Hope
Today I am going to be talking about “hope” Its funny every time I am asked to preach I always seem to get the feeling that I am talking about the most important topic I have ever talked about- until the next time! Maybe God is making sure I have His attention!
But first I want to tell you a story of the new Catholic priest in Ireland. He had only been in the parish for a few days when his bicycle was stolen. He was so upset and despondent, he went to the parish priest and said to him Father I am so disappointed, and have lost hope in people, my bicycle has been stolen and I don’t know what to do. The wise older parish priest said to him “I know what you should do, on Sunday at mass, you preach on the 10 commandments and when you get to the part of “Thou shalt not steal” take a good look at the congregation and you will spot the offender who will feel most uncomfortable. That Sunday afternoon when the parish priest caught up with him he said ”How did it go on Sunday, did you do the 10 Commandments, did you preach on Thou should not steal and find your bicycle?” The young priest replied “I didn’t get that far, I only got as far as thou should not commit adultery…. And I remembered where I left my bicycle!”
There is always hope!
Just thinking about Christianity, there are three things that should differentiate Christians from non-Christians, and that is hope, faith and love. Now faith and love I think we have a reasonable grasp on, but I think we underestimate the importance of hope? I have become to realise that hope is of vital importance because of the impact of it on our lives. Its like a beacon of light in darkness, that differentiates those whose hope is in Jesus from those whose only hope is some political leader, or something in this world. But more than that if we have hope it changes the way we live, the way we act, it changes relationships.
Now remember we are not talking about wishful thinking here- I hope it rains tomorrow, its something more substantial than that, its an expectation based on fact or experience. But if you’re thinking I’m not a beacon of light in the darkness, I don’t always feel full of hope- you’re not alone! Even Paul felt like this sometimes
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NIV
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
Note this, he despaired (even of life), he learnt to rely on God (not himself), and God will and did delver him (and you).
I want to tackle hope from two points.
Firstly the hope we have in this world right now in various situations and secondly..
The hope we have in the age to come, the goal to which we are running to, something so precious that you would give up everything to get to it. Sound familiar?
Matthew 13:45-46 New International Version
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
I fear we have lost sight of the beauty, the wonder, the glory of heaven and what it means and is, so we just jog along. We have lost sight of our goal, our destiny! When we see the preciousness of it again, our eyes will be opened and we will sprint for it, and we will “run and not get weary…”!
So firstly then, lets look at what happening in the world right now, things that cause us to despair, lose hope. You have heard the term ‘it looks like a “shipwreck” to me’ Things are sinking, things are a bit of a mess you feel as though you’re in the sea hanging on to the flotsam and jetsam all over the place. You feel the captain of the ship was clearly asleep at the wheel , didn’t see the lighthouse and now you’re in rough sea’s hanging on for dear life. And the ship I’m talking about is the geo-political or government political ship, your health or wealth ship or your family or personal situation ship. Maybe all of them seem to be sinking!! The whole fleet!
This past Thursday morning, I experienced one of my 3am “cant sleep” moments and I go through to the kitchen, make myself a cup of tea and just sit in this very quiet and peaceful environment on the farm, praying and thinking about things. All I can hear very quietly is the fridge -it’s an old fridge! (This has only happened a few times in my life). And every single time God seems to speak into my heart. And you know the fishing analogy I use. If you’re fishing and you’re not sure you have a bite, take it as no bite. But if you have a real bite on your line, there will be no doubt in your mind! Same when God speaks to you! There were two things I believe I should share with you. Firstly if you are feeling shipwrecked and all at sea, look for that lighthouse and climb up onto the rock that is Jesus. Because He said I am the Word and the Word is life and I am the light of the world. You need to find a way onto the rock that is Jesus and to find your way He says “[My] word is a lamp to [your] feet, And a light to [your] path” (Ps 115:109).
When we are shipwrecked, we need to go to the word, to find the light and to find hope so that we may have life and not be swallowed u and drown in tumultuous seas!
(Flotsam and jetsam are terms that describe two types of marine debris associated with vessels. Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship's load.)
The second and most precious thing God brought to me I will share a little bit later. But right now lets just have a look at some of the potential “shipwrecks” that often occur in our lives. Situations where we can often lose hope but really don’t need to. And in no specific order
Political leaders and Politics. When we start to depend on some political leader or political party to do something or to make a difference in this world we make a mistake. We know God is in control!
Isaiah 40:23-24 NIV
23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
Proverbs 21:1 ESV
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
So if we are tempted to blame Trump, Biden, Puten, Albanese, you may be right in your accusations, but we can have hope because God will direct what happens. He “turns [their decisions] wherever he will” (Prov 21:1)
So don’t lose any sleep over politicians and their policies or what’s going on in Europe, Middle East or China!
You may despair at your finances. Certainly, if you are like me and income is stock market driven, you may feel more than concerned right now. But it is also a sign that money is taking a priority place in our life! When I do drift and get concerned I’m remind of this verse.
Hebrews 10:34 NIV
34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
They lost everything but were still joyful because they had a long term view.
We have hope because we can lose everything we have on earth and still have better and lasting possessions!
Sometimes we lose hope because of our failing health
Psalm 73:26 NIV
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Remember outwardly we may be wasting away but inwardly we are being renewed day by day… so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but that which is unseen..!
And God reminds us and this gives us hope….”My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness”
When we climb onto the rock, we realize our bodies WILL fail us, but we hope in the knowledge that on that appointed day (and not before), Jesus will call us and give us a new and glorified body! You can’t change that day and nor do you want to. God has a plan for you and until that day it is not complete!
Then what about the despair we feel sometimes in families. So often we may think “what a hopeless situation!” But you know, in God nothing is ever hopeless! We see things in the short term, but God has a long-term view. We can’t even predict the weather for tomorrow with any accuracy, let alone what’s going to happen years down the track! With our families we can’t see the solution to the problems facing them and us right now, but have you ever seen a problem God cannot solve! And there is a verse that gives me great confidence and hope;
2 Timothy 1:12 NIV
…. I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
I entrust my family to him until that day, and I know he will guard what I have entrusted to him! That gives me hope!
Then finally let’s talk about ourselves. We are our own harshest critics. And so sometimes we can feel despair and a sense of hopelessness about our own lives. Our sinfulness, our inadequacies, a sense of lack of accomplishment or achievement. We may even think what good are we to God. I am here to tell you today that nothing could be further from the truth. And this is the second thing I believe God showed me in my 3am tea time! It was the story of the widow’s mite. And this context has nothing to do with finances, but everything to do with what you may think you are or how you may value yourself. Let look at it
Luke 21:1-4 NKJV
The Widow’s Two Mites
21 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
The fact that you came here today to worship the Father, amongst the challenges you are facing, is of more value than you can ever imagine. More than those with abundance. You may think you have very little to bring to the table, but what you do bring, bringing yourself, is very very precious. You have put in more than all, more than those with abundance, and God sees that. You are “highly esteemed”!
Ill remind you of that verse again
….”My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor 12:9)
“Come just as you are”
So what we have covered is the hope we can have right now in the various challenges we may have in life. But I want to just touch on our hope of eternal life in heaven. Now there is so much about heaven I want to talk about, but it will have to wait till next time I speak. Then we’ll look more closely at Is 65, Rev 21 and other scriptures. But right now I just want to touch upon a few things about our hope in the heaven to come.
We seem to have lost how precious and wonderful and awesome is the place we are going to!
Matthew 13:45-46 NIV
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Can you imagine a place so wonderful, that if you knew about it, you would sell everything you have and sacrifice all you have, so that you could be there? There are so many misconceptions about life in heaven. Let me say straight away you are not going to be bored! You’re not going to be saying “Wish I had brought a book to read up here!” We’ll get into that next time, but I do want to tell you this, you will recognise people up there. You’re going to see family, friends and those who have died very young.
Jesus Himself said
Matthew 8:11
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
You don’t lose your identity when you go to heaven! We also see this in Matt 17:1-3. When Christ was transfigured, Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. Peter, James and John, the disciples recognised them. So you will be reunited with all your loved ones in heaven. You will recognise them! What a celebration!
And even infants that have died. Remember when King David’s infant son died, he said in
2 Sam 12:23: “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him”
So in heaven we will be amongst your family and friends, children who may have died, in the most joyous of circumstances, to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyous assembly (Heb 12:22). Love, joy, peace like you have never experienced. That’s not wishful thinking, its a hope for our future we know to be true- because Jesus told us about it! More on that next time! But its something so precious you want to sell everything you have just so that you can have it!
So in closing, we are going to go through difficult times, and I’m going to just share the literal (and you see it in the Aramaic translation versions) of Rom 5:3 that is so revealing to me
Romans 5:3-4 Young's Literal Translation
3 And not only [so], but we also [rejoice] in the tribulations, knowing that the tribulation doth work endurance; 4 and the endurance, experience; and the experience, hope;..
As we have these trials, we learn to endure. We call out to God in these difficult times and maybe you’re like David in Psalm 22:2-5
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, …..3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel 4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
and so we find a way though by the grace of God and we gain experience.. the older we get the more experience we get… and so we too will learn to trust in the hope we have in Jesus and we will not be disappointed!
Amen.