The Loop

When Hope Seems Impossible

Have you ever struggled with a particular sin in your life, and you just can't seem to overcome it? You seem like you keep getting defeated, and you just have a sense of hopelessness - "I just don't seem like I can change." Or maybe you're in that marriage where you have that same argument every time, and you come to that same place and that same wall, thinking, "Will things ever change?"

I want you to know today that there is no circumstance, there is no place so dark that God's light can't bring hope to anyone anywhere, because God keeps his promises.

The Impossible Promise That Came True

The people of Israel found themselves in captivity, wondering if God would really deliver them. They were hearing, "Many are saying of me, God won't deliver him. God won't deliver you. God won't deliver us." But God had given them an incredible promise through the prophet Isaiah that seemed impossible to believe.

In Isaiah 49:25, God declared: "Can plunder be taken from warriors or captives be rescued from the fierce? But this is what the Lord says. Yes. Captives will be taken from warriors and plunder retrieved from the fierce."

It happened. They couldn't believe it. Whoever heard of a conquering nation that was benefiting economically, releasing free of charge, those whom they had conquered? It'd be like Russia letting Ukraine go. And yet it happened. It happened because God is sovereign. He's over every prime minister, every president, every nation, over all.

A Different Kind of Deliverance

But then again, down through the years, they found themselves under oppression again, under Roman rule. And once again, they're wondering, "Is the Messiah coming? Is the deliverer coming?" But they didn't understand that God wanted a different type of deliverance for them, not just geographical. The same deliverance that he wants for you and for me.

He said, if you've sinned, guess what? You are a slave to sin. Their animal sacrifices weren't getting the job done. It wasn't really cleansing their conscience. They needed another promise from Isaiah.

In Isaiah 60:1-3, the prophet declared: "See, arise and shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples. But the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light and Kings to the brightness of your dawn."

Following the Light to Jesus

This brings us to the remarkable story we find in Matthew 2:1-2: "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him."

These wise men followed the light that God gave them. We don't know exactly how God revealed this to them, but they were likely astronomers and mathematicians who had access to Daniel's scriptures and the prophecies. The Bible says, "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1), and "since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power, his divine nature, been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC REVELATION

Notice how these Magi went from general Revelation to specific Revelation. They saw the star, but then they went to Jerusalem to consult the Jewish scriptures. The unfolding of God's word gives light. The Word of God told them that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, "because the unfolding of God's word brings light."

I think of a young man I knew who had never been to church in his life. We called him Hippie because he had long hair and tie-dye. He came to our basketball outreach, and though he didn't listen to the Bible teaching at first, he began to see the character of the believers and hear the truth that dismantled the evolutionary theory he'd grown up with.

When Hippy went through a time of loss and started having panic attacks, he came to my office and said, "Lindon, I'm afraid to die. And not only am I afraid to die, but worse than that, is that all? Is there anything more to life than this?" I began meeting with Hippy for a year, and I unfolded God's word to him, and the light shone in his heart. He surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and was born again.

The Heart God Wants

Matthew 2:10-11 tells us: "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. And they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."

You see, God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything. The one thing he wants is what Solomon asked his son to give him - "My son, give me your heart." That's the only thing God wants. He wants our heart.

Do you know what God sent on Christmas? His heart. In the fullness of time, when he sent Jesus, he sent his heart. Can you imagine holding God? How accessible, how available, how vulnerable did God make himself for us? How helpless a babe, how dependent. Look what God did for us.

Breaking Through the Darkness

The message of Christmas has the power to transform even the darkest situations. I think of Nicky Cruz, who was born in Puerto Rico to abusive parents involved in witchcraft. He moved to New York and became one of the most feared gang members. He said, "You can get high on sex, you can get high on alcohol, you can get high on all kinds of drugs. I was high on hate and violence."

But when David Wilkerson went right into the gang and risked his own life, saying, "Nicky Cruz, Jesus loves you and can change your life," something powerful happened. Even though Nicky spat on him and cursed him, David Wilkerson said, "You can cut me up into a thousand pieces, and every piece will tell you God loves you."

Nicky said, "All that did damage. It did good damage. I stayed up all night thinking about the love of God." Two weeks later, Nicky Cruz gave his life to the Lord and has been an evangelist ever since.

Overcoming Religious Pride and Shame

One of the biggest barriers to receiving God's gift is religious pride. The scribes and the Pharisees and the scholars, when they came to town and were looking for the baby, what did they do? Nothing. They were complacent. I know because I grew up in a Christian home, was a pastor's kid, went to Bible college, and was five years into preaching, and I was still lost.

You can come in here week after week and sing songs, and your heart still is not surrendered to God. Jesus said, "The people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Matthew 15:8).

Maybe you're in captivity because you feel so much shame. Maybe you have secrets you've never told anybody, things so dark you feel so dirty, so disgusting, so defiled. Some of you in this room have been stained, and it's not your stain to wear. Jesus is the stain remover.

When Jesus hung on that cross, beaten, mocked, ridiculed, and tortured, they took him outside of Jerusalem to the dump, the trash. They treated the Son of God like garbage. And when he said, "I'm thirsty," they lifted up a sponge that the soldiers used to clean themselves after they went to the bathroom. Why would Jesus do that? He did it to tell you that there's nothing that my blood can't cleanse.

Next Steps: What Will You Give Jesus?

The wise men came a long distance over all kinds of terrain to seek Jesus, and they didn't come empty-handed. Out of worship flows gifts. What did you give to Jesus this Christmas? What do you want to give up? What do you want to surrender to Jesus?

The Bible says, If you want to find your life, you've got to lose your life. One friend of mine was talking to someone who said, "I don't feel like living, I think I just want to take my life." My friend said, "Don't take your life - if you're going to take it, why don't you just give it to Jesus?"

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

Here are some gifts you might consider giving to Jesus today:

• Give up your bitterness and resentment. Will you not hold on to it anymore?
• Give up your pride and self-sufficiency. Stop trusting in yourself and your own righteousness.
• Give up your complacency. Be willing to do and go and tell whoever needs to hear the good news.
• Give up your unbelief. Trust that God can change even the most impossible situations.
• Give up your life. Surrender completely to the One who gave His life for you.

Remember, "Can captives be taken from the fierce?" Yes, they can. Satan's the strong man, but Jesus came to tie him up and set you free. There is no place so dark that God's light can't bring hope, because God keeps His promises.

The same God who delivered Israel from captivity, who brought the Magi from distant lands to worship Jesus, who transformed Nicky Cruz from a violent gang member into an evangelist - this same God wants to deliver you today. Will you give Him your heart?

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