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HOPE

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HOPE

PRISONERS OF HOPE CAN CONFIDENTLY
LOOK FORWARD TO A PREDICTABLE END

Numbers 35: 11-29. Lamentations 3: 21-26. Hebrews 6: 16-20. God wanting to show us the immutable, unchangeable certainty of His counsel swears by Himself, taking an oath, so that those who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before them might have strong consolation; be comforted, by the paraklesis, the one who comes alongside to help “our comforter”.

To hope is to desire with expectation of fulfilment.
Romans 12: 12. Paul speaks of rejoicing in hope serving the Lord.
Most things today are not made to last. (They have a use by date.) But with us it’s different. We have been created to face the future confidently as surely as we face each other here today.
A basic human need is a vision of hope for the future, where one has enough faith to act.

We live by faith. “But” We live in hope. Faith is an act. To hope is to act.

Hope is a dwelling we can take refuge in. Psalm 46: God is in the midst of her. This city is sustained by a river of life that flows out from under the throne of God. It’s a throne of grace, and upon it sits a lamb as though it was slain yet is alive. He is not hapless that hopes in Him.

Psalm 107:1-7. Of course we are not immune to pain and sorrow. We all know what it is to cry and sigh, and to be conscious of weakness. It was to this attitude that God responded when He sent Moses to Pharoah saying, “Set my people free and let them go”. And so we do not sorrow as them that have no hope. So wipe your tears and live in hope 1 Thess 4:13.
It is as human to hope, as it is to breathe, to love and to cry.

God has never left His people without hope! Faith is now but hope goes beyond now and transports us into a future that God has already prepared for us.
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, and despised the shame.
Hope is a characteristic of God. He is the God of all hope. 1 Peter 1: 3-4. Hope is vision; it’s a spiritual force quite distinct from faith or love.
Faith is an action; but hope is an attitude.
Faith causes me to take a hold of God now.
Love makes me want to serve God in righteousness.
Hope helps me endure in times of difficulty; to refuse to quit and give up. When tempted to despair it is an anchor that steadies the soul in the storms of life.
Instructions for sons Proverbs 24: 10-12. If we faint in the day of adversity, it’s because our strength is small. Ignorance is not bliss, because we will be held accountable. My grace is sufficient.

In I Thessalonians 5: 18 the helmet of salvation is hope. The most vulnerable part of the human anatomy is the head.
Hope transports us into a future not yet realised.
Who for the joy that was set before Him; He endured the cross and despised the shame.
The world can offer no hope whatsoever. Men put their hope in human potential; scientific advancement, socio and political changes that have never delivered.
One definition for optimism is to look on the bright side, but no man by taking thought can add to his statue one inch.
We are not just a bunch of kooky optimists who go around singing Kay-Serah-Serah; or nervously wandering through life with our fingers crossed as we whistle in the dark. Hope is more than optimism. It is a settled conviction that we have been delivered, are being delivered, and will most certainly be delivered. We are willing prisoners of hope, our hope is in the Lord; all other help is hopeless.

Christian hope never gives up when faced with harsh realities.
Christian hope can face any situation because it is not based on changeable circumstances, but on a settled conviction that Christ has taken care of tomorrow.
Job 1: 13-22 Three times “While he was yet speaking”.
Job 19: 21-27 “Oh that my words were written in a book”. Hope rests its case on the crucifixion and resurrection. “Though he slay me yet will I trust him”
We are here today because of one indisputable fact, and that is because His household is a family of hope, and so we come to Him with all our hopes.
Chorus: We come into His presence to call upon His name and worship Him.
As we read this, all around us people are crying, and asking; Doctor, is there any hope?
Hope springs internal in the human breast; man never is but to be blest. Alex Pope.

Hymn: “Pardon for sin and a peace everlasting,
Your living presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
These are the blessings your love doth provide;
Great is thy faithfulness.

Hope prizes the promises. Hope values them as greater riches than silver or gold. Heb 10: 35. “Cast not away your confidence in God.”
Many things are hoped for; the realization of some will come sooner than others. We can all look back on times when we hoped and saw it fulfilled. For some of us today hope will conceive its own child. Never forget delay is not denial.
Hope looks forward to its realization with an attitude that moves confidently towards its fulfilment.
Between the present moment and the actual realization of the object of your hope, weeping may come in the black night, but joy cometh in the morning light.
Psalms 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
God has joined some things together; man and woman; The Spirit and the Word; the heart and the mouth: life and intelligence. And what God has put together, let no man put asunder.

Romans 5: 1-5. “Hope maketh not ashamed, says Paul.” Hope leads everything.
Faith sees what is; hope sees what will be.
Love loves what is, but hope loves what will be. Hope endures joyfully.
Hope encourages faith so that is does not degenerate into faintheartedness.
It broadens the scope of love, and stops it from becoming selfish.
Hope creates fear in the hearts of its enemies.
Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.

“Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest”.
Today as we read this, in communities all around us people are crying, and asking; Doctor, is there any hope?

Isaiah 54: 1. “Sing oh barren sing”. It’s a song of hope. It’s a command, because it’s a principle for a fruitful life. Be sure the song you came to sing does not remain unsung.

Cities of refuge: Numbers 35:11-29.

These cities of refuge were cities of hope.
Take for example a man living in peace and comfort, going about his business fearing no man when suddenly unintentionally, he accidentally kills a man.
Now he must flee from the wrath to come, because the avenger of blood is most certainly going to come after him to kill him. If the manslayer wants to live he must immediately do something, or suffer the consequences.

In the O.T. these cities were only for the unintentional killer. Once inside the city the manslayer is safe, but his very refuge was a prison. He is secure, but he is a prisoner until the death of the High Priest. But the very opposite is true for the N.T. believer. Christ has set him free. John 8: 36. Luke 4: 18.

In the N.T. Christ has made provision for all who flee for refuge.
Some of you need to start living again, there’s no future in the past.
You can do it, yes you can. I can? Yes that’s right whosoever you are you can.

Hope is indispensable. Hope is vision.
Phil 4: 4-7: We should pray about everything before we do anything.
Psalm 27:13. “I had fainted except I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. This verse reveals the condition of men and women that fail to hope in the goodness of the Lord in the NOW.
It’s not impossible, just come to Him and give Him your hand and start hoping Psalm 126.