The Power of Hope

Hope

Hope is powerful and motivating. It’s the reason why we do just about everything we do.

Hope is about the future. And specifically, seeing a positive future. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe in 25 years.

Optimistic about the future, so we do what we do.

For instance.

Major in college or trade school training.

Or, stay-at-home mom.

You saw something positive about a career in that field.

You enjoyed studying those classes. They were hard. But hard is good, not a problem when it’s in an area you enjoy being in.

You see how these classes will get you to a job that will get you to a place where you want to be.

Jobs.

You take a job b/c you believe the work itself will be enjoyable, the salary will enable you to live in what you want to live, the time involved will allow you to be the family member you want to be.

Vacations, coach your kids, furnish and landscape your house.

Exercise

Why would anybody hurt themselves on a Peloton bike or anything else if we didn’t see positive results?

When I’m not, my BP is too high. My weight is too high.

Hope motivates me to get back on that bike and hurt myself again.

Lunch

Why are you going to Agee’s after church?

B/C you hope that BBQ will delight your taste buds and fill you up.

Hope means you’re sure it’s going to happen. You just don’t know exactly when. First bite? Second?

Or, why are you going to Kota’s for that salad after church?

B/C you went to Agee’s Saturday and you hope those greens will offset all the calories from the BBQ.

Marriage.

You’re not going to marry someone that you don’t see a positive future w/.

I want to grow old w/ you.

I want to travel with you.

I want to raise a family w/ you.

Inevitably, marriages hit a bump in the road. And, you can lose sight of the positive future you once saw. That’s when you need to stop and refocus on the hope you once had.

If you can’t. That’s usually when marriages end.

But, if you can, and you realize you’re just in a season that will end, and you’ll get back on track soon.

Raising teenagers will test any marriage.

Eventually they launch and you can get back to the 2 of you.

The future was always there, you just lost sight of it.

The longer you go w/out seeing it, the harder it is to keep going.

Lose sight of the positive future, lose optimism, lose motivation to keep going.

Leads to quitting the marriage, quitting the job, changing careers, or worse, ending your life.

PPL who take their lives, we talk about mental health, but hope, optimism, a positive future is something that is lost that leads to suicide.

Sometimes we face things out of our control that shroud our optimism and we can’t see that future.

It’s not that it’s not there, we just can’t see thru the fog.

Grief will do that. My wife is in Tucson this week. Friday was the 1-year anniversary of her mom’s passing. She went to be w/ here dad and brother.

They are grieving a little harder this month than they were before. The fog will clear.

But, one of the symptoms of grief is depression. The inability to see a positive future and be optimistic.

Health problems will do that. Why go thru surgery?

B/C you see it as a solution to your pain. Surgery is no picnic.

Sue had her hip replaced. Sara had her meniscus repaired, Rick is about to go thru a very difficult back surgery, not his first.

The pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of the change. Surgery will probably, most likely, make it better.

Hope.

Hope empowers every decision we make. Optimistic that the future, immediate or distant, will be good based on what I am doing next.

We’re starting a new series this week. A study in Colossians.

Paul wrote this letter to combat some bad teaching that was working its way into the church in Colosse.

The gist was Jesus isn’t God, Jesus isn’t the Savior, and education and intelligence will do you the most good in life. DIY.

Gnosticism, Judaism, Paganism.

Work hard, study hard, learn a lot, figure it out, life will go good for you. Create your own luck. Determine your own future.

Hope in what you can create for yourself.

So, Paul wrote this letter.

Some of the strongest language in the bible that Jesus is God. Jesus is the Savior. And, a close, personal rel w/ Him will lead to your best future that God will do for you.

We know this. So what?

In Christ, we always have hope.

The hope that we have in Christ will give us the power and motivation to live a dynamic life that always sees a positive future no matter what circumstances we face today.

Powerfully positive, optimistic in attitude, always w/ the ability to do what we need to do to get the outcome that God wants for us, that ultimately will lead to what’s best for us.

Not just what we want, but what God wants for us that will lead to what we really want.

That’s Colossians. And, this is the intro to the book and the series, “Living a Dynamic Life.”

Hope?

Colossians 1:1–2 NIV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Again, a letter written by Paul to the Christians in Colosse.

Colosse was a city about 100 mi. east of Ephesus. Same region.Philippi was close by. A lot of cross-pollination.

Timothy led to faith in Jesus by Paul. They traveled together. Tim became the pastor of the church in Ephesus. Paul referred to Tim’s help in Philippians.

In a few verses he’s going to refer to Epaphras, which is short for Epaphroditus. Same guy, also mentioned in Philippians.

In fact, Epaphras almost died in service to Christ. He came close to making the ultimate sac, but recovered.

Hope motivated him, he recovered and continued his service to Jesus and Paul.

Paul is writing this letter that is heavy about hope.

He’s in prison in Rome as he writes this. What hope did he have?

In his previous life, he was wealthy. He was a leader in his former religion. He had the authority to sentence ppl to death and carry out the execution immediately. He led the stoning of Stephen.

He had friends in high places.

Now, he’s got friends in low places; Garth Brooks.

Lost all authority, his freedom, his earthly possessions, no mention of his house or family. He’s lost everything of value by earthly standards.

What hope did he have?

He hoped to eventually have an audience w/ Caesar, the most powerful man in the world. And, he did before he died.

He hoped the church would grow. Grow in number and individuals grow in their faith. They did.

He was chained to soldiers assigned to him. He couldn’t move freely at all.

But each soldier heard the story of Jesus b/c they couldn’t move either.

Many bel’d. When transferred took their faith w/ them and led others to X.

If the growth of the church is your hope, there may not be a better place to be than a Roman prison in c.1.

Ultimately he hoped he’d end up in heaven.

Hope in the bible is a certainty, we just don’t know when.

It’s not wishful thinking or wondering if we might get something.

We’ll get it. And He would get heaven, in time.

He is going to challenge these ppl to live a dynamic life in Christ while he’s in prison. This is exactly what he was in prison for.

He obviously was not motivated to quit, so he still maintained his hope. His hope motivated him to keep up his work even if it meant more trouble for him.

We know this from Philippians, also.

Not only did he need to see positive future even though in prison, the ppl in Colosse needed to see a positive future that might include prison for them, too.

They may well end up like Paul. Some did.

So, even in the worst circumstances, hope lives.

And, as long as you have hope, you have the power and motivation to keep moving on the same course.

Hope is the future. It’s based on the past. And motivates us how to act in the present.

Hope!

Colossians 1:3–8 NIV

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul wrote that he is thankful to God b/c of what he had heard about these Xians.

He heard about their faith in Jesus and the love that they show each other.

Notice what he says about where it comes from.

“Faith and love spring up from the hope you have stored up in heaven.”

Without hope, neither of the other 2 make sense.

Hope sees a good future. Optimistic about a powerfully positive place in life that is upcoming.

Specifically, in this case, and for all believers, ultimately we end up in heaven.

Our hope is stored, secured, locked up safely, in heaven. No matter where we are right now, no matter how long we will be here, we will certainly end up there.

That assurance gives us a powerful hope.

B/C of hope for our future, we have faith.

Faith is based on the facts of the past. Past events that make it possible for us to get to heaven.

Specifically, Jesus’s death and resurrection.

We have faith that the HS conceived a baby w/ a teenage girl.

A little biology w/ your theology.

The blood is supplied from the father’s contribution to conception. Since Jesus’s father is God, his blood is not affected by the actions of Adam and Eve.

The boy was born at Christmas, died on Passover, and was raised at Easter.

The single most proven fact in history is the death and res of Jesus.

Eye-witness accounts.

Events of the day.

The immediate change in the course of history.

All prove the factual nature of these event.

Our faith is based on the facts of the past. But, we still can’t answer all of our questions and know everything about God.

There are cracks between our facts. Our faith fills those cracks between the facts.

Factually based. But our faith stands alone.

Faith in these facts make it possible for us to get to heaven giving us hope in every circumstance.

Getting into heaven requires God’s justice. Fairness. The things we do on earth that require restitution must be accounted for.

Jesus did that for us. Those of us who have faith, when asked by God why He should allow us into heaven when we have created such a deficit between Him and us.

Our reply is, Jesus atoned for our deficit. I accepted Jesus taking my punishment for me.

You know, when you get in trouble as a kid and your parents prepare to punish you. Spank you, ground you, time out, whatever.

Maybe your little brother could serve that time for you. Fat chance.

That’s what Jesus did for you. He took your punishment that God requires paid in order to make things right.

B/C God makes things right w/ everyone, either they pay for themselves or let Jesus pay for them, we don’t have to repay ppl for the bad stuff they do to us.

All we have to do is love everyone. Act like we love ppl. Love is sacrificial acts.

We do things for ea other that cost us something.

Time. Money. Energy. It may cost me what I want to do to do for you what you want to do. There is always a cost. Maybe a little, maybe a lot.

B/C we have hope that we will get to heaven and everyone will answer to God for the bad stuff they do, all that’s left for us in the present to love everyone and let God handle the rest.

You hurt me? I can still act like I love you b/c God will make it right. He will heal me, make me whole. And He will make you pay. One way or the other. I do not need to concern myself w/ any of that.

B/C we have hope in the future, we can faith in the facts of the past, and act like we love ea other in the present.

Imagine a community that masters that attitude and those actions.

A dynamic community made up of individuals who live dynamic lives who are optimistic about a powerfully positive future.

All b/c we have hope.

All undeserved. By God’s grace. We cannot be good enough to earn what we get as described in this passage.

These ppl in the Colossian church were doing this. As a result, the church was spreading throughout the region and growing numerically. And, the ppl’s faith was growing deeper.

What does that mean?

They knew this stuff. We know this stuff. Important. But what makes it stick in us and keeps us going is what it does for us.

So what? Hope, Faith, and Love? The practical applications and implications of this dynamic life.

So What!

Colossians 1:9–14 NIV

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul wrote, “For this reason...” He prayed for them.

For what reason. For everything I just talked about. B/C they have hope, they have faith, they act like the love ea other.

B/C the church is spreading and faith is growing.

He prays this for them all the time.

That they would know God better. Gain a better understanding of who He is. His Character. What to expect of Him.

Not just a factual knowledge, but a relational knowledge of Him. Know His history. Why did do what He did with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses?

Why did He do what did with Israel and Jesus?

Not just the what and how, but also who and why.

In that, b/c they know this, then they will know better what God wants for each of them in every circumstance. And by choosing what God wants, what He would choose for them, it pleases Him more.

Nothing does my heart more good than when my children make good choices. What my experience would tell me is what is best for them, they choose it b/c they want it, too.

The wisdom to make these hard choices comes from God.

James 1:5 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Paul wrote this in a passive form. It’s done to us. We don’t muster up the wisdom ourselves. It’s given to us.

When we apply it appropriately, it pleases God. And when God is pleased w/ us, 4 things result.

We don’t earn them w/ good choices. But these are the outcomes of good choices.

Still grace-based, we get far more than we give. But these are the practical implications of better choices.

First, more fruit.

Fruit, listed in Galatians 5, includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.

There’s more.

According to Peter, we’ve already been given all the fruit we’re going to get. What we do is develop it, unlock it, and gain full access to its potential.

A baby is born w/ all the muscles and bones its ever going to get. But there is a significant difference between an 8 lb. newborn and 6’3”, 245 lb, 20-year old college athlete.

What happened? He, she, developed the muscles God gave him at birth.

At our new birth, when we come to faith, we get all the fruit we are going to get. So, if you need more patience or self-control, all you have to do is develop it just like you would develop your muscles by choosing to exercise them.

Second, Get more mature. We grow.

Maturity allows us to process circumstances better, faster.

There’s a reason 9-year olds can’t get a driver’s license. By definition of immaturity, they don’t have what it takes to process and respond to dangerous situations that arise in traffic. Someone will get hurt.

When we exhibit spiritual maturity, we calmly understand better what is happening and respond more appropriately.

Appropriate words, appropriate actions, appropriate timing, appropriate emotions and attitudes.

Easing a situation. Putting the fire out, not stoking it.

Third, we get stronger.

We have more endurance and perseverance. Less apt to quit when things get hard.

Ladies in the BS of Ruth.

Hebrews.

If you want to run a marathon, start by running a mile. Then, 5. Then, 10, 20, until you get to 26.

If you want to be able to lift 300 lbs. Start by lifting 50. Then 100. Then 200, etc.

If you want to be able to stay, persevere, endure, hang in there longer, start by doing it shorter and build up.

Your mature reactions can still be applied later and deeper into your tough circumstances.

Fourth, give thank w/ joy.

Oh joy, another trial. James.

It takes maturity and strength to find joy in tough times. The ability to see the good that God has for you in it.

It takes maturity to maintain humility. You don’t get your own fruit. It’s given to you. You don’t manufacture your own wisdom, it’s given to you. You don’t make yourself mature, it’s done to you.

You didn’t stand in line before you were born and choose what you got. You didn’t earn it. All you get to do is use it.

Be thankful to God for everything you have

A dynamic life. Characterized by wisdom, patience, self-control, maturity, “stick-to-it-iveness” my g-mother would say, perseverance, joy, humble, thankful.

Because God rescued us and redeemed us.

We didn’t know how much trouble we were in before we had faith. Didn’t understand the consequences.

While we were still rebellious Jesus died for us.

He redeemed us. Gave us value.

That coupon you’ll find in the Sunday paper. It’s worthless if you leave it there or use it to help start your fire in the morning.

But if you clip it, take it to the store, its given value when you present it at check-out. They give you money for it.

Jesus gave you value.

A thing is worth what another will pay for it.

You may think your house is worth $1 million. But if you can only get someone to pay you $500,000, then that’s what it’s worth.

What did Jesus pay for you? His life.

If you are sitting here this morning, hopeless. Thinking you have no value nor future. Surrender your life to Jesus.

Immediately you will have hope. Tomorrow will be better.

Faith in the facts of the past will change your future and your actions today.

Jesus will give you value.

He rescues us and redeems us. And gives us a dynamic life.

Colossians.

Applications

Hope in your future

Choose to believe your future is better than your present or your past. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Certainly the next life.

Live optimistically. Your tough times will not last.

Look forward to tomorrow.

Love now

Act as if you love everyone. Even those ppl who do not deserve it. Make sacrificial actions for them.

Maybe the big sac is don’t kill them, let them live.

God will repay and reward. Let him handle it. Forgive them. Love them.

Then, love the easy ones too.

Let your life be characterized by how you treat ppl, how you talk about them and to them, in good ways. Always.

Faith based on past facts

I’ve already challenged you to choose to have faith.

The facts are clear. Jesus died on the cross. He walked out of his tomb alive. He did it to save you, give your life value.

Nobody has all the answers. Everyone has faith in something. Believe in the most provable facts in history and its significance to you.

As a result, you will be wise and make better choices.

You wil. have more patience, peace, joy, self-control.

You will get more mature and this fruit will show up deeper and later into tougher situations.

B/C you will get stronger and be able to persevere longer maintaining your temper and ability to hold your tongue w/out quitting.

And you will be even more keenly aware that you did not do this on your own. Humility. Thankful. That God rescued you from yourself and your bad situ and gave you value when Jesus died for you on the cross.

In Christ, we always have hope. This is the first domino that has to fall.

The hope that we have in Christ will give us the power and motivation to live a dynamic life that always sees a positive future no matter what circumstances we face today.

Powerfully positive, optimistic in attitude, always w/ the ability to do what we need to do to get the outcome that God wants for us, that ultimately will lead to what’s best for us.