Living Hope

Tonight, as we continue our series No Strangers to God, we are going to talk about an amazing word that we come to know because of the relationship that we have we God.

I am thankful to know God tonight. Not to know of God but to know Him personally.

Think of all that this truth entails.

How often do we find ourselves in conversations that involve names of people we know of.. but do not know personally?

We know of them through other people, we know of them through the work the do in the area, we know of them for their reputation, their good or bad deeds, or their level of activity in the community or workplace.

We know faces and we might even know of their likes and dislikes. For those who work in front of a camera, we get an idea of personality, attitude, etc.

We know of these people but we do not know them… We do not have fellowship with them.

With God, we can know Him because of what Jesus has done for us!

We have access to His Word that tells us of His amazing attributes and character. We read of His power, His authority, and His wisdom. The Bible is a special revelation of God given to us that we might know of our heavenly Father.

But it also points us in the direction of knowing Him, personally! Sin created a gap between God and His creation in the area of fellowship. But the blood of Jesus was payment enough to close that gap for all who believe!

I stand here tonight, not to tell you of the God that I have heard of or read about in the Bible, I’m here to tell you about God, someone I know, someone I love, someone I serve, someone I live for, someone… I would die for, someone who has changed me, someone who has lifted me up, someone who has given me strength, and someone… who has given me… LIVING HOPE! HOPE THAT IS ALIVE!

What is hope?

It is a word we use all the time. It is a feeling, it is a thought, and in Christ… it is something that takes on a completely new meaning.

In the world, hope is something I would equate to a wish, a desire, or a dream.

In fact, the dictionary has hope defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

We hope for the end of the pandemic. We hope for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. We hope for things to go well at work. We hope for family and friends to get along. We hope for children to succeed in life. And the list could go on and on.

But this is NOT the kind of hope we are talking about tonight. Similar to our series on joy, the hope we are talking about this evening is far more than a feeling… its a promise.

Hope, in the Bible, is CONFIDENT EXPECTANCY. This kind of hope does not arise from the individual’s desires or wishes… this kind of hope comes from God WHO IS HIMSELF THE BELIEVER’S HOPE.

This kind of hope is not wishful thinking but a FIRM assurance about things that are unseen and still in the future.

Because this hope comes from God… it is not a hope that can be experienced by an unbeliever. This hope comes from knowing God… personally.

This hope distinguishes the Christian from the unbeliever… who’s hope is wishful and limited in the things of this world. Truly, the unbeliever has no hope like we are speaking of.

Example passages that declare this truth are Ephesians 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

Christian hope comes from God; from His calling, from His grace, from His Word, and from His Gospel. Our hope is directed toward God and Christ as it comes from God and Christ. Our hope IS NOT FOUND IN OR OF ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD. Therefore, it is not a hope this world can take away!

If you are in Christ… then you have hope! Not a wish or desire but a promise, an assurance, and a guarantee because of the power of the One you serve!

Tonight’s message is not titled hope… it’s titled LIVING HOPE. Because our hope is founded in Christ, our hope is ALIVE as we serve a living and risen Savior!

And this hope is found in fellowship with God. This hope CANNOT be found outside of knowing the Lord. Jesus… is the source of our hope. Jesus… is our ONLY hope. And Jesus… wants you to find this hope in Him tonight!

So let’s take out our status meters for a moment… and let’s see how we are doing in the area of hope. Your hope level is going to depend on the status of your relationship with God. If your relationship with God is but a claim… then your hope is going to struggle.

In fact I would go so far to say that your hope… has died. It will move from assurance to wish, from promise to possibility. Your hope will be based on feeling… not faith.

Main Point: IF YOU DESIRE TO KNOW AND HAVE LIVING HOPE, YOU MUST KNOW AND HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LIVING GOD!

As God’s chosen people, believers are no strangers to God… and they are no strangers to the LIVING HOPE that is found in God alone!

Knowing and hiving this hope… changes everything! And tonight I want you to see the kind of change that we can expect to come in the hope we have in God.

Living Hope Moves us to Praise.

We have every reason to praise the Lord tonight! he is worthy of our highest praise! And the hope that w have in God is certainly something that should move us to rejoice!

With all that is going on around us today, it can be easy to slip into a mode of overwhelming worry and underwhelming praise. It can be easy to slip into a mode of looking out for number one instead of giving praise to the One who is worthy.

BECAUSE our living hope is not based in the world but in God, we are able to give God praise NO MATTER WHAT. our hope is not based off our current circumstance… it is based in WHO GOD IS AND WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE!

No matter what is going on in the world today, we need to give God praise for our living hope! 1 Peter 1:3-5 tells us why!

1 Peter 1:3–5 NIV

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

First, I want us to see clearly how a person moves from a hope that is wishful… or dead... to a hope that is alive. Such hope only comes to by new birth through the resurrection of Jesus.

We know of the teaching given by Jesus regarding being born again. This new birth is something that can only be found in Jesus.

Christ gave His life for all of us on the cross. He took on the sins of the world and paid the price we could not pay. His death opened the door for our sins to be forgiven. Thus, in giving our lives to Jesus, our old self is crucified or put to death with Jesus. This includes:

ALL of our sins. Our past and present rebellion is forgiven and our future is redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

ALL of our old ways. We no longer live for the world but live to honor God. We live by His Word, in His love, and empowered of His Spirit.

ALL of sin’ spiritual consequences. Jesus died the death meant for us. He took on the wages of our sins and offers a gift in return.

So let’s stop and talk about that gift for a moment… the gift of eternal life.

Our sins are done away with on the cross, but our new life is found in the resurrection. Jesus conquered sin at Calvary, but He defeated death and the grave when He walked out of that tomb!

Just as His death becomes our death… so does His resurrection become our resurrection.

Romans 6:5–11 NIV

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It is through the resurrection of Jesus that we come ALIVE! As Galatians 2:20 makes clear, the old self is crucified with Christ and no longer lives… we are then born into new life that exists ONLY IN JESUS! It is in our risen Savior that we find LIVING HOPE!

As I said before, we have reason to praise tonight! And the passage goes on to give other reasons why our living hope should move us to rejoice!

One: As believers, We have experienced God’s mercy.

Instead of condemning us or abandoning us because of our sins… God showed us mercy. God sent Jesus to do what we could not do for ourselves. I am thankful for the mercy that God has shown me and… and I glad that His mercies are new every morning!

Mercy is not something we must wish for or merely desire… it is something we can be assured of. His mercy and grace is NOT given to be abused… it is given to be liberating.

Again… if a person’s intention is to take advantage of God’s grace and mercy by living in sin… then I’m going to tell you that you are NOT living in fellowship with God. Because if your fellowship with God was genuine and alive, YOU WOULD WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH SIN.

That doesn’t mean you won’t face temptation… but it does mean you will choose to honor God over yourself.

We need to give God praise for His mercy!

Two, We have experienced new birth through Christ’s resurrection

We covered this a moment ago but it is worth a second mention tonight! Thank you, God, for the new life we have in Jesus!

Three: We have been given an imperishable inheritance.

Believers are co-heirs with Christ… we have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven! It is an inheritance that the world cannot corrupt or break down.

It is imperishable meaning it will last forever! And it is waiting in a place where it will not depreciate, rust, mold, fade, or lose value.

It is a treasure unlike anything we could ever have in this world!

We need to give God praise for the hope of our inheritance!

Four: We are shielded by God’s power

I’m a big Sci Fi guy… I like shows (or liked shows) like Star Trek and such. And one of the more fascinating inventions they used often to protect their star ships from danger were their shields Shields protected them from the enemy’s weapons.

The idea of an impenetrable invisible energy shield protecting the ship is a neat concept to me… but the truth of knowing that the POWER OF GOD is shielding us daily from the enemy, well that’s enough to make me rejoice!

And unlike the shields mentioned in the fictional world of Star Trek, God’s power shield will NEVER lose power, will never begin to fade out, will never weaken or fail. GOD’S SHIELD WILL FOREVER PROTECT THOSE WHO FIND REFUGE IN HIM!

We need to give God praise for the hope we have in His power that protects us!

Five: We are watching for His return

We know that Jesus is coming soon! The events in the world only point to this truth! Jesus said He would return and the signs of His soon coming return are all around us!

His return is NOT a question of if, but when. We know He is coming and I pray we will be ready when He arrives. I pray He returns to find us faithful and doing the work He called us to do!

We need to give God praise for the hope we have in the return of His Son!

His hope moves us to praise! His hope moves us to rejoice! Even as the world fails all around us we know that our God will NEVER fail! Living hope moves us to praise.

Living Hope Calls us to Persevere.

1 Peter 1:6–9 NIV

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Our hope is in the Lord… our world is becoming more and more hostile to faith. Believers have suffered for the cause of Christ for generations and this suffering will continue until Jesus returns.

Jesus told us that suffering would be a part of our walk. He laid out the “cost” if you will of being His disciples in Luke 9:23-24

Luke 9:23–24 NIV

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

We need to understand that our hope REMAINS even if we must endure a season of suffering for the Lord. And our passage gives some insight as to what said suffering can lead to.

Trials exist to prove the genuineness of our faith… to see if our fellowship with God is more than a claim. Our faith is refined in the fire of suffering.

Trials promote spiritual growth. Trials call us to persevere and to mature in our walk with Jesus. James 1:4 encourages us to...

James 1:4 NIV

4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Trials and suffering are things we don not look forward to. The test us in just about every way a person can be tested. They hit us hard… they hit us when we least expect them… and they will try to drain you of hope.

SUCH SEASONS ARE WHEN WE NEED TO REMEMBER OUR ASSURANCES IN GOD THE MOST!

We either believe in the promises… or we don’t. We either walk by faith… or by how we feel. We will either choose to remain in His power… or we will try to do things our way.

No matter how big or small the trial may be, our hope must be found in the Lord!

I like what Peter tells his readers regarding what should result from our willingness to remain faithful in the trial!

Living hope leads us to persevere because we are assured of the things to come.

Yes, the trial may be fierce. Yes the troubles may be difficult. Yes, there is struggle in the suffering. But praise be to God THIS IS ONLY A SEASON.

JESUS WILL BE REVEALED! And those who persevere bring glory and honor to His name! They praise Him now, and they will praise Him as the season comes to the end!

Be assured tonight church… PERSEVERE through the hard times for the end result of your faith is the salvation of your souls!

Living Hope Positions us to Proclaim.

1 Peter 1:10–12 NIV

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

The prophets of old… spoke of what was to come. They proclaimed that the Messiah would come, that He would suffer, and they spoke of the glories that would follow.

Their dedication to spreading the word was NOT for themselves, but for those who would hear. And the word that they shared did NOT originate within themselves, but came from the One they were speaking about.

Look at verse 11. What… or who gave them the message they proclaimed? The Spirit of Christ. The Spirit gave the prophets the message of hope the people needed to hear.

That Same Spirit became the hope… the people now followed. Jesus came, did what only He go do, and ushered in a new era of mercy and grace… an era that came by way of His blood being shed on Calvary.

Now, the Holy Spirit empowered the message that was being preached to those in Peter’s day… and that same empowerment continues to move in the hearts of those who would proclaim.

The hope that we experience every day in Christ… is a hope that needs to be shared with others.

Let’s go back to our main point for the evening:

IF YOU DESIRE TO KNOW AND HAVE LIVING HOPE, YOU MUST KNOW AND HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LIVING GOD!

It is no secret that people are looking for hope today. The problem is, they are looking for hope in all the wrong places.

What they end up with is that dead hope, wishful hope, desire-ful hope, possibility or probability hope. Hope with no promise. Hope with no guarantee. Hope that can and will fail. Hope that is nothing more… than a feeling..

Tonight, God desires for ALL people to know and to have LIVING HOPE - hope that is a promise, hope that is assurance, hope that is confident, guaranteed, and steadfast. Hope that is secure. Hope that is stable. Hope that is concrete, that is beyond any doubt, and that is proven over and over again.

That hope is not a feeling. It cannot be found in anything of this world. It can only be found through faith in God. It comes when we know God… personally. When we enter in to fellowship with Him again.

Therefore, it is essential for those who have this hope in Christ… to share that hope with others. It is essential for us to be witnesses for Jesus, witnesses that are empowered of the same Sprit that gives us hope!

We started out by thanking God for the relationship that we have with Him. Again, I’m glad to know my heavenly Father tonight!

But there are so many people out there who are desperately searching… who are in desperate need of hope.

Will we allow our living hope to position us to proclaim?

To be positioned to proclaim is to be:

Solid in our relationship with Jesus - it must be more than a claim. Christ must be our way of life.

Empowered by the Spirit - Full of God’s Spirit and baptized by fire. We need to be anointed of God as we share the hope of our God.

Alert and ready to share - we need to be actively looking for opportunities to share our hope with others. We won’t have to look hard… for there are people searching all around us.

Would you join me in prayer tonight as we ask God to strengthen our relationship with Him, empower us with His Spirit, and make opportunity for us to share our living hope with others?