Our One Hope



There is only one hope for this world. It is the hope of the coming of Jesus Christ
to reign as sovereign king over the inhabited earth. During the scope of his reign as King
of Jerusalem, he will gather the scattered nation of Israel back to their land. There they
will rejoice, along with all the nations of the earth, in the Lord God of Heaven and Earth.
The earth will at last be at rest from war, disease and famine will be suppressed, and peace
will abound.
This is the hope we share together as brethren and sisters in our lord and master
Jesus the Christ. Its what we strive for in our daily lives, that hope that we too can share
in the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob. But above that hope, above any
hope we might have for ourselves is the hope for our children. Even more powerful than
the hope for our own salvation is our concern that as parents our children receive the
example and direction that leads them to aspire to the character of Christ. That leads them
to walk in that narrow way and avoid the pitfalls of our own human nature.
Webster defines hope as, "The expectation of something desirable." In that
definition we are able to see the three characteristics of hope:
1) It is pointed toward something, a specific object or goal;
2) That "something" is a desirable thing, a thing we admire and long for;
3) There is confidence that we will get the thing we desire.
Now you must admit that we are people of hope; we are confident that the Bible's
promise of something we admire and long for will be ours someday. And that is a
fundamental difference between us and the rest of the world. Paul instructed the Christians
in Thessalonica not to grieve, "as do the rest who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
"The rest" are without hope because they are "without God in the world" (Ephesians
2:12). You see, while this world is a place of despair and hopelessness, our God is the
God of hope, who causes us to "abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans
15:13). This world is a place of failed dreams and efforts, but Yahweh is the God of
"living hope" (1 Peter 1:3). This world is a place of disappointment galore, but the Bible's
promise is that God gives us a hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).
Our hope is important. It makes faith pleasant (Romans 12:12). Faith is not just a
belief that God is, but also that He is "a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews
11:6). That is the pleasure of faith. It gives obedience its patience (1 John 3:2-3 and 1
Thessalonians 1:3). Hope causes us to focus on the thing we desire, not the things we
must endure. It anchors the soul (Hebrews 6:19). Nothing can sway us - not tribulation,
not distress, not persecution, not famine, not peril, not even death - as long as our hope is
"grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love."
Hope is indeed one of the three great characteristics, along with faith and love (1
Corinthians 13:13). We must "lay hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18), and we
must be "ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the
hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15).
Ephesians 4:4 tells us that, just as there is only one God, and one Lord, and one
Spirit, and one faith, so there is only one hope. That means the Bible only points us to one
thing as the object of our desire, and it means we can only expect one thing to happen.
We've probably all sat and watched a little caterpillar climbing lazily about a bush
or tree, it's awkward little feet seem to effortlessly propel it about on a quest for it's sole
objective... food! Then one day it seems the little caterpillar gives up all thoughts of it's
former desire and begins to form a beautiful cocoon around itself. Soon, it emerges as a
magnificent butterfly, a creature that only all mighty God could create. Can we find any
similarities between this wonderful creature created by God and the wonderful new
creature we become through Jesus Christ?
As we see with the caterpillar, before its transformation the only objective it had
was food. Then its objective became focused on building its cocoon (for its
transformation). As foreigners to God, our only objective was sin. No matter what route
we took outside of God , all roads resulted in sin and death. Christ is our only hope for a
transformation. No matter how hard we try, without God we cannot be transformed. To
be transformed a person must be willing to sacrifice the old worldly goals for new spiritual
goals. Giving up the old desires is not an easy thing to do, and so we are told to first
consider the cost before we shame ourselves and Christ's name, Turn with me to Luke
14:28-30 where we read
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate
the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the
foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'"

Looking back to our example of the butterfly, we see that the new creature which
emerges from the cocoon is in fact the "same" creature yet it has been transformed in all
aspects of its life...it's movement ...it's appearance...it's method of feeding....ALL these
aspects changed and yet it is the "same creature." Unfortunately, this does not always
happen with us. Far too often the new creature is barely, if at all, distinguishable from the
old creature. Far too often those who should be a new creature still look the same, talk
the same, still live the same lifestyle as before. The apostle Paul has this to say in 2
Corinthians 5:15-17,
And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but
for Him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no
one from a worldly point of view, though we once regarded Christ in this way, we
do no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!

Also, in Romans 6:4 we read,
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a NEW LIFE.

If the butterfly were to try to live in its former lifestyle it would soon die because it
is no longer equipped for the former purposes, but is newly equipped for new purposes.
And so it is also with us. Once "reborn", transformed through Jesus Christ, we cannot
return to our former lives, but must take on our new life in Christ. We cannot continue to
"feed" on the world.........the only "food" that will give true life is the Word (John 1:1-4).
Jesus explains in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go
hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty."
Equipped for a totally different life, the butterfly is no longer confined to an
existence of crawling along the ground. Instead, it is able to soar with wings given by
God......no longer to live a destructive life, but a productive life. Can we see any
comparison to the change of life that God expects in His children? Before a person places
faith in Christ, He or she is bound by the penalty of sin and can only live a life destined for
destruction......a life confined by the limit of years upon the earth. For the child of God,
all things necessary for the earthly life are provided. 2 Peter 1:3 , " His divine power has
given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who
called us by His own glory and goodness." And by giving His Spirit, He assures the
promise of the eternal transformation. As in Ephesians 1:13-14 ,
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God's possession-- to the praise of his Glory."

The child of God is no longer bound by sin and death but is made alive in Christ.
As we read in Romans 6:11-12,
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

Yahweh has said that we either love Him and hate the world, or we hate Him and
love world.....there is no in-between stage.....no fence to straddle (James 4:4). 1 John
2:15-17 tells us,
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful
man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-- comes not
from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the
man who does the will of God lives forever.

Does anyone else feel that there are too many of us that could only be described as
"luke warm" as in Revelation 3:14-22? Well, maybe we have been luke warm. I know I
am guilty of this very thing. It seems the more I feed on the world the weaker I become as
a new creature.
For we know that we have been called to the one hope. Ephesians 4:4 tells us
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.

But today we learn that as Proverbs 13:12 tells us
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of
life.

As we started this exhortation talking about the hope we have for our children lets
return there for a moment. Recently we have been talking of taking our son Grant out of
the Public School system and placing him in an alternative home school situation. Now
this in itself I feel is a wonderful idea. In thinking about all of this I am reminded of Saul
and David out in the field preparing for the battle with Goliath. Recall if you will the
story. David had been asking permission to battle Goliath, and Saul finally agreed to let
him do so. It’s then that Saul begins to prepare David for battle. We pick up the story at 1
Samuel 17:38-39 and I am reading from the NIV.
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze
helmet on his head.
39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was
not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to
them.” So he took them off.
Saul says, ‘OK David. I‘ll let you fight this guy, but you need to have these
specific things on …to protect you.’ In fact, if you look at the story, it appears that Saul
wants to dress David in a similar fashion as Goliath:
Bronze helmet
Coat of armor
David-sword & Goliath-spear
Saul wants to dress David like Goliath, since he believes the clothing is what David
will need to be successful in battle.
The first thing we need to see is the correlation between Saul and our society
today. Saul, like our society today, tries to tell us what we need to succeed. We are told
that we need: A lot of money, A big fancy house, Expensive automobiles, A high profile
job, High profile friends
And the list goes on and on and on…
These are the things that will provide us with protection…at least according to our
society, but what happens when we get all of these things? What happens when we get
the: Nice house, Nice cars, That big fat bank account
It’s possible that we might find ourselves with all these things. It is also possible
that we find ourselves in the same situation David was in when Saul had prepared him for
battle. We get constricted. We can’t move
The things of the world do not fit us well. We can’t do anything for God, because
we’ve surrounded ourselves with all this ‘stuff’ we never really needed, and God might be
asking us to do something for Him that might mean we have to get rid of some of the
‘stuff’. For most of us, it’s difficult to get rid of the things we have been told by society
that we need especially if we have worked long and hard to get them.
Some people call these the “golden handcuffs”. Oh, they look pretty, but when you
put them on or allow someone else to put them on you, you are bound. You’re bound to
the things that this world offers you and wants you to have: All of which are temporary
All of which moth and rust will eventually destroy: All of which, in the end, will be
worthless.
It’s a reality of today’s life that many of us can find ourselves in this situation, so
what do we do? The answer is simple to say, but more difficult to follow through with; we
must do the same thing that David did; we must get rid of all these things. Read the verses
again, and look at David’s reaction in verse 39:
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze
helmet on his head.
39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was
not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to
them.” So he took them off.
David ‘took them off’: just like that. The challenge to us is to do what David did,
and take off the things that would smother us. We must get rid of all the obstacles that are
keeping us from being all we can be in Christ: If it’s our friends…get rid of them. If it’s
our job…change it. If it’s money…learn to live on less. I get the feeling that God has
really been calling us to do something, but I think to myself: That would mean I would
have quit my job or work less. That would mean I would have to move. That would mean
I would have to “sacrifice” this or “sacrifice” that.’ But then I ask myself, what sacrifice
could I possibly make that would even come CLOSE to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ
already made for me?”
And then I get angry with myself. Sacrifice!. Most of us have no idea what
“sacrifice” really means. Further, we must remember what the Bible teaches us about our
sufferings, “…our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be
revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 NIV)
I think the point of this message is simply this; we need to do something different;
do something alternative by getting rid of all the garbage that is holding us back…follow
God’s calling for our lives
We have to be RADICAL in our faith. We have to step OUT in faith sometimes. It
took Noah 120 years to build the Ark Do we imagine that people didn’t think he was
mad? Regardless of what people said to him, God was talking to Noah, and he listened.
I’m sure it even seemed crazy to Noah at times, but he was obedient.
Our lives, if we walk by faith, might seem crazy to us at times, but we must be
obedient as well. Remember, God is talking to us. We need to do things that, at times,
humanly speaking, it makes no sense to those around us. When those times are upon us, it
will serve us well to remember the story of David and Goliath. Remember that David put
off the lavish armor of the world to follow the leading of the Lord. The result was a
victory we still talk about to this day.
When I intimate that God is talking to us, I do not mean that we hear an actual
voice, that would be an auditory hallucination and likely to have any one of us committed.
I don’t mean that drastic things are happening all around us that we should know whereby
God is speaking. But I mean that things happen in our daily lives that we should be aware
of. Little things, hints perhaps. Its like that song from the movie “The Color Purple”.
Perhaps we do have to stop and think that perhaps “Maybe God Is Trying To Tell You
Something” as the title suggests.
After all wasn’t it Elijah who ignored the mighty wind that split the mountains, and
the earthquake, and the fire only to find God’s word in the still small voice. And that
should teach us that in awesome displays of nature that to us should prove potent evidence
of God, God is absent. But in the quiet of the cold desert night, the still, small voice issued
forth from the wilderness. Thus, the Bible suggests that we often look in the wrong places
when seeking God in thunder, lightning, gale-force winds, violent tremors and cataclysmic
cosmic events.
Examine the biblical accounts of the patriarchs, and more often than not they
received affirmation of God's presence in the most stark, desolate places, often when least
expected. No Cecil B. DeMille-type theatrics announce God's momentary break into time
and history; they simply occur in the stillness of the barren desert.
For example, Jonah, fleeing from God, sought refuge in the desert under the shade
of a miraculous vine that grew up and perished in a single night. It was there that this
reluctant prophet acceded to God's prophetic call.
Moses escaped to the desert when he feared retribution for having killed an
Egyptian taskmaster. In that uninhabited wilderness, he saw the unconsumed fiery bush
and received his unexpected, unwanted call.
Sometimes, rare though it may be, we are privileged to hear the voice of God --
not in the thunder, wind, lightning or earthquake -- but in a still, small voice. If we are
among the lucky few, we may feel the tug that Elijah felt because no matter where we may
live, we are all desert wanderers who hope to stand in the shoes of Elijah, at least for one
rare moment, to hear that still, small voice that calls to us.
And now I need your help brothers and sisters, with the homeschool situation,
because I hear a voice, but I am not sure if it is the still, small voice I am looking for or if I
am building a tower without considering the cost.
Do I have, do any of us have, the faith, the love, the hope to put aside what we
really want, what we really think we need, and to take up the emblems before us following
Christs example without reservation, without hesitation? Do we have the shem, the
character of Christ in us? Can we say we have the Hope, the one true hope.

Bro. Sol L. Gorrell
Wanatah Christadelphian Ecclesia
3/30/2007