Father, we ask that, Father, we confess that we often don't think you want to give us things
which are really important to us. Father, that's just a problem many of us have.
So we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit would do a gentle but very deep work on us this morning
and help us to trust you and to believe you, Father. And we ask in particular
that you would grow good hope within us, that you would grow a good hope
that allows us to live well for the good of ourselves, the good of this community,
the good of our families and our friends, and for your great glory and praise as the gospel is spread.
So, Father, grow good hope in us this morning. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please be seated.
So I've had an interesting or an odd type of week. I had two conversations about suicide this week.
And that's not something which I normally have a conversation about.
But this week I had several conversations about suicide.
One, in one case, it was because it's coming up to the, like almost any day,
it will be the one-year anniversary of a very shocking, for this person,
a very shocking and gruesome suicide.
The one-year anniversary of it.
And in the other case, it was a person sharing, I can't remember now if it was two or three,
but the person sharing with me how a very close family member
has now had either two or three suicide attempts, serious suicide attempts.
And it was just in each of those cases, just pure, I mean, some people would just say by chance,
others would say by providence of God.
A person who wasn't supposed to drop in, who had a key, dropped in and had a key.
Like those types of weird situations.
And if it hadn't been for that, the person would have successfully committed suicide.
And so we had, you know, these conversations about it.
And, you know, in both cases, you know, one of the people who'd committed suicide,
I mean, it's always tragic, right?
In fact, actually, in the one with the several attempts, the person who tried to do it is very wealthy.
And in the other case, this is a person who was just brilliant.
A doctor, you know, young, like all, from the outside, in both cases,
you'd look as if you'd think that these people had everything going for them in their life.
You might even wish that you could be like them.
You might even be saying, my life sucks, I wish I could be like them,
without knowing that one of them would then, as I said, coming up a year ago, commit suicide,
very in a gruesome manner.
And in both cases, as I'm talking in these cases,
they shared how, especially with the person who talked through the person,
I can't remember now if it was two or three suicide attempts,
they just shared how an overwhelming darkness and hopelessness,
overwhelming darkness and hopelessness,
just descended upon them and settled upon them,
and settled and settled and settled.
And, I mean, hopeless doesn't begin to capture the darkness of the state that they were in.
Believe it or not, the Bible text that we are going to look at today
has an awful lot to say about hope
and how to understand hope and God and hope
and help anybody to think about hope better.
So it'd be a great help for me if you would take your Bibles
and turn in them to Ephesians 1, verses 15 to 23.
Ephesians 1, verses 15 to 23.
And we're going to look at this whole problem of what hope is.
And here's the thing to begin with.
Isn't it puzzling that we need hope to live?
Like, most of us might never have thought about it, but we do.
Without hope, we want to die.
But that's an interesting thing about us as human beings,
that that would be so important about us.
So let's see what the Bible says.
And in this particular case, we'll have the text up on the screen as well
for those who don't have your Bibles with you.
And hopefully I'm doing this correctly.
So this is how it begins.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love toward all the saints,
I do not cease to give thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.
And we'll just sort of pause there for a second.
What I should have mentioned before we started to read this
is one of the things which is very puzzling,
and if you go back on your own and read the whole letter to Ephesians,
is that the man who's writing this is in jail.
He's in jail.
And in fact, it doesn't sound like he's in jail.
I think as I shared last week,
if I was in jail writing you folks a letter,
it would begin probably,
I'm so glad nobody's beat me up yet.
Then the second thing might be,
get me a better lawyer.
The third one might be, pray like crazy or whatever.
But when you read this letter,
it doesn't sound like it's written by a guy who's in jail.
And he's in jail in Rome.
The letter is written around somewhere between the year 60 and 62.
And he's writing a letter to a group of churches
in a place called Ephesus,
in what we now know of as Turkey,
which was an important city in the Roman Empire at the time.
And he writes like this.
He actually spent three years,
the writer of the letter,
spent three years in Ephesus.
He planted the church and the multiple churches.
But he writes like this because he's been gone from them
for several years,
but he's heard that they're growing
and they're doing really well.
And so he's filled with thanks.
Right?
I do not cease to give thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers.
I'm going to say one other thing.
So here's a,
okay,
time out.
Grammar geek moment.
Time out.
You know who you are.
Okay?
So this is for you.
This,
15 to 23 in Greek,
is one sentence.
No modern editor would ever let you write this sentence today in English.
But it's one long sentence.
But in the original language,
I'm breaking the verses up into six sections
because,
okay,
grammar geek moment,
in the original language,
this would have been read out loud.
Many people were illiterate,
right?
So this would have been a letter that was written in all of the different churches
in Ephesus and the surrounding community.
And,
and one of the things that they taught you in the ancient world
was how to read properly.
And so,
if you just,
trust me on this,
if you analyze it in the original letter,
there's breathing spots
because they were trained to be able to stand.
I don't know how they stood,
but they would have stood there in a proper way.
They read a bit
and then there'd be a,
and then they'd speak and speak and speak
and then be,
they breathe.
And so it's designed that way
and that's how I've divided up the verses.
It helps you to understand the units of meaning.
Okay,
Greek,
geek,
not Greek,
geek moment over
back to the rest of you
who are not geek grammar nerds.
Okay,
so,
so that's how it begins.
He's very thankful
and then he's thanking
and remembering you in your prayers.
And what does he say next?
The next thing he says is this.
And,
this sounds a little bit innocuous,
but he actually
sort of enters into a very interesting riddle
that we don't really think about that often.
Look at what he says.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
may give you the spirit of wisdom
and of revelation
in the knowledge of him,
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.
Now,
that just looks like a pretty innocuous thing,
but here's this interesting thing.
Remember I said,
why is it that we can't live without hope?
Like,
why is that?
Well,
here's this other thing.
I am not a dog person.
I married a dog person,
so we have dogs.
Louise loves dogs.
She also loves birds and fish
and all sorts of other things,
so we live in a small zoo
almost sometimes.
But,
we have this humongous
German shepherd
and a dog not quite as big
that's a cross between
a standard poodle
and a sheep dog.
The big dog is called Rocky
and the smaller dog
is called Wooly.
But,
here's the thing.
I observe these dogs
and dogs,
you know,
domesticated dogs,
they're pretty high up
in terms of animals.
Dogs never hope.
If you think about it for a second,
dogs don't hope.
not really.
Like,
Rocky's not hoping
for Christmas.
That's a bit too far for us.
Rocky's not hoping
for Halloween.
So,
I mean,
I observe the dog.
It's not as if
they're just a lump.
Louise,
often on many days,
she goes to one of our
kids
and she meets
their kids,
our grandkids,
off the bus
because,
you know,
Victoria can't be home
in time for it
and so Louise goes
and meets the kids,
some of our grandkids
and,
you know,
brings them and looks at it
and then when Louise
comes home at quarter to six
or six o'clock
or something like that,
as soon as she comes in,
as soon as she pulls in,
the dogs are very excited
and because it's six o'clock
at night,
the dogs know that
unless Louise
desperately has to go
to the bathroom,
the very first thing
Louise does
will be to feed
the dogs
and they're really excited
about that,
let me tell you,
they really jump up and down,
it is a big,
big moment.
I think actually
first she gives them a cookie,
then what parents
aren't supposed to do
with your kids,
you don't give them a cookie
and then their dinner
but it works with dogs,
right?
So,
but I don't think
they think all day,
I wonder what type of cookie
I'm going to have,
I hope I get a good,
like,
dogs don't hope,
so just think about it
for a second,
like,
why is it that human beings hope?
It's not obvious,
like,
if naturalistic evolution
is true
and we're just a result
of cause and effect
and the natural physical laws
and processes,
like,
we're no more
biologically adapted
to live well than,
well,
in fact,
they used to say,
some of us are old enough,
remember when the thing
that used to be
mutually assured destruction
and the worry
that there'd be nuclear bombs
that would kill everything
and the only things
that would survive
wouldn't be humans,
it would be cockroaches,
and they never hope,
by the way,
they're just bugs,
right?
So it doesn't really
add any advantage,
like,
why do human beings hope?
Why do we hope?
And why is it that hope
is so important to us
that without hope
we'd die?
And in fact,
it's even curious
because from Eastern
religion's point of view,
if in the way,
like,
the CBC
or the University of Ottawa
would tell you
about how you began,
which is through
blind chance,
like,
how does hope exist
in such a world?
Yet from the Eastern religions
where there's either
this constant cycle,
but at the end of the day,
all things that exist
are a result
of an ancient catastrophe
where the divine unity
somehow or another
started to have separation
and we're all trying
to get back to it.
But if it all began
by a catastrophe,
then why does hope exist?
Huh?
Like,
why?
Well,
you,
now go back
and look at the text again
because the text
actually says
we're just so familiar
with it
we don't realize
that the text
says something
very,
very significant.
Look at it again.
The last bit,
having the eyes
of your hearts
enlightened.
See,
here's the thing.
Human,
the Bible teaches
that human beings
are deep
and that we're
not just bodies.
there's something
deeper about
a human being.
In the language
of a heart,
we not normally
hear it
and we think
of emotions
but in fact,
the Bible here
is not referring
to the fact
that human beings
have emotions.
Dogs have emotions.
What it's referring
to is the command center.
So those of you
who really like
Star Trek,
just picture
where Captain Kirk
sits
and that's
the biblical
understanding
of the heart.
that there's
something
non-physical
that makes
us human
that's
obviously
connected
to our bodies.
It's like
having bodies
isn't sort of
an accident
or just a chance.
We were designed
to be a body
with a command center
that's not purely
physical.
One being.
And this command center,
out of this command center,
out of this thing
which is the very center
of who we are,
which can't be explained
purely by cause
and effect
or by genetics
or biology
or anything like that,
out of that one command center,
this is what's so unique
about the Christian worldview
because it fits with us.
Out of this one command center
comes the mind
and thinking,
comes the mind
and imagination,
comes the mind
and memory.
Out of it comes
the ability
to will,
to choose.
Out of it comes
creativity.
Out of it comes
feelings
and emotions
and affections
and longings
and apprehension
of beauty
and glory.
And out of this
one spot,
it's not as if there's a,
it's not as if there's,
over here is the,
you know,
the feeling part
and over here
is the willing part
and over here
is the thinking part.
No,
there's just one center
of a human being
and that's how God
designed us.
And it's because
God designed us
to be a body
with a heart,
with a command center
that's not purely
physical.
It's because
that God
designed this.
designed us
in such a way
not as a catastrophe,
not as just
mere chance,
that we understand
that the heart
that out of us
comes a natural
desire to think.
If we had a baby
and it wasn't
showing any sense
of thinking,
we would be worried.
If we had a baby
and it showed no sign
of ever wanting
to smile or cry,
we would be worried.
If we had a young child
and it never had
any imagination
or creativity,
we would be worried.
If we had a child
and it had no longings,
we would be worried.
And so in this
little tiny thing,
we don't realize
that one moment,
all of a sudden,
with this one text,
a whole different way
of understanding
human being
is opened up to us.
That human beings
are deep
and that out of
the very center
of who human beings
are,
we think,
we reason,
we remember,
we imagine,
we will,
we feel,
not out of different
places,
but out of one place.
Even though,
as fallen human beings,
we recognize
that those things
can sometimes be at war.
We think one thing
and we emote,
we feel emotions
around another thing
and we long
for different things.
But we understand
that they're at war
because God,
you know,
the Eastern religions
are right,
there is a catastrophe,
but the catastrophe
isn't what created us.
The catastrophe came
after God made
a good creation
and the catastrophe
came when we,
human beings,
desire to be like
gods ourselves.
And in seeking
to do that,
we broke our connection
with the true
and living triune God
and division
and brokenness
entered into our lives.
And God made us
to hope.
If you think about it,
go back and look again
at the Genesis 1
and Genesis 2.
Why did God
create human beings?
He created us
to be at home
in this universe
and he created us
to tend the garden.
He created us
to be fruitful
and multiply
and have dominion
over all of the earth.
Now,
true confessions,
again,
I am not a gardener.
If you want your garden
to die,
ask me to be the gardener.
If you want all the plants
in your house to die,
ask me to care for them.
I have a black thumb,
not a green thumb.
But,
here's what I understand
about gardeners
because my wife
likes to garden
and I know lots of gardeners.
You know,
you can't tend a garden
without hope.
Like right now,
gardeners are just,
you know,
there's a sense
that they're going to be
winding everything up
but even as they're
winding everything up,
as they start to bank things
and cover things,
it's also,
the garden will flourish
this coming spring.
And over the winter,
they'll buy seeds
at the right time
and they'll start
to plant them
and try to get them
germinating
inside their house
and they'll think,
I know them,
they'll talk about,
should we buy
these types of plants
or these types of tomatoes
or these types of flowers?
I'm thinking of
extending this.
I think we'll have
less corn
and rather than that,
there will,
right?
It's hope.
They think,
they plan,
they hope.
God created us that way.
That's why we can't live
without hope.
God created us.
This text opens us up
on this very,
very,
very profound riddle.
But the text then goes on
and does something else
which is very,
very,
very interesting.
Look again at what it says
up there,
right?
It asks,
it asks,
that,
I have to look at the right
spot in my Bible,
that may give you
the spirit of wisdom
and of revelation
and knowledge of him,
having the eyes of your hearts
enlightened.
It's very interesting
that what he's praying for
is that light
will come into the center
of the hour.
Remember what suicide,
suicide I described
as this overwhelming darkness
that comes to you.
And Paul's prayer,
his insight,
is that we need to be praying
into people
that light
comes into the very center
of who they are.
And then he asks
for three very interesting
connected things.
Look at verses 18
through the beginning
of verse 19.
And there's three things
that he prays for,
each begin with the word
what.
That you may know
what is the hope
to which he has called you.
What are the riches
of his glorious inheritance
in the saints?
And what is the immeasurable
greatness of his power
toward us who believe
according to the working
of his great might?
Now, these things
are like a Rubik's cube.
It's not three completely
separate things.
It's three things
which you get aligned
just as you want to get
the Rubik's cube
to be aligned
with all the colors
in the right way.
And they fit with each other
and they communicate
with each other.
And it's not just
pie in the sky.
In fact,
if you look at it,
once again,
it helps you to understand
how we think about hope.
I know a person.
I haven't had very many
conversations with this
person for a while.
It happens,
but because of their past,
because of the fact that
they were rejected
by their dad,
they've been rejected
by their family,
they've had a hard time
with bosses,
this person's a really,
really, really,
really hard worker.
A really hard worker.
But it's other people
who will take credit
for the work.
It's other people
who get the promotions.
And their entire past
just seems to be
one of rejection
and failure.
And so they have no hope
for the present
or for the future.
And others,
they look at something,
maybe their future,
they look at their finances,
they look at their health,
they see death coming
and they have no hope
for the future.
I know of one person
who wanted to get
the doctors
to administer drugs
to them
so they could die quickly
because they couldn't
look good anymore.
They couldn't get
their hair done
and their makeup done.
I'm not making this up.
Could not get their hair done
and their makeup done
and wear good clothes
because of their
medical condition
and they wanted to die.
The future just looked
bleak and bleak
and bleak
and the present,
no power.
Look at how this is structured.
Just look at,
listen to it again,
that you may know
what is the hope
to which he has called you.
So Paul wants Christians,
he wants the people
in Ephesus
to have hope.
And the first thing
to remember about hope
is that God called you.
That's the past.
Sorry, I guess for you
I should point that way.
That's the past.
You know,
the reason you're a Christian
is that God called you first.
You become a Christian
not when you call out to God
hoping he'll answer,
but when you call out to God
who has been already calling you.
And you're to remember
that God called you.
And then he looks to the future
and he says,
what are the riches
of his glorious inheritance
in the saints?
In other words,
he's telling you
to look forward to heaven.
This is really,
remember,
Paul's in jail.
And he said,
you know,
I want you to grow in hope.
And one of the ways
to grow in hope,
one of the ways
to have light
come into your life
is to reflect
and remember
that God called you
to be his child.
And one of the things
to bring hope
into your life
is to remember
and reflect upon the fact
that even though
from the world's point of view,
you might not be
the most successful person.
And at some point in time,
you who might have been
very, very, very beautiful
or very, very handsome
or very, very important
or very, very powerful
if you live long enough,
all of a sudden
you become old
and wrinkly
and not as important
and have no positions of power
and the people look through you,
not at you,
past you,
not at you,
and all of that.
But that's not the final word about you.
The final word about you
is that God,
who has called you,
is preparing for you
these glorious,
like,
you are part of God's treasure
that he will enjoy forever.
You are to understand
that in Christ,
that is the final word about you.
And then it's not just the past
and it's not just the future.
Look at the next what.
The next what says,
and what is the immeasurable greatness
of his power toward us
who believe
according to the working
of his great might?
That that power of God
hidden in a body
that is frail
and aging.
That God's power
is present
and working in you.
You see,
that's the way,
isn't that the way,
but aren't those three things
all really important
in structure and hope
that sometimes
when you're trying
to encourage somebody
and hope you want them
to think about the past
in a different way
or you want to say,
well, you can't deal
with the past
but look at the future
or look at the present.
Just look at the casual wisdom
and insight of the Bible
as it talks about
this particular thing.
But some of you might say,
well, George,
it's all religious stuff
but here's the thing
which is even.
Remember I said,
why is it that hope
is so important
and without hope we die?
Why is that?
And we talk about the fact
that, well,
what if it is
that there is something human
that's not just cause
and effect
that makes us different
than a dog,
makes us different
than a cockroach,
makes us different
than an animal,
that there's something
in fact that only
only the fact
that we were designed
by a triune God
for love and fellowship
with him
and for harmony
with the creation
and harmony
with other human beings,
only that can account
for the reality
of what a human being
is like
and within that
hope makes some sense.
But you see,
there's something
even deeper here
is that hope,
if it is to be real,
real, true,
deep, enduring hope
has to be something
beyond this world.
Like, if we are something
beyond just the physical,
doesn't it make sense
that what we should
really hope for
should be beyond
what is just physical?
But it goes even more,
if you think about it
for a second,
just like think about it
for a second.
One of the things
that's really neat
about having grandchildren,
I don't want to harp
on this all the time,
but one of the things
which is really neat
about it is
they come over
and they're all young
and so you have
the four-year-old grandchild
or the three-year-old
and my wife has
lots of different blocks
and, you know,
so you get a kid,
it's a natural thing
at a certain point in time,
they like to see
if they can make
the black blocks
as hard as they possibly can.
I'm picturing
a three-year-old right now
and one of the things
which is very natural
for the 18-month sister
tottering around
is when they see a block,
a pile of blocks like this,
she does,
pushes them all down.
Two natural processes
that work at the same time.
Child number one,
the three-year-old goes,
ah, mommy,
and the 18-month-old
just totters away
with a big smile
hoping the three-year-old
will make a tower of blocks
again so they can be
knocked down.
But here's the thing,
isn't really,
if all there is
is this human life,
isn't it really
like a three-year-old
making a tower of blocks
not knowing
when the 18-month
is going to come
and knock them all down?
If all there is
is life,
isn't that what
life is really like?
I put money aside
for my pension,
I buy a house,
I try to pay off
the mortgage,
I do this
and I don't know
if I will be in a car accident
tomorrow
that will wipe it all out,
I don't know
if I'll die on my way home,
I don't know
if tomorrow
that lump
will turn out
to be cancer.
That in fact
all human life,
if all you hope for
is in this life,
the fact of the matter
is is that
we are the three-year-old
building a tower
not knowing
when the 18-month-old
is going to
knock it all down.
But the very nature
of hope implies
that there's something
more than that.
And what can be
more than that?
It has to be
something outside
of this world
that fits with the fact
that our heart,
our soul,
our spirit,
our mind
is not just
of this world
of cause and effect.
If hope is to be
real and enduring,
there must be
something outside
and more,
but not just
all outside,
which has nothing
to do with now,
but is present
amongst us.
And that's why
this next little bit
is so important.
Look at what it says
next.
Verse 20.
Remember it said,
what is it?
The immeasurable greatness
of his power.
That just went on before.
The immeasurable greatness
of his power.
Verse 19,
toward us,
I believe,
according to the working
of his great might.
Verse 20,
that he worked in Christ
when he raised him
from the dead
and seated him
at his right hand
in the heavenly places.
You see,
here's the thing
which people don't
understand.
The Christian faith
is not about being good.
If you're not good,
God will send lightning.
He'll get you.
It's not about being good,
being good,
being good.
In fact,
it's about,
amongst other things,
coming to the point
in time you say,
that is a rat race
that I am only
going to lose.
If I am honest
with myself,
if I am not a Pharisee,
I am only going to lose
in that.
And the Christian life
is amongst other things
this very counterintuitive
message
that the door to life
is behind you.
Accomplishing,
accomplishing,
planning,
religious,
spiritual,
this,
a little bit of that,
a bit of meaning,
going through life,
going through life.
But the door to life
begins when you stop.
It's called repentance.
And you realize
that the door to life
is behind you.
God is calling you
back to himself.
And it's not just a call.
See,
this is the wonderful thing
about this verse.
Look at this verse again.
That he worked
in Christ
when he raised him
from the dead
and seated him
in his right hand
in the heavenly places.
You see,
the gospel is the message.
That it's not just
that there's this hope
in a God
who is distant,
who created all things
and he's distant.
He made us for himself,
but he's distant.
The message of the gospel
is that this distant God
became Emmanuel,
became God with us,
among us,
in our mess.
But without sinning,
without breaking fellowship
with God,
and this God
came and dwelt among us
and died on the cross.
He died the death
that we deserved.
All the death
which crushes us
and brings an end
of all of our longings
and our yearnings,
if this life
is all there is,
all that death
that we deserve
and that we will
someday face
unless Christ returns
first for his people,
fell on him.
He died my death.
And the Christian faith
is to put your hand
out to Jesus
and he comes
who's called you.
He takes your hand.
He takes him to yourself,
takes me to himself,
and I am united with him
which is why Paul is saying
that even in the midst
of my aging,
I'm united with Christ.
I was united with him
in his death
and I am united with him
as God took a man
who died
and experienced
all there is
to experience of death
and rose
into resurrected life
and ascended
into the heavens
and that is who
the lowliest Christian
is united with.
Paul is in jail
because he is a Christian.
Paul is in jail
because he is a witness
to the resurrection
of Jesus.
That is why he is in jail.
He says,
you can't stop me
from saying
that Jesus didn't rise
from the dead
because if I did that,
that would be a lie.
I saw him.
He rose from the dead.
I know he died.
I know the grave is empty.
I know they never found
the body.
I saw him.
He is alive.
And if I have to go to jail
because I won't deny that,
I will go to jail.
in five to six years after this,
he dies a gruesome death.
And he dies a gruesome death
saying,
he lives.
And he came
and died
and rose
for you.
He came and died
and rose
for you.
And then this
next little bit
as we start
to wrap it up.
It's something
that worries us,
but it shouldn't worry us.
It's very wise.
Look at the next little bit.
Verse 21.
Remember it says
that Jesus was seated
at the right hand
of the heavenly places
far above all rule
and authority
and power
and dominion
and above every name
that is named
not only in this age
but also in the age to come.
Jesus is above
all rule
and authority
and power
and dominion
and above every name
that is named
not only in this age
but in the age to come.
See,
here's what
it opens up
for us for hope.
Every single one of us
have had times
when we've talked
to a friend
to try to talk them
out of hoping
in something.
Really?
You hope
that guy's going
to make you happy?
Come on.
Smarten up.
That guy's going
to ruin you.
You really think
doing that's
going to make
like
we all know
what bad hopes are
and we all wish
that we could intervene
and try to have people
sort of walk away
from bad hopes
and pick up
good hopes
and what this text
is pointing to
isn't a scary thing
but it's saying
listen,
anything that you
might hope in
anything that you
might hope in
put your trust in
anything that you
might long for
Jesus is higher
and it's not just
that Jesus is higher
this is the same guy
he's for you
he came
because he loves you
he came
and died for you
he took
his death
he took your death
and made it his
and he gives you
his life
and now
he's above everything
he sees everything
he can rule
in your life
this is good news
because the fact
of the matter is
is that every single
one of us
have something
right now
going on in our lives
that if we're lucky
and if we're wise
in a year
we will say
we shouldn't have
been hoping in that
he can start to
rule your hopes
order your hopes
see that's what's
so important here
about this next
little bit
as well
look at this
verse 22 and 23
and he put all things
under his feet
and gave him his head
over all things
to the church
which is his body
the fullness of him
who fills all in all
you see this
God puts everything
under the feet of Jesus
he puts Canada
he puts United States
he puts Russia
he puts China
he puts hostile
spiritual powers
he puts idols
he puts good things
he puts bad things
he puts good things
you're not under his feet
why?
you are his feet
you're his body
and the same God
who fills all things
orders all things
comes and fills you
to order you
and so we can call out
to God
to give us hope
and not just to give us hope
but God
Lord Jesus Christ
may you be our true
wise
long
deep
enduring hope
and Lord Jesus Christ
may you come into me
and may you put to death
help me to put to death
those things
that I should not
be hoping in
because they will only
hurt me
they are empty things
and may you come
into my life
and may you
help me to understand
those things I'm hoping for
that are wrong
that they're bad
may you help me
to no longer do those
and Father
may you come and order
my hopes
because you see
when Jesus comes into us
it doesn't mean
that like for the gardener
it doesn't mean
well I can't hope
for a nice garden
next June
because I have to only
hope in Jesus
no
he doesn't say
just pretend
you're not physical
pretend you're only
spiritual
and only hope
no
he comes
to restore
hope
to order
hope
to put them
in the right
place
that there be
a harmony
and a unity
and a union
of hopes
all centered
in Jesus
our great
hope
who came
and died
for us
and rose
from the dead
and is above
all powers
and authorities
and fills
all things
and he is present
not just in me
but in us
his church
and he doesn't
come
and fill
us
so
that we
should rule
no
he fills
us
so we will
proclaim
who Jesus
is
and so we
will bless
just close
how do I
grow good
hope
here's the
first thing
ask the question
think and pray
about it
how many of us
ever actually
say
Lord
what's good
hope
that's a good
question to bring
to Jesus
it's a good
question to bring
to your friends
what's good
hope
and then ask
what are my
functional hopes
like what are the
hopes that actually
go on in my
life
like how much
of my happiness
depends
true story
I shouldn't say
this
I went through
a period
of about
eight years
seven years
maybe
where I didn't
follow sports
I was walking
to school
one day
true story
this is before
the senators
okay so give me
some grace
and the maple
leafs had lost
the night before
and I was sick
to my stomach
and it was as if
God said to me
George
why did your
happiness all
depend upon
whether the
maple leafs
live
win
and I realized
I had to go
cold turkey
I had to dive
I had to stop
following sports
completely
like what a
stupid thing
to base a
person's happiness
on is whether
a group of guys
who don't know
you who happen
to wear a blue
jersey win a
game
like what are
your functional
hopes
and one more
thing before I
do this final
slide I want to
say something
here it was
in my notes
I forgot to
say it
if there is
anybody here
today who's
struggling with
suicide
you need to
talk to somebody
before you leave
okay talk to
somebody before
you leave
in fact if
you're struggling
with hope
speak to one
of the people
beside you
leave the church
go talk to
them about it
you got to
deal with it
don't do
something foolish
that will end
up in you
dying okay
you really need
to deal with it
and for some
of us remember
I said how
Jesus by
ruling over
all of our
hopes it
doesn't mean
he stops
using means
for some
of us we
need to maybe
have we need
to see a
doctor we
need to have
some other
type of
professional help
you need to
talk to a
counselor you
don't just
say well
because I'm
going to hope
in Jesus he's
going to take
away this no
no no no no
no no
speak to come
and speak to
somebody okay
please do that
and you might
you might need
to talk to
counselor you
might need to
see a doctor
who can give
you some help
while you sort
some of these
things out
but one final
slide here's
what we pray
ask Jesus to
help you to
kill all
false hopes
ask Jesus to
help you to
kill all
false hopes
ask him to
help you to
kill all
fell hopes
in quotes
fell just
means evil
if you're
hoping that
somebody who
hurt you
that they
lose their
job that
their dog
dies their
car breaks
down they
break a
leg yeah
it's not
good got to
be working on
forgiveness you
want that hope
to die ask
Jesus to help
you ask Jesus
to order your
disordered hopes
to put your
hope that
the sends
win in a
proper place
finish 30th
it'll be a
good year
ask Jesus to
be your
highest deepest
fullest enduring
ruling hope
and ask Jesus
to grow hope
in you
ask him to
grow hope
in you
ask him for
it
please stand
let's bow
our heads
in prayer
father we
thank you so
much that you
know what's
going on in
each of the
lives that are
present in this
room and
and those who
will be listening
to this sermon
later on
online father
you know what's
going on in
their lives
and and so
father we
thank you that
you know what's
going on in
our lives and
still you love
us so you
sent Jesus
to die
and father if
there's anyone
here who has
not given their
life to Jesus
and they feel a
tug as a result
of this father
please come upon
them in a
powerful way
help them to
realize that you
are calling them
to be yours
you are hoping
they will stop
walking away
from you to
understand the
door to eternal
life is behind
them that they
need to stop
and turn and
look at you
and look at your
son who died on
the cross for
them father may
this be the day
that they come to
saving faith in
Jesus and father
you know those
of us who are
struggling with
despair struggling
with darkness
struggling with
hopelessness around
different things
father please grow
within us good
hope just as I've
put up here father
help us to die to
false hopes to
recognize them and
die to them help
us to die to
things we are
hoping for that
are just morally
wrong father
please come in and
order our hopes
because they can be
so disordered we
can hope too much
in some things and
not enough in
something else and
most of all father
may Jesus be our
deep hope grow in
us a deep hope that
Jesus is the ruler
he is the savior
that he is the one
who is fitting us
for heaven father
grow in us this
deep hope and make
each of us in the
midst of our
circumstances whether
it's health problems
or health successes
or financial problems
or financial success
father grow in us
good hope and this
we ask in Jesus's
name and all God's
people said amen