Echoes of Grace
Rumour of Hope
Lesson by Espn McCall, Preacher at Wickett Church of Christ
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Duration:
- 39m
- Broadcast on:
- 25 Nov 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
But this morning we are going to give a lesson on something that you've actually heard since I got here. Something that you heard this morning, something that you have actually heard a lot this morning since we did singing. And it's not songs. We're not hearing about Psalms and spiritual songs. But you've heard it in every one of my lessons. You've heard it in just about every lesson you've ever heard. And yet you might not have caught up this morning. I'm going to tell you about a rumor of hope. Now in order to start off with this lesson, I figured I might as well define the word rumor for you. And I'm not going to define the word rumor out of maybe the dictionary you want me to define it out of. We'll use the Cambridge dictionary and the Collins dictionary this morning. Now nothing's working. There we go. I got it. So the Cambridge dictionary defines it as an unofficial interesting story or a piece of news that might be true or invented. It quickly spreads from person to person. And the Collins dictionary actually spells it the right way. That extra you in there is the proper way to spell rumor. It's just not the American way to spell rumor. It says a rumor is a story or a piece of information that's may or may not be true. But that people are talking about. So here we have this rumor of hope. And you say you just told us that it's not true. You just told us though what you're about to preach to us was not true. No, no, you didn't listen. If you thought that way you didn't listen, right? It's an unofficial interesting story or piece of news that might be true. That it also means it might not but it means it could be true. And so I'm going to explain it to you to show you how it is true. Start with me in Luke chapter one. Because we have a rumor of God's hope. Luke chapter one, we'll go to verse 67. Luke chapter one in verse 67 to 71. It'll be up here on the board in the King James version. So then his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of the servant David." As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hands of all that hate us. So it says here as he space by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began, you say, well that doesn't make a lot of sense. So let me explain it to you. God sent his holy prophets in the beginning, and he sent his holy prophets in the beginning to spread his hope. And how do I know that? Go to Luke chapter 7 with me. Luke chapter 7 verses 14 to 17. Luke chapter 7 in verse 14, it says, "And he said, 'Young man, I say unto thee, arise.' And he that was dead, sat up and began to speak, and he delivered him to his mother, and there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying that a great prophet is risen among us, and that God has visited his people. And this rumor of him went forth throughout old Judea, throughout all the region round about." So here in verse 17 it says, "And this rumor of him, what rumor of him? The rumor that the great prophet is risen up among us, or among them, and that God had visited his people." That's the rumor. And if we looked back in Luke chapter 1 in verse 68, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people." That's Luke chapter 1. This is six chapters later. And Luke chapter 1, which have been since the world began, and this rumor of him went forth throughout old Judea. Here is this rumor of God, and it has been there since the beginning, whenever God visited his people. Now of course not only do we have this rumor of God's hope, but we also have man's desperate need for hope. Go with me to John chapter 5. John chapter 5 in verse 2 is where we'll begin, and we'll read through verse 9. John chapter 5 in verse 2 reads, "Now there is that Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches, and these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, hath withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water, whosoever than first after the traveling to the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." So here we have desperate, men desperate people, and these waterly great multitudes of impotent folk of the blind, that have withered, waiting for the moving water, they were desperate, the waiting for the water. So the angel went down and he troubles the water for them, and the first one to step in the troubled water was made whole. They were desperate that the water might do something for them because of where it was, because it was in Jerusalem. Now if we continue on in verse 5 says, "And a certain man was there which had an infirmity 30 and 8 years." So 38 years he had an infirmity. "When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said it, or he sayeth unto him, 'Well, thou be made whole.'" The impotent man answered him, "Sir, I have..." Sorry, my voice went away. "Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another stepeth down before me. Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up thy bed and walk.' And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked." So here we have the story of Jesus with this impotent man, this man with an infirmity for 38 years. And we can conclude or we can come to the conclusion of the man can't walk, he can't quite move himself. For he says, "I have no one to put me into the pool, and he's lying down." And Jesus comes up to him and he notices this and he asks, "Will you be made whole?" And his desperation says, "Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool." Because they have this hope of the pool. They have this hope that it is in their desperate that they might be healed, that they might be put into the water. So Jesus, seeing this desperation, helps him. He heals him, he says, "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." And immediately he was made whole. Now go with me to John chapter 11. John chapter 11, we'll look at verse 21, John chapter 11 and verse 21, we'll read through verse 27, it states, "Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadest been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now whatsoever thou will task of God, God will give it to thee. Jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall raise again. Martha saith unto him. I know that he shall riseeth again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And who so ever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth, thou, this, she saith unto him, yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." Now this woman Martha seems to be a desperate woman, doesn't she? If thou had been here, he wouldn't have died. If you were here, Lord, he wouldn't have died. But I know that even now, whatever you ask of God he'll give to you. But I know you have that hour. I know that God listens to you. And he says your brother will rise again. And she says, I know he'll rise at the end of days. I know rise into the resurrection. And he says, I am life. I am resurrection. And he will live again if you believe, if he believed. So she's a desperate person. She's desperate because her brother has died. She called for Jesus and said, Lord, if you were just here, he wouldn't have died. And due to that rumor of hope that is spread among the land, she knows this, that God is walking with his people. Let's kind of skip down in the story a little bit. Go to verse 38. Verse 38 through 40. Says, Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, take ye the stone away. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he sinketh, for he that hath been dead for days. Jesus said unto her, said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldst see the glory of God. And then in verse 43, and when he had thus spoken, he cried out with a loud voice, a Lazarus, come forth. So here Jesus therefore groaning in himself comes to the grave and it was a cave with a stone on and he says, move the stone. He's alive. And she says, Lord, no. By this time he sinks in. He's been dead for four days. And his response was said I not unto thee, or did I not tell you that if you believe you would see the glory of God. I did I not tell you that if you just believe in me, I'd raise him from the dead. And of course we know she moves the stone. Whenever they move the stone, he speaks and cries with a loud voice. Lazarus come forth and Lazarus walks out of the cave. She needed that hope. She was desperate for what hope, though. Well, for the rumor of hope, for God's hope, that God walked with his people, that Jesus is God. That was the rumor that was in their time. And he told our future is believe in me. I'll show you God. I'll show you God's glory. And she believed him. And she moved the stone. Her brother was raised. Go with me now to Mark chapter 16. And as you turn there, this hope is too unbelievable to be hoped for. In today's world we can't hope that we roll away a tomb or a rock on a tomb. And somebody says rise and walk and we and our brother walks out. We don't have that hope in today's world, right? It's unbelievable. Well, it was unbelievable in their day too. That didn't just happen anymore. God left his people back at the end of Malachi. And in Mark 16, we'll look at verses 9, 10, and 11. Mark chapter 16, beginning in verse 9, it says, "Now when Jesus was risen early, the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. And when they learned that he was alive and had been seen of her did not believe." So here we kind of have the same story, the same story. Don't we? I seem to be very tongue-tied today. We have the same story somebody died. They were placed in a tomb and now they're seen alive. Well, of course, they don't believe her. Now, how can that happen? But that doesn't just happen. It's too good to be true. So let's go back a verse to Mark or a couple verses to Mark chapter 16 verse 7. Mark chapter 16 and verse 7, it says, "Jesus, but go your way. Tell his disciples that, and Peter, that he go with before you into Galilee. There shall ye see him." And he said, as he said unto you. And in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 30 and 32 it says, "And when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then, sayeth Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again I will go before you into Galilee. This is how we know it's Jesus. Because Jesus, too, is disciples at the Mount of Olives alone says, "But after I am risen again I will go before you into Galilee." And when he talks to Mary, Magdalene, he tells her, "Tell them I will meet them in Galilee." That's where they will find me. No, of course, if this was any other man he wouldn't have known this. He wouldn't have known that he told them he will find them or they will find him in Galilee after he is risen. Which is how we know it's Jesus. It's how they have that hope. Now go with me to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, we have another disciple of Jesus where the hope was just too unbelievable for him. And John chapter 20 and verse 24 it says, "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came." The other disciples therefore said unto him, "We have seen the Lord, but he said unto them, except I shall see in his hands the prince of the nails, and put my finger into the prince of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side I will not believe." This here is a disciple of Jesus once again where this doesn't happen. Right? I had this hope, but it's too unbelievable. Right? We saw him hung on a cross stabbed in the side. The water came out. We saw him buried in a tomb. He's not just out walking around. He has a hole in his side and holes in his hands and feet. But it's too unbelievable to actually have that hope. Look at the next few verses with me. Verses 26 to 29. "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst instead, peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, 'My Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen me, and yes, believed." He says, "Blessed are they that have not seen me, and yet have believed." Well, brother, that's us today. This is an unbelievable hope, isn't it? Because that doesn't help it. People don't just rise from the dead where the spear hole in the side and holes in their hands and feet and walk around town. And you're not going to find them on the open way. You're not going to find them in Galilee. You're not going to walk out of the building and find somebody that has been dead. That has been confirmed dead, standing there. It's an unbelievable hope, but he says, "Blessed are they that have not seen me, but have believed me." Right, blessed are those that have this hope. They don't have any proof of it. That's what hope is, isn't it? Hope is something that we don't actually have the proof of. That's why it's hope. We believe that it can happen. We have hope that it can happen, but it hasn't yet. And Thomas, one of his disciples, strictly says, "Unless I put my hand in his side and feel the holes in his hand, I'm not going to believe it." Right, it's too unbelievable. So I'm not going to. And his other disciples back in Mark 16, whenever Mary Magdalene came and said, "He's alive." So no, he's not. But I can't believe that. He's dead. Well, isn't that crazy? The people who were trained by him, the people who saw him, saw the miracles he did. It's even unbelievable to them. So then here's a question. What's our need for hope? We're never going to see him. Not what we're alive. He's not going to come walking through the door and say, "Here, put your hand in my side. Feel the holes in my hand, it's not going to happen." Go with me to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1, we'll look in verse 40 to 45. Mark chapter 1, beginning in verse 40, it says, "And there came a leper to him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, 'If thou wilt, thou canst, make me clean.'" And if thy will do it, if you so please it, you can cleanse me of leprosy as what he says. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him and say unto him, "I will." But, or sorry, be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken immediately, the leper seated parted from him and he was cleansed. Now, brethren, this isn't the only time in the Bible. This has happened. There's another time that I'm sure many of you know where the Roman centurion sends to Jesus and says, "My servant is sick." Come and heal him. I know you can do it, right? I'm a man of power, you're a man of power. If I say it's done, it gets done. If you say it's done, it gets done. Come heal my servant. Jesus looks at me and says, "I don't have to go there." Your belief made him well. And I don't even have to show up because you know I have the power, right? Because you have hope that I have the power. That's why you sent to me. He didn't even have to show up. I'd like to introduce an island to you. An island that, well, it had its day back in the 1866 to 1969. It is a name. I'm going to butcher, but I'll pronounce it. Malokias kalab papa peninsula. Now, I know I said it wrong. And if anybody thinks they can say it right, let me know afterwards, so I can say it right next time. So, you might not know what this is, but this was a leper colony from 1866 to 1969. The government supplied no food, shelter, or drinking water to anybody that was there. The lepers were thrown overboard and they had to swim to shore. And a death certificate was signed for them upon their day of arrival. So here we have essentially a peninsula of lepers. They've been marked as dead. They don't exist anymore. I know they died off. They've been stranded on an island, no food, shelter, or water. They've had to do everything for themselves. And a Catholic priest shows up by the name of Damian A. Bellian, which I've also horribly pronounced. He arrives in 1873, right? And he says, I'm going to teach these people. I'm going to heal these people. And 12 years later, he develops lepers, he as well. And as there's a picture of it here, it says we lepers. This was an island of lepers, or a peninsula of lepers as it were. And as we just saw in Mark chapter 40, I'm sorry, in Mark chapter 1 and verse 40 and 41, and there came a leper to him. Here's our leper. They're beseeching and they're kneeling down to him. You can make me clean. It says, and Jesus moves with compassion. And he cares. And it says, you have the hope that I can do it. You believe I can do it. And he puts forth his hand as he touches him, and he says, I will kill you. Be thou clean. So the leper realizes he needed help. He seeks after the Lord. And he has faith in the Savior's ability to heal him. Now, if we go back to our island, if Damien, the Catholic priest who develops leprosy, now I'm not going to tell you the Catholic priest was sent there because Jesus was inside of him and he was going to heal him or have the Holy Spirit and miraculous powers because that's not how it works. But somebody went to teach him God. He also developed leprosy, right? Because it doesn't work that way. We can't just go, that we can't just go to this colony of lepers and say, Hey, I'm going to teach you God and you're all going to be healed and I'm not going to get anything. Because after all 12 years, that's what Damien tries to do when he gets leprosy. Because we don't have that power. The Catholic priest doesn't have that power. The pope doesn't have that power. It doesn't exist today. See, it's interesting because the Savior touched him. Jesus Christ touched him. There's our need for hope. There's our need for hope that even the Catholic priest on the island of lepers couldn't do it. If you get leprosy, stay away from me. I can't heal you. Now, you can call me on the phone. I'll talk to you. You ain't going to spread leprosy over the phone, but I can't heal you. Don't come here. Stay away. I don't want leprosy. I'd like to keep standing up here and bridge it. So brethren, the Savior has to touch you and the Savior is not here today to do that. So what's the point in our hope if the Savior's not here? Well, that's exactly the point in our hope. The Savior's not here. Brethren, I'm going to tell you right now, the rumors are true. Our hope is in Christ Jesus. That's where our hope belongs. Go with me to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 in verse 20 and 21. It says moreover, the law entered that the offense may abound. But where sin about it, grace did much more abound than as sin hath rained unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. It says moreover, the law entered that offense might abound. But where sin abounded, where sin existed, where sin prospers, grace did so much more. The grace of God prospered so much more that as sin hath rained unto death, sin exists to the point of which you die and you can't sin anymore. Even so much, even so might grace through righteousness exist unto eternal life through Jesus. Sin stops at death. You can't sin when you're dead. Hate to tell you, it's just not going to happen. But grace, righteousness continues. Jesus Christ gave us that grace that through death we might continue to have righteousness. How about 2 Corinthians chapter 5? 2 Corinthians chapter 5 in verses 20 and 21. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ dead. Be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made righteous, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Brethren, if you don't have the belief, if you don't have that hope that Jesus Christ came and died for our sins, that was made to be sin who had knew no sin. Jesus did not sin, and yet he was made to be sin for us, so we can have righteousness. If you don't have that hope, if you don't have that belief, then you are not the righteousness of God. That's not who you are, that's not what you have. How about Ephesians? Are there any Ephesians chapter 2 in verse 11? Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 11 through 13 it says, "Wherefore remember that ye being in the time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called on circumcision by that which is called circumcision of the flesh made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the common wealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." But now in Christ, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. So let me explain this to you. I've got some things bolded, verse 12, but at the time ye were without Christ, having no hope. The Gentiles who were called uncircumcised by the Jews who were called circumcised were without Christ. At that time they had no hope. But now in Christ Jesus, now you have them. The ones who were far off are made nigh. You're here now. You have the same chances everybody else. We the Gentiles have the same chances the Jews had. We can have that hope because we have Christ. How about Acts chapter 17? Acts chapter 17 and verses 30, 31 and 32. So as in at the times of this ignorance, God winked at. But now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. Whereof ye hath given assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised him from the dead, and when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked and others said, we will hear the again of this matter. Here we have the resurrection of the dead is talked about again during a time of ignorance. It says, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. The man whom he hath ordained was Christ Jesus. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, when they heard Christ came back, right, Christ was a resurrected. He was hung on a cross. He died for our sins and he's back. Some of them mocked. That's not possible. You're making it up. He probably had a twin and you just painted some stuff on him, right? You painted on the scars. They mocked him. And others said, we need to know what you're talking about. And we'll come listen again. What are you saying? In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18, it says this, "For the preaching of the crosses to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which is saved, it is the power of God." So it says, "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness." The preaching of the cross is to the foolish when they mock the parish. But unto those that are saved, it is the power of God. But unto those that say, we will hear thee again of this matter. That's the power of God right there. But we're going to listen to you. What are you saying? And turn with me to one last scripture, brethren. First Peter chapter 1, 1, go. And verse 8 and 9. It'll get there eventually. First Peter chapter 1, go. It's not going to go. We're going to look at Romans 6. First Peter chapter 1 and verse 8 and 9, it says, "Whom have I not seen ye love, and whom now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoice with unspeakable joy, or joy unspeakable, and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." Brethren, as I've told you, I love first Peter every lesson I've given to you has first Peter in it. Because of this verse right here, whom you have not seen ye love, and whom though you now do not see. You believe and you rejoice. You have unspeakable joy and you're full of glory. Brethren, I'm going to tell you right now, we have not seen Jesus. While we're alive, we will not see Jesus. Are we where this congregation is? Are we where this church is? Where we haven't seen him yet, we love him? Right? Where we will not see him and we believe in him, we have this hope in him. So much so that it is the salvation of our soul. Or are we stuck in a point in which we don't get that salvation? It doesn't make sense to us, how can that happen? Are we where Thomas is? Are we unless I put my hand on his side, it didn't happen. Unless he resurrects my mother from the dead, it didn't happen. Oh my husband died, Jesus better bring him back, or Jesus isn't real. Is that where you're at? As a Christian? Are you here? Repeater tells you to be. Brethren, do you have a hope that is too unbelievable to be hoped for? Do you have the hope of Jesus Christ? I implore you brother, and if you might not have that hope, you might be ashamed to say you have that hope. Or maybe you just think it's too good to be true, and you just show up because what if it is? And brother, I'm going to ask that you come forward and ask for strength, that you ask for the prayers, that you ask for help, so that you might understand that it's not too good to be true, that it's not a well, if it is true, at least I'm saved now, that you want to be here, that you want to love him, and you want to have unspeakable joy while you rejoice. And if any of you haven't entered into that hope, you haven't entered into Jesus Christ through baptism, if you'd come forward as we stand and and seeing the song that has been selected.
Lesson by Espn McCall, Preacher at Wickett Church of Christ
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.