Prisoners Without Hope — E.A. Johnston

My friends, the Bible is like a vast goldmine, full of wonderful passages of inestimable worth, and if you dig deep enough, you will soon realize its riches, you'll discover them in that the Word of God points us to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Prophecy of the King and the Prisoners of Hope

My text today is from the book of Zechariah, in chapter 9, beginning in verse 9. Here now is the Word of God, may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of His Holy Word. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, I behold I, the King cometh unto thee, he is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.

I will pause here, friends, to say, here is the prophecy of the Son of God, describing the very scene of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It announces a coming King, bringing salvation. Who is the prophet speaking to?

We see he is addressing prisoners, for in verse 12 we read, turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope, even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee. My friends, this verse about prisoners of hope turning to the stronghold to find deliverance and blessings presupposes that there are prisoners without hope, and this is the title of my message for us today, friends, prisoners without hope.

The Horror of Eternity Without God

I want to unburden my soul today, friends, with this message to tell you, because I know it can impact your entire eternity. I don't know of a single soul in this whole world that is more pathetic and pitiful than a prisoner without hope and without God in the world, to think that a man will live his life only for this world and its charms, to one day go the way of all flesh and die and be put in a coffin, lowered into the ground, have dirt thrown over him, and be thrust into a Christless eternity.

It's the saddest thing known to the human race. To die without God is to die without hope and suffer sin's consequences, as described in the book of Job about the death of the wicked. He shall be driven from light into darkness and chased out of the world.

Think of that, think of that, the horror of that, to one day be alive with the sunlight upon you and then you die suddenly, you're dragged and chased out of this world into another world altogether, one you were quite unprepared for, a region of utter darkness.

Jesus describes hell in terms of outer darkness, like the outer darkness of outer space, pitch black, thick darkness, darkness, darkness. Are you afraid of the dark? I was in a cave when I was a young boy and it was so dark in there, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, why, it was terrifying.

How would you like to be plunged into a region like that, of complete darkness, forever and ever, prisoners without hope, is a terrifying thought, my friends. As I go through my Bible, I see that there are three classes of individuals who are prisoners without hope.

I want to bring these three classes before you today, friends. The first class of prisoners without hope are the angels who sinned. We read in 2 Peter, for if God spared not the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, we see that while atonement was made for man and offers of mercy and pardon were given to men, as seen throughout the word of God, as in Isaiah, come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they should be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they should be as wool, and we see the offers of mercy extend to men from the beginning of the Bible right to the very end in Revelation, for we read, and the spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The Angels Who Sinned and Have No Offer of Redemption

We find none of these offers made to angels. There is no glimmering ray of hope to those angels chained in the dark dungeons of despair in hell as lost and damned spirits, but we cannot sympathize with angels.

We do not understand them. Angels are unlike men. They have no gray hairs. They have no wrinkles. They never die. There are no graves and griefs with angels. We never see an angel. We do not know how to talk with an angel.

They are creatures far above us, yet they were capable of sin, for they sinned in their allegiance with Lucifer and were cast out of heaven to take up their eternal abode in the darkness of hell without God in eternity.

Prisoners without hope are the angels that sinned. Jesus didn't go to the cross to reconcile angels to God. No, sir. Angels don't fit into God's plan of salvation. Judgment fell on them immediately, and they were cast out of God's presence to be placed in chains of darkness.

There's no hope for them. They're prisoners without hope. The other category or class of prisoners without hope are described in 2 Peter as well. We see the death of the lost and unsaved in the following striking passage of Scripture.

Sinners Who Die Without God

And spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. These antediluvians rejected the preaching and warnings of Noah, and they perished in their sins in an abysmal drowning of the world.

And the death of the ungodly is seen also again in 2 Peter. And turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example to everyone. Strutting in a pride parade isn't to those that after should live ungodly.

The second class of prisoners without hope are all sinners who die without God in the world. There is no hope in hell of redemption. Those in hell are beyond the reach and mercy of God. It's too late for them.

They are indeed prisoners without hope. It breaks my heart, friends, to think of those drowned in the flood, to think of those who were burned up in Sodom. They're joined by men and women today who've lived and died in this very city without their sins, being under the blood of Christ Jesus.

Every person from every age in every country who has died without God falls into that second category of prisoners without hope. Oh, dear friends, it reminds me of the time I was standing at my father-in-law's casket and his sister walked by, and she claimed to be a Christian, and all she could say in a beautiful voice was, Oh, I hope he knew Jesus.

Oh, I hope he knew Jesus. That's all she could say, because it came from a guilty heart, because she never once witnessed to him herself. She let her own brother go to hell for a lack of witness. I wonder how many family members are in hell at this instant that we refuse to take the time to share Jesus with.

How many friends and co-workers and neighbors of ours through the years have died without Christ because we never once witnessed to them. It's too late now. It's too late. They're prisoners without hope.

You won't be going to the cemetery today, friends, to hand out any gospel tracts for dead men tell no tales, prisoners without hope. How many do you know, friend? My mind goes back to a construction crew I hired one time to work on my house.

The Urgency of Witnessing Before It Is Too Late

I would meet them at 7 a .m. every morning, and one man was always early, a young man in his thirties. He and I would wait for the other two to arrive, and as we waited, we would talk and shoot the breeze.

We'd talk about the weather. We'd talk about sports to pass the time. Back in those days, I had a habit of reading the daily obituaries in my town's newspaper. Well, one morning, over a cup of coffee, a face stared out at me in black and white at the top of the page.

It was that young construction worker who came by my house. He had died suddenly in a car wreck. He was only 34 years old, and as I read his obituary, tears streamed down my face for failing in my duty to share Jesus with a young man.

How foolish I was. Why did God have that young man show up early every day? Wasn't it for me to witness to him? Why was I so dull and stupid at the time not to do that? Now he's a prisoner without hope.

Ever since that time, I've never let a repairman or worker leave my house without pressing a Bible or a gospel track in his hand with a little verbal testimony for Christ. Oh, friends, prisoners without hope.

There's nothing more pitiful in this world and in eternity. In our text, in Zechariah, the prisoners of hope are told to turn to the stronghold for mercy and blessing. But how can you turn if you're already dead?

You cannot. The tree lies where it falls. Let him who is filthy be filthy still. You go from being a prisoner of hope to a prisoner of no hope. The third category, or class of prisoners without hope, are described in the Gospel of John in chapter 3 and in verse 36, which declares, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

That person is condemned already. Oh, I hate to say it, friend, but there's no hope for the Christ rejecter. They're prisoners without hope, hardened in sin, turned over to their own desires, reprobate all the powerful people in this world who've got money as their God, who have no interest in the things of God, are prisoners without hope.

They're individuals full of the world, self-satisfied. The great issues of eternity never cross their mind. If you try to witness to them, they laugh at you like you're an insane person. They know nothing of the blessings of eternal happiness with God in heaven or the miseries of the damned in hell.

If you try to even talk about Jesus, they look the other way. They try to get away from you. Though they walk the streets seeking pleasures and sleep peacefully in their beds at night, little do they realize that the whole issue of life is wrapped up in the few hours between life and their dying couch.

The ticking of their heart is but a drum beating the funeral march to their own grave. How would you feel, friend, never to see your home again, never to see your loved ones again, never to see a ray of sunshine ever again?

Suddenly, you're plunged in outer darkness, held there against your will, chained there forever and ever and ever. Prisoners without hope. God have mercy on us. Prisoners without hope. There may be some of you here.

Within the sound of my voice, they'll be taken out of this world before the year is over. I've known people. Six months later after I was talking to them, they were suddenly dead. I was talking to a co-worker, a young man in his early 40s years ago, and we were standing in the hallway of an office building, and we said goodbye.

Later that night, he got out of bed right after midnight, took two steps, and dropped to the floor, dead as a block of ice. You have no guarantee of tomorrow, friend. What if you're resting on a rotten foundation of a false hope?

What if you die in your sins and become a prisoner without hope? Oh, friends, Jesus talks about the miseries of those prisoners without hope. Jesus says of them, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Weeping speaks of great loss and grief. Gnashing of teeth signifies great anger and regret. Prisoners without hope gnashing on their teeth. Beyond the very reach of God, beyond His mercy. Oh, please, friend, I beg you not to end up in that region of darkness and suffering and despair as a prisoner without hope.

The Open Day of Grace and Mercy

We see the day of grace and mercy is still open to us. There is time right now, right now, to turn to the stronghold for salvation. Years ago, I preached my first public sermon in a federal penitentiary.

The guard left me in a room with another man and with 40 hardened criminals. And as I looked at their faces, as I looked around that room at those murderers and thieves, I was as nervous as a firecracker on the 4th of July.

But I preached to them about God and His forgiveness through His son, Jesus. And although those men were prisoners locked up in a penitentiary, they were not prisoners without hope. They were still prisoners of hope, for they were still alive in a day of mercy and grace.

And when I was through preaching, they lined up to hug me. Oh, friends, turn, turn, turn to the stronghold in Jesus. We see the heart of God in 2 Peter 3, 9. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Listen to me, friend. God is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish. Why will you die? Turn ye, turn ye, and be saved. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

Jesus Christ as the Only Way of Salvation

Here, Jesus answers the three greatest questions of the human heart. How can I be saved? Jesus says, I am the way. How can I be sure? Jesus says, I am the truth. How can I be satisfied? Jesus says, I am the life.

The gospel is for the hungry, the weary, and the thirsty. Listen, friend. You have to feel your need of Him. No one needs a physician until they first realize they have a disease. Look, you've got a sin disease, friend.

Oh my, you've got a poison in your blood. And Jesus is the only remedy for sin. Let me ask you, friend. Are you hungry for God? Are you sick and tired of your sins? Are you thirsty for Christ? Then come to Him and believe on Him.

Exercise repentance toward God and faith in Christ Jesus. Let me ask you another question, friend. Would you rather be alive in a prisoner of hope? Or would you rather be dead in a prisoner without hope?

A Personal Testimony of Finding Christ

I'm so glad that Jesus found me when I was a 13-year-old boy. He put it on a pastor's heart not to let me go to hell. And that man in the Holy Spirit chased me down until I was confronted with Christ Jesus.

And I gave my heart to a bleeding Christ as a young teenage boy. I found that fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The Final Call to Repentance and Faith

Don't let this day end, friend. Don't let it end. If you need a Savior for sin, go to God and seek Him earnestly and fervently. God gets serious with those who get serious with Him. Put your pride in your pocket, brother.

Get down on your face. Cry out to God, your only hope. A divided heart is like the rich young ruler who refused to give himself up to God in a full surrender. Give it all to Him, friend. Give it all to Him.

God doesn't want your money. He wants you. Don't face your dying moment as a prisoner without hope. I plead with you. Turn to the stronghold of Jesus. He is your only hope. Don't die outside Christ's redeeming blood, that Jesus declared.

I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger. And he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Oh, friend, Christ is the bread of life. He invites poor sinners to come to Him and believe on Him.

The duty required is to come. And He's got a pure gospel promise to all who come. In Him that cometh to me I will and always cast out. Oh, friend, Christ held nothing back at Calvary. How can you hold anything back from Him?

What are you waiting for, young lady? Jesus is your only hope. What are you waiting for, mister? Come on. Come on. Come to Christ. Surrender all you are to all of Him. And He is Lord.