Title: Jesus Christ Our Hope
Text:
NAS 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Saviour, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope;
Col 1: 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Introduction
Recently the Singapore soccer team won the Asean Soccer Championship. I am sure some of you have been following the progress of the team.
I too have been watching the matches played by the team. Deep within me, I hoped that Singapore can win the tournament yet again. However, I was hopeful, but I was not confident of the results. Why? That is because the object of my hope was not performing well in the early stage of the tournament.
In life, many people place their hope on different ones. People in court trials looked for the best lawyers because these lawyers have good track records. Those who are terminally ill look for the best doctors who had good reputation. However the best lawyers and doctors cannot satisfy every hope placed upon them.
In 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul told Timothy that Jesus Christ is our Hope. Our hope in Christ is unlike the hope of the world. Our hope as believers carries a certainty or a perfect assurance that what is hope for will definitely be fulfilled. But how can hope be so absolute? It is because Christ dwells within our heart through the Holy Spirit, giving us an inward witness of the Hope of Glory.
The subject of our Christian hope is Jesus Christ and He has proven it through his life, death and resurrection that our hope in Him will definitely be accomplished.
This morning my message is entitled Jesus Christ our Hope.
1. Jesus Christ is our only hope
In Col 1:27, Paul said to the Colossians, Christ dwelling in their hearts is their hope of Glory.
The Colossian church at that time was facing the false teachings of the Gnostics who taught that Christ was not the complete saviour. In order to reach fullness, their faith in Christ must be complemented with strict observations of rules and regulations.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul began to combat the false teachings by explaining to the church why Jesus is their only hope of glory.
According to Paul Jesus is their only hope because:
a. Jesus is God our creator.
b. Jesus is Deliverer who delivered believers from the domain of darkness and transferred them to the kingdom of Light.
c. Jesus is the Redeemer.
d. Jesus d at the cross, through him there is forgiveness of sins.
e. Jesus is one who reconciles man with God, breaking down the dividing wall.
f. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for he is the sinless Lamb of God.
2. The world has no Hope at all
Col 1:
21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
as non believers they were alienated from God. Their mind was not renewed and therefore does not understand the things or God and it become hostile towards Him. Do you remember the days when you were a non believer and how critical you are towards Christianity and the hatred you have towards Christians? Their lives were filled with the filth of sin.
Ephesians 2:12
12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Paul told the Ephesians that without Christ, they are without hope at all.
a. They do not have God’s help in life’s journey.
As believers, we have the luxury of having the Holy Spirit the Paracletos to be with us. He helps us through every difficult moment like a friend walking by our side.
The world does not have God’s help. They either solve problems through their own means or seek other supernatural sources which will result in more problems.
What hope is there for an old man dying of Leukaemia in the hospital?
What hope is there for a mother who had become desperate and depressed over her son who had gone bad?
What hope is there for a drug addict in the back alley of KL?
What hope is there for a girl who hated life and had to constantly cut herself to mute the pain in her heart?
All these people are in a cloud of hopelessness.
b. They are without salvation, destine for eternal damnation
The penalty for sin is death. God told Adam and Eve the moment you sin by eating from the forbidden tree, you will surely die.
Mankind separated from the presence of God, walking in spiritual darkness and sin is without God’s pardon and is destined for eternal damnation. No matter how successful one is in this life, the moment one dies, he will either step into the pearly gates of heaven or the gruesome entrance of Hell.
Non believers are like criminals in a prison waiting for their death row.
Your family members, your colleagues, your classmates are without hope because they are without salvation, destine for eternal damnation
3. The Church is Christ’s Agent of Hope
Would you pass by a dying man and do nothing about it? Well in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Priest and the Levite did. They were both religious people. They walked on the opposite side of the road to avoid coming into contact with a dead corpse. They performed religious functions but they did not practice religion.
How many times have we read the parable, and we frown at the priest and the Levite. We applaud the Good Samaritan for he did what was correct. Oh what a kind soul, taking all the trouble, time and money to save a dying man. What are the priest and the Levite so heartless?
How many times have we passed by people in need of the hope Christ can offer and we pass them by? Some of these people are people whom we see and talk to everyday and yet our eyes were not open to their hopelessness. Aren’t we just as guilty as the Priest and the Levite? We can memorize the great commission by heart. We say amen to the preacher preaching about the need to evangelize. But once we step out from the church service, the plight of the hopeless is the least of our concern.
Ask yourself:
1. Is your heart concern over the salvation of a family member, a colleague, a neighbor or a friend?
2. Do you spend a portion of time daily or weekly praying for the salvation of an unsaved?
3. Do you look for opportunities to share the gospel?
4. Do you make attempts to invite a non-believer to an evangelistic meeting in church?
If your answers are all no, then you are no better than the priest or the Levite.
The church is God’s only agent in spreading the message of Hope. The church is the light of the world. We are to shine the rays of hope to a people sitting in the dark corner of hopelessness.
As recipients of God’s mercy, after having experience his forgiveness, after having received a pardon from damnation how could we not take up responsibility of being an agent of Hope.
