Three Words of Hope
By Pastor Matt Black
06 June 2007
Midweek Bible Study
Jeremiah 32:27
Introduction: Open your Bible to Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
Last week we talked about hope. It comes from God and His Word. This world is constantly offering hope.
· Hope in the stock market
· Hope in the Mr. or Miss Right
· Hope in a good career
· Hope in your best friend—they’ll never let me down!
· Hope in having a family and children—that’s what’ll make me happy!
· Hope in the inheritance of a rich uncle
All of these things will give you false hope. In the end everything can be broken except God.
That’s what Jeremiah says. Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
Jeremiah takes all the impossibilities in this world and throws them on God, and says—
· God can lift the heaviest burden!
· God can cleanse the dirtiest sin!
· Are your circumstances, your life WAY out of control?
Can I ask you a question? Is there anything too hard for the Lord? I said is there anything too hard for the Lord?
I. Our First Word of Hope is TRUTH! Why do we need to deal in the realm of truth?
Because…
A. LIES steal Hope! When we believe lies, our hope is gone. Let me say that again, when we believe lies, the hope that we once had, turns into hopelessness.
Turn to Matthew 14:23-33, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”
There are several truths we get from this passage.
1. Peter at first believed certain things.
a. Christ was in control of all things. He walked on water!
b. He believed in the power of Christ to control his life and miraculously empower him.
2. Peter began to believe lies.
a. He began to doubt the Person of Christ.
Now look at verse 30—Matthew 14:30, “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
b. He began to believe that the circumstances of the storm could destroy his life. He began believing the lies that the storm was greater than the very present power of Christ, and he sank! Verse 30 again, “when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink”.
· Was Peter ever in any danger? Was he? Peter needed to go through all of that so that God could use him.
Application: Do you really think this trial or that trial is going to be the end of you? Listen, God’s children are omnipotent until God is finished with them!!
So what’s the answer to hopelessness?
B. Stop believing lies, and tell yourself the truth! Let me ask you that question again. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Bad counsel will tell us YES, there are a few things that are even beyond God’s reach. That is why tonight, you need to start tell yourself the truth. You need to start dealing in the realm of reality.
We’ve all spoken words of hopelessness in desperation that we now regret. We all think and sometimes even say hopeless things.
v “This marriage will never work!”
v “God must not love me”
v “There will never be an end to this trial!”
v “My child is too far gone—beyond God’s reach!”
There is one thing in common with each of these statements. They all contradict the word of God!
C. So what is the truth? That’s a good question. Jesus answers the question in John 17:17, “thy word is truth”. Have you lost your way in this world? Remember Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
· Got a bad marriage? Impossible you say? God’s Word is truth. What does God say? Luke 18:27, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
· Do you think God has stopped loving you? Are you God’s child? God’s Word has the answer. Jeremiah 31:3, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Here are some true thoughts that you need to think to combat hopelessness.
1. God’s love for me is not based on my performance. It is based on grace. Without God’s grace, you would deny the Lord, just like Peter.
2. God’s love for me never changes. You didn’t choose God. John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you”.
3. God’s love for you is based on grace. You were born with sin stains on you. You added to those sin stains. God says, because I love you, there is no sin stain upon you.
Stop telling yourself lies. Ephesians 4:24-25, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour”
Illustration: I remember the night my mother died. She was 49. I was 15. Before her death, I had gone through two years of hopelessness. It was horrible. I didn’t know the Lord. My eighth grade year and freshman year of High School I dealt with serious darkness and depression. I was willing to do anything to get rid of this feeling, so I gave myself to the world’s pleasures. Instead of depressed I became angry and arrogant. Until that September. I came to know Christ! Things seemed to be going fine. Then, bam! Two and a half months after I came to know Christ, my mother died. I could have gone right back into that darkness, but the truth of God’s love and plan and control flooded my soul. It has carried me until this day.
Perhaps you are here tonight, and you are fearful or hopeless about your life. Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”. It is faith in God and in His Word that will stop all the lies from having dominion over you.
II. Our second Word for today is FORGIVENESS.
If you want to have hope, you must deal in reality, we’ve just covered that. Truth is important. That means no excuses. If we shade the facts, we hide our greatest enemy. You see the thing that causes all pain in this world, in your life, in your work place, and in your family is what? Sin! Hope’s Greatest Enemy: Sin! No One wants to believe the Problem is Sin. The problem with families is always broken fellowship with God: sin.
A. Admit that your problem is sin. Hope starts by calling my family problem “sin”. When you break God’s laws you forfeit His favor. Family pain is caused by SIN!! So if you want to deal with sin, let’s find out where sin comes from.
B. Sin wasn’t always in the picture. IN the Beginning there was no family pain. Turn over to Genesis 3. Back in the beginning God didn’t have to wipe away all tears, because there were no tears. He didn’t have to forgive sin, because there was no sin in the human race. Adam and Eve had a perfect marriage because they had a perfect relationship with God. They had five star accommodations (the Paradise of Eden), food on the table every day, and they had very little work to do. There was no pain! The first family lived in perfect harmony.
C. How did sin get here? The Pattern of Sin. Genesis 3….
1. First, God’s Word is Doubted. The serpent says to the woman in Verse 1, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Listen, the point of God allowing tests in your life is that you will see that God never lies. You have to believe God even if every thing else seems to tell you the opposite. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The moment you begin saying, “I know what God said, but…” You are leaning to your own understanding.
Application: The biggest cause of pain in your life and in your family is because you have decided to go on a journey without God. Without God, you have no compass, no mountain guide to lead you through the rough waters. Without God’s Word you have no map, but you are left on your own with no direction! The moment you question and doubt God’s way and think there’s a better way, you’ve laid the foundation for lots of pain in your life. Now look at verses 2-3. First, God’s word is doubted,
2. Then, God’s Word is Distorted. We read in verses 2-3, “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die”. The woman has distorted what God said—God never said not to touch it. He said “don’t eat it”.
How many times have I seen God’s Word distorted!
“I can sin, since God is a forgiving God. I’ll go ahead and do this just this once and then ask for forgiveness later”. Yes God is a forgiving God of grace. He does forgive, but he is also a God of holiness who says, “Be ye holy as I the Lord am holy”. If you sin “just this once” you will also reap what you sow. If you are God’s child there are always consequences. “Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.”
I’ve heard folk say, well I can miss church since they didn’t meet like this in the New Testament. Actually you are right! They met every day!!
Folks, do not distort God’s Word. Because if you do, it will then be denied. Things go downhill quickly.
3. God’s Word is Denied. What does Satan say in verse 4, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”
Perhaps Eve doubted in her own mind, “But wait, I thought God said we would die!” Satan says, “Ye shall not surely die”. Right out in the open, God’s Word is denied.
When you think sin is no big deal, you are headed for disaster, and you are denying the reality of God’s truth, and then the final step occurs when…
4. God’s Word is Disobeyed. Verse 6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
Where was Adam in all this? Where do we get the idea that he was at the office or something? He was right there with her.
Adam of course hid in the garden. And that was his problem. He needed forgiveness from God!
You can never start to deal with your family problems until you call them what they are: sin. You don’t have weakness, you have willful disobedience. Sin is not an accident, it is actually an abomination. Something God hates. You need Forgiveness. There is nothing you yourself can do about your sin. You need forgiveness. And that brings us to our third point.
III. Our Third, and most important Word of Hope is God!
I want you to see something in Psalm 127:1. If you don’t have God, everything you are doing in your family is in vain. Look at Psalm 127:1, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
A. God can cleanse your family from sin!
a. Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
b. Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”
B. God is a God of Comfort.
Isaiah 40:1-2, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.”
2 Corinthians 7:5-6, “For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. 6 Nevertheless God,” this verse tells is God is the one—“that comforteth those that are cast down”.
C. You can stand in righteousness by the grace of God alone.
v 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Conclusion: Hope is alive right now in God. It’s not on the TV or in the latest self help book. You can’t help yourself. But God can. Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”