"There is Hope"

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I once read a story about a man that approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing--we’re behind." "Boy," said the spectator, "I’ll bet you’re discouraged." "Why should I be discouraged?" replied the little boy. "We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!"

Have you ever felt like your whole world is caving in around you and there is absolutely no hope. Your troubles seem to mount up insurmountably. Cheer up I have good news. There is hope for the hopeless!

All is not lost ….

There is HOPE…

Listen to this story … The Devil was having a yard sale, and all of his tools were marked with different prices. They were a fiendish lot. There was hatred, jealously, deceit, lying, and pride--all at expensive prices. But over to the side of the yard on display was a tool more obviously worn than any of the other tools. It was also the most costly. The tool was labeled...

DISCOURAGEMENT.

When questioned, the Devil said, "It’s more useful to me than any other tool. When I can’t bring down my victims with any of the rest of these tools, I use discouragement, because so few people realize that it belongs to me."

Satan’s is never happier than when he sees people giving in and giving up to despair and becoming lost in hopelessness.

Have you ever felt like your whole world is caving in around you and there is absolutely no hope. Your troubles seem to mount up insurmountably. Cheer up I have good news.

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The title of today's message is "There is Hope"

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Ezekiel 37:1–10 NLT

1 The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” 4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” 7 So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’ ” 10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

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As we live and breathe each and every day, every minute of every day, we find despair every where we look. Unfortunately, so many of us, give up all hope in our humanistic nature. With ….

Fuel prices having soared

Homelessness, or is the proper term now is, un-housed, has become and epidemic because the working poor can afford the cost of housing.

Food prices have risen

The GIG market is booming but the gig worker's wages are decreasing because of the cost of fuel

The cost of airfare has moved higher than the planes can fly.

Big Rid Owner Operators are being hit two fold, first, next year any big rig built before 2010 must be replaced. The second whammy is that California's AB5 included independent-owner operators as GIG works and thus either they incorporate or become employees of trucking companies. This is after the nation of California forced these operators with older trucks to buy newer models.

I would not be telling you the truth if I stated that there are no situations that don't appear to be hopeless. The key would here is appear.

I. There are situations , which appear to be totally and absolutely hopeless.

Come on, Walk with me through the text …

In Ezekiel 37:1-3

Ezekiel 37:1–3 NLT

1 The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”

The picture portrayed here was that of the nation of Israel in their Eastern captivity and Diaspora. The nation was virtually dead. It was lifeless, scattered, and bleached just as this conquered army’s corpses, which were strewn across a battleground. There was no way humanly possible that they would ever arise from this defeat. It would be impossible!

Turn with me to Job 7:6-7 reading from the NLT

6 “My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope. O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.

There is no greater state of hopelessness than that of man without Christ.

Jean-Paul Sarte wrote: "Man can count on no one but himself; he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth." -- not much hope in that statement …

However H. Lindsell counters that when he writes "Those apart from God have a feeling of meaningless and abandonment that they cannot explain."

My friends we, as believers we are not alone, in our situations. We have help in the Holy Spirit, for He gives us wisdom, understanding, the ability to reason, knowledge and most of all the reverence of the Lord.

Let's continue our journey as we look at …

II. God alone holds the answer to all hopeless situations.

Reading,Ezekiel 37:3

Ezekiel 37:3 NLT

3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”

If we look at this question from man’s perspective only one answer could come from the prophet’s lips, "Life is impossible?" It is absurd to suppose that these dead bones could ever live again. But it was God who asked the question, and it is God alone who knows the answer.

Matthew 19:25-26 "When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Let me say that again in case you missed it ...

With God all things are possible

As for believers we know that God delights in doing the impossible!

Pastor Charles L. Allen, reminds us that when you as a believer in Christ say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God. You are says the there are things that God can not accomplish, stop letting yourself be deceived, God is real and such,

There are no hopeless situations. There are only people who have grown hopeless about them.

Turn to Psalms 42:11 “11 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”

Listen closely, as a matter of fact write this down … God and God alone reveals the truth of all we call unknown. All the best and worst of man Won’t change the Master’s plan, It’s God’s and God’s alone. God and God alone is fit to take the universe’s throne.

Let everything that lives Reserve its truest praise, For God and God alone.

I. "No one is hopeless who's hope is in God."

J. Bailey Smith once wrote - Have you ever been in despair? The answer is simple. Quit looking at your circumstances and look at God. A pessimist finds a problem in every opportunity, but an optimist finds opportunity in every problem. Don’t despair, for God is the answer.

Come on we got a little farther to go on this journey.

III. God's Word gives new direction.

Look at Ezekiel 37:4-8 “4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” 7 So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.”

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It would appear absurd to address "dry bones". Picture Ezekiel standing in the middle of the battlefield among the corpses preaching to piles of bones. But, we have to remember that God’s ways are not man’s ways.

Somebody auta be saying 'thank you Lord'

So the prophet Ezekiel speaks at the Divine command the Divine message. He speaks for God and they who listen hear the voice of God. Wait a minute, did you catch that, let me repeat it, just to make sure we all got it. "They that listen, hear the voice of God."

Believe me, when the God’s Word goes forth, things begin to happen.

Here are three passages that witness to this statement:

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires

Romans 10:17

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Romans 15:4

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Every conflict Christ had with Satan, Jesus overcame the obstacles by using the Word of God. In each and every recorded case He declared, "It is written."

The Word of God is a window to those in the prison of hopelessness through which they can look and see the light of hope and get direction for their lives."

God's Spirit gives new life.

Ok, its hot out so grab a drink of water as we continue on to …

Ezekiel 37:9-10 “9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’ ” 10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.”

A.W. Tozer in "Born After Midnight" (Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 5.) wrote: Religious instruction, however sound, is not enough by itself. It brings light, but it cannot impart sight. The assumption that light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy to millions. The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the World for three years, but not one ray of light reached their inner beings. Light is not enough. The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight.

From Romans 8:10 "...the Spirit is life..." and from … 2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

The Spirit’s control will replace sin’s control. His power is greater than the power of all your sin. If you have the Holy Spirit on the inside, you can stand any kind of battle on the outside.

1 John 4:4 “4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

John 14:16-18 “16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.”

In closing let me repeat .. There is hope for the hopeless! So stop letting Satan get his happy dance on.

And I'm done … Oh hold on, I open with a story about little league baseball, so I think I should close with one.

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From CNN dated August 10, 2022 -- the pitcher for the Texas East Little League team hung his head, clearly upset after his last pitch hit the 12-year-old Oklahoma batter in the head, knocking off his helmet and leaving him lying in the dirt at home plate.

But Isaiah Jarvis, who at first had gripped his head, soon recovered. He was OK, and the crowd at the Little League Southwest Region championship in Waco, Texas, applauded as he stood up and took first base.

Back on the mound, though, Kaiden Shelton was still shaken. That's when something amazing happened: Isaiah stepped off the bag, walked to the mound and wrapped his arms around the pitcher, letting him know he was all right.

"I wanted to go over there and spread God's love and make sure that he's OK, and make sure that he knows that I'm OK and that I'll be OK," Isaiah told CNN Wednesday morning, appearing on "New Day" alongside Kaiden.

From <https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/10/us/little-league-hug-batter-pitcher/index.html>

WOW, what an example of love and forgiveness, from a little leaguer.

There is hope!!

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