Our Hope – Acts 24:14-15

Jackie sent several of us an e-mail yesterday with a link to an interesting web-site.

It contained some pictures by a British artist with an interesting name: Julian Beever.

This young man uses chalk and other materials to produce street and sidewalk art.

But what is so special about this art is that it is anamorphic –

Even though it might be chalk on a sidewalk, it appears to the eye to be 3-dimensional.

For example, there was a picture of the artist with a bottle opener, next to a eight-foot bottle of Coke laying on its side.

It was hard to tell where the art stopped and the reality began.

It was so life-like that I wondered if it wasn’t actually some sort of computer manipulated image,

so I did some research, and found that this art is for real.

There was another 3-dimensional, full-colored rendition of the world rising up from a sidewalk.

But then there was a second view from the side, showing that this globe was actually about 5 feet wide but 40 feet long in order to give it the 3-D appearance.

When it comes to the ability to produce perspective, unless my eye deceives me, Julian Beever is an artistic genius.

That e-mail arrived as I was trying to come up with an outline for our message this evening.

I had already felt that the Lord wanted us to spend a few minutes thinking about the Christian’s hope, but I was struggling with direction.

After a few more minutes of study, it occurred to me: hope is a very anamorphic subject.

At the very least, it is 3-dimensional.

Obviously, the verb “hope” simply means to anticipate something – usually a good anticipation.

Then the noun “hope” refers to the event or the thing which is anxiously anticipated.

As I read through about a hundred Bible verses using the word “hope” I began to realize some things which I hadn’t noticed before.

For example, there is slightly more use of the word in the Old Testament than in the New, and that surprised me for some reason.

But most of the Old Testament references, with some important exceptions are to various kinds of wishful thinking.

Most Old Testament references are to the common dictionary definition.

I was also surprised to find that the word “hope” is found only one time in the four Gospels,

and it has nothing to do with the “hope of the saints.”

“And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.”

The second time that “hope” is found in the New Testament, to which we’ll return in just a minute, is actually a quote from the Old Testament.

And the third time we find that word it just reminds us again of the dictionary definition:

“When her masters saw that the HOPE of their gains was gone,

they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers.”

It’s not until Paul is under attack by the Jews that we hear references to the “hope of the saints.”

Acts 23:6 – “But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”

Acts 26:6-7 – “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope‘s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.”

In reading all those verses (53 in the New Testament) I was reminded of the fact that “the hope of the saint” is a multifaceted, 3-dimensional, anamorphic subject.

But most Christians, however, picture it as flat and single-dimensional.

This evening, let’s notice that hope has at least three aspects to it.

We begin with hope – THE EVENT.

“This I confess unto thee, – after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers,

believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”

It seems quite obvious that when Paul said “hope” he was referring to the upcoming resurrection.

There is a day coming, actually a couple of days, when the souls of the dead will once again be given some kind of body, and in those bodies they shall be judged before Christ.

Those who are have been made righteous through the grace of God will be rewarded for their service.

Those who are lost will be condemned to the Lake of Fire.

The hope of the saint involves his physical resurrection.

The second reference to “hope” is found in Peter’s Pentecostal sermon in Acts 2.

Please turn to Acts 2:22 – “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest IN HOPE: because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”

The hope of the saint is resurrection, just as it was for David and as Christ Jesus was raised from death.

We could multiply scriptures that remind us of this, but let’s just read one more.

I Thessalonians 4:13 – “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have NO HOPE.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The Christian has a hope which involves his resurrection from the dead.

It is not a hope in the sense of a “wish,” “desire” or “preference.”

A Biblical hope is based upon the promise of God who cannot lie, and therefore it is something guaranteed, but – as of this time – not yet received.

But something else to keep in mind:

Resurrection may be something for which the child of God earnestly yearns,

but the lost have it just as guaranteed as the Christian.

And if that lost man knew anything about what will take place,

you can be sure that there would be no hoping involved.

The lost should dread, fear and hate any talk about the resurrection.

Our hope should be his greatest fear.

What makes the difference between those two resurrections are their TWO EFFECTS.

What so animated Paul in his defense before the Jews and before Felix, was not simply that if they killed him that he would live again.

What excited him was that following his resurrection would begin eternity with Christ.

When Lazarus was called out of his tomb that was not the fulfillment of his hope, because there was going to be a whole future lifetime of problems and pain and eventually another physical death, perhaps a thousand times more difficult than the first.

The hope of the saint isn’t just resurrection, it is the special life which follows it.

The Christian hope of resurrection isn’t flat and one dimensional, but at least three-dimensional.

Turn your Bible to I Corinthians 15:12 – “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

If in this life only WE HAVE HOPE in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

The hope that we have in Christ is life – but not life in this world.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

Now turn to the Titus 1:1 – “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

IN HOPE of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

Titus 2:11 – “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that BLESSED HOPE, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Titus 3:1 – “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE.”

Go to I Peter 1:1 – “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto A LIVELY HOPE by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Now, I John 3:1 – “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And every man that hath THIS HOPE in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

The hope of the saint is resurrection, but resurrection is just as certain for the wicked as it is for the just.

The thing that makes our resurrection different, is that we are raised to LIFE ETERNAL.

The wicked are raised from the dead only to be face the Second Death.

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

But something else which the Christian needs to remember is that eternal life is not merely life without death.

A third aspect of our hope – the IMPACT of our Hope – is eternal fellowship with our Saviour.

Turn to Galatians 5:1 – “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for THE HOPE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith.”

As I Corinthians 15 tells us, at the resurrection we shall be changed.

We shall be glorified and the work of salvation shall be completed; we shall be made righteous.

And in that new and perfect condition we will be able to fellowship with the Lord in ways not yet imagined.

Turn to Colossians 1:1 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, & Timotheus our brother,

To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

For THE HOPE WHICH IS LAID UP FOR YOU in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.”

Now Colossians 2:19 – “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY”

One more verse: I Timothy 1:1 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.”

There is a sense in which, if someone asked you, “What is your greatest hope?” your reply should be:

My greatest hope is not a “what” but “Whom.”

My greatest hope is the Lord Jesus and the fellowship that I will have with him throughout eternity after my resurrection from the dead.