There we go. Good morning. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 1. We'll be starting at verse 14 and continuing through verse 45. So I'm going to be continuing the sermon series through the book of Mark, which we started last week. And at this point we're going to find Jesus beginning his ministry and calling the first disciples to follow him. As we have heard, Mark begins his book by quoting the prophecy from Isaiah about John the Baptist.
A voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Jesus then gets baptized by John and is immediately driven out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan for 40 days. And after that, that's where we're going to pick up today. Mark seems to jump right into the start of Jesus ministry. Unlike the other gospel accounts that start with a theological framework or a genealogy, Mark jumps right into the action.
Most scholars agree that the book of Mark was actually Mark writing down the accounts that he received from the from Peter. And so with that knowledge and what we read of Peter in the Bible, it makes sense that this book is fast-paced and packed with action. But as all the gospels, it shows the incredible life of Jesus as he walked on this earth.
So let's with that, let's pick up reading in Mark chapter 1, starting at verse 14. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea. For they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, follow me and I will make you become
fishers of men. And immediately they left their Nets and followed him. And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the Nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him. And they went into Capernaum. And immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.
And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching? With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him. And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house with Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay I'll with fever. And immediately they told him
about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons, and the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place. And there he prayed, and Simon and those with who were with him search for him. And they found him and said to him, Everyone's looking for you. And he said to them, Let us go to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. And he went through all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
And the leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling to him, said to him, If you will, you can make me clean. Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said, I will be clean. And the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, See that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to
them. But when he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Before we go further, let's pray as we ask God to lead us. Lord, we thank you for allowing us to gather here this morning. Thank you for the inspired words that were written by Mark.
Lord, as we study your word, we pray for instruction and that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scripture, we might have hope. In your name we pray. Amen. I was 16 years old riding in a on our in the car on the way home from a funeral. My parents were close to the now widow and we're giving her a ride home after the funeral was all over. It had been a solemn and a sad day and it was a quiet ride. The songs had been sung sung, the prayers had been said and it
was now time to go home. When we got to the woman's home, I helped bring some things into the house and as we were getting ready to leave, the grieving widow turned to my mom and said, well, what now? I've never forgotten those profound words. For some reason they stuck with me. I think it was the honesty and the vulnerability with which that question was asked. This grieving widow had just lost her husband, her best friend and her provider. She was in a state of despair,
and she felt hopeless. And I think that question stuck with me because I can't think of a better, more truthful question to ask in a moment like that. We've all been there. Maybe a death in the family, a job loss, or a tragic health diagnosis. We've had those moments of despair when hope seems to be distant. Moments when all we can do is ask. Well, what now? In those times of despair, there's many coping strategies used. Some people find their hope in drugs and alcohol to numb the
pain. Others find their hope in their work to avoid thinking about the problem at all. And some turn to friends and family to find hope in them. And in those times of need, it is so helpful to have friends and family who are there beside us, people to lean on, people that care for us and will walk the trenches with us. But as we also know, those people aren't always around.
The friends that walk with us on the metaphorical mountaintops don't always join us through the walks in the valleys, leaving us to wonder, does anyone care? If we find our hope in anyone or anything but Jesus, we will be disappointed. So as we look deeper into the portion of into this portion of Mark's writing, we will see that because Jesus cares for his children, we should find our hope in him. Jesus cares for his children like only he can.
Mark's writing is going to show just how Jesus cares for his children and thus why we should find our hope in him. We will see that Jesus cares through his action, through his authority, and through his affection. Let's take a look at the first of these examples. Jesus shows he cares through his action. So what are the actions that Jesus does?
He calls you to repent and believe, He calls you to follow him, and he calls you to leave behind the Nets that will tangle you after returning from the temptation in the wilderness. The first thing Mark records that Jesus does is to proclaim the gospel, to repent and believe. So not only was Jesus fulfilling the prophecies and bringing about the gospel, but he was preaching about it as well.
Verses 14 to 15 read now. After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel. When Jesus says that the time is fulfilled, he's speaking about himself. He has come to earth as a baby, grown up and gone through the testing. Pastor Jake talked about this last week, how he received his training in the desert and now he's beginning his ministry.
He's fulfilling the prophecies that were told many years ago by prophets like Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and more. In Isaiah Chapter 9, verse one, Isaiah prophesied that the time of darkness and despair will not go on forever, but there will be a time when Galilee will be filled with glory. And we see that Jesus starts his ministry in Galilee. Isaiah goes on to write, the people who walked in the darkness have seen a great light.
Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, On them a light has shone. Jesus came to be that great light to He came to take people out of the darkness. And I think it's telling that the first thing Mark records as Jesus begins his ministry is that Jesus goes right to preaching the gospel. He calls people for repentance. The word repentance sometimes causes us to take a step back. It's uncomfortable to admit that we've done something wrong.
And something that gets brought up a lot is, well doesn't God say, come as you are, shouldn't he accept me for me? The short answer is that we are only accepted through the blood of Christ by ourselves. We have no merit and that's why we can know that Jesus cares for us. Jesus calls for me and for you to repent. He does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. The only way to be accepted by God is through genuine repentance and belief in Christ.
Calling for repentance isn't a hateful thing to do. There are those that do it in that way, but that is wrong. Calling for repentance is an act of love. It's calling someone to come out of the darkness and into the light, away from death and into life. The next action that Jesus does is he calls you to follow him. Picking up at verse 16, passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea. For they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, follow me and I will make you fit. Become fishers of men. These are the first disciples that Jesus calls Simon, who's later also called Peter and Andrew. They were fishermen. They weren't scholars. They were by all accounts ordinary men, ordinary insofar as their occupation. But how they stuck out compared to others was their obedience to the call of Jesus. When Jesus called, they responded and followed immediately.
Jesus was calling to for them to leave what they knew behind. He was calling them to leave their security, to leave their identity and to follow him. He was going to give them a new identity and a new security. The new identity was fishers of men. They were going to join Jesus and calling for others to repent and believe. Their new security wasn't going to be in a retirement savings plan, but in an inheritance to a Kingdom that lasts forever.
And Luke's account of this event, when Jesus calls Peter, Peter falls to his knees saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Peter recognized Jesus as God and did not feel worthy to be called by him. But Jesus knew of Peter's sins, just as he knows of my sins and he knows of your sins. He didn't call Peter to follow him because he was good enough, but because he cared for him.
Jesus cares for his children not to leave them in their filth and in their sin, but to say, follow me, my plan is better. Another way that Jesus shows he cares is through the action to call to leave behind the Nets that will tangle you. Verses 18 to 20. And immediately they left their
Nets and followed him. And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who are in the boat mending the Nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. When Peter and Andrew are called, it says they immediately left their Nets and followed.
When James and John are called, it too says that they left their Nets that they were mending and they left their father in the boat and they followed Jesus. Like Peter and Andrew, James and John also left behind what they knew and they followed the person that they had hope in. They even left their father in the boat and immediately answered the call to follow Jesus. When Jesus calls them, he does not tell them to bring their Nets with them in case it
doesn't work out. There was no backup plan to put their hope in. Bringing their former life with them was not an option. Again, Jesus is giving them a new identity and a new purpose. Hanging on to their Nets would have been a detriment to their new calling. Jesus knows that there's a cost to pay to follow him, but he knows that the reward is worth it. Jesus cares for the souls of the apostles and of those that they would reach with their words and with their writings.
Jesus plan is greater than our own. There are times he calls us to leave behind the metaphorical Nets that will tangle US, items that will be a detriment to our walk with Christ. Maybe it's a toxic friend group, maybe it's the music we listen to or the movies we watch. Whatever. The thing is, Jesus cares for you enough to call you to leave it behind as well. 1st Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter in the Bible. It's often used at weddings as a way for the betrothed to express
their love for one another. But it's also so much more than a love between a husband and a wife. Paul was writing to a church that was dividing, a church filled with pride, where people were putting their focus on spiritual gifts rather than loving one another to the point where it became a competition. Paul points out that while spiritual gifts are important, love is of the utmost
importance. He goes as far as to say that if he had all knowledge and all faith to move mountains, but he did not love others, he would be nothing. He then describes this love in verses 4 to 7. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but it rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love is not a passive thing. Love is an action word. Do we love like this? I was sent a video a couple years ago of a man who was interviewing for a pastoral position. It's been mentioned here before, but it's still relevant. And at the end of this interview, the man was asked two final questions. Do you love people? And how do they know? The world would have us believe that love means unconditional acceptance, but love is not
passive. Or love is no more than a nice feeling, a warm feeling that we get inside. But feelings can fade. Love is to act, to care for someone and call them to a better life. The call to follow Jesus didn't just stop at the 12 apostles. If we've been called and are following Jesus, it is our duty to call others. A care for the lost should spurn us to action. Do we care enough to tell others
about Jesus? If we do, we should follow Jesus example and call them to repent and believe, to follow Jesus and to leave behind the Nets of their former life. Another way that Jesus shows that he cares for his children is through his authority. As Jesus continues into his ministry, he demonstrates his identity by displaying his authority. He does not do this in a top down oppressive way, but in a firm and caring way that shows nothing is outside his dominion or protection.
Jesus does this in this passage of Mark by showing His authority over rulers, over demons, and over sickness. Going to the first one, Jesus has authority over rulers, picking up at verse 21. And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority and not as
the scribes. So Jesus begins preaching, He enters the synagogue and he begins preaching to those in His presence. The teaching at that point in the synagogue was a bit different than what we would see today. For example, most churches now they have planned who's going to speak on the Sunday well in advance. But from what I read on and studied online, they had this thing called the custom of the
freedom of the synagogue. So they had experienced or esteemed guests speak on the Scripture reading for that day. And so that was the reason for the opportunity that Jesus had to preach in the synagogue. And Mark says that they were astonished. They were shocked at his teaching. He doesn't say what he taught, but he describes their reaction. They were astonished because he wasn't teaching like the scribes or the other teachers, but instead he taught with authority.
He taught with authority because, well, the obvious answer is because he was Jesus. He was teaching about himself. He knew the subject material. He demonstrated that he wasn't concerned about the religious leaders opinions or their piety, but he cared for the people by teaching him, teaching them in a way that they hadn't heard before. He cared like the religious leaders hadn't.
The religious leaders were more concerned with their outward appearance and their legalism rather than the message that they that the message that they were saying being understood and valued. Jesus also shows that he cares through his authority over demons. Verses 23 to 28 And immediately there was a man in their there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, What have you to do with us? Jesus of Nazareth, have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are, the Holy one of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him. And the unclean spirit convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice came out of him. And they were all amazed that they questioned among themselves saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him. And that once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. This passage tells it.
The tells us that there was an unclean or evil spirit possessing a man in the synagogue where Jesus was teaching. The spirit asked Jesus, have you come to destroy us? The demon is fearful of Jesus. He recognizes the power and the authority of Jesus. And the demon states this too. He sees the power of God with Jesus, yet even though the evil spirit calls Jesus the Holy One of God, he does not put his trust in him.
But Jesus didn't let the demon keep speaking as he commands the demon to come out and the demon does so The evil spirit was no match for Jesus authority. Mark doesn't go into detail about why the Spirit had gone into this man, but Jesus still shows his care to this man by casting out the demon and freeing him from it. Jesus shows care for the man by not making a big commotion about casting out the demon or by communicating with the demon. He simply tells the demon to be
quiet and to leave. The thought came into my head as I was writing this about the fake healers and the false teachers that like to make a big show of their healing whether it's on YouTube or in front of large crowds. I can almost imagine them saying after they supposedly cast out this demon, they just spin an iPad around and say it's just going to ask you a couple questions.
But obviously Jesus didn't do this to gain status or to to gain clout with the people or to get any kind of monetary gain. It came from a place of passion, care and real authority. And to that point, Jesus shows he cares by his authority over sickness. Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes to the House of Simon and Andrew. Jesus finds Simon, Simon's mother-in-law, sick in bed, and he heals her, picking up at verse 29.
And immediately they left the synagogue and entered the House of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay I'll with a fever, and immediately they told him about her, and he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who are sick or oppressed by demons, and the whole city was gathered together at the door.
And he healed many who are sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak because they knew him. I wonder if Simon saw what Jesus did at the synagogue and knew that he could do the same for his mother-in-law. The passage doesn't say that, but regardless, Jesus cares for Simon and his family by showing his authority over sickness. And the word must have travelled fast because as we read, by sundown the whole city was gathered at the door.
Jesus could have ignored them or told him to go away, but it says he healed many and cast out many demons.
The point here isn't that if we believe in Jesus he will heal every ailment we have, but rather Jesus did these things to prove he was who he said he was and to show that there is nothing on earth or in the spiritual realm that has power over Jesus. This last week there was a federal election here in Canada and as a country we voted in the next ruler of our of Canada. And as these things go, when someone gets voted in, regardless of the party,
regardless of the person, it leaves about half the country feeling mad and hopeless. Talk about a dismal situation. And I don't want to over trivialize it. I know it's a big responsibility and whoever claims that office can affect a lot of change one way or the other. And so it is normal that we are hoping for a certain outcome. But how much hope are we putting into one leader? We have hope. We have we hope for a good leader that leads with wisdom, integrity and honesty.
And that is good. But what happens when they don't get it? What happens when the person of authority that you put your hope in lets you down? Maybe it's a politician, but maybe it's a little more personal. Maybe it's someone who has authority to speak into your life, a close friend, a family member, a pastor. You never expect those people to
let you down, right? But the truth of the matter is, is that so long as you put your hope and the authority of someone other than Jesus, they will let you down. We know this in our heads, but when it happens, we're astonished that it does. But in those times, it's helpful to be reminded that we too are not perfect. We too are sinners that let people down. And we are told in the Bible to honor those in positions of authority. So as Christians, we should do
just that. But more importantly, we should honor and put our hope in the one that gave them that authority. Jesus speaking to the 11 disciples after the resurrection says all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Jesus is the supreme authority. There is none greater. We need to place our hope in Him. Not only does he does Jesus show that He cares through his action and His authority, but He shows
He cares through His affection. Verses 35 to 39 show we'll see how Jesus cares for both the masses and He cares for the individual. Starting at verse 35 and rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place. And there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him search for him. And they found him and said to him, everyone is looking for you.
And he said to them, let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. And he went through all of Galilee preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. The morning after Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law, we read that he goes out to an isolated place to pray. What a great example set here by Jesus. Although he has all power and all authority, he still goes out to pray and says he rose very early. It was the first thing he wanted to do.
Regardless of the busy day that he had had before, He still rose early to make sure he got he got in time to speak to his Father. It was important enough to make sure it was the first thing he
did. On the topic of prayers, Charles Spurgeon wrote Look no man in the face till thou has seen the face of God, Speak thou with none until thou has had speech with the Most High. As a father, this is something that I want to demonstrate for my son because of the impact it had for me. I remember when I was a boy my dad would leave really early for work.
Most of the times it was before I even woke up, but every time I did manage to wake up before he left, I would find him sitting at the kitchen table doing three things, eating cornflakes, reading his Bible, and praying. The cornflakes thing didn't really affect me, but the other two things did. Though I couldn't put it into words at that age, I know now that my dad was modeling what it meant to be a godly man.
He didn't do it as a show for me, but he did it because he believed in it. He prayed to his Father in heaven and then he went to work to support and care for his family. He exemplified what Jesus did time and time again in the Bible by starting the day with prayer. Jesus showed that prayer was of greatest importance received The next verse, Simon come searching for him and says that everyone
is looking for him. After just performing many miraculous signs, everyone wanted to get close to Jesus. Jesus says Jesus days were no doubt very busy and chaotic, but Even so he doesn't let that be an excuse for avoiding prayer. Even though everyone's looking for him and his presence is wanted by many people, he takes time to grow in his relationship with his Father. Then in verse 38 he says let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that
is why I have come out. Jesus wasn't content with staying in one place to soak up the admiration of the people there. He cared for all the groups of people, not just a select few. Jesus says that his reason for coming is to preach. That is his focus. The healings of miraculous works are present, but they are signs that point to something greater. Jesus cares for the groups of people too much to only heal them temporarily.
Not that the healing that he performed had an expiration date, but rather the people who he healed with various sicknesses and diseases, they would one day die. The people who had evil spirits that he cast out, they would one day die as well. Jesus came to preach the good news of salvation, first and foremost, the news that there's life to be had in following him. That is what it means to care for people. He didn't care about the popularity. He didn't care to be a celebrity
or to be liked by all. He cared for the people by telling them the truth. In addition for caring for the masses and the groups of people, Jesus also cared for the individual. We'll see this in verses 40 to 45 as a man with leprosy approaches Jesus by himself and out of desperation begs to be cleansed. Let's read that encounter starting at verse 40. And the leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling, said to him, if you will, you can make me clean.
Move with pity. He stretched out his hand and touched him, and said, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him, See that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses
commanded for a proof to them. But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places and people were coming to him from every quarter. Leprosy was no joke. Leprosy is a skin disease that made the affected person ceremonially unclean. Under the Mosaic Law, a person with this, with this disease had to live outside of the city or the camp where the rest of the
people resided. They had to wear torn clothes and cover their mouth. They had to cry out unclean, unclean to warn others off. A person with leprosy was forbidden from the temple worship and interaction with others. It was seen as a mark of sin and shame in the eyes of most people. These people were just outcasts essentially. Someone with leprosy would live in complete isolation from others, no friends, no family until the day they died. It was, by all accounts, a horrible disease.
And that's where Jesus meets this man. The leper had likely no hope left. Everyone had abandoned him. But the leper fell to his knees before Jesus, saying, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus, moved by compassion, touches him. The leper probably hadn't experienced human touch in a long time. But Jesus, with authority over all sickness, touches this man and says, I am willing be clean. And immediately the leprosy disappeared and he was healed.
Jesus cared for the individual. The leper was one man alone, left and forgotten by everyone. But Jesus still cared for him. Jesus then tells him to tell no one, but to show himself to the priest, not only to keep in accordance with the Jewish laws, but also as a proof to the priest that what they thought had been impossible had happened.
This was going to be another sign to them that pointed that Jesus was the Son of God. Unfortunately, the man went out and told everyone what happened, but I find it hard to imagine that if anyone else was in that spot, they wouldn't have done the very same thing. He must have been experiencing so much joy that he felt he just couldn't keep it to himself. He wanted everyone to know, and I'm sure he wanted to be
included in society again. But even though we probably sympathize with him, we can see a result of his actions. It caused such crowds together that Jesus could no longer go into the towns. Instead, he had to go to a secluded place. And yet still people kept coming to him. People went to see Jesus even though they had to go to desolate places to do so. For what reason they went, it doesn't say. Was it because they wanted to see, to know more about Jesus, Jesus's teaching? Or were they?
Or were they more interested in the healing rather than in the healer? Notice how when the leper approaches Jesus, he begs to be cleansed, to be made clean. He needed much more than physical healing. He needed to be cleansed from sin, and like the leper, we too need to be cleansed from sin. So are you going to Jesus in hopes of getting a more easier, comfortable life? Are you hoping for miracles and missing the Messiah?
Or are we coming earnestly to Jesus with all our filth in our sin and saying, Lord, if you will make me clean? Jesus showed he cared for the masses, but he also cared for the individual. And like Jesus cared for the leper, he cares for us too. Peter, writing in first Peter 5 through 6, says Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, so at the proper time He will exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.
We can't come demanding miracles, but humbly we can approach Jesus and give all our worries and cares to Him. He wants us to do that. When we prepare to tell friends some big news, we often wonder, Will I scare them off? What will they think of me? Will they think differently of me now? What will their reaction be to me? But when we go to Jesus with our
cares, He isn't scared of them. He already knows what we're going to say before we say it. Therefore, when we're anxious and scared, we should go to Jesus and cast our cares on Him. In the 1960s there was a man named John Bunyan. He was not a very educated nor a very rich man, but yet John became a powerful preacher in England. Due to the fear of what non state church sanctioned preaching could lead to, it was outlawed and forbidden in England. Because of this John was
arrested and thrown into prison. At the time he was thrown in prison he was the sole provider for his wife and his young children. While he was in prison he faced many pressures from the governing authorities. Just promise to stop preaching and you can go free was the opportunity given to him. But he refused. He chose chains over compromise because he had a hope in Jesus and he knew that he was called to preach. John ended up spending 12 years in prison, but he refused to
recant. When John sat in prison, knowing his family was suffering without him, he must have wondered, well, what now? Is there still hope? But still, even though imprisoned after a lot, after he lost his freedom, his comfort and his future, he didn't lose hope in Jesus. Lose hope. Prison might be one of the easiest to do so, and you would think that 12 years in prison would suffocate any idea of
hope. But instead of succumbing to the desires of those who put him in there, he wrote the book The Pilgrim's Progress, which has become one of the highest selling books in the English language after the Bible. The story is about a man burdened by guilt and despair who finds hope and salvation at the cross. John. 'S life is an example that even in the darkest and loneliest times, when it seems like everything is taken away, hope remains.
This isn't a naive hope or a fake optimism, and you can't fake it until you make it. If we find, if we strive to find our hope and our own strength and our own abilities, we will come up short by ourselves. We are without hope. We're lost. We have all sinned and fallen short of the standard set by God, and because of our sin and disobedience, we deserve death. We deserve hell. A life without Christ is a life without hope, but thanks be to God that he didn't leave us there.
Instead of a false hope, we have a hope that comes from trusting and a loving and caring Savior. A Savior that loved his children so much that he died for them in their place. And that is the ultimate way that Jesus showed that he cared for his children. Romans 58 But God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If you. Have put your trust. In Jesus, then you have a hope that cannot be taken away. When everything feels broken.
And you feel lost and abandoned. And the only. Question that comes to mind is what now? Is there still hope Jesus answers that call? With a resounding yes. That hope is found at the. Cross, we've heard. It since we were. Children. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him. If you're listening today and. Have not put your hope and trust in Jesus. I would encourage you to do so. If you've thought about it but pushed it off, don't delay it anymore. Paul says the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation. You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to have it all figured out. You don't need to fix yourself 1st, and if you've tried that you realize you probably can't do it anyway. Jesus grace is. Sufficient for you? By repenting of your sins.
And turning to Christ, you will share in the hope that Jesus provides, not a hope of health, wealth and prosperity. Those things may come, and that's not wrong. But we are not. Promised an easy life on Earth. Instead, you will share in the hope that though we die, we serve a God that raises the dead. Our God is a God. Of restoration. To that end, let us serve Him faithfully and obediently. Let's pray. Lord. You are a Good Shepherd. We have all that we need.
You renew our strength. You restore our souls. Even. Though we walk through dark valleys, we need not be afraid because you are close beside us. Your rod and your staff, they comfort us. Lord, I confess, I don't. Always find my hope in you. I seek comfort in the things of this world. But I thank you for your grace and for your mercy. I pray that as a church, as a body of believers, we will seek you first, and that we will find our hope in you alone. It's in your name, we pray.