Dec. 17, 2023

Give What You Got (Hope!!)  BTS   17 Dec 23

Introduction - We’re moving closer to Christmas, the wonderful the time of the year when we are most conscious of the social expectation of giving something to someone else.  With this seasonal consciousness in the back of my thoughts, I remembered a conversation I had recently with one of our young men. He told me that he recently had the opportunity to host a friend of his for a week who doesn’t know the Lord. He wondered if there was anything special that he should do so the visit could be spiritually successful.  My answer was mostly about giving what was already inside him.  Most people need something simple before you can teach them about the free gift of eternal life.  That intangible condition of the mind is called hope.  It is the feeling that what is wanted can be had.  As Christians, we are well able to give hope to the people we meet here on earth.  Jesus and Peter give us some good advice about how this is done:

John 5:19 - So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. NLT 

We have to find someone in whom God is doing something.  Jesus walked by thousands of people in his earthly life.  He, as the son of God, could not save or encourage all the people he was exposed to.  He had to find the ones in whom His Father was working.  This was not hard to figure out, as many of the people He did minister to approached Him and sought Him out by asking questions.  It will be the same for us.  This narrows our field of candidates.  Peter gives us even more specific advice: 

1 Peter 3:15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. NLT. 

First, be a worshipper yourself.  This does not simply mean that you are fond of Christian music or singing, but more importantly that you really allow Jesus to rule how you conduct your life.  None of us do this perfectly; we are all growing into this stature.  Even the smallest steps in the direction of obedience make you a worshipper.  Second, look for someone who asks you about your hope.  This is very different from our common practice of looking at everyone we see as a potential candidate for hope.  When they ask you, be ready to explain to them why you have hope.  It must be very simple:  “I began to follow Jesus 3 years ago.  I really feel that He will deliver life and peace for me as He promised. He’s given me the power to change things through prayer.”  Such simple words as these are like a life bouy to a drowning person.  All promises in the word of God are powerful, but at the very first, your concern will probably give him all the life bouy he needs.  Here are some examples of concern:

“How are you, really?”  “We’ll navigate this together.  I’m going to pray for you until you’re through it.” 

Conclusion:  the fact that you are sitting in our congregation today, or watching our service via the internet tells us that you have this commodity called hope within you.  In this Christmas season, which is an emotional time of the year, there are many people who do not have hope about anything.  God will be bringing them to you.  Give them what you got!