HOPE

Right now media plug slide

Series Intro: So we came up with the series name “Upside down Christmas” because so much about Jesus’ coming to the earth turned things upside down but also because I fear that our perspective of Christmas in America today has strayed so far from the original meaning that the true meaning of Christmas is almost upside down from all the ways we celebrate it today. Additionally it is our hope that with each week’s sermon that the message that we bring is one that can turn your difficulties upside down. For the next 4 weeks we really want to encourage you with the message of Hope in opposition to Hopelessness, Peace amidst the chaos, Love that exceeds our definition of the idea today, and joy that overwhelms our discouragement.

Go ahead and find your way to Isaiah 9:1-2 for reference and as we jump in to hope this morning.

I wonder what we hope for?

I hope it snows on Christmas. I hope the present I want is under the Christmas tree. I hope my friend brings buckeyes to my Christmas party. (I know Colton talked about peanut butter caramel Reese’s last week but i assure you it was in my notes first.) Of all the things that Christmas is supposed to be, one of those things is a season of hope. And while many of us will be ok if we don’t get snow, or that certain present, or that chocolatey peanut butter deliciousness, there are more crucial things that a person might hope for.

We hope that a marriage that is falling apart can be put back together. We hope that the money doesn’t run out before all of the bills are paid. We hope that the cancer stays away. We hope… that there is more to this life than the daily grind and the hardships that come with aging. We hope that heaven is real, and that we are going to be there one day.

Hope is the belief that something is coming that is better than our current situation. When we don’t believe that is the case, hopelessness prevails. Hopelessness reduces our sense of purpose, drains our motivation, and steals our courage. When hope is absent… anxiety, depression, and fear rule the day. Sometimes leaving us paralyzed from moving forward.

But the good news today is that Hope is here. Hope is found in Jesus Christ, and Hope propels us forward when empowered by faith.

The 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews says our faith in Jesus is what gives us confidence that what we hope for will really come to pass.

Isaiah 9:1–2 “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

This chapter starts with the word nevertheless which points us back to the fact that regardless of what was stated previous to this chapter, what is said here is still true. We won’t go back to chapter 8 right now but I’ll let you know that gist of it. People will seek darkness, things will get dark, then the only thing people will be able to see is darkness.

But chapter 9 which is a prophetic chapter speaking of the coming Christ as a baby says, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

Any place darkness is, light has the power to break through. Let’s talk about the progression of hope that comes forth from Jesus’ birth. First…

HOPE WAS PROMISED

Did you know that most of us are lied to by another person on a weekly basis? Can anyone relate to that? Look, I’m not trying to be gloomy this morning or complain, and I don’t think people are intentionally trying to be hurtful or deceitful. I believe most lying, if we were going to be technical has to do with not keeping our word. Why do we tell people we are going to do things and then not do them? Why do we tell them it will be done Monday and not do it until Friday? Does saying we got busy justify us? Does telling someone we forget, make them feel valued? It’s such the norm that people do this, yet we become villains if we were to dare call them out on it. I’ll let you know right now, if you have to tell someone the truth that doesn’t already see it on their own, it very rarely makes you more popular. We commit to things because studies show that our brain gets happy off of the fact that we tell people we are going to help them. But without discipline, accountability, and follow through, we are kind of ok not doing what we said we should do because it made us feel good to say we would, and most of the time no one is ever going to call us out on it.

Guess what? God knew we were going to call Him out on every promise He ever made, and He welcomes it. Because if He says He would… He will. If He says He wouldn’t… He won’t. Hope was promised, and promised continually. Right around 50 times the Old Testament points to His coming. Even in our advent reading today we recall the story of a man named Simeon who the Holy Spirit promised would not see death until He saw the promise of Hope in Jesus.

Hope was promised… THEN

HOPE WAS PREPARED AND PRESENTED

Simeon would quote the prophet Isaiah speaking of a salvation that was prepared for everyone. Jesus was… and is that salvation. And everything that God the Father was doing up until Jesus’ coming was to prepare the world to receive a savior that would be seen as a picture of hope. Every single day… we pass fire trucks, police cars, first responders on the road, and maybe you don’t always… but I’m sure I take their presence for granted. But God forbid our house is broken into, or a fire takes place, THEN we value them in a way we might not do so in our everyday coming and going.

The king of the universe is prepared to bring hope into your hopeless situation. And in time where people had not heard a word from the Lord in over 400 years, darkness was heavy. But all of those living in that time got to witness the greatest story ever told as Jesus stepped onto the scene. You can know that your situation today is one that God prepared before the beginning of time, so that when the light of hope that is Jesus Christ presents Himself in your story, your life will be a picture of hope that well help others overcome the hopelessness in their own life.

HOPE BRINGS PURPOSE AND POWER

Hope is not a strategy. It’s an old saying that means that hope has to be accompanied by an execution plan. In other words just because I think happy thoughts doesn’t mean I’m going to fly. Hope alone isn’t going to make your wildest dreams come true. Hope alone is not a strategy, but hope IS a necessity. Proverbs 23 teaches us that as you think in your heart, that’s what you’ll be. You’ll never be more than you believe you will be. While God might exceed the expectations you had for yourself, hope… belief… is where it starts.

From time to time if you are watching a football game on tv they will show a picture of the player when he was a child and how being an NFL player was something he always wanted to do. They might read a note he wrote in his 4th grade class about what he wanted to be when he grew up. I’ve probably seen clips like that 100 times and I’ve told Allison, no one EVER becomes that great at something without believing they could.

Listen to me this morning. God has big plans for you, don’t let others tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams. Especially if you’ve tethered your dreams to the idea of bringing greater glory to God when He helps you achieve them. He was born to give you purpose. He died and rose again to empower you to do it.

I want to be around people that believe God is still in the business of blowing our minds with what He wants to accomplish through us. I know this sounds upside down, but when you don’t believe God can do great things through you, it’s not humility, it’s pride. Because you are limiting God to do only what you believe you are capable of doing on your own.

He came to bring us hope. No matter how bleak your situation looks today, God wants to fix it. You have to turn it over to Him. And in the season, as winter settles in, as it’s dark on our drive home from work, The light of His hope can empower you to do unimaginable things for Him if you will only believe that He can.

RESPONSE:

Let’s review what we’ve talked about today.

Hope was promised - Yesterday there was a bar in Columbus that said if the buckeyes lost they would pick up your bar tab. He knew that this would bring business to his bar, but was HOPING it wouldn’t cost him, because he put his HOPE in the buckeyes. God has said He will pick up the tab for your sin, He would provide for all that you need, that every are you have a need He will meet it. I’d like to think our hope is in something more than a college football team, a bank account, or our own goodness. The source of our hope is Jesus, He said He will provide. Wont He do it?

We said that hope was..

Prepared and Presented - Too many of us by our attitudes and actions have shown that we believe God is not big enough for our situation, but He divinely orchestrated your exact position in life this very moment. God knows your situation and has prepared a savior, a salvation, a solution, a hope…Patience will be key but you can know that his timing is always perfect, and the answer will be greater than you expected.

When it comes to..

Purpose and Power - We can know that the absence of hope is doubt. And to doubt is to say that our belief in God, the birth of his Son, and the work of the cross hold no power. All of your doubts today represent an absence of hope. But that hope can be restored when we recognize that our faith is only as powerful in the object in which it’s placed. If you find yourself lacking hope or faith today, it’s because it has been placed in something other than Jesus Christ. Something that is supposed to be of lower priority in your life has been raised to the place of an idol. Today you can embrace your purpose and His power when you turn your hope fully to Him.

This Christmas season let’s allow the power of hope in Him to turn our anxiety and hopelessness upside down as we recognize how He brought hope so many years ago. Those in darkness have seen a great light. In the same way let those dark places you are struggling with be illuminated by Hope Himself, Jesus Christ.

Let’s bow our heads this morning and wherever hope might be needed let’s lean into that as we pray.

As you leave this Sunday 3 big things, Prayer night, First Sunday, Baptism

BENEDICTION Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Go from here today overflowing with hope because the Holy Spirit has given you the power to do so.