Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I want to make a statement this morning and I pray it will help you. There is a strong reality that many must come to grips with and that is that you can only give to others that which you have received. No matter what that might be it is truth that cannot be altered. If you don’t have it, you cannot give it. This morning I am talking about hope. Hope is a tremendously needed entity in just about everyone’s life. People live on hope and die without it. Life is full of episodes that will try in every angle to snatch the hope of God right out of you. But this morning I want to introduce to you a God of hope that is willing to spark life into dead things.
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.
1st Point “We are leaky vessels and need to be filled”
In our opening scripture the bible speaks to us of a God of hope. This God who is majestic and holy, wonderous and absolutely amazing in every way. The bible says that this God of hope is so glorious that not even the heavens can contain His glory. And in this statement I ask that you take into consideration that God has decided to fill us with this hope to give it to others who are in desperate need of it.
Beloved we live in a time of desperate measures, people are in need of hope, many today are lost, broken and people are looking for answers, questions are asked about the God of heaven, who is this Jesus, how do we know, why do you believe?
We have the answers, it’s Jesus, hope doesn’t live without problems, hope is not exempt from circumstances, we live against the battles that try to destroy our hope. Yet we serve a God that is able fill us with this hope when all seems lost.
When life takes it toll it cuts and we leak. Being filled with the hope of God is wonderous but when situations happen, there is a withdraw. You are going to draw from your resources of hope, people are going to draw from your resources of hope, you will find yourself at times digging deep to keep yourself above ground and also others will look at you with eyes of desperate need and you will be in their midst and they are going to need to hear that even through a tragedy, even through a terrible situation hope lies in wait in the future. God promises are never broken.
Jeremiah 31:17
17 There is hope in your future, says the Lord,
But the reality is, when your going through it, you can’t see hope, you don’t see the finish line, all you see is hopelessness. Listen to me this morning church and I say this with love and with a deep heart, there are no hopeless situations; there are only men who have grown hopeless about them. And so, we rely on the promises of God and the victories that are promised to us.
Acts 13:52
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
There is something in the Christian hope that not all the shadows can quench, and that something is the conviction that God is alive. No man is hopeless so long as there is the grace of Jesus Christ; and no situation is hopeless so long as there is the power of God.
There is worry about external things. Many are haunted by the chances and changes of life. It is hard not to worry, for man is characteristically a creature who looks forward to guess and fear. The only end to that worry is the conviction that, whatever happens, God’s hand will never cause His child and needless tear. Things will happen that we cannot understand, but if we are sure enough of God’s love, we can accept with serenity even those things which wound the heart and baffle the mind. Think with me of Job, the tragedy, the lost, the un-relented affliction, the agony, the pain, not understanding what’s happening and yet the bible tells us;
Job 1:22
In all this Job did not sin
There is purpose for everything under the sun.
2nd Point “Realizing the need for obedience”
“peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
There are times in our lives that our peace in the reality of God’s grace is rocked, the peace we should have anchored is uplifted and shaken. So when our peace is touched so is our faith, and now what we once believed in is now in question.
Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie”
When God promised you peace and honor and hope He meant it, God does not lie nor will He alter Himself to do so. And now we are challenged to this truth this morning, who will you believe in your trial, God or the lies from hell? In your circumstances do you see hope or do you see failure, do you see the grace of God or do you see every lie from hell?
There is power in the name of Jesus, our peace, our hope everything we cherish is in Him. Our Savior took it all for our sakes and lost not a once of peace about doing it. Think with me for a moment and consider with me the road to Golgotha.
Look at Luke 23 we are able to see the peace of God in Jesus Christ, He faces Pilate and when questioned about being King He answers and says it is as you say, then Herod He answers him nothing, as He is being taken to Calvary He tells the followers don’t weep for me but for yourselves, then He is crucified and asked for God to forgive them and to top it all off He answers one of the criminals and says today you will be with me in paradise. See beloved Jesus had a peace in the God of heaven even in the face of death because His hope was in the promise of heaven.
Here we have Jesus Christ that had the peace of God and because He had the peace of God He was able to give it to others, beloved where are you with God this morning? Are you able to supply someone else with the peace of God?
What is it that has shaken your faith? What has kept you from seeing the promises of God for your life?
Beloved could it be that you made a long term decision based on a temporary circumstance and now you feel as if you can’t fixed it? What could it have been? As Christians we are called to live according to Gods promises not man’s and so we are forever fighting to keep this truth evident in our lives, many things have tried hinder what we desire to do for God, and I get it but we serve a God who is all powerful how long can we or will we come up with excuses? The most productive thing to do, the most honest thing to do is repent. God I’m sorry and I want to make it right, what I have I want to give. Obedience is key beloved, obedience to God, this is going to help us this morning.
3rd “God’s forgiveness cleanses the vessel”
2 Timothy 2:21
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
We all have a past that we want to get rid of and these are some of the reasons you might be struggling today, wondering if God ever forgave you, maybe you never really encountered the peace of God
2 Timothy 3:5
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
God wants to prepare you for a good work, He wants to cleanse you from all impurity
1 John 1:7
the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Giving to others what you have received, beloved if you never have been engulfed in the forgiveness of Gods grace this alter is the place to start and continue the wonderful relationship. God has a deep desire to cleanse us from our past, make us new again fill us with His grace and hope so we can give it to those that desire it as well.
This wonderful word tells us to go out, beloved as we go out people are taking out and we need God to always fill.
Acts 13:52
And the disciples were filled.
There is nothing more fulfilling than doing the will of God and this morning beloved I invite you to come to this altar submit yourselves to the God of Heaven repent and make it right and be filled with His peace and joy, so you can supply someone else with this precious promise.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. Trust Him and you will see, I dare you to trust Him.
