GOD IS IN THE BUSINESS OF HOPE
VARIOUS PASSAGES
#Easter2020
INTRODUCTION… https://www.funny-jokes-quotes-sayings.com/funny-easter-quotes.html
A Sunday school teacher was asking her six-year-olds about the meaning of Easter. “Children,” she said, “Do you know why we celebrate Easter?”
A little girl raised her hand. “Yes Jenny,” said the teacher. Jenny said, “Is Easter when we put on costumes and go trick-or-treating?” “No, Jenny. That’s Halloween. Does anyone else know?”
A little boy yelled, “It’s when we set off fireworks!” “No Jimmy, that’s 4th of July. Anybody else?”
A shy little girl in the back said, “Easter is when Jesus died.” The teacher replied, “That’s right, Shauna. And what happened to Jesus that makes Easter special?” “Well, he died and got buried. And every Easter he comes out. And if he sees his shadow there’s 6 more weeks of winter.”
That is an oldie, but a goodie. That is not what Easter is about. Even though we often celebrate Easter with baskets and chocolate and hiding eggs, that is not what Easter is about either. Easter is all about the hope that comes from the Resurrection of Jesus. Easter is about hope! God is in the business of hope! The message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is about the hope that God wants to bring to our lives through salvation… and more specifically… salvation through Jesus Christ.
In John 20:18 when the Bible records for us the words of Mary Magdalene to the disciples when she says, “I have seen the Lord!" on that first Easter Morning. It was the first Resurrection Sunday and this woman had a message of hope!
We will get back to John 20, but before we do, I would like to share some other small fun stories about kids and Easter and more importantly other passages with you this morning that spill out hope. Eventually we will make our way back to John 20. I wanted to say… that these passages we will talk about are infected with hope… but we are all social distancing and quarantining ourselves right now so virus-type jokes are just… sick. Those of us who joke as a coping mechanism appreciate those words and those of us who don’t are now just shaking your heads at me.
We are indeed living in serious times and life is upside-down right now! So many things in life are up in the air or on hold or have been canceled because of COVID-19. We need some hope. We need the kind of hope that comes from God through Jesus Christ. I believe the absolute best thing I can do for you today is to point you towards the words of hope in the Bible because God is in the business of hope!
Hope is strength.
Hope is healthy.
Hope is a motivator.
Hope gives direction.
Hope is mentioned 4 times (1 Corinthians 13:13; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 5:8) in the New Testament as a key partner with faith and love.
Hope is power.
Hope is healing.
Hope is meaningful.
Hope is necessary.
HOPE IN THE STORY OF RUTH
The first passage of hope I thought of doesn’t even have the word “hope” in it, yet, it is a story all about hope. You see a family had endured 3 deaths and a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law moved and found themselves a destitute and in need. Often when things are dire we talk about hope. We need hope when things are rough. The daughter-in-law goes out into the fields to scavenge for food so they would not die. The passage after she is in the fields literally working herself to death is full of hope.
READ Ruth 2:18-20
“She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said. 20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."
Naomi and Ruth’s situation was dire. They found blessing and food and if you notice at the end of that passage, redemption as well. Later in the book Naomi realizes that God has been working for their good the whole time and blesses both ladies. The book of Ruth in the Old Testament, if you have never read it, is a story of hope in the midst of dire circumstances and redemption. God sees the dire situation of Naomi and Ruth and places Ruth in Boaz’s field where he can marry Ruth to provide for them.
ILLUSTRATION… www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-illustrations/1833/family-devotions/
[adapted]
A mother and daughter were reading the Bible and talking about what they were reading. They happened one day to be in Genesis 22 where we find Abraham offering Isaac on the altar. The whole time the little girl had her arms crossed and had a frowny face.
After reading, the little girls said, “I do not believe it. God would not have treated His Son like that!"
"But, Katie," the mom replied, "He did."
HOPE IN THE PSALMS
There is a whole book in the Bible full of songs and poems. It is called Psalms. It is not pronounced “Pa-Salms” by the way, just Psalms. It’s a silent “P.” It is the same as if we were talking about “a psychic pterodactyl with a pseudonym dealing with pneumonia who wants to return a pneumatic drill with no receipt.” It’s a silent “P.” What the Psalms are not silent on is hope! Hope is mentioned almost 3 dozen times in various Psalms.
READ Psalm 33:17-22
“A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. 22 May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in You.”
This part of Psalm 33 begins by talking about deliverance and salvation… which again is what Easter is all about. Hope for deliverance does not come from external things, but from the unfailing love of God Almighty. For those of us who believe in Him, He is our Deliverer (verse 19), our Sustainer (verse 19), our Helper (verse 20), our Shield (verse 20), our source of joy (verse 21), and our source of unfailing love (verse 22).
The Deliverance that God provides brings us hope.
The Sustaining that God provides brings us hope.
The Help of God Almighty brings us hope.
The Shield that God is for us in this life brings us hope.
The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and hope.
The overwhelming never-ending boundless love of God brings us hope.
ILLUSTRATION… https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/who-crucified-christ
Three-year-old Shawn accompanied his dad to church on Easter. The father wanted his son to understand the meaning of Easter, so he tried to explain the significance of the cross which hung at the front of the church. He said, “Jesus died because people nailed him to the cross.” The little boy’s eyes widened as he scanned the church. He asked his dad, “You mean these people?”
SUMMARY AND TRANSITION
The Old Testament is full of hope for us. Stories of hope. P-Salms of hope. Hope in the Old Testament is directly tied to God and even more so to the deliverance that He gives. We find more of the same in the New Testament, but in the New Testament the deliverance, sustaining, help, shield, joy, and love has a Name… His Name is Jesus. The hope in the New Testament has a Name and flesh and blood and does miracles and teaches about God and dies for our sins. The hope in the New Testament not only dies for our sins, but rises from the dead victorious!
Jesus is His Name! Jesus is Who we celebrate on this day of days! Jesus is Who we worship every Sunday, but we praise Him all the more on this Easter Morning for He has risen! That gives us hope!
HOPE IN ROMANS
Romans is not an easy book to read. It is full of very wordy verses and lots of theology. Romans is also full of hope for us. Romans 5 offers us more words of hope. In the midst of persevering through suffering, you and I discover that hope in God does not disappoint! God pours hope into our hearts by way of the Holy Spirit.
READ Romans 5:2-8
“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Again and again hope from God is based on deliverance and salvation. You see at just the right time God sent Jesus Christ to die for us… not for anything we had done… but because of His great love for us.
Verse 8 is huge, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What does that verse describe? Hope. Hope that does not disappoint. Hope that is given by the Holy Spirit. Hope that rests not only on the death of Jesus Christ, but also on the resurrection of Jesus Christ! He has Risen! He has Risen just as He said He would!
ILLUSTRATION… https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/where-jesus-isn-t
Little McKenzie wasn’t trying to start a theological debate, she just wanted to participate in Sunday School class. Her Sunday school teacher had tried to encourage her class with the assurance that Jesus is everywhere. McKenzie had a thought; so she said, “I know one place where Jesus isn’t.” The teacher curiously replied, “Oh, really? Where is that?”
The bright little girl declared, “He’s not in the grave!”
RESURRECTION OF JESUS
READ John 20:11-18
“As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.”
There was much joy and much hope on that Sunday morning when Jesus appeared outside the tomb.
Sadness turned to joy.
Questions had answers.
Death turned into life.
We celebrate Resurrection Sunday because it was that day among all other days that changed everything for us. Not only did Jesus die for our sins, but He rose again, defeating sin and death for all time. He defeated sin and guilt. This brings us much hope because, even though our lives are at times full of sorrow and pain, sickness, quarantine, and grief… Jesus’ death brings us hope in the midst of the chaos. The resurrection of Jesus confirms hope for us.
* Jesus is our great hope.
* His resurrection is our great hope.
* His victory over the cross is our great hope.
* His ascension and place in Heaven is our great hope.
* Jesus is hope!
PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
As we conclude this morning, I would like to remind you of a verse we already read. If you do not believe in Jesus or God or any of this church stuff, I’d like you to read one verse this next week and think on it. Maybe you read it once. Maybe you take up the challenge and read just this one verse each day this next week. The verse is Romans 5:8, we already read it today. Just read one verse and ponder it, think on it, mull it over in your mind. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Just think on that verse.
ILLUSTRATION… https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/easter-confusion
One more fun kid story:
Five-year-old Brian had a pivotal verse to recite in an Easter program: “He is not here, he is risen” (Luke 24:6). Unfortunately, he could not remember what to say, and the director had to quietly remind him of his line. He then confidently grabbed the microphone and triumphantly shouted, “He’s not here; He’s in prison!”
We know Jesus is not in prison, Jesus is Risen!
PRAYER
