The God of Hope

Intro

• A new pastor in town was looking for the post office but couldn't find it. He saw a young boy on the sidewalk and asked for directions. The boy gave him clear instructions on how to get there. The pastor thanked him and said, "Son, I’m the new pastor in town. Why don’t you come to church this Sunday? If you do, I’ll show you the way to Heaven." The boy chuckled and said, "Awww, come on; you don't even know the way to the post office!"

• Brothers and sisters, forget about that boy. At kahit hindi mo alam ang papuntang post office, okay lang, dahil pwede ka namang mag-email. Just don’t forget we have a hope of being with God in heaven by God’s grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Word: The God of Hope

Pray!

Romans 15:13 ESV  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

God is the God of hope

• Ang Dios ay Dios ng pag-asa. Siya ang ating pagasa. He is the giver of hope. He is the ultimate source of hope. 

• Ito ang confession ni King David sa kanyang isinulat: 

• Psalms 62:5 ESV  For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

• Do you put your hope in God? Sa Kanya ka ba umaasa o sa iba?

• Paul was praying for the believers in Rome that they may abound in hope through the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit. 

• It is also my prayer that God would grant all of us hope that is overflowing. 

Hope, joy, and peace are interrelated. 

• You cannot have joy if you don’t have peace, and you cannot have peace if you do not have hope. Once God has given you the hope of future good (pag-asa ng magandang kinabukasan), it generates joy and peace within the heart. 

• Manny Pacquiao’s 220M dollar net worth last year gives hope for his children that their future is secure. Im sure this hope of future good generates joy and peace in their heart. Marami siguro sa atin walang pagasa ng mamanahin kaya palaging nakasimangot. Tignan mo nga yung katabi mo kung nakasimangot?

• So, para magkaroon tayo ng real joy and peace, we need assurance from God that our future is secure in Him. 

• Are you worried about your future? Are you wiling to trust God for your future? Naniniwala ka ba na may magandang plano ang Dios sa buhay mo? 

What kind of future good does God promise to us, His children? 

• It’s not really about material blessings. 

• Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? So, hindi talaga material blessings ang pinaka gusto ng Dios na ipagkaloob atin na pagpapala ngayon at bukas. God is more concerned with our spiritual condition. He wants our soul to be saved. God’s ultimate goal was to gain us back to Himself and be with Him in His Kingdom forever where we can enjoy life in its fullness. Amen? 

• Nonetheless, God still wants us to be blessed materially here on earth. Amen? But how? 

• Matthew 6:33-34 ESV  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (your basic needs) will be added to you.  (34)  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

• Let’s digest this for a moment.

• To be blessed materially, Matthew 6:33-34 reminds us of the ff: 

• Stop worrying about your future needs. 

• Matthew 6:34  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow…

• Worrying about your future needs is a sign of unbelief! If you don't think God can take care of your future, then you lack faith in Him! Do you lack faith in Him? If you have faith in Him, then why not trust Him about your future. 

• Someone has said, “We may not know what our future holds, but we know who holds our future!”

• Hawak ng Dios ang kinabukasan mo basta’t manalig ka sa Kanya na hindi ka Niya pababayaan!

• Do you believe that God can take care of your future?

• Next, to be blessed materially,

• Do what you can today in order to survive. 

• Matthew 6:34 …Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

• It means if you worry about your needs, don't worry about tomorrow, worry only about today's needs and work just enough to survive the day.

• Proverbs 13:4 ESV  The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

• Kaya ka ba nagkukulang ay dahil kulang ka ng kasipagan? Or worry ka ng worry, pero wala kang ginagawa para mabuhay ngayon? Let's remember, because of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all of us have to work in order to eat. And Paul expounded on this and said, “those who do not work, let him not eat.”

• Next, to be blessed materially,

• Don’t seek the blessing, seek the blesser–God! Many people chase after the blessing to the point that they forget God in their lives. Yes, they’ve got the good things of this world, but they will just find themselves miserable because the truth is, the things of this world can never satisfy. Kapag nagkaron ka ng isang bagay, gusto mo pa ng isa, at isa pa, at ng marami pa. And your desire for more will keep you further away from God, until you find yourself loving your money instead of God, and worshipping your wealth instead of your Creator, and spending your worldly treasures on the very things which God hates–drunkenness, sexual sins, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and pride of life. These are not real blessings! 

• True blessings come from God. So seek Him! He is the God who provides us with all the good things. If you seek God and you make it your priority to know Him and His will, Proverbs 23:6 says, goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life! 

• And lastly, if you want to be blessed materially,

• Please God in everything you do. He rewards those who obey Him! If you want to be blessed by God materially, please Him in everything you do. 

• This is how Williams translates Matthew 6:33 

• Matthew 6:33 Williams  But as your first duty keep on looking for His standard of doing right, and for His will, and then all these things (your material needs) will be yours besides.

• (Tagalog) Ngunit gawin mong pinaka-unang tungkulin na patuloy na gawin ang tama ayon sa pamantayan ng Dios, kung ano ang kalooban Niya, at kung magkagayon lahat ng mga kailangan mo materially ay mapapasa-iyong tabi. 

• Next, the kind of future good God promises us… 

• It’s not really about physical wellness. 

• Jesus did not heal all people during His 3-year ministry on earth. Abraham lost his vision in his old age. When Paul prayed that the thorn in his flesh be gone, God said no. Ibig sabihin, hindi talaga physical wellness ang inihanda ng Dios para sa atin sa ating future.

• But, still, God is willing to heal us. Amen? 

• Ito ang sabi ni Jesus sa Kanyang disciples, 

• John 14:13-14 ESV  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

• Did you notice? Dinoble ng Panginon ang assurance na gagawin Niya ang anumang hilingin natin sa Kanyang Pangalan. Of course, yung ayon sa Kanyang kalooban! And I believe this includes our request for physical healing. God wants to heal you, but you have to ask God for His healing grace in the powerful Name of Jesus Christ. Whether or not God will grant you healing today, or tomorrow, just keep believing that God there is nothing impossible with Him. 

• But there is a but. God did not design our physical bodies to last forever. It will grow old and weak and, eventually, it will return to dust where we came from. So, hindi lang physical wellness ang pag-asa na gustong Dios na ibigay sa atin. At hindi talaga dito sa lupa ang magandang kinabukasan na inihanda Niya sa atin. 

• God prepared something better for our future in His Kingdom forever, and this is the hope we have in Him! 

• Dinescribe ni Paul ang uri ng hope na mayroon tayo sa Dios. 

• Romans 8:23-24a ESV  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  (24)  For in this hope we were saved. 

• Dinescribe din ni Peter ang hope natin sa God sa kanyang letter…

• 1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  (4)  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  (5)  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

• SO, THE FUTURE GOOD GOD PROMISES TO ALL WHO ARE HIS IS HIS SALVATION FROM PUNISHMENT FOR SINS AND THE INHERITANCE BEING KEPT BY HIM IN HEAVEN THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 

• Amen? 

• Ang tawag ni Apostle Peter dito ay LIVING HOPE because even if we die, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope of life with Him in eternity. But this is only true to those who put their FAITH in Jesus Christ. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah–the promised King in the Old Testament and the Savior of mankind, then God will fulfill what He promised in His Word. You shall have a good future–an inheritance in heaven being kept by God with His power!

• Do you have living hope? If you are not sure you have a living hope, well, He is willing to give you this hope of being with Him in eternity. But you need to make a decision to repent, and turn from sins, and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 

Now, this interesting to ask, how did all these things begin? 

Why do we need this hope of being saved by God?

Well, the Bible tells us why. Did you know  that even before the foundation of the world, God already had something in mind, a story to tell about His plan for all mankind.  

• Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus wrote, 

• Ephesians 1:4 GNB  Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. 

• You see, God already had something in mind before He created the universe. Mayroon Siyang magandang plano especially sa church which He had chosen and purchased by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Ang plano ng Dios from the beginning ay maging holy tayo as a church, walang bahid ng kasalanan sa Kanyang harapan.

• If you believe in Jesus Christ and you are growing in holiness, then, that is a good sign that you are, indeed, part of God’s chosen people–His church.

• Do you grow in holiness? Do you find yourself being transformed by God in His righteousness? Inalis na ba sayo ng Dios ang pagmumura, ang panlalait sa kawpa, ang pandaraya, ang paglalasing, ang pagsusugal, atbp.? Minamahal mo na ba ang iyong kapatid at pinapatawad sa kanyang mga pagkakamali? If yes, that is God’s act of changing you to the person that He wants you to be.

• Ipinakita din ng Dios ang kay John ang plano Niya sa tao before the creation of the world, 

• Revelation 13:8 GNB  All people living on earth will worship (the beast), except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.

• You see, sa simula pa lang even before the creation of the world ay may nakahanda ng book of life ang Dios at nakalista doon ang mga pangalan ng mga nanalig kay Jesus kung sino Siya–ang tupa ng Dios na nag aalis ng kasalanan ng sanlibutan! 

• Would you like to be sure that your name is written in the book of life? Then come to God and humble yourself before Him. Beg Him to save you. Confess your sins to Him and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Turn away from sins and submit yourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

• So, from these two verses, we realized na ang Dios ay may binuo ng kwento tungkol sa sangkatauhan bago pa Niya likhain ang lahat ng bagay. Pero may mga specific details na kailangan nating maunawaan para ma-appreciate natin ang story na binuo Niya sa Kanyang isipan. At mula dito ay masasagot natin ang tanong ng mas klaro kung bakit kailangan natin ng hope ng kaligtasan mula sa Dios.

In the beginning, because of God’s authority and holiness, He requires man to obey Him. 

• Genesis 2:16-17 ESV  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,  (17)  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

• Since the beginning, God demands obedience from man because He is the One in authority. He sits on His throne. He is the sovereign God and man is but a created being who must submit himself to the will of His Creator. 

• God is a holy God and His law is the expression of His character. At bilang isang holy God ay nag set Sya ng holy standard sa tao na Kanyang subject. 

• For some time, Adam and Eve remained holy before God because they haven't yet disobeyed God . And then Satan came and enticed Eve to disobey God in a clever and deceiving manner. And through Eve, Satan was able to make Adam fall until both of them had broken God’s command, and they sinned against God, and they no longer possess that holiness and faithfulness which God desired to see in them. 

• Alam mo ba na ang deliberate sinning is an act of unfaithfulness to God? So, hanggang kailan ka magkakasala at mananatiling unfaithful sa Dios?

And then, moving on to God’s story…

Because of God’s law of sin and death, He was compelled to act in righteousness and justice–He must punish all who have sinned. 

• Psalms 89:14a ESV  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne…

• (Tagalog) Ang kaharian mo ay makatarungan, Saligang matuwid ang pinagtayuan…

• Listen to this, If God will not punish man for their sin and disobedience, His righteousness and justice will be in question, right? Lalabas na hindi totoo ang Dios sa Kanyang salita dahil hindi Niya kayang panindigan ang sinabi Niyang parusa ng kamatayan bunga ng pagsuway. Maraming mga anak ang hindi takot sa magulang dahil hindi ginagawa ng magulang ang sinabi niyang pagpalo sa tuwing sila ay gagawa ng masama. Hindi ganun ang Dios! God is true to His Word. Since He decreed that man is going to die as soon as he disobeys, then, out of God’s righteousness and justice, He must serve the punishment of death to sinners–Adam and Eve, being the first to disobey and then the entire humanity because all have sinned. All of us are guilty of sin! We have broken God’s laws. Romans 3:23 says, for all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory. And then, in Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death!

• Inaakala mo ba na hindi seryoso ang Dios na parusahan ang makasalanan ng kamatayan? Are you afraid of the judgment day when you will face God and give an account of yourself to Him? Sa araw na ‘yon, haharap tayo sa Dios, isa isa, yes, wala kang kasama kungdi ikaw lang sa harapan ng hukuman ng Dios. Magsusulit ka sa Dios sa lahat ng ginawa mo sa lupa, mabuti man o masama. Natatakot ka ba na baka hatulan ka ng Dios ng kamatayan dahil sa iyong mga kasalanan? 

I'm not here to frighten you because while God is ready to judge us who are sinners, He is also concerned about us. And this is the good part of God’s story–the good news–the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ! 

Thos is the gospel…

Since we all sinned, we shall all die! But, because of God’s love and grace, He was compelled to grant all repentant sinners the hope of being forgiven and saved. 

• Romans 6:23 ESV  For the wages of sin is death (God’s justice), but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (God’s grace).

• Yes, ang Dios ay makatarungan kaya dapat Niyang parusahan tayo ng kamatayan dahil yun ang Kanyang batas. Pero hindi lang just ang Dios, Siya ay gracious at handa Nyang ipagkaloob sa lahat ng tao ang libreng biyaya ng buhay na walang hanggan sa pamamagitan ng ating Panginoong Hesu-Kristo. 

• Let’s give a clap offering to the Lord!

• But there is a but! It is not as easy as it looks. Because in order for God to save us, and for Him to be able to grant us the hope of eternal life in His Kingdom, someone must die! But why? Bakit may kailangang mamatay? Listen mga kapatid,

• GOD’S LAW CANNOT BE CHANGED–THE PUNISHMENT FOR SIN IS DEATH (ROM 6:23). 

• SINCE WE ALL SINNED, WE SHALL ALL DIE. 

• TO LET US LIVE, DEATH MUST STILL BE SERVED NOT TO US, BUT TO SOMEONE SO AS TO SATISFY GOD’S LAW. 

• SOMEONE INNOCENT OR SINLESS MUST DIE ON BEHALF OF THE SINNER!

• How did God go about this? 

• Let's go back to the Garden of Eden. 

• When Adam and Eve committed the first act of sinning in the Garden of Eden, did you know that God killed an innocent animal?

• Genesis 3:21 ESV  And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

• Did you notice that–the garments of skins? To make a garment of skins, God had to kill an animal? Before God did this, Adam and Eve used leaves to cover their shame, God did not find it right. Man’s effort in covering his shame does not meet God’s righteousness. And what did God do to correct this? He killed an innocent animal and took off its skins and used it to cover the shame and sinfulness of man. 

• Listen to this, the first spilling of blood happened in the Garden of Eden. For what purpose? In order to cover man’s sinfulness with the covering which God Himself had provided–the flesh of an innocent sacrifice! Not only that. Before the spilling of the blood comes the promise of a deliverer who will crush the head of Satan.

• God said to Satan in Genesis 3:15 ESV "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

• This was believed to be the first gospel because it proclaims the coming of the One who shall destroy Satan because Satan was the one who ensured that the curse of death be brought upon us by tempting us to sin against God. And the One who shall destroy Satan is none other than Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus needs to be born of a woman and He must suffer the pain which Satan shall inflict upon Him at the cross. 

• But God did not reveal it all at once in the story which He tries to make. God simply stated a general prophecy of the future defeat of Satan and the final victory of Christ and His church. 

• And then, when Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden and bore 2 children, they understood that God’s way of covering their sin was through animal sacrifices.

• And then Abel did the right thing by offering to God the first born of his flock and of their fat portion. And again, the spilling of blood was made in order to fulfill God’s righteousness in covering their shame and sinfulness. 

• And then in the course of time, God gave Moses a command on how their sins can be atoned for or paid for. In Leviticus 4, one of the innocent animals which they can offer as their substitute was a lamb. They must lay their hand on the head of the lamb as a symbolic act of transferring the sinner's guilt to the innocent animal. And then, again, the blood was spilled and sprinkled some of it at the altar pf the Lord. 

• The spilling of the blood of the lamb and other innocent animals as prescribed in the Old Covenant was understood as God’s righteous dealing with the sin of His people for the forgiveness of their sins. 

• And then under the New Covenant, little did the Jews know that through the sacrificial lamb, which they offer to God for the forgiveness of their sins, God was actually preparing them for the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ–the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Jesus was the One chosen by God to destroy the works of Satan in trying to put the curse of death upon us by tempting us to sin. Upon the first coming of Jesus Christ, the curse of death upon sinners was reversed because He took our sins on the cross and died the death which was supposed to be ours. Jesus is the Lamb of God, a perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sake. And His blood that was shed on the cross has the power to cleanse us from all our sins. Jesus died in order for us to live in eternity with Him–all because of God’s grace and love for us. 

• Romans 5:8 ESV  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

• Ephesians 1:7 ESV  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

• This is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and this is the hope we have in Him!

• Amen? Let’s give a clap offering to the Lord!

Closing

This is the H.O.P.E. we have with God:

• H-aving our sins forgiven through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ

• But in order to be forgiven by God, we must repent and believe the gospel. 

• Mark 1:15 ESV  and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

• Jesus is the embodiment of the gospel. The gospel speaks about Him on what He did on the cross in order for us to be forgiven by God the Father through the blood of His Son. 

• Have you repented and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? 

• 1 John 1:9 ESV  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• How often do you sin against God? Do you keep repenting and confessing your sins to Him? If you do, then I believe you know how much you appreciate God’s grace because He never stops forgiving you and making you clean every time you come to Him and ask for His forgiveness. Amen? 

• And then, the hope we have with God is the…

• O-verflowing joy in the new heaven and new earth

• Revelation 21:1-4 ESV  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  (2)  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  (3)  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  (4)  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes (which also means there is going to be a fullness of joy), and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

• Jesus revealed this truth and this exciting moment to John to encourage the believers throughout the history of the church who suffered in pain and sorrow because of persecution. Some of John’s contemporaries actually returned to their former religion, and to their old sinful ways, and turned their back on Jesus for fear of being persecuted by those who hate the Lord. 

• Would you go back to your former religion when persecution comes? Would you turn your back to Jesus Christ?

• This is why the book of Revelation was written–to encourage us not to quit and turn our back to Jesus even when persecution comes. Why? Because we have a living hope–the hope of being with God in the new heaven and new earth where there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more death. Amen?

And then, the hope we have with God is the…

• P-romise of protection and temporary, earthly blessings 

• John 17:15 ESV  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

• Matthew 6:33 ESV  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

• James 5:14 ESV  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

• Lastly, the hope we have with God is the…

• E-ndurance that we need in this life through God’s sustaining power

• Philippians 1:6 ESV  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.

• Philippians 2:13 ESV  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

• You will endure all the pain and suffering here on earth because God will help you endure. You cannot win the Battle alone. You need God and His church. So let's pray for one another, encourage one another with His words and promises, and let's live in victory through the victory of Christ on the cross. Just remain faithful to Him in worship and serve Him only and faithfully, and submit yourself to His will!

This is the hope we have with God. And this hope generates in us an inner peace and joy despite the trials we face in life, day after day, until Jesus comes again and takes us to be with Him in His kingdom forever. Amen? 

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