Sermon - Things We Need... Hope - Littleby Baptist Church - January 24, 2021
"11 So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. 12 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.” – Ephesians 2:11-12
Before we started to follow Jesus, before we learned to Praise our Lord, before we humbled ourselves, before our eyes were open to the Wisdom our Lord is offering, before we were Convicted of the sin in our lives, before we were made Innocent in God’s eyes, we were sinners. Before we knew Jesus, we were lost. Before the awesome gift He has given us, we had no Hope.
Without Hope a person has no direction and some even lose the will to live.
“13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” – Ephesians 2:13
As sinners we are without Jesus and cannot draw near to Him. Through His sacrifice and the repentance of our sins, we are brought near to Him. As we draw near to our Lord, things begin to fall into place. We begin to see the different Things We Need, such as Humbling ourselves before our God. We begin to Praise Him for saving us from an eternity in agony. Our eyes begin to be opened to our Lord’s Wisdom as we continue to let the Holy Spirit lead us.
As we realize that we are no longer alone. That we are no longer Lost, we begin to have Hope.
“13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
With faith in Jesus, who is the God of Hope and who is the one who gives us the Things We Need… Hope. As stated in this verse our God will fill us with all the Joy and Peace we will need, but we are given an overabundance of the Things We Need… Hope. As a follower of Jesus, there should never be a lack of Hope in our hearts or minds.
Through Faith in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we have been given an abundance of Hope. I know it may not feel like it right now and things may seem bleak. We all have those times in our lives that we feel like there is an absence of Joy, that we have no Peace in our hearts, and that Hope is in short supply. When we feel like this it is easy to think that God is too busy to care about our troubles and it can be hard to put our faith in someone we cannot see. We may think that we have to do it all on our own and to put our faith into things we can see, touch, and even explain.
“16 A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be rescued by great strength. 17 The horse is a false hope for safety; it provides no escape by its great power. 18 But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him— those who depend on his faithful love 19 to rescue them from death and to keep them alive in famine. 20 We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield. 21 For our hearts rejoice in him because we trust in his holy name. 22 May your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in you.” – Psalm 33:16-22
A king will see his large army, a warrior will feel his horse… but they are lacking in the true Things We Need… Hope. If they are only trusting in things they can see or touch, in time they will fail. Our Hope does not come from the things of this world. It is only found by putting our faith in the one and only person who freely died so that we may be forgiven of our sins. Our Hope comes from having faith in that little baby born on the first Christmas morning. Our Hope comes from the sacrifice on that cross, our Hope comes from that empty tomb. Our Hope comes from our Messiah, our Lord, Our Savior Jesus Christ.
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” – 1 Peter 1:3-4
We were hopeless sinners with no chance of spending an eternity in Glory with our Lord, until our God showed Great Mercy on us. It is through His sacrifice that we have been grafted into the family of God. Through faith and repentance, we became a new creation; we were born into the Living Hope found in Jesus and His resurrection from the dead.
The Things We Need… Hope is based on the fact that our Lord and Savior Jesus is Alive! When Jesus defeated death, He guaranteed all who have faith in Him a new life, an everlasting life, and the Hope that comes from knowing that our future is secure in Jesus!
The Things We Need… Hope comes directly from our Resurrected Lord!
Peter went on to say that this Living Hope is our inheritance. As an inheritance this Hope is something that is already ours as followers of Jesus. It is a Hope in the salvation we have received and the promised future in Glory. A Hope that cannot be lost! A Hope that cannot be taken away.
He went on to say that our inheritance, the Things We Need… Hope is imperishable. The Hope we receive from our Lord cannot be corrupted by sin. It will not deteriorate in value or effectiveness like everything else in the world we live it. The truth in the matter is that the longer we live, the longer our rap sheet grows, the more we sin… the value of the Things We Need… Hope grows and grows. The Living Hope of Jesus Christ has no limit!
Peter also said that our inheritance of Living Hope is undefiled. There is not stain or imperfection left by the sin in our lives. To those reading this letter when it was first written would have understood this to mean that the Hope of the Lord cannot be made unclean. It is a perfect Hope that is not dependent on someone remaining sacrificially clean, holy, or living without sin. The Things We Need… Hope is pure! It will not tarnish over time, but truly will grow brighter the more we learn about how valuable it is.
The third word Peter used to drive the importance of our inheritance of Hope was unfading. Our Hope from our Lord does not start out perfect and shiny the day we find it and then it slowly fades as times goes on. It is not a freshly minted coin or that brand new toy. The Living Hope that we receive from our Lord is absolutely perfect that day we choose to follow Jesus and it remains perfect until the day we are standing face to face with our Lord.
The Things We Need… Hope is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. The reason our inheritance can be these things, is that it is stored in heaven until we need it. It is there in heaven, kept away from the sin and corruption of this world. It is kept safe beyond the reach of the devil. Our Hope of spending an eternity with our Lord is ready for all who are following Jesus when they need it.
“5 You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” – 1 Peter 1:5
Not only is our Hope protected by God as it is stored in heave, but we too are being guarded by our God. I cannot think of a more powerful reminder of the Things We Need… Hope than being told that we are shielded by the power of God. When persecution hits, when we are facing loss, when we think this life is going to get the best of us, we have the knowledge that our Lord is with us. That our Faith in Jesus has preserved our inheritance and our place in eternity with our God. If things are bleak here on earth, our Hope is found in our Savior forever.
While our Things We Need… Hope is truly found in our Lord and the guarantee that all who follow Him will spend an eternity with God, it also helps us to trust in our God as we walk through the minefield of our lives. The Hope of our Lord is for all of eternity, but it is also for today.
“5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:1-5
Ultimately our Faith in Christ grows as we live out our faith and it ultimately produces the Things We Need… Hope. A Hope that is beyond anything we can ever truly ever understand on this side of Eternity. Paul say that this Hope will not disappoint us, but I would add a little emphasis to that by saying that there is no way possible that our Hope could disappoint us.
This Hope is guaranteed by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, so there is no way it will be anything but exactly what we need when we need it. The Living Hope paves the way for eternity, but also is with us each and every day. Verse five is telling us that God’s Awesome Love that knows no bounds and has no limits, is being poured into us through the work of the Holy Spirit.
This is not a one-time filling of God’s Love; it is a constant flow of the amazing Love that the Creator has for His creation. It is a Love that guarantees the Living Hope, a Love that led to the ultimate sacrifice being given for us.
The Hope that we have from the Love and Sacrifice of our Lord, cannot disappoint. It is brighter and more magnificent than we could ever imagine. Our Hope in Jesus strengthens us during our trials on this earth and points to an eternity in the presence of our Lord.
If we focus on the world and the troubles around us it is easy to become overwhelmed and lost. If we let the trials and tribulations in our life overcome us, they can make us feel like we have no Hope.
Our Hope, it comes from Trusting in our God. Trusting that Jesus is who the Bible says He is. Trusting that His sacrifice has paved our way to eternity. Trusting that nothing and no one can take the gift our Lord has given us, no one can take our Hope away.
The Things We Need… Hope is guaranteed through our Resurrected Lord! If Jesus is your Savior, you have a limitless supply of Hope!
God Bless,
Robert
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