Well, good morning. My name is Deb Gould and I am the membership pastor here at St. Paul's
and am privileged to bring you this message today.
So in London, 12 years ago, there was a woman who had travelled to London to do some study
in leadership. She had a Sunday free and was extremely excited that she could do a
number of churches in London if she got her timing just right. If she started out very
early in the morning, she could travel to All Souls Langham Place and hear a great preacher.
Then she could cut across town to go to Holy Trinity Brompton and then she could come back
to All Souls and maybe go back to Holy Trinity Brompton again. But the timing had to be
just so. Now, I don't know if you know London, but London in the back streets, they all swerve
and curve. And this person, she thought that she could take a shortcut to ensure that she
got to All Souls Langham Place with plenty of time to hear this great preaching.
But those curves and those swerves meant that she got lost and very seriously lost.
And then she didn't know if she was heading north, south, east or west and frustration would
be a total understatement.
Now, suddenly in her path along one of these back streets, there was an old lady who politely
asked if she could be helped. But this woman who was heading off to church, she brushed the
woman aside because she was in a hurry. And so the woman asked a second time, could she ask a
question? She needed a bit of help? And she was brushed aside a second time because she was heading
to church. A very similar story to what we heard last week with the Good Samaritan, isn't it?
Now, today's passage addresses attitudes like this, where selfishness reigns and helping the hopeless
is not given freely. We are on to our second last message of our Share Hope series. And today is hope
for the hopeless. Now, there's an outline in the St. Paul's app if you wish to go there to take any
notes. And so please, please do that. But we're going to look at two main aspects of this topic today.
What does it actually really mean to be people of hope? And secondly, how can we help the hopeless?
Now, when we look at both the Matthew passage and the Romans passage today, we see the seriousness
of what Jesus is saying, and we need to pay very, very close attention to that. In Romans 3,
we see that there is an equal playing field, if you wish. That is, we are all sinners.
No one is righteous on their own, and we do not seek God. Let's look at verses 9 to 12 in the Romans passage.
What shall we conclude then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already made the charge
that Jews and Gentiles alike. But the good news is Jesus.
His life, his death and resurrection, in him, we can find life and forgiveness and faith.
Hope is given to those who trust him. It has nothing to do with us.
It has nothing to do with who we love and how well we love people. It's all about what Jesus has done.
Hence, no person is better than the other. And with this hope comes changed lives.
Jesus, in the Matthew passage, clearly expects to see his followers live differently.
Hope brings changes. Our hope in Jesus is to drive us to something different.
Because we have forgiveness. We have grace. We have purpose, security, compassion, mercy, character,
understanding, and much, much more.
As people of hope, even though there is chaos around us,
we can be confident and calm in the storm because Jesus promises never to leave us nor forsake us.
And when doubts of God's goodness come into our minds,
we can stop and remember all that God has done for us in Jesus.
And we can hand over to him all of those doubts and those fears and those concerns and all those anxieties at the foot of the cross.
And we can remember and have confidence that if we fail to trust God in a particular situation,
we can still turn to him and repent and be very confident of his forgiveness and his grace
because his grace is sufficient for us.
Or alternatively, we could be people who worry and live in fear,
who are anxious about the world and anxious of our day-to-day circumstances
and the discrepancies that happen around us.
Are you worried about your future?
Choosing not to be an authentic Christian
because you're looking for acceptance from the people around you
rather than acceptance from Jesus himself?
Or are you concerned about your finances
so you choose not to be radically generous?
Or are you choosing only to be the so-called righteous Christian
on the day that you watch this live stream?
The question remains,
Are you, am I, a person of hope?
Because we have everything, friends.
Everything we need, we have in Jesus.
Yes, life can be tough.
Yes, you may be struggling at present financially
because you have lost your job through this COVID period.
Yes, there may be broken relationships
that you long to have restored.
There may be uncertainty of a future
or there may be health issues with either you or a loved one.
But we still have everything we need in Jesus.
Despite all of that,
we have a hope that is eternal
if you are a follower of him.
Now, the tough life might be a surprise to us.
COVID certainly was a surprise to us.
But let me say,
nothing is a surprise to God.
The test is,
how are we going to live through the tough times?
And where are we going to put our faith
and our trust in the tough times?
Now, here at St. Paul's,
we want to give this hope
to those who do not yet know it.
The hopeless.
We want to see justice.
We want to see lives changed.
We want to see people come to know Jesus
as Lord and Saviour.
But here's the thing, though.
You need to be very confident
of the gift from Christ
that is a sure hope.
And if you waver in this confidence,
you will not be able to give hope
to the hopeless.
You cannot give away what you do not have.
Now, you will hold on to money
and possessions for yourself or your family
if you do not have this hope.
You will be consumed about yourself
and you will not look outwards.
And dare I say,
you will be in great spiritual danger.
In Matthew verse 31, we read,
when the Son of Man comes in his glory
and all the angels with him,
he will sit on his glorious throne.
All the nations will be gathered before him
and he will separate the people
one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats.
He will put the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left.
The sheep are those who follow Jesus
and have an eternal inheritance
waiting for them.
They are the ones who obey the commands.
Those who ignore the commands of God
to help the hopeless
are liable to be cast to the left
with the goats.
Now, this needs some self-reflection.
Are you a sheep
or are you a goat?
Are you truly aware
of your need of a saviour
and you are in awe
of the forgiveness
that Jesus has won for you?
Is your character
growing
into being more and more Christ-like?
Is there a willingness
for sacrificial
and unconditional love
to those
in need of Jesus
as Jesus would desire
of a follower of his?
What I'm asking of you is this.
Is for you
to know
where you are
at this moment in time.
Are you standing
in a place
marked
with hope?
Now, you know
in shopping malls
and maybe at the airport
two places
that
I haven't been too much
in this COVID period
but you know
those
directories
and
it shows you
where you
want to go.
But a key part
of those directories
is that there's
this cross
that says
you are here
and
once you know
where you are
and you know
the destination
you want to go to
you can
work out
how to get there.
Now, you can stand
in front of
a map
of that nature
that does not
have the cross
on it
you could stand
there all day
long
and see
where you want
to go
and have no idea
how to get to it
because you don't
know where you are
at this moment
in time.
We all
need to stop
and think
where am I
right now
in relationship
to the cross.
Am I
truly
confident
in the hope
of Jesus
or am I
fluctuating
with all
that the world
is throwing
at me?
If so
what are you
going to do
about it?
it will be
different
for each
of us
but once
we know
that
the piece
of information
of where
we are
right now
and our
destination
then we
can determine
the direction
of which
to go
so that
we can be
people
who have
hope
and we
can give
that
to others.
Now
I'm going
to assume
from now
on
that we
are people
of hope
that we
are people
who know
who we
are before
Christ
and then
once we
know that
we then
need to
discern
where
to give
this hope
how do
we
discern
what to
do
from here?
Well
let's
look now
at how
to determine
where to
help.
The needs
around our
world
are very
great
and they
are everywhere.
Opportunities
are so
grand.
Situations
so different.
we cannot
physically
help
every
hopeless
person.
We
cannot
physically
help
every
ministry
or
every
situation.
That
would be
impossible.
But we
do need
to start
somewhere.
Whilst
writing
this I
was reminded
of an
old
camp
song
of
many
years
ago
and
there's
a line
in the
song
that says
it only
takes a
spark
to get
a fire
going.
And it's
a little
bit like
what James
preached
just recently.
He said
just do
something.
Just do
something.
Just give
a spark.
So let
me share
a principle
with you
that I
learnt many
years ago
and I
still follow
to this
day really.
And that
is we
need to
develop a
holy
discontent.
Now when
you look
at our
world,
our
country,
our
community,
our
neighbours,
what
upsets
you?
What
stirs
within your
heart when
you see
injustice?
What
causes
tension
within
you?
Now I'm
not talking
about the
sort of
injustice
toward you
or situations
where you're
saying this
isn't fair,
I deserve
better.
That's an
inward
looking
situation.
Our focus
as always
is to be
outward
looking.
So I'm
talking about
knowing
what Jesus
desires,
that he
is for
justice
to reign,
for God's
people to
stand up
and to be
counted,
for God
to be
glorified
and for
his people
to know
this
Jesus
and the
life that
he gives.
That's what
God wants.
His
kingdom,
justice
to reign.
So what
small thing
triggers
within
you
a
response
in your
belly
that you
start to
think
that is
not
right.
Because
what you
see that
isn't
right,
let me
assure you
God
sees
and says
that
isn't
right.
Now
in our
Matthew
passage,
Jesus
mentions a
whole heap
of things
that he
expects
his people
to act
upon.
it's
not if
you
think
about it
you
might
like
to.
Jesus
expects
this
to
happen.
So
that's
you
and
me.
We're
to
feed
the
hungry,
we're
to
give
water
to
the
thirsty,
provide
shelter
to
the
homeless,
clothe
those
needing
clothes,
help
the
sick,
minister
to
those
in
prison.
Elsewhere
he
says
to care
for the
widows
and
the
orphans,
to love
your
neighbour.
What
is
stirring
within
your
belly,
I'm
asking
you
to
not
ignore
it.
I
want
you
to
pray
about
it,
I
want
you
to
reflect
upon
it,
do
some
investigating,
some
research
about
those
situations.
develop
a
holy
discontent.
Allow
God
to
fan
within
you
a
flame
so
that
together
you
and
God
can
develop
a
plan
to
help
and
to
give
hope
to
the
hopeless.
less.
This is
how
grace
ministry
started.
13
years,
about
13
years
ago,
well,
no,
actually,
there was
a small
group
who
were
praying
individually.
We
didn't
know
that the
other
was
praying
for
years
about
the
women
working
in
brothels
and
13
years
ago,
I
started
praying
about
this
when
I
was
the
outreach
pastor.
It
troubled
me
that
there
was
a
need
that
was
not
being
met
in
these
establishments.
There
was an
opportunity
to show
God's
love
to
women
who
more
than
likely
have
never
really
known
unconditional
love.
now
meanwhile
there
were
others
not
just
me
but
there
were
others
who
were
also
praying
for
a
similar
thing.
And so
all those
desires
and all
those
prayers
and those
different
people who
were praying
came
together
and we
started
grace
ministry.
Isn't
God
great?
There
was a
holy
discontent
within a
number of
people in
our church
and it
came
together
to a
ministry
called
Grace
Ministry.
Now we
would love
to see
this
ministry
grow.
At
present
there is
only one
team
that
goes
when
we
don't
have
COVID
to
go.
There
are
intercessors
who their
job is
to pray
for the
two people
who go
into the
various
establishments.
And what
we take
is baked
goods
of which
the girls
in these
places
absolutely
love.
We take
baked goods
and we
say to
them
this is a
gift
because
Jesus
loves you
and it's
a token
of the
love
that we
can give.
They call
us the
Jesus
girls.
It is
the
holy
discontent
that is
within us.
we
would
love
to
grow
this
ministry
because
sadly
within
our
area
here
at
Chatswood
there
are
loads
of
these
establishments.
So if
you
feel
that you
want to
join
with us
and be
an
intercessor
or be
trained
to go
into
these
places
we can
train
you.
We
would
love
to
have
you.
If
you
love
baking
and
you
want
to
commit
to
baking
on
a
semi
regular
basis
to
send
goods
into
these
places
please
don't
hesitate
to
talk
to
me
because
we
could
have
many
teams
visiting
these
places
in
our
very
own
Chatswood.
Once
of course
the
restrictions
are
lifted.
What
is it
that
you
cannot
stand
the
racial
injustices
just
recently
should
have
stirred
every
one
of
us.
Slavery
of
young
children
and
adults
is
crying
for
justice.
Speak
to
Jacob
Sarkaty
one of
our
members
here
at
St.
Paul's
if
God
is
stirring
within
you
to
do
something
in
this
area
of
slavery
and
injustice
because
Jacob
works
for
International
Justice
Mission
which
is
the
world's
largest
anti-slavery
organisation.
Does
your
heart
ache
knowing
that
there
are
children
and
families
who
have
no
food
so
feeding
the
poor
and
clothing
those
who
have
nothing
is
stirring
within
you.
The
food
collection
box
that we
have
allows
for
you
to
contribute
food
for
Anglicare
our
Anglican
ministry
that is
across
all sorts
of areas
but I'm
sure
they would
love to
have more
people
who have
hearts
seeking
justice
in this
area.
Friends
we can
give
money
is
great
money
is
good
and
all
ministries
need
money
to
actually
do
their
business
it's
essential
but
dare I
say
it isn't
enough
it's
way
too
easy
for
us
to
hand
over
some
dollars
and
then
walk
away
and
forget
totally
of
what
we
have
just
done
get
involved
in the
ministries
of which
you have
financially
given
to
look
for
areas
where
you
can
help
outside
of just
giving
money
read
the
newsletters
that they
all send
out to
us
and
learn
about
the
people
whose
lives
are being
impacted
because
that
will
grow
the
holy
discontent
that is
within
you
and
then
pray
and
then
pray
and
then
pray
some
more
for
these
people
that
you
are
assisting
and
ask
the
Lord
what
else
can
you
do
with
this
holy
discontent
now
as
we've
heard
we are
raising
funds
for a
church
plant
up
on
the
gold
coast
and
the
gold
coast
traditionally
is
quite
a
hedonistic
but
beautiful
but
self
indulgent
holiday
destination
and
there is
plenty
of room
to give
hope
to the
hopeless
on the
gold
coast
now
Sam
and
Sally
Lowe
old
members
of
ours
with
their
boys
made
a
sacrifice
to
go
Sarah
Jones
an
old
member
of
ours
made
a
sacrifice
to
go
and
assist
Sam
and
Sally
is
God
stirring
within
you
to
make
a
sacrifice
to
take
the
hope
that
you
have
to
also
go
and
help
Sam
and
Sally
now
don't
get
me
wrong
we
don't
really
want
to
lose
all
of
our
members
here
from
Chatswood
to
go
to
the
Gold
Coast
but
the
thing
is
if
God
is
placing
on
your
heart
a
call
to
bless
others
in
an
area
whereby
they
need
help
then
of
course
we
are
going
to
rejoice
in
what
God
is
doing
for
his
kingdom
develop
a
holy
discontent
get
to
know
those
around
you
open
your
eyes
and
examine
what
you
see
because
I
really
think
God
wants
us
to
see
others
as
he
sees
them
even
when
we
are
wayward
and
confused
God
still
pursues
us
with
his
love
we
too
need
to
love
others
who
are
confused
and a
little
wayward
at
times
little
by little
you might
speak
to a
homeless
person
on the
street
you
only
need
a
small
amount
of
time
to
start
developing
conversations
where you
can get
to know
the
person
share
love
be
real
share
Jesus
but
please
note
this
to
love
is
caring
without
an
agenda
it
isn't
that
difficult
if
you
truly
know
where
you
are
at
this
point
of
time
knowing
Jesus
you
can
find
the
direction
that
you
need
to
go
so
if
we
go
back
to
our
Matthew
passage
I
want
you
to
see
the
enormity
of
what
Jesus
is
saying
caring
and
sharing
hope
for
all
these
groups
it
is
not
an
option
we
read
then
the
king
will
say
to
those
on
his
right
come
you
who
are
blessed
by
my
father
take
your
inheritance
the
kingdom
prepared
for
you
since
the
creation
of
the
world
it
is
an
expectation
of
everything
Jesus
has
done
for
us
it
was
the
same
expectation
for
all
and
the
outcome
of
obedience
is
eternal
life
with
him
and
the
outcome
for
those
who
neglect
the
expectation
to
help
others
is
eternal
punishment
I
mentioned
at the
beginning
a
person
who
was
approached
by a
woman
twice
and
how
she
continued
carrying
on
because
she
was
in a
hurry
to
get
to
a
special
church
service
a
few
steps
on
for
this
woman
God
very
severely
convicted
her
of
her
sin
of
her
lack
of
mercy
of
her
lack
of
compassion
and
of
her
religious
spirit
and
wrong
belief
that
getting
to
a
church
on
time
was
far
more
important
than
helping
somebody
who
was
in
need
she
had
no
idea
what
this
person
wanted
maybe
she
only
wanted
to
know
the
time
who
knows
but
with
tears
she
turned
around
to
give
whatever
help
that
was
needed
and
the
street
was
bare
the
woman
had
gone
there
was
not
a
person
in
sight
not
a
person
and
the
woman
who
was
there
a
second
before
had
now
vanished
was
she
real
was
she
an
angel
in
disguise
I
don't
know
but
what
I do
know
is
that
lesson
has
will
never
ever
be
forgotten
because
that
was
me
I
only
felt
shame
at that
moment
and it
forced
me
to
turn
to
my
Lord
and my
Saviour
and to
ask for
forgiveness
it
was
a
horrible
moment
for me
to realise
what I
had done
and
asking for
forgiveness
God
granted
that to
me
and
allowed
me
to
continue
on
and to
grow
in a
love
and a
desire
to help
people
the
memory
though
has been
burned
onto my
heart
and onto
my
mind
friends
do
not
be
like
me
when
opportunity
to give
hope
to the
hopeless
crosses
your path
respond
to it
what do
I want
to leave
with you
today
I want
you to
know
where you
are
in relation
to that
cross
and I
want
you
to allow
God
to fan
the flame
of
holy
discontent
within
you
and for
you to
act upon
it
and as
you do
know
that you
are doing
it for
Jesus
himself
because
as our
Matthew
passage
said
it
could be
Jesus
in
disguise
so
every
time a
needy
person
crosses
your
path
you
need
to be
asking
yourself
how
would I
respond
if this
is
Jesus
in
disguise
let me
pray for
us
God
of all
love
grace
mercy
and
forgiveness
please
instill
in our
hearts
a
confidence
in you
that can
weather
any storm
that the
world will
bring
give us
hearts
after your
own
heart
eyes
that see
what you
see
and hands
that will
give
what you
would
give
we pray
in our
saviour's
name
Jesus
amen
Thank you.