HOPE

HOPE SERMON... God's Goodness triumphing over despair  16.10.2011
Scriptures: Hosea 2: 14 – 23; Romans 5:1 – 5 and 15:13; Mathew 12: 9 – 21
Intro: At PK this year we were privileged to hear Pastor David Peters share his wonderful testimony and teaching on HOPE as it relates to his journey in ministry and marriage with Jane his smiling wife who after giving birth to 3 sons was confined to a wheelchair with MS and died after 30 yrs of marriage. God took David through some dark times and brought him through with hope for the fulfillment of an early vision of international ministry.  This is now being fulfilled together with Greta who was brought by the Lord to marry David. She had lost her husband after 28 yrs. At PK I bought David's outstanding book on hope.
WHY HOPE?
Hope is a very timely subject for us to consider because we live in a world awash with the disease  of  hopelessness, cynicism, hedonism, depression and negativity: media thrives on bad news. The Bible has much to say about hope and it is a key grace which we can ask God to fill us with.
If we are overflowing with hope we can be bringers of Good News to many.
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN HOPE?

• It's not “I hope so!” as if it will probably never happen or mere wishful thinking.
• Christian Hope is 'a sure and certain confidence in God to fulfill the promises He has given through his Word to you primrally through the Bible and through the dreams and visions he has put in your heart.
• Heb 11.1 ties faith and hope together.. faith in the now and hope in future fulfillment of  faith. 'Now faith', it says, 'is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
• St Paul wrote there were 3 abiding realities... aspects of God's character that He wants us to enjoy: faith; hope and love.
• Our CPAC vision statement inspires us to be 'Connecting people and Christ to bring Healing, Hope and Life.'
• The Bible gives 3 great pictures of hope; The door of hope to escape the valley of trouble in Hosea 2; the anchor of hope whose rope passes through this temporary world and is firmly fixed in God's presence and the helmet of hope and salvation which keeps our mind in perfect peace.

HOW DO WE RECEIVE HOPE?
God's hope comes into our hearts when we turn to Christ and are born anew by the Holy Spirit. 1Peterr 1:3 says, 'Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' In fact St Peter's whole 1st letter is full of hope for Christians going through trials that many Christians were facing then and many face around the world today. Before I became a spirit-filled christian I was a depressed person and Jesus has given me hope in many trials. One of my favourite verses is Col 1:27 Christ in you the hope of glory. Before we turn from our sins christian hope  is far away as Rom 3:23 says 'All have sinned and fall short of the hope of the glory of God.'
THE HOPE KILLERS.
David Peters lists the following things as killers of hope: He describes the disease of hopelessness as:
( pg 39)

• Loss of joy and growing depression
• emotional numbness
• low self-worth
• unbelief
• spiritual passivity
• addictions

The hope-killers he describes as:

• disappointment  Prov 13:12  'Hope deferred makes the heart sick'
• disillusionment
• despair
• idealism
• demons

BUT HOPE CAN BE RESTORED

• Jesus restored the  man's withered hand, many crowds followed him and he cured all of them. He's the same today and many are cured directly by prayer and/or with medical and nursing skills which he has allowed mankind to discover and improve. Our reading in Mathew 12 gives the gracious picture of 'a bruised reed he will not break and a dimly burning burning wick he will not quench. Our Jesus is the one who comes alongside us when we are most vulnerable and gently lifts us up  He doesn't blow out our fire when we are burning low but blows on us again so we can flame up brightly again.
• When Daphne and I were at one of our lowest points with our little daughter very slow to develop and told by medical people she would always have to be in special classes. It seemed hopeless  but we called all our friends to pray; we took her for special prayer whenever possible and through the prayers and love of many and wonderful medical and teacher support sour daughter made a miraculous recovery and now has a degree, is a trained teacher and works as a tutor and is happily married. God is good and will do good to all who call on him.
• Soon after Jane Peters died one of her friends was under general anaesthetic for an operation and she had an experience of going to heaven. She saw Jane standing up, happy and smiling. This helped David with his grief. 5 months later he had a vision of a lovely woman and when Greta emailed him  he soon realised she was the lady he had seen. Now they're married and ministering together to the nations. Our gospel today finished with the words, 'and in His name the nations will hope' Jesus is the hope of the nations and today Christians like you and me are sharing that hope. Our positive

lifestyles and good works and testimonies must be always be available as  a witness to the positive hope as 1 Peter 3:13 encourages us

SO WE CAN GROW IN HOPE

1. by The word of God...Eph 1:18
2. by Prophecy: words of revelation or encouragement, dreams and visions
3. by Doing good work and good works whether paid or unpaid
4. by always giving thanks I Thes 5:16
5. by perseverance even under suffering Rom 5 2-5
6. by the power of he Holy Spirit  Rom 15.13

THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING THAT YOU MAY ABOUND IN HOPE BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.