The Hope Jesus Gives

Father, we ask that, Father, we confess that we often don't think you want to give us things

which are really important to us. Father, that's just a problem many of us have.

So we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit would do a gentle but very deep work on us this morning

and help us to trust you and to believe you, Father. And we ask in particular

that you would grow good hope within us, that you would grow a good hope

that allows us to live well for the good of ourselves, the good of this community,

the good of our families and our friends, and for your great glory and praise as the gospel is spread.

So, Father, grow good hope in us this morning. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Please be seated.

So I've had an interesting or an odd type of week. I had two conversations about suicide this week.

And that's not something which I normally have a conversation about.

But this week I had several conversations about suicide.

One, in one case, it was because it's coming up to the, like almost any day,

it will be the one-year anniversary of a very shocking, for this person,

a very shocking and gruesome suicide.

The one-year anniversary of it.

And in the other case, it was a person sharing, I can't remember now if it was two or three,

but the person sharing with me how a very close family member

has now had either two or three suicide attempts, serious suicide attempts.

And it was just in each of those cases, just pure, I mean, some people would just say by chance,

others would say by providence of God.

A person who wasn't supposed to drop in, who had a key, dropped in and had a key.

Like those types of weird situations.

And if it hadn't been for that, the person would have successfully committed suicide.

And so we had, you know, these conversations about it.

And, you know, in both cases, you know, one of the people who'd committed suicide,

I mean, it's always tragic, right?

In fact, actually, in the one with the several attempts, the person who tried to do it is very wealthy.

And in the other case, this is a person who was just brilliant.

A doctor, you know, young, like all, from the outside, in both cases,

you'd look as if you'd think that these people had everything going for them in their life.

You might even wish that you could be like them.

You might even be saying, my life sucks, I wish I could be like them,

without knowing that one of them would then, as I said, coming up a year ago, commit suicide,

very in a gruesome manner.

And in both cases, as I'm talking in these cases,

they shared how, especially with the person who talked through the person,

I can't remember now if it was two or three suicide attempts,

they just shared how an overwhelming darkness and hopelessness,

overwhelming darkness and hopelessness,

just descended upon them and settled upon them,

and settled and settled and settled.

And, I mean, hopeless doesn't begin to capture the darkness of the state that they were in.

Believe it or not, the Bible text that we are going to look at today

has an awful lot to say about hope

and how to understand hope and God and hope

and help anybody to think about hope better.

So it'd be a great help for me if you would take your Bibles

and turn in them to Ephesians 1, verses 15 to 23.

Ephesians 1:15–23

Ephesians 1, verses 15 to 23.

Ephesians 1:15–23

And we're going to look at this whole problem of what hope is.

And here's the thing to begin with.

Isn't it puzzling that we need hope to live?

Isn't it puzzling that we need hope to live?

Like, most of us might never have thought about it, but we do.

Without hope, we want to die.

But that's an interesting thing about us as human beings,

that that would be so important about us.

So let's see what the Bible says.

And in this particular case, we'll have the text up on the screen as well

for those who don't have your Bibles with you.

And hopefully I'm doing this correctly.

So this is how it begins.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus

and your love toward all the saints,

I do not cease to give thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers.

And we'll just sort of pause there for a second.

What I should have mentioned before we started to read this

is one of the things which is very puzzling,

and if you go back on your own and read the whole letter to Ephesians,

is that the man who's writing this is in jail.

He's in jail.

And in fact, it doesn't sound like he's in jail.

I think as I shared last week,

if I was in jail writing you folks a letter,

it would begin probably,

I'm so glad nobody's beat me up yet.

Then the second thing might be,

get me a better lawyer.

The third one might be, pray like crazy or whatever.

But when you read this letter,

it doesn't sound like it's written by a guy who's in jail.

And he's in jail in Rome.

The letter is written around somewhere between the year 60 and 62.

And he's writing a letter to a group of churches

in a place called Ephesus,

in what we now know of as Turkey,

which was an important city in the Roman Empire at the time.

And he writes like this.

He actually spent three years,

the writer of the letter,

spent three years in Ephesus.

He planted the church and the multiple churches.

But he writes like this because he's been gone from them

for several years,

but he's heard that they're growing

and they're doing really well.

And so he's filled with thanks.

Right?

I do not cease to give thanks for you,

remembering you in my prayers.

I'm going to say one other thing.

So here's a,

okay,

time out.

Grammar geek moment.

Time out.

You know who you are.

Okay?

So this is for you.

This,

15 to 23 in Greek,

is one sentence.

No modern editor would ever let you write this sentence today in English.

But it's one long sentence.

But in the original language,

I'm breaking the verses up into six sections

because,

okay,

grammar geek moment,

in the original language,

this would have been read out loud.

Many people were illiterate,

right?

So this would have been a letter that was written in all of the different churches

in Ephesus and the surrounding community.

And,

and one of the things that they taught you in the ancient world

was how to read properly.

And so,

if you just,

trust me on this,

if you analyze it in the original letter,

there's breathing spots

because they were trained to be able to stand.

I don't know how they stood,

but they would have stood there in a proper way.

They read a bit

and then there'd be a,

and then they'd speak and speak and speak

and then be,

they breathe.

And so it's designed that way

and that's how I've divided up the verses.

It helps you to understand the units of meaning.

Okay,

Greek,

geek,

not Greek,

geek moment over

back to the rest of you

who are not geek grammar nerds.

Okay,

so,

so that's how it begins.

He's very thankful

and then he's thanking

and remembering you in your prayers.

And what does he say next?

The next thing he says is this.

And,

this sounds a little bit innocuous,

but he actually

sort of enters into a very interesting riddle

that we don't really think about that often.

Look at what he says.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of glory,

may give you the spirit of wisdom

and of revelation

in the knowledge of him,

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.

Now,

that just looks like a pretty innocuous thing,

but here's this interesting thing.

Remember I said,

why is it that we can't live without hope?

Like,

why is that?

Well,

here's this other thing.

I am not a dog person.

I married a dog person,

so we have dogs.

Louise loves dogs.

She also loves birds and fish

and all sorts of other things,

so we live in a small zoo

almost sometimes.

But,

we have this humongous

German shepherd

and a dog not quite as big

that's a cross between

a standard poodle

and a sheep dog.

The big dog is called Rocky

and the smaller dog

is called Wooly.

But,

here's the thing.

I observe these dogs

and dogs,

you know,

domesticated dogs,

they're pretty high up

in terms of animals.

Dogs never hope.

If you think about it for a second,

dogs don't hope.

not really.

Like,

Rocky's not hoping

for Christmas.

That's a bit too far for us.

Rocky's not hoping

for Halloween.

So,

I mean,

I observe the dog.

It's not as if

they're just a lump.

Louise,

often on many days,

she goes to one of our

kids

and she meets

their kids,

our grandkids,

off the bus

because,

you know,

Victoria can't be home

in time for it

and so Louise goes

and meets the kids,

some of our grandkids

and,

you know,

brings them and looks at it

and then when Louise

comes home at quarter to six

or six o'clock

or something like that,

as soon as she comes in,

as soon as she pulls in,

the dogs are very excited

and because it's six o'clock

at night,

the dogs know that

unless Louise

desperately has to go

to the bathroom,

the very first thing

Louise does

will be to feed

the dogs

and they're really excited

about that,

let me tell you,

they really jump up and down,

it is a big,

big moment.

I think actually

first she gives them a cookie,

then what parents

aren't supposed to do

with your kids,

you don't give them a cookie

and then their dinner

but it works with dogs,

right?

So,

but I don't think

they think all day,

I wonder what type of cookie

I'm going to have,

I hope I get a good,

like,

dogs don't hope,

so just think about it

for a second,

like,

why is it that human beings hope?

It's not obvious,

like,

if naturalistic evolution

is true

and we're just a result

of cause and effect

and the natural physical laws

and processes,

like,

we're no more

biologically adapted

to live well than,

well,

in fact,

they used to say,

some of us are old enough,

remember when the thing

that used to be

mutually assured destruction

and the worry

that there'd be nuclear bombs

that would kill everything

and the only things

that would survive

wouldn't be humans,

it would be cockroaches,

and they never hope,

by the way,

they're just bugs,

right?

So it doesn't really

add any advantage,

like,

why do human beings hope?

Why do we hope?

And why is it that hope

is so important to us

that without hope

we'd die?

And in fact,

it's even curious

because from Eastern

religion's point of view,

if in the way,

like,

the CBC

or the University of Ottawa

would tell you

about how you began,

which is through

blind chance,

like,

how does hope exist

in such a world?

Yet from the Eastern religions

where there's either

this constant cycle,

but at the end of the day,

all things that exist

are a result

of an ancient catastrophe

where the divine unity

somehow or another

started to have separation

and we're all trying

to get back to it.

But if it all began

by a catastrophe,

then why does hope exist?

Huh?

Like,

why?

Well,

you,

now go back

and look at the text again

because the text

actually says

we're just so familiar

with it

we don't realize

that the text

says something

very,

very significant.

Look at it again.

The last bit,

having the eyes

of your hearts

enlightened.

See,

here's the thing.

Human,

the Bible teaches

that human beings

are deep

and that we're

not just bodies.

there's something

deeper about

a human being.

In the language

of a heart,

we not normally

hear it

and we think

of emotions

but in fact,

the Bible here

is not referring

to the fact

that human beings

have emotions.

Dogs have emotions.

What it's referring

to is the command center.

So those of you

who really like

Star Trek,

just picture

where Captain Kirk

sits

and that's

the biblical

understanding

of the heart.

that there's

something

non-physical

that makes

us human

that's

obviously

connected

to our bodies.

It's like

having bodies

isn't sort of

an accident

or just a chance.

We were designed

to be a body

with a command center

that's not purely

physical.

One being.

And this command center,

out of this command center,

out of this thing

which is the very center

of who we are,

which can't be explained

purely by cause

and effect

or by genetics

or biology

or anything like that,

out of that one command center,

this is what's so unique

about the Christian worldview

because it fits with us.

Out of this one command center

comes the mind

and thinking,

comes the mind

and imagination,

comes the mind

and memory.

Out of it comes

the ability

to will,

to choose.

Out of it comes

creativity.

Out of it comes

feelings

and emotions

and affections

and longings

and apprehension

of beauty

and glory.

And out of this

one spot,

it's not as if there's a,

it's not as if there's,

over here is the,

you know,

the feeling part

and over here

is the willing part

and over here

is the thinking part.

No,

there's just one center

of a human being

and that's how God

designed us.

And it's because

God designed us

to be a body

with a heart,

with a command center

that's not purely

physical.

It's because

that God

designed this.

designed us

in such a way

not as a catastrophe,

not as just

mere chance,

that we understand

that the heart

that out of us

comes a natural

desire to think.

If we had a baby

and it wasn't

showing any sense

of thinking,

we would be worried.

If we had a baby

and it showed no sign

of ever wanting

to smile or cry,

we would be worried.

If we had a young child

and it never had

any imagination

or creativity,

we would be worried.

If we had a child

and it had no longings,

we would be worried.

And so in this

little tiny thing,

we don't realize

that one moment,

all of a sudden,

with this one text,

a whole different way

of understanding

human being

is opened up to us.

That human beings

are deep

and that out of

the very center

of who human beings

are,

we think,

we reason,

we remember,

we imagine,

we will,

we feel,

not out of different

places,

but out of one place.

Even though,

as fallen human beings,

we recognize

that those things

can sometimes be at war.

We think one thing

and we emote,

we feel emotions

around another thing

and we long

for different things.

But we understand

that they're at war

because God,

you know,

the Eastern religions

are right,

there is a catastrophe,

but the catastrophe

isn't what created us.

The catastrophe came

after God made

a good creation

and the catastrophe

came when we,

human beings,

desire to be like

gods ourselves.

And in seeking

to do that,

we broke our connection

with the true

and living triune God

and division

and brokenness

entered into our lives.

And God made us

to hope.

If you think about it,

go back and look again

at the Genesis 1

and Genesis 2.

Why did God

create human beings?

He created us

to be at home

in this universe

and he created us

to tend the garden.

He created us

to be fruitful

and multiply

and have dominion

over all of the earth.

Now,

true confessions,

again,

I am not a gardener.

If you want your garden

to die,

ask me to be the gardener.

If you want all the plants

in your house to die,

ask me to care for them.

I have a black thumb,

not a green thumb.

But,

here's what I understand

about gardeners

because my wife

likes to garden

and I know lots of gardeners.

You know,

you can't tend a garden

without hope.

Like right now,

gardeners are just,

you know,

there's a sense

that they're going to be

winding everything up

but even as they're

winding everything up,

as they start to bank things

and cover things,

it's also,

the garden will flourish

this coming spring.

And over the winter,

they'll buy seeds

at the right time

and they'll start

to plant them

and try to get them

germinating

inside their house

and they'll think,

I know them,

they'll talk about,

should we buy

these types of plants

or these types of tomatoes

or these types of flowers?

I'm thinking of

extending this.

I think we'll have

less corn

and rather than that,

there will,

right?

It's hope.

They think,

they plan,

they hope.

God created us that way.

That's why we can't live

without hope.

God created us.

This text opens us up

on this very,

very,

very profound riddle.

But the text then goes on

and does something else

which is very,

very,

very interesting.

Look again at what it says

up there,

right?

It asks,

it asks,

that,

I have to look at the right

spot in my Bible,

that may give you

the spirit of wisdom

and of revelation

and knowledge of him,

having the eyes of your hearts

enlightened.

It's very interesting

that what he's praying for

is that light

will come into the center

of the hour.

Remember what suicide,

suicide I described

as this overwhelming darkness

that comes to you.

And Paul's prayer,

his insight,

is that we need to be praying

into people

that light

comes into the very center

of who they are.

And then he asks

for three very interesting

connected things.

Look at verses 18

through the beginning

of verse 19.

And there's three things

that he prays for,

each begin with the word

what.

That you may know

what is the hope

to which he has called you.

What are the riches

of his glorious inheritance

in the saints?

And what is the immeasurable

greatness of his power

toward us who believe

according to the working

of his great might?

Now, these things

are like a Rubik's cube.

It's not three completely

separate things.

It's three things

which you get aligned

just as you want to get

the Rubik's cube

to be aligned

with all the colors

in the right way.

And they fit with each other

and they communicate

with each other.

And it's not just

pie in the sky.

In fact,

if you look at it,

once again,

it helps you to understand

how we think about hope.

I know a person.

I haven't had very many

conversations with this

person for a while.

It happens,

but because of their past,

because of the fact that

they were rejected

by their dad,

they've been rejected

by their family,

they've had a hard time

with bosses,

this person's a really,

really, really,

really hard worker.

A really hard worker.

But it's other people

who will take credit

for the work.

It's other people

who get the promotions.

And their entire past

just seems to be

one of rejection

and failure.

And so they have no hope

for the present

or for the future.

And others,

they look at something,

maybe their future,

they look at their finances,

they look at their health,

they see death coming

and they have no hope

for the future.

I know of one person

who wanted to get

the doctors

to administer drugs

to them

so they could die quickly

because they couldn't

look good anymore.

They couldn't get

their hair done

and their makeup done.

I'm not making this up.

Could not get their hair done

and their makeup done

and wear good clothes

because of their

medical condition

and they wanted to die.

The future just looked

bleak and bleak

and bleak

and the present,

no power.

Look at how this is structured.

Just look at,

listen to it again,

that you may know

what is the hope

to which he has called you.

So Paul wants Christians,

he wants the people

in Ephesus

to have hope.

And the first thing

to remember about hope

is that God called you.

That's the past.

Sorry, I guess for you

I should point that way.

That's the past.

You know,

the reason you're a Christian

is that God called you first.

You become a Christian

not when you call out to God

hoping he'll answer,

but when you call out to God

who has been already calling you.

And you're to remember

that God called you.

And then he looks to the future

and he says,

what are the riches

of his glorious inheritance

in the saints?

In other words,

he's telling you

to look forward to heaven.

This is really,

remember,

Paul's in jail.

And he said,

you know,

I want you to grow in hope.

And one of the ways

to grow in hope,

one of the ways

to have light

come into your life

is to reflect

and remember

that God called you

to be his child.

And one of the things

to bring hope

into your life

is to remember

and reflect upon the fact

that even though

from the world's point of view,

you might not be

the most successful person.

And at some point in time,

you who might have been

very, very, very beautiful

or very, very handsome

or very, very important

or very, very powerful

if you live long enough,

all of a sudden

you become old

and wrinkly

and not as important

and have no positions of power

and the people look through you,

not at you,

past you,

not at you,

and all of that.

But that's not the final word about you.

The final word about you

is that God,

who has called you,

is preparing for you

these glorious,

like,

you are part of God's treasure

that he will enjoy forever.

You are to understand

that in Christ,

that is the final word about you.

And then it's not just the past

and it's not just the future.

Look at the next what.

The next what says,

and what is the immeasurable greatness

of his power toward us

who believe

according to the working

of his great might?

That that power of God

hidden in a body

that is frail

and aging.

That God's power

is present

and working in you.

You see,

that's the way,

isn't that the way,

but aren't those three things

all really important

in structure and hope

that sometimes

when you're trying

to encourage somebody

and hope you want them

to think about the past

in a different way

or you want to say,

well, you can't deal

with the past

but look at the future

or look at the present.

Just look at the casual wisdom

and insight of the Bible

as it talks about

this particular thing.

But some of you might say,

well, George,

it's all religious stuff

but here's the thing

which is even.

Remember I said,

why is it that hope

is so important

and without hope we die?

Why is that?

And we talk about the fact

that, well,

what if it is

that there is something human

that's not just cause

and effect

that makes us different

than a dog,

makes us different

than a cockroach,

makes us different

than an animal,

that there's something

in fact that only

only the fact

that we were designed

by a triune God

for love and fellowship

with him

and for harmony

with the creation

and harmony

with other human beings,

only that can account

for the reality

of what a human being

is like

and within that

hope makes some sense.

But you see,

there's something

even deeper here

is that hope,

if it is to be real,

real, true,

deep, enduring hope

has to be something

beyond this world.

Like, if we are something

beyond just the physical,

doesn't it make sense

that what we should

really hope for

should be beyond

what is just physical?

But it goes even more,

if you think about it

for a second,

just like think about it

for a second.

One of the things

that's really neat

about having grandchildren,

I don't want to harp

on this all the time,

but one of the things

which is really neat

about it is

they come over

and they're all young

and so you have

the four-year-old grandchild

or the three-year-old

and my wife has

lots of different blocks

and, you know,

so you get a kid,

it's a natural thing

at a certain point in time,

they like to see

if they can make

the black blocks

as hard as they possibly can.

I'm picturing

a three-year-old right now

and one of the things

which is very natural

for the 18-month sister

tottering around

is when they see a block,

a pile of blocks like this,

she does,

pushes them all down.

Two natural processes

that work at the same time.

Child number one,

the three-year-old goes,

ah, mommy,

and the 18-month-old

just totters away

with a big smile

hoping the three-year-old

will make a tower of blocks

again so they can be

knocked down.

But here's the thing,

isn't really,

if all there is

is this human life,

isn't it really

like a three-year-old

making a tower of blocks

not knowing

when the 18-month

is going to come

and knock them all down?

If all there is

is life,

isn't that what

life is really like?

I put money aside

for my pension,

I buy a house,

I try to pay off

the mortgage,

I do this

and I don't know

if I will be in a car accident

tomorrow

that will wipe it all out,

I don't know

if I'll die on my way home,

I don't know

if tomorrow

that lump

will turn out

to be cancer.

That in fact

all human life,

if all you hope for

is in this life,

the fact of the matter

is is that

we are the three-year-old

building a tower

not knowing

when the 18-month-old

is going to

knock it all down.

But the very nature

of hope implies

that there's something

more than that.

And what can be

more than that?

It has to be

something outside

of this world

that fits with the fact

that our heart,

our soul,

our spirit,

our mind

is not just

of this world

of cause and effect.

If hope is to be

real and enduring,

there must be

something outside

and more,

but not just

all outside,

which has nothing

to do with now,

but is present

amongst us.

And that's why

this next little bit

is so important.

Look at what it says

next.

Verse 20.

Remember it said,

what is it?

The immeasurable greatness

of his power.

That just went on before.

The immeasurable greatness

of his power.

Verse 19,

toward us,

I believe,

according to the working

of his great might.

Verse 20,

that he worked in Christ

when he raised him

from the dead

and seated him

at his right hand

in the heavenly places.

You see,

here's the thing

which people don't

understand.

The Christian faith

is not about being good.

If you're not good,

God will send lightning.

He'll get you.

It's not about being good,

being good,

being good,

being good,

being good.

In fact,

it's about,

amongst other things,

coming to the point

in time you say,

that is a rat race

that I am only

going to lose.

If I am honest

with myself,

if I am not a Pharisee,

I am only going to lose

in that.

And the Christian life

is amongst other things

this very counterintuitive

message

that the door to life

is behind you.

Accomplishing,

accomplishing,

accomplishing,

accomplishing,

accomplishing,

planning,

religious,

spiritual,

this,

a little bit of that,

a bit of meaning,

going through life,

going through life,

going through life.

But the door to life

begins when you stop.

It's called repentance.

And you realize

that the door to life

is behind you.

God is calling you

back to himself.

And it's not just a call.

See,

this is the wonderful thing

about this verse.

Look at this verse again.

That he worked

in Christ

when he raised him

from the dead

and seated him

in his right hand

in the heavenly places.

You see,

the gospel is the message.

That it's not just

that there's this hope

in a God

who is distant,

who created all things

and he's distant.

He made us for himself,

but he's distant.

The message of the gospel

is that this distant God

became Emmanuel,

became God with us,

among us,

in our mess.

But without sinning,

without breaking fellowship

with God,

and this God

came and dwelt among us

and died on the cross.

He died the death

that we deserved.

All the death

which crushes us

and brings an end

of all of our longings

and our yearnings,

if this life

is all there is,

all that death

that we deserve

and that we will

someday face

unless Christ returns

first for his people,

fell on him.

He died my death.

And the Christian faith

is to put your hand

out to Jesus

and he comes

who's called you.

He takes your hand.

He takes him to yourself,

takes me to himself,

and I am united with him

which is why Paul is saying

that even in the midst

of my aging,

I'm united with Christ.

I'm united with Christ.

I was united with him

in his death

and I am united with him

as God took a man

who died

and experienced

all there is

to experience of death

and rose

into resurrected life

and ascended

into the heavens

and that is who

the lowliest Christian

is united with.

Paul is in jail

because he is a Christian.

Paul is in jail

because he is a witness

to the resurrection

of Jesus.

That is why he is in jail.

He says,

you can't stop me

from saying

that Jesus didn't rise

from the dead

because if I did that,

that would be a lie.

I saw him.

He rose from the dead.

I know he died.

I know the grave is empty.

I know they never found

the body.

I saw him.

He is alive.

And if I have to go to jail

because I won't deny that,

I will go to jail.

in five to six years after this,

he dies a gruesome death.

And he dies a gruesome death

saying,

he lives.

And he came

and died

and rose

for you.

He came and died

and rose

for you.

And then this

next little bit

as we start

to wrap it up.

It's something

that worries us,

but it shouldn't worry us.

It's very wise.

Look at the next little bit.

Verse 21.

Remember it says

that Jesus was seated

at the right hand

of the heavenly places

far above all rule

and authority

and power

and dominion

and above every name

that is named

not only in this age

but also in the age to come.

Jesus is above

all rule

and authority

and power

and dominion

and above every name

that is named

not only in this age

but in the age to come.

See,

here's what

it opens up

for us for hope.

Every single one of us

have had times

when we've talked

to a friend

to try to talk them

out of hoping

in something.

Really?

You hope

that guy's going

to make you happy?

Come on.

Smarten up.

That guy's going

to ruin you.

You really think

doing that's

going to make

like

we all know

what bad hopes are

and we all wish

that we could intervene

and try to have people

sort of walk away

from bad hopes

and pick up

good hopes

and what this text

is pointing to

isn't a scary thing

but it's saying

listen,

anything that you

might hope in

anything that you

might hope in

put your trust in

anything that you

might long for

Jesus is higher

and it's not just

that Jesus is higher

this is the same guy

he's for you

he's for you

he came

because he loves you

he came

and died for you

he took

his death

he took your death

and made it his

and he gives you

his life

and now

he's above everything

he sees everything

he can rule

in your life

this is good news

because the fact

of the matter is

is that every single

one of us

have something

right now

going on in our lives

that if we're lucky

and if we're wise

in a year

we will say

we shouldn't have

been hoping in that

he can start to

rule your hopes

order your hopes

see that's what's

so important here

about this next

little bit

as well

look at this

verse 22 and 23

and he put all things

under his feet

and gave him his head

over all things

to the church

which is his body

the fullness of him

who fills all in all

you see this

God puts everything

under the feet of Jesus

he puts Canada

he puts United States

he puts Russia

he puts China

he puts hostile

spiritual powers

he puts idols

he puts good things

he puts bad things

he puts good things

he puts good things

he puts good things

he puts good things

he puts good things

you're not under his feet

why?

you are his feet

you're his body

and the same God

who fills all things

orders all things

comes and fills you

to order you

and so we can call out

to God

to give us hope

and not just to give us hope

but God

Lord Jesus Christ

may you be our true

wise

long

deep

enduring hope

and Lord Jesus Christ

may you come into me

and may you put to death

help me to put to death

those things

that I should not

be hoping in

because they will only

hurt me

they are empty things

and may you come

into my life

and may you

help me to understand

those things I'm hoping for

that are wrong

that they're bad

may you help me

to no longer do those

and Father

may you come and order

my hopes

because you see

when Jesus comes into us

it doesn't mean

that like for the gardener

it doesn't mean

well I can't hope

for a nice garden

next June

because I have to only

hope in Jesus

no

no

he doesn't say

just pretend

you're not physical

pretend you're only

spiritual

and only hope

no

no

he comes

to restore

hope

to order

hope

to put them

in the right

place

that there be

a harmony

and a unity

and a union

of hopes

all centered

in Jesus

our great

hope

who came

and died

for us

and rose

from the dead

and is above

all powers

and authorities

and fills

all things

and he is present

not just in me

but in us

his church

and he doesn't

come

and fill

us

so

that we

should rule

no

he fills

us

so we will

proclaim

who Jesus

is

and so we

will bless

just close

how do I

grow good

hope

here's the

first thing

ask the question

think and pray

about it

how many of us

ever actually

say

Lord

what's good

hope

that's a good

question to bring

to Jesus

it's a good

question to bring

to your friends

what's good

hope

and then ask

what are my

functional hopes

like what are the

hopes that actually

go on in my

life

like how much

of my happiness

depends

true story

I shouldn't say

this

I went through

a period

of about

eight years

seven years

maybe

where I didn't

follow sports

I was walking

to school

one day

true story

this is before

the senators

okay so give me

some grace

and the maple

leafs had lost

the night before

and I was sick

to my stomach

and it was as if

God said to me

George

why did your

happiness all

depend upon

whether the

maple leafs

live

win

and I realized

I had to go

cold turkey

I had to dive

I had to stop

following sports

completely

like what a

stupid thing

to base a

person's happiness

on is whether

a group of guys

who don't know

you who happen

to wear a blue

jersey win a

game

like what are

your functional

hopes

and one more

thing before I

do this final

slide I want to

say something

here it was

in my notes

I forgot to

say it

if there is

anybody here

today who's

struggling with

suicide

you need to

talk to somebody

talk to somebody

before you leave

okay talk to

somebody before

you leave

in fact if

you're struggling

with hope

speak to one

of the people

beside you

leave the church

go talk to

them about it

you got to

deal with it

don't do

something foolish

that will end

up in you

dying okay

you really need

to deal with it

and for some

of us remember

I said how

Jesus by

ruling over

all of our

hopes it

doesn't mean

he stops

using means

for some

of us we

need to maybe

have we need

to see a

doctor we

need to have

some other

type of

professional help

you need to

talk to a

counselor you

don't just

say well

because I'm

going to hope

in Jesus he's

going to take

away this no

no no no no

no no no no

no no

speak to come

and speak to

somebody okay

please do that

and you might

you might need

to talk to

counselor you

might need to

see a doctor

who can give

you some help

while you sort

some of these

things out

but one final

slide here's

what we pray

ask Jesus to

help you to

kill all

false hopes

ask Jesus to

help you to

kill all

false hopes

ask him to

help you to

kill all

fell hopes

in quotes

fell just

means evil

if you're

hoping that

somebody who

hurt you

that they

lose their

job that

their dog

dies their

car breaks

down they

break a

leg yeah

it's not

good got to

be working on

forgiveness you

want that hope

to die ask

Jesus to help

you ask Jesus

to order your

disordered hopes

to put your

hope that

the sends

win in a

proper place

finish 30th

it'll be a

good year

ask Jesus to

be your

highest deepest

fullest enduring

ruling hope

and ask Jesus

to grow hope

in you

ask him to

grow hope

in you

ask him for

it

please stand

let's bow

our heads

in prayer

father we

thank you so

much that you

know what's

going on in

each of the

lives that are

present in this

room and

and those who

will be listening

to this sermon

later on

online father

you know what's

going on in

their lives

and and so

father we

thank you that

you know what's

going on in

our lives and

still you love

us so you

sent Jesus

to die

and father if

there's anyone

here who has

not given their

life to Jesus

and they feel a

tug as a result

of this father

please come upon

them in a

powerful way

help them to

realize that you

are calling them

to be yours

you are hoping

they will stop

walking away

from you to

understand the

door to eternal

life is behind

them that they

need to stop

and turn and

look at you

and look at your

son who died on

the cross for

them father may

this be the day

that they come to

saving faith in

Jesus and father

you know those

of us who are

struggling with

despair struggling

with darkness

struggling with

hopelessness around

different things

father please grow

within us good

hope just as I've

put up here father

help us to die to

false hopes to

recognize them and

die to them help

us to die to

things we are

hoping for that

are just morally

wrong father

please come in and

order our hopes

because they can be

so disordered we

can hope too much

in some things and

not enough in

something else and

most of all father

may Jesus be our

deep hope grow in

us a deep hope that

Jesus is the ruler

he is the savior

that he is the one

who is fitting us

for heaven father

grow in us this

deep hope and make

each of us in the

midst of our

circumstances whether

it's health problems

or health successes

or financial problems

or financial success

father grow in us

good hope and this

we ask in Jesus's

name and all God's

people said amen