A Time for Hope
Advent Conspiracy – Christmas Eve
12/24/2009
Introduction
It’s a Wonderful Life – No hope Video
(Scene beginning at Martini’s Bar to the point right before Clarence jumps in water off the bridge)
Slide after video
Have you ever felt hopeless like George Bailey?
What should be an incredibly joyous time, Christmas, has only compounded all the poor circumstances of life for George.
His life hasn’t turned out the way he was hoping.
Other people’s lives have gotten in the way of what he really wanted to do.
He is working a job that he never really wanted to do, but was kind of thrust upon him when his father passed away and his brother got married.
Now, the economy is tanking, his business is under investigation, and he is missing funds that could end up putting him in jail.
He has a bunch of kids relying on him, his house is not what he hoped for, and the pressures of life have completely overwhelmed him.
In the scene we just watched, he turns to the Lord and instead of his circumstances improving, he gets punched in the face.
He feels like there is no hope at all and the world would be better without him.
Application
Have you ever felt that way?
Maybe you are feeling that way right now.
Loneliness
Maybe you are suffering from a sense of loneliness, like nobody cares about you or for you.
Finances
Maybe you are facing financial circumstances that are just overwhelming you right now and there seems like no hope of ever getting back above water.
Relationships
Maybe you are facing what appears to be impossible relational situations with a spouse or child and feel like there is no hope for things ever getting better.
Having Kids
Maybe you are facing issues in regards to having children and have been trying but with no success and it seems like God is not hearing your prayers.
How you Live
Maybe it isn’t necessarily your circumstances, but it is the way you have lived your life that is making you feel hopeless. You haven’t lived a very exemplary life, to say the least, and you feel that for a person like you there is no hope.
No matter what situation you may be facing tonight, I want to encourage you and let you know there is hope.
The birth of the Son of God into this dark world and the events surrounding His birth has brought great hope to us. This is a Time for Hope.
You may not feel that way right now, but this evening, I want to look at a couple of the situations that surrounded the birth of Christ to help us all to know the hope we have.
Read with me Luke 1:5-15a
This is the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the birth of John the Baptist who was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. He was born about 5 ½ months before Jesus and was a cousin to Jesus.
Here is the account of how he was conceived.
Luke 1:5-15a
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
8 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. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name 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.
A time for hope slide
Pray
Ok, so here is the situation.
Upright - Blameless
The text tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth are “upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.”
Yet Barren
They were following after the Lord with all their heart and yet, Elizabeth was barren and now past child bearing age.
Not being able to have children at this time was considered a disgrace.
You were not a real woman if you could not bear a child for your husband.
This is something that no doubt both of them had prayed about, probably for years and years and nothing. No pregnancy, no word from God, continued disgrace.
They are in what seems a hopeless situation due to no fault of their own.
Apply
Maybe if you are feeling that way due to one of the things we spoke of a moment ago or something else, you have started to question if there is something wrong with you.
I am sure that Zechariah and Elizabeth were questioning why this was happening to them and wondering if they had done something.
I want you to notice something though. Even amid the disappointment they had faced, they remained faithful.
How did they do that? How could they continue on with God in the face of the disappointment they faced?
I think it was for 2 reasons they could remain faithful and I want to encourage you to do the same.
They stayed connected.
Zechariah worked in the priesthood so he was surrounded by other godly people who could encourage him and Elizabeth in their disappointment and help them stay focused and faithful.
They stayed serving
Zechariah went and served in the temple and did other things to keep close to the Lord.
Being connected with the church and serving in the church helps us to remain faithful.
Faithfulness is shown over time and through difficult circumstances.
Faithfulness glorifies the Lord
Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please God”
and He works through faithfulness in our lives.
In Matthew 13:58, when Jesus was in His hometown, it says, “he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”
We glorify the Lord with our faith and he works in our lives through faith.
Because Zechariah and Elizabeth were connected and serving, they knew the reality of what Paul tells us in Romans 8:28.
“in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
God works all things for the good of who?
Of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
God works all things for the good of those who love Him and follow after Him and follow His leading even when we can’t see what God is doing.
Their faithfulness and service helped them to continue to trust that God knew what He was doing, even if they did not.
And it was through their faith that God was able to glorify Himself by doing a miracle and answering a prayer that seemed so unlikely, he gave them a son, and not just any son.
He gave them a son that was going to be great in the sight of the Lord.
Luke 1:11-15
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. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name 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
Oh the Lord poured out great blessing on their life through John. There was a long time of continued faithfulness in the face of disappointment, but the events of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the birth of the Son of God show that this is at time for Hope, A time to continue to look to the Lord and be faithful and to trust His ways, because his ways are so much better than ours.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us, plans to prosper his people, plans to give them hope and a future.
As we continue to walk in faith, as we continue to keep focused, we can trust that we serve a mighty God who has a plan so we can have a hope.
Transition
But maybe it is not your circumstances so much that has been dashing your hopes, it has been the way you live your life and perhaps your lifestyle.
Maybe it hasn’t been the picture perfect life you have lived and Christmas just serves to remind you of how unworthy you are and it is leaving you feeling hopeless.
There is one more event that I want us to see that will help us see that this is a time for hope.
Luke 2:8-14
8 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. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
God sent Angels to Shepherds to announce the birth of His son.
Now we have all seen the manger scene with the shepherds there and we probably think these shepherds just happened to be close enough by to be able to go and see the newborn babe.
Let me tell you a bit about Shepherds.
Shepherds were not the type of people that you were hoping your daughter would bring home.
They weren’t the clean cut type.
They weren’t the type who was at the synagogue very often.
There job kept them from most of the religious celebrations.
They were a cross between over the road truckers and gypsies.
Tough but not having the greatest reputation.
They were not viewed as very reliable. If something was missing and there had been shepherds around, they got blamed. They got blamed because there was a lot of truth to the suspicions.
Shepherds didn’t have a lot of social skills because they were around sheep all the time. This was a 24/7 type of job.
Maybe you are here tonight and you can relate to the shepherds.
You feel like you don’t fit in with society very well.
Maybe you have made some poor choices in life.
Maybe you haven’t really had much contact with God or thought much about Him.
Maybe you are thinking the way you have lived makes you unworthy of God even noticing you.
Well I want to tell you tonight that this is a time for hope.
God went to Shepherds
The only public announcement of the Birth of God’s Son is given to these Shepherds.
God deems them worthy to be the first and only one’s that He has told specifically about His Son’s birth.
He deems them worthy because this is good news for all people. The hope that we have for eternity is available to all.
No matter how you have lived your life,
no matter how many bad things you have done,
no matter how many good things you haven’t done,
the birth of the Son of God is a time for hope.
Whether you have done a lot of bad things in your life or very few, you are a sinner in need of salvation and it is through the Son of God that salvation has come to all.
Hope is for everyone, even those who would think themselves the least deserving, because the fact is none of us deserve it.
Luke 2:10-11 - "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.
Conclusion
Tonight we have hope because we have a God who
cares about us and
cares for us.
Provided Hope for Eternity
He has made a way for us to have hope in eternity by believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and believing in the work He did, dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead to defeat death for those who believe in Him.
It takes no work, no effort on our own part to receive this gift, the hope of eternal life. It takes receiving it by believing.
Provided Hope for Now
But he has also provided hope for now for those who walk in faith. We have a hope that God can work ever circumstance that we are facing that is bad, and He will work it for our good and His glory as we continue to walk in faith. Be faithful. Surround yourself with those who can help you keep focused and serve Him so that you can be in the place where God can do a miracle in you and through you.
Walk in faith and you will walk in hope.
Candle lighting
This evening we are going to close our service by lighting candles.
Jesus came into the world as the light of the world, the one true light.
As we receive Him as our Savior, His light shines in us and we can bring light to the whole world.
Let these candles signify the light of Christ in you if you have received Him and if you haven’t, then won’t you receive Christ as your Savior even as you receive the light.
Just say to God, “Lord I have I believe in Jesus as the Christ, as God in the flesh, and I believe that He died for my sins and rose again and I receive Him as my Savior, the hope of my eternal life.”
As the candlelight passes thank God for the hope He has given you in His Son.
Silent Night
