Sermon Tone Analysis

December 10, 2006

For us Christians at this time of year we focus more intensely at the birth of Jesus, God coming to earth and giving us hope.

The word hope is used in many different ways today.

Our lives are shaped by hope.

There was a story I read about a sailor who grew tired of wearing his life preserver but because his ship was constantly in an area of danger he was compelled to wear it continually.

Many times he felt like throwing it overboard but the thought of being torpedoed forced him to keep it on.

Then one day the wonderful news came; the war was over.

The first thing he did was to tear off the life jacket, and running to the side of the ship he flung it over-board.

As the life jacket hit the water, his face turned a sickly pale.

He couldn't believe his eyes for the thing which he had put his hopes in during the many months of danger, sank to the bottom like a rock.

It was a defective piece of equipment and had he jumped overboard he would have drowned.

*What do you place your hope in and will it let you down?*

Any hope that is not in Jesus is a false hope.

--------------------------------------

Jesus the hope of the world.

Jesus is my hope, He is our hope.

Chuck Swindoll wrote:”We can live several weeks without food, days without water, and only minutes without oxygen, but without hope – forget it.

“

As oxygen is necessary for the physical body to be healthy and survive so hope is necessary for us to have a healthy relationship with God.

When we lose hope, we are overcome with feelings of senselessness, purposelessness, and despair.

Lack of hope can destroy our lives.

\\ God encourages us to put our hope in his promises, which never fail; but often we are content to put our hope in the promises of the world, which rarely succeed.

Greed, lies about how well the economy is doing or how medicine can help us live forever, or false economic theories, these and many other man made promises can destroy what we thought were guarentees for success, taking away our hope.

God’s promises will not fail, they are guarenteed by Him for He made them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*What is hope?*

Hope is an /expectation, it is a prospect/

A desire of something good with the expectation of obtaining it.

God defined hope for the people of Israel while they were in Exile In Jer(29:11-12) by giving them a positive future where if they would call on Him, He would listen to them and bring about that hope of a restored relationship and provide for them.

But some people define hope in terms of things that they can obtain like wealth, prosperity, success.

As I searched for some news headings on hope during Christmas these were some of my findings:

From the OTTAWA Citizen -- Retailers preparing their stores for what they hope will be the sound of ringing cash registers, won't be disappointed this holiday season as consumers will spend $1.6 billion more than they did last year, analysts are predicting.

From The Associated Press

Retailers hope sales pace continues…Retailers got what they wanted over the Thanksgiving weekend -- a strong start to the 2006 holiday shopping season as consumers crowded stores in search of huge discounts on flat-screen TVs and other hot merchandise.

From the National Post

U.S. retailers hope tills will jingle with 'must-have' gift this Christmas

 

From the Business section of One news in New Zealand

Retailers hope for Christmas boom

With Christmas just a month away, retailers are hoping the festive season will loosen shoppers' purse strings.

From Reuters

Lebanese hope UN troops bring peace -- and business

 

Some hope in the military to bring them freedom and success.

The majority of the news articles I found on hope during Christmas are those on hoping do better financially.

There hope is placed in money, material goods and the success that it can bring.

Many will hope to fullfill all their dreams of success or they feel rejected by others, shunned and shamed by those they value.

We all need to put our hope in something or someone but if my hope is placed in objects that are weak, finite and based on selfish motives there will be no success just more failure.

*Hope Needs a Solid Foundation*

Some put there hopes in man thinking that he is a solid foundation.

If I hope in what is limited it is going to fall apart, its going to crumble and leave me in misery, feeling betrayed and not wanting to trust.

This is how Jean-Paul Sartre atheist and philosopher choose to live his life, hoping in himself or man.

He taught that one finds his own way in life, as there are no standards for moral decisions.

Truth is arrived at by personal experience and acting on one's own convictions.

Since God does not exist there is no hope in finding help, other than through yourself.

He believed and taught in individual existence, my freedom, and my choices for the here and now.

With this kind of view towards hope and life no wonder he and others who hold to this view of life ultimately live in despair as they live life all alone.

A self-conceited person or a person wise in his or her own thinking is more hopeless than a fool (Prov.

26:12).

A little over a month before he died in 1980 this famous atheist who resisted any feelings of despair, would say to himself, “I know I shall die in hope.”

Then realizing with sadness, he would say, “But hope needs a foundation.”

Indeed hope does need a foundation, a solid foundation, one that is not limited to man but is found in our great and powerful God.

Paul In Timothy talks about whom to put our hope in.

 

1 Tim 1:1-2

1          Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

2          To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

(NIV)

 

Jesus our hope is the foundation that will not fail or crumble.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Christ Jesus is the solid foundation of our hope.*

Let me explain how Jesus is that solid foundation.

Sometimes life seems bleak and depressing.

*What do we when life seems this way, when it is depressing, hopeless or when doubt sets in?*

 

David was faced with depression and hopelessness and shows us how to deal with it in:

Ps 6:6-9

6          I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

7          My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

8          Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

9          The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

(NIV)

Scripture: Psalm 6

Negative people are lurking around every corner.

Sometimes they are as close as our own thoughts, for all of us go through bouts of the blues.

Where life seems hopeless.

David struggled with these feelings in Psalm 6.

*1.      **Our Troubled Soul* (vv.

1–3).

David is fearful of displeasing God, yet troubled in his bones, asking God how long these feelings will last: “My soul also is greatly troubled....O Lord—how long?”

*2*.

*Our Only Hope.*

He feels he might die, describing himself as weary, wasting away, and weeping.

But by pleading to God, he appeals to the One who is his only hope: “Return, O Lord, deliver me!

Oh, save...!”

*3*.

*Our Renewed Strength.*

Through a season of honest, earnest prayer, David drew close and received God’s strength.

A change of tone occurs in verse 8, as he takes command of his feelings.

“The Lord has heard my request!

The Lord will receive my prayer.”

Honest, earnest prayer to God is our great weapon in chasing away the blues.

You will find that as you call out to Him, our God who cares for the oppressed and hopeless will give you hope and strength.

(Job 5:16; Ps. 9:18[19]).

It was a couple of weeks ago when I was feeling very tired, felt kind of depressed and didn’t want to prepare this sermon any longer.

I needed much sleep and just wanted to quit.

I had studied God’s word and knew what it said about Hope in Jesus, strength in Jesus but I felt depressed.

I asked myself was the Lord’s word true in my life?

Was his word not more than just writings about Him? did I experience His power?

I prayed to God and I had the privilege of talking to other believers about my situation and then God reminded me of Eccelesiastes 4

Eccl 4:9-12

9          Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: