Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Jesus The Gift of God’s Hope │ Msg 44

Transcript

Jesus The Gift of God’s Hope │ Msg 44 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

0:01
Speaker 1: Through the month of December, we have looked at different
0:05
Speaker 1: facets of what Jesus brings to our lives as a
0:13
Speaker 1: result of his coming, first as the babe in the manger,
0:19
Speaker 1: and then ultimately as the Savior, the Lamb of God,
0:23
Speaker 1: and ultimately will bring to us when he returns for
0:28
Speaker 1: us and to take us unto himself. We have looked
0:34
Speaker 1: first at the whole subject of grace, the gift of
0:41
Speaker 1: grace which came with Christ, then the gift of truth
0:46
Speaker 1: in a world filled with so many lies and misinformation
0:53
Speaker 1: and unreliable statements made, Jesus forever represents truth. Last time
1:03
Speaker 1: on Christmas Eve, we thought appropriately of the gift of
1:08
Speaker 1: love that comes with Christ and in Christ that God
1:15
Speaker 1: so loved us, so much did God love the world
1:22
Speaker 1: that he gave us his son. But there is one
1:27
Speaker 1: final facet we're looking at, and that's today. where we
1:31
Speaker 1: think of Jesus who was referred to by the prophet
1:35
Speaker 1: as the hope of Israel. The hope. Hope always is
1:41
Speaker 1: looking ahead. And those many righteous Jews down through the
1:48
Speaker 1: centuries living on tiptoe, anticipating Messiah's coming, fulfilling the promise
1:59
Speaker 1: that he would arrive He would be the hope of
2:03
Speaker 1: Israel and ultimately of the world. And with that in mind,
2:08
Speaker 1: we're thinking of him as the hope. Thanks be to
2:11
Speaker 1: God for his indescribable gift, in this case, the gift
2:16
Speaker 1: of hope. I want to look at three brief sections
2:22
Speaker 1: in the letter to the Romans. One is in Romans 4.
2:27
Speaker 1: The other is in Romans 8. And then finally... a
2:30
Speaker 1: verse from Romans 15, which I want to leave with
2:34
Speaker 1: you for the new year. Romans 4, beginning at verse 18,
2:42
Speaker 1: and then we'll look at Romans 8. A couple of
2:45
Speaker 1: verses right in the center of that magnificent, climactic chapter
2:53
Speaker 1: in the letter to the Romans before we look at
2:55
Speaker 1: one verse in Romans 15. First Romans 4, verse 18
3:03
Speaker 1: through 25. Would you find the passage? Please stand with
3:07
Speaker 1: one another for the reading of the scriptures. I'll be
3:13
Speaker 1: reading from the New Living Translation. And I'll begin with
3:19
Speaker 1: Romans 4, 18. Even when there was no reason for hope,
3:27
Speaker 1: Abraham kept hoping. Believing that he would become the father
3:32
Speaker 1: of many nations. For God had said to him. That's
3:37
Speaker 1: how many descendants you will have. And Abraham's faith. Did
3:43
Speaker 1: not weaken. Even though at about a hundred years of age.
3:50
Speaker 1: He figured his body was as good as dead. And
3:53
Speaker 1: so was Sarah's womb. Abraham believed. never wavered in believing
4:00
Speaker 1: God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger and in this,
4:08
Speaker 1: he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that
4:15
Speaker 1: God is able to do whatever he promises. If I
4:21
Speaker 1: may interrupt, if you're familiar with the old King James,
4:25
Speaker 1: you'll remember the words, that are translated in these two verses,
4:31
Speaker 1: 20 and 21, that he staggered not at the promise
4:36
Speaker 1: of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving
4:41
Speaker 1: glory to God, being fully persuaded that what God had promised,
4:47
Speaker 1: he was able also to perform. Always love those words.
4:51
Speaker 1: What God promises, he performs. He keeps his word. Now,
4:58
Speaker 1: continuing in 22, because of Abraham's faith, God counted him
5:05
Speaker 1: as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it
5:11
Speaker 1: wasn't just for Abraham's benefit. It was recorded for our
5:17
Speaker 1: benefit too. Assuring us that God also, that God will
5:23
Speaker 1: also count us as righteous and If we believe in him,
5:28
Speaker 1: the one who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead.
5:34
Speaker 1: And then turn to Romans 8, verse 24. Next. 8, 24.
5:44
Speaker 1: Which reads, we were given this hope when we were saved.
5:50
Speaker 1: If we already have something, we don't need to hope
5:52
Speaker 1: for it. But if we look forward to something we
5:58
Speaker 1: don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. And
6:09
Speaker 1: one further verse, 1513, which I suggest would make a
6:16
Speaker 1: grand verse of the year for all of us to
6:20
Speaker 1: commit to memory. Romans 1513 says, Paul prays, I pray
6:26
Speaker 1: that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely
6:31
Speaker 1: with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then
6:39
Speaker 1: you will overflow with confident hope through the power of
6:46
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. That is my prayer for all of you.
6:54
Speaker 1: all of us as we stand on the cusp of
7:00
Speaker 1: these next 12 months. That the Lord would fill us
7:06
Speaker 1: with great joy and peace because he is the source
7:10
Speaker 1: of our hope. Please be seated. Before I pray this
7:20
Speaker 1: morning and we receive the offering, let me ask you
7:26
Speaker 1: to call to your mind as you anticipate these months
7:33
Speaker 1: that will unfold before us, beginning tomorrow through the year,
7:44
Speaker 1: what hope you have. In your mind, try to make
7:49
Speaker 1: that as specific as you can. I am hoping for
7:57
Speaker 1: you finish the sentence. I am hoping in the year
8:01
Speaker 1: that you complete it all the way to the period
8:05
Speaker 1: at the end of that sentence. It may be regarding
8:09
Speaker 1: something related to your own life, to the life of
8:13
Speaker 1: someone you love very much, perhaps a family member, maybe
8:20
Speaker 1: a good friend, Or it may be some situation you
8:28
Speaker 1: would love to see the Lord resolve. Some need that
8:37
Speaker 1: he would meet. Some burden he would lift. Some dream
8:47
Speaker 1: that you would love to see accomplished, fulfilled. You hope
8:56
Speaker 1: for that as you wait on the Lord beginning this
9:05
Speaker 1: new year. Let's pray together. For a few moments I
9:12
Speaker 1: want you to remember that particular hope before the Lord
9:19
Speaker 1: as you sit there thinking on this next period of time.
9:35
Speaker 1: How powerful is hope, Lord? What a fuel it is
9:45
Speaker 1: in our lives. How significant, especially when we are on
9:52
Speaker 1: this side of it, and it is yet unfulfilled And
9:57
Speaker 1: we wait. and we trust and we lean on you
10:11
Speaker 1: to do what we're unable to do for ourselves in
10:16
Speaker 1: most of these situations, we are helpless. to make this
10:22
Speaker 1: hope a reality. But with you, nothing is impossible. Nothing.
10:31
Speaker 1: Nothing is too great for you. Nothing that looms on
10:35
Speaker 1: the horizon of a brand new year is even near
10:41
Speaker 1: a challenge to you. You are fully able. And in
10:47
Speaker 1: your good time, And in your own way, you will
10:56
Speaker 1: fulfill your will. Give us the ability to wait on you.
11:09
Speaker 1: Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
11:13
Speaker 1: They will mount up with wings as eagles, run and
11:17
Speaker 1: not be weary. Walk and not faint. May this not
11:26
Speaker 1: be a year of fainting and shrinking, but a year
11:31
Speaker 1: of soaring as we count on you to come to
11:39
Speaker 1: our rescue in these areas that loom large to us.
11:46
Speaker 1: In some cases, they drain us of our energy. They
11:51
Speaker 1: could easily become part of a worry list rather than
11:58
Speaker 1: waiting list, as we trust you for the outcome. Meet
12:06
Speaker 1: the needs that we face as a church. Direct us
12:11
Speaker 1: as a people to be keen to be keenly aware
12:16
Speaker 1: of our times and how needs might be better met.
12:23
Speaker 1: Give us a willingness and a courage, the creativity to
12:28
Speaker 1: move into the future without fear or the need to
12:32
Speaker 1: cling to the way it's always been or the security
12:39
Speaker 1: of the past. As you drive us on, Lord, May
12:45
Speaker 1: we learn new things from you because you are the
12:50
Speaker 1: God of hope. You will meet our needs in your
12:56
Speaker 1: own way and at your own time. We who are
13:01
Speaker 1: parents commit our children to you and we who are
13:05
Speaker 1: grandparents commit our grandchildren to you. All of us have
13:10
Speaker 1: friends whom we care about and Some of them are
13:14
Speaker 1: facing great needs. Some spouses live with their loved one
13:22
Speaker 1: and they find themselves in great need for your energy
13:26
Speaker 1: and strength to press on as they serve alongside their
13:32
Speaker 1: spouse and help him or her with health needs. I
13:37
Speaker 1: pray that you would give extra strength for that. Some
13:42
Speaker 1: have lost a loved one during this past 12 months
13:46
Speaker 1: and we acknowledge the grief today and thank you for
13:50
Speaker 1: healing and the ability to go on beyond it. Remind
13:56
Speaker 1: us that when a man or a woman of God dies,
14:00
Speaker 1: nothing of God dies. You are the same yesterday, today
14:06
Speaker 1: and forever, still strong, still true. still able, still filled
14:15
Speaker 1: with grace and truth. May we lean hard on you.
14:23
Speaker 1: May we give you the glory and the credit when
14:25
Speaker 1: these answers come. And when it doesn't happen as we
14:31
Speaker 1: would have expected, may we be willing to adapt and
14:35
Speaker 1: adjust in the process mature and grow. as we learn
14:41
Speaker 1: the value of adjusting our steps to yours. We commit
14:51
Speaker 1: our year to you. And now today for this offering,
14:56
Speaker 1: we are giving you thanks for the way you meet
14:59
Speaker 1: our needs. We pray those needs will be met yet again,
15:04
Speaker 1: and you will prompt us to be people of generosity
15:08
Speaker 1: and vision. and yes, hope, even in our giving. We
15:14
Speaker 1: commit to you now this offering and these prayers through
15:21
Speaker 1: Christ our Savior. Everyone said amen. An essential ingredient for
15:31
Speaker 1: our survival is hope. It's impossible to overestimate its importance.
15:44
Speaker 1: Amazing as it may seem, we can live up to
15:47
Speaker 1: 70 days without food and almost 10 days without water.
16:00
Speaker 1: And we can live somewhere between six to eight minutes
16:03
Speaker 1: without damage to our body if we are without air.
16:11
Speaker 1: but we simply cannot continue without hope. It's essential for
16:20
Speaker 1: our survival. It's the fuel that keeps us going against
16:27
Speaker 1: insuperable odds and impossible situations. Author Carl Sandburg asked, who
16:39
Speaker 1: can live without hope? Renowned American psychiatrist Carl Menninger described
16:51
Speaker 1: hope as the major weapon against the suicide impulse. British
17:01
Speaker 1: journalist and author G.K. Chesterton wrote, there is one thing
17:11
Speaker 1: which gives radiance to everything. It is the idea of
17:18
Speaker 1: something around the corner. It's hope that makes us stand
17:26
Speaker 1: on tiptoe as we face a brand new year, even
17:32
Speaker 1: though we don't know what one of those 365 days
17:36
Speaker 1: will include. Hope energizes us with anticipation. It literally keeps
17:52
Speaker 1: us going. I read recently of a tragedy that took
17:59
Speaker 1: place years ago off the coast of Massachusetts. An S-4
18:06
Speaker 1: submarine was rammed by a huge ship, the sub sank immediately.
18:18
Speaker 1: Its entire crew was trapped inside that steel prison house
18:25
Speaker 1: of death, sitting silently at the bottom of the Atlantic.
18:33
Speaker 1: Every possible effort was made to rescue the crew at
18:38
Speaker 1: that depth, but each attempt was futile. Near the end
18:47
Speaker 1: of the ordeal, as time was running out, a deep-sea
18:52
Speaker 1: diver was doing everything in his power to find a
18:59
Speaker 1: way for the crew's release. While swimming near this submarine,
19:09
Speaker 1: he heard a tapping on the steel wall of the
19:22
Speaker 1: sunken vessel. He placed his head against it. He listened
19:31
Speaker 1: closely and realized someone was tapping out the Morse code.
19:38
Speaker 1: And in his mind, he spelled out the message being
19:43
Speaker 1: tapped from within. It was repeating the same question again
19:52
Speaker 1: and again. Is there any hope? The crew could survive
20:14
Speaker 1: if it had hope. If there was no hope, they
20:18
Speaker 1: would die before they would run out of air. Strange
20:24
Speaker 1: how we're put together. Our emotions so directly tied to
20:31
Speaker 1: our ability to survive. The modern dictionary definition for hope
20:39
Speaker 1: sounds rather weak and innocuous. It reads, to wish for,
20:51
Speaker 1: to expect, but without certainty. A little later, the definition,
21:00
Speaker 1: to desire very much, but with no real assurance of
21:05
Speaker 1: obtaining your desire. Test that yourself. Ask any student, did
21:14
Speaker 1: you do well on the final exam? The answer will
21:18
Speaker 1: usually be, I sure hope so, as if sort of
21:25
Speaker 1: a flimsy wish. I hope I did well. Ask someone
21:33
Speaker 1: about the new year. Will the new year be better
21:37
Speaker 1: than this old one has been? Well, that's my hope.
21:41
Speaker 1: we say in passing, which means a little more than
21:45
Speaker 1: a shrug or a wish. Sure hope so. What a
21:53
Speaker 1: difference between that response, and I want you to hear this,
22:01
Speaker 1: between that response and the response of one whose hope is.
22:07
Speaker 2: In the Lord based on the words of Scripture. In
22:16
Speaker 2: the Bible, get.
22:17
Speaker 1: This, hope is an indication of certainty, but not yet reality.
22:30
Speaker 1: The kind of hope God gives his own carries with
22:34
Speaker 1: it the ring of assurance. which explains the words regarding
22:41
Speaker 1: Abraham getting way up in years. And the statement is made,
22:46
Speaker 1: he staggered not. He wavered not at the promise of
22:51
Speaker 1: God through unbelief. What promise? You will have a son.
22:58
Speaker 1: You and Sarah will have your own son. Here is Abram,
23:03
Speaker 1: almost 100. She almost 90. Hearing that promise again, he
23:11
Speaker 1: staggered not at the promise through unbelief, but was strong
23:17
Speaker 1: in faith. We could render that strong in hope. Being
23:22
Speaker 1: fully persuaded, there it is again, that sense of assurance,
23:27
Speaker 1: that certainty, fully persuaded that what God had promised, he
23:34
Speaker 1: would also perform. Which often causes me to ask fellow believers,
23:43
Speaker 1: what promises are you claiming for your life today? How
23:51
Speaker 1: valuable it is in our getting to know the Bible
23:55
Speaker 1: better and better to come across those promises that hold
24:03
Speaker 1: out hope. The more you know and the better you
24:10
Speaker 1: know them, the greater will be your survival. Regardless of
24:17
Speaker 1: the times in which you live, the less you know,
24:20
Speaker 1: the greater will be your cynicism and doubt and feelings
24:26
Speaker 1: of fatalism. Listen to the words written originally by the
24:34
Speaker 1: prophet Jeremiah. He writes this in 2911. Listen to the words.
24:48
Speaker 1: For I know the plans that I have for you,
24:51
Speaker 1: says the Lord. They are plans for good and not
24:58
Speaker 1: for disaster. The new American standard renders that they are
25:04
Speaker 1: plans for welfare and not for calamity. to give you
25:10
Speaker 1: a future and a hope. I know the plans that
25:15
Speaker 1: I have for you as you stand on the edge
25:18
Speaker 1: of this new year. They are plans not for your demise,
25:27
Speaker 1: not for giving up, but they are plans that are
25:32
Speaker 1: filled with a future and a hope. Now that promise
25:38
Speaker 1: was made originally to the people of Israel who were
25:42
Speaker 1: on the brink of 70 years of Babylonian captivity. Think
25:48
Speaker 1: of it. As a result of disobedience, the years had
25:53
Speaker 1: stacked up and God decided it's now time to bring
25:58
Speaker 1: the discipline necessary on my people and there will be
26:02
Speaker 1: 70 years of captivity in Babylon. However, it's not the end.
26:10
Speaker 1: How can we survive the captivity that promise is given?
26:14
Speaker 1: Right on the heels of mentioning the captivity in Babylon,
26:19
Speaker 1: he says, I know the plans I have for you.
26:24
Speaker 1: They are plans for good and not disaster. Babylon isn't forever.
26:32
Speaker 1: Captivity isn't terminal. Let me add the difficulties and challenges
26:41
Speaker 1: of the old year are not forever. They're not forever.
26:48
Speaker 1: He has plans for us that are filled with what
26:52
Speaker 1: he calls in a general way a future and a hope.
27:01
Speaker 1: When we apply that to a brand new year that
27:04
Speaker 1: stretches out in front of us What an encouragement. Standing
27:10
Speaker 1: on the edge of it, we look ahead and it's
27:14
Speaker 1: all foggy. We can't see even into one day. We
27:20
Speaker 1: do not know what a day will bring, writes James
27:25
Speaker 1: in his little five chapter letter. We don't know what
27:29
Speaker 1: a day will bring. So we ought to say if
27:32
Speaker 1: we live, and the Lord wills we will do this
27:36
Speaker 1: or that. God being omniscient and omnipotent, that means all-knowing
27:45
Speaker 1: and all-powerful, is fully aware of our new year, and
27:53
Speaker 1: he has in mind a marvelous plan that you and
28:01
Speaker 1: I could never guess. We just think we could because
28:07
Speaker 1: of what we have known from the past. But our
28:10
Speaker 1: God is a God filled with marvelous, marvelous dreams and
28:20
Speaker 1: plans for his own. This attitude of faith mentioned in
28:27
Speaker 1: the fourth chapter of Romans that I mentioned earlier regarding
28:31
Speaker 1: Abraham is a is a terrific series of statements that appear.
28:40
Speaker 1: And in one sense, I'm grateful that we're familiar with them.
28:44
Speaker 1: In another sense, I think the familiarity may have taken
28:48
Speaker 1: some of the edge off. But here is a man
28:52
Speaker 1: who had nothing but hope. In fact, the verse reads
28:57
Speaker 1: in the New Living, verse 18 of chapter 4, Abraham
29:01
Speaker 1: kept hoping. He kept hoping. You see, biblical hope begins
29:11
Speaker 1: with an attitude of faith. Faith in things we are
29:17
Speaker 1: promised regarding the future. Faith is something we choose to
29:23
Speaker 1: have issue by issue. Faith is something God says in
29:31
Speaker 1: the Bible And we believe it is true. And then
29:37
Speaker 1: we stand firm on that truth. Now stay with me here.
29:44
Speaker 1: Hope is an even deeper attitude which grows as faith
29:52
Speaker 1: counts God's promises as true. Hope acts like an anchor
29:59
Speaker 1: to stabilize our lives in the present. That stability gives
30:06
Speaker 1: us meaning and direction and encouragement and optimism. It's never
30:20
Speaker 1: an empty hope. We have a saying in our day
30:25
Speaker 1: of getting our hopes up. Remember that as you were
30:28
Speaker 1: growing up? I had my hopes up and then they're
30:32
Speaker 1: all dashed. I thought of that when a psychologist friend
30:36
Speaker 1: of mine from California who has a real sense of
30:39
Speaker 1: humor sent me this story. He says, there's a touching
30:45
Speaker 1: Christmas story you may want to use. And knowing him,
30:50
Speaker 1: I immediately wondered, do I want to use this? Well,
30:54
Speaker 1: I've decided I will. A couple was in a busy
30:59
Speaker 1: shopping center just before Christmas. The wife suddenly noticed that
31:04
Speaker 1: her husband was missing, so she called his cell phone.
31:08
Speaker 1: The wife asked, where are you? You know, we have
31:12
Speaker 1: a lot to do. He said, honey, do you remember
31:15
Speaker 1: the jewelry store we walked into about 10 years ago
31:20
Speaker 1: and you fell in love with that diamond necklace? I
31:25
Speaker 1: couldn't afford it at that time. And I said, one
31:28
Speaker 1: day I would get it for you. After a pause,
31:33
Speaker 1: little tears started to flow down her cheeks and she
31:38
Speaker 1: got choked up. She said, yes, I do remember that shop,
31:43
Speaker 1: she said. Well, he said, I'm at the gun store
31:46
Speaker 1: right next door to that jewelry shop. She had her
31:53
Speaker 1: hopes up, but he better be real careful where he
32:00
Speaker 1: puts that gun. That's all I've got to say. We
32:05
Speaker 1: have an empty hope. We have a wishful hope. We
32:08
Speaker 1: have a hunch kind of hope. We have an empty
32:12
Speaker 1: sense of hope, but never with God. He never takes
32:17
Speaker 1: advantage of us. Not like that. In no way. Hope
32:23
Speaker 1: is this deep attitude of a sense of confidence that
32:27
Speaker 1: God is at work and while I cannot describe the
32:32
Speaker 1: details of how he is working in planning the future,
32:36
Speaker 1: but the only thing I know is this, he's at
32:39
Speaker 1: work and his plan is for a future and a
32:43
Speaker 1: hope that will energize me as the year unfolds. I
32:51
Speaker 1: stand on that. And it has nothing to do with age.
32:57
Speaker 1: It has nothing to do with marital status. It has
33:00
Speaker 1: nothing to do with experience from the past. It has
33:06
Speaker 1: everything to do with the living God. Now, I want
33:10
Speaker 1: you to put your thinking caps on and I want
33:13
Speaker 1: to travel with you, albeit briefly, through three major Hebrew
33:20
Speaker 1: terms that convey hope in a little different way from
33:28
Speaker 1: each other. I want to develop a brief word study
33:33
Speaker 1: from each, and you will be able to draw on
33:36
Speaker 1: this in the year to come as you call it
33:40
Speaker 1: to mind. You won't remember the Hebrew word, but it's
33:43
Speaker 1: the only term I have to use as I refer
33:46
Speaker 1: to it and explain it. The first is the Hebrew
33:51
Speaker 1: term from the Old Testament, Qavah, Q-A-V-A-H. Kava. This is
34:00
Speaker 1: hope that requires waiting. When you come across kava in
34:08
Speaker 1: the Old Testament, you know right away that this is
34:12
Speaker 1: a waiting hope. Hope that requires waiting, and in the
34:18
Speaker 1: process of waiting, we are strengthened. That's the word used,
34:26
Speaker 1: by the way, in Jeremiah 29 and 11. To give
34:31
Speaker 1: you a future and a hope. You see it in
34:35
Speaker 1: the Hebrew, that means I must wait for it. It's
34:40
Speaker 1: not going to come as soon as the clock strikes
34:44
Speaker 1: midnight and the year begins. No, there's a waiting period.
34:49
Speaker 1: There's a strengthening period. during the wait, and as you wait,
34:55
Speaker 1: you cultivate a strengthening of your faith in the one
35:01
Speaker 1: who has planned our future. Look, for example, turn from
35:04
Speaker 1: Romans back to Isaiah chapter 40. Very familiar words as
35:11
Speaker 1: you get toward the end of this 40th chapter. That
35:18
Speaker 1: word appears at the end of chapter 40 in Isaiah.
35:24
Speaker 1: And I want you to see how it reads. I'm
35:27
Speaker 1: looking at Isaiah 40, 29 to 31. Follow along. The
35:34
Speaker 1: he is God. God gives power to the weak and
35:40
Speaker 1: strength to the powerless. Keep reading. Even youths will become
35:46
Speaker 1: weak and tired. Even young men will fall in exhaustion,
35:52
Speaker 1: but Look closely. Those who chava in the Lord will
36:00
Speaker 1: find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.
36:07
Speaker 1: They will run and not grow weary. They will walk
36:12
Speaker 1: and not faint. Harris, Archer, and Waltke find references to
36:20
Speaker 1: Hebrew terms refer to this As faith that is strengthened
36:25
Speaker 1: through testing and in the process, character is developed. Again,
36:34
Speaker 1: faith that is strengthened in the process through testing. So
36:43
Speaker 1: as we're waiting, we're being tested. As the testing runs
36:48
Speaker 1: its course, character is developed. It is used frequently in
36:55
Speaker 1: the Psalms, writes Richard Girdlestone. In the Psalms, it is
37:01
Speaker 1: used frequently signifying the straining of the mind in a
37:06
Speaker 1: certain direction that is waiting with an expectant attitude. I
37:14
Speaker 1: love that. No one ever said it better than the
37:19
Speaker 1: Apostle Paul. If we look forward to something we don't
37:24
Speaker 1: yet have, we must wait confidently. What a great verse
37:33
Speaker 1: to take with us into the new year. Romans 8, 25.
37:40
Speaker 1: You have a hope? You certainly do. All of us
37:44
Speaker 1: could name at least one thing. Most of us could
37:47
Speaker 1: name many things we're hoping for. As you lay it
37:51
Speaker 1: before the living God, your hope rests with him, and
37:56
Speaker 1: you leave it with him as you wait. You don't worry,
38:01
Speaker 1: you wait. And as the testing comes over time, and
38:07
Speaker 1: time itself is a test, you wait for the unfolding
38:13
Speaker 1: of the answer. Great verse to take with us. That's kavah, Q-A-V-A-H.
38:23
Speaker 1: The next word, interesting, doesn't sound at all like that one,
38:26
Speaker 1: is yakal, Y-A-C-A-H-L. Yakal. This is a hope that requires enduring,
38:40
Speaker 1: which teaches us patience. The first one required waiting, remember?
38:47
Speaker 1: This word, yakal, requires endurance. It teaches us patience. Not surprising,
39:01
Speaker 1: it occurs a number of times in the book of Job,
39:06
Speaker 1: always signifying anticipation while undergoing pressure and trials. You remember Job,
39:18
Speaker 1: of course, His name is synonymous with patience. Even if
39:27
Speaker 1: it meant facing death, I don't know if you remember
39:32
Speaker 1: reading the words. You can turn to them if you wish.
39:35
Speaker 1: Job 13, 15. This will be a familiar line to
39:45
Speaker 1: many of you who have memorized it. Job 13, 15,
39:58
Speaker 1: though he slay me, I will hope in him. Has
40:05
Speaker 1: in mind a long period of patient endurance. Job modeled
40:12
Speaker 1: that so well. Speaking of that, James 5, 10, 11,
40:19
Speaker 1: refers to him as a man of great endurance. How
40:27
Speaker 1: rare is the quality of patience. Hope develops that quality.
40:36
Speaker 1: And as it unfolds, God in the process, Job says,
40:43
Speaker 1: he might kill me, but I have no other hope.
40:46
Speaker 1: I'm going to die. Hope in him. Bruce Waltke writes,
40:53
Speaker 1: this Yachal hope is not a pacifying wish of the imagination,
40:59
Speaker 1: which drowns out troubles, nor is it uncertain, but rather
41:04
Speaker 1: the solid ground of expectation for the righteous. Let me
41:13
Speaker 1: pause here and warn all of us about a very
41:19
Speaker 1: trendy tendency on the part of our culture. That whatever
41:28
Speaker 1: we get can be gotten quickly and there is no
41:36
Speaker 1: reason to wait long for it because if it's worth having,
41:40
Speaker 1: it's worth having now. Eugene Peterson addresses that in a
41:46
Speaker 1: book appropriately titled a long obedience in the same direction.
41:52
Speaker 1: I quote Peterson's words. We assume now that if something
41:56
Speaker 1: can be done at all, it can be done quickly
42:01
Speaker 1: and efficiently. Our retention spans have been conditioned by 30-second commercials.
42:10
Speaker 1: Our sense of reality has been flattened by 30-page abridgments.
42:17
Speaker 1: There's a great market for religious experience in our world.
42:20
Speaker 1: There's little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue. Religion
42:29
Speaker 1: in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset.
42:33
Speaker 1: It's a great line. The tourist mindset. A visit to
42:41
Speaker 1: an attractive site when we have adequate leisure. For some,
42:47
Speaker 1: it's a weekly jaunt to church. For others, occasional visits
42:54
Speaker 1: to special services. Some with a bent for religious entertainment
43:02
Speaker 1: plan their lives around special events like retreats and rallies
43:06
Speaker 1: and conferences. We go to see a new personality, to
43:11
Speaker 1: hear a new truth, to get a new experience. The
43:15
Speaker 1: religious life is defined as the latest and the newest.
43:20
Speaker 1: Whether it's Zen or faith healing, human potential or parapsychology,
43:26
Speaker 1: successful living, choreography in the chancel or Armageddon, whatever. We'll
43:35
Speaker 1: try anything until something else comes along. One day he
43:43
Speaker 1: has a passion for the immediate Our day has a
43:46
Speaker 1: passion for the immediate and the casual. Everyone is in
43:52
Speaker 1: a hurry. And then he wraps it up with a
43:56
Speaker 1: strong statement. Get this. The Christian life cannot mature under
44:03
Speaker 1: such conditions and in such ways. Let me tell you something,
44:11
Speaker 1: lest you haven't realized it here lately. We fight that
44:19
Speaker 1: tendency here at Stonebriar Church. We're not attracted to the trendy.
44:27
Speaker 1: I don't say that suggesting that we have an old
44:32
Speaker 1: view of church. It isn't about that. We have a
44:36
Speaker 1: long view regarding the walk of faith. We're not in
44:43
Speaker 1: a hurry. We're not expecting a sensational. We're not holding
44:51
Speaker 1: out a promise for the sudden overnight success of something.
44:58
Speaker 1: I've lived a long time. I've seen very, very few
45:02
Speaker 1: overnight successes. Success takes a long time. In the process
45:10
Speaker 1: of growing and learning, patience and endurance are cultivated. Kava
45:18
Speaker 1: requires waiting. Yachal requires enduring. It teaches us patience. There's
45:27
Speaker 1: one other. Batach. B-A-T-A-C-H. Batach. This word requires trusting. And
45:39
Speaker 1: by the way, when we trust as we should, the
45:43
Speaker 1: benefit is relief. we're relieved. Batak is a hope that
45:55
Speaker 1: relies on God to provide, which requires trust and leaves
46:03
Speaker 1: it with him, and he as a result gives relief.
46:09
Speaker 1: Such hope brings joy and peace, and by the way,
46:14
Speaker 1: a restful night's sleep. I was looking at Psalm 4.8
46:23
Speaker 1: the other day, and I've known of the verse much
46:31
Speaker 1: of my life, but I had never connected it with
46:36
Speaker 1: this word batak until I looked at it in the original,
46:40
Speaker 1: and there it is. It's in a word that I
46:43
Speaker 1: wouldn't have guessed would have been translated that. Look at 4.8.
46:47
Speaker 1: Psalm 4, 8, especially if you have trouble sleeping. Now,
46:53
Speaker 1: look around. You'll see those that have trouble. They're looking up.
46:56
Speaker 1: Psalm 4, 8. All of us do at times, so
47:00
Speaker 1: there's no big deal in that. We all have turned
47:03
Speaker 1: and tossed over things, not able to get to sleep
47:07
Speaker 1: or to stay asleep. Look at this. Verse 8 of
47:12
Speaker 1: Psalm 4. In peace I will lie down and sleep.
47:18
Speaker 1: Don't stop reading. For you alone, O Lord, this version reads,
47:27
Speaker 1: will keep me safe. This is the word batach. For
47:36
Speaker 1: in you alone, I hope, and because of that sense
47:41
Speaker 1: of trust, when I lie down, I'm leaving the day
47:48
Speaker 1: to him. I'm trusting him for the morrow, whatever it
47:54
Speaker 1: will bring. I'm relying on him to provide the safety
48:02
Speaker 1: that is necessary, even after I've watched the evening news
48:08
Speaker 1: and been troubled over the presence of terrorism and the
48:15
Speaker 1: encroaching danger of it as it seems to feed on crowds.
48:22
Speaker 1: And knowing there are often so many occasions in our
48:29
Speaker 1: lives where we're a part of a crowd, a ball game,
48:34
Speaker 1: a New Year's Eve gathering, a church service, some kind
48:42
Speaker 1: of celebration. It seems as though terrorism feeds on that
48:48
Speaker 1: more lives can be taken in a crowded setting. And
48:52
Speaker 1: you find yourself getting uneasy. And if you're not careful,
48:58
Speaker 1: you want to stay away from all social engagements. That's
49:02
Speaker 1: no way to live. He says here, when it comes
49:07
Speaker 1: to lying down and sleeping, it's hope that helps me rest.
49:16
Speaker 1: A good night's rest is a time far more beneficial
49:23
Speaker 1: than an hour's reading of the Scriptures. And you can
49:27
Speaker 1: quote me. I know at the moment it may sound heretical.
49:31
Speaker 1: I heard that from a very godly mentor. And when
49:35
Speaker 1: I first heard it, I thought, I think he meant
49:37
Speaker 1: something else. But he meant that. Sometime it makes more
49:42
Speaker 1: sense when you're exhausted simply to lie down and get
49:46
Speaker 1: a good night's sleep rather than keep fighting the fight
49:52
Speaker 1: or keep at some study that you're involved in. The
49:55
Speaker 1: Lord says he alone will fulfill my hope. He'll keep
50:01
Speaker 1: me safe. You'll see it again in 27 verse 3.
50:08
Speaker 1: Same word, batach, appears there. Though a mighty army surrounds me,
50:16
Speaker 1: my heart will not be afraid. Look at this, even
50:20
Speaker 1: if I am attacked, I will hope, this Bible reads,
50:24
Speaker 1: I will remain confident. It's the word batach. I will hope,
50:32
Speaker 1: I will hope that solid security And I urge you
50:39
Speaker 1: to make the new year a worry-free year. Now, wouldn't
50:45
Speaker 1: that be novel? Truth be told, some of you have
50:53
Speaker 1: to admit that your worry list is longer than your
50:56
Speaker 1: prayer list. You gain nothing in the worry. You gain
51:03
Speaker 1: everything in the prayer. Worry about nothing, pray about everything.
51:08
Speaker 1: Philippians 4 tells us. And here he says, even if
51:13
Speaker 1: there is the threat of an attack, I have hope
51:16
Speaker 1: in my God. So there's hope in waiting, which strengthens us.
51:21
Speaker 1: There is hope in enduring, which brings us patience. And
51:27
Speaker 1: there's hope that requires trusting in this case. And the
51:31
Speaker 1: result is relief. Relief. Well, let me pass along a
51:37
Speaker 1: little comment My sister and I were having a dialogue
51:42
Speaker 1: quite some time ago, and she asked me, what's your
51:44
Speaker 1: favorite feeling? And I hadn't ever thought about that before.
51:51
Speaker 1: And being driven as I am, I said accomplishment. And
51:57
Speaker 1: she smiled and said, that's good. It's not the best feeling,
52:03
Speaker 1: but it's good. And so I looked at her as
52:08
Speaker 1: younger brothers look at older sisters. She's much older than
52:12
Speaker 1: I am, I'd add. Just two years. I said, what
52:18
Speaker 1: do you think is better than accomplishment? She said, oh,
52:21
Speaker 1: and you'll agree with me. Relief. She's right. Is there
52:29
Speaker 1: any better feeling than relief? Think about it. When I
52:39
Speaker 1: trust in the living God and place my hope in
52:43
Speaker 1: him for that loved one that I can't fix, or
52:48
Speaker 1: that adult child that has moved in a direction I
52:52
Speaker 1: would never have wanted for him or her, and I
52:58
Speaker 1: can't manipulate a change, You know, when you get to
53:07
Speaker 1: be our age, or my age, you tend to offer
53:13
Speaker 1: unrequested advice. I mean, with this enormous wisdom, why wouldn't
53:19
Speaker 1: it want to be known by others? Or so we think.
53:24
Speaker 1: And I read just last night that unrequested advice comes
53:29
Speaker 1: across as criticism. I think that's true. How about a
53:38
Speaker 1: new year where we no longer offer unrequested advice? How
53:45
Speaker 1: about a new year where we decide our trust is
53:49
Speaker 1: in the living God to move in that life, to
53:53
Speaker 1: bring about a change that we can't manipulate, we can't
53:59
Speaker 1: make happen. We're going to trust God for that. You
54:04
Speaker 1: know what? If I read that original word, batach, correctly,
54:10
Speaker 1: I find relief. I'm relieved. I'm not responsible for changing
54:18
Speaker 1: her or him. It was a great day in my
54:22
Speaker 1: life as a pastor that I gave up the need
54:26
Speaker 1: to fix anybody. I often struggled after a message, wondering,
54:32
Speaker 1: you know, did they hear me? Are they going to change?
54:37
Speaker 1: And I finally realized they're not going to remember tomorrow
54:41
Speaker 1: what I said today. Many of them. And that's not
54:44
Speaker 1: my responsibility. That's yours. So if you want to remember
54:51
Speaker 1: these things, it's up to you. If you don't, it's
54:56
Speaker 1: up to you. My job is to do the very
54:59
Speaker 1: best I can to communicate it and to leave it
55:02
Speaker 1: with you. There's relief in that. I trust God to
55:06
Speaker 1: use the information. Let me tell you two things we
55:12
Speaker 1: don't know about the new year, and then I'll give
55:15
Speaker 1: you a verse and we're through. Two things we don't
55:17
Speaker 1: know about the new year. Number one, we don't know
55:21
Speaker 1: what a day will include. You really don't. You may
55:28
Speaker 1: not be here in a month. You really may not.
55:32
Speaker 1: You may be gone. I may be gone. You and
55:36
Speaker 1: I may live through the next year with great health
55:39
Speaker 1: and great joy and great accomplishment. Because of grace, either
55:46
Speaker 1: could happen. So we don't know what the day will bring.
55:51
Speaker 1: We haven't a clue. So don't worry about it. Your
55:57
Speaker 1: worry is a waste. Why are you worried about January 15th? Now,
56:06
Speaker 1: April 15 is another matter, but January 15 or, you know,
56:14
Speaker 1: do what you're responsible for doing and leave the results
56:18
Speaker 1: with God. Leave it. Relax. Rest in him. The second
56:26
Speaker 1: thing about the new year, we know that each day
56:30
Speaker 1: we have a choice. Every day we have a choice.
56:34
Speaker 1: before you put your little footsies on that floor in
56:38
Speaker 1: the morning for the first day of the year, you
56:42
Speaker 1: have a choice. It can be a day when you
56:48
Speaker 1: will let your imagination go to work and take charge
56:52
Speaker 1: of you and rule your life and fill you with
56:55
Speaker 1: fear and what could be the worst case. Or you
57:01
Speaker 1: could say, Lord, These hours are unlived. I have no
57:08
Speaker 1: clue what they will include. But I want you to
57:11
Speaker 1: know I'm yours. I'm trusting you. And I will walk
57:15
Speaker 1: with you. I will rely on you. But I will
57:20
Speaker 1: not worry about these things that have been so much
57:24
Speaker 1: a part of my worry world. You see, the false
57:32
Speaker 1: securities are always there. Your tendency will be to rely
57:35
Speaker 1: on yourself or other people or your income or your
57:46
Speaker 1: religious activities. All of that's valueless. Only the living God.
57:54
Speaker 1: Now the verse. The verse again. Go back to Romans
57:58
Speaker 1: where we started, okay? Turn, will you? I want to
58:02
Speaker 1: hear a few pages out there. Romans 15, 13. I
58:06
Speaker 1: want you to put in the margin of your Bible
58:12
Speaker 1: verse for 2000. And you put the date right here
58:17
Speaker 1: for the next year. I'm going to leave the date blank.
58:23
Speaker 1: So you're going to put the date in there for
58:26
Speaker 1: whatever you wish. Look at 15, 13. This is my verse.
58:32
Speaker 1: for us in the new year. 1513, I pray that God,
58:39
Speaker 1: the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy
58:48
Speaker 1: and peace because you trust in him. Then you will
58:56
Speaker 1: overflow with confident hope Through the power of the Holy Spirit.
59:01
Speaker 1: That is a fabulous verse of scripture. I promise you.
59:05
Speaker 1: I will have it memorized by next Sunday. I promise. you.
59:10
Speaker 1: I will quote that verse next Sunday. I want that
59:14
Speaker 1: to be my verse for this new year. And I
59:18
Speaker 1: would suggest that it could be yours as well. Three
59:23
Speaker 1: key words will make a difference. Waiting, which results in strength. Enduring,
59:33
Speaker 1: which results in patience. Trusting, which results in resting. Finding relief.
59:46
Speaker 1: Great relief. I'd like us to bow our heads for
59:53
Speaker 1: the last time we're together this year. I'd like you
59:58
Speaker 1: to close your eyes. Look back just far enough for
1:00:04
Speaker 1: you to realize this old year has had its challenges, trials,
1:00:16
Speaker 1: really some tough, tough tests. And then I want you
1:00:25
Speaker 1: to turn around in your mind and go in the
1:00:28
Speaker 1: other direction and look ahead. This brand new, unlived 12 months.
1:00:41
Speaker 1: These 52 weeks spread out in front of us. How
1:00:47
Speaker 1: great is our God? Strong and powerful. full of love
1:00:55
Speaker 1: and mercy and truth and hope. If you've never met
1:01:06
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ, no wonder it's hard for you
1:01:11
Speaker 1: to even look ahead because you can't imagine life, live
1:01:16
Speaker 1: like I've described it. See, I teach Christians about the
1:01:21
Speaker 1: Christian life. But you may feel left out because you're
1:01:26
Speaker 1: not a Christian. What a grand way to end the
1:01:31
Speaker 1: old year and begin the new one is to give
1:01:35
Speaker 1: your heart to Christ. I don't know how many times
1:01:40
Speaker 1: I have to correct people. They all want to know
1:01:42
Speaker 1: why I don't give an invitation. I give one every Sunday.
1:01:46
Speaker 1: I just don't ask you to walk forward and put
1:01:49
Speaker 1: on display what is a very, very personal decision. that
1:01:55
Speaker 1: time will prove whether it's on display or not. So
1:01:59
Speaker 1: I ask you to make the decision right where you're sitting.
1:02:02
Speaker 1: This is an invitation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:02:09
Speaker 1: Trust in Him. Lean on Him. Take Jesus as your
1:02:18
Speaker 1: own Savior. Turn your life over to Him. Let us
1:02:24
Speaker 1: help you in the journey from earth to heaven as
1:02:27
Speaker 1: you walk this way with us. But this is your
1:02:32
Speaker 1: moment to turn. Make this a whole new beginning. Help
1:02:41
Speaker 1: us all, our Father, as we wait, leaning hard on
1:02:47
Speaker 1: you in the process, as we endure whatever may be
1:02:51
Speaker 1: the tests. during the time of waiting, and also as
1:02:58
Speaker 1: we trust. Deliver us this new year from a world
1:03:05
Speaker 1: of worry and habitual churning, uneasiness about what if, what if,
1:03:15
Speaker 1: and may we turn our attention to the great hope
1:03:19
Speaker 1: we have in you And claim the relief that is ours.
1:03:27
Speaker 1: For our hope is in the Lord. And in the
1:03:32
Speaker 1: Lord alone. Thank you for getting us through an old year.
1:03:38
Speaker 1: Now we anticipate your strength. As we move into the
1:03:43
Speaker 1: new year. For the glory of Christ and in his
1:03:49
Speaker 1: name we pray. And all his people said. Amen. Amen.
1:03:56
Speaker 1: See you next year.
1:04:01
Speaker 3: The preceding message, Jesus, the Gift of God's Hope, was
1:04:04
Speaker 3: copyrighted in 2017 and 2018, and the sound recording was
1:04:08
Speaker 3: copyrighted in 2018 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights
1:04:14
Speaker 3: are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use
1:04:19
Speaker 3: is strictly prohibited.