The Promise of Hope

INTRO

People say that hope is a powerful thing. People are able to cling onto life even when they are dying for the hope of seeing a loved one one last time. People will risk their lives trying to reach a nation or country for the hope of freedom. Hope is powerful. Yet we also know that there is no feeling worse than the feeling of complete hopelessness. Actually scientist say that the worst kind of stress a human being can feel comes from the feeling of being hopeless. There is no hope. Maybe you have felt that over these past few months. Expectations weren’t met, restrictions stood in place, traveling abroad was too complicated. Or even staring right into the face of the evil that is happening in Afghanistan right now. Or in countries like China. How many of us have a creeping sense of hopelessness? I know there have been moments over these past few months where I have allowed my mind to think things that are not good or helpful. I’ve ventured down the rabbit hole of hopelessness. Times of suffering, times of discomfort can do that to us. But with the few minutes we have this afternoon, I believe the Lord wants to draw our attention to a greater hope.

Romans 5:5 CSB

This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:5 CNVT

盼望是不會令人蒙羞的，因為　神藉著所賜給我們的聖靈，把他的愛澆灌在我們的心裡。

THIS HOPE

Albert Camus(阿爾伯特·加繆 ) the famous French philosopher, called hope a trick. Hope simply tricks our minds into thinking that our lives have more meaning than they actually do. Is hope just an illusion? While some people see hope as problem, for the Christian we see this hope as a promise.

What hope?

go back to verse 2: see that it is the hope of the glory of God.

What Paul is saying that our hope is that God will be glorified in all things.

All things. Paul then draws this straight line from this truth of the glory of God, straight through your suffering, our tragedies, and our pain. And he declares, that for the Christian: this hope is not that just that we have hope when times are good, or when times are easy, but this hope even sustains us in times of suffering and in times of pain.

Paul is saying that if God is in control, we can actually glory in our sufferings, because we know that God has promised to redeem every pain that we experience.

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans “Times Are Bad, God Is Good”

Whatsoever our condition be, let us never limit God. God’s people should never be better, the times were never worse. Where we be bad, God is good. Times are bad, God is good. He can alter all. When there is no hope of escaping, no likely issue, God can make it good.

The end of our suffering produces hope. That suffering for the Christian should not produce the absence of HOPE BUT RATHER the promise of HOPE!

Paul says that for the Christian we are hopeful not because our circumstances will necessarily get better, but our hope is that God will be glorified in all things. HOLD ON TO THAT.

WILL NOT DISAPPOINT

Story of being incredibly disappointed? my brother buying the ab machine online.

what does this mean

you putting your hope in Christ will not somehow come back and bite you in the butt. You are not getting the raw end of the deal, you have been treated infinitely better than we deserve!

Paul is speaking from having some major disappointments in his life

Paul brings me so much encouragement. Experienced suffering, losses in ministry, in his personal life, great amounts of suffering, but somehow his suffering did not lead him away from his faith in God, but his suffering only drove him towards God. Because of this hope.

I have been disappointed in every area of my life. I think we all have. People disappoint us, marriages, jobs, relationships, and if we are honest we even disappoint ourselves.

Afghan situation

So Paul says there is something that stands outside of us, beyond us, we need something that transcends our abilities and our power and he says it is this hope of the glory of God. It will not let you down. It will not let you down.

Why? Why will this hope not disappoint?

BECAUSE OF GOD’S LOVE

As I read and prayed through this text. I stopped here. Notice here church family that as Paul begins to declare that you and I have this hope that will not disappoint, he pulls our hearts not towards God’s power, His wisdom, His sovereignty, but he pulls our focus on God’s love. The love of God.

What is it about the love of God that anchors this hope for you?

poured into your hearts(past tense) already been done for you! The hope of our future points backwards to the cross of Christ and His resurrection. God sees the end from the beginning

IF God could be glorified in the most tragic, horrific events in all of human history, will HE also not be glorified in our lives as well?

Several weeks ago I overheard an argument my kids were having(that never happens;). They were arguing over what had happened in a certain movie(pretty important at my house). One of my kids said, “listen I’ve seen the movie” and the other one said, “So, I know I am right because I’ve seen the trailer!” I thought wow! How many times do we do that to God? We see a glimpse, a small piece of eternity and in our pride we think we have it all figured out. But God is the one who know the beginning from the end, He is in eternity past and in eternity future. And what He declares to you today, is that no matter what part of the movie you are watching today, for the Christian, your HOPE IS CERTAIN! Through Jesus Christ.

That wasn’t dependent upon you and neither is your hope for the future!

Mountains, when in darkness hidden, are as real as in day, and God’s love is as true to you now as it was in your brightest moments.

God’s love, not your performance, not my obedience, but God’s love secures this hope for you.

Through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us:

this word given in the Greek is “didomi” it means to grant or to offer. God has made His offer to you. His Holy Spirit.

How many of us run to other things?

idolatry is an image of a healer. That’s it. Just an image. Not the real thing. How many of us have run to mere images of hope, putting our trust in things or people who can never bring us the peace, hope, the redemption that we all truly need?

I want us to take a look at what Paul says God is offering you today. An exchange. a false hope for an eternal one.

God offers us something so much more church. Himself.

One of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit is to remind you of God’s love. “Abba Father”.

In Pilgrims Progress there is a character named Hopeful. Hopeful is a faithful companion of Christian all the way towards the Celestial City. And right as Christian is passing through the final dark waters towards the City’s gates, he began to fear for his life in the dark waters, Hopeful told Christian that Christian’s faith has gotten him this far and it will also get him to the doors. Church family, this hope is calling out to you today, it is preaching to your heart today to not lose heart, to lean into faith, and believe that hope is not a problem to be avoided, but an eternal promise for us to grab onto.

Let’s pray.