Hope for the Hopeless

Well, good morning. My name is Deb Gould and I am the membership pastor here at St. Paul's

and am privileged to bring you this message today.

So in London, 12 years ago, there was a woman who had travelled to London to do some study

in leadership. She had a Sunday free and was extremely excited that she could do a

number of churches in London if she got her timing just right. If she started out very

early in the morning, she could travel to All Souls Langham Place and hear a great preacher.

Then she could cut across town to go to Holy Trinity Brompton and then she could come back

to All Souls and maybe go back to Holy Trinity Brompton again. But the timing had to be

just so. Now, I don't know if you know London, but London in the back streets, they all swerve

and curve. And this person, she thought that she could take a shortcut to ensure that she

got to All Souls Langham Place with plenty of time to hear this great preaching.

But those curves and those swerves meant that she got lost and very seriously lost.

And then she didn't know if she was heading north, south, east or west and frustration would

be a total understatement.

Now, suddenly in her path along one of these back streets, there was an old lady who politely

asked if she could be helped. But this woman who was heading off to church, she brushed the

woman aside because she was in a hurry. And so the woman asked a second time, could she ask a

question? She needed a bit of help? And she was brushed aside a second time because she was heading

to church. A very similar story to what we heard last week with the Good Samaritan, isn't it?

Now, today's passage addresses attitudes like this, where selfishness reigns and helping the hopeless

is not given freely. We are on to our second last message of our Share Hope series. And today is hope

for the hopeless. Now, there's an outline in the St. Paul's app if you wish to go there to take any

notes. And so please, please do that. But we're going to look at two main aspects of this topic today.

What does it actually really mean to be people of hope? And secondly, how can we help the hopeless?

Now, when we look at both the Matthew passage and the Romans passage today, we see the seriousness

of what Jesus is saying, and we need to pay very, very close attention to that. In Romans 3,

we see that there is an equal playing field, if you wish. That is, we are all sinners.

No one is righteous on their own, and we do not seek God. Let's look at verses 9 to 12 in the Romans passage.

What shall we conclude then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already made the charge

that Jews and Gentiles alike. But the good news is Jesus.

His life, his death and resurrection, in him, we can find life and forgiveness and faith.

Hope is given to those who trust him. It has nothing to do with us.

It has nothing to do with who we love and how well we love people. It's all about what Jesus has done.

Hence, no person is better than the other. And with this hope comes changed lives.

Jesus, in the Matthew passage, clearly expects to see his followers live differently.

Hope brings changes. Our hope in Jesus is to drive us to something different.

Because we have forgiveness. We have grace. We have purpose, security, compassion, mercy, character,

understanding, and much, much more.

As people of hope, even though there is chaos around us,

we can be confident and calm in the storm because Jesus promises never to leave us nor forsake us.

And when doubts of God's goodness come into our minds,

we can stop and remember all that God has done for us in Jesus.

And we can hand over to him all of those doubts and those fears and those concerns and all those anxieties at the foot of the cross.

And we can remember and have confidence that if we fail to trust God in a particular situation,

we can still turn to him and repent and be very confident of his forgiveness and his grace

because his grace is sufficient for us.

Or alternatively, we could be people who worry and live in fear,

who are anxious about the world and anxious of our day-to-day circumstances

and the discrepancies that happen around us.

Are you worried about your future?

Choosing not to be an authentic Christian

because you're looking for acceptance from the people around you

rather than acceptance from Jesus himself?

Or are you concerned about your finances

so you choose not to be radically generous?

Or are you choosing only to be the so-called righteous Christian

on the day that you watch this live stream?

The question remains,

Are you, am I, a person of hope?

Because we have everything, friends.

Everything we need, we have in Jesus.

Yes, life can be tough.

Yes, you may be struggling at present financially

because you have lost your job through this COVID period.

Yes, there may be broken relationships

that you long to have restored.

There may be uncertainty of a future

or there may be health issues with either you or a loved one.

But we still have everything we need in Jesus.

Despite all of that,

we have a hope that is eternal

if you are a follower of him.

Now, the tough life might be a surprise to us.

COVID certainly was a surprise to us.

But let me say,

nothing is a surprise to God.

The test is,

how are we going to live through the tough times?

And where are we going to put our faith

and our trust in the tough times?

Now, here at St. Paul's,

we want to give this hope

to those who do not yet know it.

The hopeless.

We want to see justice.

We want to see lives changed.

We want to see people come to know Jesus

as Lord and Saviour.

But here's the thing, though.

You need to be very confident

of the gift from Christ

that is a sure hope.

And if you waver in this confidence,

you will not be able to give hope

to the hopeless.

You cannot give away what you do not have.

Now, you will hold on to money

and possessions for yourself or your family

if you do not have this hope.

You will be consumed about yourself

and you will not look outwards.

And dare I say,

you will be in great spiritual danger.

In Matthew verse 31, we read,

when the Son of Man comes in his glory

and all the angels with him,

he will sit on his glorious throne.

All the nations will be gathered before him

and he will separate the people

one from another

as a shepherd separates the sheep

from the goats.

He will put the sheep on his right

and the goats on his left.

The sheep are those who follow Jesus

and have an eternal inheritance

waiting for them.

They are the ones who obey the commands.

Those who ignore the commands of God

to help the hopeless

are liable to be cast to the left

with the goats.

Now, this needs some self-reflection.

Are you a sheep

or are you a goat?

Are you truly aware

of your need of a saviour

and you are in awe

of the forgiveness

that Jesus has won for you?

Is your character

growing

into being more and more Christ-like?

Is there a willingness

for sacrificial

and unconditional love

to those

in need of Jesus

as Jesus would desire

of a follower of his?

What I'm asking of you is this.

Is for you

to know

where you are

at this moment in time.

Are you standing

in a place

marked

with hope?

Now, you know

in shopping malls

and maybe at the airport

two places

that

I haven't been too much

in this COVID period

but you know

those

directories

and

it shows you

where you

want to go.

But a key part

of those directories

is that there's

this cross

that says

you are here

and

once you know

where you are

and you know

the destination

you want to go to

you can

work out

how to get there.

Now, you can stand

in front of

a map

of that nature

that does not

have the cross

on it

you could stand

there all day

long

and see

where you want

to go

and have no idea

how to get to it

because you don't

know where you are

at this moment

in time.

We all

need to stop

and think

where am I

right now

in relationship

to the cross.

Am I

truly

confident

in the hope

of Jesus

or am I

fluctuating

with all

that the world

is throwing

at me?

If so

what are you

going to do

about it?

it will be

different

for each

of us

but once

we know

that

the piece

of information

of where

we are

right now

and our

destination

then we

can determine

the direction

of which

to go

so that

we can be

people

who have

hope

and we

can give

that

to others.

Now

I'm going

to assume

from now

on

that we

are people

of hope

that we

are people

who know

who we

are before

Christ

and then

once we

know that

we then

need to

discern

where

to give

this hope

how do

we

discern

what to

do

from here?

Well

let's

look now

at how

to determine

where to

help.

The needs

around our

world

are very

great

and they

are everywhere.

Opportunities

are so

grand.

Situations

so different.

we cannot

physically

help

every

hopeless

person.

We

cannot

physically

help

every

ministry

or

every

situation.

That

would be

impossible.

But we

do need

to start

somewhere.

Whilst

writing

this I

was reminded

of an

old

camp

song

of

many

many

many

years

ago

and

there's

a line

in the

song

that says

it only

takes a

spark

to get

a fire

going.

And it's

a little

bit like

what James

preached

just recently.

He said

just do

something.

Just do

something.

Just give

a spark.

So let

me share

a principle

with you

that I

learnt many

years ago

and I

still follow

to this

day really.

And that

is we

need to

develop a

holy

discontent.

Now when

you look

at our

world,

our

country,

our

community,

our

neighbours,

what

upsets

you?

What

stirs

within your

heart when

you see

injustice?

What

causes

tension

within

you?

Now I'm

not talking

about the

sort of

injustice

toward you

or situations

where you're

saying this

isn't fair,

I deserve

better.

That's an

inward

looking

situation.

Our focus

as always

is to be

outward

looking.

So I'm

talking about

knowing

what Jesus

desires,

that he

is for

justice

to reign,

for God's

people to

stand up

and to be

counted,

for God

to be

glorified

and for

his people

to know

this

Jesus

and the

life that

he gives.

That's what

God wants.

His

kingdom,

justice

to reign.

So what

small thing

triggers

within

you

a

response

in your

belly

that you

start to

think

that is

not

right.

Because

what you

see that

isn't

right,

let me

assure you

God

sees

and says

that

isn't

right.

Now

in our

Matthew

passage,

Jesus

mentions a

whole heap

of things

that he

expects

his people

to act

upon.

it's

not if

you

think

about it

you

might

like

to.

Jesus

expects

this

to

happen.

So

that's

you

and

me.

We're

to

feed

the

hungry,

we're

to

give

water

to

the

thirsty,

provide

shelter

to

the

homeless,

clothe

those

needing

clothes,

help

the

sick,

minister

to

those

in

prison.

Elsewhere

he

says

to care

for the

widows

and

the

orphans,

to love

your

neighbour.

What

is

stirring

within

your

belly,

I'm

asking

you

to

not

ignore

it.

I

want

you

to

pray

about

it,

I

want

you

to

reflect

upon

it,

do

some

investigating,

some

research

about

those

situations.

develop

a

holy

discontent.

Allow

God

to

fan

within

you

a

flame

so

that

together

you

and

God

can

develop

a

plan

to

help

and

to

give

hope

to

the

hopeless.

less.

This is

how

grace

ministry

started.

13

years,

about

13

years

ago,

well,

no,

actually,

there was

a small

group

who

were

praying

individually.

We

didn't

know

that the

other

was

praying

for

years

about

the

women

working

in

brothels

and

13

years

ago,

I

started

praying

about

this

when

I

was

the

outreach

pastor.

It

troubled

me

that

there

was

a

need

that

was

not

being

met

in

these

establishments.

There

was an

opportunity

to show

God's

love

to

women

who

more

than

likely

have

never

really

known

unconditional

love.

now

meanwhile

there

were

others

not

just

me

but

there

were

others

who

were

also

praying

for

a

similar

thing.

And so

all those

desires

and all

those

prayers

and those

different

people who

were praying

came

together

and we

started

grace

ministry.

Isn't

God

great?

There

was a

holy

discontent

within a

number of

people in

our church

and it

came

together

to a

ministry

called

Grace

Ministry.

Now we

would love

to see

this

ministry

grow.

At

present

there is

only one

team

that

goes

when

we

don't

have

COVID

to

go.

There

are

intercessors

who their

job is

to pray

for the

two people

who go

into the

various

establishments.

And what

we take

is baked

goods

of which

the girls

in these

places

absolutely

love.

We take

baked goods

and we

say to

them

this is a

gift

because

Jesus

loves you

and it's

a token

of the

love

that we

can give.

They call

us the

Jesus

girls.

It is

the

holy

discontent

that is

within us.

we

would

love

to

grow

this

ministry

because

sadly

within

our

area

here

at

Chatswood

there

are

loads

of

these

establishments.

So if

you

feel

that you

want to

join

with us

and be

an

intercessor

or be

trained

to go

into

these

places

we can

train

you.

We

would

love

to

have

you.

If

you

love

baking

and

you

want

to

commit

to

baking

on

a

semi

regular

basis

to

send

goods

into

these

places

please

don't

hesitate

to

talk

to

me

because

we

could

have

many

teams

visiting

these

places

in

our

very

own

Chatswood.

Once

of course

the

restrictions

are

lifted.

What

is it

that

you

cannot

stand

the

racial

injustices

just

recently

should

have

stirred

every

one

of

us.

Slavery

of

young

children

and

adults

is

crying

for

justice.

Speak

to

Jacob

Sarkaty

one of

our

members

here

at

St.

Paul's

if

God

is

stirring

within

you

to

do

something

in

this

area

of

slavery

and

injustice

because

Jacob

works

for

International

Justice

Mission

which

is

the

world's

largest

anti-slavery

organisation.

Does

your

heart

ache

knowing

that

there

are

children

and

families

who

have

no

food

so

feeding

the

poor

and

clothing

those

who

have

nothing

is

stirring

within

you.

The

food

collection

box

that we

have

allows

for

you

to

contribute

food

for

Anglicare

our

Anglican

ministry

that is

across

all sorts

of areas

but I'm

sure

they would

love to

have more

people

who have

hearts

seeking

justice

in this

area.

Friends

we can

give

money

money

money

is

great

money

is

good

and

all

ministries

need

money

to

actually

do

their

business

it's

essential

but

dare I

say

it isn't

enough

it's

way

too

easy

for

us

to

hand

over

some

dollars

and

then

walk

away

and

forget

totally

of

what

we

have

just

done

get

involved

in the

ministries

of which

you have

financially

given

to

look

for

areas

where

you

can

help

outside

of just

giving

money

read

the

newsletters

that they

all send

out to

us

and

learn

about

the

people

whose

lives

are being

impacted

because

that

will

grow

the

holy

discontent

that is

within

you

and

then

pray

and

then

pray

and

then

pray

some

more

for

these

people

that

you

are

assisting

and

ask

the

Lord

what

else

can

you

do

with

this

holy

discontent

now

as

we've

heard

we are

raising

funds

for a

church

plant

up

on

the

gold

coast

and

the

gold

coast

traditionally

is

quite

a

hedonistic

but

beautiful

but

self

indulgent

holiday

destination

and

there is

plenty

of room

to give

hope

to the

hopeless

on the

gold

coast

now

Sam

and

Sally

Lowe

old

members

of

ours

with

their

boys

made

a

sacrifice

to

go

Sarah

Jones

an

old

member

of

ours

made

a

sacrifice

to

go

and

assist

Sam

and

Sally

is

God

stirring

within

you

to

make

a

sacrifice

to

take

the

hope

that

you

have

to

also

go

and

help

Sam

and

Sally

now

don't

get

me

wrong

we

don't

really

want

to

lose

all

of

our

members

here

from

Chatswood

to

go

to

the

Gold

Coast

but

the

thing

is

if

God

is

placing

on

your

heart

a

call

to

bless

others

in

an

area

whereby

they

need

help

then

of

course

we

are

going

to

rejoice

in

what

God

is

doing

for

his

kingdom

develop

a

holy

discontent

get

to

know

those

around

you

open

your

eyes

and

examine

what

you

see

because

I

really

think

God

wants

us

to

see

others

as

he

sees

them

even

when

we

are

wayward

and

confused

God

still

pursues

us

with

his

love

we

too

need

to

love

others

who

are

confused

and a

little

wayward

at

times

little

by little

you might

speak

to a

homeless

person

on the

street

you

only

need

a

small

amount

of

time

to

start

developing

conversations

where you

can get

to know

the

person

share

love

be

real

share

Jesus

but

please

note

this

to

love

is

caring

without

an

agenda

it

isn't

that

difficult

if

you

truly

know

where

you

are

at

this

point

of

time

knowing

Jesus

you

can

find

the

direction

that

you

need

to

go

so

if

we

go

back

to

our

Matthew

passage

I

want

you

to

see

the

enormity

of

what

Jesus

is

saying

caring

and

sharing

hope

for

all

these

groups

it

is

not

an

option

we

read

then

the

king

will

say

to

those

on

his

right

come

you

who

are

blessed

by

my

father

take

your

inheritance

the

kingdom

prepared

for

you

since

the

creation

of

the

world

it

is

an

expectation

of

everything

Jesus

has

done

for

us

it

was

the

same

expectation

for

all

and

the

outcome

of

obedience

is

eternal

life

with

him

and

the

outcome

for

those

who

neglect

the

expectation

to

help

others

is

eternal

punishment

I

mentioned

at the

beginning

a

person

who

was

approached

by a

woman

twice

and

how

she

continued

carrying

on

because

she

was

in a

hurry

to

get

to

a

special

church

service

a

few

steps

on

for

this

woman

God

very

severely

convicted

her

of

her

sin

of

her

lack

of

mercy

of

her

lack

of

compassion

and

of

her

religious

spirit

and

wrong

belief

that

getting

to

a

church

on

time

was

far

more

important

than

helping

somebody

who

was

in

need

she

had

no

idea

what

this

person

wanted

maybe

she

only

wanted

to

know

the

time

who

knows

but

with

tears

she

turned

around

to

give

whatever

help

that

was

needed

and

the

street

was

bare

the

woman

had

gone

there

was

not

a

person

in

sight

not

a

person

and

the

woman

who

was

there

a

second

before

had

now

vanished

was

she

real

was

she

an

angel

in

disguise

I

don't

know

but

what

I do

know

is

that

lesson

has

will

never

ever

be

forgotten

because

that

was

me

I

only

felt

shame

at that

moment

and it

forced

me

to

turn

to

my

Lord

and my

Saviour

and to

ask for

forgiveness

it

was

a

horrible

moment

for me

to realise

what I

had done

and

asking for

forgiveness

God

granted

that to

me

and

allowed

me

to

continue

on

and to

grow

in a

love

and a

desire

to help

people

the

memory

though

has been

burned

onto my

heart

and onto

my

mind

friends

do

not

be

like

me

when

opportunity

to give

hope

to the

hopeless

crosses

your path

respond

respond

to it

what do

I want

to leave

with you

today

I want

you to

know

where you

are

in relation

to that

cross

and I

want

you

to allow

God

to fan

the flame

of

holy

discontent

within

you

and for

you to

act upon

it

and as

you do

know

that you

are doing

it for

Jesus

himself

because

as our

Matthew

passage

said

it

could be

Jesus

in

disguise

so

every

time a

needy

person

crosses

your

path

you

need

to be

asking

yourself

how

would I

respond

if this

is

Jesus

in

disguise

let me

pray for

us

God

of all

love

grace

mercy

and

forgiveness

please

instill

in our

hearts

a

confidence

in you

that can

weather

any storm

that the

world will

bring

give us

hearts

after your

own

heart

eyes

that see

what you

see

and hands

that will

give

what you

would

give

we pray

in our

saviour's

name

Jesus

amen

amen

Thank you.