Church in the Peak

02/01/22 // Restoring Hope // Phil Hardy

January 02, 2022 Church in the Peak
Church in the Peak
02/01/22 // Restoring Hope // Phil Hardy
Show Notes

Phil started the New Year looking at how God restores our hope.

Hope Restored - The King has Come 

Watching the Hunger Games movies over Christmas President Snow makes this statement “The only thing stronger than fear is Hope” 

Lives were ruled by oppression and fear for most with a few Privileged ones. 

I was thinking as we celebrate Christmas that we don’t celebrate the coming of Jesus but that he has already come 

The angles declared the King had come, we can have hope because Jesus the King has come 

An old song that we used to sing many years ago has been on my mind over the past couple of weeks 

King Has Come, The King Of Love Has Come 
And Troubled Minds Can Know His Peace 
Captive Hearts Can Be Released 
The King Has Come, The King Of Love Has Come 

In Ephesians 1 Paul prayed for the Ephesian church that they would know the Hope to which they had been called. 

“I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.”
Ephesians 1:16-18

 Song Saviour KIng by Hillsongs has the line in it “Hope which was lost now stands renewed” 

After the past 2 years people are looking for some hope, perhaps people did not expect this to go on this long. 

During the first year there was a prophetic picture from John Groves a respected Leader within the Newfrontiers family of churches. He saw a Helicopter coming to rescue people and as the helicopter came to people many would reach out and want to be saved but also there were many who ran away from the the helicopter and refused to be rescued This was interpreted as the helicopter being the church and there to help and rescue people through offering salvation and Hope. 

Praise God we have been able to be that rescue for some and want to be more so. 

The hope Paul talks about in Ephesians 2 where he starts with our hopeless situation, But God bringing hope. 2 v4-10 

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:4-10

This is the hope to which we have been called and that we are to call other into 

Reflecting on that Prophetic Picture I also had this thought - what if God's rescue plan was the Vaccine that many have refused, 

There's a lot in scripture about Hope and while we may have hope in a lot of things and hope and dreams for this year what is our hope built on?

Questions
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and righteousness - Christ alone song 
What Is your hope built on, is it Jesus? 
What is it that you are hoping for? 
Have you lost Hope? Maybe through life's trials and tribulations you have lost hope, How can your hope be restored?