Hope
Notes
Transcript
What Hope do we Have?
What Hope do we Have?
What are the chances of a white Christmas?
About half the Christmases we’ve been here have been white.
A few years ago it was getting really bad out when we were about to start.
This was before we had Linda and had hired a sub pianist b/c our regular college-student was gone.
As a dad, I couldn’t let her stay b/c of the deteriorating conditions. By the time we were done this teenager would still have to drive back to NAU. It was bad!
We abbreviated the service everybody made it home okay.
Good, white Christmas. Bad, treacherous driving conditions.
Last year it snowed Xmas Eve and Sara and I almost didn’t make it home after the Xmas Eve service. Not b/c we couldn’t make it. But, b/c there were 4 cars sliding backwards down Pinewood Blvd above the bridge.
We waited 30 minutes in line.
Finally, they had the cars off to the side, on Munds Canyon Rd, or in a driveway.
Sara went to check and see if the cars ahead of us were going to go.
No one in them. They were helping.
The road cleared, I got a running start, hit the gas, 4-wheel drive, and as I easily made it up the hill a guy yelled at me to slow down.
Seriously, that’s why you’re sliding back down.
Right now, the long-range forecast shows not a snowflake in sight.
When we lived in Minot, ND just about every Christmas was white.
There, it snows horizontally.
Once, we canceled Xmas Eve service b/c the forecast was so bad and the weather started that afternoon.
Then, we got heat from a number of members who said they were planning on coming anyway and would have no trouble making it thru the storm.
No Rudolph or anything. We tried to think of those driving in from their farms not wanting anyone to get in any danger.
That’s when I learned it’s best to go ahead w/ the service and let everyone decide for themselves on their own if they want to attend.
We had 1 Xmas Eve in IN all the weather services were predicting a huge dump of lake-effect Xmas Eve.
We were watching the forecast for service that night. We went ahead w/ it expecting the snow t/b falling when we got out.
Still nothing, but we were assured it was coming so get ready for snowy Xmas.
We got up the next morning to nothing.
All the weather ppl said they had no idea why b/c it set up so perfectly for a big dump.
They are all looking at the same data.
When we were in LR they would close the schools on the forecast of snow.
Not prepared. Always icy and hilly. Dangerous.
One time, the forecast was for snow, they closed the schools, our kids thought it was ridiculous, then no snow.
A week later, out of the blue, a freak snowstorm dumped a few inches and they couldn’t close the schools b/c they had used up their snow days.
Due respect to the weather forecasters, but how often are they right?
They are getting better. Better computer models. More satellites. More data. History.
But, based on their past predictions, what are the odds?
What hope do we have for a white Christmas? Or, what hope do we have to count on their forecast.
Some of us hope for a white Xmas, some hope for record warmth and a mild Xmas.
Take it w/ a grain.
Hope.
This year, hope has taken on added significance.
There’s a storm swirling around us called COVID.
We hope that we will stay healthy.
We hope that if we get COVID it won’t be bad.
We hope the vaccination will be available soon, widely distributed, highly successful, and safe.
We hope next summer will be back to normal.
But, based on past experience, what hope do we have?
We’ve never produced a vaccine this quickly.
While we wait, some are overcome w/ hopelessness. Suicide, addiction, abuse. The statistics are staggering.
What hope do we have?
I’m here this morning to tell all of you that there is a 100% chance that God will save you, protect you, and provide for you this season.
That doesn’t mean life won’t be hard this winter. It doesn’t mean that none of us will get sick.
But, what it does mean is no matter how hard it may get, we will manage.
This life will be manageable.
The next will be magnificent.
I don’t guarantee that. God does. And, His track record is better than any weather predictor.
Every single prophecy, prediction about Jesus has come true so far.
Not a third. If this were baseball and God was hitting .300 he’d be a hall of famer.
Not half. Not three quarters. All of them.
100% gives us hope.
We always have hope because God has promised a magnificent future and always provides a manageable present.
In Isaiah alone there are 19 predictions that have come true about Jesus.
He wrote 700 years before Jesus was born.
The odds that he would have predicted 1 or 2 things would have been the long-shot of long shots.
Of the 19, we are going to look at 10 that he got exactly right that will assure you that you have hope for this season.
Isaiah predicted a woman who had never been intimate w/ a man would conceive and deliver a healthy baby boy.
1st...
Virgin Birth
Virgin Birth
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Modern technology makes this possible now.
But, in c.1?
Imagine your daughter, granddaughter, 15 or 16 years old, engaged but unmarried, comes to you and says she’s pregnant.
But now imagine it’s A.D. 3.
Honor killing? Seriously. This was a huge deal. Put her away discretely?
God has to speak to Joseph so he would not break up w/ her.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
She knew how much trouble she was in.
But, she also knew she had hope b/c God was promised her it would be okay.
2nd, they were both descendants of David.
Descendant of David
Descendant of David
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.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Matthew’s genealogy shows Joseph is a descendant of David.
According to Luke, Joseph and Mary were both descendants of David. Either way, Isaiah was right.
You’d think there would be wide-spread acceptance of Jesus w/ these predictions coming thru.
Not so.
3rd...
Rejected by Most
Rejected by Most
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Nothing special to look at. He was not 6’2”, 225, blonde hair, blue eyes, carved and cut like star athlete or celebrity.
They thought, if He was special at all, it was b/c he was demonic or insane.
Most rejected Him. Still do.
Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
I once had a friend tell me if that tree would get up and move over there he’d believe in God.
No, he wouldn’t. B/c it would require complete surrender, not just a belief in Santa Claus that does good things for good boys.
What does He have to do?
I’m changed. I’m a different guy than that teenage kid who didn’t believe.
Everybody who believes is.
Still, many won’t believe. That’s part of the proof. It makes no sense they would reject Him.
Part of the problem of belief is ppl just don’t believe they are that bad.
I don’t kick my dog. I haven’t killed anybody.
Still, we need things t/b made right between God and us.
So,...
4th...
Took Our Guilt
Took Our Guilt
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
In a moment of pure self-reflection and honesty, we know. We know we mess up.
You feel it. You feel the guilt. But Jesus will take it all away.
And, when He takes it away, He replaces it w/ peace.
Guilt keeps us awake at night. Peace lets us sleep.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
I deserve that. He took it. He took the punishment and w/ it took the guilt away from me.
He was beaten and bloodied, wounded and died. But there was a purpose in blood.
From the same verse...
5th...
Atonement
Atonement
I just read Is. 53:5. He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was almost died before they crucified Him from the blood loss and shock.
His blood, the blood of the lamb, just like the blood on the doorpost at the Passover, atoned, redeemed, paid for our freedom.
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
When the alter was built, it was designed to receive the blood of sacrificial lambs t/b sprinkled on it to make things right w/ God for our sin.
Something had to die to make things right.
No animal, or sinful person, could pay the price and live.
He had to bleed. He was born for this.
He died for us. And, He did it voluntarily.
6th...
He Volunteered
He Volunteered
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
Jesus had every opportunity and the authority to defend Himself and fight for His freedom. Make His case. Call in the angelic military to free Him. He didn’t.
In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed and said, “Not my will, but your be done.”
Then, when on trial, He stood silently.
But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
What could He say? I’m innocent but kill me anyway.
As authoritative and powerful as He was, He could have avoided the whole thing for Himself.
But, He didn’t come for Himself. He did it for us.
Our hope is based on a Savior who didn’t think of Himself first. But, thought of us, above all.
7th...
Substituted for Us
Substituted for Us
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
I’ve been a school teacher, I’ve been on baseball teams. I’ve been a substitute and I’ve been substituted for.
The sub does everything for the first-stringer. The first-stringer deserves it, but we’re out.
Probably the only case where the sub is a lot better than the starter.
Jesus subbed for us. And took what was coming to us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
He didn’t wait for us to clean up our act.
We don’t have to change to come to Christ.
He knew what was coming. It didn’t surprised Him. He did it anyway.
It’s like when the football team is getting blown out and they put in the 2nd string QB.
The other team knows what’s coming and they destroy him.
He doesn’t stand a chance.
So, by stepping in for us, He saves us.
8th...
He Saved Us
He Saved Us
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
He divides the spoils of heaven w/ us.
He got us there, we didn’t do a thing. Then, He shares the glory w/ us.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
We are justified. The judge who sentences us declares our punishment paid and lets us go free. Free to roam Heaven.
No boundaries. No burdens.
9th...
Died with Sinners
Died with Sinners
Save verse. He was numbered w/ the transgressors. Is. 53:12
That is, He was 1 of 3 crucified that day.
He’s Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself.
He’s the star. The guest of honor. Not in man’s eyes, but in His Father’s.
You’d think the stage would have been cleared for Him to do His thing by himself.
But He was crucified between 2 criminals.
They deserved their treatment.
Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
You may get the idea that the one who defended Jesus that day, of whom Jesus said, “This afternoon I will see you in Paradise.” wasn’t such a bad guy.
But, only the worst criminals were crucified.
He was one of the bad ones deserving that treatment.
But, Jesus was truly was innocent.
The problem for Him in this case was, our sin is that ugly in they eyes of God.
We are the worst of the worst. And Jesus did this for us anyway.
Once He died, people who cared about Him cared for His remains.
10th...
A Rich Man’s Tomb
A Rich Man’s Tomb
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Poor ppl didn’t get this treatment.
By earthly standards, Jesus was in poverty.
His earthly father was a poor carpenter. Jesus had no house nor earthly possessions.
He had no way to pay for proper burial.
There was no GoFundMe to help pay his burial expenses.
Someone did the unthinkable. No one saw this coming, except Isaiah.
As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
It was brand new, reserved for Joseph of Arimathea and his family.
Isaiah saw all this coming, 700 years before it did.
He’s not the only prophet to predict things about Jesus. And, they all came true.
Every 1 of them.
Peter, who was a witness to all this, wrote this Himself about our future.
What are the Chances?
What are the Chances?
This is the hope we have for the future.
Based on the historical data we have, what do you thing the chances are of getting this?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,
Hope is a choice. We get up every day and choose whether or not to be optimistic about our day.
Choose today to have hope.
It’s not based on wishful thinking or mustered up from w/in.
It’s based on historical data and God’s track record.
Jesus came as a baby, and in the process of his life and death, proved that God will keep all the promises He made thru the prophets years ago.
Who knows if we are going to have a white Christmas.
But, it’s 100% certain that God will deliver a magnificent future and a manageable present