HOPE Full

Good morning

Pray

I’m excited this morning as of course, this is my first Sunday with you in the sanctuary. Of course, we’ve been meeting in the great room for quite some time…but it’s nice Especially at Christmas time, to be back in the sanctuary… To that point, for many of you who have worked hard over the last several weeks, I’m very grateful for your hard work and dedication over the last couple of weeks. And so, thank you! As you’ve spent time painting, and moving supplies, and organizing and working with audio and visual equipment… there’s a lot of work that goes into moving, is there not?

I also want to let you know that I’m excited to have my mom, Theresa Hanks with us this morning. She came In from New Hampshire, but she’s from the great state of Ohio…and so I know she feels right at home this morning. I also have other family here with us this morning, including my uncle don and his wife Peggy, and my uncle Ron and my cousin Kyle… You see guys, it’s exciting… during this time of year, when we as family get together.

It’s exciting to spend the holidays together and to simply enjoy life…

You see I think of those who are traveling for the holidays, or have vacation plans aehad Perhaps those of you who would love to visit some remote beach in the Caribbean…and lay out under the warm Caribbean sun… while drinking Shirley temple… which by the way, some of us are there now as I’m speaking about it… and I hate to interrupt, but you’re not there quite yet….

But for those of us who travel to such locations, we get excited about the trip ahead… we think about eating the Jamaican jerk sandwich, or snorkeling in the turquoise watersor maybe even renting a jet ski and flying up the Caribbean coast… you see, these are fun moments… moments that we relish and enjoy, and yet… we don’t just arrive by accident… instead… we put action forward… which start in our minds, and then carries out to what we do.

Just like with Christmas time, we don’t just wake up one morning with presents under the tree as if to say someone else put them there… right? No there’s effort, there’s action that is taken… as we go from what we hope to see, to what comes into existence… we envision it here, and then it happens there…

in the same way some of us this morning have different expectations on life, depending on where you sit this morning… you may be at the start of your life or towards the end, you may be in a season of health or sickness, you may be In the fast lane or in a rut, and you may be on top of the mountain or perhaps in the valley… but regardless of life’s circumstances this morning, God calls us to HOPE. God wants not us to not only to live our lives on accident, but rather, with intentionality as we eagerly expect his return.

Turn with me to Luke 1, and as you’re turning there. We’ll unpack 3 truths this morning. 1 we’ll see that Hope changes our outlook 2. Hope causes us to prepare. 3. Hope is only possible because of Christ.

1. Hope changes our outlook

As your turning to Luke 1 this morning, there are 2 sets of first-time parents that are expecting baby boys. One set of parents is Zechariah and Elizabeth, with their baby John (later know as john the Baptist) and the other set is Mary and Joseph and of course, baby Jesus. Turn in your bibles to Luke 1:8-17 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. heard prayers

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Now it is worth noting in the next few verse that Zechariah is so dumbfounded by the idea that they would be expecting a child that he doubts if it’s possible.

we’re told 18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. 19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” You see there’s this sense of doubt… by the way the opposite of hope believe it or not is doubt, disbelief or distrust… And so, in this moment Zechariah has a hard time believe this good news…

But all kidding aside. When Zechariah and Elizabeth get this news… man it caused them to be excited… You see, for the for this culture, to not be pregnant would wrong with them. People would have likely made fun of them, and been hurtful towards them, and treated them in a bad way… and yet God remembers them.

We’re told 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” Lived whole life with disgrace

Friends, in a moment, there circumstances changed… No longer where they the laughingstock of the town, no longer where they at end of the Joke… No, God changed the script and gave them hope… God saw their hearts and was well pleased to make their Child. God was going to give them a child… but here’s the key, it was in his timing… you see John was no ordinary child, he was the frontrunner before the Messiah… Matthew 11 that among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Not Abraham, or Isaac, not David or Moses… no on born of women was greater than john the Baptist… And yet, it was on God’s timing…

In the same way, God’s timing was perfect with Abraham and Sarah… who at 99 years old had their baby Isaac, they waited over half their life… and yet, in God’s timing, he opened the door.

We see, greater still, that when the fullness of time had come… when the conditions where just right in the world God gave all of humanity hope through another miraculous birth, of course, that being with Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. We’re told: 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4

You see friends, God’s timing was perfect… the people, looked off from a far to the coming Messiah… but at just the right time, God came for us… When Roman roads were paved, a time of Roman peace or Pax Romana existed, when a unifying language brought the people together and the people longed for the Messiah… God sent his son for us all.

We’re told: 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:26-28

You see, in a moment’s notice, Mary’s Situation changed from normal life as she expected it to be… to all of a sudden… her expectations changed… all of a sudden, she had a new hope… and by the way, so didn’t the rest of the world.

You see here’s the key point this morning… when Mary and joseph found out they were expecting a baby, it changed their outlook. You see, life was going on as normal… but God changed their outlook in a moments notice. No longer was it about them, now there was a little baby boy who they would be parenting. *Easiest baby

And for the world, until Jesus came… they were just simply looking forward to the Messiah’s return… but then, we Jesus came… it changed the script… No longer were the people looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, he had arrived… no longer were the people still searching for hope, hope was there…

In proverbs 13:12 we see that: Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

And so, Friends, can I ask us something this morning? What are you hoping for this morning? Where are we this morning? I don’t know about you, but life doesn’t always feel good. Life is messy, life is painful, sometimes… but friends God is good all the time. And you may have been in a difficult place for a long time… but can I tell you something this morning friends? We serve a God of hope!

The bible explains: “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.” Roman 15:13

Guys this morning, we can expect good things from God. Even when things don’t make sense, he is working all things out for God for those that love him…

2. Hope Causes us to prepare

We see once Mary was expecting the baby… It started as a message from the angel, which changed her outlook, … but then we see that it also affected what she did. She started to prepare…

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. And there as Mary is with Elizabeth, there is great excitement as they reflect on the time of Baby Jesus and certainly of baby John’s birth… I mean Mary and Elizabeth are just cousins, and they’re just months apart in their pregnancies… and they would have certainly been so excited as they now moms for the first time… 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!

You see, there’s excitement… and reflection of the coming births…

For many of you moms this morning, you can relate with this idea of connecting with family members before your baby arrives… You can perhaps recall the days when you found out that you were first pregnant… Kim reminded me the other day, of the first time that we were pregnant with Taylor, our oldest... and one by one, we called each of our family members with such excitement…

I then went on to ask what types of things she may have discussed with friends or family members… and she explained that she would bring up What will the baby look like, what color hair will they have, will they look, will they be sweet and innocent like their daddy or will they have their mothers temper?

You see, as moms you can relate in the preparation of a child. You can relate with these conversations. Even all the way up to the point where Jesus was born, we see that scripture tells us of Jesus: “ 9 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

You see I think of Taylor… our first child this morning… and when we first had Taylor there was excitement… in fact every month, we took her out to sears to have her pictures taken… but by the time it came around to harper, well let’s just say her only professional pictures are her school photos…. Also, my buddy Kyle Brammel we were talking about pacifiers or binkies (depending on what you call them) and he told me that with their first child everything was new and exciting and special… they had to go out and order just the perfect pacifier, but with their last child he was like here kid, go chew on this tire…

You see for Mary and Joseph, there was this time of preparation… time to get ready… and not just for any baby, but for the most important baby to ever be born… There was a time of preparation and a time of excitement…

In fact, it wasn’t only Mary that were preparing for the birth of Jesus… God was actually preparing all humanity for the Messiah.

Mark 1:1-3 1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

You see there used to be a time in which the King of a country would have their messenger go on before them and make an announcement of the coming King… This was common practice during biblical times

And God was making preparations for His Son Jesus. By sending John the Baptist as a forerunner before Jesus.

Friend, here’s the question this morning: “are we making preparations for Jesus” are we preparing our hearts each day for what God calls us to?… loss of loved ones.

Here’s what I do know. 1 Corinthians 2:9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

In other words, God has prepared an incredible home for us in heaven. We will spend eternity in paradise with him, and there we can’t even begin to imagine how awesome heaven will be…

My question is, are we making room for the Lord this morning,

You see friends, Mary and Joseph went to the inn and there was no room for Jesus at the inn… but here’s my question… will you prepare room for him in your heart and in your life this day?

What rooms are closed off to him?

3. Hope is only possible because of Christ.

For a moment, I would like to draw our attention to 2 words. The first word is expectation, which by definition is: A strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future. The second word is Hope which is: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. grounds for believing that something good may happen.

So, in the definition of expectation… we see that is simply a strong belief that something will happen…

But when we change the word to hope… we see that we add this key phrase, our expectations go from something we simply think will happen… to now, when we have hope… we have the desire… that they will happen

You see friends, we can all expect to get pulled over in life… perhaps some of us more than others… but no one hopes to get pulled over… There are times where we expect to go to the dentist office, but outside of being an aspiring dental student, there are few of us that would say we hope to go to the dentist office…

You see friends, as we go through life, there is one thing that the lost and those who know Christ have in common and that is this… we all have expectations in life… but when you add Christ to the picture, even in our darkest hours… friends, we have hope.

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He hasbrought down rulers from their throne but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

You see a key phrase that jumps out at me this morning is that God was mindful of the humble state of Mary… and from that point on, all generations would call her blessed. We see also that God remembers his promise to Abraham and all of his descendants.

You see God remembered his promise to Abraham nearly 2000 years prior, and he was faithful to his word… We studied all about the faithfulness of God a few months ago… and this morning, friends the ultimate hope for us at Christmas time is because God gave us hope… in the form of a baby…

A baby that would grow, and live, and die… who came with a purpose and that purpose is you and me…

Some 2000 years later, we look back at what Christ accomplished for us on calvary… And the hope that Mary spoke of, and the hope that so many others spoke of, friends that’s our hope at Christmas and everyday of the year.

Isaiah 9:6-7 explains: 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.

Friends, this morning… and every day… God is for us… For to us a child a born… friends, we have hope because he’s already been given… we have hope because the government is on his shoulders, we have hope because he’s a wonderful counselor, who meets us in our moments of need, we have hope because he is a mighty God that is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, he’s everlasting and friends we have hope because he is our prince of peace…

Rom 8:22-25 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

1. Those who situations don’t look very promising this morning… difficulty in life… struggle or hardship… God of hope.

2. Those without hope this morning… - if you were to die today, you’re not certain where you would spend your eternity…

3. Those who need to get back in the race…

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Do something a little different this morning… I think it’s important to ask God what he’s saying to us… Are we taking the time to listen today and everyday… spend some time in reflection with God for the next few moments… and then I’ll close us out…

-we are messengers…

Pray