Today, I want to talk about a third aspect of what God is for—a hope for the hopeless. Before we discuss this, let’s talk about what hope actually is. Hope includes two aspects-- reality and feelings. In order for hope to help us, is must be both.
Let me illustrate. Suppose someone else did in my name and bought me a lottery ticket. I neither believe in nor approve of the lottery. Nevertheless, if you own a lottery ticket, there is an element of real hope associated with it. Any lottery ticket has the possibility, however infinitesimal, of financial gain. I certainly would not go out and run up my credit cards in anticipation, however.
Now, suppose that I had this ticket, but I did not believe it had any possibility of any real gain from it, and I tore it up. Whatever real hope there might be in that ticket would be lost. It would be worth nothing. It would be foolish on one hand to feel the ticket had value when it didn’t, and go borrow money on that basis. It also be foolish to tear it up, without at least waiting to see whether it actually had some value.
Or lets suppose you have a rare and serious illness. The doctors tell you there is no hope, so you give up treatment. Then one doctor says there is a possibility of a new treatment that might work. If you don’t believe it will work, you will not take the treatment, and it will do you no good. But if you think it has a possibility of working, you’ll move heaven and earth to have it.
Real hope is based on a possibility of gain. But without believing in that possibility—perceived or felt hope, then the real value does us no good.
If we perceive hope where there is none, we are just being delusional. If we have no hope where there is real hope, we are being fatalistic. Without some degree of hope, we give up the struggle. We must have hope to continue to live.
It is difficult to overestimate the value of hope. If we have hope, we will do anything, try anything,endure anything. But if we have no hope, even the most routine of activities becomes pointless.
The word "hope" in English is not strong enough to convey what the Bible says about hope. Our word means the possibility of improving situations. The word "hope" in both Hebrew and Greek means a great deal more than that. I means our improvement Is certain, if we stay on the right course.
In Hebrew, the word used is tiquvah. Translated literally int English, it means a rope or a cord. If we are going through a treacherous place, then a rope may be what we hold onto. It is a sure and certain guide before us.
In Greek he word is elpis. It is a word which mean, not only he possibility of improvement, but the certainty of it. Hope is acting on what is promised tomorrow today.
Recently, Joy and I got some new furniture for our living room. It took two weeks to deliver from the store. Druing that time, we were stuck with having to get rid of the old furniture. It took three trips and several house, but we finally got our furniture own to Hope, incorporated to distribute to a burned-out family. When we wer done we sat in a nearly empty living room for a day. If the furniture had not arrived on time, we would have been in a mess. But the furniture did arrive right on time, and our hope was validated.
Every day we make decisions based on hope. We cast our furniture in anticpation of another. We unpack one house and move into another. We reach out because we know we will be of use. Without hope, we would sit in our hoes and do nothing. Hope is something we must have to do anything. It is a necessary commodity to anything we do.
When we lose faith, we lose hope. If we really don't trust politicians, why vote? If we think we have no chance of making friends, then why be a friend? Everything we are and ever will be depends upon hope.
Christians know where hope comes from. It comes from Jesus Christ. Christ is the bringer of hope, more than anything else. The story of Christ's birth is a hopeful story. It shows us that God can come to earth in the most unlikely of places. The story of Christ's baptism brings hope, since it shows that the Messiah can come from anywhere. The story of Christ's miracles bring hope, since it shows that God can overcome anything, even death itself. The story of Christ's death and resurrection brings hope, since it shows that nothing not even death, can separate us from the forgiveness of sins that Jesus gave through his atoning work.
Our faith in Jesus is not vain. It is a real hope. Jesus really did die on the cross for our sins, and he really promises us forgiveness and true life forever. This is not an illusion.
But this hope does us no good unless we feel it. Hope is a thing we must have for ourselvs. It cannot ge given to us b others.
Paul says in Romans 5:1-4
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 rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Hope is an upward spiral to the Christian. As we practice hope that God will accept us by faith in Him, and we anticipate that by praising Him, we learn perseverance, which develops our character, including that characteristic of hope.
Christ gives brought us four kinds of hope to us.
1. He gave us hope for an experience of God.
I believe that everyone instinctually has a desire to see and experience God in their lives. We see this in the way all cultures have developed a sense of divinity, whether it be true or false. We all want fellowship with Him.
In our modern age, many have turned away from all divinity, and declared themselves atheists or agnostics. Even so, they we have kept in our stories, a longing for wonder, a hope for something truly amazing to break into our lives. The reason people seek our ghosts, UFO's and psychic phenomena is because they want to believe there is something greater than ourselves who will come and rescue us. In Communist countries like China and North Korea, their leaders are woshiped as gods. Having done away with the true God, they put worldly rulers in His place
But the only hope we have of speaking to God is through Jesus Christ. Sin has separated ourselves form the truth. We cannot restore is, s we must rely upon God's mercy through Jesus to ope n the door that would otherwise be shut to us. "For there is just one name in heaven and earth by which ou must be saved." .
2. He gave us hope to change our lives and attitudes.
When do you think personality is formed--College? High school? Preschool? When does it become too late for a person to change?
Some people believe that there is no possibility to change. Behaviorists, racists, and gay rights activists all have one thing in common--they believe there are aspects of who we are that came from birth, and cannot be changed later.
We do not have to be any one of those to believe we are predetermined from birth.
As we get older, more and more we accept the lie that we cannot change. In time, we quit trying. But Jesus can still change us, whether we are two years old or a hundred. We can always start again. When we trust Jesus, we are born again. A new life begins, and a new hope comes with us.
3. He gave us hope for eternal life.
When we are young, we think we will live forever. In our country, death is far from most of us for a long time. So we never sit and contemplate the reality of death. One day we will exist on this world, and the next day we will not.
The Bible says that there is another life waiting for us--heaven. Heaven does not have the limitations of this life, nor does it have the temptations. Heaen is forever, and the joy of heaven is forever.
The way we understand heaven makes all the difference in the way we understand this life. If there is no heaven, it doesn't matter what we do. Eefyting will be ther same. But if there is a heaven, then we should live and obey in a way that helps us get there. If there is no heaven, then we should do everything we can to stay alive, no matter what it does to others. A live coward is better than a dead hero. But if ther eis a heaven, then death is not the worst thing. Missing out on eternity is the worse thing, and death which leads to heaven is the best thing we can ever have.
4. He gave us hope for a new world.
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth" John said. "For the old heaven and the old earth have passed away." To which the believer will no doubt say "Well, It's about time!" Sin had left this world with some terrible flaws. It is a tough, selfish world to live sin, and it is getting worse. Mark Twain once said that man was a little lower than the angels, and has been getting a little lower ever since. But the hope that we have for ourselves also extends to the whole world. God will make it right. We do not have to despair.
Let us have hope, then. Let us live in that hope and die in that hope. God's hope will not disappoint.
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