Sermon Central
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The Boldness..of "Hope"
Contributed by Charlie Roberts on Nov 24, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: The kind of Hope were talking about this morning, is “a hope that springs from the heart of God,” It's the ULTIMATE HOPE and He is willing to back it up, with His unearned, unmerited Favor that He freely gives to His children,through Jesus His Son...
The Boldness of Hope
Romans 5:5 NKJ
5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Hope defined: the feeling of wanting something to happen and thinking that it could happen : a feeling that something good will happen or be true
What we find Paul talking about here is hope..a confidence that only God can give
God wants you to have a confident expectation of good..
because He is favor minded when it comes to His children!
If you think He is biased towards you..you'd be right
He is...because, "He Loves you"
You won't find this way of thinking in the world..
I challenge you to surf the Chanel's on your TV..
It's hard to find hope on display for all to see..
That's why a show about making duck calls..
about some backwoods bearded men..their wives
and their children
who just happen to love The Lord and send out a positive message
about family, life and God..
Is the most watched program on the station that broadcast them..Because they offer Hope..and a positive message..
And when you look at them..one could easily think they might not
deserve all the fame and publicity they receive..
Guess What?
The way you look doesn't have anything to do with it..
It's the condition of the heart..and their always quick to give
God all the glory for everything they have..
Truth is..does anyone deserve to have the goodness and favor
that God freely gives..to whosoever will accept His Son as
Lord and Saviour of their life..
You don’t have to do anything to deserve God’s favor, and that’s one of the hardest things to accept..about Gods goodness and Favor.
The fact that you don’t have to do anything..sometimes is hard to comprehend..
I was talking with a long time friend the other day..a good Christian man
Who has probably been saved for 50 yrs..
And he is still trying to grasp this..he still thinks that there has to be more to do than just Accepting Jesus to qualify you for the benefits and
Promises that are available to someone who just chooses to believe!
He felt like there just has to be something else you have to do to keep and maintain..what God freely gives you at Salvation...
And this is what we told him..this is what we should tell everyone!
He wants you to always be expecting nothing less than His Best from Him..
just for no other reason, because your one of His own!!
Colossians1:26-29 MSG
26-29This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open.
God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing.
The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory.
It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message.
We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity.
To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less.
That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.”
That is an amazing scripture..the Apostle Paul says, "keep it simple"
we try to make sharing the gospel complicated
Here it says to be mature is to be basic..
The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory
Gods glory is amazing..but you can't share in it until you know the Christ..
the word Christian gets it's origination from..
And the world..your world..is not going to find out unless you tell them
about it first..
Well I can't tell them..I don't get out all that much..and this is
and that is..and I would, but....
Wouldn't you agree..that Gods Glory and the story of the Gospel is worth being repeated?...time is short friends..
We hold in our possession the knowledge of life and death..
You could say..that we are the decider
Do we share Jesus or don't we?
Church..God has given us an awesome responsibility
And one day we will be held accountable for what we did with it...
Romans 1:16-17 MSG
It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.”
