Even if you have peace with God and purpose in life, what hope is there if this life comes to an end and that’s all there is? Jesus came to give us even more…Download sermon pdf… Hope for Eternal LifeIsaiah 9:6-7We are just 5 days away from Christmas and along with whatever else you may be feeling as you approach Christmas this year, I hope you are feeling hope. Hope has been the theme of the sermons this month because we all need hope, and the only place we can find hope that never fails is in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to give us hope – he’s done that by giving us peace with God and all the blessings of a restored relationship with our heavenly Father, and he’s given us hope by giving us purpose in this life – no longer to live for ourselves but for his honor and glory. We’ve looked at these the past two weeks and I hope they’ve stirred up hope in your hearts. But hope in Christ isn’t complete with just peace with God and purpose in life. As much as we need those things, we desperately need something else to make our hope secure, and that’s what I want to talk about today.The last big vacation my family went on was a two-week trip out to Yellowstone in 2017 with the Tollakson family. (Picture) It was a wonderful vacation. We carefully planned everything so we had places to stay that were close, convenient, and picturesque. We created an itinerary based on people’s recommendations so that we wouldn’t be wondering what to do or have too much going on. We put everything in place so we could enjoy the trip as much as possible, and we did. We were able to enjoy sightseeing, hiking, fishing, good food, relaxing, swimming, campfires, time with family and friends. We looked forward to waking up each day and had a lot of fun. It really was the ideal vacation.But toward the end we encountered a monumental problem – it’s the same problem with every vacation that goes well – the problem was that our wonderful vacation was coming to an end. All the excitement we had looking forward to it, all the fun we had during it, everything went the way it was supposed to go, but then it came to an end… And you know how that felt? It felt terrible! We were sad. We were disappointed. We felt down in the dumps about having to return to normal life. And it was really hard. The biggest problem with a wonderful vacation is that it all-too-quickly comes to an end.And that’s the same thing that happens with the big things we enjoy in this life:You enjoy the youthful years of high school with all the friends and the memories, but then you graduate and it comes to an end.The college years can be so enjoyable for some – new friends, new experiences, lots of freedom – but again you graduate and move on and it’s over.Many end up getting married and having kids and entering another exciting season of life, but you blink and then they’re gone too.You move into the empty nest and retirement and you finally have some money to do some things you want to do and those things can be wonderful too, but then they’re gone.As much as we look forward to, and as good as things in life can be, everything has its season and then comes to an end, and when it does, it’s sad and disappointing. Good times don’t last forever. So as good as things might be and as much enjoyment as you might have, all these things in life have the same monumental problem – they come to an end.That destroys hope. If the things you put your hope in come to an end, how much hope can they really give you? I’ve been talking about putting your hope in Jesus Christ because in him we have peace with God and purpose in life. But if this life is all there is and we get to the end and it’s just done, what hope do we really have? The apostle Paul recognized what a problem this would be in 1 Corinthians 15: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Peace with God and purpose in life don’t give us much hope if this life is all there is. If that were the case, I don’t think we’d really have that much to celebrate at Christmas. What good are 70 or 80 years of peace and purpose if it just comes to an end anyways?  But hallelujah – that’s not all there is! Jesus came to give us even more than that. Something that was proclaimed all the way back when people began talking about his birth. And that’s what I want to dwell on this morning. Some of the clearest proclamations about the birth of Christ took place 700 years before he was born and are found in the book of Isaiah. I want us to look at a passage that’s read all the time at Christmas. A lot of attention is usually placed on the first verse in this passage, but this morning I want us to especially look at the second.Read Isaiah 9:6-7.6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.This was a prophecy that gave great hope to the people of Israel from the time they were in exile in Babylon to the time they were under the oppression of the Roman Empire. This was one of the prophecies they looked to that foretold of the coming Messiah. And one of the things that excited them the most was that when the Messiah came, he would usher in a kingdom that would have no end. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.”That’s exactly what they wanted. They had a long history of oppression and they were ready for it to end. Most recently they had been under the oppression of the Romans for over 100 years. But when the Messiah came they believed he would sit on the throne of David, like Isaiah said, “to establish his kingdom and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore” – an everlasting kingdom that would last forever.That’s what they were looking for in Jesus. That’s why they had hope. The Messiah would bring peace, purpose, and an everlasting kingdom. And that’s what Jesus would eventually bring – but he had to do something first, which totally caught them off guard. They were expecting him to set himself up as king and overthrow the Romans so that they’d never be under their oppression again. But Jesus came at first to deal with an even greater problem – the darkness of sin that had separated them from God. That was God’s plan all along. The first time Jesus came to earth was to die on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. That problem had to be dealt with first before there ever could be the hope of an everlasting kingdom. Jesus had to bring them peace with God. And that’s what he did when he died on the cross. By his death he paid the penalty of sin for all who would come to him in faith.But the story of the Messiah didn’t end with his death, because three days later he rose from the dead. He was given a new kind of life – one that would never see decay – a life fit for heaven that would last forever. And he was given the authority to give that kind of life to all who would turn and believe in him. Their sins would be forgiven and they would be given the eternal gift of life in Jesus. Their life on earth would come to an end, but they would live again! Jesus would come back to raise them from the dead and usher in his eternal kingdom to last forevermore.So Jesus not only came to give us peace with God and purpose in life, he also came to give us eternal life and that’s what solidifies the hope we have in him. The hope we have in Jesus doesn’t come to an end when this life is over. It lasts forever!Luke writes about this in his account of Jesus’ life. When he retold the story of how the angel visited Mary to announce Jesus’ birth, he told her the good news that his kingdom would last forever.Read Luke 1:26-33.In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”The monumental good news that accompanied the proclamation of Jesus’ birth was not only that he would save his people from their sins and give them peace with God, but also that he would have an everlasting kingdom. And those who put their faith in Christ will join him in that kingdom. John 3:16-17 reminds us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”The amazing blessings Christ has given us through peace with God and purpose in this life will never come to an end. They will go on forever and ever and ever… Psalm 16:9-11 says, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Because of Jesus we will experience the joy of the new heavens and earth, we will have everlasting peace, we will see God and be with him forever, we  will be reunited with all the people of faith and dwell in the home that Christ has gone before us to prepare. There will be no more sickness or dying, no more wearing out and aging. No more tears or pain. There will be joy upon joy and wonder upon wonder and it’s never going to end! That’s the amazing hope we find in Jesus Christ out Lord! He gives us a hope that is secure today, tomorrow, and forever and as we approach this Christmas season I hope that you will experience that hope personally in your life. Maybe you’ve had a really difficult time with everything that’s happened with COVID… Jesus can give you hope. Maybe you’ve been struggling with a different kind of trial… Jesus can give you hope. Maybe life hasn’t been what you thought it would be… Jesus can give you hope.I invite you to turn to him in faith, whether that be for the very first time, or you’ve already been trusting him for years. You aren’t going to find lasting hope anywhere else. But in Jesus you’ll find peace with God, purpose in life, and a life that will last forever. And that’s the kind of hope that we need.