NIV

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

1. Hope for Freedom

There is not much that we value in this world more than our freedom. We have fought wars for freedom. We celebrate freedom. We pity those who have less than us and are jealous of those who seem to have more.

That baby we celebrate at Christmas provides us hope for freedom.

And here’s what the verse said. Jesus became human, like us, to free us.

He gave up his freedom and constrained himself in a human body to give us hope of freedom.

Freedom from what? According to the writer of Hebrews we are free from our “fear of death.”

I’m not sure what tops your list of things to fear, but death is up there for most of us. By giving us hope of freedom from death, Jesus has also given us hope to truly live life abundantly.

2. Hope to Help

We can all find ourselves overwhelmed during the Christmas season. We want help knowing what gifts to get others. We need help planning and decorating.

This sense of helplessness can follow us all year long if we are not careful. And many of you might feel that sense of helplessness in different ways all the time. Certainly not a feeling of abundant life right? This passage in Hebrews goes on to show us that we don’t have to feel hopeless when we are in need of help.

For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. Hebrews 2:16

As I look out today, I don’t see many angels but I do see a lot of “Abraham’s descendants”! I know you don’t see an angel when you look at me either. That’s fair. However, I too am a descendant of Abraham.

The word “helps” in verse 16 is such a powerful word with vivid imagery. It is a word that means someone rescues another by taking hold of them and lifting them out of a dangerous situation.

I was watching a WWII movie and there was a crew flying over enemy territory in a bomber…in one moment there was artillery fire coming towards the plane and a loud bang…the plane shook. One of the crew went running back the fuselage…lifted up a hatch in the floor, only to find that the gunners cabin below it had been blown off of the plane…and there, still strapped to a safety harness, was the gunner. Arms flayling as he tried to keep hold of something to keep from falling thousands of feet. The other crew member did everything he could to grab hold of and rescue…the man. And he did. He grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

That’s the greek inference of this word help in this passage. Take hold of…like there’s no other way to help. That’s the kind of help Jesus has for you.

And Jesus helped us as He grabbed hold of us and rescued us from spiritual and eternal death by what He did on the cross. He was not only our helper but also our only hope.

3. Hope of Forgiveness

Too often in life, we tend to feel like failures more than we feel forgiven. When we focus on our failures, we are destined to fail to really live the life God has for us. We are caught up in living life looking at the past. That has never been an effective way to live. If you don’t believe me, try driving your car home today with your eyes firmly focused on the rear view mirror.

Satan has some tools here to use doesn’t he. Failure, worry, anxiety…through those things Satan lies to us and tells us that we have no hope. Or that we have reason to think we don’t. But those things can’t control us unless we allow them.

When it comes to failure…past sins…sins we currently struggle with…Jesus was born this struggle.

Why was Jesus born on that Christmas night as a 100% human baby? According to the writer of Hebrews, so he could be a merciful and faithful high priest. He was human so he gets us. Not only that, but the humanity of Jesus is what made the atonement by Jesus possible for us.

The word “atonement” means “to stop being angry”. In other words, to forgive. You know how difficult it is to forgive when you don’t understand someone? Jesus became one of us to help us understand that he can and will give us hope to be forgiven. BTW…He also provides us the hope to forgive each other and he loves when we do that.

4. Hope in Temptation

Life has been filled with temptations since chapter two of Genesis. And most of us have done just a little worse than Adam and Eve. What if I told you that there was hope when you are tempted? It is true!

Hebrews 2:18 NIV

18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Whatever you do, do not overlook the word “suffered” in this verse. It is one of the most encouraging things you will hear this week!

We tend to believe that life was a cakewalk for Jesus. That he didn’t struggle with anything. However, the Bible paints a different picture than that. It says that Jesus “suffered when he was tempted.” In the Greek the bigger meaning is …experienced…as in a negative way. He was tempted like us because he became human like we are.

Jesus gets us, friends! He really does. He is not looking at us from on high with a judgmental attitude. He is filled with the compassion that comes from someone who has white-knuckled his way through temptation just like you have. Not only that, but he is able to help you. Way too often we neglect tocall on Jesus for help when we are tempted and just call on him to help forgive us when we fail.

If you want to give Jesus a gift for Christmas this year, make it a point to ask for help more than you need to ask for forgiveness.

Holding On To Hope

Hebrews 10:23 NIV

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hope is the antidote to giving up. Hope is the fuel for our future. Hope is the greatest need in our hopeless world. We have that hope in Jesus. That is what we celebrate every Christmas.

So hold on to that hope. Don’t let go and don’t miss the fact that our hope is not based on our faithfulness - but on the faithfulness of that baby in the manger. The greatest gift ever given.

Have hope…Jesus is your hope. He destroyed the devil's works at the cross and then helps you in all of life from here until he fully remakes and restores you… to that abundant life he so often made reference to.

And guess what, no matter where you live on this planet, no matter what government or politics or social media or anyone else says … this Hope stays secure. Again, this Hope has a name. His name is Jesus.

I also think, living in this part of life together as a church family, if we do this well, relying on Him, Wondering at all that He brought us...other people will wonder why we celebrate Christmas as we do.

It’s simple. There was a baby that brought us hope that doesn’t quit. Amen?!