CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“ABANDONING HOPE OR ABIDING IN HOPE?”
In the Random House Collegiate Dictionary the word “hope” is described as follows: “The feeling that what is desired is also possible, or that events may turn out for the best..; to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence..; that something desired may happen..; trust, rely.” And no doubt, redeemed or not, there are people gripped in their minds with a “hope” that what they put their faith in may happen or it may not happen. But ‘fleshly hope’ is nowhere near Biblical hope! Some, both out of or in the church “hope things turn out for the ‘best’,” or like others they live, they strive, they ‘try’, but live in a state of mind AND heart : “I hope against hope,” which IS a sad state of mental, physical, and spiritual levels of living! Why not ABIDE IN BIBLICAL HOPE without being swayed by the world, the flesh, or the devil?
In John 15:4-11 the Lord Jesus tells us: Jesus says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, AND My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Would you say that Jesus was extremely clear when He said that if you and I as believers “abide in Him” that we will be strongly held in the arms of Him whose arms cannot be broken? Did He also say that only in and through Him does Sovereign fruitfulness become a reality? And in that “rest” in Him only, did He also say that abiding in Him supernaturally allows divine fruitfulness, to bud and produce, yes, the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of Christ, the fruit of God?
But, notice John 15:2! “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit the Father takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” And in the branch should one, yes, be concerned about minimum or maximum ‘fruit-production’? Is the “fruit” that the Word declares the evidence of one’s “new birth experience” or an unredeemed life that just “hopes for the best”, but hoping for the best is not the same as “resting in the hope Christ has promised” which is “His best” revealed in His full surrender to God the Father’s “Before Creation, but settled in His Mind, His Heart, and His Will: “My Son will be the “hope of all repentant, trusting hearts, in reconciliation to My eternal purpose for created, sin-bound men who are only set free from godlessness and led by Christ into the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Do you remember Jesus saying thousands of years after Abraham’s birth, life, and death that “Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he was glad?” Father-God knew that in the reality of men’s birthing on earth He didn’t want “spiritual zombies” as sons and daughters but people free to choose whether they wanted to be independent of God or dependent upon Him for mercy and grace! And, yes, Abraham and many Old Testament citizens learned of the Coming Messiah who would be the “blood sacrifice” in behalf of repentant hearts and souls.
But, sadly, multitudes abandoned hope from God holding on to “best effort” human genius! That’s like Pharoah of Egypt, confronted in Exodus 5 by Moses and Aaron on a mission from God, telling Pharoah that Holy God said to “Let My people go” from their Egyptian bondage and slavery with Pharoah saying in Exodus 5:2, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
Even though Sovereign God determined the Savior of the world would come as “Emmanuel” or “God in flesh”, and that He would come being born of the Virgin Mary, only true, God-trusting Old Testament believers of Israel put their faith in the Savior their physical eyes would never see, indicating certainly “spiritual vision” far outweighs being able to see with only physical eyes! Yes, “Abraham (having never seen) rejoiced to see My day, and he was glad!”
Most of Israel abandoned hope although they were devoted to religious observances! Most of the world today doesn’t even look back to the Cross of Christ as most of Israel in the Old Testament didn’t look forward to His coming! They were satisfied with their religious observances even as they practiced, yes, a godless lifestyle, heavily reinforced with religious activities, never sensing the Voice of Christ or the Holy Spirit’s unveiling of Christ to them. Why? “Who needs a Savior when we’re capable of doing whatever our natural or religious minds determine! We’re able to be religiously devoted!”
And there are still those even today who “take up stones to throw at Christ”! To them it was justified because they didn’t see the great “I AM” Jesus as worthy of anything but stoning! But, I urge you, reflect upon Saul’s attitude toward the prophet Samuel who had just learned from God, “Saul doesn’t follow Me”, and Holy God instructed Samuel to tell Saul, as well as all unbelievers today, 1 Samuel 15:22-23, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”
Of course, we don’t have to be concerned in the church today about being called ‘kings’, or do we? In Revelation 5:9-10, “the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. And they sang a new song, saying: (Speaking to the Lamb of God, King Jesus!), “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and nation, (GET READY!!!), and have MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS TO OUR GOD; AND WE SHALL REIGN ON THE EARTH.”
That’s not when you die and go to heaven, but when on earth you choose the sentence of death unto yourself that the Resurrection Life of Christ may be manifested in you as He anoints YOU IN HIM to reign upon the earth!
But around you daily you cross paths with people who “abandon hope” and refuse to even consider “abiding in hope” because some tell them, “If you even rang God’s heavenly doorbell, He wouldn’t answer you because even God can’t help the hopeless,” which is so foreign to the mind, heart, and will of God. I tell you, God is able to save, heal, deliver the worst sinner on the face of the earth if he/she, in true repentance and faith calls out for God’s mercy and grace!
But I tell you also, there is a huge difference between a ‘religious hope fabricated by men’ and redemptive hope written forever by the shed blood of the Lamb of God who still says: “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” I don’t know who wrote it, but I came across an anonymous statement: “There is more hope for a self-convicted sinner than there is for a self-conceited saint,” and to that I say, “Amen!”
I wrote a few words I pray will enlighten you, bless you, and encourage you – no title yet, just a few, I hope, challenging words!!
“Lord Jesus, Son of God, Savior of repentant, faith-believing minds and hearts, Open our understanding of all Your gracious deeds as, by Your Spirit, we examine our heart-felt needs!
That’s the need to abandon hopelessness and be swept up in the sea of Your abiding hope! Our wanderings without you birthed a life of a world of grief because, we as your children, rested in ourselves as thieves.
In ourselves, no hope; in ourselves, no cure; in ourselves, no help; becoming hopeless and helpless, blinded by ‘flesh’, deceived by Satan, fooled by the world, we dance the death that will not die, even blinding ourselves to God’s open eye!
There are dark clouds for men without God, but gracious God, in amazing love, placed His Son on our very sod; hope is His gift, mercy His song, His invitation to Him belong!
“Come to Me and I’ll give you rest, find your place in Heaven’s nest – no longer the sad song of life’s frustration, but washed in His blood, indwelt in your body, you see your heart as My destination.”
There is for your life, though clouds may come, the starlight of heaven shining on your home. Circumstances may arise with Satan’s intent to discourage your walk, but never give in to his empty talk.
Christ Jesus has spoken, and His received Word need never be broken! He ever abides to stand by your side, that you in His glory may continue to abide. His sunset of hope, like an anchor to hold, is never swept away but continually abides to stand by your side, His promise that cannot be denied!” Amen?
“Abandoning Hope Or Abiding in Hope?” I pray you’ll join me in “Abiding in Hope”! Let’s look first at “God’s Amazing Promise”! In Hebrews 6:9-20 we read: “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.’ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. [A forty year wait!].
For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, DETERMINED TO SHOW MORE ABUNDANTLY TO THE HEIRS OF PROMISE THE IMMUTABILITY OF HIS COUNSEL, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. [Did Abraham ‘lay hold of the hope’ AFTER HE HAD PATIENTLY ENDURED? Again, there is ‘birth’, ‘infancy’, ‘youth’, ‘young adult’, and the ‘senior fully matured in the faith’!].
Hebrews 6:19-20 continues: “This hope we have AS AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, BOTH SURE AND STEADFAST, and which enters the “Presence” behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Are YOU “standing on our Lord’s promises and resting in the sure Word of God that never fades away or changes?
SECOND, ABIDING IN HOPE IS BEING ENRICHED BY THE ANOINTED WORD OF GOD! Don’t ever forget or overlook in ‘discipleship training’ the words of Jesus in Matthew 4:4 as Jesus responded to Satan’s temptations! He said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Tell me, first, about your physical dieting! Do you at least try to eat three square meals a day? BUT, is there the necessity of ‘spiritual feeding’ of the redeemed soul? If you eat three square meals a day to maintain your physical body, what about maintaining the ‘spiritual life’ that MUST BE NOURISHED IN THE BREAD, MEAT, AND VEGETABLES AND HONEY OF GOD’S SPIRIT-WORD?
In John 6:63-64 Jesus said: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” How many ‘believers’ and ‘church folk’ have crossed your path who insist there is no need of discipline in the Word “after” one had been born again?
Very interesting Verse in Psalm 49:20! “A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish.” And, I thought: How many honorable men in the church or outside the church are esteemed but couldn’t give you one word about himself as a student of God’s Holy Word feeding on it daily? Are you “being enriched” by the living and abiding Word of God?
THIRD, ABIDING IN HOPE IS BEING SUSTAINED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! In Romans 8: 1-2 Paul wrote: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh (one’s old sin nature), but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Abandoning hope is the determination to choose to live by one’s best effort without any need of “God’s interference” with one proving he/she can do it on one’s own determination! But Holy God just happens to be smarter than fallen mankind’s assessment of himself, God fully aware ‘in the flesh’ fallen mankind cannot, does not, will not live the overcoming life against the world, one’s old sin nature, or Satan’s interference; therefore merciful God sustains us by the Holy Spirit in divine conviction, divine conversion, and divine consecration – the Holy Spirit sustains true believers!
In Romans 8:8-11 Paul continued laying the foundation for a true believer “abiding in hope”! He wrote: “So then those who are in the flesh (living under the control of their old sin nature) cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And IF Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Holy Spirit who dwells in you.”
But there are those ‘professing believers’, ‘active church members’, even ‘preachers’, who say, “Oh, someday, in the sweet by and by, we’ll finally experiencing what it means to live in Christ’s fullness!” Yet Paul wrote in Romans 15:29, “But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” Really? In the here and now? That’s the true gospel! And “in Christ” you can “live with joy by the will of God,” “daily refreshed in His resurrection life, resurrection power, and resurrection hope”! I say to you: NEVER FORGET Martin Luther’s words in his famous hymn that says: “A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe Does seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, And, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing. Do you ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth is His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
And tho’ this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, For God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim – We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! His doom is sure: One little world shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers – No thanks to them – abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours Through Him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.” Can YOU say AMEN to the grace, mercy, and love of God as YOUR ABIDING HOPE, or do you presently walk on “the sinking sands” of fleshly suffocation?