hope 5-3-2026- Pastor Michael Landrum

``We don't look at it and see struggle. We walk into the darkest situation and go, I see the light. And everybody goes, how? Because it's guarded by Jesus Christ in my soul. That even in the midst of darkness, there's hope. Even in the midst of struggle, there's hope. Even in the midst of the worst situation, there is hope, and it is a hope that doesn't disappoint. It is a hope that is guarded. It is a hope that is secured, and it's secured by the omnipotent one Yahweh. He holds it in his hands, and he says, I got you. [01:14:54] (39 seconds)  #LivingHopeGuarded

How are you stewarding this living hope? This hope that's inside of you. I mean, it's being guarded by God's omnipotent power, and the instrument by which he holds us is faith. So hope is guarded and guided in our life, And the way that that moves is by faith. How do you have hope? By faith. How do you look forward and see living things in the midst of a valley of dry bones? By faith. How do you walk into all of these conversations where the world is looking at you and saying statements of Ecclesiastes? By faith. [01:13:16] (43 seconds)  #HopeByFaith

Because what Jesus instructs Peter in, what Jesus instructs us in is this idea that the sorrows and the sufferings of this life doesn't get to rob us of our hope. That even in the midst of all of those things, we get to still have a hope that is real, a hope that is living, a hope that is active. This is a hope that will not decay. This is a hope that will not break. This is a hope that will not be destroyed. The world no longer has the weapon of time against you. That's a powerful thought right there. [01:09:15] (46 seconds)  #HopeBeyondSuffering

This living hope now dictates that the world no longer has the power of time against you. Ecclesiastes framed out this. Time is our enemy because we're all running out of it. Jesus comes in and says, no, you're not. Because of me, I've come that you may have life, and I've come that you don't have to worry about what this is over here. I've come that you may live life in a new way. Your faith doesn't falter with time. This is a living hope that over time, your faith gets strengthened. [01:10:00] (39 seconds)  #FaithStrengthensOverTime

One of the pieces of the inheritance is this, that you and I are saved. You and I not only are saved, but we also get eternal life. That's another part of the inheritance. We get salvation, which saves us, but we also get eternal life, which keeps us for forever. We also get security in God. Peter talks about this in other places, that you get salvation, you get eternal life, but you also get security in God. Ecclesiastes is the exact opposite of all these things. Everything's fleeting. Everything's going away. Nothing lasts. Nothing stays forever. [01:06:33] (38 seconds)  #SalvationAndSecurity

So what is Satan putting in your world right now? Because on your flesh side, you're struggling with. And on your spirit side, you need to speak into it and go, he's got me. Maybe it's a doctor's report. Maybe it's a financial thing. Maybe it's a relational thing. Maybe it's a job insecurity. Maybe it's a national thing. But whatever it is that comes into your heart, here's what I want you to hear from Peter. You have a living hope. It doesn't matter that somebody has been ultimately rebellious against God, Because today is the day of their salvation. [01:15:33] (45 seconds)  #SpeakHopeIntoStruggle

But then Jesus shows up and says, I am the door. I've come that you may have life, and you may have it abundantly. The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I don't come to do that. And now all of a sudden, we get to have a conversation with somebody who got to live inside of both of those worlds. He knew the world that was the old testament, but he also knew who Jesus was. And then he says, something has changed. [00:59:37] (27 seconds)  #JesusIsTheDoor

Peter comes in and says this this was the old way of living because of sin, because of rebellion, because of the fall in the garden. And man, it was a struggle. But now because of Jesus, we've been born again to a living hope. Through Jesus, through the resurrection, we have an opportunity to have with us this type of hope. So Peter creates an incredible contrast from Old Testament living and the reality of Jesus living. He's watched the Pharisees. He's watched the Sadducees. He's taken the writings, how they've weighed the people down. [01:02:19] (38 seconds)  #BornAgainLivingHope