Why I Think You’re Sad

I want to talk to us today about why I think you're sad why I think you're sad this started on last two Sundays ago actually I think they're all just coming together which is Wednesday which is Sunday but I am preaching for those that don't know if you want to tune in I'm preaching a new sermon every Wednesday and then another new sermon every Sunday I wasn't planning on doing a series of talks and sermons but we are now and it's kind of like what I think or why I think you're frustrated why I think you're tired was Wednesday and today I want to talk to you why I think you're sad why I think you might be experiencing some sadness in your heart and your soul I'll explain I want to remind you before we get started this is not going to be a sad sermon even though it's a sermon about you being sad it's not gonna be a sad sermon and it's gonna end with good news I want to read Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1 says this now faith is the substance or the assurance of things hoped for it's the evidence or the conviction of things not seen faith is the substance of things hoped for I want to draw your attention to the word faith and the word hope faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen let's rewind and go back a couple thousand years actually way more than two thousand years multiple thousands of years and let's listen to one of the wisest men who ever lived ancient King Solomon and he penned these words proverbs chapter 13 and verse 12 Hope deferred delayed makes the heart sick he said interesting observation of the human condition solomon inspired by God to write this phrase down when your hope is delayed or deferred it makes your heart sick or sad right suddenly you start to feel like I was really hoping that would happen I was really hoping my dreams my wishes my desires my aspirations would happen they're delayed there there there deferred and it makes for a sick soul Solomon says the sermon again is titled why I think you're sad will you join me in prayer God thank you for the minutes and moments we share we ask that God you would take this ordinary talking sermon and you would turn it in to an encounter with you we thank you for your grace Lord thank you for live golf that is happening in like an hour I am so grateful for a live golf today and help Rickie Fowler win in Jesus name Amen live sports today folks even if you're not a golf fan it's still live sports and it's for charity and I am pumped and yes my TV is recording it so don't tell me who wins but I'm pretty excited have you ever experienced Hope deferred I mean I think the answer is obviously yes if you've been living more than 22 minutes on earth you have experienced a dream a desire a wish a hope an aspiration that just doesn't seem to be happening or coming to pass something you really got your hopes up for you ever heard that statement I got my hopes up man I got my hopes up I'm hoping against hope I'm gonna believe this is gonna happen it's gonna be incredible or or maybe you started 20/20 out like most of us remember that remember the beginning of this year anybody remember the beginning of this year when we're like 2020 it's gonna be a year of 20/20 vision right a year of total clarity and what we meant to say was a year of kovat not clarity right it's it's it's kind of a year so far if you've seen all the memes online it's like 20/20 so far and it's like something just really discouraging it has been a challenging year to say the very least an unprecedented season and year frankly in human history you could sum up kovat 19 with Hope deferred dreams delayed wishes denied right it's just like everything we were hoping for seems to be slipping through our grasp have you ever experienced hope I want to start today by telling you a story it's a story found in Luke chapter 24 you can read it for yourself later but let me tell it to you it goes something like this there were two disciples we know one of them was named Cleopas will call him Cleo Cleo and his buddy are on a road approximately seven miles outside of ancient Jerusalem now what has just happened it's quite frankly the most significant moment in human history three days before according to Luke chapter 24 Jesus the leading candidate for Messiah the prophesied Jewish Messiah the champion of the ages that the Torah and the Old Testament prophesied many believed had arrived he was crucified between two criminals in a place called Golgotha and he had been buried in a rich man's tomb by the time we get to our story the camera opens and we see Cleo and his unnamed friend both close disciples of the teachings of Jesus and the ways of Jesus on this pathway to a village approximately seven miles outside of Jerusalem they're having a conversation they are talking about what everyone was talking about and that was the crucifixion these days it seems like everyone's talking about kovat 19:00 trust me in this point in human history some 2,000 years ago everyone was talking about the crucifixion Cleo and his buddy are on this walk heading to a village we learned later to have a meal and a stranger joins them this stranger we'll find out who it is in a minute he joins them and simply says what are you talking about basically the two guys Cleo and his buddy look at this stranger and go what are we talking about are you the only visitor in all of Jerusalem and the surrounding regions who doesn't know about the crucifixion you haven't heard about Jesus of Nazareth and then these two men we don't know who spoke but they both agreed it said they said this to the stranger we had hoped that he was the one we had hope no doubt these two men are Jewish we had hoped he was who the Torah talked about we had hoped he was going to restore Israel overthrow Rome be our champion fulfill our hopes dreams desires and wishes but he's now been dead three days now in Jewish tradition to be dead three days means it's over and there will be no more crucified there will be no more resurrection or possibility of resurrection that was the tradition what they didn't realize is that the resurrection and the life had joined them on the path and in their conversation they said we were hoping they'd go on to explain they don't realize the stranger is the resurrected Jesus they don't recognize it they go on to tell Jesus you know some ladies that they're disciples they went to the tomb they said it was empty and we went we saw it was empty but we don't really know and you know we were hoping we had hoped and you can hear the sadness of these guys delivery demeanor tone they they look to the stranger not knowing it's Jesus now and they say we we had hoped we dreamed we imagined we got excited got our hopes up we thought he was the one but I guess he wasn't now think about this for a moment this story may seem very simple to you but it is probably fair to say that Cleo and his friend have been following Jesus maybe as long as his public ministry has existed which is approximately three and a half years three and a half years Cleo and his friend have watched or at least heard of the miracles deliverance and the magnanimous things that Jesus did for Humanity right he moved towards the marginalized added value to women tared for children healed the leopard loved the non Jew he did all of these radical social miraculous moments in three and a half years and no doubt that had caused Cleo and his friend to palete Hulk and believe that he was the one look at the human condition three days has fully discredited three and a half years in just three days of Jesus being gone what do these disciples say well we kind of hoped that he was the one I I guess not I can relate with those two guys and I love Jesus but I know what it's like to have my Hope deferred I know what it's like when you get all excited and like I said maybe it's the beginning of this year you know new year new optimism new passion new desire new dreams new things you're gonna do and you get ready for 2020 you're like man this is gonna be the best year and then it's been maybe the worst year of your life how do you relate to those things you were hoping for how do you connect with them what do you think well if you're like me it probably goes something like well that didn't happen well I was kind of hoping I wrote out my my dream for 2020 I wrote out maybe it was decades ago in your 20s you you were hoping for this no it's in my 30s not been my 40s well maybe 50s and maybe you're in the second half of your life going well maybe that's never gonna happen well I must have done something wrong things must be bad in my life right now because I don't have enough faith and all of a sudden Hope deferred makes us question our faith and in some cases makes us question God that's why today what I want to articulate to you and explain to you is the difference between Bible faith and Bible hope how does the scripture define faith and hope faith and hope are different but I think oftentimes we get them confused and we end up sad what is faith in what is hope let me say it like this and this is going to be oversimplified definitions for practical application and for your assistance in mind but certainly ring true in the context of Scripture hope essentially is what you're believing for right it's like I'm believing for that red Corvette her I'm believing for a new job even for a spouse or I'm believing that I'm gonna be restored with my kids or I'm believing that that friend that we're offended each other we don't talk anymore that we're gonna forgive each other like I'm hoping for that I'm I'm believing it maybe you made a list of things that you're believing for and to turn around and to come back and the blessing in the favor and the grace and all these things that we hope for hope is what you believe but faith is different faith is not just what you believe faith is almost exclusively if not primarily who you believe listen again Hebrews 11 verse 1 faith is the substance of things hoped for hold on a second so faith is the actual holding on to something or someone based on what you're hoping for this is interesting it clearly clearly the writer of Hebrews is telling us that faith is different than hope hope is true let me say it like this faith is more true faith is who you believe hope is what you believe now we're going to tease this out a little bit and try to understand why sometimes we're sad and actually we can have more hope more confidence and more assurance even in the midst of circumstances and situations that frankly don't happen don't work out and leave us wanting and wondering we can experience more consistency this life of getting your hopes up - getting your hopes up - scanned your hopes up - that's so everybody lives for those of us that are following Jesus or considering following Jesus I have good news today faith is more true than hope what do I mean by that well go with me to 2nd Timothy 2nd Timothy in chapter 1 2nd Timothy in chapter 1 and verse let's start with verse 11 listen and out Paul he says I was appointed a preacher apostle and teacher verse 12 which is why I suffer which is why I suffer as I do but I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed hold on a second this is interesting Paul says I actually some some situations in circumstances have actually been very painful and difficult because I follow Jesus whoa that's something where maybe a little unfamiliar with with a hope ridden set success or almost had sex oriented that too but success oriented culture right I mean that's sex and success that about sums it up right we're we're a success sex sex success that that that's bet that's what I want and we're obsessed with these things so when we don't get the American dream we are disappoint Paul says I I actually things go bad because I follow Jesus oftentimes things have gotten difficult and he says but I'm not ashamed I look at that word ashamed it means he goes but I'm not embarrassed why would Paul be embarrassed that he was shipwrecked snake-bitten flogged maligned mistreated imprisoned publicly humiliated with nudity and nakedness of his own stripped in front of crowds what what why would Paul say he's not embarrassed because what Paul is expressing is what oftentimes we feel if my hope is deferred then something must be wrong with my faith something must be wrong with sometimes we do this God God why did you let this happen Paul says all these difficult painful challenging things that I wish wouldn't happen by the way nobody hopes to suffer right everybody hopes for success Paul's not hoping to suffer but Paul is saying I do suffer and oftentimes it's because I'm following Jesus yet nonetheless I'm not embarrassed why cuz I know whom I believe that's faith faith is who you believe faith is whom you believe and hope is what you're believing for now this message ironically is not against hope I want to promote hope I want you to hope more I want you to get your hopes up I want you to dream I want you to I want dreamers to dream I want hopers to hope I want wishes to wish we need more help more dreams more wishes write down the 29 things you're believing God for anticipate expect yes it's gonna happen but just understand though the hope is true and it's noble hope is fragile faith is not faith is whom you believe I've defined faith this way faith is divine persuasion faith is divine persuasion God is divine and he persuades you in other words to believe in God you need God to persuade you and when that persuasion and we'll talk about one of the ways God persuades us in a little in a few moments when that persuasion happens there's this little thing called free will and we simply accept Wow and suddenly faith is a person who has persuaded and who is holding me faith and hope they're different aren't they they're different let me say like this Hebrews 11:1 we'll go back there for a moment faith is the substance of things hoped for I'll say like this faith is in the source of things hope for faith is connection to the source hope is believing for situations hope can get very specific about situations faith is bit very specific about a person and his name is Jesus his name is Jesus hope says things like this in your life hope will tell you particularly when it's deferred and delayed and and and you feel like things are not happening the way you set your goals to happen hope says stuff like this well that didn't happen and you can disagree with hope or you can admit hope is true it didn't happen I didn't get the red Corvette you know whatever it is that you really did it just didn't happen no some will say you don't have enough faith I'd like to push back on that no I think you got plenty of hope and what's gonna help you endure its faith well what is faith faith is in the source faith is about the source faith is about a person faith is in the source of what you're hoping for red Corvettes come from God Wow Judah those are from car dealers yeah but it was God's idea to give the innovation for the motorized vehicle it's all comes from God all the innovation all the architecture it all is ultimately God as the great artist and architect and designer of the ages it all comes from God my scripture says my story says God owns the cattle on a Thousand Hills in other words he owns endless Cadillacs on endless Lots right I mean he he has it all God lacks for nothing so yeah we can believe for cars we can believe for arbitrary things but what do you do when you get your faith out there and believe God for a new car or a new house or way more important a marriage you've been believing for like I said a relationship you want restored and then it doesn't happen what do you do what do you do Paul says I'm not embarrassed when what I hope for doesn't happen because I know whom I believe Wow now that brings us back to the story I told you at the beginning of the sermon two guys Cleo and it buddy seven miles outside of Jerusalem they get close to the village they're walking to and the Bible says that Jesus was just gonna keep going but they begged him to stay I love this they don't know it's Jesus yet but they just know this guy's different than me but they begged him to stay companionship of Jesus is unlike anything else in the universe begged him to stay so he says okay he sits down for a meal and we don't know exactly what they were talking about but when Jesus broke the bread obviously beckons back to a sermon we did the the meal you've been missing talking about communion when he broke the bread immediately Cleo and his friend his eyes are open and they see it's actually the resurrection and the life it is Jesus and he vanishes gone from the table bread falls on the table Jesus is gone and they're like it's a pretty awesome story right and Cleo and his buddy look at each other and they say this they said oh my goodness did not our heart burn within us when he opened up the scriptures it's interesting now their reflection of the moment was something on the inside was resonating and burning it was it was it was physical was tangible it was spiritual was internal it was it was it was real now that leads us to one more passage as I come to a conclusion Esther's gonna come and play the piano so that I sound incredibly spiritual okay Romans chapter five and verse five same guy now who says in 2nd Timothy I know whom I believe I'm not embarrassed when what I hope for doesn't happen because I know whom I believe he's good look what Romans 5:5 says Paul writes therefore since we've been justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus through him we also have attained access by faith and do His grace in which we stand we rejoice in the we rejoice in the hope we were Joyce in the hope of the glory of God not only that we rejoice in our sufferings there it is again huh can we translate sufferings sufferings our hopes that don't happen Paul got in a boat hoping to go somewhere that boat crashed and wrecked on an island he had not hoped to go to stands by a bonfire with the native people that Island then he certainly didn't hope to get bitten by a snake but that's what that suffering is not what we hoped for was the opposite he says we rejoice and what we hoped for doesn't happen knowing that suffering produces endurance how about these words Fork Ovid 19 in a global quarantine suffering endurance and endurance will develop an inner fortitude called character listen to this and character produces hope producers oh look at this , verse 5 don't forget Romans 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame do you know what that means Hulk does not embarrass us are you embarrassed are you like me oh you got a you got a you got a big mouth that's always talking and you're telling people I'm gonna do this is God's gonna do it it's gonna be great God's gonna bless us I want to start out you know and all of a sudden you're like oh man I told everybody what I was hoping for and none of it happened ever had one of those awkward Christian conversations for for Christians listening and you meet up with your buddy who believes God and you sit down at the cafe this is you know pre kovat you sit at the cafe and they're like what do you believe in God for look man I'm believing this next year I'm gonna get married and I'm believing for three kids and then I'm believing but they don't believe I'm gonna start this business you know it can if I was a coffee with you I'd be like yes let's get our hope out let's get our dreams up let's do this this isn't terrible but what we haven't talked enough about is what happens when everything on your list does it happen and I'll tell you what happens because I'm very familiar I start to wonder if my faith is broken or if I haven't done enough or worse it's got mad at me what up and then here's the social dynamic of a church you run into other Christians hey brother how's that business going what the new business you started remember God gave you that scripture and you trusted God and you put your savings into that new entrepreneur bit member well well I had to kind of shut it down didn't work out oh oh man are you tithing did you pray about it you ever had one of those combos and you're like yeah yeah I think so yeah and as Christians we try to help other Christians by telling them hey it didn't work out cuz you didn't do it right you didn't believe God I wonder sometimes if modern Christians would pull the Apostle Paul aside and say hey the reason you're shipwrecked and you got bit by snake you need to read your Bible more and pray more Paul and Paul would probably find that somewhat comical Paul's like no my shipwrecked I wouldn't have got wrecked in the ship if I didn't follow Jesus there's an adversary there's an enemy he doesn't want me to get where I'm going and this following Jesus stuff is it's a wild ride and things oftentimes don't work out but he says I'm not embarrassed I don't have to explain myself to other believers my faith isn't broken God has it mad at me why cuz he understood faith faith is whom he says hope does not embarrass me here's why here's why please hear this because God's love has been poured into my heart through the spirit of Jesus who's given to me or lives in me now that sounds a lot like those guys on that road walking with an unidentified Jesus what did they say when he vanished from their table they said it's your heart burning you did your heart burn on the inside Paul says my hope that's deferred doesn't embarrass me because God's loves been poured out of my heart I say it like this Paul was expressing that his faith informs his hope let me say it this way Paul's expressing his who informs his what his who informs his what so when what lets you down who never will that's how you say I'm not embarrassed by what happened or what didn't happen I know whom I believe right hope says things like well what happened faith says Lord you've proven yourself to me and this is not my end there are many of you who are thinking to yourself this is the end it's the end of a relationship it's the end of the business it's the end of an idea it's the end of an era it's the end of the way you I'm telling you it's not the end hasn't he who has it who proven to you that he's faithful and true this can't be your end now hope will tell you the dream is dead the wishes are over you can blow out all the candles you want on that birthday cake it's not gonna work your faith is broken God's not real he's not big he's not good but our faith says no my faith isn't in what my faith isn't circumstantial or situational my faith is anchored to a person and by the way the narrative and the fodder amongst many of us is hold on to hope hold on to hope know Jesus is holding on to me and so when I give my hopes up and it doesn't work out and 2020 turns into a quarantine rather than a new businesses that that's booming and we wonder well what happened faith says he's proven himself over and over I know this isn't the end I know this isn't the end hope says well that didn't work and hope is true hope is right it didn't work didn't happen it's pretty obvious she's like well I was believing God for that business and it's didn't happen hope says well but God loves me God's in control that's good enough for me I'm not embarrassed by what happened or what didn't happen why because it's love how faith works God persuade you with his love that's why the greatest of these is love first Corinthians 13 says these three remain Faith Hope and love oh we need hope I'm not against hope hope is true faith is just more true and God will persuade you by pouring into your hearts his unconditional unrelenting love by his Spirit in fact that's what's happening right now that's what's happening right now this is not merely the exchange of ideas and concepts this is an encounter in the same God who caused Cleo and his friend's heart to burn within him it's the same Jesus that a-port his love into your heart right now and persuade you again that it is who you believe not what see faith faith allows God to take hold of you and you know where God lives it's in this place called forever it's in this place called eternity wouldn't it be silly for time to inform eternity oh no my brothers and sisters forever informs the finite and that's where God lives faith connects to the one who feels forever and so these temporary light momentary afflictions are going to fade and they're gonna give way to a far exceeding way to glory and that's a person and his name is Jesus I remember getting my hopes up from my dad God extended his life miraculously the first pastor of this community when it was called City Church and God extended his life some six years some doctors thought he wouldn't live more than six months well we got our hopes up we believe God some would say it was faith a lot of it yeah but it was hope it was circumstantial it was literal was like God you got to heal him a cancer and it was incredible but dad's gone he died from multiple myeloma that's the truth he died from cancer so what do I do now am i embarrassed because our prayers didn't work are we kind of humiliated because it he didn't get healed and healing isn't that what Jesus does so didn't we if what we were believing for it didn't happen maybe something's wrong nothing's wrong it's called the finite it's called the here in the now and there will be pain and there will be loss but we know whom we believe and we know where he is he's in a place called eternity he is forever he is the resurrection of life and I will see my dad again in a place that never ends this this will end eternity you haven't a new earth will never end and I will be there with Jesus whom I believe and I'll be there with my dad and all those who have gone on before I think this is why we might be sad because we confuse faith in hope and we believe the the what we're believing for if it doesn't happen something's wrong no I mean a lot of things are wrong but oftentimes our hope is deferred in this broken finite place called earth faith he is the same yesterday today and forever he changes not he is true everything about him is right and faith is a trust in the god man Jesus Christ and that's what happened in Luke 24 those two young guys had no idea that their hope was about to collide with faith their hope was colliding with a person and we tell you what the resurrection did the resurrection changed hope forever in this universe called Earth in this universe with the Stars and the solar system the galaxies it's forever all the dreams all the wishes all the desires all the aspirations expectations of all people everywhere have been changed forever and now hope has now found a far greater collaborator it's faith it's based on a person his name is Jesus I wish I could tell you if you had enough face everything you hoped for would come true sometimes we're almost led to believe that that's just not the case there will be more things we will hope for and they will not happen and then they'll be things we didn't help for and they'll happen how about that what I never asked for this I never print he can do exceedingly abundantly above all you asks think or imagine hang out with a few Christians Jesus files we've been doing it for a while they'll tell you God is so good he's not giving me what I hope for by His grace sometimes that's what I want God's like nah I think what you really want what you really need he says so faithful he's so faithful he's believing for a steadiness I'm believing for a consistency that your emotions will not be informed by what happened or didn't have but your emotions will be informed by whom is holding on to you and his name is Jesus kind of thank you for these minutes and moments that we share just love you it's extraordinary you've given us all things pertaining to life and godliness we thank you for that you here today wherever you are in the world watching by yourself family members roommate friends in a park in a living room in a bedroom you're watching right now and you would like to receive the free gift of forgiveness you would like to respond to the divine persuasion Jesus and just accept you can't earn a deserve forgiveness Bible says Jesus became sin he knew no sin he committed no sin he became sin so that you and I by simply believing in what he did about what we did but what he did we can have a relationship with God that will not end ever we will spend forever with Jesus how just receive when I say if you'd like to believe in Jesus what I'm saying is would you like to receive Jesus if you'd like to do that wherever you are in the world on the count of three I'm gonna ask you to raise your hand I know it seems a little awkward but I believe when you respond on the outside to what's happening on the inside it just makes it more real to you 1 2 3 that you just took just look up you're in God you see these hands you see these souls in these hearts and we thank you so much so much that forgiveness flows freely now I pray for every person who's made this decision and I pray for the entire community of church home around the world we declared church home our faith will inform our hope we know who we have believed and you are the true riches and we thank you for that relationship that is secured and cannot be broken and goes on forever and ever without end in Jesus name Amen love you Church whoa hey buddy you guys see it's the subscribe button if you press on it you subscribe to our YouTube channel then you get to watch it and we get to have fun and we get to be friends I love you

Channel: Churchome

Views: 13,396

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Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: datKWZ-H6MI

Length: 37min 42sec (2262 seconds)

Published: Mon May 18 2020