When Christmas Lets You Down - Hope

The reading this morning comes from Titus chapter 2 and starting in verse 11 we read,

Titus 2 · chapter mention

for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright

and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our

great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness

and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

This is the word of God.

Great.

Thanks, Angeline.

Okay, a nice short scripture reading this morning.

And let me pray for us and then we're going to dive in a little bit.

Heavenly Father, as we come before your word this morning, as we come before you,

we pray that you will speak to us from your word.

God, we want to hear what you have to say to us.

In the midst of a world that is full of so much pain and turmoil, a war-torn year that we've had,

God, we long for the hope of heaven to break into our lives and into our city.

God, this morning as we contemplate how Christmas speaks to us about a true and abiding hope,

we do pray for our city, God.

We pray for the great city of Hong Kong.

We pray that the city which is so starved of hope, which so many people do feel hopeless,

we pray, God, that the gospel really will go out in our city.

We pray for all the churches of Hong Kong, the English churches, the Chinese churches,

Cantonese, Mandarin, all the various languages.

We pray, God, that whatever denomination, background, language, or culture,

that the good news of Jesus, the hope of Christmas and the hope of the gospel will go into our city

and bring hope to restless hearts.

And God, we pray once you start with us this morning, come and let your word find good soil in our hearts,

let your word come and anchor our hearts.

And as we lead it to Christmas, God, we pray that really the wonder of Christmas and the hope of Christmas will be true to us.

As we look at your word this morning, won't you speak to us?

You know where each one of us are at.

You know our fears and our joys.

You know the things that are on our hearts.

God, won't you meet each one of us in the room today?

Through your word and by your spirit, we pray.

In your great and wonderful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, so everybody knows we're one week out from Christmas.

If you don't know that, I'm not too sure what to say.

But Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.

Lots of great things to enjoy about Christmas.

For many of us, it's a time when work kind of slows down.

Some of us may be able to travel.

Some of us maybe are going to see loved ones you haven't seen for a long time.

Either you're going to go to them or they're going to come to you.

It's a time of connecting with friends and meals and good food.

It's a time we think about those that are precious to us.

And maybe we buy gifts for family or loved ones.

For those that have children, it's a real magical time of year.

It's full of wonder and fantasy and amazement.

It's a wonderful time of the year.

There's another reason why Christmas is so wonderful.

Why I love Christmas.

And maybe this is because I'm a little bit more Western.

But it's also the end of the calendar year.

I know obviously the Lunar New Year is a few weeks later.

But it's kind of the end of 2023.

And it's a time to reflect and think back upon what's happened.

But it's also a time to dream and hope for a new year.

It feels like every year Christmas comes and it feels like a blank canvas lies before me.

A chance to dream again.

To hope for all the things that this year didn't materialize and I hoped would have happened.

It's a time to think about what could possibly be.

One of my favorite lines from the Christmas carols is from O Holy Night.

It says,

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.

Or the weary world at the end of a weary year rejoices.

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

A thrill of hope.

The hope of a new day.

A new year.

A new realm of possibilities.

For a weary and tired world.

A worn out world.

A war torn world.

Like we've had this year.

A world that's full of brokenness and pain and sin.

And there's something about coming to the end of the year and coming to Christmas.

That as we look into the future and to the year ahead.

We're able to say,

The future still has hope.

There's still possibility for goodness to happen.

Joy is still possible.

Hope is not gone.

At Christmas we often talk about joy and peace and love.

But Christmas promises hope.

Hope beyond a break.

A new and glorious morn.

But hope is a funny thing, isn't it?

Because hope is immensely powerful.

And it can draw you through difficult and hard times.

I think of Victor Frankl.

The Jewish psychotherapist who was a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany.

Concentration camps in World War II.

And he analyzed and he watched his fellow prisoners.

And he wrote a book called Man's Search for Meaning.

And he recounts in this book how those prisoners that had hope.

Hope that they would get through.

Were much more likely to survive the concentration camps.

Listen to what he says.

He says,

The prisoner who had lost hope in the future was doomed.

With his loss of hope in the future, he let himself decline, becoming subject to mental and physical decay.

And yet he analyzed that those that were still able to find some kind of hope were much more likely to survive the hardship and the difficulty of the camp.

And so hope is a really powerful thing.

It draws through the hard times and the difficulties.

But hope is a double-edged sword, isn't it?

Because hope can also be disappointing.

How many of us here have really hoped for something?

Maybe for a loved one's health to improve.

Maybe to get through a cancer.

And then they didn't.

How many of us have hoped for a promotion at work?

Or to land that job?

Or to get into that course?

Or to start a family?

And things haven't worked out the way that you had hoped.

Hope can be immensely powerful.

It can also be really disappointing.

So here's the question.

Is hope another one of those empty Christmas gifts that we open up only to find empty on the inside?

Kind of like when somebody gives you socks for Christmas for the 10th year in a row, right?

It promises so much.

And you unwrap, open it up.

And it's like, oh, okay.

Here we go again.

Friends, what's so hopeful about Christmas?

And how can thinking about the old, old story of Jesus in the manger give us hope?

Not just for this week, but this year.

And in fact, beyond this year, the decades to come.

Has the reality and the message of Christmas, how's that going to help us this year when life gets tough?

And when life isn't always that rosy?

Okay.

To think about this, I want us first to think about the difference between the way that we talk about hope in kind of modern culture and the way the Bible talks about hope.

And the Bible has a very different contrast to the understanding of hope from the ways we use it in modern culture.

In modern culture, when we talk about hope, we tend to think about some wish or desire that future circumstances will be different or better off than they are now.

Right?

So we talk about, oh, you hope that your kids will get into some school.

You hope to get that promotion.

You hope that your mom's health improves.

You hope that your boss approves your leave application.

It's some kind of wish or desire that the future circumstances will improve or be better than they are now.

And so the way we talk about it, it's kind of this desire that the outcome or circumstances will be better, but it's very uncertain.

There's nothing guaranteed about it.

When the Bible talks about hope, it talks about hope in a very different way.

The way that the Bible talks about hope of Christianity or the hope of Christmas or the hope of the gospel, it doesn't refer to a subjective wish or desire.

I hope I pass my exams.

Tim.

Rather, it refers to a settled conviction, a confidence that even though things may still get difficult, and in fact the circumstances may not get better, that somehow my life is in the hands of a good and a sovereign God.

Sovereign means in control of everything.

And that this good and sovereign God will carry me through.

Okay?

Do you see the difference?

When the Bible talks about hope, it's this settled confidence, this conviction, that actually despite the circumstances, the circumstances may not get much better.

Despite that, my life is in the hands of a good and a sovereign God who will carry me through the circumstances that I face.

And therefore, that kind of confidence is rock solid.

It's secure.

The first one is rather fragile.

I hope I pass my exams.

Well, maybe, maybe not.

The second one is based on character and the track record of who God is.

The first one is very subjective.

I hope I get a promotion this year.

Maybe, maybe not.

But the second one is based on an objective reality.

This is who God is.

And He's not going to change.

And so you can bank your life on it.

Let me give you a very silly example.

Okay?

Let's say you are a sailor.

You like sailing.

Okay?

And so you take your sailboat out into the water, and your worst nightmare comes upon you.

The weather turns suddenly.

The wind comes.

The waves rise.

And the worst thing that could possibly happen, your boat capsizes.

And you're in the water, and you're all on your own.

And you are hopeless.

Your only hope is that somebody comes and rescues you.

Well, in the distance, way out there, you see a ship.

And so you climb on top of the last kind of semblance of your boat.

And you take off your shirt, and you wave it around.

And you hope against all hope that just maybe, just maybe somebody will see you.

That's the first kind of hope.

But what happens if you hear a helicopter coming over the horizon?

And it comes, and it sees you.

And they throw a circle, you know, ring to you in the water.

And you hear them saying over the megaphone, we see you.

We're coming to get you.

We're coming back for you.

Two very different versions of hope.

One is, I hope somebody sees me.

But it's very uncertain.

It's not guaranteed at all.

The other one is something, the concrete that you can hold on to.

They've seen me.

They're coming back for me.

Friends, one kind of hope is optimism that things will turn out okay.

The other is a conviction that your life is in safe hands.

The message of Christmas, the message of Christianity,

the message of the gospel,

is that, is one that abounds with hope.

Not a subjective feeling.

Not a vague anticipation that maybe things will get better.

The hope of Christianity is an objective reality

that you can bank your life upon.

Because it's based on the nature and the character of God.

So, how does Christmas help us to live with hope?

Well, let me give us a couple of things we're going to look at this morning.

Five things.

Most of them from the scripture.

A few others just thrown in for.

Fun.

Okay.

Five reasons why we, or those of us that are Christians,

can live with hope as we go into 2024.

And if you're not a Christian here this morning,

so glad that you joined us.

I want you to listen to this through the lens of,

what would happen if I were to become a Christian?

How would this change my life?

So, let's look at it.

First thing is coming.

Okay.

They've all got one word.

Coming.

Look at our passage.

If you've got your bulletin, your Bible open,

look at our passage.

We're looking at Titus chapter 2 and verse 11.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

And just the first few words.

The Apostle Paul writes this.

He writes this to this young man called Titus.

He's leading the church in Crete.

And he says,

Titus,

The grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people.

Okay.

Let's just pause there for a second.

The grace of God has appeared.

Now, when Paul says the grace of God has appeared,

he's not talking about,

just talking about a religious concept.

What's he talking about?

He's talking about Jesus.

He's talking about a person, right?

Jesus Christ has appeared.

He's talking about Christ coming.

What is Christmas all about?

It's about God coming into our broken and hope-starved world.

God has come.

That's the point of Christmas, right?

God himself has come.

In John's gospel,

John writes that Jesus was the light

that came into a dark and broken world.

A hope-starved world.

A world that had lost its way.

Obviously, Christ had come to bring a sense of life,

a sense of hope.

But when God came to save us,

he didn't just send an email.

He didn't just send a messenger or a message.

He didn't just send a helicopter with a Coast Guard,

you know, someone that throws a ring.

God himself came into a hope-starved world.

And if you've been in church for a long time,

that sounds very familiar,

but I want us just to think about that for a second.

Or maybe before we get there,

imagine the scenario.

Imagine you're at work one night,

and things at work have gone really badly, right?

There's some client account.

There's some financials that are in a big muddle.

Things, you're in some mess.

And your boss says to you,

you better sort this out before tomorrow morning, right?

And so you're at work.

It's way past midnight.

You're all alone in your office

trying to sort out this big mess,

trying to fix this problem.

There's nobody else with you.

You're alone at your desk.

For some of you,

you don't need to imagine this too much, right?

This is your reality.

And suddenly, the lift doors open,

and out steps the president of the company.

And he says,

hey, I heard you're in trouble.

I know how to fix this problem.

I'm here to help you.

Okay?

None of us can imagine that situation, right?

That doesn't happen.

The president doesn't come to the junior employee

and say,

let me help you with your problem.

It's a silly analogy.

Friends, at Christmas,

the being,

the divine being

that created galaxies

and cosmos

and solar systems,

however many billions of years ago,

who knows how many billions of years ago,

hundreds of trillions

of billions of light years away,

this galaxy that's ever expanding,

that we've only discovered

maybe 1% of,

we don't even understand

most of how this thing works,

this divine being

who brought it all into existence

out of nothing,

this being whom we call God,

this being

has clothed himself in humanity

in flesh and blood

and entered into our world

so that he can speak our language,

so that we can know him

and comprehend him

to come and fix the problem

that we got ourselves into

called sin

and brokenness

and depravity.

We rejected him

and said,

no thanks,

we'll do life our own way,

got ourselves

in all sorts of mess

and this,

to say president

of the universe's sacrilege,

this divine being

has stepped into our world

and said,

I'm here to help.

God

has come.

It's astounding.

Friends,

I don't know what troubles

you're facing,

what challenges you have

on the horizon,

what 2024 looks like for you.

Okay,

the economy's not good.

Okay,

the Hang Seng is,

who knows where it is.

But this God

has come,

Emmanuel,

to be with us.

The hope of Christmas

is not just a new leaf,

a blank slate.

Let's hope next year

is better than the last.

The hope of Christmas

is that God has come

and willingly

because he loves us.

This is the hope of Christmas.

But Christ's coming

was not arbitrarily

or out the blue.

In fact,

it was the fulfillment

of a promise.

A promise,

that's the second thing.

I don't know what you think

of the Old Testament.

Next year,

we're going to spend

quite a lot of time

in the Old Testament

and our Bible reading plan

and our preaching calendar

for next year.

Many people think

the Old Testament

is harsh,

it's difficult,

it's boring,

it's full of laws

and regulations

and let's just skip over

and jump to the New Testament.

But the Old Testament

is actually full of promise.

It's brimming with hope.

It's promise

that despite the brokenness

of our world,

God has not left us

to ourselves.

God is going to come.

And the promise starts

in Genesis 3,

the first gospel,

and it picks up again

Genesis 12,

Genesis 15,

and Genesis 25,

and then it gets to Exodus,

which is all about promise,

and then Leviticus,

Leviticus 16,

the day of atonement,

and then Numbers,

and Deuteronomy,

and Joshua,

and Judges,

and all the way through

Isaiah,

and Jeremiah,

and Ezekiel,

the whole way through

the Old Testament

is promise after promise

after promise

that God has not left us.

And the Old Testament

tells us a lot

that God is going to send

a Messiah King,

a Savior,

a Deliverer,

a Redeemer,

who will come into our world

and heal us

and put right

what we have messed up.

And the Old Testament

tells us a lot

about this Messiah King.

He'll be born in Bethlehem,

the town of David.

He'll be born

to a single teenage mom.

He'll be a descendant

of King David,

Israel's greatest

but still deeply flawed king.

The Old Testament

promises us

that he will come

and be humble

and poor,

nothing attractive,

no status in society

that we should

naturally want to follow him.

The Old Testament

tells us that

he'll be betrayed

and rejected

and denied

by his own people,

put to death

and he will die

but he won't stay dead.

He will rise again.

And of course,

the Old Testament

predicts that he will bring

goodness and salvation

and hope

to a world that is lost

and without hope.

Friends,

you see the point?

Christmas

is not just

a cultural holiday

like Mid-Autumn Festival

or Dragon Boat Festival.

It's not just

a remembrance

of a good day

in the past

like the 1st of July,

Hong Kong Day.

Christmas is not just

Christ randomly appearing

out the blue

like an unwelcome

Christmas guest.

He rings the doorbell

and says,

Surprise,

I'm here.

Christmas

is God

being good

to his word,

being faithful

to his promise.

Christmas

is God

being faithful

then

he will be faithful

now.

Friends,

God really did come

into our broken world.

Born in Bethlehem

to a single teenage mom

a descendant of David

in poor and humble circumstances

in order to be rejected,

denied,

betrayed by his own people,

put to death

and rise again

and to bring hope

to our world.

The hope of Christmas

is that the same God

who was faithful

to his people

through thousands of years

of ups and downs

and exile

and Egypt

and all the problems of life,

that same God

will be faithful

to those

who trust him.

The hope of Christmas,

the promise fulfilled.

But that's not all.

Look at, again,

this passage with me

in Titus.

Look at how Paul

describes Jesus.

He says,

how does he describe Jesus?

He says,

For the grace of God

has appeared,

bringing salvation

to all people.

Christmas is about

coming.

Christmas is about

promise.

Christmas is about grace.

grace.

If you're new to church

or you're kind of

newish to Christianity,

grace is one of those words

that Christians

throw out a lot.

It's one of those

very Christianese words.

I'm sorry,

we do that a lot.

We use these really weird words

that nobody knows

what you're talking about.

Grace is one of those words.

But the reason is

because grace is really

at the heart

of Christianity.

It's what the whole Bible

is all about.

Grace means

a gift

that is undeserved

or unmerited.

It's a gift

that somebody gives you

that you didn't earn

or deserve.

At the heart of Christianity

is the fact that

God himself

has come to us,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

not simply to teach us

or give us wisdom

or give us some advice

or how to live.

God has come to us

to give us a gift

that we could never earn,

never deserve,

never merit

by our own favor.

The gift of,

what does he say here?

The grace of God

has come bringing salvation,

bringing forgiveness,

bringing grace,

saving us from our sins

and our moral debt

that we could be brought back

into relationship with God.

Again,

imagine the scenario with me.

I've got lots of silly

examples today.

Imagine 2019,

you leave the family business

and you decide

you're going to go out

on your own,

and you're going to start

your own business.

So you put together

your whole business plan,

but you need some money.

And so you borrow

tons of money.

You mortgage your apartment

as max as you can.

You borrow other money

from the bank.

You borrow money

from friends and family.

You borrow all the money

you can.

And you put together

your business plan

and look sound

and you launch your business.

All you need to do,

you need to travel a bit.

You need to get some clients.

And you launch your business

November 2019

and January 2020,

COVID comes.

And COVID messes up everything.

And your business plan

sinks.

Can't travel.

Can't go anywhere.

Can't do anything.

And suddenly,

all those clients

you hoped to attract

disappear.

And you're up to

your neck in debt

and you're in deep,

deep trouble.

Right?

You're in deep trouble

and you have no hope

of repaying your debt.

And suddenly,

someone appears.

Someone comes to you

bringing salvation

in the form of a checkbook.

Right?

Some family member

or benefactor

appears and says,

I will write off your debt

and save you.

They come

and they bring a salvation.

They save you

from what you could not

save yourselves.

Friends,

the Bible says

that every human being,

all of us,

have a moral debt

that we could not pay back.

A moral debt

to the God of the universe

who made us to know Him

and love Him

and be in relationship

with Him

and live trusting Him

and live on Him.

And yet,

we've rejected Him

and said,

actually God,

we think we're going

to go our own way.

We think we know

better than you.

And so,

we've rejected Him,

which is what the Bible

calls sin,

and we're in deep,

deep trouble.

We were dead

in our sins.

But look at what Titus says

Christmas is all about.

He says,

the grace of God

has appeared

in the person

of Jesus Christ,

God Himself,

bringing salvation

and forgiveness

for those

who will trust Him.

Christmas

is about God

not giving up

on us

even though

we had given up on Him.

Christmas

is about God

not giving us

what we deserve

even though

the history

of humanity

is that we have

not given God

the worship

and the adoration

that He deserves.

Christmas

is about grace.

Grace.

If you've got your Bible,

look four verses down

from the scripture

we read.

In chapter 3,

verses 3,

Paul says the same thing.

Listen to what he writes here.

He says,

For we ourselves

were once foolish,

disobedient,

led astray,

slaves to our passions

and our desires

and our pleasures,

passing our days

in malice and envy,

hated by others

and hating one another.

Can I say,

oh that sounds

a bit overboard.

That doesn't really

describe my life.

Doesn't that describe

much of our world?

I mean just think

of the office politics.

Think of our war-torn world

we've lived in this year.

Israel,

Gaza,

Ukraine.

Hating one another

and hated by one another.

Led astray,

slaves to our passions

and desires.

Spending our days

in anger and envy.

But then verse 4,

But when the goodness

and the loving kindness

of God our Savior

appeared,

when Jesus came,

the loving kindness

of God,

He saved us,

not because of works

done by us

in righteousness,

not because we earned it

or deserved it

or merited it,

but according

to His own mercy.

Friends,

Christian hope

is not based on

wishful thinking

or optimistic mindfulness.

It's not based

on the vague idea

that God helps

those who help themselves.

It's based on

a historical event

that when we were

neck high

in our own

moral debt

and sin,

the loving kindness

and mercy

and grace of God

stepped into our

broken,

sin-infested world

and came to

heal us

and bring grace,

not because of

what we deserved,

not because we are

good people,

but because of

His mercy and grace.

The grace of God

came in flesh

and blood.

And look what Paul says.

He says,

this grace

changes us.

Go back to our

original passage

in verse 11.

The grace of God

has appeared,

bringing salvation

to all people,

training us now

to renounce

that former life

ungodliness

and worldly passions

and to live

self-controlled,

upright,

godly lives

in the present age.

Friends,

here's the point.

What is the basis

of your hope

next year

or maybe

for your life?

Viktor Frankl

reminded us,

you've got to

live with hope.

You live without hope,

you're doomed.

Mankind can't

live without hope.

But what is the basis

of your hope?

Is it that God

helps those

who help themselves?

Is it if I'm

a good person,

God will surely

pay me back?

Friends,

or is it

the mercy of God,

the undeserved

grace and kindness

of God himself

who came into our world,

the person of Jesus Christ?

Jesus offers us

something far more

substantial,

something far more

objective and concrete.

It's a hope

that's rooted

in a historical

fact of history

that 2,000 years ago

God came to us

to die on the cross,

to deal with our

moral debt,

to save us

from the slavery

of our sin,

to change our hearts,

to give us

fresh hope.

But that's not all.

The fourth thing

is resurrection.

Now,

when you read

the story

of the early church

and the book of Acts

and the history

of the early church,

one thing that

always astounds me

is these Christians

lived with,

yes,

remarkable hope,

but unbelievable

courage and confidence

in the face

of circumstances

that were largely

far worse

than what we are

facing.

So why is it

that the early

Christians could

face the lions

with such confidence

and boldness

and conviction?

Why is it that

they could allow

themselves to be

burnt at the stake

and not deny

their faith?

Why is it that

many of them

were martyred

and suffered

immeasurable pain

and yet did so

with such conviction

and assurance

and hope?

One of the reasons

is that we see

is that they had

seen and experienced

the risen Lord

Jesus Christ

and they knew

that his claims

must have been true.

Jesus Christ claimed

to be the long-awaited

Messiah King

that the Old Testament

had spoken about,

but Jesus Christ

also claimed

that he would die

and rise again.

And so when the disciples

saw that he did die

with their own eyes

and that he did rise again

with their own eyes

as he said he would,

it also gave them

fresh confidence

that he really was

who he said he was,

the Messiah King.

Because what it meant

for them

and what it means

for those of us

that are Christians,

in this world,

this world is no longer

our home.

And the things of this world

and the people of this world

are not the ones

that define our hope

and our status

and our identity.

Your future

is not based

on the things

of this world

but on the God

who died

and rose

from the grave.

Listen to how

the Apostle Paul

writes it in

1 Corinthians 15,

a very famous passage.

He says,

if Jesus Christ

has not been raised

from the dead,

then our faith

is futile.

We're still stuck

in our sins.

In other words,

there is no such thing

as good news.

The good news

is a farce,

a joke.

Then those who have died

as Christians

have truly perished.

If in this life

only we have hoped

in Christ,

if there's no such thing

as the resurrection,

we are of all people

most to be pitied.

He's saying,

if the resurrection

is not true,

Christianity

is wishful thinking.

This Christian faith

is just a farce,

it's a delusion,

it's a crutch

just to help weak people

get through life.

But in fact,

Christ has raised

from the dead

and is the first fruit,

that means the first sampling,

of those who have died

and will rise

also with him.

Friends,

Jesus Christ came

not just to give us

this fragile,

subjective feeling

of I hope next year

is better than this year.

Jesus came to give us

something concrete,

something real,

something of hope

and conviction.

He conquered the grave

and said,

now those who trust in him,

we don't need to fear

the grave

or the worst

that the world

can throw at us.

We really can live

radically different lives,

full of hope,

full of confidence

that if God,

this God,

this resurrected,

death-defying,

grave-conquering,

cross-conquering,

sovereign God

is for us,

what do we have to fear?

I mean,

if Christmas isn't real

and the resurrection

isn't a historical fact,

let's just say

it's some kind of parable,

some kind of moral,

folklore story

about being gentle

and kind

and turning the other cheek

and not getting back

at your enemies.

If that's all Christianity,

is why should we live differently?

Why should we live

upright,

self-controlled,

godly lives?

But how does that give us hope

when life gets tough,

when the economy sinks

and the job market is hard

and your kids

are not doing well,

how does that give us hope?

Some fabled event

about a man

who lived many years ago.

No friends,

Jesus was born to die

but he didn't stay dead.

he rose again

and he came

just as he promised

bringing life and salvation

and he died on the cross

just as he promised

and he rose again

just as he promised

so that now our lives

can be full of hope.

Prince Christmas

and Christianity,

the hope of Christianity

is rooted

in a historical event,

an event of history.

It's not just some

pie-in-the-sky philosophy

or moral teaching.

It's a historical event

that the history books

affirm

that there is reason

for hope

because Jesus came

as he said

and died as he said

and rose again.

One final thing.

Look at our passage again

in Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

Paul speaks to Titus

not only of the hope

of Christ's first coming

but even more so

of the hope of his return.

He says,

For the grace of God

has appeared

bringing salvation

to all people.

Just by the way,

when he says all people

he doesn't mean

absolutely all people.

It means all those

who hope and trust in him.

All people as in

not just the Jews,

not just the one race,

all people

whether Jews

or Gentiles,

black or white,

Chinese, rich or poor,

moral, immoral,

all those who come

to trust in Jesus.

The grace of God

has appeared

bringing salvation

to all those

who trust in him.

Training us

to renounce ungodliness

and worldly passions

to live self-controlled

upright godly lives.

And then verse 13.

Waiting for our

blessed hope

the appearing

of the glory

of the great God

and our Savior

Jesus Christ.

Friends,

next week

we're going to celebrate

Christmas proper.

Christ's coming

and Christ appearing

at his first coming.

But Christmas

also points us forward

to another coming.

the second coming.

When Christ

will return.

When Christ

will come

to our war-torn

depressed world.

Christ's imminent

return

calls us

to live lives

of hope

and courage

and faithfulness

and conviction

now

in light of the fact

that he will soon

come back.

And when he does,

we will be with him

in a renewed creation.

A creation

where there is

no more suffering,

no more pain,

no more tears,

no more longing,

no more faith

and no more hoping

because all our

deepest longings

will have been realized.

Christ will bring us

to be with him

in a perfect creation

forever.

Christ said that he

would come

the first time

and he did.

But Christ

is coming again

and he will make

all things new.

Think back

of that

person

bobbing in the

waters of the sea.

They're there

wondering,

is there any hope?

And suddenly

a helicopter comes

and flies overhead

and throws them

a lifeline

and they said,

here is a ring,

here's a life raft,

hold on to this,

we're coming back

for you soon.

The person's

going to live

with a very different

kind of hope.

But their hope

is not just

in the first coming,

the hope is

in the second coming

that soon

they'll be brought

back to a world

where all things

will be put right again.

Friends,

Jesus Christ

has come

but he's coming again.

And Jesus

didn't just come

to tell us how to live,

he came to save us,

to rescue us

and he's coming again

to make all things new.

Long lay the world

in sin

and brokenness

and pain

and error pining

till he appeared

and our souls

felt its worth.

A thrill of hope

the weary world

rejoices

for yonder breaks

a new and glorious

more.

So fall on your knees,

hear the angels' voices,

O night divine,

the night

when Christ

was born.

Friends,

what this all

comes down to

is that Christmas

is real.

Christmas hope

is real.

It's not wishful thinking,

it's not positive

mindfulness,

it's concrete.

It's a conviction

and assurance

that you can bank

and build your life upon.

Because ultimately

Christmas

is about a person.

It's about God

himself coming to us,

grace and flesh

and blood.

it's about Jesus Christ

coming to bring healing

to a broken world.

So what about you?

What are you hoping in

for 2024?

What are you hoping in

for the next decade

to come?

What are you trusting in?

And where does

your confidence lie?

Is it just wishful thinking

that next year

will be better

than the previous year?

Or is it based

on the concrete reality

of the person

of the Lord Jesus Christ

who has come once

and is coming again?

Christmas is about

a real person

coming to a real world

to deal with real problems

to bring us real hope.

Christmas is about Christ.

Let's come to him now.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus Christ,

one of the great dangers

of Christmas

is that we've heard

this message

a hundred times,

so many times

that we can become

so blase,

so familiar.

Lord Jesus Christ,

I pray that this

Christmas,

by the power

of your spirit,

you will write

fresh hope

in our hearts.

God,

for some of us

we are really facing

hopeless situations.

And God,

maybe we don't know

where our hope will lie.

We don't know

where to turn.

God,

I pray that you

will come and minister

to us

and lift our eyes

off of our

current circumstances

and help us to see you,

who you are,

the hope of heaven,

the hope of Christmas,

the hope of our lives.

Jesus,

I pray,

won't you make us

a church community

that is brimming

with hope

because we are

banking our lives

on you.

I pray this

in your great

and wonderful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.