Finding Hope in Uncertainty
A Light in the Darkness • Sermon • Submitted
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Carl to light candle on behalf of his entire family:
First Sunday of Advent Readings: Hope
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. […] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
This candle of hope:
This candle of hope symbolizes promises delivered through the prophets from God as well as the hope we have in Christ. God crafted a great rescue plan that he lays out in Scripture. This plan foretells years in advance the arrival of Christ. The Bible also gives us a glimpse of the future, and promises that God will come down to create a new heaven and Earth.
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Sermon: Finding Hope in Uncertain Times
Say “Happy New Year!”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Geneva reminded us last week on how God uses the most unlikely things, needs the most unlikely things to help us grow and bear fruit.
We Have Every Spiritual Blessing
We Have Every Spiritual Blessing
We who are rooted in Christ also have every spiritual blessing in him in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). We need not fear because we already have every blessing. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that before the world was even formed, God the Father chose us, adopted us as his children, and lavished every spiritual blessing on us (Eph. 1:3–5).
First, what a relief that we were chosen before we were even born—before the earth was even formed.
You and I did exactly nothing to receive our salvation in Christ. God did it all.
Second, not only are we adopted, but we also have every spiritual blessing in him.
Our Father owns every spiritually good thing, and he’s given them all to us.
How can we trust God in trials?
finding hope in Christ—when our world feels like it’s falling apart?
Of all the words that could be used to describe the last six months, “uncertainty” comes to my mind the most.
Uncertainty has long been part of the human condition.
We simply don’t know what the future holds and many of us find ourselves living lives we never dreamed we would.
Finding hope in uncertain times can feel impossible.
Proverbs 18:14 tells us, “The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but a broken spirit who can bear?” A broken spirit is a spirit without hope.
The loss of hope is a terrible thing.
Christian, we are different. We don’t have to live like those who wonder.
Without hope, life’s troubles bring discouragement, depression, despair, and even death.
We can bear the doctor’s frightful diagnosis with hope for a cure. We can endure the separation from a loved one with hope for a reunion. We can endure certain death with the hope of eternal life and infinite joy in the presence of God forever. But where no hope exists—we are undone.
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
“hope” is often used by people today in the context of wanting something to happen but not being sure if it will,
Hope in the Bible usually means faithful and patient, expectant and anticipation.
Difficult times will come, and we need to know how to find unshakeable hope that will carry us through these trials and tribulations.
Marshall Broomhall was a missionary in China in the dark days of 1927. Chaos reigned, foreign Christian workers were asked to evacuate, and all Christians were at great risk.
And yet Broomhall wrote these encouraging words: “In the light we are largely unconscious of our limitations, but when the night descends, our helplessness takes hold upon us and make us cry out for God. Faith is a faculty which needs the dark in which to thrive. When we see our way, we have no need of faith, but when darkness falls then faith receives her opportunity.” Marshall Broomhall
Sharing my story how my faith in God carries me through trials
Hope just happens to be my favorite word. Not the hope that “I sure hope my car starts” or “I hope that I pass my test,”
hope is the birthplace of Christian self-sacrificing love. Because our assurance for life and prosperity comes from God. We can give our bread away because we know that God will bring us more bread; we can give our coats away because we trust that God will give us another coat when we need it.
John Piper wrote
If we don't have the hope that Christ is for us then we will be engaged in self-preservation and self-enhancement. But if we let ourselves be taken care of by God for the future—whether five minutes or five centuries from now—then we can be free to love others. Then God's glory will shine more clearly, because that's how he becomes visible.
When God satisfies us so deeply that we're free to love other people then he becomes more manifest. And that's what we want above all.
but rather the hope that comes from the words of a hymn: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness.” If somehow we can have this type of hope, then hardships can become bearable.
When you read the word "hope" in the Bible (like in 1 Peter 1:13—"set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"), hope is not wishful thinking. It's not "I don't know if it's going to happen, but I hope it happens." That's absolutely not what is meant by Christian hope.
My relationship with Christ is the bedrock truth that has kept me strong through many trials,
and today I’m sharing how you too can have this same confident hope in Christ that will not only help you find hope in uncertain times but
give you confident peace in your salvation and eternal life with God.
The Command TO Hope and the Nurture of Hope
The Object of Hope
The Object of Hope
Like faith, hope depends on its object.
Christian hope is when God has promised that something is going to happen and you put your trust in that promise.
Hope is the
Excellence of God the Father
Excellence of God the Son
Excellence of the Holy Spirit
Hope is a portion or part of faith. Faith and hope, in my mind, are overlapping realities: hope is faith in the future tense. So most of faith is hope.
The Bible says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). This implies that hope, like faith, is also strengthened by the word of God. Hope comes from reading his precious and very great promises and looking to Christ who purchased them.
Christians have great reason to have hope, no matter how much uncertainty exists in the world.
God is sovereign over all things, and works all things according to the purpose of His good will, to the praise of His glory. Nothing comes as a surprise to God, and nothing is beyond His ability to save. In fact, often we read in Scripture that God is working in what we consider evil to bring about His greatest good. (Eph 1:3-14; Ps 33:10-11)
Remember the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus died, and was raised again, to take away the sins of the world. Confess your sins, trust in Him for salvation, and rest in His perfect righteousness. (Acts 2:38; Rom 3:23-26)
Death has no power over those in Christ Jesus. Death has lost its sting, and no believer should fear death. There is nothing that can separate us from God in Jesus Christ, no virus, no power, not even death itself. (1 Cor 15:54-58; Rom 8:38-39)
So let's look away from the circumstances that confront us, look to Christ, look to the promises, and hold fast to them. Hope comes from the promises of God rooted in the work of Christ.
We are people of hope. We have one—and only one— hope. But it’s a huge hope, and it changes everything.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Pray to the Father, the creator and sustainer of all.
When our lives are shaken and disrupted it is the time to remember that He is the creator of all; He is the one who to whom the earth and all that is within it belong.
Pray to the God of all comfort.
We can cry out to the Father of compassion to comfort those who are grieving and to help those struggling with the disruption to daily life.
Pray to the Spirit, who brings wisdom and strength.
In his grace, He gives strength to the weary and sustains people.
Pray to Christ, the light of the world.
The darker the surroundings, the brighter the light shines.
He is our Creator, our Comforter, our Wisdom and our Light. “He is before all things,” Colossians 1:17 tells us, “and in him all things hold together.” Yes, this life may seem uncertain at times but let’s remind ourselves, there is no uncertainty in God.