The Believer's Hope

Over in the Old Testament, there's
a little book called Lamentations. It's a little book that follows
the book of Jeremiah. It's one of the richest books
in the Bible. And I'm taking my text today
from that little book of Lamentations. I'm going to speak to you on
the subject entitled, The Believer's Hope. The Believer's Hope. Now in Lamentations chapter 3,
verse 19, listen to the prophet Jeremiah who says, I remember
mine afflictions, I remember my misery, the wormwood and the
gall, my soul hath them, that is my afflictions and my miseries
and my sins, my soul hath them in remembrance and is humbled
or bowed down within me, this I recall to mine, therefore I
have hope It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not, they are new every morning,
and great is thy faithfulness. Therefore I have hope. I remember
my afflictions and my miseries, and when I remember them, my
soul is humbled and bowed down within me. But then I remember
the Lord's mercies, And it is his mercies that were not consumed,
and his compassions they fail not, and great is his faithfulness,
therefore I have hope. And that's our subject, the believer's
hope. Do you have hope, a good hope?
You know, somewhere between proud religious presumption and there's
a lot of that, even at the judgment they're going to say, Lord, we
preached in your name and cast out devils did many wonderful
works, that's proud presumption to hold on to that even to the
judgment. But somewhere between that proud
presumption and dead despair, I don't like that either, do
you? Where a fellow says, well, nobody
can know whether he's saved or not until the dust dies down
and the smoke clears and judgment's over and then we'll wake up either
in heaven or hell. I don't like that. But somewhere between that
proud presumption and that dead despair is the believer's hope.
Somewhere between what we have so much of today, fleshly familiarity
with deity, me and Jesus got a good thing going, you know.
I don't like that. That's too familiar with the
Lord. I don't care for that at all. Build me a house next door
to Jesus and tell the angels, I'm a coming home, you know.
I don't care for that. That's too much familiarity there
with the Holy God. There's no reverence and no awe
and no fear. But I don't like that slavish
fear either. that dares not to come to God
even in prayer, and dares not to call Him Father. Somewhere
between what we have so much of today, this fleshly familiarity,
and that dead despair, and cold fatalism, and slavish fear, is
the believer's hope. Somewhere between modern decisionism,
where people walk down the aisle with the thousands and shake
a preacher's hand, decide to go to heaven when they die, And
that cold dead fatalism, you know, somewhere between that
is the believer's hope. Someone said one time, God has
hedged us in, on one side with his precious promises, lest we
despair, and on the other side with warnings, lest we presume. Did you get that? Think about
it a few moments. hedged us in, on one side with
the precious promises lest we despair, and on the other side
with the warnings, warning after warning, lest we presume. I've been with John Newton in
my mind when he sang Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that
saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm
found. I was blind, but now I see. I've
entered into that. It was grace that taught my heart
to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. But, I've also entered into what
he was saying when he wrote this song, "'Tis a point I long to
know, and oft it gives me anxious thought. Do I love the Lord,
or no? Am I His, or am I not?" Have
you experienced both feelings? Have you had both experiences?
I have, I think many of you have. You know, I've read in the Scripture
so many times of those who the Scripture says, turned and walked
no more with him. That frightens me. I read about
Judas who sold out to the religionists. I read about Demas who loved
this present world, who left the Lord. Oh, he was a firebrand. but he left the Lord because
he loved this present world. I read about Hymenaeus and Alexander
who made a shipwreck of the faith. They were in there for a while.
Yeah, and they were companions of the apostles for a while,
and they ran a race for a while, but they made shipwreck of the
faith. And then I read about Simon whose heart was not right
with God. And then I read about those in
John's epistles of whom he said, they went out from us. They were
not of us. Had they been of us, they would
no doubt have continued with us. And I read Paul's warnings
in the Hebrews. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be found in you an evil heart of unbelief. Paul and I have
been in the ministry 31 years. And I've seen preachers, and
deacons, and Sunday school teachers, and church members, professing
believers, I've seen them lose interest in the gospel. I've
seen them lose interest in Christ. I've seen them lose interest
in the Word of God. I've seen them wind up in the
gall of bitterness, in the pit of loneliness, wrapped in a false
refuge, wrapped in a false faith, wrapped in marginum and loneliness
and self-pity, but depart from the gospel. And that doesn't
frighten you. Take heed, the scripture says,
brethren, lest they be found in you. And if a brother be overtaken
in a fault, you which are strong or mature, you restore such a
one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you
also be tempted. Paul said, I keep my body and
bring it into subjection, lest when preaching to others, I,
writer of the epistles, founder of churches, chosen of God, apostle
to the Gentiles, lest I become a castaway. Do you dare examine
your hope? Do you dare examine your faith? Do you dare to examine yourselves,
as the scripture says, whether you be in the faith? Do you dare
make your calling and election sure? Do you dare to submit your
hope to the Word of God, your hope? What is your hope? I'm
not talking about your experience. Satan can give you experiences
and dreams and visions. He's the great imitator. He's
the great imposter. He's the great counterfeiter.
I'm not asking you to examine your feelings. Feelings depend
a whole lot on circumstances. Feelings depend a whole lot on
health and comfort and sickness and sorrow and death and all
these other things. Feelings are influenced by a
lot of things other than God. I'm not asking you to examine
your doctrine or your tradition. It's possible to have religious
orthodoxy and not know God. The Pharisees had religious orthodoxy. Christ called Nicodemus a master
of Israel. A master. And I read about these
fellows being a master of theology and a doctor of divinity and
all that. And I say you can be a master of theology and not
know the Lord. I'm not asking you to examine
your theology. But let's examine our hope, our
present hope. What is my hope? What is my hope
of forgiveness? What is my hope of pardon? What
is my hope of eternal life? What is my hope of the resurrection?
What is my hope? What is the believer's hope?
Go back to the text. Oh, Jeremiah sounds a beautiful
note here, doesn't he? He says, I remember my afflictions,
I remember my misery, my sins, like David said, are ever before
me, my guilt, my soul has them all in remembrance, and my soul
is bowed down, humbled within me. Then, then, I call to mind
four things. And here he gives us the fourfold
foundation of the believer's hope. I call to mind four things,
and therefore I have hope." That's right. It couldn't be clearer.
Just mark that in your Bible. It's Lamentations 3, 19 through
26. I have four things that give me hope. He said, number one,
here they are. I'll give them to you one at a time. Verse 22,
Lamentation 3. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed. It's the Lord's mercy. My hope
is not in my merit. It's in his mercy. My hope is
not in my works. It's in his mercy. It is of the
Lord's mercies, he says, that I'm not consumed. The Lord's
mercies. That's what the sinner needs.
That old publican knew what he needed. He came to the temple. He was like Jeremiah. His sins
were before him, and his heart was bowed down within him, and
his soul was in misery. And he cried, O God, O God, O
God. Be merciful to me, the sinner. That Canaanite woman knew what
she needed. She came to the Lord and she
said, Lord, have mercy. Have mercy on me. My friend,
I hear Christ offered today on radio and television and from
the pulpit. Now, don't get offended. Now,
you listen to me. I hear Christ offered as a solution
for life's problems. Or come to Jesus, He'll solve
your marriage problem. Come to Jesus, He'll solve your
financial problems. Come to Jesus, He'll solve your
health problems, and your wealth problems, and He'll make you
prosperous, and He'll give you happiness, and He'll solve your
drug problems, and solve your drink problems. Let me tell you
something. The Apostle Paul never had any
problems till he came to the Lord. That's right, he was at
the height of the religious ladder. He was Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee
of Pharisees. He exceeded many his equals.
He was the father of Benjamin. He had no problems. He rode a
white stallion. He was a conqueror. He was a
leader. He was an intellectual. He was
respected. He was admired. He came to know
Christ. He spent half his time in prison.
He was kicked around. He was stoned. He was beaten.
He was shipwrecked. He was scourged and later martyred. Apostle Peter never had any problems
till he met the Lord. That's right, and then his trials
began. So these people tell you that Christ came to solve your
financial problem. Christ didn't come to solve your
financial problem. He came to save your soul. He
came to bring mercy from the hand of God. Actually, if you
come to know Christ, your trials may increase. You know what our
Lord said? He said, think not that I am
come to bring peace to this earth. I came not to bring peace, but
a sword. I've come to set a man at variance
against his own in-laws and his own people. A man's foes shall
be those of his own household. My friend, don't come to Christ
to solve your financial problems. Come to Christ to save your soul.
You need mercy. Jesus Christ the Lord didn't
come into this world to solve your problems. He came to save
your soul. This is a faithful saying that
Jesus Christ has come into the world to save sinners of whom
I am chief. Not to solve your problem, he
said in this world you'll have tribulation. Count it not strange
when fiery trials come upon you. Christ didn't come to heal your
body and your bank account, he came to save your soul. I've
come to seek and to save them that are lost, he said. Yah shall
call his name Jesus, he shall save his people from their sin.
I'm saying to you, young man, you embrace Christ. I'm not saying
your financial problems will be solved, or your marriage problems,
or your health problems, or any of the other problems. Maybe
like David Brainerd, who was one of God's greatest preachers.
He died when he was 29 years old. Robert Murray McShane, Augustus'
top lady, who wrote Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me, Let Me Hide Myself
in Thee. He was dead at 38 years of age.
Some of God's greatest soldiers of the cross have had to endure
the greatest suffering. And that's what makes it so foolish
for you to wear a sign around on your lapel that says it's
fun being saved. Men and women have been called
upon to die for their faith and to die for Christ. Maybe God
will prosper you, maybe God will bless you. Maybe God will add
to your family, maybe God will give you help, maybe He won't.
It's all in His good providence, all for His glory, all for your
good, but whatever it is, all things work together for good
to them that love God, who are called according to His purpose.
So whether it rains or shine, I need His mercy. Whether I'm
in sickness or health, I need His mercy. Whether I'm poor or
rich, I need His mercy. Whether I am successful or a
total failure, I need his mercy. Whether in life or death, I need
his mercy. To live is Christ and to die
is gain. This world doesn't offer anything
but misery and heartache and sorrow when it's all over. But
I'll tell you, eternity offers plenty and one moment in heaven
will make this life here on earth to seem as just a vestibule leading
into the hall of eternity, just a snowflake compared to a blizzard,
just a drop of water compared to a flood. There's nothing to
it. And I know there were a lot of people in the New Testament
who followed him because of the miracles they saw, John 2, 20
through 23, and it said Christ did not reveal himself to them.
And there were people who followed him because he fed them. He gave
them loaves and fishes, and they followed him, and he did not
reveal himself to them. But I'll tell you every sinner
that needed salvation and needed forgiveness and needed mercy,
he revealed himself to them. The woman, the harlot that bathed
his feet with tears, the woman at the well, old Zacchaeus up
the tree, the thief on the cross, the leper who came and worshipped
him, and God, oh Lord, if you will, you make me clean. Those
people found mercy. They sought mercy. That's what
I'm saying to you. It's the Lord's mercies that
you're not consumed. And if you haven't come to the
Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, you haven't come at all. That's
right. If you haven't come to him for
mercy. If you've never been lost, you've never been found. If you've
never been stripped, you've never been clothed with his righteousness.
If you've never seen yourself a sinner, a condemned sinner,
you've never been saved. And you can boast of your religion
till you die and God passes judgment on you. But if you've never come
for mercy, mercy. All right, secondly, what's the
believer's hope? God's mercy. Here's mercy. Here's the second
believer's hope, second foundation. That's what Jeremiah said. Great
is his faithfulness. Now here's the second reason
why we're not consumed, why we have hope, because great is his
faithfulness. Now note this, Jeremiah didn't
say great is my faithfulness. I'm going to remain faithful.
I'm going to be loyal. I'm going to continue. No sir,
he says great is his faithfulness. That's my hope. My hope is his
mercy and his faithfulness. Listen to Malachi 3 verse 6,
I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Now you change, and I change,
and I don't know what's going to take place tomorrow, but he
never changes. Listen to Romans 11, 29, the
gifts of God, and the callings of God, and salvation's a gift,
the gift of God's eternal life, and salvation's a calling, The
gifts and callings of God are without change. God is faithful
to his covenant. That was David's hope. You know
the last words that David ever spoke on this earth? David was
dying. 2 Samuel 23 says these be the
last words of David, sweet psalmist of Israel, king of Israel, man
after God's own heart. He said, the Lord hath made with
me an everlasting covenant. Ordered in all things and sure
and this is all my salvation and all my desire God will keep
his word What is numbers chapter 23 19 say? God is not a man that
he should lie Neither the son of man that he should repent
Hath he said and shall he not do it hath he spoken shall he
not make it good God said I will do all my good pleasure I am
the Lord, I change not. God will be faithful to his covenant,
and God will be faithful to his purpose. Whom he foreknew, why,
he predestinated them to be conformed to the image of his Son. And
whom he predestinated he called, and whom he called he justified,
and whom he justified he glorified. What shall we say then to these
things? Well, I'll tell you what we'll say. If God be for us,
who can be against us? He won't change. He's faithful
to his purpose, and then he's faithful to his Son. Our Lord
Jesus said in John 6, 37, All that my Father giveth me shall
come to me, and him that cometh I will in no wise cast out. I
came down from heaven, verse 38, not to do my will, but the
will of him that sent me. And this is my Father's will,
verse 39, John 6. Read it. This is my Father's
will, and of all which he hath given me I will lose nothing,
but raise it up at the last day. He's faithful to his covenant,
he's faithful to his purpose, he's faithful to his Son. That's
my hope. That's my hope. God Almighty
is faithful. My hope? All right, here's the
third one now. God, it's the Lord's mercies that we're not
consuming. That's our hope. God is faithful to his covenant,
to his purpose, and to his Son. God will keep his word. And then
the third hope is this, verse 24, Lamentation 3. The Lord is
my portion. The Lord himself is my portion. I will hope in him. What does
the word portion mean? It means my inheritance. It means
my delight. It means my joy. The Lord himself
is my joy. Not just his word, not just his
doctrine, not just his blessings, but the Lord himself. And this
is so important. Will you hear me today? I believe
this is where most people miss salvation. They stop at the means.
They say, I love the word of God. Do you now? But do you love
the Lord who wrote the word? Somebody says, I love the sovereignty
of God. But do you love the Lord who is sovereign? Or, I love
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. But do you love the Lord
of the church? You see, it's mighty important.
People today talk about His pardon, but not His person. You can't
have the pardon without the person. The people today talk about his
blessings, but they don't talk about his being. And you can't
have his blessings without having him. And people today talk about
the heavenly place, going to that heavenly place, but they
never talk about that person who reigns in that place. Our
Lord said to the thief on the cross who begged for mercy, he
said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Paul said, I
have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Do you remember the poem by A.B. Simpson that people used to quote
years ago? I haven't heard it lately, but
it goes like this. Once it was the blessing, now
it is the Lord. Once it was the feeling, now
it is his word. Once his gifts I wanted, now
the giver I own. once I sought for healing, now
himself alone." Don't miss Christ. Don't stop at the means. Don't
come to altar, come to a person. Don't come to approval, come
to a person. Don't come to a doctrine, come
to a person. When we have Christ by faith,
we have all that Christ is. When we have Christ, when we're
in his body, his grace belongs to us. When we're complete in
Christ, we're seated with Christ in the heavens. And we have all
that he is. So this is Jeremiah's hope. He
says the believer's hope is, first of all, the Lord's mercies. It's the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed. Secondly, it's the Lord's faithfulness. And then our hope is the fact
that the Lord himself is our portion. I'm in his body. You can't separate a member of
his body from the head. You can't separate a branch from
the vine that grows in the vine, that belongs in the vine. Or
you pick up the withered branches that have been lopped off and
are laying along the side road there and throw them into the
fire. But those in the vine are living branches that bring forth
fruit. We're in Him. Now here's the fourth one. In
verse 25, our hope. The Lord is good. unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." That's his promise.
So the fourfold foundation of the believer's hope is the Lord's
mercies, the Lord's faithfulness, the Lord's person, and the Lord's
promise. Not many people wait on the Lord,
do they? Not many of us. How many of us
are really seeking the Lord? Are you seeking the Lord? David
said, as the thirsty deer panteth for the water brook, so panteth,
seeketh my soul for thee, the living God. As in a dry and thirsty
land, I'm seeking the living water. Are you seeking the Lord?
I'll tell you five marks of people who seek the Lord. Are you interested?
First of all, those who seek the Lord do so under a sense
of need. That's right. Feeling guilty,
they want pardon. Feeling far off, they want fellowship. Feeling sinful, they want forgiveness.
They have a need. Everybody who came to Christ,
read your New Testament, everybody who came to Christ came with
a need. They had sick children, they
had guilt, they had sin, they had all these needs, and all
who came to Him came with a need. The woman with the issue of blood
came with a need, and that need was met when she touched the
Lord. Secondly, those who truly seek the Lord do so in faith,
believing not in themselves, but in his word. Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord. Those that
seek the Lord do so in faith, not on the basis of their works,
but solely by faith. Look unto me, he said, and be
ye saved. Turn your eyes on Christ, look
full in his wonderful face, and all the things of this earth
will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.
Thirdly, those who truly seek the Lord do so sincerely. Now you listen to me. There is
no insincerity or hypocrisy but a diligent concern for my soul. Now you can't play at this thing
of seeking the Lord. Sincerity. Fourthly, they that
truly seek the Lord do so continually. Jacob said, I won't let you go
until you bless me. Continually. They don't quit.
And fourth, fifthly, those that truly seek the Lord are found
of him. For he said, Blessed are they
that hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled. That's
his promise. And that's the foundation of
our hope. And this message is on cassette tape. If you'd like
to hear it again or share it with a friend, you write for
it. The price is three dollars for
two messages, last week's and this week's. Until next week
at the same time, Henry Behan, bidding you a very pleasant good
day.

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