Romans 4:13-25. In Hope Against Hope He Believed. Ho Kang

Summary

This sermon explores the theme of hope through the story of Abraham, as described in the Bible. The speaker delves into how Abraham's faith in God's promise, despite his advanced age and seemingly impossible circumstances, was credited to him as righteousness. Drawing parallels to modern struggles and uncertainties, the sermon emphasizes the importance of maintaining hope and faith in God's plans, even when faced with challenges. Through personal anecdotes and biblical insights, the message encourages listeners to trust in God's timing and promises, highlighting that true hope and strength come from faith in God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Takeaways

• 😀 Abraham had unwavering hope in God's promise to make him a great nation, even when there was no rational reason to hope
• 💡 God delayed fulfilling His promise to strengthen Abraham's faith and teach him to fully rely on and glorify God
• 🌟 Abraham gave glory to God even before seeing the fulfillment of the promise, trusting God's faithfulness
• 🙏 The more Abraham lost hope in himself, the more he relied on and glorified God
• ✨ God uses even our failures and waits until we admit spiritual deadness before saving us by His grace
• 👀 God was silent for years to help Abraham surrender everything and confess 'God, I'm done and dead without You'
• 🤝 Believing means fully trusting in and building our identity on God and His promises
• ☮️ Our hope is in the resurrected Christ; setting minds on heavenly things to live for His Gospel
• 💪 Encourage each other to truly believe in Christ's resurrection as our rock solid hope
• 💡 We need unwavering hope in God by believing, trusting and glorifying Him in Jesus Christ

Q & A

What did Victor Frankl conclude from his observations in the Nazi prison camps?

Victor Frankl concluded that people died less from lack of food or medicine than from lack of hope. He realized that in order to keep living, people need a purpose, a goal, and hope.

What was the source of Abraham's unwavering hope?

Abraham's unwavering hope was rooted in God's promise to make him a great nation and give him many descendants as numerous as the stars and the sand.

Why did God delay in fulfilling His promise to Abraham?

God delayed in fulfilling His promise to Abraham to allow his natural strength to decline completely. This was so Abraham would admit he was powerless and rely fully on God's grace rather than his own ability.

How did Abraham glorify God even when the promise was unfulfilled?

Even though God's promise was not yet fulfilled, Abraham glorified God by giving Him credit and importance in his life. He trusted God even when his circumstances seemed hopeless.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus' resurrection?

Believing in Jesus' resurrection means more than intellectual assent. It means trusting Jesus' resurrection power to give us new, glorified, and resurrected life. It means building one's life and identity upon Him.

What kind of confession does God want to hear from us?

God wants to hear us confess, like Abraham, that apart from God we are hopeless and powerless - essentially dead. He wants our full reliance and trust in Him alone.

What was the vision and hope that brought Pastor Ho to America?

Pastor Ho came to America with a vision and hope for a Christian movement in society. Though he faced many obstacles, this vision anchored his faith.

What central truth has Pastor Ho learned in his 14 years of ministry?

In his 14 years of ministry, Pastor Ho has learned more and more that life is not about himself, but all about God. This is the confession God wants to hear.

Where can we find hope against hope?

We can find hope against hope by believing, trusting and glorifying God in Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate hope for all nations.

How can Smith Chapel bring hope to the world?

Smith Chapel can bring hope to the world by anchoring their lives in Christ's hope, living Gospel-driven lives, and pointing others to find lasting hope in Jesus.

Outlines

00:00

🙏 Abraham's unwavering faith and hope in God's promise despite impossible odds

This paragraph describes how Abraham had unwavering faith and hope in God's promise to make him the father of many nations, even when there was no rational reason to justify this hope. At age 75, Abraham left his hometown just believing in this promise. Now at age 85, he still had no children, so he tried to take matters into his own hands. But God used even Abraham's mistakes to strengthen his faith over the years. By age 99, Abraham fully believed in God's power to create something out of nothing and bring life from death. He gave glory to God even without seeing the fulfillment of the promise.

05:02

👴 God's purpose in prolonging the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham

This paragraph explains why God delayed for so many years in fulfilling His promise to give Abraham a son. God waited until Abraham was old and weak to display that it was only by God's power, not Abraham's, that the promise would be fulfilled. Similarly, God waits until sinners realize they are powerless and "dead" before saving them by His grace. As Abraham admitted his spiritual "deadness," God's power went to work to fulfill the promise.

10:02

🙌 Abraham's growing faith gave more and more glory to God

As God prolonged His silence, Abraham's faith grew stronger and he increasingly gave glory to God. Giving glory to God means giving God weight, importance, credit and honor for everything in one's life. Abraham trusted and glorified God even before seeing God's promise fulfilled. This paragraph gives the example of a coach telling his team to play for God's glory whether they win or lose, as a way to glorify God in all things.

15:02

😌 God comforted me when I first arrived in America to pursue His vision

This paragraph contains the author's testimony about when he first arrived in America alone to pursue the vision God gave him of starting a Christian movement. After just two days, he was filled with anxiety over all the uncertainties ahead. But he took comfort in remembering Abraham's unwavering faith despite impossible odds, and God reassured him not to lose hope because everything would unfold according to His plan.

20:06

🙏 After 14 years of humbling work, God keeps reminding me it's all about Him

The author summarizes his 14 years since coming to America - failing ordination attempts, changing diapers, correcting his English. Through it all, God repeatedly impressed on him the confession that "it's not about me, it's all about You God." Just as with Abraham, God wants to hear this from all of us - losing hope in ourselves and finding hope in God alone.

25:08

💡 Our hope comes through believing in Jesus' resurrection like Abraham believed God's promise

Like Abraham, we must find hope by believing and trusting in Jesus' resurrection, building our lives upon this foundation. The passage teaches that Abraham's faith was "counted to him as righteousness." Similarly, when we trust in Jesus' resurrection rather than simply intellectually assenting to it, we gain a living hope and confidence for this life and the next.

Keywords

💡Hope

A central theme of the sermon is having hope and believing in God's promises even when circumstances seem hopeless. The preacher talks about Abraham having unwavering hope in God's promise to make him a great nation, even when he was old and childless. This hope drove Abraham and allowed him to endure hardships. The sermon encourages listeners to have a hope grounded in Jesus' resurrection.

💡Faith

Faith means trusting in God even when His promises seem impossible or delayed. The preacher describes how Abraham grew stronger in faith despite God's years of silence. True faith involves surrendering control, admitting spiritual deadness, and relying fully on God's grace.

💡Believing

Believing encompasses more than intellectual assent - it requires trusting God, building one's identity on His promises, and living accordingly. Abraham's belief in God's improbable promise was credited to him as righteousness. The sermon calls listeners to truly believe in Jesus' resurrection in this way.

💡Glorifying God

Glorifying God means honoring Him as supremely valuable and important. Despite seeing no tangible results, Abraham gave glory to God, underscoring that life is not about self but about God's glory. This mindset allows hope against dire circumstances.

💡Promise

God had promised Abraham innumerable descendants even in his and Sarah's old age. Despite seeming impossibility, Abraham clung to this promise. God may delay promises to strengthen faith and reliance on Him. Jesus' resurrection is the firm foundation for Christian hope and life.

💡Resurrection

Trusting in Jesus' literal resurrection from dead gives unshakable hope. Just as God brought life from Abraham's deadness, Jesus' defeat of death enables life for believers. The passage contrasts earthly hopes with the eternal hope found in Christ.

💡Righteousness

Abraham was counted righteous because of his faith in God. A right standing before God is not earned but received by admitting spiritual deadness and trusting His promises. This righteousness comes through believing in Jesus' resurrection.

💡Gospel

The passage mentions being justified and saved by God's grace versus human works. Living for Jesus and the gospel means finding identity in Him versus earthly things. This gospel-centered hope withstands life's trials.

💡Purpose

Having hope and purpose enables one to endure suffering. Abraham was motivated by his hope in God's promise during years of unmet expectation. God may use delays to instill eternal purpose versus temporary comforts.

💡Vision

The preacher shares his vision from God of catalyzing a Christian movement in America. Despite hardships over 14 years, he learned to confess reliance on God's power rather than self-sufficiency to accomplish this vision.

Highlights

Victor Frankle concluded that people died less from lack of food or medicine than from lack of hope.

Those who have a why to live can bear with almost anyhow.

Abraham believed in hope against all hope meaning Abraham never lost sense of hope even when there was nothing from this world's point of view to justify his hope.

This hope drove him out of his hometown at the age of 75.

Somehow the more God prolonged his silence somehow the more Abraham's faith in God grew stronger and stronger.

The more he lost hope in himself, the more he lost hope in his own abilities and his own powers the more he relied on God.

Giving glory to God means you give weight importance credit honor and reverence to God as Paul says.

One reason why God delayed in sending Abraham and Sarah a son was to permit all their natural strength to decline, and then disappear because it was unthinkable that a man 99 years old could beget a child.

It was when Abraham admitted that he was dead that God's power went to work in his body.

The more he lost hope in himself, the more he grew strong in faith giving glory to God.

Our hope is in the risen Lord. Our hope is in God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Believing means you trust in Jesus resurrection you're building your life you're building your identity you're building your past present future upon this Rock of his resurrection.

We don't find our hope you know in our works in our circumstances or in our own know abilities or health or skills we only find Hope in the name of Jesus he is the ultimate hope of all Nations.

Dear Church let's believe God is good say with me God is good all the time amen amen amen amen.

We need Hope by believing trusting and glorifying God in Jesus Christ.

Transcripts

for the promise to Abraham to his

descendants that he would be heir of the

world was not through the law but

through the righteousness of faith for

if those who are of the law are hirs

then faith is made void and the promise

is

nullified for the law brings about wrath

but where there is no law there also is

no

violation for this reason it is by faith

in order that it may in accordance with

Grace so that the promise will be

guaranteed to all the descendants not

only to those who are of the law but

also to those who are of the faith of

Abraham who is the father of us

all as it is written I have made you a

father of many nations in the presence

of him whom he believed that is God who

gives life to the dead and calls into

being things that do not exist in hope

against hope he believed so that he

might become a father of many nations

according to that which had been spoken

so shall your descendants be without

becoming weak in faith he contemplated

his own body now as good as dead since

he was about hundred years old and the

dead deadness of

zaras yet with respect to the promise of

God he did not waver in unbelief but

grew strong in faith giving glory to God

and being fully assured that what God

had promised he was able also to perform

therefore it was also credited to him as

righteousness now not for his sake only

was it written that it was credited to

him but for our sake also to whom it

will be credited to us who believe in

him who raised Jesus our lord from the

dead and can we all read this together

last verse He Who was delivered over

because of our wrongdoings and was

raised because of our justification this

is word of God for the people of God

thanks be to God Amen so there was a

person whose name is Victor

Frankle he a holocaust Survivor and the

author of the best-selling book called

men's search for

meaning and from his own experience in

the prison can he discovered something

significant about human

nature he discovered

that towards Christmas and towards the

end of the year less and less people

died in the prison but once that

Christmas and once that year end of the

year passed he noticed that more and

more people were dying and they died

more quickly so he thought like what's

going on why and this is what he found

out these people were hoping that on

Christmas day where by the end of the

year they thought I will be released on

this day they believe somehow in

Christmas miracle but once their hope

seemed to disappear they quickly

declined and died so from this

observation Victor Frankle concluded

that people died less from lack of food

or medicine than from lack of hope so he

thought in order to keep our lives going

and living we must need a purpose we

must need a goal we must need hope and

then he left a powerful message in this

regard he said those who have a why to

live can bear with almost

anyhow in other words those who have

hope can bear anything can endure

anything and overcome

anything today's sermon title is in hope

against hope he believed can we all say

this together in hope against hope he

believed and let me ask you a question

do you have

hope amen what is your hope and on what

ground do you find your hope today in

our passage today we find Abraham you

know Paul says Abraham believed in hope

against all hope meaning Abraham never

lost sense of hope even when there was

nothing from this world's point of view

to justify his hope in other words from

a human standpoint rational mind there

was no reason he could claim I still

have hope I still have Chance The Best

Is Yet To Come Now everything in his

life seems to be going against his

hope we should ask so what was his hope

unwavering unshakable hope it was God's

promise that God will make him a great

nation God will give him a multitude of

descendants he will have so many

children like the number of stars in the

sky and the number of the sand in the

seashore and how many of them right we

cannot even count

them this hope drove him out of his

hometown at the age of

75 you know the scripture says he went

out without knowing where he was

going he had no idea what God was in

storing for him but he left by heaving

by holding on to this fa this hope in

faith and now almost 25 years past when

you know this passage we read today but

wait a second where is his descendant

right where are his children there was

literally no one except ishma a mistake

child and what I mean by mistake child

because it wasn't from his wife Sarah

but it was through concubine

Hagar and this is what happened when

Abraham reached the age of

85 it was already 10 years past after he

left his hometown town just believing in

this hope that God has

promised but what he found was God was

still silent there was still no sign of

children so Abraham and his wife Sarah

decided to implement their own plan

maybe we should go with the plan B they

thought maybe God forgot about his

promise perhaps we should do something

about it you know time thinking and

we're getting old let's do

something so they made this awful

decision to run ahead of God's plan but

in a way Abraham failed to believe in

God's promise but here comes the beauty

of God because God even used his

failures his shortcomings for the

greater

good because even when God was silent

hear me this God was still working to

rapen Abraham's Faith the more God

prolonged his silence somehow the more

Abraham's faith in God grew stronger and

stronger stronger and how do we know

because in verse 17 in our passage today

look at how it describes Abraham's Faith

here almost hundred years old right now

he says he believed God and what kind of

belief was it did he believ in God who

gives life to the dead and calls into

being things that do not exist so he

believed in God who creates something

out of nothing like ex

nillo who you know God who brings life

to the dead you know God who made a way

where there seems no way in verse 18 in

hope against all hope he believed it's

like God even though I have no Grounds

for Hope even though I have no reason to

be hopeful and yet I still have hope in

your promise and look at what verse 19

says it says Abraham was now as good as

dead since he was about hundred years

ago a Bible commentator um called Warren

wizer commented on this verses as

follows which I found a wonderful way to

put it and it goes like this quote one

reason why God delayed in sending

Abraham and Sarah a son was to permit

all their natural strength to decline

and then disappear because it was

Unthinkable that a man 99 years old

could beget a child in the O of his wife

who was 89 years old so from a

reproductive point of view both of them

were dead

But Here Comes the

application which is God must wait until

the sinner is dead and unable to help

himself before he can release his saving

power so as long as a Lost Sinner thinks

he's strong enough to do anything to

please God he cannot be saved by grace

it was when Abraham admitted that he was

dead that God's power went to work in

his body so in the same matter manner it

is when the Lost Sinner confesses that

he or she is spiritually dead and unable

to help himself or herself that God can

save

them so why was God

silence all these years we wonder

sometimes what was God thinking when God

delayed and delayed and delayed of

giving him even a single son here we're

not talking about the basketball team or

right or soccer right just one single

son why God you know not giving him a

son what's the what's the purpose of God

in all this and here's the reason why

and it was to hear Abraham saying

finally saying God I'm dead there's

nothing about me God I surrender all to

you I'm

done there's no hope it

mean the scripture says all these years

Abraham grew strong his faith was you

know grew stronger and stronger in other

words the more he lost hope in himself

the more he lost hope in his own

abilities and his own powers the more he

relied on God there's nothing else he

can rely on but God right and the

scripture says he gave glory to

God here I want to pause a little bit

and and think about this you know this

phrase like he gave glory to God we we

say this we sing this song Like To God

Be The Glory what does that mean and

think about this even know when God when

Abraham was offering this glory to God

think about his context it was before he

was having this you know the promised

son Isaac so God's promise was not even

fulfilled or even you know he he could

see the sign of it God was still silent

he was almost reaching the age of 100

years but what was God glorifying God

because to human eyes you know you know

there seems nothing in his life to

glorify

God glory in Hebrew word is kabad

meaning weight or importance so when the

Bible says give glory to God it means

you give weight importance credit honor

and reverence to God as Paul says

whether you eat or drink in whatever you

do you know do all to the glory of God

so simply put Abraham gave glory to God

even though he had no you know

children yet even though God seems

silent he gave glory to God meaning that

he gave credit every part of every bit

of his life you know to God there is a

movie called Facing the Giants how many

of you watch this movie Facing the

Giants okay it's a good movie okay and

um one of the things that really spoke

to me it's about a um high school

football team and uh and there is a

coach uh actually he's the director of

this movie but he also starred in this

movie as well but you know he had this

in the movie you know he had this

conversion he believed start believing

in Jesus and Jesus changed him so before

one big game he was giving this speech

to his

players and he says something like this

win or lose we play this game for the

glory of God you know if we win this

game we glorify God if we lose this game

we glorify God because in everything we

do we just glorify God glorifying God

means in everything we do we honor God

and we trust God

Amen Charles Swindle said the definition

of faith is not merely a belief in the

existence of God faith is trust in

God Abraham believed in God and in other

words he trusted God for the last 25

years one thing God has been Faithfully

doing in abr's heart in his life was to

teach him mold him shape him so that he

can finally say and sing and confess

something like my hope is built on

nothing less but in you God God alone

it's not about me it's all about

you so what does it speak to us today

I'm I'm sure some of you

here may think where is God in my

life why so much you know why my life

seems like so

complicated why why why is God not

speaking to me anything why isn't God

answering my prayers why does every door

seem to close every time I apply or

Adventure why is my life so miserable

why does my life seems to be going

downhill

endlessly I feel like I'm as good as

dead hello are you

there or thinking about our world today

some of you may think where where is God

why so much Injustice why so many people

in pain why so much corruption why does

everything seem to be going reverse

insane and let me tell you what the

Bible says today our God is still

working our God is still working in you

our God is still working in your life

our God is still working in our nation

our God is still working in our church

even if you may feel like everything

about my life my family my nation my

church is against

hope all the conditions according to our

worldly eyes may seem

hopeless we can still have hope because

our God is not dead he is still working

for his purpose

amen

amen yes the preparing the sermon let me

uh share a little bit of my testimony

somehow you know this brought me back to

um this journal I wrote you know for

about 14 years ago yeah it was on

January 18th 2010 so it was only two

days after I came to the

states um I I laid over at New Yark

airport um January 16th and then I um I

slept overnight there and then I came

back I came to DC um January 17th but

anyway it was um it was two days after I

came to the states and somehow my heart

start rumbling and you know um filled

with some anxieties and so I need God

moment I need I need to find God God

please I need you here um so let me

share a part of my journal what I wrote

down at the time okay so it was January

18th

2010 20 um so so I you know it wasn't

that long after I discharged from

military I still use the military number

here

2343

it goes like this as I walk up as I was

uh walking up to the dormatory in

deploring rain so if you wonder what was

the weather like you know back in

January 18 there you go it was

raining with my hands full of plastic

bags filled with daily Necessities this

thought suddenly occurred to me okay

let's not worry about things that

haven't happened yet it is God who sent

me so let's not lose sight of Hope

because everything will be in his plan I

came to this place the heart of the

world Washington DC with a dream of a

Christian

Movement it's been two days now but I'm

already anxious because of ever

increasing uncertainties swirling in my

heart will I really be able to move the

heart of

Americans I can even speak English

fluently can I see that Christian

Movement in American society even here

in this small community I feel lost

about what to do will I be able to

overcome Financial obstacles the

scholarship I'm receiving canot cover

all my tuition dorm and living

expenses is this Vision God put me in my

heart really possible who in this day

and age would risk their lives on this

Vision but God gives confidence to my

heart again the journal continues

Abraham the father of Faith must have

had this time of discouragement with

regard to the hope God has given him

however at the time God came to Abraham

and reassured him a promise saying your

descendants will multiply like the

twinkling stars in the sky and like the

sand on the

Shish so the Hope in the Bible is not a

vague wish but it means to stand firm on

the ground of having faith with

confidence that it will surely

happen so instead of being discouraged

and frustrated because of the things

that haven't happened yet or because of

my

circumstances or because of my

shortcomings let me face tomorrow with

confidence in hope like a man of Faith

that's how I um how God comforted me at

the

time more than 14 years passed my

friends since I wrote this

journal and while I was re reading ing

what I wrote back in that time I had to

ask like where am I

now 14 years ago around this time I let

my home in South

Korea because of this vision and hope

God has given

me and I was all alone you know when I

crossed that Pacific Ocean I knew nobody

here I I was just a poor

student but if I summarize

the last 14 years and the best way to

put it is this it was a humbling

time looking back all these years my

years in the Seminary marrying my wife

having children being a full-time dad I

became full-time dead right after I

graduated from the

Seminary and I was thinking like God is

this reason why you sent me to the

states and study all this just to change

diapers of this

baby serving as your used pastor with my

broken English and how many times the

people came up to me correcting my

accents like Pastor ho say with me

girl I still remember you know this um

this Middle School um girl came up to me

after one sermon I gave and Pastor ho

you say with me G and at the time I

couldn't really sound correctly you know

r l l sound so I had to I always keep

saying God

girl no no Pastor girl no girl

girl my kids even correcting my you know

accents these days too

but in my three-time failure in my

ordination

process

and and all my ears at this

church one thing I learned more and

more one thing God put in my heart over

and

over one thing God speaks to my heart

louder and louder

it's for me to confess God it's not

about

me it's all about

you and that's what God wants to hear

from not just from me but from all of

us just like Abraham giving this

confession God I'm dead there's nothing

hope in me everything about my life is

against

hope it's not promising my life is not

promising at all my life seems like

going downhill downhill

downhill but

Lord

There's Hope in

you you are my

strength you're my hope so without you

I'm forever lost that's kind of

confession God wants to hear from all of

us back to the title of the sermon in

hope against hope he believed I think

the key here is is he

believed let say it with me he

believed and as I said believing is not

just believing in our in our heads or

you know or just believing oh I believe

in the existence of God believing means

you trust in God you glorify God

everything you

do by which Abraham found Hope even

against

hope and the Bible says that made him

counted as

righteous

Amen in verses 2425 Paul says we now

have New

Hope what kind of Hope do we have our

hope is in the reion Lord look at what

Paul says but for our sake also to whom

it will be credited to us who believe in

God who raised Jesus our lord from the

dead he who was delivered over because

of our wrongdoings and was raised

because of our justification and Jesus

said I am the resurrection and the life

whoever believes in me though he die yet

shall he live and everyone who lives and

Believes In Me shall never die and he

asked this questions do you believe

this as I said believing is not just

your intellectual consent where you just

say with your mouth I believe in the

resurrection believing means you trust

in Jesus resurrection you're building

your life you're building your identity

you're building your past present future

upon this Rock of his resurrection my

life you know is not everything about

this world I have more life glorified

life resurrected life in this

name let me ask you again one more time

do you believe in Jesus

resurrection and I hope you do and this

is what we must do as a church we

encourage one another we pray for one

another we yearn for the outpouring of

the holy spirit so that everybody here

can really believe and

Trust in the resurrection of Jesus and

make his resurrection as our Rock Solid

Ground by which we can have hope against

hope we can have light against Darkness

life against Death Joy against sorrow

Grace against Brokenness abundance

against poverty and God's glory in our

value and most importantly as our

children opened up with the scripture we

can live this gospel Driven Life we're

not setting our minds on the things of

the earth we'll set our minds on the

things above things of God and willing

to and and joyfully give all our lives

not to save our lives not to save this

Earthly things live

for Jesus and his gospel sake by which

we can have this everlasting life

unshakable hope and

Shalom now and forever amen so so my

dear family in Christ what we need today

is Hope by believing trusting and

glorifying God in Jesus Christ and we

don't find any hope in this world we

don't find our hope you know in our

works in our circumstances or in our own

know abilities or health or

skills we only find Hope in the name of

Jesus he is the ultimate hope of all

Nations so I bless it's one of you and I

bless our church dear Church Smith

Chapel to bring you know to Anchor Our

Lives you know upon this hope and bring

this hope to the world around us so that

we can glorify God and the Father the

Son and the Holy Spirit let's believe

God is good say with me God is good all

the time amen amen amen amen