All right, 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. The title of the message or lesson
this morning is, What is a Good Hope? Roughly 22, 23 years ago, my
grandma Livingston passed away, my mom's mom. We had the visitation
and funeral like we do. And best I can recall, Dan Morgan,
my good friend, was out of town when all that was going on. Immediately
afterwards, I was out of town, so for several weeks, Dan and
I missed seeing one another. And after a few weeks, we finally
saw one another, and Dan came and passed along his condolences.
And he said, I'm glad to know she had a good home. And that struck me. I learned
two things that immediately struck me. I learned, first of all,
it's always a good time. to show your affection and care
for one another. Even though it may have had some
time past, it's always a good time to show affection one for
another. And second, it struck me how precious a good hope is. Now, do I have a good hope? I
want to know that. Do you have a good hope? I want
you to know that. I want for you and for me for
us to die with a good hope. But before we can answer this
question, do I have a good hope? We have to know the answer to
this question. What is a good hope? And I want to answer that
question from God's word this morning. Now, first of all, a
good hope, I've got about 10 or 11 things here won't take
very long. A good hope is based upon God's
word. A good hope is not a wish. A
good hope is not hoping for an uncertain outcome. A good hope
is not based on what I think or what I feel. A good hope is
not based on what my mama thinks about me. I can fool her. A good
hope is based on God's word alone. Now look over at Psalm 119. A
good hope is based on God's word. If you have a good hope, you
find the foundation of that hope in a verse of scripture. You
can find a verse of scripture that defines your good hope,
that gives you a good hope. In Psalm 119, verse 114. Thou art my hiding place and
my shield, I hope in thy word. Look over page at verse 146. I cried unto thee, save me, and
I shall keep thy testimonies, thy word. I prevented the dawning
of the morning. Something was going on. And he
said, I cried. Something's going on. David couldn't
sleep. He got up before the sun came
up in the morning and he cried. Now, in that time of sorrow and
mourning, he just he can't sleep. He gets up before the sun comes
up. What does he say? I hoped in thy word. A good hope. He says four more times in the
Psalms, I hope in thy word. Now, if you have a good hope,
you can explain it from God's word. You have an understanding
of what that hope is from God's word. From God's word, if you
have a good hope, you understand who Christ is. You understand
how sin is paid for from God's word. You understand from God's
word how sinners are made righteous in Christ. And every time you
hear God's word, if you have a good hope, you say, I believe
that because my hope is based upon God's word. And if you have
a good hope, you hear it in the preaching of God's word. A good
hope is based upon God's word. So I want us to look and see
what God's word says a good hope is. Secondly, a good hope is
based upon God's love for me. Not my love for him. His love
for me. Now look back in our text here,
2 Thessalonians 2, verse 16. Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and God even our Father, which hath loved us. A good hope is
based on God's love for me. I can't find any hope in my love
for God. It's too weak. It's not worth
talking about. But I have a good hope if God
loves me. His love never changes. It doesn't
waver. It never stops. And it's not
based upon me. Here's why it's a good hope.
God's love for me is not based on me. It's based on Christ. It's based on His Son and He
loves me in His Son and because of His Son. If God loves me right
now, He always has loved me and He always will love me. So if
God loves me, He'll be merciful to me. Ephesians 2 verse 4. But God, who's rich in mercy,
why? For his great love for which
he loved us. If God loves me, he's going to be merciful to
my sinful soul. And if God loves me, he will
provide the covering for my sin. 1 John 4, 10. Herein is love. Not that we love God, but that
he loved us. Now, he loved us, so what did
he do? He sent his Son to be the propitiation
of our sins. If God loves me, he'll be merciful
to my sins and he'll cover my sin in the sacrifice of his Son.
That's a good hope. Thirdly, a good hope is a gift
of God. A good hope is not something
that I earned or something that I deserve. If I'm getting what
I earned, what I deserve, I have a bad hope. But if I have a good
hope, it's a gift of God, freely given to the sinner. Look here,
verse 16. and have given us everlasting consolation and a good hope."
All of salvation is a gift of God, isn't that right? Well,
if God's given me a good hope, He's already sent His Son to
die for me, to be the propitiation for my sins. Well, if God sent
His Son to die for my sins, He will give me everything that's
necessary for salvation. He'll provide everything for
me. Romans 8.32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered
him up for us all. How shall he not with him freely
give us all things? He will give his people everything
necessary for salvation. That's a good hope if your hope's
a gift from God. Fourth, a good hope is eternal.
Verse 16 again, which hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation
and good hope. This good hope is eternal. He
hath given it. He's already given it, past tense.
And he's given an everlasting consolation, a hope that doesn't
have a beginning or an ending. It's eternal. Well, when did
God give this gift of a good hope? Well, at the same time,
he gave every other spiritual gift to his people before the
world began. Now look over here in Titus,
just over a few pages, Titus chapter 1. Verse 2, in hope of eternal life,
which God that cannot lie promised when? Before the world began. But hath in due times manifested
his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according
to the commandment of God our Savior. So that's why I told
you, if you have a good hope, it's based on God's word and
you hear it. It's manifest in the preaching
of God's word. David said in Psalm 22 verse
9, Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breast.
Now, you know what he means there? Before I knew you were my hope,
you were my hope. Before I could understand anything
when I was just an infant, even then you were my hope. Because
if we have a good hope, it's an eternal hope. Now, if our
hope is not in Christ, If it's not in Christ, then our hope
must be from something from this world, right? I mean, it's either
from above or from beneath. Well, if our hope is based on
something from this world, that hope can only last as long as
this world lasts. And it's not going to last forever.
That's a temporary hope. That's not a good hope. Paul
told the church at Corinth, if Christ did not live as a man,
die as a substitute for his people, and rise again as a justification
for his people, then we don't have any hope. And we are of
all men most miserable. But since Christ is risen, and
since Christ is our hope, we have a good hope and an eternal
hope in him. This, a good hope, is through
grace. Look back in our text. And hath given us everlasting
consolation and a good hope through grace. A good hope would not
be trusting in myself. A good hope would not be trusting
in my own goodness. That's a bad hope. A hope that's
based upon the grace of God is a good hope because God's grace
is sure and certain. Now, I already said a good hope
is a gift of God, right? Well, any gift from God has to
be given by grace, not because we deserve it. He gives it to
us by grace. Well, since my hope is by grace,
it's a sure hope and it's a certain hope. Like I told you earlier,
a good hope is not a wish. A good hope is not, well, I hope
this happens, but I don't know whether it will or not. You know,
doubt comes doubtful. A good hope is a certain hope
and a sure hope. It's an expectation. It's promised
by God who cannot lie. And it's got to be sure, doesn't
it? It must be sure. Romans 4, 16. Therefore, it is
a faith that it might be by grace to the end that the promise might
be sure to all the seed. A good hope, if it's by grace,
is a sure hope. Six, the good hope is in God. A good hope is in the character
of God. It's in the grace of God. It's in the purpose of God.
And if you look in Titus, I'm sorry, first Timothy, first Timothy,
chapter one, a good hope is in the Son of God, 1 Timothy 1.1,
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our
Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. That which is was added
by the translators. I think it reads better if you
say, the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. Christ is our hope. Now, I say this over and over
and over again, all these gifts of God, none of them are things.
It's all persons. Righteousness is not a thing.
Righteousness is a person, the Lord, our righteousness. Sanctification
is not a thing. Christ is our sanctification.
Same thing holds true with our hope. Christ is our hope. Who he is and what he did, he
is our hope. Look back at Romans chapter 15. A good hope is a hope in God. Now the God of hope filled you
with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through
the power of the Holy Ghost. A good hope is in God who is
the God of hope. That's the only place you can
find any hope is in God. He's the God of hope. A good
hope is Christ. It is him and it's based upon
him. My experience is not my hope. Christ is my hope. My profession of faith and my
baptism is not my hope. Christ is my hope. Now, if he's
my hope, I'll confess him. I'll follow him and believe his
baptism, but that's not my hope. Christ is my hope. My ability
is not my hope. My hope is this. Christ is able. Wayne, I'm not. He is. That's a good hope, isn't it?
My hope is not in my prayers. I enjoy prayer, commuting with
our Heavenly Father, but my hope is not in my prayers. My hope
is that Christ ever liveth to make intercession for me. My
hope is that Christ is my King. He's in control. I'm not the
pilot. He's the co-pilot. I'm back there
in coach. He's the pilot. My hope is that Christ is my
King, that he is my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification
and redemption. Christ is my hope. Now look over
in Ephesians chapter 2. If your hope is anything other
than Christ alone, you have no hope. None. Ephesians 2 verse
12. Paul here is writing to these
Gentile believers. He said, at that time you were
without Christ. Now, what's the ramification
of being without Christ? You're aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in the world. If you're without Christ
and without God, you have no hope. A good hope is based in
God. Seventh, a good hope. will not make you ashamed, ever. Romans 5, 5. And hope maketh
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. A good hope
maketh not ashamed in three ways. Number one, no one who trusts
in Christ will ever be ashamed, because they're found guilty.
Now you see these people, they're arrested and they're in court,
they're leaving court, and they've been found guilty. And they're
leaving them out. What do they always do? They're ashamed because they're
found guilty. No believer in Christ will ever
be ashamed. Ever. Because Christ was found
guilty for us. He bore the shame, so His people
will never be ashamed. Secondly, a good hope maketh
not ashamed. No one who trusts in Christ will
ever be ashamed because they're found naked. Now, that would
put us all to shame. We'd all be running for a covering.
No one in Christ will ever be ashamed because they're found
naked. Because Christ, our substitute, was stripped naked for us. Stripped
naked before men and stripped bare naked before the Father,
before the justice of his Father. And he has clothed us with his
righteousness, so we'll never be naked. We're clothed in his
righteousness. Third, a good hope maketh not
ashamed. No one in Christ will ever be
ashamed because they're separated from the Father. Why not? Because Christ was separated
for his people. At Calvary, he cried, my God,
my God, why is thou forsaken? He was forsaken of the Father
as a substitute for his people. So his people never will be.
Never separated from the Father in hell. Never have reason to
be ashamed. A good hope maketh not ashamed. Now look over in Hebrews chapter
7. A good hope is a hope of righteousness. And it's a hope of righteousness
by faith in Christ. Hebrews 7 verse 19, For the law
made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope
did, by which we draw nigh unto God. Now who is that better hope? That better hope is the Lord
Jesus Christ. And if you come to God in Christ,
you can draw nigh. You'll be accepted. You have
a good hope. Why do you know you have a good
hope of being accepted? Because the father himself said
we're accepted in the beloved. You have a good hope of being
accepted if you come to the father by him. And if your righteousness
is Christ, then you have a good hope. The law couldn't make you
perfect. The law couldn't give you a righteousness. But Christ
did. We're made the righteousness
of God in him. Because we sought it by faith.
Israel never attained to that law, did they? They never attained
to righteousness. Why not? They sought it not by
faith. But the Gentiles, which didn't
seek after it, they have attained to righteousness. Why? They sought
it by faith. They lay hold on Christ by faith. That's a good righteousness.
Or a good, well, a perfect righteousness is a good hope. Ninth, you have
a good hope if God calls you. Now who did the calling? Who
called you to Christ? Who called you to faith? Was
it a decision you made? Did you decide one day, you know,
I think I'll accept Jesus. I hope not. Because if you did,
that's a bad hope. But if one day you came to the
Lord because God Almighty called you and you could not come, He
showed you Christ and you came to Him, you fell at His feet
begging Him for mercy, then you have good hope. Because God chose
you and God called you, He'll never cast you out. Ephesians
1, 18, that you may know what is the hope of His calling. That was Paul's prayer for those
Ephesians believers, that you might know the hope of His calling. If He called you, you've got
a good hope. I'm thankful God calls His people.
He never waits on us to call him. We never would call him. God calls his people. And that
makes us call on him, call on his name. And we hear that call
of God through the preaching of the gospel. When God's word
is preached, God gives you sight to see. And you come to him because
he called you. That's a good hope. Tenth, a
good hope is that Christ is in you by the new birth. Colossians
chapter 1. A good hope is that Christ has
been formed in you. Colossians 1 verse 27. 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. A good hope is that
Christ is formed in you. Now, you know if Christ is in
you or not. You know that. You know if you
have a good hope or you don't. You can't rest from all of your
labors and not know it. Friday evening, Moose and Sandy
Parks came over. And like I'm prone to do, I kept
them up way too late. We got up early in the morning.
They had to go to Danville. We went to the Reds game. Well,
we went up to the Reds game, sat in that hot sun all day,
drove home. I was tired. When I laid down
in bed, I knew it. I knew I was resting. If you're
resting in Christ, you're resting from all of your labors, you
know it. You can't be part Because there's
no life in you, no water in you and quench your thirst from the
fountain of the water of life and not know it. If you drank
deeply from those waters, you know it. You can't be dead and
Christ called you to life like he did Lazarus and come forth
from the grave and be set loose and not know it. If he's called
you from death unto life, you know that. You can't fill your
hunger with Christ, the bread of life, and not know that you've
eaten His body and drank His blood. You can't not know that.
You can't be sitting in the darkness of the prison and Christ come
and open the doors and set you free and you suddenly come into
the light of Christ and not know you've passed from darkness into
light. You can't know that. You can't be healed of all of
your sin sicknesses by Christ and not know it. That woman with
the issue of blood, she reached up and touched the hem of his
garment. She instantly knew she was healed. She didn't have to
go to a doctor to confirm it. She didn't have to have, you
know, multiple checkups for the Mayo Clinic to find out if she
was healed. She instantly knew, I'm healed. And she instantly knew who did
it. If Christ heals you of all your sin sicknesses, you can't
not know that. But you don't have a good hope
if you do not have Christ formed in you. If you don't have Christ
formed in you by the new birth, you have no hope. Let's see what
God's Word says. Romans chapter 8. That's not
just Frank's doctrine. This is what God's Word says.
This is what I told you at the beginning. If you have a good
hope, you can find a verse of Scripture that is the basis for
it. Romans 8 verse 6, For to be carnally
minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, if any man does not have Christ formed in him, he
is none of his. But if Christ be formed in you,
the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. If you don't have Christ formed
in you by the new birth, you don't have a hope. You don't
have a living hope, you have a dead hope. Everybody's got
some sort of hope. But if that hope is not in Christ,
formed in you by the new birth, it's a dead hope. Peter said
in 1 Peter 1.3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again. We've been born again unto a
lively hope, a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. A believer has a living hope,
a hope of eternal life. because Christ was raised from
the dead. We have a living hope because
of a living Savior. God's elect are given spiritual
life by the very same power that raised Christ our Savior from
the dead. It's a living hope. We have a good hope of the resurrection
of these bodies because Christ was raised. If he's raised, he's
the firstfruits. There are going to be many more
to follow him because he was raised. In Acts 23, the Apostle
Paul was nearly pulled in two. He thought he's going to get
pulled limb from limb because he said this, I'm here because
of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. That's why these
men have called me into question, because of the hope of the resurrection
of the dead. That's a good hope. If Christ
is raised and Christ is formed in you by the new birth, that's
a good hope. And last, A good hope comforts
the heart and establishes the heart. I hope all these reasons, points
of a good hope, doesn't sound like a lecture.
I was in a bunch of college lectures. Not one of them did I ever enjoy. A good hope, a hope in Christ,
Christ being formed in you, comforts the heart, establishes the heart. If your hope is in Christ, your
heart's comforted, even in the worst of circumstances. There
where David talked about, I got up before the morning, got up
before the sun came up and cried. I was weeping, but I hoped in
your word. That's a good hope that comforts
your heart, even in those times of sorrow and suffering. If Christ
has been formed in you, you will be established. If Christ is
formed in you, you won't be soothshaken. You won't leave Him. You won't
depart from Him. Well, you would have left your own devices, wouldn't
you? But you can't, because Christ is formed in you. Now, that comforts the heart.
See, that puts the hope not on me, not on my faithfulness, but
on His faithfulness. If your hope is in Christ, You'll
be established. Established. Because of Christ,
you have an anchor of your soul. That's Hebrews 6, 19. Christ
is the anchor of our soul. So you'll be established. You
won't leave Him. And you'll be established in
Him. And you'll be established in
every good word and work. That hope will show itself by
your actions. If you've got a good hope, it's
going to be demonstrated by your actions. If you wonder if your
neighbors are home, you'd think, well, I'd like to go borrow a
cup of sugar. Wonder if they're home. How do you tell if they're
home? Are the lights on? If the lights are on, the light's
going to come out the windows. And you'll know if somebody's
there or not. If God's turned the light on,
if Christ, the light of the world, has been formed in you, the light's
going to come out the windows. It'll leak out on you. People
will be able to tell. If Christ is your hope, you have
a good hope. If Christ is your hope, you have
a good hope of the forgiveness of sins because your hope of
forgiveness is in his blood, in his sacrifice. You have a
good hope if you're being kept by the power of God. If he called
you, he'll keep you. You have a good hope of eternal
life with Christ. face to face, worshiping Him
face to face. If your hope's in Him, why? Because He prayed, Father, I
will that they be with me where I am. If your hope's in His will,
it's a good hope. You have a good hope of your
vile body being changed into a body just like the glorious,
precious body of our Lord Jesus Christ, if your hope's in Him.
Because when we're resurrected, we're going to be resurrected
just like Him. And that hope, Paul says in Romans 12, 12, rejoicing
in hope. If Christ is your hope, you will
rejoice in Him. Rejoicing in hope. Alright, I
hope the Lord will bless that to you.