A Thrill of Hope

Introduction

We’re finally here! Christmas is upon us and regardless of your thoughts on if Christmas music is “tolerated” before Thanksgiving or not, it’s officially Christmas time! Over the next 4 Sundays of the “Advent” season, we’re blessed as a church family to pause and give thanks to our God for this special time of the year as we celebrate the incarnation or the arrival of Jesus Christ. This Christmas season is a season of celebration for many of us! A season where we have memories of joy, hope, tradition, worship, yummy food, and fun with family. However, this isn’t the case for everyone. One article I came across this week shared that the Christmas season is also marked by a greater emotional amount of stress and more acts of violence than any other time of the year. Christmas serves as an excuse for many people to indulge in excess. To overeat. To under work. To expect more… but for those who belong to Jesus, we know that Christmas is simply another reason to exalt Jesus Christ in the midst of a world that, by and large, recognizes that there is something unique about this time of the year. It seems like everyone knows that the Christmas season is special or at the very least, different. One of the reasons why this season is so unique is because of the hope that we have during this time of the year.

Consider that word: Hope. How do many people talk about hope? They’ll talk about it in a wishful sense - I hope that I get an end of the year bonus at work. I hope that we get a white Christmas. I hope that I get an A in my class. I hope that tomorrow is better than today. I hope that my friend makes this important shot in our basketball game.

These aren’t wrong definitions of hope - but there is a better hope available to us than just a wishful thought or a positive feeling. Biblically, hope can be defined as: A strong and confident expectation, an unwavering trust in the unchanging character of God. As Christians, we are people of great hope - why? Because we can always have confidence and trust in our faithful God! During this Christmas season, we look back at all that God has done and we also look forward at what God promises to do. Jesus has already saved us from the penalty of our sins, but Jesus has not yet saved us from the presence of sin. But we have hope that one day, He will. This morning as we kick off our Advent series, we’re looking at the theme of HOPE in both Old and New Testaments. How God’s people have always been a hopeful people. Maybe you are here today and, if you’re being honest, you don’t have much of any hope. Maybe your hope has been zapped. Maybe, to put it in secular terms, you’re here today and you’re closer to Scrooge than anything else this Christmas season. If this is you, I’m glad you’re here and my prayer as we study from God’s Word is that you would come to see the true and lasting hope that is offered only by Jesus Christ and that you would experience that hope today.

Let’s read from Psalm 33, starting in verse 13, at how hope changes everything.

Psalm 33:13–22 CSB

13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he observes everyone. 14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth from his dwelling place. 15 He forms the hearts of them all; he considers all their works. 16 A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be rescued by great strength. 17 The horse is a false hope for safety; it provides no escape by its great power. 18 But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him— those who depend on his faithful love 19 to rescue them from death and to keep them alive in famine. 20 We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield. 21 For our hearts rejoice in him because we trust in his holy name. 22 May your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in you.

Our Strength Provides False Hope

The Psalms are a treasure trove of wisdom and worship, but maybe you’re here and wondering what on earth the Psalms have to do with Christmas? We know the Psalm 23’s, the Psalm 46’s, and the Psalm 139’s of Scripture. But what about this 33rd Psalm? Here we see that there is a Creator God who made all things and sustains all things. He is true to His Word. He see’s all things. He has a plan for all things. The Lord looks down from heaven and He observes everyone from His dwelling place… He considers all their works. This means that God knows all things. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your future. Your past. Your present. Your thoughts. He knows what you did this morning before you came to church! This truth should inspire people to trust in the Lord… but we know that we live in a world where more and more people trust in themselves. Think of this expression, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Have you ever heard that statement before? There’s a situation where that’s appropriate and necessary… but our world has taken that expression too far in the sense that so many people trust exclusively in self and refuse to acknowledge their need for help. In a social media crazed world, some people believe that if they just get another follower or two then they’ll finally be satisfied and secured. Others believe that if they just reach a certain benchmark in their retirement portfolio then they’ll finally be satisfied and secured. Others think that if they can just get a promotion or into their dream school or some additional power then they’ll finally be satisfied and secured. Just a little more property. Just a little more money. Just a little more strength. Does the name John D. Rockefeller ring a bell? One of the wealthiest Americans in history. He was interviewed about how much money would finally be “enough” and he reportedly said, “just a little bit more.” Money is a false hope - it might solve some problems but it fails to solve your biggest problem. The same goes with your strength. It might solve some problems, but it fails to solve your biggest problem. The same goes with stuff… it might solve some problems, but it fails to solve your biggest problem. Look around this world at the people who are the most miserable and by and large it isn’t the people who don’t have much of anything… it is the people who have much but they haven’t found anything to satisfy the void in their heart.

This is especially true during the Christmas season. It seems like this truly is the most wonderful time of the year in many respects. Kids get a week or two (or a month if you go to SBU) off of school. Employees get a few days off, and some might get some sort of bonus. Families gather together. Snow starts to fall. Presents get unwrapped. We love Christmas and this season is often one of happiness. These things make us happy. But what happens on December 26th? Sure, we might put our new clothes on and play with our new toys, but our family goes back home, we go back to work, sicknesses follow… That happiness comes and it goes. As great a Christmas party as you throw, the party comes to an end. If we place our hope in ourselves and our feelings, we will be sorely disappointed! As we look in God’s Word we see this truth as well. People place their faith and hope in things, people, places, events, and ideas only to be left in the dust because those things provide false hope. Consider the end of this passage of Scripture in verses 20-22. What is the solution to this growing false hope, this self centered hope, this seasonal hope that eventually ends?

Psalm 33:20–22 CSB

20 We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield. 21 For our hearts rejoice in him because we trust in his holy name. 22 May your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in you.

We wait for the Lord - we trust in the Lord - we hope in the Lord.

The Advent season is one of waiting. But we don’t wait as the world waits. Our world is tempted to be like the little kid at the candy store whose mom tells him to wait for her to come back. We start out patiently waiting and minding to ourselves like we were instructed… but then we look around and we see a whole lot of things that look awfully good. We get distracted. We look around and we see lots of other people, but we don’t see our mom and as a kid this causes you to get nervous. We don’t wait all that well… and even as Christians we’re tempted to not wait well. We’re tempted to trust in self. We’re tempted to place our hope in false things. When we do this, we will be let down. There were thousands in Jesus’ day who missed Him because they weren’t truly waiting for Him which meant that they weren’t truly ready for Him. Who is your hope placed in today? Is it in the things of this world? Is it in yourself? Is it in a feeling? Is it in this Christmas season and all the wonderful things that happen this time of the year? Or is it in the Lord who alone offers us a hope that doesn’t fluctuate or change by the second?

Let’s look to a couple of New Testament passages and look closely at the hope that Jesus Christ provides in our lives.

Titus 2:11–14 CSB

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.

Jesus Provides Living Hope

This is one long sentence in the Greek, but consider the hope that Jesus Christ provides. No more false hope in self… we have a living hope because we have a living Savior. Titus tells us that the grace of God has appeared. Have you heard the story of John Newton before? Sure, he wrote the song Amazing Grace, but the “before Christ” part of John’s life? Some of you all know that John Newton used to be a part of the slave trade, but did you know that before all of this, when he was a little boy at the age of 6, he lost his mom? By the age of 11, John joined his father as a sailor and his father brought John down a slippery slope of sin and before he realized it, he himself was a young man in the slave trade, buying and selling human beings and eventually sinking even deeper into the snares of sin. Eventually, some sailors were concerned for his wellbeing and gave him a book called the Imitation of Christ. Newton read it initially out of spite, but it began to soften his heart as the Lord was working. Fast forward a few nights and there comes a severe storm. Newton was afraid for his life as wave after wave rocked the boat. A ginormous wave hit the boat and sent Newton out to sea… he cries out, “O Lord, Help!” As God would have it, another ginormous wave struck and sent Newton flying back into the boat. That was his story. John Newton got saved and years later would write these words, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” Friend, we all have a past. We all have a period of our lives where we trusted in false hopes. Where we were out at sea and spiritually speaking, we were dead in our sins and we were left for dead in the storms of life. What changed? Titus 2:11 - the grace of God appeared.

In the Old Testament, people had hope that God would come through on His promise and send the Messiah. We have promises and prophecies in places like Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 CSB

14 Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

But all they had was hope on that side of the cross. Consider us on this side of the cross, church. We look backward to the cradle with confidence as we know that God makes good on His promises! He truly did send His Son. He really came through on what He said that He would do. Jesus really did come into this world, and Jesus really does change everything because the grace of God appeared. As Jesus came, He not only showed up but He brought salvation with Him. This is what people had hoped the Messiah would do, that He would come and save people… but in Jesus’ day people were expecting a military savior, a political savior, a mighty savior. This is what people often expect today as well. A Jesus who will solve their temporary problems. A Jesus who will make them happy. A Jesus who will make them powerful. A Jesus who will come and smash their opponents. What do we see in the life and ministry of Jesus, though? Mark 10:45

Mark 10:45 CSB

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is what Jesus Christ came to the earth to do. To serve others, not be served by others, and to give His life as a ransom for many. This is what He did. He served. He saved. He suffered. He is seated. But Titus 2 reminds us that this Jesus is coming back. While you and I don’t wait for Jesus like the saints of the Old Testament did during the intertestmental period where God was silent for hundreds of years, you and I today are waiting for Jesus in a different way. See, Advent simply means the arrival or the coming of Christ. We know that in the first advent, He came to be born as a baby in Bethlehem and grace and hope appeared and invaded this world of darkness and despair as we’ll celebrate especially on Christmas Eve as John’s Gospel shares that the light of the world came into this world of darkness! That advent has already happened… but there is another advent that has not happened yet. See, as you and I wait for that advent, the second coming of Jesus Christ, we wait with hope. We wait with a purpose. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us and to cleanse us. To save us so that we will serve Him. As you think about that reality this Christmas season, take captive the opportunities that God gives you to serve Him and to share that otherworldly hope with a lost and confused world.

The reason that you and I have hope isn’t because of who we are but because of WHOSE we are. Today you might feel as useless as a cracked pot. Things might not be going well and you might not feel good… can I offer you some encouragement? You don’t need to be asked how do you feel at church, you need to be asked what do you know! You might feel like a cracked pot and as if things aren’t going well and there is no purpose for you this Christmas season for whatever reason. That might be how you feel… but if you’re a Christian, what matters more is what does the Bible tell us. What do we know? Jesus Christ entered this broken world and He came to fix broken, cracked pots. Your brokenness is welcomed at the arms of your Savior because your brokenness is what He exclusively can fix! This salvation that He has won provides us with a living hope because our Savior is alive and ruling and reigning today. We might feel broken, but in actuality because of Jesus Christ, we are mended and God desires to use jars of clay to share the most glorious message of all and that message is that Jesus Christ Still Saves! He will use your brokenness, hurt, and suffering for His glory. This gives us hope while we wait.

Let’s look at one final passage to see the hope that Jesus provides

Romans 8:23–25 CSB

23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

Salvation Provides Eternal Hope

As we think of the Christmas season and we think of the birth of Jesus, we can’t miss out on the family dynamic between He and His parents. This is quite the surprise of human history… God chose a teenage bride to be and her slightly older husband to be in order to parent the Son of God and Savior of the world. Can you imagine those conversations between Mary and Joseph before Jesus was born? Parents, you’ve had the “I wonder what he’ll do when he grows up” conversations, haven’t you? God tells Mary and Joseph through the Angel Gabriel that Jesus is going to save His people from their sins and be the Son of God. Oh, is that all? It’s hard to imagine what was going through their brains… maybe we’ll ponder that more in the weeks to come, but one thing that is absolutely true is that Mary and Joseph trusted in God’s plan and did so seriously. We see in Romans 8 the word adoption show up. Did you know that Jesus Christ was the first Christian adoption? In the Jewish world, one’s lineage was determined by one’s legal father. If you turn to Matthew 1 in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, what do we see? That the genealogy runs not through Mary but Joseph. What does this mean? That Joseph adopted Jesus, though Jesus was not his biological child. Adoption provides great hope to the adoptee. There is security, belonging, and comfort in being adopted into a family.

Take yourself as an example. You have an earthly family, a biological family… but if you are saved, Romans 8 tells us that we have been adopted into God’s family. This provides us with great hope because God becomes our Father and Jesus our brother. We have the privilege and honor each day to wake up and worship our Father with our brothers and sisters alongside us this morning. This gives us great hope - in fact, JI Packer shared that our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption. Our salvation provides us with an eternal hope. Not wishful thinking. This is a confident possession that Jesus gives to us! We are God’s people. We’re waiting to go to our eternal home because we know that we’re not there yet… but while we wait, we can wait knowing that though we can’t see it or touch it, one day our faith will be made sight and our hope will be realized in eternity to come. Because Jesus came, everything changes. Because Jesus came, hope becomes our reality. Because Jesus came, we wait differently.

Spurgeon shared this concerning this season of Advent. In the first advent we see “Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our punishment, in our grave.” In the second advent, though, we have a different hope and expectation, “Immanuel, God with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and splendor.” The cradle in Bethlehem leads to a cross on Calvary - this is Jesus’ very mission. The cradle and the cross provide us with comfort that doesn’t change depending on the season… no, Jesus’ salvation gives us an eternal hope. Christian, even in your darkest moment of uncertainty, the work of Jesus Christ has secured your salvation. We wait, but we don’t wait as those with no hope. We wait with patience, knowing the end of the story. Tozer shared that your Christian hope is just as good as Jesus Christ. Your anticipation for the future lives and dies with Jesus. If He is who He said He was, you can spread your wings and soar… If He is not, you will fall to the ground like a lump of lead.

Is anyone else thankful for the salvation that Jesus Christ provides? The hope that He bestows on all who call upon His name in repentance and faith?

Conclusion

Advent stirs up a thrill of hope inside of every single blood-bought, born-again follower of Jesus Christ! Why is Christmas so special in the life of Christians? Because we remember the reason for our hope in the first place. The basis for our hope is not in ourselves, our strength, our possessions, our goodness, our talents, or our background. The basis for our hope is that our God makes good on His promises. We look back at the first advent, the birth of Jesus, and we remember God’s faithfulness. We imagine the hope that filled the hearts of people 2000 years ago when Jesus was born! As we look back, we remember that there will be a second advent, a second coming. This brings about a thrill of hope in all who are in Christ as we too anticipate something spectacular: salvation from sin, the expectation of heaven. How are we able to have this hope for all eternity? Because 2000 years ago, our God sent hope to this weary world and all that we can do is to rejoice. What have you done with this advent hope? Maybe we have to take a step back and ask another question: In what do you find your hope? It better not be the things of this world - as great as this world might be, it represents a false hope for safety. Good works, nice words, solid finances, a wonderful job, all of these things are great! But they can’t be the basis for our hope. How can you experience this thrill of hope? By knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our hope is in our faithful God who always comes through. He holds us fast. He keeps His promises and we know this because He sent His Son. We can hope in Jesus because He is alive. What a thrill. What a hope. What a God. What a plan. Is your hope in Jesus? If not, this Christmas season I pray that you come to see how Jesus provides something this world could never come close to giving - an everlasting hope that doesn’t fade or change or fail. Look to Jesus - wait for Jesus - hope in Jesus.