Hope gives birth to Purpose
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Introduction
Introduction
Christmas is about hope. Even the secular world believes that. It is echoed in Christmas movies. Christmas is that one day of the year, when we hope we can be the person we have always wanted to be. And that isn’t a bad thing, but the Apostle Paul said, ( (ESV))
“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Christ was born - the fulfillment of a Promise. In fact, the word Christ, is used to indicate the “Anointed One”, the Special One promised from long ago.
“May they be secure who love you!
Matthew begins his version of the Christmas Story, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way”
But for us to understand how His birth caused a celebration - we have to understand the promise. Matthew quotes , Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” WHICH MEANS???
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
So Isaiah gave the people a clue - but it didn’t happen until 700 years later. But during that time, the people had hope, they hoped that God would keep His promise. Kind of like us, when my son got married Mj Pam and I hoped for grandchildren. We didn’t get them until four years later, but the wedding was a promise of things to come. Then when our cute daughter in law got pregnant, we hoped even more. It was hard waiting…but it must have been some kind of promise that God made, that 700 years later the people still had hope.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
How is God supposed to give us hope?
Pray
Born for the Task
Born for the Task
In the book of Isaiah, and the time of Isaiah, God’s people turned their back on God. It wasn’t the first time and it certainly wasn’t the last time - but this particular time God withdrew His favor and His protection. And without God, Israel was conquered. Many/most of their people were carted off to Babylon. But even before it happened, God promised He would reach out to them and SAVE them. In fact in , God elaborated on His promise.
How is God supposed to give us hope?
English Standard Version Psalm 122
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
As we start the Advent season this year, let me remind you that the appeal of this Promised Savior - this infant King, is that He will be different. His character will include “wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord”. David McKenna writes that these are “qualities that Isaiah found missing in the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.”
Isaiah wasn’t the only to notice a lack of wisdom and power, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. The people did as well, and they longed for a leader whose character demonstrated the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. So when Isaiah proclaimed the Promise of a Savior - he assured his people:
McKenna, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1993). (Vol. 17, p. 154). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1993). (Vol. 17, p. 154). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. ()
English Standard Version Chapter 11
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
English Standard Version Chapter 11
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
So today, as we celebrate Advent - this is the hope - the Promise of Ages, this is the King the people wanted, it is the King the people needed. So imagine Philip’s excitement when he tells his friend Nathanael, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
New Living Translation Chapter 11
He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.
English Standard Version Chapter 11
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
New Living Translation Chapter 11
He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.
New Living Translation Chapter 11
He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.
New Living Translation Chapter 11
He will wear righteousness like a belt
and truth like an undergarment.
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
700 years after Isaiah predicted it, a Son was born.
Jesus was born to be the person God had promised down through the ages. And He was everything the prophets proclaimed - and more. He was born to comfort the hurting, to feed the hungry, to set the prisoner free. He was born to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.” ().
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
().
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
().
The Messiah was Qualified for the Task.
The Messiah was Qualified for the Task.
of course, that first Christmas, when Jesus was born - He bore witness to the truth of a couple prophecies, but no one was asking Him the purpose of life. No one was checking His theology. No one came to Him to be healed. He was a baby.
But there is no doubt that as He grew - His character began to reveal itself.
When David was king, God promised him that his heirs would rule Israel. When his son Solomon became king - he asked God for the wisdom to be a good King. Later on he had some trouble - but mostly he was a good king. But down through the ages, there were a lot of David’s “sons” who were no good, almost from birth. Their only claim to the throne was their blood.
Perhaps their life of privilege, and growing up in the king’s home, prepared them somewhat, but it didn’t promise they could handle being king.
But Jesus was the Baby who could handle being King, when His time came. prophesies, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders.”
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
Isn’t that an interesting thought? He would be the King of God’s Kingdom, and yet His formal training was in carpentry.
it wasn’t His training that qualified to be the Messiah, it was the Spirit of God. says, “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.”
Can I let you in on a little secret? As Christians, we can get training, we can get an education, we can prepare ourselves to serve God, but the thing that qualifies us to serve that we can’t be taught, is the Spirit of the Lord in us. That is why Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem even after He went back to His Father in Heaven. They were to stay until the Holy Spirit came on them.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
My wife and I both have two college degrees in ministry. That education helps, it even helps to qualify us to be officers—to be in the ministry. But it is the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit within us that really qualifies us and qualifies you, and yes, even qualified Jesus to Serve God.
When I was a young man I worked for the corps Pam and I attended. One day our corps officer came into my office laughing. Apparently a woman came to his office asking about the requirements to become an officer. The Lt asked her why she wanted to know. She told him that her son hadn’t been successful in a number of career choices, so she thought about The Salvation Army. She said since he had trouble with his other choices, she thought maybe he could be an officer, after all, how hard could it be.
Well, officership is my experience, but whatever God may be asking you to do in His Kingdom - there may be some practical requirements. A bus driver, for instance, will need a license to drive. A bookkeeper needs to be able to add and subtract. An evangelist needs to know what it takes to accept Christ. but more importantly - they all need the Spirit of God.
You need the Spirit of God. It qualified Jesus to be the Messiah, and it will qualify you to do that which God asks of you.
The Messiah Would Complete the Task.
The Messiah Would Complete the Task.
Jesus was born to be the Messiah, he was born to proclaim the Kingdom of God. And He was qualified to proclaim the Kingdom of God, bringing even more hope to the masses. He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (NLT) And that is what He did! He carried out His Task, Until one day, nailed to a cross, He declared, it is finished.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” and He did proclaim the Kingdom of God. He carried out His Task, Until one day, nailed to a cross, He declared, it is finished.
The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are filled with stories of Jesus seeking and saving. Sometimes in huge crowds like when He taught, “Blessed are poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Or individually, like when He told a Samaritan that He could give her living water.
As you read the Gospels, you discover His wisdom. The people noticed that He didn’t teach like the scribes - He taught like someone who had authority—someone who knew what He was talking about. Jesus drew large crowds to hear Him speak.
Jesus cast out demons. He set people free. not just free of demons, but free from prostitution, from the love of money or the lack of money, from poverty, from addictions. He set people free from doubt.
He didn’t teach everyone—but He gave us His Word so that we can continue his task. He didn’t free everyone from their oppressors, but He made it our business. Around the country we have programs to free men and women from substance abuse; we have shelters for those who were caught up in human trafficking. And programs for those stuck in poverty.
I remember in one appointment there was a woman who had fled from home with her two children to escape an abusive husband. At first they stayed in our emergency shelter, then they moved into our Transitional Living Center. While there she went to cosmetology school and learned to do hair. Then she found a job, and soon she was the assistant manager of the salon. She also worked part time for us - so that she could give back. Eventually it was time for her to move out of our shelter - but when she did - she moved into a small home she purchased for her and her children.
Not every story ends like that, but we are privileged to see lots of broken lives healed! And we see the sick healed and the hungry fed. Did you know that in the Seattle area, we now provide shelter to more than 700 men, women and children every night. And there will be times that number will swell even more on really cold nights.
but there is so much more to do.
We know that God keeps His promises. says “He will give justice to the poor.” Verse 5 says, “He will wear righteousness like a belt.” and verse 10 says, “In that day the heir to David’s throne (the Son of David - the promised Savior - the Babe of Bethlehem) will be a banner of salvation to all the world.”
These sentences drip with HOPE, and they are meant to. It is the attraction of the promise. 2,000 years later, the Church is still seeking justice for the poor - and finding it! We wear righteousness. I know that men slip here and there—but overall, the Church is a place where we do what is right. And 2,000 years later men and women still seek God in the midst of their storms.
The prophets declared HOPE in the person of Jesus the Christ.
His birth and His life established that hope in those who believe.
His teaching passed the work of hope on to us. In other words, that same hope gives birth to our Purpose. As the Apostle Paul taught,
“For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (ESV)
let me just make two short appeals.
If you find yourself in need of HOPE this morning, there is really no time better than Christmas time to find HOPE. It is everywhere you look. From the preacher and Sunday School teacher - to the bell ringer who is raising money so that our programs can continue. It you need HOPE - you can find it today.
If you know that hope, if it is set on the LIVING GOD, then your PURPOSE is spelled out. You must toil and strive that others may also know this HOPE. It isn’t enough to wish HOPE for others, we must all be part of distributing it.