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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 32
3 January 2010
A Hopeful Heart
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Jan 3, 10)
Text: Jer 17:7-8
We really thank God for His goodness,
faithfulness, loving care, guidance, protection and provision, and many
blessings upon each one of us and upon our church last year. Truly,
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for
ever” (Ps 136:1). Praise the Lord!
Today is the first Lord’s Day of the
New Year 2010. We thank God that we are still alive by His grace and
mercy to worship Him. Honestly, we do not know what may happen to the
world, to our church, and to us this year. Many are optimistic and hope
for the good things while many others are pessimistic and worried about
the uncertainties and bad things. Many wrongly think that death is the
end of their life, so they just enjoy their lives without any hope after
their death, “having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph
2:12). Many do not want to live anymore when whom or what they hope for
has been taken away. Sadly, they have even ended their lives in their
depression and hopelessness. Many are so sorrowful due to the loss of
their loved ones because they have no hope after death, “But I would
not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thess
4:13). How about you and me? What do you and I wait for and hope for? Is
the Lord your hope and my hope? “And now, Lord, what wait I for?
my hope is in thee” (Ps 39:7) and “For thou art my hope, O
Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth” (Ps 71:5). Is God’s
Word your hope and my hope? “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope” (Ps 130:5). Thank God and praise
the Lord! No matter what may happen to you and me in this New Year, we
can have peace and be blessed because our trust and hope are in our
good, almighty and sovereign Lord and in His sure Word, “Blessed
is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is”
(Jer 17:7).
Hope: Meaning
The Hebrew term for “hope” is
tiqvah, with 34 occurrences; and the KJV translates as “hope” 23
times, “expectation” seven times, “line” twice, “the thing that I long
for” once, and “expected” once, “For thou art my hope, O Lord
GOD: thou art my trust from my youth” (Ps 71:5). The Hebrew term
for “sure and firm hope” is mibtach, with 15 occurrences; and the
KJV translates as “confidence” nine times, “trust” four times, “sure”
once, and “hope” once, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD,
and whose hope the LORD is” (Jer 17:7).
The Greek term for “hope” is elpis,
with 54 occurrences; and the KJV translates as “hope” 53 times, and
“faith” once, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power
of the Holy Ghost” (Rom 15:13).
Hope has a close connection with love
(charity) and faith, “Charity…beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Cor
13:4, 7), and “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Without our true faith
in God and in His Word, our hope will be built on sand and will vanish
in our difficulties, problems and trials. Then, when you and I put our
hope in the Lord and His Word, we do wait for Him and His Word with our
trust and confidence no matter what may happen to us.
Hope in God and in His Word
Do you and I put our hope in the LORD,
our living and true God? “For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou
wilt hear, O Lord my God” (Ps 38:15). Can we say with sure
confidence that the “Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope” (1 Tim
1:1)? Yes, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Hope of our
salvation, our deliverance, our redemption, our help, our victory and
our eternal life. When we put our hope in the LORD our God, we also put
our hope in His Word, “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I
hope in thy word” (Ps 119:114), and “I wait for the LORD, my
soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope” (Ps 130:5). When
we hope in the Lord, we do hope in His goodness, mercy, grace,
faithfulness, sovereignty, power, guidance, loving care, protection,
etc. It means we look unto Him, wait upon Him, and trust in Him and in
His help and His deliverance. Therefore, we can find peace and rest unto
our souls.
It is wise to put our hope in our
living and true God and in His Word because God is pleased with those
who hope in Him and His mercy, “Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon
them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy” (Ps 33:18).
God will surely bless those who trust in Him and hope in Him,
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD
is” (Jer 17:7).
Dear friends, human beings and their
words, arguments, philosophies, theories, etc are bound to change and
will pass away. It is foolish to put our hope and trust in men, even
“scholars,” and their empty words, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the LORD… The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:5, 9). However,
our almighty and sovereign God is always true, eternal, and unchangeable
for ever. His faithful and sure Word is Truth, unchangeable and enduring
for ever. Therefore, our hope in our Lord and His Word will be firm and
sure in all situations, and we shall not be disappointed or ashamed, but
shall be blessed, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and
whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters,
and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when
heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in
the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jer
17:7-8), and “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait
for the salvation of the LORD” (Lam 3:26).
A Hopeful Heart
Be Born Again:
As human nature is sinful, corrupt and rebellious against God, men do
not want to humble themselves and put their hope in God and His Word.
They would rather put their hope and trust in themselves and in men and
in human words! No wonder, many still believe in Darwinism and human
philosophies and man-made religions. To have a hopeful heart in God and
in His Word, you and I must be born again. We must first be hopeless
about ourselves and our sinful nature. We must acknowledge that we are
undone, and we can never change our hearts by ourselves or by good works
or by religious practices. Then, we must humbly come to the Lord Jesus
Christ in repentance, cry unto Him for His salvation, redemption and
deliverance, and invite Him to reign in our hearts and lives as our King
and Lord, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). Then,
the Lord will fill us with His living hope and trust by the power of the
Holy Spirit, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power
of the Holy Ghost” (Rom 15:13). A baby naturally trusts and hopes in
his mother and in her milk. When you and I are born again, we shall
naturally trust and hope in our God and in His Word (1 Peter 2:2).
Grow in God’s Grace and Knowledge:
The more you and I know the Lord our God, the more we shall put our
trust and hope in Him in all situations, “But grow in grace, and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both
now and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). The Lord is willing to
reveal Himself to you and me when we love Him and keep His Word, “He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:
and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). May the Lord
help you and me grow in His grace and knowledge this New Year and say,
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ”
(Phil 3:8). Truly, “The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore
will I hope in him” (Lam 3:24).
Read and Keep God’s Word:
God’s Word is not like
dead and empty words from men, but “the word of God is quick, and
powerful” (Heb 4:12). God’s Word is full of His breath of life,
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:16), and
“the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”
(John 6:63). God’s Word is able to regenerate and sanctify you and me
(John 17:17; 1 Peter 1:23) and is able to fill our hearts with hope and
life, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for
our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope” (Rom 15:4). When we read Psalm 107, we shall
see God’s goodness and we shall put our hope and trust in Him and cry
unto Him in our troubles, “Then they cried unto the LORD in their
trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses…Oh that men would
praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men!” (Ps 107:6, 8). When we read Romans 8:28, we shall
trust in God’s sovereignty, knowing “that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to
his purpose.” Dear friends, God has so many precious promises
recorded in the Holy Scriptures. We must thank God for having preserved
His divinely inspired Word so that we may read and put our trust in Him
and in His Word in all situations.
Hope in God and His Word in All Things
with All Perseverance:
It is a great testing for you and me to trust and hope in God and in His
promises in our trials or in our hopelessness. May God help you and me
still hope in Him and in His Word no matter what may happen to us so
that we may experience His goodness, faithfulness and timely
deliverance. Abraham was blessed because he “against hope believed in
hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that
which was spoken, So shall thy seed be” (Rom 4:18).
God was able to restore His people and
bring them back to their land even when they lost their hope,
“Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the
whole house of
Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost:
we are cut off for our parts”
(Eze 37:11). Our almighty and sovereign God is still the same and there
is nothing too hard for Him even in our hopeless situations or in our
impossible position, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is
there any thing too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27). Let us encourage
ourselves and one another to trust and hope in our good and almighty
Lord, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted
within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the
health of my countenance, and my God” (Ps 42:11; 43:5).
Conclusion
Dear friends, what do you and I expect
and hope for this New Year? We do not know what may happen to us
tomorrow, but God knows and He is always sovereign. May God help us grow
in His knowledge and in His Word and faithfully keep His Word. May God
help us wisely put our trust and hope in Him and in His Word alone with
all perseverance until the end. May the Lord keep us pure as He is pure
while we are waiting for His return, “we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”
(1 John 3:2-3). Amen.
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