When Hopelessness Meets Hope

So I am not a huge science person, however I was reading an article this past week about something called a galaxy collision

And it is actually an extreamly rare event that scientist have only been able to see happen a couple times

But what happens and hopefully I explain this right, but the two galaxies cross paths and you think they would just slide into eachother

But what actually happens is there are gases involved where the galleies will begin to change shape and not just that but the article was saying new starts begin to get formed

And the galaxy actually becomes something called a super galaxy where it is bigger and many would say prettier than before

So why am I telling you this?

One it tells how amazing our God is creating somthing as cool as that.

But two and really this is the reason is it is amazing what can happen when two things that are different collide

and really today we are talking about a hopeless situation that a man has been stuck in for years, however today for the first time there are another two men who have a hope.

And what we see their two worlds collide and somthing amazing happens because of it.

So we are going to be in Acts 3:1-10 and we are going to be seeing how we might feel hopeless at times in our life, but their is a hope that wants to collide in our life and make something beautiful out of the hopelessness .

And not just that but when we recieve this hope we are able to show others this hope that has changed us.

So once again we are in Acts 3:1-10 and will be starting in the first 2 verses which say this:

Acts 3:1–2 NIV

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

So let me give you an idea of what is happening in this story because Peter and John are getting ready to enter the temple to pray.

And actually back then prayer was so important that people would come and pray at the temple and 9 in the morning,

then again at lunch

and then finally in the afternoon at 3

And so they are heading into the temple at 3 in the afternoon and as they are arriving they notice this man who has been unable to walk since birth being carried to the temple.

And we do not know a whole lot about this guy,

We know he couldn’t walk

It sounds like he couldn’t get someone to drop him off at the temple any earlier then 3 in the afternoon, which means he may have not been valued enough for someone to come get him in the morning for the whole day.

A little after this passage we learn that he is most likely a little older in age

And we also learn later on that this man has actually come to this temple to beg for over 40 years.

And so you can picture this man here and he really feels helpless, hopeless, and stuck

Because for the past 40 years he has sat at this temple with his only source of income being what he gets through begging.

And you can imagine it was pretty similar to how today is where people saw this man day after day

in fact a lot of people would see him three times a day, however there were so many who ignored him.

And really you get this picture of this man just being hopeless, probably accepting this is my life, and I don’t think it will ever change.

And can I just ask you, have you ever felt that type of hopelessness in your life where you asked will this situation ever change?

Will it ever end?

When will I get out of this debt I am in?

When will I get out of this dead end job?

When will this disease stop bothering me?

When will this depression or anxiety leave me alone?

Because I feel like I am at a dead end here, where it will either be a long time for my situation to change or I will die in this situation.

And I want us to look at this next verse because this man sees Peter and John who were to leaders in the early church come in.

And these guys were probably well known at this point.

because they were known for healing, preaching the gospel, people had probably heard about some of these miracles they have done.

And I mean these guys were big because of how God was moving in them.

And look what happens because these guys who have the ability to completely change his life walk by and in verse 3 look what happens. It says:

Acts 3:3 NIV

3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

Anyone else read that and go WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me? Because you have these guys that are known for miracles and their is potential for them to heal this man completely and he is asking for money.

But you know what his issue is that he was so focused on one of the side effects of his problem (that he did not have money) that he focused on that instead of the root problem that He could not walk.

Its almost like if you were allergic to Peanut Butter.

And so whenever you ate Peanut Butter it messed up your stomach, it gave you hives and you were a mess.

However instead of saying okay I can’t eat peanut butter, you decided I am still going to eat it, but I will take some benadril and tums before eating it to help take away some of the symptoms.

And if you are like me you go well okay that helps a little, but if you want to solve this issue the problem is that you keep eating Peanut Butter.

But you a lot of times thats what we do in our life and to God,

Because we will say okay if I could get more money I would get out of my depression

or if I could find a new job I would be happy

And these things definitely will make you happy, but they will not change your life.

Because often times there is somthing below these issues that leave us feeling hopeless.

And I want you to notice what happens in these next few verses because hope enters the story. look at verses

Acts 3:3–7 (NIV)

4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

So this man calls out to Peter and John and I want you to notice what happens, because while everyone else is probably trying to ignore him it says that they look straight at him.

They treat him with dignity.

And not just that but John goes look I can’t help you with the symptom you are having.

In fact he is probably thinking we are pretty broke because we have given so much.

But then he goes, but I can do something even better, because I can fix the real issue.

And he grabs his hand and pulled him up and this man who laid there for 40 years was healed.

And this is a passage I love, but I also think it can be misused by Christians, because this is the idea where we see someone who is hopeless or stuck and we say I am praying for you which is good.

But often times God wants us to move from just praying for the person to recognizing that we are called to drastically impact their life.

And God does still heal like this, where God can use us to pray for healing

But their are other times where God may say look this person has this issue and you can help give hope by using this gift I have given you to shine my light.

Its kind of like if one of you can to me and said pastor, I am feeling stuck. My car has been having issues and now I can’t make it to work and ultimately I need you to fix it.

Well if you know me at all you probably know I am the last person you want working on your car.

I could put gas in it, but that is about it.

But I could probably help cover some of the cost of going in and getting it fixed if that was something God laid on my heart.

But I really believe that God desires us to understand that He has placed in a place or has gifted us with this talent so we can shine his light.

And I know what some of you are thinking this message does not seem to be very spiritual, its more just be a help your neighbor message.

But I want you to look at these last few verses (verses 8-10) it says this:

Acts 3:8–10 NIV

8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

So this man is excited right?

And it says he jumps to his feet and heads straight into the temple gates and is jumping around praising God.

And whats amazing is this man recieved phyical healking but somthing more important took place this day, because this man recieved spiritual healing.

Because since this man was a lame begger, most people would tell him he cant come into the temple

so for he first time he is not walking, but for the first time he is praisin g God freely.

And this is what I want us to end on and this is where I want to bring all of this together, because I believe all of us have had some sort of hopelessness

And when this happens we feel weighed down where it feels like we are stuck.

And I believe God doesn’t want us to have a job we hate, or have financial issues, however more important then those thing are that God doesn’t desire us to be seperated from him.

Because we can have issues, but when we are with God we have some one holding that weight, where it may stress us out, it may give us anxiety, but it we have a God who is with us through it.

And as we close I wonder what would happen if we recognized that we have a God who wants to relive this weight and help carry the burden.

What would it feel like to drop the weight you have been holding?

And today we are closing in a powerful way called communion.

And really what communion helps us remember is that all of us have a burden and a weight that has been placed on us called sin.

And there is no way for us to lift this burden.

In fact we are as hopeless and helpless as this beger.

But this meal reminds us that Jesus is extending His grace towards us and can provide healing in our life even in areas where we say there is no way.

So as we close we will be receiving this meal together and I want us to recognize just how God can move in our life and come to him. Will you pray with me?