Hope Lived Out

Hope Lived out

Colossians 2:7-16

Introduction-

This morning we have a lot of people hoping that their team wins the big game. Fly Eagles Fly… or Patriot Nation. One will get their hope fulfilled and one will be disappointed.

The Bible talks a lot about hope and as believers we have to understand the proper definition of God’s hope and the hope that we have that a team will win or a wish comes true.

Let’s look what the Word of God says about hope.

Colossians 2:6-15 Read slow and clear from Bible

Mans hope is based upon a wish or event coming true.

Man’s hope has a lot of particulars that are out of our control.

We wish for our team to win but we have nothing to do with the outcome of the game and we will not benefit from it either way.

I don’t believe anyone here will be getting a check from the wining team and no one will have lost money unless you have gambled that the actions of others will benefit your pocket and risk losing money by others action.

If we treat God’s hope the same way that we treat mans hope, we can get disappointed and lose focus on what God wants for our lives.

Mans definition of hope-Webster-

“A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. A person or a thing that may help or save someone. Grounds for believing that something good may happen.”

God’s definition of hope-

Hebrews 11:1-

“Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Godly faith and Godly hope are wrapped up tightly together. (Hands together) It is putting your trust and confidence in the things of God not only in what you can see but in things that you cannot see because you know that the promises of God are true.

Mans hopes are feelings and Gods hopes are promises that you hold unto too.

It is why when things are not going your way, you still have hope, you still know that God is somehow working and that you are not doing these things in your own faith, but in the faith that God has got this. No matter what it looks like or how I feel at the time.

Fun Fact-

Over 147,000 words in the Oxford English dictionary

Average person knows about 20-35,000 words

Average person uses about 5,000-20,000 words regularly

If you Google how many words in English language , which you won’t because you are listening to your preacher right now, you would get some that say 1.2 million words- what a difference. It is because you cannot determine how many words.

Is hot dog one word or two words? Is the various ways we use words each one different word? Do you count slang? Or count improper words being used. Do you count Zibolskism? Just because I think it is a word –is it?

The point here is everyone has an opinion- you have to find which opinion is going to be your go too source.

The apostle Paul wrote these verses because he heard that the church was being deceived into believing false teachings and he came back to make sure they were okay. He came to a bunch of believers that he did not know well but was family in God. He made sure the true church knew the true word of God. He did not want them to perish by making their own gospel but lived the gospel of Christ that changes lives Anybody here like that today?

Apostle Paul who hated Christians- not just disliked but hated them. He was angry with them for polluting what He believed was his faith. One day while on the road to Damascus, he encountered Jesus. The persecutor, the hater of Christians met Christ and it changed his life and his actions forever.

It shows me it is never too late as long as you have breath in your body for Christ to change your life.

This same Paul had new hope. It was not based upon his feelings, it was not based upon what others told him about Jesus. He encountered Jesus and it changed him.

Every one of us needs hope. Without hope we are hopeless.

Without Godly hope we are putting our trust in something that will not last.

Biblical change cannot happen without hope.

Biblical hope cannot happen without an encounter with Jesus Christ.

People who face death, divorce, and life shattering things need hope.

People who have faced problems for a long time need hope.

People whos hope has been dashed by people and experiences need hope.

People who have been wrongly accused need hope.

Biblical hope produces something-

Joy- Proverbs 10:28-