Hope For The Future

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Introduction

Good morning, to start, I’d like to start by reading the lyrics to a popular Christmas hymn.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - By Charles Wesley

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.

Christmas reminds us that Jesus really is the hope of all the earth. Hope should be the fundamental outlook around Christmas, but unfortunately, for many of us who have lost loved ones or are dealing with family drama issues, Christmas can also be a bit bittersweet.

One of the most joyous times of the year, can also be at the same time, one of the saddest times of the year. Anyone who lost someone this year has probably already thought, wow this is going to the first Christmas without so-and-so. And those are moments to grieve. As Christians, sorrow and grief are two emotions that Jesus was well acquainted with. Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

So despite the joy that surrounds the holiday, for many sadness remains. It’s my plan today though to inject you with hope, in spite of your circumstances. One of the Bible’s central themes, and certainly one of the central themes of Christmas is hope in the midst of despair. Hope in the midst of sorrow. Hope in the midst of shame. Hope in the midst of dark times.

Today’s message is entitled Hope for The Future. Christmas brings us hope, not because our present reality is perfect, but hope that our future reality will be. We are going to look at this by briefly looking at the person of Mary, mother of Jesus and a song that she sings that builds hope for a future that is much brighter than the present.

Turn with me to Luke, chapter 1 and let’s read together verses 46-55.

Luke 1:46–55 (ESV)

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

This passage is commonly known as Mary’s song. Now, many of us know a lot about Mary through our years in church, but today I want to focus on just one aspect of Mary’s life. The simple fact that she was an unwed mother, whose husband almost called off the wedding because of her pregnancy and how her life was one that was likely marked by turmoil.

Let’s take a moment and put ourselves in the shoes of Mary. Scholars estimate that she was 16 or younger when she gave birth to Jesus, with many pointing to around 14 years old. During this time women in Israel did not have the rights that men had. Joseph could have called off the wedding and even though she was already in a very precarious situation, it could have been much worse, because there was no WIC, there was no social services provided to take care of her.

Now, she knows all of this. She’s aware. She understands even with Joseph not calling off the wedding, she’s looking at a life filled with backbiters and whisperers talking about her. A life of turmoil and stress. She was likely shunned from certain places because word gets around.

As soon as she said “let it be unto me according to your word,” she was risking it all. Now I’m not saying all of this to invoke some sort of Mary worship, that Catholics tend to enjoy, I’m saying this just to understand her point of view. It’s easy for us to look back at her and call her blessed. She will be remembered for all time because of her faith. But this was a real person living in a very harsh society and this would have been traumatizing to her.

She’s 14 years old and an unwed mother. Her husband was surely looking at this situation with an untrusting eye. He’s planning to leave. It takes an angelic intervention to convince him to stay. This is the situation leading into this song. Mary is blessed, but she’s likely stressed out and looking at her current situation and feeling overwhelmed as well. She’s probably had friends or family disown her because they found out and they don’t believe her. She’s probably second guessing herself. Did I make the right decision? What was I thinking? Joseph will never fully trust me…

Yet….how does she respond in all of this. You know that it’s not about the cards that you are dealt in life, it’s how you play them. In other words, you cannot control what happens to you in life. You cannot control when or how your parents or siblings die. You cannot control what your spouse does. You can’t control whether they will be faithful or not. You cannot control your job or your money situation. You can’t pick what cards you will be dealt. You might grow up in a well to do family or you might be the product of an unwed mother.

Yet, the one thing you can control is how you respond. You can control what you do with your life. You can control how you process the emotions that come with all of the suffering that you’ve faced. So how does Mary process it. I want to point out three things Mary does to get through her trying time:

She Sings Her Way Through It

First off, notice this is a song. Let’s not overlook that important piece here. She’s singing a song in the midst of a dark period in her life. She’s singing a song in the midst of her suffering. Now, the Bible is actually filled with lots of song. Her song is a more positive song and those are great songs to sing when you are down.

I was dealing with some depression a while back and what I did was turn on the Cain band’s song, I’m So Blessed. It reminded me of the blessings that I had, not the suffering I was going through and my spirits improved. A lot of times, when we face suffering, we should resort to singing.

Now, I want you to hear this because it’s important, but Christians don’t have to be happy all the time. That’s not my point, so don’t hear it that way. In fact, the Bible is filled with songs that are not upbeat or positive. They are called songs of lament. There is a book of the Bible called Lamentations or a book of Laments.

One of the ways that we can respond to suffering is to lament it, to lament is defined as a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. Sometimes, the best way to deal with your suffering is to lament, to express it, to talk to someone. There is an expectation in the Bible that we would deal with our grief. Now, this is opposite of what how our world deals with grief. I learned that we should stuff it down and not talk about it, after all real men don’t cry.

Individual laments, which either express or presuppose deep trust in Yahweh, help a person to express struggles, suffering, or disappointment to the Lord.

Gordon Fee; Douglas Stuart

How to read the Bible for all its worth

So Mary would have been within her rights to actually sing a song of lament here for her situation. But she doesn’t choose to do that. She chooses to sing a song of praise. Sometimes the best way to get our mind off our current situation is to focus it on the Lord. She turns her heart and focus toward the Lord in song. Now, here’s what we don’t know. We don’t know if she was a good singer. The Bible doesn’t tell us that. In fact, I’m pretty sure this is the only song she’s ever mentioned singing in Scripture. So maybe it was a one and done type of deal.

But, that doesn’t stop her and it shouldn’t stop you either. You don’t need an amazing voice to praise the Lord. Let it fly. Sing loud! Sing with gusto. Sing with passion toward your King. Jesus is worthy of our praise and Christmas should bring forth some of our most passionate and joyous songs. Even in the midst of troubling times. Mary certainly believed so.

She Rejoices In The Midst Of A Trying Time

Mary doesn’t just sing. She rejoices in the midst of her troubling times. Again, Christians are allowed to be sad and grieve during those times, but Mary makes a choice to rejoice. Her eyes are on her Lord. She’s focused on him and her heart can’t help but to sing. And what type of song does she sing? A song of joy! She rejoices in her savior!

Now, this is a key aspect to me. She is in the midst of a trying time. A 14 year old pregnant girl, likely an outcast in this society because of how the baby was conceived. But Mary sees the big picture. She sees that God is going to use her suffering for good. She has hope. Her first hope is in the savior that she is carrying at that very moment.

We have to stop here for a second. Last week I talked about how hope needed to be anchored in our redemption. Mary here is anchoring her hope in the redemption of mankind. She knows that the world needs a savior and her spirit is rejoicing that God is doing it. That he is moving in her generation. She isn’t dwelling on her current circumstances, but she is rejoicing in the midst of them!

We must rejoice in God when we have nothing else to rejoice in and cleave to him … though we cannot for the present find comfort in him.

Matthew Henry

Mary is an optimist. She sees that God is showing his strength and that he is in the process of making the world right. Look at some of the things she says in her song, “He has filled the hungry (v53).” She knows instinctively that people shouldn’t be hungry, that its wrong for people to hunger for food, when there is plenty of food to be shared.

“He has sent the rich away empty,” Ouch! She sees that God is judging those that are rich in this world and those that have everything they need, he offers them nothing. He fills the hungry, not the satisfied.

“He’s brought down the mighty (v52),” she says. God has a way of humbling the proud and exalting the meek. Mary recognizes that God is doing that by choosing a poor, 14-year-old unmarried girl as his vessel to bring about salvation to this earth. She sees that and she rejoices.

In the midst of her situation, she recognizes what God is really doing and she rejoices in the midst of a trying time. So, she sings her way through it, she rejoices in the midst of it and finally…

She Hopes Her Way To A Better Future

Hope is kin to faith. We hope in things we can’t yet see, things that haven’t come to pass. Hope is a prerequisite for faith.

Notice the hope in this song, she is rejoicing in the hope of a savior. She has her hope anchored in Christ and what he will accomplish. She doesn’t know the details. She doesn’t know about the cross. She doesn’t know about his suffering. But she knows what the angel told her. She knows he will be called Emmanuel. She knows his name is Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. She doesn’t know how, but her hopes are not anchored in the “how he’s gonna do it”, her hopes are anchored in the finished result. Her hope is that the God who starts a great work within you will be faithful to complete it!

But this isn’t her only hope. Remember she’s in the midst of a life crisis and people are probably calling her all types of names that I won’t repeat here this morning, but look at what she says in verse 48. Luke 1:48 “for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;”

You might be calling me something else now, but one day I will be called blessed. What a hope! She’s got hope against hope. She’s not pulling any punches here. This is big. She sees her current situation and knows its not ideal, but hope is like faith, you can’t put your trust in what your eyes and ears tell you, you put your hope in things you can’t see.

What she saw was people who were calling her names and shunning her. What she saw was a husband that didn’t quite trust her and had to be rebuked by an angel. What she was was no one was going to come along and help them. What she saw was a lifetime of whispers questioning her integrity.

But that’s not where her hope was! Her hope was in a better future! Her hope was that God was going to use her suffering and circumstances for his glory! And that’s exactly what he does! And that leads me to my main point today…

Main Point - Hope In The Midst of Suffering Leads To Generational Blessing

If you can learn to suffer well, it will lead to tremendous blessing that will affect you and your children and their children. Long suffering is a fruit of the Spirit.

Mary has hope that even in the midst of a very trying time for her, God will use her suffering to produce a generational blessing. She prophesies that from now on…all generations will call me blessed…She knows that God will confound the wise for generations. When people look at this, it doesn’t make sense. Why would God send a savior to be born of a 14 year old poor peasant girl, rather than make him son of a king?! He’s royalty. He should have been born in a palace not a cave!

Mary sees through her suffering and puts her hope in a brighter future. She saw that her suffering would have repercussions throughout the generations. Her faithfulness would be recognized.

So let’s bring this home.

Where are you? Are you in the midst of a trying time? Or have you suffered at some point in your life? Where is your hope? Are you putting your hope in what God can do? Or are you bitter? That’s the way most people respond. They lose hope. And the loss of hope produces bitterness.

Where is your hope? I want to encourage you. If you are in the midst of a trying time, if you don’t feel safe or secure or even wanted right now. You are in good company with Mary. I’m sure she felt the same way. So if that’s you, don’t lose hope. Mary’s Song should build hope in us that God will use our suffering to produce profound blessings. Her suffering, her shattered dreams, he destroyed reputation, brought about the greatest gift known to mankind - the salvation of the world. God can most certainly use your suffering too.

Closing

So let’s stand together. I want to give you a time to reflect and respond. If you are here today and you are feeling a bit bitter, I want to offer you the opportunity to let that go. Repent and let God heal your heart. You don’t need to carry bitterness from the life you were dealt. God wants to heal you and turn your bitterness into hope.

For some of you though, the trying time is right now. This Christmas. This is your time where you feel exasperated. I want to encourage you to reflect on Mary’s Song and put your hope where it belongs. Don’t misplace your hope. Put it in Jesus. He will not let you down.

Finally, if you are here today, and you want to put your trust in Jesus for the first time and you would like someone to pray with, I’ll be down front and I will be happy to pray with you.

Let’s sing together.