SERMON TITLE: KEEP YOUR HOPE A LIVE
Bishop David M. Thagana
TEXT LUKE: 24:50-52
Luke 24:50-52
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
The suffering of Jesus was not the end. He rose from the Dead
1 Corinthians 15:14
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
Jesus raising from the dead was not the end either. He ascended to HEAVEN.
KEEP YOUR HOPE A LIVE!!
- Luke records the moment of life when Jesus has risen and is about to depart to the father, as his disciples stood and watched.
- Have you ever been with a loved one and watched him die? Or leave to an unknown destination? Seeing Jesus leave must have been frightening but the disciples knew that Jesus would keep his promise to be with them through the Holy Spirit.
- The same Jesus who lived with the disciples, who died and was buried, and who rose from the dead, loves us and promises to be with us always.
- We can get to know him better through studying the scriptures praying and allowing the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus.
KEEP YOUR HOPE A LIVE
- Before Jesus ascended He suffered leading to death and resurrection.
- Christians do suffer. We cry. What are you crying about? Life is a journey, not a destination. We cry. We laugh. We suffer.
- Our reasons for crying may differ but it is all cry.
Between January and April I have been on mission trips to several countries in African and many regions in Kenya. People are crying for different reasons.
- Some are crying for a church building
- Some are crying for food
- Some are crying for Peace and freedom to Worship God
- Some are crying for a classroom for their children
At Kahawa Wendani church we also cry for some needs
- Missions with MKEET – Balance 52,000
- Peter & Miriam Wedding – Balance Kes. 32,800
- Family Conference – Kes. 20,000
Hear more Real Cries through My YouTube channel Bishop David Munyiri Thagana
Psalms 56:8
8 Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll are they not in your record?
- Think of all the tears you have cried.
- You may have thought no one noticed your red eyes. But God saw.
- What is more, he has every intention of rewarding your endurance through the Pain. That is why he keeps record of your list of tears. Psalms 56:8
- Every tear you have cried will be redeemed.
- Each tear has been lifted
- Each will be recompensed
KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE
Revelation 21:4
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Tears are valuable before God. When Mary anointed Jesus with valuable perfume, it was tears with which she washed his feet that moved him most powerfully
Luke 7:44
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
God will wipe every tear
It will not be the duty of angels or anyone else. It will be the duty of God.
Though we grief, we do it while keeping hope alive
1 Thessalonians 4:13
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE
So Jesus has ascended, what will keep our hope alive?
3 THINGS
- The promise of the resurrection: Jesus died a real death. He endured real pain. He was raised in a real body to prove that death had really been conquered. He gave us real hope to believe that Jesus as he was raised from the dead, we too, will be raised. We will be changed and our mortal bodies will be put in immortality. One day we shall dance together in heaven, and what a glorious comeback that will be. Keep your hope alive.
- The Holy Spirit: Luke 24:49 Before Jesus parts from His followers and taken to Heaven, He instructs them to stay in Jerusalem until they are “Clothed with Power from on High”
Life without the Holy Spirit is difficult, it is an orphaned life. You may cry alone. Receive the Holy Spirit to keep your home a live.
The Great Commission is done by the Holy Spirit
- God’s Blessings
Luke 24:51
51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
The blessings of God are continued through the Local church and the Fellowship of believers
Heb 10:22-25
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
CONCLUSION
KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE
HAPPY EASTER 2023