WHERE DO I FIND MY HOPE
1 PETER 4:12-18
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING IN THIS SERIES ABOUT THE HOPE OF THE CHRISTIAN. I’VE SHARED WITH YOU SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID WE CAN DRAW HOPE FROM, AND I’VE SHARED DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE BIBLE WE CAN TURN TO FOR ENCOURAGEMENT.
WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF GREAT TURMOIL AND DANGER. CHRISTIANS ARE BEING BRUTALLY EXECUTED FOR THEIR FAITH. EVERY ELEMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IS COMING UNDER ATTACK IN NORTH AMERICA. IT LEAVES MANY CHRISTIANS AFRAID AND WITHOUT HOPE IN A WORLD THAT IS WITHOUT HOPE. WHERE CAN WE FIND HOPE IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS? WHERE DO WE FIND HOPE IN THE MIDST OF OUR DAILY LIVES?
IT HAS JUST OCCURRED TO ME, THAT I HAVE NEVER SHARED WITH YOU WHERE I FIND HOPE AS A CHRISTIAN. WHAT IS IT THAT KEEPS ME GOING ON?
THIS IS THE LAST WEEK FOR THIS SERIES, AND ALTHOUGH THERE ARE OTHER AREAS WE COULD LOOK AT, I THOUGHT FOR THE LAST SERMON OF THIS SERIES, I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU WHERE I DRAW MY HOPE FROM.
POINT ONE: I DRAW MY HOPE FROM MY FAMILY HISTORY:
IT MAY SURPRISE SOME OF YOU TO KNOW THAT THE REASON FOR MY HOPE, AS WELL AS FOR MANY OF YOU DOES NOT START WITH GOD, BUT WITH MY FAMILY.
THE BIBLE IS CLEAR THAT GOD LOVED US WITH A SUPERNATURAL LOVE, EVEN BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. BECAUSE OF SIN THOUGH, WE DID NOT SHARE THAT LOVE WITH GOD, UNTIL WE BECAME CHRISTIANS.
1 JOHN 4:19: “WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.”
SO MY FIRST REASON FOR HOPE IN THIS WORLD, CAME FROM THE LOVING RELATIONSHIP OF MY PARENTS. MOM AND DAD WERE MARRIED FOR OVER FORTY YEARS. IT WASN’T PERFECT BUT IT WAS SOLID. AS CHILDREN WE DID NOT WANT FOR ANYTHING, AND IF WE WERE POOR WE DIDN’T KNOW IT.
WE ALWAYS THOUGHT DAD TO BE A TOUGH RUGGED MINTO MINER, BUT I WAS TO LEARN DIFFERENT THE LAST YEAR OF THEIR LIVES. DAD DIED IN SEPT. OF 1986, AND MOM DIED IN DEC. OF 1986, BOTH FROM DIFFERENT FORMS OF CANCER.
AFTER MOM’S FUNERAL ONE OF MY SISTERS WAS LOOKING IN HER CLOSET FOR SOMETHING AND SHE FOUND A SHOEBOX FULL OF LOVELETTERS THAT MY DAD HAD WRITTEN TO MY MOM. SHE HAD KEPT THEM ALL THE TIME THEY HAD BEEN MARRIED. WE READ THEM AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AT HOW CORNY DAD WAS IN HIS LETTERS.
I LEARNED THAT DAY TO HOPE IN A TYPE OF LOVE THAT COULD LAST FOREVER, AND NOT TO GIVE UP OR SETTLE UNTIL I FOUND IT, WHICH I DID EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO IN LESLIE.
POINT TWO: I DRAW MY HOPE FROM MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:
THE SECOND PLACE THAT I DRAW HOPE FROM, AND THE ONE THAT I DWELL ON NOW, IS MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
MY MOTHER WAS A DEVOUT PENTECOSTAL CHRISTIAN. SHE TAUGHT SUNDAY SCHOOL, IN THE BAPTIST CHURCH. WE ONLY HAD ONE CAR WHICH DAD TOOK TO WORK AND THE BAPTIST CHURCH WAS CLOSER FOR THE FAMILY. SOME MORNINGS SHE WOULD PICK ME UP AFTER SUNDAY SCHOOL AND TAKE ME TO CHURCH WITH HER. SHE ALWAYS HAD A LUNCH FOR ME AND TOYS TO PLAY WITH, AS THE SERVICES OFTEN WENT LONGER THAN 1:00, BUT NO ONE SEEMED TO NOTICE.
WHAT I NOTICED WAS MOM AND DAD PRAYING EACH NIGHT BEFORE BEDTIME. I NOTICED MOM READING HER BIBLE EACH EVENING IN ON THE COUCH. I NOTICED HER LISTENING TO GOSPEL RECORDS ON THE OLD ELECTROHOME STEREO. I NOTICED HER RAISING HER HANDS IN CHURCH AND HER STANDING AND TELLING PEOPLE HOW SHE LOVED GOD.
WHEN I GOT OLDER WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN. SHE WAS THE FIRST TO TELL ME THAT I NEEDED A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST AND HOW OVERJOYED SHE WAS WHEN I CAME HOME ONE NIGHT AND TOLD HER I HAD MADE A DECISION TO ACCEPT CHRIST AS MY SAVIOR AND LORD.
THEN SHE TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING. I NEEDED TO DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS TO HELP ME FACE THE TRIALS OF LIFE. SHE SAID THAT JUST AS I HAD TO LEARN TO TRUST THEM, I COULD ALWAYS PUT MY TRUST IN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
SHE WAS DEVIOUS IN HER DISCIPLESHIP. SHE WOULD LET ME DRIVE HER CAR AS WE WENT TO VISIT FAMILY. THIS LEFT HER HANDS FREE TO FIND BIBLE VERSES AS WE TALKED AND DROVE ALONG.
LEARNING TO DEVELOP THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD, AND TO REALIZE HOW MUCH HE LOVES ME, HAS BEEN A KEY TO BUILDING HOPE IN MY LIFE, AS I FACE THE CHALLENGES OF MY LIFE.
ROMANS 5:8: “BUT GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS OWN LOVE FOR US IN THIS: WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.”
POINT THREE: MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY WIFE HAS BEEN A KEY FOR DRAWING HOPE IN THIS WORLD:
LESLIE HAS BEEN A CONSTANT SOURCE OF SUPPORT FOR ME FOR THE LAST EIGHTEEN YEARS OF MY LIFE. SHE DESERVES A MEDAL FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME, AND EVERYBODY SAID “A-MEN”.
THERE IS ANOTHER KEY TO LESLIE BEING A SOURCE OF HOPE, AND THAT IS THAT SHE IS A CHRISTIAN. SHE HAS HER OWN SPIRITUAL LIFE IN ORDER, AND SO WE WALK ALONG THE SAME ROAD. LESLIE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF A PROVERBS 31 WOMAN.
POINT FOUR: MY REASON FOR HOPE COMES FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY SPIRITUAL MATURITY:
WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY, I AM TALKING ABOUT THE PROCESS OF GROWING INTO MATURITY. I BELIEVE THE ONLY TIME WE REALLY ACHIEVE MATURITY IS WHEN WE ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST FOR ETERNITY, UNTIL THEN IT IS A PROCESS.
AS WE STUDY THE SCRIPTURE AND DEVELOP OUR PRAYER LIFE, WE WILL INCREASINGLY GET TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH SPIRITUAL EYES, AND IT OFFERS US A SOURCE OF HOPE THAT THE WORLD CANNOT SEE. THIS IS WHAT PETER TALKS ABOUT IN THIS PASSAGE.
1 PETER 4:12-13:
“12 ¶ DEAR FRIENDS, DO NOT BE SURPRISED AT THE PAINFUL TRIAL YOU ARE SUFFERING, AS THOUGH SOMETHING STRANGE WERE HAPPENING TO YOU. 13 BUT REJOICE THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, SO THAT YOU MAY BE OVERJOYED WHEN HIS GLORY IS REVEALED.”
WE ARE NOT TO BE SURPRISED BY THE EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING AROUND US NOW. WE ARE TO FACE TESTING, WE ARE TO SEE THE WORLD IN GREAT DISASTER AND SINFULLNESS. THIS IS PROPHECIED IN THE LAST DAYS TO OCCUR.
JAMES TELLS US:
JAMES 1:2-4:
“2 ¶ CONSIDER IT PURE JOY, MY BROTHERS, WHENEVER YOU FACE TRIALS OF MANY KINDS, 3 BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT THE TESTING OF YOUR FAITH DEVELOPS PERSEVERANCE. 4 PERSEVERANCE MUST FINISH ITS WORK SO THAT YOU MAY BE MATURE AND COMPLETE, NOT LACKING ANYTHING.”
AS A CHRISTIAN I KNOW THAT MANY OF THE THINGS THAT I SEE IN THE WORLD PREPARE ME FOR MATURITY IN CHRIST. IT TEACHES US TO BE PATIENT IN HIM. JAMES TELLS US OF A WONDERFUL PROMISE WE HAVE IF WE PERSEVERE IN OUR FAITH.
JAMES 1:12: “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO PERSEVERES UNDER TRIAL, BECAUSE WHEN HE HAS STOOD THE TEST, HE WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE THAT GOD HAS PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
I HAVE HOPE BECAUSE THIS IS A CROWN THAT IS PREPARED FOR ME TO RECEIVE. IT IS A CROWN THAT ALL CHRISTIANS CAN SHARE IN. NO MATTER HOW HARD THIS WORLD GETS, WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE CROWN OF LIFE.
POINT FIVE: I DRAW HOPE FROM THE POWER IF HAVE AT MY DISPOSAL:
1 PETER 4:14: “IF YOU ARE INSULTED BECAUSE OF THE NAME OF CHRIST, YOU ARE BLESSED, FOR THE SPIRIT OF GLORY AND OF GOD RESTS ON YOU.”
REMEMBER WE ARE NEVER MORE CLOSER TO HIM, NEVER MORE A RECEPIENT OF HIS STRENGTH, THAN WHEN TRIALS COME. THERE WERE TIMES WHILE IN THE MINISTRY I HAD TO WONDER HOW I WAS GOING TO GET THROUGH.
MY BROTHER DIED 10 DAYS AFTER I WAS ORDAINED IN 1994. THE MORNING OF HIS FUNERAL I RECEIVED A CALL FROM MY PASTORATE THAT A PERSON HAD DIED AND I WAS NEEDED FOR THE FUNERAL. WE BURIED MY BROTHER ON A THURSDAY, ON FRIDAY I WAS IN A FUNERAL HOME IN NOVA SCOTIA. ON SUNDAY, ANOTHER PERSON FROM MY CONGREGATION DIED. SO HERE IS MY WEEK FOLLOWING MY BROTHERS FUNERAL ON THURSDAY. I HAD A FUNERAL ON SUNDAY, SANG AT ONE ON MONDAY, HAD A FUNERAL ON TUESDAY, AND SANG AT THE SPOUCE’S FUNERAL FROM THE ONE ON MONDAY ON THURSDAY. FRIDAY I LEFT TOWN. PAUL TEACHES:
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10:
“9 BUT HE SAID TO ME, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS." THEREFORE I WILL BOAST ALL THE MORE GLADLY ABOUT MY WEAKNESSES, SO THAT CHRIST’S POWER MAY REST ON ME. 10 THAT IS WHY, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, I DELIGHT IN WEAKNESSES, IN INSULTS, IN HARDSHIPS, IN PERSECUTIONS, IN DIFFICULTIES. FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG.
I HAVE FELT THAT POWER. I KNOW IT IS TRUE. I KNOW I CAN GET THROUGH ANYTHING, AND I KNOW YOU CAN TOO.
CONCLUSION:
MY HOPE TODAY DOESN’T COME FROM THIS WORLD BUT IT IS APPLIED TO THIS WORLD. I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW, AND I KNOW WHAT MY TOMORROW HOLDS.
I KNOW I HAVE VICTORY ASSURED IN CHRIST. I KNOW I HAVE A PLACE SECURED FOR ME IN HEAVEN.
HUDSON TAYLOR A GREAT PREACHER, WAS DEALING WITH A PERSONAL TEST. AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS TEST HE RESPONDED TO IT WITH THESE WORDS:
“IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW GREAT THE PRESSURE IS. WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS WHERE THE PRESSURE LIES. DOES IT COME BETWEEN ME AND GOD OR DOES IT PRESS ME CLOSER TO HIS HEART.”
HOW GOOD AND CALMING IT IS TO REASSURE OURSELVES IN TIMES OF TRIAL THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND WILL BE FAITHFUL TO HIS PEOPLE. WHEN TRIALS COME, REMIND YOURSELF TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND TAKE REFUGE IN GOD.
THE TRIAL OF OUR FAITH TODAY IS THE ASSURANCE OF GLORY WHEN GOD RETURNS….THIS WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR LORD, AND IT WILL BE OUR EXPERIENCE.
THIS IS WHERE I FIND MY HOPE TODAY. I CANNOT BE DEFEATED, I WILL NOT BE DISCOURAGED, AND WHEN IN TIMES THAT I AM DISHEARTENED I DEPEND ON WHAT I KNOW NOT WHAT I FEEL. I REMEMBER “GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.”
