Seeds of Hope

2 Corinthians 5:6-10,14-17, Mark 4:26-34, Ezekiel 17:22-24

Shirley and I were listening to a record of old songs the other day. Max Bygraves made the recording 50 years after the Second World War ended. That was a long time ago but those songs are still remembered and sung today and we discussed why they have lasted so long. I think it is because they generated hope in very difficult times. Songs like, ‘We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when.’ and ‘There’ll be blue birds over, the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow, just you wait and see. There’ll be love and laughter, and peace ever after, tomorrow, when the world is free’. Songs like these set us up to hope for a better future than we’re facing today.

We all need hope. Hope is what gets us up in the morning and gets us through each day. It may be as simple as knowing the sun will rise. For those who follow Jesus knowing that God’s Son has already risen fills us with hope so that we are never depressed. Yeah right! If we were immune from depression and losing hope I wouldn’t need to preach this message.

Last week’s message gave reasons why we don’t lose heart. This week I shall add more reasons we do not lose heart and how to deal with it if we do. So let’s look at our Bible readings and see what they have to teach us on this subject.

In the Good News Bible, Ezekiel 17:22-24 has the title, God’s promise of hope. It’s not obvious from the pictorial language what the tree means but it does certainly indicate that God will cause something good to flourish; something small to become great, and God will do what God will do regardless of anyone else or of the conditions or the circumstances and possibly the opposite of what we expect. That last line is most encouraging: “I will do what I have said I will do.” God continues to fulfil his word. He has done it before; he will do it again, indeed he is doing it now. We have simply to trust him.

In Mark 4(26-9) Jesus points out that we don’t know how seeds sprout and grow and produce their fruit but we know they do it and we know the timing and we know what the result will be so we sow the seeds, nurture the plants and harvest the crop. We plant in hope – expectation of a future result that will be good.

Then Jesus used a picture very like Ezekiel’s. He speaks of a very small seed producing a very large plant. It starts out small – despised and insignificant in human eyes – and grows to be enormous and a great blessing. This, he said, is a picture of God’s kingdom which will grow from and insignificant start to become a great blessing to all creation. It is good to know this – it gives us hope.

There’s even hope in the last two verses (33,34). Jesus spoke in parables and that’s all the people heard but he explained everything to his disciples – and he still does. We have knowledge and understanding directly from Jesus to guide us through life and give us wisdom and hope.

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5, adds to our hope. In verse 7 he reminds us we live by faith not by sight. Remember that faith is being sure of what we hope for; being certain of things we don’t see.

We started reading at verse 6 which says, ‘so we are always full of courage.’ Why we are full of courage is in verse 5: “God gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.” the Spirit guarantees our life in Christ – hope. The Spirit teaches us all we need to know – hope.

Cooking can become tedious work when one does it three times a day, week after week. One can get tired of peeling, cutting, slicing, mixing, and then waiting for food to bake, grill, or boil. But eating is never tedious! It’s actually something we truly enjoy even though we do it day after day.

One of the things that can cause our hope to fade is the time and effort put in without seeing the results we long for. In Gal. 6:7-10, Paul used the illustration of sowing and reaping because he knew that doing good can be tiring. He wrote, Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant. If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life. So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.

Focus on v.9: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”. It’s difficult to love our enemies, discipline our children, or pray without ceasing. However, reaping the good we have sown isn’t tedious! What a joy when we do get to see love conquering strife, or children following God’s ways, or answers to prayer.

While the cooking process can take hours, my family usually finishes a meal in 20 minutes or less. But the reaping that Paul talks about will be eternal. As we have the opportunity, let’s do what is good and wait for the blessings in God’s timing. Don’t lose heart today as you go about following God’s ways. Remember that joy is guaranteed for more than a lifetime. Keep hope alive and full.

Coming back to 2 Corinthians 5 we read in verses 14 and 15, “We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that they all share in his death. He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.”

Christ died for all and all share in his death. This means that Christ’s death applies to every human who ever lives on earth. Although all share his death, not all live for not all are joined to Christ. But all who are joined to Christ live and “those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.”

Those who are joined to Christ no longer judge by human standards. They live for him because they are new creations, the Spirit of God lives in them and has replaced old ways of thinking with new ways, giving life, faith and hope.

Because he died for me I have hope.
Because he rose from death I have hope.
Because I have life in him I have hope.
Because he died for all we have hope.

So, anytime you feel like you’re losing hope, or that fear, anxiety or depression is threatening, return to these truths to remind yourself of the hope we have in Jesus the Christ:

-God will do what he said he would do and no one will stop him or even push him off course.

-The natural order is regulated by God and the spiritual order likewise. In due time we will reap, if we do not lose heart. Plant in the field of the Spirit. In other words, spend your life doing good and your reward is now and forever.

-Like a massive tree from a tiny seed, God’s kingdom will continue to grow, flourish and bless. There is no end to this kingdom; it won’t even diminish.

-We live by faith, not by sight. The Spirit, who guarantees our life in Christ, instructs us so that we can be sure of things we don’t see.

-He died for all means he died for me which means I am precious to him. He won’t let me go.

-The old has gone; the new has come. I am a new being of God’s making, designed to live with him for ever.

Use whatever truths you need whenever you need to give you courage and hope.

I also recommend singing hymns.
Video, ‘It is well with my soul’.