Our Hope Is Beyond This World

Romans 5: 3-4 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

It is said of Alexander the Great that when he saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer. Tutored by Aristotle and King by the age of 19, Alexander would dominate the world during his life. That life was required of him at the age of just 32. For his moment however, Alexander ruled most of the known world. History is littered with great and powerful figures that dominated their moment in time. The Bible tells of many such as Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus. The Pharaoh of Egypt in the days of Joseph possessed widespread power yet only 400 years later the new Pharaoh had no idea who Joseph was and how he had saved the Egyptian culture. Time is the great equalizer because the great and powerful men of time are mere footnotes in history to display the awesomeness and timeless power that rests in God alone. Yet still man hopes.

Hope is defined in the dictionary as: "a person or thing in which expectations are centered." When we hope in the Alexander's of the world, they will pass away at age 32. After his passing, the great empire he built in just 13 years was fractured and portioned off. The empires of Nebuchadnezzar, Darius and Cyrus would all fall, as would the Roman Empire. That is because these are all kingdoms of this world. What does the Bible say about this world?

...For this world in its present form is passing away. 1Corinthians 7: 31

Even the Jews in the days of Jesus were hoping in the wrong thing. Their expectations were centered on being delivered from the oppression of Rome. They thought their Messiah would be that deliverance. Their focus was on their sufferings on earth instead of their promise for what lies beyond this earth. Jesus explained:

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." John 18: 36

And so it still goes today. We live in a world that is devoid of true hope. The world sells us on the notion that he who dies with the most toys wins. The sad reality is that philosophy is so misguided because you cannot take it with you and he who dies is still dead:

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Psalm 49: 16-17

Yet the world still follows vain philosophies which provide no hope. Friedrich Nietzsche, who proffered the notion of the death of God and is still the driving force behind most post-modernism and existential philosophies of today once said, "In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man's torments." There is a cheery mantra to rally around! But after careful consideration, Nietzsche was right depending of course on what it is you have centered your expectations on! When you believe that God is dead, then there is nothing to center your expectations on. Hope does become a torment because there is nothing to hope for. Is it any wonder that Nietzsche eventually would go insane, living the last 11 years of his life under the care of his mother and sister.

Even modern Christianity can confuse the notion of hope. Prosperity doctrine muddies the picture to convince believers that their blessings are found somewhere on this earth; instead of in Christ alone. We read much lately about "Seeker Friendly" churches who become more concerned about attendance then preaching the entire Gospel. This term seems confusing. Since when was salvation not enough? Why is the forgiveness of sins, being written in the Lambs Book of Life, and spending eternity with God not a strong enough selling point? Shouldn't overcoming this world, being seated in heavenly places and being co-heirs with Christ draw enough seekers? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is enough, on its own. Being granted eternal life now is enough, on its own. Why? Because of hope. If you center your expectations on the things of this world, your hope will be fleeting and disappointing. If you center your expectations beyond this world however, your hope will be eternal:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1Peter 1: 3-7

Our hope is alive. It is found in Him who conquered the grave and defeated the death of this world. Unlike mortal inheritance, His will not perish or spoil. There will however be sufferings because we live in this world. Even still we can rejoice in the midst of our sufferings as our key verse states. Why? Because Jesus Christ has overcome the world and the tribulations it brings with it:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

How does Jesus overcoming the world provide us with the peace we need to overcome as well? Because we have been given His Spirit; the Holy Spirit. When discussing the coming of the Holy Spirit Jesus assured us:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14: 16-18

And so we are not left like orphans in a hopeless world! The same Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead now resides in us. Yet we can still struggle between the soul and the spirit. We can still struggle about which to put our hope in. we can still be like the Jews from 2000 years ago, waiting for Jesus to deliver us from the oppression we find ourselves under in this life. Our key verses however teach us that sufferings in this present life cause a chain reaction in the life of a believer. Sufferings first of all produce perseverance. The dictionary defines perseverance as; "steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement." The world and the enemy will try to distract us from what we believe. They will try to break our steady persistence in our course of action for God. It is the sufferings, those low times; that will develop and strengthen what we believe or tear it apart. It depends on what we hope in. If our hope is solely focused on the temporal situation and alleviating the situation, we can be disappointed if God has another plan. If our hope is focused on God's plan and the faith we have in His loving kindness, then we can rejoice in our sufferings. Too often we compare our sufferings to others, to our own expectations, and to the things of this world. Paul teaches a better way:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

Once again, our hope needs to be centered in the right place. We should avoid centering our expectations on this world instead of what has been promised to us. Paul goes on to teach that our best life is yet to come:

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8: 23-25

Now it is true that most of us came to Christ as a direct result of our condition within this hopeless world. Having reached the bottom and starting to dig, we finally realized that there simply had to be more than this. The creation, once again longed for the creator. We brought our shattered life to Christ but instead of merely fixing our mortal life, He exchanged it for an eternal life! No longer bound by the hopelessness of this world, we now have true hope. The elusive hope that Friedrich Nietzsche could never find because he only sought it within the limitations of his own mortality.

Our sufferings we rejoice in because we know it produces perseverance. Consequently, our perseverance produces character. The dictionary defines character as; "the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing." What forms our individual nature? According to these key verses it is how we deal with the sufferings and challenges of our lives. If when the storms of life come against us our first reaction is to give up hope and despair, then we will develop a hopeless character. Have you met someone like that? Even though they are saved by the blood of Jesus, they still live a life devoid of hope because their problems become bigger than their problem solver? Maybe their beliefs waver and are tossed about based upon which way the wind blows in their life. Maybe their sufferings cause anxiety a doubting of the power of God in their lives. Maybe they fall back to the solutions of the world instead of resting in the assurances of God. Many times we spend so much time trying to get out of the wilderness that we never learn why God had us in it to begin with. So we can learn to persevere. So we can rejoice in the midst of sufferings. So we can develop a Godly character.

A godly character understands that the abundant Christian life still has valleys. A godly character understands that the eternal life now does not mean that there will not be storms. A godly character understands that no matter how the enemy tries to separate you from God; that belief is always stronger than emotion that in fact there is nothing the enemy can do or say that will change our position in Christ:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38-39

Lastly, a godly character understands that it is not all about me. That the sufferings I rejoice in may cause another to realize the power and love of Christ:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2Corinthians 1: 3-4

From the comfort we have received, we can comfort others. Man puts his hope in things that fade and pass with time. No matter how powerful they once may be, they all wither against the eternality of God. That is what we hope in. That beyond this life and the troubles we may have as believers, there lies more for us. A glorious inheritance given only to those who are co-heirs with Christ. No one wants sufferings beloved. But we need to learn to rejoice in them, knowing it will develop perseverance and that persevering will lead to the Godly character that will lead to a stronger hope. A hope rooted in God and not of the things of this world.

Reverend Anthony Wade April 28, 2010