Uncommon Hope
An Uncommon Series • Sermon • Submitted
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· 39 viewsA look at the way that we are given hope in Christ; in life, in death, in the afterlife
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This morning I want to continue on in our Uncommon Series by taking a look at one of the KEY catch-words of the past decade
The subject that I want to look at this morning is “Hope” or more specifically the uncommon style of hope that is offered to us in the person of Jesus Christ
The dictionary defines “Hope” as a verb, which I find very interesting in that it is something that happens and forces action, and it is a verb which means “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence” and “to believe, desire, trust”
Hope is one of the core virtues of humanity, it is a part of our DNA and the way that we were created but it is also something that seems to be in short supply these days
I recently talked with a couple who work with the indigenous communities about the greatest challenges they face
I was expecting an answer like abuse or alcohol or poverty or something along those lines but the answer they gave me was “a lack of hope”
But when you think about it, it is the lack of hope that leads to all these other problems, the lack of the ability to look forward with desire and reasonable confidence
And when you realize that you realize the epidemic situation that we face today in regards to the lack of hope
And yet, as Christians, it should not only be present in our lives, it should be evident and paramount
In Paul describes it as one of the 3 elements that make up a believer
And Peter tells us,
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
Whoops sorry that’s and I meant to type in which says,
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
To give the reason for the hope that you have you must first have the hope
So let’s talk about hope a little bit, the kind of hope that is not common in this world, the kind of hope that is only possible by “TRUSTING” in the person of Jesus Christ
First let’s take a look at having hope in this life
It’s true that in Jesus warns us that we are going to face challenges in this life that, if we allow them to, will rob us of our hope
But He continues on in the same verse to tell us that in Him we are to , “take heart” or as the Amplified version puts it, “be courageous (be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy)
In other words, in Jesus we are to find a reason to look forward with confidence because we trust Him, no matter what comes our way
It doesn’t mean that we don’t sometimes worry or get excited but that, when those times come, our trust in Jesus sees us through them
Listen to this other definition of hope from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, “The confidence that, by integrating God’s redemptive acts in the past with trusting human responses in the present, the faithful will experience the fullness of God’s goodness both in the present and in the future.”
Now with that definition in mind consider what Paul says to the church in Rome who were going through tremendous persecution
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Craver, B. (2016). Hope. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.”
The original NIV says in verse 5, “And hope does not disappoint us...”
The world is disappointed in what they have hoped in but as believers we know that know matter what happens we “will experience the fullness of God’s goodness”
Even in our suffering
But not only do we have hope in life, we can have hope in death
Ever since what happened back in the Garden of Eden, Death has been the enemy of mortal man
Billions of dollars are spent every single year as people look for ways to try and cheat death
In spite of the fact that, “it is appointed unto man once to die” () man is obsessed with finding a way to circumvent that reality
And the reason is that because, without Christ, death is merely a hopeless ending to a hopeless existence
But for the Christian there is nothing to fear in death because death is not the winner
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55-
In Christ we have the victory over death which gives us hope
In fact we can even look forward to death with desire and reasonable confidence
Think about that for a second and tell me that this kind of hope is not uncommon to the world
Listen to Paul’s take on this in his letter to the Philippians,
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Paul says that he has a hope even in death because, for him, to die is to be better off, listen to it again, this time from The Message, “And I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.”
It’s not life verses death, it’s “life verses even more life!” I love that
It gives me hope
But there’s one more hope I want to discuss this morning, We looked at hope in life, hope in death, I want to conclude by looking at hope in the resurrection
Going back to that same chapter of 1 Corinthians we looked at a moment or two ago, Paul says this in verse 19
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
If the hope that we have through Christ is only for the purpose of getting us through this life, then what’s the point? It’s worthless!
Verse 20, however, starts out with that powerful little 3 letter word, “But!”
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. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
1 Corinthians
Several different times in the book of Acts Paul describes his belief in the resurrection of the dead as his “hope”
Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”
and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.
And in the Apostle refers to this event as “The blessed hope”
Now if you have sat under any of my teaching on life after death you know what I think about the belief that we will get wings and play a harp while sitting on a cloud for all of eternity
I mean seriously who wants to spend eternity like that
Even if the idea of it appeals to you, I’m sure that after a couple of billion years it would become pretty tedious
You know what’s not tedious?
A resurrected physical body that can taste and feel and enjoy and experience every good sensation that God designed it to
God is going to raise up this body but it won’t be the same as it is now because it will no longer be subject to the curse for that will have been dealt with
Listen again to what Paul says about this,
1 Thessalonians 4:13-
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The world indeed is short on hope today
The things that they have put their hopes in have let them down and as a result they have no hope in life, no hope in death, and no hope beyond death
But listen to how Paul begins his first letter to Timothy
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
In Him we have hope, an uncommon hope, a hope in life, in death, and in resurrection
Let’s Pray
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.