The Peace And Hope Of Christmas

God Centered Theology

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I ask that you turn in your Bibles this morning to the book of Colossians chapter 1. Book of Colossians chapter 1.

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We have been going through the book of Colossians. We started in verse 1 of chapter 1 a while back, and we are now down, we are going to be primarily looking at verses 19 and 20 this morning.

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And we are going to make a transition in January to something else for a while, but we will be coming back at some point and picking back up here and moving on in Colossians.

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But for today we are in verses 19 and 20 of the book of Colossians. And the title this morning is,

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The Peace of Christmas, The Peace of Christmas. Verse 19 says,

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For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

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Through Him I say, whether things on earth, or things in Heaven. Let's bow for a quick moment of prayer for the message.

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Father, I ask that You would use my words wisely this morning, Lord, as I present this message,

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Lord. I ask that You would humble our hearts, and ready our hearts to hear the message that the

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Holy Spirit has brought to us this morning. And I thank You for using me as Your humble servant to be able to stand up here and speak this message this morning.

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I thank You for it, in Jesus' name, Amen. Brother Payer, The Peace of Christmas, what a wonderful thought.

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The peace that we have my friends is in the person of Jesus Christ. All peace that man seeks to bring, they can talk about peace in the

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Middle East all they want to. They can talk about peace in America, political peace, war, whatever it is.

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There is only one person in existence that is eternal, and that has the ability and the capacity to actually bring peace to mankind, and to the creation that He created, and that is

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Jesus Christ. He Himself, as it tells us in Ephesians 2, 14,

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Jesus Christ Himself is our peace. And it is because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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It is based on the fact that what He did, no one else could. We've had messages in the past, and I've talked often about in the book of Hebrews where it mentions the fact that the priests in the temple would stand daily, offering the same sacrifices day in and day out, year after year.

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And what little bit of covering for sin it could provide, it never actually solved the sin problem.

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But this same book of Hebrews says that Jesus Christ, when

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He had made one sacrifice for sin, did

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He stand daily over and over? No, my friends. He sat down at the right hand of the

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Father. His work completed. There is nothing you can add to it. There is nothing that it is lacking.

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It is the perfect, whole, and eternal sacrifice for sins.

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And every single person that repents from their sin, and turns and places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will have the eternal life that He freely offers.

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Because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, He now can reconcile.

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As it says in this verse 20 when it says, "...and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself." He now can reconcile all those who believe back to the

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Father. And this peace we now have with God is very real.

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And it is real because it was obtained and purchased for us by a very real and living

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Savior. People don't like to think of ourselves as enemies of God.

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But quite frankly it is just the truth. Romans, the book of Romans speaks very clear to this.

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In Romans chapter 3 when it talks about the fact, there are none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

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All have sinned. Past, present, and Adam, we all sinned when we were born.

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Even cute little Hudson, as cute as he is right now sleeping, he's a sinner.

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Includes my little girl, includes me, includes every one of you. We all were said to have sinned in Adam.

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We were all born with a sin nature. Give the little champ enough time to grow, and he'll find out like we are finding out now, that you don't have to teach kids to sin.

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You don't have to teach me to sin. It's natural. We naturally want to rebel and not listen to our parents, and not listen to instruction or authority.

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It's just inherent in who we are. All have sinned, but also continually fall short of the mark, or fall short of the standard, the glory of God.

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We present tense ongoing every single day of our life in some way or another, we don't meet

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God's standard. Now, this doesn't mean we are not capable of righteousness when we are saved. It does not mean we are incapable of obeying our

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Savior. But it's a reminder that the unnatural, unregenerate man cannot earn his salvation.

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You cannot produce the righteousness necessary to enter into the

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Kingdom of God. Now, this poses a problem for us, because righteousness is required for God's Kingdom, and we don't have it.

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But thankfully, in what these verses are telling us this morning, and what the beauty and the peace of Christmas is, is that God sent

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His only begotten Son, the monogamous in Greek, the one and only, the unique, the only begotten of the

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Father. The unique Son of God, unlike any other, the uniquely qualified Savior.

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He sent Him. He died for us. And now we can freely, as a gift of His grace, possess the eternal righteousness of God.

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You know what that means? You know what that means, brother pear? That means when

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I stand before God one day, I'm going to stand before Him perfectly righteous. You know what it means for all of you?

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If you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, when you stand before the eternal God of the universe,

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He's not going to see your sin. He's not going to see you in reference to judgment or condemnation.

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He's going to see you standing before Him perfectly righteous. But it will never be, even in eternity, it will never be my righteousness, or your righteousness.

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It will be the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And that is why we have peace with God, the peace of Christmas.

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So, what does that mean in reference to Christmas? What it means is that on that first Christmas, in that manger lay the eternal

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Son of God, the only begotten of the Father by whose stripes, and by whose blood we are saved.

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We who are rebel sinners and enemies of God now have eternal peace and right standing with God because of Christ, and through our faith in Him.

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In that manger lay not just another baby, but our literal peace.

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You see we rightly so celebrate and remember the cross of Calvary. Now, tonight at our

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Christmas Eve service we will partake in the Lord's Supper. And our Savior commanded us that as often as we partake of this symbolic

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Lord's Supper to do it in remembrance of Him, in remembrance of His death, burial, and resurrection, the atonement

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He made for sins. And that is the highest priority, is the number one thing that we as Christians remember, and celebrate, and point to.

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Because the same Savior that died on the cross is the same Savior that will one day literally return to this earth.

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And paradise lost will become paradise restored. All sin will be done away with.

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All tears will be gone. All sorrow, all pain, all heartbreak will be a thing of the past.

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And we will have peace. But before He could die, before He could die for us,

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He had to be born for us. Turn with me, if you will, in your

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Bibles to the book of Micah. Book of Micah chapter 5.

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And I want to look specifically at one of the Old Testament prophecies in regard to this baby that laid in the manger.

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Micah chapter 5 we are going to pick it up in verse 2. It says, But as for you,

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Bethlehem and Paphos, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you one will go forth, for me to be ruler in Israel.

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His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.

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This is not pointing to an origin point. Christ was not a created being. What this text here is saying is that this one that will go forth is sort of similar as to the way the

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New Testament puts it. As far back as you can go, Jesus is still in existence, because before Abraham was

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Jesus Christ said, I am. He is the eternally existent one. That's why it says here

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His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity, because He is an eternal being, the second person of the

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Trinity. Verse 3, Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has born a child.

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Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd

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His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the

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Lord His God. And they will remain, because at that time

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He will be great to the ends of the earth. Now, what that last portion there, verse 4 when it says,

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Because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This is a prophetic thing that is still future for us.

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The future kingdom, the eternal state, the time in which they will have literal peace on earth, because sin will be eradicated.

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This is what this is pointing to. At that time He will be great. Not that He is not already great, but at that time

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He will be great in the sense that He will finally be ruling over His creation. And Satan will be in the lake of fire.

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All sin will be in the lake of fire. And all that will remain is the greatness of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Christ.

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And it will extend over all the earth. There will be nothing in which you, no place where you can go, no place where you can go that there will not be the

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Holy Spirit, that will not be Jesus Christ, and the filling up of all things. This is why in the book of Colossians there is that parallel there when verse 19 where it was saying,

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It was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him. Primarily, and specifically in Colossians the context is the fullness of deity that indwelt the

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God -man, Jesus Christ. But there is also this aspect of the fullness of all that God is.

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And this will be fully, in its most fullest form realized in the kingdom when

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Jesus Christ is literally on earth, sitting on the throne, ruling and reigning for all eternity.

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So, it says, And they will remain because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. And notice the first sentence, or the first phrase here in verse 5 when it says,

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This One will be our peace.

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This One, this coming Messiah, the Anointed One, God's Son, the monogamized, the unique and only begotten of the

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Father will be our peace. Jesus Christ is the peace between God and man.

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He is the peace of mankind. He is the literal peace of the entire universe.

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We've already noted in Colossians in verses previous to where we are at today, He is the image of the invisible

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God. He is the head of the Church. By Him all things were created, and through Him all things sustain.

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He is the very power of the universe. He is the creator of the universe. And He is the peace of the universe.

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But I want to transition for you this morning away from our title, The Peace of Christmas. I want to talk about something else that He is.

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You see not only is He, Jesus Christ, our peace eternally, but He and Christmas which celebrates

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His birth is also something that many people seem to be lacking today.

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It's one word, hope. There is so much hope that is lost in this world.

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The statistics rise every year. Depression statistics go up. People that struggle with anxiety, stress, or some other mental issue continues to worsen.

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And you know in the day in which Jesus was born, Israel was suffering without hope.

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They were in a state of hopelessness. They had already been through Babylonian captivity. Now they are under the rule of Roman Empire.

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And their promised Messiah, the one they've been looking for, the one they keep looking for.

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Many of them had just given up hope altogether that He was ever coming. So much time had transpired, somewhere close to 400 years

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I believe if I'm not mistaken. And nothing, not a word from God, no prophet, no

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Messiah, nothing. It's easy to see how hopelessness can set in.

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Hopelessness is something that crosses all lines, poor to rich, black to white, young to old.

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It seems we live in an age in 2017 that could actually be characterized by hopelessness at times.

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And just sort of a side note, something that I focus on as a pastor, something that is one of my mission statements, is something that I think the

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Church at large has completely and utterly failed at in my lifetime.

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Largely, y 'all know my history. What I grew up in and around I think is largely to blame.

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Sermon for another day. But I think even still you can't look to something like that, blame that, and say, well, it's okay because of that.

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One sin doesn't justify another. But something the Church has failed at is in the subject of mental illness, depression, suffering, emotional need, emotional hurt.

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I am someone that struggles with depression. I've had medication in the past for it.

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Anybody that tells you something like that is not real is someone that has never experienced it. There is something to the chemical imbalance that can hump it in the mind.

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And until you've experienced emotions of depression, anxiety, overload of stress, hopelessness, those things of those nature, and you like I've had people tell me before, you know

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I just don't get it. I've got a good family. I've got a good job. I've got money. I've got things.

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Why do I feel this way? It's part of the sin condition. Sin has so corrupted everything that it causes things that need not be.

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That's why the book of Revelation tells us God will wipe away every tear. That's because when we stand before Him there will be people crying, not just in hurt, but in joyfulness that they're finally in front of their

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Savior who can make it go away. And we're promised in this life that we have a

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Savior that will be with us, and we're going to get to that in a minute. But my friends this issue is very real.

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And all I heard growing up is, well you know if you struggle with depression, if you have problems with anxiety, you just don't have enough faith.

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Shame on them! Shame on them for even thinking it, much less looking somebody in the eyeball and saying it.

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My friends if I accomplish nothing else here in my time at Calvary Baptist Church, it will be that every single member, and I don't even care if you're not a member, if you're a human being

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I care about you, it is this, that my door is always open, and I will take as much time as it needs to help you.

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And if I can't help you, I will point you to someone that can. Because my friends

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I'm in such a state now where I have the tools, and I have the support system to help me when those times come.

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Shame on anybody, especially the Church. You know why we have so much trouble fighting secular progressivism?

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Because they're out there wanting to help people and actually come and meet their needs, and we're telling them they don't have enough faith.

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We need to be going there and rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, putting an arm around them and saying,

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God loves you. I love you. Talk to me. Let me help you. Let me show you someone that might can.

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I haven't read this book yet, but it's on my list. In their book titled,

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Hope in the Age of Anxiety, authors Anthony Scioli and Henry Biller describe nine categories of hopelessness.

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Now, I'm not going to go through all these in great detail. I just pulled out a phrase or two about each one.

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If you're interested in this, you can get with me, I can show you the book, and we can get it for you.

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I'll purchase it for you if that's what it takes. I have not read it. I cannot speak to what is in it.

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I don't know if these guys are Christians, or if they are secular, I don't know. But I just know that what they have written is well written, and I appreciate what they have written.

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And I want to share these very quickly with you. Nine categories of hopelessness. Number one, alienation.

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These people feel they are deemed unworthy of love. They are closed off. They feel rejected. Number two, forsakenness, feeling of total abandonment, making one feel completely alone in a great time of need.

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Number three, uninspired. Opportunities for change, growth, solutions, or hopes seem non -existent.

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Number four, powerless. When someone feels incapable of navigating toward desired goals, feeling incapable to do anything at all about their present situation.

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Number five, oppression, feeling pressed down, crushed under the heavy load of life's problems.

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Number six, limitedness, feeling deficient, lacking what is needed to make right choices, to make change.

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Number seven, doom. These people falsely presume their life is over.

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They feel trapped in a fog of decline. Number eight, captivity, feeling imprisoned in circumstances.

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Self -imprisonment can be far dangerous to a certain degree, because this person doesn't want change, because they have come to falsely believe that they actually deserve what has happened to them.

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If you are here, and if you have ever felt this category of captivity, my heart goes out to you, because this false belief that comes that makes you think that you actually deserve something like this is a very sad way to be.

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And I want you to know there is joy, and there is hope, and there is comfort in Jesus Christ. But captivity.

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And number nine, helplessness. These feel exposed, vulnerable. Different traumas like physical, mental, emotional can actually be very crippling to them.

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Now, time will not suffice for me to good delve into these anymore, but I hope that you picked up some as I was going through these quickly.

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But I want you to notice something with me. The key factor in all nine categories that I just read for you is a lack of hope.

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Hopelessness. These authors nailed it right on the head. Feeling hopeless can be paralyzing.

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And as I've already told you, there have been times where I've struggled with depression. There have been times where I've struggled with hopelessness.

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There have been times in my life where I felt one or more of these nine categories. And I'm just going to go ahead and guess that if the pastor is saying he's done it,

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I'm guessing there are some of you that have too. One of the things I want to be as a pastor is I want to be vulnerable.

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I want to be open to you. I want you to understand that just because I stand up here doesn't mean somehow I'm perfect. Somehow I've got some kind of extra special measure of grace that you guys don't.

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We have the same Savior, my friends. You might ask, well, okay,

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Andy, what kept you going? What did you hold on to?

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What do I look for to help me when all seems lost? The most important question of all, where can

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I find the cure for my hopelessness? Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Matthew chapter 1.

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Book of Matthew chapter 1. My friends, the cure for hopelessness is found in a lowly, lowly manger bed in Bethlehem.

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Verse 18 of chapter 1 in Matthew, "'Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows, when

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His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child by the

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Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

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But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take

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Mary as your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call

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His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the

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Lord through the prophet.'" And notice this with me, my friends, very carefully.

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"'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call

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His name Emmanuel,' which translated means, God with us."

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Emmanuel. Emmanuel. God with us.

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I'm not here this morning telling you that hope is coming, that you need to be looking for it.

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If you struggle with any of those nine categories, if you struggle with something completely unrelated, whatever it is that is in your life that burdens you,

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I'm not telling you hope is coming. I'm not telling you to be looking for it.

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My friends, hope has already come. It's already here. It was in the manger.

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It was born of a virgin. He, not it.

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He is our peace, and He is our hope. Hope has already come in the person of Jesus Christ.

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Emmanuel. God with us. My friends,

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God did not leave us to fend for ourselves. He did not leave us hopeless.

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The Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among us, had the glory of God.

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God is with us. He shall bear a son.

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His name shall be called Emmanuel. God with us. Our last stop this morning, turn with me to the book of 1

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Peter chapter 1. Our last stop in the Bible for this morning. I want to read for you the third verse of the first chapter of Peter.

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It says, "'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope.'"

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A living hope! Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

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He is a God that died, was buried, and rose again. But before He could do that, He had to be born.

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He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. So, what does this mean, Andy? What does it mean for me today? Here's what it means, my friends.

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If you were here this morning, if you repented and placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we each had the same foundational hope.

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Each life, every one of your circumstances are unique and different.

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Mine are not yours. Yours are not mine. It will take different tools. It will take different support systems.

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It will take different forms. It may be counseling. It may be a certain type of trained doctor. It may be a family member.

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It runs the spectrum. But the unique, and the consistent, and the one thing we all have in common is the same thing

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I've been preaching to you since day one, is that our unity is in Jesus Christ.

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Our foundational peace, our foundational hope is the same person,

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Jesus Christ. So, what that means this morning, my friends, is that if you need to know where hope is today, look in the manger.

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If you need to know where peace is today, look in the manger. If you need hope for a troubled life, look in the manger.

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If you need hope for your children, maybe they need to be saved, or maybe they're on the wrong track, look in the manger.

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If you need hope for tomorrow, look in the manger. The answer to all of life's hurts, and questions, and worries can all be found in the same manger bed, because that is where you will find the

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Lord Jesus Christ, the Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, the same baby that our text this morning in Colossians verses 19 and 20 tells us would grow up, shed

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His blood on the cross of Calvary. Yes, my friends, God is with us. That is the hope of Christmas.

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Trust God. Cling to Him when life is hard.

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My last message to you this morning, before we sing our last hymn, if you are struggling, if you feel hopeless, if there is something that seems to want to be robbing you of your

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Christmas hope, Christmas should be a season of joy, of happiness, of hope, of rejoicing of what is coming.

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But for some people that joy is lacking, that hope is lacking, they may be in your family, they may be on the job at work, find them, point them to that manger, point them to that Savior, and let them know that hope is not lost.

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It is not gone. It has already come, and it is here in the person of Jesus Christ.

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That is why I can look at all of you this morning and very gladly, and very confidently say,