December
2, 2018 NOTES NOT EDITED
“It’s
a Wonderful Life”: Hope
Mat.
2:1-2; Lk. 2:1-14
<<<<play
clip: Bridge Scene>>>>
Nothing
will kill the Christmas spirit faster than the “scrooge of despair.” Every year at Christmas time stores put on
dozens of new employees to cover the Christmas rush. In fact, many retailers make as much as 50%
of their annual total sales at Christmas time.
With the additional throng of Christmas shoppers, additional sales
people are needed. Amazingly, the Devil
does the same thing. Every Christmas
season the Devil must work ten times harder to overcome the contagious spirit
of joy that exists this time of the season.
He puts his demons on double-duty to try to quench any small glimmer of
hope that he sees building in the heart of men, women or children. His number one weapon against the joy of
Christmas is despair. The Devil knows
that without “hope” the joy of Christmas simply will die out. So, this Christmas we need to spread the
message: Christmas–It’s a Wonderful hope!
Jesus was born to bring us a “Wonderful Hope!” A hope that comes from a star, a song, and a
Savior.
Like
George Bailey, we all experience devastating blows
to
our dream for a “Wonderful Life.” But,
part of the message of Christmas is a message of “Wonderful Hope.” A hope that is signed, sealed, and
delivered to us by God through Jesus Christ.
Without
hope life is a series of bad experiences.
Hope is as essential
to
happiness as air is to life. Without
hope, all chance of experiencing the joy so contagious at Christmas time is
snuffed out.
In
the Christmas story we find three elements that give us hope.
Let’s
read that hope-filled passage together:
<<KID’S TELL CHRISTMAS STORY CLIP IN PLACE OF READING>>
Luke
2:1-14
2:1
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of
the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while
Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to
register. 4 So Joseph also went up from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David,
because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register
with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave
birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 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."
And
then in Matthew we read: Matt 2:1-2
2:1
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi
from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has
been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to
worship him."
These
two passages give us the three essential elements needed
to
live a hope-filled life in a haphazard world: a star, a song, and a Savior.
1. We have a Star – the sign of God’s Providence
(Mat. 2:1-2)
(Often initial capital letter) Providence refers to the foreseeing
care and guidance of God over the creatures of the earth.
From “pro” (before) plus “video” (to see). The “star” reminds us of the Providence of
God – this gives us great hope because – like the “star” – God goes before us
in life making sure and certain His plan for our lives will unfold just as He
has planned they would, regardless of our circumstances.
The
Bethlehem Star: what a wonderful part of the Christmas story.
Today,
skeptics deny the star; scholars debate the star; but, wise men still follow the
star! The star represents for us God’s
providential guidance in our lives. It
is this sense of direction that helps dispel any sense of doom or despair in
our lives.
Despair
is certainly not something new. It did
not originate in
this
the 21st century. Every
generation has faced discouraging times.
Yet, our present generations seems to be lacking something former
generations counted on–direction. As a
nation, until our present time, there seemed to be no doubt as to “who we are
and where we are going.” We had a sense
of “manifest destiny.” There was a
mindset that the course of America was set by the compass of Almighty God and
He had a plan for our nation. This sense
of manifest destiny helped our forefathers throw off the yoke of British rule and
forge this nation through a great civil war, two world wars, various conflicts
and a great depression. We always seemed
to land on our feet as a nation regardless of how bad the situation was at
hand. We have always been a “hopeful
nation” because we believed in the Providential hand of God upon our
lives. We were indeed, One Nation Under
God and, as such, we were invincible.
Just like the Star of Bethlehem guided the Wise Men to Jesus, we have
sensed that same guiding hand of God on our nation – until this present
generation.
We
seem to be a nation lacking in direction.
In generations past,
our
grandparents did not debate when life began.
They knew that a pregnant woman carried a baby, not just a blob of
tissue. Today, we even kill babies
“after they are born” – legally! We used
to know when life ended. Now, we have
doctors debating whether or not a living, breathing, blinking, feeling woman in
Florida has a right to continue living because her quality of life does not
meet the acceptable standards of some in society. And, what about marriage? Was there ever any doubt in the minds of our
grandparents that marriage was between a woman and a man? Now, we cannot even define marriage as a
nation.
In
short, we as a nation have lost sight of the star of God’s
Providence
in our lives. Our wise men no longer
look to God’s Book to find guidance as the Wise Men of Old looked to the Book
to interpret the meaning of the Bethlehem Star.
We have lost sight of the Star of God’s guidance and we wander aimlessly
through life confused by the speech of experts and abused by those in
power.
What
is the result of losing sight of God’s Star of Providence?
Our
nation has lost it’s way certainly. But,
our churches have also lost their way. A
major denomination ordains a promiscuous practicing homosexual and we all say,
“Oh well.” Our communities have lost
their ways. Drugs and violence fill our
news while despair fills our streets.
Our families have lost the star of God’s guidance. Over half the children in our land will grow
up in a home where their father is not present – many will grow up in a home
where no father is present. Yes, we have
lost sight of the Star of God’s Providence and the result is sin, despair and hopelessness
increasing at an epidemic rate.
When
Jesus was born there was a Star. If we
want to beat back
despair
and find hope in our lives, we need to find the Star of God’s Guidance for our
lives once again. Without direction we
will fall into the pit of despair. An anonymous writer wrote recently, “the
greatest need of our time and our generation is to find a star--a singular
goal, objective, or ideal--upon which we can fix our gaze and toward which
together we can move. The tragedy of our time is that people are pulling in so
many different directions that, rather than moving toward the Kingdom of God,
we seem more likely to be headed toward anarchy. We need a star from on high to follow. We need
a vision of a better world toward which to strive. If there is any urgent
demand being thrust upon the Christian church today, it is the plaintive plea
of society to the church to translate the concept of the Kingdom of God into
concrete Twentieth Century language.”
This
is absolutely true. To find hope in life
we need to find God’s Star to follow once again.
2. We also need a Song to have hope for
tomorrow. (Lk. 2:13-14)
“Glory to God in the highest and peace to men upon whom
God’s favor rests.”
Now,
it does not specifically say that the angels “sang” these words, but it was definitely
a “song of praise from a heavenly choir.”
And, we have been singing Christmas carols ever sense.
Have
you ever noticed that how much singing there is associated with
Christmas? Singing and Christmas are almost
synonymous. Churches perform cantatas
and everyone from rappers to pop stars put out a Christmas album.
During
World War II an air strip was built on a small tropical island in the South
Pacific. The chaplain and others had tried to tell the natives about the
Christian faith, but the natives responded slowly. Orders came to move on at
Christmas 1943. The departing Americans gave a farewell party with make-shift
gifts, and several tried to explain the origin of Christmas and the true
meaning of the Christmas spirit. A few years later the same chaplain stopped at
the island enroute to a Far East assignment. He was greeted with excitement and
taken to see the beautiful Church which the natives had built. Over the doorway
was crudely lettered, "This is our Church, built on faith and brotherly
love."
The
chaplain stayed for a service of worship in the church. There were no seats;
the songs were all Christmas carols because those were the only ones they knew.
One native explained to the chaplain, "After
you left, we built the Church to worship Jesus. We worship Him with the only
service we know--Christmas, the Day He was born. Every day is Christmas here. Every day the Christ child is born
anew. Our gift to give is love. Our Church, we call it, the Christmas
Church." How the world needs a Christmas song and a Christmas church
Of
course, singing at Christmas time is as old as the Christmas
story
itself. In fact, the first Christmas
carol was sung by a heavenly choir, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to those
that the Lord favors.” Of course, the text does not say the angels
sang, but it was a Christmas carol nonetheless.
What
was the theme of this first Christmas carol? It was hope! They sang about the hope of a brighter future
of blessing for all men upon whom the favor of God rested. The song was a testimony of the power of the
presence of God. If God’s favor rests
upon us – that is we surrender to His grace in our lives – then, regardless of
the circumstances of life we can have hope.
The
circumstances were not good that first Christmas. Mary was young and unmarried. Herod, the Jewish King, was hostile to the
very idea of the birth of a King of Kings.
The night air was cold and the inn was closed to Mary, Joseph and
Jesus. It was not at all an ideal
situation. But, there is no note of
despair in the song of the angels – only hope. Hope because a new day was
dawning. Hope because the Presence of
God now was dwelling among men. The
Bible says that where people are singing praises, God’s presence will
dwell. We can have hope regardless of
our circumstances if we know that God is with us. He is still Emmanuel – God with us. And, we know that if “God be for us and
with us who can stand against us. “
Oh
how we need to hear the Song of Christmas that reminds us that
God
presence is with us. Where God’s favor
rests, there is hope.
3. We need the Star of God’s guidance to have
hope. We need the Song of Praise reminding us God’s presence is with us
if we want to have hope. But, more than a Star and more than a Song,
we
need a Savior to have Hope. (Luke 2:11)
Unless
Jesus is the Savior of your soul, you can never have the kind of hope that
endures any situations and conquers any circumstance. As beautiful as it is to have a Star to
follow and a Song to sing, without a Savior we have no reason to have hope.
How
important it is to see the title given to that little child
born
so long ago. Who did the heavenly host
say was born that day in the city of David?
“Today, in the city of
David is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”
Christmas
is about salvation. It is about an
“eternal hope.”
Throughout
my life I have been asked a strange question by strangers I’ve met. On occasion a stranger I chance to talk with
will ask me:
“What is your sign?” By this the person means, of course, what zodiac sign was I born
under. Different months of the year have
different signs. For example, my sign is
“Taurus, the bull.” Now, many people
take this “horoscope” stuff very seriously.
But, I must tell you that it makes no difference whatsoever what sign
you were born under – it has not affect on your life whatsoever!
Now,
this is not entirely true of Jesus. He
was born under a very special sign. The
birth sign of Jesus defined His entire earthly existence. I’m not talking about some sign of the
mythical zodiac. I’m talking about the Sign
of the Cross. Even in the manger of
Bethlehem the cross of Calvary cast a shadow over Jesus Christ. He was born to die for the sins of the
world. He was born under the sign of the
cross. From before the foundation of the
world, Jesus was the Lamb that would be slain for our sins. He has always been, the Savior. As Jesus stood before Pilate, soon to be
condemned to die a horrible death, Pilate tried to extract a plea bargain from
Jesus so that Pilate could find reason to let this innocent man go. Jesus would not bargain. The cross was His destiny. Jesus replied to Pilate:
“For this cause I have
come into the world, that I should
bear witness to the truth” (Jn. 18:37)
And
what was “the truth?” It is the truth
that we need a Savior
and
God provided one for us in Jesus Christ. Friends, if you feel like you have no
hope. If you feel like our friend George
Bailey that you have nothing to live for there is “hope.” There is hope in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Did
you notice on the bridge that there was an old man standing
in
the shadows watching George Bailey as he contemplated plunging himself into the
icy waters below? That old man was
George’s guardian angel. His name was
Clarence. Clarence was dispatched by God
to save George Bailey from despair.
Well,
Jesus is our Clarence. Jesus was
dispatched by God nearly 2000 years ago to save us from sin and despair. Our Savior Jesus Christ is always standing
near us. He is always ready to deliver
us from whatever crushing circumstance we might find ourselves. Because Jesus is always standing at the ready
to save us, we can have hope.
There
is an old story told many times that explains beautifully what the Bible means
when it says, “To us a Savior was born.”
It was Christmas Eve and the man's wife and children were getting ready
to go to church. He wasn't going. "I simply can't understand what
Christmas is all about, this claim that God became man," he told his
wife. It had been snowing all day and it
was beginning to snow harder as the man's family rode off to church without
him. He drew a chair up to the fireplace and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later, there was a thudding
sound at the kitchen window. When he went to investigate, he found a flock of
birds out in the back yard. They had been caught in the storm, and in a
desperate search for shelter, were trying to fly through the kitchen window. He
was a very kind man so he tried to think of something he could do so the birds
wouldn't freeze. "The barn!" he thought. That would be a nice shelter. He put on his coat and overshoes and tramped
through the deepening snow to the barn and opened the door wide and turned on
the light. But the birds didn't come in. Food will bring them in he thought. So
he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs which he sprinkled on the snow to
make a trail to the barn. But the birds
ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow.
He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around waving his arms. They scattered
in every direction except into the warm, lighted barn. "They find me a
strange and terrifying creature," he said to himself, "and I can't
seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me."
Puzzled
and dismayed, he pondered this thought, "If only I could be a bird myself
for the moment, perhaps I could lead them to safety." If only I could be a
bird myself . . . Just then the church bells began to ring, pealing the glad
tidings of Christmas. The man stood silently for a minute, then sank to his
knees in the snow. "Now I understand,"
he whispered as he lifted his gaze to the sky. "Now I see why You had to
become man."
Friends,
to have hope we need a Star. We need the
guidance that
only
God can give. To have hope we also need
a song. This is the song that a heart
sings when it is overshadowed by the presence of Almighty God breaking in upon
one’s life. We need a star to follow and
song to sing, but most of all we need a Savior.
This
morning we lit the first candle of the Advent season. It was the candle of “hope.” We lit the “hope” candle first because,
without hope it is impossible to celebrate the love, peace, and joy of
Christmas. This morning, do not leave
here subject to despair, but leave hear surrounded by hope.
One
of the greatest gifts we could receive this morning is to realize
that
Christmas is a “Wonderful Hope.”
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