04.03.2011 Extreme Makeover - Hope Edition - p1

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Extreme Makeover – Hope Edition – you can see the Tagline there – Help and Hope in uncertain times. We are going to be meeting some needs in the church family and some needs in the community. If you know anyone living in the neighborhood who needs help with yard work or whatever – we are trying to live what we say.
We often think of HOPE as a wish – Gee, I HOPE this happens – but Biblically, HOPE is different from that – it is held with two other virtues – Faith, Hope, and Love – it is not just a positive outlook or related to circumstances – it is a confident expectation for a good future BECAUSE – we trust in a good God who will be faithful to what He has promised.
Part of Christian hope is patience and endurance. God is the one who determines the time and the way this future hope comes about. It is not always in our time – and it is not always in our way – so we must have patience and endurance. With that as an introduction – let’s pray:
Lord, I thank You that in You there is hope. Lord, I ask You to help us as we look at Your word – and what Your scripture has to say about Hop – that our lives might be lived with greater faith – Lord, that whatever we are going through, there might be encouragement and comfort for what You have done for us. Encourage our hearts – may we leave today encouraged and ready to face what the world may throw at us because God is for us.
1 Peter 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
The foundation of this hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is through His death and resurrection that we can be certain of our future - an inheritance kept in heaven for you that cannot spoil or fade – it is solid – we can know for sure where our destination will be after this life THROUGH what Jesus did on the cross and through His resurrection.
The foundation of all we are talking about is EASTER – and the fact that Christ rose from the dead solves everything – it is the most significant thing that ever happened in the world – the most important truth we can believe – because it assures us there is something after this world. A person knows he has this hope when he believes that Christ died on the cross for him and rose from the dead – and then he takes that truth and lets it transform his life. When that takes place – at that moment in time, we know that God has set aside this inheritance for us. I think we don’t think about that enough. – An inheritance that can’t spoil or fade – shielded by God’s power – until the day it is revealed.
What we would like to do today – an understanding of what is waiting for us – and the implications it has for here and now. An understanding of our hope in the future affects how we live today – it allows us to offer help and hope in uncertain times – it allows us to live that way.
1 Cor. 15: 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
This is the chapter – Paul’s discourse on the resurrection – how it affects us. He closes this entire section giving us hope – and closes by saying – in light of what is going to happen – THEREFORE – brothers and sisters – it gives us stability – STAND FIRM! Let nothing move you! It makes you solid when everything else is caving in. When you find your life wobbling/coming apart – you can always go back and see that there is something regarding your future hope that you are not believing. That is the cause of wavering and stumbling.
Always abounding in the work of the Lord. When we understand this – it causes us to abound in God’s work. If you truly believe that there is another life waiting for you – a life with God – it will cause you to abound/ overflow in doing God’s work!
Are you abounding in God’s work? When I think of abounding – I think of Ice Cream – Cindy says I think of ice cream too much. You go to an ice cream shop and get a tiny scoop for the price you could pay for a half gallon. I worked at Friendly’s when I was 19 – they would try to teach you to make a hollow scoop. I could never do it – I like giving the kids an abounding scoop! I probably lost them so much money!
If you catch all of this in its context – especially with the afterlife and the second coming –and such. When we think of working for God, we think of evangelism/church stuff/helping the poor/missions – but that is not all of God’s work. Yes, those are important aspects of abounding in the work of the lord – He is saying in 1 Cor. 15 – ALL that we do in this world is God’s work! Understanding that there is a resurrection and eternity – it gives value and purpose to everything you do here. We think, we are going to heaven so it doesn’t really matter what we do down here. Everything we are given to do down here counts – and is critical.
Do you know it matters for eternity that you cut your grass? And you think, Oh, come on – No! It matters, because it is something you are given to do.
Col. 3: 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men
WHATEVER YOU DO! Whether you think it is mundane and of no real value – it says, do it with all your heart as if doing it for the Lord. Since you know - , 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
That is the motivation – if you look at all you have to do in this life – it means you are not focused enough on THAT life – a life focused on THAT life recognizes that everything matters.
Col.3:24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
I am doing whatever I am doing – washing these dishes – for the Lord.
We have been trying to paint our bathroom for 3 years now – well it seems that way – it has been about a year! You know how you look at swatches – and think it will look great – and then it never looks like what you think it will – and you try to improve it – and start all over again – Nothing was working – so we went back to Lowes – and the lady – she is a Christian who really loves her job - says you need to get a gray primer – because a white primer will do this…– we’ve talked about other things – but she was serving the Lord selling paint at Lowes! That is really valuable. So whatever it is you do – I encourage you – Hope is seeing that my life really counts – when you are home with the kids – we remember those days of having little children at home – but the things you do for them is valuable – and the mundane job you go to every day has great value in God’s work.
Cindy’s work – they have been going through some tough times – they are laying off 40 people – teachers – Cindy has been there 12 years and has built this program at the school – and has worked really hard – she has been a good employee – but do you know what has happened? It is amazing how many people have come to her needing help, comfort, and encouragement? At times she feels more like a counselor – and it is not because she goes into work wearing a Jesus shirt – but because she works hard and is a good example – and people’s lives fall apart and begin to need help. If you are a crummy neighbor – not cutting your grass or caring about anyone else – you are not kind to your neighbors – they will not come to you when life crumbles. But if you are there – doing what you are supposed to do – they will come to you. You become help and hope in uncertain times.
Gal. 6: 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
See what it does – when we work hard and see there is value in all that we do unto the Lord, it creates opportunity to do good to others. When we are so wrapped up in our own world – not liking how life is going, frustrated and complaining – it closes opportunities – takes them away –
I think all of us probably have stories of how God has opened up opportunities by doing what we are supposed to do. If you do – let me know – it will encourage us to hear this. God does work when we work for Him.
There is value and purpose in all we do.
This concept of doing good – offering help and hope in uncertain times in whatever way it is needed. Like when we went to Honduras – they are not offering a hand out – but a hand up! They are not just offering hope by building houses and children’s centers – they shared the message of the future and helped in the here and now – feeding people, helping kids learn to brush their teeth.
There are three words that come together very often:
Zech. 7: 9 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: `Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
These words often come together – and often have this following them:
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
Abounding in the work of the Lord means administering justice and mercy and compassion.
Tim Keller – Generous Justice – He is theologically sound, thoughtful, and smarter than I am – this is a good explanation of this.
Need comes in many forms – those who are hurting, strangers, lonely – all kinds of ways that these needs come. We are doing this with one another – there are some folks in the church whose homes we are helping to fix – yards to clean – looking to help in the community as well – if you know someone in the community who is NOT in our church – let us know. We have a list of people who want to help. It gives us an opportunity to serve – to get involved and help people to be different.
Jesus said this – he went to a banquet and was watching how people sat – each looking to sit in the place of honor – they had a system for this – the head of the table – the person throwing the banquet – and then people placed how he thought of them.
Luke 14: 12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Again – back to the resurrection – He is not saying that it is wrong to have your parents over for dinner – but in the context of throwing banquets to gain influence and to show who you know – He is saying – don’t live in that world – that uses these tactics to get ahead – live in a different world – one that is involved in helping the person on the margins – who is outcast.
Then we need to ask ourselves how much do we do that. We try – try to do our best – but we can always do more. Jesus didn’t say these things just to say them – it is the Bible! Let me read a psalm to you.
Ps. 112:1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. 2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. 5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. 7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. 9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. 10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
As we do these things – God will give opportunity to speak the Gospel – we are called to live it – and we are called to speak it! We are called to do both.