4: Hope is Born - Part 1

Christmas 2019: Hope is Born  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Housekeeping Stuff & Announcements:

Merry Christmas! Welcome guests to the family gathering, introduce yourself. Thank the band, the choir, and the soloists. Invite guests to parlor after service.
We are in the process of collecting our annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions during December and January. Our goal as a church is $26,000, and as of last Sunday, we have received $23,062. We are so close to our goal! Thank you to all who have given this point. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is vital for the support of our SBC missionaries serving overseas. Prayerfully ask how God would have you give to this offering this year. We will see more about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering at the end of the service.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on Wednesdays this time around, so there will be no regular Wednesday night activities this week or next, with one exception: the student ministry will still have Prime Time on January 1—They’ll have a fun night of games and fellowship at the normal time (6:30).
Joe has already mentioned our Christmas Eve Service, and I wanted to remind everyone that next Sunday morning, we will be taking the Lord’s Supper as a church family. Plan to be here to join in that time of worship and remembrance.
Megan, going into ICU for treatment of a condition she has called AMPS.

Opening

This morning, we reach the beginning of the end of our series on Christmas, “Hope is Born.” By that, I mean that this morning’s message will be brief, and that it will be one of two perspectives on the birth of a new hope in Christ that I plan to share this year. The other will be on Tuesday night at our Christmas Eve Service. This morning, we will be looking at . Let’s stand in honor of God’s holy Word as we read our focal passage together.
Luke 2:25–35 CSB
25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. 33 His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
PRAY
In the last two weeks, has anyone in this room this morning said, “I hope I get [fill in the blank] for Christmas this year!” This kind of hope is a wishful thinking, really the expressing of a desire. This isn’t the kind of hope I’m talking about when I say that in the birth of Jesus, “Hope is born.” I’m talking about the following definition of hope:
That which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises of desired good. (Webster’s 1828)
I love the record of this man Simeon. He was certainly an older man, and he was a man of deep faith. According to our text, the Holy Spirit was upon him, which was rare at that moment in history. Simeon’s faith and trust in the Spirit led him to be supremely confident and expectant of seeing the Messiah—the consolation (or comfort) of Israel—before he died.
And so this day he goes to the Temple, led by the Holy Spirit, and waits. Mary and Joseph come in, carrying baby Jesus, and he knows. He knows this is the Messiah. Simeon takes this little one-month-old in his arms, and praises the Lord because Hope—the One who furnishes ground of expectation and the promise of desired good—is born.
Hope not bound up in things or other people. Impeachment is happening right now. I don’t care which side of the aisle you stand on—neither one brings true hope. There’s only one Man who is the true hope of mankind.
Joel 3:16 CSB
16 The Lord will roar from Zion and make his voice heard from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the Israelites.
Hebrews 11:1 CSB
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
Simeon says a couple of things in this moment, one to the Lord, and the other to Mary:

Hope is born for all

Simeon first praises God because of the arrival of this promised Child and the hope that He brings for all mankind:
Luke 2:29–32 CSB
29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.
Hope not bound up in things or other people. Impeachment is happening right now. I don’t care which side of the aisle you stand on—neither one brings true hope. There’s only one Man who is the true hope of mankind.
Simeon lived in this place of faith and trust in the Spirit that led him to be supremely confident and expectant of what was coming: the hope of Israel.
He acknowledges that he has received what God has promised to him: he has seen the Savior. It’s really 31 and 32 we want to focus on today.
Simeon says in verse 31 that God has “prepared it—meaning His means of salvation—in the presence of all peoples.” Jesus is right there, in his arms. And this salvation is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” Light reveals the truth. And this light will show the Gentiles their need to be reconciled to God. Jesus is the light of the world in this sense, as He said of Himself in John chapter 8:
John 8:12 CSB
12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
This salvation is also “glory to His people Israel.” The Messiah of all mankind had always been promised to come from the Jewish nation. And they had been waiting for hundreds of years, waiting for that promise to come true. This is why Luke wrote in verse 25 that Simeon was looking for the “consolation of Israel.” They had lived in this confident assurance that Messiah was coming, to take away their shame and disgrace. And now He was here. Hope is born.
In Jesus, all of mankind is offered salvation. Through this baby that Simeon was holding, our sins would be paid for when that Baby grew up and died in our place on the cross. And just as He beat sin in our place, He would beat death in our place, so we can live forever with Him.
Hope not bound up in things or other people. Impeachment is happening right now. I don’t care which side of the aisle you stand on—neither one brings true hope. There’s only one Man who is the true hope of mankind.
This hope in Jesus transcends any other hope we can imagine in the world. This hope not bound up in things of this world or other people. It cannot be found in gifts we give or receive. It cannot be found in family or friends, it cannot be found in careers or retirement. It cannot be found in corporations or governments. Impeachment is happening right now. I don’t care which side of the aisle you stand on—neither one brings true hope. There’s only one Man who is the true hope of mankind. And that man was held as a baby by this faithful Jewish man named Simeon over 2000 years ago, and that baby is still all the hope we need today.
Joseph and Mary are both amazed
But Simeon isn’t done with what he has to say, and when he turns and speaks directly to Mary, his message is more ominous.

Hope is only received by some

Simeon’s message of the hope of salvation provided by God in the person of this little baby was tempered by his next message:
Luke 2:34–35 CSB
34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
luke 2:3
Jesus would cause the “fall and rise” of many in Israel—those who thought they were on top of the world would be brought low, and those who were in a humble state would be lifted up. And Jesus would be a sign that would be opposed. This was made clear not at the end of the Gospel narrative, but at the beginning. They knew it was coming, because it had been announced.
And, as I said last week, Jesus remains that divisive figure even today. We either trust in Christ and are saved, or we don’t, and we’re lost. There’s no middle ground. There’s not “kinda saved.” There’s saved, and there’s lost. Not to decide for is to decide against. We’re surrendered to Him as Savior, or in rebellion against Him as Lord.
In the midst of his message about this baby, Simeon is looking forward to the cross. He tells Mary that a day would come when her own soul would be pierced as if by a sword—she will see her Baby killed on the cross for her. And through His death, the secrets in the hearts of many would be brought to light. The truth of who belongs to God by faith, and who doesn’t, will be made clear.

Closing

Not everyone who hears of the hope that God has given will receive it. Some will. Many will not. I close with a question: Which one are you?

Closing

Closing

Do you believe that Jesus is the hope of the world, that mankind is in rebellion against our loving God without Him, and that only through Jesus can we be made right with God again? Do you believe that Jesus, that baby that Simeon held, died for your sins so that you could be in that restored relationship to God? Do you believe that Jesus defeated death and rose from the grave so that those who believe in Him have the promise of eternal life? If so, then praise God this Christmas for such a wonderful salvation!
If you do not believe in Christ, then understand that according to Scripture, you are lost and bound for an eternity separated from the God who made you, who loves you, and who proved that love by giving His Son to die in your place so that you could be saved. Your promised eternity is not heaven, but hell. Surrender your life, trust in Christ for your salvation.
If this morning, you are trusting Christ for your salvation for the first time, then you have made the most important step you can make in your life, and we want to celebrate that fact with you. I will be here, as will Trevor and Camille, and Joe and Kerry will be in the back. Come and share with one of us that you’ve trusted in Christ today.
I love this church family, and if God is leading you to become a member of this family of faith this morning, come and share that with us as well.
If you need some other prayer, we are glad to pray with you, or you can come and pray at the steps if you would like.
Hope, true hope for mankind, was born at the first Christmas. He is my hope, He is your hope.
PRAY
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