This is My Hope | Sunday, December 3, 2023

Amen. Praise the Lord! Thank you, Anthony and team. Good morning and welcome to Cross Connection Church. You can be seated. It is so good to see all of you here this morning and to hear you praising the Lord with us. It’s wonderful to hear everyone joined together, thankful that God has called us to be His people and to gather in His presence.

Before we get into the message this morning, I want to mention something. As you know, it is the Christmas season, and we are leading up to our Christmas celebration here at Cross Connection Church. One of the things we did before COVID happened is that on the last Sunday before Christmas, we invited people to wear what we initially called ugly Christmas sweaters. However, the problem with that is that someone inevitably shows up in their favorite Christmas sweater, and when you compliment their "ugly" sweater, they get offended. So, we’re just going to call it loud Christmas clothing instead.

This year, that will happen on December 24th, Christmas Eve day. We will gather here for our regular services on Sunday, Christmas Eve. If you come wearing your loud Christmas clothing, you can rest assured that I will probably be wearing something as well. I hope to see you all there!

How many of you have a favorite Christmas song? Oh, good! Songs like "Last Christmas" by Wham or "Santa Baby"—hopefully not! If that is your favorite Christmas song, God bless you. There are some great Christmas songs this time of year. You start to hear them coming on the radio or maybe they play them at home.

There are the popular ones that dominate our Western culture, like "White Christmas," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "Jingle Bell Rock." Then, of course, there are the more traditional Christian Christmas songs, such as "Joy to the World," "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," and "O Come All Ye Faithful." One of my favorites, which maybe you like as well, is "O Holy Night."

Now, I'm not going to sing it. The worship team has left the building, so I won’t sing, but the lyrics are great. "O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining; it is the night of dear..."

The Savior's birth long lay the world in sin, in 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! Oh, hear the angel voices! Oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born! Oh night, oh holy night, oh night divine.

I think that's one of the perfect Christmas songs, and I love that lyric in the middle that says, "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices." This Christmas season, as we do every year leading up to Christmas, we are talking about Advent. We're talking about the arrival of Jesus. That's what the word Advent means; the Latin "Adventus" means the arrival or the coming. At this time, we remember Jesus's coming to this world, and we celebrate His arrival because, as He comes, He not only arrives as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Emmanuel—God with us—but He also brings with Him many wonderful things. These are things that Christians have been remembering and celebrating for many centuries.

In many more traditional churches, as you lead up to Christmas, the four Sundays before Christmas focus on the themes of hope, joy, peace, and love. That is what we are remembering here at Cross Connection. Last week, if you were here, we talked about peace. The peace that Jesus brings when He comes is a peace that surpasses understanding. It is a peace that guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. It is a peace that is greater than the peace that the world is oftentimes looking for or thinks that they have found. It is more than just the cessation of violence; it speaks of total human thriving and well-being. That is the peace that we rejoice in, the peace that gives us wonderful rest. Jesus's arrival into the world is the arrival of that kind of peace.

But not only that, as we're going to consider this week, point number one, if you're taking notes this Sunday, is that the Advent of Jesus is the Advent of hope. This is one of my favorite topics to talk about. If you have attended Cross Connection Church for any length of time, you've heard me talk about hope and the arrival of Jesus signaling the Advent of this hope many times before. It is one of my favorite things to discuss because I believe—and there have been studies...

Especially in the last five decades or so, studies have shown that we cannot live without hope. One of the great books I recommend, although it is a heavy read, is "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Viktor Frankl was a psychologist, but more than that, he lived through the concentration camps of Germany during the Second World War. He discovered, during that time, the reality of what hope brings to a person and what happens to an individual or a group of people when they lose hope.

We desperately need hope. We live in a weary world, a weary world that rejoices at the thrill of hope—the hope that Jesus brings into this world. You don't have to look very far around us in this culture to see that we are living in a burdensome and wearing world, a world that is burdened by the bondage of sin. It's very clear that people are burdened by financial concerns. Maybe that would be you this morning.

At this time of year, those concerns seem to amplify for a lot of people, especially if you own a business in the retail space. You're hoping that this time of year will bring many retailers into the black, which is why they call it Black Friday. As they come to the end of the year, for many people, this is the end of their fiscal year. They look at their finances and think, hopefully, we can clear and get into the black because we've been in the red.

Even if you're not a retail person or a business owner, you may be experiencing similar concerns. We have all seen the increase in costs; inflation is high, and you really feel it when you go to put gas in your car. My car seems to slurp up gas like a little kid slurping a Slurpee. You can hear the gasoline going into my suburban, and when you watch the numbers on the pump, it feels like a slot machine. It's just overwhelming, and you can feel that pain in your wallet the entire time. Financial concerns are indeed a burden, especially as we come to this time of year.

There's the expectation of also giving and receiving gifts, and there's the added burden of that. For many of you, there are increased costs at the end of the year or coming into the beginning of the year. People are burdened by financial concerns, and I know this includes scheduling pressures. I see this when I talk with people. In our common greeting, we often ask someone how they are doing, and I would say probably eight out of ten times when I ask someone, their response is "busy." I know I'm guilty of saying that; I just did it right in between the services when someone asked me how I was doing, and I said it has been busy.

We can find ourselves burdened by scheduling pressures. Certainly, many people are burdened by the things they see in the news, especially news of war over the last couple of years in Europe and over the last couple of months in the Middle East. Even if those things were cleared up, as I shared last week, there would be more news of war or embattled nations in other places. Wars and rumors of wars are what the Scriptures talk about. The entire time of history, from the time that Jesus ascended into heaven until the time that He will return, will be dominated by nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. That is what we see, and we feel the pressure of that, the burden of it.

There's also the burden of political division. Let me tell you, 2024 is going to be chaotic. We already know that, but it's a presidential election year, and you can already feel the cycle ramping up. The political divisions are very strong, and it's hard because when you get together with co-workers at Christmas parties or family members and friends, inevitably, conversations about politics will come up. It creates such a tense, divided atmosphere.

We can feel the burden of all these things, and the weight of those burdens can weigh heavily upon us to the point that sometimes we lose sleep. Sometimes we feel the physiological effects of stress upon us. All of that weight comes from the broken and sinful world that we live in. I don't think we could bear it if it were not for hope. Advent is a reminder to you and a reminder to me that Jesus, in His coming, is bringing hope. It is a certain kind of hope, a hope that is greater than what the world often offers us. A weary and hopeless world is a hellish place without the kind of hope that Jesus brings.

Gives and the fact that He brings this kind of hope to us is what we would call good news. Good news is Gospel, and that's what you and I have to share with people. Hopefully, you've already received that good news of the fullness of hope that we have in Jesus Christ. We're going to talk a little bit more about it this morning, but I hope that you have received that hope such that you're experiencing it and have rest as a result of it. I also hope that you can share it with others.

I want to challenge you, as I did in the first service this morning. This season, if you know that hope and have experienced it, given to you by Christ through the Gospel, would you accept the challenge to share that with at least one person? There are a lot of people we know who are hopeless. They are despairing, desperate, and maybe even depressed because of all the crazy things happening in their lives or in the world. Whether it's financial pressures, political division, or whatever it may be, it weighs upon them. We all know hopeless people, and you and I have been given a certain hope in Jesus Christ.

This hope surpasses the hope offered by the world because the hope that the Scriptures speak of does not disappoint. Paul says it like this in the Book of Romans, chapter 5. You can turn there if you'd like, but if not, I'm going to read it. Romans chapter 5 says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith," which means by our trust in Jesus Christ, "we are made right with God." That's what justified means: to be made right with God.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace, like we talked about last week, with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope and hopeful anticipation of the glory of God—the revelation of the glory of God. When you are justified by grace through faith, trusting in Jesus Christ, you now have peace with God, peace from God, and the peace of God in your life.

I talked about this last week; if you weren't here, you can find it on YouTube. But now we stand in that peace and grace, and we rejoice in joyful anticipation of the coming glory of God. Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. Who on earth rejoices or glories in the midst of troubling circumstances and difficulties? Only the kind of person that experiences this hope can truly glory in such times.

Tribulations produce perseverance, perseverance builds character, and character increases hope. Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Hope does not disappoint.

Point number two, if you're taking notes: Jesus brings a sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint. This is the Gospel; this is good news. The hope that is offered in our culture and in our broken world is a hope that routinely disappoints.

If your hope is in your baseball team, your hope is going to be disappointed. If your hope is in your investments, your hope is going to be disappointed. If your hope is in your good looks, your health, your intelligence, or even people in your family, if your hope is found in those things, your hope is going to be disappointed. Your intelligence will fail, people in your life will fail you, and your investments will go up and then come down. Politicians will falter, and medicine, science, and technology will all falter.

But Jesus brings a sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint. When you delve into the Scriptures and study this concept of hope that Jesus brings to us, you discover that it is an absolute and certain confidence in future good—an absolute certainty in coming good. It is not the hope that we typically think of in this world. The hope of this world is usually an optimistic feeling or a kind of wishful thinking.

Biblical hope is absolute certainty, while worldly hope is an optimistic feeling. Have you ever felt good about something you were hoping for, only to find that you didn't feel so good about it a week or two later? That is the wishful thinking kind of hope—the kind of hope that says, "I wish" or "I hope that I win the lottery." If you are investing in that, it's a bad investment. But even still, if that's your hope, it's a wishful thinking kind of hope, and that's the kind of hope we often encounter in this world: blind optimism.

Hope is often seen as wishful thinking, but biblical hope is an absolute certainty of coming good. Because of this kind of hope that we are given in Christ Jesus, we have a sure and steadfast foundation, even in tribulations and difficult times. That assurance we have from the hope that Jesus gives us becomes like an anchor for our souls.

The soul is the part of you that gets troubled by all the burdensome things of this world. It is the part of you that experiences anxiety, fear, worry, and concern. This kind of hope, given to us in Jesus, is not blind optimism or wishful thinking; it is sure and steadfast hope that anchors us through difficult circumstances.

Let me read from Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews 6:18 says, "So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things, his promise and his oath, are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie." Therefore, because it is impossible for God to lie and He has given us His oath and His promise, 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.

That is the kind of hope that I need, and that is the kind of hope that Jesus gives to us in the Gospel—a hope that is strong, trustworthy, and an anchor for our souls. It is this sure and steadfast, trustworthy anchor that holds us in the midst of storms. It is this kind of hope that gives us what we talked about last week: peace. A peace that surpasses understanding, a peace that is unexplainable to the people in our lives who watch us go through trials, tribulations, and difficulties. With this kind of hope, they stand in awe and ask, "How are you not troubled by this?"

You have no explanation because it defies logic. It surpasses understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It helps us to find rest in the midst of the storm. A practical and beautiful illustration of this is found in the Gospels when Jesus is in a boat.

Asleep in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus' disciples were fearful and fretting, thinking they were going to die. Meanwhile, He was asleep. They came and woke Him up, saying, "Don't you even care that we're dying?" Have you ever felt like that with Jesus? He stands up, commands the wind and the waves to be still, and asks, "Why were you afraid?"

There was a storm, after all. Hanging out with Jesus can be an interesting and beautiful illustration of peace in the midst of the storm. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our soul. Because of this kind of absolute certainty of future good in Christ Jesus, we can have peace and rest in the midst of the storm. As we'll talk about next week, we can have a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity.

The joys and happiness of this world are all fleeting; they are here one moment and gone the next. We have all experienced that. However, the joy that we can have in Christ, because of His coming—His Advent—gives us hope and peace. This joy is increasing unto abundance for eternity; it will never end. In His presence is fullness of joy. That's next week's message, so you have to come back.

All of this is found in and by Jesus Christ. This is good news; this is the gospel. This is what we receive in Christ because of His coming, His Advent, and what we will rejoice in later on at the end of March in His death, burial, and resurrection. This is what we receive through the gospel. This is what we have on offer to the world, and this is what people desperately want and need.

People are seeking peace, hope, joy, and love. That is what they are desperately looking for. We see the manifestations of this search in our culture, where people are looking for something to satisfy these deep needs. They think they have found it in all kinds of different things. You may have thought you found it in times past as well. Maybe it was in some substance that you took or injected, or perhaps it was in some activity that you engaged in that you didn't want other people to know about. Whatever it was, you thought this would fill the void, but it never did.

We see it in our culture: people are being lied to and told that if they just do this thing to their bodies or put something into themselves, it will make them feel better. They have a deep longing for something they can't articulate, and they can't find it. They never find rest, peace, or hope in these things. This is why there is an increase in suicide among many of those who go down that path.

This is what Solomon speaks about in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He ultimately says that none of these things brought what he was looking for. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." That's like saying "emptiness, emptiness, all is emptiness." This insight is 3,000 years old. I thought it was interesting, and I even sent it to the guys on our pastoral text message yesterday.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, posted something on X yesterday that simply said, "Wisdom is greater than wealth." The richest man in the world is telling us something that Solomon learned 3,000 years ago. It's fascinating, but our culture keeps saying that hope, rest, peace, and joy will be found in material things, and none of those things will satisfy.

The great philosophers of our time sing songs like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." What are they saying? They are expressing the same sentiment that Solomon articulated thousands of years ago. The true things we are desiring—peace, hope, joy, and love—are found in that little baby of Bethlehem, the Advent of Jesus.

This thread of hope is seen from Eden to eternity. In Genesis chapter 3, in the Garden of Eden, all the way through the rest of the Bible to Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible and beyond, we see this narrative unfold. When God made all things back in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, He looked at what He had created and said, "It is good." Seven times in the opening chapter of the Bible, God declared, "It is good." At the end of it, He said, "It is very good."

Then, it was destroyed. The goodness of God's perfect creation was devastated by sin in Genesis chapter 3. Paul expresses it like this in Romans 5: "Through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all humanity." We all now, thousands of years later, still feel the weight of sin and death.

In a broken world, all of creation, as Romans 8 says, groans for the day when things will be restored. There is a deep desire for redemption, renewal, and restoration in the heart of every single living being throughout all of creation. Humans feel this longing acutely and deeply within us.

In Genesis chapter 3, when sin entered the world, brokenness and death came with it. At that very moment, there is a promise. Hebrews 6 tells us that we have this hope that comes to us by God's sure promise and oath, which began the instant sin entered the world. Genesis 3:15 gives us the first glimpse, if you will, into God's redemptive plan.

In this verse, God is speaking to Adam and Eve and to the serpent that deceived them and led them into sin. He says, "I will put enmity between you, the serpent, and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He, the one who is to come from the woman, shall bruise or crush your head, and you will bruise or crush his heel."

In that instant, when sin came in, God promised that one would come—a man from the seed of a woman—who would destroy the work of the serpent that brought sin and death to the entire world. He will deliver a death blow, crushing the serpent's head. Yes, he will be wounded in the process; the serpent will bruise his heel, but he will ultimately bring a death blow.

Theologians refer to this passage of Scripture in Genesis 3:15 as the Protoevangelion. This term means "the First Gospel." It is the first allusion for many Bible students and theologians to the coming redemptive work that God is going to accomplish, right here in Genesis 3:15. This original promise of His coming, made at the very moment that sin entered the world, gives us hope.

This thread of hope continues from Eden all the way through to Revelation. We see the theme and concept of hope arise constantly in the Old Testament. Whether it is in Genesis 3 at the fall or, if you fast forward a little, in the Book of Exodus, we find the children of Israel in Egypt, under oppression and bondage as slaves, being severely oppressed by harsh taskmasters.

Call out to God for deliverance, and He raises up a redeemer, a deliverer, in Moses. There is this desire for deliverance and renewal, and God answers it, in part, through Moses. All of this is typology and a picture of the coming Future King who is going to bring about redemption. It all points in that direction.

In Genesis 3, we see the fall, and in Exodus, we witness the Israelites in Egypt. Fast forward, and we will see this in the new year when we get into the stories of the Book of Judges and beyond. We will explore the history of Israel, where the idea and concept of hope constantly come to the surface. Where does this hope arise? It emerges when people are trapped in a storm, under oppression and bondage—whether it is the oppression and bondage of Egypt, the Canaanites, or the Philistines. This theme continues through the time of the prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, when the children of Israel were under the oppressive bondage of the Assyrians in the 8th century BC or the Babylonians in the 5th and 6th centuries BC.

At each of these times, the children of Israel, under bondage, have a glimmer of hope for one who would come to deliver them. They look forward to one they call the Messiah, the Anointed One. In the midst of all this, God, through His prophets, encourages them with words of comfort about this coming redemption that was promised by God's oath all the way back in Genesis chapter 3. God's promised deliverance and deliverer is evident in many books, like Isaiah.

Isaiah chapter 40 is a beautiful passage where the children of Israel have just come out of a time of bondage under the Assyrians, about 2,800 years ago. The Assyrians, led by King Sennacherib, have utterly obliterated the nation of Judah, the southern tribe of Israel. Only one city remains; all the other cities have been totally destroyed by Sennacherib, King of Assyria. The children of Israel have just been rescued and redeemed by God's miraculous work, but they are also told that there will come a future oppression by the Babylonians.

In the midst of that darkness and despair, God says these words through the prophet Isaiah: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people," says your God. How can you have comfort in the midst of such a severe and dark storm? The Assyrians have just destroyed your nation, and all you have to look forward to is the coming of the Babylonians. "Comfort, comfort My people," says God. "Speak comfort to Jerusalem."

Cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned. They've just been told that more warfare is coming, and yet God, through the prophet, says your warfare is ended. He looks forward to a future day when all warfare is done, their warfare is ended, their iniquity is pardoned, and sin is dealt with. 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 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. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

In the midst of deep bondage, darkness, and oppression, in the valley between two peaks of great oppression from the Assyrians and the Babylonians, God says there is coming a day when all of this will be done, and your sin will be pardoned. The glory of the Lord will be revealed. They are looking forward to a future kingdom; at least, that is what God is seeking to encourage them with. This is where the comfort comes from.

Where does the comfort come from? The hope that is given through God's sure word and promise. In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter says we have the more sure word of prophecy. God has prophetically told us what is ultimately coming in the future by His Messiah, His anointed one, Jesus Emmanuel. This gives us hope, and that hope is a comfort to us. It's an anchor for our soul, a thrill of hope. The weary world rejoices, looking forward to the dawning of that new and glorious morning.

During these deep times of dark bondage for the children of Israel, when they would feel like all hope was gone, their blind optimistic hope was gone, and their wishful thinking hope was devastated. In the midst of that, God would come by the prophets and say, "I am going to bring about my deliverer." God would hint at who this deliverer was going to be. We know from Genesis 3:15 it was going to be a man born of a woman.

You fast forward a little bit to Genesis 12, and we learn that it is going to come through the family of a man named Abram, or Abraham. You fast forward a little bit further in Genesis, and you find out that it is going to come through Abraham's son Isaac. You continue on the story, and you find it is going to come through Isaac's son Jacob.

Further, the prophets foretell that it is going to come through Jacob's son, Judah. If you keep following, you find it is going to come through Judah's line, through a man named Jesse, and through Jesse's son, David. As we go down through the ages, we are told that he is going to be born of a virgin in Isaiah 7. We are also told in Micah 5 that he is going to be born in Bethlehem. Throughout all these times, in the midst of great darkness, there is a thread of hope from Eden to eternity, where God is saying, "I am bringing my Redeemer."

What is it that we celebrate every year, which we order our entire calendar by, but the coming of this one who fulfills that hopeful promise? He gives us not a blind optimistic hope or wishful thinking hope, but a sure and steadfast hope that is like an anchor for our soul.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: the hope that the prophets predicted is the hope that gives us ultimate comfort. I think you already know this, but it is worth reminding you that our hope is not found in our investments. It is not found in our intelligence or ingenuity. It is not found in our job, our health, our family, or our nation and its leaders. If all of those things are ripped from us, we can still have a hope that provides a sure and steadfast anchor for our soul. Why? Because it is an ultimate hope in Christ Jesus, and by Christ Jesus, that is not seated in this world. It is an otherworldly hope that redirects our attention and focus into another world.

Though all these things that people hope in may be devastated, we can still have a sure and steadfast hope in Christ. It is this hope that the psalmist speaks of in Psalm 16:9, which gives us rest: "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh will rest in hope." It is this kind of hope, which is found in Christ Jesus, that gives us courage and strength of heart. Psalm 31:24 says, "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord." It is this kind of hope that is a comfort for our souls.

Steadfast anchor, as Hebrews chapter 6 says, it is this kind of hope that comes in Jesus Christ that gives us joy and peace in believing (Romans 15:13). Now may the God of all hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I love to talk about this because I think it's such an important thing. We cannot live without hope. Life in a broken world would be hellish without hope, and it is only found in Christ. For those of you this morning who have put your trust in Jesus Christ and have this hope accessible to you in Him, you may remember there was a time when you were without hope in this world. Paul talks about it in Ephesians chapter 2.

There, I'll read it real quick: "Therefore remember that you were once Gentiles in the flesh, who were called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision. You were not a part of the family of faith, the Jewish people at that time. You were without Christ, alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants and promises. You were not given the promises and covenants that they had. You had no hope and were without God in this world."

Some of you remember very well when you were without hope, without Christ, and some of you this morning do not yet have that hope. So, how do you find it? A lot of the answers seem to be found in the book of Romans as it relates to these questions.

In Romans chapter 5, I looked at it last week, and it is again very important: "Therefore, having been justified by faith," that is, you are made right with God by your trust in Jesus Christ. Having been justified by faith, because of that, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

It can all be boiled down to this point: Grace from God brings peace with God, giving us hope in God. Jesus is God's gracious gift. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes and trusts in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That is God's grace to us in Jesus Christ. It gives us peace with God, peace from God, so that we have the peace of God, and there we have hope in God for eternity. He came to give His life a ransom for many, to seek and to save that which was lost.

Which is lost to give life and that more abundantly. Those are like the purpose statements of Jesus. Some of you are in business management; you know that a lot of time and money is spent in business management on articulating the purpose and the mission of an organization. Jesus gives in the Gospels His clearly stated purpose statements.

In John 10:10, He says, "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." In the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke, He states, "I have come to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19). He also says, "I have come to give my life a ransom for many" (Mark 16). In these passages, He expresses His purpose: that is why He came 2,000 years ago at Christmas—to seek and to save that which is lost.

How do we receive this gift of His grace and the peace and hope that comes with it? We have talked about it many times before, and again, the answer seems to be found in Romans. There is so much here in this passage, Romans chapter 10. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be redeemed and saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness; they are made right with God, justified. With the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame; they will not have disappointed hope." For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

I believe it was in one of Paul's letters to Timothy that he said, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." In that passage, he says, "of whom I am chief." Some of you might argue with Paul there, but Jesus came into the world to save sinners. When you receive His saving grace by trusting in His finished work on the cross, which He came 2,000 years ago at Advent to accomplish, you are given a sure and steadfast hope.

Your wishful thinking, blind optimistic hope is done away with. Many times, I have had conversations with people who are not yet Christians, and I ask them a simple question: If you died tonight, do you think you'd go to heaven? They say, "Well, I hope so." When I ask them what the basis of that hope is, they often respond, "Well, I'm a pretty good person." That doesn't sound like sure and steadfast hope. It is not very hard to realize you are not a perfect person, and if your hope is built on that wishful thinking, blind optimistic hope, it is not a solid foundation.

I hope you know God. He is very loving, and I hope He is going to overlook all my sins. That is blind optimism, and I hope that my good works will outweigh my bad works. That is wishful thinking, because Isaiah 64:6 says all of our righteousness is as filthy rags before Him. He is perfect, and we are so far from that. There is no hope in that, but there is hope in Christ that brings peace, rest, and joy. A joyful and peaceful rest in hope is the ultimate end or purpose of our faith.

Point number five, and I'll wrap it up: our ultimate expectation and hope culminate in Christ and His kingdom. Listen, I think you know this, but I believe it's worth reminding you: your hope is not in this world. My hope is not in the state of California, which keeps being driven home quite frequently. My hope is not in the United States of America. My hope is not in the military might or the financial strength of this country, or our credit rating as a people, or my credit score as an individual. My hope is not in those things. If my hope is in those things, God will allow that hope to be totally shaken to the point where you find yourself in total despair.

I can guarantee this: everybody in this room knows somebody who is struggling with anxiety and depression. We have seen the decline in mental health in our culture. I have had many conversations with people who are anxious and depressed, and at the base of it, what triggered it was something they hoped in that disappointed them. They hoped that their marriage would work out and satisfy, but it didn't. They hoped that the business they set out to build, into which they invested all of their energy, time, and assets, would succeed, but it fell apart. They hoped that a relationship or some other thing would fix it and make it right. They gave all of their energy, time, and prayers to that thing, and then one day, in a moment, it all just flashed in the pan and was gone. They find themselves down on the ground, broken. As horrible as that place is, there is only one place you can go from there.

There to look to Christ, He is our hope. Ultimately, our hope in Him is His kingdom, where He comes and brings the fullness of His kingdom, restores all things that are broken, and wipes away every tear, as Revelation says. From Eden to eternity, from Genesis to Revelation, the thread of hope all points to Him and His kingdom. That's what this whole Christmas thing is all about.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You for the comfort that we can find in the Scriptures, and I pray, God, that we would turn first and foremost to the comfort of the Scriptures when we see all the things in this world that ultimately are not strong enough for us to hope in.

God, would You help us to set our minds on things above, to fix our focus on You, to seek those things which are with You in Your kingdom? Help us to realize that our life is hidden with You, and that when You appear, we will be with You in glory.

Lord, I pray that that hope would dominate our hearts and our minds. I pray that You would help each and every person here to not only know and experience that hope, but also help us this season to share it with somebody else. There are a lot of hopeless people in our culture who are in such desperate need of something strong, steadfast, and enduring to find refuge in, and ultimately, that's only found in You.

God, help us to remember that this Christmas and help us to share it with others. For we ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." Let's sing to the Lord.