I Believe in Hope!
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I Believe Series.
I Believe Series.
I Believe in HOPE
The video we have just watched from www.qualitysolicitors.com have an advertisement on TV entitled “For whatever life brings” and its signature tune has the lyrics “I’ve got a hard way to travel and a long, long way to go…I’ll never stop. My faith will see me through”.
The Scripture says in Psalm 42:5 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and God”
“Hoping in God does not come naturally for sinners like us. We must preach it to ourselves, and preach diligently and forcefully, or we will give way to a downcast and disquieted spirit” (John Piper).
I Believe in Hope Because without it Life would be Unbearable:
Former US President George Bush senior represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest.
There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband. (Gary Thomas, in Christianity Today, October 3, 1994, p. 26).
Life would be HOPELESSLY UNBEARABLE WITHOUR HOPE! - Some years ago, when the news broke out that Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana had defected from Communism and Russia, many people were startled. Her statement given to reporters who met her plane in New York, told why she defected: "I found it impossible to exist without God in one's heart. I came to that conclusion myself, without anybody's help or preaching. That was a great change because since that moment the main dogmas of Communism lost their significance for me. I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia." That woman's struggle was a terrible one. To leave Russia, she had to leave two children in Moscow and realize that it would be, as she said, "Impossible to go back."
Once you find Christian Hope it is "Impossible to go back." - But what is HOPE?
We use the word "Hope" in different ways….
We HOPE for something good in the future. (e.g. I HOPE Newcastle will win the Premier league title next season so I can finally end the long famine of supporting a team that win nothing!).
We HOPE nothing goes wrong/things will go well in the present. (e.g. I hope that my test results are negative when they come back from the doctor. I hope that you enjoy your meal! I hope that I pass my exams)
Sometimes these hopes are well founded – e.g if you are a good cook you expect your meal will be good and if you revise you’ll have a good chance of passing your exams BUT sometimes these hopes are not well founded – Newcastle have not much chance and if you do not revise then you probably won’t pass your exams!!!)
The Bible however has a distinctive meaning for Hope – It’s not VAIN HOPE like this kid of hope….
“A man sentenced to death 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).
Biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
It is SO CONFIDENT that it expects it to happen and is confident that it will happen. So when the Bible says "Hope in God!" it does not mean, "Cross your fingers."
It means, “Expect great things from God."(Carey). It means “expect God to come through!”
“When God comes down, He removes the immovable difficulties. When God comes down, the impossible becomes reality. God moves on behalf of the one who waits.” (Anonymous )
I Believe in a Hope Centred in Jesus Christ:
George Bernard Shaw the playwright and radical free thinker and liberal philosopher wrote a play in 1932 “Too Good to be True” in which one of his characters, an atheist says: "The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshippers in the temples of a thousand creeds. And now look at me and behold the supreme tragedy of the atheist who has lost his faith--his faith in atheism”
Men have put their trust in progress and science. They have put their trust in politicians and movements; armies and military might; education and medical breakthroughs BUT ALL TO KNOW AVAIL!
As Christian we place our “HOPE IN JESUS CHRIST!”
Jesus, in exhorting His disciples told them
not to be anxious about the future – about stuff and life - because their future is in the hands of a loving Father.
He told them to expect that after his resurrection renewed spiritual power will be available for them, enabling them to do even greater works than he did,
He promised them that He would overcome sin and death and encouraged them to look forward to sharing his own eternal glory – “because I live you will live also”.
The resurrection of Jesus revitalized their hope – it made all their ‘panic, despair flee away’.
Peter says of Jesus : “Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God”(1 Peter 1:21).
And this HOPE IN JESUS is vital for us as we live in “the valley of the shadow of death” as Paul reminded the Corinthians who were being tempted to deny the resurrection of the body:
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-22)
I Believe that Hope is a Vital Ingredient of the Christian Life:
Hope is one of the 3 most important virtues of the Christian life – Faith, hope and love! (1 Cor. 13:13)
The New Testament demonstrates the vital need of hope by exhorting: “since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 5:8,9)
By connecting hope with love, Christian hope is freed from all selfishness - The Christian does not hope for blessings for himself which he does not desire others to share. When he loves his fellow-men he hopes that they will be the recipients of the good things that he knows God longs to give them.
Faith, hope and love are thus inseparable because hope cannot exist apart from faith, and love cannot be exercised without hope and together they comprise the Christian way of life.
Paul says to the Thessalonians: We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.(1 Thes 1:3)
Hope is the antidote to all of life’s problems: Romans 5:1-11
“hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”(v5).
Let me show you how invaluable scriptures promises relating to HOPE are…
We can persevere and face up to sin and temptation because of our Hope - (1 Pet 1:13-21).
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
And when you despair and are tempted that you will never overcome sin’s temptation and snare - But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
The Christian has the purifying hope of Christ’s return: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure”(1 Jn 3:2,3).
When you are tempted to think the Christian life is one long slog for little reward the your HOPE teaches you there will be a reward for your work: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Heb 6:10-12)
“A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope! Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, how much greater should is effect be on our lives. “ (Today in the Word, May, 1990, p. 34).
When you are tempted to despair because everything around you seems to be going wrong and your hopes are being dashed then Hope in God!
During the Thirty Years' War in 17th century Europe, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home.
One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair.
To comfort her, Gerhardt reminded her of Scripture promises about God's provision and keeping. Then, going out to the garden to be alone, he too broke down and wept. He felt he had come to his darkest hour.
Soon afterward, Gerhardt felt the burden lifted and sensed anew the Lord's presence. Taking his pen, he wrote a hymn that has brought comfort to many
"Give to the winds thy fears; Hope, and be undismayed;
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; God shall lift up thy head.
Through waves and clouds and storms He gently clears the way.
Wait thou His time, so shall the night soon end in joyous day."
It is often in our darkest times that God makes His presence known most clearly.
He uses our sufferings and troubles to show us that He is our only source of strength.
And when we see this truth, like Pastor Gerhardt, we receive new hope.
Are you facing a great trial? Take heart – “HOPE IN GOD”! - Put yourself in God's hands. Wait for His timing and His deliverance!
“Hope in God” - Never despair! - “When you say that a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God. “ (Charles L. Allen)
“There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” (Clare Boothe Luce).
Augustine once memorably said: “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are”.
When you fear for the future and doubt your eternal salvation you can stabalise your fears with Hope - (Hebrews 6:10-20)
Hope has a stabilising effect on us: “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.”
Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called "the rejoicing of hope" (Hebrews 3:6). (William Gurnall)
Conclusion & Application:
I believe in Hope because it makes such a difference to life:
“I choose joy... I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God. “ (Max Lucado)
So I say to you in the words of Peter Marshall: “God hasn't given up on you. He can still do great things for you, in you, and through you. God is ready and waiting and able. What about you, and me? “
Let us end with the psalm of hope: Psalm 121: A song of ascents.
I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
PRAYER: I can do no better than to use Paul’s prayer: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe”(Eph 1:17-18).
BENEDICTION: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).