A
mother, the instant that she knows she is with child, lives her every moment
in anticipation of her deliverance from the burden that is within her. After a
time she cannot take a step, make a move, think a thought that is
disassociated from the coming of her child. In America, people are supposed to
ignore the obvious fact that a woman is with child. In France the case is
quite the contrary. If a man is introduced to a woman who is an expectant
mother, it is the height of politeness for him to congratulate her. "Je
vous felicite de votre esperance." "I congratulate you on your
hope," is a common phrase among the cultured. Just as a woman becomes
pregnant in anticipation of bearing a child, so a believer becomes saved in
anticipation of being fully like the Lord Jesus Christ. It is unto this state
of hope that we are saved. From
Bible Illustrator.
There
was a study done of concentration camp survivors.
What were the common characteristics of those who did not succumb to
disease and starvation in the camps? Victor
Frankl was a living answer to that question.
He was a successful Viennese psychiatrist before the Nazis threw him
into such a camp. "There is
only one reason," he said in a speech, "why I am here today. What
kept me alive was you. Others
gave up hope. I dreamed.
I dreamed that someday I would be here, telling you how I, Victor
Frankl, had survived the Nazi concentration camps. I've never been here
before, I've never seen any of you before, I've never given this speech
before. But in my dreams, in my
dreams, I have stood before you and said these words a thousand times."
From Bible Illustrator.
"There
are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless
about them." - Clare
Boothe Luce
Scripture
Text: 1Pet 1:3 (KJS) Blessed
[be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, {abundant: Gr. much} 4 To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you, {for you: or, for us} 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
John
20:19 (NIV) On the evening
of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the
doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
"Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands
and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus
said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending
you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the
Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do
not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
What
is this Hope? (to
anticipate, usually with pleasure); 1)
expectation of evil, fear 2)
expectation of good, hope 2a1)
joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.
I.
A Picture of Hopelessness or Despair.
The
Disciples without Jesus. They had
forsaken Him, denied Him, and given Him over to the authorities.
They were a class without a teacher and a family with out a leader.
They had allowed their Lord, teacher, and Friend to be brutally
murdered. They had no reason to live.
They had nothing to live for. They
had nowhere to go. They had
nothing to do. They lived in fear Until He came.
·
Funerals of unbelievers.
·
People in search of something to live for
in the world.
·
People who trust in Evolution and other
worldly theories to justify our existence.
·
A beautiful church building but no one
reaching out to the poor in the community with help and love that Christ has
given them.
·
People who have the cure for the most
destructive agent in the world but they don’t share it.
The most destructive agent is sin and the cure is Jesus.
II.
A Picture
of Hope .
Can
you see the Disciples after the resurrection and the appearance of Jesus in
their midst? The disciples were
filled with joyfulness when they saw the risen Lord.
Dr.
Carl F. Henry, one of America's leading contemporary theologians, said of
Jesus, "He planted the only durable rumor of hope amid the widespread
despair of a hopeless world."
Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an
endless hope.
A.
A Hope for Being. Why Am I here?
There is Eternal Assurance that I am here
for the Lord and He is here for me. I
have a home in heaven. V.31 I have eternal Life in Jesus Christ .
John
20:31 (KJS) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his
name.
I
am here for Him.
B.
A Hope for Living. What Am
I Living for?
Tit.
2:11 (KJS) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ;
I
have a reason to live. I have
been sent by the Lord to do the work of God.
Looking
for that Blessed Hope. I have
someone to live for when no one is left around.
C.
A
Hope for Serving . Why am I
serving God?
What
are we serving God for? Why am I
coming to this church to give my Time, talent , and Money?
Eph.
3:20 (KJS) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him [be]
glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen.
What
is our Hope in the Church? What
is our dream? Would you dare to
dream?
D.
A Hope for Continuing.
Why should I continue to serve God?
We know that He came here for us.
We know that He is coming again. We
know that all that we do for Him will follow us into eternity.
Rev. 14:13 (KJS)
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead
which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labours; and their works do follow them
A person is not really ready to live until
he is ready to die. It was a dark
night in Marshfield, October 24, 1852. Daniel
Webster was dying. He was ready.
His physician, a very sensitive man named Dr. Jeffries had ministered
as much medicine as he could and as was practically possible.
He realized that death was near and he chose to be a friend rather than
a physician at that moment and he picked up an old rather well worn hymn book
that Webster had often sung from and he chose to read the words of one of his
favorite hymns:
There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Immanuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
He read every stanza, when he got to the last,
Webster's lips were moving, though no sound came:
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave,
then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save.
I'll sing thy power to save,
I'll sing thy power to save.
And he looked at Webster, their eyes met, and
Webster uttered 3 final words: Amen, Amen, Amen!
Joseph Bayly, in his book The View From A Hearse, tells of what he said
to offer hope to a woman whose small son was dying.
"It's good to know, isn't it," I spoke
slowly, choosing my words with unusual care, "that even though the
medical outlook is hopeless, we can have hope for our children in such a
situation. We can be sure that after our child dies, he'll be completely
removed from sickness and suffering and everything like that, and be
completely well and happy."
"If I could only believe that," the
woman replied. "But I don't.
When he dies, I'll just have to cover him up with dirt and forget I ever had
him."
It is sad, but more often than not, this woman's
words express the hopeless plight of so many people all around us.