Life and Hope in Him – Sermon 19 April, 2015

Life and Hope in Him
In the tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we see Jesus calling His twelve disciples, giving them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness, sending them out with important instructions of where to go, where not to go, what to do, what not to do, what to take, what not to take, what to give and what not to receive. These were necessary and important instructions to a group of inexperienced and fragile people with various limitations and yet were ready to do their best for the Master regardless of their limitations and weaknesses. We see Him also instructing them to be shrewd as snakes, innocent as doves and on guard against men, who would hand them over to the religious and political leaders on His account and bring them before the governors and kings. In other words they would be persecuted because of their faith and commitment.
These words of Jesus were terrifying and in those words there is not a shred of evidence that things would be good for His followers and for all who will be willing to give everything for His sake and do as He has told. The only encouragement in these life threatening challenges was the promise that those who would persecute them would kill the body but will not be able to kill the soul. In other words the promise that Jesus gives here is the promise of eternal life; a life which would not be concluded by the perishing of the physical body, but will live forever with the soul, which is under the control of God and not men. It is clear that Jesus is not promising an easy life for His followers, but He is promising them a life which will be eternal by His grace and power.
Jesus told His disciples: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”. These words should give us the hope we need to endure and stay on track in our life journey, knowing that we can and we will live for ever with Him.
As Christians we will face many challenges in the life we live. We know that life is not easy. We live in a world where death is something we cannot escape. It could come in many ways and forms, whether as a result of accident, sickness, natural disaster, terrorism, war or just getting older. We know that many are killed for just being born Christians and practicing their faith. Today we live in world full of hate, abuse and misconduct. All these could easily be simple reasons for losing our life. But the promise of our Lord should sustain us not only for the present but for the future and give us hope for eternal life, which is promised to all those who keep the faith and live a life which is based on the truth and the instructions of the Father given in His Word. Jesus clearly states that we as human beings are vulnerable and exposed to dangers and threat, but He has assured us that our soul is in God’s hands; in His hands.
C. S. Lewis: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” What’s the idea? God gets our attention when we’re in pain or experience troubles and suffering in this life.
Romans 8:17 “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Can suffering cause us to become more obedient to God as well? Yes. It brings a person down. And God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Suffering humbles us and makes us more submissive and obedient to God, which is something we all need to do more of.
Paul tells us why we must not let our present suffering get us down. Three points:
1. Suffering is part of life
When suffering comes our way we need to be like Job. After losing everything he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:21-22)
2. We hope for something better
There is something better waiting for us. We have a beautiful life ahead of us and in some ways; we have no idea how beautiful! Paul says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18)
Something far better is coming to us!
3. We receive help for our weaknesses
Someone asked C.S. Lewis, “Why do the righteous suffer?” “Why not?” he replied. “They’re the only ones who can take it.” Why can we take it better than someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Because we have the help of God’s Spirit who lives within us!
We find our blessing, help, and strength in the Lord. If we never experienced any hardships or suffering we would never reach up to Him! 1. We recognize that suffering is a part of this world 2. We hope of something better 3. We receive help for our weaknesses.
We have seen many losses because of wars, killings and tragedies, which have ended many lives. This year coincides with the Centenary of the ANZACs as well as the Armenian Genocide, which is the first genocide of the 20th century. More than one and a half million lives were perished by the atrocities of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians all over the world commemorate the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide on 24 April. And on the 25 April we commemorate ANZAC Day with special events in Australia and all over the world. We honour the victims and martyrs of the Genocide and of the War. Yes, we mourn the loss, but at the same time we celebrate life for the simple reason that men can kill the body, but will never be able to kill the soul. It lives for ever.
As we remember those who have sacrificed their lives for their faith and country, let us be aware that the spirit lives for ever and its legacy have been passed to us and through us to many generations.

Krikor Youmshajekian