Charles Schultz highlighted the importance of hope in one of his “Peanuts” comic strips. Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, "Go get me a glass of water." Linus looked surprised, "Why should I do anything for you? You never do anything for me." "On your 75th birthday," Lucy promised, "I’ll bake you a cake." Linus got up, headed to the kitchen and said, "Life is more pleasant when you have something to look forward to." There is nothing that can bring us down quicker than the absence of hope. However, millions of people make their way through this life without anything to truly hold on to. It is easy to lose hope. When you look at the world and see starving children, evil running amuck and nations on the brink of war it is hard not to feel hopeless. We often ask the proverbial question, “Where is God?” Christmas not only answers that question but it has the ability to speak words of hope into the most hopeless hearts. The words that the angel said to the Shepherds gave the gift of hope to a people that had felt forgotten by God. Honestly, I really think we feel much like the first century Jews at times. We struggle with the feeling that God has abandoned us. The good news is that these same words spoke by the angel more than two-thousand years ago has the ability ro give us that same gift of hope.
I. A gift of hope for those who feel abandoned by God.
A. It is easy to imagine why the people of Israel felt that God had abandoned them.
1. Since the time Judah and Israel had been carried off into captivity they have been waiting for the Messiah to come and restore Israel.
2. The hope of the Messiah is what kept the people of Israel going. They were looking for a political and military Messiah.
3. Despite being able to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple the people of Israel had only enjoyed about a century of not being ruled by a gentile nation.
4. Now Israel is forced to be under the rule of the Roman Empire. Heavy taxation and brutality made many think that it couldn’t get any worse. The people of Israel seemed to resent the Romans more than any other group that had ruled over them.
5. God has not said anything in more than four centuries, maybe being under the thumb of Rome means that the people’s disobedience has finally carried them too far.
6. Christmas announces that God had not forgotten His people and that He had never stopped working on their behalf. It also highlighted God’s faithfulness.
B. When we face difficulties in our lives it is easy to wonder if God has abandoned us.
1. When things in our lives go wrong it is easy to ask, “What have I done wrong?”
2. For some reason we automatically equate adverse circumstances with wrong behavior on our part.
3. We must understand exactly why God allows us to face adverse situations.
4. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4—NIV 2011)
5. Hope can be found in the fact that God uses the adverse circumstances to form us into the person that He desires us to be.
6. In fact, Christmas reinforces this exact message.
C. When we look at the world in which we live it is easy to wonder if God has abandoned us.
1. People look at the current world situation and say, “If there was a righteous God in control the world would not be like it is.”
2. The problem is we often forget that we live in a world that is contaminated by sin and the results of man’s sin are very visible.
3. Man’s sin doesn’t highlight inactivity on God’s part but man’s stubborn disobedience toward God.
4. Christmas reminds us that God has set into motion a plan to once again set everything right in this world.
5. When the angels appeared to the shepherds and His glory shone around them it showed that God’s presence was still with man.
II. A gift of hope for those who feel unworthy of God’s love.
A. Considering Israel’s history it would have been easy to believe that God had simply given up on them.
1. Is it possible to go too far? Israel had been given chance after chance but the repentance was always short lived.
2. The people probably wondered if God had finally had enough of Israel’s disobedience and empty promises.
3. When God chose to announce the birth of His son to a group of shepherds, He chose those who were despised and looked down upon by society.
4. Warren Wiersbe describes it this way. “Shepherds are not easily fooled. They are practical men of the world who have little to do with fantasy. If they said that they saw angels and went and found the Messiah, then you could believe them.”
5. The message of Christmas is that nothing can separate us from the love of God. In fact, He will continue to love us regardless of where we are in life.
B. Often when we take inventory of our past mistakes it is easy to think that just maybe God has given up on us.
1. It is easy to become weighed down by our own guilt and believe that there is no way that God could ever forgive us.
2. Perhaps we feel this way because God’s grace does not make any rational sense to us.
3. When the angel made the announcement he said that it would be good news for all people.
4. The Greek verb translated good news is evangelizo which means to preach or announce good news.
5. Why was it good news? Luke shows that Jesus came into the world not just as a Jewish Savior but as a Savior for the gentiles as well. It was for the whole world.
III. A gift of hope that promises an unexpected future.
A. Christmas gives us the hope that God’s grace is greater than our past and future mistakes.
1. When God announced the birth of the Savior the message was that He was aware of our situation and that He still loved us and was working on our behalf.
2. This was “good news of great joy.” What did the shepherds do as a result of the message? They rejoiced and praised God.
3. The message was that God’s grace was greater than man’s sin.
4. God did exactly what was necessary to provide a way for all of our sins to be taken away.
B. Christmas gives us hope that God has not abandoned us or forgotten about us.
1. Christmas broke the silence that had existed for more than four centuries.
2. Yes God was still there, and yes He was still very much concerned about His people.
3. The message is very much the same for us. God is not dead; He is not asleep or indifferent toward us. He is very much alive and active.
4. What about all the evil in the world? Why doesn’t He do something? Peter provides an answer for all these questions.
5. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9—NIV 2011)
C. Christmas provides us with the hope that one day we will once again enjoy intimate fellowship with God.
1. Many in Israel missed the significance and nature of the Messiah’s mission.
2. When the angel announced that the child would be called Jesus. He said the reason would be because He would save His people from their sins.
3. Jesus came into the world to restore the precious relationship that man had once enjoyed with God. A relationship that was destroyed by sin.
4. Christmas assures us that God was willing to go to extreme lengths to insure that the relationship would be restored.
5. Jesus was a Messiah that would exceed all the expectations of the people.
6. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3—NIV 2011)
Ralph W. Sockman writes this about the events that took place that first Christmas. “The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.” The angel announced that the greatest event of history had just occurred. The Messiah had been born. For years the people have Israel had anticipated this day, and it finally happened. Who were the first to hear? A group of humble shepherds. The good news about Jesus is that He comes to all types of people, including the plain, the ordinary and the outcasts of society. He comes to anyone who is willing to humble themselves and open their hearts to accept Him. Whoever we are, whatever we do, we can have Jesus in our life. We do not need any extraordinary qualifications. Jesus accepts as just the way we are.
