9/11/21 "All In: Hope"
Edit sermon notes
Copy text
Where we’ve been
All in - called to individual service
There is no other way but to be All In
Do you believe this? If so - what are you doing about it?
All in - collective
Unity is hard, and the only way
All through the spirit
The fruit of the spirit is the test of both
Romans 15:5
Romans 15:5 NIV
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,
Romans 15:6
Romans 15:6 NIV
so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The God who gives endurance and encouragement - these are the gifts needed by God to be All in - individually and to live collectively with others.
Paul sees one more need here, a gift, not from God to us only, but also a part of who God is:
Romans 15:13 NIV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why Hope?
as a child I heard “Don’t get your hopes up” a lot...
Words from a loving father, not wanting to see his child disappointed
Here, we have a loving father who not only wants us to hope, but is the God of Hope
Hope seems so intangible, like a bubble about to pop. Why would this be something Paul holds up as this ultimate goal, something that defines a part of who God inherently is?
Romans 8:24
Romans 8:24 NIV
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
Earthly Hope:
Greek philosophy view of hope: the future was a projection of ones own abilities
This is not Biblical hope. Not a hope to live a life with no change, of comfort and safety
Our texts tell us:
“overflow with hope”
“for this hope we are saved”
Has to do with trust and confidence beyond ourselves
God is Our Hope
Study of Human nature:
work in resiliency
Resiliency, in the Bible, is hope.
Biblical hope comes with confidence.
we aren’t the first to go through hard times. Knowing how God has worked in the past, we can trust that God now
In searching the Old Testament - One of the places you find the most about hope, the most times the word is used - is in the story of Job
Job 13:15
Job 13:15 NIV
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surely defend my ways to his face.
Psalm 33:17-22
Psalm 33:17–22 (NIV)
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Get your hopes up: Look where God has be true in the past
in the Bible
the life of those you most love and respect.
In your own life - tell our stories
20th anniversary of 9-11
This new generation didn’t live through this. They are asking us - what does the other side of a global crisis look like?
What do we look for in times of crisis?
Teaching - instead of blame, we look to the helpers. We don’t teach children the names of the terrorists, but the beauty in the people who sacrificed
There was a moment of togetherness like i had never experienced
Get your hopes up - look to the past
Get your hopes up
God in the future - God is present there already. We have this hope and we know we will see God.
We know this world is not our home. Amen to that.
Get your hopes up
Look for God now. Hope in the current time
Jesus in the now: come unto me
what we are called to do now
Called to be a people of hope
The Lexham Bible Dictionary New Testament Hope as Present and Future
Therefore hope, in the biblical sense, means that the believer “already participates in the reality for which [s/he] hopes” (Beardslee, “Hope,” 235).
this is the calling of Paul
Romans 15:13 NIV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are not called to be doomsayers, but called to see hope and joy
Be the one to see beauty, to focus on hope
Trust in the midst of hardship. Choose to see hope, to be a people of hope
This is often a choice. A simple choice (I didn’t say easy, but it is simple) - these can be heavy times, or they can be hopeful times
There isn’t much more adventist than that! Be all in - no more negativity, no more fear. We serve a God who casts out fear, a God worthy of our trust, a God who is our hope.