Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Luke 2:8-20

Theme: God's message of hope is for all those who are lowly of heart and downtrodden of spirit.

On 17 December 1927, while surfacing from a submerged run off Cape Cod near Provincetown, Massachusetts, the USS S-48 submarine was accidentally rammed and sunk by a Coast Guard destroyer.

The submarine sank in just minutes in 100 feet of water.

The entire crew was trapped.

Ships rushed to the scene of the disaster, and rescue operations commenced within hours of the sinking.

Two Navy divers were lowered to the wreck to inspect it.

They could hear tapping coming from the sub’s forward torpedo room.

Through Mores Code the rescuers discovered that six men of the forty-man crew had survived in the sub’s forward torpedo room.

Before the divers surfaced the survivors tapped out the message: “Is … there … any … hope?”

The response, composed by the commander of the rescue operation was: "There is hope.

Everything possible is being done."

But thwarted by the weather, the rescue force could not rescue the six men.

The entire crew died.

The cry of humanity throughout the ages has been, “Is there any hope when I die?”

And God’s reply is, “There is hope.

Everything possible has been done.”

That hope is in Christ alone.

In 2002 Keith Getty and Stuart Townend — both of Ireland — wrote a contemporary worship hymn titled In Christ Alone (My Hope Is Found).

It became tremendously popular in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and then “jumped the pond” to the United States.

The hymn has become a favorite among Christians worldwide.

The first stanza reads:

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My comforter, my all in all

Here in the love of Christ I stand

Outside of the Bible, hope consists of little more than a half-hearted optimism — especially in American society.

But that optimism has no firm foundation — no anchor.

Hope, as commonly used in our culture today, is little more than wishful thinking.

“I hope I win the lottery.”

“I hope Bobby will ask me out.”

“I hope that state trooper didn’t have his radar gun turned on.”

“I hope I go to heaven when I die.”

There is no sense of assurance in any of these statements.

The Bible, on the other hand, reveals a hope that consists of unrelenting, confident attachment to the future in light of God’s promises.

ILLUS.

There is a wonderful passage in the Book of Hebrews that illustrates Biblical hope.

It’s found in Hebrews, chapter eleven — often called the ‘faith chapter.’

In verses one through eleven, the author talks about some of great saints of past ages; people like Abel, Enoch, Abraham, and Sara.

He commends them for their faith and commends them to us as examples of faithful living.

Then in verse thirteen, he makes a fascinating observation: All these people were still living by faith when they died.

They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.

And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

(Hebrews 11:13, NIV)

Now, did you hear what he says?

They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.

They never saw all of the promises that God gave them fulfilled in their lifetime, but they believed anyway!

These saints of ages past had a hope that consisted of an unrelenting and confident attachment to the future based upon God’s promises.

This confidence is a model for the Christian’s response to all of God’s promises — including the hope of a Savior.

Listen as the Apostle Peter talks about this hope: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

(1 Peter 1:3–5, ESV)

As we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the promise of a Savior and the Christian’s hope in Christ.

The word Advent literally means coming.

With the coming of Christ, therefore, is also the arrival of hope.

For the Christian, life with Christ is an endless hope.

For those without him, life is a hopeless end.

That’s why we begin our Advent celebration talking about hope.

And no one needed a sure word of hope more than those lonely shepherds tending their flocks in the fields around Bethlehem.

These men remind us how men should responded to God's invitation.

I. GOD'S MESSAGE OF HOPE IS FOR ALL WHO WILL GLADLY RECEIVE IT

1. it is for the up-and-in such as the Magi of Matthew’s gospel

a. and it is for the down-and-out such as the shepherds of Luke’s gospel

b. the shepherds of Bethlehem were the first souls to hear the announcement that Messiah had been born

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

(Luke 2:8–11, NIV84)

2. why would God choose to announce the coming of His son first to shepherds and not to the rabbis and spiritual leaders of Israel?

a. during his public ministry Jesus once quoted the following words from the Prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,” (Isaiah 61:1, NIV84)

3. it is in harmony with the spirit of this prophecy that the very first proclamation of the Messiah's birth was made to poor and downtrodden shepherds

a. shepherds were a despised class of people in that day

1) the very nature of their occupation made it difficult for them to observe all the regulations of the Mosaic law

2) it was doubly difficult for them to live up to all the man-made religious regulations superimposed upon them by the self-righteous Pharisees

b. these shepherds were the migrant laborers of their day

1) they did the 'dirty work' that nobody else wanted and were disdained because of it

2) they were uneducated and unskilled, increasingly viewed in the post-New Testament era as dishonest, unreliable, unsavory characters, so much so that they were not allowed to testify in court

3) they put up with simple food, harsh weather, primitive lodging, and dangerous animals

4. that the angel of the Lord first declared God's message of hope to them teaches us two lessons

A. THE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND ARROGANT WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?”

Jesus replied.

“There is only One who is good.

If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” the man inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said.

“What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.