129: Josh Sommerville – Exhortation: Hope

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Welcome to good for selfie and
talks.

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I’m Levi and I’m Chris and I’m
Brian, thank you for joining us

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this week.
On this podcast, we select one

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taco week to help us get the
Bible in our daily news feed.

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We post a new episode of the
start of each week with a short

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intro before.
Hand to kind of set the stage

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for the talk.
You’re about to listen to and

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now let’s talk more about this
week’s talk

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for this week’s talk.
We are listening to an

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expectation.
That was given by brother Josh

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Somerville at the Verdugo Hills,
Ecclesia This very Sunday on

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February 21st.
This was one as soon as I heard

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it it was such a powerful
excitation that I really wanted

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to share it and he’s talking
about the concept of Hope.

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And this originally I had
different talk lined up to share

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for everyone this week but as I
was listening to it spoke to me

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and it was so applicable to
what’s going on in the world

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right now and kind of a phrase
that I’ve been hearing.

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People use more and more that I
totally Vine Brian.

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I’m calling an audible I really
want to use this this excitation

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hopefully.
Everyone isn’t isn’t tired of

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hearing expectations from
Verdugo because I know sometimes

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I tend to share more of them,
but that’s where I go.

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And I hear a lot of talks on
there, obviously that I enjoy

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very much.
And this excitation that brother

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Josh was giving was so powerful.
He’s looking at the concept of

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Hope.
And one of the things that he

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kind of was making a point
about, is he starts by looking

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at a poem that was even turned
into an animation by by Disney

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called.
Casey At The Bat.

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And basically, without taking
everything from what brother

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Josh mentioned, the idea about
it is that the concept of Hope

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is something that always Springs
Eternal in humans, we always

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feel hopeful.
It’s a natural way that we think

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we wake up every day.
Hoping that the next day is

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going to be better than the
previous one.

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But What brother Josh is looking
at, is the difference between

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the hope that we talked about as
christadelphians and his

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Believers of Christ.
When we say, you know, I we have

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a hope kind of almost we have a
hope, right?

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Almost as we talk about the
truth, right?

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We have a hope of the coming
Kingdom and how does when we use

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the word in that sense?
Is it different from when

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somebody says, you know, I, you
know, when you’re wrapping up a

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rough day at work and you say, I
hope tomorrow’s better Or, you

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know you said like oh, you know,
when the weather is really bad

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ass.
Like I hope it’s warmer

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tomorrow, it’s the same word
hope but the meaning is very,

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very different for what we mean
by it.

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One of the other examples when
he was looking at the concept of

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hope that he mentions is hoping
that when you’re playing sports

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that your team does well and
it’s kind of a funny little

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aside brother Josh and I used to
play on a Church intramural

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softball league here in Simi
Valley.

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We haven’t played for since the
pandemic, but we had played

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together with several other
brothers in around Simi Valley

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for Five or six seasons.
And I think I could count on one

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hand, the number of times we
want out of a eight to ten Game

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season every year, but we kept
coming back.

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We really enjoyed the
camaraderie, but he makes a

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mention of that which I enjoyed,
and it reminded me of how much I

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miss being able to do that.
But even that the showing up and

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always being hopeful even though
we always lost, we would always

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show up every Monday night when
we were going to play, hoping

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that we would somehow do things
differently in be able to, to

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win the game that even That
sense of hope and almost

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optimism.
Is different than the hope that

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we talk about when we talk about
our hope kind of with a capital

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H.
Right?

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And what brother Josh was
pointing at is that our hope

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when we hope in God and in the
return of the kingdom and the

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hope that we have through
Christ, it’s a hope where we

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have a confidence.
It’s our faith driven hope and

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he goes into a lot of different
passages and versus when he’s

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kind of flipping around in that.
Looking at that idea of our hope

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is driven by our faith in God.
And almost that that unshakable

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confidence that we have in God
can be something that we lean on

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and strengthens Our Hope in a
way that is far beyond anything

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that anybody in the world might
say.

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When you might hear someone say,
well, you know, I hope that you

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know, this new politician is
going to make things better in

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the world.
Or, you know, I hope that this

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new law is going to fix a
problem or anything that someone

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might say, I hope that, you
know, I do well in this

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interview.
And I can get this job that I

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want or I hope that I do well in
school so I can get the career

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that I want.
All those things are more

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fleeting, they’re not as
concrete as the hope that we

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have in Christ and I just found
the the concept of it to be a

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really good reminder, to reflect
on how we think of Our Hope

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because that word can get used
and you hear it in the news and

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you hear other people talking
about it, And people can use the

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word hope, almost casually in
conversation.

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That term it was a good reminder
to me at least that the hope

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that we have in Christ and that
God has promised to us is so

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much more impactful than just a
casual while.

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I hope the weather’s better
tomorrow type of usage of the

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word and instead and we talked
about, you know, our Shared Hope

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or the love that that we have in
our one hope how much

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Meaningful.
That word hope is in that

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context, even after the
excitation, the presenting

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brother was trying to figure out
a way, a different word to

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either describe, Our Hope or a
different word to differentiate

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the Hope in that more casual
sense and we couldn’t really

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come up with a good word for it,
but you know, the difference,

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when you hear it in the usage,
It was just an like I said, it

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was just such a good reminder
that we should have such a

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confidence just as Paul talks
about having a confidence

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because of the faith that drives
the hope that we have.

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So like I said, I really thought
this excitation was powerful.

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It was a good reminder for me.
I know brother Josh he’s a he’s

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a very good friend and brother
of mine and hearing him talk

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about going through different
trials and things that he’s gone

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through in his life and being
able to have this concrete.

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You’d hope in a faith-driven
hope that you can rely on during

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your struggles and difficulties,
no matter what they may be was

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incredibly powerful.
I know I felt it and I hope that

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when you’re listening to it it
is just as impactful to you as

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always, thank you for everyone
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We get them every week and we

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enjoys listening to the podcast
means a lot to us.

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So as always You send those in.
If you find anything here

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useful, we encourage you to
share it with other people that

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you think might be able to be
encouraged by it.

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So with that, I’m going to turn
it over to brother Josh for his

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excitation which was titled
hope.

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Morning.
Everybody want to share with

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you, some of my thoughts that
I’ve been having about Hope and

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I want to kick it off by just
talking about one of my favorite

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poems.
It’s called Casey At The Bat by

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Ernest Lawrence Thayer and I’m
sure that many of you are very

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familiar with the poem.
It’s very popular where it was

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very popular.
And I believe Disney even turned

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it into a cartoon, because I
remember seeing it as a kid, a

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little story about it.
And it tells the story of a

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struggling baseball team that
was losing a game.

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And the events, which lead to
their possibly coming back and

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winning but and this is a
spoiler alert.

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Their best player, Casey lets
his pride and ego, get the best

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of him, and ultimately brings
him and his team to failure.

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But as I was thinking about hope
there was a it reminded me of

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this line in the poem.
And I want to read it to you.

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It says a straggling few.
Got up to go in deep despair,

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the rest clung to the Hope which
Springs Eternal in the human

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breast.
They thought, if only Casey

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could get a whack at that, we’d
put up even money now with Casey

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At The Bat.
I love that line.

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The Hope which Springs Eternal
in the human breast.

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How true that statement is.
Every day, whether we realize it

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or not, we wake up with hope.
I hope I feel better today.

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I hope today is less stressful
than yesterday.

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I hope today is the day Jesus
returns.

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I hope it doesn’t rain today.
I hope this or I hope that This

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trait of hope that God has given
to us, is something that lives

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in each of us and it carries us
through our lives, you know?

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And we say things like, you
know, it’s never over until it’s

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over, that’s hope.
When you go in for a job

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interview and it goes really
well.

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And now you’re at home, waiting
for that call back.

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That’s hope.
When you lose every softball

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game with your team, but you
keep playing every week

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thinking, you might win the next
one, right?

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Chris, that’s hope.
Hope is that intangible feeling

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that will not allow us to give
up its part of our internal

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makeup.
It’s one of our character traits

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that keeps us putting one foot
in front of the other day after

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day, year after year, to get up
to get through the day to do it

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again.
And again, for our lifetimes, no

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matter the circumstances that
we’re in, it’s defined as a

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feeling of expectation and
desire for certain thing to

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happen, a feeling of trust, or
want something to be the case.

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So, as I was thinking about
this, I was asking myself a

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question.
Is there a difference between My

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Hope and someone else’s and at
first I thought there was But

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the truth of the matter is,
there’s no difference in my

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ability to hope versus anyone
elses, everyone has the same

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capacity and ability to hope.
The only difference is, is what

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we are hoping for.
So in my naivete or just

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unknowing or not, really
thinking about it too much, I

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thought there was something like
Godly hope, you know, that made

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our hope different than
everybody else’s.

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But when I started kind of
looking into it, I realize

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that’s not true.
There’s, I don’t think there’s a

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thing called Godly hope.
It’s just only Our Hope in God.

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That’s what I was realizing is
what it’s what we hope for.

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That sets us apart from
everybody else.

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Because people in the world
obviously have hope it good.

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You know, they’re motivated to
get involved in the political

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Arena or to protest and fight to
make the world a better place to

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make our society more equal.
They have hope in the government

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hoping the leaders of our
country to set things, right to

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make it better for all of us.
They have the same confidence

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that we do.
The same desire to improve the

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world in which we live, but
that’s not where we’re putting

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our hope.
So we are instructed to put our

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hope somewhere else.
Psalm 31 24, be strong and take

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heart all of you who hope in the
Lord Isaiah 40:31.

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But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength, they

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will soar on wings, like eagles,
they will run and not grow

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weary, they will walk and not be
faint Mica. 747, but as for me,

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I watch in Hope for the Lord, I
wait for God my savior, my God

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will hear me.
So that’s the difference between

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My Hope and everyone else’s.
Our hope is in the Lord God and

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it needs to be that way.
It needs to be focused on the

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returning of Jesus Christ and
the establishment of our

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Heavenly father’s Kingdom, we
can’t allow ourselves to get

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mired in the hope that everyone
else has because we’ve been

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called to something better.
And that’s the Fatal flaw in

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having hope in the current state
of our world.

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The world is run by sinful, man.
I can never be fixed, no matter

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how much we might hope it to be
changed.

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But we can rely on God.
Second Timothy, 2:13, if we are

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faithless, he remains faithful
for.

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He cannot disown himself.
And we can’t hope for man’s

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Justice to make things right,
but we can rely on God’s.

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Deuteronomy, 32 verse 4.
He is the rock.

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His works are perfect.
And all his ways are just a

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faithful.
God, who does no wrong, upright.

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And just is he But again, hope
you know, in my thoughts and

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00:13:57,900 –> 00:14:02,400
trying to think about it, is
Hope just that desire for a

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00:14:02,408 –> 00:14:06,700
certain thing to happen.
Well, I can flip a coin and hope

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00:14:06,700 –> 00:14:09,800
for heads and tails come up is
that all it is to it.

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I kind of want it to be more
than that.

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00:14:13,100 –> 00:14:15,900
I think it needs to be more than
that because we know that

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scripture tells us, hold is
really important in Romans 15

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00:14:20,200 –> 00:14:24,200
verse 13.
It says, may the god of Hope

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00:14:25,000 –> 00:14:28,900
fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him so that you

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00:14:28,900 –> 00:14:32,900
may overflow with hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit.

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00:14:33,200 –> 00:14:36,600
I love the way that sounds.
He is a god of Hope.

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00:14:39,000 –> 00:14:43,400
What a beautiful prayer here by
Paul calling God, a god of hope

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00:14:44,000 –> 00:14:47,300
God is the foundation on which
our hope is based.

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He is the creator of it for,
he’s the creator of us.

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So when we hope, we should only
be hoping in him.

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And of course, First Corinthians
13 verse 13.

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00:14:59,900 –> 00:15:03,700
And now these three remain
faith, hope, and love.

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But the greatest of these is
love.

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00:15:06,300 –> 00:15:08,800
The fact that hope is listed
out, here is one of the three

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00:15:08,800 –> 00:15:12,600
things should be a signal to us.
That this is something that’s

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00:15:12,600 –> 00:15:20,500
really important.
And when we look at these three,

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00:15:21,100 –> 00:15:26,200
we notice the first two are very
similar Faith and Hope.

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00:15:26,400 –> 00:15:30,700
And if you if you look at
synonyms, like I did for hope

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00:15:30,800 –> 00:15:32,100
you’re going to find the word
faith.

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00:15:32,700 –> 00:15:34,600
And if you look at synonyms for
Faith, obviously you’re going to

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00:15:34,608 –> 00:15:38,300
find hope they’re very similar.
So how do we differentiate

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00:15:38,300 –> 00:15:43,500
between the two?
Well, I hope your mind is taking

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00:15:43,500 –> 00:15:45,900
you where mine did and that’s
Hebrews chapter 11.

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00:15:46,200 –> 00:15:48,600
Now Faith is the substance of
things hoped for and the

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00:15:48,600 –> 00:15:52,600
evidence of things not seen as a
definition for pay the NIV

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00:15:52,600 –> 00:15:53,500
States it.
Now.

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00:15:53,500 –> 00:15:59,000
Faith is confidence in what we
hope for and Assurance about

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00:15:59,000 –> 00:16:03,800
what we do not see.
I really like that the way it’s

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00:16:03,800 –> 00:16:05,800
said they’re in the NIV and
Hebrews there.

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00:16:05,800 –> 00:16:09,100
That faith is the confidence and
assurance.

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00:16:10,600 –> 00:16:14,200
It’s the belief.
It’s the trust and the loyalty.

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00:16:15,800 –> 00:16:17,800
You know, I don’t think we have
hope for the sun to come up

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00:16:17,800 –> 00:16:20,400
tomorrow, but I think we have
faith that it will we have a

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00:16:20,408 –> 00:16:23,800
confidence?
We don’t have to have hope that

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00:16:23,800 –> 00:16:26,300
the world is going to keep
revolving, but we have faith

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00:16:26,300 –> 00:16:29,000
that it will.
And that’s what faith is.

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00:16:29,000 –> 00:16:32,800
Its complete trust or confidence
in something or someone.

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00:16:33,800 –> 00:16:38,700
So if hope is the expectation
for something, faith is the

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00:16:38,700 –> 00:16:45,500
confidence that it will happen.
That’s the critical ingredient

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00:16:45,500 –> 00:16:49,200
there.
It takes hope for being just

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00:16:49,200 –> 00:16:52,300
nothing more than the flipping
of a coin and it really brings

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00:16:52,300 –> 00:16:57,200
the substance into it.
So we almost can’t have one

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00:16:57,200 –> 00:17:01,500
without the other because we
want to have the faith that

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00:17:01,500 –> 00:17:03,500
gives us the confidence in Our
Hope.

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00:17:05,200 –> 00:17:07,599
So let’s take a couple minutes
and talk about, well, how do we

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00:17:07,599 –> 00:17:14,500
increase our faith?
Very simplistically.

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00:17:14,500 –> 00:17:15,900
Let’s just talk about four
things.

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00:17:15,900 –> 00:17:19,900
First of all, you have to read
the Bible Romans 10:17.

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00:17:22,000 –> 00:17:24,800
So then Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God

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00:17:24,900 –> 00:17:28,200
simple.
How else can we have?

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00:17:28,200 –> 00:17:31,900
Hope if we don’t know what the
Bible is telling us, we have to

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00:17:31,900 –> 00:17:37,900
read God’s word.
As often as we can to continue

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00:17:37,900 –> 00:17:42,900
to strengthen our faith.
We have to listen and do what we

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00:17:42,900 –> 00:17:47,600
read.
James 1:22, but be doers of the

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00:17:47,600 –> 00:17:49,800
word, not hearers only deceiving
yourselves.

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00:17:51,600 –> 00:17:54,600
And that takes, you know, it
takes my mind at the parable of

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00:17:54,600 –> 00:17:56,400
the sower who’s casting seed,
right?

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00:17:56,400 –> 00:18:01,600
We have to be that soil, that
takes in the word and allows it

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00:18:01,600 –> 00:18:06,400
to grow in us and produce fruit.
Do things that we read about in

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00:18:06,400 –> 00:18:09,400
the Bible.
Prayer.

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00:18:09,600 –> 00:18:13,200
We have to talk to God.
We have to bring our problems

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00:18:13,200 –> 00:18:17,900
and I needs to him.
Psalm 34 verses 17 and 18, the

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00:18:17,900 –> 00:18:21,900
righteous cry out, the Lord
hears them, he delivers them

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00:18:21,900 –> 00:18:24,500
from all their troubles, the
Lord is close to the

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00:18:24,508 –> 00:18:28,700
Brokenhearted and saves those
who are crushed in spirit, God

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00:18:28,700 –> 00:18:32,500
is listening to us.
He’s waiting for us just to talk

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00:18:32,500 –> 00:18:35,700
to him.
To come to him in prayer and

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00:18:35,700 –> 00:18:41,800
allow him to help us. 1st Peter.
5:7 cast all your anxiety on him

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00:18:42,500 –> 00:18:48,500
because he cares for you.
What a powerful verse in today’s

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00:18:48,500 –> 00:18:51,700
age.
And we have to surrender

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00:18:51,700 –> 00:18:56,100
ourselves to him Romans 12:2 and
be not conformed to this world,

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00:18:56,100 –> 00:18:58,800
but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind.

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00:18:58,800 –> 00:19:03,300
That you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect

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00:19:03,300 –> 00:19:08,500
will of God.
As we see the day approaching,

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00:19:08,500 –> 00:19:13,200
we need to be encouraged to
increase our faith to put our

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00:19:13,200 –> 00:19:16,700
hope in him, to allow his words
to take root.

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00:19:17,900 –> 00:19:21,600
To overcome our own sinful
desires and wants.

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00:19:23,600 –> 00:19:28,600
So, like I said, four
foundational, simple principles

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00:19:29,000 –> 00:19:32,500
that we can do that would have a
huge impact on our lives, but

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00:19:33,000 –> 00:19:35,000
obviously me saying it doesn’t
make it easy.

305
00:19:38,100 –> 00:19:42,000
Because it’s not easy.
Its it is just the war that we

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00:19:42,000 –> 00:19:44,300
wage on a daily basis with
ourselves right.

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00:19:45,500 –> 00:19:50,200
Hope is not always an easy thing
to hold onto. and there’s many

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00:19:50,200 –> 00:19:53,300
reasons why we struggle and
there’s times when we can even

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00:19:53,300 –> 00:20:01,500
find ourselves feeling hopeless,
Hopelessness, is that condition

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00:20:01,500 –> 00:20:04,600
or feeling that conditions will
never improve?

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00:20:04,700 –> 00:20:06,700
It’s a feeling of Despair or
desperation.

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00:20:08,200 –> 00:20:10,100
And those are things that we
struggle with.

313
00:20:12,100 –> 00:20:15,500
I really love this.
Little passage here in 1st

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00:20:15,500 –> 00:20:18,800
Corinthians chapter 15, which
the whole chapter is amazing.

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00:20:19,300 –> 00:20:21,900
But Paul says here, when he’s
talking about the fact that they

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00:20:21,900 –> 00:20:23,400
were saying there was no
Resurrection.

317
00:20:23,400 –> 00:20:27,400
He says, starting at verse 16,
for if the dead are not raised

318
00:20:28,300 –> 00:20:30,700
in Christ, has not been raised.
Either in a Christ, has not been

319
00:20:30,700 –> 00:20:32,900
raised.
Your faith is futile and you’re

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00:20:32,900 –> 00:20:36,200
still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen

321
00:20:36,200 –> 00:20:39,800
asleep in Christ are lost.
If only for this life, we have

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00:20:39,800 –> 00:20:43,200
hope in Christ.
We are of all people most to be

323
00:20:43,200 –> 00:20:46,400
pitied and that really paints
that hopelessness.

324
00:20:47,700 –> 00:20:53,100
If there was no Resurrection
right but we struggle with it

325
00:20:53,100 –> 00:20:55,800
too.
We have all kinds of things that

326
00:20:55,800 –> 00:21:02,500
can cause us to feel hopeless.
Depression is a major problem

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00:21:03,400 –> 00:21:07,100
and it’s something that I’m sure
a majority of us have dealt with

328
00:21:07,700 –> 00:21:11,100
at one time or another.
It’s a quiet enemy that can be

329
00:21:11,100 –> 00:21:14,500
debilitating, and especially
during covid, where we’ve been

330
00:21:14,500 –> 00:21:18,400
so separated from each other, it
can cause us to feel hopeless,

331
00:21:18,400 –> 00:21:22,700
but there’s no Escape.
There’s no change.

332
00:21:24,000 –> 00:21:29,200
We can struggle with addiction.
In all of its forms whether it’s

333
00:21:29,200 –> 00:21:35,000
substance or an activity and I
can’t claim to it, you know.

334
00:21:36,100 –> 00:21:38,600
Be an expert on these things.
But I know that.

335
00:21:39,700 –> 00:21:42,200
They can bring about a sense of
hopelessness in US.

336
00:21:44,400 –> 00:21:47,700
What about physical limitations?
Some people struggle every day

337
00:21:47,700 –> 00:21:52,900
where the body is the enemy and
every day is a new adventure of

338
00:21:52,900 –> 00:21:55,500
pain.
Where, what am I going to be

339
00:21:55,500 –> 00:21:58,000
struggling with today?
How intense is it going to be?

340
00:21:59,200 –> 00:22:00,300
What am I going to be able to
do?

341
00:22:00,300 –> 00:22:01,600
What am I not going to be able
to do?

342
00:22:03,700 –> 00:22:06,000
Those are moments of
hopelessness that can be found

343
00:22:06,000 –> 00:22:09,300
there as well.
And what about hardship?

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00:22:10,100 –> 00:22:12,200
We all know that being a
follower of God doesn’t mean

345
00:22:12,200 –> 00:22:14,000
that our lives are going to be
easy.

346
00:22:14,800 –> 00:22:17,900
It doesn’t guarantee us that
there are burdens that were all

347
00:22:17,900 –> 00:22:20,300
going to have to face.
And they come in all different,

348
00:22:20,300 –> 00:22:24,000
kinds of packages where there’s
Financial marital familial

349
00:22:24,000 –> 00:22:28,100
professional.
There’s times when bat hardship

350
00:22:28,100 –> 00:22:32,800
can bring us to our knees But
ultimately, we do understand

351
00:22:32,800 –> 00:22:36,200
that we are mortal, we are a
dying creature.

352
00:22:38,600 –> 00:22:43,200
We are walking and talking
Miracles and yet, we break down

353
00:22:43,800 –> 00:22:45,900
our muscles and joints hurt in
the eyesight.

354
00:22:45,900 –> 00:22:49,800
Weakens, the hearing goes.
But you have to understand that

355
00:22:49,800 –> 00:22:53,500
God knows this, right?
He knows our weaknesses, he

356
00:22:53,500 –> 00:22:56,900
knows our frame.
He knows, we’re not perfect and

357
00:22:56,900 –> 00:22:59,300
he still loves us, and he still
wants us.

358
00:23:01,400 –> 00:23:05,200
That relationship that we have
with God is really on us to make

359
00:23:05,200 –> 00:23:09,400
it work.
It’s like that friendship you

360
00:23:09,400 –> 00:23:13,200
had where you were totally on
board with it, but your friend

361
00:23:13,200 –> 00:23:15,600
wasn’t always reliable, that
maybe they’d ghost you from time

362
00:23:15,600 –> 00:23:19,000
to time or flake on an activity
that you plan together or maybe

363
00:23:19,000 –> 00:23:21,300
they would show up but be
distracted and act like they

364
00:23:21,300 –> 00:23:24,300
didn’t really want to be there.
Sometimes that’s our

365
00:23:24,300 –> 00:23:28,900
relationship with God, isn’t it?
God is all in and we’re the ones

366
00:23:29,500 –> 00:23:35,400
that sometimes might flake or
not show up or, or be there, but

367
00:23:35,400 –> 00:23:37,600
not really be wanting to be
there.

368
00:23:39,800 –> 00:23:45,800
But he is all in with us.
He is our God of Hope, and all

369
00:23:45,800 –> 00:23:48,900
he’s doing, is waiting for us to
put our hope in him.

370
00:23:50,200 –> 00:23:55,000
And so when we’re feeling weak
and down and even hopeless, we

371
00:23:55,000 –> 00:23:57,800
have to try to remember that.
No matter our situation.

372
00:23:57,900 –> 00:24:01,800
God is our God.
He is the god of our Salvation,

373
00:24:01,800 –> 00:24:07,900
he is our hope and we can and
and he can and will Deliver Us

374
00:24:08,100 –> 00:24:11,700
from all of this.
We know that he will send his

375
00:24:11,700 –> 00:24:15,100
son and that we will be a part
of that glorious Kingdom that’s

376
00:24:15,100 –> 00:24:19,200
to come.
But we need to have that Faith

377
00:24:19,200 –> 00:24:21,500
driving.
Hope to help us get there.

378
00:24:23,600 –> 00:24:26,400
Psalm 42 verse 5.
Why am I Soul?

379
00:24:26,700 –> 00:24:30,400
Are you downcast why?
So Disturbed within me.

380
00:24:31,200 –> 00:24:36,300
Put your hope in God for I will
yet Praise Him My Savior and my

381
00:24:36,300 –> 00:24:40,500
God.
Psalm 7114 ask for me.

382
00:24:41,300 –> 00:24:45,400
I will always have hope.
I will praise you more and more.

383
00:24:48,500 –> 00:24:51,900
I want to close my thoughts this
morning and bring us to the

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00:24:52,000 –> 00:24:54,800
memorial table by reading from
Romans chapter 5.

385
00:24:55,000 –> 00:25:00,600
The first 11 verses and
therefore since we have been

386
00:25:00,600 –> 00:25:05,000
justified through faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord

387
00:25:05,000 –> 00:25:08,500
Jesus Christ.
Through whom we have gained

388
00:25:08,500 –> 00:25:12,900
access by faith into this grace,
in which we now stand.

389
00:25:13,800 –> 00:25:17,600
And we rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God.

390
00:25:18,700 –> 00:25:21,600
Not only so but we also rejoice
in our sufferings because we

391
00:25:21,600 –> 00:25:26,600
know that suffering, produces
perseverance, perseverance

392
00:25:26,600 –> 00:25:31,800
character and character hope.
And hope does not disappoint us

393
00:25:32,400 –> 00:25:35,300
because God has poured out his
love into our hearts.

394
00:25:35,300 –> 00:25:37,100
By the Holy Spirit whom he has
given us.

395
00:25:38,400 –> 00:25:41,100
You see at just the right time.
When we were still powerless.

396
00:25:41,600 –> 00:25:44,600
God died for the ungodly.
Very rarely.

397
00:25:44,600 –> 00:25:47,100
Will anyone die for a righteous
man, though?

398
00:25:47,100 –> 00:25:49,200
For a good man.
Someone might possibly dare to

399
00:25:49,200 –> 00:25:55,300
die, but God demonstrates his
own love for us in this while we

400
00:25:55,300 –> 00:25:58,500
were still sinners Christ died
for us.

401
00:25:59,900 –> 00:26:02,300
Since we have now, been
justified by his blood.

402
00:26:02,300 –> 00:26:05,700
How much more shall we be saved
from God’s Wrath through him?

403
00:26:06,900 –> 00:26:09,600
For if, when we were God’s
enemies, we were reconciled to

404
00:26:09,600 –> 00:26:11,100
him through the death of his
son.

405
00:26:11,600 –> 00:26:14,800
How much more having been
reconciled shall we be saved

406
00:26:14,800 –> 00:26:19,900
through his life Not only is
this so but we also rejoice in

407
00:26:19,900 –> 00:26:22,700
God through our Lord Jesus
Christ through whom we have now

408
00:26:22,700 –> 00:26:28,000
received reconciliation.
Brothers and sisters.

409
00:26:28,000 –> 00:26:31,600
We are here this morning to be
reminded yet again of the

410
00:26:31,600 –> 00:26:33,900
incredible act that was done for
us.

411
00:26:36,200 –> 00:26:40,000
That we have a God who has given
us the ability to Hope in him

412
00:26:41,100 –> 00:26:43,800
and not only that.
But to have the faith that what

413
00:26:43,800 –> 00:26:48,400
he has promised us will come to
pass, he allowed his only son to

414
00:26:48,400 –> 00:26:52,100
be sacrificed so that we can be
reconciled.

415
00:26:54,200 –> 00:26:58,700
He has told us that even through
the darkest times of

416
00:26:58,700 –> 00:27:03,500
hopelessness, he is there and
that our sufferings should build

417
00:27:03,500 –> 00:27:08,100
within us hope the hope of a
time when all the trials and

418
00:27:08,100 –> 00:27:12,200
tribulations we Face will be at
an end and we will be with our

419
00:27:12,200 –> 00:27:14,200
heavenly father in his glorious
Kingdom.

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00:27:30,000 –> 00:27:32,200
Thank you for listening to the
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00:27:32,200 –> 00:27:35,100
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00:27:35,100 –> 00:27:37,300
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