Hope for All Seasons

I went to the Woman to Woman Conference Friday night and all day Saturday at the Hickory Metro Convention Center. The theme was Hope for All Seasons and the keynote speaker was Anne Graham Lotz. (One of my very favorites!) This post is what she covered Friday night.

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

In today’s world we put our hope in so many things: the stock market, the company we work for, our health, our ability. When any of it fails – we lose hope.

Sometimes we lose hope because of the day after day same old same old problems. We pray about them, we try to fix them, but they never go away.

Biblical hope is confidence. Our hope rests in God’s plan, God’s person and God’s purpose.

The 1^st century Christians were losing hope in God. Jesus hadn’t returned yet and there was a crazy man ruling who demanded they bow down to him and call him god. When they wouldn’t he burned them at the stakes, fed them to the lions and nailed them to crosses.

God gave the Apostle John the vision to write the book of Revelation to give them hope. Today it’s one of the last books we look at when it should be the first. It’s meant to give us hope!

God’s plan is revealed in Jesus. It was all about Jesus since before the creation of the world. The key to understanding the book of Revelation is to focus on Jesus.

We have hope in the world because Jesus is in charge. When it looks like the world is falling apart it’s really just falling into place. (Study prophecy – you’ll see!)

Revelation says “blessed is he who reads this”. And really we are blessed anytime we open our Bibles. God knows our problems and He will help us manage them so that we can bring Him glory. And we bring Him glory as we become more like His Son.

Revelation 1:8 says He’s the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end of the alphabet. He is all wisdom. He knows everything about us and has known our names since before we were born.

John was suffering for his testimony. Sometimes we think when we are suffering it means God doesn’t love us. But remember, John was the disciple that Jesus loved yet he was in exile for doing something completely in God’s will. Sharing Jesus to others. His suffering ended up bringing glory to God through the writing of the last book of the Bible. God allows us to suffer for a greater purpose. We need to understand this; know that our lives will never be trouble free and deal with it!

John, even though he was alone on that tiny island, was “in the spirit” on “the Lord’s Day”. When we are going through trials we need to stay in the Word. Stay close to God. Don’t complain. Show others that we are trusting that God has a plan for our life and He will use this for our good and for His glory.

We lose hope because we keep trying to get Jesus to make our life the way we want. When He doesn’t do what we tell Him to we get upset! We need to rest in His plan. We need to have a submissive spirit and just ask Him to let us know what to do next.

In Revelation 1:13 Jesus was dressed in the robe of a high priest. Right this minute He is our high priest and praying for us by name. The golden sash around His chest was like that of a King’s. He held seven stars in His right hand representing the seven churches (us). We are in His right hand because He wants to use us. His word is double edged. We need to be in the word to use it.

John fell at His feet like a dead man. Dead men don’t talk back. They don’t argue or give excuses. No more struggling against His will. 

No matter what happens in your life, focus on Jesus and continue to praise Him for who He is and what He has already done for you. Accept His purpose in your life. Read the Bible to know His will and then do it! Surrender!

Jesus put His hand on John and said “Don’t be afraid” because He knows we are sometimes afraid to surrender because of what He might ask us to do. But the better we know Him the more we will want what He wants! God’s will is good and pleasing and perfect. But we won’t get it until we surrender to Him.

 

Joy

I’m going to go back to Rick Warren’s Book, God Can Change Your Life, because it’s so inspirational and so practical:

The second fruit of the spirit is Joy. And Joy is also a choice. It’s how we can stay positive when everything’s falling apart. As Christians, we have reason to be filled with Joy because of 3 things:

1. Our hope. This is our hope in Christ and remember, “hope” in the Bible is a done deal. It’s not a wish.

2. We have joy because God has a purpose in every situation. God uses everything that happens to us, even if it’s something bad that we’ve caused ourselves, and works it for good. Joy isn’t the absence of problems, but the presence of God. We can handle trials a little easier because we know they have a purpose, even when we don’t see it at the time: hurt can make us more compassionate, which is a step toward making us more like Jesus. Our problems also make us more mature. So our joy comes in knowing. We know God is in control. There is a reason. He is sovereign.

3. We can have joy because God is always with those who believe in Him. As believers we have been reconciled to Him through Jesus. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the deep waters, I will be with you! Your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned. The hard trials will not hurt you.”

This is a great verse to hang on to. It tells believers that no matter what happens, God’s going to take care of us. We will not go through it alone!

Rick Warren says you have to develop your inner joy. He says if you’ll do 4 things for the next 6 weeks, you’ll be a more positive, joyful person then you’ve ever been before.

1. Develop the attitude of gratitude. Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” The most grateful people are the happiest people. So start by looking for ways to express your gratitude this week. Write a note to someone, make a phone call. Thank God.

2. Cultivate inner joy by giving. Malachi 3:10 is the only place in the Bible that says we should test God on something He says and it’s about tithing. He says if we give Him the first of our efforts just see if He doesn’t overflow our barns!

3. Develop inner joy through service. Joy comes when we get our focus off ourselves and concentrate on helping others.

4. Share Christ with others

All of this is counter to our culture, which is very “me” oriented. Gratitude? Most people feel entitled. Giving and serving? Volunteering has taken a real hit. There are lots of needy organizations. It used to be that women at least volunteered, but now they are all working too. To buy more and more things. (Which keeps them busy taking care of those things!)

Sharing Christ? That wouldn’t be very politically correct nowadays would it? Everyone else can talk about his or her religion, but not Christians. (I think that’s Satan’s doing. Christians are really the only ones he’s worried about!)

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