12/8/13  THIS BABY BROUGHT HOPE

Christmas In Real Life     Believing Brings Hope

    During a trip to Portland, Oregon, noted atheist Christopher Hitchens laid down some seriously good theology.  Hitchens is the author of God Is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything. Since the book’s publication in 2007, Hitchens has toured the country debating religious leaders, including some well-known evangelical thinkers. In Portland he was interviewed by Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell.  The following exchange took place near the start:
    Sewell: The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the Scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?
    Hitchens: I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.
    Sewell wanted no part of that discussion so her next words are, “Let me go someplace else.”
    This little snippet demonstrates an important point about religious “God-talk”.  You can call yourself anything you like, but if you don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the dead, you are not “in any meaningful sense” a Christian.
    Talk about nailing it.
    In one of the delicious ironies of our time, an outspoken atheist grasps the central tenet of Christianity better than many Christians do. What you believe about Jesus Christ really does make a difference.
Dr. Ray Pritchard, “Christopher Hitchens Gets it Exactly Right,” KeepBelieving.com (2-1-10)
    Jesus, the Son of God who came to this world and lived in the flesh, teaching us eternal truths and dying on the cross, gives us meaning for life and eternal hope.  Many today are trying to redefine Christianity.  But, that is as impossible as saying you want to change the laws of gravity.  You might not like gravity, but you can’t do anything about it.  Saying your are a Christ-follower while rejecting the things Christ said is impossible.
    The baby Jesus brought hope to the world.  Let’s keep looking at the hope He brought and continues to provide.  There are some amazing benefits.
Romans 5:1-5 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
    Wow, that’s a lot to receive from Jesus.
    A few thoughts in the middle of a paragraph in another passage.
Hope is like an anchor that can keep us steady through all the circumstances of life.
Hebrews 6:18-19 NIV
18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
    Hold on to the hope. I read a story once about a man who started to fall out of a small plane.  He was able to grab hold of the plane as he dangled in the air.  They landed the plane and on the ground they literally had to pry his hands open to release him from the plane.  He knew his one and only hope was to hold on.  Hold on to Jesus, our one and only hope.
    The basis of the believer’s hope -- The foundation of our solid hope is founded on the nature and character of Jesus Christ and his Word, the Bible.
    We have hope because we have confidence in the Lord our Helper.  We can live with confidence in God.
Confidence:  full trust; belief in the power, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person.
    God is totally trustworthy.  But, there is an important key for us to live with confidence with God.  Those who do not have a personal relationship with God have no reason or firm basis for hope.  Let’s look at these passages and think about them.
Ephesians 2:12-13 NIV
12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:13, 17 NIV
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
    The Bible reveals the promise of God’s covenant, the hope of Jesus that gives us salvation.  We can restore the relationship with God that was planned at the time of creation.  We have been set free from the destructive work of the devil, we don’t have to live in the bondage of sin any more.
1 John 3:8 NIV
8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
    Pray for spiritual eyes to be opened to see the destruction of sin and the freedom and life Jesus gives.
II Corinthians 4:3-5 NIV
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
1 John 5:19 NIV
19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
THIS BABY BROUGHT HOPE
Believing in Jesus brings hope.
    Let’s review the verses from Romans we looked at in the beginning.  Let’s talk about how they can be applied and make a difference.
Romans 5:1-5 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
What can we do to help people grasp the hope Christmas should give to them?  Try to be specific.
How should we specifically pray for people during the Christmas season?