Introduction:
A. Peter Robinson, former speech writer for Ronald Reagan, wrote a book titled How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life.
1. Robinson relates a lunch meeting he held with Edwin Meese, who had served in many official capacities within the Reagan administration, including Attorney General.
2. Robinson asked Meese about one of Reagan’s favorite jokes.
3. Meese replied. “Sure I remember it. If I heard him tell it once, I heard him tell it a thousand times.”
4. The joke concerns twin boys.
5. Worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities — one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist — their parents took them to a psychiatrist.
6. First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist.
a. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys.
b. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears.
c. “What’s the matter?” the psychiatrist asked, baffled. “Don’t you want to play with any of the toys?”
d. “Yes,” the little boy bawled, “but if I did I’d only break them.”
7. Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist.
a. Trying to dampen his out look, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure.
b. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist.
c. Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands.
d. “What do you think you’re doing?” the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist.
e. “With all this manure,” the little boy replied, beaming, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”
8. “Reagan told the joke so often,” Meese said, chuckling, “that it got to be kind of a joke with the rest of us. Whenever something would go wrong, somebody on the staff would be sure to say, ‘There must be a pony in here somewhere.’ ”
9. So chapter one of Robinson’s book is titled, “The Pony In the Dung Heap - When Life Buries You, Dig.”
B. William Rathje likes garbage.
1. This Harvard-educated researcher is convinced we can learn a lot from the trash dumps of the world.
a. Archaeologists have always examined ancient trash to study ancient civilizations.
b. Rathje does the same; he just eliminates the wait.
c. The Garbage Project, which is what he calls his organization, travels across our continent excavating landfills and documents our eating habits, dress styles, and economic levels.
d. Rathje is able to find meaning in our garbage.
2. I wonder what it is like to be a garbagologist?
a. Are his speeches are filled with “trash talk.”
b. Do his staff meetings include rubbish reviews.
c. Are his business trips are called “junkets.”
d. And when he is daydreaming about his work, does his wife have to remind him to get his mind out of the garbage.
3. Though I prefer to leave the dirty work to Rathje, his attitude toward trash is helpful for us.
a. What if we learned to have a similar attitude about the garbage that comes our way?
b. After all, don’t we endure our share of rubbish? Snarled traffic, computer crashes, and automobile mishaps.
c. There are days when a dumpster couldn’t hold all the garbage we face: hospital bills, divorce papers, pink slips, and heartbreaking betrayals.
4. On Rathje’s office wall is a framed headline he found in a paper. It reads “Gold in Garbage.”
a. He finds his treasure in trash, and Jesus did the same.
I. Jesus Had a Hope-Filled Heart
A. What everyone else perceived as calamity, Jesus saw as opportunity.
1. Whether it was the man born blind or being caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw what others didn’t and found what others missed.
2. Jesus taught that, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mt. 6:22-23)
3. In other words, how we look at life determines how we live life.
4. Jesus did much more than articulate this principle, he applied it in His own life.
B. On the night before his death, a veritable landfill of woes tumbled on Jesus.
1. The period between the Gethsemane prayer and the mock trial contained one of the darkest scenes in the history of human drama.
2. Even though the entire episode couldn’t have totaled more than five minutes, the event had enough badness to fill a thousand dumpsters.
3. Except for Jesus himself, not one other person did anything good during the episode.
4. If you search the scene you won’t find anyone else acting rightly or in a good way.
5. Nevertheless, Jesus still saw reason to hope, and in His outlook, we find an example to follow.
C. Here’s how the Bible records the scene: 46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came for.”
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Mt. 26:46-56)
D. The darkest night of Jesus’ life was marked by one crisis after another.
1. In just a moment we will see what Jesus saw, but first let’s consider what an observer would have witnessed.
2. First, an observer would have seen unanswered prayer.
a. Jesus had just offered an anguished appeal to God.
b. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (26:39)
c. This was no calm, serene hour of prayer.
d. Matthew says that Jesus “began to be sorrowful and troubled” (26:37).
e. Jesus fell to the ground and cried out to God.
f. Luke tells us that Jesus “being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Lk. 22:44).
g. Never on earth has anyone offered such an urgent request, and never has heaven offered a more deafening silence.
h. So Jesus had to deal with the dilemma of unanswered prayer.
i. To be more accurate we should say that it wasn’t that His prayer was unanswered, but that it wasn’t answered the way that a part of Him wanted it answered. The answer was, “No.”
3. Second, an observer would have witnessed unappreciated service.
a. The text said: While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people… Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him (Mt. 26:47, 50)
b. The very people whom Jesus had been ministering to and whom He had come to save had now come to arrest Him.
c. Matthew tells us that it was a large crowd.
d. The term that John used in his description as “a group of soldiers” (Jn. 18:3) employs a term that as a minimum would be 200 soldiers and can describe as many as 1900.
e. Surely in a group that size there would be one person who would defend Jesus.
f. Jesus had come to the aid of so many. Think about it…all those miracles…He had healed their sick, lame and blind…all those sermons with words of comfort, hope and love…and now what?...a mob of angry people ready to arrest Him.
g. Only one person stepped forward to defend Jesus and it was one of His disciples.
h. The disciple took a sword and tried to kill someone, fortunately he didn’t get much of the man he struck, and Jesus healed the man’s wound.
i. How sad that no one else in the crowd came to His defense.
4. The third thing an observer would have witnessed was the most bitter pill of all, the unbelievable betrayal by the disciples.
a. Judas wasn’t the only turncoat.
b. Matthew was admirably honest when he wrote, “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (Mt. 26:56)
c. For such a short word, ALL sure packs some pain.
d. All the disciples ran. John did. Matthew did. Thomas did. And even Peter did.
e. Only a few hours earlier Peter had declared, ““Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will (vs. 33)…“Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same (vs. 35).
f. They all had pledged loyalty, and yet they all ran.
E. From the outside looking in, all we see is garbage being dumped on Jesus.
1. All we see is betrayal. The disciples left Him. The people rejected Him. And God said “no” to His prayer request.
2. So from a human point of view, Jesus’ world had collapsed.
3. That’s how a reporter would have described it.
F. But that’s not how Jesus saw it – He saw something else entirely.
1. Jesus wasn’t oblivious to the garbage, He just wasn’t limited by it.
2. Somehow He was able to see the good in the bad, the purpose in the pain, and God’s presence in the problem.
II. Seeing What Jesus Sees
A. So what did Jesus see in the midst of His tough time?
B. First, Jesus could see the good in the bad.
1. It would be hard to find someone worse than Judas.
a. The Bible says that Judas was a thief who often stole from the money box he was in charge of. (Jn. 12:6)
b. On top of that, Judas was the betrayer. He sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
c. That night when Judas led the mob to Jesus and stood only inches from Jesus’ face, Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” (Mt. 26:50)
d. I can’t imagine what it was that Jesus saw in Judas that was worthy of being called a friend.
e. But Jesus doesn’t lie, and somehow in that moment he still saw something good in a very bad man.
2. Jesus didn’t actually place all the blame on Judas.
a. Jesus saw another presence at work that night.
b. Jesus said, “This is…the time when darkness rules” (Luke 22:53)
c. Judas in no way was innocent, but neither was he acting alone.
d. And neither are those who attack or betray us.
e. Paul said it well in Eph. 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
3. Those who betray us and attack us are also victims of a sinful world and are under the influence of the evil one.
a. We needn’t place all the blame on them.
4. If Jesus was able to find enough good in the face of Judas to call him friend, then He can help us do the same with those who hurt us.
C. Second, Jesus saw the purpose in the pain.
1. Of the 98 words Jesus spoke at His arrest, 30 refer to the purpose of God.
a. For instance, Jesus said, “But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (vs. 56)
2. Jesus chose to see His immediate struggle as a necessary part of a greater plan.
a. He knew that the Father was with Him. He knew He was fulfilling God’s plan. He knew this had to happen for something good to result.
b. Jesus was not blinded by His surroundings. He was not limited in His vision. He saw the hand of God in everything that was happening.
3. Can we do the same?
a. Can we see the will of God in the midst of chaos?
b. Can we see the purpose of God in our suffering and pain?
c. Can we see the goodness of God in the problem we are facing today?
d. Can we see the presence of God with us at all times?
Conclusion:
A. You might be thinking, “Sure I would love to have a hope-filled heart like Jesus. I would love to be able to see what Jesus saw, but Jesus was God. He had a bit of an advantage! He could see the unseen. He had eyes for heaven and a vision for the supernatural. There’s no way I can see the way He saw.”
1. Maybe you or I can’t see Jesus’ way just yet, but let’s not underestimate God’s power.
2. God can change the way we look at life. He can help us see the unseen.
3. Do you need some proof? How about the example of Elisha and his servant?
a. The two of them were in Dothan when an angry king sent his army to destroy them.
b. The Bible says: 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17)
4. By God’s power, the servant saw the angels.
a. Who is to say the same can’t happen for you and for me?
B. God never promises to remove us from our struggles.
1. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.
2. In Rom. 8, the apostle Paul dedicated a paragraph to listing trash bags: troubles, problems, sufferings, hunger, nakedness, danger, and violent death.
a. These are the mounds of difficulties that we hope to escape.
3. Paul, however, states their value: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:35)
a. We would prefer that he would use a different preposition rather than “in.”
b. We would be happy with “apart from all these things.”
c. Or “away from all these things.”
d. Or “without all these things.”
e. But Paul says, “in all these things.”
4. The key is not to avoid or remove trouble, but to change the way we see our troubles.
5. There is a radio station that has a great tagline: “Change your perspective, and it will change your life.”
6. For the Christian, our perspective must be a divine one…a heavenly one…an eternal one.
C. God can correct our vision and it will result in a hope-filled heart.
1. God asked Moses a question that He wants to ask us today – “Who gives a person sight?”
a. Then God answers His own question, “Is it not I, the LORD?” (Ex. 4:11)
2. God let Balaam see the angel and God let Elisha see the army.
a. God let Jacob see the ladder and God let Saul see the Savior.
b. Many have made the request of the blind man, “Teacher, I want to see” (Mk. 10:51) and have walked away with clear vision.
3. Who is to say that God won’t do the same for you and me?
4. Heb. 11:27 says, “By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” Moses had good eyes and the right perspective.
5. Heb. 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus had good eyes and the right perspective.
6. Consider James 1:2-4, “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
D. The key to having a hope-filled heart is to stay focused on God and the promises of God.
1. One person wrote, “There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” (Clare Booth Luce, American playwright, editor)
2. God’s purpose for our lives is always greater than the problems in our lives.
3. The problems that we are facing right now, whatever they are, have a long range benefit and an eternal purpose.
4. If we can, with God’s help, view them that way, then it will make all the difference.
5. May God help us to find the gold in the garbage.
6. May God help us to always be looking for the pony.
E. Look with me at these appropriate verses from 1 Peter 1:3-9.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1. Did you notice: All kinds of trials have come…so that your faith…may be proved genuine and result in praise, glory and honor.
F. What better way could we end then to turn our attention to the lyrics of a country song.
1. Tracy Lawrence sings a song called, “It’s All How You Look At It.”
2. Here are the words of the first verse and the chorus:
A little boy on a big jet plane
Taking off in the pouring rain
They're bouncin' 'round like a basketball
He says "Mama what if we fall?"
She looks in those big scared eyes
"Son think of it like a circus ride"
Next thing you know he's laughing out loud
Saying do it again as the wheels touched down
[Chorus]
I guess It's all how you look at it
You might see more than the side that you're seeing
Turn it upside down and shake it up a bit
It could be a good thing
It’s all how you look at it
G. At any point in time, numerous members of this congregation are going through severe trials and through painful suffering.
1. May God’s truths and His Spirit give us eyes to see and a heart to believe and trust.
2. Like Jesus, let’s learn to look at it with a hope-filled heart.
3. With God’s help, we can!
Resources:
“Just Like Jesus: Learning to Have a Heart Like His,” by Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, 2008
Finding Gold in the Garbage, Sermon by Christian Cheong, SermonCentral.com
