Jesus Offers Hope - When You Hit Rock Bottom, Part 1

Let me ask you a question. Have you lost hope has your world caved in. You lost hope in your family you lost hope for your health. You lost hope in the church, hope is the oxygen of the soul. Once you lose hope everything goes downhill today, working to learn how God can give you hope regardless of where you're at, what statement welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with the addition of these daily programs is to intentionally disable Christians for the Bible teaching of tripping so gratefully joined her sister watches a new series called offers over the next several programs will explore how to tap God wants us to, and the ways that assure toughest storms of we begin, let me encourage you to try using chips while you listen to containers outline scriptural references and much more. Chips notes will really help you remember what you hear, maybe even share what you're learning to download these message notes just go to the broadcast tab of Living on the Edge.OR Listeners tap billing notes what storage of Belfour's message when you hit rock bottom 50 hope is the oxygen of the soul saw to begin with a visual image that I hope you keep in your mind, and it's a little scientific experiment, you've probably seen this done before but have a candle here that will light.

I want you to think of this candle as the kind of the hope in your life.

The hope in your heart. Everybody puts their hope in something or someone, and for some that light is a job it's money at your looks. I it's unifying that person someday others that hope is your family mean we all have different things we put hope in you always know always know where your hope really is placed is when it gets removed and how you respond. People can endure pain in diversity trauma, difficulty, relational chaos depressions.

But as long as there's hope. As long as there's a in their mind and heart a probability that it will get better tomorrow. Something's going to happen.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel. That's hope. But when hope is gone.

What you find is that light begins to go low and it's actually it's burning the oxygen out of that little spot in little by little by little. What you find is that candle goes out because it's sucking oxygen out of the little tube and that's how it happens. Little by little by little and it gets to the very bottom ends against the bottom then people say you know something I give up. I'm out of this marriage. I'm tired of helping this kid. My boyfriend left me. My girlfriend left me.

I've tried have been to rehab twice. I can't lick this just forget it and when they give up devastating things happen, I put a teaching handout if you pull that out it says Jesus offers hope tonight will look at when you hit rock bottom hope but definitionally by Webster's is that feeling that what is really wanted is likely to happen. It's just that sense inside the you know what you really want to happen. It's can happen. We hit rock bottom when what or who we hoped in cannot or will not come through for us.

You hope to have a family then you can't have kids you hope to get married and you find yourself single for single again you hope for a job and you lost yours and you tried and tried and tried and you still have one, you don't get into the school.

You don't make the team that person that thing that you were trusting to come through for you doesn't and then you lose hope and you get discouraged and then you get despairing and then you get despondent. We hit rock bottom usually happens, it's interesting to predictable places. We hit rock bottom in the pit and also in the peak in the pit. You know you're in an addiction.

You're in the middle of a divorce you're in the ICU get cut from the team you lose your job. I mean you to start going down, down, down, but the other time is when people peak and their hope was and if I ever was this successful. If I ever married this person if I ever became a star if I could ever and then there's an emptiness that goes with that and honestly some of the most successful pretty well-paid people in the world are among the most hopeless, who have the highest percentage of divorce, the highest percentage of drug addictions and rehabs as we check out entertainment tonight or whatever one of the shows a come on, all the same time the Telus who is breaking up with whom or what rehab center the coming out of that this is Sports Illustrated and they did a little article on people. We lost a great sports heroes that died somewhere 99 somewhere 72 Summer 23. As I read through it I noticed there was a number of younger people who died the first was Antonio Pettigrew. He was gold medalist on the 400 m 2000, he won the world's in May 2008. He later confessed that he used performance-enhancing drugs and in August he committed suicide 42 years old.

Erica Glassberg 25 years old, a two-time All-American at Arizona freshman of the year went directly to the LPGA.

Now she's only 25 got completely discouraged because she only made the top 10 in one tournament struggled with her golf struggle with her personal life, she committed suicide and the irons from this part of the country.

No surfers right you know the two great surfers a big rivalry between he and Kelly Slater and Slater retires in Andy sort of the young buck and he does wild crazy stuff, and Slater comes out of retirement. We have this amazing thing about the last eight or 10 years and the iron says my whole driving force right now is to take this little pretty picture. It's of Slater, his competitor and crush it and then he won the world championships in 2003 again 2004, it went back and forth. He left the tour 2009 was burned out. His wife got pregnant, they found him in a Dallas hotel room dead and they found Xanax methadone and Ambien Xanax is for panic attacks methadone is what you use when you try to get off of heroin and Ambien is try to get some sleep so he rides the biggest ways and is on top of the world is Weiss ready to have a baby, but his hopes gone.

Some of you older guys member bigger Mel Turpin, 49 years old.

The Kentucky star about six years and MBA average about 14 points a game. Huge guy. Well, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in July.

Shortly after his wife suffered a stroke got money. Scott Fain, but the person he put his hope in his gone and he thought, you know what my light goes out. The last one was from Venezuela, Edwin Valero 28 years old. He is first 17 fights he won in the first round with knockouts like the fight that got six is your gone in his first 27 fights. They were all knockouts. He was undefeated fiery competitor, he one world one world championship with one belt was ready to fight the number one fighter in the world but had this problem with anger. He took out his anger on his wife and stabbed her to death and then hung himself in jail.

Lotta people would probably say you know something if I would ever could be famous or pretty or be the greatest surfer in the world or be 25 years old and on LPGA. I may not have it made. When you hit rock bottom. The only direction you can look is up and some people get there because her life falls apart. And some people get there because they hit it on top and they realize there's not enough money or looks or fame people stuff to fill the gaping hole that God made in design for him. So the question I want to ask and answer is, where is God when hit rock bottom where is God when in your personal life the flame the hope for whatever reason whatever relationship whatever job whatever difficulty whatever peak when that flame is going down when you feel like I can't take one more day of another day like this when I don't think things are ever going to change out of the ever changing this marriage, never going to get a good job again.

I didn't get into the right school. You know I worked all this time and I never quite made it to and you fill it in, where Scott Jesus answers that question in Luke chapter 15 as we get there. Here's the occasion. Luke chapter 15. Let me just read the first verse is is now the tax collectors and the sinners were all gathering around to hear him.

Jesus but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them. Those who had hit rock bottom. Those who had failed morally. Those who are the outcast, those that no one cared about all the sudden this itinerant preacher without any formal training begins to teach in and heal people and raise people from the dead and and you know what they're attracted to and any offer some forgiveness and he looks them in the eyes and he doesn't say their second-class citizens. And he doesn't approve of their behavior and he knows they're very, very far from God. But it's like if you ever watched Euna Moss that night were they trying to find the light.

These broken people who hit rock bottom and some of them were wealthy like tax collectors that had lots of money and lots success that were empty inside.

They found that he was easy to be around the words that he spoke in the care that he had in the reality of who he was. So they start hanging out with him and he'll even go to the house and hang out some places that good religious people should never hang out and so the religious establishment. That's the Pharisees they're thinking you know what this guy could not be from God. He's not credible that there is no way this could be a man sent from God, because no one that really loves God and who is holy would hang around with prostitutes and sinners and drug addicts and people have been through a marriage or two or had an abortion or abandon someone that couldn't be from God. So we pick up the story in verse three.

Follow along in verse three it says.

Then Jesus told them this parable notice at singular. He's telling them this parable.

Why the occasion is because he is hanging out with people that are lost in your religious and in a moral and he's being discredited as a messenger from God. This terrible is to address the Pharisees notion of what God is like and how he feels about people that are struggling who failed who hit rock bottom here's the parable. Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them does he not leave the 99 the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it, and when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and he goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says rejoice with me. I found my lost sheep application I tell you that in the same way there be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons do not need to repent story number two, or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses one that she not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it when she finds it she calls her friends and neighbors together and says rejoice with me. I found my lost coin in the same way I tell you there is more rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents singular parable story number three there was a man, Jesus continued, who had two sons, the younger one said to his father. Father give me my share of the estate, so he divided the property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all that he had, he set out for distant country and there he squandered his wealth in wild living. After he spent everything there was a severe famine in the whole country and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his field to feed his pigs. Not a great job for Jewish boy. He long to feed his own stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything to eat.

Translation rock bottom when he came to his senses, he said calmly. My father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death. I will set out and go back to my father and I will say to my father.

Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired men so he got up and he went to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him and he ran to his son and he threw his arms around him and he kissed him literally to the tense of the verb that he kissed him repeatedly. The son said to him, he's got the speech father, I've sinned against heaven and against you.

I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Put the father said to the service quick bring the best robe and put it on. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet bring the fatted calf and kill it.

Let's have a feast and celebrate reason for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found so they begin to celebrate the scene changes. That's the younger brother. Now the camera moves to the older faithful brother.

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field working when he came near the house. He heard the music and the dancing so he called one of the service and ask him what was going on, your brothers, come home, he replied in your father's killed without a calf, because he has them back safe and sound. The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So the father went out and pleaded with him, but he answered his father look all these years I've been slaving for you. I've never disobeyed your orders yet you haven't even given me go to celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home. You kill the fatted calf for him.

My son the father said you're always with me and everything I have is yours.

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and now he's found the point of this parable is to understand how God feels and how God responds to people who have hit rock bottom in moral your religious people, people who buy their own work by the work of others, find themselves absolutely without hope in your notes if you pull out a pen. I've made some observations that I think will help you understand it. First of all, this one parable has three many stories did you notice that the first story is about the lost sheep. He tells the story because sheep are very important. They use the wool. It was a part of the landscape.

They understood it would be a valuable thing everyone knew you would leave in this open country was safer. The 99 everyone knew you would go get the second story is about the lost coin. This one takes it from something that's important.

Even more important. The woman sweeps because in that day. Women who were married the sign of being married. It would take 10 silver coins, and they made a headband and they would put it around her head so that when public people knew they were married and so it was worth about one days wage, but the sentimental value was even more be like losing your wedding band.

I mean she says men I can find this.

The third goes from a sheep that's important to something very important like a reminder of who you are what you have, not to mention a full days wage work and then there's the lost son. We hear the story of a of a lost son who disrespects his father runs away and then is found.

Each story has five things in common. If we were doing Bible study together sitting around the living room, we might do some observation and at the end of our time we come up with five observations about these three many stories. One something valuable is lost to there's an intensive search occurs three that which is lost is can you fill twinning found for a great celebration follows me there's a party. There is music there is dancing. There's excitement each time, and five the spiritual application is explained more rejoicing in heaven. God rejoices the angels in heaven. Each time it says these are many pictures that explain how God the father reveals how heaven rejoices when one sinner repents will join us here in studio with this application. You've been listening to the first part of his message.

When you hit rock bottom series Jesus offers hope does it feel like you hit rock bottom, like you've done everything right, only to have your circumstances go from bad to worse. Are you in desperate need of hope right now on this four-part series trip reveals how it's possible to experience God's supernatural hope even in the midst of the worst life throws at you hear from the Gospels why we can place our absolute confidence in God and hang onto the hope he wants us to have every day for limited time the resources for Jesus offers hope are discounted and the MP3s are always free.

You'll find everything you need@livingontheedge.org or give us a call at triple late. 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, or LivingontheEdge.org hapless nurse tab special offers trip one of the things listeners really appreciate about you is how real you are about your ups and downs are in your continually saying I'm a regular guy is wearing the series about hope you hang on. When you start to feel like hope is slipping this series. Dave honestly is where I go.

That's why I called it in a Jesus offers hope what I'm teaching today and for the next few days will be the core places I go when godlike doesn't make sense God this isn't fair. God, I don't know if I can hang on anymore. Somehow I think we think we gotta measure up to something and what I found when I most desperate and I've lost hope as I try just get wrong.

Say Lord I have lost hope.

I need to experience you. I need your help in my prayers.

May not sound very good. And then I jump into the Psalms or Luke 15 or John 11 and some of these core places where I say Lord I need you to meet me and there's a promise in Psalm 34 it says the Lord is near to the broken hearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. What I found is, no matter how down. How low. If I can refuse to compensate you know we work out, distract myself and come to God. Honestly, he's going to meet me and that's my prayers. We go through this series. A lot of people lost hope. A lot of people are in very painful difficult situations. I believe God can speak through this series and help them get through it, but it's for the trip. Well, we hope you make plans to be with us for this entire series.

And if you happen to miss a program you can always listen on the chipping remap or LivingontheEdge.org as we wrap up today's program.

We learned that we lose hope. When something or someone doesn't come through for us. So let me ask you, how about you, you know, we talked about a timeless story today were Jesus offered hope to a group of people that thought no one cared at the heart of it was a warped view of God in that day. People felt like if you didn't have it all together. God didn't care about you in front of these Pharisees and people who felt they were marginalized, and no one cared. Jesus tells this timeless amazing story about a heavenly father.

That's kind compassionate that even when you blow it. He's there that is looking for you that he wants to pull you out of the ditch, take you out of the pigpen. He wants to take the biggest need in the deepest hurts of your life, and he longs to forgive and restore and make you his son or daughter, not about you but when I blow it or when I've been far from God. I just have to tell you I grew up with a picture of God is a cosmic cop angry frustrated mad at me and the only reason that he wanted me to come around us.

We could kinda wrap my spiritual knuckles with this heavenly ruler to get me back in line.

It was years before understood. That's not the God of the Bible. So let me encourage you to listen to this message again whether it's getting the MP3 you're listening to this in our next broadcast for many of you today, you need to believe and understand that God loves you.

He cares for you. He wants to do something significant in you and through you even when you feel like you don't deserve it.

He's the God of grace.

He is the one person that will never let you down when you run to him. He'll catch you in his arms as we wrap up I want to say thanks to those who make this program possible through your generous financial support. Your gifts help us create programs purchase airtime and develop additional resources to help Christians live like Christians you've been blessed by the ministry of Living on the Edge. Would you consider sending a gift today.

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When she continues a series Jesus offers hope. Until then, this is Dave thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge