An Appointment with Despair by Darrell W. Johns Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, GA) Kind: sermon Scripture: Hebrews 12:2, John 10:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 2:9-10, Luke 1:78-79 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/darrell-w-johns--an-appointment-with-despair Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ read an article last night about a man whose name was Guy Waterman it was a cold February morning it was Sunday morning he was an avid hiker written books on hiking Outdoors material he's an avid hiker Focus his life hiking various mountains all over the country but he lived in Vermont and focused most of his hiking in that area but this particular morning he packed a small backpack he knew what he needed on most hikes but today he put in a 10 of anchovies and a can opened or open it with and into his backpack went two bottles of water and two flashlights two o'clocks and two stuffed bears as he's walking out the door he turned and told his wife I have an appointment with Mount Lafayette I will arrive at the top of Mount Lafayette right at five o'clock and if it's not cold enough I may be back in turn walk through the snow got into his Subaru and drove the back roads drove her out five to Wells River Vermont and then crossed the New Hampshire state line then turned South into the Franconia notch parked a Subaru at a well-known trailhead called the old Bridle Path he had climbed that mountain from that path hundreds of times he knew his way he didn't have adequate clothing he had a thin layer of Wool Wool shirt and he had nylon jacket and that was it because of his Outdoor Experience he was very aware of the weather he listened to the weather reports on a regular basis and it was forecast that tonight it was going to be 16 below zero and that the winds would be over 70 miles an hour guy Waterman knew all of that he made his way up up the Mountainside when he got to the top of the mountain he had a an ice ax that had belonged to his father and he drove the ice ax into the snow and laid down on a shelf a ledge that exposed him to everything that the weather had to offer that night he fully intended to die he had an appointment he said with Mount Lafayette when the body temperature drops to below 95 we begin to involuntarily shiver and shake uncontrollably then when the body temperature drops below 93 the Shivering stops drows and drowsiness sits in feeling of apathy and the blood begins to rush to the organs to try to preserve the organs until warmth can be found for the rest of the body when the body temperature drops below 90. the heart begins to balk the breathing becomes shallow your eyes dilate and you simply quietly die Waterman had made an appointment with despair he he knew exactly what was going to happen that evening he was an intelligent man he had written speeches for two presidents he had written four books he was a respected educator he was an avid Outdoorsman but his life had not turned out like he had hoped the two stuff Bears more than likely represented the two boys that he had had that had died prematurely to accidents and his books weren't selling like he had hoped his past was pretty painful he didn't see a whole lot of meaning to the present in his future he was getting up older in years and he just couldn't see himself getting old and he explained all that to the people that was close to him he didn't see much hope for the future he just it looked all like despair and so he chose to die on Mount Lafayette that evening in the Bible there is a pool that is mentioned is called the pool of Bethesda the pool of bethesda's sounds picturesque but the Bible also mentions that it was near the Sheep Market well she EP or noisy and she stink and she are dumb if you've had any opportunity to be around them that you're not impressed with their intelligence and it makes you concerned when you find and realize that God Likens us to sheep it's just not a real good description it's not one you would aspire to but at the pool of Bethesda on that particular day there was a multitude that was the word that the Bible uses a multitude there are five porches around that pool and a multitude sat and lay on those porches because once a year an angel would trouble the waters and whoever was the first into the water when it was troubled the first one in was healed of whatever disease they had there was one particular man that day at the pool of Bethesda he had been sick for 38 years he had been to the pool before and when he was questioned about his situation he could easily explain whenever the water is troubled I will try to get to the water but someone will beat me to it coming to the pool appears to be feudal it appears to be pointless for him to even come because he knows what's going to happen he's going to see the water troubled he's going to try to get in somebody else is more ambulatory of be able to get in first and no one is going to help him but he came anyway he didn't expect help from others he didn't expect healing he just evidently came to watch came possibly to remind himself of how desperate his situation was how permanent his situation was he's sitting there at the pool watching the water and out of the his periphery he sees a man walk up to him and stand beside him he learned that it was Jesus this man had come to a place of Despair he had come to a place where hope didn't exist for him someone was going to get in the pool but he had seen it happen too many times he knew it wasn't going to be him but Jesus came to the pool of Despair also he showed up and walked around the people that the multitude of people walked through them over them and he Stood Beside this one sick man this one man with no hope this man this one man with no future in like guy Waterman he his past was painful and and there was no future for him he saw no hope but Jesus came straight to that man the one with no hope the one who had made an appointment with a despair situation and Jesus came to that place of Despair to change his future we don't know the name of the man that lived in gatherer we don't know how old he was whenever he allowed demonic spirits to take control over him was he Young was he abused was he rejected by his peers how long had he been possessed with demons we don't know any of those answers but we can be sure that his past was pretty painful and we know that his present was full of rejection because the Bible stated that he had been captured and they had chained him up and he had broken the chains and he lived in the tombs away from everyone else nobody wanted him nobody desired to be with him and whenever Jesus spoke came off of the water and growled up onto the shore and Jesus stepped out that man ran to where Jesus was for the first time in his life why he or how he recognized that Jesus represented hope to him I don't know but the Bible says he ran to him and fell on his knees and the demons that was in him begged Jesus to leave him alone they had him right where they wanted they would they had him where he was in a hopeless situation but Jesus cast them out and gave him a sound mind and gave him the ability to live a good and normal life from that time forward he came to that man in his place of despair made an appointment with that man and change his future there was a another man we don't know his name we do know he was a thief we do know he was captured and he was dying for his crime they had him hanging on a cross he had lost a lot of blood he had lost a lot of strength he was beginning to lose focus he wasn't coming down off of that cross he was going to die on that cross he was not going to go home it was there that he met Jesus Jesus was also hanging on a cross but it wasn't the end for him we find a report of that in Hebrews 12 and 2 it says because of the joy that was set before Jesus he was able to endure the cross and despise the shame Jesus had something on the other side of the Cross there was a tomorrow on the other side of the cross the cross did not represent the end for him he had a future and Jesus invited that Thief to join him in his future and he just simply told him today you'll be with me in Paradise he went from hopelessness to Heaven he went from despair to Glory all because he encountered Jesus Christ at a time in a place where nobody gave him any hope at all nobody even wanted him to have hope and it was there that he met Jesus and it changed everything Jacob he was a scrapper Jacob intended to succeed he had gotten the birthright from his brother that guaranteed that he would be able to inherit the majority of his fathers goods and his father was a wealthy man then he was able to get a hold of and gain the blessings so that he would also not only be wealthy and get the the wealth of his father but he would have the blessings of God on his life the anointing of God on his life he was on his way and then he learned that his brother intended to kill him he had to run he had to run away from The Inheritance he had to run away from all that being there in that secure place represented he had to run he was running to an uncle he had never met he was running to go be with an uncle he had never seen he didn't know what kind of response and or what kind of acceptance he would get when he got there and he had to go through a lot of wilderness to get from home to there and he's out in the middle of nowhere it was not a time of GPS it was not a time of cell phones he was alone finally exhausted he'd lay on the ground and put his head on a rock and fell asleep and while he was asleep there was a ladder that was extended straight from the Throne of God it couldn't have been an accident because there was nobody nothing around but the latter was right beside this man who felt like he had lost everything the latter from the throne dropped down and was right beside this band that felt like that he was finished but God was letting Jacob Know I Know Who You Are and I know where you are and it doesn't matter how desperate your situation is it doesn't matter how hopeless your future appears I want you to know I know who you are I know where you are and I will bless your life God knew where he was and it could be that you've come here this morning in a desperate situation you've come here today in a situation where it doesn't look like that there's a whole lot of Hope for you it could be that you wish your past was different you wish that things could be done over can't go back and you can't change it it's just disappointment and defeat you're present you're not sure where you're going or how you're going to go what you're going to do in the future maybe you even dread that I just want you to know like the man at the pool of Bethesda he wasn't expecting anything and you may have come here today not really expecting a whole lot but I just want you to know Jesus is here he's here and he's right beside you he knows who you are it's no accident that you're here Jesus Christ is part of why you decided to come here he wanted to meet you here this morning and give you a better tomorrow he wanted to give you a better future he may not change your past that is what has happened that is what is going on but he can forgive your past and God will forget your past and give you a whole different future than you ever dreamed of before all of your failure can be forgiven and forgotten and all of your sin forgiven and forgotten Jesus specializes in making a better tomorrow for anyone who's in a desperate situation we find Jesus saying in John chapter 10 verse 10 the Thee the thief the Devil Comes not but to steal to kill and to destroy but but I have come that you may have life not just a normal life not just the kind of life where you get up and go to work and raise kids and retire I've come to give you an abundant life I've come to give you a life you enjoy a life that you have peace in a life that you feel secure in I've come to give you an abundant life amen second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 therefore If any man be in Christ if a man can get in Christ can meet Christ can come in contact with Christ he is a new creature all things have passed away and behold All Things become new that's what's available here this morning that's what Jesus wants to do for you First Peter chapter 2 verse 9. but you're a chosen generation this is Peter talking about people who've had an encounter with Jesus Christ they have become children of Jesus Christ and said your chosen generation your royal priesthood you're a holy nation you're peculiar people that you should show forth the Praises of him and you would think these chosen Royal holy people must have been something special but Peter didn't stop there these people he goes on to say were called out of darkness in The Marvelous Light in times past they were nobody in times past nobody cared about them in times past they they were just nothing but now they are the people of God which had a had no mercy in the past no mercy was extended to them but now you have obtained Mercy that's the kind of people that Jesus will make you chosen he takes people out of darkness and makes them Royal he takes some people that have lived unmerciful lives and no no hope no future and he gives them special treatment that's the kind of Jesus Christ that I'm talking to you about today they had no future Jesus gave them a better tomorrow he gave them a brighter future Luke chapter 1 verse 78. Through The Tender Mercies of our God whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us what did he come to visit us to do to give light to them that sit in darkness to give light to them who said in the shadow of death to guide our feet in the way of peace that's why he came to visit this morning to give light to those who sit in darkness to give light to those who who are in the shadow of death who feel like there's not much of a future but that's what Jesus specializes in let's all stand amen I don't know what your past is I don't know what you're expecting I don't know what you expected but I do know what God's expecting I do know what Jesus Christ plans on doing he plans on making your life better that's the whole purpose of being here he made an appointment with your despair today he came specifically to give you a better tomorrow became specifically to give you hope amen you're not alone just like Jacob who felt like nobody knew who he was nobody knew where he was but God let him know any lured the ladder right there beside him the presence of God is right beside you he's with you he's God's not way up in heaven although there's a portion of God there but God is also right here on Sky View Road in Atlanta Georgia amen he knows where you are he knows who you are he came to make a difference for you amen praise God