Discovering the Light of Christmas Hope
Discovering the Light of Christmas Hope
Discover the light of Christmas hope by…
1. Embracing the reality of God’s prophecies
Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
Luke 2:28-32 NLT
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Isa 9:2 NIV
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.
Isa 9:6 NIV
2. Experiencing the reality of God’s power
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
LK 2:36-38 NIV
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.
Rom 15:13 NIV
3. Expecting the reality of God’s promises
Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
Luke 2:25 NLT
Verse to Remember: 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.
Rom 15:13 NIV
Question to consider: Have you trusted in the God of hope?
Show Narnia super trailer
Intro:
As you watched this extended trailer of the LWW, it reminds us of the movie…many of us saw Friday night.
As you watched the trailer and the movie…What was one thing that you felt?
Allow several to give answers…
As you step into the story and look beneath the surface…
…One thing we feel is…hope!!
In this story, set against a dark, frozen backdrop…we find the most amazing thing…hope.
Againt the backdrop of the dark days of WW II, C.S. Lewis writes this story about a fantasy land called Narnia.
In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Narnia is in bondage and held captive under the spell of the evil White Witch.
Because of her spell, it is “always winter and never Christmas.”
This describes the way some of us feel.
Some of you feel this Christmas could be …the most difficult, discouraging, dark and dreary Christmas ever….because of family, job, finances, your uncertain future…
Some of you feel hopeless.
Someone has said, “We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope.”
Without hope, something inside of all of us dies….
That is why a lot of people are walking around dead on the inside…because of a lack of hope.
What is hope?
Webster defines hope, “to desire with expectation of fulfillment.”
To hope is to anticipate.
It is more than dreaming, however.
It is possessing within ourselves an expectation that someday there will be the fulfillment of that desire.
It will become a reality.
Hope always looks to the future, it’s always on tiptoes…It keeps us going.
It makes a dismal today bearable because it promises a brighter tomorrow.
Without hope, something inside of all of us dies….
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness.
Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.
We all struggle with feelings of hopelessness for time to time.
How can we find hope?
Christmas is a season of hope.
Lucy and Narnia needed hope…and so do we…
This morning we are going to look at
How can we Discover the light of Christmas hope…
The ironic thing is that C.S. Lewis uses fantasy to point us to reality.
We need to get in touch with reality.
I want to put the spotlight on 3 realities…to help us discover or rediscover the light of Christmas hope.
We are oblivious to the realities and sometimes just forget them.
How?
Discover the light of Christmas hope by…
1. Embracing the reality of God’s prophecy
Read movie story book…
In the LWW, Edmund falls under the Witch’s spell.
He gives in to pride, selfishness, and greed. He becomes a traitor, and he must pay the penalty with his life.
The only hope for Edmund and Narnia is the Great Lion, Aslan - the Lord of the Wood, the King of Beasts, the Son of the great Emperor-Beyond-The Sea.
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver point out this prophesy concerning Aslan to the Pevensie children.
Mr. and Mrs. Beavers encourage the children that there is hope…as they remind the children of an ancient prophecy.
(Share prophecy from LWW show on screen)
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
LWW, p. 80
And…
“When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne,
The evil time will be over and done.”
LWW, p. 82
It was important for Mr and Mrs. Beaver to share these prophecies to Lucy and her siblings.
Why?
They needed hope.
We need hope!
We are all in the same situation as Edmund, and our only hope is in Someone greater than ourselves who will save us from ourselves and from eternal death.
Like Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Simeon shouts to us…there is hope!
Simeon reminds us of our hope in Lk 2.
Simeon was a man who loved God very much, so much so that God let him see and hold what he had hoped for for many years…the great light of the world.
When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to present him to the Lord (v.22), Simeon was there—having been led by the Spirit to be at the Temple on that particular day.
God was ordaining this meeting, in keeping with his promise to Simeon (v.26).
Notice what Simeon does and says beginning in v. 28,
28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 "Lord, now I can die in peace!
As you promised me,
30 I have seen the Savior
31 you have given to all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
Luke 2:28-32 NLT
Simeon embraced Jesus and celebrated the OT prophecies about Him.
He remembered and held on to OT prophecies like Isa 9:2 and 6 which says,
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Isa 9:2 NIV
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.
Isa 9:6 NIV
Simeon for many years waited to see this Savior this light of the world!
And it came to pass just as God said it would!
What are you holding on to today?
You may be holding on to some other prophecies…some negative things someone said about you.
You are going to grow up and be good for nothing…
Maybe you are holding on to some self-induced prophecies about yourself…
Like Simeon we need to embrace God and His Word.
He is shouting out to us from the pages of Scripture…there is hope…I have seen Him!…I have held him in my arms! He is the Savior…He is the light of the world.
God’s prophecy for you is wrapped up in a person!
Some of you need to embrace that reality today…because you feel hopeless…but there is hope…His name is Jesus!
In your dark days you need to remember the great light of the world!
The reality of God’s prophecies brings us hope.
Discover the light of Christmas hope by…
1. Embracing the reality of God’s prophecy
Discover the light of Christmas hope by…
2. Experiencing the reality of God’s power
One of the great lines in the LWW is:
Aslan is on the move…
Let me read you a portion of the story.
Mr. Beaver says,
“They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed.”
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different.
At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.
pp. 68-69 LWW
The reality of Aslan’s power resulted in a response…
In Luke 2, we see that God is on the move…in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Simeon responded by praising God and prophesying.
There was another person in the temple that day…her name was Anna.
Anna knew that God was on the move.
Notice her response…
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
LK 2:36-38 NIV
Anna knew that God was on the move in the person of Jesus Christ.
Her response was…She gave thanks to God and began to share Jesus with all who were looking for the Messiah.
You see when we experience the reality of God in our lives…it renews our hope.
A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship.
Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water.
The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned.
The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned.
When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours.
Why?
Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!
Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them.
If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, how much greater should is effect be on our lives.
Like Simeon and Anna we can experience the reality of God’s power inour lives…by knowing that He has come to rescue us!
God is on the Move in the person of Jesus Christ!!
Have you experienced Him?
He is called the God of hope.
We need to fix our hope on Him.
In a peanuts cartoon Lucy has planned a picnic for the next day.
She says to Charlie Brown, "I just hope to goodness that it doesn’t rain ..."
Walking away, Charlie answers, "Hoping to goodness is not theologically sound."
Charlie’s right.
"Hoping to goodness" is not sound.
Fixing our hope upon God is.
You see there is a connection between hope and trust.
Paul puts it this way…
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.
Rom 15:13 NIV
When we trust in God…we are going to overflow with hope…like Simeon and Anna.
We can Discover the light of Christmas hope by…
1. Embracing the reality of God’s prophecy
and by…
2. Experiencing the reality of God’s power
Finally, we can
Discover the light of Christmas hope by…
3. Expecting the reality of God’s promises
How many of you are Bengals fans?
How many of you believe in the promise of their wide receiver Chad Johnson…that it is a new era in which the Bengals and not the Steelers are going be at the top of their division?
It remains to be seen…It may or may not happen.
(By the way I’m rooting for the Browns today…because they are plaing the Bengals!!)
You see we make promises…that sometimes we can’t deliver on.
Back to Simeon in Luke 2…he wasn’t holding on to some promise from a Bengal wide receiver…he was holding on to a promise from God.
I love the way v.25 describes Simeon.
Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
Luke 2:25 NLT
Simeon eagerly expected God to come through…for the Messiah to come and deliver and rescue Israel.
For 400 years, since the closing of the OT period, heaven had been silent. God had not spoken.
These were dark days.
However, Simeon was holding on to God's promise of a deliverer, a redeemer, the Messiah who would come to bring peace.
Simeon serves as a model for us.
You see he eagerly expected the first coming of Christ.
Simeon knew…it was going to happen…
God had said to him, "You will not die until your old eyes have beheld my Son, your Savior in the flesh."
I imagine that old man walking the streets of Jerusalem, looking intently in the faces of strangers, asking the Lord, "Will I see him today? Could this be the one?"
Everyone knew the prophecy, but there had been no word from God in so long…People stopped hoping. They were consumed with the drudgery of their lives... not Simeon!
Some of us have stopped eagerly expecting the Second coming of Christ.
Have we forgotten that Christ said He is coming again?
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song about the importance of remembering: I’ll be remembering you.
I want you to listen to what he says.
[play video]
Like Simeon and Steven Curtis Chapman…that needs to be our testimony: I’ll be remembering you.
Sometimes we forget…
The coming again of Christ….is called the Blessed Hope in Titus 2:13.
We sometimes forget about this blessed hope.
Paul gives us 1 Thes 4:13 so we won’t forget.
1 Thes 4:13…
And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope.
1 Thess 4:13 NLT
Funeral…of my grandmother…I conducted her funeral…tried not to cry but I did…but God comforted me and my family with these words
1 Thes 4:13-18…Read from Bible.
My friend that is a promise you can count on.
Mark it down it going to happen.
For some of you Christmas may be a dark time, a lonely time.
Maybe it brings back painful memories.
Maybe it accentuates the pain of a death.
Take comfort in these words in the promise of Christ’s return and glorious reunion with loved ones who have gone on before you.
May you trust in the God of hope.
You see our hope is in Christ…whether we look to the past, to the present or to the future.
Because, In Christ We Have:
A love that can never be fathomed
A life that can never die
A righteousness that can never be tarnished
A peace that can never be understood
A rest that can never be disturbed
A joy that can never be diminished
A hope that can never be
disappointed
A light that can never be darkened.
I hope you Discover the light of Christmas hope this Christmas season.
You don’t have to look any farther…because hope is found in the person of Jesus Christ.
As the Bible says He is our hope!
If you will open the door of your heart and embrace Him, He will warm up your winter and bring hope into your heart.
Verse to Remember: 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.
Rom 15:13 NIV
Questions to consider: Have you trusted in the God of hope?
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver…it is going to happen…it had been winter for a hundred years…but it is going to happen.
Concl:
Simeon prophesied Jesus would be "a light to bring revelation." Jesus is the "Light of the world." For you Christmas may be a dark time, a lonely time. Maybe it brings back painful memories. Maybe it accentuates the pain of a death or a divorce. Jn.1:5 says Jesus is "the light" that "shines in darkness.".
HOLD JESUS IN YOUR HEART.
Think back for a moment to old Simeon holding the Blessed Baby "in his arms." What joy must have overcome him! It was the greatest moment of his life!
We can't hold Jesus in our arms, but we can hold him in our hearts. Jesus said in Rev.3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." What a wonderful time of year to throw open the door of your heart and embrace Jesus! Let me give you three benefits of doing so:
• First, He is with us forever. Simeon held Jesus for a few moments, but we can hold him forever. Rom.8:39 says nothing will "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
• Second, He gives us peace. Simeon held Jesus and then he departed in peace, that is, he died. People want peace. Jesus is the "Prince of Peace." He gives us peace with God and the peace of God. Peace means putting up with annoying people. Peace means getting nothing but knowing you have far more than you deserve.
• Third, He gives us light. Simeon prophesied Jesus would be "a light to bring revelation." Jesus is the "Light of the world." For you Christmas may be a dark time, a lonely time. Maybe it brings back painful memories. Maybe it accentuates the pain of a death or a divorce. Jn.1:5 says Jesus is "the light" that "shines in darkness." If you will open the door of your heart and embrace Him, He will warm your up winter and bring hope into your heart.
your holiday will be a "holy day" and Christmas will never be the same.
Jesus would be a light to the entire world.
Like Simeon we need to embrace the reality of Jesus Christ!!
A fixed hope…
Luke 2
How did Simeon’s prophesy point out that Jesus is that Savior?
Hope…Swindoll
Just who Simeon was is not known. Some think he was a priest, but Scripture does not say. All we know is what is recorded here. He was a man who loved God very much, so much that God was able to use him in a most magnificent way. He used Simeon to proclaim one of the greatest messages of all time: the events and fate of the child Messiah's life.—Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary
Simeon was spiritually in tune with God: righteous, devout, expecting the Messiah to come. He had all his life held on to God’s promise of a coming deliverer, so through the Holy Spirit, God promised that Simeon would not die before seeing the Lord’s Messiah.
2:27-32
Simeon praised God that he had done what he promised. Luke, writing to Gentiles, pointed out that from the very beginning God’s plan was to offer salvation to all people—Gentiles as well as to Jews.
We have an ancient prophecies that point to us to our hope…Jesus Christ.
God gave us some prophecies that we might have hope.
Some things God said in the past that we forget or unaware of them.
Search for illus: Forget what our wives say…
It is a big mistake to forget what your wife said…
You don’t want to forget what God said…
Simeon’s response…
Simeon was a man who saw and held the Messiah. Note that Simeon was again led by the Spirit; he was led into the temple. This was the day for which he had longed and ached, the day he was to see and embrace the Messiah. A first-born son was always taken to the temple to be dedicated to the Lord. Immediately, Simeon saw that this child was different from all the others; he recognized the child as the Christ-child. He took the child up into his arms and proclaimed Him to be the long-awaited Messiah.—Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible –
Once Simeon had embraced the Messiah, he broke out into song. —Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - CommentaryCommentary
felt…
Hope motivates us to keep going and not give up
Hope motivates us to keep going and not give up. Without hope we don’t want to do anything.
Peanut’s cartoon: Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, "Go get me a glass of water." Linus looked surprised, "Why should I do anything for you? You never do anything for me." "On your 75th birthday," Lucy promised, "I’’ll bake you a cake." Linus got up, headed to the kitchen and said, "Life is more pleasant when you have something to look forward to."
What are you looking forward to?
Hopefully more than a birthday cake!!
Do you have a steadfast unshakeable hope in God? Hope not only opens the door to receive a touch from God, hope also moves you through the door. Like Linus, when you have hope you’re willing to get up and do something.
“Haven’t we, like Simeon been told of the coming Christ? Aren’t we, like Simeon, heirs of a promise? Are we not prompted by the same Spirit? Are we not longing to see the same face? Simeon reminds us to ‘wait forwardly.’ Patiently vigilant. But not so patient that we lose our vigilance. Nor so vigilant that we lose our patience. One look into the face of Jesus, and Simeon knew it was time to go home. And one look into the face of our Savior, and we will know the same.” —Max
Share prophecy from LWW (show on screen)
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
LWW, p. 80
“When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne,
The evil time will be over and done.”
LWW, p. 82
Illus:
Expecting a Christmas present as a kid…
Just as my parents followed through…God is going to deliver on His promises
Simeon saw God deliver on his promises…
Simeon was a man who looked for the coming of the Messiah. This is what is meant by "the consolation of Israel." Faithful believers among the Jews felt that Israel could find consolation only in the Messiah. They longed and ached with all hope and patience for His coming.—Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
Lk 2:28-30 NIV
God has promised that He will come again…
See Max Lucado????
Anna saw God deliver on his promises…
And so can we.
The promise of a future…shortly/immediately
Jer 29:13
Following the devastation of New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina, Fred Luter surveyed the damage from a helicopter. Luter, pastor of the 7,000-plus member Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, strained to catch sight of his church building from the window of the aircraft. The stench from the water-soaked houses and sludge-covered vehicles below drifted 500 feet in the air.
Finally, Luter spied his church and began to weep as the helicopter circled it twice. Several other ministers who were with him sought to comfort him, putting their hands around his shoulders. He chose not to fly over his nearby home.
The weeping pastor shared, "Life is like a vapor on this side of eternity. What you have today could be gone tomorrow. You can't put your trust in earthly things…. It's tough. I've got 19 years of my life invested there."
Then, looking beyond the tragedy, Luter spoke with courage and determination. "But we're gonna rebuild. We're gonna rebuild."
The promise of a future…ultimately
Listen to Steven Curtis Chapman sharing about the importance of remembering God’s faithfulness…Song: I’ll be remembering to you
Simeon's most striking description is that he was "waiting for the Consolation of Israel." "Consolation" means "to come alongside to comfort." It comes from the same word that describes the Spirit as our Comforter. The NCV translates this phrase, "He was waiting for the time when God would take away Israel's sorrow."
It is further said of Simeon, "the Holy Spirit was upon him." Until Pentecost, the Holy Spirit didn't permanently indwell believers. He came "upon" them to enable them to do different deeds. He gave a special touch for a special task. The Spirit of God was actively working in Simeon.