I like that story about the boy and his father who were planning a
fishing trip for the next day. That
evening as the father was putting his son to bed, the boy hugged his father's
neck and said, "Daddy, thank you for tomorrow." <Exploring the
Christian Way> by Vernon O. Elmore p.9,10
A pastor had just received the news that he had a terminal illness. The
next Sunday he said to his congregation, "I walked the 5 miles from the
doctor's office to my home. I
looked toward that majestic mountain that I love.
I looked at the river in which I rejoice.
I looked at the stately trees that are always God's own poetry to my
soul. Then in the evening I
looked up into the great sky where God was lighting His lamps and I said, 'I
may not see you many more times, but mountain, I will be alive when you are
gone. And river, I will be alive when you cease running towards the sea. And
stars, I will be alive when you have fallen from your sockets in the great
pulling-down of the universe.'"
A wonderful hope lies beyond the grave for all who are trusting Christ
as their Savior. Death is not the
end. Innumerable, indescribable,
eternal glories await the child of God. From the Bible Illustrator.
Scripture
Text:
Is. 11:1 (KJV) And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD
shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And
shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall
not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of
his ears: 4 But with
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of
the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with
the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness
the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:1 (NLT)
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new
Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2And the Spirit of the Lord
will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or
hearsay. 4 He will defend the poor and the exploited. He will
rule against the wicked and destroy them with the breath of his mouth. 5He
will be clothed with fairness and truth.
6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe
among lions, and a little child will lead them all.
Do you Got Hope?
A lot of people need a lot of things, but
hope is one quality of your life that is indispensable.
Without Hope you will not live for long and the life you do have will
be meaningless and empty. This is
why many don’t last long. They
are missing a most important aspect of living.
There is no hope. Hope is
a possibility, prospect, chance, optimism, anticipation, an expectation, and a
dream. Without these life is not worth living. Life has no purpose. Life
without hope is a dead end street. There
was one who came 2000 years ago who gave us hope beyond this world of death
and tears. The prophet Isaiah in
chapter 11 foretold of him.
1.
He is the branch that grows from the stump.
When it seems that there is nothing then there is something.
He is our only hope. What
else can you turn to for help?
2.
He has the spirit of the Lord.
The Spirit of the Lord is the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
Lord. He knows what to do.
3.
He will judge rightly in
the fear of the Lord. He won’t play favorites with the rich. He will do the right thing and make the right choices for
all.
4.
He will wear righteousness and faithfulness.
This is
who He is.
5.
He will restore the earth to its intended state of creation.
There will be no more death.
6.
He is our Hope.
I have Hope in Christ and Him alone.
There is no other plan that will work for all eternity.
There is no one else who can heal your pain by giving you a reason to
live. Do you have Him?
Will you take Him?
In
his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique experience of
knowing that something is ours, yet longing to enjoy it more fully.
He explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of
snooping, trying to find the gift --wrapped presents and figure out what was
in them. One year he discovered a package with his name on it that was
easy to identify. There was no
way to disguise the golf clubs inside. Baumann then made this observation:
"When Mom wasn't around, I would go and feel the package, shake
it, and pretend that I was on the golf course.
The point is, I was already enjoying the pleasures of a future event;
namely, the unveiling. It had my name on it. I
knew what it was." But only
"Christmas would reveal it in its fullness."
The glories that await the Christian defy our
comprehension. What we can grasp about them, however, fills us with great
anticipation. We look longingly to that day when we shall enjoy heaven in all
its fullness.