ITOWN TV Episode 2: The Source of Hope

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♪♪♪ Dave Sumrall: Hey everyone, my name is Dave, and my wife Kate and I pastor ITOWN Church. Thank you so much for joining us. You know, our world is facing unprecedented times, and it's so easy for us to look at the world around us and just be gripped with fear and even hopelessness. That's why I love the Bible, because it's filled with stories of hope. Today, we're going to continue talking about hope as we address the source of hope. But make sure you stick around until after the message because I've got some resources I want to share with you at the end of today's program that I believe will fill you with hope. Now, check this out. ♪♪♪ Dave: We're in a series called "Hope" because I believe that we are facing a crisis of hopelessness in our generation today. I think people are really struggling to find God's purpose and plan for their life, struggling to see vision for their lives. And I believe all of that is found in biblical hope. In fact, our theme verse, Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19, it says, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." We started this series last weekend with my little baby anchor 'cause we had a big, huge anchor and it was way too heavy for me to hold. And so, here's my little, tiny illustration, this tiny, little anchor that is supposed to be something that holds us firm and secure. 'Cause here's the reality. Every one of us will walk through difficult times in life. We'll all go through storms, when life is raging against us, and the winds and waves of life are beating against us. And if we do not have an anchor, then we will get blown off track. And so, the Bible tells us that hope, biblical hope, is an anchor for the soul. It's the thing that holds us secure in the midst of a storm because what happens in storms is we start to think the wrong things, we start to feel the wrong things, we start to desire the wrong things 'cause we're trying to cope with the pain of walking through a storm. And if we don't have an anchor, then our lives get blown off track, and we find ourselves far from God. And so, we have to have biblical hope, something that holds us secure in the midst of the chaos of life. But we talked last week about how biblical hope is not the kind of hope that you and I think of. Worldly hope is just dreaming of something that's impossible and wishing it would come to pass. Jot it down if you're taking notes, we defined biblical hope last weekend as a confident expectation based on something solid. We have this confident expectation that the promises of God are going to come to pass in our lives, but so oftentimes we find ourselves in positions of hopelessness. And we're searching in the midst of the storm for something that will hold us secure. We talked about Job last week and how he was a very wealthy man, had a big family. And then in an instant, all of his businesses were taken from him, all of his children passed away in a horrific tragedy, he lost his health. And he says this in Job chapter 17, "Where then is my hope?" And this is the question that some of you are asking today, where am I going to find any hope? And who can see any hope for me? I'm looking in places for hope, but I don't see where it's going to come from. Today, we're going to talk about how oftentimes we look to the wrong places for hope, and it always leads us back to a place of greater hopelessness. And then we're going to talk about how we can find biblical hope. What is the source of true hope in life? So, first of all, let's talk about all of the places where we put our hope that we shouldn't. As we're looking for hope in the world around us, the first place we often look is people. We look at people to try and bring hope into our lives. We think, "If I just get the right relationship with the right person, they'll give me hope, they'll pull me out of this, they'll help me get through this." And no doubt people play a great role in your life, but I hate to let you down today, people are not your savior. People are not God. People are flawed, they have issues. And all do you know that. Maybe you spent your whole young adult life praying and believing God that they would bring that spouse into your life. And you watched "Jerry Maguire," so you really thought that they would complete you, that they would make you so happy and fulfilled. And now you're married, and you're thinking they're definitely not God, they are definitely not the savior. Like Lord, help me. Like as great as they are, they'll still have days that they push your buttons. Why? Because hope placed in people will always let you down. For some of us, all of our hopes are gone for our own lives, then we place all our hope in our kids and the hope for them to have a better life and to be amazing people. And no matter how great your kids are, they always make mistakes too. In fact, I found this letter that was written from a young man to his father, I thought I'd read it to you today. A father was passing by his son's bedroom, and he was astonished to see that the bed was actually made and everything in the room was picked up. But then he saw an envelope sitting on the pillow, and it was addressed dad. So, with the worst premonition, he opened the envelope with trembling hands, and this is what it read. "Dear dad, it's with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Stacy. She's so nice, and I knew that you would not approve of her because of all of her piercings and tattoos and tight motorcycle clothes, and because she's so much older than I am. But it's not only a passion, dad, she's pregnant. Stacy said that we'll be very happy, she owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children, and Stacy's opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We're going to be growing it ourselves and trading it with the other people in the commune for all the cocaine and ecstasy that we could ever want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science finds a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it. Dad, don't worry, I'm 15, and I know I can take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can meet your grandchildren. Love, your son, John." Then at the bottom of the letter, it says, "PS dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just wanted to remind you there are worse things in life than the report card in my center desk drawer. I love you, call when it's safe to come home." You know, it's funny, but the reality is there are people here today that are dealing with their kids running off and doing some of the first part of that. And there are people here today that are super disappointed 'cause your child got a C on their report card. It doesn't matter how perfect they are, people will always let you down in life. It's a lousy place to put your hope. Proverbs says it this way in chapter 11, "Hopes placed in mortals die with them; and all the promise of their power comes to nothing." If you place your hope in people, eventually they will let you down, and you'll find yourself back in a position of hopelessness because they're not supposed to be God in your life. Well, maybe you look at the power that someone else has, and you think, "Well, maybe if I just had the power for myself, then I would be able to have hope for life. If I could just control every circumstance and every situation, if I could have a title or a position, maybe I could have enough power that I could keep myself safe, and that would give me hope." And so, we look to positions, we look to even possessions that would make us feel powerful. But Psalm 33 says it this way, "A horse is a vain hope for deliverance." Back then, it was a symbol of power, especially in battle. "Because for all of its great strength, it cannot save you." It doesn't matter how much power you have and how much authority you amass, how much control you think you have over your live. Eventually, that too will lead to hopelessness. The last one is actual possessions. Money is a terrible false God. It's a very easy one to worship because it's the only one of all the idols that honestly promises nearly everything that your relationship with God promises you: safety, security, significance. People think, "If I can just get enough possessions, then in that I will find hope. There will be hope for my life because I'll be able to dig my way out of whatever I'm in, and I'll be able to buy my way through whatever I have to walk through in life." But the Bible says in 1 Timothy, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, because it's so uncertain." Money is a very, very terrible false God, and it is incredibly uncertain because just like Job, in a moment, it can all be gone. And if it's the thing that we worship, if it's where we put all of our hope, then all of our hope will go with it. And so, the back half of that verse is what we're going to focus the rest of our time on. It encourages us, "Don't look at money, put your hope in God because he richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." The true and only source of hope for us in life is our relationship with God. And you probably expected that 'cause you're at church today. But the Bible says in Romans chapter 15 that God is the source of hope, and he wants to fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him so that you'll overflow with hope. This is what I want you to get today, God doesn't want to just give you a little dash of hope that might get you through a couple of days this week before you find yourself back down on the bottom of life on Wednesday or Thursday. No, the Bible is clear that God wants you to overflow with hope, that you'd have a contagious hope, that you'd almost be annoyingly filled with hope, that at every turn, no matter what comes your way, you're constantly looking for the better future, for the life that God's called you to live. Why? Because he is the source of hope, and he is a neverending well of hope. And if you'll put your trust in him, then the Bible says he'll fill us with joy, he'll fill us with peace as we continue to trust in him to the point that we overflow with hope in life. But the secret is, how do we get it? Most of you probably would expect that God would be the source of hope, but how does God give us hope? What's that transfer look like? Well, that's going to spend the rest of our time on because I think there are five ways pretty clearly in Scripture that God brings hope into our lives. Number one is one we talked about last week, jot it down at every campus if you're taking today, it's God's promise. It's God's promise. God has made promises to you. If you missed last weekend, we talked about how God made a promise to Abraham not only to bless him, but to bless the entire world through him. And then because of the sacrifice of Jesus, every promise that God gave Abraham is now ours. And so, as we look into the Scriptures, the Bible clearly has incredible promises for our lives. Psalm 130 says it this way, "I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I will put my hope." Now, this is a very important verse, and it lays out beautifully something that we talked about last weekend, about how biblical hope is a patient hope because God will make promises to you, and then you have to wait. I wait, my soul waits, my being waits. I'm able to wait because I've got this promise coming from God's Word. There's two things I want to say about this. First of all, you won't know what God has promised you if you don't read the Bible for yourself. And I just want to encourage you as a church, it's so important as a believer that you actually read your own Bible, that you open it up or your technology. That's why we have it on the app as the very first thing when you open it up at the top, the second one is devotional, it's right in the center. Click that and then it'll lead you to an Old Testament and New Testament reading, a psalm and a proverb with the devotional. You don't have to read all of it, but read something. Get God's Word into your life every single day. And then when you find that promise, you're going to have to be able to stand strong as you wait for it to come to pass. Because in John 17:17, the Bible says, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." It's fascinating, that word "truth" in the Greek New Testament is the word "aletheia," and it means reality. So, the Bible says God's Word is reality, God's Word is truth. And so, when we find a promise that God has given us, you and I as Christ followers have to make a very pivotal decision. Am I going to base my life on my reality, or on God's reality? Am I going to live by what I can see and what I can feel, or am I going to live by what I believe, what I see in God's Word? Because there are two different realities that we live with at all times. And so, your doctor may say you're sick and your bank account may say you're broke, but God's Word says that you are healed and that you are blessed. And in the meantime, while you're waiting for God's blessing, you have to decide which reality am I going to live in. Are you going to let the world tell you who you are, and what you're going to accomplish, and what is true about your life? Or are you going to stand on the principle of God's Word that says I am the head and not the tail, I am above and not beneath, I will be victorious in Jesus's name. By his stripes I was healed 2,000 years ago, and my best days are ahead of me because God's Word says so. Well, you have to get in God's Word to understand what it says in the first place. And then you have to have that biblical patience to stand on God's Word. But when you find God's Word is the highest reality, then it gives you hope to live the life that God's called you to live. Say, man, I might be in the waiting period, but I am waiting faithfully and patiently for God's promises to come to pass in my life. And that brings you biblical hope. The second one is one you probably wouldn't expect, and that's God's process. God's process for growing you in life brings you hope. Let me show it to you in Romans chapter 5, Paul writes this. "We also rejoice in our sufferings." Time out. Talk about a terrible verse, right? Like who--what's wrong with this guy? Obviously, he's messed up in his perspective. Nobody rejoices in sufferings. I don't know anybody that's like, "Pastor, I just came here to suffer. I just really--I just--if I had any prayer request, it'd be more pain in my life. I just--you know, everything's so comfortable and wonderful and everything's great." No, we--most of us don't rejoice in sufferings, but Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces things." Produces perseverance, which is endurance. And perseverance produces character, and character, check it out, hope. So, what Paul is saying is that when I am in pain, I actually have hope because pain is an indication of growth. In fact, I have learned this as an athlete or very former athlete, whatever you want to say. I have always enjoyed working out, but I've gotten to the place in life, to be honest with you, that if I don't have soreness, if I don't have muscle stiffness and soreness, I'm really uncomfortable because it means that I have not done the right things to build up lactic acid in my body to cause my muscles to grow. I want to grow, I want to continue getting better physically. And in order to do so, I have to have pain. Remember the old saying, no pain, no gain. Well, we know that from a physical standpoint, but very rarely do we embrace it from a spiritual standpoint. We have to walk through pain in order to get to the promise because God wants to grow us. And if you're in pain, that means that God's being faithful to take us through the process. Because pain is the price for promotion. I think we need to stop sitting around and looking at people who have great success, and are blessed, and have great marriages, and have wonderful children, and have beautiful homes, and built a great business, and think thoughts like, "I wonder how lucky they are. I wonder how amazing that is to be given all those wonderful things, and to be born in such a great family, and to have all of those nice opportunities." No, you know what you ought to ask yourself? "I wonder what they had to sacrifice. I wonder what pain that they've had to walk through. I wonder what price they have paid to have that level of influence or to be at that level of trustedness in their relationship with God to be that blessed. I wonder how they have proven themselves through pain." Pain is required. And so, if you're in pain today, you actually have hope for a better future 'cause that means God is faithful and that God loves you. And he's allowing you to walk through something difficult because there's a promise on the other side. I want you to know there is always purpose in your pain. There is no pain that has no purpose. In life, sometimes pain is the very thing that's required for us to get to our destiny. We never would have known who Noah was if there wasn't a flood. We never would have known that there was a David had there not been a Goliath. You and I would not have salvation had there not been a cross. There is a price to pay for the future that we desire, and pain is the pathway to it. And so, we want hope for our lives, we want God to do something great in the purpose and the plans that he has for us, but very rarely do we embrace the pain that comes along with it. Pain is a sign of hope. If you're in pain today, there is hope for the life that you're dreaming of. It means you may just be one more day away from those promises coming to pass. Because God does have, number three, a purpose. And that also brings hope to your life. I want everybody here to know that you were born on purpose and for a purpose. God has a great plan for your life. We read it last weekend, Jeremiah 29:11, "'I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.'" God has a great plan for your life. There is a future for your life, but it's God's plan. So many of us are living for our own plans, we're living our own dreams, and then we wind up hopeless. And I want you to know that God has a great plan for your life because God wants to bless you, and God wants to promote you, but not for you. He wants to do it through you so that your life can touch the people around you who so desperately need what God has placed on the inside of you. So, God wants to get you through whatever season you're walking through and whatever pain you're enduring because you have been designed and called and anointed to be a blessing to other people on the other side of that pain. And that's God's plan for your life. But if you don't understand that plan, then you will wallow in self-pity and pain. And you'll always try and fix your problems. But can I just pastor you for a minute? Your problems will never go away. Jesus promised in this world, you will have trouble. Look, I'm like you, I hate that verse so much, it's terrible. But Jesus promised there's no way to alleviate every problem in your life, so I don't have the power as your pastor to take away all your problems. But what I can give you is something bigger than your problems, and it's your purpose. And if you're moving through pain, you need God's purpose for your life because there is purpose in that pain. And there is something from God that God wants to do in your life. And you may be saying, "Well, I've made too many mistakes. I'm too old. It's too late for me." I want you to know at ITOWN, we believe that it's never too late to become who you might've been. Read this verse with me, the Bible says, "Anyone who is among the living has hope." Come on, read that again with me, "Anyone who is among the living has hope." One more time, every campus, "Anyone who is among the living has hope." That means if there is breath in my lungs, there is hope for my life today. If you're breathing, then there is hope. So pause, everybody, take a minute 'cause I'm starting to wonder about some of you. Let's all take a minute and breathe, ready? One, two, three, let it out. All right, one more time, breathe in. Deep breath, breathe out. One last time, breathe in. Breathe out, you hear that? That's the sound of hope. You're alive. God still has a plan for your life. There's still hope for you today, there's still a purpose and a plan, and we have to connect to God to understand what it is. We have to find our spiritual gifts, and we have to find the needs in the world around us. I'm telling you, there is purpose and there is hope for your life. The fourth one, jot it down if you're taking notes, it's God's place. God's place. In fact, the Bible says that this is the greatest source of hope, and this is where we're going to conclude the series in week four. We're going to talk about God's place 'cause Paul says this in Philippians chapter 3, "Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await our Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Now, I don't mean to sound harsh or difficult, I'm trying to pastor you well today. I want you to hear this. When's the last time as a believer you woke up in the morning and eagerly anticipated the return of our Savior? Even as your pastor, I'm ashamed to admit that it's probably been far too infrequent for me. Living every moment as if it were our last and living with the reality that this life is not about this life. Yeah, we're blessed to be Americans, but our actual citizenship is in heaven. We put so much stock in earth working out the way we want it to. And this is just not our home. God never promised to make this life perfect. Our citizenship is in heaven. It's very difficult for us to wrap out finite minds around the concept of something infinite like eternity that will never end, so here's my best shot at it. If I told you you have 24 hours to live, over the next 24 hours, every decision that you make and every action that you take will impact the next 1,000 years of your life. And in those 1,000 years, you won't be able to change a thing. They'll solely be impacted by how you live the next 24 hours. Would you live those 24 hours enjoying the moment, thinking about what's happening at that moment, spending all of your time and all your hopes and all your pleasure on the 24 hours? Or would you spend the 24 hours preparing yourself for the 1,000 years that would follow it? I think the answer is obvious for all of us, we'd spend preparing for the 1,000 years. And yet, this life the Bible says is just a vapor. It's even shorter than 24 hours compared to 1,000 years, and yet even as believers, we live our lives trying to make earth our home, and it's not. We have the hope of heaven, that's why the Bible says we don't grieve as those who have no hope. Because when people pass on from this life as Christians, we know that it'll just be a moment before we're reunited with them as we meet our Savior face to face. It's the hope of heaven, the hope of eternity, it's a real place. Talking about God, the source of hope, he gives us promises. He takes us through a process. He has a purpose and a plan for our lives. He has a special place for us. But all of it is fueled, as we close, number five, by his presence. It's the most amazing thing that God has given us. It's my personal belief that this is why people enjoy the weekend at ITOWN, 'cause we lean into this principle that nothing happens without the presence of God. It's his presence that fills out hearts. It's his presence that fills our lives. It's his presence that touches our hopelessness. We need it more than anything else in this life. Lamentations says it this way in chapter 3, "The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." I want to encourage you to be a seeker of the presence of God. That's what worship does, you know, it brings you into his presence. The Bible says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving. Enter his court with praise." I talked last weekend about how there's something special about being in the room. As you join us at all of our campuses today, there's something about corporate worship that's anointed and special in a way as faith and hope builds that you can't get on your own. But what you can get on your own is a moment of worship. You can enter into God's presence without any of us involved. And I want to encourage you this week, when stress is high and anxiety is riddling your body and it feels like you're slipping into hopelessness, take a moment and worship. Dave: There is nothing like being in the presence of God. It's so amazing to know that the creator of the universe wants to spend time with us, that he wants a relationship with us. Before we go today, maybe you don't have that relationship with God. It'd be my honor to help you take that step. If you would, just bow your head, maybe close your eyes right where you're at. And if you know you're not in an authentic relationship with Jesus, if you haven't made him the Lord of your life, or maybe you've drifted from him and it's time to rededicate your life to him, let's just pray this simple prayer together. Just say, "Lord Jesus, please forgive me today for all of my sin and all my mistakes. I surrender to you. Come and fill my life. Make me brand new. Today, I make you my Lord. In Jesus's name I pray." Father, I pray for every single person watching. We thank you that you're an ever present help in times of trouble, and that in your presence, we find everything we need for life. So God, as we press in to you, as we worship this week, we're so thankful that you're always there for us. I pray that you would comfort every one of us, that you would help us to experience your love, your peace, and your joy. And God, we thank you for these moments that we have with you, in Jesus's name we pray, amen. Now, if you just made that decision to follow Christ, I want you to know I think it's the best decision you can make with your entire life. I'm so proud of you. You know, our church is built to come alongside you, to help you in your journey of faith. And so, one of the easiest things you can do is just text us the word "hope" to the number on the screen, that's 63566. If you'll do that, we get an automatic text response that'll be sent to you. We don't save your number, we'll never text you again. I just want to get you some resources that'll jumpstart your relationship with God. Of course, you can find the rest of this series called "Hope In the Darkness" on our website at itownchurch.com, along with more information about our church. Now, I mentioned earlier about a resource I have for you. I think worship is the best way to get into the presence of God. And so, if you'll jump on our website, itownchurch.com/hope, we have some playlists there for you that you can just click play on, it'll take you right into the presence of God. And I pray that it encourages and strengthens your journey of faith. Of course, we'd love to see you online for a weekend service. At itownchurch.com, we have a time of worship and teaching. I think it'll be a great encouragement to you. Until then, of course, we love you and we're praying for you. God bless. ♪♪♪ ...
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Channel: ITOWN Church
Views: 977
Rating: 5 out of 5
Keywords: hope, darkness, anxiety, suicide, depression, fear, loneliness, help, self love, self care, jesus, light, god, bible, dave sumrall, lester sumrall, itown, itown church, indianapolis, indy, indiana, arc, arc churches, holy spirit
Id: r5XyszKsj7I
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)
Published: Tue Apr 21 2020
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