And the Bibles, grab those.
We are going to be in Luke this morning.
Going to go to Luke chapter 2, which is a classic place to be
when we are talking about Christmas.
Our choir did an incredible job.
I thought they did so good.
And you notice the name of the group of songs that they performed,
Jesus' Hope of the World.
That's what I want to talk to you a little bit about today.
Over the last few weeks we have looked at the story of Christmas.
And we started from before the actual event happened of Jesus'
birth.
We talked about the announcement of his birth.
We talked about Zachariah and Elizabeth who Gabriel came to
Zachariah and said, even though you are old, you are going to have a
baby.
Actually, your wife is going to have a baby.
And she is going to have a baby.
He had a hard time believing it.
But he did believe it.
And that baby that came was a guy named John who foretold that
Jesus would come.
And what an amazing thing that was.
And in the middle of that he said, fear not, your prayers have been
answered.
And so we don't have to fear unanswered prayers.
God has a plan, he is doing something.
Last week we looked at Joseph and we kind of tried to look at it
from his perspective.
And then Rachel came and said to him, fear not for behold, the baby
that is in Mary's womb is of the Holy Ghost.
You should not fear to take Mary to be your wife because that
which is in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Today I want to look at another fear not.
And it's a fear not that they talked about in the songs that we
sang this morning.
Today's fear is the fear of having no hope.
Have you ever felt completely hopeless?
Maybe not hopeless in all of life but maybe hopeless in a
particular situation.
Man, there is nothing like feeling like you have no hope.
Maybe it's no hope for your marriage or maybe it's no hope for
that.
You feel like that wayward daughter or son isn't going to ever
come back around.
Maybe you feel like you have not had hope to beat that addiction
or maybe you have got a medical diagnosis or someone you love
got some kind of diagnosis that made it feel like they had no
hope.
Maybe you have, maybe like there is more month than money and you
feel like financially you are not in a place where no hope in
finding the right job or maybe thinking that anything will ever
get any better.
It's a horrible feeling of absolute hopelessness that takes
over your mind.
There is nothing I think that can be more difficult than just
having that thought, being consumed without thought.
There is no hope.
I talked with people this week and I had conversations with
people that just said, I just don't know what to do.
I am at my wit's end.
I feel like I don't have any hope.
I am just afraid.
When we feel like there is no hope you can overcome with hope.
When we feel like there is no hope you can overcome with fear
and anxiety, maybe even depression.
Counselors tell us that having hope is absolutely essential if
we are going to have any kind of quality of life.
We need hope.
Who agrees with me this morning?
We need hope to keep going.
Hope gets us through the valleys of life.
Hope gets us through the stress of life and the difficulties of
life.
Hope gives us mental and physical strength.
Thank God for hope.
The hope that the angel refers to in Luke chapter 2, and in fact
I am going to read about this hope.
I am going to ask you to do something that is not unusual
for our church but maybe unusual for you.
I want to look at Luke chapter 2.
We are going to read together.
I am going to read to you Luke chapter 2 verses 8 down to 14.
This is not on the slide so don't worry about that, Steve.
Here is what it says.
This is right in the middle of this story after Jesus is born.
It says this.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field keeping watch over their flock by night and low.
The angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord
showed round about them and the angel said unto them, and they
were sort of afraid and the angel said unto them, fear not, for
behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto
all people for unto you is born this day and the city of David a
Savior which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you.
You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a
manger.
And suddenly there were with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace.
Goodwill toward men.
God bless the reading of your word.
Help me to say no more than what you want me to say this
morning.
I hope that today, I pray that today someone would find the hope
that can only be found in you and your dear son, Jesus Christ.
We love you in Jesus' name, amen.
Thank you, you may be seated.
These angels, though they didn't use the word did speak of hope.
Who agrees with me this morning?
Hope of salvation.
Hope of forgiveness of sins.
Hope of eternal life.
And here's what I want to tell you this morning very quickly.
You can have hope.
We do not have to have the fear of being left without hope.
Here's three reasons why.
The first reason is this.
There is hope for all people.
There is real hope in God's message.
In God's message.
The word angel, you know, means messenger.
That's what the word means.
Messenger.
Make no mistake about the fact that these angels were not
speaking on their own authority.
These guys did not come to these shepherds and tell them what
they were telling them because they came up with this idea.
They were messengers for somebody else.
They were messengers.
Point two, they were messengers too.
They were messengers for God, right?
They were coming from God to share a personal message for
each person addressed.
The angel that came to Zacharias, he came, it was Gabriel, he
came to tell about this son he would have in the foretelling
of the Messiah.
The angel that came to Joseph, he came to say, hey, don't be
afraid.
You can do, this is something God has been working on for a
long time.
You can marry Mary.
The angel that came to Mary, we're going to talk about later.
This angel came to her to let her know that she was having a
baby.
Today we will see the message match the messengers in a
unique way.
In verse 8 he says, look at the audience here.
And there we are in the same country, shepherds.
Shepherds.
Now, if you think about Zacharias, when the angel came to
Zacharias, he came to a priest.
Right?
Some might say, well, I think that if God showed up or if God
sent a message from an angel, it would be to a priest.
But then he sent, we know that he sent an angel to Joseph.
What was Joseph?
Anybody know?
I see some of you mouthing it.
He was a carpenter.
You know what that means?
He was a regular dude.
He was a contractor.
He made stuff, right?
He's just a normal guy.
What was Mary?
She was just a maiden.
She was a virgin.
She's just a young girl.
These are unexpected, but shepherds?
The shepherds, they're just normal, everyday people.
Let me ask you a question.
Do you guys know any heads of state?
Anybody in here know any kings?
Do you know a senator?
Like a state senator, maybe.
What about our senator?
Do you guys know him?
Do you know a lot of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies?
Anybody here met the president?
If you did, it was just maybe a shaking of his hand.
You don't know him personally.
What about this?
Have you ever met someone who works in retail?
You ever met a waiter or a waitress?
Right?
You ever met a farmer?
You know any truck drivers?
Of course you do, right?
Of course you know those people.
We all have.
The shepherds are more like that second group.
They're just regular, everyday people.
They weren't rich.
They didn't have a lot of power.
They weren't special in some, in the way human estimation
values people.
And I believe this message matches this audience.
An angel comes with a message from God to everyday normal
people.
If you're an everyday person, raise your hand.
We're just regular people, right?
And God comes to them.
These are not religiously or pro-nullically connected people.
This isn't just a group of elites.
And look at what the message is that matches that audience.
The angel said to them, fear not for behold.
I bring you good tidings of great joy which I'll be to all
people.
That word good tidings is the same word by which it's a root
word that comes from the same word we get the word gospel.
You know the word, who's heard the word gospel before?
Gospel means good news.
Who likes good news?
You like to get a phone call saying you got an inheritance you
didn't know about.
Who thinks that's good news?
Right?
And I said, I prayed the lottery for you and you won.
We would love that, right?
That would be really, really good news.
This angel isn't bringing bad news, he's bringing good news.
Now when it says the heavenly host, I want you to know that the
host of angels sometimes are armies.
When an angel army shows up, you want them bringing good news,
not bad news.
And they showed up and said, hey, I got good news.
And then he says, and here's who it's to, ready?
All people.
If you're an all people, raise your hand.
Yeah.
Do you see what I'm saying?
The message matched the audience.
He's saying I'm showing up not to just the rich and powerful and
the connected, I'm showing up to the normal, everyday retail,
waitress, truck driver.
Are you everybody?
Who's excited about that?
You are not excited enough.
This is amazing.
This is for all people.
Jesus, the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everybody.
Jews, Gentiles, male, female, white, black, Asian, Hispanic,
sinful people of every stripe.
Jesus came for sinners.
People who struggle with every kind of sin.
The gospel isn't just for people who are almost righteous and
just need to get over the hump.
By the way, those people don't exist.
The gospel isn't just for the down and out.
It's also for the up and in.
The gospel is for everybody.
The gospel is for everyone.
And while I talk about the gospel, for being all for all people,
the temptation of those of us hearing it is to hear that, oh,
yeah, the gospel is for everybody else.
Let me tell you, this good news of great joy that has been
brought to all people is to all people.
It's to you.
It's to me.
You can have hope today because this good news is for you.
Not y'all.
You.
It is for y'all, but it's for you.
This message from the angel and the shepherds, these everyday
normal people, is that the message of the gospel, the good tidings
of great joy is for everybody.
It's for you.
There's hope for you.
So we see that there's hope for all people and God's message.
Number two, there's hope for all people and God's son.
This is how this is good hope.
Look at verse 11.
Here's, there's hope for all people.
Well, what do you mean, angel?
You are unto you is born this day in the city of David, a
savior, which is Christ the Lord.
This is the only way this is good news.
The only way this is good news is because of Jesus.
What do you mean?
God had promised that a king would come in the line of David
and would sit on David's throne forever.
And he says, unto you is born this day in the city of David, a
savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Now think about those three words.
Savior Christ Lord.
Savior makes me think of this.
Isaiah tells us that this one who's coming would save his
people.
The government would be on his shoulders.
Who thinks that would be good for us to have God running the
government, amen?
Some of you think it's good.
Some of you don't.
We'll work on you.
The government would be on his shoulders.
He would bring deliverance and justice and judgment to the
world.
That's the Savior.
Then he's Christ.
This word Christ is the Greek word for Messiah.
This is the Messiah.
He's the chosen one.
He's the anointed one.
And then Lord is this word Curios.
He's, which means the one who rules and reigns.
He's in charge.
So here's what he's saying.
There's this Messiah that you guys have heard of your whole life.
This Messiah is here.
And he's here to save.
And he's here to rule.
That's who he is.
Is that exciting or what?
Then why are you telling us we're just shepherds?
Because it's for everybody.
John 1.14 says, and the word, talking about Jesus, the word was
made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.
The glory is that the only begotten of the Father full of grace
and truth.
God became flesh.
Did you hear me?
God became flesh and lived among us.
He says in verse 12, and this shall be a sign unto you.
You shall find the...
Babe.
Wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a...
manger?
Now, you guys, who's seen the Charlie Brown Christmas?
Right?
Who has an activity?
Who's got an activity at home?
Yeah.
You guys know this story so well.
You don't think of a manger the way that they thought of a manger
anymore.
You think of it as Christmas.
But you notice the contrast between the two verses we just read?
Right?
Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is
Christ the Lord.
He's the King.
The government's on his shoulders.
So you'll find him on a throne in a palace, ruling and reigning.
That's what you would expect it to say.
But what did he say?
You'll find this babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying
in swaddling clothes, lying in a food trough for stock animals.
That's weird.
Who thinks that's weird?
Yeah.
Not what they would expect.
Supernatural angels coming in the light of the glory of God with a
message of hope found in the promised Messiah, Savior and Lord
giving this message to shepherds in fields, directing them to a
manger and stall where the baby could be found.
Kings and rulers aren't usually born in barns.
God does things his own way.
This certainly was the son of God.
He's a Savior of all people.
He's God's son.
And there's definitely hope in that.
Here's the third reason.
Not only is there hope for all people in God's message and in God's
son, but here's the best part.
Like, I need this to be best because it hasn't been that great so far.
Okay, cool.
That's fine.
Here's the best part.
There is hope for all people, point to all people in God's
intention.
In God's intention.
Why did God send this message of this baby?
Why did he send this baby, this Christ, this Lord, this Savior?
Why did he do it?
Well, we see it right here.
Verse 13.
Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host.
What does it say?
Praising God and saying, read that with me, glory to God in the
highest.
Pause there.
Here's God's first intention for why he did this thing called
redemption.
He wanted to get the glory.
God gets the glory.
He is something we are nothing.
He gets all rule and glory and honor and power.
Amen.
It's all about him.
God wanted to get the glory.
And so in doing what he did, he did it so that he could get the
glory.
And I will tell you this, God's ways are not our ways.
His thoughts are not our thoughts.
And as a result, this is this reflecting of this song, this
liturgy that they're singing glory to God in the highest.
And what God's intention is, his desire for his own glory.
But also, here's the second intention.
And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.
What is God's intention in doing this?
That we would glorify and honor and worship him.
And that he would have peace and goodwill towards us.
You see, here's the deal.
Our sin makes us the enemy of God.
Our sin, my sin, made me God's enemy.
Because sin itself is a violation of the very nature of God.
Through Jesus' life's death, burial and resurrection and life, we
can have peace with God.
Romans 5 says this, but God commended his love towards us in
that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Listen to this, much more than being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him, through Jesus.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved
by his life.
God sent Jesus to live a perfect life, and he never did anything
wrong.
He never sinned.
He never, he always did the right thing, and he always did the
right thing for the right reason.
Man, I have a hard time doing the right thing for the right reason.
Let me say that again.
I have a hard time doing the right thing.
Is anybody with me?
I have an even harder time doing the right thing for the right
reason.
I have a hard time not doing the wrong thing.
Is anybody with me?
Right?
The Bible says that because of my sin, I violate God's very
character.
But God loved me and knowing that I could not save myself.
He sent Jesus to live a perfect life.
He was born of a virgin so that he would have that sin nature.
He lived a perfect life and then he died on the cross.
God put, God the Father put God the Son to death for us.
So that he could pour his wrath for our sin on Jesus.
And because he did that, he can give us Jesus' righteousness.
Then we can have peace with God.
That's the most incredible thing you need.
And with that peace comes God's hope.
He wants to get along with us by forgiving our sins and helping
us to follow him.
What a gift.
God's intention to bring glory to himself, at least in part by
making peace with us, should fill us with hope.
We can have hope knowing that God's intention in sending Jesus
was to bring glory to himself and connected to bring glory with
himself, is saving us and giving us good will and peace.
What an incredible thing.
And so when it comes to this thing called hope, when it comes to
this hope that comes through Jesus, there's three kind of people
in this room.
First there are people with no hope.
What do I mean?
In Ephesians 2.12 the apostle talks about people who before
Christ were having no hope and without God in the world.
These are the people who have never heard about or become
obedient to the one true and living God in his gospel.
They never believed that Jesus was the Savior, how he came into
the world and died on the cross for their sins.
They are spiritually lost.
Jesus says they are condemned already because they have not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
That statement describes billions of people around the world.
That's why we give them missions and support missionaries around
the world.
We want people to go and tell people about Jesus and the hope
that's in him.
Amen.
There are people with no hope.
Then there's number two people with false hope.
These are people who have heard about the one true living God.
They have heard about Jesus but they have a twisted unbiblical
view of how to be saved.
They are convinced that they have to believe on Jesus but they
are also convinced that they have to do something in addition to
that in order to be saved.
That something could be baptism or church membership or being a
good person or striving to be religious.
In other words they don't believe that salvation is by God's
grace alone and faith alone in the Son of Jesus Christ alone.
Plus nothing and minus nothing.
They believe it's something that you have to do.
You believe plus something else.
Matthew 7, Jesus calls that false hope.
They said in Matthew 7, 22, many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in the name?
And then in that name I have cast out devils and done many
wonderful works and then I profess in the name he says, I never
knew you.
Depart from me you who work iniquity.
Notice that they are saying we have done this and done that.
They are emphasizing their belief that somehow they are going to
heaven based on their own human effort.
Can I tell you if you are going to heaven it's not because you
have been baptized.
If you are going to heaven it's not because you have taken some
communion or you have gone to church or taught Sunday school
or you have been baptized.
You have been baptized in heaven because you put your faith and
trust in Christ alone.
Plus nothing, minus nothing.
When we get to heaven we will say I have come by the way of the
cross, not by my own obedience.
If you are trusting in anything else other than Christ for your
salvation you have a false hope.
I will tell you why those people have that hope because they
have no hope because they are more inclined to seek for true
hope in false areas.
Those who have false hope think they are okay the way they are.
Proverbs 4.12 says there is a way which seems right into a man
but the in there of are the ways of death.
That leaves me to this third person.
People with a true hope.
When you believe the good tidings that this gospel of Jesus
Christ, that he died for your sins, that he was buried in the
rose from the dead, you have eternal hope that no one will be
able to take away from you.
When you put your faith in Christ Jesus as your personal
saver you have true hope.
Peter 3.15 says, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be
ready to give an answer to every man that asks if you have the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
What is the hope in us?
And how do we get into this better now like this and this man
in our lives.
Colossians 127 says which is in you Christ in you the hope
of glory.
Because of Christmas we don't have to be hopeless.
Because of Christ coming, being made a man living a perfect
life and dying on the cross for us.
He offers us salvation and we receive it.
We can have hope.
Not because we did anything, but because he did everything.
Amen.
That's why you can have hope.
It's hope in his message.
Good tidings.
Of great joy to all people.
It's hope in his son unto you is born this day in the city of
David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
And hope is in his intention.
Why did God do any of it so that he would get the glory and so
that we could be at peace with him who on our own could not
have peace?
And here's what's amazing.
When we have peace with God, it translates into peace with
others.
Sometimes we have enemies that hate Jesus, but man, we can have
fellowship with those who know Christ and love him too.
So are you someone with no hope?
You can have hope today.
Put your trust in Christ.
Are you someone in a false hope?
Are you depending on something other than Jesus alone to save
you?
Then you actually have no hope.
Sometimes I think false hope is worse than no hope.
Because you're dependent on something that ain't going to
save you.
Put your hope in the one and only thing that's going to get you
to heaven.
Jesus Christ, the son of David, our Savior and Lord.
Would you stand with me?
Head's about an ice close.
No one looking.