Everybody needs hope. Hope makes bad times bearable, and makes the future look bright. Without hope we are listless, lacking motivation, depressed and unable to function. Hope is a candle in the dark that lights the way to a better life. Hope reduces feelings of helplessness, increases happiness, reduces stress, and improves life. Hope is an incredible strength and a powerful shield of protection. So let me ask you this; “what brings you hope?”
Hope is not a feeling; it’s a belief and a way of thinking.
Real Hope is more than wishful thinking; it is grounded in realism.
It is vital that our hope is rightly placed and deeply ingrained in our soul.
What Cause Would You Suffer For? 24
Would you suffer for freedom, family or your faith?
Paul was willing to suffer for his Savior!
He rejoiced in the opportunity to suffer for Christ!
Paul was willing to fill his life with suffering for Christ!
Affliction for the cause of Christ results in effective ministry.
What Cause Would You Give Your Life To? 25
What causes are important to you?
How do you know choose the causes you should invest in?
All other causes pale in comparison to the Cause of Christ.
The cause of Christ is a stewardship or responsibility God gave to us!
If you become a minister you are fulfilling the Word of God.
If you have truly given yourself to Jesus you will serve Him!
Where Does Your Hope Spring From? 26-27
The genuine source of hope is mystery to most people.
Most people do not understand that the real source of hope is Christ.
The only people who truly understand this mystery are the saints.
Where does hope spring from? “Christ in you; the hope of glory!”
Hope is not just a cause. Hope is a person.
What Hope Do You Tell People About? 28
Hope is why we can’t keep our mouth shut.
That’s why we preach, teach and warn people.
This is the cause worth suffering for, dying for and living for. It’s why Jesus told you to give up everything else and follow Him. The more of Jesus you have, and the more of yourself that you give to Jesus, the more hope that will fill your heart. So I have a simple recommendation; tell God that you are giving everything you have to him. Tell Him that Jesus is now your life, your passion, and your all in all. Stop holding back and start giving in to hope and to joy. When you give it all to him, Jesus will radiate hope and joy from every pore in your body.
MESSAGE
Everybody needs hope. Hope makes bad times bearable, and makes the future look bright. Without hope we are listless, lacking motivation, depressed and unable to function. Without hope, we might as well stay in bed all day long. Hopeless people drink their sorrows away, do drugs, isolate, withdraw, and ignore friends. To them, tomorrow looks pretty grim.
Hope is a candle in the dark that lights the way to a better life. Hope reduces feelings of helplessness, increases happiness, reduces stress, and improves life. Hope is an incredible strength and a powerful shield of protection.
So let me ask you this; “what brings you hope?” Where do you find the motivation to get dressed every morning? What makes you jump for joy, smell the roses or smile your way through another day? What makes your heart skip a beat or makes your feet want to dance a jig? What brings you hope?
Hope is not a feeling, like optimism is. Hope is specific and focused on something that will bring us a better life. Hope is the belief that your future will be better than the present, and there is some real way to make that happen. Hope is a way of thinking or a state of being. Hope Helps Us Keep Going.
Hope is more than wishful thinking. When grounded in realism, hope serves many positive functions. But when hope is placed in something untrue, it is a recipe for disappointment and disillusionment.
If hope is that important, and basing your hope on a solid reality is that important, it is vital that our hope is rightly placed and firmly ingrained in our soul, or we are in for trouble. Where does real come from. Where do you look for your hopes and dreams?
According to verse 27, Christ in you is where genuine hope comes from. It is not just a good hope, a solid hope or even a great hope: it is a glorious hope. That is the highest hope that can be reached. Christ in you is the hope of glory!
Let me tell you a few reasons why Christ in you is the greatest hope of all time. #1 It helps you endure every kind of suffering imaginable to man.
What Would You Suffer For?
Is there some cause somewhere that is worth upholding in the face of suffering, persecution, imprisonment or execution?
How about freedom, liberty or country? Some of you have actually pledged your life to the service of our country and hazarded your life in the cause of freedom. It is a noble ideal.
How about family? Would you suffer or die protecting them? I’ve heard some of you say that if anyone ever touches your daughter, you’ll take matters into your own hands in order to protect her. Protecting family is a noble ideal.
How about your Faith? Would you share a prison cell with me if the government tried to shut us down? Or now that the pandemic has brought that possibility to light, do you have doubts; Differences of opinions. Just remember this, even Paul had people question his zeal, and even Jesus had those who tried to warn him away from his destiny with death.
But listen to Paul: 24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
Paul was not only willing to suffer, but he rejoiced in the opportunity to suffer for Christ! The word rejoice is χαίρω chairo, meaning to be glad, to dance a jig, to smile with joy! Now here is the difference between me and Paul; he’s happy about it, I’m not! He looks forward to suffering as an evidence of his dedication to Christ, I look at it as a sign of bad things happening to me.
I want to avoid it, Paul wanted to fill his life with suffering for Christ! “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ!” I want to minimize them, he wanted to maximize them! I want a peaceful life and easy ministry; he wanted a life of affliction for effective ministry.
There is nothing like someone doing something so sacrificial and over the top outrageous for you that makes an impact on others lives. There is only one thing I know of worth that kind of affliction and suffering: the Cause of Christ. Has your faith brought you to that realization yet? Real hop is worth suffering for.
Let me tell you a few reasons why Christ in you is the greatest hope of all time. #1 It helps you endure every kind of suffering imaginable to man. #2 It is the only cause worth giving your entire life to. Every other cause falls short.
What Cause Would You Give Your Life To?
There are a lot of important things in life. I looked up the world’s most important causes on the internet, and here are some of them that popped up: (you’ll agree with some, you won’t agree with others) Sports. FFA. Band. Politics. Service Clubs. The Environment. Abortion. Racial equality. Poverty. Injustice. Women’s rights. Animal Welfare. Beating Cancer. Slavery. Religious Persecution. Disaster relief. The list could go on indefinitely.
With so many options available, how do you know what you should do? Should you give your life to changing the culture? Should you protest against the injustices of the world around you? Should you invest in character building causes? As noble as these may be, they pale in comparison to the Cause of Christ.
25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
Paul wasn’t just willing to die for his faith, he was determined to invest his life in it. Why do we try to get people to serve? Why do we try to get people to witness? Paul’s answer is because it is a “stewardship from God which was given to us!”
God himself determined the cause that is great enough for you to give your whole life to: Himself! His ministry! His message! And if you become a minister like Paul in verse 25, you are fulfilling the Word of God. You are obeying God’s commands.
Do you have any questions about whether you should really teach a class, tell others about Jesus, or serve in the church? Let me lay them to rest, yes you should. Everyone should. But don’t do it just because I said you should, do it because it is the only cause in this life worth giving everything to! That’s why we present ourselves as living sacrifices! That’s why we serve. Because we have first given ourselves to Jesus!
Let me tell you a few reasons why Christ in you is the greatest hope of all time. #1 It helps you endure every kind of suffering imaginable to man. #2 It is the only cause worth giving your entire life to. Every other cause falls short. #3 it is the wellspring of all hope!
Where Does Your Hope Spring From?
What’s the secret sauce? Where is hope found?
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Let’s work our way through this verse. The genuine source of our hope is mystery to most people. Paul said it’s a mystery hidden from all ages and from all generations. Most people do not understand nor know that the real source of hope is Christ. It is a mystery to them. They may have heard it, they may even think it sounds right, but they do not understand it.
The only people who truly understand this mystery are the saints, true believers. To them God opened our eyes and revealed it to us. What is that hope? Where does hope spring from? “Christ in you; the hope of glory!”
Hope is not just a cause. Hope is a person. Hope is Jesus. But it is not Just Jesus the historical figure, it is Christ IN YOU! That is the glorious hope! It is no wonder that only true believers truly get it. Because when Jesus truly lives within, he truly invades our body! And being in our heart, soul and mind, He radiates HOPE within us!
When we relate to Christ, and recognize his presence, that’s when hope happens, glorious hope! Do you want hope? You need Jesus. The more you give yourself to Him, the more hope blossoms inside you!
This is our message. This is why we endure suffering. This is why we give our everything to Jesus. This is why we keep telling people about Him. Because the world needs hope and we have it!
What Hope Do You Tell People About?
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
That’s why we can’t keep our mouth shut. That’s why we keep telling people about Jesus. Because Jesus is our hope! Hope matters because Jesus is the author of hope! So, we keep telling people that Jesus came to save sinners. We keep telling people that Jesus can change their lives. We keep telling people that genuine hope comes from Jesus.
That’s it. That’s the cause worth suffering for, dying for and living for. It’s why Jesus told you to give up everything else and follow Him. The more of Jesus you have, and the more of yourself that you give to Jesus, the more hope that will fill your heart.
So, as we close, I have a simple recommendation; bow your head and tell God that you are giving everything you have to him. Tell Him that Jesus is now your life, your passion, your duty and your all in all. Stop holding back and start giving in to hope and to joy. When you give it all to him, Jesus will radiate hope and joy from every pore in your body. Jesus is my hope.
And one day I will see him in Glory, and then my hope will finally be completely fulfilled in his wondrous presence. I can’t wait!
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