WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.259 The reading this morning comes from Titus chapter 2 and starting in verse 11 we read, 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:14.080 for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:24.039 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:34.899 and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:44.799 great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:56.259 and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 00:00:57.259 --> 00:00:59.719 This is the word of God. 00:01:00.979 --> 00:01:01.459 Great. 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:02.099 Thanks, Angeline. 00:01:02.239 --> 00:01:05.179 Okay, a nice short scripture reading this morning. 00:01:05.979 --> 00:01:09.379 And let me pray for us and then we're going to dive in a little bit. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.219 Heavenly Father, as we come before your word this morning, as we come before you, 00:01:13.219 --> 00:01:16.260 we pray that you will speak to us from your word. 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:19.959 God, we want to hear what you have to say to us. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:27.659 In the midst of a world that is full of so much pain and turmoil, a war-torn year that we've had, 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:34.659 God, we long for the hope of heaven to break into our lives and into our city. 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:43.079 God, this morning as we contemplate how Christmas speaks to us about a true and abiding hope, 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:45.219 we do pray for our city, God. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:47.079 We pray for the great city of Hong Kong. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:53.079 We pray that the city which is so starved of hope, which so many people do feel hopeless, 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:56.560 we pray, God, that the gospel really will go out in our city. 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:01.759 We pray for all the churches of Hong Kong, the English churches, the Chinese churches, 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:06.219 Cantonese, Mandarin, all the various languages. 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:11.840 We pray, God, that whatever denomination, background, language, or culture, 00:02:12.780 --> 00:02:17.919 that the good news of Jesus, the hope of Christmas and the hope of the gospel will go into our city 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:20.900 and bring hope to restless hearts. 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:27.479 And God, we pray once you start with us this morning, come and let your word find good soil in our hearts, 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:30.539 let your word come and anchor our hearts. 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:37.900 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. 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:40.599 As we look at your word this morning, won't you speak to us? 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:42.459 You know where each one of us are at. 00:02:42.539 --> 00:02:43.899 You know our fears and our joys. 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:46.060 You know the things that are on our hearts. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.939 God, won't you meet each one of us in the room today? 00:02:49.780 --> 00:02:51.639 Through your word and by your spirit, we pray. 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:53.219 In your great and wonderful name. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:54.199 Amen. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:55.519 Amen. 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:59.120 Okay, so everybody knows we're one week out from Christmas. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:03.560 If you don't know that, I'm not too sure what to say. 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:07.700 But Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:12.219 Lots of great things to enjoy about Christmas. 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:16.180 For many of us, it's a time when work kind of slows down. 00:03:16.820 --> 00:03:18.920 Some of us may be able to travel. 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:22.520 Some of us maybe are going to see loved ones you haven't seen for a long time. 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:25.200 Either you're going to go to them or they're going to come to you. 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:29.740 It's a time of connecting with friends and meals and good food. 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:32.840 It's a time we think about those that are precious to us. 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:36.060 And maybe we buy gifts for family or loved ones. 00:03:36.340 --> 00:03:39.939 For those that have children, it's a real magical time of year. 00:03:40.040 --> 00:03:44.420 It's full of wonder and fantasy and amazement. 00:03:44.640 --> 00:03:46.060 It's a wonderful time of the year. 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:49.500 There's another reason why Christmas is so wonderful. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:50.719 Why I love Christmas. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.980 And maybe this is because I'm a little bit more Western. 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:58.199 But it's also the end of the calendar year. 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:01.739 I know obviously the Lunar New Year is a few weeks later. 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.120 But it's kind of the end of 2023. 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:08.079 And it's a time to reflect and think back upon what's happened. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:12.780 But it's also a time to dream and hope for a new year. 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:20.220 It feels like every year Christmas comes and it feels like a blank canvas lies before me. 00:04:20.780 --> 00:04:22.460 A chance to dream again. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:27.879 To hope for all the things that this year didn't materialize and I hoped would have happened. 00:04:28.580 --> 00:04:31.620 It's a time to think about what could possibly be. 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:36.399 One of my favorite lines from the Christmas carols is from O Holy Night. 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:36.860 It says, 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:41.280 A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices. 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:46.080 Or the weary world at the end of a weary year rejoices. 00:04:46.580 --> 00:04:49.639 For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. 00:04:50.780 --> 00:04:51.780 A thrill of hope. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.139 The hope of a new day. 00:04:54.379 --> 00:04:55.360 A new year. 00:04:56.080 --> 00:04:58.420 A new realm of possibilities. 00:04:59.420 --> 00:05:01.360 For a weary and tired world. 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:02.439 A worn out world. 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:03.900 A war torn world. 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:05.000 Like we've had this year. 00:05:06.799 --> 00:05:09.739 A world that's full of brokenness and pain and sin. 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:13.159 And there's something about coming to the end of the year and coming to Christmas. 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:16.219 That as we look into the future and to the year ahead. 00:05:16.299 --> 00:05:16.979 We're able to say, 00:05:17.599 --> 00:05:19.719 The future still has hope. 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.419 There's still possibility for goodness to happen. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:24.279 Joy is still possible. 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:25.399 Hope is not gone. 00:05:26.359 --> 00:05:28.979 At Christmas we often talk about joy and peace and love. 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:31.239 But Christmas promises hope. 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:32.699 Hope beyond a break. 00:05:32.780 --> 00:05:34.579 A new and glorious morn. 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:37.680 But hope is a funny thing, isn't it? 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:40.560 Because hope is immensely powerful. 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:44.100 And it can draw you through difficult and hard times. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.120 I think of Victor Frankl. 00:05:47.280 --> 00:05:52.379 The Jewish psychotherapist who was a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:54.460 Concentration camps in World War II. 00:05:54.459 --> 00:05:58.419 And he analyzed and he watched his fellow prisoners. 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:02.620 And he wrote a book called Man's Search for Meaning. 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:07.599 And he recounts in this book how those prisoners that had hope. 00:06:07.859 --> 00:06:09.139 Hope that they would get through. 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:12.479 Were much more likely to survive the concentration camps. 00:06:12.539 --> 00:06:13.319 Listen to what he says. 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:13.719 He says, 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:18.520 The prisoner who had lost hope in the future was doomed. 00:06:19.420 --> 00:06:26.520 With his loss of hope in the future, he let himself decline, becoming subject to mental and physical decay. 00:06:27.460 --> 00:06:36.760 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. 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:39.240 And so hope is a really powerful thing. 00:06:39.320 --> 00:06:41.560 It draws through the hard times and the difficulties. 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:46.060 But hope is a double-edged sword, isn't it? 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:48.280 Because hope can also be disappointing. 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:51.839 How many of us here have really hoped for something? 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:54.920 Maybe for a loved one's health to improve. 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:56.939 Maybe to get through a cancer. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:06:58.720 And then they didn't. 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:02.439 How many of us have hoped for a promotion at work? 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:04.340 Or to land that job? 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:05.840 Or to get into that course? 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:07.500 Or to start a family? 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:11.199 And things haven't worked out the way that you had hoped. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:13.379 Hope can be immensely powerful. 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:16.540 It can also be really disappointing. 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:19.280 So here's the question. 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:26.860 Is hope another one of those empty Christmas gifts that we open up only to find empty on the inside? 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:32.639 Kind of like when somebody gives you socks for Christmas for the 10th year in a row, right? 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:34.279 It promises so much. 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:35.879 And you unwrap, open it up. 00:07:35.919 --> 00:07:37.680 And it's like, oh, okay. 00:07:38.159 --> 00:07:39.019 Here we go again. 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:41.759 Friends, what's so hopeful about Christmas? 00:07:42.599 --> 00:07:48.139 And how can thinking about the old, old story of Jesus in the manger give us hope? 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:49.860 Not just for this week, but this year. 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:52.240 And in fact, beyond this year, the decades to come. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:58.280 Has the reality and the message of Christmas, how's that going to help us this year when life gets tough? 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:01.060 And when life isn't always that rosy? 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:02.300 Okay. 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:10.519 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. 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:18.859 And the Bible has a very different contrast to the understanding of hope from the ways we use it in modern culture. 00:08:19.539 --> 00:08:29.659 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. 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:30.359 Right? 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:34.399 So we talk about, oh, you hope that your kids will get into some school. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:36.620 You hope to get that promotion. 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:40.399 You hope that your mom's health improves. 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:43.259 You hope that your boss approves your leave application. 00:08:43.439 --> 00:08:49.360 It's some kind of wish or desire that the future circumstances will improve or be better than they are now. 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:57.019 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. 00:08:57.699 --> 00:08:59.399 There's nothing guaranteed about it. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.799 When the Bible talks about hope, it talks about hope in a very different way. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:14.759 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. 00:09:15.339 --> 00:09:16.819 I hope I pass my exams. 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:17.899 Tim. 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:35.860 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. 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:37.860 Sovereign means in control of everything. 00:09:38.560 --> 00:09:42.039 And that this good and sovereign God will carry me through. 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:43.120 Okay? 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:44.080 Do you see the difference? 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:53.899 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. 00:09:53.899 --> 00:10:02.639 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. 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:07.559 And therefore, that kind of confidence is rock solid. 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:08.639 It's secure. 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:10.679 The first one is rather fragile. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:12.480 I hope I pass my exams. 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:13.740 Well, maybe, maybe not. 00:10:14.079 --> 00:10:17.939 The second one is based on character and the track record of who God is. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.299 The first one is very subjective. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:22.019 I hope I get a promotion this year. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:23.220 Maybe, maybe not. 00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:26.460 But the second one is based on an objective reality. 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:28.139 This is who God is. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:29.639 And He's not going to change. 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:31.980 And so you can bank your life on it. 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:34.700 Let me give you a very silly example. 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:35.139 Okay? 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:37.300 Let's say you are a sailor. 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:38.240 You like sailing. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:38.779 Okay? 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:44.580 And so you take your sailboat out into the water, and your worst nightmare comes upon you. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:46.720 The weather turns suddenly. 00:10:47.100 --> 00:10:48.120 The wind comes. 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:49.980 The waves rise. 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:54.879 And the worst thing that could possibly happen, your boat capsizes. 00:10:55.539 --> 00:10:58.220 And you're in the water, and you're all on your own. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:00.519 And you are hopeless. 00:11:01.259 --> 00:11:03.840 Your only hope is that somebody comes and rescues you. 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:08.680 Well, in the distance, way out there, you see a ship. 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:13.919 And so you climb on top of the last kind of semblance of your boat. 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.459 And you take off your shirt, and you wave it around. 00:11:16.659 --> 00:11:22.019 And you hope against all hope that just maybe, just maybe somebody will see you. 00:11:22.819 --> 00:11:24.059 That's the first kind of hope. 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:28.599 But what happens if you hear a helicopter coming over the horizon? 00:11:29.599 --> 00:11:31.219 And it comes, and it sees you. 00:11:31.819 --> 00:11:35.979 And they throw a circle, you know, ring to you in the water. 00:11:36.319 --> 00:11:39.699 And you hear them saying over the megaphone, we see you. 00:11:39.979 --> 00:11:41.159 We're coming to get you. 00:11:41.219 --> 00:11:42.419 We're coming back for you. 00:11:43.179 --> 00:11:45.319 Two very different versions of hope. 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:48.080 One is, I hope somebody sees me. 00:11:48.680 --> 00:11:49.680 But it's very uncertain. 00:11:50.140 --> 00:11:51.280 It's not guaranteed at all. 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:55.360 The other one is something, the concrete that you can hold on to. 00:11:55.780 --> 00:11:56.660 They've seen me. 00:11:56.820 --> 00:11:58.080 They're coming back for me. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:03.480 Friends, one kind of hope is optimism that things will turn out okay. 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:06.340 The other is a conviction that your life is in safe hands. 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:11.040 The message of Christmas, the message of Christianity, 00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:13.160 the message of the gospel, 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:17.100 is that, is one that abounds with hope. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:18.899 Not a subjective feeling. 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:22.600 Not a vague anticipation that maybe things will get better. 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:26.339 The hope of Christianity is an objective reality 00:12:26.339 --> 00:12:28.219 that you can bank your life upon. 00:12:28.719 --> 00:12:31.079 Because it's based on the nature and the character of God. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:34.719 So, how does Christmas help us to live with hope? 00:12:34.839 --> 00:12:37.439 Well, let me give us a couple of things we're going to look at this morning. 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:39.019 Five things. 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:40.759 Most of them from the scripture. 00:12:41.459 --> 00:12:42.819 A few others just thrown in for. 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:44.480 Fun. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:45.079 Okay. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:48.879 Five reasons why we, or those of us that are Christians, 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:51.519 can live with hope as we go into 2024. 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:54.039 And if you're not a Christian here this morning, 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:55.439 so glad that you joined us. 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:58.259 I want you to listen to this through the lens of, 00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:00.600 what would happen if I were to become a Christian? 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:02.919 How would this change my life? 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:04.240 So, let's look at it. 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:05.399 First thing is coming. 00:13:05.699 --> 00:13:05.819 Okay. 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:06.679 They've all got one word. 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:07.000 Coming. 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:08.459 Look at our passage. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:10.539 If you've got your bulletin, your Bible open, 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:11.519 look at our passage. 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:15.000 We're looking at Titus chapter 2 and verse 11. 00:13:15.219 --> 00:13:17.079 And just the first few words. 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:18.879 The Apostle Paul writes this. 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:20.740 He writes this to this young man called Titus. 00:13:20.819 --> 00:13:22.379 He's leading the church in Crete. 00:13:22.839 --> 00:13:23.399 And he says, 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:24.000 Titus, 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.340 The grace of God has appeared, 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:30.080 bringing salvation for all people. 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:30.500 Okay. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:31.679 Let's just pause there for a second. 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:34.240 The grace of God has appeared. 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:37.299 Now, when Paul says the grace of God has appeared, 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:38.159 he's not talking about, 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:40.320 just talking about a religious concept. 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:41.700 What's he talking about? 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:43.379 He's talking about Jesus. 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:45.240 He's talking about a person, right? 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:48.159 Jesus Christ has appeared. 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:49.399 He's talking about Christ coming. 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:51.460 What is Christmas all about? 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:57.920 It's about God coming into our broken and hope-starved world. 00:13:58.540 --> 00:13:59.480 God has come. 00:13:59.560 --> 00:14:01.100 That's the point of Christmas, right? 00:14:01.400 --> 00:14:03.980 God himself has come. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:06.160 In John's gospel, 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:09.320 John writes that Jesus was the light 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:13.540 that came into a dark and broken world. 00:14:14.340 --> 00:14:15.519 A hope-starved world. 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:18.000 A world that had lost its way. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.340 Obviously, Christ had come to bring a sense of life, 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:23.320 a sense of hope. 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:27.059 But when God came to save us, 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:28.100 he didn't just send an email. 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:30.440 He didn't just send a messenger or a message. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.679 He didn't just send a helicopter with a Coast Guard, 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:36.279 you know, someone that throws a ring. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.700 God himself came into a hope-starved world. 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:43.940 And if you've been in church for a long time, 00:14:44.040 --> 00:14:45.340 that sounds very familiar, 00:14:45.540 --> 00:14:47.500 but I want us just to think about that for a second. 00:14:48.920 --> 00:14:50.800 Or maybe before we get there, 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:51.720 imagine the scenario. 00:14:52.520 --> 00:14:54.040 Imagine you're at work one night, 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.180 and things at work have gone really badly, right? 00:14:57.560 --> 00:14:59.360 There's some client account. 00:14:59.920 --> 00:15:03.180 There's some financials that are in a big muddle. 00:15:03.780 --> 00:15:05.600 Things, you're in some mess. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:07.519 And your boss says to you, 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.159 you better sort this out before tomorrow morning, right? 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:11.860 And so you're at work. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:13.840 It's way past midnight. 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:16.759 You're all alone in your office 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:18.899 trying to sort out this big mess, 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:20.500 trying to fix this problem. 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:22.159 There's nobody else with you. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:23.659 You're alone at your desk. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:24.860 For some of you, 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.720 you don't need to imagine this too much, right? 00:15:26.779 --> 00:15:28.639 This is your reality. 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:31.759 And suddenly, the lift doors open, 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.960 and out steps the president of the company. 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:36.620 And he says, 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:38.179 hey, I heard you're in trouble. 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:40.159 I know how to fix this problem. 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:41.539 I'm here to help you. 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:42.819 Okay? 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.080 None of us can imagine that situation, right? 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:45.879 That doesn't happen. 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.879 The president doesn't come to the junior employee 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:49.240 and say, 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:50.939 let me help you with your problem. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:52.939 It's a silly analogy. 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:55.019 Friends, at Christmas, 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:57.600 the being, 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.779 the divine being 00:15:58.779 --> 00:16:00.759 that created galaxies 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:02.319 and cosmos 00:16:02.319 --> 00:16:04.360 and solar systems, 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:06.500 however many billions of years ago, 00:16:06.579 --> 00:16:08.559 who knows how many billions of years ago, 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:10.959 hundreds of trillions 00:16:10.959 --> 00:16:13.259 of billions of light years away, 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:16.000 this galaxy that's ever expanding, 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:17.319 that we've only discovered 00:16:17.319 --> 00:16:18.779 maybe 1% of, 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:20.339 we don't even understand 00:16:20.339 --> 00:16:22.240 most of how this thing works, 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.339 this divine being 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:28.840 who brought it all into existence 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:29.780 out of nothing, 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:32.480 this being whom we call God, 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:34.259 this being 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:36.920 has clothed himself in humanity 00:16:36.920 --> 00:16:38.080 in flesh and blood 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:40.240 and entered into our world 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.420 so that he can speak our language, 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:43.740 so that we can know him 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:44.680 and comprehend him 00:16:44.680 --> 00:16:46.960 to come and fix the problem 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:48.759 that we got ourselves into 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:50.040 called sin 00:16:50.040 --> 00:16:51.580 and brokenness 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:52.800 and depravity. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:54.859 We rejected him 00:16:54.859 --> 00:16:55.179 and said, 00:16:55.319 --> 00:16:55.759 no thanks, 00:16:55.819 --> 00:16:57.120 we'll do life our own way, 00:16:57.639 --> 00:16:58.139 got ourselves 00:16:58.139 --> 00:16:59.259 in all sorts of mess 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:00.219 and this, 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:02.879 to say president 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:05.519 of the universe's sacrilege, 00:17:05.639 --> 00:17:07.079 this divine being 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:08.680 has stepped into our world 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:09.059 and said, 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:10.299 I'm here to help. 00:17:11.899 --> 00:17:12.419 God 00:17:12.419 --> 00:17:14.379 has come. 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:16.740 It's astounding. 00:17:18.879 --> 00:17:19.399 Friends, 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:20.879 I don't know what troubles 00:17:20.879 --> 00:17:21.799 you're facing, 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:22.819 what challenges you have 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:23.339 on the horizon, 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:25.259 what 2024 looks like for you. 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:26.019 Okay, 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:26.980 the economy's not good. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:27.720 Okay, 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:28.500 the Hang Seng is, 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:29.500 who knows where it is. 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:31.379 But this God 00:17:31.379 --> 00:17:32.159 has come, 00:17:32.919 --> 00:17:33.480 Emmanuel, 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:35.419 to be with us. 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:38.539 The hope of Christmas 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:39.859 is not just a new leaf, 00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:40.579 a blank slate. 00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:41.720 Let's hope next year 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:42.700 is better than the last. 00:17:43.379 --> 00:17:44.180 The hope of Christmas 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:45.480 is that God has come 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:46.619 and willingly 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:48.500 because he loves us. 00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:50.500 This is the hope of Christmas. 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:52.460 But Christ's coming 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:53.519 was not arbitrarily 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:54.180 or out the blue. 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:55.140 In fact, 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:56.019 it was the fulfillment 00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:57.099 of a promise. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:57.599 A promise, 00:17:57.700 --> 00:17:58.480 that's the second thing. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:00.339 I don't know what you think 00:18:00.339 --> 00:18:01.039 of the Old Testament. 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:02.099 Next year, 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:02.579 we're going to spend 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:03.339 quite a lot of time 00:18:03.339 --> 00:18:04.099 in the Old Testament 00:18:04.099 --> 00:18:05.319 and our Bible reading plan 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.220 and our preaching calendar 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:07.920 for next year. 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:09.460 Many people think 00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:10.140 the Old Testament 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:10.960 is harsh, 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:12.000 it's difficult, 00:18:12.339 --> 00:18:13.140 it's boring, 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:14.279 it's full of laws 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:15.700 and regulations 00:18:15.700 --> 00:18:17.360 and let's just skip over 00:18:17.360 --> 00:18:18.319 and jump to the New Testament. 00:18:19.100 --> 00:18:19.980 But the Old Testament 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:21.559 is actually full of promise. 00:18:22.120 --> 00:18:23.340 It's brimming with hope. 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:24.700 It's promise 00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:26.559 that despite the brokenness 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:27.059 of our world, 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:28.299 God has not left us 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:28.860 to ourselves. 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:30.960 God is going to come. 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:32.680 And the promise starts 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:33.620 in Genesis 3, 00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:34.980 the first gospel, 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:36.360 and it picks up again 00:18:36.360 --> 00:18:37.319 Genesis 12, 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:38.580 Genesis 15, 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:40.100 and Genesis 25, 00:18:40.580 --> 00:18:41.779 and then it gets to Exodus, 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:43.080 which is all about promise, 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:44.299 and then Leviticus, 00:18:44.460 --> 00:18:45.379 Leviticus 16, 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:46.419 the day of atonement, 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:47.439 and then Numbers, 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:48.139 and Deuteronomy, 00:18:48.439 --> 00:18:48.939 and Joshua, 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:49.720 and Judges, 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:51.019 and all the way through 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:51.500 Isaiah, 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:52.179 and Jeremiah, 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:52.799 and Ezekiel, 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:54.059 the whole way through 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:54.799 the Old Testament 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.939 is promise after promise 00:18:56.939 --> 00:18:57.779 after promise 00:18:57.779 --> 00:18:59.699 that God has not left us. 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:01.240 And the Old Testament 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:02.079 tells us a lot 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.519 that God is going to send 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:04.679 a Messiah King, 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:05.619 a Savior, 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:06.480 a Deliverer, 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:07.099 a Redeemer, 00:19:07.379 --> 00:19:08.720 who will come into our world 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:09.720 and heal us 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:10.279 and put right 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:11.500 what we have messed up. 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:13.000 And the Old Testament 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:13.640 tells us a lot 00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:14.920 about this Messiah King. 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:16.680 He'll be born in Bethlehem, 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:17.500 the town of David. 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:18.880 He'll be born 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:20.240 to a single teenage mom. 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:22.859 He'll be a descendant 00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:23.579 of King David, 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:24.799 Israel's greatest 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.519 but still deeply flawed king. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:28.019 The Old Testament 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:28.799 promises us 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:29.940 that he will come 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:30.859 and be humble 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:31.400 and poor, 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:32.319 nothing attractive, 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:34.059 no status in society 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:34.599 that we should 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:36.220 naturally want to follow him. 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:37.460 The Old Testament 00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:38.200 tells us that 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:39.680 he'll be betrayed 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:40.380 and rejected 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:41.040 and denied 00:19:41.040 --> 00:19:41.980 by his own people, 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:42.760 put to death 00:19:42.760 --> 00:19:43.800 and he will die 00:19:43.800 --> 00:19:45.400 but he won't stay dead. 00:19:46.040 --> 00:19:46.960 He will rise again. 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:48.260 And of course, 00:19:48.320 --> 00:19:48.780 the Old Testament 00:19:48.780 --> 00:19:50.120 predicts that he will bring 00:19:50.120 --> 00:19:51.200 goodness and salvation 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:51.920 and hope 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:53.660 to a world that is lost 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:55.120 and without hope. 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:56.140 Friends, 00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:56.780 you see the point? 00:19:57.520 --> 00:19:57.920 Christmas 00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.000 is not just 00:19:59.000 --> 00:19:59.960 a cultural holiday 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:01.500 like Mid-Autumn Festival 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:02.680 or Dragon Boat Festival. 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:03.860 It's not just 00:20:03.860 --> 00:20:04.420 a remembrance 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:05.300 of a good day 00:20:05.300 --> 00:20:06.020 in the past 00:20:06.020 --> 00:20:07.540 like the 1st of July, 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:08.320 Hong Kong Day. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:10.359 Christmas is not just 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.059 Christ randomly appearing 00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:12.700 out the blue 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:13.700 like an unwelcome 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:14.639 Christmas guest. 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:15.819 He rings the doorbell 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:16.139 and says, 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:16.519 Surprise, 00:20:16.879 --> 00:20:17.299 I'm here. 00:20:18.139 --> 00:20:18.599 Christmas 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:20.279 is God 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:21.240 being good 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:22.439 to his word, 00:20:23.139 --> 00:20:24.019 being faithful 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:25.639 to his promise. 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:27.220 Christmas 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:27.939 is God 00:20:27.939 --> 00:20:28.839 being faithful 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:29.339 then 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:30.480 he will be faithful 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:31.359 now. 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:32.599 Friends, 00:20:32.679 --> 00:20:33.639 God really did come 00:20:33.639 --> 00:20:34.599 into our broken world. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:36.159 Born in Bethlehem 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:38.060 to a single teenage mom 00:20:38.060 --> 00:20:39.620 a descendant of David 00:20:39.620 --> 00:20:41.920 in poor and humble circumstances 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:43.740 in order to be rejected, 00:20:44.340 --> 00:20:44.720 denied, 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:46.620 betrayed by his own people, 00:20:46.840 --> 00:20:47.540 put to death 00:20:47.540 --> 00:20:49.000 and rise again 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:50.279 and to bring hope 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:51.360 to our world. 00:20:52.100 --> 00:20:52.860 The hope of Christmas 00:20:52.860 --> 00:20:54.200 is that the same God 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:54.900 who was faithful 00:20:54.900 --> 00:20:55.700 to his people 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:57.400 through thousands of years 00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:58.380 of ups and downs 00:20:58.380 --> 00:20:58.960 and exile 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:00.460 and Egypt 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:01.620 and all the problems of life, 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:02.560 that same God 00:21:02.560 --> 00:21:03.259 will be faithful 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:04.460 to those 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:05.580 who trust him. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:07.360 The hope of Christmas, 00:21:08.100 --> 00:21:09.240 the promise fulfilled. 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:11.480 But that's not all. 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:12.620 Look at, again, 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:13.680 this passage with me 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:14.600 in Titus. 00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:16.300 Look at how Paul 00:21:16.300 --> 00:21:18.000 describes Jesus. 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:19.900 He says, 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:22.220 how does he describe Jesus? 00:21:22.340 --> 00:21:22.600 He says, 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:23.880 For the grace of God 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:24.580 has appeared, 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:26.060 bringing salvation 00:21:26.060 --> 00:21:27.000 to all people. 00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:28.980 Christmas is about 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:29.500 coming. 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:30.440 Christmas is about 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:31.360 promise. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:32.700 Christmas is about grace. 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:32.779 grace. 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:35.380 If you're new to church 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:36.759 or you're kind of 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:37.700 newish to Christianity, 00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:39.319 grace is one of those words 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:39.819 that Christians 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:40.680 throw out a lot. 00:21:41.080 --> 00:21:41.460 It's one of those 00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:42.680 very Christianese words. 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:43.740 I'm sorry, 00:21:43.840 --> 00:21:44.580 we do that a lot. 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:46.000 We use these really weird words 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:46.700 that nobody knows 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:47.539 what you're talking about. 00:21:48.100 --> 00:21:49.460 Grace is one of those words. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:51.160 But the reason is 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:52.460 because grace is really 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:53.180 at the heart 00:21:53.180 --> 00:21:53.880 of Christianity. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:55.720 It's what the whole Bible 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:56.620 is all about. 00:21:58.620 --> 00:21:59.819 Grace means 00:21:59.819 --> 00:22:00.839 a gift 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:02.720 that is undeserved 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:03.659 or unmerited. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:05.339 It's a gift 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:06.399 that somebody gives you 00:22:06.399 --> 00:22:08.159 that you didn't earn 00:22:08.159 --> 00:22:09.599 or deserve. 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:11.679 At the heart of Christianity 00:22:11.679 --> 00:22:13.039 is the fact that 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:13.919 God himself 00:22:13.919 --> 00:22:15.139 has come to us, 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:16.359 the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:18.200 not simply to teach us 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:18.980 or give us wisdom 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:20.279 or give us some advice 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:21.059 or how to live. 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:22.519 God has come to us 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:23.879 to give us a gift 00:22:23.879 --> 00:22:25.619 that we could never earn, 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:26.980 never deserve, 00:22:27.439 --> 00:22:28.179 never merit 00:22:28.179 --> 00:22:29.220 by our own favor. 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:30.720 The gift of, 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:31.539 what does he say here? 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:33.000 The grace of God 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:35.019 has come bringing salvation, 00:22:35.899 --> 00:22:37.200 bringing forgiveness, 00:22:38.139 --> 00:22:40.179 bringing grace, 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:42.139 saving us from our sins 00:22:42.139 --> 00:22:43.079 and our moral debt 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:44.659 that we could be brought back 00:22:44.659 --> 00:22:45.779 into relationship with God. 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:47.179 Again, 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:48.439 imagine the scenario with me. 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:49.500 I've got lots of silly 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:50.240 examples today. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:52.220 Imagine 2019, 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:56.460 you leave the family business 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:58.500 and you decide 00:22:58.500 --> 00:22:59.039 you're going to go out 00:22:59.039 --> 00:22:59.379 on your own, 00:22:59.380 --> 00:22:59.960 and you're going to start 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:00.700 your own business. 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:02.180 So you put together 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:03.280 your whole business plan, 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:04.680 but you need some money. 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:05.940 And so you borrow 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:06.840 tons of money. 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.800 You mortgage your apartment 00:23:08.800 --> 00:23:10.520 as max as you can. 00:23:10.900 --> 00:23:12.020 You borrow other money 00:23:12.020 --> 00:23:12.560 from the bank. 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:13.260 You borrow money 00:23:13.260 --> 00:23:14.420 from friends and family. 00:23:14.540 --> 00:23:15.340 You borrow all the money 00:23:15.340 --> 00:23:15.820 you can. 00:23:16.360 --> 00:23:17.180 And you put together 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:17.880 your business plan 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:18.700 and look sound 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:20.040 and you launch your business. 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:21.460 All you need to do, 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:22.480 you need to travel a bit. 00:23:22.580 --> 00:23:23.740 You need to get some clients. 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:26.099 And you launch your business 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:27.240 November 2019 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:29.140 and January 2020, 00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:30.099 COVID comes. 00:23:31.299 --> 00:23:33.240 And COVID messes up everything. 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:35.920 And your business plan 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:37.019 sinks. 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:38.720 Can't travel. 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:39.700 Can't go anywhere. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:40.579 Can't do anything. 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:41.920 And suddenly, 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.539 all those clients 00:23:42.539 --> 00:23:43.740 you hoped to attract 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:44.519 disappear. 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:46.099 And you're up to 00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:47.160 your neck in debt 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:48.900 and you're in deep, 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:49.420 deep trouble. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:49.940 Right? 00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:51.960 You're in deep trouble 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:52.960 and you have no hope 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:54.040 of repaying your debt. 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:55.700 And suddenly, 00:23:56.340 --> 00:23:57.620 someone appears. 00:23:58.340 --> 00:23:59.380 Someone comes to you 00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:00.420 bringing salvation 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:02.360 in the form of a checkbook. 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:02.720 Right? 00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:04.380 Some family member 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:05.360 or benefactor 00:24:05.360 --> 00:24:06.920 appears and says, 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:08.940 I will write off your debt 00:24:08.940 --> 00:24:10.460 and save you. 00:24:11.100 --> 00:24:11.860 They come 00:24:11.860 --> 00:24:12.779 and they bring a salvation. 00:24:12.940 --> 00:24:13.420 They save you 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:14.180 from what you could not 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:14.940 save yourselves. 00:24:14.940 --> 00:24:16.500 Friends, 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:17.160 the Bible says 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:18.700 that every human being, 00:24:18.820 --> 00:24:19.480 all of us, 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:20.779 have a moral debt 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:23.000 that we could not pay back. 00:24:23.840 --> 00:24:24.380 A moral debt 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:25.480 to the God of the universe 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:26.940 who made us to know Him 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:28.299 and love Him 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:29.680 and be in relationship 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:30.180 with Him 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:33.299 and live trusting Him 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:34.960 and live on Him. 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:35.759 And yet, 00:24:35.820 --> 00:24:36.500 we've rejected Him 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:36.740 and said, 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:37.380 actually God, 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:38.019 we think we're going 00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:38.779 to go our own way. 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:40.360 We think we know 00:24:40.360 --> 00:24:41.140 better than you. 00:24:41.580 --> 00:24:41.799 And so, 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:42.759 we've rejected Him, 00:24:42.860 --> 00:24:43.500 which is what the Bible 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:44.059 calls sin, 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:45.259 and we're in deep, 00:24:45.379 --> 00:24:45.839 deep trouble. 00:24:46.399 --> 00:24:47.079 We were dead 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:47.839 in our sins. 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:49.819 But look at what Titus says 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:51.079 Christmas is all about. 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:51.940 He says, 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:53.379 the grace of God 00:24:53.379 --> 00:24:54.059 has appeared 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:55.159 in the person 00:24:55.159 --> 00:24:56.099 of Jesus Christ, 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:56.980 God Himself, 00:24:57.399 --> 00:24:58.519 bringing salvation 00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.619 and forgiveness 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:00.539 for those 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:01.359 who will trust Him. 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:02.659 Christmas 00:25:02.659 --> 00:25:04.059 is about God 00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:05.440 not giving up 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.559 on us 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:07.099 even though 00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:08.099 we had given up on Him. 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:09.619 Christmas 00:25:09.619 --> 00:25:10.539 is about God 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:11.659 not giving us 00:25:11.659 --> 00:25:12.599 what we deserve 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:13.399 even though 00:25:13.399 --> 00:25:13.939 the history 00:25:13.939 --> 00:25:14.519 of humanity 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:15.339 is that we have 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:16.000 not given God 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:16.480 the worship 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:17.240 and the adoration 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:18.240 that He deserves. 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:20.099 Christmas 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:21.599 is about grace. 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:23.219 Grace. 00:25:24.219 --> 00:25:25.139 If you've got your Bible, 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.339 look four verses down 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:28.199 from the scripture 00:25:28.199 --> 00:25:28.779 we read. 00:25:29.159 --> 00:25:30.839 In chapter 3, 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:31.799 verses 3, 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:33.240 Paul says the same thing. 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:34.119 Listen to what he writes here. 00:25:34.199 --> 00:25:34.439 He says, 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:36.220 For we ourselves 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:37.720 were once foolish, 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:39.120 disobedient, 00:25:39.620 --> 00:25:40.380 led astray, 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:42.240 slaves to our passions 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:43.120 and our desires 00:25:43.120 --> 00:25:43.840 and our pleasures, 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:45.380 passing our days 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:46.559 in malice and envy, 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:48.100 hated by others 00:25:48.100 --> 00:25:49.200 and hating one another. 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:50.259 Can I say, 00:25:50.320 --> 00:25:50.799 oh that sounds 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:51.440 a bit overboard. 00:25:51.620 --> 00:25:52.559 That doesn't really 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:53.480 describe my life. 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:54.880 Doesn't that describe 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:55.759 much of our world? 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:56.880 I mean just think 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:57.940 of the office politics. 00:25:58.860 --> 00:26:00.640 Think of our war-torn world 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:01.559 we've lived in this year. 00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:02.360 Israel, 00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:02.880 Gaza, 00:26:03.080 --> 00:26:03.539 Ukraine. 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:05.440 Hating one another 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:06.940 and hated by one another. 00:26:07.580 --> 00:26:08.180 Led astray, 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:09.680 slaves to our passions 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:10.360 and desires. 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:11.820 Spending our days 00:26:11.820 --> 00:26:13.160 in anger and envy. 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:15.059 But then verse 4, 00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:16.740 But when the goodness 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:18.559 and the loving kindness 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:20.160 of God our Savior 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:20.960 appeared, 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:22.880 when Jesus came, 00:26:23.580 --> 00:26:24.500 the loving kindness 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:25.019 of God, 00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:26.620 He saved us, 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:27.980 not because of works 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:28.580 done by us 00:26:28.580 --> 00:26:29.180 in righteousness, 00:26:29.420 --> 00:26:30.360 not because we earned it 00:26:30.360 --> 00:26:31.019 or deserved it 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:31.799 or merited it, 00:26:32.120 --> 00:26:32.920 but according 00:26:32.920 --> 00:26:34.560 to His own mercy. 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:36.200 Friends, 00:26:36.300 --> 00:26:37.220 Christian hope 00:26:37.220 --> 00:26:38.000 is not based on 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:38.960 wishful thinking 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:40.259 or optimistic mindfulness. 00:26:40.860 --> 00:26:41.460 It's not based 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:42.240 on the vague idea 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:43.080 that God helps 00:26:43.080 --> 00:26:44.200 those who help themselves. 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:45.460 It's based on 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:46.500 a historical event 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:47.840 that when we were 00:26:47.840 --> 00:26:49.080 neck high 00:26:49.080 --> 00:26:49.940 in our own 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:50.759 moral debt 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:51.340 and sin, 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:52.880 the loving kindness 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:53.700 and mercy 00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:54.620 and grace of God 00:26:54.620 --> 00:26:56.100 stepped into our 00:26:56.100 --> 00:26:56.960 broken, 00:26:57.460 --> 00:26:58.640 sin-infested world 00:26:58.640 --> 00:26:59.940 and came to 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:00.660 heal us 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:02.180 and bring grace, 00:27:02.320 --> 00:27:03.100 not because of 00:27:03.100 --> 00:27:03.759 what we deserved, 00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:05.200 not because we are 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:05.840 good people, 00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:07.080 but because of 00:27:07.080 --> 00:27:08.220 His mercy and grace. 00:27:09.560 --> 00:27:10.580 The grace of God 00:27:10.580 --> 00:27:11.500 came in flesh 00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:12.440 and blood. 00:27:14.280 --> 00:27:15.120 And look what Paul says. 00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:15.420 He says, 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:16.040 this grace 00:27:16.040 --> 00:27:16.980 changes us. 00:27:17.020 --> 00:27:17.520 Go back to our 00:27:17.520 --> 00:27:18.400 original passage 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:19.960 in verse 11. 00:27:20.060 --> 00:27:20.740 The grace of God 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:21.200 has appeared, 00:27:21.700 --> 00:27:22.440 bringing salvation 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:23.240 to all people, 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:24.700 training us now 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:25.740 to renounce 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:26.640 that former life 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:27.300 ungodliness 00:27:27.300 --> 00:27:28.320 and worldly passions 00:27:28.320 --> 00:27:29.180 and to live 00:27:29.180 --> 00:27:29.960 self-controlled, 00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:30.580 upright, 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:31.380 godly lives 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:32.280 in the present age. 00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:33.140 Friends, 00:27:33.140 --> 00:27:33.720 here's the point. 00:27:34.560 --> 00:27:35.620 What is the basis 00:27:35.620 --> 00:27:36.500 of your hope 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.259 next year 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:39.120 or maybe 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:39.840 for your life? 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:41.620 Viktor Frankl 00:27:41.620 --> 00:27:42.300 reminded us, 00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:42.980 you've got to 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:43.640 live with hope. 00:27:44.660 --> 00:27:45.600 You live without hope, 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:47.000 you're doomed. 00:27:48.080 --> 00:27:49.080 Mankind can't 00:27:49.080 --> 00:27:49.780 live without hope. 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:51.380 But what is the basis 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:51.940 of your hope? 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:53.259 Is it that God 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:53.720 helps those 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:54.340 who help themselves? 00:27:55.060 --> 00:27:56.040 Is it if I'm 00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:56.720 a good person, 00:27:56.839 --> 00:27:57.440 God will surely 00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:58.319 pay me back? 00:27:59.700 --> 00:27:59.960 Friends, 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:00.399 or is it 00:28:00.399 --> 00:28:02.119 the mercy of God, 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:04.079 the undeserved 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:05.059 grace and kindness 00:28:05.059 --> 00:28:06.180 of God himself 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:07.259 who came into our world, 00:28:07.399 --> 00:28:08.879 the person of Jesus Christ? 00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:11.000 Jesus offers us 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:11.700 something far more 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:12.220 substantial, 00:28:12.399 --> 00:28:13.059 something far more 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:14.159 objective and concrete. 00:28:14.879 --> 00:28:15.359 It's a hope 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:15.899 that's rooted 00:28:15.899 --> 00:28:16.759 in a historical 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:17.799 fact of history 00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:19.859 that 2,000 years ago 00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:21.539 God came to us 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:22.960 to die on the cross, 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:23.740 to deal with our 00:28:23.740 --> 00:28:24.299 moral debt, 00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:25.539 to save us 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:26.159 from the slavery 00:28:26.159 --> 00:28:26.700 of our sin, 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:28.319 to change our hearts, 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:29.579 to give us 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:30.220 fresh hope. 00:28:31.159 --> 00:28:32.180 But that's not all. 00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:33.659 The fourth thing 00:28:33.659 --> 00:28:34.659 is resurrection. 00:28:35.639 --> 00:28:35.920 Now, 00:28:36.159 --> 00:28:37.159 when you read 00:28:37.159 --> 00:28:37.859 the story 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:38.680 of the early church 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:39.920 and the book of Acts 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.700 and the history 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:41.440 of the early church, 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:42.500 one thing that 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:43.539 always astounds me 00:28:43.539 --> 00:28:44.960 is these Christians 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.359 lived with, 00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:46.639 yes, 00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:47.559 remarkable hope, 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:49.480 but unbelievable 00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:51.099 courage and confidence 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:52.200 in the face 00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:53.039 of circumstances 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:54.420 that were largely 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:55.920 far worse 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:56.440 than what we are 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:56.819 facing. 00:28:57.879 --> 00:28:58.700 So why is it 00:28:58.700 --> 00:28:59.240 that the early 00:28:59.240 --> 00:28:59.899 Christians could 00:28:59.899 --> 00:29:00.879 face the lions 00:29:00.879 --> 00:29:01.879 with such confidence 00:29:01.879 --> 00:29:02.539 and boldness 00:29:02.539 --> 00:29:03.059 and conviction? 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:04.359 Why is it that 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:04.960 they could allow 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:05.579 themselves to be 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:06.519 burnt at the stake 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:07.259 and not deny 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:07.779 their faith? 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:09.000 Why is it that 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:09.619 many of them 00:29:09.619 --> 00:29:10.259 were martyred 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:10.940 and suffered 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:12.740 immeasurable pain 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:13.839 and yet did so 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:14.639 with such conviction 00:29:14.639 --> 00:29:15.259 and assurance 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:16.180 and hope? 00:29:16.180 --> 00:29:18.440 One of the reasons 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:20.539 is that we see 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:22.120 is that they had 00:29:22.120 --> 00:29:23.259 seen and experienced 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:24.120 the risen Lord 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:24.920 Jesus Christ 00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:26.140 and they knew 00:29:26.140 --> 00:29:26.900 that his claims 00:29:26.900 --> 00:29:27.860 must have been true. 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:31.080 Jesus Christ claimed 00:29:31.080 --> 00:29:32.180 to be the long-awaited 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:33.060 Messiah King 00:29:33.060 --> 00:29:34.259 that the Old Testament 00:29:34.259 --> 00:29:35.160 had spoken about, 00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:36.740 but Jesus Christ 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:37.580 also claimed 00:29:37.580 --> 00:29:38.519 that he would die 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:39.600 and rise again. 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:41.460 And so when the disciples 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:42.940 saw that he did die 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:43.960 with their own eyes 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:45.720 and that he did rise again 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:46.980 with their own eyes 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:48.299 as he said he would, 00:29:48.819 --> 00:29:49.819 it also gave them 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:50.539 fresh confidence 00:29:50.539 --> 00:29:51.640 that he really was 00:29:51.640 --> 00:29:52.620 who he said he was, 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:53.980 the Messiah King. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.559 Because what it meant 00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:56.079 for them 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:56.660 and what it means 00:29:56.660 --> 00:29:57.180 for those of us 00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:58.120 that are Christians, 00:29:58.980 --> 00:30:00.279 in this world, 00:30:00.380 --> 00:30:01.400 this world is no longer 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:01.980 our home. 00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:03.819 And the things of this world 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:05.220 and the people of this world 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:06.500 are not the ones 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:07.779 that define our hope 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:08.779 and our status 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:09.720 and our identity. 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:11.539 Your future 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:13.819 is not based 00:30:13.819 --> 00:30:14.440 on the things 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:15.200 of this world 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:16.240 but on the God 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:16.860 who died 00:30:16.860 --> 00:30:17.519 and rose 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:18.360 from the grave. 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:20.120 Listen to how 00:30:20.120 --> 00:30:20.740 the Apostle Paul 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:21.360 writes it in 00:30:21.360 --> 00:30:22.740 1 Corinthians 15, 00:30:22.860 --> 00:30:23.740 a very famous passage. 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:24.240 He says, 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:25.920 if Jesus Christ 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:27.440 has not been raised 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:28.259 from the dead, 00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:29.779 then our faith 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:30.500 is futile. 00:30:31.259 --> 00:30:31.900 We're still stuck 00:30:31.900 --> 00:30:32.480 in our sins. 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:33.400 In other words, 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:34.620 there is no such thing 00:30:34.620 --> 00:30:35.220 as good news. 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:36.259 The good news 00:30:36.259 --> 00:30:36.920 is a farce, 00:30:37.019 --> 00:30:37.420 a joke. 00:30:38.180 --> 00:30:39.319 Then those who have died 00:30:39.319 --> 00:30:39.940 as Christians 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:41.580 have truly perished. 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:43.160 If in this life 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:44.320 only we have hoped 00:30:44.320 --> 00:30:44.940 in Christ, 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:46.759 if there's no such thing 00:30:46.759 --> 00:30:47.360 as the resurrection, 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:49.600 we are of all people 00:30:49.600 --> 00:30:50.860 most to be pitied. 00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:51.740 He's saying, 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:52.740 if the resurrection 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:53.360 is not true, 00:30:53.840 --> 00:30:54.180 Christianity 00:30:54.180 --> 00:30:55.340 is wishful thinking. 00:30:55.820 --> 00:30:56.759 This Christian faith 00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:57.600 is just a farce, 00:30:57.660 --> 00:30:58.279 it's a delusion, 00:30:58.440 --> 00:30:59.000 it's a crutch 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:00.019 just to help weak people 00:31:00.019 --> 00:31:00.820 get through life. 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:02.540 But in fact, 00:31:03.140 --> 00:31:04.480 Christ has raised 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:05.040 from the dead 00:31:05.040 --> 00:31:06.580 and is the first fruit, 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:07.920 that means the first sampling, 00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:09.460 of those who have died 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:10.559 and will rise 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:11.620 also with him. 00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:12.799 Friends, 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:13.880 Jesus Christ came 00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:14.640 not just to give us 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:15.299 this fragile, 00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:16.500 subjective feeling 00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:17.519 of I hope next year 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:18.480 is better than this year. 00:31:19.360 --> 00:31:20.400 Jesus came to give us 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:21.160 something concrete, 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:22.559 something real, 00:31:23.360 --> 00:31:24.480 something of hope 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:25.120 and conviction. 00:31:25.799 --> 00:31:27.259 He conquered the grave 00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:28.079 and said, 00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:29.680 now those who trust in him, 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:31.460 we don't need to fear 00:31:31.460 --> 00:31:32.140 the grave 00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:33.079 or the worst 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:33.620 that the world 00:31:33.620 --> 00:31:34.579 can throw at us. 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:36.240 We really can live 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:37.559 radically different lives, 00:31:37.779 --> 00:31:38.600 full of hope, 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:39.519 full of confidence 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:40.919 that if God, 00:31:41.199 --> 00:31:41.859 this God, 00:31:41.959 --> 00:31:42.799 this resurrected, 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:43.740 death-defying, 00:31:43.939 --> 00:31:44.799 grave-conquering, 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:46.000 cross-conquering, 00:31:46.159 --> 00:31:46.719 sovereign God 00:31:46.719 --> 00:31:47.579 is for us, 00:31:48.059 --> 00:31:49.339 what do we have to fear? 00:31:51.679 --> 00:31:52.299 I mean, 00:31:52.399 --> 00:31:54.279 if Christmas isn't real 00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:55.139 and the resurrection 00:31:55.139 --> 00:31:56.659 isn't a historical fact, 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:57.719 let's just say 00:31:57.719 --> 00:31:58.599 it's some kind of parable, 00:31:58.679 --> 00:31:59.919 some kind of moral, 00:32:00.339 --> 00:32:01.579 folklore story 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:02.980 about being gentle 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:03.559 and kind 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:04.799 and turning the other cheek 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.219 and not getting back 00:32:06.219 --> 00:32:06.839 at your enemies. 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:08.519 If that's all Christianity, 00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:09.719 is why should we live differently? 00:32:10.639 --> 00:32:11.359 Why should we live 00:32:11.359 --> 00:32:11.879 upright, 00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:12.759 self-controlled, 00:32:13.139 --> 00:32:13.919 godly lives? 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:16.579 But how does that give us hope 00:32:16.579 --> 00:32:18.219 when life gets tough, 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:20.159 when the economy sinks 00:32:20.159 --> 00:32:21.839 and the job market is hard 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.179 and your kids 00:32:23.179 --> 00:32:24.519 are not doing well, 00:32:25.199 --> 00:32:26.519 how does that give us hope? 00:32:27.139 --> 00:32:28.500 Some fabled event 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:29.059 about a man 00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:30.339 who lived many years ago. 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:31.740 No friends, 00:32:31.879 --> 00:32:34.059 Jesus was born to die 00:32:34.059 --> 00:32:35.759 but he didn't stay dead. 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.440 he rose again 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.579 and he came 00:32:39.579 --> 00:32:40.920 just as he promised 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:42.480 bringing life and salvation 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:44.099 and he died on the cross 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:45.240 just as he promised 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:46.759 and he rose again 00:32:46.759 --> 00:32:47.879 just as he promised 00:32:47.879 --> 00:32:49.119 so that now our lives 00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:50.279 can be full of hope. 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:52.279 Prince Christmas 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:53.099 and Christianity, 00:32:53.619 --> 00:32:54.640 the hope of Christianity 00:32:54.640 --> 00:32:55.299 is rooted 00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:57.299 in a historical event, 00:32:57.759 --> 00:32:58.660 an event of history. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:32:59.720 It's not just some 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:01.420 pie-in-the-sky philosophy 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:02.680 or moral teaching. 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:04.900 It's a historical event 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:05.820 that the history books 00:33:05.820 --> 00:33:06.300 affirm 00:33:06.300 --> 00:33:08.160 that there is reason 00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:08.740 for hope 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:09.960 because Jesus came 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:10.539 as he said 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:11.580 and died as he said 00:33:11.580 --> 00:33:13.140 and rose again. 00:33:14.300 --> 00:33:15.480 One final thing. 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:17.740 Look at our passage again 00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:19.160 in Titus chapter 2. 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:21.700 Paul speaks to Titus 00:33:21.700 --> 00:33:22.640 not only of the hope 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:23.900 of Christ's first coming 00:33:23.900 --> 00:33:25.300 but even more so 00:33:25.300 --> 00:33:26.720 of the hope of his return. 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:27.320 He says, 00:33:27.319 --> 00:33:28.879 For the grace of God 00:33:28.879 --> 00:33:29.579 has appeared 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:30.579 bringing salvation 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:31.539 to all people. 00:33:33.299 --> 00:33:34.079 Just by the way, 00:33:34.139 --> 00:33:34.939 when he says all people 00:33:34.939 --> 00:33:35.879 he doesn't mean 00:33:35.879 --> 00:33:38.480 absolutely all people. 00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:39.859 It means all those 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:41.059 who hope and trust in him. 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:42.500 All people as in 00:33:42.500 --> 00:33:43.700 not just the Jews, 00:33:44.119 --> 00:33:45.679 not just the one race, 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:47.019 all people 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:47.659 whether Jews 00:33:47.659 --> 00:33:48.259 or Gentiles, 00:33:48.379 --> 00:33:49.099 black or white, 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:50.519 Chinese, rich or poor, 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:52.319 moral, immoral, 00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:53.460 all those who come 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:54.399 to trust in Jesus. 00:33:54.859 --> 00:33:55.639 The grace of God 00:33:55.639 --> 00:33:56.079 has appeared 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:56.740 bringing salvation 00:33:56.740 --> 00:33:57.759 to all those 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:58.620 who trust in him. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:33:59.779 Training us 00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:00.900 to renounce ungodliness 00:34:00.900 --> 00:34:01.880 and worldly passions 00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:03.039 to live self-controlled 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:04.400 upright godly lives. 00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:05.759 And then verse 13. 00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:07.440 Waiting for our 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:08.480 blessed hope 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:09.780 the appearing 00:34:09.780 --> 00:34:10.800 of the glory 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:11.900 of the great God 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:13.019 and our Savior 00:34:13.019 --> 00:34:14.440 Jesus Christ. 00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:16.079 Friends, 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:16.539 next week 00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:17.280 we're going to celebrate 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:18.280 Christmas proper. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:19.739 Christ's coming 00:34:19.739 --> 00:34:21.340 and Christ appearing 00:34:21.340 --> 00:34:22.179 at his first coming. 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:23.539 But Christmas 00:34:23.539 --> 00:34:25.139 also points us forward 00:34:25.139 --> 00:34:26.579 to another coming. 00:34:26.739 --> 00:34:28.199 the second coming. 00:34:28.199 --> 00:34:29.500 When Christ 00:34:29.500 --> 00:34:30.699 will return. 00:34:31.339 --> 00:34:32.279 When Christ 00:34:32.279 --> 00:34:32.859 will come 00:34:32.859 --> 00:34:34.119 to our war-torn 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:35.119 depressed world. 00:34:35.919 --> 00:34:36.839 Christ's imminent 00:34:36.839 --> 00:34:37.559 return 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:38.179 calls us 00:34:38.179 --> 00:34:38.759 to live lives 00:34:38.759 --> 00:34:39.519 of hope 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:40.759 and courage 00:34:40.759 --> 00:34:42.199 and faithfulness 00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:43.119 and conviction 00:34:43.119 --> 00:34:43.659 now 00:34:43.659 --> 00:34:44.719 in light of the fact 00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:46.199 that he will soon 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:46.959 come back. 00:34:47.419 --> 00:34:48.659 And when he does, 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:50.459 we will be with him 00:34:50.459 --> 00:34:52.599 in a renewed creation. 00:34:53.079 --> 00:34:53.599 A creation 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:54.119 where there is 00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:55.339 no more suffering, 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:56.920 no more pain, 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:58.779 no more tears, 00:34:59.380 --> 00:35:00.339 no more longing, 00:35:01.059 --> 00:35:02.480 no more faith 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:03.960 and no more hoping 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:05.019 because all our 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:07.319 deepest longings 00:35:07.319 --> 00:35:08.460 will have been realized. 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:10.719 Christ will bring us 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:11.599 to be with him 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:13.819 in a perfect creation 00:35:13.819 --> 00:35:14.759 forever. 00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:19.300 Christ said that he 00:35:19.300 --> 00:35:19.740 would come 00:35:19.740 --> 00:35:20.500 the first time 00:35:20.500 --> 00:35:21.880 and he did. 00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:23.500 But Christ 00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:24.400 is coming again 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:26.240 and he will make 00:35:26.240 --> 00:35:27.040 all things new. 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:29.500 Think back 00:35:29.500 --> 00:35:29.940 of that 00:35:29.940 --> 00:35:31.180 person 00:35:31.180 --> 00:35:32.080 bobbing in the 00:35:32.080 --> 00:35:32.880 waters of the sea. 00:35:34.640 --> 00:35:35.080 They're there 00:35:35.080 --> 00:35:35.500 wondering, 00:35:35.620 --> 00:35:36.400 is there any hope? 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:37.340 And suddenly 00:35:37.340 --> 00:35:38.420 a helicopter comes 00:35:38.420 --> 00:35:40.200 and flies overhead 00:35:40.200 --> 00:35:41.039 and throws them 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:41.680 a lifeline 00:35:41.680 --> 00:35:43.500 and they said, 00:35:44.220 --> 00:35:45.079 here is a ring, 00:35:45.139 --> 00:35:46.059 here's a life raft, 00:35:46.180 --> 00:35:47.119 hold on to this, 00:35:47.639 --> 00:35:48.480 we're coming back 00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:49.200 for you soon. 00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:50.820 The person's 00:35:50.820 --> 00:35:51.280 going to live 00:35:51.280 --> 00:35:52.240 with a very different 00:35:52.240 --> 00:35:52.980 kind of hope. 00:35:53.900 --> 00:35:54.440 But their hope 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:54.920 is not just 00:35:54.920 --> 00:35:55.639 in the first coming, 00:35:55.740 --> 00:35:56.159 the hope is 00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:56.940 in the second coming 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:57.880 that soon 00:35:57.880 --> 00:35:58.440 they'll be brought 00:35:58.440 --> 00:35:59.200 back to a world 00:35:59.200 --> 00:35:59.780 where all things 00:35:59.780 --> 00:36:00.720 will be put right again. 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:01.880 Friends, 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:02.740 Jesus Christ 00:36:02.740 --> 00:36:03.480 has come 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:05.360 but he's coming again. 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:06.820 And Jesus 00:36:06.820 --> 00:36:07.559 didn't just come 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:08.500 to tell us how to live, 00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:09.639 he came to save us, 00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:10.519 to rescue us 00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:12.139 and he's coming again 00:36:12.139 --> 00:36:13.380 to make all things new. 00:36:14.279 --> 00:36:15.320 Long lay the world 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:15.940 in sin 00:36:15.940 --> 00:36:17.500 and brokenness 00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:18.179 and pain 00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:19.299 and error pining 00:36:19.299 --> 00:36:21.159 till he appeared 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:22.440 and our souls 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:23.619 felt its worth. 00:36:24.299 --> 00:36:25.320 A thrill of hope 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:27.139 the weary world 00:36:27.139 --> 00:36:27.840 rejoices 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:29.519 for yonder breaks 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:30.579 a new and glorious 00:36:30.579 --> 00:36:30.940 more. 00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:33.000 So fall on your knees, 00:36:33.779 --> 00:36:35.059 hear the angels' voices, 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:36.799 O night divine, 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:37.920 the night 00:36:37.920 --> 00:36:38.519 when Christ 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:39.019 was born. 00:36:40.180 --> 00:36:40.500 Friends, 00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:40.920 what this all 00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:41.460 comes down to 00:36:41.460 --> 00:36:42.100 is that Christmas 00:36:42.100 --> 00:36:45.180 is real. 00:36:46.500 --> 00:36:47.200 Christmas hope 00:36:47.200 --> 00:36:47.620 is real. 00:36:47.780 --> 00:36:48.700 It's not wishful thinking, 00:36:48.820 --> 00:36:49.539 it's not positive 00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:50.060 mindfulness, 00:36:50.740 --> 00:36:51.720 it's concrete. 00:36:52.240 --> 00:36:52.920 It's a conviction 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:53.440 and assurance 00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:54.160 that you can bank 00:36:54.160 --> 00:36:55.360 and build your life upon. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:56.920 Because ultimately 00:36:56.920 --> 00:36:57.440 Christmas 00:36:57.440 --> 00:36:58.539 is about a person. 00:36:59.460 --> 00:37:00.120 It's about God 00:37:00.120 --> 00:37:01.300 himself coming to us, 00:37:01.720 --> 00:37:02.620 grace and flesh 00:37:02.620 --> 00:37:03.100 and blood. 00:37:03.099 --> 00:37:05.000 it's about Jesus Christ 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:06.000 coming to bring healing 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:06.980 to a broken world. 00:37:07.779 --> 00:37:08.559 So what about you? 00:37:09.460 --> 00:37:10.480 What are you hoping in 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:11.179 for 2024? 00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:13.599 What are you hoping in 00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:15.139 for the next decade 00:37:15.139 --> 00:37:15.659 to come? 00:37:16.659 --> 00:37:17.819 What are you trusting in? 00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:19.159 And where does 00:37:19.159 --> 00:37:20.139 your confidence lie? 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:22.319 Is it just wishful thinking 00:37:22.319 --> 00:37:22.860 that next year 00:37:22.860 --> 00:37:23.279 will be better 00:37:23.279 --> 00:37:24.139 than the previous year? 00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:25.639 Or is it based 00:37:25.639 --> 00:37:26.799 on the concrete reality 00:37:26.799 --> 00:37:27.799 of the person 00:37:27.799 --> 00:37:28.900 of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:37:28.900 --> 00:37:29.779 who has come once 00:37:29.780 --> 00:37:31.480 and is coming again? 00:37:32.200 --> 00:37:32.860 Christmas is about 00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:33.580 a real person 00:37:33.580 --> 00:37:35.240 coming to a real world 00:37:35.240 --> 00:37:37.140 to deal with real problems 00:37:37.140 --> 00:37:38.880 to bring us real hope. 00:37:39.780 --> 00:37:41.100 Christmas is about Christ. 00:37:41.720 --> 00:37:42.740 Let's come to him now. 00:37:43.560 --> 00:37:44.320 Let's pray together. 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:47.440 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:37:47.540 --> 00:37:48.460 one of the great dangers 00:37:48.460 --> 00:37:49.420 of Christmas 00:37:49.420 --> 00:37:50.280 is that we've heard 00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:50.860 this message 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:51.840 a hundred times, 00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:52.640 so many times 00:37:52.640 --> 00:37:53.320 that we can become 00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:54.519 so blase, 00:37:54.740 --> 00:37:55.560 so familiar. 00:37:57.160 --> 00:37:57.960 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:37:58.040 --> 00:37:59.260 I pray that this 00:37:59.260 --> 00:37:59.960 Christmas, 00:38:00.220 --> 00:38:00.980 by the power 00:38:00.980 --> 00:38:01.540 of your spirit, 00:38:01.640 --> 00:38:02.340 you will write 00:38:02.340 --> 00:38:02.960 fresh hope 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:03.520 in our hearts. 00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:05.040 God, 00:38:05.120 --> 00:38:05.900 for some of us 00:38:05.900 --> 00:38:06.820 we are really facing 00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:07.820 hopeless situations. 00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:09.100 And God, 00:38:09.160 --> 00:38:09.880 maybe we don't know 00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:11.100 where our hope will lie. 00:38:11.160 --> 00:38:11.480 We don't know 00:38:11.480 --> 00:38:12.080 where to turn. 00:38:12.980 --> 00:38:13.200 God, 00:38:13.260 --> 00:38:14.280 I pray that you 00:38:14.280 --> 00:38:15.220 will come and minister 00:38:15.220 --> 00:38:15.660 to us 00:38:15.660 --> 00:38:16.900 and lift our eyes 00:38:16.900 --> 00:38:17.500 off of our 00:38:17.500 --> 00:38:18.800 current circumstances 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:20.700 and help us to see you, 00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:22.080 who you are, 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:23.720 the hope of heaven, 00:38:24.340 --> 00:38:25.160 the hope of Christmas, 00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:26.900 the hope of our lives. 00:38:27.580 --> 00:38:27.820 Jesus, 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:28.240 I pray, 00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:29.479 won't you make us 00:38:29.479 --> 00:38:30.419 a church community 00:38:30.419 --> 00:38:31.459 that is brimming 00:38:31.459 --> 00:38:32.399 with hope 00:38:32.399 --> 00:38:34.279 because we are 00:38:34.279 --> 00:38:35.459 banking our lives 00:38:35.459 --> 00:38:35.819 on you. 00:38:36.479 --> 00:38:37.219 I pray this 00:38:37.219 --> 00:38:37.839 in your great 00:38:37.839 --> 00:38:39.259 and wonderful name. 00:38:39.259 --> 00:38:39.319 Amen. 00:38:39.319 --> 00:38:39.819 Amen. 00:38:39.819 --> 00:38:40.319 Amen. 00:38:40.319 --> 00:38:40.819 Amen. 00:38:40.819 --> 00:38:41.319 Amen. 00:38:41.319 --> 00:38:41.359 Amen. 00:38:41.359 --> 00:38:41.419 Amen. 00:38:41.419 --> 00:38:41.459 Amen. 00:38:41.459 --> 00:38:41.519 Amen. 00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:41.779 Amen. 00:38:41.779 --> 00:38:41.879 Amen. 00:38:41.879 --> 00:38:41.919 Amen. 00:38:41.919 --> 00:38:41.939 Amen. 00:38:41.939 --> 00:38:41.979 Amen. 00:38:41.979 --> 00:38:42.000 Amen. 00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:42.439 Amen. 00:38:42.439 --> 00:38:42.500 Amen. 00:38:42.500 --> 00:38:42.579 Amen. 00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:43.000 Amen. 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:43.059 Amen. 00:38:43.059 --> 00:38:43.099 Amen. 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:43.500 Amen.