Love hopes all things

1. I know a preacher who is about as optimistic as anyone can be.

2. He has had his fair share of difficulties, but he keeps on smiling and is always upbeat.

3. About 10 years ago a conversation lent itself to my asking about his optimism.

4. His response went something like this:

5. “I believe that such an outlook on life is my responsibility as a Christian.”

6. His exact words caught my attention: “optimism is a responsibility.”

NO ONE IS OPTIMISTIC ALL THE TIME. WE DO, HOWEVER, HAVE A BASIC CHOICE IN LIFE: WE CAN BE PESSIMISTS OR WE CAN BE OPTIMISTS.

a)I believe the preacher’s choice I spoke to was and still is right.

b) Paul said in 1 Cor. 13 that love is to create an environment of optimism (hope).

c) If we are a Christian, optimism should be a key part of who we are.

2)Imagine a home where children are faced with constant pessimism.

a)Children are told they are dumb and they will never amount to anything.

b) They are told they are too small, too big, too short, too tall, or something else.

c) How among us would say that love is being demonstrated in that home?

d) Godly parents will not lie to their children, but they will give them optimistic hope.

e) Hope is something all people desire at one time or another.

f) Much of life is centered on hope.

3)Our world is often a place where people long for hope.

4)If we turn on the news, much of it is bad.

5)If we turn on the radio, much of what is said there is sad.

6)Open the paper and much of the news is not filled all that hopeful.

7)Hope can be hard to find in our modern world.

a)It was also often hard to find in the ancient world.

b) In first century times people wanted it so badly there was actually a “religion of hope.”

c) There was, we might say, a “cult of hope.”

d) Temples were erected for this unique religion.

e) People based an entire religion around the subject of hope.

f) In excavations fascinating sculptures have been found.

g)Archaeologists have uncovered statues with eyes that express sadness.

h) One has described these figures as having eyes that describe a “sort of desperate numbness.”

i) People felt like they did not have hope.

8)If we go to a cemetery we can find grave markers with words inscribed on them.

9)A common inscription on first century grave markers was this:

10) “I was not, I came to be, I am no longer; it amounts to nothing.”

11) Basically people said they had nothing before life and they had nothing after they died.

12) This is an extreme expression of hopelessness.

13) It is therefore no wonder that Isaiah the prophet said what is recorded in Mt. 12:21.

14) Jesus would give “hope” to the Gentiles.

15) Hope is a Christian message. It is also a part of true love.

16) Love causes people to have hope (an optimistic outlook).

a)It has been said that almost every one of man’s relationships goes through three stages.

b) The relationship may be marriage, raising children, getting a job, or something else.

c) Stage 1 is the “honeymoon stage.”

d) This is, of course, the time when everything seems great (no problems).

e) A person may feel like they are so much in love nothing bothers them.

f) They cannot imagine ever having an argument or disagreement.

g)At this point hope is like a bucket that is as full as it can be.

h) A person may take a new job and they are filled with hopes and dreams (it is the honeymoon stage).

17) As time begins to pass, some changes begin to occur.

a)The job that seemed to perfect is not quite as good as it initially appeared.

b) The person who seemed so perfect does have some flaws.

c) We begin to see some imperfections and problems.

d) It is at this stage that the bucket of hope begins to leak.

e) Little by little hope may start to leak out of the bucket.

f) As hope is being removed, none is being replaced.

g)Pretty soon the bucket is empty and a person says, “this relationship is hopeless.”

18) At this point we see people making the kinds of decisions that we see day after day.

19) Relationships are severed and there is often a lot of sadness and heartache.

20) There is a third stage to most of man’s relationships, but not everyone is willing to wait for it.

21) It has been called the “redemptive” stage.

22) When this point is reached people can be renewed in their hopes.

23) The honeymoon is gone, but the second stage were hope was challenged has also passed.

24) In this third stage people find that their waiting and perseverance were worthwhile.

25) Before this point is reached, many “throw in the towel.”

26) They are not willing to wait for the third stage and that is a big mistake.

27) Hope is to keep us going until we get beyond the problems we face.

28) In virtually every relationship we have, there must be on-going hope.

a)If we love a child, we have hope for them no matter what happens.

b) If we love someone outside our family, we have hope for them in all circumstances.

c) A great illustration of 1 Cor. 13:7 is found in the life of Jesus, Lk. 7.

d) Luke says there was a woman “in the city” (Lk. 7:37); he does not give us her name.

e) He does say she was “a sinner” (whatever she did, it was considered pretty bad).

f) This lady knew that Jesus had gone to the house of a Pharisee and see went there.

g)She brought a gift, a “cruise of ointment.”

29) Today we generally do not expect uninvited guests at someone’s house.

30) In this culture things were a little different; there could be uninvited guests.

31) This lady went to where Jesus was and began to wipe His feet with her hair.

32) Then we come to verse 38 – READ

a)In the mind of this Pharisee, this woman was hopeless.

b) She was a “sinner.” She was not on his prospect list for a Bible study or salvation.

c) Jesus, the epitome of love, saw that there was reason for hope with this woman.

d) Verse 47 brings us to the conclusion of the story – READ

33) People with true love are full of hope, and that hope causes them to keep going.

34) Hope allows us to see the potential in others.

35) Hope is an encouragement in way after way for the people of God.

a)Lazarus died (Jn. 11:11).

b) Jesus came to his sisters, Mary and Martha.

c) Do we remember what Martha said? “I know he will rise again at the last day” (Jn. 11:24).

d) Here is a woman who loved God; she also loved her brother.

e) Her love gave her hope. Her hope was not misplaced.

f) A person may have hope that is false.

g)We could go to a doctor and he says everything is just fine when he knows that such is not true.

h) We do not want false hope; false hope is no hope at all.

36) We want real hope and that is precisely what God offers us.

37) Our hope is based in historical fact and our Creator Himself.

38) In New Testament love is closely connected with hope.

39) We should be able to see the immediate value in having the Christian hope.

a)Many of the hopes in the world are so fragile.

b) A person may think they have a secure job; they are set for life.

c) One day they feel completely safe and the next they are unemployed.

d) A similar thing may happen with a person’s health; a man or woman feels strong.

e) Hours later they realize they do not have good health.

f) I have read a few stories about how people were displaced from Katrina.

g)Before that hurricane, people liked their lives and felt like they had hope.

h) Once the storm washed away businesses and homes, people felt hopeless in a matter of minutes.

40) If we build our hopes on the things of this world, we are creating a house founded on sand.

41) Solid hope is based on putting our house on a rock – Jesus Christ.

42) This hope, mixed with love, will withstand every single test and problem.

a)It will stand the three stages we mentioned earlier.

b) It will stay with us until our final day if we arm ourselves with the love and graces of the New Testament.

c) In Rom. 5:5 Paul said the Christian hope does not put the people of God “to shame.”

d) From time to time God’s people need to be reminded that the faith they have is not false.

e) We do not have a faith that will fail in this life or the next.

f) It is a faith that has been tested and proven for more than 2,000 years.

g)It was instituted by God in human form.

h) It was sealed by blood from that human and divine body.

i) Then it was further ratified by Jesus being raised from the dead and now ruling from heaven.

43) Whatever life presents to us, Christians have every reason in the world to be optimistic about their life.

44) Our choice puts us on the winning side, and it will not be a small victory.

45) The people of God will be part of the biggest victory celebration the world has ever seen.

46) It will also be a celebration that lasts for eternity.

a)The apostle Paul gave serious consideration to this point.

b) The one who wrote about love and hope in 1 Cor. 13 also said some things in Rom. 8.

c) I want to read from Rom. 8:17-19 – READ

d) Verse 23 also deserves our attention – READ

e) We have hope and it is the “anchor of the soul” (Heb.6:18-19).

47) Many set their love and hope on wealth (1 Tim. 6:17), but Paul said “not so” for the Christian.

48) In the Old Testament system of religion, a lot of the hope was based on things of this earth.

49) In the New Testament our hope is based on things beyond this earth.

50) If we understand love, we have hope—hope in several senses.

51) Hope leads to joy (Rom. 12:12), boldness (2 Cor. 3:12), and comfort (1 Thess. 4:18).

a)Hope that is real is something the world wants.

b) As Christians, hope should be a key part of how we are.

c) Do we have it?