The Believers Hope

Q: What does the Bible say about hope for believers?

The Bible teaches that believers' hope is rooted in God's mercies and faithfulness. Believers find hope not in their own merits, but in the mercies and faithfulness of God. As expressed in Lamentations 3:21-26, hope arises when one recalls God's mercies, affirming that they are not consumed. This hope is supported by God's unchanging nature and His eternal compassion, reminding believers that despite trials and afflictions, God’s love and promises remain steadfast. This hope serves to encourage believers to examine their faith amidst life's uncertainties, coupling their assurance with diligent trust in God.

Q: How do we know God's promises are true?

God's promises are true and unchanging, confirmed by His unchanging nature. The certainty of God's promises is grounded in His immutable character; as stated in Malachi 3:6, 'I am the Lord, I change not.' This assurance gives believers confidence that God's mercies are fresh each day, and His covenant will never falter. The scriptures emphasize that God's faithfulness is not dependent on human actions, but rather on His eternal purposes and grace. Believers can rest assured that His promises of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life will be fulfilled, as seen in Romans 8:29-30, which assures that those whom He predestines, He also calls, justifies, and glorifies.

Q: Why is examining our faith important for Christians?

Examining our faith is essential to ensure it aligns with God's Word rather than mere experience. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul instructs Christians to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith. This practice is crucial because it helps believers to differentiate between genuine faith and potential counterfeit feelings or experiences. The examination should be grounded in Scripture rather than subjective emotional states, as stated in the sermon, 'I’m not talking about our experience... but a daily examination of one’s hope and faith.' By routinely assessing their spiritual condition, believers can maintain their dependence on God's mercies and ensure they are not swayed by the fickle nature of personal experiences or cultural pressures.

Q: What does it mean that the Lord is our portion?

The Lord as our portion means He is our source of joy, delight, and inheritance. Saying 'the Lord is my portion' signifies that God Himself is the believer's ultimate treasure and source of satisfaction, as highlighted in Lamentations 3:24. This understanding goes beyond merely receiving blessings from God; it affirms that the relationship with God is paramount. The believer's identity and joy consist in knowing God and being in fellowship with Him. As seen in Numbers 18:20, God promised Aaron that He Himself would be their inheritance, which is a reflection of the believer's calling to find their joy and identity in God rather than in material possessions or achievements.

Now, somewhere between proud
presumption and dead despair is the believer's hope. Somewhere between fleshly familiarity
with Deity, me and Jesus got a good thing going. Somewhere
between that and slavish fear lies the believer's hope. You see what I'm saying? Somewhere
between modern decisionism, accept Jesus and have a no-soul salvation,
somewhere between that and medieval puritanical fatalism that we don't know until we get
to heaven whether or not we're safe. Somewhere between that
is the believer's hope. I'm indebted to Brother Jeff
Thornberry for this statement. God has hedged us about on one
side with the promises of mercy, lest we despair. If we didn't
have them, the precious promises of his mercy and of his grace,
we would despair on every hand. And he has hedged us about on
the other side with warnings. warnings about apostasy, warnings
about unbelief, warnings about departing from the living God,
lest we presume. I think that I can be identified
with John Newton when he sang and wrote 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 can be identified with him
I have been and hope to be, but I can also identify with Newton
when he wrote and sang, "'Tis a point I long to know, and often
it gives me anxious thought. Do I love the Lord, or no, am
I his, or am I not?" I don't know that I could say every true
believer could be identified with Newton in both experiences,
but I say I can. And I believe some of you can.
I have read in the scriptures of those who lived for Christ
and died for Christ. I've read in the scriptures of
those who walk no more with him. I've read of Demas who forsook
the Apostles, having loved this present world. I've read of Judas
who sold his master for but eighteen dollars. I've read of Hymenaeus
and Alexander who made shipwreck of the faith. I've read of Simon
whose heart was not right with God. I've read Paul's writings
in the book of Hebrews where he says, Take heed, brethren.
He talks about Israel, he talks about the unbelieving Jew, but
he says, Take heed, brethren, lest there be found in you. and
evil heart of unbelief. I've ministered the gospel now
for 31 years. I have seen people profess Christ,
continue in Christ, and die in Christ. I've also seen preachers,
preachers who could preach, preachers who could weep as they preached,
preachers who had concern, burden, for the lost, Church leaders,
capable, able, talented, gifted, professed believers. I've seen
them lose interest in the gospel they claim to love, depart from
the Lord to whom they were once devoted and consecrated, and
wind up with no heart interest whatsoever in the gospel, only
a head knowledge of doctrine and an old experience that stayed
old. I wonder if you and I dare, dare,
even suppose, even consider for a moment this could happen to
us. I made the statement in my message
down in Florida on Friday evening that I hope to be saved. I hope to be like Christ. I hope
by God's good pleasure safely to arrive at home. I hope to
continue in the faith. I would not boastfully declare
that I will. I hope to. And I got challenged
severely by a young preacher, 25 years old, after the service
was over. He said, We know we're safe. And I said, Son, are you a minister? He said, I plan to be. I said,
well, I'll tell you this, your problems haven't even begun,
your trials haven't even started, your tribulations are all ahead.
I want you to see me in about 40 years, and I want you to make
the same statement you're making right now. Your difficulties
are ahead. How do you know you're ship afloat,
you haven't been in the water? How do you know that you can
endure when you have had no trials to endure? Do we dare examine
our faith? Our Lord tells us to. He says,
examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. And this is
not something that's done today and forgotten. It's something
done every day by the wise person. Dare we to make our calling and
election sure? Dare we give diligence, as the
Apostle Peter says, diligence to make that calling and election
sure? Dare we look into it? Dare we submit our hope to the
Word of God? I'm not talking about our experience. I'm saying that Satan can give
amazing experiences. I read again today, I turned
over the book of Exodus, and I read where Moses was talking
with the Lord, and the Lord told him to go before Pharaoh and
tell Pharaoh to let his people go. And God told Moses, take
that rod with him, and that rod would is he cast it down, he
did it, and it became a serpent. And so Moses went before Pharaoh,
and he stood there and he said, ìLet the people go.î And Pharaoh
wanted to see a sign. He said, ìWhoís the Lord that
I should obey him?î And Moses threw his rod down and it became
a serpent. Pharaoh called in his wise men and Egyptian miracle
makers, and they saw the serpent and they threw their rods down
and they became serpents. And then the scripture says,
and Pharaoh's heart was hardened. And he said, I will not let him
go. Satan is an imitator. Satan is a counterfeiter. Satan
is an imposter. And he can show some mighty wonders.
He can generate some interest. He can give experiences. He's
a subtle, crafty, deceitful woman. And I'm not asking us tonight
to examine our experience, because it may be a false experience.
I'm not asking us to examine our feelings. Feelings depend
largely on circumstances. It's easy to feel religious when
things are going your way. That's the religion that's being
preached today. It's a health and wealth religion.
I heard a preacher on the radio the other day, and he said, if
you'll tithe, God will bless you. Well, that's a good deal.
That's a good deal. Now, if you promise me a million
dollars, I'll give you ten percent of it. No problem there at all.
If you promise me $100,000, I'll give you $10,000. That's a good
deal. Anybody would be a fool not to
take you up on that. Isn't that right? Sure, it's
a good deal. Another preacher says this, he says, if you'll
accept Jesus, he'll heal your body. That's a good deal. I don't
know anybody that's got arthritis or rheumatism or cancer that
wouldn't accept Jesus to be healed. That's a good deal, isn't it? But what if he said, you accept
Christ, believe on him, they'll kill you tomorrow? That's not
too good a deal, is it? The world doesn't talk that way.
The world's religious people don't preach that way. It's exchange. I do good for God and God will
do good for me. And I'm not asking you to examine
your feelings. I'm not asking you to examine
your doctrine. Our religious doctrine depends a lot on our
tradition, our training, how we were brought up. It depends
a lot on how we think. It depends on our intellect. But I'm asking you this, and
I'm asking myself this, dare I examine my present hope? My
present hope. That's what Jeremiah's talking
about here, my present hope. He says in verse 21 of Lamentations
3, this I recalled in my mind. Therefore, I have hope. I have hope. Where is this hope? What is this hope? In whom is
this hope? On what basis is this hope? And
how do I have a hope? This hope of forgiveness, this
hope of eternal life, this hope of an inheritance, this hope
of God's favor, on what basis? Hear this man's talk back here,
he says in verse 1, I'm a man that has seen affliction. I've
seen the sharp side of God's rod. He says in verse 2, he's
led me and brought me into darkness, not into light. I've spent more
time in the darkness than I have in the light. Surely, verse 3,
God's turned against me. He turned his hand against me
all day. My flesh and my skin he's made old. It's withering,
wrinkled and gray. He's broken my bones. He hath
built it against me, encompassed me with gall and travail. He's
set me in dark places. Verse 7, he's hedging me about
and I can't get out. He's made me change. They're
heavy. They're heavy. Some of you identify with that,
can't you? I cry out, verse 8, and he doesn't answer my prayer.
You ever been there? God doesn't answer my prayer.
That does away with the whoopee religion, Charlie. I know what
I'm saying because God answered my prayer. That does away with
that one verse right there. Jeremiah was saved and God didn't
answer his prayer. God didn't hear me. David said
the same thing. He said, How long, Lord, will
I cry and you not answer? The prophet said, The heavens
are brass. He then closed my ways with hewn
stone, made my path crooked. Verse 10, He was under me as
a bear lying in wait, and a lion in secret places. He turned aside
my ways, and he pulled me in pieces. Can you identify with
that? is torn to pieces, distressed. I'm telling you folks, this modern
preaching, this modern religion that promises flower-strong pathways
and happy times and the amen feeling and happy all the time,
is not of God. Because you read these old men
of God And there were times they talked like, look at verse 12,
he had bent his, think of Job, he had bent his bow and sent
me as a mark, he made a bull's eye out of me. I'm not doing
the shooting, he said, I'm over there as the target. Look at
verse 13, he had caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my
reins. I was a derision to all my people. Everybody's going to like you
if you accept Jesus. And I became a laughing stock. They made foul songs about me,
he said. God filled me with bitterness,
bitterness. Made me drunken with wormwood,
broken my teeth. Removed, verse 17, my soul from
peace. Verse 18, my strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord. Remembering my affliction and
the misery and the wormwood and the gall, my soul hath them still
in remembrance and is humble in me." Now, we can identify
with some of this. Can we identify with the next
part, though? In this he said, I recall to
mind, therefore hath I hope. I have hope. First of all, here
is the first foundation stone of his hope. You mean through
all this a man can have hope of forgiveness and pardon and
mercy and eternal life and inheritance and walking with God? Yes, sir.
Jeremiah says, I have hope because, listen, it is of the Lord's mercies
that we're not consumed. We're not consumed, he said,
not because of our merit, but his mercy. We're not consumed,
not because of our righteousness, but his mercy. We're not consumed,
not because of our dedication, but his mercy. Not because of
our faithfulness, but his mercy. That's the reason we're not consumed.
There are two foundations here upon which to hope. Either my
works or his grace. It can't be both. If I'm going
to hope on my works, when they fail, I fail. But if I hope on
his mercy, I can't fail till it fails. You see what I'm saying? It's either my merit or his mercy. Salvation's total grace, total
mercy, or total works, or total merit. Which is it? And Isaiah
said, this is my hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that
I'm not concerned. First of all, his eternal mercies.
Turn to Romans 8. The first basis is his mercy. And Romans chapter 8 says this. Look at verse 29. Here it is,
Romans 8, verse 29, "...his eternal mercies, for whom he did foreknow,
he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he," Christ, "...might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, he called." And whom he called,
them he justified, and whom he justified, them he glorified."
Now, what shall we say to these things? Here's what we say, if
God be for us, who can be against us? It's by his mercies, and
because of his mercies, and on account of his mercies, that
we're not consumed. Turn, if you will, to the book
of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, and listen
to the prophet Malachi, chapter 3, verse 6. Listen to what he
says the Lord is declaring here. Malachi 3, 6. For I am the Lord,
I change not. I don't change in my purposes,
I don't change in my covenant, I don't change in my counsel,
I don't change in my intentions. I change not, therefore you sons
of Jacob are not consumed. That's the first stone in the
foundation of my hope. God's mercies change not, his
eternal mercies. And then his redemptive mercies
turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1, his eternal mercies,
whom he foreknew, he predestinated 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, and I will not
change in those purposes, God said. Ephesians 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Christ, according, because, not
because we believe, not because we serve God, not because we
preach, according as he chose us in Christ. before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him, in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his own
will. God won't change. The gifts and
calling of God are without change, and salvation is a gift and salvation
is a God will not change. His eternal mercies are the same,
his redemptive mercies are the same, and his intercessory mercies
are the same. Turn back to Romans 8. Let's
look at another verse, verse 34. Who is he that condemneth? Who can condemn me? Paul challenges
anybody, any source. Who can condemn me? Paul, how
can you be so boastful? What is the basis of your boasting?
Who can condemn me? Here's the basis. Christ died. And Christ rose again. And Christ
is at the right hand of God making intercession for us. That's the
basis of it. God will not change in his eternal
mercies, in his covenant mercies, in his redictive mercies, or
in his intercessory mercies. He will not change. He will not
change. Turn to Hebrews 7. Verse 24 and
25, Hebrews 7, 24 and 25, listen to this. But this man, talking
about Christ, this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchanging,
an unchangeable, unchangeable place to him. Now, I hear people
say, prayer changes things. Okay. God may use prayer to accomplish
a purpose, change your condition. He may use prayer to change your
attitude. He may use prayer to change your
direction. He may use prayer to change this
world. But prayer never changes God.
I change not, he said. I change not. I am the Lord,
I change not. He can't change. If God changes,
he has to change either for the better In that way he would not
be perfect. Or he must change for the worse,
and in that way he would not be perfect. God is the same and
he's unchanging. I've changed not. The gifts and
calling of God are without change. I am the Lord, I've changed not.
Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. His mercy is unchanging. Now watch this. This man hath
an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore? Because he does not
change. Because he has an eternal priesthood.
Because he has the suitable gifts to offer, he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. Now back to the text. So in Lamentations, Jeremiah
says first of all, goes through all of this distress and broken-heartedness
and concern and things aren't going right and dark clouds overhead
it seems like his prayers get no further than the ceiling and
can't pray and and his feelings are all gone and so forth but
he says I have hope I have hope and my hope is this the Lord's
mercies that's my hope it is the Lord's mercies that we're
not consumed. Now, consumed. Our states may
be consumed, but not our souls. Our health may be consumed, but
not our souls. Our families may be consumed.
David said that, although it be not so with my house, God
has made with me an everlasting covenant. Our bodies may be consumed,
and someday they will, but not our souls. God will not change. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not concerned. That's where it all starts. That's
where you find rest and peace and confidence and hope. Not
in your merit, in his mercies. Not in your gifts, but in his
grace. Not in your faithfulness, but
in his almighty counsels and predestinating purposes. Now, secondly, verse 22, again. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed, because his compassions fail not. What are
these compassions? His love, his tender compassions. They don't fail. Look at the
next line. Why, they're new every morning. His affections. He said, I've drawn you with
an eternal love. His tender compassions, his love. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? So tribulation, distress, persecution,
famine, nakedness, peril, sorrow, knowing all these things were
more than conquerors through him who loved us. I'm persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor height, nor depth, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor any other creature
can separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
my Lord. That's where it is. God's love
in Christ. Not my love for Christ, God's
love in Christ. His compassion failed us. The
love and mercy and grace of God, though old as the beginning,
he chose us from the beginning. He loved us from the beginning.
He set us apart from the beginning. Christ knew from the beginning
who should believe and who should deny it. But the love of God,
which is from the beginning, old as the beginning, is ever
new, always fresh. Listen to what he says. Every
morning, every morning, You know, today's grace is not sufficient
for tomorrow's need. Now this is where we run into
trouble. The Bible speaks in this vein, give us this day,
our daily bread. The Bible speaks in this vein,
we have an advocate. Little children, I write unto
you that you sin not, but if any man sin, we have an advocate.
Not we had one, we have one. in John 13. You want to look
at that a moment? John 13. Our Lord, here in John
13, the disciples came in from out on the road, and they wore
sandals and their feet were dirty. And they had no servant there.
It was the job of the servant to sit down and wash the feet
of people who came into a home for dinner. There was no servant
there. So our Lord arose and laid aside his garment and girded
himself with a big towel and got a basin of water and sat
down in front of the Apostle Peter to wash his feet. And Peter
said here in chapter 13, verse 6, Then cometh he to Peter, and
Peter said, Lord, do you wash my feet? And our Lord answered,
verse 7, and said, What I do now, what I do what I do, thou
knowest not now, but you shall know hereafter." You don't understand
what I'm doing. Now, if this is only a lesson
in humility, Peter could see it right there, no problem. He's
not dumb, he could see it right there. But what Christ was doing,
Peter didn't understand then, couldn't understand then. But
you shall know. Peter said, well, Lord, you'll
never wash my feet. And Jesus said, Peter, if I don't
wash thee, you have no part with me, no part. Peter said to him,
Lord, don't wash my feet only, then, if my part with you depends
on your washing my feet. Wash me all over, my head and
my hands and my body. And Christ said, Peter, he that
is washed, he that is washed needeth not save or accept to
wash his feet. He's clean. He's clean everywhere. You're clean, not all of you.
All of you are not clean. He knew who should betray him.
He knew Judas wasn't clean. Therefore said he, ye are not
all clean. So after he had washed their feet and taken them to
God, so what's he saying to Peter? Here he says, Peter, if I don't
wash your feet, you don't have any part with me. And Peter said,
well, just wash my head and my hands. He said, you're already
clean. You're already clean. You just need your feet washed.
For example, when a person takes a bath. Suppose we wore sandals
nowadays and walked out there. We took a bath and we walked
right straight down to the church. We left home and walked to the
church. By the time we got here our feet were dirty. But we don't
need to take another bath because we're clean. All we need to do
is wash our feet because we got our feet soiled walking down
here. The believers are cleansed by
the blood of Christ. They are washed in the blood
of Christ. They're thoroughly cleansed. They're clean. But
brethren, daily through this world, in our conversation In
our thoughts, in our imaginations, in our actions, in our motives,
in our deeds, we touch this world and we touch sin and we touch
these things that are contaminating and so forth, and we need daily
cleansing, we need daily forgiving, we need daily washing. And that's
what his love and mercy does. It daily cleanses us. It daily
sanctifies us. It daily purifies us. Our Lord
daily intercedes. He washed us on the cross. He's
cleansed us by his blood. He's purified us by sacrifice. But his love and his compassion,
they are new every morning. They're new every morning. They're
new every morning. They fail not. His grace is new
every day. He's faithful. We're not. Turn
to 2 Timothy 2. No, we're not. Let's be honest.
Let's don't be afraid to make statements like that. We're not. We're not totally faithful to
our calling. We're not totally faithful to our vocation. We're
not totally faithful to our prayers. We're not totally faithful to
our study. We're not totally faithful. He is. 2 Timothy 2.13. If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful. He cannot deny himself. Look
at this statement in verse 23 of Lamentations 3. He says, "...the
Lord's compassions do not fail, they are new every morning, and
great is thy faithfulness." We've been spending our time finding
assurance by somebody taking us by the hand and saying, I'm
proud of your faith, I'm proud of your dedication, I'm proud
of your confidence, I'm proud of your loyalty. The Prophet
Jeremiah is finding his hope and comfort in the Lord's faithfulness,
in the Lord's dedication, in the Lord's loyalty, not in his
own. Great is his faithfulness. He's
faithful to himself, he's faithful to his purpose, he's faithful
to his covenant, he's faithful to his son. And that's my hope. As I say, when we're in the happy
hour, we don't have any problem with this thing of hope. When
we're on the mountaintop and on victory lane, we don't have
any problem with despair, do we? But when we're in the valley,
like this man was here, when the heavens are shut up, and
when darkness is about us, and when then we go to the real source
of hope, And then we go to the real source of our confidence. And it can't be in this flesh.
It can't be in anybody else's flesh. We have to go to him.
He says, I have hope because of God's mercies. I have hope
because God's compassion and God's love doesn't fail. It's
new every morning. It's new every morning. I have
hope because of his faithfulness. His faithfulness. He cannot deny
himself. And then thirdly, look at verse
24. I have hope because the Lord is my portion, saith my mouth. No, sir. Uh-uh. That's easy to
say. But saith my soul. That's where
it comes from. The Lord is my portion. Saith
my soul. Saith my soul. I can't hear your
soul, but God can and you can. We can hear men's mouths when
they testify, and we can hear men's mouths when they preach,
and we can hear men's mouths when they pray, and we can hear
men's mouths when they profess, but he says, The Lord is my...
What's that word, portion? That word is inheritance, delight,
joy. The Lord is my inheritance. The Lord is my delight. The Lord
is my joy." Here is where the religious crowd is missing it. Jeremiah is not talking
of his pardon, he is talking of his presence. Jeremiah is
not talking of his blessings, he is talking of his being. Jeremiah
is not talking only of his grace, but of his glory. Jeremiah is
not talking only of his heavenly place, but his holy person. The
Lord, not the Lord's pardon, the Lord is my joy and my delight. The Lord, not the Lord's pardon,
not the Lord's heaven, not the Lord's benefit, not the Lord's
blessing, any fool would take those. But he says the Lord is
my portion. He's my portion. He's my portion. Turn to Numbers
18. Here's an interesting scripture. Numbers 18. God's speaking to
Aaron here. Numbers 18. And verse 20, Aaron
and the priest were not to have any property. They were not to
have any land. They were not to have, when they
divided up the land, they didn't give any to Aaron. And it's what
God said, Aaron, verse 20, Numbers 18, the Lord is speaking to Aaron,
Aaron, you will have no inheritance in their land, neither shall
you have any part among them. I'm your part. I'm your inheritance. I'm your part. I'm your portion.
That's the word, Charlie. Now, we're priests. I'm not preaching
against owning land. That's what people so often do.
They get hold of what a preacher says, and they're so materialistic-minded
and they misinterpret it. What he's saying to Abram is,
Abram, you don't need these things. I'm your portion. I'm your inheritance. I'm your delight. I'm your joy.
And you don't need these things, they're unimportant, for you're
able as a type of every priest, and we're priests. God has made
us, by the blood of Christ, kings and priests. And while we have
these things, we don't need them. They're not our delight, God
is our delight. They're not our inheritance,
God is our inheritance. They're not our joy, God is our
joy. And this way, I tell you, this
is where the religious crowd's missing it today. And I turn
on my television. If you can't tell a difference,
well, I don't mean to sound this way, but I feel sorry for you
if you can't see the difference. It's pathetic. But they sit here
and they talk about what a great miracle. Here's a man who was
poor and on a farm and wasn't making anything and accepted
Jesus and now he's a millionaire. That proves God's in it. That
doesn't prove anything. Doesn't prove anything. Here
the man is, let not the rich man glory in his riches, let
not the mighty man glory in his strength, let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom, let him glory in this, that he knows
me, God said. And I'll tell you, that man might
have been better off down there on that farm. He had time to
pray. He had time to study. He had time to seek the Lord.
He had time to give God all the glory. Now he rests in his material
possessions and finds his delight. Listen, A. B. Simpson caught
this. Listen to this. Once, once it was the blessing. Remember this, Ronnie? Now it
is the Lord. Once it was the feeling that I wanted. Now his word. Once his gifts
I wanted. You want gifts? Now the giver
I own. Once I sought for healing, now
himself alone. Once was painful trying, now
fateful trust. Once a half salvation, now the
uttermost. Once ceaseless holding, now he
holds me fast. Once constant drifting, now my
anchor's cast. Once I was busy planning, now
I'm trusting prayer. Once I was anxious caring, now
He has the care. Once it's what I wanted, now
what Jesus says. Once constant asking, now ceaseless
praise. Once I accepted Jesus, now I
know He's mine. Once my lamp was dying, now it
brightly shines. Once for death I waited, now
His coming I hail. And all my hopes are anchored
safe within the veil, Himself. That's what Jeremiah is saying
here. He says, verse 24, "...the Lord is my portion, the Lord
is my inheritance, the Lord is my delight, the Lord is my joy.
Therefore will I hope in him." Give me a sign. No, Christ constantly
tells us no sign shall be given. Show me a sign. Signs have changed, but he never
changes. What's the next verse? Verse
25, now. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. Everybody does not wait for the
Lord. Everybody does not seek the Lord. But he says the soul
that waits for him, God will give us what we need in his own
time. Israel waited a long time for
the consolation of Israel, did they not? Israel waited a long
time for the Messiah, but he came. But they waited. And in
God's own time he came. And he says the Lord is good
to them that wait for him, wait for him. We want it now. We want
assurance now, we want the gifts now, we want the power now, we
want all these things right now. Hurry up, Lord, hurry up. And
God doesn't hurry up. He says he's good to those that
wait for him. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He'll strengthen
your heart. Wait, I say, wait, I say. David
declares on the Lord. Everybody doesn't wait. Everybody
doesn't seek. What are the marks of those who
seek the Lord? Let me give you this briefly.
First of all, those who seek the Lord do so under a sense
of need. A man will seek the Lord when
he has a need. When he has a need. When a man's
sick, he'll seek healing. When he's thirsty, he'll seek
water. When he's hungry, he'll seek food. And a man doesn't
seek something until he has a need. And a person does not seek the
Lord until he has a need. He feels guilty and he wants
pardon. He feels far off and he wants fellowship. He feels
sinful and he wants forgiveness. He feels everything that he ought
not to be, ought not to do, ought not to think, and he wants to
be renewed. So he seeks the Lord. He seeks
the Lord. Second mark of those who seek
the Lord. Those who seek the Lord do so under a sense of need. Secondly, they have a measure
of faith, or they will not seek the Lord. It may not be the strongest
faith, or the greatest faith, or the deepest faith, but he
knows this, that God's plenteous in mercy, and those mercies are
in Christ, so he seeks the Lord. He seeks Christ, the only righteousness. He seeks Christ, the only sacrifice. He sees Christ the only mediator,
and he seeks no other way to God but by Christ. Thirdly, those
who seek the Lord, those who wait upon him, do so with a sense
of need. He's the only one that can meet
the need, so I wait for him. Don't come to me and tell me
you can meet my need. You can't. I'm waiting on him.
Don't come to me and tell me you can satisfy my craving. I'm
waiting on him. He's the only one. I'm waiting
on him. I'm waiting on him, I'm seeking
the Lord. I'm doing so with a sense of need and urgency. I'm doing
so with at least a measure of faith. And then thirdly, I'm
doing it sincerely. You will find that man who seeks
the Lord doing so earnestly. There's no foolishness or insincerity
but a diligent concern in regard to the matters of his soul. Nothing
about God's word is an object of hilarity and foolishness. It's too serious. He said, you'll
seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.
And that man who is insincerity in regard to his soul, he'll
search the scriptures, he'll go to hear the word preached, I can't, can't to save my life,
believe that any person is in sincerity, seeking the Lord in
sincerity, who constantly makes foolish excuses and alibis for
not hearing the gospel preach. And to me, anything short of
sickness or death is a foolish alibi when you need God. There's only one thing I know
that ought to keep a man from hearing the word of God, and
that's to be standing before the judgment, hearing the voice
of God. I can't think of any other reason.
I say bar none, not if he's in earnest need. You say, well,
that's so-and-so sick. I don't care how sick they are.
They'll be there tomorrow. You may be in hell tomorrow.
And when a man really gets in earnest about his soul, when
he really gets in earnest about his relationship with God, he'll
hear the Word of God preached. Yes, sir, he will. He has to. And he'll seek the company of
those who know God. He'll seek the company of those
who know God. He'll want to be around them
because if they know him, maybe they'll introduce him to me.
Maybe I'll receive some help from them. That's right, sincerely. God says he's good to those that
wait for him, to those that seek him. Seek him. I would not be denied. That's
what Jacob said, I will not let you go until you bless me. I will not do it. I will not
be denied. Strive to enter in, he said,
for many shall seek to enter in. When a man finds that pearl of
great price laying in the field, he goes and sells everything
he's got and buys that field to get that pearl. And that pearl
is Christ. God says he's good. I don't care
how dark it is, how solid the heavens are. I care not what
the trial may be. I care not what it may seem that
we're in. If a man's seeking Christ, waiting
upon God, and seeking Christ earnestly and sincerely, say,
I'll be good to him. I'll be good to him. I'll be
good to him. They seek the Lord, listen, fourthly,
they seek him continually, continually. What does David say? I'm not
satisfied. I'm not going to be satisfied.
I'll be satisfied when I wake with his likeness. I need thee every hour. Stay
thou nearby. They that seek the Lord, he said,
I'll be good to them. The Lord, here's my foundation,
here's my hope, Isaiah said. I know this, that the Lord is
good to them that wait on him. Old Simeon. Simeon was an old
man, old man. How old, I don't know, but he
was an old man, bent and wrinkled, scarred by time. Back yonder
somewhere, God said, Zemeun, you're not going to die till
you see my salvation, till you see the Christ. I wonder how
many times he thought about that promise. He'd look out and see
the priests and the Pharisees and the Sadducees compromising
the crew. He'd see God's house turned into
a den of iniquity and a place for thieves and hucksters and
making merchandise of the souls of men. He saw the modernism
creep in, and the superstition, and all of these
things creep in, and he was by himself. And he walked into that
temple one day, just as was his custom, going about the service
of the Lord all these years, waiting, waiting. He walked in there one day and
a young woman came in with a baby in her arms, to have that whatever
was required of the baby in the Jewish law. And she put that
baby in the arms of that old priest. And he looked into that
baby's face. And all those years just rolled
off his shoulders, and all the trials, and all the darkness,
and all the difficulty. And he raised his eyes to heaven
and he said, Now Lord, let me die. Let me die. Let thy servant depart in peace. I've seen what I've been waiting
on. He waited on the Lord. He waited on the Lord. Be patient. Be patient. Be patient. Look at the next
verse, and I'm going to close. I've preached too long, but it's
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait, and that word
silently wait, on the salvation of the Lord. Dr. John Gill says the original text
declares, it's good that a man should both hope and silently,
be silent, and wait for the deliverance of the Lord. We need to learn to wait on the
Lord in hope for deliverance from present trials and afflictions. to be silent, not to take matters
in our own hands, not to complain against God's providence, but
to wait silently, hopefully. Our hope is unseen. Actually,
I haven't seen what I wait for. Our hope is not only unseen,
but it's future. It's not only unseen and future,
but it's impossible with me and I can't do anything about it.
I cannot put my sins away. I might as well wait on God.
I cannot write my name in the book of life. I might as well
wait on God. I cannot heal my distress. I
might as well wait on God. He's all I can. I might as well
keep my mouth shut. I might as well quit complaining
against this I might as well quit finding fault with his patience
and long-suffering. I can't do any of it. I cannot
make my heart right. I might as well wait on God."
That's what he's saying here. It's good. It's good to them
that wait for him now. You don't need to run around
and hunt a clever preacher. You don't need to run around
and find where they clap their hands and sing and dance. You
just need to sit and wait on the Lord. Oh, but they're doing great things
over here!" I don't know whether they are or not. You don't either. Your hope's unseen. Your hope's
future. Your hope's impossible. But it's
certain in Christ. Now, what you've got to find
out is in whom are you hoping? Upon whom are you waiting? Are
you waiting for a feeling? It may come any time. Are you
waiting for experience? Go out and get you one. Are you
waiting for the right church? Go build you one. Are you waiting
for the right doctrine? Go memorize it. But if you're
waiting on the Lord, you've got to wait on the Lord. And in his
due time, in due season. Listen to this old hymn and I'll
let you go. Oh, why are you so heavy, my
soul? Thus to myself I said. Why are
you so heavy, my soul, and so disquieting? Hope thou in God,
He still shall be thy glory and thy praise. His saving grace
shall comfort thee through eternal days. His goodness made you what
you are, and yet will thee redeem. So be thou of a waiting heart,
and put your trust in him." There it is, there's the believer's
hope, right there. That's the believer's hope. Yes,
sir. It's somewhere between presumption
and despair. It's somewhere between fleshly
familiarity and cold-headed fatalism. And that's where it is. It's
in him. I wait on him. I wait on him. Sink or swim,
Spurgeon said, I wait on him. I cling to him. I look to him.
He's the only one who can meet my needs. Read that scripture
some more. Don't just say we've heard another
sermon, but go back and read that. And here's what I'm trying
to do for myself and for you. Make it personal. These things
were done and given for our example, and I want to fit right in there.
I've been with Jeremiah in the darkness I want to be with him
in the light, in the hope. And if I can claim those promises
and wait on him, he'll fulfill every purpose for
me and for his glory.

The Believers Hope

What does the Bible say about hope for believers?

How do we know God's promises are true?

Why is examining our faith important for Christians?

What does it mean that the Lord is our portion?

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The Believers Hope

What does the Bible say about hope for believers?

How do we know God's promises are true?

Why is examining our faith important for Christians?

What does it mean that the Lord is our portion?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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