Hopeology, Part 9

God is our anchor of hope Hebrews chapter 6 tells us that, and we have looked at that for several weeks, but we're looking at the doctrine of hopeology That's on your screen this morning, so you can read it Melody's gonna put it up there for us, so you can have it all put out there, so you know where we've been and where we're going as we understand the doctrine of what the Bible calls hopeology Our hope is in the Lord And so, if you have not been with us, we'll try to get you up to speed, but this is something that's extremely important It's dear to my heart

It is something that we need to understand, and so we're trying to take you through it before we get back into Hebrews 6 to show you how God is our anchor of hope, because everything is rooted in God It's all received by grace Yes, it truly is ratified through the resurrection, as we see, as we have seen It's reinforced by the scriptures, and so as we go through our outline, we're able to understand what the Bible says concerning hope, and when we're all done, we will have barely scratched the surface on what the Bible says concerning the hope that's been given to us It's called a living hope

First Peter 1 3 says that we are born again through, by, to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord This is not some dead hope It's a living hope, because God is alive He's the living God He only gives a living hope, and because He gives a living hope, that hope is an effectual hope That is, that hope actually does a work It does a unique and special work in your life and mine, because it's a gift given to us by God, and it all comes from the Lord God Himself, who is the God of hope

It does something very unique in your life and mine, and that is, as we looked at point nine last time, it refines our present lifestyle It does something very unique to you and me Hope is not something that we anticipate in the future, because it is that It's living in anticipation of the promises of God, knowing for sure that they're going to happen, because God said they were going to happen And Hebrews 11 talks about the Hebrews in the hall of faith and how they lived in anticipation of the coming promises of God

That's what kept them going from day to day, because if it wasn't for those promises, they would have gone back to where they came from But they lived in anticipation of what God promised them We live in that anticipation, but we don't live in that anticipation without it affecting our present lifestyle today It does something very unique to us It refines our soul That's why it says over in 1 John chapter 3, See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God, and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself, even as he is pure In other words, because we have this hope fixed on Jesus, there is a purifying work There is a refining work There is a maturing work There's something that takes place in your life and mine In other words, if you have the hope given to you by God, it's not a stagnant hope It doesn't lie dormant in your life It works It brings forth fruit

It refines the life It matures the life It perfects the life It does such a unique work in the life, that the life actually changes That's why the Bible says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation Old things are passed away Behold, all things have become new Why? Because you are a new creation You've been born again by the living God, or through the living God, and his powerful work in your life And therefore, it has a work that refines the soul, which matures the soul, perfects the soul So important

We need to understand that, because we live in a day where we wonder where people who call themselves Christians stand We gave some illustrations last time about James McDonald, and Tullian Chevidian, and Joshua Harris, men that were prominent pastors in our country, who have all been dismissed from their pastorate, because they've disqualified themselves Interesting to note about Tullian Chevidian, and that is, he's the grandson of Billy Graham, and as he pastored a Presbyterian church in Florida, there were a multiple amount of affairs in which he had, which dismissed him from that church

He went to another church in Florida, right from there, it's a Willow Creek Church in South Florida, and he confessed to another affair, having gone to that church Since then, he has started a new church in the last month He has started a brand new church It's called the Sanctuary in South Florida, and he said, in an article written in a World Magazine, that he has a message that appeals to everyone That's why he started this church He has a message that now, because of his immorality, appeals to everyone

In other words, he says, in essence, because I've been disqualified from the ministry, I am now qualified to do the ministry more so than before I was disqualified It's a spin on words In other words, the guys who are qualified really are disqualified, and the guy that has been disqualified is now qualified And so now you have this man, and all these people wanting to go to this church, because now he has a message that appeals to them That's just tragic It doesn't mean that this man can't have some kind of ministry somewhere in the church, because the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable

But to be a pastor, an elder in a church, when the qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are so clear, that's tragic And yet, where was his hope? Was it fixed on Christ himself? Was there a refining work that was taking place? Well, evidently not, because he was involved in different relationships with different women throughout at least two pastorates, maybe more We don't know That's tragic And so, when we talk about a hope that refines our present lifestyle, is that really true? It doesn't mean that people don't fall into sin They do And you will sin today

Guaranteed you're gonna sin sometime today All right? That just happens But there is a confession There's a repentance There's a turning from the sin There's a convicting work of the Spirit of God that happens in our life There is a refining work that takes place, because everything about hope is rooted in God And because it's received by grace, reinforced by the Scriptures, the Spirit of God reaffirms that in my life It's a constant work It doesn't lie dormant in my life There's a change that's happening

And why that change each and every day might be slow, it is progressive, right? No one asks you to be perfect, except the Lord Himself when He said, be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect But that's a positional perfection that manifests itself in a practical progression every single day of your life See, we live in a world where we just are listening to all kinds of testimonies from people, and in this day of social media, when everybody is trying to publicize everything they're doing

That's why a guy like Joshua Harris, who was married for 19 years, pastored a megachurch, wrote many books, all of a sudden defrocks the faith, says I'm not a Christian, leaves his wife, leaves his children, and to him it's okay And you ask yourself, you scratch yourself in the head, say, what happened? Did he actually experience a living hope? Did the living hope not be effectual in his life? Was the hope that was rooted in God now a dead hope in him? Or was it truly a living hope? Or did he really experience the true living hope of the living God? You have to ask those questions

Because the Bible tells us that in the latter days, there's going to be a tremendous falling away Let me show you, I'll just give you a couple of verses, okay? The first one I want to give you is in 2 Thessalonians chapter, what is it? 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, which says these words The Thessalonians were worried about the day of the Lord that had come upon them And they had missed the translation of the church into the kingdom

And Paul was going to reassure them that the day of the Lord had not yet come, because it says in verse number 3, let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come, that is the day of the Lord, unless the apostasy, the defection, the falling away comes first And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction In other words, you can know that it's not the day of the Lord, because there's going to be this great apostasy, this great falling away

It's going to be led by the man of lawlessness, the man of sin, the Antichrist, okay? So be assured that it has not yet happened, because that man of lawlessness has yet to be revealed, see? That will happen in the day of the Lord And then over in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse number 1, Paul reiterates it by saying it this way, but the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times, in the last days Now what are the last days? The last days are defined simply by the time between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ Let's just simplify it for you

For the time that Jesus came and ascended into glory after His death and burial and resurrection, and the second coming of Christ are the last days So Paul says in verse 1 of chapter 4, but the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times, in the last days, some will fall away Some will apostatize the faith Some will become defectors of the faith That is, they will have said that they were men of faith or believers in the Lord, but in reality their true colors will eventually shine through

Listen, one thing about time, time always tells the truth, right? Given enough time, truth is always revealed So Paul is saying that in the last days there's going to be this apostasy, this falling away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons In other words, they're going to pay attention to those who teach that which is false And because they've heard that which is false, they haven't accepted and believed that which is true

And while on the outside they may look a certain way, over time they will fall away because there is no root in them, because the hope that's rooted in God is not rooted in them And then Paul would follow that up in 2nd Timothy chapter 3, with these words, 2nd Timothy chapter 3, verse number 1, again talking about the last days, he says, but realize this, that in the last days, remember the last days, the latter days are the times between what? The first coming and the second coming, right? So in the last days, perilous times, difficult times will come

Maybe your text says, I'll let the King James, perilous times So it's a word used of the demoniac in Mark chapter 5, I believe it is, the man who was demon possessed In other words, in the last days, it's going to be like, the world's going to be like Satan's graveyard That's the way the world's going to be We think it's that way even today Listen to what it says For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable He's describing Los Angeles

Malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of God, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure He's describing West Covina Revenant lovers of God, holding, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power, avoid such men as these In other words, these are people who will look like they are holding to some kind of semblance of godliness But they deny its power, because the hope that refines our present lifestyle is not in them Therefore, there isn't this constant progression toward Christ's likeness, toward holiness, toward the things that matter

That's why it says, and John picks up on this whole theme in 1 John 2, when he says in verse number 18, children, it is the last hour Oh, it is? Yeah These are the last days Well, how do you know they're the last days? And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now, many Antichrists have appeared Whoa, hey, what does that mean? We know that the Antichrist is coming But in the meantime, there are many who are Antichrist And how do you know those who are Antichrist? He says, from this we know it is the last hour, because they went out from us

But they were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us But they went out so that it would be shown that they all are not of us John knew He heard the parable of the sower and the soil He knew that the seed would fall on thorny ground He knew the seed would fall on rocky ground, but it wouldn't take root, because the seed of hope was not rooted in God in their lives And therefore, when perilous times came, when treacherous times came, when the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world engulfed them, they fell away They apostatized the faith

They turned their back, because they really didn't have the true faith to begin with They didn't lose their salvation The Bible makes it very clear You can't lose your salvation You're kept by the power of God You can't lose what God keeps So therefore, they had a form of godliness, but denied its power John says there are many antichrists that have gone out into the world They were a part of us, but they didn't remain They left They left the church They left the faith If they would have been one of us, they would have remained with us

They would have persevered until the end, but these did not See, as we grow closer and closer to the return of Christ, the apostasy of people in the church will grow greater and greater and greater, because they weren't a part of the, quote, true church, but they masked themselves, having a form of godliness, but truly denied the power of the living God, giving them living hope that would refine their present lifestyle every single day How important it is for us to understand that and come to grips with us

When Marty Sampson, who's now just taken down his post where he says that he is losing his faith and it doesn't bother him, it should bother him, but see, you have to understand the kind of environment he's in, and I think we miss this so many times You have heard me say this for so many years, and I will say it for as long as I'm the pastor of this church or have the opportunity to preach the gospel

There are churches in this world, so many of them, and they usually fall into two camps in the evangelical world, okay? There are churches that fall under the emotional direction and those that fall under the doctrinal direction Those who fall under the emotional direction base all their decisions and life choices on feelings Those in the doctrinal section base their decisions on facts, the facts of the Bible If you find yourself in a church that centers itself all around the emotions, where you make your decisions based on feelings, it will always lead to harm Always

But if you're in the section which deals with doctrine, because doctrine is the most important thing, the truth of the living God, and you make a decision based on fact, it doesn't lead to harm, it leads to holiness Leads to holiness And Marty Sampson finds himself in this Hillsong movement, this assembly, that's all based on emotion, all based on feeling So there is no foundational strength for him to pull from because he's not doctrinally sound in the Scriptures to understand what the Bible says The most important decision you will ever make in your life is where you go to church

You make the wrong choice, you're gonna reap the consequences of that immensely down the road Make sure you lead your family to a Bible-believing, teaching, preaching church where the Word of God is the absolute authority and doctrine is highly emphasized Because if you don't, and you know, you have family members that are part of another movement, you have family members that are part of another church and emotion, you need to plead with them Snatch them out of the fire Get them out of there

Tell them to run because down the road when they're looking for solutions, they're looking for help, they don't know where to turn because everything's based on their emotions, based on their feelings, based on what they think is right, not based on what they know to be true based on the Word of the Living God So incredibly important So what I want to do this week and next week is show you how hope refines our present lifestyle And this is so good, so exciting, so mesmerizing

It's gonna be so over-the-top, okay? Chocolate cake with ice cream on top, melting down the side, just oozing out off the plate It's just gonna be amazing So if you're taking notes, and people who love Jesus always take notes, right? So, you know, yeah We call you Jesus jotters You jot down everything Jesus says Jesus jotters You've heard of teeter-totters, right? Well, these are Jesus jotters They jot down everything Jesus says because they don't want to miss it

So if you're taking notes, and because you love the Lord, you're gonna take notes, you just write the word R-E-F-I-N-E-S down the side of your paper Yeah, it's gonna be an acrostic or it's gonna be a little bit of one or the other That's just the way it works We're helping you understand how the hope of the living God, the hope that's rooted in God, received by grace, the hope that is ratified through the resurrection, reinforced through the scripture, reaffirmed by the Holy Spirit, ran apart against Satan, reproduces joy, removes the fear of death, refines your present lifestyle

It can't help but do that It just can't help but do that because God is in you and He's the God of hope See? And so this is important It refines your present lifestyle We had 14 people baptized on Wednesday night, right here in the hole of our stage, right? And we have baptized so many people over the years And a lot of those people, unfortunately, who have been baptized right there, who have made a profession of faith, right, have turned their back on the Lord and walked away Were they truly born again? Only the Lord knows that

Have they walked away for a short time and God will bring them back to Himself? You see, one thing about the Lord God, no one ever finally and fully falls away if you're a believer You may for a short time, like Peter fell away for a couple days, a week, but God brought him back to Himself, right? God doesn't want you moving further from Him, so God's going to bring you back to Himself, right? God's going to do that And yet over the years, and we had many people baptized on Wednesday night, and you know, time will reveal the truth of their profession Will it not? Sure it will

Over time, we will see the fruit, the fruit of their lives, and how the hope that they believe in has and is refining their present lifestyle So hold on to your hats This is so good, but I'm only going to give you point one today because we don't have enough time, okay? Hope refines your present lifestyle Number one, because it redirects your affection It redirects your affection Remember what the Bible says in the book of Colossians? Colossians chapter 3, verse number 1, Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above

Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory Christ is our life, right? So keep seeking those things above Keep looking above Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Set your affection on things above The hope that refines your present lifestyle is a hope that redirects our affections

We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength, everything that we have It's all to be committed to the Christ, right? We are to love Him intensely We are to love Him immensely We are to love Him so much it's all-consuming in our lives That's what we do, because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts, Romans 5, 5, right? And because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts, we can't help but love Him That's why Christ said to Peter in John 21, Peter, do you love me? If you love me, feed my sheep

Tend to my sheep, Peter Do you really love me, Peter? And so we understand that hope redirects our affection We keep seeking the things that are above You see, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, right, but against the principalities and powers of this present age We live in a world where it lures us into all of its desires and temptations It's all there And we have to be on guard all the time. I was sharing with our leadership over the last couple of times that we met together Proverbs 4, 20, guard your heart, gentlemen

Guard it, protect it. 1 Timothy 4, 16, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching Acts 20, verse number 28, when Paul told the Ephesian elders, be on guard for yourselves and all the flock of God You got to watch out for your own heart, your own soul You got to protect it You got to make sure that your affections are committed to the Christ and devoted supremely and singularly to Him That is so important That's the way it works And the hope that everybody finds in our present lifestyle is a living hope that is redirecting our affections toward things above, not below

You know, Peter said in 1 Peter 4, 17, if judgment's going to begin, let it begin in the house of God, right? And we're about to partake at the Lord's table And we examine our lives in light of Scripture We don't examine our lives in light of Pastor Lance or Pastor Patrick or one of our elders like Tom or Bruce or Roger No, no, we examine our lives in light of the Scriptures What does the Bible say? And if we don't do that, then we are remiss in our responsibility as followers of the living God This is so important

This is so dear to my heart because I want all of us to realize we set our affections on things above because we are together the bride awaiting the bridegroom, right? All of us are And yet each and every one of us is a part of that bride And as a bride, and those of you who have been brides anticipate the day in which you unite yourself together with the bridegroom, there is this keeping yourself pure and holy for the bridegroom, making sure that everything about you is right So on that beautiful day in which you come together, it's a glorious moment We're the bride

We're awaiting the coming of the bridegroom And yet the things around the world are vying for your attention, aren't they? Vying for your affection, vying for your adoration They come at you at all angles And that's why, remember our study of Solomon, right? God said to the kings, don't give or take in foreign women because they will turn your heart away from me That's exactly what happened in Solomon's life And remember we told you, and if you haven't written this down, you need to write it down because it's so important

And that is, that is, if you become companioned with the world, you will become contaminated by the world James 4.4, right? You adulterous, you adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity against God? We cannot become companioned with the world Because if you're companioned with the world, you'll become contaminated by the world James 1.27, true religion, undefiled before the Father exists to visit the widows and orphans in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained, unspotted, unblemished by the world

But if you are companioned with the world, you will be contaminated and corrupted by that world If you are corrupted by that world, because you're contaminated by that world, because you become companioned with that world, you will then be controlled by that world. 1 John 2, 15-17, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, right? Talk about the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life Why? If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you You become corrupted by the world You become controlled by the world

If you become controlled by the world, because you've been contaminated by the world, because you have companioned yourself with the world, you can't help but be conformed to that world in its image That's why our Paul says in Romans 12-2, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind That will happen It's inevitable The downgrade is inevitable It's going to happen Who you hang out with determines how it is you're going to live your life in the future Be careful who you hang out with Bad company always corrupts good morals, not the other way around

So be careful Please forgive me. I need to finish this because it will probably go a little long today. I'm sorry, but I got to finish it You know, when you go to a verse like what Jesus says in Luke 9, If any man wishes to commit to me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and daily follow me Listen, if you love your life, you end in hell If you hate your life, you go to heaven That's what Jesus is saying If you love your life, hell is your destiny If you hate your life, if you loathe your sin, if you're sick of your sin, heaven is your destiny

If any man commits to me, let him deny himself Let him take up his cross daily and follow me Die to yourself Die to your goals Die to your ambitions Die to your aspirations Die to your dreams If your dreams take precedence over my decrees and my desire, if your aspirations take precedence over my affection in your life, then you will die in your sins This is the message For whoever wishes to save his life is going to lose it If you want to save your life, you're going to lose it If you want to keep your life, you're going to lose it

But whoever loses his life for my sake, you're doing this for my sake You're not doing it for your sake You're doing it for my sake If you lose your life for my sake, he is the one who will save it In other words, you'll find life You'll find life If you love your life so much, you want to save it, you're going to hell If you hate your life so much, you're willing to lose it, you keep it Heaven is yours And Jesus knows what you're thinking So he says, In Matthew's account, Christ says, what will a man give, listen carefully, in exchange for his soul? It's a term of transaction

When you get saved, there's a transaction that takes place What will a man give in exchange for his soul? Will you give your life away so you can have the life of Christ, or will you keep your life so that you can be happy in this life and spend eternity in hell? This is the message of the gospel And then Christ says, And my words, it's not a man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and his holy angels In other words, if you've given your life away, you're not ashamed of me because I'm your life. I'm your life

So listen, if that message, if that message truly is that which offends you, you love yourself You do You just love yourself We live in this world, and I love what this author says, and listen carefully to what he says, because it's so unique We live in this age of consumer mentality, right? We all know that He says, Today, the consumer mindset has invaded Christianity The church service is too long, you say So we'll shorten it One pastor guarantees his sermons will never last more than seven minutes Too formal? Wear your sweatsuit Too boring? Wait till you hear our band

And if the message is too confrontational or too judgmental or too exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand, or too much anything else for your taste, churches everywhere are eager to adjust that message to make you more comfortable This new version of Christianity makes you a partner on the team, a design consultant on church life, and does away with old-fashioned authority, guilt trips, accountability, and absolute truth

One suburban church sent out a mailer recently promising an informal, relaxed, casual atmosphere, great music from our band, and that those who come, believe it or not, will have fun That's all great, if you're a coffeehouse But anyone who claims to be calling people to the gospel of Jesus, with those as his priorities, is calling them to a lie It's Christianity for consumers Christianity lights the redirection, watering down, and misinterpretation of the biblical gospel in an attempt to make it more palatable and popular It tastes great going down, settles light

It seems to solve your feelings and scratch your itch It's custom-tailored to your preferences, but that lightness will never fill you up with the true, saving gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is designed by man, not God It is hollow It is worthless In fact, it's worse than worthless, because people who hear the message of Christianity light, think they are hearing the gospel, think they are being rescued from eternal judgment, when in fact, they are being tragically misled That is absolute truth

We have people all across our country hearing Christianity light, thinking, Wow, I'm going to heaven They have been misled, they have been lied to, and they will one day die and wake up in hell, because the true gospel has been so diluted Because taking up your cross, denying yourself, and following Jesus is not preached Losing your life for his sake is not preached And that's what Jesus preached Why would we not preach his words? Why would we not give the gospel he authored? When you have hope that's rooted in God, it refines your present lifestyle It redirects all your affections

That's why Paul said, Keep seeking those things that are above, where Christ stood at the right hand of God That's where your home is That's where your life is Don't become so enamored with the things of the world Don't become so enraptured with the things of the world Don't get caught up in all that's happening, so that your affections are stolen away You have a hope based on the living God. A living hope that refines your present lifestyle And the first way it does that, is it redirects your affections It moves you in another direction, other than an earthly direction

It moves you in the heavenly direction And that's how it begins And you come back next week, and we will show you, very methodically, how it is this hope is constantly, every day, refining your present lifestyle for the glory of the living God Let me pray with you Father, thank you for today It's a great day It's a great day to be in the house of the Lord Lord, may we learn much, and grow in Christ's likeness In Jesus' name, amen.