Please bow our heads. Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find wisdom, and in your will, discover your peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Good morning, Happy Father’s Day,
Welcome to the Blue Lake Presbyterian Church and thank you for coming.
Today’s message is titled “Hope”
Helen Keller once said: Nothing can be done without hope or confidence.” Webster’s dictionary defines Hope as” a feeling that what is wanted, will happen” and “a desire accompanied by expectation”
Hope manifests itself in many ways:
Let me illustrate this with an example: This week a B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-24 Liberator, among other World War 2 planes visited Humboldt County Airport for a few days. Tours were set up, and some folks even took 30 minute plane rides.
On Monday morning, that B17 flew right over the farm in Arcata. Upon hearing those loud roaring engines, we ran out of the office to see the B17. It reminded me of the stories from of my parents, who lived through the War.
We heard those War stories virtually every evening, around the dinner table, about Holland being occupied by the Germans, about the brutal Nazi regime subjugating the people in Holland, about the deportation of the Jews, about the deportations of all those objecting to Nazi rule, about young males that were rounded up, and were forced to work in the factories in Germany.
As I stood there that morning, hearing that B17 flying over, I tried to imagine what my parents must have felt, when squadrons of up to a 1000 of those planes, flew over Holland to make their bombing raids in Germany.
It must have been the quintessential harbinger of “Hope”, “Hope” that the allied forces ultimately would bring an end to the occupation, and a “Hope” that it would bring an end to the war, which eventually happened in May of 1945………..
The other day I was talking to a contractor, who had done work for PG+E. He shared with me that when PG+E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, he was devastated with the thought that he wouldn’t receive any money for all the work he had done for them.
Then he received a letter from someone interested in buying his receivable at a discount.
It gave him “Hope” that possibly, there may be a way to at least recover some of the money.
The other night, I was watching a program on TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the world’s largest Christian television network, and America’s most-watched faith-and-family channel.
TBN broadcasted a program about their affiliate in Vietnam, about bringing the Gospel message to this Country of nearly 100 million people and how their outreach has touched countless souls.
TBN’s tag line is: taking “Hope” and grace to a desperate world.
“Hope” is like an anchor. The bible says in Hebrews 6:19 “Hope” is the anchor to our soul.
Friends, no matter what the conditions may be, let us be anchored to “Hope”
“Hope” is like a foundation
“Hope” is like a river of fresh water in an arid land
“Hope” is like a lush forest in an oasis in the middle of a dry desert
“Hope” is like a light in the darkness.
Naval architect, and inventor Steve Callahan, describes how he survived for 76 days on a life raft on the Atlantic Ocean. Callahan recounted his ordeal in the best-selling book Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea
He took his 21 ft. boat that he designed and built himself , out to sea and seven days later got caught in a the middle of a large storm.
His vessel was badly damaged by an unknown object; the boat filled with water and was overwhelmed by breaking seas, Callahan escaped into a life raft measuring about six feet across.
His lowest days were the days that he could not see the possibility of being rescued. The thing that kept Steven Callahan alive was “Hope”.
Someone said: Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air…but only seconds without “Hope”.
In his book “The Grand Essentials”, Ben Paterson tells about a submarine that was hit by a ship off the coast of Massachusetts.
It sank immediately. The entire crew was trapped inside. A deep sea diver was doing everything in his power to find a way for the crew’s release.
He heard a tapping on the steel wall of the sunken submarine. He realized it was Morse code and spelled out the message being tapped from within. It kept repeating the same question. The question was: is there any “Hope”?
Though we may not realize it, we cannot live without “Hope”.
In September 1942 Victor Frankl, a prominent Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist from Vienna, was arrested and transported to a Nazi concentration camp with his wife and parents.
Three years later, his camp was liberated, and most his family had perished, but Frankl, was one of the fortunate people to survive the Nazi death camps.
Right after the War he wrote his bestselling book” Man’s Search for Meaning” about his experiences in the camps.
As a trained psychiatrist, he was fascinated why some of his fellow prisoners wasted away and died, while others remained strong, and survived. He concluded, we cannot stay healthy if we do not have “Hope” in the future.
Frankl wrote “Life in a concentration camp exposes your soul’s foundation. Only a few of the prisoners were able to keep their inner liberty and inner strength.
Life only has meaning, in any circumstances if we have a “Hope” that neither suffering, circumstances, nor death itself ,can destroy.”……………
What does the bible say about “Hope”??
The word “Hope” is mentioned 126 times in the bible. In the Old Testament, the story of Job refers to “Hope” 16 times. In the Psalms, David conveys “Hope” at least 22 times.
For instance in Psalm 43:5 David writes: Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my “Hope” in God! I will praise him again, my Savior and my God!
Our Opening Hymn this morning was: “Our God our help in ages past. Our “Hope” for years to come, he will be our guard, while life shall last, and our eternal home.
The bible says in Isaiah 49:23,: Those who “Hope” in me will not be disappointed.
Paul’s letter to the Romans highlights “Hope” more than any other book in the New Testament.
The road map to “Hope” is best articulated in the 5th Chapter of Romans. This is what brings us to today’s reading in Romans 5 verses 1-5 which can be found on page…….…
5Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace, in which we stand; and we boast in our hope, of sharing the glory of God. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love, has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, that has been given to us.
The year is 57AD; Paul is on his “Third Missionary Journey”. He has spent 3 months in Corinth this bustling seaport in Greece. But he now finds himself at an important cross road.
He had never visited the believers in Rome. He is already pretty far west, possibly the farthest west he has ever been, In other words, a perfect opportunity to take a ferry from Corinth to the Italian coast and visit Rome, the Capital of the Roman Empire.
But Paul also, has another pressing issue to take care of, and that was taking the financial contributions made by Macedonian Christians, to the suffering church in Jerusalem.
What was he to do? Go farther west to Rome or head back to Jerusalem?
By the grace of God, he decided to go to Jerusalem, and write a letter to those Christians in Rome instead.
It was Paul’s intent to visit them after his obligation of delivering the money was done. Paul eventually finds himself in Rome, but not on his own accord, but instead in chains, after being arrested in Jerusalem for allegedly allowing gentiles onto the inner Temple grounds.
The letter he wrote to the Romans was not a quick note written on the back of an envelope. It turned out to be one of the most magnificent letters of the entire New Testament. Many consider it his “Magnum Opus”, his greatest work.
It is a blue print for Christian living.
In the first verse of Chapter 5, Paul starts with “therefore”. He is harking back to the narrative in the previous chapter, where he describes Abraham receiving the grace of God, not by what he did, but because of his faith, because of his belief in God. Years later, in his letter to the Ephesians (Eph 2:8,9) he reiterates this premise with even more clarity.
Paul writes therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Peace with God through Jesus Christ, our redeemer, our savior, the one who can rescue us.
Verse 2 starts with: We boast.
The word “boast” sends chills down my spine. I was raised in the tradition to disdain boasting. My parents grew up during the depression. They lived a humble life and instilled the values of grace and humility and boasting was considered an abomination.
My mom would say: Your needs may be great, but you get by with a little, or: just be yourself, that is crazy enough.
The bible says in Proverbs 27:1: do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Let another one praise you, and not your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips
But what is Paul boasting about? He writes: We boast in our “Hope” of sharing the glory of God….. That gives it an entirely different spin. Boasting about “Hope” of sharing the Glory of God, removes any type of a puffed up or haughty connotation.
In verse 3 he boasts in his sufferings. Paul could tell us some stories about suffering, and he did. In his letter to the Corinthians he gives a full account of his suffering.
In his own words, Paul says: “Five times at the hands of the Jews I received 40 lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from bandits, dangers from my fellow Jews, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false believers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, I have gone without food, I have been cold and without clothes. (2 Corinthians 11:24- 27) According to Acts 28:5, he even got bit by a viper.
So when Paul talks about boasting in his sufferings, he talks with authority and it provides a whole new dimension of what boasting in suffering means.
But then he goes on: knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Paul builds this climax to the ultimate keynote of the message, leading to one overriding theme, and that is “HOPE”
In verse 5 he says 5and “Hope” does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Wait a minute, in verse 1 Paul describes the peace of God through Jesus Christ and in verse 5 he writes: the love of God through the Holy Spirit.
These verses in Romans 5, are the epitome of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Today is Trinity Sunday on the Church calendar. I presume it is no coincidence that these verses in Romans are on the lectionary today.
Max Lucado tells a story of a guy getting lost in the wilderness, he has no backpack, no equipment, no direction, he feels out of his element, out of solutions, he feels out of “Hope”.
For many people, life feels like a jungle, there may be no trees, or no wild animals, but instead there is failing health, broken hearts, empty wallets, hospital walls, complaints from neighbors, instead of wild animals, our predators are our creditors, it is a jungle out there, and for some, even many, “Hope” is in short supply.
Hopelessness is a burden, it like carrying this heavy burden but yet it is painfully empty.
We need a person, who can give us direction, give us a vision, give us encouragement, give us :”Hope” we need a rescuer, we need a savior”
Paul wrote about the “Hope” that comes from the peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus our Lord and Savior brings the ultimate “Hope”.
The jungle is still the jungle, it hasn’t changed but we have, we have changed, because we have “Hope”
“Hope” because we have met someone who can lead us out of our mess, can lead us, out of the jungle, can lead us, out of our predicaments.
Are you lost? Have you lost hope?
A man is deep in the jungle on an African safari, the guide in front of him has a machete and is whacking away the underbrush. The man is hot and getting weary and asked the guide in frustration where are we??
Do you know where you are taking me? Where is the path? Then the guide puts down his machete, turns around, and says: I am the path.
We ask Jesus where you are taking us, seemingly on a sometimes crazy journey, smack through the middle of that jungle.
But Jesus said in john 14:6: I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.
Jesus doesn’t just give us “Hope” while we are in the jungle, but he restores our ‘Hope” by giving himself, he died for us and he provides us with the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Matt 28:20 Jesus promised: I am with you always.
In a little bit, we will be singing: “My hope is built on nothing less” than Jesus blood and righteousness. On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.
Are we putting our hope in the things of the world?
Those things will ultimately disappoint us.
Or do we put our “Hope “ in Jesus?
Friends, put your “Hope” and trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
He will lead us on the narrow path, through that narrow gate, to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thank you,
God Bless you,
Amen
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Lane, this is one of your best ! Such a great sermon for such troubled times. It is soooo relavent and applicable to many situations.
Mardi