Hopelessness Prevention | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

Quickly turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse one. Very first verse in this book and then I'll be going into Psalm chapter 42 and verse 5. Bible says in 1 Timothy 1:1, Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our savior and the Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope. Come on, somebody. Jesus Christ is our >> hope. >> Then Psalm 42:5, one of my favorite verses because this is just the psalmist encouraging himself in the Lord. He says, "Why art thou cast down, oh my soul?" He's he's talking to himself. He looking He's looking in a mirror. Says, "Why art thou cast down, oh my soul? And why art thou disqued in me? hope thou in God. And then he says, for I shall praise him for the help of his countenance. Come on, somebody. I'm going to praise him because he is my hope. I'm going to give him glory because he is my hope. This week, I got to attend a a community leaders meeting with brother Curtis Johnstone. He was representing life and focus and did a great job representing life and focus a ministry we have here at the church. But the focus of the meeting that we attended was on suicide prevention because this month and and even this past week is recognized nationally as suicide prevention week. And the main speaker, he began to tell us and he he made three statements that followed me out the door. He said, "Number one, suicide does not discriminate." He said, "It doesn't matter. Rich, poor, living on one side of the tracks, living on the other side of the tracks, living on top of the bridge, living under the bridge." He said, "It doesn't matter. Suicide does not discriminate." Then he said, "Hopelessness is the basis of suicide." I'm not coming to preach about suicide. I promise you. I'm going to leave I'm going to leave the topic all together. But this is what he came to the conclusion of. He tied it all together and he said, "Hopelessness does not discriminate. Hopelessness does not discriminate." So I've come to preach about hope today. I've come to preach about hope today. I believe there ought to be some hopelessness prevention. Come on, somebody. THERE OUGHT TO BE SOME HOPELESSNESS PREVENTION. I DON'T KNOW IF this message is for you or somebody you work with. I hope as pastor said this morning, I hope we can leave this place not all about ourselves where we CAN THINK ABOUT PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH DAY AFTER DAY, PEOPLE that are lost, people that are looking for hope. You found hope. We ought to share hope WITH EVERYBODY WE COME IN CONTACT WITH. UH EVERYBODY WE see on the street. Let there be hope in Jesus name. Put your Bibles down. Lift up your hands to heaven. Come on, help me pray. Father, we love you. I thank you for the offering that just came in, for the pledges that just came in for this training center that's going to do so much FOR YOUR KINGDOM. GOD, THE SKY is the limit to what you're going to do and who you're going to train and who you're going to send forth from this great training center. God, I pray that you just help me tonight. Lord God, I preach hope into every hopeless situation in Jesus' name I pray. Come on, one more time. Give God praise. GIVE GOD GLORY IN JESUS NAME. COME ON, GIVE HIM PRAISE AND GIVE HIM GLORY in Jesus name. and you may be seated. There's some people that have learned how to function while hurting. Come on, you know them. Or maybe you don't know them. Maybe they work with you. Or maybe they're sitting on a pew next to you AND THEY JUST DON'T SHOW the hurt and the hopelessness because they've learned how to hide it. They they know how to smile and nobody even understands the dark life that they've begun to live on the inside. AND AS I SAT IN THE MEETING this week and began thinking about how many people we rub shoulders with EVERY WEEK, I I ABSOLUTELY COULD not leave that place without thinking to myself, God, put somebody on my heart. GOD OPENED MY EYES TO SEE somebody who needs hope in their life. And I I begin to think of the words of Apostle Paul when he said, "JESUS CHRIST is our hope." >> Matter of fact, THE SPEAKER GOT UP AND HE BEGAN TO GO around the room and he began to point at people and he said, "What brings you hope?" And I heard some people say, "My family brings me hope." And other people said, "You know, uh, I I get joy in my friendships and I get joy in the people I work with." And they began to talk about things. I believe one person might have said church that that church brings them hope and not a soul said anything about Jesus Christ. And I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT TRY TO FIND HOPE in so many other good things. And there are some good things. And I believe family's good. And I I believe friends are good. And I thank God for family. I thank God for friends. I I THANK GOD FOR PROGRAMS IN THE CHURCH. I THANK GOD FOR A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL THAT TEACHES my children and and leads THEM AND GUIDES THEM. I THANK GOD FOR SUNDAY school and KIDS GROUPS AND ALL THOSE THINGS. BUT NONE OF THOSE THINGS CAN bring the hope THAT JESUS CHRIST CAN BRING IN OUR LIFE. Only Jesus Christ can bring true hope. And Paul identifies hope as a a person, THE THE SPOTLESS LAMB, the son of God, the son of man, JESUS CHRIST. HE IS our hope. Hope is NOT A THING. I BELIEVE HOPE IS OUR GOD WHO MANIFESTED himself in flesh. >> This means that hope already exists before my situation ever improves. HOPE ALREADY EXISTS BEFORE I UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO IN MY LIFE. HOPE ALREADY EXISTS BEFORE TOMORROW GIVES ME ANY EVIDENCE. ARE YOU thankful for hope tonight? Come on. Is anybody thankful for hope tonight? We possess something this world desperately needs. And we have a hope that can function before our circumstances ever begin to cooperate. WE HAVE A HOPE THAT CAN SURVIVE the disappearance of the visible evidence that we long for. I believe the name of Jesus is the hopelessness prevention tool that all of us can live by. >> LOOK AT ME IN ROMANS CHAPTER 8 AND 24. The Bible SAYS, "FOR WE ARE saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why do HE YET HOPE FOR? BUT IF WE HOPE FOR THAT WE SEE NOT, then do we with patience wait for it. I I looked for another translation just to just uh to to make this a little clear. AND I FOUND A TRANSLATION THAT SAID WE ARE SAVED BY TRUSTING. AND TRUSTING means looking forward to getting something we don't yet have. FOR A MAN WHO ALREADY HAS something doesn't need to hope for it and trust that he'll GET IT BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAS IT. BUT IF WE MUST KEEP TRUSTING GOD FOR something that hasn't happened yet, it teaches US TO WAIT PATIENTLY and confidently. Paul says hope is so unusual. It's an unusual. It lives in an UNUSUAL ENVIRONMENT. HE GIVES HOPE WHERE SIGHT IS REACHING ITS LIMITS AND WHERE HOPE BEGINS TO take place. PAUL SAYS THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE HOPE BELONGS. RIGHT BELOW RIGHT BEFORE WE GET TO SEEING IT, WE GOT TO FIRST trust in it. It lives between promise and evidence. And it was designed for the part of the story we cannot yet see. And so I quickly want to move into MY MESSAGE BECAUSE I BELIEVE that God is here and GOD WANTS TO TOUCH SOMEBODY'S LIFE AND GIVE YOU hope in a hopeless situation. HEBREWS CHAPTER 6 TELLS US THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US TWO THINGS. He's given US HIS PROMISE AND HE'S GIVEN US HIS OATH. AND THEN IT SAYS THAT GOD cannot lie. Which simply says if he's promised us something, HE IS FAITHFUL TO FULFILL THE PROMISE. HE'S THE FIRST PROMISEKEEPER. Anybody thankful that he's the first promisekeeper. THAT IF HE SAID IT, HE'S GOING TO DO IT. HE'S FAITHFUL TO DO. HIS PROMISES ARE YAY and amen. BUT THEN WE GET INTO VERSE 18 because verse 18 says, "All that have fled to him for salvation CAN KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT he will save them." But look with me in HEBREWS 6:19. IT SAYS, "WHICH HOPE we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enterth into that wherewith the veil." Here it is. We have hope in one dimension, but what we're anchored to is in a whole another dimension. Our hope is anchored to the soul within the veil. THE STRENGTH OF OUR ANCHOR COMES FROM WHAT IT IS ATTACHED TO. MY SOUL IS ATTACHED TO A REALITY MORE STABLE THAN THE REALITY THAT I AM CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING. A SHIP CANNOT STABILIZE ITSELF WITH THE MOVEMENT WITHIN THE SHIP. A SHIP MUST ANCHOR TO SOMETHING THAT IS STABLE. STABILITY REQUIRES ATTACHMENT TO SOMETHING THAT IS HAS A FIRM FOUNDATION THAT'S NOT A PART OF THE VESSEL. >> And so Hebrews CHAPTER 6 APPLIES THAT IMAGE TO THE SOUL. HE SAYS, "MY SOUL WAS DESIGNED TO FIND stability outside of myself." That's why we preach around here. You can read as many self-help books AS YOU WANT. BUT SELF-HELP WILL NEVER bring you hope BECAUSE YOU CANNOT FIND HOPE WITHIN YOURSELF. UH HOPE HAS GOT TO BE FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. HOPE HAS GOT TO BE FOUND IN SOMETHING FIRM, SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT HAVE A ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTIONS. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I I GOT A ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTIONS. Sometimes I have good days. Sometimes I have bad days. UH BUT THE GOD I SERVE DOESN'T RIDE ROLLER COASTERS. UH HE DOESN'T HAVE UP AND DOWN EMOTIONS. UH HE'S NOT HOT ONE DAY AND COLD THE NEXT. UH HE'S NOT HAPPY ONE DAY AND MAD THE NEXT. UH HE DOESN'T HAVE JOY ONE DAY AND SORROW THE NEXT. UH HE IS A FIRM FOUNDATION. AND IF WE WILL PUT OUR TRUST IN HIM AND ANCHOR TO HIM, I PROMISE YOU HE WILL GIVE US HOPE. WOO. THE STABILITY OF MY HOPE DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE STABILITY OF MY FEELINGS. >> LISTEN, I don't know about you, but a mood swing, a mood swing is one of the most frustrating things. I try everything within me not to have mood swings. And I don't always pass the test. Sometimes I got to tell myself, Chad, come on. You got to get up out of the moldy groves. YOU GOT TO GET UP OUT OF THERE. YOU YOU GOT A LITTLE MOUTH, LITTLE BIT OF DEPRESSION that's want to settle on top of you. AND I FIGHT THAT. AND THE ONLY WAY WE CAN TRULY FIGHT THAT IS TO FIND HOPE OUTSIDE OF OURSELVES. >> BECAUSE THE ENEMY IS GOING TO TRY TO LIE TO US. THE THE ENEMY IS GOING TO TRY TO TELL US TO GIVE UP AND TO GIVE IN. BUT SOMETHING INSIDE OF US, WE'VE GOT TO WRESTLE AGAINST IT AND SAY, "GOD, I'M GOING TO ANCHOR TO WHAT IS SURE, >> stable foundation." Hebrews 6:19 gives us a very a very strange anchor. Look at this right here. We read IT. IT SAYS, "WHICH HOPE WE HAVE AS an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enterth into that within THE VEIL. EVERY other anchor, think about this, descends. You think about an anchor of a ship, it descends into the bottom of the ocean. But this anchor that HE'S REFERRING TO, IT GOES within the veil. Our anchor uses. IT DOESN'T DESCEND. OUR ANCHOR USES. MY ANCHOR DISAPPEARS INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD. AND THE STORM MAY EXIST IN ONE REALM, BUT THE ANCHOR EXISTS IN ANOTHER. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? MY ANCHOR IS NOT HELD IN MY ISSUE. MY ANCHOR IS NOT IN TEMPORARY SEASON. I'M TRYING TO SURVIVE. MY ANCHOR IS BEYOND the veil. >> My anchor is a place. Come on. THIS IS THIS IS OLD TESTAMENT TYPOLOGY. MY ANCHOR IS IN A PLACEH WHERE ONLY ONE MAN COULD GO ONE TIME A YEAR. AND THAT WAS BEHIND THE VEIL. MY ANCHOR IS IN A PLACE THAT NOBODY ELSE CAN GET IN AND MESS WITH IT. BUT MY ANCHOR IS SURE. AND MY ANCHOR IS HOLDING ON TO THE ONE WHO IS HOLDING ME. I THINK ABOUT BROTHER NASH. OH MY GOD. I THINK ABOUT BROTHER NASH TONIGHT. OH, YOUR anchor of hope is not held IN THE WAITING SEASON THAT YOU'RE STUCK IN, BROTHER NASH. I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER THAT HE AND HIS FAMILY HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH TRYING TO FIND A KIDNEY DONOR. NOTHING LIKE GETTING A PHONE CALL AND OH GETTING ALL EXCITED ABOUT WE THINK WE FOUND YOU A DONOR. We think we found somebody the same blood type and WE THINK WE FOUND SOMEBODY WHOSE KIDNEY IS GOING TO MATCH YOUR BODY AND IT'S GOING TO WORK WELL. IT'S GOING TO WORK WELL IN YOUR BODY only to be CALLED BACK A FEW WEEKS LATER AND TOLD THE MATCH didn't work. >> And brother Ben, you go from A HIGH HIGH TO A LOW LOW JUST TO GET ANOTHER PHONE CALL. Brother Fuller, you've been through this. AND THEN YOU get another phone call. AND EVERY TIME YOUR HOPE RAISES AND YOUR HOPE RISES, YOU GET KICKED RIGHT BACK DOWN AGAIN. BUT OUR ANCHOR IS NOT IN THAT PHONE CALL. OUR ANCHOR IS IN THE LORD. OUR ANCHOR IS NOT IN THE DOCTOR'S REPORT. OUR ANCHOR IS IN THE LORD. OUR ANCHOR IS NOT IN THE TEST OF THE KIDNEY, BUT OUR ANCHOR IS IN THE LORD. I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY THAT YOU'VE NOT GOT YOUR TRANSPLANT YET. BUT I'M HERE TO TELL YOU IF YOU WILL PUT YOUR ANCHOR IN GOD IN YOUR SEASON OF WAITING WHEN YOUR HOPE IS HELD OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO be okay. Because circumstances can change what surrounds me, but they can't change what holds me steady. The storm can reach the ship, BUT THE STORM CAN REACH BEHIND THE VEIL. I SAID THE STORM MIGHT BE ABLE TO REACH YOUR SHIP, BUT THE STORM CANNOT reach behind the veil. I just want to preach a little hope today. And I want to preach hopelessness prevention because if you're not hopeless right now, there's going to be a spirit THAT GOING TO TRY TO GET ON TO YOU LIKE A WET BLANKET THAT'LL TRY TO CAUSE YOU TO FEEL HOPELESS. AND I WANT YOU TO BE PREPARED BEFORE YOU GET THERE AND KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU BEGIN TO FEEL that spirit coming on. IT WAS IN ACTS CHAPTER 27 AS A PRISONER THAT THE APOSTLE PAUL IS FORCED TO SAIL IN A ship to Italy. And the story goes that he was warned of God that the ship would not make it to Italy. And he began to warn those the captain and warn those who were over the vessel. But they would not listen to Paul because he was a prisoner. THEY THEY REALIZED THAT HE WAS A MAN OF GOD, BUT THEY WOULD NOT listen to him. So they put all those prisoners. They put all those guards onto the ship and they began to sail. And there came a storm named Uracadon. Uralon, which is what we would call a modern-day typhoon. It was like a a tornado upon the sea. This Uralon hit the SHIP THAT PAUL WAS SAILING IN and it made it unsailable. And here we find in verse number 20 of Acts 27, we kind of see where the story picks up. And it says, "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved had been taken away." IN ACTS CHAPTER 27 GIVES US A HISTORICAL STORM AS A PROFOUND PICTURE OF HUMAN HOPELESSNESS. ANCIENT SAILORS WOULD ALWAYS DEPEND ON THE sky to give them direction. Visible reference points like the sun and LIKE THE STARS TO GIVE them reference of of where they were. But Luke says neither sun nor star in many days appeared. The storm did more than just threaten the ship. It removed their reference points. Come on. THEY WERE LOST. THEY COULD FEEL MOVEMENT, BUT THEY LOST THE ABILITY TO DETERMINE their position. THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE US COAST GUARD TO COME LOOKING FOR them and to come rescue them. They were in an ocean. They were in the sea. And they were being tossed to and fro. And they had NO IDEA IF THEY WERE GOING NORTH or south or east or west. And that is a deeper form of fear called disorientation. And there's SEASONS OF LIFE WHEN THE HARDEST QUESTION IS NOT WHY IS THIS HAPPENING to me, BUT THE HARDEST QUESTION IS WHERE AM I in the story? Pastor, you preached about it this morning. WE'VE ALL GOT A STORY, BUT SOMETIMES when the author BEGINS TO WRITE, SOMETIMES HE DOESN'T ALWAYS SHOW US EXACTLY WHERE THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BEGIN AND WHERE THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO END. AND WE FIND OURSELVES WONDERING, where in THE WORLD AM I? WHERE DO I FIT IN IN THIS PICTURE? WHERE DO I FIT IN IN LIFE? WHERE DO I FIT IN IN MINISTRY? WHERE DO I FIT IN IN MY FAMILY? WHERE DO I FIT IN IN MY WORKPLACE? AND IT'S A SCARY place to be. Oh my God. AND THIS WRITER WAS TRYING TO GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE LOST on a stormy sea. When the familiar reference points begin to disappear AND PROGRESS BEGINS TO BE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE AND DIRECTION BECOMES DIFFICULT to feel. But here is the revelation. Their inability TO LOCATE THEMSELVES DID NOT MEAN THAT God had LOST THEIR LOCATION. JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, SAINT OF GOD, DOESN'T MEAN THAT GOD DOESN'T know where you are. JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ALL ALONE, doesn't mean that you're all alone. You got to GET OVER YOUR FEELINGS AND KNOW WHO YOU'RE ANCHORED TO AND KNOW THAT HE CARES ABOUT YOU AND LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO SEE THE BEST FOR YOU. HE WANTS TO SEE YOUR LIFE IMPROVED. HE WANTS TO SEE YOUR SPIRITUAL WALK WITH GOD IMPROVED. HE WANTS TO SEE YOU LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE NOW. I believe somebody needs to hear what I preach tonight because you could be uncertain about where you are while God remains COMPLETELY CERTAIN ABOUT WHERE HE'S taken you. Because here in verse 22, Paul encourages his fellow prisoners. He says, "And now I exhort you to be of good cheer." Paul, what are you talking about? How can you talk about cheer when we're being taught? CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE SEASICK by this time? Anybody ever been seasick? There is no worse feeling. The only good feeling about being seasick is when you see the shore and you know the boat's about to come into the dock and you're saying, "Thank God. I'm about to get up off this thing, but my God, these men, they could not see." And and Paul says, "I exhort you, be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you." Ah, I like these next four words. He said, "But of the ship," WHICH SIMPLY MEANS THE PASSENGERS were going to survive, but the ship will not. God separates their destiny FROM THE STRUCTURE THAT'S CARRYING THEM. OH, I could preach right here because sometimes God preserves the promise while allowing the vehicle to change. >> WE BECOME SO ATTACHED TO THE SHIP BECAUSE IT'S CARRIED us this far. But our hope IS NOT FOUND IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT GOT US TO WHERE WE ARE. Our hope, I'm going to KEEP ON SAYING IT. OUR HOPE IS ANCHORED TO A GOD WHO CANNOT LIE. A GOD THAT'S GIVEN US A PROMISE OF SALVATION. THAT'S WHAT PAUL SAID. HE'S GIVEN US A PROMISE OF SALVATION. And sure enough, just as Paul said, just like he said it would happen, the ship runs ground, runs upon sharp rocks and tears into pieces. And Acts 27:44 says, "And the rest, some of them boards, some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they escaped all safe TO LAND. THE SHIP BREAKS APART AND THE PIECES OF WHAT BROKE become instrumental IN THEIR SURVIVAL. OH, I LIKE this right here because the very thing THAT THEY THOUGHT WAS GOING TO THAT WAS GOING TO SINK TO THE TO THE FLOOR OF THE SEA became the wreckage THAT CARRIED PEOPLE TOWARD THEIR PROMISE. THE VERY THING THAT LOOKED TO ME LIKE EVIDENCE OF DEFEAT BECAME THE VERY MATERIAL THAT GOD USED TO GET ME TO THE SHORE. >> YOU CAN DISCOVER WISDOM INSIDE OF WHAT'S BROKE. YOU CAN DISCOVER COMPASSION INSIDE OF WHAT'S HURT. YOU CAN DISCOVER MINISTRY INSIDE OF WHERE YOU SURVIVED. GOD CAN REDEEM EVEN THE BROKEN PIECES. AND I'M SO THANKFUL HE'S STILL REDEEMING BROKEN PIECES. >> I'M THANKFUL HE'S STILL GIVING US THINGS THAT WE COULD NEVER IMAGINE EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY BEYOND WE COULD EVER THINK, GOD, YOU'RE STILL GIVING US THINGS, OH GOD, THAT ARE GOING TO BRING US HOPE AND BRING US TO THE SHORE. >> Then I think of Hosea chapter 2. I'm moving quickly. Verse 15 it says, "And I will give her vineyards from fence and the valley of acor for a door of hope." The prophet Hosea reaches backward into Israel's memory because acor means trouble. AND JOSHUA CHAPTER 7 CONNECTS THIS VERY same valley with Achen. Y'all remember this, THE DEFEAT, THE JUDGMENT AND GRIEF OF ACHEN. But later we have in Joshua chapter 15, it places this valley of Acor within the geography of Judah's inheritance. The same Judah the pastor was preaching about his offspring. He put the valley of Acor directly into his inheritance. LISTEN, THE VALLEY OF TROUBLE WAS GIVEN TO THE TRIBE OF JUDAH AS A PART OF THEIR PROMISED LAND. THINK ABOUT THAT. ALL THE TRIBES WERE GIVEN. THERE WERE THEY WERE PROMISED THIS LAND AND THEY WERE ALL given portions of land. And right in the middle of Judah's land was this valley of trouble. I got to thinking about that. the valley OF TROUBLE INSIDE of the PROMISED LAND AND INSIDE OF OUR PROMISED LAND AND INSIDE OF OUR PROPERTY. OH GOD, HELP US. WE HAVE A PROPERTY LINE that also can include TROUBLE BECAUSE TROUBLE DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THAT WE HAVE LEFT GOD'S PURPOSE. SOMETIMES ANCHOR APPEARS INSIDE THE TERRITORY THAT GOD HAS ALREADY promised us. Let me warn every new believer in the HOUSE TODAY. JUST BECAUSE YOU RECENTLY BECAME FAITHFUL TO THE HOUSE of the Lord, JUST BECAUSE YOU RECENTLY BECAME FAITHFUL IN YOUR TITHE AND OFFERING, YOU'VE BEEN FAITHFUL IN BEING IN THE HOUSE EVERY TIME THE DOORS ARE OPEN AND YOU STARTED COMING TO CHURCH UH AND YOU STARTED LOOKING TOWARD HOLINESS UH AND LEAVING A WORLD OF SIN. JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN THE PROMISE DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO FACE UH THE VALLEY OF ACORN, >> there's still GOING TO BE TROUBLE. I WISH I COULD TELL YOU that when you go down in the water in Jesus name for the remission OF YOUR SINS WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. I wish I could tell you THAT FROM HERE ON OUT LIFE IS GOING TO BE EASY. LIFE IS GOING TO BE LIKE A BED OF ROSES. BUT I CANNOT tell you THAT BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE TROUBLE AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH IT AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO GO AROUND IT AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT FOR OUR BENEFIT. >> Because let me tell you something, in life there's going to be hardships. The economy is going to tank. Sickness is going to visit YOUR FAMILY. DISEASE IS GOING TO VISIT YOUR FAMILY. TRAGEDY SOONER OR LATER IS GOING TO HIT YOUR FAMILY. BUT WHAT MAKES us different UH THAN EVERYBODY ELSE UH THAT'S NOT FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST UH IS THAT EVERYBODY ELSE UH IS NOT FACING A DOOR OF hope >> when they're in the valley OF ACOR BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HOSEA SAID. HE SAID THE VALLEY OF ACOR IS GOING TO BE USED FOR A door of hope. He turns this VALLEY INTO A DOOR. WE THOUGHT GOD here I am in this low place. IT'S THE LOWEST PLACE OF MY LIFE. MOST VALLEY EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER FACED. BUT GOD SAID, "I'M GOING TO TURN YOUR VALLEY INTO A PASSAGEWAY. NEVER CALL A PLACE PERMANENT WHEN GOD HAS ALREADY PUT A DOOR IN IT. YAY, I walk through THE VALLEY. THANK GOD, BROTHER MALONE, WE DON'T HAVE TO HANG OUT IN THE VALLEY. THANK GOD WE DON'T HAVE TO PITCH A TENT IN THE VALLEY, BUT WE GET TO HAVE A VALLEY THAT BECOMES A PASSAGEWAY, A DOOR TO HOPE. AND hope eventually entered through this valley of acor. Romans chapter 15 and 13 the Bible says, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound." Look at that word right there. That you may abound in hope through the power here it is RIGHT HERE. THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. SOME OF YOU ARE WONDERING where does your hope come from? My hope comes from the power OF THE HOLY GHOST. I I WANT TO END TONIGHT WITH ONE PHRASE THAT PAUL USES, THE GOD OF HOPE. HE'S NOT JUST THE GOD OF YOU AND THE GOD OF ME OR THE GOD OF THE ISRAELITE ARMY. HE IS THE GOD OF HOPE. AND HOPE IS CONNECTED TO THE VERY NATURE OF THE GOD WE SERVE. >> And then Paul says, "In the hope that God gives, it ought to fill us. >> That you may abound in hope." The word abound means more than enough. It means an overflowing supply. Woo! I feel something changing in the direction. OH MY GOD. OF THE MESSAGE THAT I'M PREACHING TONIGHT BECAUSE I BELIEVE THERE'S SOMEBODY HERE TONIGHT. THERE'S A PERSON HERE TONIGHT THINKING THAT YOU NEED GOD TO EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO YOU. AND MAYBE GOD BROUGHT YOU HERE JUST TO FILL YOU WITH SOMETHING. MAYBE HE DIDN'T COME TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER. MAYBE HE JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME HOPE TONIGHT. YOU MAY LEAVE HERE TONIGHT, BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE HERE WITHOUT JOY. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE HERE WITHOUT PEACE. I KNOW WE ALL GOT TO GO HOME TO REAL LIFE. BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE HERE WITHOUT THE LOVE OF GOD. I'M TALKING ABOUT HOPE. I'M PREACHING ABOUT HOPE. I'M PREACHING ABOUT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO FEEL HOPE AND SOMEBODY NEEDS TO SHARE hope >> through the power OF THE HOLY GHOST THAT WE HAVE INSIDE OF US. THE HOPE OF GOD AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD reigns within us. There's something available that's going to be in this altar tonight that circumstances cannot manufacture and circumstances cannot take away. There's a fresh in feeling I believe tonight of joy and a FRESHENING FEELING OF PEACE OF EXPECTATION of hope because hope is the major theme in the book of Psalms. Let me give you let me give you a homework assignment tonight. Let me let me take you to school FOR JUST A MOMENT. IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING with hopelessness, I urge you to GO HOME AND BEGIN TO READ THE BOOK OF PSALMS BECAUSE IT COVERS OH, IT COVERS HOPE SO BEAUTIFULLY. READ them aloud. Don't Don't just read them to yourself. READ THEM ALOUD. Let your ears hear what THE WORD OF GOD IS SAYING. PSALMS LIKE 31:24 says, "Be of good courage, AND HE SHALL STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART ALL YE THAT hope in the Lord." >> OH, BROTHER JEFF FORWARD. PSALM 33:18 SAYS, "BEHOLD, the eye OF THE LORD IS UPON THEM THAT FEAR HIM, UPON THEM THAT HOPE IN HIS MERCY." DOES ANYBODY HAVE HOPE IN THE MERCY OF A GOD WHO LOVES YOU TONIGHT? Psalm 33:22, "Let thy mercy, oh Lord, BE UPON USH ACCORDING AS WE HOPE IN THEE." DAVID SAID IN PSALM 39:7, "AND NOW, LORD, WHAT WEIGHT I FOR? MY hope is in thee." AND THEN MY VERSE, MY THEME TONIGHT, PSALM 42 AND5. Why art thou cast down, oh my soul? WHY ART THOU DISQUED IN ME? OH, THE PSALMIST SAID, "HOPE THOU IN GOD." SOMEBODY OUGHT TO ENCOURAGE THEMSEL BEFORE THE LORD. HOPE THOU IN GOD FOR I SHALL PRAISE HIM FOR THE HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE. I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM PRAISE BEFORE I FEEL HOPE. I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM PRAISE BEFORE I FEEL VICTORY. I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM PRAISE UH BEFORE I GET OUT OF THE MESS I'VE GOTTEN MYSELF IN. I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM PRAISE. HOPE THOU IN GOD. OH, STEADY IN THIS PLACE. PSALM 71 AND5. FOR THOU ART MY HOPE, OH LORD GOD. THOU ART MY TRUST FROM MY YOUTH. PSALM 113:31 OR 81. MY SOUL FAINTTH FOR THY SALVATION, BUT I HOPE IN THY WORD. My God, I FEEL THE HOLY GHOST. I'M THANKFUL FOR THE TESTIMONIES, OH MY GOD, THAT FILL THIS ROOM. I think about I THINK ABOUT BROTHER GREG STEP. I THINK ABOUT BROTHER GREG STEP. Oh the enemy wanted him TO FEEL HOPELESS WHEN HIS LATE WIFE ROBIN KEPT GETTING DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER. WE A LOT OF YOU DON'T EVEN know the story of Sister Robin step. We miss her so dearly but she lived about 20 years longer than she was supposed to live. She kept on getting report after report. You got stage four cancer. My God. She begin to pray. The saints will begin to pray. The church will begin to pray. This was down in Florida. Over time, she would walk out. She would ring that bell. Then she was cancer-free just to get a phone call said, "Oh, the cancer's back. It's in another area of your BODY NOW." AND TIME and time for 20 years I believe the enemy thought if I could just keep on giving a bad report sooner or later they're going TO GIVE IN AND GIVE UP. IF I COULD JUST GIVE A BAD REPORT SOONER OR LATER THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE HOPE. THEY'RE GOING TO DIE A DEATH OF DEPRESSION. THEY'RE JUST GOING TO GIVE UP AND THROW IN THE TOWEL. BUT THEY KEPT ON PRAYING AND THEY KEPT ON BELIEVING AND GOD KEPT ON HEALING AND GOD KEPT ON DOING MIRACULOUS THINGS. AND YOU SAY, "BUT WHAT ABOUT I HEAR SHE DIED OF CANCER. OH, I KNOW SHE MIGHT HAVE PASSED ON, BUT SHE DIDN'T PASS ON TO A GRAVE WHERE THERE WAS NO HOPE. SHE PASSED ON to meet her savior and her Lord JESUS CHRIST. SHE SAW WHAT SHE had been anchored to. Oh, and God has been so good to brother Stepp. He's married a wonderful woman, Sister Mary. And God IS BLESSING THEM. AND GOD IS doing great things through THEM BECAUSE THEY KEPT ON HOLDING ON and refused to give up hope. BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT SISTER JENNIFER HOLLAND. sickness unexpectedly stole your husband away from you, Sister Jennifer. Brother Andy so loved here at the church. He was our head sound technician. So loved here at the church for so many reasons. I believe the enemy thought if I could present Jennifer Holland with a hopeless situation, I could get her to stop coming to church. I could get her TO STAY HOME AT THE HOUSEH and cry a river and and begin to SAY, "GOD, YOU YOU FAILED ME. GOD, YOU FAILED ME MISERABLY. GOD, YOU TOOK MY HUSBAND away from me. You took my HUSBAND AWAY. HE HAD BEEN HE HAD BEEN RENEWED IN THE HOLY GHOST. HE WAS A BACKSLIDER THAT HAD COME HOME, A PRODAL THAT HAD COME HOME, AND WE PRAYED ALL THESE YEARS FOR HIM TO COME HOME. AND THEN YOU LET HIM DIE." BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT SISTER JENNIFER HOWLAND DID. SHE PUT HER ANCHOR IN A GOD WHO IS ABLE TO SUSTAIN HER, UH, WHO IS ABLE TO HOLD HER UP, UH, who is able TO COMFORT HER. THE HOLY GHOST IS HER COMFORTER. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE'S in church today. And I don't think she's missed a service. What about Brother Robert Thompson? A few years back, you were in and out of the hospital, Brother Thompson. We thought we were going to lose you. The word was, the doctor's report was you you weren't going to make it. And and God raised you up from the sickness. God brought you out of the hospital, healed your body, and out of nowhere unexpectedly, all of a sudden we find out, get a report that your wife has stage four cancer. You're the very person that was helping you, was nursing you back to health. All of a sudden, you switch roles. And brother Thompson, I just believe the enemy said he watch and see. He might be on the front row right now, but if I can take his wife from him, let's see if he remains on the front row. Come on, Job. Let's see if he'll curse if he'll curse God. If I take away the love of his life, the very person that got him back in church when he backslid. Oh, nothing warms my heart like seeing brother Thompson begin to shout and dance and carry on. You don't know like I know what he's done for me. I said YOU DON'T KNOW LIKE I KNOW. BROTHER THOMPSON, YOU GIVE PEOPLE HOPE BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL ON THE FRONT ROW. YOU COULD HAVE FOUND YOUR WAY TO THE THIRD, THE FOURTH, THE FIFTH, THE LAST ROW, BUT YOU'RE STILL ON THE FRONT ROW GIVING GOD GREAT PRAISE because you said, "Uh, yeah, he slay me. YET WILL I TRUST HIM? YEAH, HE slay me. Yet will I serve him?" Oh God, I thank you to all OF OUR SHUTINS WHO HAVE GIVEN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE FOR THE KINGDOM of God. Don't give up hope. >> You've given decades of your life. Mother Thart, pastor's wife for decade upon decade. You gave your life from ministry. You were the one that visited shutins. You were the one that went to the hospital to visit saints of God with your husband. My God, whatever you do, don't give up hope because God is with you. And if you're anchored to a God THAT WILL NOT BUDGE, NO MATTER WHAT SICKNESS ENTERS YOUR BODY, NO MATTER HOW WEAK YOU GET, NO MATTER IF YOU CAN WALK OR YOU CAN'T WALK, IF YOU GOT TO USE A WALKER OR A WHEELCHAIR, JUST KEEP YOUR HOPE IN God because God has never failed us yet. And God will never fail us. I want every head bowed, every eye closed in this place tonight. that I feel like there's probably in this crowd this size somebody who's feeling hopeless. But I PRAY THAT I PREACH ENOUGH HOPE that you can at least make it DOWN TO THIS ALTAR. YOU could be like like the woman with the issue of blood. Maybe you can AT LEAST CRAWL YOUR WAY DOWN TO THIS ALTAR AND TOUCH THE HEM OF THE GARMENT OF THE ONE YOUR ANCHOR IS TIED TO. THAT YOUR ANCHOR IS HELD TO. I WONDER IF THERE'S ANYBODY IN this place uh you may be feeling joy. You may be feeling peaceuh but you know somebody that you CAN MINISTER TO. I wonder if we can look outside of oursel and we can see a lost and dying world. I WONDER IF WE CAN LOOK OUTSIDE OF OURSELVES uh and see a coworker that CRIES HIMSELF TO SLEEP. I WONDER IF WE CAN LOOK OUTSIDE of ourselves and be like David and say, "Oh, I've got to look in a mirror. I'VE GOT TO ENCOURAGE MYSELF SO I CAN ENCOURAGE SOMEBODY ELSE. I'VE got to speak to myself and preach to myself and exalt you for myself. Feel the Holy Ghost." Come on, SOMEBODY. LET THE HOLY GHOST FILL YOU RIGHT HERE. LET THE HOLY Ghost fill you with joy right here. LET THE HOLY GHOST FILL YOU WITH PEACE right here. Let the Holy Ghost fill you with love right here. Come on. If there's somebody around you that you know has been going through a struggle, you don't know what they're facing. They don't tell you every detail, but if you know that they're struggling, I WISH YOU WOULD BEGIN TO PUT YOUR ARM around them and let them know YOU'RE HERE. LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE MY BROTHER. You're my sisterh. I'm going to take on your need in prayer. I'm going to go to the church every day this week and I'm going to take your need on in prayer. I refuse to let you stand alone. I refuse to let you stand alone. But I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to believe for you. I know he's able to help you. He's able to heal you. He's able to give you strength. He's able. He's able. Yes.