Hope @ 7 Talk - Mar 27

Hope @ 7 Talk

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone out there has had a good day so far. I can’t say what it was like outside. Bethany and I have a few more days of isolation on our hands and then we are “safe” to get back into society still with the strict social distancing measures. I was encouraged that we might still have a little snow before our winter ends and spring is here. Just kidding, I know that might actually get some of you to turning this off. haha.

Well I’m Germiko, some of you might not know me and I get to work with Bob on staff here in Sicamous at the Shuswap Community Church. I’m from the island of Bermuda and I moved here with my wife Bethany almost 2 years ago now to work here at the church. It’s a pleasure and an honor to get to work with Bob and the team and to also be here with you tonight for Hope at 7. Just like you I’ve been keeping up with Bob here each night and have really enjoyed the Hope that he’s provided from the bible and how each of us can stay connected to Jesus.

And so when Bob asked me to hang out with you all tonight I was excited to be able to share a little on the reason why I have hope during this particularly strange season that we find ourself in. I must admit that a few weeks ago I was one of the people who thought this was something that was being blown out of proportion and that we’d find this blow over really quickly and we’d just be able to go through like nothing happened.

Boy was I wrong. This new global pandemic has been pretty frightening I must admit. Reading about the number of people affected by this really does may you fearful. Hearing about our economy and the challenges that its facing and will face creates a lot of fear. I’m a numbers guy, when I look at all of them they just don’t look good.

But in the midst of all of this I really am encouraged. I have hope in Jesus and I trust and believe that you know what this isn’t a surprise to him and that he has it all under control. And I’m encouraged by the love that I’ve seen displayed around our towns, around our province and around the world by people to each other.

But in the midst of all of this

Working in a church I get to see some of the behind the scenes of people stepping up and helping each other out in pretty significant ways. Seeing people help each other out by bringing groceries when they can’t get to the store for one reason or another, hearing stories of people reaching out to make sure others are ok and that they aren’t feeling alone in all of this, with each of us being required to be social distancing ourselves from one another. There have been amazing examples of this taking place and I love hearing the reason why people do these things. Its really out of love for one another and so I want to read a bible passage for us tonight that gives a reason for why the people that I’ve talked to and why us at the church do what we do. It comes from the book of 1 John, which is a book that Bob encouraged you to read if you needed somewhere in the bible to start reading. This book was written by John who was one of the best friends of Jesus and he wrote this book to really let people know how they can know and have fellowship with God.

1 John chapter 4 starting in verse 7 says, “7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,* if the world hates you.

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers,* it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister* is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.”

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Just to stop there quickly. John who wrote this book is saying that true love for one another is born out of a response to man’s love for God. So how we loves others is a result of God loving us. And that’s really what I hear when I ask people why they are spending time helping, caring for and encouraging others. You’d think that people would want to hunker down and worry about their own well being. Binge watch Netflix and just do nothing else but care for themselves in a time like this. But what I find and hear is that because they understanding that God has love them so much they are compelled to go out of their way and love and help others. That encouraging. And it’s so exciting to hear.

I’ll stop there really quickly. John has some really harsh language here. About what happens when there isn’t love. The

And John here says that this is because of God’s amazing example of this in sending Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Which means that when we believe in Jesus and God looks at our life our sins are covered by Jesus because of what he’s done for us. That for every bad, thought, thing said or action done. Jesus bore the burden of that for us. So that we would have right standing before God.

John then goes on in verse 11.

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister* in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

“11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other* because he loved us first.”

23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.”

* 3:13 Greek brothers.

There is a lot of love shared in this last section. The encouragement that when we love each other that God lives in us that His love is made complete within us. And that as we point ourselves toward God that this love will grow more and more in us. Which is then directed to the people around us. It’s like a glass that you fill with water. If you keep filling that glass the water will begin to spill over the top out of the glass. That love from God continues to fill us and spills out into the world around us.

But in the last chunk of this passage I want to really hone in on the part that John talks about perfect love expelling fear. The encouragement that this passage gives is that the love that we show for one another out of the love that was demonstrated to us by God, through Jesus, will help to remove the fear that we have. The hope that I have in all of this craziness that is going on around us is in this love. That when we call one another, when we message each other on social media that we would encourage one another out of this love that is described here in 1 John.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

That we’d encourage each other to be reading our bibles, to be listening to music that will uplift us. I’m going to post 3 songs after this while I have Bob’s account that I really have on repeat during this season that help to give me hope and to pour into my mind and heart this love from God, and I hope it would be the same for you. We need to be reading books that will encourage our spirits. After I finished my degree I spent a year not reading much. But since January I’ve read something like 14 books; in that I’ve read the first 4 of the Chronicles of Narnia, they are really amazing books that will encourage you and point your heart toward God. And they are good. But there are tons like that out there.

* 3:14 Greek the brothers; similarly in 3:16.

* 3:15 Greek hates his brother.

I tell you its so easy to spend way to much time watching the news and getting bogged down by this virus and what its doing in the world around us. I was in that place when all this first started, I’d wake up and look at the news and be immediately fearful of what was to come. I was taking with Bob one day and it dawned on me that the reason why I was so fearful was because I was leaning on the news and the world and not going to God first to know and understand his love and then I’d be able to go out without fear and be able to be a conduite of love to others around me.

* 3:17 Greek sees his brother.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,* neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

says, “38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,* neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That means that nothing that we face can pull us away from this love that we’ve been talking about tonight. No virus, no fear, nothing can pull us away from the love that God’s given us that has been demonstrated and revealed to us through Jesus.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

So my hope tonight as I leave you is that you’d tap into that love. That you’d first and foremost say yes to Jesus. Honestly throughout all of this pandemic that we are facing I wouldn’t know where I would be without knowing Jesus. Without understanding that no matter what happens that Jesus is my ultimate protector and that he ultimately holds my life in his hands. And in knowing that I’m compelled to share that spirit of love with others. To send encouraging message to people. To call them up and say, you know what I’m thinking of you and I hope your doing ok with all this happening, to try to find ways to help others to feel that love that comes first from God.

* 8:38 Greek nor rulers.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

Let’s pray together.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

So as we are finishing our time. I’m going to post now the 3 songs. Goodness of God by Jenn Johnson of Bethel, Waymaker by Leeland and This Love by a band called The Dodds, this is a newer band so might be a little different than some of used to but its a really good song.

Thanks so much folks and you’ll be back with Bob tomorrow night at 7 for Hope at 7! Good night and God bless you!