A message preached at Grey Gables, Aug 21, 2024, on 'wisdom.' 

​Life inside a mine is dark, even the lights struggle to cut through the darkness. If you’ve ever toured a mine you’ll know that when all light is turned off it is pitch black.

Darkness is what consumed our beloved.

And darkness is growing in our society.

And on a day like today we feel the effects of that darkness in grief.

Where does darkness come from? The Bible says that darkness is the result of sin, being lost in our rebellion from a good God. (c.f. Ro 6:23a)

In the face of the darkness of sin, we all need HOPE!

Not a fleeting hope that the world offers but true and real and lasting hope that only God can offer and has offered in the Good News of the Death and Resurrection of His Son, for the believer’s forgiveness and gift of life eternal!

What is hope? It isn’t wishful thinking, though it can be. It IS faith in something certain. In this case, God and His word.

I want to dwell upon a prayer for hope found in Ro 15:13, “May.” Paul, an early follower and missionary of Jesus is writing to Roman Christians about Jesus, the hope of the nations. It is a prayer for believers and unbelievers alike, a pray for hope.

It is my prayer that this prayer would become your prayer in this hour of darkness and always.

Three points from this verse:

1. Hope begins with God.

In fact, among His characteristics like almighty, love and truth, mercy, justice, etc, we should add to the list HOPE.

Because the impossible is possible with Him, He can be hoped in.

1. Hope comes by believing

Not merely agreeing that God exists, but trusting Him, particularly, believing in His Son, in His death and resurrection, turning from sin and trusting in Him for forgiveness and new life.

Until this point no one has true and lasting hope. Darkness prevails upon us.

At this point, the very moment you cry out to God for mercy, believing in His Good News, one has hope in the here and the hereafter.   

1. Hope is a gift the believer receives

Forgiven and assured of eternal life by the presence of the HS, the HS—not by works or conjuring—but His power and His filling, the believer gains, no, abounds in hope! We know we are forgiven. We know that He is with us.  We know that the Lord has a bright future for us, and whatever we face until then, that He will help us through it.

As we believe in and follow the RISEN Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father, coming again to judge the living and the dead, our hope abounds so we have enough not only for ourselves but to offer to those in the deepest darkness.

Friends, those walking in the darkness of sin and grief… Life doesn’t need to be dark. We have hell to shun and heaven to gain. Hope begins with repentance and faith in Jesus. In Him and Him alone we have strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow (c.f. Hymn- Great if Thy Faithfulness). There is a hope… [lead in to closing hymn of that name]

 
QUESTION- Who here likes doughnuts? Who has a favourite doughnut?
(My favourite are chocolate knots with sprinkles-yum). 

​Did you know they have found doughnut-like foods in archaeological digs from Bible times? The modern doughnut, however, came from the Dutch in the 1700s- oly koeks- oily cakes. However, it wasn't until the 1850s and a Capt. Gregory from the USA that doughnuts lost their middle. Originally, they were dough knots, a knotted dough ring. Perhaps Gregory took them out to fit on his ships wheel, or to allow the centres to cook more easily, or maybe to save money! At any rate, by the 1920s there was a doughnut machine and their popularity in WWI and WWII with soldiers helped to bring them into American culture: Krispy Cream, Dunkin Donuts (and Tim Hortons in Canada). 

Let's learn a funny song about doughnuts and Jesus.

 Let me explain that song.

God created us to know Him. Just like Lego, a puzzle or a craft has the grand design that we build, we were created to know God. Mt 4:10 says we were created, to worship (love) and serve Him. When God first created us, our ancestors (Adam and Eve) were in a perfect garden. There was only one negative command, not to eat of a certain tree lest they died (Gen 2:17). The moment they ate of it, the greatest tragedy happened: they spiritually died and began to physically die. In their rebellion they were cut off from God.

QUESTION- Who knows the central letter in the following words: sIn and prIde?

"I"- destroyed the peace and purpose and friendship and fullness we were created for. Like a doughnut, we were no longer whole, we had a hole in our heart. 1600 years ago Augustine said, "Our hearts will go on being restless until they fine their rest in You." Similarly, 400 years ago Pascal said, "Our hearts are a bottomless cavern."

QUESTION- Without God, what sorts of substitutes do people try to fill their lives with?

Pascal also said, "We have a Christ shaped hole in our hearts." Because we were made for God, only a restored relationship with Him through faith in His Son, Jesus, will make us whole again.

Let me tell you part of my story of becoming whole. When I was young I believed in God. Life was good. I was getting on being a child. Then two things happened that made me realize I wasn't whole. The first was when I was 5 and my parents stopped taking me to church. I knew that wasn't right, so I pestered them until we returned. But still, there was something missing. Then one day about 7 I entered a store with my father and I stole something! (Drum roll) Can you guess what it was? A paperclip. Yes, I stole a paperclip. I felt so guilty that I walked out of the store and through it in the grass beside the sidewalk. However, I still felt guilty. I was aware of a whole in my heart. 

I'll tell the rest of that story at our next campfire together, but let me tell you how we can fill that hole and become whole. When we turn from our sin and trust in Jesus, Eph 4 says, "Christ comes to dwell in our hearts by faith." Forgiven and assured of life eternal, He helps us worship and serve Him forever, just as we were created to. YUM.

[distribute doughnuts and ask children if they think they know what sweet treat I'll bring next time]

A sermon preach at Kensington Baptist Church, Bristol, UK, on the Lord's Day, August 4.