Sermon: Hope overcomes despair
Introduction: Character Renovation
Welcome everyone. I am glad that you are here today. I believe you are here for a purpose. Perhaps it is to give you an opportunity to step away from your busy hectic world and take some time to focus on God and worship him. Perhaps it is to challenge you or encourage you in a needed area of your life. But I do believe that one of the reasons you are here to day is because God wants you to hear this message.
We are in week four of our series “Character Renovation Underway.” Pastor David has encouraged us to let Faith overcome Fear, Love overcome Indifference, and Forgiveness overcome Resentment. We are going to continue in that same venue this morning by looking at how part of our Christian character is to let Hope overcome Despair.
Opening
Who comes to your mind, someone that you know personally, that suffers from depression, or sadness, or despair? Now don’t look at them, don’t nudge someone in the ribs – that will just add to their already poor self-image. Just think of that person. Write that name on your mind. We are going to go back to that person a bit later.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to share with the Starr family when Greg was having his biopsy. After quite a while they finally came to prep him and he told me how grateful he was that I came to pray with him. I told him it was my pleasure… and then my eyes started to cloud up. And I told him and Becky that my being there for them was an effort to pay them back for being with Susie and me in the hospital over 30 years ago. They knew what I was talking about.
Susie had just given birth to our second son Ryan. He was premature and had to be taken C-section. The events that followed are almost too painful to talk about even today. The reason Ryan was premature was because Susie’s body was rejecting him. They say it happened around the 4th week after conception – our son suffered developed major birth defects and therefore he had no chance of survival. He died twenty minutes after birth. That was truly our most deepest time of despair.
It happened in the middle of a blizzard. There was so much snow that the burial had to be postponed. But even though most of the roads were closed one couple got on their snow mobile and rode to the hospital. Greg and Becky Starr. I don’t remember anything they said though I am sure they spoke words of comfort. What I remember is their hugs, their tears, and just their presence. So you can understand why coming to pray with them was a small attempt at pay back.
I understand that we are not the only ones with a sad story. There are many of you in this room who have suffered deep pain and loss that brought you to your knees. We could have an open mic time (I thought about it) – but it would get awful messy in here and I am sure we would not have enough tissues to go around. So we will not be doing that – a relief tomany of you, I am sure. Especially our visitors thinking... “What kind of church is this?!”
But the truth is, we have all suffered from some form of sadness or despair at some time or another. No one is exempt from having battled with grief or sorrow. The circumstance may have involved you personally, or it may have centered around another person you deeply love. The situation that caused your sorrow may have been long term, perhaps many difficult and enduring years. Or it may have happened suddenly and quickly over before you even realized what happened. But either way, the pain, though long or short, was miserably intense. In a group of this size, it is logical to assume that there is someone, if not many, who are this very morning feeling like they are in the pit of despair – it is a lonely place to be. It is a dark place, both emotionally and spiritually.
Others of you have just recently crawled out, and the rest of us will be there sooner or later.
We are not going to have an open mic, but I would like to ask you to raise your hand if you, at one time or another, have gone through a time of greatsuffering, sorrow or despair. Be honest… raise your hand if you have experienced a time of despair.
Interesting. Just about everyone in this room.
1. We are all broken.
The truth is – we all are broken. Every family is broken. Every relationship is broken. Every business, every school, every government, every nation, every church is broken. That’s what makes a church such a wonderful thing… broken people, admitting that we are broken, and embracing the fact that we always will be broken. How in the world did the church, even our church, become an illusion of perfect people – or a group of people who think they are perfect – or a group of people who want others to think they are perfect? Don’t you agree, that when we come into this place, we feel we have to put on an air that everything is perfect in our lives? So that even when we have an altar call of repentance – no body comes forward.
So, either everyone is perfect and has no need of repentance. Which is NOT the case. Or, we all want everyone else to think that we don’t have problems – that we have our act together – and though others may be broken, we don’t want people to know that we are too. And what of that one person, who is being convicted by the Holy Spirit to publically confess to one another to find healing – butlooks around and sees nobody responding and therefore concludes – “I must be the only one broken” – and so they keep their pain to themselves. In fact, pretty much we all do that. We keep our pain, our hurt, struggles, our fears, our worries, our sadness to ourselves – and we find no healing.
GOD section:
If only we could realize that it is normal and even good to be broken. I am not saying it is enjoyable to struggle with pain, loss and despair. But there IS good news in this.
Good News is two-fold:
a) God is near the broken.
Psalm 34:18
“TheLordis close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who have lost all hope.”
That’s an awesome thought. In fact, the more broken we are – the closer he gets. So the next time your spirit is crushed (which may be today) – take comfort in knowing your heavenly Father is drawing ever closer.
The second bit of Good News is this…
b) The people God uses MOST are broken.
The people that God uses the most in service to his Church are people who have gone throughmajor struggles. It almost seems to be a pre-requisite. If you are thinking that you have no business serving the Lord through the church because of your history or even your current struggles – think again. God uses broken people. Think about it. Who better to minister to someone who is broken than someone who is broken? This is why the people God uses Most are broken.
Do you want proof? I came up with a top ten list of the greatest men and women in the Bible – both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Those who did incredible things for God or who’s life you would emulate because they are great role models. It was pretty hard to narrow down the top ten. In fact, I couldn’t. I came up with the top twelve. And even that was very hard to narrow down. But this is what I came up with.
AbrahamEstherJobMosesJacob David
SolomonElijahDanielMaryPeterPaul
Your list might be different than mine, but I would maintain that what I am about to say about my list - you would find to be true with your list. I want you to see how God used broken people, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Abraham – had to bury his wife before she could witness the marriage of Isaac, her first
born. It’s not easy to say goodbye to a loved one.
Esther –The Bible tells us she had great sorrow and was deeply troubled by the plight of her
people who starving. It’s difficult to watch your loved ones suffer.
Job –he lost just about everything good in his life – his possessions and wealth, his children,
and eventually his own health. It’s hard to keep your faith when you lose everything.
The great Moses –yet the very beginning of his life was surrounded by death and suffering
and a struggle with his identity as his own mother played the role of foster parent. It can be hard to overcome things you experienced as a child.
Jacob – this patriarch suffered deep grief when his precious son Joseph was allegedly killed
by a wild beast. Sometimes, we can believe a lie. And even though it’s not true,
believing it’s true is just as painful.
King David – called the man after God’s own heart. And yet we see in the Psalms that he is
oftencrushed in his spiritand on the brink of despair. You can be close to God and still battle with depression.
The wise Solomon –But in the book of Ecclesiastes he summarizes his life with –
“everything is meaningless”. Ever felt that? Everything is hopeless.
Prophet Elijah – but after his victory over the prophets of Baal, we find him under a juniper
tree wanting to end his life. Spiritual victories can often be followed spiritual defeats
Daniel, the lion tamer – had the ability to interpret dreams. One dream in particular caused
him great sorrow for it involved the downfall of his friend King Nebuchadnezzar. Sometimes your grief involves knowing too much about another person.
Mary – the mother of the Christ,had to endure great anguish watching her son crucified.
There is perhaps no greater anguish than to watch your child die. It’s not supposed to happen that way.
Peter – this strong man of God had a shaky start. After denying Christ three times the
Scripture tells us he immediately left the courtyard and wept bitterly. Sometimes you are the cause of your greatest sorrow.
Paul – wrote half the New Testament. In his letter to the church at Rome he confessed that
helived continually with unending grief for the lost Jews. Even when you are doing great work for the Lord – it is often accompanied by grief.
These great people had one thing in common. They rose above their pain and sorrow. They did not let it overtake them. They were victorious over it. This is why this sermon is entitled – Hope Overcomes Despair.
King David, who had his own struggle with despair, writes this prayer in….
Psalm 40
1I waited patiently for theLordto help me,and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2He lifted me out of the pit of despair,out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid groundand steadied me as I walked along.
3He has given me a new song to sing,a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.They will put their trust in theLord.
That last phrase could also be translated – “They will put their hope in the Lord.”
The word “hope” in the Bible is more than just desire. Hope is not a crossing of the fingers – “I hope I win the lottery.” “I hope the Colt’s win.” Those two have about the same odds.
There is nothing wrong with wishful or positive thinking. In fact it is helpful – it’s a good self-talk. But Biblical hope is more than wishing on a star.
The Biblical word for hope is a “confident expectation”. It is a waiting for something that you expect to happen. In fact, the Greek word for “hope” is actually translated more times as“trust”. To hope actually means to trust - “confident expectation”.
The writer of Hebrews wrote: “Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. . . .To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. [Hebrews 10:23, 11:1]
Despair can’t be simply replaced – it must be overcome. There will be times when you truly struggle with depression, and sadness. We cannot win the battle on our own, but we must hold firmly on to Christ and completely trust in Him to give us the power to rise above it. That is why I have a bunch of eagles in my office – to remind me that through Christ I can rise above my hurts, habits, or hang ups.
That is why my wife and I continue to attend Celebrate Recovery every Monday night. Truly broken people embracing the fact we are broken – and encouraging each other to rise above it through the power of Jesus Christ. That is where our hope lies.
When you are in the struggle, when you feel like you are in the pit of despair, when the tunnel seems endlessly dark – turn to the One who gives hope. Reach for the One who can pull you out.
We tend to think that our hope is all futuristic. I’m not talking Star Wars or Star Trek futuristic, I’m talking about the thinking that our hope is out there somewhere, some great distance away. But hope is not in some far away galaxy. It is available for us today.
Psalm. 46:1 - “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm. 121:1-2 - “I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Our hope is not just a future hope. Our hope is present tense.
Now you may feel that your pit is deeper than anyone else’s and that your valley is the darkest of all. I am not here this morning to make light of it – but to open your eyes to see that there is light in it.
You have heard it said that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”. I would like to change your thinking. There is not only light at the end of your tunnel, but there is “light in the midst of your dark tunnel.”
2. There is light in the midst of the tunnel.
And that light is Jesus. Not only is there hope to eventually get out of the pit, but there is hope and trust available to us even while suffering in the pit of despair. Which is good because some of you are in the pit of despair right now.
We can experience the light of Christ even in our darkest hour.
2 Corinthians 4
6For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.16That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits arebeing renewed every day.
The God Who created light is the same God who created darkness. And He is with you in both of those through His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who is within you.
There is hope in the midst of despair. Now there is a false hope being preached out there. That your life can always be full of blessing and that your walk will always be a mountain top experience – free from every distress of life.
But Jesus says…
John 16:33
In this world you will have tribulation. I have told you these things so you may have peace in Me. In the world you will have much trouble. But take hope! I have overcome the world!
“Take hope.” Jesus say,“I have overcome the world.” Hope overcomes despair.
Our Biblical hope is that as we walk through the valley of shadows, no matter how dark or dangerous or lonely the road– the light of Christ is present – even in the darkness.
If there is one passage that comes to my mind that gives me this kind of hope – it is the 23rd Psalm. There is a reason that Psalm 23 is the favorite passage of many people – even unbelievers are familiar with this Scripture.
Psalm 23
1TheLordis my shepherd;I have all that I need.
2He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
4Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close
beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
5You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by
anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
6Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will
live in the house of theLord forever.
Even though the word hope is not found in these verses – it is indeed a message of hope.
And though you walk through the valley of shadows of death, of pain, of rejection, of hurt, - and though you may be trudging through the dark valley of divorce, of unfaithfulness, of back stabbing, of abuse, of violence… though you may be walking through any dark place – remember this one important truth -- God is with you. Even in the deepest and darkest pit of despair – you are not alone, God is always with you. This is the message God wants you to hear today.