A Great Source of Hope

1.  Even the most faith-filled people have questions.  The man who has never questioned his faith has never considered it.

Matthew 11:2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy° are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

2.  There are those who find their source of hope in his promises and they are great and wonderful.

The following scripture provides great promise and comfort for the Christian:

John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God°; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

3.  Personally the greatest hope for me is not in the promises of Christ.  I find it in His person, His character, His mind.  It is my belief in these that brings me peace and hope.  Apart from a person's character, promises are nothing more than words.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life° will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Matthew 8:18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

John 15:18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.'° If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

He appealed to the masses but he never catered to them to keep them.  He was no politician acting in his own best interests.

Luke 14:25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

He clearly understood that true dependable followers would seek Him wholeheartedly to lay their lives before him.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

He never made it easy for people to find him - at times he eluded the crowd. Lk. 5:16

4.  In light of this character and heart and nature there is a phrase that jumps out from the passage that we originally read.

“if it were not so, I would have told you.

For anyone going through a hard time--financially, in your marriage, relationship wise, emotionally, with family, whatever......

The will of God will never take you,

Where the grace of God cannot keep you,

Where the arms of God cannot support you,

Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,

Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,

Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,

Where the army of God cannot protect you,

Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the love of God cannot enfold you,

Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,

Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,

Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,

Where the Word of God cannot feed you,

Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,

Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

"Everything happens for a purpose. We may not see the wisdom of it all now but trust and believe in the Lord that everything is for the best."

The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything.

Author Unknown