Transcription
Did you know you can't have faith without hope? Most people don't realize this. You have to have hope in order to have faith. If there's nothing to hope for, there's nothing to believe for. If you didn't have the hope of heaven, then you don't need to believe in heaven. So, faith and hope actually go together. You can't have faith without hope.
Now, we know a lot about faith, but most people don't know a lot about hope. And so, that's why when the Bible says the three greatest virtues are faith, hope, and love, well, that we know about love, and we know about faith, but we're not so sure about this hope thing. And that's why next year in a series, we're going to go [clears throat] into it in detail.
But a certain hope is Christian hope. Let me show you a verse. Look here on the screen or here on your outline. Hebrews 6:19. The Here's one example. The certain hope, circle that. The certain hope of being saved, that if you've trusted Christ, you're going to be saved, is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
Now, in certain hope, there's no doubt. There's no doubt in certain hope. There's no hesitation, there's no reservation, there's no uncertainty, there's no all I'm hoping, but what if? You don't what if in certain hope. I don't say, "What if I don't go to heaven?" That doesn't even enter my mind because my entrance into heaven is a certain hope. It doesn't enter my mind, "What if I don't make it?" Certain hope means it's sure, it's confident, it's sure, it's guaranteed, you can count on it.
Now, the Bible says this is the kind of hope God wants you to build your life on. This real hope, not phony hope. This real hope, this certain hope has three characteristics, and they're all mentioned in that verse. It says it's strong, first, it's strong. The certain hope of being saved is strong. That means it's solid, it's sturdy, it's stable, it's firm, it's unchanging. It's strong. It's not a weak hope. And then it says it's trustworthy, circle that word, circle strong and trustworthy means it's dependable. You It's reliable, you can bet your life on it on certain hope. And then it says it's an anchor. Circle the word anchor.
Now, what is the purpose of an anchor? You see, the Bible says hope is the anchor for our souls. So, what is that? So, why do I need hope? It's often said that you can go weeks without food. Some of us could go a little longer than that. Uh you can go um days without water. You can go minutes without air, but you can't go 5 seconds without hope. You have to have hope to live. When you lose all hope, you die. You've got to have hope.
So, he says hope is the anchor of the soul. What is the purpose of an anchor in a ship or in a boat? Well, that's two purposes. Uh the first purpose is uh to keep the ship from drifting, and the second is to add stability in a storm. These are the very two things you need in your life. This is why we need to study hope because you need it for an anchor for the same two reasons the ship needs an anchor. And the Bible says the anchor of your soul is not money, it's not fame, it's not all these other The anchor of your soul is hope. When you got hope and you the stronger your hope, the stronger you'll be anchored. Uh uh uh uh uh hope is like an anchor cuz it keeps the boat from drifting. And there's a chain obviously on that on that anchor. And so, if the boat starts to drift, it it only drifts in a certain circle. Can't go any further. Fixed circle. You know, if you don't have an anchor, a boat can drift into unsafe water. And what's interesting is and if you've ever been on boats for extended period of times, it's easy to drift. Have you noticed this in your life? It's easy to drift. It's ea- easy to drift away from God. It's easy to drift away from your goals. It's easy to drift away from the person you love. It's easy to drift away from your dream. We are constantly drifting if we are not anchored. He says hope is the anchor of your soul and you can drift without even knowing it.
He said the other purpose as I said of a of a an anchor is it gives you stability in a storm. And when you have when you let down a an anchor in the middle of a storm and you're out in the middle of an ocean, it reduces pitch and roll in in bad weather. Now, the oldest anchors actually were just rocks and then they drill a hole in them and put a little chain on them or they were basket of of stones and things like that. But the best designed anchors actually have hooks. Let me show you a couple. Let me show you up here. Here's an example. You've seen this kind of anchor. It's got a hook in it so it it hooks itself into the bedrock of the ocean floor. Let me show you some big anchors. Here's a chain. That is a chain for a typical like an oil tanker. Each of those links weighs 500 lb. Okay. I mean, it makes that man look like a mini figure from Legos. Okay. Okay, he's everything is awesome as he walks through those chains. All right, but that's that's just a chain. Let me show you a picture of the largest anchor in the world. There it is right there. Now look how these people See how it's like almost got like a saw tooth in it. It says that's 75 tons. That anchor. You can imagine what it takes to lift and lower that in the ocean.
Now here's the point. The bigger your ship, the bigger your anchor. Now if you want to live a little tiny puny life, you don't need a very big anchor. But if you want to live a big life, a full life, what Jesus called an abundant life, a life to the fullest, you're going to need an anchor because you are going to have storms in your life. You are going to go through rogue winds and tidal waves in every area. Financial, moral, ethical, every area. You're You're going to have these mental, physical tidal waves in your life. You better have an anchor to keep you from drifting. And you better have an anchor to keep you from the pitch and roll and the instability that happens when the waves come. You need an anchor for your soul.
Now, the question is, where do you get it? Well, the fact is, when people are in a storm, they typically look to everything else except God for their anchor. They don't look to hope. When people are in deep pain, or in deep discouragement, or deep despair, they often look at the bottom of a bottle for their hope. Or some medicines for their hope. Or entertainment, or an affair, or a vacation, or It could be good or bad. And they're looking for somebody to anchor their lives. If I could just get a boyfriend, if I could just get a job, if I could just whatever. And they're looking outside of themselves for something to anchor them. When God says, "No, really what you need what you need is hope."
Now, how what makes the difference between wishful hope and expectant hope and certain hope? When you know you can bet your life on it. It's going to happen. You can count on it. It's solid. It's strong. It's trustworthy. And it's an anchor. How do you get that kind of hope? Well, write this down. Real hope is based on God's word, not my wishes. Real hope is based on God's word, not my wishes. In other words, it's not based on what I sense. Well, I think this is going to happen. I hope this is going to happen. I want this to happen. It's not based on what I sense, it's based on what God has said. It's not based on my emotion, it's based on what God has spoken. It's not based on my imagination, it's based on God's obligation to do what he says.
You see, in the Bible, God has said over 7,000 promises to you. By one account, over 7,000 promises. Now, certain hope is based on the fact that God cannot lie. People often ask me, is there anything God can't do? Of course, there are things God can't do. God cannot die deny himself. He wouldn't be God. God cannot do evil. He would not be God. There are certain things, obviously, God is self-limiting by his own character. And one of the things that the Bible says over and over and over and over and over is this, God cannot lie. All truth comes from God. All lies are from the devil. If you ever hear the devil talking to you, you know it's a lie. He never never never speaks the truth, and God never never never never lies. God cannot lie, and he's given in this book over 7,000 promises. When we put our hope in these promises, that's going to give us certain hope. When I put my hope in my emotion, my talent, my friends, my circumstances, my intelligence, or anything else, when I put my hope in anything else, it's wishful thinking or it's expectant hope, but it certainly isn't certain. >> [clears throat] >> It can't be counted on all the time. But, God cannot lie. So, if he said 7,000 promises in here, then I base my hope on God's word, not my wishes. I base my hope not on my feelings, what I feel like doing, but on God's promises.
And you say, "Well, what about the promises that haven't been realized yet?" Well, God has all of eternity to fulfill his promises. God doesn't have to fulfill his promise just here on Earth. Have you ever thought about that? When God makes a promise to you, he doesn't just have your 60 years on Earth to fulfill it. There are some promises that God has made to you, he's got all of eternity's to fulfill. He's not limited to simply the space and time of a ball that spins around in space and has a 24-hour day. God has all of eternity to fulfill his promises in you.
Let me give you an example of what it means to have a certain faith and by putting your faith not in what you feel, but in what God has revealed. Not in Not in your wishes, but in his word. Here's an example. Hebrews chapter 6 verse 13 to 17 talks about Abraham. So, God made a promise to Abraham. And Abraham waited patiently for it to happen cuz God is not a vending machine. God doesn't give you a promise and then fulfill it the next day. Cuz God is more interested in growing your faith than he is even actually meeting uh your you know, your timeline. So, there will always be a timeline when God gives you a promise, there's always a delay because he's going to see if you're going to trust him. That's what God wants to do, he wants to build your faith. So, God made a promise to Abraham and Abraham waited patiently for it to happen. Actually, he was 99 years old when it happened. So, he received what God promised.
Now, people always use the name of someone greater than themselves when they make an oath. Let me stop there and explain that. Have you ever noticed that people who don't believe in Jesus use his name more than you do? What's that all about? Okay? When somebody gets mad and they start saying blankety blankety blank and Jesus Christ blankety blanket oh God blank blank blank. What in the world are they Why are they bringing Jesus into this? They just hit their thumb. You know? They just had a you know, they had an accident. Why are they bringing God and Jesus' name in this? I'll tell you why. He says right here, "People always use the name of someone greater than themselves when they make an oath." Okay? And swearing is like an oath. They're trying to make themselves more powerful. If somebody's mad at you and they come up you they talk to you in a reasonable tone, you're not threatened or frightened by them. But if they come out and they start cussing you out and swearing in Jesus' name, you get intimidated. Why? Because there's power in the name of Jesus and the name of God.
Now, it said, "People, when they want to make a promise, they say, 'You know, I swear by the name of Jesus or God.'" And it says, "God wanted to prove that his promise was true to those who'd get what he promised, and he wanted them to understand that his purposes never change." His purposes never That's why we call ourselves a purpose-driven church, cuz we build on unchanging purposes of God. So, God made an oath. Now, there are two things that are unchangeable. In other words, they're never going to change. God cannot lie when he makes a promise, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. These things encourage us. They give us strength to hold on, which is what an anchor does. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we've been given. We have this hope as an anchor for our souls. It is sure, and it is strong.
Now, that whole passage there says what I've just been explaining to you for the last 10 minutes. Certain hope isn't based on feelings, it's based on what God has said. It's based on God's promises. It's based on God's statements. It's not based on what you think, it's based on what God teaches. And he says, "The reason why you build that your life on those things, because they're certain, is because God can't lie." Other people tell you stuff, and they'll lie to you. But God cannot lie. So, he says, "This hope is something we can hold on to, we can have it as an anchor for our souls, and it's strong, and it's true, and it's trustworthy."
Now, one day Jesus gave the key to hopelessness. And he says it in Luke chapter 18, verse 1. Jesus taught his followers that they should Read it with me aloud. Always pray and never lose hope. Now, I want you to circle always pray and I want you to circle never lose hope. Those, my friends, are the two alternatives in life. Every single moment of your life, you're choosing one of those two alternatives. And when stuff bad happens, you'll either panic or you'll pray. You It's your alternative. If you pray, you don't panic. If you panic, you don't pray. Uh you will either worship or you will worry. Those are the two alternatives in life. Jesus said that we should always pray and never lose hope. God wants you to never lose hope. And how do you never lose hope? By praying.
By the way, as part of my writing, I surveyed um people and I did research to discover what are the most common causes of hopelessness. What caused people to give up? What caused people to give up on their marriage? What caused people to give up on their dream? What causes people to give up on their life? What causes people to take their life? What causes people to have hopelessness? I want to give you my the results of my research right now. These are the top 10 causes of uh hopelessness. They're not on your outline. You don't have to write them down. We'll We'll look at the antidotes to them in 40 days. But look up here on the screen. These are top 10. And they're not in any order, but they're the 10 most common.
When you feel alone or when you feel abandoned and you feel that for a long period of time, that causes you to feel hopeless. Like And you can be in a crowd and feel all alone. Isn't that true? I mean, you have people all around you. You could be sitting here right now in one of our campuses and feel very lonely. When you feel all alone, when you feel abandoned, that causes hopelessness. Here's another one. When seems out of control, here's a common phrase when life seems out of control. It's never going to change. I have no power to change it. It's never going to change, and I feel hopeless about this in my relationship, in my life, in my habits. That feeling of hopeless. Number three, let's leave these up there. You don't see a purpose. People can handle enormous amount of pain as long as they realize there's a purpose behind it. What we cannot handle is purposeless pain. And when you don't see a reason or rhyme or a plan, that causes hopelessness. Number four, grieving a loss. When you've had a major loss or series of major losses in your life, that can cause a sense of hopelessness. Number five, when you don't have what you need. You need more money and you can't get it. You need more energy and you can't get it. You need to be smarter and you're not. You need more talent you don't have. You just feel like I'm always behind. I'm always a day late and a dollar short. I don't have what I need. And many people go through life feeling that their entire lives, I don't have what I need. And they feel hopeless. I'm stuck. I'm stuck in a dead-end job. I'm stuck in poverty. I'm stuck in my situation. I can't get out of it and I can't get on with it. You don't have what you need. Number six, when you've done something wrong. This is a big one. Guilt causes hopelessness. Shame causes hopelessness. Regret causes hopelessness. Remorse causes hopelessness. When I cannot forgive myself for something that I did, and it just eats away. It's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you. That causes hopelessness over the long haul. Number seven, when you've been deeply wounded by somebody. Maybe abuse, Physical, sexual, or some other way. When you've been really hurt by somebody and that hurt is so bad and that wedge was driven so deep and that that thorn is so far into your flesh, you can't think of anything else. And bitterness and resentment and holding on to that will cause ultimately hopelessness in your life. Number eight. When you're pulled in the wrong direction. There's a word for this, it's called temptation. And when you're constantly being pulled in the wrong direction and you go, "I really don't want to live this way, but why do I keep giving in to it?" I know this is wrong. I know this is not good for me. I know this is not healthy. I know this relationship is self-destructive. I know this habit is taking me in the wrong way. Why do I keep doing it? There's an entire chapter in the Bible about this, it's Romans 7. Paul says, "The things that I know are right and I want to do, I end up not doing. And the stuff that I don't want to do and I know it's wrong, it's bad for me, I end up doing." That sense of pulled in the wrong direction by temptation. Number nine is hounded by fear. When when you're frightened, when you're scared, when when you live in anxiety, it leads to hopelessness. And people from when people are terrorized, I'm talking about physical terrorism around the world, it causes a sense of hopelessness. ISIS is on the way to our village and there's nothing we can do about it. That causes hopelessness. And then number 10 is this. When it looks like defeat. When you feel like, "I'm not on the winning side, I'm on the losing side." Where defeat is sure. There's no way. The The enemy is overwhelming. We can't handle the onslaught. We're a goner. This is our last stand, but we're all going to die. When it looks like defeat.
Now, these are the 10, I believe, most common causes of hopelessness in the world. And here's an amazing little truth. Over the months and even years, I've been thinking about this. What I discovered is that the 10 greatest causes of hopelessness find their antidotes in the 10 phrases of the Lord's Prayer. >> [snorts] >> The Lord's Prayer is a deceptively simple prayer. You've got it memorized. It's less than 70 words. A lot of people say the Lord's Prayer and don't pray the Lord's Prayer. You may have never prayed it. You've said it. You say it, but you don't pray it. And to understand the depth of each of the phrases of the Lord's Prayer is to see the antidote to every one of the 10 biggest causes of hopelessness on the planet. 10 reasons for hope that we get from the phrases of the Lord's Prayer.
Number one, when I'm feeling all alone, I remember number one, my loving father will never abandon me. My loving father will never abandon me. Our Father in heaven, you are not an orphan. Jesus broke the mold. You don't realize how radical it was when Jesus used the phrase Our Father. Nobody had ever talked to God that way. We do it all the time today, but it's because of this prayer. It was so radical when he said, you have a father who is caring and comforting and you know, consistent and he's close and all of those things. My father will never abandon me. That gives me hope.
Number two, when life seems out of control, I need to remember and I am filled powers that God's power is greater than any problem. God's power is greater than any problem. I don't have time to go into the meaning of hallowed be your name, but the Bible teaches that there is power in the name of God and power in the name of Jesus. And when we hallow his name, it brings power in our life. Jesus even himself prayed, "Keep them safe by the power of your name." So, we'll go into that later. God's power is greater than any other problem, and it is wrapped up in the name of God.
Number three, when I'm confused and I don't see any purpose to what's going on in my life, I need to remember, number three, God fits everything into his plan. And that is a reason for hope. That even my mistakes, even my sins, he fits it into his plan. And his plan is called the kingdom of God. And we are to seek the kingdom of God. We are to live for the kingdom of God. We are to live for God's plan and purpose. It's this overarching plan. And we know the Bible says that in all things God works for the good of those who love him according to his purpose. And he takes even the bad things in our lives, and he fits it into his kingdom plan. That's a reason for hope.
Number four, when I'm grieving, when I've had a major loss in my life, I need to remember that God has a greater purpose for my life. And I surrender to that purpose. Even when I don't understand the losses in my life, I say, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And why do we pray that? Because God's will is not always done on earth. It's done perfectly in heaven, but it's not done perfectly on earth. In fact, it's done seldom on earth. That's why If God's will was always done, you wouldn't have to pray for it. Get that? God's will was always done, you wouldn't have to pray for it. Not everything that happens is God's will. That's why we are to pray, "Thy will be done" for God's greater purpose in our lives.
Number five, when I'm worried about not having enough, one of the 10 causes of hopelessness, I need to remember that God has promised to meet all my needs. And he says, "I want you to come to me for your needs. And I want you to pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread.'" And notice he doesn't say, "Give me this day my monthly bread" or my weekly bread or my annual bread. God wants you to depend on him day by day. And he says, "God has promised to meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." And the Bible says, since God loved us enough to send Jesus, won't he love us enough to take care of all of our other needs? The answer is obvious, yes. So, God's promised to meet all my needs, and we can come to him for our daily bread means everything that I need in life, physical, emotional, etc.
Number six, when I feel guilty and I feel full of remorse or regret regret, I remember that Jesus paid. He died to pay for all I've done wrong. And I'm forgiven. And I am forgiven. And we are to forgive we are to pray, "Forgive us our sins." And the Bible tells us this, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's a reason for hope. There is no condemnation. We are forgiven. Even the stuff we haven't even done yet, Jesus Christ paid for on the cross. No condemnation. That's a reason for hope. You can stop hanging yourself on the cross.
Number seven, when I've been hurt, when people have hurt me deeply, when I've been wounded, when I've been judged, when I've been misunderstood, when I when I've been wronged unfairly, I need to remember that God will settle the score someday. That's a reason for hope. People don't just get away with stuff. God says, "One day I'm going to settle the score." He says, "Your job is to forgive. My job is to judge." It's not my judge job to judge other people. It's God's job, cuz he can only judge fairly. I want to show this one verse, Romans 12:19. Can we put that on the out on the yeah, screen? Don't insist on getting even. That's not for you to do. I'll do the judging, says God. I'll take care of it. He says, "We are to we are to do the forgiving. God's to do the judging." And we need to know and we can count on the fact that God has promised that he's going to settle the score someday.
Number eight, when I feel powerless to break through those temptations that keep messing me up, when I feel like I cannot actually get free from the habits and hurts and the hang-ups, something bad's always causing my downfall, I need to remember this. Number eight, God has promised to help me. God has promised to help me. And he says that you ask for help. He says, "Pray, lead us not into temptation." Let me show you this verse, too. 1 Corinthians 10:13. The Bible says, "Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience, and God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. And when you're tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." That gives me a reason for hope. Then maybe, just maybe, I can break through the things that are messing up my life and my my witness.
Number nine, when I feel threatened, when I feel anxious, when I feel afraid, when I feel frightened or scared by forces that are coming against me, number nine, I need to remember that Jesus in me is greater than any other power. The Bible says, "Greater is he that is in you than is he that is in the world." And we are to pray, "Deliver us from evil." And when you understand the full implication of that phrase, you're going to be a lot more confident in life. The fact that greater is he who is in you than he that is in the world, and most Christians do not practice that on a daily basis.
And finally, number 10, I said that the 10th cause of hopelessness is a feeling of defeat. We're on the wrong side. You hear it all the time, "You're on the wrong side of history." Christianity has never been on the right side of history. It started when the Romans were nailing us to the cross. It's never been on the right side of history. But there are 2.3 billion of us, sorry. And so, when it looks like defeat and it looks like evil is winning, I need to remember this. Number 10, this is not the end of the story. This is not the end of the story. People can vote this way and that way and do this thing and that thing and cultures can rise and crumble, but it is not the end of the story. History is his story. For yours is the kingdom and yours is the power and yours is the glory forever. And one day he's going to wipe away every tear and every pain and there'll be no more death and no more sorrow and no more crying and no more pain. This is not the end of the story.
I want to just close by talking to some of you who may be in the pit of despair right now. And some of you have thought, "This is never going to change in my life." And some of you have thought, "Maybe maybe the world would be a better place without me." And maybe you've even thought about taking your life. Don't. Don't. You have no idea of the implications of that foolish decision. So, let me just say a few things to those of you It's not everybody, but those of you who are in the pit of despair right now. Suicidal thoughts are a symptom, not a solution. It's not the solution to your despair. It's not the solution to your hopelessness. Suicidal thoughts are never rational. They don't make sense. You got to not listen to them. And what you have to do, when you feel hopeless, and whether you're suicidal or not, everybody needs this one. When you feel hopeless, you must challenge your thoughts. You must challenge your thoughts. And let me give you some ways, just as I close here, some ways to challenge your thoughts when you feel hopeless.
First, you need to tell yourself this. Just because I think something doesn't make it true. You think a lot of things about yourself and about others that simply aren't true. Just because you think it doesn't make it true. Let me tell you something else. Just because you think your thoughts tell you to do something doesn't mean you should do it. Your mind tells you a lot of things you should never never never do. You need to challenge your thoughts. And you need to tell yourself, I don't really want to die. I just want the pain to end. And you need to tell yourself, I believe that there's a better solution to ending my pain, even though I can't see it right now. You have to tell yourself that. And you have to say to yourself, this will pass. This is my depression talking to me. It's not the truth. This is my depression talking to me. I will get through this. This too will pass.
When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. This is a promise. When you walk through the fires OF OPPRESSION, YOU WILL NOT BE BURNED UP. The flames will not consume you, for I am the Lord your God.
Let's bow our heads. Father, I love these people in all of our campuses. Thank you for our family called Saddleback. And I know that in a family our size that there are many many people who right now feel hopeless about a job, a relationship, their future, their finances. Lord, there's some who feel alone and abandoned. Help them to remember that you are their loving father who will never abandon them. And there's some who feel life's out of control. Help them to feel and realize that your power is greater than any problem they're facing. And there's some who feel like it just doesn't matter and there is no purpose to their life. Help them to realize that you have a plan and that you fit everything into the plan, even the tough stuff and use it for good. Lord, there are those who are grieving a loss right now. Thank you that you have a greater purpose for our life and that when we surrender to you and say thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we find peace and comfort. Lord, there's so many people here who don't have what they need physically, emotionally, sexually, spiritually, financially. Thank you that you've promised to meet all of our needs if we will turn to you. Lord, there are those who are carrying deep regret, deep remorse, deep guilt for something they've done wrong. Thank you, Jesus, that you died for those sins. You died for them that those sins have been paid for. We don't have to pay for them. Thank you that we're forgiven completely, freely, and instantly. May we learn to forgive ourselves and learn to forgive others. Father, when people wound us and they hurt us, help us to not seek revenge, to not You said vengeance is mine, I will repay. Help us to forgive and leave the judgment to you because you are the only righteous judge, we are not. Thank you, Lord, that you're going to settle the score one day. And when we're pulled in the wrong direction, >> [snorts] >> help us to claim the promises that you will never allow us to be tempted more than we're able. And when we're hounded by fear, deliver us from evil. Help us to remember that Jesus, you and us are greater than any other power that's in the world. And when we live in a culture where things seem to be going the wrong way, and when it looks like defeat, help us to remember that this is not the end. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. I pray that this fall each of us will find one person to bring to church, to share the good news with. It's just too good to keep it a secret. And I pray that we will be agents of hope in a world that is increasingly hopeless. I pray this blessing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.