SERMON ON HOPE
Title: Realizing God’s Hope in the Midst of Chaos and Despair
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
- John 3:16
DESCRIPTION
This sermon is based on John 3:16 and describes how God in the midst of darkness and despair, He still has you in the palm of His hand – so that no matter what may happen in life, you are still the one He created for the sake of encouraging others.
OPENING PRAYER
Good morning. I’d like to start off today with a moment of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the time today that allows us to come to You, to ask You once again for forgiveness, to ask You once again to bring us together, to ask You once again for the hope that through Jesus Christ we have … that many times we have, in this world, may get confused, may not see solutions right away … maybe in despair, maybe discouraged … we know that you have us, that we’re not in this alone; that You’ve engaged us from heaven to earth and that there is a plan, You have a plan for us here. We thank you for the opportunity to be here now. We thank You for the opportunity that You hold us in the palm of your hand and that with that we can ask in Your name for love, we can ask for hope, we can ask for patience, we can the ask for the resources You have planned for us. Whether it’s that job, whether it’s that car that needs to be replaced, whether it’s our children – that You look after them, that You bless them and keep them, that You God pull them out of sickness, that You pull them out of despair, that you pull them out, Lord God, out of situations they may have gotten themselves into. We pray Lord God that You bless everyone here. That in the end, Your name be lifted and that we be humbled in realizing that no matter what happens, You have plans for us, You guide us, You protect us. We’re Your children. You’re our Father. Your our friend. You gave Your life so that we could have life. What a miraculous interchange. We thank you Lord God for this day. Forgive us our sins, God, and keep us right. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
SERMON
The late Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that only in darkness can one see the stars. Only in darkness can one see the stars. God has a way of illuminating Himself. Sometimes when we think things are going great it becomes really hard for us to see God’s work. And, sometimes, God does allow certain things to happen to us so that we realize Who He is, so that we can realize what He can do; we can realize what He is about. And not just in our own minds or in how we feel, but through His Word. The Bible, the Holy Bible, is His instruction to us, is His story to us, it’s His history, His story that allows us to read back in time and then reflect on past works, past faiths, past hopes, past dreams, past anything and everything humanity has ever gone through … God has laid it out in the Bible, in His Word. Our job as Christians, now, is to ask God what it is He wants from us. God, what do you want from us? What can we do? Where can we be? Now, granted, God’s love is by grace. You can’t earn that. God’s love is by sheer grace that calls us to realize just how powerful He is. It’s not a matter of what we can do … it’s not a matter of our own strengths, because in reality, we have no real power. When it comes to eternal items, we are at the mercy of God. And we sometimes see these difficulties that come in our lives, shootings that just happened, just not long ago, in Connecticut … and our hearts are with the families. Our hearts are with their hopes and their dreams. We are there with them. They are our brothers and sisters; we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers! And in that midst and in that time and in that conflict and in that time of confusion, God is still there. God is still helping us there to heal; God is still helping us cope with the tragedy that has affected so many lives throughout the world. God is helping us understand that these heartless things do happen, but that we should not lose hope. We should not lose our conviction about the power of God. When God Himself, the Father, lost His Son for the sake of humanity, for the sake of the world, when Jesus Christ Himself called out and said God, why have You abandoned me, why have you forsaken me? Why have You forsaken me, Jesus says, when He is laid up on the cross … it’s because He had taken on the sins of the world. God the Father had plans for that; that in the end on the third day, God, Jesus Christ, came back to life, was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit that you and I have with us as believers of Jesus Christ – and where death itself could not hold Him back.
We have to realize and understand that this time in this world is temporal. It’s not forever. Things will pass; everything will come down. God will in the end make all things right; He will redeem all things; all things will be redeemed. You have to understand that there is a hope in God. But, it’s a hope that you can’t muster on your own. It’s a hope you can’t do on your own. It is impossible to have a hope of eternity, of Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross just about two thousand years ago; it is impossible to muster that type of faith, of will, of hope, of joy in the midst of chaos on your own. God has to intervene in our lives; God has to come into our lives to be part of the solution; God has to give us that hope in our hearts so that in the end, we realize Who He is; we realize what He is about.
We get confused when we don’t understand – and then God lays it out through revelation; it is where He lays it out. The verse that we have, the verse that we work with today is that all powerful verse, John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world,” everyone say it with me, please … “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” When God said those words, when God Himself said, that He loved the world, He said that He loved all of us. He has a place for each and every one of us. He has a place for each and every down, and every up; and every neutral and ever un-neutral; of everything that has purpose and everything that seems to not have purpose. He has a plan for everything, but the sum result is, when all is said and done, is that God was still loving us, long before we ourselves realized we needed a Savior. Long before we realized Who Jesus Christ was. Long before we realized what Jesus Christ can do for us when we give ourselves over to Him. That’s the joy that comes out of being blessed. In the midst of chaos, in the midst of destruction, in the midst of loss, we come together as a community; we come together as a body to encourage one another; to let each and every person know that this is not the end.
I am here for you. Do you want to see God? Let Him be seen through your actions. Be there for people. Care for people; prepare yourself; prepare your home; prepare your heart; prepare your compassion; prepare your empathy; prepare yourself. To have God come in to heart, ask God for forgiveness; forgive your past; forgive yourself; forgive your future; forgive those who have hurt you; forgive your parents; forgive the words that have come out of employers; forgive those people all around you. Be set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, be set free so that God can then use you as a faithful instrument for His work. For God so loved the world; God is not doing the work of love, joy and peace and patience and kindness and justice all by Himself. He uses people. He uses you, and you and you and me and my family and my kids and all of us here in this place and all of us here in the world to encourage one another in the body of Christ. To encourage one another through a gift of a pie, or a smile, or a dollar, or hospitality.
You know I read somewhere that hospitality is the act of sharing yourself … especially when some doesn’t need it or doesn’t require it. Sharing a meal with someone doesn’t necessarily mean sharing a meal; it could mean simply spending time with them. It’s the time you spend with them, to stay there, is what can make all the difference in the world. At first, if you’re not used to sharing time with people, it might be awkward; but, with practice, who knows, it might turn out to be something you won’t be able to live without. Practice hospitality. Why? Because people need to know that someone is there for them. People need to know that we care about them. But, it’s not about a type of care that’s fake. It’s a type of care that is real and found on the promises of God Himself. It is a type of character, it is a type of love, it is a type of hope that is instilled in God’s Word and we as a body of believers need to make sure we remain anchored to the word of God at all times. That we’re anchored to God’s Word; that we’re anchored to His hope; that we’re anchored to His grace; that we’re anchored to His justification; that we’re anchored to His Word that says I’ve got you; I will never leave you and I will never forsake you. I have plans for you, Jeremiah 29:1 states: “I have plans for you,” says the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for a hope and a future.” Those plans have not faded. The same God of before you and I were even born is the same God of today and is the same God of tomorrow. That does not end. God has a plan for you. God has a place for you. God has hopes and He has dreams and He has desires for you. He wants the best for you. He wants to bless you; He wants to keep you; He wants to promote you; He wants to encourage you.
You are the light of the world, salt of the earth. Jesus didn’t say these things because He had nothing else to say that day. He said that because He meant it. Sermon on the Mount. You will see the blessings that God has planned for you. But blessings don’t necessarily mean that they are free or that the items you gather in life are free of discouragement, or that they are free from disillusionment, or that they are free of chaos and mayhem and confusion. To be blessed is that in the midst of chaos and confusion, your relationship with God has not faltered and you still ask God and you still depend on God and you still realize that God is right there with you. That nothing that the enemy throws your way will keep you from the love of God. That there is a plan and a reason for everything. When we pull ourselves out of our lives just a little bit from all of the stuff that is going on in our lives, when we peek our heads out a little bit and look to the cross, look to the faith, look to the hope, look to the miracles of Christ Himself, the Celestial Being of the Holy Spirit coming into our lives, when look afar, when we ask God for forgiveness, when we ask God for a job or a raise or for just a little hope, when we ask God for love, when we ask God for encouragement, when we ask God for more faith, when we ask God to help us, when we ask God to save us, when we ask God to be there with us, God will never fail! God is faithful, God is just, God is hopeful, God is encouraging, God loves us, God never left us, God has a place for us through Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world, that is the hope we hang on to. That God gave His one and only Son. Nothing is free. Something has to give. This world will tear you apart if you let it. But God will save you if you let Him. God has a way of making things right. God has a way of redeeming all things. God has a way of loving His people; God has a way of encouraging His created. We are His created. He made us: our souls, our energies, our loves; our inspiration come from Him. He is God almighty all on His own. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. There is no one like Him; the God of the Bible is still alive now and with us today. The Holy Spirit is with us today, now. We do not go at this world alone. We work as a team. Even when you think you are by yourself, you are with a team and part of the team. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in you. You are not alone. You are not alone. Three to one ratio; you can’t lose!
The God Who created light. The God Who created Hope through His Son Jesus Christ is with you – yes, even in the midst of chaos, in the midst of destruction, in the midst of despair, in the midst of crying, in the midst of darkness, in the midst of loneliness, God still has you and still has plans for you; and still wants to prosper you. Not in the American way and not in the worldly way but His way. Realizing that you can inspire people, that you can be a help to people, that you can work with people, that you can love people, that you can encourage people, that you can lift them up and not put them down, that you can lift them up with a smile, that you can lift them up with some hope, that you can lift them up with a glimmer of peace and joy. That is the God we serve.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, that whoever believes in Him, walks in Him, talks like Him, tries to be like Him, smiles like He would have smiled on the poor and the afflicted, who believes in Him, to be like Him, to walk like Him, to engage like him, to be filled with the Spirit like Him, to call on the Father like Him, to pray to God the Father like Him, to sacrifice yourself with love and peace and joy like Him for the sake of both the lost and found, who may not have liked Him, who made have had plans to destroy Him. Not all of us can have 100% friends all the time. There’s going to be some conflict somewhere; you can’t have a million phone calls coming to you all at the same time. If you have any sort of value or conviction or belief, there will be lines drawn somewhere along the term of your life.
And this becomes even more evident when you faithfully take on the power of Christ as a way of living for you. When you receive that hope in the midst of darkness, when light comes into your life, you realize that’s the light that I personally want to hang on to. That’s the light I want to live by. That’s the light I want in my life; that’s the light I want in my family; that’s the light I want in my home. That’s the light I want in my work. That’s the light I want in my life; that’s the light I want to carry with me. That’s the light that don’t want to live without. That is the light that Christ Himself will give you if receive what He has. And what does He have? He has hope for you. He has love for you. He has care for you. He has compassion for you. He knows. He knows where your failings are. He knows where you don’t make the mark. He knows what gets you down. But in the midst of chaos, in the midst of despair, I’m here to tell you that God does not lie and that His word does not return void. There is a reason the Bible exists – it’s for and it’s for me.
We are a body of believers, Christians united in one faith. Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross, Who lived a life of perfection, never committing a sin, gave His life so that in the end, we might have life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life, everlasting life; life that does not end. You will not perish; you will not be thrown to the side. No matter what happens, no matter how chaotic, no matter who you lose in life, no matter how young or how old, no matter how successful or prosperous or how goodly you are or how poorly you are, in the end, God has you … and God has every hope for you; and He knows what you need. And in the sum and in the result of everything, as a whole, you will realize that God is still in control. Let us pray.
CLOSING PRAYER
Heavenly Father we thank you today … that You love us and that You encourage us, that You give us hope, that You give us grace, that You make all things right through Your Son Jesus Christ. The hope that engages us comes from you and not from our own will … and, we respond, now, by giving you thanks. We pray for the people that have lost loved ones, we pray for those who need encouragement. We pray for those people who don’t have a place to go. Give us the strength, God. Give us the courage to take care of one another. To love people, to send letters, to send gifts, to give a smile, to encourage … social media, one another, phone calls, internet, texting, tweets, whatever Lord, however you want to use us, help us, God. Encourage us, reveal Your mighty hand of hope and favor on us, Lord. Show us how we can look after and love one another. We are our neighbors keepers, our brother’s keepers, help us fulfill Your will through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Thank you for the hope that you give us; thank you for your love and thank you for your will. We love you, God. You’re perfect in Your righteous ways, I’m not, we’re not! Thank you, Lord Jesus. In Your precious Name we pray. Thank you, Lord God. Amen.
