Advent/Christmas Message Series, Fr. Tony Baron
Matthew 24:36-44; Isaiah 9:2-7
I. Despair Has an Impact on All of Us (Introduction)
Financial Impact (Despair, Inc. )
Consulting: If you’re not a part of the solution, there’s good money to be made in prolonging the problem.
Adversity: That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
Beauty: If you’re attractive enough on the outside, people will forgive you for being irritating to the core.
Apathy: If we don’t take care of the customer, maybe they’ll stop bugging us.
Wishes: When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it’s really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then your pretty much hosed what you wish for. Unless it’s death by meteor.
Despair: It’s always darkest just before it goes pitch black.
- Emotional Impact PROLONGED DESPAIR CAUSES HOPELESSNESS!!!!
- Spiritual Impact
- Seasonal Impact
II. THREE TRUTHS ABOUT OVERCOMING DESPAIR
A. Truth #1: In a battle between you and the world, bet on the world!
B. Truth #2: In a battle between God and the world, bet on God!
C. Truth #3: In a battle between you and the world, you need God to win
III. PRACTICING HOPE WHEN GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE (Application)
A. Help Yourself Get Perspective
1. Curtail your intake of news
2. Soak in the words from God, I Peter 1:3; Titus 2:13; 2 Thess. 2:16; Heb. 7:19; Heb. 6:19; I Cor. 13:13; Psalm 119:42-81; Romans 15:4; Acts 26:6,7; Titus 1:2
3. Don’t use negative words, including “what if” or “if only,” speak life and light over yourself
4. Daily set up appointments with positive people and events
B. Open Your Heart to God Possibilitie
1. Treat Each Day as a Special Gift from God for New Possibilities
2. See your heartache as an answer to your future ministry
3. Affirm 7x’s a day: All things are possible with God
4. Memorize Philippians 4:12,13
5. Read the biblical stories of impossible odds and God possibilities
C. Provide Daily Moments for Laughter and Love
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- Choose laughter and love over judgment and self-criticism
- Memorize I Peter 5:7
- Hang out with funny people, movies, and books (comics)
- Fill in your calendar with margins
D. Exercise your mind, body, and heart
1. Read a classic
2. Walk, walk, and walk
3. Ask God to soften your heart; see the world in the eyes of Jesus
4. Choose to be fully alive today
TABLE TALK ON “HOPE”
Hope is looking forward with confidence to a future good. In the Bible, hope is founded upon Israel’s religious memories in which Yahweh, the “hope of Israel” (Jer. 14:8), makes covenants with Israel. In the New Testament, hope is integrally related to the covenantal hope of the Old Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT covenants and messianic expectations. By faith in Christ’s resurrection, Christians can have hope for an eternal life in the kingdom of God.
For those who follow Christ, hope is necessary for daily living. One could not have this hope without faith (Heb. 11:1; Romans 8:24). It is faith in Christ and in his resurrection that allows Christians to have hope, unlike unbelievers (Eph. 2:11-12; I Thess. 4:13). Christians can experience persecution, but this is a proof of righteousness (2 Tim.3:12). This suffering is a privilege (Phil. 1:29) and a blessing (I Peter 3:14), and the hope that enables endurance should be a witness to others (I Peter 3:15). Suffering leads to hope (Romans 5:3-5) and is to be rejoiced in because “we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). Further, although suffering is present in this life, the Christian can have hope that God will console (2 Cor. 1:5) and save from earthly perils (2 Cor. 1:10). The hope of resurrection even transforms grief, as loved ones will live again (I Thess. 4:13-15).
The power of hope is not limited to the realm of suffering; the promises of forgiveness (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14) and empowerment by the Spirit (I Cor. 12:4-31; Eph. 4:11-13) are key to the continued growth of the Christian community. The Apostle Paul asserts that it is the Holy Spirit that allows him to hope. The famous triad of faith, hope, and love (I Cor. 13:13) are interconnected by their relationship to the Holy Spirit. Though Christians have hope to endure until his second coming, the greatest hope is in resurrection and participation in the fullness of the kingdom.