Abandon Hope
Road to Rome • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsPaul leads those who are on the ship with him to still have hope in spite of the despair of the storm.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Dante’s Inferno
His fictional account of the afterlife.
Nine circles of hell:
(1) Limbo, (2) Lust (winds), (3) Gluttony (vile slush & icy rain), (4) Greed (eternal jousting with great weights…and incontinence), (5) Wrath (eternal fighting on a slimy surface), (6) Heretics (flaming tombs), (7) Violent (immersed in a river of boiling water and flames), (8) Fraud (some whipped as they run in a circular ditch and others bitten by snakes in their jugular where they then burst into flames only to be reformed and bitten again), (9) Treachery (a giant lake of ice with heads sticking out: some can bow their heads, others cannot, others with tears freezing their eyes open, others frozen with grotesque faces of pain and agony).
“Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here”
Ominous message!
This is where all hope is lost.
When Hope Is Lost
When Hope Is Lost
(vv. 13 - 20)
A gentle south wind! A little hope that they could finish their journey!
But, as soon as they set out under those gentle, favorable winds - Typhoon! (tempestuous winds)
And they chose to struggle against it as best they could.
Five things they did:
1. Ran on the lee side of an island.
2. Secured the dingy by bringing it on board.
3. Used ropes to add integrity to the ship.
4. They lowered anchors to slow them down.
5. Lightened the load as best they could (cargo and tackle) - great expense!
saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
In spite of best efforts, the storm raged on.
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
This is often our story - we try, we work, we give our best efforts, but
We don’t control the storm.
We can’t control when the times of difficulty come or when they leave.
Note well: This doesn’t mean that we just throw our hands into the air in despair!
However, we acknowledge that storms rage.
Storms: A friend who is the only remaining family for a man sick with COVID. Responsibilities for making decisions.
A man our church was able to help with an oxygen concentrator. He has stage 4 lung cancer.
Parents trying to figure out what they are going to do with their school age kids, balancing work, safety, and education.
Teachers and Administrators trying to make a plan when circumstances keep radically changing.
Small business owners who are seeing their families and their dreams struggle in an economic crisis.
And we look around after doing our best and we wonder how much longer the storm will rage.
“All hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.”
Can I just affirm that as a Christian, this statement is not reality.
Because in Christ, there is always hope!
It’s not always easy to see. But it is always there, lingering behind the storm clouds.
Hope Restored
Hope Restored
(vv. 21 - 26)
Paul stands up - it is time for people to remember who controls the storm.
He reminds them that he had told them - not in a angry tone, but stating authority.
saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
What is Paul’s message:
“Take heart.”
What is the source of this message which is running so counter to their current experience?
God’s messenger came and said it to him.
Paul is operating under the promises that God has given to him!
And just the simple fact that they are still breathing, they have hope!
But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
He knew, as long as they were drawing breath, there was hope. Because God is sovereign.
He can accomplish His plans. Nothing happens without His permission or causation.
He had a message of hope to give the people!
“So take heart.”
It looks grim, we can’t say when this will be over, but even still, we have hope!
And as we think about the words we have today, we have the words of Jesus!
Our hope is based on His Words and on His work on the cross.
A work that defeated sin! A work that grants for us to be right with God!
A work that restores Hope in spite of the storm raging all around us.
Hope That Endures
Hope That Endures
(vv. 27 - 38)
Finally, they were getting close to land! Sailors hearing the way the waves sounded.
So, they dropped some anchors and they prayed.
Power of Paul’s witness. His deeds, his attitude, and his words.
Robin Williams - favorite actor. Favorite movie - Dead Poets Society.
Where he teaches in a preparatory school a group of boys and encourages them to live out their dreams.
John Keating challenges them with this statement:
“No matter what anyone tells you, words and deeds can change the world.”
Paul would affirm this, as long as it is defined as the “words and deeds” are related to the Gospel.
These men suddenly went from despair to hope. But true hope endures!
So, they lower the anchors and they enter into prayer. How many of the 276? Not sure, but some!
Even as some around them rejected the hope…sought to escape on the dingy.
But, they cut the ropes and threw themselves completely into the hands of God.
When day was breaking, Paul encouraged them to take some bread for strength.
And when they saw Paul taking bread and giving praise, they were encouraged.
To have hope that endures, we need to take the bread.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
This is what Jesus offers - hope that endures and will never run out.
As John Stott describes it, this is the intersection of
“Spirituality and Sanity…Faith and Words.”
And casting their lives in faith into the hands of God, they cast away everything else that would weigh them down.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
It’s so easy for us to take our eyes off of Jesus, especially in the middle of a storm.
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
We might fault Peter for taking his eyes off of Jesus. But, he does set an example. He cried out to Jesus.
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Jesus lifted him up.
Jesus can lift you up out of your storm.
He can sustain you for this life and for eternity.
He can give you hope that endures.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The power that is inside.
The need for a battery - Johnny’s handheld game.
He had to keep it plugged in and as soon as it wasn’t, it died.
There was no power inside of it. Just empty.
When we receive Jesus - it becomes a self-sustaining source of power and hope.
Jesus doesn’t need our recharging.
He provides for us. But...
You have to receive Him.