WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.520 All right, well, let's get into uh God's word here this morning. 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:10.080 If you would open up your Bible and turn into it to Romans chapter 15. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:18.000 And I know that as we're watching from home here and stuff like that, it's really easy to, you know, just kind of lay down on the couch and we don't maybe take things as seriously. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:25.839 But I really encourage you to grab a Bible, grab it, read it, open up the Bible app on your phone, and uh really focus on this and go through this together. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.320 We want to treat it just like we would if we were all here together uh in the room. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:44.399 Now, I remember that when I was uh a kid, I don't know, I was probably around 10 years old or so, uh, my dad worked for a uh a pretty successful construction company uh up in uh up in Barrie. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:51.039 And uh one year they had their work Christmas party at the uh owner's house. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:54.320 It was this great big place uh in Midhurst. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.520 If you know Midhurst, you know that there are a lot of big places up there. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:03.600 And I remember it was one of those houses that as soon as we pulled up as a family, we're like, whoa, okay, this place is uh impressive. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:14.400 And so we go in, and and I don't remember, again, I was a kid, I don't remember how many employees they had exactly, but uh all I can say is that the house was full, and they had invited again all of their employees, but all of their families as well. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:41.120 And so there were kids all over the place running all over the place, and and we had all been down in the basement, that's where the big party was, and they had this massive stage area that was bigger than this stage that I'm on right now, like a dance floor with uh with a disco ball, you know, back in the like late 80s, early 90s, like you know you'd arrived if you had uh something like that set up uh in your basement, and then off to this one area of uh of the space, there was this mound. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:46.079 It was huge, this this massive pile of Christmas presents. 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:50.239 And I'm again, I'm not talking like five or six, I'm talking tons of them. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:55.840 I remember them probably being shoulder high, head high, just piled on top of each other, these massive boxes. 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:01.840 And I remember thinking, man, this family is going to have themselves a uh a Merry Little Christmas indeed. 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:17.439 Now, what ended up happening throughout the evening, as the evening went on, I think they brought in like uh somebody dressed up as a Santa or something like that, and the Santa ended up handing out these gifts to all of the families, all of the kids uh that were there for this party. 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:29.439 And I remember you could just see everyone's eyes grow wide because these gifts, as kids tore into them, they weren't just these, you know, little small, it wasn't like a pair of socks or here's a nice Christmas sweater or something like that. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.560 Kids were getting, kids were getting Nintendo's. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:37.680 Okay, this is back when Nintendo, like the original one, was first just getting huge. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:48.080 Uh they were giving away, like I think I I remember like power wheels and and GT snow racers, and I remember my my little brother and I, we ended up getting this. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:52.879 You remember those those rod hockey tables uh that that were big back in the day? 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:54.560 You see it kind of in the top right there. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:56.639 We got something like that, only it was much better. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:58.159 I couldn't find an exact picture. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:12.240 It had one of those electronic scoreboards, it it made noises and sounds, it had crowd cheering, and I mean we got tons of years uh of use out of this uh really fun and incredible, uh incredible game. 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:36.319 I remember my brother and I were super blown away by this, and and as the night progressed, I remember we were chatting with the the owner of the company, his wife, and she was explaining to my parents, yeah, um, we actually just got our kids uh a Nintendo, and they have uh one of those Sega Master Systems, and you see the picture of it right there, uh, which at that point uh had wasn't quite as popular as the Nintendo, and they're like, we have one of these, we don't really need it anymore. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.159 Uh would your kids want this? 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:41.919 And so they actually gave us uh this thing as well. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:46.000 And so you as you can imagine, my brother and I were like peaking, okay? 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:49.120 We were as uh psyched as it gets. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.919 And I just remember leaving there, uh pulling away from that house. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:04:05.280 It's amazing how I can still picture it uh so well in my mind, just so struck by the by the generosity uh of this family towards all of us kids. 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:07.840 I mean, they definitely did not need to do this. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:13.360 Uh every single kid that was there left abounding in in presence. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:19.600 It was pretty incredible with with more with more fun ahead than any of us even knew what to do with. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.000 Now, abounding, it's a word I just used there, abound. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:29.279 It's not exactly a word that we all use in everyday vernacular. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:35.199 I don't know if you've used that word this week, but um, but it really just means abundance, right? 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:38.319 It means having much of something. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:42.639 And it's the key word, I think, in our text here today. 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:48.959 Okay, we've been talking about how Jesus Christ is the hope of the world, right? 00:04:49.040 --> 00:05:00.959 We've looked even just last week at how to fight for hope and try and grab hold of hope in everyday life as our hope is uh threatened. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:13.759 And and so today, this morning, uh what we're gonna do is we're gonna be looking at how how you and I, as Christians, are to abound in hope. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:23.040 I sometimes wonder if we recognize just how generous our God is. 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:34.480 I was thinking about the generosity of this family in giving all of these gifts, but I wonder if we recognize just how generous our God is in general, but specifically uh with this. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:51.279 Okay, his desire for you and I, his church, is not that we would just have some kind of faint kind of sense of hope that that easily slips out of our grasp depending on our circumstances that we face. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.360 No, his plan is not for that at all. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:06:13.199 His plan is that you and I would have copious amounts of of hope flowing through our souls all the time, that hope would abound, okay, regardless of what might be going on in our lives uh or in our world. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:18.000 And so that's absolutely what our verse here this morning uh tells us. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:20.319 And so I am going to read it now again. 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:27.279 It's just one verse we're looking at here today, but follow along, check it out in your Bible, uh, Romans 15, verse 13. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:39.920 It says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:57.839 God, as we uh bring ourselves, our families uh before you today, and as we uh get into your word, I pray, Father, that uh you would continue to show us uh where our hope is found. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:06.000 Lord, we thank you that as we celebrate Christmas and we think about the birth of Jesus Christ, Lord, uh it was really all about hope. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:11.600 It was all about bringing hope uh to the world in the sense that you have saved us from sin. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:25.680 And so, God, I pray that that, that you and that the gospel would be the foundation, the the very basis of our hope, and from that we would live our lives as hopeful people, Lord. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:28.560 We thank you that you are not a stingy God, Lord, at all. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.079 You are a generous God. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.399 You you want to pour it out on us, Lord. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:34.879 You want us to abound in hope. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:40.240 It's supposed to be this superabundant thing for us in our hearts and in our minds. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:48.240 It is to govern the way that we live and interact in a world that we know is is desperate for hope. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:57.600 And so, God, I pray uh that you would continue to um to teach us, Lord, that you would continue to instruct us and have your hands on our on our lives, Lord. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:02.480 I pray that you would do a special work of unifying our church in these difficult days, Father. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:06.879 I pray uh that you would show us that our hope is in you, no matter what is going on in life, Lord. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.680 May it abound, may it abound in Jesus Christ and through him. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:11.360 It's in his name we pray. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:12.319 Amen. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:13.040 Amen. 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:30.000 All right, so at this point in Paul's letter to the believers in uh Rome, uh, he's just shown them that Jesus Christ is the hope of both Jew and Gentile, as foretold in the scriptures. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:37.440 And so we actually, I'm gonna read it right now for us, and it gives us a bit of a context for the verse that we just kind of pulled out here that we're gonna be focusing on more today. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:42.399 But if you would read with me even now, uh starting in verse 8, reading down, it says this. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:09:01.200 It says, For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised, that's that's the Jews, to show God's truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:05.120 And then he says this, as it is written, he's like, This has been the game plan all along. 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:06.159 Take a look at this. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:11.679 He says, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:18.240 Okay, that's a verse pulled right out of 2 Samuel chapter 22, and actually Psalm 18 as well. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:27.200 Verse 10 here says, and again it is said, and he quotes from Deuteronomy 32, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people, the Jews. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:36.000 And again, quoting from Psalm 117, he says, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:46.080 And again, in Isaiah, this is from Isaiah 11, verse 10, he says, The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:50.879 I love this, in him will the Gentiles hope. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:53.039 Okay, which brings us to our verse now. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:53.840 I'll just read it again. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:05.600 Verse 13 says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may, there it is, abound in hope. 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:15.360 So what we're gonna do here today, again, focusing on verse 13, is we're gonna we're gonna break this one verse down into three uh parts this morning. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:15.840 All right. 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.399 So here is the first one as you follow along. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:26.639 It's I can abound in hope as I accept that the true source of my hope is God alone. 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:39.519 All right, now much of what we're gonna look at here uh today together uh is really a reinforcement of what we have been uh discussing throughout this series and and even before that. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:50.879 Okay, and as much as I have uh no desire whatsoever to like beat a dead horse, okay, I I really don't think we're in any actual danger uh of doing that. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:11:01.840 Okay, because if you're like me, you've already had moments this week, maybe even this morning or today already, where your hope has has waned, right? 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:08.399 Where your hope has has faltered or you've sensed it evaporate uh like a mist. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:17.360 So you and I, uh as humans living in a world that is struggling and groaning and it's hard, right? 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.679 We need that that reminder, we need the encouragement here this morning, don't we? 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:30.879 We need to keep pressing into this truth about hope as we celebrate a Christmas. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:39.279 Okay, so with that, here's what the first part of this verse says, okay, verse 13a, if you will. 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:45.759 It says, May the God of hope, okay, may the God of hope, pause right there. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:58.000 Okay, what that tells us is that is that um hope, okay, uh ultimately hope is found in God Himself. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:11:59.679 Okay, that's where hope is found. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.080 God is hope. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:09.919 Okay, two weeks ago we looked at Matthew chapter one and how Jesus Christ came to save his people from their sins. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.559 That's Matthew 1, verse 21. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.000 Okay, that is right there. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:21.679 That is the the bedrock, the the foundation of hope for all of humanity. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:36.000 Hey, you and I, we we have a a God, uh a savior who did absolutely everything uh that it that it took to reunite mankind with himself. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:36.480 Right? 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:37.600 Jesus Christ did it all. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:38.960 That that is our hope. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:39.440 Right? 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:43.519 He he came to earth in the form of man. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:44.559 He was God. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:49.360 He he he lived every single moment of his life perfectly. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:53.600 He followed all of God's commands, he fulfilled the law in himself. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.080 He was perfect on our behalf. 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:57.919 None of us are perfect, right? 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:02.559 All of us trip up and stumble all over ourselves and all over the law constantly. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:02.879 Right? 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.480 But but Jesus Christ, he fulfilled it perfectly. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:18.000 And then he ended up going to the cross and dying a death as the perfect sacrifice that satisfied God's wrath that was for for you and it was for uh me as well. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:28.080 That if we would believe in him, okay, if if we would trust that what he did was for for me and for you, if you would do that, then you would be saved. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:35.120 You would again, you would be reunited with the God who made you, your maker, your creator. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:42.639 And of course, we would urge you and encourage you and challenge you, if we may be so bold, to do that today. 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:43.200 Right? 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:47.440 Just admit your brokenness before your God. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:55.120 Recognize that your sin is against him, that it offends him, and that that that because of that, you actually deserve punishment. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.759 You deserve, the Bible would say, death. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:03.200 You deserve eternity in hell where there's weeping and and gnashing of teeth. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:07.360 Now, if that rattles your cage, that's that's actually a good thing. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:08.080 It should. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.360 That's a disturbing and a and a painful thought. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:18.639 But here's the thing: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, he gave Jesus to pay the price for you. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:22.960 Because he loved you, he decided to punish Jesus instead of yourself. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:28.559 If you would, if you would believe that, if you would trust that Jesus did that for you, you can be saved. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:32.000 You can be forgiven, you can be made new. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:51.360 Okay, and for those of us who have done that, who've trusted in Jesus, okay, that that right there, that that truth, that has to be, okay, the you know, the the thing, the reality, again, again, the the truth that that governs or or informs our our hope on a day-to-day basis. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:51.840 Right? 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:53.600 That reality has to. 00:14:53.840 --> 00:15:16.879 Okay, if my hope, if your hope is is rooted down into anything other than what I just explained, Jesus Christ and the gospel, if it's rooted in anything other than God Himself and what His Son has done, okay, then we can't ever rightly expect to find or enjoy true hope for our souls. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.360 Okay, or think about it this way. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:25.679 Okay, the first part of this verse is telling us that hope comes from God. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:28.000 He is the God of hope. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:34.159 He is the source of hope, the only true source of hope for this entire world. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:42.080 It's it's it's Him and found in Him alone, period, end of story. 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:58.639 Okay, so so if our hearts, okay, our deepest desires and and hopes, okay, are anchored to anything other than that, okay, then God alone, okay, then guess what? 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:10.159 Okay, well, we're gonna struggle mightily to have hope even once in a while, let alone consistently and and constantly. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:19.759 We're not gonna be able to abound in it and have copious amounts of it as God intends and desires us to have. 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:38.799 Now, as we've talked about before, okay, you and I, even after we get saved, we all have this unsanctified part of our hearts, okay, that that looks for hope in things other than Jesus Christ and the gospel. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:40.720 Have you noticed this for yourself? 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:58.080 Okay, lately, for me, I've really been noticing that that what my heart longs for and and wants way too much and and looks to as a true source of hope is a comfort. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:03.919 Okay, comfort has been a huge thing for me, and this shows up in my life in in a number of different ways. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.000 I I'm like a comfort junkie. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.960 I I I love a good day off. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:15.359 I love, even thinking about this afternoon, going home and just plunking down on the couch and having a nap. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:19.920 I I look for comfort in things like like food. 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:20.960 Oh my goodness. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:25.119 Like I am eating just an obscene amount of food these days. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:25.680 Why? 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.400 Because I need all of those carbs and calories? 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:30.319 No, because it brings me comfort. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:35.440 I get I get a lot of pleasure out of just filling my body with more than I even need. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:46.240 I get a lot of comfort from just you know scrolling away on my phone for hours and hours and hours, or or binge watching Mandalorian season two, right? 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:48.079 That's been a big thing for us. 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:48.640 Right? 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:54.319 These are things that that I look to and try to find comfort in. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:18:10.799 But what I'm what I'm finding is is that all of those things are ultimately empty vessels at best, you know, and that that give me really just just some some temporary pleasure, some temporary comfort. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:27.599 Okay, but but they they don't, and and they can't provide me with hope and things like joy and and peace that my soul so longs for and and craves and tries to desperately squeeze out of them. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:28.319 Right? 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:29.119 Now think about it. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:34.400 All the things that I mentioned that I look to for comfort, though, those aren't evil things. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:35.279 Right? 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:36.319 No one's saying here. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.519 We're not getting legalistic and saying you can't have an Instagram account. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:43.839 We're not saying it's wrong to have a nap or eat delicious food. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:54.799 These things can be can be blessings, these are things from God that we're we can enjoy and we should be thankful for them, and they can all have a place in our lives. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:19:01.759 Okay, but listen, they will never, they will never be the true source of real hope. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:16.960 And I think the challenge for believers is just trying to figure out, like, okay, this thing is is permissible in my life, but I I want it too much, and I'm looking for it to satisfy me in a way that it never will, and and God never promises could. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:26.480 And and so for me, as I'm just thinking through this this comfort piece a lot over the last little while, I'm working to just accept that. 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:27.039 Right? 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:41.519 Accept that and get my hope connected more deeply, more firmly to the true source, okay, to God alone, the God of hope, as this verse tells us. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:53.279 So, hey, have you have you figured out, have have you identified the different things that your heart hopes for or hopes in? 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:55.599 Okay, maybe for you it's it's comfort. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:59.680 Everything I'm sharing about my own battle here, you're like, man, that's totally me as well. 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:02.160 I'm currently watching church in my underwear. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:04.880 That's how comfortable I am, and that's what I enjoy. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:05.200 Right? 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.400 Maybe for you it's the comfort thing. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:08.079 Maybe for you it's it's approval. 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:19.200 I I have my hope connected to the approval of man and and every how I operate throughout a day is really to gain certain people's approval. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:20.720 I want them to think well of me. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.079 I want them to say nice things or good things about me. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:27.440 And and if I didn't have that, I would despair. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.960 Okay, maybe for you it's it's approval, maybe for you it's control. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:40.400 You have this like strong desire and a hope that you would be able to order your world in such a way where you feel like, all right, I'm in control. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:42.160 That makes me feel good. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:43.119 My hope is there. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:50.400 But when life starts to go sideways and the Lord starts to show you that, man, you don't have any control, you you start, you lose hope. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:50.880 Right? 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:52.319 Is that where your hope is tied to? 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:54.000 Maybe for you it's power. 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:56.960 You love to feel powerful. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:01.039 Maybe it's money that gives you that, maybe it's power over a person. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.519 And so you look for hope in those things. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.240 Have you identified what those things are for you? 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.440 Do you do you know? 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:11.200 Are you aware of those things? 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:19.359 Okay, but here's the thing, merely identifying those things is not the only step here. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:27.039 Okay, if you were to talk to my accountability partners that I've had over the last number of years, they would all know, okay, comfort is Mike's thing. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.400 That's a bit it's not news. 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:31.759 I've identified that a long, long time ago. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.079 But but really, that's just the first step. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:40.240 You you have to you have to actually accept that hope will never be found in these things. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:43.920 Not just realize it's there, but actually accept it and believe it. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:58.079 Have you accepted for yourself that in order to really abound in hope, okay, you need to work towards unhitching it from these other things, these things that can become idols so easily to us. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.680 You've got to work towards fastening. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:07.200 It now to our our one and only true source, God and God alone. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:13.599 See, I I'm coming to think of this past year. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:27.759 Okay, one of the unexpected blessings of this kind of insane year that we've all had is that the Lord is exposing the things that we tend to look to for hope. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.920 Okay, which of course, as you know this, as you're experiencing this, that that's hard. 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:37.440 That's a bit of a painful process, uh, certainly, but listen, it's good. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:39.039 It is good that he would do that. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:49.599 That's all part of your sanctification as he's getting you to live in line with the truth of the gospel and getting you to anchor your hope to what is real, what is true, and that is him. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.400 Okay, so what are the things that you tend to look to for hope? 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:58.960 I mean, this world, this year has been throwing out different things at us that we're realizing are super flimsy. 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:00.559 Okay, politics. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:15.599 Some people are real politics junkies, and and and and but they're but their hope is is waning and and fleeting because the the politicians that they want, the parties that they want making the decisions aren't in power right now. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.440 And so they're they're they're they're despairing over these things. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:20.400 Is that is that you? 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:21.680 Is that what you look to for hope? 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:23.119 Is it it's in politics? 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:25.359 Maybe for you it's money. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:35.200 And and perhaps this year has been hard for you as an individual or as a family when it comes to money, or you look out at the economy that it seems to be circling the drain somewhat. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:36.720 Your hope is in that. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:38.319 Is the Lord unearthing that in you? 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:40.480 Is that is he showing you that that's just not gonna cut it? 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:41.440 It's not real hope. 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:45.200 Maybe for for you, for so many of us in this world, health. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.359 Health is what we have our hope in. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:54.480 COVID, this whole thing has exposed us for just desiring this, I think, way too much, to be perfectly honest with you. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:04.640 Some of us are so terrified, we won't even leave our homes for really any reason because our hope is so tied in to being healthy. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:06.880 Okay, is that one for you? 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:13.759 Listen, it's very uncomfortable as the Lord exposes these things, but can I just encourage you and urge you to allow him to do it? 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:19.920 Allow him to do it, humble yourself, allow him to do that work, ask him to illuminate for you. 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:24.160 What are those sources that you tend to run to for hope? 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:32.559 And allow him to bring you to this place where where you just accept deep down here that that man, these things are never gonna satisfy me. 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:40.480 I can I can run after these things for for a lifetime and never, ever, ever be fulfilled. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:43.440 They just do not deliver, right? 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:45.440 Only God will. 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:51.200 All right, here's the second thing as we keep moving along. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:58.799 I can abound in hope as I accept that what I believe determines my hopefulness. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.680 Okay, verse 13, again, here's the first part. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:10.640 May the God of hope, that's A, now part B, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:20.160 All right, when we have our our hope locked into to the source, to the God of hope, we see here that he does some amazing things. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:25.039 He he fills us with things like joy and and peace. 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:26.799 How awesome is that, right? 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:28.319 He he he d he does that. 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:32.160 These these things really, joy and peace, they go, they go hand in hand. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:40.160 Okay, when when you are abounding in hope, you just so happen to abound in joy and peace uh as well. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:41.680 Okay, think about it this way. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:50.799 You don't ever hear someone say, well, you know, my my hope is really strong these days, um, but but my joy is not so much. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:26:01.920 You never heard anybody say that, or or you know, I have a real peace of heart here, and and I'm really thankful for that, but but man, my hope is low. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:05.039 Again, you don't you don't hear anyone ever say that. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:06.240 It just doesn't work that way. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:12.559 Okay, all of these things just they they go hand in hand and they and they even kind of blend together almost. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:24.480 And I don't know a single person on this planet, okay, uh, who doesn't want all three of these things to abound within them at all times. 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:24.960 Right? 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:29.200 Everyone is looking for hope, everyone is looking for joy, everyone is looking for peace. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:36.400 It all just depends on on who or what are you running to to try and find those things. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:49.839 Okay, so if all that is is true, notice here the key word that reveals our responsibility when it comes to having this this peace, this joy, this this hope that comes from God. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:51.279 You see the key word there? 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:53.920 It's it's believing. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:54.559 Right? 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.400 Believing what exactly? 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:59.039 Well, believing in him, right? 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:04.880 Believing in God, in Jesus Christ, and in who he is and and and what he has has done. 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:12.400 Okay, but but even you know, believing in what's true and believing in what's what's what's good and real and right. 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.319 I mean, we've talked a lot about this over the last several months, haven't we? 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:21.920 About believing what's true versus believing what's false, believing lies. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:38.000 Okay, and this is yet another verse in the scriptures that that shows us the correlation between what we believe and how that affects our well-being in day-to-day life, okay, specifically as it relates to hope. 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:40.319 That's the context, that's what we're talking about. 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:58.160 And we've talked about how how you and I, humanity, but but but but even Christians specifically, okay, we we we tend to have this kind of like skin deep or or very surfacey relationship with believing what's true. 00:27:58.400 --> 00:27:58.640 Right? 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:13.680 You and I could could probably, especially the longer you've been in the church and heard sermons and read your Bible and all of that, you know, we could all probably answer Bible trivia questions and obscure questions even about the scriptures. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:20.000 We could probably regurgitate certain points of doctrine if we were asked. 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:35.359 But sometimes that belief hasn't been pressed down quite deep enough within our heart and within our souls to the point where we are now functioning in everyday life according to them. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:45.759 Okay, so so for example, so many of us struggle mightily with certain levels of anxiety. 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:49.119 So many of us are worrying constantly. 00:28:49.920 --> 00:29:00.000 There's fear that has gripped us and leads us in how we think and how we act, and it may be fear about the future, about whatever. 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.759 Especially these days, people's anxiety is just growing. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:07.119 Which what does that tell us if that's us as believers? 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:26.160 Well, it tells us that we may, while we may be able to recite Bible verses and recite truth like God is sovereign and he is in control and he is all powerful, it reveals that that somewhere deep down we're not actually believing that he is. 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:38.640 Okay, which causes us to function practically as these anxious, worried, stressed out people all the time. 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:42.480 And again, this verse, I think, really kind of confirms all of this. 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:48.640 That what you and I believe determines our hopefulness. 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:57.839 If we refuse to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, again, that's that's Romans 12 verse 2. 00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:23.920 If you and I neglect, okay, this you know, thinking about things that are true and honorable and just and pure and lovely, all the things that Philippians 4 verse 8 talks about, if if you and I don't take very seriously or committed to the responsibility or even like think about it as the opportunity that's in front of us to practice these things by thinking about truth and and pressing them into our hearts. 00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:29.519 Again, that's that's Philippians 4, 9, that then logically, just think about this logically for a second. 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.000 If that's the case, then we can't really expect to be hopeful people. 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:36.799 Why is that? 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:48.720 Well, again, because what you and I believe deep down determines whether or not we will abound in hope in everyday life. 00:30:49.359 --> 00:31:10.640 Okay, so as as you're you know, kind of trying to figure this all out for yourself, start by assessing and thinking through the things that tend to stress you out and cause you anxiety and and rob you of the hopefulness that is that is supposed to be yours through Christ. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:17.359 Again, the things that that make you fearful or or worry or or insecure. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:29.440 Okay, so think about those things and and then try and figure out what is it what is it that I really believe about all of that uh deep down on a on a bedrock level of my soul. 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:36.960 Okay, maybe, maybe you're you're insecure or you're anxious about your looks. 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:40.000 Right again, I've used this example many, many times. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:41.200 Why would I keep bringing it up? 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:49.039 Well, because the world has this immense focus on on how you and I are supposed to look physically. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:58.720 So much energy, so much money, so much time and and and and thought is put into looking better. 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:02.880 You know, and for you, maybe you're like, I just I just you you have that desire. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:08.880 I just I just want to look uh a certain way, but but I don't. 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:11.839 Or or I I can't seem to get there. 00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:15.359 And so because of that, I'm I'm down. 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:23.839 Maybe even depressed or or or just deeply insecure about those things. 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:36.079 And so perhaps for you, what you're realizing is that you're just looking for a certain comfort in in beauty or or in brawn. 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:43.279 Okay, and and really your hope is just way too tied into that, wrapped up in it. 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:53.839 Which means that that somewhere beneath all of that, somewhere in your in your heart, deep there, there's this belief that that's off. 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:56.960 Okay, it's not saturated in truth. 00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:58.799 You actually believe a lie. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:13.279 You believe deep down that that things like looks or or or or fitness or or dieting or attractiveness or body weight or or whatever uh are more important than they really are. 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:16.880 You value them more than God does. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:20.079 God doesn't put a whole ton of stock in those things. 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:27.920 He values where your heart is at and what you are like as a person, your character, and how you how you live. 00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:45.839 Okay, uh maybe for you, you believe that that these things will or or or should give you the comfort, the the hope, the joy, the peace that that you think will satisfy your deepest needs. 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:47.680 And that's the lie for you. 00:33:48.319 --> 00:34:01.039 And and when those things fail to provide you with that rock solid hope that you are wired to desire and and go after, you feel anxious. 00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.000 And you feel insecure, and you feel so down. 00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:06.480 And again, it's because, right? 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:12.960 It's because what we believe determines how hopeful we will really be. 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:18.159 Okay, believe lies, and and you're not gonna have much hope. 00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:20.400 I mean, just kind of do the math there. 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:37.280 But when we when we replace those lies with the truth of God's word, what he says, and and and we choose to believe those things, and we practice pushing them down into our hearts and into our minds, and we we saturate ourselves in those, then guess what? 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:41.440 Soon enough, you will be abounding in it. 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:54.960 The hope will be overflowing in you, and that that peace, that joy will come, the insecurity, the the anxiety, the fear, all of it will go. 00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:59.119 It will it will desk, it will disappear. 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:16.639 So listen, there there's definitely some responsibility on that that's on us here as we as we think about kind of how to start tackling this and going after it, how to how to how to how to focus on believing the right thing. 00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:23.840 And and and again, as I've said before, I I think we need to really view that responsibility that's on us as an opportunity. 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:24.159 Right? 00:35:24.320 --> 00:35:25.039 That's really what it is. 00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:27.599 It's easy to get bogged down and get kind of stressed and overwhelmed. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:29.280 How do I believe what's true? 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:31.280 And it's easy for us to just kind of toss that away. 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:33.440 Trust me, Satan wants you to go there. 00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:43.519 Okay, but but realize this is a this is an amazing opportunity now that I have before me as a Christ follower to grow in hopefulness, right? 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:56.719 So to identify those lies, to unearth them out of the soil of our hearts and begin to plant seeds of truth and real hope right down there in the bedrock. 00:35:57.840 --> 00:36:03.679 Because again, what we believe determines whether or not you and I will be hopeful people. 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:22.079 Okay, but again, as you're kind of thinking about this, and before you get to the point where you're like, man, this is all on me, and wow, that's a lot of pressure and and all of that, just notice here the sheer grace of our amazingly great good and generous God towards us in this entire process and in this final thing. 00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:23.119 Take a look. 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:30.639 Okay, I can abound in hope as I accept that God's powerful grace is what gets me there. 00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:34.639 All right, so let's look again at verse 13, the third part. 00:36:34.800 --> 00:36:39.199 It says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. 00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:47.920 Okay, here's the third part, part C, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 00:36:48.239 --> 00:36:57.039 Now, I don't know about you, but I just love how much that that whole verse just communicates to us about how we're to abound in hope. 00:36:57.519 --> 00:37:01.840 That first part, part A, it shows us that that God is hope, right? 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:05.840 He is the true source of hope for us, for the for the entire world. 00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:07.440 And so we better be going to him. 00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:07.840 Right? 00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:12.159 Then the second part tells us that that he fills us, right? 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:16.960 That's what he does, as we, here's our responsibility, believe rightly, right? 00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:18.880 There's an onus there on us. 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:24.559 Don't just continue to live your life doing whatever you want and hope that God will just give you fuzzy feelings of hopefulness. 00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:30.320 No, you got you gotta do some digging here to grow and think about what we what we believe. 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:30.960 Okay? 00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:42.079 But then look how it goes back to what the Lord does again, the third part, part C, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:49.039 Okay, to abound in hope is is a gift of God's grace towards you and I. 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:49.519 Right? 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:57.599 It's something that He enables and allows to happen by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:04.239 In fact, come to think of grace itself as power, because that's really what it is. 00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:11.039 The kindness of his grace is his power given to us, even though we don't deserve it. 00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:20.719 And it's what you and I need to get us to the place where hope is brimming in again in abundance. 00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:34.000 Okay, so listen, if we need God's powerful grace to get us to where we are abounding in hope, then what should we do about that? 00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:37.039 We gotta ask him for it, right? 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:40.639 We've got to pray, Lord, Lord, I need your grace. 00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:42.800 I need you to do a work in here. 00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:53.360 I'm not trying to pass the buck off of myself and and and neglect what I'm called to do, but but Lord, at the end of the day, I really need you to change my heart and and and do that that work. 00:38:53.519 --> 00:39:03.599 God, would you pour out the power of your Holy Spirit within me so that I will be filled with hope to the point of abounding in it. 00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:11.920 And so listen, as we think about asking him for this, about praying for this, this that's exactly what I want to do uh with us right now. 00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:15.519 Now, I I want to pray for you. 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:20.960 As this has been, I mean, even just this week alone has been challenging and hard. 00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:23.760 As we consider what what does Christmas look like? 00:39:23.920 --> 00:39:26.719 And it's hard. 00:39:27.039 --> 00:39:29.440 But we want real hope here. 00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:41.440 And we want to dig in as as we are called to, but at the same time, we we recognize our need for the Holy Spirit to just to really do that that heart transformation work. 00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:58.320 And so I want to pray for us right now, but then again, just urge us and encourage us to really do these things, you know, even especially this week, as as we get closer and closer to Christmas and remember the birth of our Savior and the hope that's found in him. 00:39:58.960 --> 00:39:59.679 So let's pray. 00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:03.360 God, we again we just thank you for your word, Lord. 00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:07.840 We thank you that we can spend most of our time here in one verse alone. 00:40:08.079 --> 00:40:09.920 And there's just so much to say. 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:13.280 There's so much joy, there's so much hope in a verse like this. 00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:20.960 And so, God, I pray that as our church, you know, some of us are gonna be frustrated that we can't be meeting in person. 00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:34.480 Some of us are gonna be losing hope because maybe we can't be with our families in the same way, and plans are all changing, and how is this gonna affect my livelihood and work and all of these things that we're considering? 00:40:34.639 --> 00:40:37.519 God, I pray that again we would get our hope anchored into you. 00:40:37.760 --> 00:40:47.119 Lord, we thank you again that you came to this earth to give mankind, give humanity real, lasting, true hope. 00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:52.079 And so, God, as we as we think about these things, Lord, would you be gracious to us? 00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:56.480 Would you pour out the power of your Holy Spirit in our church in these days? 00:40:57.039 --> 00:41:09.360 God, I pray that as we sing now, God, I pray that that hope would fill and rise within us as we remember that Jesus Christ is our one true hope. 00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:13.920 Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we worship you, that you came to rescue us. 00:41:14.239 --> 00:41:16.800 Lord, we pray all of these things in Christ's name. 00:41:17.039 --> 00:41:17.679 Amen.