Sermons By A Word From The Lord with Archbishop Foley Beach
Episodes
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
Sunday Oct 25, 2020
We Have “Hope” in Today’s World of Fear, Doubt, and Feelings of “Hopelessness” Through God’s Abiding Presence With Us and In Us
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Special Feature: God is our “Hope” in this ever changing and threatening world. “Hope” is the anticipation of a good future; “Hope” is having faith and believing that God is working out His purposes in the World and in my life. Here are some of the things we can say about “God’s Hope” for us through His: 1) promise of Eternal Life; 2) abiding presence with us; 3) answering of our prayers; and 4) unchanging promises.
Initially, our focus is on “God’s Hope” that He has given us for “Eternal Life”. We are all going to die, but God’s Grace and promise to the Followers of Jesus for “Eternal Life” places an entirely different perspective on dying, God not only has given us “Eternal Life”, through His Grace to the followers of Jesus; but God wants us to know and have “Hope” in the certain knowledge of our “Eternal Life”.
In addition to the Gospel’s messages of “Hope” directly from Jesus, Romans provides more assurances of our basis for “Hope from God”, as in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. Also, Paul’s expression of “God’s Hope” is profoundly expressed in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.". In Philippians 1:21-24, Paul again expresses his “Hope” in an earthly life lived in Christ for service to the Kingdom of God but also his “Hope” in his death for his “Eternal Life” with Jesus: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”.
Today’s Message -- God Gives Us “Hope” In His Abiding Presence With Us and In Us: In Psalms 42:5-6a, we are told that, in all circumstances, God is our “Hope”: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Today, followers of Jesus live in a time of both turmoil and uncertainty with issues like Covid-19, cultural dissonance, and civil discourse providing an overarching context that can lead us to fear, doubt in our faith, and feelings of “hopelessness”.
Do you believe that the Lord’s presence is with you as a Follower of Jesus? With God’s abiding presence in our lives, we have “Hope” because we know that we are not alone! Whatever we are facing, the Lord is with us! God gives us His abiding presence because: 1) our positional presence is In Christ – God looks at us through His Son, Jesus. In John 5:24-25, Jesus tells us that we have been transferred to the Kingdom of Life: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."; 2) the presence of the Holy Spirit, God Himself, in our lives, as Jesus tells us in John 14:16-17 as He is headed for the dross: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”; 3) our abiding presence in the Promises of Jesus, as is referenced in Hebrews 13:5b-6: “for he {Jesus} has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, what can man do to me?’”; and 4) “Hope” in God’s abiding presence when we practice the presence of God, which is our living with an awareness that God is with us every moment of the day through our walking, living, and being in communion with God at all times -- in our awareness of God’s abiding presence with us, God takes us away from the despair inherent in life’s uncertainties and into His “Hope”.
In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told: “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”. Sadly, too many do not have “God’s Hope” today because of their life’s circumstances and issues, which they deem as overwhelming. Let us remember and take with us Psalms 42:5-6a: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”. God wants us to have “Hope” in Him through His assurance of His abiding presence in our lives – God’s “Hope” for us.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Psalms 42:5-6a; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:38-39; Philippians 1:21-24; 1 Peter 3:15; Romans 15:13; John 3:16-17; John 5:24-25; Acts 2:38; Titus 3:5; John 14:16-17; Hebrews 13:5b-6; Matthew 28:20; 1 Peter 3:15; Romans 15:13.
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “As a Christian, You Are Equipped for God’s Purpose; Be Courageous and Let Others See Jesus In You for God Is With You”: www.AWFTL.org/watch
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