A People Marked By Hope | Pastor Michael Teasley | 04.12.26

he he he didn't just live on for eternity in this physical body. He died again. But Jesus is orienting and saying, though you die, you don't really die. It's a transition period. So those who are believers, part of our hope in the gospel is actually when Jesus comes back, he silences death. And so death to the believer is just a transitionary period so that we can have ultimate relationship with the Lord. [00:57:48] (25 seconds)  #DeathIsTransition

So biblical hope is the confident expectation of a promised future reality anchored entirely in the proven character of God. Now I know that's a lie. I'm a say that again. It should be on the screen. Biblical hope is the confident expectation of a promised not just desired Right. But a promised future reality anchored in entirely not in our goodness, not in our efforts, not in our kind of how good we can get, but proven character of God. [00:42:29] (39 seconds)  #BiblicalHopeDefined

But when you come to grasp with eternity, there is actually no hope for them. And so what what Jesus died, he didn't die so that you would become a nicer, kinder, compassionate version of yourself, a better experience of this life. He died because you didn't know God. You were separated from his the creator, and there's a need for us to be in relationship with him. And the only way that that was gonna be possible was through the cross. [01:07:45] (27 seconds)  #CrossBridgesSeparation

Now I've never had a baby and never will, but my wife has. And what I do know from my wife giving birth, when the contraction started and the pain of childbirth came, it wasn't pointless pain. It was to produce something that was coming. So in this way, the reason why Paul actually uses this childbirth analogy is he's saying that the suffering and the pain of this world, actually, God is using it to produce something to bring about his glory and our good. [01:01:53] (32 seconds)  #SufferingProducesGood

being in a situation for a long period of time that starts to wane on your strength and your hope. Like, at first, it was like, I believe that God heals, and I believe that that God will step in. But it's so easy to fix your gaze off of an unchanging God when you have an unchanging circumstance. And being in the midst of it just kinda wears you down. And and the holy spirit, couple weeks ago, was just ministering to me and saying, why why have you given up on praying about your mom's health? [01:13:15] (45 seconds)  #SeasonsWearOnHope

So this is why hope is important because as a Christian, we are living in between what God has already secured on the cross and the resurrection and the promise of what he will do, which is full redemption of all creation. And hope is the bridge of how to live in the tension. Paul will talk about this in Romans chapter eight verse 22. He says, for we know the whole creation has been groaning together in pains of childbirth until now. [01:00:34] (31 seconds)  #LivingBetweenNowAndNotYet

But worship isn't about us. Acts thirteen two highlights this. It says, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them. Now what what this might be an obscure verse to kinda share in between, songs of worship, but one, it orients our heart and is a heart check of one. The the word worship here means to minister to. The word minister means to attend to the desires of someone else. [00:13:37] (39 seconds)  #WorshipIsNotSelfCentered

And so I hope our hope is bigger than the temporary situation. So I believe he'll he'll heal, but I know he's promised that he will bring about ultimate restoration, and I contend for that. I'm gonna ask Joe to come up. Here's what I I want to encourage you with. Joe's gonna bring up a ball, and this ball is our hope. And Hebrews ten twenty three says, hold fast to our confession of hope. [01:16:08] (41 seconds)  #HoldFastToHope