Practical Effects of Hope, Part 1

Introduction: The Purpose of Knowing Christian Hope

0:03 encourage you to follow in your Bibles as I read again this morning, Ephesians 1, verses 15 through to the first half of verse 19. We are studying together this tremendous prayer that the Apostle Paul prayed on behalf of the Ephesian Christians, discovering in it the will of God for all of his children in all ages, not only what they should pray, not only for others but what they should seek for themselves, Ephesians 1, verse 15.

0:44 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Holy Spirit. him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness

1:22 of his power to usward who believe. The focus of the Apostles' prayer is, of course, that God would grant this grace of spiritual illumination through an additional, through an intensified ministry of the Holy Spirit to the minds and hearts of the Ephesians, to the end that they might experimentally know, that is, they might inwardly perceive, and with their hearts lay hold of, three definite things, the first of which we've been studying for several weeks, the hope of his calling. We've studied the source of this hope that he longs for them

2:06 to know with greater clarity and more. More articulate spiritual perception, and the source of that hope, of course, is the calling of God, that which Mr. Gergeles reminded us of in his prayer this morning, that mighty, that miraculous work of God in which he takes rebel, dead, blind sinners and brings them into vital union with his own dear Son. Then we consider together the nature of that hope.

2:35 If we're to know the hope of his calling, we must understand something. We must begin to understand that this hope is something of the nature of Christian hope. I have defined it for you, and I trust demonstrated from the Scriptures last week, that this is a definition forced upon us by the Word of God. Hope is fervent yearning, confident expectation and patient waiting for the promised blessings of a completed salvation.

3:02 The more I've meditated upon the definition, the more I'm inclined to say that, perhaps, more accurate way to state it would be this. Christian hope is confident expectation for the promised blessings of a completed salvation which is always flanked on the one hand by fervent yearning and on the other hand by patient waiting. So that we do not place these things as three equal parts of hope. The central concept of hope is confident expectation but it will always be flanked on the one hand with yearning for that which we expect and on the other hand by patiently

3:46 waiting for it. Then we looked at various facets of this hope and we saw from the scriptures that Christ himself is the author and the object of that hope. We saw that the word of God, the scriptures are the unchanging basis of hope. We saw that the word of God is the basis of hope. We saw that the

4:01 word of God is the basis by which the hope is revealed to us. We saw that union with Christ is the means by which we come into the possession of it and we saw last of all that the ultimate source of this hope like all of God's gifts is the grace of God. Second Thessalonians 2.16 where Paul speaks of a good hope through grace. Now we come this morning to what may be the final study in terms of how far we get

4:30 with the subject. To what I'm calling the practical effects of the knowledge of the Christian hope. When Paul prayed that God would grant them the spirit of wisdom and revelation that they might know what was the hope of their calling he was not only anxious that they should understand the things we had sought to expound to you the source of the Christian hope, the nature of the Christian hope, the various facets of the Christian hope but Paul's ultimate concern was that knowing the hope of God was the only way to get to the Christian hope. of their calling, that knowledge might have its commensurate effect in the lives of the people of God.

5:10 As I've emphasized again and again in our previous studies, and as I emphasize again and again in the general ministry of the Word of God, God is not concerned with merely packing our head with good, true ideas. God's work is the work of renovating us into the moral likeness of His dear Son. Christ gave Himself for the church that He might sanctify it. He prays, sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth.

5:42 So when Paul prays for the Ephesians, that they might know what was the hope of their calling, he has in his mind and in his heart, not only that they might understand the substance of the hope, the source of the hope, the various facets of the hope, but he wants them to know this to the end at the practical effect. The effects of that knowledge may be manifested in their lives. Hence, when he comes to exhort them to practical Christian living in Ephesians 4, he brings in this very matter of the hope of their calling. What, then, are the practical effects of this deepening knowledge of a Christian's hope?

Inward Effects: Hope Provides True and Constant Joy

6:23 To put it more personally, what practical effects should the expositions of the past three Lord's Day mornings have upon your life? If the Holy Spirit is teaching you something more of the hope of your calling, that same Holy Spirit is applying that knowledge in your everyday walk. Now, how will He do it? Well, let me suggest that the practical effects of the knowledge of the Christian's hope can be broken down into two major categories.

6:56 The effects which they will have upon the Christian inwardly, upon his own heart and life. And then, secondly, the effects that will be seen outwardly in relationship to the church and in relationship to the world. And as I look at the clock and think of covering the material, I doubt we'll get through all of it this morning, but we'll strike out anyway. First of all, I don't mean strike out, but we'll strike out.

7:21 All right?

7:23 First of all, then, let's consider what are the inward effects of the Christian hope. And the first thing that we see in the Christian hope is the fact that the Christian hope is in the Word of God, and this is not an exhaustive list, but it is a selective list, is that the Christian's hope provides a major ingredient for true and constant joy.

7:49 When Paul prays that they may know what is the hope of their calling, in a very real sense, he's praying that they may have an increased measure of true and constant joy. Now, the place of joy in a Christian...

8:06 ...is very evidently set forth in such passages as Galatians 5.22.

8:11 For the fruit of the Spirit is love, the dominant grace, and right next to it, joy, peace, long suffering, etc. Remember what we read this morning, Romans 14.17? The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking.

8:27 It's not characterized by a group of people who all agree we'll be meat eaters, we'll be herb eaters, we'll be non-wine drinkers, or we'll be wine drinkers. We've got a bunch of rules and regulations, and we'll subscribe to them and say, here's the kingdom. Look at the kingdom coming to manifestation in people with their little artificial rules and their checklist. Paul says, no, no, the kingdom of God is not present where you have a bunch of rules and regulations about externals.

8:54 But he says, the kingdom of God is present where you find what? It's not in eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and what? Joy in the Holy Ghost. So you see...

9:06 If the Holy Ghost has regenerated you, he's implanted joy within your breasts. If you have been brought into the kingdom of God, you've been brought into the sphere of joy in the Holy Ghost. But now my question is this. How does the Holy Ghost produce joy in the heart of a Christian?

9:24 Is there a direct pipeline, a sort of spiritual conduit flowing from the throne of God right straight into the heart of the believer, and joy is poured in like you put gasoline into your... tank of your car?

9:39 No, no. The Holy Spirit produces that joy in connection with the truths that he makes real to the mind.

9:51 And it's in this direct relationship that I want you to turn with me to Romans chapter 5 to see the relationship between Christian hope, that confident expectation of promised blessings, and present joy in the life of the believer. Romans chapter 5, verses 1 and 2. Being therefore, or better translated, having therefore been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have had our access by

10:31 faith into this grace wherein we stand, and here's the phrase, and we rejoice, on what basis? In hope of the glory of God. He says we are confident that peace has been established between rebel sinners and a holy God. Righteous peace has been established because Jesus Christ has borne the penalty due to our sins.

11:03 We are now justified, accepted in the beloved. And he says not only so, not only do we have peace with God and therefore the sense of the peace of God, but also the sense of the peace of God. The sense of the peace of God. The sense of the peace of God.

11:12 The sense of the peace of God. The sense of the peace of God within our bosoms. But he said we have joy within our hearts. And what's the basis of that joy?

11:19 He said it's inseparably linked to our hope, our confident expectation that we shall one day share the very glory of God in the presence of God and of the Lamb. So that the basis of the apostle's joy is his knowledge of Christian hope. Therefore, he goes on to say, we rejoice in the presence of God. We rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation work is steadfastness, steadfastness of provenness, and a provenness, hope, and hope putteth not to shame, because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which has been given to us.

11:58 Now, in the light of this statement, perhaps we can understand more clearly the simple admonition of Romans 12 and verse 12, where Paul is gathering together various and sundry directives for the people of God at Rome. And having given them direction to mutual love, verse 10 of Romans 12, in love of the brethren, be tenderly affectioned one to another, in honor preferring one another. Then he gives directives about their relationship to work in diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Now it's the next phrase, rejoicing in hope.

12:39 In other words, he says your joy will be found in the context of God. The more you have hope, the more you know what your hope is, the greater your joy will be, the more dim your hope is, the less firmly established you are in Christian hope, the less true and constant joy you will know. Now perhaps the Lord's words in the Sermon on the Mount will take on a little new meaning to us, and I quote from Matthew chapter 5, verses 10 to 12, Jesus said, blessed, perfectly happy, completely fulfilled. Are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

13:21 Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. You see what he's saying? As is your confidence in the realm of hope, so will be your joy.

13:45 In the face of very adverse circumstances, even when our attachment to Christ brings violent opposition, resulting in the absolute stripping away of all personal comforts of reputation and name, Jesus said, and in the parallel passage in Luke, he says leap for joy, become a jumper, is what he says. Why? Because he says, you know, you know, you have confident expectation. Of all the promised blessings of a completed salvation, and you'll not only have them for yourself, but you'll share them with the prophets who likewise were persecuted, thrown into dungeons and pits.

14:29 And he says, you're in great company now by faith, and you'll be in great company then by sight. And so the basis then of a solid and constant joy in the heart of the believer is the knowledge of his hope. Now let me direct. A word to the conscience of every Christian here this morning.

14:49 Is your life characterized by true and constant joy? This fruit of the Spirit should be increasing and blossoming in your life with all the other graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you can't answer yes, could it be that you are not studying sufficiently your Christian hope? You see, a Christian loses his joy.

15:19 Generally, when his whole spiritual vision narrows down upon his present circumstances until he becomes captive to them. Woe is me. Everybody's lying about me. Woe is me.

15:35 Everybody's taking my goods. Jesus said, in that very situation, leap for joy. Why? He says, your reward is great, not here, but there.

15:45 Let the world, as we said last week, accuse us of having pie in the sky by and by religion. No, no. This is Christian's hope. God says, at best, things will be a mess down here.

15:58 Could it be that one of the reasons why your joy is so fluctuating, and at times your joy is not true joy, it's a mere creature delight in creature comforts, and you think that's joy in the Holy Ghost, till God blasts your comforts, and then your joy is blasted. God says, uh-huh. You thought you had joy in the Holy Ghost? No.

16:21 It was joy in the fact that you were feeling well. Your bills were paid, your wife, your husband was sweet, the kids were treating you well, the job was going good, and you thought that was joy in the Holy Ghost? No, no. It was joy, creature comfort, in creature delight, in creature comforts, and God says, no, no.

16:37 You're to live even in the midst of relatively tranquil times with your true joy coming from your hope, and so sometimes God blasts our present comforts in order to redirect our perspective heavenward. So, I submit to you. Thank you. I submit to you that the inward effect of Christian hope will be, first of all, the providing of a major ingredient for true and constant joy.

Inward Effects: Hope Provides Stability of Soul

17:04 Secondly, and this flows out of it, the second effect of the knowledge of our hope is that it provides a basis for genuine stability of soul. Turn to Hebrews chapter 6, if you will. Provides the basis for genuine stability of soul. And I've chosen the words carefully because we find such words in Hebrews chapter 6.

17:33 Just a word now about the context. The writer to the Hebrews has been giving this sober warning about apostates in verses 1 to 8, but then he turns to the Christians and says, but I am persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak, and then he consoles them with the knowledge that though things are rough, God is not going to give you a chance. God has not forgotten them. God is not unrighteous, verse 10, to forget your work of love and the love which ye show toward his name and ye ministered to the saints.

18:05 And we desire, now he's exhorting them, that each one of you show the same diligence unto the full assurance of hope, even to the end, that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. You see what he's saying? He says, you have this Christian hope. Now hold firmly to it.

18:25 Hold firmly to your hope and make sure that it's flanked on this side with patient waiting for its fulfillment. Now, it's as though someone said, yeah, that's all right for you to tell me. Patiently wait for the fulfillment of my hope, but how do I know that my hope will not be disappointed? All I've got is some words from God.

18:44 My whole hope is constructed of words. God didn't bring heaven down and set it in front of me and say, here. God didn't take me there and give me a vision. No, no.

18:55 He put it upon words, the words of God. So he says, ah, when your hope is constructed of those words and you're pinning everything upon it, you'll never be disappointed, because God is worthy of that kind of trust. And that's the trust now. Verse 13 onward.

19:10 For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And thus having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men swear by the greater, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. In other words, you swear by a higher power.

19:37 When you're giving, as it were, the pledge of your character and your word, and you are taking an oath, you always swear by that which is above you, the state, the authority of God. When people swear on the Bible, what they are supposed to be doing is appealing to the authority of the God who gave His word. Here's the argument of the writer to Hebrews. So he says, God, being minded to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of His counsel, interposed with an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible to lie, His word, His oath, we may have a strong encouragement who have fled for refuge

20:19 to lay hold of the hope set before us, which we have, which hope we have, as an anchor of the soul. Isn't that a beautiful imagery? Which hope constructed of the word and the oath of God. We have as an anchor to our souls.

20:44 Now an anchor is always attached to a sailing vessel. Now let me ask the question of you kids. Don't answer out loud. But what do you use an anchor for if you have a ship, if you have a boat?

20:54 Now you think for a minute. What do you use an anchor for? I hope you don't use it to throw at one another if you get mad. What do you use an anchor for? We don't use it to catch fish. I think you'll see if you have any nautical knowledge that an anchor is used basically for two things with a ship.

21:11 An anchor is used, first of all, to keep a ship stable in the midst of a storm that has driven it out of control. Back in the days when the writer to Hebrews wrote, there were no steam engines, there were no other kinds of powers, there was sail power and that was it. And if a sudden storm came up and ripped the sails to shred or was coming so strong and violently that you pulled the sails down and the sea was heaving to and fro. And there were rocks.

21:42 There were rocky shoals on the left hand and on the right. What was the thing that kept you from being dashed to pieces upon those shoals? You threw out an anchor that gripped the one solid stable thing in the midst of that storm, the ocean floor. And it kept you steady in the midst of the heaving of the seas. And I know how real that is.

22:00 My first experience in anything other than a little 11, 12 foot rowboat was back when I was a kid when there was a work associate of my father's who owned a 37 foot catch. That's a two masted. Vessel with the second mast in front. Yes, in front of you all has it behind in front of the helm and we sailed over to Long Island from Connecticut was about 11 miles the direction we went in that evening.

22:28 What should happen? But a hurricane came up suddenly and boats are being tossed all over the place. And I'll never forget when this man said we must get out our mud anchors and he threw an anchor out the bow as the front and out the stern as the back. And those anchors went down into the ocean floor and all throughout the night and I was sleeping up in what's called the pipe berth right up in the bow.

22:51 And I remember being slapped to and fro in the waves, whacking against that thing. The next morning we saw boats dashed up on the shore, crumbled together. But there we were when the calm came right where those anchors had held us. A beautiful example of this very thing.

23:07 The anchor was used to keep us from being dashed to pieces in the midst of a violent storm. But then there's a second use. When the ship has come to its destination and it's in the harbor and the little boats are going to come out and unload it and take its cargo into shore. The anchor is cast to keep the boat stable in the time when its overall purpose is being accomplished.

23:30 Namely to bear goods to a certain port and it keeps the ship there so that the business can be done. Now as John Owen points out so beautifully in his commentary on this passage. This is precisely what the Christian...

23:43 This is precisely what the Christian hope is to the soul of the believer. Sailing through the course of life, there are times when God brings upon us violent storms. Times when God allows to come upon us or directly brings upon us that which seems to absolutely shroud the heavens in blackness. We can't take out our spiritual sextants and get a sighting.

24:13 We don't know where north, south, east or west is. We don't know where north, south, east or west is. We don't know where north, south, east or west is. What we know is if we are caught up in the forces that are attacking our souls, they are going to dash us upon the rocks and there will be nothing left.

24:25 Now what is it that becomes our anchor in such times? Which we have as an anchor of the soul. And when we cannot see the stars, we cannot take out our sextant and get our bearings. In the midst of all of this, what keeps our souls from being variably dashed upon the rocks?

24:47 Of unbelief and despair. This is the thing, child of God. I know that my heavenly Father is bringing me safe to glory. And one day I shall look upon the face of my Savior without sin.

25:03 I know that. And so in the midst of this storm I can say, Oh Lord Jesus, thou art my hope. I don't know what you are doing with me. I don't understand the shrouded heavens.

25:14 I don't understand the billows. I can't perceive. I can make neither head nor tails out of all of this. But one thing I know.

25:22 All things are working together for my good now. And shall eventually issue that time when I shall look upon you and see you as you are. And you see in the midst of the storm I have an anchor. It doesn't mean I won't feel the waves battering against my hull.

25:40 It doesn't mean I won't feel the wind ripping through my sails and tearing them. But it means that I know I shall not be dashed upon the shores and destroyed. Because my Father has purposed to bring me safe to glory. See?

25:57 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. And then there is a beautiful shifting of the imagery. Where is the anchor? Not on the ocean floor.

26:07 But thank God the anchor is fixed to the very throne of grace. Look at it. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. A hope sure and steadfast.

26:17 And entering where? Within the veil. Not under the water to the ocean floor. But within the very veil.

26:26 May I say it reverently. The Lord Jesus has taken the anchor of His covenant promises. And He has fixed it to the throne of God. And He has woven a cable of His own unchanging character and His omnipotence.

26:41 And that cable fixed to that anchor. Has its other fixation in the very soul of the child of God. And one day the boat will go where the anchor is. Death is God tightening up the winch to carry me home.

26:56 That's the imagery. Child of God. Some of you in your dealings with me in past weeks and months. I'm talking to you.

27:07 You've known what it is to feel the waves. The billows. The stormy oppressions of life. Could it be that the stability of soul.

27:16 Has been less than what it should have been. Because your confidence of the hope. Has not been as discerning. Or your faith in the hope.

27:27 Has not been as firm as it ought to be. On the other hand. Life is usually not made up of storms. The normal life of a sea going vessel in those days.

27:37 Was made up of going from one port to another. And being anchored in harbor. And many a person. Who seems to be able to.

27:45 Be anchored in a storm. Finds his greatest problems. In the calm of a harbor. And it's when everything looks so relatively nice around him.

27:56 He says no need for a firm anchor here. And he begins to be careless. And indifferent. And in a period of ease.

28:04 Comes his greatest downfall. Why? Because he's forgotten. That this world is not his home.

28:12 He's just passing through. It's when. We have our hope fixed before us. As an anchor.

28:18 That the soul is kept stable. Not only in periods of adversity. But in periods of prosperity. As well.

28:27 What of you my Christian brother. Sister. When buffeted and dashed. Are you ending up on the rocks of unbelief.

28:37 And despair. And despondency. And disillusionment. You've got anchor problems.

28:42 You've got anchor problems. God intends. That this hope should be an anchor to the soul. What about you unsaved people here this morning.

28:53 You who've never been converted. You know nothing. Of the work of the spirit. Making you a new creature in Christ Jesus.

29:00 And your life this very morning. Is like a ship with no anchor. When the storms of life beat upon you. All you can try to do is numb yourself to them.

29:13 Oh my friend. Jesus Christ can be an anchor. To your soul. He offers himself freely.

29:21 And fully. To all. Who will embrace him. Seek him.

Inward Effects: Hope is a Factor in True Godliness

29:26 While he may be found. The third inward effect. Of the Christian's hope is this. It is not only a major ingredient for true and constant joy.

29:38 Not only the basis for stability of soul. But it is a major factor in the pursuit of true godliness. And holiness of life. And of course the passage to which I would direct your attention.

29:51 Is first John chapter three. Paul prays oh father. Give them the spirit that they may know. What is the hope of their calling.

30:01 What does he expect will be the fruit of that knowledge. Given by the spirit. He fully knows that the effect will be. The one that John so beautifully expounds for us.

30:12 Follow as I read first John three. Verses one through three. Behold. Stand back and look.

30:22 Gaze upon with amazement. What manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us. That we should be called children of God. And such we are.

30:33 For this cause the world knoweth us not. Because it knew him not. Beloved. Now are we the children of God.

30:41 And it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know. We know. That if he shall be manifested.

30:49 We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. And everyone that hath this hope set on him. Purifieth himself.

30:58 Even as he is pure. Notice first of all. The thought of verse one. Is this confidence of our present condition.

31:10 John says. We are the called children of God. And we are absolutely certain of the same. What manner of love.

31:18 Bestowed that we should be called the children of God. And such we are. There is confidence of what we would call present condition. Not only that.

31:27 He goes on to say. There is this confidence. Of our future condition. Verse two.

31:34 It is not yet been made manifest what we shall be. But we know. That if he shall be manifested. That is the Lord Jesus.

31:43 We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. So there is not only confidence of present condition. Child of God.

31:49 Here is Christian hope. Confident expectation of the promised blessing. Of complete conformity to Christ. We know that when he shall be manifested.

32:00 We shall be like him. He said I am just as certain of that. As I am that I am a child of God. It is not as though I have a hundred percent assurance.

32:07 That I am a child of God. And ninety eight percent assurance. That I shall be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. No, no.

32:14 If God took me in hand to give me this. He will never cease with me. Until he gives me all that he purposes. Now what is the inevitable effect of that confidence.

32:23 That hope. And we know that it is hope. Because he says in verse three. Everyone that hath this hope.

32:30 Purifieth himself. This is the inevitable result. Of the confidence of Christian hope. Now you see it is objected by many.

32:42 That if you have a certain knowledge of sins forgiven. Of full acceptance. With a certain knowledge that you will be glorified. That it is just as certain as though you were there.

32:56 That you are in the presence of God. Conformed to the image of Christ. That would lead to license. The Roman Catholic Church officially states.

33:04 In the council of Trent. Which has never been rescinded. The official statement of her dogma. That whoever says that he knows he is fully forgiven.

33:15 And he knows that heaven is certain. Shall be anathema. So poor John is anathema. He says we know.

33:25 When he shall be manifested. We will be like him. And they say anyone who has that kind of certainty. Will then say.

33:32 Well if I am certain I am going to be like him. Certain that all is safe and well. Well then I can live as I please. Oh no.

33:38 John said just the opposite is true. He said everyone that hath this hope. This certain knowledge of present sonship. Coupled with this certain confidence.

33:48 Of future glorification. Purifieth himself. He is diligently engaged. In the work of progressive sanctification.

33:59 Now why is that true? Well there are a number of reasons. Let me just give the essence. The heart of the matter to you.

34:06 As sons of God. Indwelt by the spirit. We have embraced the Lord Jesus. As he is offered in the gospel.

34:14 And how is he offered in the gospel? As a savior. As a savior to save us from sin. Not just the results of sin.

34:24 Sadness. Heaviness of heart. Frustration. No, no.

34:29 Thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. And whenever the Holy Ghost reveals Christ to the heart. And enables a man to embrace him.

34:38 He always reveals him as the one who has come to save from sin. And he is embraced as the savior from sin. His guilt. His power.

34:49 And his presence. Therefore having known the beginning of that work. And confident that that work will be completed. We long to get on with the task.

34:57 Here and now. I know that out there. My perfect happiness. Will be in direct proportion to my perfect holiness.

35:09 I know that here and now. The measure of my happiness will be in direct proportion to the measure of my holiness. If I know that out there. I shall be perfectly safe.

35:20 Because I shall be perfectly sanctified. Then it is my longing to be as much sanctified as I can be here. That I might have greater joy in my safety in Christ Jesus. I know I'm not involved in a losing battle when I wrestle with my remaining corruption.

35:43 Who wants to go out on a ball field. Can you imagine a team going out. And I've seen this happen. And I remember one game.

35:50 One of the. The second. Third game. In my senior year of high school.

35:54 I remember this mentality. It gripped our team. And it was a terrible thing. The guys took the field.

35:58 Knowing they were going to be beaten. What a terrible thing. There was no sense of cohesion. No sense of pulling together.

36:02 And when you carried the ball. You felt the guy up there didn't care. You're sort of leaning on the guy. Instead of smacking him with a good block.

36:06 And saying. Well if we're going down. We're going down scrapping. We're going down fighting.

36:10 And what can happen. You've seen this. Some of you have been involved in athletics. When all of a sudden.

36:14 It becomes. It becomes. It becomes. It becomes.

36:18 It becomes. It becomes. It becomes. When all of a sudden.

36:22 It dawns in a person. Listen. I may win. And then when a guy is convinced.

36:28 He's going to. He becomes a demon. He becomes like one possessed. It's the certainty of victory.

36:34 That nerves a man for the conflict. Why fight against sin? If all of it could be aborted. And ended up going to the pit anyway.

36:43 Why not eat? And drink. And become a perfectly. Model example.

36:48 Perfect model example. Of a pure hedonist. Who said. Well there's nothing but to feed my flesh.

36:53 But oh, it's the certainty that in wrestling against sin now, wrestling against corruption, wrestling against the world, I'm involved in a conflict that will one day manifest the full triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. So John says, everyone that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure. Now, let me say by way of application or question you by way of application, do you profess to have a biblical hope? Do you say right here this morning with John, I know that I shall one day be like the Lord Jesus, that when he comes I will be found his friend, his child?

37:40 Well, John says, everyone that hath this hope, a biblical hope, purifieth himself. And it is absolutely warranted to make this deduction from the text. Everyone. Everyone who says he has this hope and does not purify himself does not have the hope.

38:00 Every person who claims to be a Christian, possessed of the confidence that eternal glory is his destiny, who is not pursuing a course of godliness which has Jesus Christ as the standard, not a little evangelical checklist. He purifies himself as he is. He longs for heart purification. He longs for purity, motive purity, purity, attitude purity.

38:33 And our evangelical churches are full of people who talk with glowing turns about the return of Christ and their longing to see him, who are just coming up to the minimum standard of their little checklist morality, and who are utterly devoid of a principle of heart holiness and pursuit of God and sorrow for sin. And they call all spirituals. They call all spirituals. They call all spirituals.

39:02 They call all spirituals. They call all spirituals. Because they are strangers to the ingredients of genuine godliness.

39:12 I was going back over a section in Bunyan this week and he states it so beautifully. Bunyan has come to the house beautiful. And these three beautiful women have come to interview him, talk with him. And prudence is talking with him about this very problem.

39:27 He said, what do you do about some of the remains of corruption? which have carried with you out of the city of destruction. Do you not yet bear away with you some of the things that you were then conversant with all? Christian, yes, but greatly against my will, especially my inward and carnal cogitations.

39:48 See, inward, see the inwardness? He said, the things that really burden me are not the externals, but the inward things, with which all my countrymen as well as myself were delighted. But now all those things are my grief, and might I but choose my own things, I would choose never to think of those things again. But when I would be doing that which is best, that which is worst with me,

40:15 do you not find, Prudence, do you not find sometimes as if those things were vanquished, which at other times were your perplexity? In other words, do you have some measure of victory at some times? Christian says, yes, but that is but seldom. But they are to me golden hours in which such things happen to me.

40:33 Prudence, can you remember by what means your annoyances at times were as if they were vanquished? How do you come to these states when corruption seems to be shriveled, and all your graces are in full bloom? And listen to Christian's answer. Yes, when I think what I saw at the cross, that will do it.

40:59 Meditation upon the death of Christ. Secondly, when I think what I saw, secondly, when I look upon my broidered coat, that will do it. The doctrine of justification. When I think that I'm accepted in the beloved, and all of the privileges of grace.

41:16 Thirdly, when I look into the role that I carry in my bosom, that's assurance. We know that we've passed from death and to life. Now listen to the fourth thing.

41:29 And when my thoughts wax warm about whither I am going, that will do it. Now listen to her perceptive question. The one thing she picks up out of the four things is the last one, and she says, and what makes you so desirous to go to Mount Zion? She's going to test if his hope is a real one.

41:50 A lot of people entertain fairy dreams about I'm going to heaven when I die. And it makes them feel good. She says, tell me, why do you want to go there? Listen to his answer.

42:01 Why there I hope to see him alive that did hang dead. Christ is not only the source of our hope, he's the object. Christian is saying, my hope is that I shall see my Savior. That's my confidence, my expectation.

42:21 Secondly, there I hope to be rid of all those things that this day are an annoyance to me. He wants to be perfectly holy. There, they say, there is no death. And there I shall dwell with such company as I like best.

42:36 For to tell you the truth, I love him. Because I was by him eased of my burden. And I'm weary of my inward sickness. I would fain be where I shall die no more.

42:48 And with the company that shall continually cry, holy, holy.

42:55 That's it. Bunyan says it far better than I can say. What's the effect of a true Christian hope? It becomes an incentive to the pursuit of godliness and of holiness of life.

43:08 That's why Paul longs for them to know by the Spirit's illumination the grounds, the certainty, the nature of their hope. For he knows that their pursuit of godliness will be in direct proportion to their understanding of their hope. Study such passages as Titus 2, 11-14, in which Paul speaks of the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God in our Savior. And in what context does he put it?

43:35 A call to holiness. The grace of God hath appeared, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, looking for the blessed hope. There is no biblical concept of hope divorced from the pursuit of godliness. 2 Peter 3, verses 11-14, the same thing.

43:56 He says the heaven and earth are going to be dissolved. A new heaven, new earth coming, wherein dwelleth righteousness. What's this mean to me? Be diligent to be found of Him in peace without spot and blameless.

44:11 I press. I press the question to your conscience again. Do you profess to have a biblical hope? Then, my friend, you better demonstrate that you're pursuing a life of godliness, fighting against your inward corruptions.

44:24 Am I speaking to someone who's come up to the standard set by the checklist of evangelical mentality and you breathe easy when you've come to the end of the day and you haven't done any of the things that are on the checklist? You feel good? Or do you know what it is when at the end of the day and your life has been blameless as far as men are concerned? Do you know what it is to feel the weight and the burden that during that day you've had so few warm thoughts about the Savior?

44:54 Do you know what it is to feel grieved as you pillow your head at night and say, Lord, there's been such a distance between my soul and you? Do you know anything of that kind of grief over that kind of sin?

45:07 Do you? Every Christian does. Every Christian does.

45:14 For communion with your Savior is His greatest jewel and when it's lost, He's lost His greatest possession.

Inward Effects: Hope Forms the Basis of Composure in Death

45:23 And then the last thing, and oh well, time has gone. Let me just mention it and then we'll have to stop.

45:30 The fourth inward thing that is produced by a knowledge of the Christian hope is what I'm calling, it forms the basis of true Christian composure in the face of death.

45:44 Death is that abnormal, radical cleavage of soul and body for a time till the day of resurrection. That relentless, ugly reality of life on a sinful, disordered world. And the world does two things with death. It either carelessly and foolishly ignores it or stoically faces it.

46:08 But the Christian does neither of those things. The Christian looks it straight in the eye but he always has on the glasses of hope when he looks at it. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. He said, I write to you, my brothers, that you sorrow not as those who have what?

46:26 No. Oh, hope. Don't you look at death, yours or the death of your loved ones, with naked eyes. Put on the glasses of hope.

46:34 And what is that hope? He says, we tell you by the word of the Lord, we who are alive and remain will not go before. We won't have a jump on those that are dead. But the Lord will come.

46:45 The dead in Christ shall rise first. We which are alive shall be caught up. We'll meet them together in the clouds to be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words.

46:55 What's he saying? He's saying, listen, the basis of composure in the face of death is your understanding of the Christian hope. That's it.

47:10 We don't view it stoically. We don't face it without sorrow. He says, we sorrow not as those who have no hope. When the tears come down our eyes, they come down behind the glasses of hope.

47:25 They're not of eyes that are full of despair.

47:30 We can look into the coffin of our loved one and know, it is certainly as the beautiful silk lining of the coffin holds their lifeless form, just as certainly shall that form be given up from the earth and rise in newness of resurrection power and unto immortality at the return of Christ. That's Christian hope, confident expectation that the grave shall give up its dead and we shall be joined with loved ones to be with him. I'd like to see a little more talk about death amongst us. Not morbid talk, but talk geared to biblical perspectives

48:15 in which we bring near our deathbed. We ask ourselves, how shall I face the king of terrors? Shall I look at him with the glasses of Christian hope and say, God's permitting you to come and lay hold to me. But I know that King Jesus is your master.

48:35 You're but his servant to release you. You're but his servant to release me from this body that I might enter into his presence. And at the day of his return, I shall rise to immortality. I've been trying to think more about death in recent days, not morbidly.

48:51 I'm too young to be morbid.

48:54 But I'm not too young to be scriptural. Neither are you. You children, do you think about death?

49:01 Suppose you were little Vicki Barnhart who's having to face death as a ten-year-old. How'd you do if you knew death was knocking on your bedroom door saying, I'm coming to get you? Would you be able to look death in the eye and say, you've come to get me, but you won't hold me. You can only deliver me on the lap of Jesus.

49:21 That beautiful old Negro poem written by a southern Negro years ago. There's a beautiful phrase in which he's describing death coming down to get Sister Caroline. And he says, when death came, he brought her into the presence of God and laid her on the loving breast of Jesus.

49:44 Now, do you know that that's all death? If so, you'll have composure in the face of it. Oh, there'll be fear. There will be the natural fear, the same fear that comes the first time you drive a car, a new experience.

49:57 Yes, but there will not be the despair on the one hand, nor will there be an attempt to ignore it. But facing the fact that all but a very limited number who are alive when the Lord comes again, and that's a limited number in terms of the whole role of His elect, we're going to go out into His presence violently, by a death. You better face it honestly and face it with true Christian composure based upon the hope. Well, I suggest to you, and this is not exhaustive, I've had deliberately to whack out other things, that these are four of the great practical effects of the Christian's hope, God willing, will take up the other two as they relate to the church and to the world in our study next week.

Conclusion: Prayer for Abounding Hope

50:41 Let us pray. How can we ever praise you enough that we have been given such experience of receiving great and precious promises in Christ Jesus? That the things that utterly disjoint the worldling, affliction, tribulation, the storms of life and the king of terror's death itself, how we thank you that we may face these things as we've done this morning in the light of our hope that flows out of our calling. Oh, we bless you.

51:15 God, make us monuments of those possessed of a supernatural hope may we abound in hope through the power of the Spirit that man seeing that hope may ask a reason of it being found in our hearts. Bless the word we've studied together. Dismiss us with your blessing and glorify yourself in us throughout all the hours of this day and minister to our needy hearts that we may be more firmly established in the hope of our calling through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

51:51 Amen.