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According to the Pattern

Robert D. Pace

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Man's Only Hope

Romans 5:1-5

By Robert D. Pace

Charles Dickens wrote the book, A Tale of Two Cities.  His composition began with the famous words, "It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times." These words characterized nineteenth century Europe and they explicitly describe America today.

 

As "the best of times" our technology is extraordinary.   The inventions, discoveries, and medical breakthroughs have taken a quantum leap.  For example, consider the achievements birthed during the twentieth century that were unknown to preceding centuries:

In unwitting fashion 1902 cooled the climate by constructing the air conditioner.

 

In 1903 the Wright brothers launched their first successful flight with the airplane.

 

The automobile was mass produced from assembly lines in 1908.

 

In 1917 freezing was developed as a means of preserving food.

 

Perhaps the most important year of this century was 1924 when the television was created.

 

1937 brought the development of photocopying. 

 

1942 witnessed the construction of the nuclear reactor.

From the start of the 20^th Century the communications industry has continually improved.  We've progressed from bulky operator-assisted telephones, past rotor dial phones, to touch-screen cellular phones streamlined to slip into your pocket.

 

The recording industry loses no ground either.  First, there was the record, then the eight track, the cassette, and now the compact disc.

 

And the technology most impacting Americans at the dawning of the twenty first century is the computer industry, whose emerging technology runs ahead of its assembly line.

 

This is a post-modern generation that lives with unparalleled comfort and affluence. Yet this century, which was to birth an age of utopia is riddled with distress.  Somehow these achievements have been plagued by considerable calamity. These "best of times" have incurred "the worst of times."

 

America employs 800,000 law enforcement workers but despite this enormous workforce the number of arrests for criminal infractions continually rises.  Listen to some statistics furnished by the F.B.I. reflecting what happened in 2007:

• 1,400,000 violent crimes
• 15,700 murders
• 78,600 forcible rapes
• 422,200 robberies
• 789,200 aggravated assaults
• 11,000,000 arrests each year.
•  State and federal institutions house 800,000 inmates
  
• Each day, 89 Americans commit suicide.  That equates to 32,600 suicides annually.  Reports estimate there are 400,000 unsuccessful attempts.

Crime isn't the only American scourge.  Sexually transmitted diseases ravage our land.  The HIV virus was unknown until 1981.  HIV neutralizes the body's immune system and makes it impossible to counteract viruses and diseases. It's been described as the most dreadful disease of the twentieth century because no one recovers from it and there doesn't appear to be an emerging cure.

 

In 1981 eighty-three AIDS cases were discovered in the U.S.  Today, it is estimated that 1,000,000 Americans live with HIV.  And it's a global problem.  AIDS is in more than 162 countries and some experts believe some African nations are underestimating their accounts as much as 90%. The World Health Organization estimates that ten million people are carriers of the AIDS virus.

 

These are "the best of times, and . . . the worst of times." Technology has made life easier but not better. Man has speed, but no direction; we have convenience, but not contentment.  Never has an age of such modernism combated so many overwhelming problems.

 

This is the precise picture Christ painted of the end times.  Jesus said the last generation would be marked with dilemma, discord, and despair:

 

Matthew 24:21 says: "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again."

 

Listen to what Solomon said would happen when knowledge escalated: "with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief" (ECC 1:18).

 

We can't expect a world cursed and impaired by sin to correct itself.  Scripture says conditions will worsen before they improve. Jesus said immediately before His Return that "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (7) . . . the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (MAT 24, NIV). What a foreboding of earth's last days!

 

(Transition) Despite these perplexities there's good news!  There really is!  The Bible promises hope and help for this troubled world.  And there are valid, biblical reasons for this hope.  First, there is hope because Jesus overcame the world.

 

  I.          There is Hope because Jesus Overcame the World

 

Jesus said in John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

 

Here is life's dichotomy.  On one hand, our outward surroundings are chaotic and perplexing.  On the other, Jesus supplies an inner peace to help us face all that life throws at us.  The reason we know this promise is true is because we have the record of how Jesus Himself handled life 2000 years ago:

He mastered life at every point and never succumbed to temptation.

 

He cured every sickness confronting Him.

 

He calmed every sea raging before Him.

 

He ended every controversy aimed at maligning Him.

 

He conquered every demon contesting Him.  As the Captain of our salvation He was unacquainted with defeat.

 

At His crucifixion, He faithfully died for our sins and three days later rose from the grave to offer us eternal life.

Christians have hope today because Christ conquered life yesterday!  Here's what Jesus meant when He said "I have overcome the world":

 

When life is without direction "lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

 

When friends and loved ones abandon you He "will never leave you nor forsake you."

 

When sickness strikes remember: "By his stripes you were healed."

 

And when death knocks at your door remember that Jesus Christ conquered the grave by rising from the dead.  And "because He lives we will live also." 

(Illustration)  The story is told of Joseph Screven who was engaged.  Unfortunately, she drowned the day before the wedding.  For months this young man was bitter and discouraged, but during that time someone shared the message of Christ and he was born again. An unusual peace flooded his soul and under divine inspiration he composed these words:

 

"What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear;

What a privilege to carry,

Everything to God in prayer."

 

(Transition) There is hope for every circumstance because Jesus has overcome the world.  But not only is there hope because Christ overcame the world, secondly, the Word of God offers hope.

 

 II.        The Living Word of God Offers Hope

 

There have been many extraordinary books written through the ages but the Bible is the book of the ages.  Hebrews described it as "living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword." No other writing rivals this Book with its hundreds of promises. (Rick Warren said there are 8000 promises in the Bible.)

 

There's no other king of Israel that set their affection and hope on God's Word like David. When you study David's biography you discover his extraordinary character and talents.  Many people that possess unusual natural gifts are tempted to trust in themselves but David placed his reliance upon God's Word.

 

As a youth he slew a lion, bear, and a Philistine giant.

 

He was an ingenious General of Israel's army.

 

By today's standards he was a billionaire.

But David's trust and hopes did not rest in his human prowess.  He was totally beholden to the Word of God.  That's what brought David his victories!

And the Word that sustained and empowered David is the Word that sustains and empowers us today.  It answers every dilemma and circumstance.  Isaiah 55:11 says: "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." The sheer power of God's Word can transform any situation:

One word from Christ's lips exorcised 6000 demons from a man name Legion.

Three of God's Words, "Lazarus, come forth," rattled the grave, unhinged its gates, and snatched a dead man from the clutches of eternity.

 

Four of God's Words, "Let My people go," crushed the repression of Egypt and liberated Israel.

 

One sentence from Elijah's lips sealed the heavens and for three and a half years the ground cracked and shriveled with a draught.

 

Christ's Word opened the blinded eyes of a Jericho beggar and it shut the eyes of a sorcerer in Paphos.

 

And God's unchanging Word offers hope and help today and no other book matches it.

(Illustration)  The words of hope inscribed on the Statue of Liberty provide a sharp contrast with the hope God's Word offers.  Its inscription reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath freely; The wretched refuge of your teeming shores; send these.  The homeless, tempest toss to me."

That sounds opportunistic and certainly America's liberty and free enterprise system offer more than any other land.  But need I reiterate the turbulence and pain America presently experiences?

 

I appreciate the benevolence that America offers for impoverished and suffering people—we need a compassionate society.  But the real hope isn't in a land of opportunity or in not Washington DC.

 

A democrat in the White House isn't the answer; neither is a republican!  And it doesn't matter who controls Congress.  Man's real source of help, strength, and well-being doesn't come from earthly institutions it comes from God and His Word.

 

(Illustration) Shortly after the United Nations was established the eminent German theologian Karl Barth addressed that organization. Since 1948 the primary pursuit of the United Nations has been world peace.  It has expended billions of dollars towards this goal.  But it forfeited any chance of appreciable success at its inception. In an effort to appease atheistic countries the United Nations refused to invoke God's Name in its charter. That was a doomsday decision because Jesus said in John 15:5, "apart from me you can do nothing." Realizing the U.N.'s flawed foundation Karl Barth prophetically remarked, "This international organization [the U.N.] could be an earthly parable of the heavenly kingdom, but real peace will not be made here on this earth, although it may seem to approach it." The United Nations has floundered for fifty years at harnessing hope.

 

In contrast to the hope the world offers there are the Words of Christ in Matthew 11:28 where He said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  (30) For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

(Transition)  Thirdly, not only is there hope because Jesus overcame the world and through the power of God's Word, finally, Christ's Coming offers hope.

 

III.       Christ's Coming Offers Hope

 

Titus 1:2 says Christians have "a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time." Titus 2:13 stresses that Christians should "wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

 

The Church's unrivaled hope is Christ's Return.  That's why Paul called it the "blessed hope." It marks the day when sin, sickness, and death will cower from Christ and be plunged into eternal darkness.  In heaven there won't be hospitals, convalescent homes, mortuaries, or graveyards.  Christ's Coming will expunge all evil and replace it with bliss.

 

(Illustration) Some years ago one noted Gospel composer wrote the song: "If Heaven Was Never Promised To Me." Although he wrote many wonderful songs this one failed the test of theological scrutiny.  [Numerous songs have failed the test of theological scrutiny.]  Listen to the words:

 

If Heaven never was promised to me,

Neither God's promise to live eternally,

It's been worth, just having the Lord in my life,

Living in a world of sorrow,

He came along and brought me new life.

 

But here's what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:19, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

 

Here's what Paul was saying: Without the hope of heaven the struggle and pain of Christians wouldn't be worth it.  Heaven is the place of a Christian's crowning reward.

 

Here's how John the Revelator saw heaven: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  (2)  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  (3)  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (5)  He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"

 

Amen! The New World Order won't come through Peace Pacts, Peace Agreements, Peace Organizations, or an international military.  Peace Pacts are broken before the ink has time to dry!  Real hope will be realized when Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, returns to this earth and establishes His eternal kingdom.

 

Conclusion

 

Regardless of civilization's progress life remains a "rat-race."  But when your soul is anchored in Christ there is hope.  The Apostle Paul prayed that: "the God of hope [would] fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (ROM 15:13).

 

The Bible says everyone in this world will stand before his Maker.  One day all humanity will gather before God's throne and give an account for themselves.  Those rejecting Christ as their Savior will hear Him say: "depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you." And their sentence will banish them into Hell's eternal torment, where there's no escape.  Conversely, the redeemed will hear the words:"Well-done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joys of the Lord." The hope of eternal life will no longer be a hope, it will be a reality; "and so shall we ever be with the Lord."