Illuminate Your New Year By Staying…Hopeful
Illuminate Your New Year By Staying…Hopeful
Opening Illustration:
Last week we read from 2 Corinthians 7:1-8. Remember, the Church in Corinth had run off the rails. There was rampant immorality and false teachers and prophets had garnered influence while smearing the witness and authority of Paul. Paul, with a firm and loving hand, was able to plant a seed of conviction that germinated into repentance and forgiveness. The church went from unhealthy to revived and rejuvenated through the power of the Holy Spirit working through Paul’s words. The church resolved to be healthy spiritually, made the conscience choice to follow God’s leading and it changed their actions.
Today, we will talk about another resolution. We will talk about the resolution to be more hopeful. For some, exiting 2014 was a welcome site because there is hope in a new year. For others, the problems and trials of 2014 seem glued to our spirits and we have taken the same cynical attitudes into this new year. Instead of promise you are feeling pessimism. Instead of delight, you are feeling discouraged.
Friend, this is not Jesus’ will for your life. Jesus is a hope giver. He is a renewer. He wants you to live life looking forward not drowning in the past.
Quote:
There is a quote that is often attributed to Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs in which he says “Man can live about 40 days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.”
Point:
In preparing for this sermon, I decided to listen to only hopeful music. I thought it would inspire me while I wrote and studied. So, I opened my iTunes and did a simple search for “hope”. What I discovered was shocking. Over the years, I have downloaded 6 albums with the word “hope” contained in the title. Even more interesting, in my entire music library, I had more than 100 songs with the word “hope” in the title and more than 300 songs dealing with the theme of hopefulness. I even had a playlist set up for hopeful and encouraging music entitled “Hope In Front Of Me”.
Without even knowing it, my spirit over the years has cried out for hope. Does your spirit long for hope today?
Point:
Hope is a powerful instrument in the toolbox of a believer. Hope grounded in Christ will propel the believer to change and repentance. Hope will light a candle in the darkness of delusion and discouragement. Hope, when fully embraced, will never give up, never concede, never quit. Hope always looks to the potential in a person and never gets stuck on what hole a person has got themselves mired in.
Today, Resolve To Be Healthy and HOPEFUL!
Point:
Today, are you hopeful? If not, let me share with you some good news from God’s Word.
Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
How Can We Discover HOPE?
I. Hope In His Priorities vs. 5
Hebrews 13:5 ESV
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have…”
Point:
Money can be a very corrupting influence over our lives. The cousin of Money is Materialism. Both are hard driving forces. We want to pad our wallets and we want to fill our homes. For some reason, we humans see fleeting comfort by having things and do-dads surrounding us. The only problem when we fail to gain money and wealth, we view ourselves as failures.
Our failures make us all myopic and self focused.
When the promotion passes us by, we are defeated.
When we don’t meet our quotas we are downcast.
When the boss does not compliment us on our work, we are disgusted.
It is vicious cycle of humanity deriding pleasure from the finite instead of seeking joy from the infinite. We seek satisfaction from empty relationships and exhausting schedules. It should not be this way. God does not want us to see this world as a meaningless chase of wealth and power.
Illustration:
King Solomon was perhaps the wealthiest man to have ever lived. Even by our standards, his wealth and greatness far surpassed the richest man walking today. Let’s read a list of just a small portion of his over wealth captured in 2 Chronicles 9:13-28
2 Chronicles 9:13-29 Good News Translation (GNT)
King Solomon's Wealth
13 Every year King Solomon received over twenty-five tons of gold, 14 in addition to the taxes paid by the traders and merchants. The kings of Arabia and the governors of the Israelite districts also brought him silver and gold. 15 Solomon made two hundred large shields, each of which was covered with about fifteen pounds of beaten gold, 16 and three hundred smaller shields, each covered with about eight pounds of beaten gold. He had them all placed in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.[a]
17 The king also had a large throne made. Part of it was covered with ivory and the rest of it was covered with pure gold. 18 Six steps led up to the throne, and there was a footstool attached to it, covered with gold. There were arms on each side of the throne, and the figure of a lion stood at each side. 19 Twelve figures of lions were on the steps, one at either end of each step. No throne like this had ever existed in any other kingdom.
20 All of King Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and all the utensils in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's day. 21 He had a fleet of ocean-going ships sailing with King Hiram's fleet. Every three years his fleet would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
22 King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king in the world. 23 They all consulted him, to hear the wisdom that God had given him. 24 Each of them brought Solomon gifts—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This continued year after year.
25 King Solomon also had four thousand stalls for his chariots and horses, and had twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem and the rest he stationed in various other cities. 26 He was supreme ruler of all the kings in the territory from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. 27 During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah.
Solomon possessed the greatest reserves of gold and silver the world has ever seen. He had thrones, stables, fleets of ships, respect and honor. Yet, it was all meaningless and empty.
I say “meaningless” because that is the term King Solomon used. Let me read to you his view on the chasing after of money, materialism and power.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-17 ESV
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.
Point:
You see friends, chasing after temporal things really holds no value for us. For us, the generous life of growing deeper in our relationship with Christ, giving to His causes and going into the world to save the lost brings greater eternal rewards.
Matthew 6:33 ESV
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
How Can We Discover HOPE?
I. Hope In His Priorities vs. 5
II. Hope In His Presence vs. 5
Hebrews 13:5 ESV
“I will never leave you…”
Illustration: Bobby And The Bully
Bobby is a small 4th grader who somehow caught the unwanted attention of a bully in the 6th grade. One day, the bully said, “After school I’m gonna beat you to a pulp.” With no apparent fear, Bobby simply said, “Ok,” and went on his way. What the bully didn’t know is that Bobby’s 11th grade brother picks him up every day after school. Bobby wasn’t scared because he knew who’d be with him when the big bully came to find him.
I’m not asking you to approve of big brothers beating on bullies. I’m simply making the point…
When the great spiritual bully – the devil – threatens us and hunts us down, we have courage – like Bobby – because we know who’s with us: God, who promised never to leave us or forsake us.
Point:
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Joshua. Joshua was a brave and fearless leader. He was directly mentored by Moses himself. Yet, there was a day when Moses died. His leadership and direction would be passed to Joshua. Now Joshua had seen God do amazing things for Moses. He saw the 10 plagues, Red Sea split, water from the rock, manna and quail. He had seen how God had gone before Moses in the Ark of the Covenant and countless battles won. So, would God be with Joshua? With his presence guard him in the same way God guarded Moses?
The answer comes clearly in Joshua 1: 1-5,
Joshua 1:1-5 ESV
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
God reminds Joshua that as He was with Moses that He will stand with Joshua. How comforting. I am sure that Joshua felt the pressure of leadership. I am sure that he felt insufficient and inadequate. He probably feels like you and me do everyday. Yet, Joshua was not alone and neither are you. God makes the same promises to you today. There are countless verses from the Old Testament to the New Testament that say the same central truth.
“You are not alone and you never will be.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
How Can We Discover HOPE?
I. Hope In His Priorities vs. 5
II. Hope In His Presence vs. 5
III. Hope In His Plan vs. 5
Hebrews 13:5 ESV
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Illustration: A Better Plan
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine Johnny Depp said:
I went around for years thinking, "Well, what's it all for? All this stuff that I gotta do, interviews and movies and success or not success or this or that. [But when my daughter was born] it was if a veil was lifted, and things became clearer, and I went, "Oh, I get it now! That's what life is for … " I didn't have a real handle on what life is supposed to mean or be or anything like that. And I still don't. And I'm not sure life is supposed to mean anything at all. But as long as you have the opportunity to breathe, breathe. As long as you have the opportunity to make your kid smile and laugh move it forward … . I think we're here and that's kind of it. Then it's dirt and worms.
Point:
So, that is a pretty sad statement from Depp concerning the plan for his life. Basically, the plan includes being lost for most of your life until you have kids. Then the plans change to making our kids happy, to breathe and moving forward towards dirt and worms. For good measure we can toss our corpses off the cliffs to watch them bounce for entertainment.
Friends, I cannot believe that is God’s best for me or for you. That is not what the scripture promises. Scripture promises me and you that there is a greater and better plan for our lives.
“Preacher, if God has such a grand plan for me, then why was my year so horrible?”
That is the question isn’t it. Why? Let me point you to another Old Testament scripture found in Jeremiah 29:11. Let’s read it together.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Now that is a great and comforting Scripture. Yet, most of us never look at the first 10 verses. In the first 10 verses you will see that the Israelites were being exiled from their homeland. They were to live under captivity as slaves to the Babylonians for more than 70 years. An entire generation of Hebrews would be chained, carted off and die under the rule of a pagan nation separated from the land of their birth.
Friends, I know that you might have had a bad year, but I don’t think that anyone has had it that rough. So, why did God allow that to happen and why would God says that his plan was good? Well, the people were arrogant, spiteful and sinful. God’s punishment was only a result of their own pigheadedness. However, God’s plan is always RESTORATION! Let me say that again. No matter what your year or years have looked like in the past, GOD’S PLAN IS ALWAYS RESTORATION! God had a plan to bring His people back home and back into a right relationship with Him.
God’s plan is to build your CHARACTER
God’s plan is to build your CONNECTIVITY
Point:
Brothers and sisters, you may feel that your are living in the dirt and worms today, but that is not God’s desire for you. His desire is for you to prosper, to be hopeful and more important…holy. Sure, you will have bad days, but God promises that He is even working in the bad to bring about the good.
Romans 8:28 ESV
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
How Can We Discover HOPE?
I. Hope In His Priorities vs. 5
II. Hope In His Presence vs. 5
III. Hope In His Plan vs. 5
IV. Hope In His Protection vs. 6
Hebrews 13:6 ESV
So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Closing Illustration: The Spider Web
During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.
Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.
As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."
After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.
“Hah, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."
As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall."
We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]
Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always.
Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you.
Point:
In closing today, I want to offer you a moment to seek the spider web of God’s presence. I feel that there is someone in here today that needs to come, kneel and ask for God to change their attitude about this new year. There is a person in here today that needs to focus more on spiritual matters this year than last. There is probably someone who hasn’t understood God’s plan for them last year and needs to turn 2015 over to God. It is not not to late. This morning, come to the alter and I will pray for you, lay hands on you and ask God’s favor to be given to you this year.
Come now!
I Samuel 2:9 ESV
“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.
Let This Morning’s Invocation Be Your Inspiration!
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