[00:00:01] Thanks for tuning in to the Met Church podcast. Here at the Met, we are all about connecting people to God and one another. If you have any questions or want more information about what's happening here at the church, then head to our
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[00:00:24] Good morning, everybody. I'm so excited to be here with you today and share some encouragement and some hope from God's word and have a little bit of fun at the same time. Can we have fun at church this morning?
[00:00:35] Anybody? Oh, okay. Okay. This area right here, front row feeling. I'm accounting you in a minute because we're going to start off with a little bit of group participation. I've got some of this or that scenarios that I'm going to pose to you, and that gives you a chance to shout out your answer. But again, the key here is participation. All right? So I'm counting on you. This section, front row, we got some work to do. Back in the back over there. Here it is. The first scenario. Are you an early bird or night owl?
[00:01:02] Oh, oh, oh. Okay. Mixed reviews there. Let's move on.
[00:01:06] Is the sanctuary on Sunday mornings usually hot or cold?
[00:01:14] Now, last week, depends if you heard. Last week, last week we were back in the back. We have security cameras all over, and we were in the security room laughing at you. I mean. I mean, praying for you guys. Cause y' all are like.
[00:01:26] So we're trying to figure it out. The weather just. It makes it difficult on us. So bear with us, okay? We're working this thing out here. Would you rather own a dog or a cat?
[00:01:35] Now, that was not a subjective question. That look, all the redeemed of the Lord said dog. Okay, make sure that's clear. The cat people are like, they're out to get us.
[00:01:47] Are you a spender or a saver? Saver. Saver, man.
[00:01:53] Some arguments are going to happen in the car on the way to lunch over that one for sure. Would you rather eat something sweet or salty?
[00:02:01] Again, mixed reviews there. Do you typically arrive late or early? Early late. Because of you.
[00:02:10] Do you prefer vacation at the beach or the mountains?
[00:02:13] Man.
[00:02:15] Okay, this one. This is really controversial.
[00:02:18] I even hesitate to even go here. Okay.
[00:02:21] Are the Cowboys gonna have a winning or a losing season?
[00:02:25] Now, that one actually had, I think, unanimous agreement on that one. I think I heard losing. Now, I think it's because we're fans and we're guarding our hearts, you know, do not let the heart will disappoint. We gotta guard it. Okay. Hope. Hope for the best. Expect the worst. That was a fun little exercise to illustrate how we are a diverse group of people.
[00:02:43] We would be so hard pressed to find unanimous agreement around almost any topic, whether it's sports or politics or even where to go eat lunch after chur. And yet, despite the complex diversity that exists in this community we call the Church, we can still have unity. How is that? It's because of the work of the Holy Spirit. See, whenever we turn from sin, we turn to Jesus. We receive his Holy Spirit. It's a seal, a pledge of our inheritance. And it's the Holy Spirit that binds us, that grafts us into the body, that unites us together. The Holy Spirit creates unity. And then he charges us with the assignment to protect and to maintain that unity. So how does that work? It means that we set aside our differences and we rally around some essential truths that we call non essentials. Or as Paul outlines them in his letter to the Church in Ephesus, we see seven truths that we can. When all else fails, we can come back to these seven truths and say, this is what unites us. So everything else shouldn't divide us because we weren't united by that stuff anyways. So let's take a look and be reminded of our key verse in our series called Sevenfold. We're looking at these seven truths that are gonna rally the troops and help us stay united. Here's what we see. Ephesians 4, verse 4 through 6. It's up on the screen. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Now, this is the third installment of our second seven week series. So it's my assignment to really hone in, rally the troops around the idea of one hope. Come on, somebody say hope. Hope. All right, we're going to talk about one hope. Now. There's a lot of things that people can put their hope in these days.
[00:04:32] There's just not a shortage of options. We can put our hope in a politician or election. We can put our hope in a job, in a relationship, in technology, Bitcoin.
[00:04:43] We can put our hope in ourselves even. But as believers, we're supposed to hope differently. We're supposed to hope in one singular thing. It's not a bunch of things. It's one thing. It's One name, a name above all names. And his name is Jesus. We're supposed to hope different, think different. Our hope is in the Lord. And if we put our hope in anyone or anything else, it will lead to disappointment every single time. In fact, the Bible says that if anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will. Will never be disappointed. But if I put my hope even in me, then I'm gonna have think thoughts. I'm gonna do things from time to time that will break my own heart. But if we hope in the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whose promises are true, whose love never fails, who defeated sin, death and the grave, and is mighty to save, we put our hope in him. Not a little hope over here and a little hope over there. If our hope is everywhere, our hope is nowhere. Our hope is Jesus. Come on, clap your hands if your hope is in Jesus. This morning, he's it.
[00:05:42] It's not Obi Wan Kenobi. He's not our only hope. It's Jesus.
[00:05:46] Man, we got a Star wars reference already. I'm cooking today.
[00:05:50] We have one hope. Our hope is supposed to be different. Now, let me give you a working definition of hope. Here's what it says. Hope is to trust in, wait for or desire something or someone to expect something beneficial and in the future.
[00:06:08] Do you see that imagery? The picture that hope is intended to create in our lives? It's this. This idea, this expectant belief that something good is going to happen in the future. It's. It's optimism. Even though it hasn't happened yet, I believe that it's coming. God, you are more than able. Like the song that we just sang a moment ago. The best is yet to come. Now, I don't know if you're like me, but from time to time, I get sucked into my phone.
[00:06:37] It's like it's shouting at me. I walk away and I find myself like a magnet being drawn back. And once I've done all the things, I've checked my bank accounts and, you know, I've looked on Facebook and all those things, I eventually make my way to the photo album because I like to go down memory lane every now and again.
[00:06:53] And all the pictures of my photo album, I'm sure yours are like mine. They're all smiles and good times, are they not? Is the highlight reel. And if I'm not careful, I can fall into this false mentality that those were the days, the glory days are behind me. It's never going to get better than it has been.
[00:07:12] But see, when we hope in the Lord. We always look forward. The glory days aren't buried in the annals of time. The glory days are out in front of us. God's just getting started. He has a hope and a future for us. We have hope today and we have hope tomorrow. The best is yet to come. When our hope is in God alone.
[00:07:33] We always have that hope that tomorrow's going to be better, that God's not done.
[00:07:39] When we have hope in Jesus, we're excited, we have anticipation, like God. What idea are you going to deposit in my heart today? Who are you going to connect me with that I never would have been able to arrange the connection without your help? God, what joy, what peace, what hope do you have for me tomorrow? I'm ready, Lord. I'm expectant. The world says, don't get your hopes up.
[00:08:01] Just the world is down in the dumps.
[00:08:03] Poor me, Negative Nancy, pessimistic Paul.
[00:08:08] But Jesus says, get your hopes up. Lift up your eyes. Be vertical, Put your hope in me.
[00:08:14] This is the season of the year where my hopes are always at their highest.
[00:08:20] Oh, I'm hopeful in this season. Now, it may not be for the reasons that you think.
[00:08:24] It's because football's right around the corner. Come on, somebody. If you love, the football's here. Woo. That was a long, dark several months. Okay, now if you know me really well, and some of you do, and some of you are going to get to know a part of my story, I am an avid college football fan. I love football, but college football, it has my heart. And, you know, like, who else would I root for other than the flagship program of our state, the Texas Longhorn? So come. Come on, somebody. All right, listen. Okay, in all seriousness, I was totally kidding, but now what I'm about to say is actually serious, okay? In life, there really are two. There are two different types of people, okay? There are the righteous who live by faith and cheer for the Longhorns. And then there are the wicked. All right, so moving on. All right.
[00:09:08] Oh, thank the Lord. My hope is not in the Longhorns. That was a dark past 10 years, but we're. We're making a turn. The hopes are really high. It's funny to me how at the beginning of a football season, hopes are at their highest. And if you listen to coaches speak to the media before the season, they all sound the same, every one of them.
[00:09:28] Well, I like our team this year.
[00:09:30] We have a good mix of young talent, proven experience.
[00:09:34] The boys have been working their tails off in the off season. And they're ready to strap it up and play their hearts out. In fact, I'm pretty confident that we are going to be in the mix for a conference championship this year.
[00:09:46] The hopes are always high, aren't they?
[00:09:49] And then the season happens, then they actually have to play the game. And once adversity strikes, maybe it's that the star player, he suffers a season ending injury.
[00:09:58] Maybe it's that they have a just a brutal loss to their arch rival, their hated rival. Or and not to mention that maybe there's a string of unexpected losses and before you know it, the media is chirping, the coaches see seat is red hot, and even the hometown fans at home games, instead of doing their chants back and forth across the stadium, they're booing and shouting overrated.
[00:10:23] The once high hopes at the beginning of the season are shaky at best now. I think that football in some ways is a metaphor for life.
[00:10:37] At the start of your season, the start of your spiritual journey, whenever you realize that you were dead in sin.
[00:10:44] But God has by his grace offered you a new lease on life that you don't have to wallow in the quagmire of sin, but you can be pulled up and out of that pit by the mighty hand of Jesus. You can be set on solid ground and a new song will be put in your mouth. That is the grace of God. You turn from sin, you turn to Jesus.
[00:11:04] He power washes your soul. He seals you with his spirit. You are infused with hope. You have purpose and potential. You're seeing things differently. If God is on my side, who could be against me? That's how we feel at the beginning of our spiritual journey.
[00:11:21] And then life happens and we get discouraged, we feel defeated.
[00:11:28] All hope feels lost at times.
[00:11:31] Maybe that's you today. Maybe you're here and you're thinking, you know what?
[00:11:34] I once had high hopes, but now I'm a little bit down and I need some hope. Today my hope feels sidelined. It feels like it's just benched. And I don't know if it's ever going to come back. If that's you, I want to encourage you today that this season it won't last forever. There's hope on the horizon. Listen, God is for you.
[00:11:55] God loves you.
[00:11:57] And if God is on your team, victory is inevitable. I don't know if you've ever seen a Pee Wee football game. Those are some of my favorite games.
[00:12:05] You know, it's the game whenever you show up and you can. You pretty much tell after the first Snap. Which team's gonna win? It's like. Cause they got number eight. And like, number eight, he's running on all you guys, like, game's over. You know, let's go get some in and out. Because, you know a double double will give you some hope back real quick, don't you know?
[00:12:21] See, the point is, when God's on your side, you know who wins. You don't know how you're going to get there. You don't know when it's going to come. But no one wants you to win more than God. And that's why Scripture says, all praise be to God, who leads us into all triumph and all victory. And yet, as believers, we know that's true. And it doesn't mean we're impervious to pain. And we are not going to be susceptible to difficulty. In fact, Jesus says the opposite. He says, you will have trouble in this life, but be of good cheer.
[00:12:51] Be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. Christians should be the most cheerful people in the world. The most cheerful, not free from difficulty, but the most cheerful in the midst of it. Because we can have hope.
[00:13:04] And sometimes when we're discouraged and we just. We can't seem to find that hope we once had. Sometimes we feel ashamed. We feel shame. Because we know we're supposed to be more hopeful, but we can't seem to find it, can't seem to feel it or focus on it. And before you know it, we're sitting on the couch with a gallon of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. What? Who's doing that?
[00:13:25] Guilty.
[00:13:26] So here's what I want to do today. I want to identify three problems, and I'm going to give you three quick solutions. So let me share with you three reasons. And there's more, but three reasons why sometimes we struggle to have hope. Number one, it's when we're overwhelmed with guilt.
[00:13:41] Overwhelmed with guilt. Have you ever been there? You ever felt the weight of sin and shame from living in a way that you just, you know, God would never have you live? Let me make sure you understand sin just. We're on the same page. Sin ultimately just means missing the mark.
[00:13:59] Jesus, he has this perfect, holy standard that he upholds. He models, he never breaks from. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. In fact, if you were to ask me, like, tell me one attribute of God, there's a lot of them I could give you. But I might start with holy. He's holy without blemish. He's perfect. He's a standard. And Anytime we make a decision or think a thought or in between, that deviates from that standard, that sin. And with sin come very negative consequences. Don't believe for a second the lie that sin will tell us. Sin will say it will promise pleasure and fulfillment and thrill, but it only leads you to bless bondage, breakdown and brokenness. That's it. Sin writes checks it can't cash.
[00:14:44] We have to be careful not to fall into the temptation of sin. It always leads to ruin. Sin says, hey, on the other side of this decision, there's a pot of gold, but it's only a pot of ruin. But don't take my word for it, David, oh brother found himself in a tough spot. I mean, he was a man after God's own heart until he wasn't.
[00:15:02] He made some really poor choices. Listen to the aftermath after his fleeing with sin. Listen to Psalm 38, verses 4 through 6. He says, My guilt overwhelms me. He's overwhelmed with guilt. It is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. I don't know if you've ever felt that level of guilt.
[00:15:29] I mean, where you just. You're overtaken by the weight of your sin. There's no shower that can wash off that feeling.
[00:15:37] You can't escape that pain. You might be able to numb it temporarily, but that pain, that comes right back. If you've ever been guilt ridden, I mean, just you feel the weight. Can I give you some really good news today?
[00:15:49] Guilt is a gift.
[00:15:52] Guilt is a gift.
[00:15:55] It's a gift from the Holy Spirit. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin and righteousness. And if you sin against God, if you depart from what God would have for you according to His Word and you feel guilty about it, oh, that's good. That means the Holy Spirit of God, he's putting his hand on you and he's saying, hey, listen, son. Listen, daughter, I have so much better for you that the way that you're living your life, that it only leads to ruin. But I have a way that will lead you to righteousness and goodness and peace and joy. I'm trying to help you get off the wrong track and put you on the right track. So if you feel guilty, praise God. Because we can't grieve the Holy Spirit to the extent where He. He takes his hand off. He takes his hand off of us and he allows us to wallow in the quagmire of our mistakes. Now, the good news is we're always one. One prayer away. One prayer repentance away from making a holy U turn and coming back to God. But nonetheless, maybe you found yourself in a situation where you just feel overwhelmed by. By guilt.
[00:17:01] I really want to make sure that you don't misunderstand what I'm saying.
[00:17:05] If. If you're a Christian, meaning not just you prayed an empty prayer, but you really have given your heart to the Lord. It doesn't mean that you're. You're now perfect. It means you're in a process called sanctification. And you'll stumble. You'll make mistakes. We all do. And I want to reassure you that whenever you stumble, your salvation is not at risk.
[00:17:23] When God. When God finds you, he doesn't lose you. Okay? I lose my keys all the time, but God never loses his kids.
[00:17:33] Once you are in his hands, nothing can take you out of the hand of God. Once you're born again into his family, you can't be unborn. Okay?
[00:17:42] However, even though your forgiveness, your salvation isn't at risk of being lost, there is something at stake. Your hope can take a hit.
[00:17:51] Your blessing can take a back seat. You see, God doesn't bless disorder. He doesn't bless chaos. God blesses obedience. And so if we're living in sin, there is something at stake here. And it's God's favor. It's the hope of Christ in our hearts. It's blessing he wants to give to us.
[00:18:07] Think about Samson. This is a man of God, who. He had God's blessing and favor on his life. And it came by way of not only him having amazing hair, which I definitely appreciate in a brother, okay. But it's also that he had, like, this incredible physical stature. Like he was the definition of brawn. Much like myself.
[00:18:28] Hey, that laugh was way too quick. Is it really that hard to believe?
[00:18:32] That's kind of aggressive, actually.
[00:18:34] So Samson, he's got this supernatural strength.
[00:18:39] That is, until he went wayward, until he began to compromise. And then God removed that blessing from his life. But here's the good news. The good news is, just like Samson, when Samson came undone before the Lord, he repented and he asked God to forgive him. God was faithful and just to forgive him of unrighteousness and. And cleanse him of all sin. You and I, too, can make the same choice. We pivot, turn back to God, and then what happens? God, Then he pours out his blessing and his favor when you have hope restored once again. If you're overwhelmed by guilt in this season, whether it's because of an addiction or a sin pattern or whatever it may be, and you feel like hope is all lost, get your hopes up, come back to God, make a holy U turn, and he will restore what is lost back into your life.
[00:19:25] Number two, we're overwhelmed with despair.
[00:19:28] Have you ever been in a dry season?
[00:19:31] That's a prolonged period of time where you're having to endure suffering or pain or discomfort or a great challenge, and it's lasting a lot longer than you thought it ever would. And everywhere you turn, you're just taking Ls. I mean, you got no food, you got no job, your pet's head is falling off.
[00:19:50] Three of you got that. Nothing like a dumb and dumber quote to make sure you're paying attention, okay?
[00:19:54] But in all seriousness, despair can set in whenever you just. You're treading water. Life is like a treadmill. You're. You're running, you're working hard, you're making no progress. There's no light at the end of the tunnel for you. Maybe it's migraines.
[00:20:08] You. You have off and on terrible migraines all the time. You've been to the doctor, you've looked for. For medication. There's. There's no relief in sight, and you're feeling a bit despaired. Maybe it's prolonged unemployment. You haven't had a job for quite some time. You're doing everything right by no fault of your own. You find yourself in that situation, and you've made lots of applications. You just can't quite find something that matches your qualifications that will allow you to provide for your family. Or maybe it's an estranged loved one that you aren't on speaking terms with, someone you dearly love, and they're living a wayward life, and then you're just desperate for them to come back into fellowship with you and with the Lord. Maybe it's an ongoing struggle with infertility, and it seems like everybody around you has no problem at all getting pregnant. And then here you are, and you're serving God. You're praying and you're believing, and you're going through all the treatments and no breakthrough yet. Maybe it's an addiction that you just can't seem to break free from. Or maybe it's financial hardship, Something happened in your life that caused a major setback, and now you just can't seem to get ahead. No matter how hard you work, how many extra shifts you Pick up. You can't get the promotion. You're not earning more money. You're. You're just. You're flatlined. Or maybe it's loneliness or singleness.
[00:21:18] Can I, can I give you an extra just point of encouragement here? If you're. You're single and, and you're just. You want to be married or you want to have a significant other and you're serving God, doing all the right things, I want to give you two encouragements, okay? Number one, wedding season's over. Okay? No more pictures on Facebook that you're going to see as a. As a reminder of your status. And number two, oh, I hope this encourages you that single is a whole number.
[00:21:44] Single's a whole number.
[00:21:46] That your life can be whole and complete in Christ even if you don't have a counterpart.
[00:21:53] Now, we pray that for you. And we don't compromise. Don't turn red flags into green flags. Okay?
[00:22:00] My point though is, is that maybe you find yourself in a season of despair because you're doing everything right, and yet there's no breakthrough. There are two stories in the Bible. Two great men of God who found themselves in such a desperate place, a despondent place, they even asked God to just end the game. Listen to this. In First Kings 19, verse 4, Elijah says this. Then he went out alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. Sounds like he's wandering. He's trying to figure out life. Why is all this happening to me? He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die.
[00:22:33] I've had enough, Lord, he said, take my life, for I'm no better than my ancestors who've already died. Have you ever felt so overwhelmed, so desperate, that even suicidal thoughts have come into your mind?
[00:22:48] Happened to Elijah.
[00:22:50] And it happened to Jonah too. Listen to Jonah in chapter four, verse three.
[00:22:55] Just kill me now, Lord.
[00:22:58] I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen, man. Don't hold back, Jonah. Tell God how you really feel.
[00:23:06] You know what I love about the Lord is he doesn't want pretentious you.
[00:23:12] He doesn't want polished me.
[00:23:15] He just wants you and me, come as you are.
[00:23:19] Don't fake it. You're not fooling God anyways. He sees right into the heart. He knows where you are.
[00:23:26] He welcomes you to come with all your emotions. The dark, the desperate ones, all of it. And he just says, come to me. Come to me if you're heavy laden with burdens, and I will give you rest. See, with Jesus we have rest with Jesus, we always have hope. You might be in a place of despair. You might feel like that. There just seems to be no way. But just like we sang earlier, God is able. He's able to pull, pull me up out of the pit and set my feet on solid ground. That's who our God is. I love how King David said in Psalm 27, verse 13, he said, I would have despaired unless I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Here's what David's saying. Times are tough. I'm down but not out. Because I've resided in my heart. I just made up my mind. Even though what I see with my eyes doesn't align what I with what I believe in my heart, I choose to believe, God, that I will see better days in the future, not only in heaven, but in the here and now, in the land of the living, here on the earth. In other words, I'd have called it quits. I'd have thrown in the towel had I not been convinced, God, that you are able, had I not been convinced that because my hope is in you, I always have optimism for the future.
[00:24:38] A couple weeks ago, my in laws who are right there, they took my family and my extended family about two and a half, three weeks ago on a Hawaiian cruise.
[00:24:51] Amazing. Pretty extravagant it was to join them in celebration of their anniversary. I mean, it was incredible. It was an out of this world type experience, especially the part where we survived a tsunami.
[00:25:05] That was wild. That was a wild deal. In fact, I think we're all gonna make shirts tsunami slayer, you know, like where family reunions would be a great time. Now I don't have a whole lot of time at all to tell you all the details of the story. I'm gonna save that for some other time. I'll be back. I'll tell you the story in greater detail.
[00:25:22] And just know this, when I tell you the story, I want you to understand as we get further and further away from the event, the legend grows. All right, When I tell you the story, I will have had my family on my back, all three of them. And I'm treading 10 foot waves.
[00:25:40] I put them down, everybody's retreating, I'm going in, I'm saving everybody. I got dozens of people, mostly women, children of the elderly. I get them to safety and I head back. Before you know it. It all ends with me riding a 20 foot wave on a surfboard, holding a three legged dog.
[00:25:56] But I don't have time to tell you the actual story. So just suffice it to say this. There was a tsunami when we were in Hawaii, and with very little notice, the cruise line said, we're out.
[00:26:09] We are leaving you on the island. And so they did. The ship sailed away, and there we are on the island. So we get to higher ground and all that stuff. And I'll tell the details some other day in the end, the next day, in the morning, later in the morning, we were able to get back on the cruise ship. And to the cruise line's credit, they had some conciliatory gifts for us, you know, kind of as a nice way of saying sorry we left you guys, you know, on the island.
[00:26:34] And one of those gifts was onboard credit. We could. We could buy things on the ship in different places. Well, we. We, throughout the week had seen a lot of different shops. In particular, there was a jewelry store on the ship, and we had. We had walked. No, no, really, we had. I made sure we ran past that shop every time. I just added too expensive. So. But at quick glance, I noticed there were some really unique jewelry items. And I thought, this is the time. We have this onboard credit. Let's go use it. And so we went to the jewelry store, and we bought oysters.
[00:27:07] In the jewelry store, we bought oysters. They had a bucket of them. You could buy an oyster and they would crack it open right in front of you, and then they would move all the gunk and stuff, and there would be a pearl inside of the oyster, and you got to keep it. And so I bought some extra pieces of jewelry, some bracelets and necklaces to house the precious pearls. So basically, the onboard credit went to I bought the girls pearls, and I bought a coffee mug.
[00:27:33] That's about right, isn't it? That's how it went down. Now, the reason why I tell you that story is because I really want to hone in on the pearls. The pearls, the pearls, the pearls. You know how pearls are made.
[00:27:42] It's whenever there is an unwelcomed, unwanted irritant that enters the life of the oyster.
[00:27:53] And the oyster, as a defense mechanism, is in great discomfort. And so it secretes this mineral substance to coat this irritable grain of sand that may be causing a lot of pain, as much pain as an oyster can feel anyhow. And this process continues for a long period of time, years even, until the coating smooths it out and makes it bearable and wait for it.
[00:28:19] Beautiful.
[00:28:21] What I'm simply suggesting you. Is that if you're in a place of despair, a prolonged period of suffering and discomfort.
[00:28:28] It's not because God is intent on hurting you.
[00:28:32] It very well may be that God is producing a pearl in you.
[00:28:37] He might be allowing some sort of event, some sort of prolonged period of suffering and discomfort, an irritant that's unwelcome, that no one will wish it on anybody.
[00:28:49] Maybe it's that he's going to use your pain as a platform to produce a pearl to show the world, look at the grace that I've given.
[00:28:57] Look at the grace he or she has received and how they've continued to follow me despite the difficulty they face in life. It's like the apostle Paul. He prayed three times, lord, please remove this thorn from my flesh. We don't know what the thorn was, but it was an irritant. It was uncomfortable, he didn't want it.
[00:29:14] And the Lord responded and said, no, my grace is sufficient for you.
[00:29:19] And then Paul says, well, if that's the case, I'll never lack gratitude for your grace, and your grace will be sufficient for me. And I will boast all the more gladly in my weakness, because in my weakness, your power is made strong and evident in my life.
[00:29:36] Maybe God's producing a pearl.
[00:29:38] Maybe that's why we're in a place of desperation, which means we can always still have hope in the Lord. Number three. Maybe it's because you're overwhelmed with grief. Maybe you're in a season of grief. You've lost a friendship over some sort of conflict. Maybe you've lost a loved one. Maybe you have ended a marriage and that's been devastating. You're suffering, experiencing loss. I want you to know that you need to grieve.
[00:30:07] You need to grieve properly. You need to give yourself time to sit in that emotion and feel that pain. That is all a part of God's process of eventually getting you back to confidence, getting you back to trust in God, getting you back to hope, getting you back to identity. But you can't rush through grief.
[00:30:26] You gotta sit in it, you gotta feel it. Sometimes you've gotta sow tears today so you can reap a song of joy tomorrow. The Bible says, though sorrow may last for the night, joy comes in the morning. And I love that our God is not a God who is so disconnected, who is emotionally removed, who is just watching from afar. I don't know. God is. God is up close and personal and he has experienced all things that it is to be human yet without sin. So he knows what it's like to experience grief. Don't just take My word for it. Listen to Isaiah 53, verse 3, talking about Jesus. He was despised and rejected. A man of sorrows acquainted with deepest grief.
[00:31:05] Jesus is with you in your grief. He can walk with you through it because he has already walked in it.
[00:31:12] And when you're grieving, Jesus isn't like, hey, woo, woo, hey, hey, let's go, come on, get up, get up, buttercup. Suck it up. Be a robot. Have no emotion. No, no, no. He's saying, take your time. Take your time. I grieve with you. It's okay for you to experience sorrow, but listen to me. Just don't stay in your sorrow.
[00:31:30] You just can't stay there because God has work for you to do. As long as you have a pulse. God has a purpose. So we can always have hope in Jesus. He's with us even through our deepest hurts and seasons of grief. So how do we. How do we get our hope back?
[00:31:44] Let's get hopeful again. How do we get our hope back? Okay, I got three quick points. Number one, pursue hope. Pursue hope.
[00:31:52] Have you ever had a friend that lost a bunch of weight?
[00:31:57] I've had a few friends that have had. They've gone through a weight loss journey and look amazing. You ever had one of those friends, but you're just not really sure how to acknowledge it?
[00:32:08] Like, you want to cheer them on and tell them how proud you are of them and just so excited for all the hard work and fortitude. And you want to say something, you just don't want it to come across as a backhanded compliment. Because the bad part about backhanded compliments is the backhanded part.
[00:32:21] And so you're really cleverly trying to figure out, like, I want to say something because they're awesome. And so, you know, usually I just do this. I just go, you look amazing.
[00:32:32] Amazing. Hopefully they'll take the bait and go, oh, thank you so much. Well, you know, I've been changing my diet, all this. What you don't want to say is you've lost a lot of weight so as to acknowledge that you were really up there, you know, not too long ago. You don't want to do that. But what I'm most interested in, what I'm most interested in is what was the catalyst?
[00:32:53] What was the pivot point? What changed in you? What was the turning point? Why now? What would you do?
[00:32:59] I'm here to tell you that if you are low on hope, your turning point, your hope is going to get kicked into high gear when you pursue Jesus because he's our living hope. And what better way to pursue Jesus and seek his face every day than to commit to praying? Not just one time a day, pray continuously. That's what Jonah did. When Jonah found himself in the big old mouth of this big old fish, he opened up his mouth even bigger and he cried out to God. Listen to what he says in Jonah, chapter 2, verse 7. When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. So how are we getting our hope back?
[00:33:36] We're going to pursue hope. Hope has a name.
[00:33:39] His name is Jesus number two. We're going to practice hope. We're gonna practice hope. I gotta get you to understand. Hope is not an emotion. It's not an emotion.
[00:33:50] Hope is a spiritual strategy. Hope's not an emotion. Hope is a spiritual strategy.
[00:33:56] Hope is the result of a mind that is renewed and is willing to reframe the story. Hear me out. Let me give you an example. Let's say you lose a job, okay? No, faulty. You lose a job. That's an event. That's a picture. You can't change the event. You can't change the picture. There it is. Everybody sees it for what it is. You lose a job.
[00:34:14] But we get to decide with practicing hope. We get to decide how we frame it. Let me give you two options. One option is, I've lost my job. You know, there's no hope for me. I'm never gonna have a good job again. I'm not gonna be able to provide for my family. I'm a loser. Option one. Option two is man's rejection is God's protection.
[00:34:33] Option two is, this isn't what I had planned out, but this setback is a setup. See, God has something better for me. And it might take a long time and it may not be the way that I thought I'd get there, but I believe that I'm gonna get there. And by the way, in the meantime, God's my provider anyways. He's Jehovah Jireh. You see that the event can't be changed. The picture is what it is. But whenever you're practicing hope, you have a renewed mind and you change how you frame things. Listen to me. This is not wishful thinking. This is. This is not Law of Attraction. That's nonsense. This is not speaking good things into existence. By no means. Only God can do that. This is coming into alignment with what God has already said. And he said he will work all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His Purpose. Oh, I love the prophet Isaiah. Oh, I love this.
[00:35:20] In chapter 40, verse 30, Isaiah says, But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. Okay, another translation says, those who wait on the Lord.
[00:35:36] So one translation says, those who hope in the Lord. Another translation says, those who wait on the Lord. Which one is it? Well, they both come from the same Hebrew root word, kavah.
[00:35:46] Now, because it's lunchtime, you probably heard kava.
[00:35:49] I didn't say kava. We'll get some later. I said kavah.
[00:35:53] Kavah. Listen to the definition of kava. Wait actively with anticipation, hopefully watching for God to act.
[00:36:01] See, kava isn't a static hope. It's an active hope. It's not like going to the dmv. Hello. I went there two weeks ago because my oldest daughter, Adeline, she got her learner's permit and we're sitting in the dmv. It was like this, just waiting, doing nothing but looking around, going. We're sharing the roads with these people. Like, this is scary.
[00:36:28] We're just hoping for our number to be called so we can get out of that desolate place.
[00:36:33] Kaval's not sitting static in the dmv. Kaval's more like a waiter at a restaurant. You see, a good waiter is always moving. A good waiter's never checking their phone. A good waiter always has their chin up, their hopes up. They're always looking how they can serve. Oh, would you need a refill? I got you. Oh, there are crumbs on your table. Let me clear that out. Even though you can still eat with crumbs, I'm going to get it anyways. Here's your entree. Here's your dessert.
[00:36:58] You're actively serving. So what kaval looks like in the life of the believer is God. While I'm waiting for you to restore the hope that is hard for me to find right now because of some sort of hindrance, some sort of difficulty, I'm not just going to wait, Lord, we're waiting for you.
[00:37:15] And do nothing. Oh, no, no, Lord, it's what can I do for you, God? Who can I serve? How can I give? Who can. Who needs some love? Who can I take care of? It's active. While you're waiting for God to do what only God can do. That's what practicing hope is. And last point, proclaim hope.
[00:37:34] Proclaim hope.
[00:37:36] I don't know if you're like me, but I tend to think thoughts and say things that are rooted in negativity and cynicism.
[00:37:47] It's like my default, which means I gotta reboot, I gotta retool.
[00:37:53] Instead of saying, I'm not, I can't, I won't, I don't.
[00:37:57] I need to say, I can, I am, I will, I have.
[00:38:03] In Christ, you gotta understand that our words inform our thoughts, and our thoughts inform our actions. Our lives are always moving in the direction of our. Of our strongest.
[00:38:14] So we have to speak positively. Not speak in fake, speak in faith. Let me give you some things. How about, God is for me, not against me. I will live and not die. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. And if you're not sure which hopeful words to proclaim, I'm going to give you three words. We can all utter three words, right? This is the most hopeful thing you and I can proclaim. And it's the second to last verse in the entire Bible.
[00:38:41] It's in Revelation 22:20.
[00:38:44] Here's John. He's on the island of Patmos, exiled, left for dead. If anyone had a reason to despair and be discouraged and throw in the towel, it's John. And yet he has hopeful expectation. God, what am I here for? You know, because he was exiled in that desolate place.
[00:39:02] That's how we got the book of Revelation. And last time I read the Book of Revelation, at the very beginning, in, like, verse seven of chapter one, it says, blessed are those who read the words of this book. We're blessed. Because he was distressed. Come on, somebody. And so he has hopes, listening for God. What are you gonna do? And the Lord shows up and gives him a vision of the eschatological timeline, the things that are about to happen in the future. You know, the rapture of the church and the tribulation, the second coming, millennial reign and judgment, and then new heaven, new earth, and those types of things. Well, at the very end of Revelation 22, here's what John records. Watch this proclamation of hope.
[00:39:38] Revelation 22:20.
[00:39:40] He who testifies to these things says, this is Jesus speaking. Yes, I am coming soon.
[00:39:48] Now watch this. And then John says, amen.
[00:39:53] Come, Lord Jesus.
[00:39:56] I said three words. I meant to say four.
[00:39:59] Amen.
[00:40:00] Come, Lord Jesus.
[00:40:02] Right now, hope is on the horizon. We have expectant anticipation of God doing something great.
[00:40:11] But there will come a day when hope will come on the horizon.
[00:40:15] He'll bring all the saints with him on Air Horse 1, bring back his goodness. He will establish his throne here on the earth. The Prince of Peace will rule and reign. The government will be on his shoulders. There will be no tears shedding from eyes. There will only be peace, hope and joy. Hope will no longer be on the horizon. Hope will be here in our midst and we will rejoice.
[00:40:39] Amen.
[00:40:40] Come Lord Jesus Father, we're so thankful that even the most difficult of times we have hope.
[00:40:48] Not in a job, not in a relationship, not in status, not in approval.
[00:40:54] We have hope in Jesus, the one who's same yesterday, today and forever. Father, I pray for anyone that's in this room who is down but not out. Lord, I pray they lift up their eyes because you are where our help comes from. You alone are where our hope is. And even if, Lord, faith says even if not, what if, even if we don't get out of this difficult season soon, we know you're coming soon and that's when our hope will be here. So we look to that day. Lord, we thank you for your goodness in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:41:28] Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you have any questions or prayer requests, please contact us by visiting metchurch.com so that we can follow up with you this week. We look forward to seeing you next week.
