The Christmas Life: Hope (Isaiah 61:1-3)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:05.440 Of your able. Please remain standing and let's hear God's Word From Isaiah, 2 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:21.980 Chapter Sixty one. Here we give attention to one of those Prophet bards that 3 00:00:22.140 --> 00:00:34.259 we just sung of Isaiah. Here for telling of Jesus Isaiah Sixty one, 4 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:46.210 verses one through three. The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, 5 00:00:47.450 --> 00:00:54.799 because Jehovah has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has 6 00:00:55.039 --> 00:01:00.600 sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives 7 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:04.989 and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the 8 00:01:06.030 --> 00:01:11.189 year of Jehovah's Favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort 9 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:17.629 all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion, to give 10 00:01:17.670 --> 00:01:23.980 them a beautiful head dress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness, instead 11 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:29.379 of mourning, the garment of praise, instead of a faint spirit, that 12 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:34.930 they may be called Oaks of Righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, the He 13 00:01:34.650 --> 00:02:00.400 may be glorified. You may be seated. This morning we finish a brief 14 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:06.189 series of sermons I've called the Christmas life. In these sermons, I've tried 15 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:12.069 to show the significance of Jesus's birth. In connection with themes that we usually 16 00:02:12.110 --> 00:02:23.379 associate with Christmas, we've considered humility, miracles, gifts and joy. This 17 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:30.009 morning we consider hope, hope. Hope is a funny thing to finish with, 18 00:02:30.210 --> 00:02:34.930 because in life, hope is often what we start with. Hope is 19 00:02:35.050 --> 00:02:38.330 the thing that gets us going, especially when we know that the going is 20 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:46.080 going to be tough. I once heard a bit of advice that suggested before 21 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:49.680 you go to bed, you should try to think of one thing you're looking 22 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:54.280 forward to the next day. Hope has a way of putting our minds at 23 00:02:54.319 --> 00:03:01.229 ease and preparing us for whatever lie as ahead. But it's not always easy 24 00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:07.469 to find something to look forward to, even the next day. Sometimes we 25 00:03:07.669 --> 00:03:13.659 dread the next day. It's also not easy to find something to look forward 26 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:21.419 to, especially when yesterday's wishes and hopes didn't come true. That happens a 27 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:29.250 lot. Some people even find themselves in situations where bad days feel like bad 28 00:03:29.490 --> 00:03:35.009 lives, like the people mentioned here in Isaiah Sixty one one through three. 29 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:46.479 Poor people, afflicted people, brokenhearted people, prisoners, mourners, and that's 30 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:53.800 why Isaiah Sixty one is so important and Isaiah Sixty one. God offers hope 31 00:03:53.800 --> 00:04:02.189 to the hope less. Hope is important because of hopelessness, and hopelessness exists 32 00:04:02.349 --> 00:04:09.789 because there are these gaps in our lives. Hopelessness exists it's what we feel 33 00:04:10.300 --> 00:04:15.979 because of these gaps, these gaps between what we have and what we want, 34 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:21.899 between who we are and who we know we ought to be. Hope 35 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:28.250 in some ways bridges that gap. It helps us feel like there's a way 36 00:04:28.410 --> 00:04:33.329 to get to that other thing, a bridge between who we are and who 37 00:04:33.370 --> 00:04:38.490 we want to be. But without that bridge there, all you have is 38 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:45.480 a gap, all you have is hopelessness. You know that feeling, don't 39 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:51.949 you? That feeling of wanting so badly to have something but not really believing 40 00:04:53.069 --> 00:04:59.589 you'll ever get it. It's been said that a harsh reality is better than 41 00:04:59.629 --> 00:05:02.949 a false hope, and there's some truth to that. The message that we 42 00:05:03.069 --> 00:05:08.420 ultimately want to hear is that there's a real bridge, there's a real way 43 00:05:09.019 --> 00:05:13.980 to bridge that gap, to have someone tell you to wish upon a star 44 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:18.899 and just believe hard enough. Ultimately, it's not very hopeful and we know 45 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:26.050 it. We'd rather face the reality as it is and and recognize the vanities 46 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:30.170 for what they are, but that doesn't make us feel any better. Those 47 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:35.800 gaps, those gaps in our lives between who we are and who we ought 48 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:42.800 to be, between what we have and what we so desperately want. Without 49 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:47.720 a bridge there, what we have is hopelessness. Consider a few examples. 50 00:05:49.069 --> 00:05:55.790 Consider the poor person Isaiah mentions first. Now there's all kinds of poor people. 51 00:05:55.910 --> 00:06:00.310 This could be translated afflicted, for example, but think about it just 52 00:06:00.470 --> 00:06:08.259 in terms of money, affliction in terms of not having things. Financial advisors 53 00:06:08.339 --> 00:06:14.180 tell us that having an emergency fund with six months of saved income is an 54 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:19.610 essential thing for a financially stable household, but to the person who feels trapped 55 00:06:19.689 --> 00:06:28.730 in poverty, that goal feels unobtainable, hopeless. With not enough hours at 56 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:33.000 work, wage garnishment, increasing debt, medical bills and all the rest, 57 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:36.879 that gap just grows and grows and even when you feel like you make some 58 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:45.439 progress, you have a lot of doubt and with no obvious way to reach 59 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:50.389 the other side, it's easy for people in this situation to feel hopeless. 60 00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:59.310 The gap is just too big and many even give up trying. Or consider 61 00:06:59.389 --> 00:07:03.060 the example of prison, the the prisoner, the one in captivity. So 62 00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:08.139 many things you could think of. Let's think of a biblical example. Imagine 63 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:14.019 yourself as Joseph. What kind of hope do you think you would have if 64 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:19.730 you were being held in a prison based on the false accusations of a powerful 65 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:25.970 and wealthy person? Do you think you'd have a lot of hope about getting 66 00:07:25.970 --> 00:07:31.319 out, especially when you're a foreigner and a slave, probably without any rights? 67 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:39.519 Joseph was there two years. How long do you think you would hold 68 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:44.000 on to hope in a situation like that? A week, a month, 69 00:07:45.470 --> 00:07:49.949 half a year, a year? At what point would you taste the same 70 00:07:50.189 --> 00:07:57.790 food yet again and think this is going to be it for me? It's 71 00:07:57.870 --> 00:08:03.259 that gap, you see what I mean, that gap between freedom and captivity, 72 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:13.170 between wealth and poverty, between godliness and disobedience. You may not be 73 00:08:13.569 --> 00:08:18.769 poor or in prison, but you know the feeling of that dreadful gap. 74 00:08:20.209 --> 00:08:26.050 Maybe it's a relationship that's been broken with no obvious way to fix it. 75 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:31.320 Maybe it's a sin that has its claws dug so deeply in your soul that 76 00:08:31.440 --> 00:08:39.159 you just know it's going to kill you. Maybe the gap is hopelessness itself, 77 00:08:41.509 --> 00:08:48.190 that depression, that terrible empty darkness in which we often lose ourselves. 78 00:08:50.710 --> 00:08:54.909 There are little things that we experience in life which are are nice enough, 79 00:08:54.350 --> 00:09:00.379 little things that we look forward to, the coffee break at work, a 80 00:09:00.500 --> 00:09:05.379 phone call from a friend, a particular part of the drive home, but 81 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:11.049 the gaps between who we are and who we want to be, between what 82 00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:16.330 we have and what we ought want, these gaps are often too large for 83 00:09:16.409 --> 00:09:22.850 these little things to spam. You can't cross a canyon with paving stones, 84 00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:30.639 even thousands of them. You need a bridge so strong and so large that 85 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:35.039 no gap is left and every step is secured. That's what hope is, 86 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:43.350 isn't it? It's knowing that getting to the other side is possible. That's 87 00:09:43.389 --> 00:09:48.149 what hope is. It bridges that gap and it allows us to move forward 88 00:09:48.549 --> 00:09:54.379 through the darkness, through our suffering, through our captivity, through our poverty. 89 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:01.299 Well, because we know that internally and we have this a desperate need 90 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:05.179 for it, we seek for it and we seek for it often, but 91 00:10:05.299 --> 00:10:11.009 we often seek for it at all the wrong places. One of the most 92 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:13.850 commonplaces look. People look for hope is, of course, in money. 93 00:10:16.129 --> 00:10:18.889 Why do we look for it in money? Well, because money so obviously 94 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:24.080 allows us to obtain things. You're hungry, you buy bread, you eat, 95 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:30.240 you see there is hope in money. You are needing a break, 96 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:35.240 so you take a vacation. There's all kinds of things that money seems to 97 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:41.309 solve, and yet there's never enough of it, it never goes far enough, 98 00:10:43.149 --> 00:10:50.379 it's not permanent, and the Bible points out so often the foolishness of 99 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:54.299 trusting in this particular hope, even though we so often go after it. 100 00:10:56.379 --> 00:11:01.580 Paul Tells Timothy to charge those who are rich in this present age to not 101 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:07.250 be haughty nor set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches. He says watch 102 00:11:07.289 --> 00:11:13.409 out too, rich people. He says watch out, because there is not 103 00:11:13.769 --> 00:11:18.759 certainty here. Don't set your hopes on it. Don't allow money to be 104 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:26.000 that thing that bridges that gap, because it'll vanish away right out from underneath 105 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:31.360 you. Job Knew that right job, had all kinds of wealth and possessions 106 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:37.269 and all the things that he could want, and just a moment's time it 107 00:11:37.429 --> 00:11:43.190 was gone. God even warns us in the pages of the Bible that money 108 00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:48.980 can often lead away from the things that we desire, the good things anyway. 109 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:54.259 Like the rich man who asks Jesus to Inherit Eternal Life in mark ten 110 00:11:54.019 --> 00:12:00.779 and, after hearing Jesus's answer, left disheartened and sorrowful because of his great 111 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:07.809 possessions, his money took him in a wrong place. It sent him, 112 00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:13.570 in a sense, to his death. This is when Jesus said to his 113 00:12:13.769 --> 00:12:16.279 disciples how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter into the 114 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:22.600 Kingdom of God. Psalm Sixty one ten reminds us how thinking of money as 115 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:28.120 our best hope often leads to other evils. Put No trust in Dick in 116 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.830 extortion. Set No vain hopes on robbery. If riches increase, set not 117 00:12:33.029 --> 00:12:37.710 your heart on them. So you see why this is important to mention, 118 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:43.750 not only because we generally do this and we do this a lot, but 119 00:12:43.870 --> 00:12:48.019 especially when we are poor, when we're suffering these kind of difficulties. Often 120 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:52.460 than the answer that we are given is, well, don't be poor, 121 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:58.690 well, don't be poor, work harder, work faster, be more productive, 122 00:12:58.769 --> 00:13:03.409 gain the wealth. But we all know that this expectation of wealth perishes. 123 00:13:03.929 --> 00:13:09.889 It vanishes out from underneath of our underneath our feet. Proverbs Eleven says, 124 00:13:11.289 --> 00:13:16.240 eleven seven says, when the wicked dies, his hope will perish and 125 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:24.360 the expectation of wealth perishes too. But it's not just money might. There 126 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:28.470 are all kinds of other things that we put our our hopes in. Some 127 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:35.269 seek hope in political power, but Psalm one hundred and forty six three says 128 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:39.509 put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there 129 00:13:39.669 --> 00:13:45.860 is no salvation, or if not political power, than military power. But 130 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:50.940 Isaiah thirty one one says woe to those who go down to Egypt for help 131 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:56.289 and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in 132 00:13:56.409 --> 00:14:01.570 horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the holy one 133 00:14:01.610 --> 00:14:07.049 of Israel or consult Jehovah. Here we get begin to beget the other part 134 00:14:07.169 --> 00:14:11.480 of the Bible's message, that there is a real hope to be offered. 135 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:16.039 It's just we often go for it in the wrong places. We go after 136 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:20.440 money, we go after connections or knowing people, or we go after power 137 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.110 of some sort, military or otherwise. We trust in the things that we 138 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:30.309 have to get us places, to do things for us, and yet fail 139 00:14:30.470 --> 00:14:33.629 to look to the God who made all these things, the God who is 140 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:43.580 in control of them. Much of the entire book of ECCLESIASTES is devoted to 141 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:50.740 cataloging the false hopes of mankind. The preacher in that book looks everywhere in 142 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:56.450 the world, a world full of vanity, and he tries to find meaning. 143 00:14:56.610 --> 00:15:01.490 He tries to find reasons for hope. He looks for it an education 144 00:15:01.570 --> 00:15:05.889 and entertainment, in relationships, in children, but in every case he finds 145 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:18.519 nothing but an empty wind. Another another promise unfulfilled, a hope. It 146 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:24.269 was nothing more than a wish. So there are these gaps in our lives 147 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:31.350 and there are bridges, but there are bridges that are nothing more than our 148 00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:39.059 imaginations, nothing more than empty winds, empty promises, false hopes. Some 149 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:46.899 of these bridges that we trust in are as light as the wind, empty 150 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:52.169 promises found in our minds and in glossy magazines, bridges which vanish into the 151 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:58.889 air and fail us even on the first step. And yet we continue dreaming 152 00:15:58.929 --> 00:16:02.610 them up, thinking about them, planning for them, desiring for them. 153 00:16:03.049 --> 00:16:11.600 But we are wasting our time and we are losing our faith in what is 154 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:18.750 truly offered by God. There are things in this world that can help us, 155 00:16:18.389 --> 00:16:22.070 but only in a secondary way and only as they are part of something 156 00:16:22.110 --> 00:16:27.830 much larger, something that God has given and while we are wasting on our 157 00:16:27.909 --> 00:16:32.629 to our time on these things, putting our fit our hopes and things that 158 00:16:32.750 --> 00:16:37.620 should never be hoped in, know that God is offering you a hope that 159 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:42.539 is more solid than the biggest, most expansive bridge that you could find in 160 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:48.690 this world. In Isaiah Sixty one, one, POW three, and throughout 161 00:16:48.730 --> 00:16:53.210 all the pages of scripture, God offers a hope that spans the distance, 162 00:16:55.809 --> 00:17:00.919 hope that is secured by the giant rivets of his providence, perfectly placed, 163 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:08.599 each one engineered according to his eternal will, a bridge that leaves no gap 164 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:17.589 between sorrow and gladness, between captivity and freedom, between poverty and wealth, 165 00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:26.509 between death and life. And this bridge, this bridge, is Jesus. 166 00:17:27.670 --> 00:17:33.220 It's the one who's spoken of here in Isaiah Sixty one, when he says 167 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:40.099 the spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah has anointed me 168 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:48.930 to bring good news to the poor. Isaiah here writes prophetically, not about 169 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:52.730 himself, but about one who is to come, a prophet who is to 170 00:17:52.849 --> 00:17:57.329 come. Indeed, Isaiah himself brings good news to the poor. He does 171 00:17:57.410 --> 00:18:03.359 it right here as he gives us this prophecy. But the one who's coming, 172 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:08.000 the one who's prophesied here and Isaiah Sixty one, doesn't only bring good 173 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:15.630 news, he effects good news. He causes it to happen, he makes 174 00:18:15.670 --> 00:18:21.190 it happen, he makes the news, you might say, he doesn't just 175 00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:26.740 tell it. There is one who's coming, who is anointed by God, 176 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:37.420 anointed by the spirit. We make a distinction in theology between and an external 177 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:45.609 call and an internal call. An external call is one that I make every 178 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:52.410 Sunday, is that call that proclaims to you the Gospel and says believe. 179 00:18:53.970 --> 00:19:00.680 But there is an internal call, which I'm not capable of, but which 180 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.799 God is. And when God makes that call and he says to a heart 181 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:11.150 believe, and he does it effectively, he can do it in a way 182 00:19:11.190 --> 00:19:18.509 that changes it. He makes the news, he brings about freedom. God 183 00:19:18.589 --> 00:19:22.549 did this at the beginning of the world when he created the world. He 184 00:19:22.710 --> 00:19:29.059 said let there be light, and there was light. It was effective. 185 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:34.140 There was an a power in that speaking, that spirit that was hovering over 186 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:41.529 the waters, that empty void, that darkness, brought about these things of 187 00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:45.809 God. And in the same way, this same spirit, when God decides 188 00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:52.240 to act, he makes it happen, and that's what happens. That's what 189 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:59.200 happens when this one, this one who has been anointed by God to bring 190 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.039 good news to the poor, when he comes into the world, he affects 191 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:08.789 certain things, he makes things happen, and that is what makes our hope 192 00:20:08.869 --> 00:20:19.950 secure. Jesus tells us that this prophecy is about himself. We read to 193 00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:30.099 you where this happens, in Luke chapter four, and notice not only Jesus 194 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:37.130 saying that this prophecy belongs to him, but also know the role, notice 195 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:42.210 the role of the spirit as well. So, Luke Chapter Four, I'm 196 00:20:42.210 --> 00:20:48.769 going to read it verse fourteen. This is right after Jesus is temptation in 197 00:20:48.809 --> 00:20:55.599 the Wilderness. We read in Verse Fourteen Jesus returned in the power of the 198 00:20:55.720 --> 00:21:00.240 Spirit to Galilee and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country 199 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:06.309 and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all, and he came 200 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:08.470 to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and, as was his 201 00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:12.549 custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and he stood up 202 00:21:14.150 --> 00:21:18.980 to read, and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was given to him. 203 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:23.740 He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. The spirit 204 00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:29.579 of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good 205 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:33.970 news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives 206 00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:37.730 and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are 207 00:21:37.730 --> 00:21:42.769 oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up 208 00:21:42.809 --> 00:21:48.440 the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes 209 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.960 of all in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to 210 00:21:52.039 --> 00:22:00.240 them to day, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And all 211 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.630 spoke well of him and marveled at his grow the gracious words that were coming 212 00:22:03.670 --> 00:22:10.910 from his mouth. And they said, is not this Joseph's son? And 213 00:22:11.029 --> 00:22:14.349 he said to them, doubtless you will quote me with this proverb. Physician, 214 00:22:14.470 --> 00:22:18.660 heal yourself. What have we what have heard? Sorry, what we 215 00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:22.900 have heard, you did at Copernham do here in your hometown as well. 216 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:26.779 And he said, truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable 217 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:33.130 in his hometown. He goes on from there to describe the rejection of various 218 00:22:33.210 --> 00:22:40.089 prophets. We read and then in verse twenty nine of the when they hurt 219 00:22:40.130 --> 00:22:41.849 a verse twenty eight, when they heard that these things in the synagogue, 220 00:22:41.890 --> 00:22:45.720 they were all filled with wrath and they rose up and drove him out of 221 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:49.720 the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town 222 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:55.960 was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff, the passing 223 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:03.190 through their midst, he went away. We see several things in this passage. 224 00:23:03.109 --> 00:23:07.029 We see, first of all, Jesus telling us that this prophecy is 225 00:23:07.109 --> 00:23:11.859 about him. He goes into the synagogue, he opens this passage and Isaiah 226 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:17.099 that we just read. Jesus reads it to the people and he says today 227 00:23:17.380 --> 00:23:22.779 this has been fulfilled in your hearing. They seem generally favorable at first, 228 00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:26.289 until they kind of get what he's saying and they start asking questions. This 229 00:23:26.529 --> 00:23:33.130 is not this Joseph's son. This is always the way it is with Jesus. 230 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:37.730 This great news of him is proclaimed, this hope that spans the gap, 231 00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:44.799 and people say, Jesus, a carpenter, Joseph Son, the guy 232 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:48.279 who died on the cross, and where is he, by the way? 233 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:52.039 This great hope of yours, this great one who brings you peace with God, 234 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:57.470 this great one who secures your eternal life. I don't see eternal life. 235 00:23:57.470 --> 00:24:00.069 I see you dying, I see you suffering, I see you in 236 00:24:00.230 --> 00:24:06.829 captivity, I see you in poverty. Same thing happened to Jesus when he 237 00:24:06.990 --> 00:24:11.779 was alive. In fact, it's so enraged them that they wanted to kill 238 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:22.180 him, and indeed they eventually did. It's hard sometimes to believe that Jesus 239 00:24:22.180 --> 00:24:29.369 is the hope that we are seeking, and yet it's true. We know 240 00:24:29.650 --> 00:24:33.730 it's true because he was anointed by the spirit. We know it from his 241 00:24:33.009 --> 00:24:37.720 signs, we know it from his works, we know it from his resurrection 242 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:42.279 from the dead, and we also know it from his birth. Of what 243 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:49.000 man has angels come declaring the shepherds in the Field News, good news, 244 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:56.470 joyful news to you. One has been born. What man has had a 245 00:24:56.710 --> 00:25:03.190 star born over his manger that Wise Men following from afar would come and worship? 246 00:25:04.430 --> 00:25:11.539 What man has been born of a virgin? What man has died on 247 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:17.539 a cross for the forgiveness of our sins? What man has been born, 248 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:22.609 I'm sorry, as has been raised from the dead and been lifted up to 249 00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:27.849 the right hand of God, the Father, Almighty what man has sent out 250 00:25:29.009 --> 00:25:37.880 the spirit of God to fill up doubters and confused people and ungodly people that 251 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:48.119 they might become preachers and fishers of men? Only one, the God man, 252 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:55.789 Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus is a sure hope to us, 253 00:25:56.470 --> 00:26:02.630 and it's why rejecting him means certain death. It why it's why rejecting him 254 00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:07.900 means the opposite of all the things that are promised here in Isaiah Sixty one. 255 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:11.940 If these things sound good to you, know that if you turn away 256 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:18.049 from Jesus, the only thing that spans those gaps, then all you have 257 00:26:18.329 --> 00:26:25.009 is hopelessness. You will remain in your poverty, you will remain in your 258 00:26:25.130 --> 00:26:33.279 captivity, you will not find favor, but you will find vengeance for rejecting 259 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:38.640 the word of the Lord. But to those who do hope in Jesus, 260 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:44.839 in this great gift that has been given you, have all of these things 261 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:52.309 considered the description in verse three, and let your hearts be glad to grant 262 00:26:52.589 --> 00:26:57.829 to those who mourn enzyme, to give them a beautiful head dress instead of 263 00:26:57.910 --> 00:27:03.380 ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead 264 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:08.500 of a faint spirit that they may be called Oaks of Righteousness, the planting 265 00:27:08.579 --> 00:27:15.579 of Jehovah that he may be glorified. Go back to that picture of job. 266 00:27:17.369 --> 00:27:22.569 Imagine what it is to be to have your family taken away, your 267 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:30.519 wealth, all of the things which often bring us hope. Job was in 268 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:36.079 a difficult spot. He cried, he wailed, he tore his clothes, 269 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.039 he put ashes on himself. He was not a happy man. He struggled 270 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:48.710 and people came to him and accused him of all kinds of wrongdoing and attacked 271 00:27:48.750 --> 00:27:55.109 him and his soul and all of that. Job struggled. He struggled, 272 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:02.259 but God promises to those who trust in him, to job and to you, 273 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:07.259 that instead of those ashes, instead of a faint spirit, he'll lift 274 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:12.490 you up, dress you, put oil on you, make you shine and 275 00:28:14.009 --> 00:28:18.609 be happy. And this is the hope that we have in the one who 276 00:28:18.650 --> 00:28:25.170 not only proclaims these things, as Jesus did, but accomplishes them on the 277 00:28:25.289 --> 00:28:30.319 cross. The New Testament describes in all kinds of ways the effects that this 278 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:37.240 has on our lives. In Hebrews six, nineteen and twenty, hope, 279 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:41.869 this hope we have, is described as an anchor for our soul. The 280 00:28:41.990 --> 00:28:48.109 fact that Jesus has gone in and offered himself in his body as a sacrifice 281 00:28:48.190 --> 00:28:52.390 for sins means that we don't have to fear the vengeance of the Lord and 282 00:28:52.549 --> 00:28:59.579 we know only his favor. Or consider God's word in First Peter one. 283 00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:03.180 Three. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord. Jesus Christ, 284 00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:08.940 according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again, to 285 00:29:10.130 --> 00:29:17.289 a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Not a 286 00:29:17.410 --> 00:29:21.569 false hope, not a dead hope, not a pretend hope, not a 287 00:29:21.650 --> 00:29:30.559 wish, a living hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's why it's 288 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:34.720 living. He doesn't just mean living and in kind of abstract way and a 289 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.029 sort of metaphorical way, though I think he's kind of doing a play on 290 00:29:38.150 --> 00:29:42.430 words there. He means living as in real and he means living as in 291 00:29:42.509 --> 00:29:51.869 Jesus Christ, a hope that is to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled 292 00:29:52.029 --> 00:29:56.779 and unfading, kept in heaven for you who, by God's power, are 293 00:29:56.900 --> 00:30:03.500 being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time. 294 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:08.289 Do you see why, as Christians, we have a secure hope. 295 00:30:08.650 --> 00:30:14.970 Why? This bridge, with these giant Rivets of God's Providence made in Jesus 296 00:30:15.009 --> 00:30:22.759 Christ, is secure? Because it is welded together by God Almighty himself. 297 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:30.559 We are being guarded and kept in that hope by God himself. Did you 298 00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:38.630 hear Peter's words? WHO, by God's power, are being guarded through faith. 299 00:30:40.589 --> 00:30:44.269 Now that's hard to see sometimes. We often suffer, we face, 300 00:30:44.309 --> 00:30:49.380 as Peter will go on to say, fiery trials of various kinds. But 301 00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:56.980 that's why we believe, that's why we keep walking, because of who God 302 00:30:56.259 --> 00:31:03.019 is and what he has promised. I'll finish with these words again from Peter. 303 00:31:03.180 --> 00:31:08.849 It's the next verse in this that is, in this hope of Jesus. 304 00:31:11.009 --> 00:31:15.809 You rejoice, though now, for a little while if necessary, you 305 00:31:15.970 --> 00:31:22.200 have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, 306 00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:27.440 more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may 307 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:33.150 be found to result in the praise and glory and honor at the revelation of 308 00:31:33.269 --> 00:31:41.869 Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him, though 309 00:31:41.950 --> 00:31:48.420 you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy 310 00:31:49.019 --> 00:31:55.740 that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, 311 00:31:56.619 --> 00:32:05.970 the salvation of your souls. When we speak of false hopes, of dreams 312 00:32:06.130 --> 00:32:13.130 that don't come true, we're talking about the unobtainable, aren't we? That's 313 00:32:13.170 --> 00:32:16.599 when hopelessness sets in, because the things that we want, the people that 314 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:25.599 we want to be, it's unobtainable. What does God say here about the 315 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:34.630 salvation of your souls, about riches, of the kingdom, of the glory, 316 00:32:34.750 --> 00:32:38.750 of the Kingdom of God and his glory, that inheritance that's imperishable, 317 00:32:38.789 --> 00:32:44.500 undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you? What does he say about 318 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:51.019 those riches, about that freedom, about that gladness and rejoicing, about the 319 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:58.769 salvation of your souls? He says it is obtainable, that you are obtaining 320 00:32:59.289 --> 00:33:05.690 the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls, because you walk 321 00:33:05.930 --> 00:33:15.559 in Jesus, because you are strengthened in him. So, Christians, when 322 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:23.119 all the wrapping paper and trees and Candy and Christmas hopes are gone and a 323 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:30.549 New Year begins, whatever trials may come along, whatever sufferings God might bring, 324 00:33:32.069 --> 00:33:37.670 know that you are walking in faith, that is secure and that when 325 00:33:37.710 --> 00:33:45.779 you walk in Jesus, you are obtaining and will obtain this outcome, the 326 00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:52.539 salvation of your souls. And so say, as the PSALMIST says in Psalm 327 00:33:52.700 --> 00:34:00.690 forty two five to his soul, hope in God. Why are you cast 328 00:34:00.769 --> 00:34:05.450 down on my soul and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in 329 00:34:05.609 --> 00:34:10.320 God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. 330 00:34:12.440 --> 00:34:13.039 Let us pray