Have you ever trusted somebody that you shouldn’t have? That’s a hard lesson to learn and we have probably all learned it by the time we get to adulthood, if not before. Sometimes it may be a small thing and it’s no big deal. If the person ringing up your purchase takes a dollar more than they should, that’s not right but in the scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal. You just know not to go back to that store, right? If the person you are married to is cheating on you with somebody else, that’s another thing altogether.
All through scripture, God entrusts important things to certain people. Going all the way back to Genesis, God trusted Adam and Eve to tend the Garden of Eden. He told them what to do and more specifically what not to do…and they crashed and burned. God trusted Moses to give the people the Ten Commandments and Moses did what he was supposed to do. The people didn’t do so great with obedience but that’s another story.
My main man, David- God trusted him in a big way. In 2 Samuel 7, God tells David, “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.” That’s a big deal. That’s a big promise. He goes on to tell David, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” Forever is a long time.
Skip forward a thousand years or so and God is again putting trust for a big job in someone. God calls the angel Gabriel and tells him to go to Galilee and tell young Mary what is about to happen to her. This, too, is a big deal. This is not a job to entrust to a lesser angel. Gabriel is the big king kahuna of angels. I’m sure the angel Bob is a good guy and he tries hard but when you need a job done right and right now, you call on Gabriel.
Now, when we think of angels, it’s easy to think of the little cherub painted in pictures with little baby wings and a halo wearing a sash for a diaper. That is most definitely not Gabriel. Gabriel is a warrior. He fights Satan and his demon warriors all day every day. This looks more like what Gabriel looks like. When this guy shows up at your place, don’t pretend like you’re not scared. That’s why so many times in the Bible when Gabriel or one of the other angels appears to somebody, it says that person fell to the ground as dead. You would too. It’s part of why God trusts him to do the big jobs.
It also makes the story in Luke chapter one even more incredible. It would be incredible if the little cherub came to Mary and had a conversation but here comes Big Gabe, the Rock, the Champ, the Hammer right up to Mary’s grill and tells her that God has entrusted her for something big. Let’s read it in Luke 1:26-38.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Note in verse 26 that Gabriel is "sent". That word "sent" is the same root word we use for the word "apostle" or "one sent with a message". And the message he is sent with is very similar in its beginning as the one he gave Daniel many years before. "You are highly favored!" Now, I don't care how favored I am, if Gabriel appears to me, I'm afraid the "fight or flight" reaction is going to kick in but Mary; young, sweet, innocent little Mary, who was probably not much more than a child is only "greatly troubled". I'm sure that was very true. I would be greatly troubled if an angel appeared to me and said anything.
But think about the message that Gabriel brought to Mary. What better message could he have given. Okay, you’re going to have a baby. That’s pretty incredible, I don’t care who you are or what the circumstances are. I know it happens to somebody every day but it is and always has been a miracle, just an everyday, ordinary miracle. But the even more amazing news is what kind of baby this is going to be and what His future entails.
The vast majority of pregnant women are concerned with one thing and one thing only: their baby. They aren’t near as concerned about themselves as they are their baby. The father of the baby is now pretty low on the list of things to worry about. All the mama cares about is the baby’s health and future. They want their baby to be healthy and happy and successful. So, Gabriel brings Mary a message of great hope.
What is hope? How would you define hope? You can’t see it. You can’t touch it or taste it or hear it. But you know when you have it, don’t you? The dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” The world has hope that something may or may not happen. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow. I hope the boss is in a good mood. I hope the Cowboys win today. I feel like I want such and such to happen. I may feel differently tomorrow but today I feel this way. That’s not the kind of hope the Bible talks about and it sure isn’t what Gabriel is telling Mary.
Notice how Gabriel tells this to Mary. He isn’t wishy-washy about it. He doesn’t say he thinks this is going to happen or it will probably come to pass or the odds are pretty good it will turn out this way. Gabriel tells Mary, “You will conceive. He will be great. The Lord will give Him David’s throne. And he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
I love to compare this passage with the passage just before it where Zechariah is told similar news. Gabriel goes to him and tells him his wife, who is up in years, will give birth to John the Baptist. He responds similarly to Mary except Zechariah has some doubts. Not a good move on Zechariah’s part. Let me just say that if Gabriel ever comes to you and tells you anything, just accept it. This guy has no sense of humor and he is not kidding around and he wouldn’t say it if it were not true.
Ol’ Zech asks Gabriel, “Uh, yea, how do I know this is really gonna happen?” And I don’t know that Gabriel actually poked him in the chest but I envision him doing that as he said, “Look buddy, I stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords. Are you questioning me or Him because either way, you have a problem. Now you won’t be able to speak until the kid is born.”
But Mary was wise beyond her years as she didn’t doubt Gabriel or at least didn’t let on that she did. And where Zechariah doubted, Mary had hope. Let me read a couple of these verses again to you and you just listen like you were in Mary’s sandals. Think about how these verses would have given her hope. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
We all hope our kids to grow up and do well in life. Well, Mary hit the jackpot when it comes to hope. The good news is that you, too, have hit the jackpot when it comes to hope because of the same One that Gabriel told Mary about. We don’t hope like the world hopes. Our hope is not a feeling that may or may not change and is not based on a desire that may or may not come true. The old hymn “Solid Rock” from 1834 says it well. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
Our hope is in the same thing that Mary’s hope was in. Our hope is just what Gabriel prophesied. Our hope is that there is something better in this life than just going to work, coming home and buying stuff so we can have a good enough time on the weekend to forget how bad the coming week is going to be, even though we hope it won’t be. There’s gotta be more to it than that and there is.
Let me tell you a few things that scripture says that hope brings. Job 11:18 says that hopes security. “You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.” This is a scary world. It’s scary physically, financially, politically and in almost every way but God is in control and our hope is in Him. I love how it says we can now “rest in safety.” Hope brings security.
Hope also brings confidence. Psalm 25:3 says, “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame.” I’m sorry but this does not mean you aren’t still going to do stupid, silly or foolish things. You might still walk into a closed door or fall down the steps and when you do, as soon as I put away my phone and quit recording you, I promise to help you up. But this does mean that our sins are forgiven. We don’t have the shame that we used to have. We have the confidence of being one of God’s dearly loved children and we can kick open the door of His throne room and run in and crawl up in His lap and ask Him for help because of His grace and mercy. When your hope is in Him, you have confidence.
According to Psalm 71:14, hope brings praise. It says, “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” Our hope in God reveals that He is in control and He uses everything for our good. We can praise Him in the storm or in the sunshine because we know He brings both. Our hope in Him should, in fact, will bring praise to our lips.
Hope also brings strength. Anybody need strength today? Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” This is a hard life for everybody. It’s tiring. It’s frustrating. But we can have strength and energy from God if we ask for it in prayer and if we search for it in His Word. Hope brings strength.
Hope also brings goodness from God. Jeremiah tells us that in Lamentations 3:25. It says, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.” You know, I like it when people are good to me but it’s something else entirely when God is good and God is good all the time but He is especially good to those who hope in Him and seek Him. And because He is good to us, it ought to be evident to others. Our mouths and our actions ought to reveal God’s goodness. Hope brings God’s goodness.
Hope also brings joy. Oh, don’t get me started on joy. I’m kind of on a joy kick here lately so I’ll try to be brief. Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope.” Our circumstances may be hard. Our situations may be difficult. In fact, they probably will. You should just expect it. But we can have joy; we can have a calm delight in the midst of it all because we know God is in control and He loves us and this world is not all there is.
You know I don’t often say “Hallelujah.” I don’t know why. Maybe it’s a little dramatic for me or something. But it’s a good word. It simply means “praise God” but as I studied it this week I noticed it has to do with boasting about God or bragging about God; making Him look good. Look at what God has done! Look at what God is doing! Praise God! Hallelujah! I have hope so I have joy and I will say Hallelujah and I don’t care who hears. Hope brings joy. (I tried to be brief.)
Alright, two more and I’m wrapping it up. Hope also brings love. Romans 5:5 says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Hoping in God will never bring shame. God will never let you down because He loves you too much. You may not understand what He is doing or why He is doing it but your hope in Him as your Lord and Savior will never be in vain. Hope brings love.
That leads me to my last point. Hope brings faith and God said without faith it is impossible to please Him (Heb. 11:6). Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The evidence or assurance of our faith in God is hope. We don’t have to see Him to believe that He exists. We can see the changes that He has made in our lives and in the lives of others around us. We can see His creation so we know there is a Creator.
Because we hope, we have faith and because we have faith, we have hope and all of it is based, not on what we can see or feel or taste or smell. It is not based on anything we have done or what we have earned. On the contrary, we have hope because of what that little baby of Mary’s grew up to do and be. We have a “blessed assurance” that what was prophesied came to pass. We also have a confident knowledge of something that hasn’t happened yet because our hope, our faith, our joy, our goodness, confidence and security are in Jesus.
I heard the story of a man who was sentenced to death by the king. But he obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty's horse to fly within the year--on the condition that if he didn't succeed, he would be put to death at the end of the year. "Within a year," the man explained later, "the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly." Bernard M. Baruch.
You have to admit that is hope. It’s not a good hope. It’s silly and worldly but it is a form of hope. That’s not the kind of hope we have as Christian, though. The Christmas season reminds us of the hope that we have in Jesus as followers and disciples of His. The hope we have is not that God will bring us health and wealth. The hope we have is not that God explains to us why we have to go through sickness and poverty.
The hope we have in Jesus is the kind of hope that says, I know He can and I know He will but even if He doesn’t, still I will praise Him! My hope is not even in this life but it is the ultimate hope, the ultimate blessed assurance that this life is not all there is. My hope; what keeps me going; what gives me calm delight; what motivates me to live a godly life and to tell others about Jesus is my hope – my unseen assurance of something that hasn’t happened yet – of eternity in Heaven with Jesus.
When I get there, I want to talk to Mary about her time here on earth as the mother of our Lord. I want to talk to big old Gabriel and ask him about the responsibility of bringing this news. I want to talk to David about killing Goliath and I want to ask Isaac about almost being killed by Abraham and I want to see my grandparents and I want to ride a motorcycle on the streets of gold. All of that is going to be great but my real hope is to get to talk to Jesus. If He wants to explain the why’s of what happened here on earth then that’ll be cool but I just need to be with Him whatever that looks like.
When asked if they are going to Heaven, I have heard people respond, “Well, I sure hope so.” I know what they mean and that’s not a good answer. That worldly hope that says, “maybe so, maybe no” brings no peace or joy or security or confidence at all. But you can know for sure. You can have biblical, godly hope based on the promise of Jesus Christ who said, “Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me has eternal life.”
That belief that Jesus talked about is proven in your changed life. Your circumstances may not change. You may continue to be sick or in jail or you may be healthy and wealthy. But your mind will be renewed whatever your physical state. Your actions and reactions will be different than they used to be and they will continue to change as your hope grows in the Lord. Ask God for forgiveness of your sins and lose that shame. Repent of that lifestyle and watch God use you and bless you. Do it today as the music plays.
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