There's only one man really who
can sing that song. But this is such a good song.
This hail sovereign love that first began the scheme to rescue
fallen man. Sovereign love. That means God
loved a simple people and had the ability to do something about
it. Hail matchless, free, eternal
grace that gave my soul a hiding place when the judgment falls. Enwrapped in thick Egyptian night,
fond of darkness more than light, madly I ran the sinful race,
secure without a hiding place. I didn't know I didn't have a
hiding place. But thus the eternal counsel ran. Almighty love, arrest
that man. I felt the arrows of distress
and found I had no hiding place. It exposed me. Indignant justice
stood in view. All of a sudden I saw the holy
justice of God and I saw what I was. To Sinai's fiery mount
I flew. That's the law. God gave Moses
the law on Mount Sinai. But justice cried with frowning
face, this mountain is no hiding place. Don't run to the law.
The law is not salvation. Ere long a heavenly voice I heard
and mercy's angel form appeared who led me on with gentle pace
to Jesus Christ my hiding place. On him, almighty vengeance fell
that must have sunk a world to hell. Enough vengeance fell on him
to cast his whole world into hell. He bore it for a chosen
race and thus became their hiding place. Should storms of sevenfold
vengeance roll and shake this earth from pole to pole? That's
going to happen. Storms of sevenfold vengeance
is going to come to this earth. No flaming bolt could dump my
face. Fire and brimstone. Our Lord
is coming back with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking
vengeance. But he said no fiery bolt could
dump my face for the Lord Jesus Christ is my hiding place. A
few more rolling suns at most, just take comfort. It's just
a few more rolling suns at most shall land me safe on heaven's
coast. There I shall sing the song of
grace to Jesus Christ, my hiding place. That's a wonderful song. Try to sing it better next time.
Turn with me now, if you would, to 1 Timothy 1. 1 Timothy 1.
I want to look at 1 Timothy 1, verse 1 tonight. which begins with Paul, an apostle. Paul, an apostle. Every time
I see that greeting from him, it endears me to him. I love
hearing him say that, Paul, an apostle. The word apostle means
messenger. That's all it means. That's all
it means. Angel is messenger. Apostle,
it means one sent forth with orders. He said, Paul, a messenger, one
who has been sent with orders, a servant who has been sent on
an errand to deliver a message. That's all that we are. That's
all that God's people are, all of God's people. Servants. That's all we are, servants. I love the humility that God
puts in his people, in that new man. I'm talking about the new
man that he creates in them. They all strive to serve each
other. in God's, that new creation in
God's people. It causes them to strive to serve
each other. They strive to take the low seat
in humility and serve each other. They get that from their Lord. God's people get that directly
from their Lord. Hold your place right here and
turn with me to Matthew 20. Matthew 20, this is where James
and John's mother asked the Lord if her boys could sit on either
side of Him in the kingdom. And verse 24 says, When the ten heard it, they were
moved with indignation against the two brethren. And that's
what sin does. That's what we're naturally prone
to because of our sinful condition. Their mother said, and I'm sure
they were fine with her asking him this question. She said,
Lord, I want my two sons to sit right up there next to you. Rather than saying, let the other
brethren sit there next to you. We'll take a seat in the back.
We'll just be happy to be there. They said, we want everybody
to see us sitting right there with you, beside you. And when
the other 10 heard that, they got mad. Rather than saying,
yes, good idea. You let James and John just sit
up there with you. We'll take a seat in the back.
We'll just be happy to be there. Rather than saying that, they
said, what gives you the right to have that honor over us? That's
the way of the flesh. That's the way of our sin. That
is the way of our sin. Verse 25 right here says, But
God. But Jesus called them unto Him
and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion
over them, and they that are great exercise authority over
them, but it shall not be so among you. That's the new creation
that God creates in His people. That's what glory is going to
be like. It shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great
among you, let him be your minister. and whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant. He said, if you want to strive
to be greater over each other, strive to be the greater servant. And if we want the greatest motivation
we could ever know for this, let's just look at our Lord and
Savior. Verse 28 right here says, even
as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto. That's an
amazing, amazing verse. Even as the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life
a ransom for many. That is the heart that God puts
in his people. That's the heart of Christ. That
is the mind of Christ. The Spirit of God teaches God's
people humility. And he truly does put a desire
in them to decrease. He truly does. And to esteem
their brethren more highly than themselves. And they do. And
it becomes a privilege to serve and to minister to God's people
because that's what the Lord God Himself did. It is a privilege,
such a privilege. Verse 28 says, Even as the Son
of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to
give His life a ransom for many. So back in our text, back in
1 Timothy 1, In loving humility, our beloved brother Paul addressed
God's sheep in this way. He said, Paul, an apostle, a
messenger, a servant. Now watch these next three words. Of Jesus Christ. Of Jesus Christ, what an honor.
What a privilege, what a high calling. A servant of Jesus Christ,
a messenger of Jesus Christ, not just a messenger of anybody,
not just a messenger of people who do not matter, like presidents,
kings, queens, diplomats, people like that. People who carry no relevance
in this life at all, none whatsoever. Paul said, we are ambassadors
for Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse one says, Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ. The emphasis is not on the word
apostle, it's on the two words, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. It's not what we do, it's who
we've been called to do it for. Oh, the privilege and the honor
and the high calling of being a messenger for the Lord Jesus
Christ. In the very early 1800s, a man
named William Carey was a missionary to India. And he hoped that his
son Felix would follow in his footsteps and become a missionary
alongside of him. But Felix became a special agent
of the British government to a country called Burma. And in his own words, William
Carey wrote, my son has taken a demotion. He has chosen to
be an ambassador of the King of England when he might have
risen to the status of being an ambassador of the King of
Kings. What a privilege. What a privilege. Verse one says, Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ. Well, Paul, how did you become
an apostle of Jesus Christ? Did you go to school for it? No, Paul says. For this calling,
I had to throw all of my academics away. I had to count it all dunk. You have to be a babe to receive
this calling. You have to be a babe. Well,
Paul, did you seek out being a messenger for Christ? Did you
just decide that's what you wanted to do with your life? And did
you do everything you could do to promote your ability to promote Christ? No, Paul says. I sought out any who were of
his way and I persecuted them and I imprisoned them. I did
everything in my power to destroy his name and the knowledge of
his name. I wanted to wipe him off the
face of this earth. Well, then how did you become
an apostle of his? Did you nominate yourself or
did another man nominate you to be one? No, Paul says. This calling most definitely
was not of man, neither by man. When it pleased God, He revealed
His Son in me, and He called me by His grace to preach Him
among the heathen. Verse 1 says, Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God, our Savior and Lord Jesus
Christ. He said the Lord Jesus Christ
himself did this. And that's how it always is.
Whatever God does, God does it. Whenever God moves, God does
it. A man years ago came into my business. And he came in to
buy something, and he introduced himself to me as Apostle So-and-so,
whatever his name was. And I said, excuse me? And he
said it again, Apostle whatever. He said, I was apostolized in
Russia for my humanitarian work with their orphanages. And I
said, oh. Anything that is of man is of
nothing. It means nothing. It counts for
nothing. It's nothing. The great calling
of God is of God. Verse 1 says, Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God, our Savior, and Lord
Jesus Christ. I love how many times he says
Christ in the opening line of this letter. Christ, Christ,
Christ. He said, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior. Who is God our
Savior? The Lord Jesus Christ. And he
immediately clarifies that by saying, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, Christ, Christ. And he ends verse 1 by saying,
which is our hope. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope. If your Bible has italicized
words, you'll see that which is is in italics. It was added
by the translators to make it more readable in our language,
but it was originally written saying, and Lord Jesus Christ,
our hope. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ,
That's what I want us to look at for just a minute, just focus
on for just a second here. Christ, our hope. Christ, our
hope. First thing, Paul told Timothy
and he told every believer who would ever read his writing,
he said, the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. We have a sure hope. We have a sure hope. Christ is
it. The Lord Jesus Christ is it.
He is the anchor of our souls. Christ is our hope. Now, when
we say hope, what do we mean by that? It doesn't mean, I hope
this happens. It's not what it means at all.
Hope is expected anticipation. expected anticipation. I was
telling, I was talking to a fellow pastor today on the phone and
we were talking about this, talking about hope. And I told him that
an illustration I used a long time ago for hope, I thought
it was a good one back then, but it's not a good one now because
everything is just so, so unstable now. But years ago, when you
used to buy an airline ticket, You had an expected anticipation. I'm going somewhere. I bought
my ticket. I'm going right there. Well, now you buy a ticket and
it doesn't mean too much. It gets canceled, you have to
rent a car, you have to whatever. But used to, you could have an
expected anticipation. And that's what hope is. It is
an expected anticipation. Our Lord has given us an expected
anticipation. And that expected anticipation
is glory with Him. Glory with Him. A holy, sinless
eternity with Him. I can't wait. I cannot wait to
know what it feels like to be holy, sinless, without blame. Wouldn't you love to know what
it feels like to be without blame? We're looking for that, aren't
we? We're expecting that. I'm waiting on that. It's just a matter of time. That's
how we feel about it. It's just a matter of time. We
have an expected anticipation. Turn with me over to 2 Peter
3. 2 Peter 3 verse 10, it says, But the day of the Lord will
come. The day the Lord returns. And
what a day that will be. You talk about imagining just a glorious moment. The day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night. into which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein
shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto
the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat. Nevertheless, we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness." We expect that to happen, don't we? The Lord
has created an expectation. This place is going to burn up.
All of the sin is going to burn up. Everything that sin has produced
is going to burn up. And all that will be left is
a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.
We expect that to happen. Look with me at 1 Peter 1. 1
Peter 1. Verse 3 says, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope,
a living hope, and a live hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time, wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for
a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold
temptations. that the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom, having not
seen, you love." in whom though now you see him not, yet believing
you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." We
are waiting for all of that to come to pass, aren't we? We're
being kept, reserved for an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled,
and never going to fade away. They're always talking about
our resources running out. We need new fuels because this
resource is going to run out. Think about an earth that does
not end. How's everything going to last? According to God Almighty, it's
not going anywhere. It's never going to fade away.
Nothing will ever fade away. We expect that to come to pass. Hebrews 11 says, we who are God's
chosen people have received and have seen God's promises to us
afar off. And we are persuaded of them
and we embrace them. And we confess that we are just
strangers and pilgrims on this earth. Looking for and waiting
for that better country where God is not ashamed to be called
our God because he has prepared for us a city that has foundations
built on Christ, our chief cornerstone alone. We're expecting that to
happen, aren't we? We're just expecting that. We
are anticipating a true, eternal, sinless life that is to come. And here's our question tonight,
okay? I'm not just getting started,
but here's the question of the evening. Why are we expecting that? Why are we expecting that? Really? You know, those who have not
been given faith, they hear all this and they think, don't you
think it's time to grow up? You believe all that. You're
waiting, you're looking for all that. Why do we believe that? Why do we expect that? Why are we waiting for that? Why? Why do we have hope? Here's the answer. Christ. Christ is our hope. He is our hope. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our
hope. Why is Christ our hope? Why is Christ our hope? Turn
with me, if you would, to Hebrews 6. I want to give you three reasons
why Christ is our hope. I'll be brief through these,
but I want to give you three reasons why Christ is our hope. Number one, it's because of who
He is. Who is He? Who is the Lord Jesus
Christ? Here's the answer. He is Immanuel. He is God manifest in the flesh. He is the God-man. What that means is He being a
man, A man is God. Alright, look at Hebrews 6 verse
13. For when God made promise to
Abraham, and that's an inheritance, that's a salvation, that's a
redemption. When God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,
saying, Surely, blessing, I will bless thee, and multiplying,
I will multiply thee. And so after he had patiently
endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater,
And an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife,
wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise
the immutability of His counsel." That means He will not change
His mind. He will not go back on His promise. It's unchangeable. It's set in
stone. To show that, the end of verse
17 says, He confirmed it by an oath. that by two immutable things,
in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope
set before us. Because he could swear by no
greater, because there is no greater than God, He swore by
Himself. That's who He is. Jesus Christ
is God Almighty. Christ is our hope because He
is God Almighty. And if God be for us, who can
be against us? He's God Almighty. And if God
Almighty is for us, who can be against us? Why do we have such
a sure hope? It's because our hope is God
Almighty. Our hope happens to be God Almighty. Why is Christ our hope? Number
one, because of who He is. Number two, it's because of what
He did. Look at verse 19 right here,
Hebrews 6 verse 19. Which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that
within the veil, whether the forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus." What did He do? He came into this world and He
saved His chosen people from their sins. He entered within
the veil of the holiest of... God's judgment. The holy of holies
of the judgment of God. The judgment that required a
blood sacrifice to appease sin. By the one offering of Himself,
He by Himself purged His people. He purged them from all of their
sin and He perfected His people in all of His own righteousness.
He got rid of everything that was wrong and evil and wicked,
and He gave to them everything that is good and right and holy
and perfect by that one offering, by one sacrifice. And with that
one offering, God the Father said, I am totally satisfied. Their sin and iniquity will I
remember no more. It's all taken away. It is all
taken away. So why is Christ our hope? Number
one, because of who He is. Number two, because of what he
did. And number three, it's because
of where he is right now. Verse 20 right here says, whether
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made an high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. That means He has no beginning
of days and no end of days. That's what it means. Look at
chapter 7 verse 25. It says, He is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. He ever lives to make intercession
for his people. That's amazing to me. He ever lives, he forever lives
to make intercession for his people. Where does he make this
intercession from? He makes it from his throne. He makes it from his seat of
absolute authority, whatever he says goes. And if he pleads intercession,
that's what goes. Look at chapter 4, Hebrews 4
verse 14. It says, Seeing then that we have a great
high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. That's why Christ is our hope.
That's the reason why. It's because of who He is. It's
because of what He did. And it's because of where He
is right now. Paul said to Timothy, he said,
I'm very privileged and I'm very honored to be a messenger of
Him. And all of God's people, we all
say the same thing. Preacher, hearer, we're all witnesses
of Him. How privileged we are to be a
messenger of Him because in Him we have such a good message. Such a sure message. He is our
hope. And by His grace, we're going
to spend our time on this earth expecting and anticipating His
return to get us. That's what we're going to do.
That's what we're doing right now. We are waiting on Him to come get
us. And to that, we will all cry.
Come quickly, Lord. Come get us. He's coming. He's
coming. Sure. It's ordered, steadfast,
it's gonna happen. All right, let's all stand together.