revbry's Journal

Beyond The Cross:

Colossians 1:24-27

 A Sunday School teacher asked her class to write one sentence each on "What Easter Means to Me." One pupil wrote: "Egg salad sandwiches for the next two weeks!" As a child, I might have said something very similar to that. But now that I am an adult, more or less,  Easter means something very different to me. It means the restoration of hope. Someone has said, “We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope.”

The people who were a part of the first Easter knew all about the need for hope in order to be able to continue on. They had knelt there at the foot of the cross watching the one who carried all their hopes and dreams die. They had listened as He said, “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit”, and then, they saw Him bow His head for the last time. Their spirits had wrenched as the Roman soldier plunged the spear into his side removing all doubt that Jesus was really dead. They followed those who carried Him to the tomb, and when they heard the resounding sound of the rock that sealed the tomb, they knew that their hope was dead – sealed in that very tomb (point to wall)  with the one that they thought was their Savior. They knew what it was like to be hopeless.
We all have experienced that same feeling of hopelessness. When a marriage sees only despair. When you think about your children – whether they are still young or full grown, you wonder what kind of a future there is for them. When you consider your life and the mistakes that you have made, you are tempted to give up hope that anyone could ever love you, forgive you and make something good out of your life.
This morning, my goal for us is that we will experience that same restoration of hope that those first century Christians experienced when they came to the tomb and heard the words, “[Jesus] is not here; He is risen just as He said.” They discovered that there is hope beyond the cross. What you are going through or whatever you have done does not need to destroy you and steal your hope. You can hope again.

During our revival Bill Fisher reminded us to remember the suffering of Jesus, he asked us to remember the blood and the sacrifice that at times was too horrible to keep in our minds. He challenged us to turn our eyes to the cross and remember.

 Beyond the cross, hope endures even through suffering. (vs. 24)

One of the things that threatens to steal your hope is suffering. Suffering has been a part of what it means to be human ever since sin entered into the world. And even though Jesus paid for our sins on the cross with His own blood, still suffering is present with us and will be until this world is a part of history. You can let suffering steal your hope, or you can hold onto that hope by concentrating on some of the positive things that can come out of suffering.

 Suffering can bring believers closer to Christ. (Phil. 3:10) says this: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

This scripture teaches us total dependence on Him. How many of you have been through circumstances where you knew that you could not have made it through without the Lord being there? Suffering also brings people closer together. There are stories of War POW’s  who could have come home to America and their families sooner than they did, but they chose to wait a few extra days so that all of them would be healthy enough to come home together. Why? Because their ordeal had developed a bond between them.

 Suffering assures believers that they belong to Christ. John 15:18 reminds us that if the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first.  Jesus said that we should expect persecution and suffering. They persecuted Him; He promised that they would persecute us. The world continues to pour out its hatred of Jesus on us. This will continue until one day when God says that the cup is full, and His judgment will be poured out. Suffering itself and the attacks of the enemy confirm that I am a part of God’s family.

 Suffering reminds believers that this world is not eternal and it is not home.
 Suffering changes believers and produces hope within us.

Every time that you make it over some obstacle in your life, it gives you hope that empowers you to make it over the next obstacle that comes along. When you are faced with a situation that threatens to steal your hope, look back. Look back at all those other times that you thought there was no hope. You made it through those. God is still the same as He has ever been, and His power is still available to you.

Suffering captures the attention of unbelievers to bring them to Christ. – Some of you here  know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Right now, you are either in the middle of a struggle in your life, or one is coming down the road toward you right now. As you face that struggle, don’t just accept it as a fact of life, but recognize it for what it is – it is the voice of God calling out to you trying to get your attention. Don’t ignore His voice. Whatever situation you may be facing right now will end. But when you die, your response to the voice of God will determine your final fate.

Why do we still have altar calls at Beale? We don’t have them often, but I am reminded by and encouraged by God to offer to those who do not know Christ personally, to come to the altar, to pray a simple prayer and to ask Jesus into your heart. Then and only then are you assured of your final resting place. It is not enough to simply believe, you must believe, embrace and welcome Jesus Christ into your heart, your mind and your soul and from that you will gain strength for the journey. The late Jerry Falwell wrote a book with that as a title.

 Your suffering will either eternally end or will have just eternally begun.

Beyond the cross, hope sustains our purpose.

 Paul had a purpose too. His was given to him by God. He was to be a servant to the churches – delivering the message to them and helping them to grow in their faith. He went through a lot of pain in order to fulfill that purpose. He was stoned, imprisoned, beaten and  betrayed but he never lost hope. He had a purpose, and that purpose kept him going.
Jesus had a purpose. He said that He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came for us. I wonder if when He looked down through history and saw you sitting there if He was tempted to give up hope. As soon as I ask a question like that, I am persuaded of the answer. NO! Jesus knew that there was hope for any situation. It was that hope that kept Him going so that He could fulfill His purpose. In Heb. 12:2, it says that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. He endured the cross because He was anticipating the joy of having you as a part of His family. He looked beyond the cross to see you.

3. Beyond the cross, hope reveals the truth,  about ourselves.

Maybe you can identify with the little boy who was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball & bat. "I’m the greatest hitter in the world," he announced. Then he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed. "Strike One!" he yelled. Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, "I’m the greatest hitter in the world!" He tossed the ball into the air. When it came down, he swung again and missed. "Strike two!" He cried.
The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat & ball carefully. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together. He straightened his cap and said once more, "I’m the greatest hitter in the world!" Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it. He missed.

 "Strike Three!" Instead of falling into despair, with all the hope of a child, he said, "Wow, I’m the greatest pitcher in the world." Children are full of hope.
But somewhere along the way, they start to hear and believe lies. Lies like, “You’re no good.”, “No one wants to be your friend.”, “You might as well just go under a rock and die”, “Your only value is in what I can get out of you.” Lies like those steal your hope.

I grew up with such low self esteem. I have so many pictures of myself as a youth staring at the ground. I still suffer at times. But,
the truth is that every one of you has value, hope and potential. You are made in the image of God. When I remember that about others and about myself, it gives me hope. It blocks the lies so that I can see the truth.

 
 When false hopes fall crashing to the ground, it makes us think that there is no secure place for us to go where we can find real hope.
Our enemy, Satan will try to do one of two things this morning he will make you think life is utterly hopeless, or he will try to get you to think that hope is found in things of this world. God has revealed the mystery to us that there is no real hope found in the things of this world. It is fading away along with everything in it.
There is a place where you can find a real, secure hope. It is found in a relationship with God. Hope reveals the truth about God.


Hope reveals the truth that God loves you. It’s hopeless to try and be good enough to get God to love you. But the wonderful message of the Bible is that God loves you in spite of the hopeless condition that you are in.
Hope reveals the truth that God has a plan for your life.

 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Hope reveals the truth that God will never leave you.
A first grader stood up in front of his class to give his speech, “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.” He said, “I’m going to be a lion tamer and have lots of fierce lions. I’ll walk into the cage and they will roar.” He paused for a moment, thinking through what he just said, then added, “But of course I’ll have my Mommy with me.”
I can face just about anything when I know that I do not have to face it alone. God has promised, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

 Beyond the cross, hope awaits a reward.

  
I don’t have to wait until heaven to enjoy the fruits of a relationship with God. Paul speaks of “Christ in me” right now. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is living in me right now. Through the Spirit, He gives me guidance so that I will know which way to go. He gives me power to overcome the obstacles for as the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And He gives me “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23) that will enable me to stand strong no matter what kind of cross I am bearing right now. Does any of that sound appealing to you? If you had any of that or took full advantage of that, do you think that it would increase your hope and enable you to continue on with God’s plan for your life? Hope gives me a reward for today. Hope also gives me a reward for tomorrow.


(1 Cor 15:19-22) If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive

(2 Cor 4:16-18) Therefore we do not lose heart [we don’t give up hope]. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 There was a man on the side of the road hitch hiking on a very dark night in the middle of a storm. It was late at night and no cars were passing. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car come towards him and stop. Without further thought, he got in the back seat of the car, closed the door and turned to thank the driver for stopping for him. It is then that he realizes there’s nobody behind the wheel. The car starts slowly down the road again. The guy looks at the road ahead and sees a curve coming his way. Scared, he closes his eyes and starts to pray for his life. Just before the car reaches the curve, a hand appears thru the window and turns the steering wheel. The guy, paralyzed with fear, watches how the hand appears every time they come to a curve in the road. Gathering his strength, he leaps from the car and runs to the nearest town. Wet and in shock, he goes to a cafe and asks for a cup of stiff coffee. He quickly drinks his coffee and starts telling everybody about the horrible experience he’s just been thru. A silence envelopes the cafe when the man begins to weep like a baby out of sheer fright from the experience he has been through. About half an hour later, two guys walk into the same cafe and one says to the other, "Look Bob, there’s that guy who got in the car when we were pushing it down the road.” That’s what God does. He reaches His unseen hand down into our lives and turns that wheel when we think we’re headed off the cliff.
When you’ve given up hope, you think all is lost, and it looks like you’re getting ready to go over the edge, remember: the Father is still on his throne, the Holy Spirit is still in the business of saving souls, and that same Jesus who rose out of the grave is coming again.
Is there anything beyond the cross? Yes, there is an empty grave and a risen Savior. There is hope.