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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 8th April 2007 AMA LIFE FULL OF HOPE - Pastor Linton Smith Christ is risen! He is risen indeed - and because He is we have hope! What a difference hope makes! In the years before animal rights an experiment was conducted on two groups of rats. The experimenters put one group in a container filled with water, let the rats swim around for while, and then rescued them. They then put both groups in the water and cruelly clocked how long each rat would swim before drowning. The rats in the first group swam significantly longer than those in the second group. Why? Because they expected to be rescued! They had hope! Hope makes a difference! We could say it is essential to life! It gives us something to talk about. It gives us something to plan for. It motivates us to act. It helps us to hang on when the going is tough. We need hope.. and we can have it.. because of Jesus! Jesus rose from the dead! And because He did..
HE TURNED DESPAIR INTO HOPE! Jesus did this for His friends. Let’s look at two of His friends in particular. On Friday they had seen Jesus crucified. On Sunday they were walking back to their village.. about 11 km from Jerusalem. A stranger joined them and walked with them. He asked them what they were talking about. Luke tells us they stood still, looking glum. After a while they told him what had happened to Jesus.. and said.. Luke 24:20,21.. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. We can hear the despair in their words. We had hoped.. Now He is dead. When they arrived at their village they invited the stranger to share a meal with them. What a surprise was in store for them. Luke tells us.. Luke 24:30-33.. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. They recognized Him. The stranger was Jesus. In an instant their despair had been replaced by hope. They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. Another 11 km! What a difference hope can make! Peter was another of Jesus’ friends who was devastated by His crucifixion. He had denied knowing Jesus.. three times.. at the very time when Jesus needed him most.. and now Jesus was dead.. But Jesus rose again and met him and changed all that. Peter describes it like this.. 1 Peter 1:3.. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus turned his despair into hope.
HE CAN TURN OUR DESPAIR INTO HOPE! After He rose from the dead Jesus met His friends again and again over a 40 day period. And then He ascended to heaven. 10 days later He sent the Holy Spirit to be with them. That day they started to speak openly about Jesus.. and opposition to them began to grow. The authorities made life hard for Peter and John in particular. In Acts 4:18 we read.. They called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. How did they respond? They went to their friends.. and they all prayed. Acts 4:23,24,31.. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. They prayed with confidence and hope.. because.. they knew Jesus had risen and ascended and was Lord and in charge of all that occurred.. not these petty men! We can face any and every situation with this knowledge.. Jesus is LORD. He is control.. and pray.. give thanks.. and hope. Their prayer was answered immediately. Very often it is not like that. We may be facing tough times.. struggling.. and it may seem that God is deaf to our pleas.. How do we handle times like that? In 1 Peter 3:14,15..Peter gave this advice to people who were facing opposition.. and threats.. Do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. That is the way. In the midst of struggle.. despair.. say to ourselves.. Jesus Christ is Risen.. ascended.. He is Lord! He is in control. He lived here.. walked in our shoes.. understands what we are going through.. died for us.. loves us.. and is in control.. Then we can say with Paul.. Romans 8:28.. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And we can rejoice as Paul tells us to do.. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We can face everything with optimism. I like the story of identical twins. One was an optimist, the other a pessimist. The parents were so worried about the extremes of optimism and pessimism that they decided on a desperate plan. Both boys wanted a bike for their birthday, so this was the plan. They would give the pessimist a shiny new bike, but give the optimist only a box of chaff. When the twins’ birthday came round they gave the pessimist the most expensive, top of the range, racing bike a child has ever owned. When he saw the bike his first words were, "I'll probably crash and break my leg." To the optimist they gave a carefully wrapped box of chaff. He opened it, looked puzzled for a moment then ran outside screaming, "You can't fool me! If you have given me chaff there must be a pony around here somewhere!" When we know Jesus is Risen.. ascended.. Lord.. we can face any situation like that. Things may look bad.. but with Jesus in control.. we can look around for the positives! If Jesus has allowed this, there must be good in it somewhere!
HE CAN FILL US WITH HOPE - EVEN IN DEATH! About 20 years after that first Easter.. some of the believers were beginning to despair. They had seen their friends and family.. fellow believers.. die.. and were worried. The Apostle wrote to them like this.. 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14.. Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. You have not seen the last of your friends and family. They are now with Jesus.. and one day you will see them. Paul himself kept going in the face of difficulties because of this hope. He spoke of the difficulties he faced…of the constant danger of death.. and then of the reason he kept on keeping on telling people about Jesus. This was his reason.. 2 Corinthians 4:14.. We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. God raised Jesus. He will raise us with Him.. and present us in His presence.. with you! We will all be with Jesus! Death holds no terror for a true believer only joy! Many years ago I was present when a true saint of God died. He had lived and longed for the day he would see Jesus.. and when the moment of death arrived.. He suddenly sat up.. face glowing.. and fell back.. dead. He had gone home to be with Jesus. Because Jesus rose again.. each of us can hope. We can hope in the toughest of times.. knowing that He is Lord.. and in control of all things.. and we can hope even in death. Embrace that hope today. Believe. And if we do believe.. and we do have hope.. let’s apply it.. let’s live it out. Take to heart these words.. 1 Corinthians 15:58.. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
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