Hope in a hopeless world

Hope in a hopeless world - Greg Laurie -

http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/hope-in-a-hopeless-world/

 

Pastor Greg Laurie says, 'Dying without Jesus is the sum of all fears'

 

In 2002, Paramount Pictures released the film "The Sum of All Fears," a story about a terrorist group that gets hold of a nuke and detonates it, trying to bring the United States and Russia into war. The story, which was based on a novel by Tom Clancy, seems not only possible but plausible.

 

Without question we are living in frightening times right now. There are things worth being afraid of. Jesus gave some words of advice for living in fearful times, words he spoke to his disciples after telling them something that turned their world upside down.

 

What he said to bring comfort and assurance to them in their frightening times also can bring comfort and assurance to us as well: "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am" (John 14:1-3 NLT).

 

Life is full of troubles isn't it? Really, from the day we are born, troubles begin. There are health troubles. There are family troubles. There are parent troubles. There are children troubles. There are relationship troubles and financial troubles.

 

Disappointments are a form of trouble as well, and there are many disappointments in life, aren't there? We're disappointed with ourselves because we are not always what we want to be. We want to be strong, but we are weak. We want to be successful, but we often fail. We want to be liked, but people often are indifferent toward us.

 

Circumstances are a source of trouble, too. There are job losses. There are unexpected illnesses. And of course there is uncertainty about the future.

 

Jesus began by telling his disciples, "Don't let your hearts be troubled." A more literal translation of this statement would be, "Don't let your hearts be agitated or disturbed or thrown into confusion."

 

Jesus continued, "Trust in God, and trust also in me." In the original Greek, that is a command. He was saying, "I order you, I command you as my child, to believe in Me." Jesus was essentially telling his disciples, "I haven't brought you this far to dump you. I'm not going to abandon you in your hour of need."

 

To be candid, I'm addressing these statements to the person who has put his or her faith in Jesus Christ. If you don't have Jesus living in your heart, then you ought to be shaking in your shoes right now. Politicians won't save you. Washington won't save you. Technology won't save you. You need God.

 

On the other hand, if you're a Christian, then you can have hope in a hopeless world. Why? Because as a believer, you know Jesus. And while there is cause to be troubled, there is greater cause not to be.

 

Maybe something unexpected has happened in your life. Maybe tragedy has befallen you. Maybe something very difficult is happening, and you don't know what to do. Remember this: The word oops is not in God's vocabulary. He is in control of your life. And when you don't understand what is going on, fall back on what you do understand. He loves you and has a good plan for you. He says His plans for you are good. His thoughts toward you are constant.

 

The Bible says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (Romans 8:28 NLT). That is the hope of the believer.

 

The disciples were afraid because Jesus had dropped a bombshell. He told them he would be leaving them. Not only that, he said that one of them would betray him. Another among them, Simon Peter, would deny him. It didn't make sense.

 

What they didn't realize was that Jesus was going away for a purpose. He was going to die on a cross, and they could not see how that possibly could be a good thing. But with 20/20 hindsight, we can look back and understand that the only way the sin of the world could be dealt with was through the death of Jesus on the cross.

 

Why? Because we have sinned. We all have fallen short of God's glory. But God loved us so much that he came to walk among us as a man. Jesus was not just a good man; he was the God-man. He was God in human form, experiencing the challenges and difficulties that we face in life. He walked among us and willingly went to the cross, dying for your sins and mine.

 

He had to do it, but the disciples could not understand why. Jesus was saying, "Guys, I'm asking you to trust me on this, OK? I know what I'm doing. Believe in me."

 

Take the most frightening aspect of what is happening in our world today. Imagine the worst-case scenario. In the end, if you are a Christian, you will go to Heaven. Therefore, you don't have to be paralyzed by fear.

 

The worst-case scenario is not dying. (That will happen no matter what.) The worst-case scenario is dying without Jesus. If you die without Jesus Christ living inside of you, then to be quite blunt and thoroughly biblical, you will not go to heaven; you'll go to hell. That is an unpopular subject, but if I didn't tell you that, I wouldn't be doing my job. I have to give you the whole story.

 

Dying without Jesus is the sum of all fears. Jesus said, "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28 NLT). That doesn't mean you have a death wish. It simply means that you don't have to be afraid.

 

 

 

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