The "Let Us" Series From The Book Of Hebrews
#6
"LET US HOLD UNSWERVINGLY TO THE HOPE!"
TEXT: Heb.
10:23
INTRO: Hope has
real power! People who lose hope
lose the ability to face the future.
Sometimes their entire existence fades into oblivion and despair, but
hope can not only revive life, it can heal the damages of tragedy as
well.
ILLUS:
A
number of years ago, in a mental institution outside
In
many ways, Little Annie was like an animal. On occasions, she would violently
attack the person who came into her cage. At other times, she would completely
ignore them. When the elderly nurse started visiting her, Little Annie gave no
indication that she was even aware of her presence. One day, the elderly nurse
brought some brownies to the dungeon and left them outside the cage. Little
Annie gave no hint she knew they were there, but when the nurse returned the
next day, the brownies were gone. From that time on, the nurse would bring
brownies when she made her Thursday visit. Soon after, the doctors in the
institution noticed a change was taking place. After a period of time they
decided to move Little Annie upstairs. Finally, the day came when the "hopeless
case" was told she could return home. But Little Annie did not wish to leave.
She chose to stay, to help others. She it was who cared for, taught, and
nurtured Helen Keller, for Little Annie's name was Anne Sullivan. --
James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc, 1988) pp. 289-290.
Hope powerfully transforms reality! The lack of hope does the same thing,
only in reverse. We will never
survive this world without hope beyond this world. So much of the history of great men and
women was based on a greater hope than what they were
experiencing.
Jesus came into a dark world where hopelessness was
gripping the world, and though He was crucified He gave hope to those who follow
Him that exceeds the realities of this
world.
PROP.
SENT: The Scriptures
teach us that we can endure all things through Christ who alone gives us
hope. The greater the object of
hope, the greater the hope in enduring whatever comes, and there is nothing
greater that Christ Himself!
I. POWER OF HOPE! Heb.
10:23a
A.
Steadiness! Heb.
10:23a
1.
The Hebrew writers says it straight forward, “Let us hold
unswervingly to the hope we profess…”
a.
If we profess our faith in Christ we must not back away from the hope
that come sin holding onto that profession of
faith.
b.
Notice that the author is saying we need to hold onto our hope “unswervingly”
– we must not be unsteady in our confidence, or we will lose our
hope.
2.
Remember that this is an invitation, “Let us…”
- we must participate in the process of staying steady in our
profession and our confidence.
a.
There are a lot of realities that can throw off our hope and confidence
if we get our eyes off of the greater realities of Christ and
Heaven!
ILLUS:
Several
years ago the noted British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge was a guest at a
breakfast in Washington, D.C. When he had finished his testimony, he made a
number of comments about world affairs, all of which were very pessimistic. One
of the Christians present said to the speaker, "Dr. Muggeridge, you have been
very pessimistic. Don't you have any reason for optimism?" Malcolm Muggeridge
replied, "My friend, I could not be more optimistic than I am, because my hope
is in Jesus Christ alone." He allowed that remark to settle for a few seconds,
and then he added, "Just think if the apostolic church had pinned its hope on
the
b.
The fact is that the only thing we can be certain of is the character and
Word of God Himself!
3.
Since everything else in the universe is fading away and uncertain we can
only hope in Christ who is eternal and everlasting, He is the one thing we can
hope in without failure.
4. It
may seem at times that it is tough to trust in Him when we can’t see what’s
coming, but in those times we still be unswerving in our hope and faith as the
Lord guides us along one step at a
time.
ILLUS:
As
I came home from church one evening, I was struggling to recognize God's
guidance for my life. Suddenly, I drove into dense fog and could see nothing.
Poking my head out the window, I noticed a tiny light from the road ahead. As I
inched my car forward, it blinked out and another set of oncoming headlights
took its place some yards ahead. I crawled along, following just the short
distance I could see--one light after another--until the fog cleared. Then I
realized that this is how God guides me. He shows me how far I need to go at any
given moment. And step-by-step, I move from one light to the next. Confident of
God's guidance, I let go of the need to see his complete plan. --
Helen Roseveare, Living Faith. "Heart to Heart," Today's Christian
Woman.
5.
Sometimes we follow with limited vision and clarity, but nonetheless God
is at work and leading us faithfully.
Our hope is in Him, not our circumstances or ability to always see
clearly. And it is in following Him
when we can’t see clearly that we live a steady life of hope and
faith.
B.
Strength! Heb.
10:23a
1.
Hope is what gives us strength daily! Hope gives you the ability to stay
strong in the midst of difficulties and trials, even when you don’t see the end
result.
2. It
is a confidence or hope in the very character of God Himself!!
a.
He is always good!
b. He
is always faithful!
c.
He is always powerful!
3.
This allows us to feel strength even in the midst of circumstances that
would otherwise drain our strength.
ILLUS:
Several
years ago a teacher assigned to visit children in a large city hospital received
a routine call requesting that she visit a particular child. She took the boy's
name and room number and was told by the teacher on the other end of the line,
"We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now. I'd be grateful if you could
help him with his homework so he doesn't fall behind the others." It wasn't
until the visiting teacher got outside the boy's room that she realized it was
located in the hospital's burn unit. No one had prepared her to find a young boy
horribly burned and in great pain. She felt that she couldn't just turn and walk
out, so she awkwardly stammered, "I'm the hospital teacher, and your teacher
sent me to help you with nouns and adverbs." The next morning a nurse on the
burn unit asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" Before she could finish a
profusion of apologies, the nurse interrupted her: "You don't understand. We've
been very worried about him, but ever since you were here yesterday, his whole
attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment--.It's as
though he's decided to live." The boy later explained that he had completely
given up hope until he saw that teacher. It all changed when he came to a simple
realization. With joyful tears he expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a
teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?" --
James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc, 1988) pp. 292-293
4.
There is healing power in hope, because our hope is in Christ who is the
great healer!
a.
History is replete with examples of people who have withstood horrible
circumstances simply because they held on to hope.
b.
The disciples of Jesus often didn’t understand all that Jesus taught
them, but they learned to have hope in everything He said.
c.
Hope keeps people from quitting, from giving up – because they still have
hope!
5. No
wonder the writer here refers to “holding unswervingly onto the
hope.”
II. PROMISE OF HOPE! Heb.
10:23b
A.
Savior! Heb.
10:23b
1. “For He who
promised…” – God has not given us
false hope, but real hope!
2.
Hope is not based on what we decide we would like to see, it is based on
real statements and realities that God Himself has promised
us.
3. So
how do we know that these promises of God can be
trusted?
a.
Christ was born a baby, experienced our entire
humanity!
b.
Christ lived a sinless and righteous
life!
c.
Christ rose again and met with His disciples and promised them that with
the same power He rose from the dead He will come again and give them everything
He told them about!
d.
His very resurrection proves He has both the power and the will to
fulfill those promises.
e.
Though we can’t always see the through life’s cloudy circumstances, God
has a clear view of everything, and the power to uphold us if we hold to that
hope!
ILLUS:
During
World War II a father who was holding his son by the arm was seen running from a
building that had just been bombed.
In the front yard was a huge hole where a bomb had already exploded. Seeking shelter the father jumped into
the hole and called for his son to jump down into his arms. The boy however, standing at the rim,
could not see into the hole because of the dust and darkness, but the father
could easily see the silhouette of his son against the sky above him. The boy hesitated and said, "But I can't
see you dad" and the father responded, "That's o.k. son, I can see you and I
won't let you fall, just jump!" In
those times when we can't see the Father we must learn to trust Him to be there
anyways, prior experience with the Father will make it easier to jump when we
need to. –
Source Unknown.
4.
Even facing death we still have hope, for we know the one who has
overcome death and promised us that we will never die, but live forever with
Him.
B.
Solid! Heb.
10:23b
1.
The final statement of this verse is as good a guarantee as can be! “for He who has
promised is faithful.”
2.
And please note that the emphasis for hope is not on YOU, it is on
HIM!
3. If
it was determined by our sheer will we would be in trouble, but the guarantee
that makes our hope rock solid is the fact that all that is promised is based on
Christ and His work, not ours!
4.
Too often people want proof before they have faith or will act in faith;
but real hope is when we act with or without the proofs apparent, based on
simply the Word of God Himself.
ILLUS:
Faith
is not belief without proof but trust without reservation. --
D. Elton Trueblood, late Christian author. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no.
2.
5. It
is important to act on our hope, otherwise it isn’t real hope.
a.
Hope that shows itself in despair isn’t real hope, it is a false
hope!
b. We
must hold on to hope if we want it to change the way we live
life.
ILLUS:
Faith
is not believing that God can, but that God will! --
Abraham Lincoln, Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no.
2.
6. We
can face life - and death with hope because our hope is built on nothing less
than the person and work of Jesus Christ and His faithfulness.
a.
“He who
promised is faithful!”
b. “Let us hold
unswervingly to the
hope…”
CONCLUSION:
Hope is a very powerful and very real thing! When people lose “hope” they lose the
ability to continue on, to believe that life has meaning, that it makes any
difference how we live. Often those
who lose hope lose the will to live or fight. Hopelessness too can make someone ill,
or prevent someone from recovering from tragedy. However, if this is true the opposite is
also true; hope restores, renews, strengthens, and motivates someone to face the
future with certainty and strength.
If we are to go through this life victoriously, we must hold onto our
hope without hesitation! Keep Hope
Alive!