12/15/13 THIS BABY BROUGHT HOPE

God’s Word Brings Hope

    A modern technological reality: the urban legend.  Through e mail and internet postings, a lie can quickly spread.  “Did you hear. . . ?”  People get a story sent to them, they get outraged at the injustice or plain stupidity of what went on and send it on to all the people on their e mail list.  People get upset and try to change something that doesn’t exist. Lies are quickly perpetuated.
    Let me share a few of them.
    According to legend, Mr. Rogers, the popular children’s show host, was once a Navy SEAL sniper in Vietnam responsible for numerous deaths. It goes on to say that the only reason he always wears a sweater is to cover up all of his tattoos. As you may have guessed, Mr. Rogers was never a Navy SEAL and he had no tattoos, in fact he was never even in the military.
    Circulating for years is a legend that tells the story of a motorist who stops on the side of the road to help someone fix their flat tire. The person being helped then asks the motorist for his address to send a reward. Several weeks later the motorist receives $10,000 in the mail. Over the years this story has been attributed to several celebrities, most recently Donald Trump.
    Shortly after 9/11 a photo began to circulate showing a tourist standing atop one of the World Trade Centers with one of the airplanes in the background of the shot about to strike the tower. The accompanying story explained how the camera was found in the wreckage but the tourist remained missing. Aside from all of the very inconsistent details in the picture the story already seemed completely improbable and several people came forward claiming to be the prankster responsible. It wasn’t until recently, however, that the real culprit was discovered in Hungary. He has since apologized to the families for making light of their situation.
    Lies, half-truths and distortions are easily spread, especially with the internet.  When they are believed they bring frustration, anger and confusion to life.  It is powerful that Jesus claimed to be TRUTH.  What He taught is true.  The Bible, inspired by God, is TRUE.  We need truth in life.
    As we continue to follow the theme that Jesus brought hope to the world, let’s look at the Bible, God’s true Word, as a basis for the hope we have.
    God inspired holy men to give us His revealed Word.  Many prophets and apostles were inspired by God to write the message God wants us to know.  The Holy Spirit inspired holy messengers to write, without error, what he wanted to make known to his people.  This is how we know what is right and wrong.  This is how we can emphatically state what we believe.
II Timothy 3:14-17 NIV
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
II Peter 1:19-21 NIV
19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
    The Bible has been scrutinized, examined and tested.  The detractors who hate God have done all they can to put the Bible out of existence.  It is mocked and ridiculed.  Now, aggressive atheists are using the Bible to create doubt in the minds of believers.  They take portions out of context and say, “See, this is what the Bible says”.
    The awesome fact is that the Bible has withstood every test and proven to be true.  The promises and prophecies continue to come true.  In my study Bible there is a chart with 115 prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus.  Some scoffers say Jesus went around planning to fulfill the prophecies.  How could He accomplish that, 115 prophecies?
    If that was true that Jesus manipulated the prophecies, one of the biggest tricks was to get his mother to travel to Bethlehem so he could be born there.  Nazareth to Bethlehem, the walk was about 70-80 miles, climbing an elevation up of about 1,400 feet.  Probably took them 3-4 days.
Micah 5:2 NIV
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Matthew 2:3-6 NIV
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Jesus said:
Luke 21:33 NIV
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
    We are privileged to put our complete hope in God’s Word.  His eternal Word stands firm.  We put our hope in what it says.
Psalm 119 NIV
49 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.
74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.
81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word.
114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.
    Everything we know about God comes from His revealed and inspired Word.
Deuteronomy 31:6-8 NIV
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Hebrews 13:5 NIV
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
    Here’s one of those stories that I can’t prove whether it is true or not, but it challenges our thinking.
What could the King do?
    In the second century a Christian was brought before a king, who wanted him to recant and give up Christ and Christianity; but the man spurned the proposition. The king said—“If you don’t do it, I will banish you.”
    The man smiled and answered, “You can’t banish me from Christ; for He says He will never leave me nor forsake me.”
    The king got angry, and said, “Well, I will confiscate your property, and take it all from you.”
    And the man replied, “My treasures are laid up on high; you cannot get them.”
    The king became still more angry, and said, “I will kill you.”
    “Why,” the man answered, “I have been dead forty years; I have been dead with Christ, dead to the world, and my life is hid with Christ in God, and you cannot touch it.”
    Finally, the king said, “What are you going to do with such a fanatic?”.
    I don’t know, what do you do with a person completely sold out to Jesus?  Hopefully they can ask that question about us.
APPLICATION
Since our hope is founded on the truths, the message of the Bible, what does that say about the role of the Bible in our daily lives?
If people are offended by the Bible, should you still quote it?
Does the Bible apply only to those who believe it?
Ask yourself:
What am I doing that is making the Bible the foundation for my hope for today and forever?
Do I need to make any changes to make the Bible more influential and impacting in my life?
PRAYER