Unshakeable Hope

He is Risen! He is risen indeed! This greeting has been offered for centuries. This greeting is a proclamation of incredible hope, even in the darkest of times.

The resurrection of Jesus offers us unshakable hope because we have God’s peace, presence and power!

Before the proclaimed pandemic, life seemed to be going quite well. And then suddenly, the emergency break in life was pulled, and almost everything came to a screeching halt. This whole period of time seems surreal. Schooling, visits, travel, shopping, meeting with friends and family, going on dates; all of this was no longer a normal part of our lives.

We were quickly reminded, that despite all our scientific, and technological advances, we can’t even come close to overcoming the unpredictability and vulnerability of life on planet earth. We’re definitely not in control like we think. We realize now, just how quickly life can change in so many areas. Who knew that this virus would affect our toilet paper supplies? How devastating it has been to see 40% of small business permanently close that were doing just fine before this all began. Our relationships have been stretched as we rely on Zoom to connect, but it’s not the same. Hope seems lost for many.

Suddenly, our self-reliance and our comfortable security has been brought down low. For many despair and depression has become a new way of life. Some of you may have found yourself asking questions like, What have I been counting on in this life? Have I been building my life on a foundation solid enough to withstand a global disaster? What if I die? Am I ready? And as we wallow in our frustration and self-pity, many have found their main source of happiness and distraction to have been watching Netflix, Hulu, amazon Prime, Disney +, etc.

Let me change channels for you at this moment. Today we’re celebrating Easter—the day when Christians have celebrated the resurrection of Jesus for thousands of years. Multitudes of followers of Jesus Christ believe that Jesus is the One Who came to freely give unshakable hope to the world. But does the resurrection still provide the same hope Christians have always celebrated? Do we still have unshakable hope?

I want to share three reasons why the resurrection provides you with unshakable hope.

The Resurrection of Jesus Offers You God’s Peace

John 14:27 NASB95

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

John 16:33 NASB95

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Think about how humanity seems to always gook for peace.

Some feel that if we work hard enough and save enough and plan for all possibilities, we’ll have financial peace. Others invest all that they are and have in deepening their family and personal relationships. That way, you can always count on family. Others will do everything possible to improve their health. After all, if you’ve got your health . . . Others feel like peace can be attained by traveling all over the world or doing extreme sports an extreme amount of the time.

These things, if not done to the extremes, aren’t necessarily bad, but they don’t lead to lasting peace. In these two verses, as Jesus talks about peace, He reminds us of the reality in which we are living. He says, “In this world you will have trouble!” The peace Jesus gives may not be what we think it should be. We often equate peace as the absence of hostility and trouble. We can sometimes feel a little peace while experiencing some special moments described earlier, but that only lasts for as long as the moment lasts.

Jesus, however, offers us lasting peace in the midst of our troubles. His peace is peace during the storms of life and peace during the battles we face. This is why Jesus can also say, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The Prince of Peace offers us His own peace.

Jesus says, “My peace I give you.” He says, “In me you may have peace.” True peace, real peace, according to Jesus, only comes from Him, the peace giver. This peace calms our very being. This peace is permanent. This peace is not dependent on circumstances. This peace is available at all times. The problem is, most people want peace, but not the Prince of Peace. But, it doesn’t work that way.

We can live with unshakable hope because Jesus gives us His peace. Notice Jesus didn’t say, “Have courage, I have overcome the world and hey, you can too.” That would not be good news. Saying that a person can muster up courage and peace in the midst of tough times does not provide true peace.

It is as if Jesus were saying, “You can live with unshakable hope because I have overcome the world. I’ve defeated any and all things that were in the way of My relationship with you.” His victory is our victory. His peace is our peace.

Have you discovered peace in the midst of this Covid-19 situation or any other situation? The resurrection of Jesus offers you God’s Peace, even today.

Unshakeable hope is the result of something else, as well.

The Resurrection of Jesus Offers You God’s Presence

Matthew 28:20 NASB95

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Right before Jesus went back into heaven, He commanded His disciples to take the good news of Jesus into all the world, and He said, “I am with you always.” If you go back to the very first chapter of the Matthew, we learn another title for Jesus is Immanuel, which means God with us. If you look through the entire Bible, “God with us” is one of the primary themes.

So, I’m going to summarize the entire Bible, showing Immanuel, in a short Reader’s Digest style:

From the very beginning of time, God made a way to be with His people. After God created the universe and everything in it He was with Adam and Eve in the Garden. God and humans lived together in perfect fellowship. But humans rebelled against God and rejected His rule over them. So God removed them from His presence. But God made a promise, and the promise was that through a child, peace would come.

Continuing on through the Scripture, we see His attempt, over and over again, to be with His people. After the Garden, God was with His chosen people through a special covenant relationship. The Ten Commandments were given and the Old Testament sacrificial system was set up so that God could be with His people. As Israel roamed around in the desert, God was with them in the Tabernacle, the portable tent of God. Throughout the dark period of time when there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes, God was with them through the judges and later a dynasty of kings. God had Solomon build a phenomenal Temple, a place where God could live with His people, as it were.

All these events were a shadow of things to come, leading up to God Himself, putting on flesh, and living among us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God with us. So if you want to know who God is and what He is like, look at Jesus.

Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus offers us His presence forever. Jesus came to our place of residence. He took our place by dying on the Cross. And now invites us back to His place, in heaven. It’s an offer of his presence. After Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He gave us the Holy Spirit, a permanent sign of His presence with us. In the life of a Christian, the Holy Spirit is living in us.

At this point, you might be thinking, Why in the world would God want to be with me? As your heavenly Father, He wants to be in relationship with you and love you.

The resurrection of Jesus offers you God’s Peace. The Resurrection of Jesus offers you God’s presence. There is a third reason the resurrection gives us unshakable hope.

The Resurrection of Jesus Offers You God’s Power

Ephesians 1:18–20 NASB95

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Philippians 3:10 NASB95

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

The problem with religion or self-help, is that you are told to do and not do lots of things without any power to accomplish this. Will power is not really power at all because it’s limited.

What sets Christianity apart is that we are given the power to live for God and do all He asks us to do. All throughout Jesus’ ministry you see His power. Jesus has power over disease, power over nature, power over evil, and even power over death.

Here’s the great news of Christianity: This same power is available to you. The Apostle Paul who wrote these verses, used the Greek word for power, dunamis, which is the root of our word dynamite. Paul says that because of the resurrection, you have power available to you, explosive power, like dynamite. Power that can calm the storms in your life. Power over all evil that plagues you. Even power over your eternal death! In Jesus, your death sentence has been canceled! But you need to receive God’s power in order to use it.

Have you ever received a new toy only to find out that it didn’t come with batteries? This is the difference between Christianity and every other religion. This is the difference between Christianity and atheism, secularism, or self-help. They are all packaged nicely, those ideologies promise so much, but there’s no power, because there are no batteries, if you will. Without the power of Christ, living in you, you cannot have unshakable hope. Hope is not wishful thinking or blind optimism. Hope is an unwavering confidence in the power of God.

When I think of what God’s power does in our lives, I can’t help but think of some of the people in our church. I think of addicts who have found freedom because they’ve relied on God’s power to help them and not relied on their own. I’ve heard single moms who are raising their kids on their own and have told me, “I couldn’t have done this without Jesus!” I’ve been privileged to visit those grieving the loss of a loved one, who have found comfort in God and power to get out of bed in the morning. What joy to hear the couples who were ready to throw in the towel share that because of God’s power they were able to be reconciled and renewed.

Here’s one more thing about God’s power: one of the ways we experience God’s power, is when we participate in His suffering. I know that sounds weird, but this is a reality of the Christian faith; suffering can actually bring you closer to Jesus, the source of power.

Another verse of the Bible says, “When I am weak, he (Jesus) is strong!” (2 Cor 12:10). If we never had to endure pain and suffering, why in the world would we ever feel like we needed God? And yet, the power of the resurrection was only made clear because the Son of God suffered and died for you.

Reflections

God’s peace, God’s presence, and God’s power are all available to you today. How are they available? Because of the resurrection of Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus offers you unshakable hope! You may ask, How can I have that unshakeable hope?

Let me end by being very clear about how to get this hope. Tim Keller described us so beautifully-- you are worse than you think and loved by God more than you believe.

Let’s first of all, look at the bad news, then the good news. You are not just a bad person. You are spiritually dead in your sins. You are living in the kingdom of darkness. You are not in relationship with God and you are His enemy.

But the good news is that Jesus Christ didn’t come to improve you or make you a better person. Jesus came to bring dead people back to life. He came to cancel the debt you owed to God. He came to bring you out of the darkness and into the light. He came to give you unshakable hope.

There are typically three responses to Jesus today.

Some Are Fans of Jesus. Though Jesus attracted huge crowds, many followed safely at a distance. It’s one thing to believe in Jesus, it’s quite another thing to trust and follow Him. Maybe you are a fan of Jesus, but are you a follower?

The proud don’t want Jesus to interfere with their lives, so they would rather reject Him. They want to stay in power and have control. The world is full of people who say, “I can do anything, I don’t need God.” And if that is you, what more can God do to show you his love? What will it take for God to humble you?

The only good way to respond to Jesus on Easter is to trust and follow Him.

The resurrection of Jesus offers us unshakable hope because we have God’s peace, presence and power!