Welcome to this edition of Power Point with Jack Graham. A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get Dr. Graham's book, Angels. But first, here's his message, A Place Called Hope. Take God's Word now and turn with me to the book of 1 Peter and the first chapter and we're going to discover that life is a journey and we are pilgrims on this journey. And God's people will always face the journey of life, challenges, crisis, and yet we know hope. We know something the world does not know and that is a hope that strengthens us and sustains us.
Throughout all the challenges of life. The word that really moves the heart in the letter of 1 Peter is the word hope. This is the book of hope about the place called hope. And even though we are scattered throughout the earth we can find a place of hope in Jesus Christ. Look at verse 1, Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ for the sprinkling with His blood.
Note the Trinity in verse 2, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is greeting the exiles, the elect. And this is more than, hi, how are you doing?
Or have a great day. He says, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. And then he bursts forth in praise. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again. To be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
Kept in heaven for you. Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Now you need to know when we talk about hope that hope is so much more than wishful thinking. The Word of God uses various nouns to describe hope like confidence, and expectation, and refuge. And there are verbs that are synonymous with the whole theme of hope in the Bible.
Words like waiting, and leaning, and looking, and finding refuge. We're going to discover in the passage that is before us that hope is certainly about the future. In fact if I was simply defining hope I would say it is the confident expectation that our future is in God's hands.
That's hope. The confident expectation that our future is in God's hands. So we should think of the hope and the future that is before us. God says I've given you a future and a hope. So hope is about expectation. It is about the future. But we're also going to discover that the place called hope is found not only in the future but in the presence because this is a living hope and also in the past because the basis of our hope is in eternity past, what God has done for us.
This is our hope. So what you have really is good news for bad times. And we are living in a world of course wondering about hope and the future. A world filled with fears. And so many are hanging by a thread because hope seems to be gone. Hopes are crushed. Dreams are shattered.
And the future is fearful. And of course we know that ultimately our hope is not in education or in government. Our hope is not in relationships and money. Ultimately our hope is fully and finally and forever in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the resurrection of God. He is the one who gives us a living hope. The fact is you cannot live without hope. It is the very air we breathe. Emil Bruner the theologian said what oxygen is for the lungs such as hope for the meaning of human life. And in so many people's lives who are living without hope trying to find meaning in their life.
Their life is breathless. And drugs and alcohol become an escape to the life is depressing. And people take pills to find peace because they can't breathe in that all hope is gone. I tell you apart from the resurrection of Christ there is no hope. The Apostle Paul said if we have hope only in this life we are of amazing hope. But he has said that if we have hope that we are of amazing hope. And I want you to remember that is the Paul said, if we have hope only in this life we are of all people most miserable.
So we must know hope. Now Peter was a man who knew something quite a bit about hope. Early on he was a rough rugged fisherman earning a hard living on the Sea of Galilee. He caught a few fish and made a little bit of money but he had a boatload of dreams and there was something about this man Simon Peter that captivated the interest and the call of Christ.
Jesus looked at him. Was it his bold heart? Was it his propensity for words? Was it his steely soul? Was it the intensity of his eyes? I think when Jesus looked at Simon Peter for the first time he must have smiled because he saw so much potential and possibility in this man.
Perhaps the only one who saw that kind of potential in the big fisherman. So Jesus called him, said, follow me I have plans for you. And so he followed Jesus for three years and for those three years this incredible adventure of faith. Hope was alive in his heart along with those who followed Christ. But then came the final hours of Christ on earth.
The denial three times. The blood, the tears, the cross, the defeat, the sorrow, the brokenness. And hope was gone. Hope was dead, buried in a borrowed tomb. And Peter and the others were left with nothing but what could have been, what might have been.
They were left with guilt and failure and fears about the future. But then the word came that Jesus was alive and Peter dared to believe it and he ran to the tomb and he found that the tomb was empty and ultimately he met the risen Christ and was restored and renewed in Him and stood tall as a messenger of the resurrection because hope was now alive in his heart. So Peter is in effect a tour guide on this journey of life for us. And as he walks us through these words that he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we find out how in the midst of our failures, in the midst of our guilt, in the midst of our sufferings, in the midst of our pain, in the midst of whatever we are going through when we go through it we know there is always hope. Hope. Now this place called Hope is found in the past, the present and the future.
First in the past. Verse 2 he says, you have been elected, called, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit in obedience to Jesus Christ for the sprinkling of His blood. Here we meet Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Trinity, the three in one. And we step back into eternity past and there we find hope. Now this is important because again hope is not sentimental, it is not soft, it is solid.
Rock, solid and built upon what Christ has done for us, what God has done for us, what the Spirit is doing in us. Hope is predicated and proposed upon the fact that we have been called and chosen by God before time began. And therefore our lives are not an accident or an afterthought, but we have been called and chosen by God Himself.
He is called the God of hope. And by His foreknowledge, His prognosis. And this is so much more than mean God just looked down through time and knew what He would do based on what you would do. No, He chose you before you were born. He chose you in His heart. He set His affection and His love upon you before you sinned, before you were saved. God chose you and included you in His eternal family, and in His eternal plan. This means that God's plans for us throughout all of life settled in eternity past are good, perfect and acceptable.
God is sovereign. And even though we may be scattered like siege to the ends of the earth as these early believers, we also know that God knows where we are. God knows what He is about in our lives.
It means that because Christ has done what He has done by the shedding of His blood, and that the working of the Holy Spirit is concurrent in our lives, we know that what God thought and what Jesus bought, the Holy Spirit has now wrought in our hearts forever. Now hope means that we are alive in Christ and that means that the best is yet to come. And because of what has happened in the past we live with a joyful anticipation of every day and that includes eternity. We live with the choice of God upon our lives which means that God has chosen us and that God saves the best for last. But you know if God chooses us and saves the best for last for us that means if you're not a believer, if you've never trusted in Christ then the worst is yet to come. We live in Christ with an endless hope. But people without Christ face a hopeless end. The Scripture speaks of those who are living without hope. Can you imagine living one day breathing one breath without hope?
No, Christ has chosen us and included us and brought us into His family. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and his message, A Place Called Hope. Pastor, this month we have a special gift for our listeners who give a gift to PowerPoint. It's your book, Angels.
What can you tell us about this powerful resource? As a follower of Jesus you're caught up in something much larger than you can even see, an invisible war for the cause of Christ that's heating up in unmistakable ways. But you're not alone in this fight. Hebrews 1.14 says, Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? These powerful angel beings are working and warring on our behalf this very day. When you see that you're a part of a much bigger story playing out in both the spiritual and physical realms, it realigns your heart to the truth, help make sense of your struggles, and inspires you to stand firm with your angelic allies for the cause of Christ. That's why I'd like to send you my book, Angels, to help encourage you to find your God-given support to stand firm and stay the course in the spiritual battle that's being waged today. Angels is my way to say thank you for your financial support to help us proclaim the Gospel of Jesus through PowerPoint.
Call today and get Angels as our thank you for your gift. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. Or text the word PowerPoint to 313131.
That's PowerPoint to 313131. Now let's get back to today's message, A Place Called Hope. So what does that mean? That means that our God is eternal. We see a few steps ahead in our journey of life, but God sees all the way. It means that while we see things in a temporal way, God sees everything eternally. We see today what's right in front of us. But God sees it all. And therefore there are no accidents with Him. During good days or bad days we are a part of His plan. We are in His hand. And therefore we should stay positive and hopeful and faithful to the God who knows the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. And we need to remember that God knows all about our lives, the God who has chosen us, the God who has called us.
Oops is never in God's vocabulary because He never makes a mistake. There is a well-known lady in Christian history by the name of Fanny Crosby. She has written over 9,000 songs and hymns. At six weeks of age she was blinded by an accident at the hands of a man who claimed to be a physician. This incredible era cost her her sight. Her family was in shock and sorrow at this terrible tragedy. However, years later she wrote these words, she said, if this accident was a mistake, and if perfect earthly sight were offered to me tomorrow, I would not accept it. Knowing what God had done in her life through her blindness, giving her sight to see things that others could not see and insight into the Word of God, her witness was so very strong. Sometimes we feel that God may have made a mistake in our lives.
Sometimes we are hanging by a thread and wondering if we can go on because of the whys and the what-ifs of life. Fanny Crosby knew that there are no mistakes with God, that He has us right in His hands and our hands are in His future. And that is why Fanny Crosby wrote these words, all the way my Savior leads me.
What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy? Who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, hear by faith a hymn to dwell, for I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well. For I know what e'er befalls me, Jesus doeth all things well. We find hope in this truth that according to the knowledge of God who ordained our very lives and our very breath and called us unto Himself. The Savior who died for us and rose again that when you say, is there a responsibility of man here?
Does man have any choice? Yes, this verse speaks of the obedience of faith. And this is one of the mysteries of the will of God in life.
On one hand we read in the Scriptures that whosoever will may come that all are invited, that the whole world can believe that the love of God is for every person. And yet we also read you didn't choose me, I chose you. And so we live with the tension of this great truth in that God set His heart and His affection upon us. He called us. He has chosen us. And we have responded to His grace by faith and we are a part of His eternal family. Our future as well as our past is in His hands. But you know the place called hope is not only found in the past but it is found in the future, or in the present I should say.
For verse 3 look at it again it says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again unto a living hope. When hope dies people give up on life. People decide to quit on a lot of things. You give up on your marriage because you give up hope that your marriage is ever going to work. You give up on a child perhaps because you don't think that child is ever coming back to Christ, or that child is ever going to live according to God's standards in their life. Maybe you've given up hope because your career and the dreams that you had about your future and your career have been shattered. Maybe the doctor has given you a bad report and you are tempted to give up hope.
Don't do it. Because in Christ and in the resurrection there is always hope. You know Proverbs 13, 12 says when hope is crushed the heart is crushed. It is a proven fact that when you lose hope you are setting yourself up for illness, for sickness, for disease.
If you began expecting the worst in your life you will generally get it. Dr. McNair Wilson a famous cardiologist said this, hope is the medicine I use more than any other. Hope can cure nearly anything. And then another doctor, Dr. Harold Wolf professor of medicine at Cornell University said this, hope like faith and a purpose in life is medicinal.
This is not exactly a statement of belief, but a conclusion proved by meticulously controlled scientific experiment. Yes, when hopes are crushed the heart is crushed. So hope is physically, biologically, psychologically essential.
Man must have hope. And yet so many people are living without it. So many people are living on the edge hanging by a thread. I see the emails, I read the letters of people who have almost given up hope. But then find in the resurrection of Christ, in the promise of Christ a future and a hope. God says I know the plans that I have for you.
Plans not to harm you, but plans for your welfare to give you a hope and a future. Now this is not Jack Graham talking to you. This is God talking to you. This is the Word of God speaking to you. That there is hope in Jesus Christ. That there is hope in the resurrection. And no matter what you are fearing, no matter what you are facing that the God of all hope can fill you with joy and peace and believing so that the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you may abound in the power of the Holy Spirit and in hope. That's the living hope that I'm talking about. It is the hope for the present.
And that's where you find it today. You find it in a living Savior. You find it in the one and the only one who can help. When life hurts, only hope can help. Hopelessness is a disease of the soul and the only cure is Christ. And you can be born again.
You can receive a new life and a hope forever with Him. That's what I believe with all my heart. It's the place called hope because you see the place called hope is really in a person and the person is Jesus.
But there's one final word. There's another place that you find hope. Not only in the past in that God has called us and chosen us and elected us, not only in the present in that we have a living hope born again into this living hope in this new life in Christ. But of course hope regards the future.
Hope ultimately is about our future with Him. That is why I look again that we're told that this hope is played out in an inheritance that is imperishable, that it does not decay. It is undefiled. It is unfading.
It is undiminishing. It is kept in Heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation, ready to believe, to be believed at the last time, to be received rather at the last time. The word guarded there in your New Testament means garrisoned about. That we are kept and held by the omnipotent grip of God because we have come to Him having been chosen by Him. And because we live in the power of His resurrection this salvation is eternal. We can never lose it because we are kept by the hand of God. Jesus said, my sheep are in my Father's hands and will never escape His grip.
You are held by Him. Ultimately the greatest fear for every person is the fear of the future and the fear of death. And as we are getting older we recognize our mortality more and more. And we realize that in this life if this is all there is then life is miserable and meaningless.
If we are not careful the older we get the more cynical we can become about life and the more hard knocks and bumps along this journey of life we receive we begin just gradually losing our confidence and losing our expectation and our bodies are hurting and our minds are stressed. And so we start holding back on hope and giving up even on our future. But we know that our hope is not an hallucination. Our hope is not a fabrication. Our hope is not a mere wish that things are going to turn out okay in the end. We have a sure and confident expectation that our future is in His hands. That we are in His hands.
And oh no He never lets go. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and though he fall he will not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholds him with His strong righteous hand. It's the place called hope.
Don't dare try to live without it. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message a place called hope. The spiritual battle that's raging around us couldn't be more evident. And as a member of Christ's church you have the support of his mighty angels to win the fight. In his book angels Dr. Graham shows you how to tap into the support God has given you through his angels so you can stand strong and defeat the enemy in the fight for our culture. Angels is our thanks for your gift today to help boldly proclaim the truth of the Gospel and the hope it brings to more people around the world through PowerPoint. So call now to request your copy of angels when you give. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131.
Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is Jack Graham.org.
Pastor what is your PowerPoint for today? It really is possible to live with hope despite what is going on around us. And as I mentioned in today's program while hope is absolutely about the future it is also about the present. And that is because we have a living hope, a hope that lives. It is because of course of the resurrection of Jesus that we have hope. It is because He lives that hope lives in our hearts.
And because of that there is no need to fear the future. If you are a child of God you are chosen, you are called by Him. You are not an accident, an afterthought, a mistake, a coincidence. You have been in the heart and mind of God forever and He has been already planning and preparing your future. In fact God knows the end from the beginning and everything else in your life. And so that is comforting isn't it when we face tough times and when we are really ready maybe to give up. It is encouraging to know that we are never, ever, I mean never, ever without hope. So today if you are tempted to give up on your life, or give up on your marriage, if you are thinking about giving up on your kids, if you want to just say goodbye to your dreams or even to life itself, don't, don't ever give up. You have a living hope in Jesus that is working in your past, your present and your future. And the Scripture tells us in Romans chapter 5 that hope does not disappoint.
So today be confident, live expectantly, knowing that your future is in God's hands. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a gift to PowerPoint we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Angels, as our thanks.
Call 1-800-795-4627, that's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 3-1-3-1-3-1. Text PowerPoint to 3-1-3-1-3-1. On the next PowerPoint Dr. Graham brings a message about finding treasure in your trial. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint
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