YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL OVER A FEW THINGS. ALL THAT WE HAVE SEEN TO THIS POINT IS JUST THE WARM UP FOR THE REAL GAME THAT STARTS WHEN WE DO WHAT MS HILDA DID THIS PAST WEDNESDAY: WHEN WE REACH OUT AND TAKE THE HAND OF OUR SAVIOR AND HE WRAPS HIS ARMS AROUND US AND SAYS, “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. THERE IS A GREAT HOPE FOR SOMETHING ELSE. THIS LIFE IS JUST THE PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT. WE’RE FOLLOWING THE WRONG SAVIOR.” BUT HE GOES ON TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT WE DO HAVE MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO. HE WAS SAYING, “HEY, IF THIS LIFE IS ALL WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO, WE’RE IN THE WRONG BUSINESS. HE SAID IN 15:19 IF IN THIS LIFE ONLY WE HAVE HOPE IN CHRIST, WE ARE TO BE PITIED ABOVE ALL OTHER MEN. DEATH WAS THE END AND THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE. EVIDENTLY THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE GOING AROUND TEACHING THAT WHEN YOU DIED YOU JUST STAYED IN THE GROUND. IT’S THAT HOPE PAUL SPOKE ABOUT IN THE 15TH CHAPTER OF 1 CORINTHIANS. BIBLICAL HOPE IS SAYING, “IT’S IN THE BANK, I’VE JUST NOT COLLECTED IT YET.” BIBLICAL HOPE IS, “I KNOW THE SCORE BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS.” BIBLICAL HOPE IS, “I MIGHT NOT HAVE IT YET, BUT ITS AS GOOD AS MINE.” THAT’S BIBLICAL HOPE AND IT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED WHEN YOU COME TO A TIME LIKE THIS: BIBLICAL “KNOW-SO” KIND OF HOPE. THAT’S NOT THE BIBLICAL IDEA OF “HOPE.” BIBLICAL HOPE IS VERY DEFINITE. “HEY, THINK YOU’LL WIN THE PUBLISHER’S CLEARING HOUSE SWEEPSTAKES?” WE SAY, “BOY, I SURE HOPE SO.” IT’S SORT OF LIKE SAY, “YEAH, IT WOULD BE GREAT, BUT I’M SURE NOT COUNTING ON IT.”
NOT THE “HOPE” WE THINK ABOUT WHEN WE SAY THE WORD, “HOPE,” BECAUSE, MANY TIME WHEN WE SAY THE WORD, WE MEAN SOMETHING LIKE THIS. ALMOST.īUT WE CAN’T ABANDON THE WORD BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A BIBLICAL CONCEPT. ALMOST MAKES YOU AFRAID TO USE IT AT A TIME LIKE THIS. IT’S A VERY POPULAR TERM IN THIS POLITICAL SEASON. I’M NOT SURE HOW MUCH HOPE THEY ARE REALLY GIVING, BUT THEY’RE SURE USING THE WORD A LOT. ANOTHER POLITICAL CANDIDATE HAS WRITTEN A BOOK HE ENTITLED, THE AUDACITY OF HOPE. IN FACT, THE MAN FROM HOPE, HAS NOW BECOME THE MEN FROM HOPE. WE EVEN HAVE IT IN OUR POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS. HOPE IS A WORD THAT GETS THROWN AROUND A LOT TODAY.
0 kommentar(er)
