SPEAKER_00 0:00

Alright, let's take our Bibles and we'll turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. Like I said, we're going to be in 1 Peter for a long while. And then we're going to be in we're going to be in 2 Peter for a long while. And it's going to be good. We're going to try to go kind of like verse by verse and just sort of glean from the word of God and what he has for us. So 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 3. It says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation, ready to be revealed in the last day. And then if you flip over to Romans chapter 15, and we'll read verse 13. And 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. 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. One more time, 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. We talked on Sunday about the living hope who is Jesus Christ. He is in us, and the Bible says that if Christ is in us, Christ in us, we have the hope of glory. Amen. Jesus is the living hope because he, against all odds and against the wishes of the religious leaders and the demons and devil and the devil, raised, was raised from the dead, resurrected by the power of God, won our salvation over shame, guilt, condemnation, death, grave, hell, everything. Amen. We are victorious because of what Christ has done. And this living hope is now abiding within us, who is Christ. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, we're to abound in hope. And this verse is beautiful because it is the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him. Amen? Man, and that's the key, isn't it? Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he shall direct your path, he shall make your path straight. And we trust him. And this is this is the key. May the God of hope fill you. Now, because of the heart attack, I haven't been filling myself as much with the food that I used to eat. And my family has me on this Mediterranean diet. Alright? All the good stuff. Hallelujah. Thank you, guys. Which is okay. But here, in this uh this phrase, may fill you, means literally to fill to the brim. It means to make complete in every particular, to pervade, to take possession of, and ultimately to control. And isn't that what God does? Amen? That's why we've we've sung tonight, I surrender, Lord. The more we surrender to him, the more he takes possession of us, and he's able to shape us and mold us and conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. This is the same verb used by Paul to command the saints at Ephesus when he said, Be filled with the Spirit. Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. Be pervaded by the Spirit. Let the Spirit of God take possession of you. Amen. And ultimately control you. May you be filled. And this is awesome. So we live in a world of broken promises, don't we? As we listen to the politicians of the day, it's hard to trust them, it's hard to believe. And it's if it's not, if we're not careful, we can be pervaded with cynicism and uh filled up with all the brokenness that has come because of broken promises, and that is broken relationships and all the things that come upon us because of the brokenness and the broken promises that were given to us. Many of us have become skeptical whenever we hear someone make a claim that appears to be too good to be true. Isn't that true? So today many people are living without hope. And the the Bible speaks about this. The love of many will grow cold. People have a form of of uh a form of um godliness, but deny the power thereof. Uh many many people's hearts will fail fail them because of anxiety and fear. But the Bible presents hope not as a wishful thinking, right? But as confident expectation based on God's promises. It's not a hope-so, it's a hope no, and it's not based on uh our wishful thinking. We don't have faith in faith. We have faith in the God of hope. Amen. Our big idea today is this in a world of broken promises, God can be counted on. Simple, true. Let's rock and roll and talk about this, all right? Biblical hope is not maybe things will get better, but biblical hope is certainty because God is faithful. Hope is anchored in God's promises. And this is why we declare his praises and we declare his promises. Amen. Uh Hebrews 6.19 says we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. And it's talking about two unchangeable things, and that is the promises of God and the oaths of God. Amen. What God says he's going to do, he does it. And what God says, what God promises that he's going to do, he definitely does it. I don't know if you've been in a ship that's been on a in a stormy waves, but I have. And we my father owned a 33-foot cabin cruiser down in Long Island. We used to go under the Throgs Neck Bridge. I don't know how he got it, but he got it. I asked no questions. He tells me no lies. Amen? All right. But uh it was getting kind of stormy, and uh, we just wanted to sit there, and my dad says, Hey, throw the anchor out, you know. So uh my brother grabs the anchor, throws it out into the ocean, and you know how the anchor goes and then the rope goes? Well, the anchor went and the rope went too, because it was not secured to the to the boat. So we had a rough uh time about that, and uh I think my brother Yeah, he probably got a he probably was spoken to about that for sure. But the anchor keeps a ship in the winds and the waves and the storms. And the Bible speaks about us not being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, the seducing spirits, the doctrines of demons, amen. We have an anchor who is Christ, and he anchors us to the truth of God's word. So our hope is not uh anchored in the economy, in our health, in other people. Our hope is anchored in God's unchanging promises. And this is uh this is beautiful. 1 Peter, nope, 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3. 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 3 says this. That's 1 Peter. Let's go to 2 Peter. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. I'm just a simple person, but in reading that it means that he's given us these precious and very great promises, so that we can believe in them, trust him, and that is why, that is how we are partakers of the divine nature. Amen. Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires. Because God's word is effective, the word of the Lord functions as a promise. 1 Kings 8 56 says, Not one word has failed of all the good promises of God. In Hebrew it literally says, Not one good word failed. The word is spoken declaration, and a spoken, spoken declaration equals a promise. In 1956, this dude named Everett Storms, a school teacher, during his 27th reading of the Bible through, tallied up 8,800 promises in the book. Took him a year and a half to write them all down. 8,800 promises, amen. Most frequently in the Old Testament, the word promise refers to speaking or to speech or to say. So when God says something, it's settled. Amen. The English word promise comes from Hebrew words speak, to say, to declare. This is why it's important. Idea in biblical thought. A promise is fundamentally something that is spoken. God's promises are his spoken word, and because his word is trustworthy, what he says is treated as certain. His word is living and active, but who is the word? Amen? The word is Jesus. Jesus Christ. So a command from God is something we should do. A promise from God is something that we will, that a promise from God is something that God will do. A command must be obeyed, a promise must be believed. Amen. Believed and trusted. When God gives a command, he says, you will. When God gives a promise, he says, I will. Isn't that awesome? Promises of God. When God instructs us through the word of God to obey Him in righteousness, holiness, we say, I will. When God gives a promise, He says, I will. Jadoniram Judson, the great missionary to Burma, once said, the future is as bright as the promises of God. Amen? That's a great saying, isn't it? The future is as bright as the promises of God.

unknown 11:13

D.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

L. Moody said, God never made a promise that was too good to be true. And here's a statement that we can ponder upon. God never over-promises and he never under-delivers. Amen? Oh, what a great God we serve. Hope is anchored in God's promises. And then hope is strength in times of waiting. Amen. Everybody knows this verse in Isaiah chapter 40, but let's turn over there and we'll start lifting. We'll start reading by, let's see, 28. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 28. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. Man. When we read the word of God and declare it, it's powerful, isn't it? That's a powerful statement right there. And that's why I'm going to read it again, okay? Verse 28. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint. Praise God for that. And to him who has no might, he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Declaring the promises and the truth of God's word. Doesn't that excite your soul today? Amen. As you read read this word, the Bible says here, but they who wait for the Lord, it means they that wait in expectation. So as you drive around Lackawan, there's a lot of folks that take the bus, man. And usually when I pass them and they're waiting at the bus stop, their faces are not, they're not waiting with wonderful expectation. They are waiting with a little bit of annoyance because the bus is coming. And how many of you have ever experienced this when you're driving down the road and you're right by the curb and a dude does one of this right when you're passing, you know? Looking for the bus. That's not what this word means, okay? It means that we wait with expectation, knowing that God is going to fulfill his word. And sometimes hope grows the strongest during these waiting seasons. Isn't it true? So waiting doesn't mean that God has forgotten you. Waiting means that God is preparing you. Amen. Look at Moses in the wilderness. 40 years he thought his life was over. Just herding sheep, living in the desert. But then God spoke through a whole uh a burning bush and called him back to the dream that he once dreamt about the promise of God. And this is the thing with many of us. We have uh dreams of what God is maybe gonna do with us or through us or in us. And what happens is sometimes there there comes the death of a vision. Amen. When you have a vision that God is gonna use you, God is gonna do something wonderful, but there's a death of a vision where you have to just say, God, I give my life back to you. I put myself on the altar of slain sacrifice, whatever you want for my life. I don't hold it against you, God. I'm ready to serve you, whatever you have for me. And then all of a sudden, amen, the resurrection of the vision or the reinstallment of the vision that God has given you. This is what Moses felt in the wilderness in that desert. Amen. And look at Joseph, too. Joseph spent years in prison, his brothers sold him, but he had this crazy, crazy vision and dream from God. And eventually God came through. The promise of God was true, and it is awesome. So, our ultimate hope is in Christ. He's given us new birth, he lives within us. It's a living hope. Jesus rose from the dead, sin is forgiven, our life is transformed, and death has been arrested. Amen? And the resurrection means our hope is alive. But how do we foster this hope, friends? We believe in the promises of God. We believe that in the time of waiting, and in maybe in the time of the wilderness, God is preparing us for great and wonderful things as we trust Him in all things. Our life and times are in His hands. And then hope produces perseverance. Romans 5. Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. Trials do not destroy hope when we trust in God. Amen. Instead, they refine and strengthen us. And this is the wonder of it, man. Right when we're in the fire, when we feel God is burning us, and we're wondering, God, what in the world are you doing? God is destroying and burning out the excess and the things that are contrary to his will and his way for our lives, and he's shaping us and forming us. Amen. A blacksmith places metal into the fire not to destroy it, but to shape it. And uh in the same way, God allows trials to shape our faith and deepen our hope. And this is uh wonderful. So, do you have hope tonight? Hope, not dope. Okay? All right, hope, not dope. Do you have hope tonight? We we proclaim the wonder of God's blessing on the mountain. The same passion, trust, and wonder of who God is on the mountaintop. Do we still have it in the valley way below? Amen? When circumstances are bouncing about us, and we feel the burden and the overwhelming sense that maybe God doesn't see us, maybe God doesn't hear us. And if we just hold out, amen. That burning bush comes and God speaks to us and says, I never forgot you. I have always seen you, I've always known you, and I've always called you, and I've got a plan and a purpose for your life. And what a what a beautiful, beautiful story, amen, of Moses. So, hope. We're in the presence of the Lord tonight. Our hope has been stirred. But we're gonna go home, we're gonna sleep, we're gonna wake up tomorrow morning. There's gonna be things that uh are promised to us that are never ever given to us. There's gonna be expectations that are not met. There's gonna be the frustrations of life, the daily doldrums of life, amen. And all of it, all of it, is to push us to be conform to his image that Christ is working on us, amen. He puts us in the fire, he's molding us and he's shaping us. So if you're in the fire tonight, this is a good thing. Let it burn, amen. Let it burn, and let the Holy Spirit mold you and shape you and sanctify you for his glory. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We're gonna go before the Lord tonight, and we have this awesome hope that God is gonna answer our prayers. Why? Because he said that he would, amen. And his promises are true. We're gonna pray for healing, we're gonna pray for our nation, we're gonna pray for needs in our body tonight. And when we come to Christ, we believe that he is, and he is a rewarder, amen, of those that diligently. And as we ask in faith, according to his will, he will supply our need. This may fill being pervaded and taken possession of and ultimately controlled by God, is the same word wherein Paul said to the church, My God shall supply, my God shall fill, my God shall pervade you, my God shall take possession of you, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in Christ Jesus. That's a verse that we will proclaim. It's a promise in God's word. Amen. My God said it, my God is gonna do it. My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. And how rich is our Lord tonight, amen. All the resources of heaven, every spiritual blessing is ours. So when we come to the Lord tonight, we do not come doubting, we do not come with unbelief, we do not come with a lack of faith, we come trusting the Lord based on his word, based on the promises of God tonight. Amen. May the God of hope fill you tonight. We need hope.