This message originally delivered September 1, 1991.
Father, you've told us that you're a God and that bow your ear down to us. Do you hear even our faintest cry? Here's a group of your people meeting together. And it's our desire to not just be religious, to not just hear Your word in the RET that maybe we've heard it for long periods of time. But to have our heart open in the spirit, do surgery through the Word. Help us Father, to understand life, to understand ourselves, especially though to understand you in a greater, more appreciative way. As a result of studying Your Word, please give strength to all of us those that myself who's preaching to those who need to hear. Feed us from Your Word, strengthen us, help us, we just, we come to you asking that you would help us with our lives as we consider the great truths of Your Word. We pray this in Jesus name, amen. The greatest Christmas I ever had as a child is unmistakably clear. It was the Christmas wish I was a seventh grader. I'm not sure how old I was probably 18 or 19 At that time, but it was the Christmas in which I was in seventh grade. And it was the reason it was so memorable Is this some of the members of my family had bought earlier in the year at some a Honda Honda 50 and a Honda 70 mini bike and I absolutely had my heart set on getting a Honda 50 mini bike I started asking and negotiating and and you know canvassing and all the different things that you would do to try to get 150 And I wanted one so badly. And my hope was set on that as well as begging and pleading and all the other things that go along with it. And I wanted that so badly. Now you know how it was over the years as a kid I don't know if future if you were like me, but I'm talking about when I say the greatest Christmas you realize I'm not talking very spiritually like the greatest Christmas like gave something away. I'm talking about the year that I got something. But yeah, how does a kid how you could always sort of find out and feel out at what you were getting? Do you ever notice that I remember feeling the packages underneath my mom's bed and things like that. Remember? Well, this one Christmas I think what made this Christmas so great is this Christmas, I did not know what I was getting. And when we had our family time together over at the Shaw's house, I seem to get a lot of good gifts and that was a bad sign. Because if I was gonna get 150 I wouldn't be getting any other good gifts. Now there was one other solid person that I could always count on if I was gonna get something great and that was Dale, my cousin. I always knew that he would spill the beans he always did. You always told me long in advance. The only thing is this Christmas. He didn't do it. He also received a minibike that Christmas and he had already gotten it from his parents earlier that morning. And he was telling me he goes yeah, what you're gonna like what you got but it's not quite like mine and it's not quite as nice as mine. And so I automatically thought Well, that can't be a minibike. I just thought that in my mind. So anyway, all the gifts were done. We opened up all the packages, and they said Alright, now it's time for the turkey dinner and all that is and someone called me into the kitchen I'll never forget they said let's go and I was trying to make me I said with great neon toys like enacted mature about this. I can't share my emotions. But I was just heartsick that I didn't get it. What I didn't know is why was in putting ice in the glasses. They were bringing a Honda mini bike up the stairs. And I remember walking back out and laid my eyes on that Honda mini bike and absolutely, just loving it. Now, I tell you that story because we are concluding our series on the Bema Seat these last two Sundays now this Sunday and next and will be concluded with the Bema. And that is where I'm concluding. Because the greatest part of the Bema is now now you're going to hear about it. And you know what it is it has to do with hope, hope and the Christian life, the Bema in regards to hope having a living hope. And what I just told you was a story of hope. But it's not the kind of hope that is called toward the Bible because it was like this. I wonder if I'm gonna get it. Now we'll try to find out from Dale, if I was gonna get I tried to guess if I was getting I didn't have any clues that year what I was gonna get. So that's really not hope because that was sort of a hope. Like, I'm not sure what's going to happen. That's often what you think of when you have hope people think of hope and a really wrong sense of unbiblical sense. I've used the illustration before of being at the free throw line in a in a crucial game in college and and whenever it was right down to the last couple minutes and you really needed to hit the free throw something always happened to me and that is this I got a little tingles for about my wrist up to my shoulders. And I don't know why but if it was early in the game, it wasn't that it didn't matter too much. And sometimes there were certain times even when there was pressure, you didn't feel it. But I would have that ball and I'd be shooting knowing I needed to make those free throws and the thought would be through mine. I hope I make it and in those days I would pray and I would whoever they want you to make that free throw. Okay? So I think my theology has changed a little since then. But hope is a very important, important part of the Christian life much more important, and I think we give it credit for and I want you to look at verse 19, of First Corinthians 15. And consider what this says, Look what it says, If only First Corinthians 1519, if only for this life, we have hope in Christ. We are to be pitied more than all men and stay right there a second. Paul says this, he's now he's not talking about the Bema. Here, I hope you realize, but he's talking about something very close to the Bema. He is talking about the resurrection. Obviously, without the resurrection, there's not going to be a Bema. But he's talking about me. And by the way, the Bina is in this passage, the resurrection the beam are so close that one of the time you get to the 58th verse, look at verse 50, he come to Bhima. And look what it says. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm, let nothing move you always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. That's a reference to the Bema because we have the hope of the resurrection, because we know that when we die, that that we're gonna give another body a resurrected body that's gonna be much greater and we'll give account of the things done in the body. Remember, as you suffer, as you struggle as you serve the Lord, it's never in vain. But back to the point here about the verse nine tennis he says this, If only in this life, we have hope. And think about this, because this is such a major impact of the Beamer. Remember, we need to be Bhima brained, and so many Christians aren't today, we have lived without one of the major motivations that should be in our life. And that is this, not just because I love God, not just because I fear God, but also I strive to get an incorruptible crown, the Olympians do it to get a corruptible crown, I do it to get an incorruptible crown. The Bible talks about this, he's I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished the course Henceforth there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me. Now, if you've been here for the series at all, you'll know that I am amazed, hundreds of references hundreds more inferences to the Bema. It has to be a major impact on our life, Heaven will not be the same for everyone. It will not be a matter of oh, we're just all equal and heaven. No quick chance. The Bible says some will receive gold, precious stones, silver, precious stones, others would air stubble, and if they're burned up, you'll still be saved. But your life will be absolutely useless in the sense of how you lived it as a Christian. So you see what a great boy, if only in this life, we have hope in Christ, we're of all men to be most pity. Why would we be doing singing? Could we sing that song because he lives I can face tomorrow. If there wasn't a resurrection, if there wasn't a Bema if there wasn't a final reward, if all there was was the that, hey, we just got to get by in this life and just be successful in this life. That's all there is to it. We will be of all men to be most Penny, what kind of Savior would there be that once we die, there was no more part of his salvation death separated us from him. You say? Well, what a great Savior we have. Now with that in mind, I want you to consider something else from Proverbs 23. Concerning the Bema by the way, you will find the beam all through the Bible everywhere. Jesus talks about it constantly. And in Proverbs chapter 23. I want you to see verse 17. And look what he says. It says here. Do not let your heart envy sinners. One of the great ways to overcome temptation to give to give in to the lust of the flesh to give into to the ways of the world is this. Don't let your heart envy senators. Oh, great, great. How am I supposed to do that? Mr. Proper, brighter here, but what are you going to tell me to do? Isn't an amazing he tells you to do the same thing. But Paul says and that Peter says and that Jesus says one of the ways to overcome temptation. The great way is this look, no, it's Don't let your heart envy sinners. Always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. All right, be zealous for keep it for you the fact that there was a God that we must fear what's the point because look at verse 18. There is surely a future hope for you. And your hope will not be cut off. The great promise is this. Hey, don't let your heart in the center's don't start to go the way of the wicked. I was as I normally do. My customers got up early this morning left went to a restaurant and this morning I can usually get started to getting the pattern of I've done it for many years now. Today. All the people that came into the restaurant early because they were there earlier than normal where people go into the drags the drag racing the national drags here in Clermont, Indiana. and not to sound judgmental than any one group of sports, sporting goods, sporting type people are worse than another. But this seemed to be an unusually Tough crowd. And one of the things that I seem to notice as I was sitting there reflecting on this message and going over and reading the scriptures and had my coffee, my eggs I did this was just Do you think my heart is this my heart is so much at the surface of College Park today, I have so much want people to love God more as a result of being here, I so much want people to be motivated the way they live the rest of their life this week, I want them to be encouraged and strengthened. I myself want to get something out of this message and grow, I want to lift up my voice praising God, I want to say all other things that I could do today don't have the priority that that worshiping God and lifting up my voice to my God, who I love has, I want this to be number one. And I noticed with these guys that all the conversation and the talk and the cursing, and the coarseness and the and the vulgar things said to the waitresses, and the attitude that was going on. Here it is don't let your heart envy centers don't don't just live as just giving it anything you want would always be zealous for the fear of the Lord, because there's a future hope your hope will not be cut off. You know what that saying there? Other people's hopes are cut off, there is no hope for the wicked. That's one of the great themes of the Old Testament. Don't let your heart and be sinners because their hopes gonna be cut off. Surely one day bang, it's gonna be over no more hope, eternal damnation for them. So you see, for the believer who loves Jesus Christ and desires to live for him, Your life should be marked by hope. Hope should be a major thought in our lives. One of the reasons we shouldn't be going around like this, it's so discouraging to see Christians just all the time defeated and discouraged and seeing complaints and trouble coming out of their mouths this, Christians have missed hope. We don't know what it is anymore. One of the reasons we don't want to do this anymore is because we're so focused on this life, as long as you can't discount the Bema. As long as you cut the next life out, you will lose hope. As long as you just focus on yourself and on this life, you will lose hope. It's a law of diminishing return, the more you give, just trying to get something out of this life, the less satisfied you're going to be. And the more you're gonna have to try to give more. It's a cruel taskmaster to try to live as the Christian life forgetting the Bema you can't do it. Now I want us to take the next couple of weeks to hit this word whole pipe is planning on this being one message on hope. But I'll tell you it is so good. It has got such a grip on me that we're there's there's no way I can race through this without and do justice to the whole thing. Let's consider first off a history of the word hope. Do you know that in the great cultures and religions of the world to get this, there was no such thing as having a living hope? I don't know. One of the things that I'm afraid of is that we're going to become so familiar with holy things that we forget to think about the blessings of the gospel. Though religions of the world don't have a living hope. Listen, man had to stand without hope before hostile forces of guilt and death. Seneca, one of the Greek religious leader said hope defined is uncertain good. In other words, there's there's maybe there's some good out there. Maybe there isn't. It's uncertain. I'm not sure. deification in mortality promised by mystery religions were considered human pipe dreams. Imagine that. That's why the resurrection the Bema are all tied in together because without the resurrected Christ who's conquered death and there is nothing more than this life you might as well just for glyphs for go for all the gusto. When you get to the Old Testament, you say the word hope there are four main verbs for hope. But the idea of them is this. It's it's like, Michelangelo is that David, Michelangelo's David where he is stretching out towards God and God is stretching out towards him. The idea that okay, that's not it. Okay, you're shaking as though thank you for telling me. But anyway, you know that you know what I'm talking about those guys that are stretching out like the Greek type God figures. Forget this point illustration. All right. But anyway, the idea here is this to stretch out. It's like the runner at the tape stretching as far as they can. But the idea is to stretch out towards or too long after the idea is to wait long for something. That's the That's the word hope in the Old Testament. There's 146 references in the Old Testament to hope half of them are secular, exactly half of them, and half of them have to do with God. Listen, the half that are secular always say that hope is useless. For instance, it says in Proverbs 11, seven of fools hope will come to nothing. The day they put their hope enriches will be disappointed. You see, it always means this you put your hope in things outside of God and is always going to be disappointed that they're going to fly away as if they had wings, your riches will the scripture says don't put your hope in them. But the other half of the usage of the word hope 73 times it's always of the faithful that is God's people. And it always is this it's rooted in and founded in one one object and that is your way. God. The faithful God's people all through the Old Testament had hope they had promised they had certain expectations, they believe something greater was coming. Why? Because of the person of God. In other words, get this hope is directly related to the character of God. Hope is also directly related to the promises of God, because of we know who he is, and because you know what he has promised, we have hope. For instance, Psalm 3318 says this, The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. That what is your hope in their hope in the unfailing love of God? Psalm 147 11 says, this good this, the Lord delights in those who fear him who put their hope in his unfailing love. If you study the Old Testament prophets, you will see that their idea of Hope goes far beyond just their own individual life. It's the hope that Israel be redeemed the hope that the Messiah will come, the hope that one day all of the promises concerning him will be there. And you know, one thing they're constantly fighting the Old Testament prophets are always constantly fighting, the false hope that the false prophets give. And they're always saying like this, your sin isn't serious. You're don't worry, we're okay, peace, peace. Everything's gonna be fine. And they, they find hope in something other than God, we're not that bad. We're okay. Don't worry, nothing bad's gonna happen. And they're constantly fighting that, just like today, people are wondering why there is no hope. We've taken God out of everything. We no longer need God, we no longer have a dependency. Need of him to hope and him and to love Him and to be close to him and to realize that he's involved in every area of our life instead, God's far away. Remember, we started last week, false teachers. One thing you listen to a false teacher, guess what happens? God is far away. You keep studying the Bible without any belief that this Bible is true. And you know what happens? God's far away. He's not involved in your life. He's not close. He's not here. Ask the Apostle Paul. How far away is God the Lord is at hand Paul says, but there's no hope when you get away from understanding the promises and the character of God. And whenever Israel face darkness and trouble all of a sudden a prophet raised up and so many people look at the prophets judgment God's gonna get you they only get a certain negative and down and they were because people were in said, but when that judgmental message came home, every time a prophet arises on the scene, guess what happens hope a burst forth, light comes dawning the into the dark room of the of the harder the lives are the nation of Israel. And so with revelation from God with the promises of God, come home, something else I want you to consider. Do you know that hope is one of the big three? Think of that, you have the inner circle of three. But you have the three key words in the Christian life. What are they? faith, love, and hope. First Corinthians 1313. Now abideth are now remaineth love, faith and hope in the greatest of these is love. But let's not throw hope out as all not that important, because the scriptures also say, as we're considering that very thing about faith, hope and love. The scriptures also say this Colossians one, five, get this, the faith and love that sprang from the hope of the stood up for you and heaven. So there you can't say one is is is without the other. Love may be the greatest because the Bible says so but they are all intimately related to one another love faith hope. In fact, the Scripture does say listen, faith and love sprang from the hope that is stored up in heaven sprang from the fact that we have a hope and heaven that there's a great future for us as Christians should cause hope to, to burst forth in our lives. Colin Brown said this hope is such a fundamental part of the Christian position that it is described as a rebirth it can be described as a rebirth to a living hope. First Peter 113, we have been born again on to living hope. What a promise there is in the Scriptures concerning hope. And yet, don't you think I do, I think that hope is probably the least known and the least appreciated of faith, love and hope. I think we have less understanding of what hope is than anything else. Do you know that hope is drastically important to your life? Without hope? If you're a person without hope you're a person that fits the description of one who's unsaved the Scripture says about them who have no hope it's talking about the unsaved people. But we have hope in whatever situation we're facing. There is hope because we have a God who is faithful to us. Ephesians listen to show you how important hope is Ephesians 118 says this, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be in line. Paul spent all that time with the Ephesians and guess what his prayer was for them. Listen, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened that you may know the hope to win which he has called you the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. The desire Paul had, listen, we need to know hope we need to have a burst on our minds. I want to get out of ruts. I'm not sure about you, I fight like a dog to stay out of ruts to stay out of the same old grind to stop appreciating things, Paul's prayer for the Ephesians that he had known and spent three years ministering to them. So that's what I pray one thing for you that is this, that you would understand the hope that you have, that you will understand the glorious riches that are in Christ. What's he talking about? He's talking about the Bema. He's talking about heaven. He's talking about the wonderful splendor there'll be in all eternity for those that thankfully, live for the Lord now, foundation to our Christian life, is that we have hope, and yet so many Christians are hopelessly discouraged. Why do you think that is? Well, go with me to Romans chapter eight. And I want you to see a very definition of hope. Romans chapter eight. And as we turn there, you will see with me, the very definition of hope, is very much like faith. Remember, faith is believing that what you cannot see, believing the promises of God. Starting with chapter eight, and look at verse 24, of the book of Romans, it says this, For this his hope, excuse me, for in this hope we were saved. In what hope? Well, we get the hope that we will be redeemed one day, the hope that all creation is groaning with pain. I'm talking about the verses before it will our redemption of our bodies, we're talking about the resurrection, we're talking about the future and heaven. That's the hope in which we're saved that we'll have a future in heaven a wonderful place to look at this, but hope that is seen is no hope at all. There's no such thing of hope if you already have something if I had the minibike I wouldn't be hoping for the minibike. It was mine. But if the fact that I didn't have it would be the hope you see in the same it is for heaven we were hoping for heaven. For in this hope we were saved but hope that a seed has no hope at all who hopes for what he already has? Verse 25. But if we hope for what we do not have we wait for it patiently. We wait for it patiently. That is this heaven. That is any promise of God that you desire to be filled in your life. Any promises God that you want to see in your life that promises that you claim to live by there are times you have to wait patiently you live in hope. Living by hope is is a word very similar to living by faith. When a man named th Tong said this about hope Listen, this hope relates to salvation and is an essential Grace like faith and love. But where faith refers to past and present hope includes the future get this its object is the ultimate blessedness of God's kingdom. Its produces the moral fruits of joyful confidence in God unashamed, patience and tribulation. By the way, that's one of the teachings you'll see it next week we'll spend more time there but one of the great things is this trouble in your life difficulty suffering problems in your life guess what it says we wait with a hope it doesn't make us ashamed we never go like this it's cool to serve God because look at all this trouble that I have look at all the dirt look at the dirt in the retinas look at all this filters right Oh, it must not be true worries God I want the Bible says this hope is this you're not ashamed because you say even though it's tough to as Spurgeon said just a few more stormy days at most shall land me on fair Canaan's coast. We wait we say like there will there God's promises is true, he will not lie. And I will wait unashamedly even though the world may mock me like, like some more illustrations that we'll get to in just a second. Let me finish on here. It says it anticipates actual righteousness. It's called Good, blessed, glorious, it stabilizes the soul like an anchor, by linking it to God's steadfastness. We'll see again that next week to it from Hebrews. And it's generated in the Old Testament fathers by God's promise first given to Abraham and then embraced by Israel and proclaimed by Paul as the hope of the gospel. Look with me as to how hope is described. Like this hope is described. There's four adjectives here, referring to hope. If you want to look at some of these verses, I appreciate if you'd follow along with me. Look over look over at First Thessalonians if you would first and start at Chapter Two with me. Second, Thessalonians that is I'm sorry. And start chapter two and verse 16. says this May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us, and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope help encourage your hearts and strengthen you and every good deed word. Notice how it's linked in with eternal encouragement by God's grace. It's a good hope. Titus two, that's actually verse 13, just flipped over a couple of pages through the past oriels and get over to Titus chapter two. And let's look at verse 13. And he says, Notice, verse 11, let's pick up this whole context. It says, For the grace of God, that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions into live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. A lot of people stop right there. And they all they see is the conflict and the fight and the battle. But notice what happens here. Verse 13, says, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. You know, one of the great things about hope is the fact that we absolutely know that time is on our side. Think about it. If you're living in sin, or if you're an unsafe person, and you're going for the gusto, it always hurts you to age. I came home yesterday. I was feeling bad. I just turned 33 last May. And they were wise watching the national the World Championships and track and field and they go in now the granddaddy of track and field 33 year old Greg Foster. That Can you believe it he's still leading the world? 33 years of age unbelievable, you know, and they're talking about Carlos 30 years old, still being able to do what he can do. You start to think about the unsafe person or the person living in sin has got to seize the moment. They've got to grab on to whatever they can they got to try to hang on to life because as time passes by all the vacations coming to and how terrible no believers this, I get closer to Heaven. I get closer to my futures. I live for him. There's a wonderful hope in my life times on my side. It's a terrible, terrible monster, to the unsaved person. But to the believer, we have a blessed hope. That's verse 13. Look what it says. While we wait for the blessing, hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice also, according to Hebrews seven Hebrews, by the way, talks so much about hope. But Hebrews seven says it's a better hope. It's a better hope of the sacrificing animals. The hope that we have is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ. I love this one though. First, Peter. It's this. It's a living hope, a hope as we live, we are alive. We're born again into a living hope. What is the living hope as we live, we have hope in our hearts that Jesus Christ is all our righteousness that one day will be raised again, that one day will be in Heaven with Him. That oughta courageous. But I want you to see this. Almost, I think more than anything else, where does hope come from? Look at me to Romans 15 Four. Because I tell you, we have got to settle this question of where hope comes from because we try getting hope from everything else. We put our hope in all kinds of things that are going to discourage us. They're gonna leave us quite empty. Hope comes from the scriptures. This has got to be one of my very favorite verses in the Bible. Lakota says, Romans 15 Four says this. For everything that was written in the past, was written to teach us so that you get this a song of the Old Testament. Why was the Old Testament written everything that was written in the Old Testament was written to teach us so that through endurance, and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope? Why was the Old Testament written? When you pick up your Bibles and you go to the Old Testament, you want to say it is written for this reason that through the endurance of those people, and through the encouragement of what God did for those people, and during their endurance, I could have some hope. Do you want to have some hope? Read the Old Testament. Do you think with me a second, what about Joseph? You we do we do this? My favorite Old Testament character, I believe is Joseph, sitting there in prison, having been hated by his brothers having been raised in a home full of immorality and and jealousies and dissensions and his brothers never He spoke a kind word to him. And here he is in some foreign country sitting there in prison. Then whenever he gets promoted, and then the wife puts the the moves on and what does he say? He says no. And so what happens? He gets thrown back into prison. And there he is. What are you supposed to do when you read that? You're supposed to remember? Yeah, chapters 3739 4041 doesn't sound good. But chapter 49 and 50 is common. What God does there's purpose in life there's reason God's alive God's real so whatever comes my way I can have some Oh God wasn't done with Joseph even though he didn't sin. Or let's turn to our dear friend job. What do we learn from job? The same thing? We look at Job and Job Why is all this happening? Why is this trouble? Was God somehow not watching? Was God somehow being cruel? Was God somehow bad? No, we see the purpose How about when we consider David, David's anointed? You're gonna be king by the prophet now. That was I mean, that was it. It wasn't like that was maybe type of situation when Samuel anointed you and said, You're gonna be the king, you're the king. And yet what happens? He runs around in caves with a group of worthless of fellows, as the scripture says, hiding, being chased all the different things that happened in the life of David, and yet they're written so that you could have hope. What else? You see God dealing with the nation of Israel, and you see them great God bringing chastisement other nations more wicked than they are starting to bother them. What do we say? God is still involved. He hasn't given up their stories, and there's hope. And we're supposed to get hope from the scriptures, that 19 Psalm says, some wonderful things I want to read a couple to you quickly. You don't need to turn there. I'll just if you want to, if you can beat me, you can do it. But good, it says. It says the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the word of trustworthy making wise, the simple, the precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart, the commands Lord of radiant giving light to the eyes, what is that joy? What is this making us wise? What is it reviving the soul? What is that it's hope, hope that we get from the Word of God. Listen, friends, as long as we look for Hope outside of the scriptures, there be no hope. Hope comes from the scriptures. We need to love the scriptures. Embrace the scriptures. You know, I can tell you, in my own life, the times when I'm hopeless, there's times when I have forgotten what the Word of God says and directly applied to my life. I forget about that. And you know what happens? Listen, you talk to somebody who's been hopeless for a while, and pretty soon, even when you read the scriptures, you read the Scriptures with such hopelessness that just bounces like a, like a bat off of a steel girder. It has no penetration into your heart. Why? Because you're going with hopelessness to a book that's full of hope bursting like a mighty fountain full of hope. And I know of Christians that are hopeless, and I'm wondering, how could it be? And after I listened to him for I started thinking, maybe they're right, I start getting hopeless. You see what I have to I It happens to me again, and again, if I'm not drinking at the fountain filled with hope, taking it in drinking it and thinking about it, letting it revolve in my mind. That's one reason why we we see again, that when there isn't expository preaching, when there isn't the Bible being taught, the people become hopeless, God seems far away, it doesn't really matter and to live for him. Oh, yeah. Don't be so serious. Don't get so ridiculous about all this, because we've lost our hope. You know, something, hope also comes from God. These are direct references, by the way, look at your in 15, sizable accounts, verse 13. May the God of hope, fill you with joy and peace, as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the God of hope, isn't it interesting? You get to the 15th chapter, he's concluding the great message of salvation. What is the greatest doctrinal instruction on salvation that there is the book of Romans, you get to the 15th chapter, he's just start talking about hope. It's from the scriptures. It's from God. It's also from the Holy Spirit right there. You can see that, how about this? I'm not gonna have the time to tell you a turn there. It's from the gospel. It's from Christ being in you. This is a great one. It's from people, you minister to Paul says, Concerning the Thessalonians, what is our hope and joy at his presence? What is our hope and joy at the Bema? You know, what the hope and joy is that the Bema, that the people that you've ministered to, had live lives that also get rewards at the beam. But that's a hope. In other words, that here's one of the few places outside of God and the gospel in the scriptures. The only place that I know of in the Bible outside of God, the Holy Spirit, God, the Father, God the Son, and the gospel message or the scriptures that you can have hope, and that is hoping people that are growing and living First Thessalonians 219 20 says that you can look at it later. There's hope in Christ Jesus Christ being in you, by the way is hope, Titus hope of eternal life that we have, and also the return of Christ, which we have already seen. Hope comes from these places hope ought to be big a time in our life. It ought to be dominating our thoughts. We got to be thinking about it all the time. But now, listen then, to what one man said. As to why people are so hopeless and then let's apply that to our lives here. Listen. Satan's first attack upon the human race was his sly effort to destroy Eve's confidence in the kindness of God. You hear that? The first attack Saint never made was to destroy Eve's confidence in the kindness of God see, if your confidence what is the word confidence by the way, hope he was to destroy hope God isn't really kind remember what he said to Eve that day? Ah, Ah, you won't die. That's not true. In other words, God's word and true what else do you say? God knows the day you eat or that you're gonna be like him? In other words, listen to the two attacks of Satan first made, don't let him get us let's don't let them get us guys come on, you want it is that the word of God really isn't true. And that God somehow really isn't good. Now listen to me, I tell you, it's come truth from my life. And I've heard it come forth from people that are Christians, that God isn't good, that somehow the the doctrine of of the Bible concerning God isn't good somehow it's unfair what had happened, somehow it God is unjust, and and we have this view, as we have towards all authority, that somehow it's bad, and God is included in that, that you've been searching the devil must be good. I got him. Now, I don't say that to be funny. I say that because there is a true spiritual warfare going on with God, the devil who hates your soul, who hates God who hates the captain of our salvation, so passionately, much that He will do anything he can to get you to think that God has not been fair to you, or God is somehow not kind. Oh, my friends don't allow that first lie that he continues to use. We are not in here enough as devices to get you. He is a God that is abundantly good. The Scripture says, Listen, from that day, men have had a false conception of God the day of the fall, Adam and Eve. Nothing twist the soul more than low or unworthy view of God. The God of the kibbutz get this please get this the God of the Pharisees is not an easy God to live with. The God of the Pharisees is a tough mean harsh God. Listen. From a failure properly to understand God comes a world of unhappiness among good Christians even today. You hear that? From a failure to properly understand God comes a world of unhappiness among good Christians even today. The Christian life is thought to be glum, unrelieved cross carrying under the eye of the stern father who expects much and excuses nothing. The truth is, please, please, my friends, listen to this, this will give you hope this will set you free. The truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings, and his service one of unspeakable pleasure. He loves us for ourselves, and values our love more than the galaxies of new created worlds. Unfortunately, many Christians cannot get free from their perverted notions of God. And these notions poison their hearts and destroy their inward freedom. These friends serve God grimly, as the elder brother did doing what is right without enthusiasm and joy. How God how good it would be if we could learn that God is easy to live with. Thank you. AW Tozer. God is easy to live with. He's a God that loves us. He's a God that cares about us. We have we have been so many people. And I don't know why this is but so many people in Baptist churches have come up and it's this Oh, God is somehow mean harsh, unforgiving, some guy that you cannot please some guy that's all the time giving you one of these. You're going through life just constantly burden, a guy that's far away and God has me and God blesses some people who won't bless me. I'll tell you friends, we must think properly about God if we're going to have any hope. You see, there's no hope if you're serving a God that you don't like. Let me say that again. You're struggling in devotions. I want to just tell you, it might be that you don't like god there's not gonna be hope if you're serving a God that you don't respect. You know, there's not gonna be hope in your life if you're serving a God that you don't adore. How many people I know pastors, Christians for years, and instead of growing gratitude, because of a greater understanding of God is growing in gratitude and bitterness. Hope confident expectation that all God's promises are true and conditional certainty At the Bema, that the resurrection of the righteous heaven will be, as Paul described at the I have not seen either as the or heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them to love him, Oh, my friends. Let's don't be this unhappy group of Christians, because we serve a God of our minds instead of a god of the scriptures. Let's pray. Our Father, we are so guilty. I am I'm first and most guilty in this room of having a Pharisee uncle view of you of somehow thinking that you are not the most winsome, the most approachable, the most loving, the most kind, the most generous. So much beyond the kindest angel or the nicest person I've ever met, that there would be no comparison. And yet, Father, I my views have been so perverted myself and I, I thank you that this message has sprung hope in my life. I'll save us father from being a religious group of people that that say with a man who had just one talent and buried it said that he knew you were a hard taskmaster caused joy to bound in our hearts with confidence, the hope that gives confidence pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Before I let you go here, I must say this to you. If you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, my friend. That's the step to hope that is the step to all of your sins are forgiven. And all of his righteousness is put on your account. And if you would like to know how you could have Jesus as your personal Savior, I give you this invitation to come and see me and talk to me about it. We'll talk either today or set something up this week. Thank you for your good attention. Sunday school started about 10 minutes and you're dismissed