Put your finger in three places
tonight, if you could, to start off. Lamentations chapter 3, Jeremiah
14, and 1 Timothy chapter 1. Lamentations chapter 3, Jeremiah
14, and 1 Timothy chapter 1. Now, 1 Timothy chapter 1 will
be our text, but I wanted to read these other texts in the
Old Testament. The name of the message is Christ
is our hope. This is a continuation of the
Christ is series, but tonight we'll look at how he's our hope,
our hope. Lamentations chapter three, verses
22 to 26. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are
new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. You see how Christ centered this
out. This is all centered upon our God and King. They are new
every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The
Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore, will I hope
in him? I hope in Christ, I hope in him,
I hope in God. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Verse 26, it is
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord. And in Jeremiah chapter 14, verse
8, it says this, O the hope of Israel, the hope of Israel, and
this verse screams of Christ, the Savior thereof in time of
trouble, why shouldst thou be a stranger in the land as a wayfaring
man that turneth aside to Terry for a night? Oh, the hope of
Israel. Who's the hope of Israel? Christ. He's the hope of spiritual Israel,
and he's the hope of Israel. And he was he's the hope when
this was written, and he's the hope of spiritual Israel, too.
He's our hope. So this verse speaks of Christ,
how he and he alone, as the prophet has described him, is the hope
of Israel and the savior. In the Hebrew, the word hope
is defined as this to wait to be patient, to hope, tarry, trust,
wait. Now let's look over in the New
Testament. First Timothy chapter one, verse one in the New Testament
and first Timothy chapter one. The scriptures declare this Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ. Note this by the commandment
of God, he didn't make himself an apostle, our savior. And the Lord Jesus Christ, here
it is, which is our hope. So we see in the Old Testament,
the Lord is the hope of Israel, the hope of his people. And we
see in the New Testament, it being declared that Christ is
the hope of his people. Again, the hope of spiritual
Israel, of his people. And note there at the end, which
is our hope, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. Now the word
hope is found in the scriptures 130 times. 130 times it's found in the scriptures. Here are a few instances of the
word hope. And I'll just read these. If
you want to jot down the reference, you can, but I'll read them.
Job 7.6, my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle and are
spent without hope. Job 8, 13, so are the paths of
all that forget God and the hypocrite hope the hypocrite's hope shall
perish. Job 8, 14, whose hope shall be
cut off and whose trust shall be a spiderweb. Psalm 31, 24,
be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. All ye
that hope in the Lord. All ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalm 119.81, My soul fainteth for thy salvation, but I hope
in thy word. I hope in thy word. Psalm 146.5,
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose
hope is the Lord his God. Jeremiah 17.7, Blessed is the
man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. Lamentations
3.24, The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will
I hope in him. Romans 5, 1. Romans 5, 1 to, Romans 5, if
you want to turn there, that'll be the last scripture I'll bring
this up with. Romans 5, chapter 1, verses, or Romans chapter
5, I'm sorry, verses 1 to 5. Look at this. Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace
wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
God's people rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience, and patient experience, and experience hope. Hope. And hope maketh not ashamed. We're not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. Because Christ is our hope. He's everything to
us. Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. We're not ashamed of this hope
that we have in Christ. Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts. From the Webster's Dictionary
of 1828, the word hope is defined as this. a desire of some good accompanied
with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief
that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire
in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the
good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope, therefore,
always gives pleasure or joy, whereas wish and desire may produce
or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. Now in the Greek, in the Greek,
in our text in 1st Timothy, the word hope is defined as expectation
of good, similar to what they said in Webster's. Hope, in a
Christian sense, we hope in Christ, don't we? We hope in Him. He's
all our hope. It also is defined as this in
the Greek, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.
Turn, if you would, to Acts 24. Here's a reference for that.
Joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. Look at
Acts 24 verses 13 to 15. Acts 24, 13 to 15. Neither can
they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this
I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy,
so worship I, the God of my fathers. Believe in all things which are
written in the Law and the Prophets. and have hope toward God is an
expectation of eternal salvation. Look, which they themselves also
allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just
and the unjust. Paul had a hope that he would
rise from the grave because his hope was in Christ, beloved,
who rose from the grave. The Greek, it's also defined
as waiting on hope, in hope, having hope. Galatians 5 5 says
this for we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness
by faith Also, it's defined as Christ
is the author of hope where he is the foundation second Thessalonians
2 16 says this now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our
father which has loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace the believer has received a good
hope through grace and through the grace of God. Why? Because
it's all in Christ. It's all in him. We have a good
hope of it. And in scripture goes on in second
Thessalonians 2 17 to say this after saying in good hope through
grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word,
word and work. It comforts our hearts. Our hope in Christ comforts our
hearts, comforts our souls. because we know that our hope
is not in ourselves, not in our works, not in our doings, but
it's all based upon what Christ has done. We have a good hope, beloved. We saw this morning, right, the
bad news and the good news, right? And that bad news, you're hopeless. But the believer in Christ has
a good hope. We got a good hope. And it's
all because of what he's done. It's nothing at all that we do.
We are simply recipients of this grace of God in Christ. And it's
marvelous. It's marvelous. We don't hope
for that which we see. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 8. We don't hope for that which we see, but we hope
in him who we don't see. And we patiently await for our
appointment. Think of this, we patiently await
for our appointment when we will see Him face to face. Think of
that. We don't see Him here, do we?
But we have faith in Him and hope in Christ. But one day,
beloved, and it won't be long, because this life is like a vapor,
one day, when it's appointed of God for us to die, to be absent
from the body, is to be present with the Lord, and then we shall
see him. Our faith will have sight. We'll
see him face to face. The Lord Jesus Christ, the one
who left heaven to die for his people. It'll be marvelous. And scripture says, I hath not
seen or ear heard the things that God hath prepared for those
that love him. We can, with our little minds, kinda try to think
what it's gonna be like. and we're not even near what
it's going to be like. It's going to be incredible. It's going
to be incredible. Sweet fellowship and worship
all the time. And we'll be seamless. We'll be seamless. It'll be amazing,
beloved. It'll be amazing. Look at Romans
chapter eight, verse twenty four and twenty five. Look at this.
For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not
hope. If you can see something, you don't hope for it. Hope that is seen is not hope.
For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope
for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it?
And don't we with patience just wait for our appointment, don't
we? We know it's coming. But we wait. We wait. The Greek goes on also to define
it. Hope is the thing hope for. Now, the thing hope for the object
of our faith is Christ. To see him, Colossians 127 says
this, to whom God would make no one. And he he has made known
to his people who Christ is. Because if he doesn't make it,
if he doesn't make Christ no one would never know him. Or
never know. To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And also in our text
tonight, look at 1 Timothy 1.1 again. Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the commandment of God, our Savior, and Lord Jesus
Christ, which is our hope. Jesus was the hope. Think of
this too, beloved. Jesus was the hope of all the
Old Testament believers before his incarnation. They all, like Abraham, saw his
day afar off. See, they're saved the same way
we are. I remember when I was in religion, they used to believe
that the Old Testament saints were saved by doing their works
and the New Testament saints were saved by looking to Christ.
That's a lie from the pit of hell. You're either saved by grace
or you're not saved at all. Christ is our hope. The Old Testament
saints are saved the same way we are by looking to Christ,
by looking to Christ. And they rejoiced and they were
glad. Like Abraham, they hoped in God amidst all the discouraging
circumstances they had to encounter. Against hope, they believed in
hope. They believed in Christ. It's the same for us. Through
all the circumstances that we go through, our hope is in Christ,
in Him alone. Their hope was Christ, and our
hope is Christ. All the elect of God are saved
the same way, by the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him alone. Christ therefore is held before
the church as the hope of his redeemed. Every time I preach
and proclaim the Christ in the gospel, I'm putting before you
the hope of the redeemed, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's my only hope. Is he your
only hope? He's the only hope I have. Can't
hope for myself. My goodness. Nothing good to
hope in, in me. But oh, in Christ, what a good
hope. What a good hope. So Christ therefore
is held before the church as the hope of the redeemed. He's
set forth under various metaphors in scripture. His people are
called prisoners of hope. Do you know that? Zachariah,
turn there to me if you would there. Zachariah chapter nine.
His people are called prisoners of hope. I'm a prisoner of hope. Are you? It's wonderful. Remember, Paul called himself
a prisoner of Jesus Christ, right? He's just saying what Zachariah
wrote. He's a prisoner of hope. Look
at this, Zachariah 9, verses 11 and 12. As for thee also by
the blood of thy covenant, verse 11, I have set forth thy prisoners
out of a pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the stronghold. Who's
the stronghold? Christ in him alone is the stronghold
of the believer. Turn ye to the stronghold, ye
prisoners of hope. Oh, what a hope we have, beloved,
in Christ. He's our stronghold. He's our
stronghold. Even today do I declare that
I will render double unto thee. Oh, what a stronghold of hope
we have. And it's Christ. And believers are prisoners of
hope. Prisoners of hope. The Apostle
Paul in Acts 28 verse 20 under the same figure calls himself
the Lord's prisoner and says it is for the hope of Israel
I am bound with this chain turn if you would the Acts chapter
28 verse 20 We are prisoners of hope beloved In short, what he's saying is
Christ isn't the only hope of eternal life, to which we are
begotten by His resurrection from the dead. Christ alone is
the believer's hope. Acts 28.20, look at this. For
this cause, therefore, have I called for you, to see you and to speak
with you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with
this chain. Brother John, you prayed about
the furtherance of the gospel. Paul, no matter what situation
he was in, saw it as the furtherance of the Gospel. And the same with
us. Whatever occurs in our lives
is for the furtherance of the Gospel. It's wonderful, beloved. Things don't happen by chance.
They happen all according to God's purpose and plan. You see
here, he says, because that for the hope of Israel, I am bound
with this chain. Titus 2 to 13 says this, looking
for that blessed hope, who's that blessed hope? Christ. Christ is that blessed in the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Beloved, we are born again, begotten
to a lively hope by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from
the dead. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to His abundant mercy, oh His mercy,
it's not just mercy, beloved, it's abundant mercy, it's abundant
mercy, hath begotten on us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1.3. God has shown to his people abundant
mercy. And just think, and if you wonder
about that, just think where you came from. God showed me
abundant mercy. Undeserved, unmerited, abundant
mercy in Christ. What a Savior. What a Redeemer. What a great God we have. The elect look to Christ for
everything. The Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope.
He alone is the foundation. He alone is our food. He alone
is our remnant. He alone is our head. And He
alone is our hope. The hope of the believer is wrapped
up in Christ, isn't it? We've done hoping in ourselves.
The Lord showed us how fruitful that is. There's nothing to that. What a good hope we have we who
believe on Christ what a good hope we have in Christ Jesus
our Lord But now being made free from sin and become servants
to God you have your fruit of the holiness in the end Everlasting
life for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord There's where our hope
is In Christ alone and the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord all in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the only one in whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of His grace. The pouring out of the Spirit
as a comforter is all on His account. And I will pray the
Father, and He shall give you another comforter, that ye may
abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth
Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with He dwells with
you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Oh, what
a caring Savior we have. Do not leave us comfortless.
Not at all. Do you know preserving grace
is from Him and it is by His power we are kept. Turn if you
would to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. The raising up of our bodies
at the last day is all through Christ. All because of Him. Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? There's
the question. There's the question. And then look over in 1 Peter.
Preserving grace is all through Him. 1 Peter 1 verses 3 to 5. See, everything is in Christ.
All our hope is in Christ. The resurrection, preserving
grace, the Holy Spirit coming to us, it's all on the count
of Christ and Him alone. Look at 1 Peter 1 verses 3 to
5. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to, again, there's
that word again, according to His abundant mercy. See, His
mercy is not just mercy, it's abundant mercy. Look at this,
hath begotten us, that's regeneration by the Holy Spirit of God. That's
being born again. You must be born again. What are we begotten unto? Unto
a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
We have a lively hope. To an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, that means you can't mess it up. And that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you. And look at this though. Here's the preserving grace.
We know we can't keep ourselves, can we? Who are kept by the power
of God through faith in the salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time. Right there in those three verses we see salvation is of
the Lord, born again by the Holy Spirit of God, purchased by our
King. We have a lively hope and kept,
kept by the power of God. What a hope we have, beloved.
What a hope we have in Christ. He said, I am the resurrection.
Christ said, I am the resurrection. And this is promised for His
people in Christ. Promised for God's people in
Christ. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every
one of which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting
life, and I will raise him up at the last day. And this is
all in Christ, all in Christ and him alone. How is this going
to happen? How is this? How is this rising
from the grave going to happen? It's all by Christ and his power.
Turn, if you would, the first Corinthians 15. It's all by his
power. It's all by our Lord Jesus Christ.
And our hope is set in him. Our hope's not in ourselves at
all. If our hope's in ourselves, we're not saved. The believer
fully and wholly trusts in Christ and Him alone. 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, All by the power of God we shall
be raised from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15, 44-49, It is
so in the natural body it is raised to the spiritual body.
There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. And so it
is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last,
Adam, being Christ, was made a quickening spirit. However,
that was not first, which is spiritual, but that which is
natural, and afterward, that which is spiritual. The first
man is of the earth, earthly. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. The Lord from heaven. As is the earthly, such are they
that also that are earthly, and as is the heavenly, such as they
that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
And it's all through God. It's all through His work, all
through His mighty power. We who believe have a hope that
the scripture says we will one day be in glory with our great
God and King. And we will also be with all
the blood-bought saints of God. And we'll have a new body, one
that does not sin. One that does not sin. We won't
have this war going on like we do now. The civil war will be
finished. We'll have a new body. A new
body. And it's all in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ. In and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have a hope that's anchored in Christ alone. If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most
miserable. But no, we have a hope that we'll
be in glory with our king, because where he is, think of this too.
Where the head is, the body soon falls, right? Where's our head? He's in glory. The body of sins fall. And one
day the whole body will be in heaven with him. It'll be amazing. all those that were given to
the Father, or given by the Father in eternity. Just think of that. Before the foundation of the
world, God chose you in Christ, if you don't believe. And He
didn't look down and see that we would choose Him, like the
false gospel preachers like to say. No, He looked down and He
saw everyone in sin. And by His abundant mercy, He chose sinners in Christ. All according to his will. And all according to his mercy.
What a great God. Now we see why it's abundant
mercy. More and more. And all by his good pleasure. The saints of God are people
of a great hope. Of a great hope. That hope is
all found in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is a great
savior. He saved his people from their sins, and God's people
rejoice over this precious truth. The men of the world hope in
their strength or in their riches, but those will prove to be a
false hope, beloved, a refuge of lies. Because when they die, they will
enter into a Christless eternity. Mark says this, What shall profit
a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or this, Or what shall a man
give in exchange for his soul? But for the believer, our hope
is in Christ. and in Christ alone, and what
He's done in our place as our substitute. He died on Calvary's
cross for my sin, before the justice of God for my sin. He
poured out His blood to purchase me, to purchase my eternal soul,
and not just mine, but to purchase all the elect of all the ages,
beloved. He is the foundation of our hope.
Turn if you would to Hebrews chapter 6. Look at this metaphor placed
before us here. Hebrews chapter 6 verses 19 and
20. Hebrews chapter 6 verses 19 and
20. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, which entereth into that within the veil, Whether
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. Here in Hebrews chapter 6 verses
19 and 20, Christ is compared to an anchor which is used to
keep a ship steady in storms. What kind of anchor is Christ
for the church, for his people? What kind of anchor is he? Beloved,
look what it says in that text. He's an anchor that's sure. And
he's an anchor that's steadfast. Sure and steadfast, beloved.
How so? How is he an anchor that's sure
and steadfast? He was and is God. And our anchor
is not in this world or the things of this world, but our anchor
is in heaven. He is seated in heaven, beloved,
upon His throne in glory and majesty, and He is the anchor
that His people are fastened to, and He is in heaven above. Our
anchor's not in mud or sand like when a ship drops our anchor,
but it's fastened to He who is the anchor, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is the rock of our salvation, and who rules and reigns in glory
right now. What an anchor. What a hope we
have, beloved. Isaiah 28.16 says this, He's
sure. He's sure and steadfast, as it says in Hebrews chapter
6 there. I ask you who believe, do we
not have good grounds to hope? Think on this, our sovereign
king, the king of the universe, our God, our Redeemer, the Lord
Jesus Christ came to earth, came to earth, born of a woman, the
God-man mediator, fully God and fully man. And he pays that which
the Father demands for my sins. He's perfect. He's spotless.
He atones for sins that were not His. But He atones for the
sins of all His people. All the elect of all the ages. Every one of them. There's nothing
left behind. It's paid in full. And He does it He does it by
the shedding of His precious blood. So we who hope in Christ have
a good hope, beloved, as He paid the price to purchase our souls.
He paid that which God demanded for us, for my sins. He did that which would please
the Father. I couldn't please Him on my own. None of us can please the Father.
But His sacrifice, the sacrifice of Christ, pleases the Father. It appeases His justice, satisfies
His law and justice. And so, behold, He is the sinner's
friend, who, though he was rich, became poor, that we, through
his poverty, might be rich. The believer is rich in Christ.
Have we not then grounds Good grounds for hope and to joy in
that hope, which is in Christ and Him alone. All spiritual
blessings and benefits are in Christ. As we looked at this
morning, He's the one thing needful for sinners. He's the one thing
that's needful. So our hope is in Christ, who
is the one who preserves the souls of His people. 1 Thessalonians
5, verses 23 and 24 says this, And the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly, and I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who will also do it. He will do that which He said
He will do, because He's God. And He's our hope, and He's faithful
and true. He's ever-present, always at
the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. Wherefore,
He is also able to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by Him. He's never lost one who's come
to Him. And He never will. Because He purchased them on
Calvary's cross. Seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them, Hebrews 7.25. Produce, if you can, and I know
you can't, one instance of a person that made the Lord Jesus Christ
truly their hope, that was disappointed that they fled to Christ. You'll
never find one. That was disappointed of pardon,
peace, acceptance with God and eternal life. You'll never find
one. All you'll find is God's people rejoicing and saying,
Me? He had mercy on me? And then we rejoice with joy
unspeakable. What a great God we have. What
a great king we have. My. Turn, if you would, to Job,
Chapter eight, Job, Chapter eight. Our hope is in Christ alone,
and it's according to the promise If ye be in Christ, then ye are
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. He is Jesus the Savior, one raised
up on purpose, by God's purpose, to save His people from their
sins, and to bring His people to heaven. And the very name
Savior encourages hope, doesn't it? He's our rescuer. He's rescued
us. He's Lord, Jehovah, blessed forever,
King of kings and Lord of lords, almighty in power, able to save
to the uttermost those who come to Him. Other hopes are weak
and unable to save, but He is the hope of His people. Christ,
then, is the only true hope the Scriptures speak of. It's evident
that every other hope not founded in Christ is deceitful. It's
deceitful. And Scripture declares this in
Job chapter 8. The world is full of hope, But it's a false hope,
beloved. It's a deceitful hope. It's a
Christless hope. Look at Job chapter eight, verses
13 and 14. So are the pass of all that forget
God and the hypocrites hope shall perish. Whose hope shall be cut
off and whose trust shall be as a spider web. My. If one is Christless, then
they are hopeless. as they're trusting in a false
hope. And this was our state before the Lord saved us. Ephesians
chapter two says this at that at that time, you were without
Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. But now. But now for his people,
but now in Christ Jesus, you who are sometimes we're far off
and remember, remember how we were. Brother Newell, you and
I have talked about how we were far off, without a care in the
world about God. But now you're made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Why? Abundant mercy, isn't it,
brother? It's abundant mercy. And the
saints are blessed. The saints are blessed. For the
Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. He's our hope. And we who believe
find great comfort in Christ. He's our hope and our comfort.
The only hope and the only comfort for our eternal souls. We look
outside of ourselves, don't we? There was a time when we used
to look inside and what we were doing. But now the believer looks
outside of himself and up to Christ. He's the only hope we
have for our eternal souls. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. Psalm 146, 5. Happy! We're joyful people, aren't we?
And we're not running around all the time, you know, like
the Charismatics do. This is an abiding joy. This
is an abiding hope that's not moved by circumstances. And it's
the Holy Spirit who keeps bringing us back all the time, isn't it? Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.
Turn if you would to Philippians chapter 3. This is why we proclaim
Christ alone. Christ alone. He's the only hope
for the believer. We say renounce. We say to the
sinner, and we're sinners saved by grace of God, but we say to
the sinner, renounce all other things you are hoping in, whether
they be your own righteousness or your own strength, or your
own intellect, or your works, because they're false hopes.
If you're trusting in those to gain you merit and favor with
God, or to get you to heaven, they're false hopes. Because
one day we're all going to get older, and we're going to get
weak, and we won't remember the things that we used to. But see,
people put their hope in everything but Christ. We proclaim in the
gospel Christ is the only hope all other things are a refuge
allies And their lead to your eternal
doom look what Paul says here in Philippians chapter 3 look
at this verse 7 to 11 But what things were gained to me those
I counted loss for Christ now Paul Paul had he had power he
had authority he hit he hit you some people say he was a wealthy
man and He had a lot. Yea, doubtless, and remember
he sat under some of the biggest teachers of the day. Some of
the most well-known Jewish teachers. He says this, yea, doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things and do count them but done that I may win Christ.
Now here, look at verse nine. This is, and be found in him. Now those who are found in him,
don't have their own righteousness. Remember, I said today, I'm saved.
I stand before you justified and clothed in the righteousness
of Christ. It's not my righteousness. It's Christ's righteousness.
Look at what he says and be found in him not having mine own righteousness. We don't want our own righteousness.
It's like filthy rags in the eyes of the Lord. Which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith that's imputed to us. that I may know
Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowships of His sufferings,
being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead." So Paul's desire
is to be found in Christ and not have in his own righteousness,
but to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And this is the state
of every believer in Christ. We're not clothed in our own
righteousness. We're clothed in the best robe.
It's like the prodigal. Remember the prodigal coming?
The father said, bring out the best of hope. That's the righteousness
of Christ. The best of hope. So the trust
in your own righteousness is the trust in a false hope. In
a false hope. Who do we have to trust in but
Christ? No one. No one. He's all our
hope. He's all our desire. He's the
strength of my heart. and He's the believer's portion
forever. Turn, if you would, to Psalm 73, 25 and 26. This
will be the last scripture we'll look up. Psalm 73, verses 25
and 26. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? Psalm 73, 25. Whom have I in
heaven but Thee? Remember Peter? Where shall we
go, Lord? That's the words of eternal life. Where shall we
go? Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside thee. My
flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. Forever. Whom have I in heaven but thee?
Who is our hope? Christ in him alone. We don't
have any other hope, do we? So, the hope of the faithful,
the hope of God's people is Christ himself. Christ himself. In this life, and in the life
to come. You know who they're worshiping
in heaven? It's Christ. We worship him here on earth,
but When we get the glory, we'll be worshiping Him sinless. So beloved, this hope maketh
not a shame because the love of God is shed abroad in our
heart by the Holy Ghost. It's founded in Christ and He
is the object of the believer's hope. May God be pleased to grant you
faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to give you
this hope. We as believers have this hope.
But if you're not trusting Christ, may God be pleased to grant you
faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He alone,
He alone is the Savior of His people. Gracious Heavenly Father,
we come before you with grateful hearts and thankful hearts To
be able to gather tonight together and to be able to look at how
you, Lord Jesus, are our only hope. We've abandoned all hope
in ourselves or in others. We who believe you are the only
hope we have. And we love you and thank you
and praise you for drawing us to you. In Jesus' name, amen.