title hope
Contents
Expository Preaching
Subject hope
Text: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
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8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our tribulation in Asia, that we suffered exceedingly beyond our strength, and that we had lost our hope of life, 9 that we thought that we were condemned to death in our hearts, because we did not trust in ourselves. but trusting only in God, who raises the dead, 10 who rescued us from this great death, and will deliver us, and we hope that he will deliver us even after this. 11 Help ye also by praying for us, because we that many may give thanks for us because of the gift obtained through the prayers of many.
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Hope in the midst of despair
Today's text is in two parts. In verse 8, there is a desperate situation, and in verses 9-11, there is a part of choosing hope even in such despair.
Today I would like to share with you what is the basis for the hope that Paul chose in his despair.
He is God.
First, God is the foundation of hope. In verse 8, it is said that ‘even the hope of life was cut off’, indicating that he is in deep despair. I don't know what caused me to think like that, but I think I fell into deep despair because of the reality of being misunderstood by my co-workers and turning their backs on me while evangelizing.
However, Paul is reminded of God when he sees verse 9 in the midst of this.
It is a decision to rely on God who raises the dead. Here we find the basis for Paul's first hope. It is God.
Dr. Paul Sida said this. That's really sympathetic. “For the most part, the hardships or desperate situations that come to Christians are a special stage in which God causes us to put down our idols and put God back up.” Said.
Rather than trusting in God, the field of education that is being prepared to break me, who is holding on to myself, is the 'stage of tribulation'. It is to make them mature from the faith of 'I am God' to 'Only God'.
There is a Christian writer named Freudrick Buchner This is the story of this person. His family immigrated to the United States from Germany three generations ago. The family worked hard and studied hard. Both my grandfather and father studied at Princeton University and had great success in their professional fields.
However, during the Great Depression of the American economy in the 1930s, his father lost all his fortune at once and began to wander. My father started binge drinking and became an alcoholic. One day drunk, he committed suicide in the car.
Frederick was 10 years old at the time. From then on, the most embarrassing thing for him was that his friends asked, 'Why did your father die?' Because he couldn't answer that his father committed suicide. Young Frederick went to church and prayed to God.
“Oh God, what should I say to my friends?” Then an answer flashed through the young boy's mind. "right. Oh, Dad, you became the stage of education so that our family can depend on God again.” After that, he replied to his friends, ‘The stage of education’.
That's right. Tribulation is the stage of education that makes us rely on God with all our hearts. Despair is the field of education. Therefore, in despair, we should only think of God.
There is a man named Charles Coulson. He was a special aide to President Nixon of the United States, who wielded unparalleled power in a room right next to the Oval Office. He was the former head of the national security guard. A person who would step on the back of the president for his own purposes, a razor blade, and a man nicknamed the 'best egoist' of his time.
But when the Watergate scandal broke out, the president was fired and Colson went to jail. He experiences deep despair that he can no longer hold power in prison. As I said before, I was like Colonel Insu Lee. While trying to commit suicide, he found CS Lewis' books and a Bible on the floor of the prison, and while reading the Bible, he met Jesus.
He met God at the brink of his life. He came out of prison and led many people to the Lord through the unknown best-selling book, Rebirth. He won the Templeton Prize, the Nobel Prize for religion, and is now one of America's most sacred and influential leaders.
The God who met him at the edge of the cliff, that God, was the foundation of his hope for life. It was the foundation of a new hope, the foundation of a new life. May this blessing be upon you today.
memory.
memory.
Second, memory is the basis of hope. The first is God and the second is memory. The second factor that made the apostle Paul out of despair is memory.
This is verse 10. We will read it together. Beginning “10 He has delivered us from this great death, and he will deliver us, and we hope in him to deliver us even after this.”
The basis of this memory was God's Word, God's promise. It is a firm belief in God's promise that He will help you. The basis of his faith was the Word of God.
At the seminary graduation ceremony, a student raised his hand on the Bible and gave a graduation ceremony representative greeting, saying, “Professor, don't worry. We will live by these words.” Said.
But the professor who was preaching that day said this. “It is a really good decision for you to hold on to the Word and live. But in order for you to experience true victory, you need the experience of the Word holding you, not the soldiers holding on to the Word. From then on, you will live as people of God.” I said
That's right. Those who have experienced being freed from suffering through the Word during the past time will never despair even in today's tribulation. And you choose to have a beautiful future hope.
a place of prayer
So Paul goes to the place of prayer. Let's read verse 11 together. start. “You also help by making intercession for us, so that many may give thanks for us because of the gift we obtained through the prayers of many.”
His faith now goes to the place of prayer. There is a saying. “A bell is not a bell until it rings. A song is not a song until you sing, love is not love until you love, and faith is not faith until you pray.”
Those who have faith go through despair and go to the place of prayer.
I hope that the story of this one person who turned despair into hope and shared that hope with many people through prayer will be your story. I bless you in the name of the Lord that this Paul-like blessing may come to all of you who worship today. I will pray.