And Such We Are!

One of my favorite verses of scripture has grown to be 1 John 3:1, where the beloved Apostle John wrote, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not now Him." Every time I read this passage I am reminded that we are not just "called" children of God, we really are His children, sons through adoption! These are not just wonderful sounding words but wonderful and forever truths. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul wrote that "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God". Praise God for this confirmation of truth that He has worked within us.

As His children, scripture reminds us that we are the children of promise; the promise of righteousness by faith. We are called to be imitators of God as beloved children. As His children we are called to be above reproach and to appear as lights in the world as we live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

And as His children we possess a most glorious hope. In 1 John 3:2 we read, "Now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." John is speaking of that which Paul said was "very much better", being with Christ. It is the culmination of our faith. It is the hope of  His children. His promised appearance and the awesome privilege to "see Him just as He is". The power of His presence and glory, seeing Him just as He is, will cause us to be like Him. May Jesus Christ be praised for being all sufficient in making us children of God!

 

Hope-A Gift From God

This is the message I shared this morning as I was blessed with the privilege of speaking at my home church.

HOPE – A GIFT FROM GOD

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 6:16-18

^“16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ¹⁷In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

The title of my message this morning is: Hope – A Gift from God.

We need hope and God has provided it.
Several weeks ago we were looking at the 1^st Chapter of 1^st Peter during our Wednesday night bible study and it really caused me to consider the hope that God has given the believer in Christ and to just recognize God’s intimate knowledge of our need of it. 

I pray that God might use me to convey truths about this Hope that He gives.

This morning I would like to consider three specific aspects regarding this hope that is a gift from God and I pray that God would be glorified as we consider these matters. The three are as follows:

1.    There is no hope apart from Christ.

2.    Hope possessed is not always hope realized.

3.    The hope that God has graced us with is not just the glorious hope of heaven one day, but hope that He gives for living day after day; until that day.

1)   There is no hope apart from knowing Christ.

Ephesians 2:12 “Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Being separate from Christ is to have no hope. ("He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" 1 John 5:12). Eternal AND abundant.

But in 1 Timothy 1:1 we read the following words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy:

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope”.

The word translated “hope” here means “expectation of good” (certainly Jesus is that), For the Christian it has the meaning of “joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation”, Speaking of Christ, it tells of “the author of hope” or “He who is the foundation of hope” or “the thing (or the One) hoped for.”

In this passage our hope is given a name. It is the name above all names, the name of Jesus. Jesus is our hope.

Knowing Christ Jesus as Savior is by grace and through faith and hope is part of this “grace” package.

In 2^nd Thessalonians 2:16-17, Paul wrote, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”

This “good hope” is given to us by grace. It is unmerited but is ours as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and recipients of God’s grace and goodness. “Good hope” means a useful, joyful, excellent, distinguished hope. These words help describe the hope that we have in Christ.

The gospel (there is only one according to the scriptures) is the message of hope. Colossians 1:15 says, “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.” The gospel of Christ is the gospel of hope. They are one in the same.

2)   Hope Possessed is not always hope realized. (or hope “laid hold of” as we read in the Hebrews 6 passage)

By virtue of God’s grace, God’s promises, Christ’s all sufficient work on Calvary and His everlasting priesthood on our behalf, the Christian possesses hope. But hope possessed is not always hope realized.   

God desires that we realize or lay hold of the hope He has given.

In Ephesians 1:18 Paul wrote;
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”.

As Paul prayed for the Ephesians, each one of us should have a desire to know the hope of our calling. And to submit to all that God has provided for us to do so.

In 2^nd Corinthians 1:8-10, we read the following account from the Apostle Paul’s life.

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us”.

I believe that Paul is saying, at least in part, that they purposed to set their hope on God and I believe, as we see elsewhere in scripture, that this is a matter of focus and needs to be tended to on a regular basis. We see this principle (that of an on-going and continuous activity) time and again in God’s word.

Some examples are as follows: “Fixing our eyes on Jesus”, “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus”, “Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is”, “Set your mind on things above” , “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”

This hope possessed can become hope realized as we purpose to avail ourselves to all that God has provided us for life and Godliness. His word, the privilege of prayer, the fellowship of believers and the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. As we grow in Christ, mature in our faith and as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, hope can be realized.

I appreciate what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers in 1^st Thessalonians 1:2-3. He commended them regarding this matter of hope when he said,

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope”

Paul said he was thankful to God for the Thessalonian believers and made a point to say that their “steadfastness of hope” was one of the things he considered often when he thought of them. In Romans 15:13 we read “Now may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I suspect that this was the case with the Thessalonians. The God of hope had filled them with joy and peace and they were abounding in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So it can be for you and I.

Perhaps we don’t like to, but we must acknowledge the other side to this truth”. If we choose to neglect the gracious provisions that God has given us, hope will remain ours as a positional truth in Christ but it will not necessarily be realized and enjoyed in our daily lives by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And this leads me to the third point that I shared earlier and is where I want to focus the remainder of our time this morning.

3)   The hope that God has graced us with is not just the glorious hope of heaven one day, but hope that He gives for living day after day; everyday, until that day.

There is no doubt; in Christ we have the hope and promise of heaven! The hope of being in His presence is the culmination of our faith. Whether by death or by rapture, we look forward to one day being face to face with our Savior. We anticipate the glory and wonder of that which Paul described as “very much better”. We try to describe the indescribable that awaits the believer in Christ. How it is that His glory will satisfy, not for a day, or for thousands of days but for eternity.

But, how about today? How about last week? How about this past year? Has the hope that God gives His children been effectual in your life? Will it be so in the days and years ahead?

We live in a world that offers little hope but much despair. As believers we know there is no hope in the world save the hope that is found in Christ Jesus and the grace of God. In fact, we know that hopelessness rules the day in the lives of many.

Sure, there are times when it might appear that those who have no hope seem to have some. But apart from God’s grace they really have none.

I’m fortunate to have an office in Astoria that provides me with a view of the Columbia River. It’s about 3 blocks away from the river but it’s a couple of stories up, so I have a pretty good view of at least a portion of the river. Having lived here for many years I have also spent countless hours out on the river.

There are days when the river is so calm and quiet and even though there are currents and tides, it appears unmoving. There are days when there is a little wind causing a small ripple on the surface of the water. There are days when the wind is blowing, sometimes contrary to the flow of the river and white caps can be seen everywhere. And there are days when the current and tide are running hard and the wind is blowing strongly and the river is frothing with rolling waves and white caps. There are some days when these very different conditions occur all in the same day.

Like the river I describe, so life can be in this world in which we live. There are those times when things are quiet and calm and it’s then when hope is not our foremost concern. And there are times when the winds and the tides are raging contrary to us. At these times we often struggle to find hope. At these times we often get our eyes and focus off of Jesus, the One who is our hope. Sometimes we find ourselves looking elsewhere.

Paul wrote to Timothy, telling him to “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God”. Whether you are rich or poor our hope is to be fixed on the only thing that is certain and that is God.

During these difficult times, when the currents of life are against us, God would have our hope to grow.

Let me read Romans 5:1-5

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Shortly after Carol and I started attending Lewis and Clark Bible Church I gave Pastor Jerry a photograph I had framed of the very large anchor that many of you have seen on display at the Maritime Museum. For me it represented a quick visual reminder of the hope that we have in Christ and the text in Hebrews 6:19. It is here that the Hebrew author wrote, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil”.

There is no surer or more steadfast anchor of the soul than our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how God knew the necessity that we would have for such an anchor as is Christ.

Returning back to the river for a moment. Over the last many years of fishing on the Columbia River I have witnessed many a fisherman anchoring in the river to fish for sturgeon. Every once in a while you see someone drop their anchor and prepare to come tight on their anchor rope only to find themselves continuing to drift along with the current. Their anchor was not adequate and it was not able to hold them. So will be any other “anchor” you look to other than Christ.

I recall the story in the Book of Acts where just prior to Paul being shipwrecked, they had cast out four anchors off the stern to keep the ship from running aground on the rocks.

We don’t need four anchors. We only need the One that God has given us. He will hold in the biggest of storms. In the most howling of winds. Andy in the strongest of currents and the greatest surges of tides that run against us.

Let me close with the first verse and chorus from a great hymn written 177 years ago. Wow, 177 years ago. What a privilege to be used by God to minister in the lives of people for so many years. 

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteouness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name. On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Father, we thank you for the hope that you have given us in your Son Jesus Christ. Indeed, He is the anchor of our souls. We praise you for the glorious hope of heaven that we rest in, and live in anticipation of. By your grace and mercy, may you cause us to be people of hope each day. May Jesus Christ be praised. Amen  

The Sinfulness and Depravity of Men - And Women

Scripture is clear when it proclaims the sinfulness of man. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” the Apostle Paul was inspired to write in Romans 3:23. In Romans 5:12 Paul wrote, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”.

In Romans 3:12 we read “ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” And in Romans 3:10 we find that “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE”.

The sinfulness and utter depravity of man is on display each and every day in the world in which we live. The news headlines seldom, if ever, lack a news story that depicts the depraved acts of men. Each one contributes to the ever growing mountain of evidence and eye witness testimony in support of the sin indictment against man that is declared in scripture.

As I was recently reading the 14th chapter of the Book of Matthew, I was reminded that depravity knows no gender boundaries. I don’t mean to suggest that this truth had previously escaped me or that I had discovered some hidden truth. It just caused me to pause and consider the depravity of men – and women.

In this chapter we read Matthew’s account of the death of John the Baptist. Most are familiar with the story. John had been telling Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife. This (the truth) had angered Herod and Herodias, his brother’s wife and had resulted in John being jailed.

At a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias had pleased Herod with her dancing. As a reward for pleasing him, Herod promised with an oath to give the girl whatever she asked. The passage tells us that Herodias prompted her daughter to ask Herod to give her the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Mark's gospel account of this says that after speaking with her mother "she came in a hurry to the king" to make this request. In fulfillment of his promise, Herod had John beheaded and his head was brought and given to the girl on a platter. The girl then gave it to her mother.

I’m convinced that seeing the head of a man who had been beheaded, sitting on a platter would be grotesque and repulsive to most all people. But nothing in the text seems to suggest that there was anything but glee in the hearts of these two women. They could have asked for wealth and fortune, as Herod had said to the girl that she could ask for up to half of his kingdom. But it was the beheading of a man and his head being delivered on a platter that was the request of a depraved woman and her daughter.

Praise God for the cross of Christ. Praise God for the gospel of grace. Praise God for His ability to save. And praise God for His power to change lives and renew minds. Praise God for His Son, Jesus!

Portions of Scripture to Ponder for 2012

As we enter this new year I thought I would suggest 12 portions of scripture and encourage you to ponder them during the months of 2012. May the Lord bless you and may you know Him better and have a more intimate relationship with Him at the end of the year. Lord willing, I hope to pause, ponder and write some thoughts related to each of these portions of scripture during the coming months. God bless!  
     
1 John 3:1 "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."

Ephesians 4:1 "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called."

Colossians 3:1-2 " Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

1 Peter 1:13 " Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Philippians 3:8-10 "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death".

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

1 Timothy 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

2 Peter 1:2-3 "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

2 Peter 3:17-18 "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."