HOPE Has Arrived

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Bishop Richard Miller

All Church Church of God

Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago • 37:56

Matthew 1:18–23

Jesus' Birth

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Matthew 1:18–23 ESV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Intro:

Today’s text is a reminder of the miraculous and powerful birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that Mary, a virgin would become pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit is unlike any other miracle we see in Scripture. We also observe the faith of a good man in Joseph as he trusts God with the message that the angel delivered that Mary is not only pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit but also that this miracle baby is none other than the Messiah who will save the world from their sins.

The Christmas story is one many of us have heard several times before so we must be careful not to overlook the significance of this miraculous moment when God Himself stepped out out of the portals of glory to be born and live humbly as a man who would pay with His own life so that all who want God can have God. Said simply the birth of Christ gives all people hope because in a very real way Jesus is our hope of heaven. When praying over what to write for the message the Holy Spirit gave me the word hope as the Holy One’s Promises are Eternal. As I speak with you briefly today my desire is that you too will know, feel and grow in the hope that only our Lord can provide for Jesus is the holy one whose promises are eternal.

Jesus is The Holy One

To truly understand and appreciate why the birth of Jesus is so extremely significant it begins with an understanding of just who He is. And an excellent explanation of the person of Christ can be found in the book of John chapter one verse one.

Jn 1:1–18 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

You see the holiness of Christ is related to His deity. Said differently Jesus is fully God and fully man. While the doctrine of the trinity can be an extensive topic of study it is actually quite simple. There is only one God who exists in three persons who are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They are all parts of the same one God who are equal in power and different in purpose. Jesus is God the Son and that is why He is called the Son of God and is still also God.

There are many different religions that recognize Jesus as a prophet or a good man but do not see Him as divine and there are also new age thinkers which believe there are multiple paths to heaven so let me make things crystal clear today that Jesus is God and to deny that fact is to deny Christ altogether. Jesus is not one of the many ways to heaven rather Jesus is the only path to heaven.

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Once we understand this basic yet profound truth, the Christmas story has a whole new meaning to us. It is not just a story of a miracle pregnancy as powerful as that is. Christmas is not just a story of the faith of Joseph to trust the Lord as powerful as that is. Christmas is not just a story of a coming Messiah that would set the captives free as powerful as that is.

The Christmas story is the record of how a loving God would personally humble Himself as a human and serve people some of whom would still to this day deny who He is just so that anyone who trusts Him and puts their faith in Him can have life and have life more abundantly. This very act shows us the love and character of God for you, me and the world around us and that gives me hope this morning! Give God praise!

The Holy Ones Promises are Eternal

Jesus Christ offers us hope because He is the holy one whose promises are eternal. We have already discussed that Jesus is the holy one because Jesus is God. But what promises does He make us you may ask. The true answer is too many to even list because God’s love has no limit but let’s take a look at just a couple this morning.

Jesus Promises Forgiveness

All humans will mess up and sin at some point in their life. For some people it is a bad choice or irregular occurence and for others they have unfortunately adopted sin as a lifestyle. But there is hope in Jesus as He has already paid our sin debt on calvary’s cross and if we repent and are genuine He will forgive us of our sins.

Romans 3:23–24 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

While we should never make sin a lifestyle or agree with it we must also understand that the grace of God is so much deeper than our human understanding for example when Peter and the disciples asked Jesus how many times must they forgive someone Jesus gives an answer that surprised them and many Christians today.

Matthew 18:21–22 NKJV

21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

This verse is not intended to excuse bad behavior but instead provides hope to people who are trying to change their lives and may make a mistake that the Lord will not reject them if they ask for forgiveness. Furthermore, since God is instructing us as humans to forgive seventy- seven times and our character and grace are not perfect then again we can have hope that the Lord who has perfect character and perfect grace will forgive us as well. The key is that we must truly be sorry because the Lord knows the heart and if people are being genuine.

Jesus Offers Eternal Life in Heaven

Not only does Jesus offer us forgiveness so we can have a right relationship with Him during our lives on earth but Jesus offers us eternal life with Him in heaven. God provides this gift to us for no other reason than He loves us and wants us to be with Him.

John 3:16–17 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

You see God does not make things complicated. Rather God the Father gave God the Son to pay the sin debt of mankind not to judge mankind because we were already under the judgment but rather as an act of selfless love to provide a way for any person, from any back ground to have their sins forgiven, receive a new life in Christ and the promise of heaven as their home. Somebody give God praise!

And to provide just a glimpse of what heaven will be like forever let’s look at

Revelation 21:1–7 NLT

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

My friends heaven is real and it is God’s desire that you will be there with Him and multiplied millions of believers in paradise for eternity. And all of this is possible through by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Savior.

Closing

I could go on in great length about all the ways that Jesus gives us hope as He is the Holy One whose Promises are Eternal.

But today this Christmas Eve morning we come together to celebrate the human birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and the hope for humanity that He alone provides.

God doesn’t owe mankind a thing but because of His love, His grace and His character, the Lord came personally to make sure that every last person who wants to be with Him will have an opportunity to do so.

If you are here today and you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please don’t wait another moment to make the most important decision of your life and simply ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and become the Lord of your life. He has made the choice that simple.

If you are here today and you are a Christian I want to celebrate this special season with you and encourage you to let the light of Jesus Christ shine so bright in you and through you that you may be a lighthouse of hope to the world around you.

Christmas is such a special time of the year as we celebrate the day that Hope arrived through Jesus Christ! Let’s give God Praise!