Hope is still there!!

LAMENTATION 3:21-25 Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this (22) The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. (23) Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. (24) I say to myself, “ The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him (25) The Lord is good to those who depend on Him (26) So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

INTRODUCTION

Good Morning Cross Church! We have been praying for a great revival, believing for great things from God. I would like to thank you Pastor and his wonderful wife for inviting me to start this great move of God.

I want to talk to you about Hope and I want to remind you that Hope is still here. I want to unpack a few things this morning.

Jeremiah was the author of this book and he was a traumatize prophet as he was surveying his surrounding. His surrounding was broken and smoking ruins. The Babylonians had destroyed everything.

The once-stunning temple of Solomon with its gold trim, carved pomegrantes and cedar panels laid torched, reduced to rubble and had been plundered.

The city was destroyed and its people carried off into exile.

As Jeremiah took it all in, he grieved but still Jeremiah reminded himself that while God brings grief, God will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

Lamentation 3:32-33—Though He brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of His unfailing love. (33) For He does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

The Word “Love” there is in Hebrew (Hesed) which meaning is often translate as love or compassion but it also has covenant keeping, faithfulness and steadfastness in view.

If God had a go-to term for describing Himself, we might expect it be omnipotent, Omnipresent, or omniscient which is all true.

But we find in the first instance in Scripture where God reveals his nature that He describes Himself to Moses.

Exodus 34:6— The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

There’s the word “Love”, (Hesed). Compassion, covenant keeping, faithfulness and steadfastness.

We also find the Word (Hesed) in

Jonah 4:2— So He complained to the Lord about it: didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? that is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

We find Jonah telling God I knew you would do this, these are my enemies and I want you to wipe them out but I knew because you are gracious and lovingkindness you would show mercy.

Stay with me: The Word (Hesed) appears again in Isaiah 40:6–8

(6) A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field.

(7) The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people.

(8) The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

This is dealing with (hesed) of grass is fleeting, its steadfastness is just like human beings. In contrast, the hesed of the Lord never ceased, his mercies never come to an end; He is always there, steadfast, showing His love and Mercy.

The Love of God is never-ending:

I want to give you some interesting facts about Lamentations. This is the first and only book were we see the emotional part of the prophet instead of his description and instruction, we sense the hurt and the pain.

And there are five chapters in the book of Lamentations and all the chapters but one which is the third chapter has 22 verses. The third chapter has 66 verses. So if you divided by 3 then there’s 22 verses again.

In the Hebrew Alphabet there are 22 letters. At begin of 22 verses is the first letter of the alphabet and at the ending of the 22 verse is the last letter of the alphabet.

Could it be that God is telling us from the begin to the end of your suffering. Where things are going wrong. Life is a mess and things did work out. You make a lot of mistakes and you feel like everything has burn down in front of you. You have lost everything, your plan for life torn apart, your confident gone, your reputation gone, and there is no hope.

Can I tell you this morning, God is telling us Hope is still there. Could God be tell you that not only at the front of the book but at the back of the book and all in between where you mess up, I have the ending covered with my mercy and grace if you will just trust in me. I have your life from The beginning to the end and all in between covered with mercy and grace.

Jeremiah 17:7— But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

God is telling you and me we are to never be a prisoner of our past understand it is just a lesson not a life sentence!!!

Somebody need to shout this morning!!

HOPE: is the belief that your future will be better than today, and you have the power to make it so.

So hope is a way of thinking and believing.

There’s three cause of losing hope:

PEOPLE LOSE HOP BECAUSE OF LONELINESS.

People lose hope because of Loneliness. A recent report indicates that 36% of all Americans— Including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children feel serious loneliness. Loneliness leads to a number of poor outcomes.

Poor quality of sleep, increased anxiety, risk of heart disease and increased mortality.

A few simple things to do to help with loneliness. Start a new hobby or join a club, Bible study, or another group get involved in a ministry in your church. Start Exercising, become a volunteer.

One of the great thing to do: Recognize that you have a friend and His name is Jesus!

Hebrews 13:5 I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

I have felt lonely, like nobody care that I am hurting and need some help just a friend, just someone that will listen, instead marking me off. I have cried out to God where are you, I need you and feel like God turn a deaf ear to me.

It is a very hard place to be living out.

2. People lose hope because of fear.

Are you facing fear today? Perhaps you are afraid of losing your job, of developing cancer, or being left by your spouse.

At times all us experience fear. But don’t allow fear to keep you from being used by God. he has kept you this far and trust Him for the rest of the way.

In this ever changing world, we can take comfort in an unchanging God.

Think with me: About how God has come to combat fearfulness with Hope.

The angel of the Lord comforted Hagar, Called Gideon a warrior, and prepared fresh bread and water for Elijah.

In each of these situations, the angel of the Lord said: Do not fear. Do not Fear.

Yet each of their circumstances seemed out of control. A single mother, Hagar wandering in the desert abandoned with her child.

Gideon hid from the enemy in a winepress threshing a limited supply.

Elijah depressed and afraid, hid from Jezebel beneath a broom tree.

A young teenage girl name Mary who started showing signs of being pregrant with a child before her marriage and most people would assumed her guilty of an act punishable by death.

Each one of them surrendered control to the Lord releasing each of them from fear.

When Hagar called out to God. He saw her.

when the people of Israel cried out to God, the angel called Gideon.

When Elijah asked for the Lord to take him to heaven, God met him in his despair and revived his spirit with a face to face meeting and fellowship.

This tells me we can beat fear by

Surrendering our plans.

Start praying and having fellowship with God.

Recognize that God may commission you to serve.

3. PEOPLE LOSE HOPE BECAUSE THEY FEEL STUCK.

I have a very strong belief that everyone carries a burden. Some may live with health issues, others fighting for their marriage on their knees. Some bear the scars of abuse. Many are stuck in their job that they really hate.

The list goes on and on.

God is never intimidate by circumstances.

His people were caught between an army and an ocean, What did God do he part the waters.

When approaching the walls of Jericho, the walls crumble at His command.

Daniel thrown into the Lion’s den and the lions’ mouth were shut.

Peter and John were put into prison and God send a angel and open the prison doors.

This is a sure thing: God might change our circumstances or He might not.

But because of God being unchangeable, we serve Him no matter what.

Heb 3:6  But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

What the answer to being an overcomer of this feeling of no hope?

Fast and pray!

James 4:2  You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 

James 4:3  And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 

James 4:4  You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 

Please don’t misunderstand me. Sometimes God answers “no” and “Not yet” in the same way a parent answers their child’s request for something.

But through prayer and fasting, we seek to align our will with His.

2. Praise God

A heart with hope will focus on Christ recognizes trauma, suffering and struggle and we will praise Him anyway.

The decision to worship looks beyond momentary to eternal.

Job choose to worship in the ashes.

David found comfort in the Father after the loss of his son.

Daniel lifted his voice regardless of a king’s decree

If discouragement taps at the door of your heart, I encourage you not to lose hope.

Instead engage in the battle.

Rom 15:13  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. 

HE IS THE GOD OF HOPE. HOPE IS STILL HERE.