A Thrill of Hope | Sunday, November 28, 2021

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The dog tried to steal your weight. Death tried to keep you outside of the grave. The enemy fought you, tried, but he lost. You cannot be stopped. When we cried for freedom, you tore down the walls. The weight of our burdens, you carried it all. Fears dead on the cross—oh, you cannot be stopped.

Nothing can stand against our God. We stand on Your faith; we shout out Your praise. Miracle Maker, Your mighty save, awesome power—nothing can stand against our God.

Well, good morning and welcome to my home office for our message today. I thought that a change of venue would be kind of interesting as we begin a new series and a new season here at Cross Connection Church, as we're getting ready to celebrate Christmas.

Before we do that, I just want to say happy Thanksgiving. I know it's a little bit late for that, but now we're into a whole new season. As we begin, I want to ask you this morning: What is your favorite Christmas song? I'm pretty sure that mine is the great song "O Holy Night." I love the lyrics of that song. If I could sing, I might actually try to sing it, but I won't because I can't. However, the lyrics are great, so I just want to read through the opening stanza of that song:

"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine."

That is really like the perfect Christmas song, if you ask me. I love those lines in that song where it says, "Long lay the world in sin and error."

Pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. Then these words: a thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices. By virtually every indication, I think that we are living in a weary time, and I also think that we cannot live without hope. This is a weary world, and we are weary because of sin. We are weary because of the chains and oppression of death. We are weary because of the brokenness that sin and death have brought.

The brokenness affects each of us personally, and it is a brokenness that we witness every single day. This brokenness wears upon us and weighs upon us. Under the burdensome weight of the brokenness of sin and death, there ultimately is no joy, and there is no peace. There is not a person alive or who has ever lived that has not been affected by the weight of the brokenness and suffering of sin and death.

So the song says, "Long lay the world in sin and error pining until He appeared." At His appearing, the one that is being sung about in that great song, we read, "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices." It is Christmas, or really, beginning today is a season called Advent. The four Sundays that lead up to Christmas are Advent, and they have been celebrated in the global church for centuries.

Advent is the beginning of what is called the liturgical year, and a lot of more traditional or liturgical churches celebrate it. If you grew up as a member of, say, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, the Orthodox Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church, or the Lutheran Church, then you probably celebrated Advent. I began life in an Episcopal Church and kind of knew a little bit about things like Advent and the liturgy of a more traditional church. However, I have spent most of my life in the Protestant non-denominational church world, so Advent is kind of a foreign concept for a lot of us in the non-denominational circle of Christian churches.

What is commemorated and celebrated in Advent is really important. Advent means "arrival." It comes from the Latin word "adventus," which again means a coming, an approach, or an arrival. When you hear the word "Advent," most people think of the coming or the arrival of Christ, and that's exactly what we are celebrating. This season leads up to Christmas, and at this time of the year, we are celebrating the coming of Christ. Ultimately, we will celebrate His birth on Christmas Day in just a few weeks, specifically on December 25th. Even if that is probably not the day He was born, we are still going to celebrate it at that time.

Advent, the season leading up to the celebration of Christmas, encompasses the four Sundays before Christmas. It is not only a celebration of Christ's first coming; it is also a celebration of all that Christ brings when He comes into the world. So, what does it mean that Jesus came into the world? What does He bring to the world?

Today, on the first Sunday of Advent, I want to talk about what that means. We will be discussing this over the next several Sundays as we approach Christmas. It is important for us to recognize and understand that the Advent of Jesus, the coming of Jesus into this world, is the Advent of hope. It is not just the coming of Christ; it is the coming of many other things that accompany Him. The Advent of Jesus is the Advent of hope. Just like the song says, "Long lay the world in sin and error pining, and then at His appearance we have a thrill of hope, and a weary world rejoices."

As of November 28, 2021, this is a world that is weary. I think that is true for the world at just about every point throughout history because we live in a broken and fallen world. However, the weariness of this moment feels very tangible and real for us. I talk with people every single week who share with me their stories of weariness. People are weary after 20 months of COVID insanity and chaos. They are weary of politics. People are weary of incessant and divisive racial rhetoric.

People are weary of news reports about masks, vaccines, protests, riots, inflation, and supply chains. It is a very tiring time, and a very tiring thing, as we trudge through all these different challenges. That is one of the reasons I absolutely love this time of year. The time of Advent and Christmas is the perfect reminder that Christmas is all about the arrival of hope—a hope that sees through all of these challenging circumstances. It is a hope that does not disappoint.

Look at what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 5, which is where those words about a hope that does not disappoint come from. Reading from Romans chapter 5, verse 1, we find this: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Jesus brings a sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint. In this broken world, we are often disappointed by things we either hope in or things we hope for. If your hope is in a sports team, you will be disappointed. If your hope is in your investments or in politics, if your hope is in science, medicine, or technology, if your hope is in your good looks, your talents, your intelligence, your job, or even in your family or friends, you will be disappointed. Your looks and your intelligence will fail; people will let you down. Investments will go up and then come down. Politicians will falter. Medicine, science, and technology can only carry us so far.

But Jesus brings a sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint. Biblical hope is an absolute certainty of future good. I have shared this with the church many times before: biblical hope is an absolute certainty of future good. It is not merely an optimistic feeling; it is not wishful thinking, but it is an assurance grounded in faith.

Absolute assurance is built upon the promise of a faithful and true God. Because this is true, our hope in God can be strong, and it is a trustworthy anchor for our souls. The author of the Book of Hebrews writes about this in Hebrews chapter 6, where we read in verses 18 and 19: "So God has given both his promise and his oath. Those two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls; it leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary."

This sure and steadfast hope that God gives us anchors us and provides us with joy and peace, all of which is found in and through Jesus. This is what the Old Testament prophets, especially the prophet Isaiah, were looking forward to. He wrote about this 2,700 years ago when he prophesied these words in Isaiah chapter 40, verses 1 through 5: "Comfort, yes, comfort my people," says your God. "Speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

This was God's word to His people 2,700 years ago, a people who were burdened and weary because of sin and the brokenness that comes from sin. God's word to His people, who were in this weary state, was: "Comfort, yes, comfort my people; speak comfort to them." The source of this comfort is this great word of hope from the prophet Isaiah. He speaks of this word of hope and says, "Your warfare has ended; your iniquity is pardoned." This was more than 700 years before Jesus, the Lord Jesus, came into the world, more than 700 years before He would bring His peace and His pardon to His people. Isaiah speaks these words of hope.

Comfort comes through the promise found in this passage, a promise that the prophet gave, which would not be fulfilled for 700 years. When he spoke this word, he did so prophetically, as if it were complete and finished. He declared, "Your warfare is ended; your warfare is pardoned." He is not saying it shall be; he is saying it is done. It is done because that prophetic promise was sure.

In Isaiah's day, the people were looking forward to the coming of Christ, and they could stand with absolute assurance that these things were going to come to pass. This is what biblical hope is all about. This is what the Apostle Peter refers to in the New Testament when he calls it a more sure word of prophecy. The word that the prophet Isaiah gave to the people was a sure word of prophecy; it was not something that might happen, but an absolute certainty that it would happen because God had spoken it. That more sure word of prophecy would shine as a light in a dark place, and a light in a dark place is a great comfort.

The prophetic promise was a promise of God's peace that would bring pardon to a people who were broken because of sin. As the glory of the Lord would be revealed, the Old Testament prophets looked forward to the coming of Christ with a certain hope. They anticipated the dawning of a new day, which is where those words come from in the song "O Holy Night": "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." They were looking forward to the dawning of a new time that would come through the glory of the Lord and the advent of Jesus, and they had great hope in that.

The prophets predicted that this glorious promised one would come, and they made it very clear in the Old Testament. He would be born of a virgin, as stated in Isaiah 7:14. This coming one, who would bring peace and pardon, would be born in the city of Bethlehem, as the prophet Micah wrote in Micah 5.

We find in the Old Testament book of Genesis that this coming one, whom the people hoped for to bring peace and pardon, would come through the line of Abraham. He would be a descendant of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham, as found in Genesis 12. He would come through Abraham's son Isaac, through Isaac's son Jacob, and through Jacob's son Judah, ultimately through Judah's descendant, a man named Jesse.

Through Jesse's son, King David, all of these prophecies were given in the Old Testament to give the people hope that the Lord was going to bring peace and pardon one day. The Old Testament prophets looked forward to the revealing of the glory of the Lord, the one who would deal finally and ultimately with sin, suffering, death, and brokenness. The prophets looked forward in hope to the advent of the King of Kings and the kingdom that the King of Kings would bring.

They looked beyond His first coming, which is what we celebrate when we celebrate Christmas, to what we refer to as His second coming. This is ultimately what we Christians today look forward to in hope. The prophets thousands of years ago looked forward to the coming of Christ, and we still look forward to the coming of Christ. The hope that the prophets predicted is the hope that gives us ultimate comfort.

I think you already know this, but I also think it's good to remind you of it again. Our hope is not in our investments, our intelligence, our ingenuity, our jobs, our health, our family, our nation, or our national leaders. I hope that you have a job, and I hope that you might even have good investments. I hope that you have family and good friends, and I hope that you have your health. I hope, and I'm sure you hope, that we have good leaders.

But ultimately, my hope is not in these things. Even if all of those things were to fail, when we read the Scriptures, we find that we would still have hope. We still have hope if we trust in and hope in Christ. There are a lot of things in this world at this very moment that can be very discouraging. From a certain perspective, things can look pretty bleak and very dark, and it can be pretty depressing.

However, the hope that God brings us in Christ gives us rest. The hope that God brings us in Christ gives us courage and strength of heart. The hope that God brings us in Christ is sure and steadfast. When we celebrate Christmas, we need to remember that we are celebrating this eternal hope. Just as the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter 40, "Comfort."

Yes, comfort my people, says God. The sure and steadfast hope that we have in Christ should be for us a great comfort. However, it is possible that this morning you don't have this hope. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, talked about being without Christ and without hope in this world. Sadly, there are many people who are without Christ and without hope.

They hope in things that aren't ultimately going to be sure and steadfast. They hope in their intelligence, their youth, their health, and their vitality. They hope in all kinds of different things, but all of those things are ultimately going to leave them pretty hopeless because those things are fleeting. So, ultimately, they have no hope in this world. That might be you right now. Maybe you are going through a time where you feel somewhat hopeless because things seem dark and bleak.

If you read the news every single day or listen to a lot of news podcasts or content on the internet right now, there are many reasons to be discouraged, depressed, and burdened by all the things that are going on in the world. If your hope is in the things of this world, then there is a pretty good reason for you to feel hopeless.

But I want you to know this very important truth: God's desire is that you would experience and enjoy His hope. The coming of Christ into the world, which is exactly what we celebrate every year on December 25th for Christmas, is the arrival of enduring hope for a weary world. I believe that God wants you to have this hope, to experience and enjoy this hope.

So, the obvious question is, how do I get this kind of hope? Let me return to that passage in Romans chapter 5, where Paul talks about a hope that does not disappoint. In Romans chapter 5, verse 1, he says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope."

The glory of God—what does all of that mean? Well, I think it can be simply summed up or boiled down to this: grace from God brings peace with God, giving us hope in God. Let me say that again: grace from God brings peace with God, giving us hope in God.

Jesus came into the world 2,000 years ago, which is what we celebrate at Christmas. He came into this world on a rescue mission to seek and to save that which is lost. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. He who knew no sin became sin for us, and He suffered in my place and in your place on the cross. In His suffering, He graciously demonstrates His love for us so that He might save us from sin and death, thereby giving us hope—eternal hope. Hope in God is a gift of God's grace, a gift that is freely available to you and to me.

At Christmas, it is our tradition to exchange gifts, and it is God's desire to exchange His grace, love, forgiveness, and blessing for my sin, my guilt, my shame, and my brokenness. That's what He wants to do for you. He wants to take your sin, your guilt, your shame, and your brokenness, and in place of that, He wants to give you His grace, His love, His forgiveness, and His blessing.

How do we make this exchange and receive this gift of God's grace? Well, again, Paul in the book of Romans, chapter 10, gives an answer to that question. He answers it like this: in Romans chapter 10, verse 9, he says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame." Then in verse 13, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Jesus came into the world to save sinners from their sins. He came to give abundant and eternal life. He came to give hope to those who are hopeless. If you find yourself in that place today of being hopeless and you'd like to experience and enjoy this great, enduring hope—this steadfast hope that is an anchor for your soul—I want to...

I want to lead you in a simple prayer of confession and faith right now to receive His gift of grace that is freely available to you. Prayer is simply talking to God. If you want to receive this gift of God's grace that brings enduring hope, you can pray right where you're at with me.

Just follow along with me and say, "Lord Jesus, I recognize that I have fallen short of Your perfect standard. I confess to You my sin and my failures, and I pray that You would forgive me of my sin. I ask that You'd come into my life, forgive me, and give me Your grace. Help me to trust in You and to follow You. Help me to know Your grace and to experience Your hope. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Listen, if you prayed that prayer with me today and have put your trust in Christ, we at Cross Connection Church would love to know about that. You can let us know by simply going to the website listed below and filling out the form so that we can be in touch with you.

We want you this Christmas season, as we are celebrating Advent, to know and experience hope in your life. In the coming weeks, we will talk about peace, joy, and love. All of these things come to us as a result of Jesus coming into this world. As we discuss these topics during this season, we want you to know that it is God's desire for you to come into a relationship with Jesus and connect with God through Christ.

As you do, you will experience His comfort, hope, joy, love, and peace—things that seem to be significantly lacking right now in the time we are living in. We are living in a time that seems pretty bleak and sometimes kind of dark. Yet Jesus is a bright shining light. He calls to us and says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

One of the ways He gives us rest is by providing an enduring, steadfast hope that does not disappoint, and that is available to you in Jesus Christ. I hope that you know that. If you prayed that prayer today, I encourage you to visit the website on the screen and let us know about it.

As we close our time together, I know...

It's kind of a shorter message today, but just a very simple point: God desires us to know this great hope. The advent of Jesus is the coming of this hope into this world.

I just want to close this time with a prayer for you and a prayer for us during this time.

Father God, we thank You for the hope that You give us in Christ Jesus. We thank You that Your hope is a hope that does not disappoint as You pour out Your love by Your Spirit in our lives and in our hearts. Lord, I pray that we would have this hope as a strong consolation for our souls and that we would not be easily shaken. Our ultimate hope is not in the things of this world; our ultimate hope is with You in eternity. We look forward to the day when we will be in Your presence and will be free from all the brokenness of this world.

But Lord, until that time, I pray that You'd strengthen Your people with hope. I pray especially for those who know You in this Christmas season. As we interact with other people at school, work, in our neighborhoods, and within our families—people who may not know You—that they would see in us that we have a hope that does not disappoint. We are not shaken by the things that go on in this world because our hope is ultimately in You. I pray that the people we interact with who don't yet know that would be drawn to You because of what they see in us.

Lord, do that work in Your church, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

There is nothing that can stop our God. There is nothing that can stop our God. There is nothing that can stop our God. There is nothing. There is nothing. There is nothing that can stop our God. No, there is nothing that can stop our God. There is nothing that can stop our God. There is nothing. There is none. You cannot be stopped. There is nothing that can stop our God. So strong. Jesus has triumphed.

Over the grave, sing hallelujah! Nothing can stand against our God. Jesus is Lord! Oh, sing hallelujah! Nothing can stand against our God. Thank you, Jesus.

Thanks for joining us for our broadcast today. As we close, we would love to invite you to our services at Cross Connection Church campus at 8:30 and 10:30 every Sunday. If you'd like more information about Cross Connection Church, go online at lifeinconnection.com.

Hey, Cross Connection! I hope you all are coming back from an awesome Thanksgiving week. Welcome to Cross Connection Church today. This morning, in light of being thankful, I want to thank you all for the nearly 200 Christmas boxes for Operation Christmas Child that we received here at Cross Connection last week. We got to deliver those to Operation Christmas Child, and what an amazing blessing this is!

We didn't just get nearly 200 boxes; we also had a bunch of leftover extra goodies to fill boxes that other people maybe didn't fill all the way up. It's such a blessing that you all were so supportive of that outreach. I just want to ask you to continue praying for those boxes as they are en route to their final destination this Christmas season. Be praying for all of the kids who will be receiving possibly the only gift they will get this year. I am super thankful for you all, and I just wanted to say, please be praying for the boxes.