Power of Hope

Key Scripture:  “…strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”  Ephesians 2:12

"The plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher ought to thresh in expectation of partaking of the harvest.”  I Corinthians 9:10, Amplified Bible

Power Point:

There is no such thing as “throw-away” people in the kingdom of God.  Jesus said the “kingdom of God is within us.” I guess that means there are no “throw away” people in our lives either.

It is really important to remember what “love” is from God’s perspective and then apply it to our lives isn’t it? Jesus says that if we do that we are wise but if we don’t we are foolish. As you no doubt know, the wise mans hears the word, creates a deep furrow in his heart so that the seed of the word can be deeply planted. He nourishes that seed with faith and hope until it becomes a huge vine of flourishing fruit. The foolish man, on the other hand, hears the Word but never prepares the soil of his heart for it to be planted. The storms of life hit him hard and the Word is choked and suffocated and yields no fruit. And he wonders why he is unhappy.

On the other hand, there are those who, like Abraham, live in hope. I love what it says in Romans 4:18, Abraham, who “contrary to hope (not looking at human expectation), in hope (expectation that God would fulfill His promises) believed”.  In other words, he didn’t look around his life; He looked at God’s faithfulness, His goodness, and His extraordinary plans for his future-in the form of His promises.

The truth is that it is sometimes easier to have hope for ourselves rather than others. You look at that child, that spouse, that friend and you allow yourself to think, “There’s no hope!” But beloved, there are no “throw-away” people in the kingdom of God. When we want to give up, He says, “Expect the best”.  When we want to give them “what they deserve”, He says, “Show mercy”.  When they get on our last nerve, He says, “Bear all things, believe all things and hope all things.” Darn. I guess you could say that if you agree with Jesus that the Kingdom of God is within us, the rules of His kingdom need to apply to our lives in order for us to bring heaven to earth. The wisdom of God’s counsels need to be put into action don’t they? The power of the kingdom will simply not be present if we don’t. We always reap what we sow. We always pick the fruit that we plant. Sometimes we plant apples and expect oranges. It just doesn’t work that way in the kingdom of God. Actually, it doesn’t work that way in the world either.

How about preparing the soil of your heart today for an extensive renovation by planting your hope in what God says and uprooting the barren vines of doubt and unbelief? Plant deeply of God’s wisdom and then water it with determined hope that does not disappoint.  It may take a while to blossom but if you plow in hope, you will thresh and harvest in hope. That’s just the way it is in the kingdom of God.

And you can just throw away that temptation to “throw away” people. God never does that and neither should we. He’s put you on the “front line” of battle for that person.

Suit up and start marching. You are not without hope and you are not without God.

Power Thought:

We don’t walk by what WE see; we walk by what GOD sees.