Speaker 1: 0:06

I invite you to open your Bibles this morning. 1 Corinthians, chapter 13,. 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. We're still in the love chapter. We're actually in these last few weeks in the love chapter. We're going back to some unfinished business, to a couple of things I thought were well worth our time.

Speaker 1: 0:26

A couple of weeks ago we looked at verse 12, at what is called the beatific vision. Paul uses the term when we see God face to face, and we explored that. And then last week we began to look at what are called the three theological virtues in verse 13, faith, hope and love. They're called theological virtues because they're gifts of God. These are not things faith, hope and love that we can just naturally conjure up in ourselves. They come by the grace of the Holy Spirit and through his goodness to us in that way, and they're called virtues because the possession of them transforms the hearts, lives and characters of those who have them in Christ. And so Rebecca DeYoung makes a good point when she says, while the virtues are a gift of God, we still need to live them out, and so that means we must practice and exercise faith and hope and love.

Speaker 1: 1:23

We all know what happens when we're not exercising and get a bit flabby and out of shape and all that. Well, faith, hope and love are the same way. We have to practice and exercise hope, for example, which is what we're going to look at today. How do you practice and exercise hope? Well, one way to do that is you pray and you wait upon God. We have to actually pray, we have to do it, we have to actively be waiting on God. That's how we practice and exercise hope. We have to take the time, like the psalmist does, to remember God's faithfulness, as we did just a moment ago. In that song. We remember that God has been faithful in the past and he will be faithful now and He'll be faithful in the future. But we actually have to take the time to meditate and commune with God in that way and remember that he is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Speaker 1: 2:23

Another way to practice hope is to live in biblical community. It's very important that we do that, because that's simply a humble admission that we do depend upon other people. Yes, we depend upon God, but God uses other people in our life to keep hope strong in our life, and so we need our family, we need our friends, we need other brothers and sisters in Christ, to cheer us on along the way and to remind us that we have a sure hope in Christ. So, like I said, last week, we looked at the Christian virtue of faith and technically, faith is really it's not exactly a virtue, it's actually the root of all virtue, but it's been called a Christian virtue for so long that I'm just going with the flow on that. But I want us to look today at the Christian virtue of hope and so, if you're able, with that brief introduction behind us, I'd like to invite you to stand.

Speaker 1: 3:15

I'd like to read just a couple of brief verses from 1 Corinthians 13. I do want to remind you this is the infallible and errant holy word of the living God and he does send it to you and me in love. So let's receive it by faith and with expectation that he will do a good thing in our hearts today. 1 Corinthians 13, verse 12. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now, faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord endures forever. God's people said Amen, thank you. Let's pray, heavenly Father. It's through the encouragement of the Scriptures that you give your people hope in Christ. Would you do that again this morning through the working of the Holy Spirit? We ask it in Jesus' name, amen. If there's three words that you can kind of get in your mind that are going to structure how we're going to go about this this morning, the first one is contrast, the second one is foundation and the third one is transforms or transformer. Let's look at Christian hope from this first angle the fact that it highlights a marked contrast and, in particular, a marked contrast in destinies.

Speaker 1: 4:47

If you look in the Scripture, you'll notice that hope isn't just spoken about, it's taken like a jeweler takes a diamond and it's put on that black cloth. It's almost as if we see it's in contrast to something. He doesn't just set it on the glass, he sets it on that black cloth. And that's how hope is presented to us in the scriptures. And this is important for us to understand, because sometimes when people hear Christian hope, they think, well, isn't that nice, these folks have hope. It's kind of cute, but that isn't how the scriptures treat it at all.

Speaker 1: 5:26

There's a certain seriousness, a gravity and a weight to this idea of Christian hope. And so why should we care about Christian hope? Well, for example, in Ephesians, chapter 2, the apostle Paul says he describes people that don't know Christ as those without God and without hope in the world, without God and without hope in the world, without God and without hope in the world. And so this Christian hope in the Bible, it's not presented simply in isolation, as if it's just sitting there on the glass. No, it's presented to us in contrast, a marked contrast between the destinies of two peoples. This theme of two peoples begins in Genesis 3, and it runs all through the rest of the Bible, these two destinies of the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan, and the people of the Lord and the people of this world, the children of Satan, the children of God, the people who are destined for heaven, the people who are on their way to hell. Very weighty, weighty, weighty, serious subjects.

Speaker 1: 6:29

Psalm 1, we see that at the very beginning of the Psalter we're reminded of and explains to us what this battle is that's going on between God's people and the world. Psalm 1 clearly tells us who the blessed man is, and by blessed I mean a blessed man is someone who has this eternal blessing and favor of God upon him or her, and so they have this gift of eternal life and they have this true satisfaction and happiness of soul in God, something you cannot get in the world. And the psalmist says about this blessed man in Psalm 1, he's a man who walks not in the world. And the psalmist says about this blessed man in Psalm 1, he's a man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. A scoffer is somebody who makes light of the judgment. Yeah, whatever, that's a scoffer. Somebody who just mocks, doesn't worry about the judgment of God, thinks it's a joke.

Speaker 1: 7:27

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, the law here meaning the scriptures, law in the broad sense. His delight, the blessed man's delight, is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. You see, it's his food, it's what he lives by. He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Well, I'll just stop right there and say there's only one man that fulfilled this Psalm, and it's Jesus Christ. He is the righteous man, the blessed man, and as we unite with him we become more and more like him, as we too are planted by God's grace along this living stream of water and eternal life that are in Christ.

Speaker 1: 8:12

But it says this it doesn't just talk about the blessed man. It switches at a certain point in the psalm. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. You see how you hear it again the way of the righteous, the way of the wicked, the way of the righteous, the way of the wicked.

Speaker 1: 8:38

The blessed man, the wicked man, those who know by faith that they'll stand in the judgment live in this hope. But it's contrasted with the destiny of the wicked. And so hope, it's a wonderful thing, but it's also a serious matter, and that's how the Bible presents it in so many places. Notice in Psalm 1, the wicked are those who are living their lives apart from faith in God, faith in the Lord, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ? The psalmist describes the wicked as like chaff that the wind drives away and who will not stand in the judgment. That's a horrible thought. Who are those who have hope, those who are confident they'll stand in the judgment? Why do we have confidence that we who believe in Christ will stand in the judgment? Because he took the judgment for us upon the cross. Aren't you glad for that? You see, this is where our peace comes from, and so we can live in hope. And, in fact, judgment day for the believer will be a great day of joy, but not so with the unbeliever.

Speaker 1: 9:47

I've always found it fascinating. In reading the scriptures, you'll notice there's this horrible reality of hell. It's talking about the horror of being under the just wrath of God and experiencing the just wrath of God, and I think it's remarkable that, more than anyone else in the Scriptures, jesus speaks more about hell than anybody else. The Savior of sinners speaks more about God's just wrath and condemnation and hell than anyone else. Because, as the Savior of sinners, what is he saving us from? He's saving us from having to drink that cup of hell for our own sins. And if you're a believer in Jesus Christ. You can be encouraged that Christ drank that cup on your behalf as he experienced the horror of hell right there on that cross, when God poured out his wrath upon Christ. We just said in the Apostles' Creed why did we say he died? And then it goes on to he descended into hell? Because that's what he experienced on the cross when God turned his face away from Christ.

Speaker 1: 11:06

Matthew chapter 25 says that on the day of judgment, he is the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats. You see the two destinies again. This is Jesus speaking in Matthew 25. He'll put the sheep on his right, he says, the goats on his left. The sheep will enter into the joy of their master, but not so with the goats. Jesus says they will perish and he speaks how do you describe being under the condemnation and just wrath of God and actually experiencing that to the full? I don't know how we can understand the horror of that Jesus tries to help us understand, talking about the weeping and gnashing of teeth and a place where the worm never dies. Can you imagine living for all eternity in a place where there's no love, no enjoyment, no relief, no hope? It's a horrible, horrible thought. It's painful to think about the reality of hell, is it not? And yet Jesus will not. Let us not think about it.

Speaker 1: 12:16

Jonathan Edwards knew this. He was one of the great preachers in the early days of America, in fact, even before the time of the Declaration of Independence was signed in the 1770s. Back in July of 1741, about 25 years before the Christian faith was at a low ebb in our country, not very many people were going to church, believe it or not, in the 1740s, 1730s. But God sent the first great awakening and enlivened people to the things of God. He put smelling salt under their noses and gave them eyes to see the glory of Christ. And if you're not living right with God this morning, jesus, through his own teachings, is trying to say you need to take God's condemnation very serious.

Speaker 1: 13:06

I think John 3.16 is probably the most popular, or at least the most well-known verse in the Bible. You know, god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever shall believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. What a beautiful, beautiful promise and glory. But even there, you'll notice, may not perish, even in the most famous sentence, there it is. It's not taking the weight of the verse, but it's there. And then, two verses later John 3, 18, jesus gets more explicit. He says whoever believes in him talking about himself, whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed. In the name of the only son of God, there's only one way between God and man and Christ. He's the only son of God. He's also the only mediator between God and man.

Speaker 1: 14:07

Edwards warned his own hearers of the day, as did Jesus and the apostles and the prophets before him, that if you're not living by faith and placing your hope in the God of the Bible. Edwards talked about the flames of hell raging and Edwards had a very, very powerful image of the life of an unbeliever and how they're living. Imagine the fires of hell raging right now and an unbeliever, edwards says, is one who's walking over rotted wood, waiting at any second to be plunged into the flames. But then he says, he said to his hearers the only reason you haven't been plunged into those flames this morning, if you don't know Christ, is because of the mercy of God, the very one who sustains your every breath, the very one who gives you your next heartbeat, the one you may be rebelling against this morning were rebelling against this morning.

Speaker 1: 15:34

I say that don't play church. Make sure you're right with God. Do business with God so you can live in Christian hope, so you can know that God is at peace with you and that his smile is upon you and that when you sit there and stand at the judgment it will be a great day. Because there is a contrast. Jesus is saying make sure you're a sheep, not a goat. Make sure you're a sheep, not a goat. Receive Christ through faith. That's why he came to save us sinners. We all deserve the pit of hell. It isn't just Hitler. All of us fall short of the glory of God and we're sinning against an infinitely holy God. How do you measure that offense? But Christ came that we could know God and live in hope and so trust him. So Christian hope highlights this marked contrast. It puts it in the realm of something serious, not wishing on a star or something cute and light and fluffy.

Speaker 1: 16:43

But second, christian hope is built on a sure foundation and this is very encouraging because it's built on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Hebrews 6.19 puts it like this Listen, we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf. See, hope is an anchor. It's a sure and steadfast anchor and it speaks here. Our hope is Jesus himself and it says this Jesus has gone after he died for us and has risen. He ascended into heaven, where he has gone, into the inner place behind the curtain the writer of the author of Hebrews is talking here about.

Speaker 1: 17:30

He's using tabernacle language. You know, in the Old Testament tabernacle you had the outer court and then you had the next area, that's where anybody could go, and then you had the inner court, or the inner place, called the holy place. The priest could go there, but then you had the most holy place. Only the high priest could go there, and even then, once a year, that's it. Well, jesus has gone.

Speaker 1: 17:55

That was all a picture of what Christ was going to do for us. He is the true high priest and he has gone into the holy of holies for us on our behalf. He's our forerunner. Except the real Holy of Holies is in heaven. Christ has gone behind that curtain and he has gone as a forerunner on our behalf. And do you know what that means? If it's on our behalf, it means he's there securing a place for us, us who know him and trust him and live for him. It says he's seated at the right hand of God. And so if Jesus is there on our behalf, we live in a sure hope. It's a sure hope because it calls him a forerunner. He's gone as a forerunner. He's gone there. He's going to bring all his sheep. He's the good shepherd. He's bringing all his sheep with him, aren't you glad? And so that's why we live with confidence. The Christian life is not earning our way. It's knowing Christ. That's the basis of our hope. He's there on our behalf.

Speaker 1: 19:05

I say to you again he who began a good work in you will bring it into completion at the day of Christ Jesus. God doesn't begin a salvation and fall away. He finishes the job. Here's how Jesus puts it to his disciples in John 14, in the upper room the night before he died. Listen, let not your hearts be troubled. You know, it's one thing if I tell that to you, but when Jesus says to his disciples let not your hearts be troubled. That's the best blood pressure medicine you can have, because there must be a real reason. Your heart shouldn't be troubled. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, he says, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also. So Christ has died for our sins, so we no longer have to pay the penalty for it. He's risen from the dead to give us assurance that what he did on the cross was fully accepted from God. He ascended into heaven and he sits at the right hand of God and he's gone behind the curtain. That's a way of saying he's going to draw us into the most intimate and holy union and communion with God in glory. It's a marvel to consider that In both body and soul there's coming a day when we'll be in that intimate communion with God. That's what the Holy, the high priest, going into the Holy of Holies was a symbol of God warned them don't go in there if you're not the high priest, and don't go in there when you're not supposed to, because you won't be coming out. But Christ, the veil has been torn and he's made the way for us to go into the Holy of Holies.

Speaker 1: 21:11

Our hope is built on a sure foundation. Hope has a name it's Christ, it's Jesus Christ. He is our hope. We don't just have some vague notion of hope. He is our hope.

Speaker 1: 21:24

I love how that old hymn puts it, how firm a foundation you, saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in what, in his excellent word, what more can he say than to you? He has said to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled. You see, our hope is built on the very word of God, his promises, his truth. And that truth and those promises are embodied in a person, his son, the one who conquered sin, death, hell and the grave on our behalf, for us, something we could not do for ourselves. And we get the benefits of that just by trusting in him. I remember years ago, and we get the benefits of that just by trusting in him.

Speaker 1: 22:06

I remember, years ago, rc Sproul. I heard him say once he said yeah, people like to say God said it, I believe it. That settles it. But he said no, no, no, no, god said it. That settles it. The question is do we believe it? Do we trust God's word? And if we do, we have a sure hope. We're on solid ground because Christ is that sure foundation. He's the point of the whole scriptures Old Testament as well as the New and so the Christian hope is grounded in the person and character of God. It's grounded in Christ's unbreakable work, but it's also grounded in historical facts. The Christian hope is a sure hope built on a firm foundation not only of God's word, but on the historical facts that are faithfully recorded in God's word. So let me give you one example. I think I mentioned this several months ago, but I think it's worth hearing again.

Speaker 1: 23:00

Think of all the Old Testament prophecies. There's over 300 that come into fulfillment in the one person of Jesus Christ, some of them more specific than others, and there's different kinds of prophecies, but nevertheless Jesus is standing there. One day we read in the Gospel of John, the fifth chapter. He's standing there and he's dealing with his opponents and they were hostile to him. And he said to them in the fifth chapter, the 39th verse you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but it is they that bear witness about me. It's almost like he was saying to them so you own a Bible. Well, good for you, but you missed the whole point of the Bible, which is me. The Bible is meant to reveal me to you. And, of course, what scriptures was he talking about? It was the Old Testament. There was no New Testament yet the entire Old Testament, which is three-fourths of the Bible.

Speaker 1: 23:59

Every book is about Christ and points to Christ. It does it often in types and shadows, and the gospels record the fulfillment of Christ's coming now and fulfilling those prophecies. The New Testament letters explain that fulfillment and its significance, but all of the Bible is pointing to Jesus Christ. What unites the entire Bible? It's Christ, and if we see Christ, we know exactly what God the Father is like and, by implication, god, the Holy Spirit. And so why are these prophecies so powerful.

Speaker 1: 24:35

I think I mentioned to you Dr Peter Stoner, his book Science Speaks. He was a mathematician. I believe it was four or five or six hundred of his math. Graduate students did research on just eight of the prophecies in the Old Testament that were specifically fulfilled in Christ. Consider this Remember there was a 400-year gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The prophet Malachi is the last Old Testament prophet, around 400 BC, the gospel of Matthew. You're talking over 400 years later and so you have this silence, hundreds of years between the Old and the New Testament.

Speaker 1: 25:21

What do you have prophesied in the old about the Messiah? That he would, number one, be born in Bethlehem, in Judah. Well, that limits the number of people, doesn't it? In all of human history that can be the Messiah. How many people have we known born in Bethlehem of Judah? There's actually two Bethlehems Bethlehem, ephratah that's the one Jesus was born in. And then there's a messenger that would prepare the way before the Messiah, john the Baptist. He would be like Elijah. How many people do we know that were born in Bethlehem and had a messenger prepare the way, and then the Messiah would ride a donkey into Jerusalem? That sort of narrows it down, doesn't it? How many people in all of human history have rode a donkey into Jerusalem? Oh, and they had a messenger prepare the way. Oh, and they were also born in Bethlehem, africa. And then the Messiah's hands would be wounded in the house of his friends, and then he'd be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. And then that same 30 pieces of silver is prophesied to be cast to the potter's house or temple of the Lord. And then it says the Messiah would be led like a lamb to the slaughter, and yet he opened not his mouth. And then it also says his hands and feet would be pierced. That's just eight. How many people do you know have fulfilled that?

Speaker 1: 26:55

Peter Stoner, dr Stoner and his several hundred college grad math students gave each of these eight prophecies just a conservative probability, and that was affirmed by a national math society. But they determined that the probability of any one person in history fulfilling just these eight prophecies would be like covering the state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars. Would be like covering the state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars. And if you blindfolded a man who could travel at will and pick any silver dollar he desired? That's the odds. One in ten to the seventeenth power.

Speaker 1: 27:34

People say they don't have enough evidence. Well, if you were sitting in a jury, would you convict Jesus Christ of being the Son of God and the Messiah, as he claimed? What if we added in the other prophecies? The numbers get astronomical, beyond almost what we can comprehend. And so what am I saying to you? The Christian hope is firmly grounded. It's rooted not only in God's word but in historical facts. Historical facts that fulfill prophecies from centuries earlier. This is God's fingerprint on the holy word of God. There is no other book like it, and we don't work off probability, by the way. It's just to show you the power, even from a mathematical standpoint, how powerful this prophecy is.

Speaker 1: 28:25

And then you add to it the historical facts recorded in God's Word, backed up by eyewitness testimony. Eyewitness testimony is very powerful, and this eyewitness testimony of the apostles and the early church freely laying down their lives for this testimony, dying for it. And so I ask you again would you die for a lie? Every law of psychology we know says no, you wouldn't. If you were nuts, you might right People fly them into buildings, airplanes into buildings, but not for something you know is a lie, and you're certainly not going to get a big band of people to do it, even if you could talk one crazy person into it. That eyewitness testimony was sealed with their blood, and so it's very, very powerful, this word of God. Our hope is not wishing upon a star. God is showing us. It's solid as a rock. Jesus of Nazareth, the very Son of God incarnate. He's the long-awaited Messiah. And so we have these historical facts of his word, prophecy, eyewitness, testimony.

Speaker 1: 29:40

But really, more than anything, the Bible will defend itself. You just read it and you'll see. As sure as you can look at a sunset and say that's beautiful. It is self-evident that it is the word of God. It is self-evident, and for God's elect, those God has determined to save and is saving, it becomes self-evident. The Bible is the very word of God.

Speaker 1: 30:06

Jesus himself puts it this way in John 10. His opponents he says to them this you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Do you hear what Jesus says? He doesn't say you're not among my sheep because you don't believe. What he says is you do not believe because you are not among my sheep, because you don't believe. What he says is you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. Those God is determined to save will hear the voice of God through the scriptures. And he says I know them and they follow me and I will give them eternal life. They'll never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

Speaker 1: 30:56

Dear Christian, if you have faith in Christ, do you know? No one or anything can snatch you out of God's hand. Aren't you glad for that? That's the security of eternal life, and if you don't know God, all's the warrant you need to come to Christ is to hear his words. Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. I'll give you rest If you desire to come to Christ. He calls you to come to him and he will secure you into his kingdom and fill you with a sure hope, not a wish upon a star. And so Christian hope is built on a sure foundation. It highlights a marked contrast. But thirdly and lastly, it transforms the believer into a life of holy living, transforms the believer into a life of holy living.

Speaker 1: 31:44

Christian hope transforms. It transforms, for example, how we view the things of this world and this life. Because the fact is, god has made us in such a way that we'll never be able to truly and fully enjoy the things of this world and this life until we first, in a sense, let them go, until we first come to realize that God himself is fully sufficient and satisfying to us. What we're trying to do oftentimes is squeeze out of the things of this world to get something that only God can give us, and anytime we do that, the Bible makes very clear that's a recipe for misery. This is what causes wars. This is what caused families to break apart. This is what causes business partners to turn on each other. We're trying to squeeze things out of the things of this world that aren't going to give us that satisfaction. How many families have fought over wills? And you see, when we live in hope, when we realize that only God and heaven and the world to come can fully satisfy our hearts, we can begin to let go and not hold on to all these things with white knuckles, as Richard Pratt used to say. Why can we sacrifice things now? Because we get it all later with Christ. That's another way to put it.

Speaker 1: 33:12

Jesus put it this way Matthew 6, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. He's not saying treasures are bad, but he's saying there's something about these treasures we need to understand when moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. He does call them treasures. They are treasures. There are treasures on earth. There are very valuable things on earth. He's saying we're foolish to set our heart there. That gets us in a world of trouble. And he says when your treasure is there, your heart will be also. Well, why is our heart in heaven? Because that's where the lover of our soul is, that's where Christ is. Where your treasure is, there, your heart will be also. Well, why is our heart in heaven? Because that's where the lover of our soul is, that's where Christ is and that's where our heart is, or should be. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. Where is your treasure? There's where your heart is.

Speaker 1: 34:18

And you see, this is what combats materialism. Christian hope is what combats materialism, us thinking too much of a good thing. Most of our sin is not bad things, although sometimes it can be. Most of our sin is grabbing hold of good things too much and losing sight that there's something better coming. I love what Rebecca DeYoung says about Christian hope. Listen, she says this hope in God himself. It shapes the way that we grieve the death of those we love, loosens our grip on comforts and luxuries, softens our disappointments with career aspirations that went to ruin, tempers our desire for worldly success, bolsters our commitment to faith-inspired projects that seem a stretch from the point of view of our current resources, and leads us to positions of vulnerability and boldness that we would not risk if it were not for an eternal perspective on our life and upon God's calling. And so this Christian hope changes how we look at the things of the world and our relationship with them, but it also helps us in how we handle adversity. Hebrews 6 speaks of the Christian hope as a strong and trustworthy anchor of our souls. What a great word. Hope is an anchor, and we need anchors because we're going to hit storms in this life, are we not?

Speaker 1: 35:48

John Wesley? He was a preacher right A British preacher and he was on a boat, on a ship coming over with the Moravians. He was on his way to Savannah, georgia. John Wesley was the founder of Methodism. He was sailing across the ocean on this same ship with the Moravians and a great storm kicked up, and it was so strong. Everybody on that ship thought they were going down. And that was it. They thought they were going to perish. Wesley was filled with such great fear. And yet he looked over at that time at the Moravians. And what are they doing? They're singing hymns of praise to God, and they weren't doing it after the storm, they were doing it in the storm.

Speaker 1: 36:26

Wesley knew right in that moment. They knew God and he did not. How could they do that? Is it because they didn't care? Well, I think if they were honest, I don't think they'd say they didn't care at all. But they were anchored with a hope that death does not have the last word, that death is a doorway into heaven with God, for them and for their children. They lived with hope. And you see, we're full of fear when we realize death leads to judgment, but for the Christian, we can have peace. Now that does.

Speaker 1: 37:03

Let me make something clear. Sometimes we Christians just flat out freak out. Okay, true believers sometimes freak out. I'm not saying if you've ever freaked out, you're not a believer. That's not the point. The point is that John Wesley saw there was something fundamental in them that he didn't have.

Speaker 1: 37:19

What about you? Remember Daniel's three friends in Babylon? I've always loved these names Shadrach, meshach and Abednego. What great names. What do you think, honey, what should we name them? I got something for you.

Speaker 1: 37:36

Well, they were threatened by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, threatened with the fiery furnace. Right, if you don't bow down to this large golden image, I'm going to throw you in the burning fiery furnace. And so, if you don't bow down to our political correctness here in Babylon, and if you don't bow to the power of the throne and what we say, you're going in. But they refused it. Now listen to why? Oh Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, o king. But if not, be it known to you, o king, we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

Speaker 1: 38:23

How can they talk like that? You talk like that when you have a sure hope in the Lord. Lord's got me. Whether I live or whether I die, it's the fear of God that expunges the fear of man. The good kind of fear of God there is. A good kind, the kind that draws you closer to God in love and adoration and awe, the beauty and power of courage, of sure hope in the Lord. And then, lastly, it not only helps us handle adversity, christian hope helps us become more holy. It helps us become more holy.

Speaker 1: 38:59

A wedding day is approaching, and what does a bride do when the wedding day is coming? Diligently prepares, diligently prepares for that wedding altar. And then there comes the moment when she doesn't have to look at her husband through the veil, as in a mirror, dimly, because that day comes. And as she gets before her husband, through the veil, as in a mirror, dimly, because that day comes, and as she gets before her husband, his face is filled with joy and countenance and he lifts the veil and now she sees him directly face to face. That's why, of course, ladies used to wear veils, like the Christian imagery of when we see God face to face. When his bride, the church, sees Christ face to face, she dresses appropriately for that day. That's why she comes down in white, she's prepared, she's in this stunning, beautiful white gown indicating purity, symbolizing that purity that Christ himself has granted his church.

Speaker 1: 39:53

But listen to 1 John, chapter 3. We hear it Beloved, we're God's children. Now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears. We shall be like him because we shall see him as he is, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. There's something about putting our hope in Christ when he returns that causes us, as the church, as the bride of Christ, to prepare ourselves for that day. So, more and more, it's as if God is, christ is creating for us a wedding gown of purity on that day, and if we know Christ, we're going to strive to be holy the best we can. By his grace. Let's pray and ask God's help.