Hope can be a very elusive thing. Just when we think our hopes will be met, so often they are dashed. Without hope we end up in despair. But even in despair we can have a hope that there will be something to hope for again one day and even that can keep us going. Hope is in many ways the foundation of our lives. Most hopes, however, are uncertain; like the hope it will be sunny tomorrow. It may be, but the weather men are sometimes wrong! More seriously, you may hope your latest romantic entanglement may be the one that lasts, but sadly, even after many years relationships can fall apart. Now I have a hope. My conviction is that the hope I have will never be dashed. I share this hope with many people. I have seen this hope in them through serious illness, through joys and sorrows, even in the face of death. I share this hope with people of history, with people of today and with people across the whole world, from every nation and culture. My hope is in Jesus. But before you put this down, thinking, “Here we go. I’m not interested in religion – not your one anyway!” I would like to ask you a question…
You are hoping for a better life, yes? But, if you are honest with yourself, what you have placed your hope in is uncertain. Even though it is uncertain, you are still willing to take a little trouble and difficulty in the hope that it will come through. Here’s the question I want to ask; “What would you give to have a hope that was certain, a hope that lasts?” Could what you hope for in life be replaced by a better, fuller, more certain hope? Is there a hope that cannot be dashed, that will carry us through all the circumstances of life? I have found that Jesus gives us that kind of hope.
I find Jesus both beautifully attractive and incredibly challenging at the same time: his purity, his boldness, his straight talking, his miracles, and, most of all, his love and compassion. And it is in Jesus that I have put my hope. In the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul talks about the resurrection of Jesus. He says that Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”, which means that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee that all people will be raised from the dead. For that reason we can have a hope that doesn’t just last for this life, but lasts into eternity. Paul (the writer of 1 Corinthians) writes of over 500 people who saw Jesus after he rose from the grave. His basic implication is: If you don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead, go and ask some of them. Of course we can’t now, but the point is that you could have then. Paul himself is perhaps the best witness of the resurrection. He was absolutely opposed to all things Christian, but then Jesus appeared to him and his life was completely turned around. Jesus gave him a new hope.
The hope I have in Jesus is one where pain will come to an end, where tears will be wiped away, where grief and sorrow will be unheard of and unremembered. It is hope of a time when my body won’t get aches and pains; where we won’t break our bones, and viruses will not harm us. It is hope of being with God, of enjoying only good things; where the glory of the summer sun will be like a shadow compared to the glory of God himself. The Bible tell us that this is not an uncertain hope, like hoping for sunshine on your wedding day, but a hope that is 100% sure. The reason it is 100% sure is because it does not depend on me, or on anyone who could make a mistake or get something wrong; it depends on Jesus and is proved by what he has already done.
When Jesus is talking about eternal life he says this about resurrection (John 5:26-29), “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son ofMan.
Jesus tells us very plainly about the two possibilities for us in the resurrection.
I have tried to think about what would be going on in my mind if I knew I was going to die soon. I think my mind would be racing. I would remember so many good times and joys I have had. I would remember too so many things I wish I hadn’t done, and think about things I wish I had done. I know that a sense of guilt or shame would mingle with a sense of achievement and thankfulness. But without my hope in Jesus I would wonder this: “Have I been good enough for the resurrection of life?” What amazes me most about Jesus is that my hope of life is not dependent on my effort or ability but on what Jesus has done for me. Jesus was asked once by a crowd, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28). Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” This is why my hope in Jesus is certain – because it isn’t based on my success but in my Saviour. The apostle Peter says that, “[Jesus] suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Because he was successful I can be sure of eternal life. Jesus himself tells us he came not for those who think themselves righteous – who think they have a hope because of what they have done – but for sinners – those who know they don’t have a hope by themselves, and therefore they put their hope in him (Mark 2:17).
Jesus also tells a short story that explains how to have real hope of joy in the presence of God: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).
The obvious implication of what Jesus says is this: if we consider ourselves good and point the finger at others, then we will be humbled not saved. But if we own up to our faults before God, and seek his mercy and grace, then God will exalt us, rescue us from our sin and lift us joyfully to heaven.
The end of Psalm 16 sums up my hope: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” The path of life is faith in Jesus Christ. He is my hope. He came to bring hope to the world in the face of brokenness, pain and death. My prayer is that you will know him as your hope too – whatever your situation. Only he can bring you a hope that is certain, that takes the fear from death and that lasts through death – because he came through death for us.
You are hoping for a better life, yes? But, if you are honest with yourself, what you have placed your hope in is uncertain. Even though it is uncertain, you are still willing to take a little trouble and difficulty in the hope that it will come through. Here’s the question I want to ask; “What would you give to have a hope that was certain, a hope that lasts?” Could what you hope for in life be replaced by a better, fuller, more certain hope? Is there a hope that cannot be dashed, that will carry us through all the circumstances of life? I have found that Jesus gives us that kind of hope.
I find Jesus both beautifully attractive and incredibly challenging at the same time: his purity, his boldness, his straight talking, his miracles, and, most of all, his love and compassion. And it is in Jesus that I have put my hope. In the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul talks about the resurrection of Jesus. He says that Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”, which means that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee that all people will be raised from the dead. For that reason we can have a hope that doesn’t just last for this life, but lasts into eternity. Paul (the writer of 1 Corinthians) writes of over 500 people who saw Jesus after he rose from the grave. His basic implication is: If you don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead, go and ask some of them. Of course we can’t now, but the point is that you could have then. Paul himself is perhaps the best witness of the resurrection. He was absolutely opposed to all things Christian, but then Jesus appeared to him and his life was completely turned around. Jesus gave him a new hope.
The hope I have in Jesus is one where pain will come to an end, where tears will be wiped away, where grief and sorrow will be unheard of and unremembered. It is hope of a time when my body won’t get aches and pains; where we won’t break our bones, and viruses will not harm us. It is hope of being with God, of enjoying only good things; where the glory of the summer sun will be like a shadow compared to the glory of God himself. The Bible tell us that this is not an uncertain hope, like hoping for sunshine on your wedding day, but a hope that is 100% sure. The reason it is 100% sure is because it does not depend on me, or on anyone who could make a mistake or get something wrong; it depends on Jesus and is proved by what he has already done.
When Jesus is talking about eternal life he says this about resurrection (John 5:26-29), “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of
Jesus tells us very plainly about the two possibilities for us in the resurrection.
I have tried to think about what would be going on in my mind if I knew I was going to die soon. I think my mind would be racing. I would remember so many good times and joys I have had. I would remember too so many things I wish I hadn’t done, and think about things I wish I had done. I know that a sense of guilt or shame would mingle with a sense of achievement and thankfulness. But without my hope in Jesus I would wonder this: “Have I been good enough for the resurrection of life?” What amazes me most about Jesus is that my hope of life is not dependent on my effort or ability but on what Jesus has done for me. Jesus was asked once by a crowd, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28). Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” This is why my hope in Jesus is certain – because it isn’t based on my success but in my Saviour. The apostle Peter says that, “[Jesus] suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Because he was successful I can be sure of eternal life. Jesus himself tells us he came not for those who think themselves righteous – who think they have a hope because of what they have done – but for sinners – those who know they don’t have a hope by themselves, and therefore they put their hope in him (Mark 2:17).
Jesus also tells a short story that explains how to have real hope of joy in the presence of God: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).
The obvious implication of what Jesus says is this: if we consider ourselves good and point the finger at others, then we will be humbled not saved. But if we own up to our faults before God, and seek his mercy and grace, then God will exalt us, rescue us from our sin and lift us joyfully to heaven.
The end of Psalm 16 sums up my hope: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” The path of life is faith in Jesus Christ. He is my hope. He came to bring hope to the world in the face of brokenness, pain and death. My prayer is that you will know him as your hope too – whatever your situation. Only he can bring you a hope that is certain, that takes the fear from death and that lasts through death – because he came through death for us.
