Hope Beyond Suffering Series

Video from BluefishTv: “Faith Tested”

Sermon: Hope Beyond Suffering

Question: When Bad Things Happen? Is God really in control? Is suffering from God? Why do I hurt?

Thesis: The Body of Christ needs to learn how to administer “Hope” in times of suffering, loss, crisis and trauma situations because there is hope beyond the suffering. It’s found in the living hope Jesus – who is also the anchor of our soul.

Introduction:

Swindoll states:

“WE DON’T LOOK ALIKE. We don’t act alike. We don’t dress alike. We have different tastes in the food we eat, the books we read, the cars we drive, and the music we enjoy. You like opera; I like country. We have dissimilar backgrounds, goals, and motivations. We work at different jobs, and we enjoy different hobbies. You like rock climbing; I like Harleys. We ascribe to a variety of philosophies and differ over politics. We have our own unique convictions on child-rearing and education. Our weights vary. Our heights vary. So does the color of our skin. But there is one thing we all have in common: We all know what it means to hurt. Suffering is a universal language. Tears are the same for Jews or Muslims or Christians, for white or black or brown, for children or adults or the elderly. When life hurts and our dreams fade, we may express our anguish in different ways, but each one of us knows the sting of pain and heartache, disease and disaster, trials and sufferings. Joseph Parker, a great preacher of yesteryear, once said to a group of aspiring young ministers, “Preach to the suffering and you will never lack a congregation. There is a broken heart in every pew.” From Swindoll, Charles R.. Hope Again: When Life Hurts and Dreams Fade (pp. 11-12). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

We need to build our lives on the right foundations of Faith and hope so that when suffering, crisis and trials come, we can stand strong in Jesus and not fall away.

Hebrews reminded each of us last week, “Hope is the anchor of the soul!” Hope in Jesus is the anchor of our soul according to Hebrews 6:19-20: 19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Anchor: Hope is to be our anchor in the storms of life – It’s rooted in Jesus the Living Hope! The believer trusts and knows Jesus is the most secure thing to believe in, be connected too – why because he is personal and has our back – we will not be blown away when He is our anchor.

Illustration: Cross with safety harness attached to it!

The question is not really “Where is God when we suffer because we are told in Scripture - He is right there with us.” But the question we must answer is, “How will I respond?” Will I embrace faith and hope – hope and faith or fear and anger.

Just like faith and hope go together – so does fear and anger go together!

Scripture Texts:

1 Peter 1:1-7:

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 4:12, 13:

12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Romans 5:1-5: 1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through 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. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.