A. Today, I want to focus our complete attention on the resurrection of Jesus and the hope that it provides.
1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that although Jesus was crucified for our sins, and was buried in a tomb, on the third day He came back to life.
a. That’s the Gospel – the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
2. An angel rolled the stone away from the tomb, and Jesus came out and appeared to over 500 of His disciples over the next 40 days.
3. The God who moved that stone, still moves stones today.
4. There is hope for the hopeless because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
B. There is a story told of a man who approached a little league baseball game one afternoon.
1. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was.
2. The boy responded, “Eighteen to nothing--we’re behind.”
3. “My,” said the man, “I’ll bet you’re discouraged.”
4. The little boy replied, “Why should I be discouraged? We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”
C. Most of us struggle to be that hopeful, especially when life hits us so hard.
1. There’s not much hope in circulation these days.
2. The news we read about and hear is usually bad news.
3. There are economic uncertainties – the stock market is down, gas prices are up, the dollar is worth less and less.
4. The war in Iraq drags on at great cost both in human life and dollars.
5. It seems that faithfulness in marriage is at an all-time low.
6. So many people are facing family problems, employment problems and health problems.
7. And the result of all of this is that many people are discouraged, depressed, and hopeless.
D. Is there hope for the hopeless? Yes, indeed!
1. Where can a person turn to find hope?
2. I believe that the only hope that has substance is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. The Gospel of Jesus does not promise a charmed life filled with constant material blessings, but it does give solid assurance that life is worth living and that problems are worth enduring.
4. The Gospel provides the hope that there is more to life than what we can see.
5. The invisible, spiritual world is even more real than the world we can see and touch.
E. The kind of hope that the Bible talks about is not just pure optimism.
1. If you know me, then you know that I tend to be optimistic.
2. Optimists tend to see the glass as half-full, rather than half empty.
3. I’ve heard about the optimist that looked at his flat tire and said, “Yeah, but it’s only flat on the bottom.”
4. Optimism is well and good, but Biblical hope is much more than optimism.
5. Biblical hope is not “hope so” hope, rather it is “know so” hope.
6. We might say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” That’s “hope so” hope.
7. With biblical hope we wait for the coming of the Lord and the salvation of our souls.
8. Those are not hopes in the sense that they may not happen, but only in that they have not yet happened. Biblical hope is about certainties that just haven’t yet happened.
9. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote these verses in Romans 8, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:22-25)
F. The resurrection of Jesus Christ made all the difference in the lives of Jesus’ earliest followers.
1. I can only imagine how filled with hope they were during the week before the crucifixion.
2. They triumphantly paraded with Jesus into Jerusalem, with crowds cheering for him.
3. They joined Jesus as He entered the temple and cleared out those people and things that didn’t belong there.
4. They enjoyed the Passover meal with Jesus as He washed their feet and taught them many things.
5. Next came the confusion.
6. Jesus predicted His betrayal and denial, His arrest and crucifixion.
7. They didn’t understand any of these things.
8. They went across the Kidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus prayed by Himself as the rest could not keep themselves awake.
9. In their grogginess, a mob came and with a kiss of betrayal, took Jesus away, and they all fled.
10. By the time morning arrived, Jesus had been tried in front of several officials and condemned to death.
11. He was crucified at 9 in the morning and was dead at 3 in that afternoon.
12. None of them could believe what was taking place – the one they had followed for three years, the one they had put their hope in, was now dead and buried.
13. That Saturday Sabbath must have been the longest and dreariest of their lives.
14. Even though Jesus had repeatedly predicted His death, burial and resurrection, none of them were looking forward to Sunday and the Resurrection.
15. When the news initially came to the apostles that Jesus was alive, they couldn’t believe it.
16. It took numerous appearances by the resurrected Christ, before they believed.
17. But once they were sure of the resurrection, then everything changed.
18. Despair, fear and anxiety evaporated.
19. Jesus was resurrected and that gave them a living hope.
G. Thirty years after these events, Peter sat down and penned his first letter, and he began with these words, “Praise 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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These 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. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9)
1. What wonderful truths are found in these verses.
2. We have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
3. We have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
4. In the meantime, we may face suffering, but it has a purpose.
5. And all this results in an inexpressible and glorious joy.
H. As we wait patiently for the hope of Christ’s return, the Gospel offers us several priceless benefits right now in this life.
1. Because of what Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection, we have freedom from guilt, the assurance of being loved, and guidance on how to live life in this world.
2. The Gospel provides a dose of realism, not some advertising hype.
3. The Gospel lets us in on the secret that happiness is not achieved by getting the most money, or by climbing the corporate ladder, or by being the most popular.
4. The Gospel does not guarantee us social skills and good friends, but it does tell us that God loves us even when we fight against Him or fail Him.
5. There is no one too hopeless to receive the hope of Jesus Christ.
6. The Gospel says that God sent Jesus to die even for the people who put Him to death.
7. We can never do anything so bad that God will stop loving us.
8. Even the best of friends in this world can let us down, but the Gospel point us to an invisible but faithful friend, Jesus.
9. The best in human friendships is only a foretaste of the eternal joy we will have with Jesus.
I. The Gospel gives us hope in handling the problems we face in life.
1. In Scripture, God gives us some amazingly practical advice on how to live.
2. For instance, Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” That is a remarkably effective strategy.
3. It is a blessing, even in this life, to be humble and considerate, gracious and grateful.
4. God’s Spirit helps us to become all those things as the fruit of the Spirit is developed in us.
J. The hope of the Resurrection leads to remarkable serenity.
1. Hebrews 13:6 reads, “So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
2. In this letter, the Hebrew writer notes that Christians have been thrown in jail, had their possessions confiscated, and were threatened with death.
3. In chapter 11 it is noted that God’s people have been persecuted, ridiculed, beaten and killed.
4. So, what can people do to us? They can do terrible things to us.
5. They can abutse us, beat us, steal from us, and even kill us, but nevertheless, we do not need to be afraid.
6. Why? Because the great hope and promises of the Christian faith are not about our possessions, and not even about this earthly life.
7. Our hope and promises have to do with the peace of God that passes understanding, and in the glorious eternity of heaven.
8. Jesus taught us not to fear those who can only kill the body, for they cannot take away the life of the soul. (Mt. 10:28)
K. The hope of the Gospel teaches us how to live and how to die.
1. It teaches us how to die without fear, how to die without regrets, and how to die without guilt.
2. The hope of the Gospel offers forgiveness for sin, confidence in our salvation, and peace in our relationships.
3. We don’t always take full advantage these, but the Gospel offers them.
4. The Gospel doesn’t promise us a long life, but it enables us to die with the assurance that our life had meaning, and that it will go on forever.
5. The Gospel allows us to let go of this life because we know that a better one is waiting for us.
6. Nevertheless, we accept this life as long as we are blessed to have it, because God is using it for good.
7. Therefore, whether we live or die, we can be confident – “The Lord is our helper; we will not be afraid.” And that’s hope!
L. The hope of the Gospel certainly helps us in this life, but its biggest benefits are in the next life.
1. This life we are living is temporary, the next life is eternal.
2. When Paul was on trial for his life, he said that it was “because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6; 26:6)
3. Maybe Paul “hoped” to get out of jail, but the real hope on which he based his life and ministry was the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. If there was no resurrection, then his life was a waste, and his faith was futile (1 Cor. 15:14,17).
5. If there is no resurrection, then we are all hopeless.
M. The hope on which we, Christians, base our lives is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1. That hope causes us to make sacrifices to serve others.
2. We don’t have to be protective of our time, since we have an eternity ahead of us.
3. We don’t have to be so worried about what other people think of us, because our Creator cares for us so intensely.
4. We need not fear, for the worst things anyone can do to us are temporary.
5. We don’t have to cling to the wealth of the world since we are promised riches far greater.
6. And so, we realize that our lives are but a vapor that will soon pass away.
7. Therefore, we use our time and our treasure for God’s sake for and to His glory.
N. It is amazing to me how often in Scripture hope is spoken about with regard to Jesus.
1. When Paul opened his first letter to Timothy, he wrote, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” (1 Tim. 1:1)
2. Scripture says that we are called to “one hope.” (Eph. 4:4)
3. God has made know this mystery: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27)
4. Part of our spiritual armor is “the hope of salvation” “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thess. 5:8)
5. Paul says in Rom. 12:12 that we can be “joyful in hope” and “patient in affliction.”
6. In Titus 2, Paul points to“Our blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
7. Peter tells us to “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Pt. 1:13)
O. In the catacombs of ancient Rome, archeologists have discovered a number of early Christian symbols that have been etched into the rock walls.
1. One of them is the Ichthus or a fish.
a. The Greek letters - Iota - Chi – Theta - Upsilon – Sigma are often written inside the fish.
b. That is an acrostic which has many translations in English.
c. The most popular appears to be "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" [Iesous (Jesus) CHristos (Christ) THeou (God) Uiou (Son) Soter (Savior
2. Another common symbol is the shepherd. Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd.”
3. Another common symbol for Christianity is the anchor.
4. Why do you suppose the anchor would have become a common symbol for Christianity?
5. Hebrews 6:19 reads, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
6. Our hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the anchor that keeps us securely moored to the life of God regardless of the storms that come.
7. As the wonderful old song says, “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the billows roll, fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.”
P. So how can we allow this resurrection hope to grow in our hearts?
1. First, We need to fix our eyes on God’s past faithfulness.
a. The Scriptures reveal the record of God’s faithfulness.
b. Paul wrote in Romans 15:4, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
c. So many of us here today can attest to God’s faithfulness in our lives.
d. God has been so good to be there with me, carrying me through everything, providing what I needed, whether that be correction, or encouragement, or anything else.
e. Remembering God’s faithfulness in the past gives us hope.
2. Second, We need to fix our eyes on God’s present help.
a. No matter what it is that you or I might be going through in the present, if we will look we will see that God is with us and is helping us.
b. God may not be taking away our present difficulties, but He is sustaining us in them.
c. His comfort and care can be seen in the present help that He provides.
d. And that gives us hope.
3. Finally, We need to fix our eyes on God’s promised future glory.
a. Paul wrote these wonderful words about God’s promised future glory, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:17-18)
b. No matter how great our past or present struggles may be, we can embrace the hope that our future glory in Christ will be worth it all.
c. We can have the hope that God will carry us through and that He will reward us in the end.
Q. I would like to end with two of Paul’s prayers from Scripture.
1. Both prayers speak about our hope, and they are my prayer for each of us here today.
2. The first is from Ephesians 1. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Eph. 1:18-23)
3. The second prayer is in Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
4. May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened to our great hope!
5. And may the God of hope cause us to overflow with hope through the power of the resurrection and the Holy Spirit! Amen!
Resource: “Hope for the Homeless,” Joseph Tkach
