Our gracious God, we thank you that we are able to turn now to the Bible and to feed upon its truth and to be guided by its instruction and to be introduced to the one of whom it speaks—namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only ultimate refuge from all that assails us, and the one to whom we look and in whose name we pray. Amen.
Throughout this message – we will looking at the Scriptures that we read together earlier that I pray will lead you to truly understand and rely upon the journey toward HOPE – our theme today as we remember Paul’s great statement of truth as it relates to Scripture:
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have HOPE.” Romans 15:4
Let us also remember the Salvation Army’s First Doctrine, the one that is the foundation for all of them:
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.
Now – You may wonder why I’ve chosen this as our theme today. Overall – if we were to spend any time at all listening to the news – reading of how bad things are in our world (and let me assure you – they are) we would recognize how hopeless many people are feeling and how tragically it’s affecting individuals, families and even the church family. I went on Google and did a search of signs and reasons for hopelessness and here is what I found. There is a worldwide ‘fear of dying’ whether it be because of disease, hunger, war or a madman going on a rampage of murder. But it’s more than this – we hear of the increase in abuse, bullying, family breakdowns, depression, suicide and the list goes on. The event that led me to address this problem with the goal of moving each of us to action was the terrible event that happened just a few weeks ago in Texas when a young 18 year old killed 19 children and 2 teachers and the diagnosis was simply ‘mental illness’. That term seems to me to be too broad and one that is used often these days when terrible things happen. As I did some homework – looking into this boy’s life – what I found would be (as I think you’ll agree) a life that led to ‘hopelessness’. He had been raised in a home with a ‘drug addicted mother and abusive stepfather’. Due to 2 physical impairments (a lisp and a stutter) he was the object of terrible bullying in school resulting in no friendships. He spent most of his time alone in front of a computer screen focusing on violent video games and before you know it – he was lost in a world of chaos and revenge – a life with no hope.
I just read a book called ‘Mere Evangelism’ containing 10 insights from the teachings of C.S. Lewis into sharing your faith. In it I came to a quote that I believe fits in with what should be our role in helping children overcome anxiety and depression. A psychologist shared this “As a therapist – I’m often asked to explain why depression and anxiety are so common among children and adolescents. She said that one of the most important explanations – and perhaps the most neglected – is a declining interest in religion. She says – ‘Nihilism the “belief that life is meaningless and there is no room for any religious or moral principles” is actually fertilizer for anxiety and depression, and a belief in God – as a protective and guiding figure to rely on (to put our hope in) when times are tough – is one of the best kinds of support for kids (and adults) in an increasingly pessimistic world.” But she is often asked – what if parents don’t believe in God?” How do I talk to my child about death if I don’t believe in God or heaven? My answer she said is always the same: ‘LIE’. The idea that you simply die and turn to dust may work for some adults, but it doesn’t help children.” She goes on to prescribe offering children images of heaven to counter the bad images all around us in our broken world. Now I recognize this advise is geared to children – but my friends we are living in a world of hopelessness and we can do better than that. We can offer images of heaven that are true. We can provide our friends – our family members – people we run into who seem to be struggling with our upside down world – we can provide them with HOPE.
The first thing that I’d like us to note concerning this whole matter – this HOPE – is that it is not something with which men and women are naturally acquainted. This is very important for us to remember. Whatever level of optimism we might see demonstrated in those around us – whatever they may display of an upbeat outlook on life – that doesn’t alter the fact of the basic Biblical truth concerning man’s condition. And it is man’s condition that is most aptly summarized by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2 verse 12 – as he describes the people there before they were made alive in Christ – He says:
“before you people became Christians and before Jesus Christ made you brand new from the inside out – you were – without hope and without God in the World.” Ephesians 2:12
That my friends was the summary of the condition of men and women when this was written – just as it is today – regardless of their level of optimism and their positive outlook on life – men and women are not by nature acquainted with this hope
We must also recognize that this hope found in Scripture is not wishful thinking – contrived by man – it is in fact a happy certainty created by God. On the lips of most people hope signifies little more than a bare wish (for example) I hope it will be a good day for golf tomorrow and that I’ll score 80 – recognizing that is only wishful thinking! Or perhaps as a young person – you hope that you will pass your test but in the back of your mind, you have the fear that you will not. I could go on with a variety of examples of wishful thinking that we might wrongly classify as hope.
In contrast – and this is very important that you understand – in the Bible HOPE signifies a firm expectation and a confident anticipation. So when Paul writes here in Romans 1513 – “may the God of Hope fill you with joy and peace so that you will overflow with hope,” he is not saying – May you all become wishful thinkers – may you all try and psych yourselves up to say that things are better than they actually appear – NO – not that for one moment. He is speaking about a dimension of life that is firm in its conviction and is confident in it’s expectation. It is for that reason that this phrase is so often used at the graveside of a believer in the words of committal –
“For as much as it has pleased Almighty God to receive unto himself the soul of our dear brother or sister here departed, we therefore commit his or her body to the ground – ashes to ashes – dust to dust – (and then comes the phrase) – in the sure and certain HOPE of the resurrection to eternal life.”
So – How can you have a hope that is sure and certain – how can we move from this life of “wishful thinking” of outright hopelessness? We see that this kind of Hope is part of the believer’s birthright.
Listen now to 1 Peter 1:3 where it is made perfectly plain – when he speaks of being ‘born again’.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in his great mercy has given us new birth into a living HOPE.” 1 Peter 1:3
So – there we hear it – we can be born again into a living hope. As a result of this rebirth into the family of God, part of our birthright is that God creates within us a happy certainty. Philipps paraphrases Peter’s words – “We have been born into a life full of hope.”
This is a theme we need to hold onto as we find ourselves in – an age of comparative hopelessness, discovering that the purpose of God for us is not simply that we might keep our chins up, not simply that we might be able to struggle on and get through it, but in order that we might be enabled to hope in the promises of God despite of the circumstances and to share that hope with others.
We are to replace words like “Be safe,” “No worries,” “Keep on”—a kind of series of imperatives that are quite cheering and understandable, remembering that they have no solid foundation to them. How am I supposed to be safe? How am I supposed to hope? How am I supposed to have encouragement? Well, you see, what is put before us here is vastly different. Because here, in the face of the current world of chaos, we actually discover very quickly where our hope is placed.
Going to Mathew chapter 12 we hear Jesus refer to a passage found in Isaiah 42: 1-4 – a prophetic passage actually pointing to himself.
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight. In his name JESUS, the nations will put their HOPE.” Matthew 12: 18,21 & Isaiah 42: 1-4 And what does that mean for us – it means we too can put our hope in Jesus.
When Peter describes this amazing transaction, this divine impact, whereby a man or a woman comes to rest in Christ, you remember he says at the very beginning of his letter, he says, “[And you have been] born again to a living hope”—“a living hope (how?) by “the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 And let me remind you that all that Christ has done for us is of no value to us so long as we remain outside of Christ. Like the refrain in the song and the chorus we sang together – My hope is built in nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
I wonder, can I ask you today: Is this where your hope is found? In Christ alone? Do you realize that our salvation is not made sure by the strength of our belief but by the strength of God? That it is not by our goodness but by the merits of the Lord Jesus? That it is not grounded in our wisdom but in the wisdom of God that is expressed in the cross—which, of course, is foolishness to the world?
You would think, wouldn’t you, that men and women would immediately be not simply heading to church but looking to see whether in the pages of Scripture these facts are actually there for their discovery: that God saves people and fills them with hope, making their whole outlook filled in this way.
This transaction of being ‘born again’ is followed by the wonder of how we hear in Romans 5:5
“Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.”
In other words, in quiet ways, but purposefully, we have this ‘good news’ to use – to engage with people in conversation and say to them, “Well, you know, there is hope in the midst of this, and it is found in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ”—that this hope is the fruit, if you like, of God’s kindness and goodness to us despite our sin, that this hope rests on Jesus alone, that it is ours through grace alone, by faith alone.
Amidst anxiety-provoking chaos and confusion, when neither science nor political will nor psychologists seem to have the answers the world needs the question remains where can we find hope? A question some here this morning may be asking and for sure – more and more people in our world are asking. The Answer – God remains our refuge and keeper, the source and object of our hope. With faith grounded in God’s covenant promises, believers can radiate peace and joy even in dark and daunting circumstances because of the salvation that is ours in Christ alone. In other words as it says in
“Romans 15:13 “May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with Radiant Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I would suggest as I close this message – that you consider how you can claim these wonderful promises and how you can also be prepared to share this blessed and certain hope with others. Maybe you know of a friend who is dealing with depression – or a child who seems lost and alone – or someone who is forever fearful about what lies ahead of them, whether it is death or hunger or financial concerns .Perhaps you yourself need this truth to be grounded in your hearts – to help you deal with questions, doubts, and fears in the light of bad news. Having the Word of God as your foundation – being able to show them what God says is vital. That is why I’ve provided a handout that our ushers will be giving you as we close with a song that has found a place in our hearts and in our minds – especially the chorus “For this I have Jesus”. I suggest you remain seated and consider the situations found in this song – in the 3 verses – yes no matter what – For this I have Jesus.” I wonder – if an 18 year old – hopeless young man may have been saved if only he had been introduced to the Hope found in Jesus – not to mention the 21 lost to their families because of – what? HOPELESSNESS.