Tawa Baptist

Destiny

Scripture: Genesis 49:13-28

Video Link: https://youtu.be/DjrHzeXa9p0

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Genesis 49:13-28
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If I were to say, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get’, who would I be quoting? [Wait] That’s right Forrest Gump.

A box of chocolates normally contains a variety of flavours, some we like and others not so much. The point here is that life is full of unknowns. We don’t always know what’s coming our way. Some experiences will be to our liking and others we may prefer to spit out.

Today we continue our series in the life of Joseph. We’ve come to that part in the story where Joseph’s father, Jacob, is on his death bed saying his last goodbyes to his twelve sons. Jacob’s poem gives each of his sons an insight into their character and the destiny for their descendants.

It’s sort of like Jacob is saying, this is the flavour chocolate I see for you. The sons can do little else but listen and swallow their father’s words. Last week we heard what Jacob had to say to his four eldest sons. This week we hear Jacob’s words to his eight younger sons. From Genesis 49, verse 13, we read…

13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. 14 “Issachar is a raw-boneddonkey lying down among the sheep pens. 15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labour. 6 “Danwill provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. 18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord. 19 “Gadwill be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. 20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. 21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. 22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. 23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayedlimber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, thanthe bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince amonghis brothers. 27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.” 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Genesis 49:13-28

One of the themes explored by the film Forrest Gump is the question of whether our lives are subject to destiny. Is our storyalready written by some higher power, or is what happens to us just random?

Towards the end of the movie Forrest says this…

“I don’t know if Momma was right or if it’s Lieutenant Dan. I don’t know if we each have a destiny or if we’re all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze. But I think maybe it’s both.”

With last week’s message in mind, we might want to add that the choices we make affect our lives as well. Yes, there are things in this life that are beyond our control. We don’t always know what flavour chocolate we might get. But the principle that we reap what we sow also holds true.

In verse 13, Jacob says, “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon”.

Zebulun was Jacob’s tenth son, the youngest of the boys born to Leah. In this verse Jacob seems to be indicating the location of the land that will be allotted to Zebulun in Canaan. The problem is that history does not square with Jacob’s prediction.

Zebulun’s territory was landlocked with no sea in sight. Jacob’s prediction (if it is to be taken literally) fits better for Asher. So how do we explain this?

Has something been lost in translation? Did Jacob get it wrong? Did God change his mind? We simply do not know.

Personally, I like the anomaly. It suggests that a people’s destiny is not set in stone. Yes, some things about the future are predetermined. Jesus will return in glory one day. God’s kingdom will be realized on earth in its fullness. There will be a resurrection of the dead and a day of judgment.

But there is also some flexibility, some wriggle room. God, in his grace, gives us options. The choices we make do matter, for this life and the next.

Remembering that this is poetry, Jacob’s words may not be intended to support a literal reading. The image of one of the tribes of Israel being a haven for ships is quite beautiful really. It speaks of welcome and sanctuary for foreigners. It’s about making room for people who are not part of ethnic Israel.

After all, the people of God don’t exist exclusively for themselves. God intended Israel to be a blessing to the nations. Perhaps this is the destiny (or the purpose) Jacob had in mind for Zebulun.

In verses 14-15 Jacob addresses Issachar, his ninth son. Issachar is compared to a donkey lying down. This is a strange image. Donkeys are work animals, the ancient equivalent of a ute. And yet this donkey is resting. Donkeys were also symbolic, in ancient Israel, of peace (in contrast to warhorses).

Is Jacob saying that Issachar’s tribe will be peaceful but lazy? We can’t be sure. Verse 15 sheds more light though, saying, “he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labour”, apparently to remain on the land.

The idea of forced labour suggests the tribe of Issachar will be oppressed at some point. If a people are oppressed, they basically have three options:

Fight back, find somewhere else to live or stay and submit.

Issachar’s tribe choose to stay and submit, such was their love for the land.

Submitting probably doesn’t seem as brave or patriotic as fighting back, but the tribe of Issachar’s choice to submit is not dishonourable. This is, in fact, what Jesus instructed his followers to do.

Jesus told the Israelites of his day to submit to Roman rule. Turn the other cheek. Walk the extra mile. Don’t take up arms against Rome for you will lose. ‘My kingdom’, said Jesus, ‘is not of this world.’  

Dan was Jacob’s fifth son, the eldest born to Bilhah. Jacob says that Dan will provide justice for the people of Israel. He will be like a snake that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.

A snake generally attacks alone and by stealth, taking the horse and rider by surprise. It could be that Jacob is talking about Samson here. Samson was one of the Judges of Israel and part of the tribe of Dan. Samson had superhuman strength and a temper to match.

Samson did not sit in a court of law, following due process and passing verdicts. He wasn’t that kind of judge. Nor did he lead an army. Samson was more like Judge Dread. He acted alone as judge, jury and executioner. Samson’s justice was destructive. Issachar’s tribe submitted to oppression, but Samson (from the tribe of Dan) fought back.   

In verse 18 Jacob pauses to offer a prayer to God saying, “I look for your deliverance, Lord”. This is interesting. Even though Samson dealt some heavy blows to Israel’s enemies, he did not deliver Israel (not properly).

Violence begets violence. Revenge may provide relief from oppression for a short while but eventually the weeds of hate and injustice grow back.

Jacob was looking to the Lord to provide a lasting deliverance. Not an unreliable peace, brought about by brute force, but a permanent peace brought about by justice and mercy. Jesus is God’s answer to Jacob’s prayer for deliverance. Jesus is the Prince of peace.

In verse 19 Jacob says that Gad, his seventh son, the first born to Zilpah, will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. Yet again we read of the sons of Israel facing opposition and attack.

The land allotted to Gad was on the border of Israel and was subject to raids from other people groups. Consequently, the tribe of Gad became renowned as warriors who defended the borders of Israel. Their symbol was a military tent.

The image of attacking the raiders at their heels suggests the raiders will be chased off by the tribe of Gad.  

Given what’s happening in Israel and Gaza at present, we may feel uncomfortable with this military imagery. I don’t understand the politics of the middle east so best not to share my ignorance on that subject.

I will say though that the Bible should not be hijacked or weaponized to serve a contemporary military / political agenda. Nor should we impose our twenty-first century context on the Old Testament. The world we live in is not the same as the ancient near east.  

If you want to take anything from Jacob’s words to his sons, take his prayer for the Lord’s deliverance. As followers of a crucified Messiah (who understands human suffering first hand) our role is to pray for God to deliver all sides from the war.     

In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes…

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…

As Christians, who live in New Zealand, our fight is not a geo-political one. Our fight is a spiritual one. Our weapons are not guns and grenades. We protect ourselves with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

They say that geography is destiny. Where you are born and where you live has a huge influence on what happens to you in this life. If you were born in New Zealand, then you won the lottery. Your destiny would look a lot different if you lived in the Ukraine. New Zealand is not perfect, but it is still a relatively good place to live. Our generation has the privilege of not needing to go to war.  

The tribe of Gad were not so fortunate. Located on the eastern border of Israel, they faced more armed conflict (in ancient times) than the tribe of Asher, who were situated out of harm’s way by the Mediterranean Sea.

Jacob says, Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. This is an image of prosperity. The soil of the land of Asher was particularly fertile.

The tribe of Asher was renowned for the abundance and quality of the olive oil they produced.  This oil was used in cooking and in religious rituals. It made the tribe of Asher rich. I’m reminded of the oil of God’s Spirit who enriches our lives and relationships.

In verse 21 Jacob comes to his sixth son, Naphtali. The name Naphtali means my struggle, my strife or wrestling. (Not the cutest name for a baby.) Jacob had more than his share of struggle and strife. He wrestled with God and man.

So, it is significant that Jacob says, “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns”.  It’s like saying my struggle is over. My strife is finished. I am released from my wrestling match. The image here is one of deliverance from some ordeal. Jacob sees good things in store for the tribe of Naphtali.

In Luke 4, verse 18, Jesus said…

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…”   

It is through Jesus that we too can share in the blessing of Naphtali, to be set free from our struggle and strife.    

And so we come to Joseph, Jacob’s eleventh son and Rachel’s first. We need to remember that Jacob’s blessing for Joseph is also a blessing for Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who Jacob had adopted as his own.

In verse 22, Jacob describes Joseph as a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. There is some ambiguity with the original Hebrew here which means we should be cautious with our interpretation.

A fruitful vine that is well watered by a nearby spring so that its branches climb over a wall, speaks of vitality and abundance and growth. The vine and its fruit do not exist for its own sake. The vine exists to feed and sustain others. As Prime Minister of Egypt, Joseph’s outreach in feeding the nations was far and wide.

Looking further ahead from the time of Joseph, we note that Joshua (the great leader of Israel mentored by Moses) was descended from Joseph’s son, Ephraim. Joshua led the people of Israel in climbing walls and taking possession of the land.

But, even with this wonderful image of a fruitful vine, life was not plain sailing for Joseph. Joseph faced some serious opposition and so would his descendants. In verse 23 we read how archers attacked Joseph with hostility, but Joseph’s bow remained steady.  

I don’t know if you saw Country Calendar last Sunday. It featured a farmer from Southland who grows veges. The farmer was explaining his attitude to life. He said, when you are running with the ball (in rugby) you can expect to be tackled. When that happens, you get up again and carry on with the game.

When Joseph was running with the ball, his brothers (those on his own team) tackled him. But Joseph didn’t stay down. He got up and carried on with the game. Joseph was not rattled. His bow remained steady and his arms strong.   

But Joseph did not do this in his own strength. Joseph prevailed because the hand of God steadied him and blessed him and made him strong.

Do you remember Gideon from the time of the Judges, who famously laid a fleece? Well Gideon was also descended from Joseph, through Manasseh’s line. God’s hand steadied Gideon so he defeated thousands of Midianites with just 300 hundred men.

Like Judah, who we heard about last week, Joseph gets five verses, while most of the other brothers get just one or two verses. The descendants of Joseph would rule the northern tribes of Israel, just as the descendants of Judah would rule in the south.

Six times the word blessing is repeated in connection with Joseph and his descendants. Blessings of the skies above and blessings of the deep springs below is a poetic way of saying Joseph’s tribes will be surrounded by blessings wherever they go. It’s like that song, Love is all around me and so the feeling grows…

Blessings of breast and womb refer to sustenance and fertility. Joseph’s tribes will be large in numbers and well fed. And your father’s blessings, which are greater than the ancient mountains, speak to the resilience of the blessing Jacob gave Joseph and his sons. The blessing will last, like the hills.  

The poem finishes with Jacob’s words for Benjamin, his youngest son.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

Wolves have a fearsome reputation. But, as apex predators, they also have an important role to play in protecting the environment for all creatures. Without wolves, grazing animals would become too numerous and destroy the vegetation, upsetting the balance in nature.  

Unlike snakes, which are solitary creatures, wolves are communal. They normally hunt in packs, with a leader. This improves their chances of survival.

The tribe of Benjamin were known as skilled warriors, sort of like the special forces of ancient Israel. Perhaps the most famous descendant of Benjamin was king Saul, the first king of Israel.

Sadly, it did not end well for Saul. While king Saul had some early success, he also had a tendency to go rogue and act without reference to God. So the Lord gave the leadership to David, who was from the tribe of Judah. David was a shepherd, not a wolf.

Conclusion:

When we look back at Jacob’s words to his twelve sons, we notice that most of the descendants of Israel faced a destiny that included fighting or opposition of some kind. While Jacob certainly had good things to say to his boys, the blessings are mixed with hardship and difficulty.

Jesus’ message to his disciples was similar…

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This implies that the ultimate destiny for those who follow Jesus is a reward in heaven. But the road to that destiny is marked by opposition. May God give us strength to stand and hope to endure. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What did Forrest Gump mean when he said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates…’? Do you agree? What ‘chocolates’ has life given you?
  3. Do you believe we each have a destiny or is life more random than that? Why do you believe this? What difference do our choices make?
  4. Of the twelve sons of Israel, who do you identify with the most and why? If you had a choice, which tribe would you want to be a part of? 
  5. How do you normally respond to conflict or opposition? What opposition do you face? What is your best strategy for managing this?
  6. What does Jacob mean when he prays, ‘I look for your deliverance, Lord’? What deliverance do you look for from the Lord?
  7. Where were you born? Where do you currently live? How has this shaped your destiny? 
  8. In what ways do the sons of Israel point to Jesus? In what ways are they different from Jesus?
Tawa Baptist

Hope

Scripture: Mark 8:31-33 & 10:46-52

Title: Hope

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Bartimaeus’ hope – Mark 10:46-52
  • Peter’s hope – Mark 8:31-33
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Earlier in the year I preached a message on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         At the time I touched lightly on each word and said I would come back later to explore the ideas in more depth

–         Now that we have finished our series on Abraham we can do this

–         Today our message focuses on hope

Hope is a very popular (in) word at the moment

–         It is rightly thought to be one of the life lines for those who experience depression – we see images on TV of John Kirwan writing the word ‘hope’ in the sand on the beach

But what is hope – what does it mean?

–         Well, to hope is to want something to happen

–         Hope, therefore, is a desire or a longing that is yet to be realised

–         Hope imagines something good and believes it can happen

–         We express our hope to God in prayer

–         In the Lord’s Prayer, for example, we say to God, ‘Your will be done, your kingdom come’ – which expresses our desire, our hope for heaven on earth

–         Prayer is important because it fosters hope

–         Hope requires some measure of faith or trust as we wait for our longings and expectations to be fulfilled

 

Developing our definition further, we could say hope is the capacity or ability to handle opposition, perspective and expectation (another acronym)

–         To help us understand this dynamic of handling opposition perspective and expectation let’s read a gospel story of hope realised, from Mark 10…

 

Bartimaeus’ Hope – Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more,

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

Handling hope is a bit like flying a kite – you need three things…

–         A sail to catch the wind

–         A string to hold onto the kite

–         And wind to lift the kite up

 

Perspective is like the sail of the kite

–         Our perspective needs to be set at just the right angle to catch the wind and it needs a tail to keep it balanced

 

The string represents expectation – we control the kite of hope by managing our expectations

–         If we don’t have enough string (or expectation) our hope never climbs very high

–         But if we let our expectations get out of hand we risk losing hope altogether

 

The wind represents some difficulty or challenge or opposition

–         A kite rises against the wind, not with it

–         Without an opposing wind, hope doesn’t rise

 

Bartimaeus faced some winds of difficulty and opposition in his life

–         For starters he was blind, a significant obstacle in that context

–         He also faced the difficulty of living under enemy occupation

–         And, when he called out for Jesus to have mercy on him, Bartimaeus faced opposition from the crowd who tried to silence him

 

But Bartimaeus wouldn’t be silenced – he maintained the sail of his perspective that Jesus is the Son of David and the kite of his hope rose

–         That expression Son of David is code for ‘Messiah’

–         From Bartimaeus’ perspective Jesus was the true King of Israel, not Caesar

–         In naming Jesus as the Messiah, Bartimaeus was giving voice to the hopes and expectations of many of the people in the crowd

–         Perhaps the ones trying to silence him were afraid he might start a riot

 

Hope is good for the soul in that it generates its own positive energy

–         We call that energy joy

–         It’s the joy of expectation – of anticipating something good coming our way – of looking forward to our desire being realised

–         The joy or positive energy of hope is powerful – it can’t really be contained

–         That’s why hope is so important in helping to combat depression

–         Bartimaeus’ joy at hearing that Jesus was passing by only heightened his expectation of salvation, causing him to hold more tightly to the string of hope by continuing to call out for mercy

 

Okay, if hope is the expectation of something we want to happen then it logically follows that the opposite of hope is the expectation of what we don’t want to happen

–         The feeling that comes with the expectation of something bad happening can be described in a number of ways including, fear, worry or anxiety

–         Hope and anxiety are often in a wrestling match within us

–         For Bartimaeus, hope in Jesus overcame fear of the crowd and the Romans

–         But it’s not always like that for us, is it

–         We don’t want to worry, we don’t want to be anxious for anything, but sometimes (or perhaps a lot of the time) we can’t help it

–         Anxiety can be a brutal master – but Jesus is Lord, not anxiety

 

In Matthew 6 Jesus says to those who are anxious…

–         Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

–         Jesus then goes on to talk about how God clothes the lilies of the field

–         Jesus is saying here that we can find release from our anxiety when we change our perspective – when we take the focus off ourselves and our problems by looking outward to nature and to God

 

‘Look at the birds… look at the lilies of the field’ – in other words: spend time in nature, observe God’s creation, it will renew your mind

–         Being in the bush or by the sea or up a mountain grounds us – it puts us in touch with what is real and it gives our mind a break from our fears

 

But to get the most out being in nature we need to look for the ways that God is active and present in caring for his creation

–         We need to think about God as a good and loving Father who values us and wants to give us good things

–         One of the reasons we sing songs of adoration & praise to God is to restore our perspective – to remind ourselves that it doesn’t all depend on me

–         To be filled again with a sense of wonder at the largeness of God and consequently the smallness of our problems

 

Now for those of you who are struggling with significant levels of anxiety these measures (of spending time in creation and contemplating God’s care) are likely to be helpful but may not be the whole answer – there are other things that can help with anxiety as well, and we’ll touch on some of these in the coming weeks

–         Two things I’ve learned from my own experience

–         Most of my fears are never realised – most of the things I get anxious about never actually happen

–         But when bad things do happen I always seem to survive and somehow God uses that experience for good – he redeems it

–         So hold on, with God’s help you will get through this

 

Peter’s Hope – Mark 8:31-33

So far we have talked about the positive aspects of hope, but it needs to be said that hope is not always a good thing

–         If hope is about desire & expectation and we place our hope in something that is ultimately not good for us, nor good for others, then it can be destructive to the human soul

At least three times in the gospels Jesus tells his disciples how he must suffer & die before being raised from the dead

–         One of the reasons Jesus did this (I imagine) was to balance the disciples’ perspective and help them to manage their expectations

From Mark chapter 8 we read…

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Clearly Peter’s hopes and expectations for Jesus were quite different from what God had in mind

–         Perhaps Peter was wanting Jesus to be a military & political leader like David or Solomon – perhaps he was expecting Jesus to destroy the Romans

–         Certainly he wasn’t expecting Jesus to suffer & die

 

We might hear that line about Jesus referring to Peter as ‘Satan’ and feel a bit chilly, a bit uncomfortable – ouch that must of hurt Peter

–         But, if hoping amounts to coveting what others have, then it is not good for our soul and we can’t expect Jesus to bless it

–         Or, if hope amounts to wanting revenge or political advantage, then hope has become hate and we can’t expect Jesus to help us realise our desires

–         Hope can be detrimental to the soul when it is misplaced or disappointed and so we need to be careful what we hope for

–         It was kinder for Jesus to adjust Peter’s expectations, by speaking the difficult truth, than for Peter to go too far down the path of misplaced hope

 

If we widen our perspective on these verses we find an application for ourselves

–         Mark 8:31-33 provides a key for helping us to handle opposition, perspective and expectation

–         Jesus is saying here, following me is not an easy ride

–         You can expect some opposition & difficulty in this life

–         For Jesus opposition came in the form of rejection, betrayal & crucifixion

–         We probably won’t suffer as much as Jesus did, but, because of our association with Jesus, we can’t expect everyone to love us or accept us

–         There will be times when we face the dark night of the soul – when everything seems bleak and we feel like God is absent

–         The bigger perspective to hold on to is that our suffering is only temporary but the glory of heaven is forever

–         This life is just a drop in the ocean of eternity

–         Through Jesus the grief of death is followed by the joy of resurrection

–         As Laurie Guy says, “Human hope is based on divine suffering” [1]

 

In talking about hope we must acknowledge despair

–         Despair isn’t so much the opposite of hope

–         Despair is the utter loss of hope.

–         To despair is to lose the ability to believe that what we want could ever happen – despair is the death of desire and consequently the death of joy

–         To despair is to feel powerless – it is to think that nothing we do will make any difference

 

Despair is a terrible place to be – and when we are in despair we think it will never end, but it does end (nothing lasts)

–         It’s like the clouds of depression hang low & thick so we can’t see the sun’s rays of hope and everything is grey & gloomy

–         But just because you can’t see the sun behind the clouds doesn’t mean the sun isn’t there

–         Hold on – the clouds will pass and the sun will become visible again

 

In the same way that not all hope is good, so too not all despair is bad

–         Despair is a good thing if what we hope for is a bad thing

 

If you are in a place of despair at the moment then know that God is able to redeem the experience and use it for good

–         Despair has a way of purifying our desires

–         Despair can kill off those desires which are not Godly or life-giving, to make room for the new growth of desires that are good for our soul

–         As painful as it is there is a certain clarity that comes with despair

–         Bartimaeus saw Jesus with a clarity that others with sight didn’t have

–         I imagine despair had killed off Bartimaeus’ desire for more worldly pursuits and refined his hope in the Lord – in God’s Messiah

–         I expect that Bartimaeus wanted Jesus to restore his sight not just for the obvious reasons but more importantly so he could see Jesus for himself

 

Let me tell you a story about a young man named Jethro

–         Jethro grew up in a fairly well to do family

–         As a child Jethro didn’t really know what hope was because all his desires were taken care of – he didn’t really want for anything

–         He was, as Pink Floyd would say, ‘comfortably numb’

But all was not as it seemed on the surface

–         Jethro’s dad worked in finance and when the market crashed he wasn’t able to keep his family in the lifestyle to which they had become accustomed

–         Jethro’s dad started drinking too much – well, he had actually always drunk too much but now it was more noticeable

–         Not only that but he started gambling to try and recoup what the economic recession had consumed

–         The TAB and the pokies seemed to offer hope of redemption

–         Unfortunately, not everyone is a winner babe, and the boat, the bach, the car and eventually even the family home were sold to repay gambling debts

–         Jethro’s dad had misplaced his hope

By this stage Jethro was no longer numb – he had started to gamble with hope himself, although not in exactly the same way as his father

–         Jethro’s longing, his greatest desire, was to make his dad proud of him

–         And to this end he found himself half way through a finance degree

–         Now let me say, there is nothing wrong with doing a finance degree or working in the stock market, if that is what your passion and calling is

–         We need Christian businesspeople

–         But finance wasn’t really Jethro’s passion or calling – he was just doing it in the vain hope of winning his father’s approval

–         Sadly, it didn’t matter how many A’s Jethro got, his father kept on a downward spiral and the approval he craved from his dad never came

–         Jethro’s hope just kept being disappointed

To avoid too much student debt Jethro lived at home while studying at university and as a consequence he got to witness most of his parents’ arguments

–         In the end, when his mother had had enough, she threw his father out

–         It was a survival thing more than anything – she had to do it to save herself. No sense in being dragged down further by her husband’s problems

Jethro remembers watching his dad walk away and realising in that moment that he was never going to win his father’s approval

–         The hope that had once motivated him to succeed in business school was lost – it just emptied out of him like diarrhoea

–         For the first time in his life Jethro felt despair – the death of desire

–         There didn’t seem like much point in finishing his degree after that

The next year was extremely difficult for Jethro – he felt lost, abandoned and sad

–         Nothing gave him pleasure anymore

–         Depression is a vicious cycle – when we are in pain we tend to withdraw from people because there is too much risk in getting close – it hurts to be touched – but the more we withdraw the more isolated & lonely we feel

–         And loneliness feeds depression

–         Jethro would have self-medicated with alcohol except there was a deep anger in him that refused to be like his father

At the time Jethro thought the pain he felt would never end – but it did

–         Not overnight or all at once, but gradually, like ice thawing

Looking back Jethro could see that losing hope had purged him of his demons – despair had changed his perspective and given him clarity

–         It became clear to Jethro that putting his hope in things like making lots of money or gaining his father’s approval was wasted

Unexpectedly Jethro’s despair drew him closer to God (his heavenly Father) – the suffering of Jesus helped him to make sense of his own suffering & loss

–         Or to put it another way, suffering opened Jethro’s eyes to see who Jesus really is

New shoots of hope sprang forth

–         Jethro started to reconnect with people and he retrained as a teacher – now he finds meaning in helping others to develop their potential

–         He still has the odd dark day now and then but they are few and far between

–         For the most part Jethro is able to enjoy life again

As it turned out, Jethro’s dad came right too

–         He didn’t get back together with his wife, but he did give up the drinking and the gambling and made his peace with the family

 

Conclusion:

Each of us has a slightly different experience of hope and despair – maybe your experience is similar to Jethro’s, maybe it’s different

–         The point is, we need to place our hope in that which is worthy of us and Jesus is worthy – hope in Jesus is hope well placed.

–         Jesus doesn’t promise to give us everything we want or expect – sometimes he makes us wait – but ultimately, in him, we find abundant life

 

Let me finish with some words of hope from the book of Revelation

–         To those early Christians who faced much opposition from the Roman Empire, the apostle John gives an eternal perspective…

–         He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence. Never again will they hunger or thirst; neither sun nor any scorching heat will burn them, because the Lamb, who is in the centre of the throne, will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

 

Questions for Discussion or Reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is hope?

3.)    In what sense is opposition or difficulty necessary for hope?

–         Can you think of other Bible verses (or stories) that show a connection between opposition/difficulty and hope? (E.g. Romans 5:1-11)

–         When has hope been most real in your own life?

4.)    What can we do to combat anxiety?

5.)    When is hope good for us?

–         When is hope bad or dangerous?

6.)    What did Jesus say to manage people’s expectations or adjust their perspective when they had misplaced hopes? (E.g. Mark 8:31-33; Matthew 5:11-12, etc.)

7.)    How might we be helpful to someone who is in despair?

–         Or, reflecting on your own experience of despair, what was most helpful to you?

8.)    Take some time this week to simply be in nature and meditate on God’s love, care & provision for you and/or those close to you.

 

[1] Laurie Guy, ‘Unlocking Revelation’, page 64.