In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the urgency of sharing the hope of Christ with the world. He reminds the audience that God has entrusted them with the ministry of reconciliation and empowered them to go forth and make known the glorious hope of salvation. The preacher encourages the listeners not to lose hope despite the challenges and trials they may face in the world. He emphasizes the importance of trusting in the Lord and putting their hope and confidence in Him, as He is the only one who can truly help and sustain them. The preacher also highlights the desperate state of the world, with many people lacking hope and heading towards a lost eternity, and calls on the audience to fulfill their role as ambassadors of Christ by sharing the good news with others.

So violence is rampant, and people are scared of losing their homes, their investments, their health, their jobs, even their marriage. Every fabric of our spiritual, moral, social, and economical foundation is being torn apart. Some people try to end their life by thinking that would be the end of their problems. Others have the mentality of saying, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Why? Because there is no hope. Hope is essential to our survival. When hope defers, it makes the heart sick. Who or what do you put your hope in? Some people put their hope in their government leaders, but their leaders don't seem to have any solution to the problems that they are facing. Do you make gold your hope, or money your confidence? If you put your hope in anything or any person other than God, you are in big trouble. Hopelessness is not a new term. Job in the Old Testament faced a hopeless situation. After he lost all his children, all his wealth, even his health, Job's wife saw the hopeless situation of her husband. She said to him, Do you still hold on to your integrity? Curse God and die! Mrs. Job actually was saying, there is no hope, and there is no way out. Kill yourself, then you might get out of this misery. But Job's hope was in God. Sarah was a widow in a dire situation. Her creditor was going to take away her two sons as slaves in payment for her husband's debt. But she found hope when she turned to the man of God, Elijah, for help. It was hopeless for Abraham to have any descendants because of old age, and Sarah's womb was dead. But against hope, he believed in hope. He believed that God, what God has spoken to him, And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, So that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be counted. Hoping in spite of hopeless circumstances, he believed that he would become the father of many nations. Just as he had been told. What is the answer to our hopeless situation? The answer is found in Psalm 11. The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold. His eyes lead astride the children of men. For connection, I would like to read Psalm 11 from verse 1 to verse 4. Verse 1. In the Lord put I my trust. How say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain. Verse 2. For lo, the wicked bend their foe. They make ready in their arrow upon their strength, That they may secretly shoot at the upright in heart. Verse 3. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Verse 4. The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold. His eyes lead astride the children of men. When our hope and trust is in the Lord, We would not be persuaded by our enemies to turn away from looking to Him. Trust is the key to all our fear and hopelessness. The only way we can endure any kind of trials is to trust in the Lord, Putting our hope and confidence in Him. Our enemies may attack us from all sides. We may be in a long tunnel of darkness, But there is light at the end of the tunnel. God is with us even in darkness, For darkness is as light for God. When we lost our job, God said, I will provide for all your needs. When sickness threatens our health, God is our great physician. When we lost our loved one, God is our comforter. When we are forsaken by friends, Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. The psalmist said to himself in Psalm 42 verse 11, Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, And once again I will praise Him, My Savior and my God. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, Lamented the sins of Israel, And God's punishment to her. But when he remembered or recalled God's goodness, He found hope, Because the Lord's mercies are new every morning, And His compassion fails not. When everything is crumbling, Both in the government and in the church, Moral and social structures have collapsed. Judgment is perverted. Truth and morality are despised. People call good evil and evil good. Some pastors have no respect for God and the Bible. They have turned away from the truth. Heresies are being taught, And wickedness is being practiced. The church is more concerned about political correctness Than spiritual truthfulness. They are supposed to reach the world with God's message, But instead they allow the world to reach them And contaminate the church. Our moral, ethical, and religious foundations have been destroyed. What can we do? One thing we need to know and remember is that God is sovereign. He is still in control. Even though everything seems to be out of control, The Lord is still in His holy temple. He still rules from heaven. He closely watches everything that happens here on earth. The Lord searches the hearts and tries the mind. He gives every man according to his ways, And according to the fruit of his doings. The Lord will reward the righteous and the wicked. We have been praying for the persecuted Christians in North Korea, China, And all the Middle Eastern countries. They are unable to endure such horrific torture, And having unwavering conviction because of their hope and trust in God. Their hope doesn't make them ashamed, Because the love of God has been poured out in their hearts through the Holy Spirit. They do not accept deliverance, That they might obtain a better resurrection. They are looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. They truly believe that what Jesus said in Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, And the gospels, the same shall save it. And Jesus said also, He that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Their faith and hope is real, Because they chose God over their own life, And the life of their children. Our hope may be dashed by sorrow or disappointment, And thus might cause us to lose sight of God. Jesus' disciples might have felt that way after his crucifixion. The two men that went to the village of Emmaus felt despondent, Because their hope was gone. The one they had hoped that would redeem Israel was dead. They could not recognize Jesus even though he was in the midst of them. The Bible did say that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. When we dwell on our problems instead on God, We will lose hope. Do not look at the storm or the hopeless situation, But at Christ. Peter was able to do the impossible, Walking on water when he looked at Jesus. When he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to think, We should not live as if though we had no hope, When faced the storm of life, Or when the bottom falls out, Because God, according to his great mercy, Has caused us to be born again to a living hope, Through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and his righteousness. When all around us gives way, God is our hope and stay. He is the anchor of our soul, A hope both sure and steadfast. When everything is falling apart, We still can be standing because of the living hope. We have hope even in death. Paul said to the Thessalonians, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, Concerning them which are asleep, That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also sleep in Jesus, Will God bring with them. Job said in 19.20, Though after my skin wounds destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God. David said in Psalm 16, Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices, My flesh also shall rest in hope. When I die, I shall lie down in the grave in hope, Not in despair. I shall expect to rise and live again. Jesus said that I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes on me, though he die, yet shall he live. Our hope is based on Jesus' resurrection. A dead person can do nothing for us but a living Savior. God said in Isaiah 43, When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you. Your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned. The hot trials that come will not hurt you. That is hope. Because he lives, we can face tomorrow. We need to share our hope with others. We live in a dying world. The majority of people have no hope and without God. They are heading to a lost eternity. The only hope for all humanity is the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to be ambassadors. Jesus commanded his disciples before he went to heaven, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And know I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. I'm really glad that God has made known the riches of the mystery of his glory to us. Christ in us, the hope of glory. God has entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation and empowered us to go forth. So let us go and make known his glorious hope for the dying world, that they might be reconciled to God. He is coming soon to judge the world. This message is more urgent than ever. Should we not share our hope with them? Don't let what is happening in our city or in the world cause us to lose hope. Jesus said, And when these things begin to happen, then look up and lift up your head for our redemption draws not near. We will be getting out of here, children. Very soon our hope will become sight. When everything is looking down, we are to look up. We are to look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Thank you, dear Heavenly Father, for giving us our living hope. As we wait for our Savior, Jesus Christ, to receive us unto himself, keep us pure and clean. Keep us looking up. Keep us praying and keep us serving. In Christ's name we ask. Amen.