HOPE

Without hope people give up

In sports, in love, in life; hope is the driving force

No matter how bad things get, if you have hope, you can persevere

In Isaiah’s day, times were bad for the Jews

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Suddenly, there is hope and hope for all eternity

This sign was passed on and the people looked for the future hope

Because the birth was a lowly one, many people did not believe

Luke 2:6-14 NASB

“While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

The birth of the Hope of the world was announced

Because of the sin in the world, mankind was destined to Hell

That is what this Savior is about; saving us from our own destiny

He would pay the debt we couldn’t pay to reconcile us with God

Without our Savior, Jesus, there would be no hope.

Perhaps some did not believe the shepherds

“And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;

and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple;

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word;

For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

How about Simeon; can you believe him? He was led by the Holy Spirit

Simeon shared a great hope for us

He proclaimed a light of revelation to the Gentiles

This gives hope to all people; Jews and Gentiles

“And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.

She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.

She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God,

and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Anna, the prophetess, told everyone that this child was the redemption of Israel

The hope, that over 400 years earlier had been prophesied, was here

He was born, the hope of the world

Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned

Romans 6:23
Says the wages of sin are death

BUT the free gift of God is eternal life

This is the Hope that we have, and His name is Jesus

He lived, was crucified, buried, and rose again on the 3rd day.

Romans 10:9 says WHOEVER believes in Him

Will not perish but have eternal life

This is the Hope that gets us through every challenge of life

Do you know that hope or are you still looking for it?