HOPE

Job 5:15-16 “But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.” (KJV)

HOPE

Healing Oppressed People Everywhere

            Hopelessness seems to be a trademark of this generation; yet, God gives hope! Cutting off injustice and delivering people from those more powerful at first glance is the basic job description of a super hero, but Christians are called to the task of Healing Oppressed People Everywhere. Sin is a very powerful captor and many suffer from its effects in their physical body. Spiritual oppression and stress often leave us feeling as if there is no hope but God has invited us through His word to live a life of hope and promise.

            Throughout our lifetime we may have learned that what a person says is not always what they mean, but God is not a man and His word can be trusted. God saves us from ourselves and from those more powerful. In the arena of life it is interesting that what we say can become a sword that without the intervention of God would become our undoing. We are, at times, our own worst enemy. (Proverbs 12:18)

            Jesus taught that His words give life. If we have received them, then we have life and hope. Our spirits are given life by His Holy Spirit and the physical discomforts we experience cannot be allowed to distract us from the mission of sharing the Word of Life. (John 6:63)

            Being an ambassador for the Kingdom of God places each of us in a position of authority. God has granted to us the responsibility of taking His message to the nations. As His envoys we have the message of Hope, but freewill put the choice of delivery in our laps. (Proverbs 13:17)

            This proverb lets us know that if we change the message we can expect trouble in our lives, but if we faithfully deliver the message of hope, healing will follow. Healing Oppressed People Everywhere means that we are willing to become a trustworthy envoy of HOPE. An envoy is a person given the responsibility of representing another usually in matters of government. In the business world it has been said that a task can be delegated but responsibility cannot. Jesus gave us the authority to act in His name based upon His authority.  He holds on the the responsibility for the outcome. We act in His name -- He accomplishes the work through the Holy Spirit. (Luke 9:1-2)

            God has not changed. The authority of the church has not changed but the world by all accounts is getting worse. There is a real need for the message of hope. Proverbs again tells us that our speech is a two-sided coin. (Proverbs 15:4)

            The phrase, “It’s a coin toss.” might take on a whole new meaning if we apply it to the words we speak. Healing should be the desire of our hearts. Setting people free from oppression begins with the way we speak to them. (Proverbs 16:24)

            The power of our words can heal or hurt. Many of us have at times been blinded by pain and, as a result, we have not been faithful in healing others. Problems and pain no matter what their source can cause us to give up. As Christians we are given hope through salvation and our responsibility is to share that HOPE — Healing Oppressed People Everywhere. It is impossible to give another what we do not have; therefore, in order to be busy about the task of Healing Oppressed People Everywhere we must overcome oppression in our own lives.

            Perhaps we can identify with the Psalm of Wisdom written by Asaph. His prayer was that God deliver the oppressed and remember those who had been redeemed. If we have been oppressed we can pray his prayer earnestly out of our deep need. If we know people who have been oppressed we can pray it sincerely on their behalf. In either case we put our faith in God alone, asking that we will not be allowed to turn and run from our problems, but rather find a reason to praise God in every situation. (Psalm 74:21)

            Again, in Psalm 82, Asaph calls upon God to defend the oppressed. What better reason to praise God can there be? He is at work in our lives delivering the oppressed. He works wonders on our behalf and we will see freedom from oppression, strength in our weakness, and our rights as children of God will be maintained as we walk in the fullness of the authority given to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 82:3)

            Those being oppressed and those guilty of the oppression do not know the mighty power of God. We are called to make His righteous works known among the nations. From the prayers and wisdom of Asaph we can move into a song of deliverance with David in Psalm 103. God has set us free from the oppression of sin. He has allowed us to enter into a life of hope and promise. (Psalm 103:6)

            Our redeemer is strong. There is none like Him. Who has been able to conquer Him? Who has been able to thwart His plan? When God frees us from oppression He brings us into a land of promise and rest. People are given a choice. We can either enter into the promises of God or we can continue to wander around in the dark depressing land of sin being oppressed by the devil. (Jeremiah 50:33-34)

            Healing Oppressed People Everywhere is what Jesus did and it is what He has called us to do. It is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. The devil cannot stand against the power of God. Sin cannot hold us captive when we put our hope in the salvation freely offered through Jesus Christ and Him only. (Acts 10:37-38)

            People have always been the priority within the Kingdom of God. He desires relationship with us. Living according to the plan of God demands that we increase the love we share. It calls us to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ, and that we live our lives to the glory of God. Placing our faith in God gives us the confidence that whatever happens to us can serve to advance the gospel. Telling the stories of our lives can offer hope to those around us because what God has done for us He will do for others. (Philippians 1:9-12)

            God has called us to become His people. The mercy we have received holds out for us hope. This mercy also heals us freeing us from the power of oppression and uniting us as the people of God. All of this generates within us thankfulness toward God. Unity pulls us together into the body of Christ and the people of God. (1Peter 2:10)

            Jesus accepted us both into God’s Kingdom and into His body, when we by faith accepted Him as the Lamb of God. As Lord, He becomes the focal point of our lives and we overflow with thankfulness. Gratitude causes us to reach out to others and share the message of HOPE — Healing Oppressed People Everywhere. (Colossians 2:6-7)

            Healing Oppressed People Everywhere means that we are willing to make people aware that there is a better way. We are marching in God’s parade, spreading the perfume of His presence everywhere. Some will choose to listen and be saved, but others will follow their own path to destruction and death. None of us in ourselves can measure up to God’s standard and no one can carry the weight of this burden. (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)

            What we lift up to the world is Jesus. What He offers is hope, healing and a future. None of these things can be peddled as goods in the market place. Prosperity of the soul cannot be traded for profit. We are messengers sent in the authority of Christ with a pure heart, speaking the word of life to a hopeless generation. Just as the first followers of Christ were sent out with the message of hope, we are being sent.

            Everywhere we go there is someone in need of hope. The Lord is working with us, and He will confirm His message. Needs will be met, lives will be changed, and the glory of the Lord will shine through our lives. (Mark 16:20)

            Miracles are God’s specialty. They mark the lives of believers everywhere and according to biblical accounts confirm God’s word. Jesus taught that by our faith we would do the types of things He did and by that same faith we will accomplish even greater things because He went to the Father. The message of the gospel has not changed. The power and presence of God have not changed, and the mission of the church did not change. (John 14:12)

            Healing Oppressed People Everywhere means that we are willing to go everywhere. Hope knows no boundaries. Love knows no limits and the matchless power of God will overcome any obstacles. The church of Jesus Christ has the only true message of hope; if we do not share it where will the world hear it? (Luke 9:6)