Can We Trust God's Word about Christmas?
Believable Hope • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 6 viewsBelievable Hope --inspired by people needing hope in a desperate holiday season --inspired by my own kids asking hard questions --reasons of the head --reasons of the heart
Notes
Transcript
Questions for Tim:
Logan’s pic
3. After Logan's ordination, I was wondering if I could ask you the following questions:
--Tim, many people here have been following you and your wife's story--for those that don't know, what are you and your wife going through, and how can we pray for you?
--Tim, we are currently in a sermon series on hope...how do you have hope through something difficult like this? (if you are willing to share!!)
After that, I would encourage people to come forward, surround you and pray for you.
Make sure you congratulate Logan on his ordination.
I really appreciate Tim Johnson sharing.
b/c we are in a series about hope...
think of how we use the language of hope everyday...
I want to give you a sentence—and let’s see if we can rate… how hopeful we should be about it...
Here it is…
for Christmas this year, I am hopeful that it will be a good Christmas for my family and me...(depends on your family…)
If you are a high school senior—I am hopeful that I will figure out what to do (or your family wants this for you) (or get into the school of my dreams or get a good job)… (depends on what you have accomplished and the admissions committee)
I am hopeful that next year’s Presidential election season will not be divisive… (yeah right)
I am hopeful that Indiana will beat Purdue this year on the basketball court. well, if you are an honest Indiana fan—your hope is probably not grounded in reality this year compared to last year.
when we use hope like this in our everyday conversation…it is uncertain. we are unsure it will happen..
but Biblical hope is different....
we defined it last week like this:
a confident expectation and desire that God will accomplish something good in the future...
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
it’s confidence that God will do what He said He will do, and that will make all the difference.
and when you have that kind of hope in God—it makes all the difference in how you live your life everyday.
I want to read a couple of Christmas passages that bring us much hope this Christmas season:
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
let’s turn over to Luke 1:26-38....Matthew was from the perspective of Joseph—Luke is from the perspective of Mary...
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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 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.
(pic of believable hope?)
I called this series “Believable Hope” — because we are looking at hope from a head level—looking at tough questions that help us believe it—
but also a heart level.
and I want to talk about hope—as it relates to these Bible stories and the Word of God.
specifically this question—can we trust God’s Word—and what it says about Christmas and hope… (last week we looked at was Jesus even a real person)
b/c…how do we know this happened? these are big claims in these passages...
the Son that Mary had—first of all—conceived by the Holy Spirit
Luke 1:32—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....his kingdom will never end.
the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God—these are humungous claims about Jesus Christ—God taking on flesh.
back in Matthew - Jesus is the one who will save us from our sins (our tendency to put ourselves in the place of God)
He is Immanuel — God with us!
Christmas is about God coming to dwell with us to give us hope and restore lost sinners to Himself forever—and to bring His kingdom.
Our hope—our faith grounded in the future—that God will do what He promised hinges that we believe these stories actually took place.
how do we know we can trust it...
over the years in ministry...
people have asked me this—
my kids have asked me…
how do we know...
Let me give you 2 reasons of the head…that we can trust God’s Word
and 2 reasons of the heart
reasons of the head:
one of the resources that helps us with this is a book called is Christmas unbelievable? by Rebecca McGlaughlin — 4 Questions everyone should ask about the world’s most famous story. ($5 in Book Nook)
in chapter 2 she asks, Can we take the Gospels seriously?
and she looks at some common objections against it.
one of the biggest objections against the 4 gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—is that they don’t agree with each other. there’s contradictions.
what do we do about i?
b/c only Matthew and Luke tell us the stories of Jesus’ birth—and they are not the same (one is from Joseph’s perspective and one from Mary’s). the books of Mark and John don’t even mention it.
sometimes the events in each gospel are in different orders and explain them differently.
does this mean we can’t trust the Bible—and we can’t have the hope that it is true?
not so fast…here is a reason of the head..
Reason #1 - There are answers as to why the 4 Gospels seem to contradict.
Answer #1 — none of the 4 Gospels claim to tell every story about Jesus. John 21:25
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John’s gospel doesn’t include the birth of Jesus—but he chose to explain who Jesus is by mentioning other miracles that aren’t in the other 3 Gospels. Rebecca says these 4 gospels function like a string quartet. one instrument can be beautiful---but the 4 together in harmony can be stunningly beautiful.
she also mentions the fact that the Gospel record different sayings of Jesus in different places with different twists might sound fishy…but think of a public speaker—when they visit different places and give the same material (It’s possible Jesus did this)—it never quite comes out the same way each time. My 2nd service sermon is different than my 1st—I like to think it’s better.
or think about the different ordering of the Gospels....why does one Gospel present the events of Jesus’ life in one order vs. another…but if you watch a popular Netflix drama or your favorite show. My wife and I watched the popular show This is US. I mentioned before if you ever just want to cry when you watch a show—just watch that.
but that show jumps from different decades all the time—all for a particular purpose of the storyteller. and if you have a very logical, ordered brain (cough cough — engineers—it’s difficult!) but why do storytellers do this? to confuse us? no b/c by ordering the story this way—it is making a particular point. same is true with the Gospels. each writer thru the HS is making a particular point.
all of this gives us a reason for the head—that even though they sometimes contradict in their order or what is left in or out—we can trust them…and therefore have a believable hope that these stories are true to give us hope this Christmas.
Reason #2 (reason of the Head)- The Bible contains lots of embarrassing information.
this may be my favorite reason for why you and I can trust the Gospels and the Bible..b/c the Bible has lots of embarrassing info about it’s people.
think of the most embarrassing, shameful thing you ever did. now, what if you were forced to share it with our entire congregation.
and what if it were broadcast to the world....for the rest of time?
think about Peter, Rebecca McGlaughlin says...
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
that’s what Peter said. but Jesus said—before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me 3x. and as we read the story—that’s exactly what Peter did.
this is the Peter upon whom Jesus said he would build his church. the only reason it’s in the Gospels is it must be true. Peter had to live with that story the rest of his life…that’s embarrassing…but it is in there…b/c it must be true...
same is true of the resurrection of Jesus accounts…all 4 Gospels record that the first witnesses of Jesus being resurrected were women. in 1st century Jewish culture, the testimony of women was not allowed in court of law. so why would all 4 Gospels record women being the first eyewitnesses of Jesus? b/c it must be true even though it would culturally be embarrassing...
I could talk about more reasons of the head-- prophecies being fulfilled from the OT in the birth of Jesus (Jesus being born in Bethlehem)…or the fact that the Bible is written over a span of 1600 years, by over 40 different human authors (and one divine author)-our jr. quizzers should know that...in 3 languages—the OT in Hebrew, the NT in Greek, and a little bit of Aramaic…(come support our jr. quizzers today at 2pm) or the fact that the Bible has been studied and critiqued and stood the test of time.
all of these are reasons of the head to have hope—b/c God’s Word is true..
but let’s look at a
reasons of the heart: why can we have this hope—this confident certainty that God will fulfill his promise, do something good in the future...
b/c not all of his are swayed by reasons of the head—I would guess most of us by the heart.
let me give you 2 reasons of the heart for trusting God’s Word that give us hope...
Reason #1 (Reason of the Heart) The Word of God is living!!
It’s alive—it’s not like any other book—even though it was written to different cultures in a different time—it is still fresh and applicable, changing lives today. and challenging our culture today.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
I recently heard Willa K. Sprunger—most of you know she began a ministry to widows called “Single Again...” and I recently heard that after her husband died…she believed the Lord gave her a verse.
Psalm 138:8 (NLT)
New Living Translation Psalm 138
8 The LORD will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
c. It’s like the Lord gave her that verse at that moment “I still have a purpose for you...”…it’s living, active, applicable
d. I remember several years ago now, my wife Jamie and I were wrestling with if we should move away from the area, and go to seminary in the Chicago area. and as I was doing my devotions, it just so happened to be the story of Isaac and Rebekkah in the book of Genesis, and how God provided a wife for Isaac and arranged the circumstances.
and I thought if God can do that…surely he can provide for us as we venture out, move to the big city, and God did. God’s Word is living—active—giving me what I need in the moment—reminding me of a big God who fulfills his promises.
e. this is true culturally—the Word of God challenges cultures, our culture, and creates a new culture. one of the ways the Word of God challenges American culture—is that we are so individualistic, so at me, me-centered. even our Christianity is that way—it’s all about me and Jesus. I don’t need others. but the Bible comes along, and God’s Word says
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
how have you seen God’s Word be alive and active....this gives us hope…a reason of the heart…there is a freshness in encountering God every time I read it—and it challenges me…which takes me to my 2nd point...
2nd reason of the heart — Reason #2 — The Bible reads you
in other words, you don’t just read the Bible, the Bible reads you...
at a famous level, there are some famous people, that set out to prove Christianity was wrong by reading the Bible...
one is a guy named Lee Strobel. very successful, he was working for the Chicago Tribune as a legal editor, an atheist—didn’t believe in God. and in 1979, he was stunned when his wife became a Christian—he was afraid she would become no fun and judgmental, but instead she became more self-confident, filled with more character. He was fascinated by the change in her life. so he set out on a journey to uncover the facts about Christianity and for the first time started picking apart the Bible verse by verse. he used his background in law and journalism to pick it apart. and to see where the evidence took him.
surprisingly, he found that the evidence took him to saving faith in Jesus Christ. from atheism to Christianity. and as he was reading the Bible and investigating—the Bible was reading Him—piercing his heart.
another Christopher Yuan—i mentioned him in another of my series—he talks about how he lived an openly gay lifestyle as well as deep in drugs, until eventually arrested for drugs. while in prison he got his hands on a NT, and thought, “I have nothing better to do...” opened it and began reading in the book of Mark. while in a cell, he also found the words scratched into one of the pieces of furniture—if you are bored read Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
and for the first time, he began to have hope…
all due to the Word of God…all due to that Word reading Him...
have you experienced that? Have you really given yourself to soaking in the Word of God, reading it....and most of all allowing it to read you.
sometimes it’s painful—God’s Word is sharp, exhorting....it can cut with the powerful word of conviction...
I recently read the story of King Saul in 1 Samuel—and there is an account where he makes a sinful choice in his leadership and he tells the prophet Samuel—as an excuse— in 1 Samuel 15 — that he was afraid of the people and so he gave into them…and it’s like the Holy Spirit said— “Richard…take that to heart…fear me, not man.”
sometimes it’s confusing—why would God strike Annias and Sapphira dead — we saw that a couple weeks ago...
but it has a way of reading us—if we allow it.
Remember - if the Bible always has to agree with you—you are not allowing it to speak
if you are constantly being challenged and even offended by God’s Word, you are allowing it to speak.
if your world is constantly enlarged by a big God you are allowing it to speak.
if it is true we can trust God’s Word—that gives us hope—confidence for the future...
the reality is you can’t have lasting hope—without regularly being in God’s Word.
regularly
you need it.
just like eating
just like drinking water
you can’t go without it.
i would argue you can’t have true hope unless you are a person soaked in God’s Word.
application:
Be intentional daily to read and listen to God’s Word.
don’t over-complicate it. have some type of intentional plan to be in the Word. it doesn’t have to be long—but challenge yourself.
some of the greatest resources:
YouVersion Bible app
BibleProject - www.bibleproject.com
Dwell - another app - let’s you listent to God’s Word
or just pick a book of the Bible—like the book of Mark if you have never read it. or if you have read it—read a book like Romans or Hebrews.
Study the Bible in community
church - connecting in our worship services…come in person...
SS groups...
a small group...we have a handful that do not just for that but for community
I write a list of application questions based on the text—we post it on social media and on our church app—you could go through that with a friend.
Ask for God’s help in this
you can’t do it alone
realize your desperation for it.
18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
Realize your hope is at stake…we are desperate...
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
it is absolutely essential—I can tell when I am not…by being in the word—I am directed to the one who is the very Word of God
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
if I am not in the Word-I feel like that chaff—buffeted by the wind, blown back and forth...
invite the worship team forward?
one of the reasons we read the Word everyday—is to remind us of Jesus…i need my eyes to be taken off myself and on him...
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
skip this?
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus Christ—is your hope in Him and His Word—or something else?
His Name is Wonderful...
final plug:
Christmas party
sign up to come
sign up to bring things.
Blue Christmas