Sermon Tone Analysis

The God of Hope

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture Text:

I am going to make several “Foundational Statements About Hope” today in this message and I want to submit one to you in the opening moments of this message.

Hope is the most important attitude in life.

(Foundation 1)

Simply put:

“Hope is a reasonable assurance of expectations.”

Hope is the force that motivates actions.

People do what they do because of hope.

Even if you don’t like your job, you go to work.

Why?

Because you hope to get paid.

Or using our definition, “You have a reasonable assurance of receiving an expected paycheck/income for your services.”

Without hope … there is no more assurance of expectation.

And when this happens people begin to despair because they feel as though everything is simply meaningless at that point.

People who lose hope lose their ability to live their life with a sense that their hard work will pay off … or that their efforts will be rewarded … or that they will have the thing that they desire!

Thomas Edison’s hope refused to believe that he was out of options as he perservered to create perhaps one of the most important inventions of modern life … the light bulb.

He had to learn hope at an early age.

Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything."

He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive."

As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.

When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?"

Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times.

The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Which leads us to our second fundamental about hope.

Hope is a matter of perspective.

(Foundation 2)

Hopelessness gives up … but hope gets back up!

Hopelessness says, “I’m finished!”

But hope says, “You’re just getting started.”

Hopelessness says, “It’s not going to happen.”

But hope says, “Not if you give up it won’t!”

Hope is that indomitable force that drives people forward through heartbreak and trials and failures …

Hope is the heartbeat of that song from that classic Disney movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - “Every bursted bubble has a glory!

Each abysmal failure makes a point!

Every glowing path that goes astray, Shows you how to find a better way.

So every time you stumble never grumble.

Next time you'll bumble even less!

For up from the ashes, up from the ashes, grow the roses of success!”

Henry Ford went broke 5 times before he was able to figure out the model for his automobile company that succeeded.

Abraham's Faith Produced Hope When His Body Could Not

Remember, Abraham had been called to be the “father of many nations.”

God told him his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in heaven and the sands of the sea.

But what did Abraham do?

When he started losing hope in Sarah and his ability to have a child … he decided to go and do something about it.

Ishmael was born.

But God said “This is not the child that I promised you!”

So now Abraham had wasted over a decade of his already fading life and God is telling him, “This is not the promised child!”

You know he had to believe that it is really impossible now … right?

So what did he do?

Let’s read what Paul says about it in ,

Here is a third fundamental of hope.

The best kind of hope is the product of faith.

(Foundation 3)

Which leads us to our second fundamental about hope.

Hope is a matter of perspective.

(Foundation 2)

The prayer from Paul for the Church is that the ‘God of Hope’ would fill them with the fulness of joy and peace through the process of growing in your belief in Him.

Why?

To what end did he desire God to fill them with joy and peace?

So that they would be joyful or filled with peace … not exactly.

I mean Christians should be people of great joy and uncommon peace.

The reason that Paul gives is this.

He says that this joy and peace will produce an abundant/overflowing hope by the power (or through the influence) of the Holy Spirit!

Hope That Ends in Disappointment

Those Whose Hope Rests in Idols

In the Old Testament there were many times that the people of God were led astray into worship of idols.

They would usually make excuses for their actions and their decisions to put their hope in idols made with hammers and chisels and human hands.

Idols that are made from wood or stone and cannot raise a finger to help those who worship it.

God often questioned why they would worship inventions of their own hands and minds.

& 135

and both say.

They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see;

& both say, “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see;

They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see;

- "There you will serve gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

Deut.

4:28

"There you will serve gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

On four different occasions the prophet Isaiah warns the makers of idols that they will not be able to hide behind their ‘imagined gods’ but instead be made ashamed and carried away in disgrace when they are faced with the coming calamities.

Dan.

5:23

but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

- The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Those Whose Hope Rests in Things of this World

People who do not really understand the Christian concept of hope may not comprehend it when a believer makes the proclamation, “People in this world have no hope.”

They may respond, “Wait a minute.

There are people all around us that are filled with hope.

Christians don’t have the market cornered on hope.”

And what they mean is that people can hope in many things.

People have:

hope that they will find a job after they get their college degree and end up having financial success and live a comfortable life in a nice home in a nice neighborhood.

hope that they will be able to attract the person of their dreams and that they will marry that person and have a family and beautiful life together.

hope that they will be able to retire early and travel or do something that they truly enjoy.

hope that they live to be as old as their 98 year old grandmother.

hope that they get chosen to fill that new position at work and become successful in their profession.

hope that they win the lottery.

Now you laugh but why else would they spend $70 billion/year on lottery tickets?

More than is spent on the top 5 entertainment spending items combined (sporting events, music, books, movies and video games).

Why do they spend all that money?

Because they hope they are going to guess those numbers right.