Tag: hope

Posted on

Advent: Jesus Came to Save the Lost

I read the story of a pastor who went through a terrible moral failure. He wondered if he could ever be forgiven and restored. When feelings of shame and humiliation were at their peak, he went to worship, desperately seeking hope. He said he did not go to church then as a pastor or as a church leader. “I just went as someone sitting in the pew. I wanted someone who would assure me that there was a tomorrow, that there was grace available, that somehow I could regain my footing, and that one day I’d be a new person again.” He thought no one should ever have to leave a church worship service without hope for a new beginning.

This season of the year reminds us of the possibility of hope. Advent is the annual celebration of the coming of Jesus. We have the testimony from Jesus’ own lips about why he came into the world: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). That is the offer of hope for a new beginning. Permit me to highlight three words: “lost,” “seek,” and “save.”

Lost

Our Lord said this about a man named Zacchaeus who was wealthy and politically connected. But something was missing in his life that riches and power could not provide. He was spiritually needy and he knew it. He wanted hope for a new beginning.

That is why he wanted to see Jesus. He was curious, so curious that he set aside pretentions of dignity and climbed a tree to get a better look. His name, Zacchaeus, means “righteous one,” but he was anything but righteous. He was a tax collector who was ripping off his own people on behalf of the Roman government.

The New Testament uses the word “lost” to convey a warning, that God sees people in their natural state as spiritually ruined and separated from him by sin. This is true of unenlightened pagans living in the darkness of idolatry. It is also true of sophisticated, well-educated, well-to-do moderns who have never humbled themselves before their Creator. Was Zacchaeus starting to feel the spiritual desolation of being lost?

One of the traditional scripture readings for the second Sunday in Advent is 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish (be lost), but everyone to come to repentance.”

Seek

This represents our Lord’s activity to solve the greatest human problem. He sought Zacchaeus and he seeks people today. Luke 19:1-9 tells the story of how Jesus sought Zacchaeus. He looked at where he was, up in the tree. He spoke to him. He called him by name. He invited himself into Zacchaeus’ life. Jesus took the initiative in the relationship. He sought him urgently: “I must stay at your house today” (v. 5).

Zacchaeus responded by welcoming Jesus into his home. I think this means that he also was opening his heart to Jesus.

Do I need to remind you that just as Jesus saw and spoke to Zacchaeus, he sees you, knows you, and speaks to you through his word? He wants you to open your heart to him too. He offers you hope and a new beginning with him.

Save

Jesus said on this occasion, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham” (v. 9). Abraham is always remembered for his exemplary faith. Jesus was saying that like Abraham, Zacchaeus had saving faith.

R.C. Sproul wrote, “Zacchaeus told Jesus he was going to give one half of his goods to the poor and repay anyone he had cheated fourfold. Here we have a bold and dramatic confession of sin, act of repentance, and confession of faith.”

Zacchaeus did not receive salvation because he did this good deed. He did the good deed because he wanted to give evidence of having salvation. Restitution was the right thing to do.

Jesus said the reason he came was to seek and to save the lost. To be saved it is necessary to admit that you are lost without him, that your sins have come between you and God. Jesus died on the cross to take away your sins. He asks you to believe on him and receive the gift of salvation.

What better time than now? What better day than today? There is hope for a new beginning.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

Posted on

Christian Hope in a Pandemic

I turned on the TV preparing to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Utah Jazz in basketball. It was Wednesday, March 11 of this year. I was not prepared for what I saw that night. Instead of positioning themselves on the court for the tip off, players milled around while game officials gathered the coaches for whispered conversations.

Then to the shock of local fans, and thousands of TV viewers, officials called off the game and instructed  everyone to leave the arena, without a word of explanation. Commentators were speechless with amazement for what seemed a long time. Then word came that a Jazz player had been tested and found infected by the highly contagious coronavirus. Proceeding with the game was considered dangerous to players and fans. All NBA games were cancelled until further notice.

We now know what “further notice” means, not just for athletic events, but for businesses, schools, churches, and for the American economy. Nationwide, thousands of families mourn loved ones who have died. Words like pandemic, epidemiology, and social distancing have crept into our everyday vocabularies. The plague has disrupted every aspect of life in America, and evidently it will for some time to come.

The apostle Peter wrote his first letter to people who were facing a great crisis. They had believed on Jesus and were now following him. Because of this they were facing opposition, outright persecution, and in some cases, the threat of death. Peter wrote his letter to re-emphasize the gospel, and to prepare them to suffer for the sake of Jesus.

Like our public health physicians, Peter was obligated to tell the truth and to help his readers face their situation realistically. He did not resort to happy talk and empty platitudes. He told them about the possibility of suffering for their faith in Jesus. Life was about to get more difficult and he wanted his Christian readers to be ready.

I urge you to read Peter’s letter with the present crisis in mind. I do not wish to imply that our situation compares to the sufferings of the first century martyrs. But we do need now, as always, the comfort of God’s word which tells believers that “he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). Peter’s letter is full of hope.  “Set your hope fully on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:13).  “Your faith and hope are in God” ( 1 Peter 1:21). “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have” ( 1 Peter 3:15).

In the New Testament, “hope” is not wishful thinking. It is confident expectation. Peter knew his readers might be tempted to lose hope when they were being persecuted for their beliefs. The troubles started in Rome and were spreading to the provinces. The Christians were thought to be a threat to society. Their worship practices were misinterpreted and slandered. Some were being martyred because they refused to worship the emperor as a god. In his letter, Peter directed their attention away from their circumstances to the living God, the source of their hope.

This is what  distinguishes Christian hope from mere optimism. Optimism seeks to put the most favorable interpretation on circumstances.  Biblical hope, on the other hand, is centered in God. This is what gives certainty when the outlook is uncertain. Believers are said to be “chosen” by God (1 Peter 1:2) for his special purposes. Peter says God “foreknew” them. This is the same word he used in verse 20 to refer to Christ who was foreknown, destined, chosen to be the Lamb of God before the foundation of the world.

So, while believers may sometimes feel like strangers in a dangerous world, we are, in fact, precious to God. Thus, in the opening lines of Peter’s letter, we find God revealed as Father who has chosen us, Holy Spirit, who has set us apart, and Jesus Christ who has redeemed us by his blood. This trinitarian God is the source of our hope. At all times, but especially in a time of trouble, we look to him as the God of hope.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: to God’s elect, exiles, scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: grace and peace be yours in abundance” (1 Peter 1 :1-2).

We all hope for an end to the pandemic. We are tired of being quarantined, hidden away from life as we knew it three months ago. We don’t like wearing masks and missing out on events like Thunder basketball. I think the apostle Peter would say to us that God is in control and he knows what he is doing. He is reminding us that God is our only real hope.

Pastor Randy Faulkner