Easter Sermon – Lanier Christian Church
April 16, 2017
David Simpson
Against All Hope
Romans 4:18-25
Romans 4:18-25
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Against all hope the little country of Fiji won the gold medal in Rugby in last year’s Olympics in Brazil. Against all hope, the Chicago cubs won the World Series last fall, their first championship since 1908. It pains me to say it, but against all hope, the New England Patriots had the greatest comeback in Super bowl history and defeated the Atlanta Falcons back in February. Against all hope, the Mississippi State Bulldogs women’s team beat the Connecticut Huskie women’s team in college basketball a few weeks ago. Connecticut had won a record setting 111 games before their defeat. But Mississippi shocked them and made it to the finals where against all hope the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s team won their first national championship in basketball. Against all hope, Sergio Garcia, who had never won a major golf tournament in 74 starts, won the greatest tournament of them all when he won the Masters last Sunday. Yes, it’s been quite an amazing year in sports over the last seven months.
Many of us relate to sports. We get excited about a team or player making a comeback or achieving a victory when it seems all hope is lost.
But, the reality in each of those situations is that great effort and preparation and hard work paid great dividends and resulted in victory for the participants.
What happens when you’re not playing a game? What happens when real life meets you head on? What happens when you are faced with a challenge for which you are not prepared? What happens when you are powerless to do anything about the situation that you are in? What happens when all you have left is hope? What happens when all hope seems lost?
These are real situations, where “against all hope,” we must continue to believe in our powerful God, that no matter what happens, HE WILL win in the end!
The apostle Paul chose to use Abraham as an example of belief against all hope. God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation and that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” - Genesis 12:1-3
This was God’s promise, but Abraham wavered at times. In fact, he and his wife, Sarah had given up on God at one point. Sarah offered Abraham her handmaiden, Hagar and indeed she bore a child by Abraham, Ismael…but this was not the child God promised.
At the age of 99…99 years old folks… God spoke to Abraham and reassured him that indeed he and Sarah would be the parents of a special child, a miracle child, one that would spark the beginning of a great nation, a nation that would grow to bring into the world the promised Messiah, the Savior, for all the world.
Here is Abraham, 99 years old and he is to have a child with his wife Sarah, who… oh by the way, was 90 at the time. The amazing truth is that Abraham actually believed God at this point, against all hope, that what God said would be true. But, when Sarah overheard the news… she laughed. She couldn’t believe that she could possibly have a child at the age of 90. She had no hope that this promise could possibly be true and she laughed.
But, this would be a miracle birth…just like another miracle birth that took place in Bethlehem with a young virgin named Mary. And when Mary asked the angel how she could possibly have a child, being a virgin, the angel said: For with God nothing shall be impossible. – Luke 1:37
And that’s the point! That’s what God was trying to tell Abraham and Sarah. That’s what God was trying to tell Elizabeth and Zechariah; Joseph and Mary. That’s what God was trying to tell David as he faced Goliath. That’s what God was trying to tell Jonah as he spent three nights in that big fish. That’s what God was trying to tell Peter and James and John and the other disciples. That’s what God was trying to tell Pilate as Jesus stood before him. That’s what God was trying to tell Satan when he felt victorious at the death of Jesus on the cross.
God says at every turn: Nothing shall be impossible with God! And, against all hope, we must believe that! May we never be guilty of doubting God or laughing at God. He is the life giving, death conquering, Lord Almighty!
We must have the faith of Abraham. Look at this Romans, chapter 4 passage with me a little closer. We see here a sterling example of dynamic faith in Almighty God.
Verse 18 says: Abraham in hope believed. So, do you believe today? Do you believe God keeps his promises?
Verse 19 says: Without weakening in his faith he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead…and Sarah’s womb was dead…
Abraham knew that there was nothing the two of them could do to produce a child without God’s intervention. My friend, God is waiting for you and me to empty ourselves of our own agenda, to die to our pride, to die to our selfishness, to die to our desire to control and direct, to die to our doubt. To realize we are as good as dead without him…To give up our weak faith, and turn to God in our emptiness and say: “God fill my life. Strengthen my faith. Fulfill your promises in me.”
As long as any of us think that we have enough of our own strength and power to please God, we will never be able to receive his saving grace. God wants to fill us when we are faithful enough to empty ourselves before Him. To say to Him, Lord I need you. I am nothing without you. For, when Abraham and Sarah could do nothing in their own strength to produce a child, God performed his miracle.
Verse 20 goes further and says: Yet he did not waver through unbelief. Folks, it’s time to quit wavering in your faith. It’s time to quit doubting God. After his resurrection, Jesus met doubting Thomas and said to him face to face: “Stop doubting and believe!” (John 20:27)
When you were a child, did you ever have a parent or teacher say to you: “Stop it!” Well that’s an imperative statement Jesus is making here. He’s telling Thomas and us to “Stop it.” Stop doubting and believe. (Doubting leads to a hopeless end – but belief takes us to an endless hope.)
Verse 20 says further that Abraham was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.
My friend, when you realize that God has strengthened you and guided you and loved you through the most difficult of situations you can’t help but give Him glory and praise Him and talk about Him. Others may not understand, but YOU know when your life has been changed.
Why did Abraham give glory to God? Because verse 21 says…he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised.
Let me be clear. You and I don’t have the power. God has the power. God can fulfill what He has promised. His power is infinite. His power is limitless. His power is unmatched in all of creation. Yet, He manages to show us His power in the most subtle of ways…not through bolts of lightning and earth shattering events… although He can do that too, but He shows His power primarily in everyday life as he displays his power through his love, his mercy, his forgiveness, his grace, his compassion, his guidance, his strength, his wisdom and in changed lives.
But, these Bible verses today are not just telling us a story of Abraham, they were written for you! God not only saw Abraham as a righteous man because he believed, but these promises are for us as well!
Romans 4:23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
So I ask you today, against all hope, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Do you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? He died for our sins, but He was raised for our justification. What? That’s a little complicated.
The Message paraphrase of Romans 4 puts it this way: That’s why it is said, “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.” But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.
Justification means we can stand before God just as if we had never sinned. The death of Jesus, who died in our place, paid the price for our sins. But, the resurrection…the fact that Jesus conquered death….makes us right with God..and enables us to go home one day and be with Him.
There are many throughout history who have sacrificed their lives for someone else, but there is only one who has sacrificed his life for all people for all time, paying the debt of our sin, and not just paying the debt, but giving us credit by crushing the power of death, and that credit is life – life now and life beyond the grave to all who will receive him…and that one and only is Jesus our Savior and Lord.
How can you ever stay the same when it dawns on you that Jesus has given you life? When Jesus is Lord of your life, your attitude is different, your outlook is different, your perspective is different, your very life is different. There are no more hopeless days, instead there is an endless hope in every day.
Yes, perhaps you have lost a loved one, maybe even recently. Yes, perhaps you have had challenges like you’ve never had before. Yes, there is tragedy like the horror of the bombing that happened to the Egyptian Christians last Sunday. These are realities of this broken world. And that’s exactly why our outlook and our faith must carry us beyond this life. Paul said boldly: And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. (NLT – 1 Cor. 15:19)
I love the first words of Jesus after his resurrection. They were to Mary Magdalene. She was devastated when she and others discovered the empty tomb. She felt someone had stolen his body…but that was not the case. He had risen from the dead, and though she didn’t recognize him at first, he said to her: “Why are you crying?”
I believe he is asking us that same question and similar ones: Why are you crying? Why are you doubting? Why are you complaining? Why are you whining? Why are you lifeless? Why are you hopeless?
But against all hope, Mary believed and her life was never the same! And neither should ours. But, yes, we do mess up at times. We do doubt. We do go through our valleys.
But the amazing, incredible, wonderful, matchless love of Jesus says to us: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
God forgive me, when against all hope, I have doubted…rather than believed. Forgive my faithless heart, and replace it with a heart of belief. Because today, on this Resurrection Sunday, I know that you have given me life…life that goes beyond this life…life as you intended it.
May my belief be so strong, that I know without any doubt that you have gone to prepare a place for us, that where you are, there we may be also.
Because of Jesus, I’ll never be the same. Not now. Not ever. He conquered death for you and me. That’s what we celebrate today. Against all hope, Jesus brings life. There’s a life I’m called to live for him today, and there’s a life I’m made for when this one ends.
I need to get busy living the purpose filled life he’s called me to today…and I need to anticipate the pain free, death free, tears free life that is to come. And, I can’t wait, can you? Resurrection hope is ours today because of Jesus and I’ll never be the same!
Concluding Song led by Praise Team - "I Will Never Be The Same" by Ellie Holcomb (A Fantastic song for Easter!)
