HOPING MECHANISM

Introduction

Tonight’s going to be a good night. Tonight’s going to be your night. We are in a series called “PEOPLE PROBLEMS,” all about dealing with people, problems, our problems with people, and problematic people. That pretty much covers it, right? One of the problems I see people experiencing regularly is a lack of hope. As people of faith, we can sometimes give hope a bad name. It can feel like hope is faith’s weaker little brother, but that’s not what the Bible tells us about hope.

First of all, it’s one of the three things that remain in 1 Corinthians 13:13 along with faith and love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Romans 5:5 tells us that hope does not lead us to disappointment.

Romans 5:5 (NLT)

5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

1 Peter 1:3 says we have a living hope through the ressurection of Jesus.

1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

It’s a complete disregard of Scripture to make hope a lesser part of a thriving walk with God. Hebrews 11:1 even tells us that faith is the reality of that for which we hope. It seems to me that faith can’t exist without hope.

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

A lack of hope for yourself will derail your faith and your relationship with God. Hope is not just about us, though. Have you ever heard someone say, “I have no hope for him.” “She’s hopeless.”

What a thing to say about someone. One of the major themes of the book of Romans is unity and harmony in the body of Christ. This requires us to be filled with hope. Hope for ourselves and hope for one another.

Let’s read the first part of Romans 15 and get our hopes up together tonight.

Key Scripture

Romans 15:1–13 (NLT)

1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;

I will sing praises to your name.”

10 And in another place it is written,

“Rejoice with his people,

you Gentiles.”

11 And yet again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.

Praise him, all you people of the earth.”

12 And in another place Isaiah said,

“The heir to David’s throne will come,

and he will rule over the Gentiles.

They will place their hope on him.”

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

What a prayer. Tonight, I am believing that God will fill us with joy and peace and that we will overflow with hope. I’ve got three HOPE HITS for you tonight.

TAKE A HOPE HIT

HOPE HIT #1 - CANCEL CANCEL CULTURE (Romans 15:1-3)

When someone fails, it can cause us to lose hope. Especially if it’s not the first time. We’re told in Romans 15 to bear with the failings of the weak. As people are in progress, we have to keep our hope in the promises of God. Remember that the hope we have is not rooted in the potential of people; it’s planted in the promises of God.

Having hope for people means encouraging them to lean into the Holy Spirit. It calls them higher and sets the standard in the Word of God.

I meet with a lot of people for discipleship and counseling. There are times that it feels like the person in front of me is just not going to get it. Behaviors continue. The lightbulb that indicates understanding is dim. Remember that this passage is written to a church and it’s about Christians. That means that we have to call on the Holy Spirit inside of people. Sow to the Spirit. Treat them like they’re redeemed and sanctified. Expect the Holy Spirit to speak to them and move through them, and don’t give up on them. It’s easy to cancel people. Assume that who they were or even who they are now is who they’ll always be.

They just keep missing it. They just keep falling short. They’ll never get it. It’s tempting to think that way. Hope culture is better than cancel culture. A hope culture is a Kingdom culture. Regardless of who someone has been or even still is, our hope is in God.

I have to think that Jesus was tempted to cancel a couple of his disciples several times throughout His ministry. They just didn’t get it. Instead, He kept hope alive. Because of that, these guys made it to Acts 2 for an encounter with the Holy Spirit that laid the foundation for the Church of Jesus Christ that still operates on the earth today pushing back the gates of hell.

HOPE HIT #2 - PATIENCE WITH PURPOSE (Romans 15:4-6)

Hope for the fulfillment of God’s promises leads us to the place of unity with each other. Harmony is fitting for the followers of Jesus, because we’re all called to the same hope.

Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)

18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

He’s called us to come together for the glory of God.

Our unity brings Him glory. How else would people as different as us exist in such love and unity, except for the common hope of the gospel? Our gifts and our callings may be different, but our hope is the same. It’s hope that unites us. It’s hopes that connects us.

You may be very different, but we have something in common that can’t be shaken. Our hope is in Jesus. He’s the One who’s saved us. He’s the One who’s delivered us. He’s the One who’s healed us. He’s the One who’s coming back to rule and reign, and if you don’t have hope for anything else, we’ve got to put our eyes on the glorious hope of Jesus Christ taking His place on earth as in Heaven as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This is the promise of God that we await patiently with hope.

Expectation is a powerful thing. That’s the definition of hope. A confident expectation. If you are expecting God’s promises to come to pass in your life, you can patiently wait with hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 (ESV)

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

This verse refers to the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the saints. He says that we don’t grieve as those without hope. Our hope is in the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the saints who are asleep. They’re not dead, so we’re not hopeless.

Hope is necessary in waiting. If you don’t have hope in what you’re waiting to see, you’ll lose your will. Don’t lose hope. Wait patiently. Encourage each other in waiting. Find unity in the Keeper of Our Hope. We can be united in harmony as the Church because we don’t put our hope in earthly things. We put our hope in the Head of the Church. Be patient. Hope is here. Your promise is right around the corner.

HOPE HIT #3 - JOY + PEACE = HOPE (Romans 15:7-13)

This is a really cool section of Romans here, because Paul appeals to the two people groups in this church. He reminds them just who Jesus is to each group and why He came for each group. His message to the Jews is that God keeps His promises, even thousands of years later. To the Gentiles, He reminds them of His mercy. Paul shows how this hope has existed for thousands of years.

Having hope means that we aren’t concerned with the timing of the promises of God. If you believe He is who He says He is and He’ll do what He said He’ll do, our hope and our faith remain engaged. Regardless of circumstances. Regardless of what we see in front of us. We keep the faith and don’t lose hope for what He’s going to do in us and through us, both individually and as a body.

There are prophecies yet to be fulfilled. There are outpourings we’ve yet to experience. There are breakthroughs that are on the way. There are miracles that are in motion.

When all hope seems lost, we keep moving. We keep fighting the good fight. We put our eyes on Jesus and we fortify the concrete expectation that He who began a good work in us is faithful to finish it.

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

If you’re not dead, He’s not done. If you’ve got a pulse, you’ve got a purpose. There is hope for you and there is hope for everyone.

Here’s what that hope is.

Colossians 1:27 (ESV)

27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

It’s the expectation of the presence of God, heavy with everything good that is demonstrated by Christ living in you. Why do we have hope? He’s in us. He’s not far off dangling hope in front of us. He’s in us right here and right now.

The goodness of God that comes with His glory drives our hope. That hope isn’t a pipe dream. It’s not a religious wish based on some superstitions. It’s the promises of God coming to pass through the glory of God that lives in us.

Because we carry Him, we carry His glory. Because we carry Him, we are fueled by hope and steered by faith.

Don’t lose hope. The anointing is available and the glory is all around!

Invitation to Response

If you’re here tonight and you feel like you’ve lost some hope for the future, I want to invite you to this altar to receive an impartation of the Holy Spirit.

The One who is our Hope works through the laying on of hands and the prayer of agreement. Whatever it is that you’re believing to receive tonight, don’t leave without surrendering to Him and partaking of His hope.

Maybe you don’t feel like there’s much Christ in you these days, so your hope of glory isn’t very strong.

Tonight is your night to have your hope restored and renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t wait or allow anything to keep you in hopelessness for one more minute. Come and receive from Him tonight!