HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS
Romans 12:12
Read at beginning of service:
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
INTRODUCTION
Matthew 26:46-56 (NIV)
46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" 47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. 50 Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" 55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
William Rathje likes garbage. This Harvard-educated researcher is convinced we can learn a lot from the trash dumps of the world. Archaeologists have always examined trash to study a society. Rathje does the same; he just eliminates the wait. The Garbage Project, as he calls his organization, travels across the continent, excavating landfills and documenting our eating habits, dress styles, and economic levels. Rathje is able to find meaning in our garbage.
His organization documented that the average household wastes 10 percent to 15 percent of its solid food. The average North-American produces half-a-pound of trash per day, and the largest landfill in North America, located near New York City, has enough trash to fill the Panama Canal. According to Rathje, trash decomposes more slowly than we thought it did. He found a whole steak from 1973 and readable newspapers from the Truman presidency. Rathje learns a lot be looking at our junk.
(quoted in Just Like Jesus, by Max Lucado, p. 127-128)
What do you think it would be like to be a garbologist? When he gives a speech, is the address referred to as "trash talk"? Are his staff meetings designated as "rubbish reviews"? Are his business trips called "junkets"? When he daydreams about his work, does his wife tell him to get his mind out of the garbage?
While some of those questions are humorous in the asking – there are some questions for which the question would not be so humorous. For example, "Would this job smell?"
Rathje’s attitude toward trash is intriguing. Think about it for a moment. Rathje doesn’t view garbage the way you and I view it. To him garbage is more than trash.
What if we learned to do the same? What if we changed the way we view the garbage that comes our way? After all, don’t you endure your share of rubbish? Snarled traffic. Computer foul-ups. Postponed vacations.
And then there are the days that we all face sometimes when the dump couldn’t hold all the garbage coming our way: hospital bills, divorce papers, pay cuts, betrayals, income tax returns! What do you do when an entire truck of sorrow is dumped on you? When a terrible tragedy is dumped in your lap?
On Rathje’s office wall is a framed headline he found in a paper: "Gold in Garbage." Rathje, the garbologist, finds treasure in trash. Jesus, our Savior, does the same. When everyone else perceived a great calamity, Jesus saw an opportunity. Remember this: Because Jesus saw what others didn’t, he found what others missed.
Early in his ministry, Jesus said this about our vision:
Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
In other words, how we look at life determines how we live out life. But then, Jesus didn’t just say this – He lived this.
Consider for a moment the darkest most bleak time of your life. What was running through your mind? Despair and confusion mixed with the mind set of giving up? Now consider the darkest night in history, the night before the death of Christ.
Here, there is virtually a landfill of woes that fell upon Jesus. Somewhere between the Gethsemane prayer and the mock trial is what has to be the most bleak scene in the history of the human drama. Though this episode couldn’t have totaled more than five minutes, the event had enough rotten things going on to fill a thousand garbage dumps! Except for Christ, not one person did one good thing. If you search the scene I read at the beginning of this message, you won’t find an ounce of courage or a speck of character. But what you will find is a rotting heap of deceit and betrayal.
Yet in it all – Jesus saw reason to hope. There is no mention of despair, there is no mention of confusion, there is no mention of defeat. In the example of Christ we see that it is possible to rejoice with hope in the midst of hopelessness!
Had a reporter been assigned to cover the arrest, his headlines might have read:
A DARK NIGHT FOR JESUS
Galilean Preacher Abandoned by Friends
Last Friday they welcomed him with palm leaves. Last night they arrested him with swords. The world of Jesus of Nazareth turned sour as he was apprehended by a crowd of soldiers and angry citizens in a garden just outside the city walls. Only a week since his triumphant entry, his popularity has taken a fatal plunge. Even his followers refuse to claim him. The disciples who took pride in being seen with him earlier in the week took flight from him last night. With the public crying for his death and the disciples denying any involvement, the future of this celebrated teacher appears bleak, and the impact of his mission appears limited.
(Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado, p. 120-131)
Friends, God wants to transform our hearts from hopeless hearts to hopefull hearts. In a moment we will look at how Jesus saw this situation but first let’s consider what an observer would have witnessed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
unanswered prayer
In Matthew 26:39 is recorded Jesus’ anguished prayer to God:
Matthew 26:39 (NIV)
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
This wasn’t a calm, emotionless prayer! Matthew says in verse 37 that Jesus was, "very sad and troubled". In verse 39 we find that the Master "fell to the ground" and prayed. Luke tells us that Jesus was "full of pain" and that "his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44).
Never has earth offered such an urgent request and never has heaven offered a more deafening silence. To the observer – the prayer of Jesus was unanswered. Hold on a minute here! This doesn’t make sense! Jesus and unanswered prayer just don’t go together! It’s like saying the son of Henry would have no Ford and the child of Bill Gates would have no computer! Would the Father God, the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, keep something from his own son? He did that night. And as a result, Jesus had to deal with the dilemma of unanswered prayer.
How about you and me. How many times have you prayed for something and found it unanswered? We all struggle in not having our prayers answered when we want them and how we want them answered! And for many of us this unanswered prayer, seen through the eyes of our heart breeds hopelessness. And hopelessness kills prayer, kills trust, and kills faith.
But unanswered prayer was only the beginning for Christ. Look what shows up next:
unbelievable betrayal
As Jesus got up from his excruciating prayer – the sound of a mob reached their ears and then the light of the lanterns the mob was carrying.
Judas had arrived with an angry crowd. When we think of the betrayer the first name that comes to mind is often Judas. But really, Judas was only one of several that betrayed Jesus that night in the garden. There were really two groups that deserted Jesus that night
the crowd
The very people Jesus had come to save had now come to arrest him. There are certain facts that we need to realize that may alter our impression of that night. Perhaps you envision Judas leading a dozen or so soldiers who are carrying two or three lanterns. Matthew tells us, however, that "many people" came to arrest Jesus. John is even more specific. The term he employs is the Greek word speira or a "group of soldiers" (John 18:3). At minimum, speira was a word used to depict a group of two hundred soldiers and could describe a detachment as large as nineteen hundred! (quoted in Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado, p. 132)
So if you add John’s description to the figure of untold watchers whom Matthew simply calls "the crowd", you have a great mob of people.
Surely in a group this size there is one person who will defend Jesus. He came to the aid of so many. He preached to so many. He performed miracles among so many. And yet there wasn’t one person who rushed out from the crowd and shouted, "Wait, Wait, Jesus is an innocent man!" The people He came to save have turned against him.
We can almost forgive the crowd – I mean their contact with Him was brief and casual. Perhaps they really didn’t have a chance to get to know Him. But what about the disciples?
the disciples
They KNEW Him! But did they defend Jesus? Well, the scriptures do record that one of them reached for His sword and lopped off the ear of one of the men in the crowd. But when Jesus indicated His willingness to go with the soldiers His disciples deserted Him!
Matthew is admirably honest when he confesses in chapter twenty-six, verse fifty-six that, "All the disciples deserted and fled". John did. Matthew did. Simon did. Peter did. Thomas did. They all did. Notice the last time this word was used. In verse 35:
Matthew 26:35 (NIV)
35 But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
All pledged loyalty – even a willingness to die with Jesus, and yet all ran.
For the observer of this incident, all that is seen is betrayal. Betrayal from Judas, yes, but also from the people Jesus came to save and the disciples who should have KNOWN Him!
unfulfilled dreams
It wasn’t only the unanswered prayer, and the unbelievable betrayal that the observer might of noticed about this unfolding event. The witness might also comment on the appearance of the dream of Jesus’ being crushed! After all, hadn’t Jesus’ preached the coming of a great Kingdom? Hadn’t Jesus himself claimed He would free the captives? Was He not the Messiah?
And yet, here amongst the crowd who knew of Him there wasn’t one lifting a finger or voice in defense of Jesus and amongst the disciples who KNEW Him there wasn’t one who stood by His side! What would happen to the dream now? What would happen to the plan now? Where is this great kingdom? Where is the Messiah? Seemingly, the dream has been crushed!
So Jesus faced unbelievable betrayal, unanswered prayer, and unfulfilled dreams! Never has so much trash been dumped on one being. Perhaps you could comprehend the weight of this garbage if you stack all the disloyalties of deadbeat dads and cheating wives and prodigal kids and dishonest workers in one pile.
From a human point of view, Jesus’ world has collapsed. No answer from heaven, no loyalty from his friends, no one who has caught the vision. Neck deep in rubbish. Isn’t how most of us would initially describe this scene?
But that’s not how Jesus saw it. He saw something else entirely. He wasn’t oblivious to the trash; he just wasn’t limited to it. Somehow he was able to see something different then what we would see.God wants us to have not just a little, but all of Christ’s 20/20 vision! He wants us to see what Jesus sees when we look at the hopeless. He wants us to have hearts filled with hope, not void of it!
You and I live in a trashy world. Unwanted garbage comes our way on a regular basis. We, too, have unanswered prayers, unbelievable betrayals, and unfulfilled dreams don’t we? Have you ever been handed a trash sack of mishaps and heartaches? Sure you have. But the question is, what are you going to do with it?
Well you have several options. You could hide it. You could take the garbage and cram it under your coat or stick it under your dress and pretend it isn’t there. But you and I know that you wouldn’t fool anyone. Besides, sooner or later it will start to stink.
Or you could disguise it. Paint it green, put it on the front lawn, and tell everybody it’s a tree. Again, no one will be fooled, and the stench won’t be disguised. So what will you do?
If you follow the example of Christ, if you let God transform you supernaturally – you will learn to see tough times differently. Remember, God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to have a hope-filled heart…just like Jesus!
So what did Christ do with the garbage on that awful evening?
He found good in the bad
Most of us would agree that it would be hard to find someone worse than Judas. The Bible says that He was a thief. He stole from the money box that fed the poor and the disciples and Christ Himself (John 12:6). Somehow this crook was able to live in the presence of God and experience the miracles of Christ and remain unchanged.
In the end, Judas decided he’d rather have money than a friend, so he sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver. Judas was a scoundrel, a cheat, and a bum. How could anyone see him any other way?
I don’t know, but Jesus did. Only inches from the face of His betrayer, Jesus looked at him and said,
Matthew 26:50 (NIV)
50 Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.
How could Jesus call Judas "friend", what did Jesus see in the man? Surely Jesus was merely being sarcastic. And yet, we know from our previous study that Jesus doesn’t lie! At that moment, Jesus saw something good in that very bad man.
It would help if we did the same. But how can we? Jesus sets the example. He didn’t place all the blame on Judas. He saw another presence that night:
Luke 22:53 (NIV)
53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour--when darkness reigns."
In no way was Judas innocent, but neither was Judas acting alone. Your attackers aren’t acting alone either.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Those who betray us are victims of a fallen world. We can’t place all the blame on them. Jesus found enough good in the face of Judas to call him friend, and he can help us do the same with those who hurt us!
But not only did Jesus find good in the bad… He found purpose in the pain
Of the ninety-eight words Jesus spoke at his arrest, thirty refer to the purpose of God.
Matthew 26:54 (NIV)
54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
Matthew 26:56 (NIV)
56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
When Jesus looked at His immediate struggle, He chose to see it as a necessary part of a greater plan. He viewed the conflict in the garden as an important singular act in the grand manuscript of God’s drama.
This reminds me of a story I came across recently,
There was a family with one little daughter. Mother and daughter were very faithful in church and Sunday School attendance…The father wasn’t interested and he made it plain it was okay for his wife and daughter, but not for him. He worked in a steel mill, a huge hulk of a man who had been a football player at Ohio University.
The daughter, Susie, became ill and was taken for diagnosis to the family doctor. She had leukemia and as it was in an advanced stage it was too late to save her. The family was to take her home, care for her as comfortably as possible before she died.
Each night on coming home from work, Susie’s bedroom was her father’s first stop. He would visit and spend some time with her. Daily her condition worsened and she lost weight, her cheeks were sunken and her color looked very bad.
One night in particular, Susie had obviously been doing some serious thinking, and she asked her father, "Daddy, I know I will die soon and go to be with Jesus. My Sunday School teacher told me that. But, Daddy, when I get to heaven I will be given a crown to wear. And my crown will have no stars because I have not led anybody to know Jesus. So, Daddy, will you give your life to Jesus so I can have a star in my crown?" The father, through the tears, nodded his head and right there prayed a sinner’s prayer of commitment. It made Susie’s eyes light up with joy! She called for her mother and told her what Daddy had just done.
A few days later she passed away. On the next Sunday morning came Susie’s daddy with her mother walking together into church. Time was taken for a "testimony" in the service and this man stood and said, "May I say a few words?" The preacher assured him, "Yes, go ahead."
The man went on, "I was resistant to the Gospel and had rejected pastors and evangelists who had tried to lead me. I could reject anyone but my little daughter." He paused to wipe the tears away and went on, "Because she asked me and because she loved me, I gave my life to Jesus. She reached me when no one else could."
Then, just before he sat down he looked upward and finished with this, "And now Susie is in heaven, wearing the crown promised to her and a single star in her crown – that’s me!" (Autoillustrator.com, HOPE)Let’s think about this story for a moment. Did God allow the little girl to be terminally ill so that her Daddy would be saved? To be honest we don’t know that plans of God but when faced with trial and tragedy we have to trust that God has a plan! There is purpose to the pain! That’s what Jesus saw – and that is what He sees! Where others see gray skies, Jesus sees divine order. His suffering was necessary to fulfill prophecy, and his sacrifice was necessary to fulfill the law! There was purpose to the pain!But what about those times when we don’t see the purpose – what about those times where the garbage dumped on us is senseless and void of any "gold". Friends – the problem is not that there is so much garbage, but that our eyes are on the garbage!
When Jesus experienced the suffering He went through, He endured it because His eyes weren’t on the pain but on the joy set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus had HOPE!
Wouldn’t you love to have a hope-filled heart? Wouldn’t you love to see the world through the eyes of Jesus? Where we see unanswered prayer, Jesus saw answered prayer. Where we see the absence of God, Jesus saw the plan of God.
He saw God’s presence in the problemBut more than that Jesus saw the Father’s presence in the in this situation! Note especially verse 53 of Matthew 26:
Matthew 26:53 (NIV)
53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Jesus knew that even though it appeared that the Father had abandoned Him – He hadn’t! He saw His father. He saw twelve armies of angels within His sight.
Sure, you might be saying, but Jesus was God. He could see the unseen. He had eyes for heaven and a vision for the supernatural. I can’t see the way he saw.
Not yet maybe, but far to often we underestimate the power of God. He CAN change the way you look at life. Look at the story of Elisha and his servant for example! The two were in Dothan when an angry king sent his army to destroy them:
2 Kings 6:15-17 (NIV)
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. 16 "Don’t be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
By God’s power, the servant saw the angels. Who is to say the same can’t happen for you!
CONCLUSION
No where in scripture does God promise to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them. IF WE LET HIM!
The apostle Paul writes a whole paragraph listing garbage: troubles, problems, sufferings, hunger, nakedness, danger, and violent death. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be in THAT dump. Yet, Paul states their value:
Romans 8:35-37 (NIV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Another translation says, "In all these things we have full victory through God" (NCV). We’d prefer something else. Something like this perhaps, "Apart from all these things" or "Away from all these things" or "Without all these things". But Paul is specific when He says, "IN all these things"! The solution is not to avoid the garbage that gets dumped on us but change the way we see it!
God can correct your vision! All it takes is for you to say, "Lord I can’t see the good here, I don’t know the purpose, and I’m not aware of your presence – but I know Jesus can, Lord give me HIS sight!"
God let Balaam see the angel and Elisha see the army and Jacob see the ladder and Saul see the Saviour. More than one have made the request of the blind man, "Teacher, I want to see" (Mark 10:51). And more than one have walked away with clear vision. Who is to say God won’t do the same for you? Who’s to say that He can’t transform your heart from one that is hopeless into the heart of Christ that is filled with HOPE?
This sermon was preached by Darren Ethier at Hanover Pentecostal Church on February 25, 2001. This message is Part 8 of the sermon series: Supernatural Transformation. It is recommended that the book, Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado be read as it served as the inspiration for much of this series. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright © 1873, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
