Jesus: Hope For The World

Good evening!

It is my pleasure to be with you and to worship with you this evening!

Juan Jose and Mayra asked me to share God’s word with you in their absence.

It is my understanding that last week you all learned about the return of Jesus and the hope that is found in His return.

We will learn a bit more about that tonight as we open God’s word.

This is my first time to preach with a translator, so please be patient with me and don’t be afraid to let me know if I need to slow down or repeat something.

There are three main points that I want to cover tonight.

Dios siempre hace lo que dice que hará. God always does what He says He will do.

Jesús vino a vencer el pecado y restaurarnos a Dios. Jesus came to defeat sin and restore us back to God.

No sabemos cuándo regresará Jesús, así que debemos estar preparados. We don’t know when Jesus will return, so we must be ready.

Since the beginning of the year, my church, The Gathering Place West has been studying the book of Luke.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament.

However, Luke was not a disciple and he was not an eyewitness of what Jesus did.

Luke learned of Jesus from Paul and then went and conducted interviews from people who did know Jesus.

That is how Luke compiled the book of Luke and Acts.

Luke’s goal in researching and writing those two books was to discover, for himself, if Jesus really was who people said he was.

As you read the book of Luke, you quickly see several themes developing.

I have prayed for you this week and God wants me to share one of them with you because it is the basis of belief in Jesus.

Dios siempre hace lo que dice que hará. God always does what He says He will do.

Jesus living a sinless life, being brought back from the dead, going up to heaven, and then returning back to earth to fully restore it are all difficult things to believe.

This is why Luke goes through all the trouble of researching and writing about the work of Jesus and the early church.

LIke discovered for himself that Jesus is in fact the son of God and all the things that he was told about Jesus were true.

Tonight I want to show you a few examples from scripture and a personal testimony that God does, in fact, always do what He says he will do.

A several years ago, before I was a pastor, my wife discovered a lump under her arm and decided that she should go see a doctor about it.

The doctor said there she needed to have a biopsy done to determine what it was.

During the surgery, the doctor came out and told me that he was certain that it was cancer and that the mass had grown around some of the nerves in her arm.

He completed the surgery and afterward, he told my wife the news.

As you can imagine we were devastated.

The next Sunday when I got to church my pastor asked what God was saying about this discovery.

I was honest and told him that I was too afraid and upset to even bring it up to God.

We have five children and the youngest was only two years old.

I couldn’t even begin to think about life without my wife.

He encouraged me to bring it to God and let God speak to what was going to happen.

I knew I should, but I was afraid.

The next morning during my devotional time, I asked God what was going to happen to my wife.

He spoke through scripture that morning that she would be okay and I needed to tell people that He said that.

He didn’t say that she would be instantly healed.

He didn’t say that she would not have to endure chemotherapy.

He said that she would be okay.

For the next year, as we walked through her journey with cancer, I had many opportunities to tell people that story and I would always end it with telling them that God said she would be okay.

That was over five years ago and today my wife is cancer free.

She did a year of chemo, it did what it was supposed to do, it was incredibly difficult, but she is okay.

I share that story with you, because in my life, this has been the biggest thing I have had to trust God with.

I asked God what would happen to my wife, he said that He would take care of her, and He did exactly what He said He would do.

God always does what He says He will do.

I now personally know this truth because I have lived it.

This was not a one time occurrence for God.

He always does what He says He will do.

I want to show you a few examples from the Bible because God shows us over and over again that He can be trusted.

First, let’s talk about John the Baptist.

To give you some background information on this story, his father, Zechariah, is a priest that served in God’s temple.

One of his duties as a priest was to enter an area of the temple called the Holy of Holy’s.

While he is in there, an angel appears in front of him.

This is where we will start in this story.

Look with me at Luke 1:13-14

Luke 1:13–14 NASB95

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14 “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

Luke 1:13–14 LBLA

13 Pero el ángel le dijo: No temas, Zacarías, porque tu petición ha sido oída, y tu mujer Elisabet te dará a luz un hijo, y lo llamarás Juan. 14 Y tendrás gozo y alegría, y muchos se regocijarán por su nacimiento.

Luke 1:18 NASB95

18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”

Luke 1:18 LBLA

18 Entonces Zacarías dijo al ángel: ¿Cómo podré saber esto? Porque yo soy anciano y mi mujer es de edad avanzada.

The angel told Zachariah that he would have a baby, but based on their age, he did not understand how that was possible.

Zachariah knew how old he was and how old his wife was and he knew that it was no longer possible for her to have children.

But look at what happened.

Luke 1:24–25 NASB95

24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”

Luke 1:24–25 LBLA

24 Y después de estos días, Elisabet su mujer concibió, y se recluyó por cinco meses, diciendo: 25 Así ha obrado el Señor conmigo en los días en que se dignó mirarme para quitar mi afrenta entre los hombres.

God told a husband and wife, who were far beyond the age of having children, that they would have a baby boy, and they did.

God always does what He says He will do.

That is a hyper focused story, let’s take a step back and look at the big picture of what God is doing in all of humanity.

You may remember that in the beginning God created the heavens, earth, and all the creatures in it.

During that time he also created Adam and Eve and scripture tells us that they “walked together in the garden.”

This means that when humans were created, we were created to live with God.

They could see, hear, and touch Him.

There was no separation like we experience today.

But, Adam and Eve were tricked by Satan to disobey God.

Because they disobeyed God, the perfect relationship they had with Him was ruined.

In response to this moment, God says the following to Satan.

Look with me at Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 NASB95

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Genesis 3:15 LBLA

15 Y pondré enemistad entre ti y la mujer, y entre tu simiente y su simiente; él te herirá en la cabeza, y tú lo herirás en el calcañar.

Sin is what separates us from God, but because He loves us, God put into motion a plan to restore us.

In this passage where God is addressing the sin that just occured, he tells Satan that one day a man would be born that would “bruise him on the head.”

God was saying that one day there would be a man born who would completely defeat sin.

Did God send such a man? Yes, His name is Jesus!

Jesús vino a vencer el pecado y restaurarnos a Dios. Jesus came to defeat sin and restore us back to God.

By defeating sin, the perfect relationship with God can be restored.

If you believe that Jesus is the son of God, and you have given your life to him, and become a follower of Jesus, you believe that Jesus has done what God said He would do.

Through Jesus, sin has been defeated.

But this is not the end of the story!

God’s work is not done.

As we have all experienced, we still live in a world that is greatly affected by sin.

We live with the consequences of sin of the world as we endure all kinds of suffering, disease, and sorrow.

None of those things existed before sin brought them into the world.

So when God talks about restoring the world, He is talking about restoring humanity and the world itself.

This is what Jesus came to do and he taught the disciples about it.

John 14:1–3 NASB95

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14:1–3 LBLA

No se turbe vuestro corazón; creed en Dios, creed también en mí. En la casa de mi Padre hay muchas moradas; si no fuera así, os lo hubiera dicho; porque voy a preparar un lugar para vosotros. Y si me voy y preparo un lugar para vosotros, vendré otra vez y os tomaré conmigo; para que donde yo estoy, allí estéis también vosotros.

Jesus, who always does what He says He will do, told us that He went to prepare a place for us and that He would one day return.

But Jesus did not leave us here alone, He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, and to guide us until He returns to restore the whole world.

Hebrews 9:28 NASB95

28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Hebrews 9:28 LBLA

28 así también Cristo, habiendo sido ofrecido una vez para llevar los pecados de muchos, aparecerá por segunda vez, sin relación con el pecado, para salvación de los que ansiosamente le esperan.

As you learned last week, we hold onto this word with faith.

Our faith is built up as we have experiences with God.

We learn by personal experience and by His word that we can trust that He will always do what he says He will do.

We are not alone to do this on our own.

The Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us until Jesus returns to completely remove sin from the world.

Knowing this makes us ask an obvious question.

When is Jesus coming back?

No sabemos cuándo regresará Jesús, así que debemos estar preparados. We don’t know when Jesus will return, so we must be ready.

The truth is we don’t know.

I think that we aren’t told when because God doesn’t want us to miss out on the relationship now.

Look with me at what Mark records Jesus saying about when He will return.

Mark 13:33–37 NASB95

33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. 34 “It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 “Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’ ”

Mark 13:33–37 LBLA

33 Estad alerta, velad; porque no sabéis cuándo es el tiempo señalado. 34 Es como un hombre que se fue de viaje, y al salir de su casa dejó a sus siervos encargados, asignándole a cada uno su tarea, y ordenó al portero que estuviera alerta. 35 Por tanto, velad, porque no sabéis cuándo viene el señor de la casa, si al atardecer, o a la medianoche, o al canto del gallo, o al amanecer; 36 no sea que venga de repente y os halle dormidos. 37 Y lo que a vosotros digo, a todos lo digo: ¡Velad!

What Jesus is teaching in this parable is that the master of the house wants his servants to be diligent in their duties until he returns.

God wants us to do the same.

God wants his followers to be in relationship with Him and to be sharing the truth about Jesus until He returns.

Think for a moment about how you came to know about Jesus.

For many of you, it was through Juan José and Mayra.

They have a personal relationship with God, they are loved and feel loved by God, and they want you to know that love as well.

You know about Jesus and have a relationship with Jesus because of Juan Jose and Mayra’s diligent work.

God’s plan for the world to know about Him is through the words and works of his followers.

Colossians 1:27–29 NASB95

to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

Colossians 1:27–29 LBLA

a quienes Dios quiso dar a conocer cuáles son las riquezas de la gloria de este misterio entre los gentiles, que es Cristo en vosotros, la esperanza de la gloria. A Él nosotros proclamamos, amonestando a todos los hombres, y enseñando a todos los hombres con toda sabiduría, a fin de poder presentar a todo hombre perfecto en Cristo. Y con este fin también trabajo, esforzándome según su poder que obra poderosamente en mí.

Christ in us is the hope of Glory.

Paul is telling the church that Christ in them, is the hope for the world to know Christ.

God’s plan to make himself known the world is you, the church.

Just like Juan José and Mayra share their faith with you, you also are to share your faith with others.

The hope that we look forward to in Christ return is already here today in your lives.

You know that hope because you know Jesus.

One day Jesus will return, but until that time, our job is to share Jesus with others.

We do that by telling them about our personal experiences with God and by telling them that Jesus came to forgive our sins and restore us to God.

We share that God will always do what He says, He has come to restore us, and we share that message until He returns to restore the whole world.

Jesus is the hope for the world.

We can know this by a personal relationship with Him.

We are called by Jesus to share that with others.

Let’s pray.