A Mesage of Hope

I recently was given an opportunity to deliver the Sunday morning message at Melvern Lake near Olivet, Kansas. Several encouraged me to share the message. I pray that with the Lord's annointing you will be encouraged to move closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The message of hope.

Thank you for that flattering introduction. I am proud to be one of the remaining individuals who can claim Olivet Kansas as my birthplace. Some 77 years following that glorious event, I am proud to be here this morning with a message that I feel is of urgent importance. Extreme urgency as a matter of fact. I believe that divine intervention allows me to be here this morning. I believe that divine intervention has allowed each one of us to be here this morning. God has a message for each of us and I am blessed with the opportunity to share it with you as His messenger.

I am indeed grateful for the opportunity to bring this message of “hope” this morning. Thankful to God for my health, and every facet of it that He extends so this old body may continue to make the rounds from one day to the next. It gives me great assurance that He is not done with me here on earth. I pray that He has me where he wants me this and every day. May he anoint me now that His word may be received in accordance with His will, in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

The scriptures in Hebrews 6:19 tells us:
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,

Hebrews 11:1 Tells us: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And v.3 – by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible

For example, we are not able to see the things the grass, trees, sky, water in the lake, and all of the things alive, nor that which the road, the automobiles, trailers, or any of the buildings are made of. These are all comprised of elements which in turn comprise the substances which we see.

In verse 6 we read – but without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (that He is God), and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Psalm 37:18, 19 in the NKJ tell us,
18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever.
It is this inheritance we hope for. If we ignore hoping for this inheritance, our destiny is for sure. Our soul will end in a place separated from God. Not a very pleasant thought.
And verse19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

This current time surely must be considered “evil”. We are constantly bombarded by forces (people of opposition) who seem determined to remove God from every facet of our lives. What a tragedy when we think of the fact that we were created by Him, to worship and please Him. Putting effort into removing Him from our existence and our daily life is to put ourselves into something He does not want, or something that He would just as soon discard. We are reminded of the potter who was creating a vessel on the wheel when it failed to turn out like he wanted and he demolished it completely, taking away any opportunity for it to survive. We are exactly like that. If we purpose in our hearts to make our lives something that He does not want, our destiny is predictable and undesirable, and certain to remain in a place without God.

We hear many messages encouraging us to work on building our faith, hanging on to our faith, sharing that when we get discouraged we need more faith, etc. We must realize that we need to put our faith into practice in building our hope. In fact, hope is the result of our faith in action. It is defined as the expectation of good. The original word denotes a joyful and contented expectation of eternal salvation. Paul called his converts his hope, not as the cause but as objects of his hope. In the O.T. hope is expressed by several different words such as safety, security, and trust. In the N.T., 1Peter1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.

In Titus 2:13 we read, the coming of the Lord is called the Blessed Hope, that is, the expectation giving the joy to the Christian in the promise of future glorification.

1Pe 3:15 tells us: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. That word ‘sanctify’ means for us to ‘set apart’. To keep a special place for God’s word in our hearts to be ready to explain the hope that we have for all things godly, particularly our hope of eternal life with Christ Jesus.

Our physical condition depends upon our hope. When the infirmed loose their hope of recovery or survival, their rate of deterioration often is tremendously increased. Having been created by God, we are given a hope of survival and this hope is greatly enhanced when we embrace the will of God in our life. That embrace comes from faith. The bible teaches us that fear is the absence of faith. Again, hope is the result of our faith in action, Praise God.

In Matthew chapter 9 verses 18 through 33 the bible speaks of instances where several people’s hopes endured and their faith came into action. Verse 20 tells us of the woman who had issues of blood, whose hope endured for over 12 years and put her faith into action when the opportunity arose to touch the hem of Christ’s garment. This chapter reveals the culmination of others whose hope never diminished as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers & Sisters in Christ, we are at a crucial time in our lives, at a crucial time in the history of mankind. Whether or not you are willing to believe in what the bible tells us, we are in the end-times of this dispensation of history and time. Reading the newspaper of cities and nations throughout the world all have the same stories to tell. Some may vary with respect to geographical or demographical references but the substances are so similar it is certainly not wise to ignore the facts.

Acts 2:14-36
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.' 22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know-- 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope

In Revelation 3 we read: 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
God is speaking to us today. This message is just as pertinent or as worthy as it was in the days of ‘Pentecost’. It is imperative that we rid our lives of those things which are not worthy of God and embrace Him in every facet of our lives. We must arm ourselves with His word, and work to defeat the forces of evil. Today we see battles in our schools concerning the teaching of evolution and creationism. One need only be aware that God created all things. As for evolution, it is the product of man’s creative thoughts, and sadly lacks reliable substance and fact.

Giving recognition to all that is going on in this world today, in every facet of our lives, strife, immorality, chaos, warfare, spiritual warfare, storms of every kind and magnitude, disease, famine, and the list goes on and on, one doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to recognize the prophesies of Joel where the scriptures clarified unprecedented events

Christians, Hebrews 13:8 tells us Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Renew your hope with Christ at the forefront and center of your life. Continue to build your faith in Jesus Christ. Pray without ceasing. This does not mean 24/7, but it does mean that you should keep your focus on Jesus Christ at all times. Reach out to Him when you have needs that seem to be insurmountable. Pray for your neighbors, for those around you, those you work or are associated with. Pray for all of your family members. God promised that if you would put your life in His hands, your family would be saved. Pray for the sick and infirmed, for those who have the challenge to bring about or manipulate the healing touch from the Lord, namely the doctors, nurses, and other caregivers. Equally important, spend time in His Word and ask God to put all it’s meaning on your heart that you will be ready to share it with any and everyone.

Let us pray