Hope conquers

Intro

If you were a kite, you know the toy that people fly in the air.

This is a deep metaphor so get ready, I’m starting all deep.

If your life right now were like a kite what would your kite look like. By that I mean, would it be flying high up in the air, sailing and gliding along the strong wind looking so beautiful in the spring sun?

Or would your life, if it was a kite, be spinning quickly, every so quick straight down, ropes being pulled to get it back but nothing, nothing appears to stop it from going to hit the ground.

Or do you feel your life is like a kite, that already hit the ground, bam, smack down on the ground.

Or maybe your the kite that is just fluttering, just getting started, starting to feel the wind.

Now, I want you to think about this,

if you are flying what needs to happen for you to stay there, and if you aren’t flying, if you crashed, if your just getting started or if you are crashing what needs to happen for you to start flying, to start really soaring as the kite,

what needs to happen for you to do what you are meant to be doing? What needs to change? How?

Write that down. Jot that in your mind.

This is what we are talking about today but maybe not in the way that you might think.

You see I would label the thing or the way that gets you soaring in the air, that is what I believe should be called, your HOPE.

What you believe will improve your life or how you will improve your life is what you are HOPING to happen. It is your HOPE.

That is a spiritual statement that you came up with it. As the kids say this is very meta. I know I sound super old when I say it that way. You are smart people and can think deeply because thinking deeply gets passed what we say and it’s where our faith actually is.

I went and got an X-Ray this week. I got to see how the bone muscles in my neck actually are so I could get some help.

Your answer to the previous question is like an x-ray of your faith. It’s not meant to motivate guilt but to check what you put your hope in because their is joy and strength in the Lord Jesus. If we actually practice our faith in how we hope.

Hear this today, if what you come away with today is I suck, I am such a bad person, you missed it. God loves you. I do suck but God died on the cross for me so that must mean I am worthy of love, because God loves me. It’s not about how good I am. It’s about how great God is and because He is great, if I keep my eyes, my hope, my direction focused on God, than He provides victory. Same for you.

Today come away with a reorientation of hope so that you can fly!

Psalm 62:5 CSB

5 Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him.

A kite when it just comes out of the package is full of hope. But so many things have to go correctly for it to fly. The wind and the one at the controls have to work together for it truly fly. If one of those cuts out, is not correct, the kite fails.

Ask yourself: Is God in the right place in my life as the one in charge. My anxieties, my vision, my goals, my hope?

I keep focusing on hope in these sermons and today will be no different. I was talking with someone recently and asking truths. Like what do you do about the fear of losing your job? What about dealing with difficult people? How can anyone really change?

Doesn’t it sound like such a simple answer for a pastor to say “Trust God.” Like my dentist telling me to brush my teeth. Duh.

What do I do about dealing with difficult people?

Trust God.

But how is trusting in God going to help and what does that actually look like. Let’s look to the Bible

Psalm 62

I love the Psalms, that weirdly spelled book in the Bible that begins with a silent P, which sounds good if your in the bathroom but not when you are trying to learn how to spell. Psalm 62 is what we are looking at today, shows us in really vivid terms why we should put our hope in God.

Psalms is a collection of poetry meant to be sung. It is written almost entirely in Hebrew so the words don’t really easily work as a song in English and the poetry isn’t like Shakespeare or even post-modern street poetry, it has rules and stuff but that doesn’t matter for today’s sermon, the point is that this poetry may or may not be about a specific event like the story of David and Goliath or the Last Supper of Jesus but a poem mean to show a picture of universal truth of God. This is how it starts

Psalm 62:1–2 CSB

1 I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.

Rest! Dome-E-yah is the Hebrew. God is a God of rest.

We just went on vacation, thank you big time to Phil for sharing with you last Sunday and all who took the roles to allow worship to still happen so my family could rest.

This rest that is spoken on in this scripture is the kind of rest you can take when you feel safe. The kind you see when a child knows they are well protected and can fall asleep in the arms of a parent. The kind of rest that happens when as they say, there is not a care in the world.

My wife, rest is her favorite version of vacation. To sit without a care and do nothing.

I get anxious and like to keep doing stuff so I don’t have to think about much. I need to remember this scripture everyday. See I need to look at this verse and meditate on it, think deeply, the reason I get anxious is because I fail to recognize the truth that God is my rock.

Like those big castles we see in the Lord of the Rings movies, but way better. Imagine a castle with walls of diamond, with a floor of diamond, this is like the stronghold of the Lord. Diamond is the strongest rock there is. God is that kind of castle for those who follow Him.

When I let my anxiety take hold I am imagining a future where God is not my stronghold, a future will not bless me. A future that God cannot fix. A future that God could not change people around me. Where God will not bring joy. In fact when I say I follow Jesus and I forget who God is than everything in the future is very, very scary.

Remember when I said what does it look like when you deal with difficult people? Well if you have faith in Christ, you do what Jesus says and what does Jesus say,

Matthew 5:44 CSB

44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Your reply, it shouldn’t be but I hear many reply, but that won’t work! My enemy will win. That’s all churchy and good but it doesn’t work in the real world.

That reveals what we think is victory. Is victory what ever future that God desires or the vision where we win and our enemy finally admits how right we are or stops being the messed up person.

David defeated Goliath because of God not because of his skills. And Paul was defeated from arresting and killing Christians because Jesus dramatically changed his whole life. The entire roman empire was destroyed as a pagan empire.

God could change your co-worker or your child or bring you victory in a way you never thought possible.

Some of you today face people who are actually against you. Maybe it is an ex in your life. Maybe it is a co-worker out to get you. Sometimes it is even a child. We have enemies, not because we want to but because sometimes people only see what they desire. Sometimes people want what we have and they think the easiest way to get it threw us. They try and steal our stuff or say evil about us and try to take our positions. Sometimes people want our power, family or even the honor that we have.

Perhaps right now you can think of someone who wants to humiliate you, it isn’t because of Facebook or the way people are these days, those feelings and actions have been happening for thousands of years and the Bible, specifically this Psalm has something to say about that.

Psalm 62:3–4 CSB

3 How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you attack as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence? 4 They only plan to bring him down from his high position. They take pleasure in lying; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah

Remember that this part of the Bible is poetry so their is powerful, powerful imagery. Think thousands of years ago when the walls of a city where made of rocks, not diamonds, but just regular stones from the area and one way to get this kind of wall and really any kind of wall to come down is to hit it, again and again. According to the title this Psalm was written for King David. David had many people trying to take him out. Most kings do, and just like us if it isn’t one person trying to take you out its another. Or if it isn’t a person it’s a thing, a system,

If it isn’t one thing, it’s another but God is still in the another.

In verse 4, it’s even more descriptive about people who say nice things to your face but really are plotting your ruin.

Ever had the experience of someone you knew was spreading all kinds of lies about you that could ruin your life but when you came face to face with them, they said they loved you and you meant the world to them?

I have! It is crazy. My friends some of you might experience a life where people are actually out to get you.

God is there too!

God has a word for you today. I’m going to keep sharing it with you

My friends this word, as people say, still applies to you.

Psalm 62:5–8 CSB

5 Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God. 8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah

Even when people are out to get us, even when people keep coming at us, over and over at us, God is still our refuge.

The first 3 verses are really summed up in verse 8. Trust in him at all times.

Remember that trust is another word for faith. Ultimate trust is when we really believe that this thing or this person or this being is completely reliable. You have heard me use the example of a chair, that most of us sit in chairs and totally trust it. You also trusted this building. You walked in and didn’t keep looking at the walls and the roof to make sure they kept standing.

Sadly, my friends, people in Myanmar aren’t trusting their buildings today. After the earthquakes this past week, there as in most places where earthquakes happen people can be terrified, have absolutely no trust in buildings, in roofs over their heads, because they don’t know if they won’t just fall down on them.

But today you enter with full faith in the roof, which is cool but what about full faith in God. Full faith in God who is even greater than roofs.

My friend from Seminary, Jay has been working in Myanmar or Burma, same place different name, for a long, long time. Lori’s cousin serve’s on his mission board team. Jay specifically has been working with locals, people from Buddhist and muslim backgrounds and walking alongside as they accept Jesus as their savior, his group trains them and then they go and share their faith in their communities. Local people seeing lives change and miracles happen. This is a part of the world dealing with civil war, genocide and yet God is still faithful right there.

His group heard, this story is only two days old, from a brother Walter, which is most likely a fake name given so he can be protected from arrest or attack, any brother Walter shared that he met a Buddhist lady who had an angel lead her out of the earthquake.   Bro. Walter immediately led this lady to Christ! 

God is our stronghold, stronger than roofs. He is stronger than life and does give hope in Myanmar and everywhere, Madagascar, Mazatlan, and even Modesto. God can take your issues too. He sent an angel to rescue a woman in a land most of you have to google to know where it is! Yet God knows her by name! Please pray for my friends and for those who are hurting and for those who are helping.

Today if you are able you can also take part and give extra and we will make sure it goes to work in Myanmar.

The top priority needs are1. Water Filters $35 per unit  2. Medicines $35 per packet 3. Food: $30 per packet 4. Plastic Tarps

And if you give today, you give an example of the truth of this Psalm

Psalm 62:8 CSB

8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah

Because why would someone in Burma think an American, most likely of a different religion than them, hearing in a language different from theirs would care enough to help them in their moment of need and that somehow that help will make its way to them.

God makes a way where never was a way.

If someone is coming after you. God has you. If the system is coming after you, God is greater than a system.

And that is what means to put our trust in God. We don’t know how He will deliver but we know it will come and it will bring God glory.

That is faith in God.

In your personal life, God can be trusted, if we give up trying to figure out how He is going to work and whether we will like it or not. If we move to trusting than we might have to move away from being the hero of our own story.

Psalm 62:9 CSB

9 Common people are only a vapor; important people, an illusion. Together on a scale, they weigh less than a vapor.

Remember I told you that this Psalm was written for the King? Here, right here, is a harsh truth for all of us to hear. Trump, Putin, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Elon Musk, whomever you think is huge, is an illusion.

Look at that verse, what a powerful image, if there whole life is on a scale of history they are just the weight of breath. Not the weight of a hair.

Think about it, unless you are an absolute total historian nerd you have no idea who was famous just 100 years ago. Very few could name a president, musician, athlete or hero.

We are reading a poem about God’s strength from 3,000 years ago. Our life is just a breath so why should we put our hope in power or fame?

Why should we put our hope in our own ability to be a hero.

Others agree, but they think if they get money, their money, their cash that is what matters, no matter what.

Psalm 62:10 CSB

10 Place no trust in oppression or false hope in robbery. If wealth increases, don’t set your heart on it.

Guys remember all the checks from 5 years ago?

Wealth will help for a moment and then its gone. It can’t grant peace and wealth from theft creates even more anxiety. As a thief is well aware, anyone can take what they took themselves.

Think of a kite soaring high on a windy day. If the string is cut, it loses all control and comes crashing down, much like our hopes if we tie them to us being able to heal ourselves, outsmart everyone else, out strengthen everyone else. But when we entrust our dreams to God, He’s the one holding the string. He’ll guide our lives with purpose and grace, keeping us uplifted even when our smarts, our strength and even political winds change. Let’s trust in Him to keep us flying high!

Psalm 62:11–12 CSB

11 God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God, 12 and faithful love belongs to you, Lord. For you repay each according to his works.

Strength and love belong to the Lord.

My friends all of us learn soon enough we can not be our own source of strength. We either pass away or our body breaks down and even before our body breaks down we are limited by our lack of experience and intelligence.

My friends we need to acknowledge

without God we should be incredibly anxious.

But we don’t live in a world without God.

We live in a world where the resurrection happened, where their might have been darkness but God brings the light.

We live in a world where even in grief there is hope.

When that conflict comes. I rest in God. When that disturbance comes, I rest in God.

I rest in God by following Jesus in how He says to act, to live, and to be.

We rest in the stronghold of God when we put our hope in following Jesus in doing what He says, in how we act, live and be. Serve the risen Jesus, He is our Hope and our strength.

Psalm 62:5 CSB

5 Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him.