Hope Channels
Romans 1513
Our God is calling us to be channels of hope into other people's
lives. It is a wonderful role to play in the family of God as
well as in the society around us. Let us explore the possibility
of achieving this through trustful prayer. We shall see that we
must count on the generating power of God's Holy Spirit as we
make it a priority.
1. PRIME SOURCE of HOPE
2. PRODUCTS of HOPE
3. PERSONAL CHANNELS of HOPE
4. POWER GENERATOR of HOPE
1. PRIME SOURCE of HOPE
"May God, the Source of hope....," (GNB)
(a) Hope springs from God
God is the Source of true hope which springs into our hearts as
we put our trust in him, Hope coming from God reflects His love,
grace, power and faithfulness. His promises can all be relied on
in the ups and downs of life. Our Father in heaven wants all in
His family not only to receive hope from Him but also to share
His hope with others, the wonderful hope of eternal life, John
316.
(b) Hope resourced by trust
Hope is certainty about the future based on our trust in God's
character revealed in His Word. As we trust in Him, we draw on
His hope resources which fill our hearts and lives to the point
of overflowing, It might be a good idea to begin each day with a
prayer like this, "Lord, I want to begin this day by placing
my hope afresh in
You because I am trusting in You." (c) Affirmed in daily
prayer
As we affirm our hope in God, our Father in heaven, high hope
will counteract the tendency to despair that daily adversity may
cause in our think ing. A second good idea would be to memorize
passages such as Romans 1513 so that they will surface in our
minds when we lift our hearts to God Throughout the day.
Focussing on hope in our prayers will make us positive in our
thinking, speech and behaviour.
2. PRODUCTS of HOPE
".....fill you with all joy and peace..." (a) Two
products joy & peace
Joy
Joy in daily life springs from joy in the Lord which, in turn, is
produced by hope in God. S.D. Gordon wrote, "Joy is
distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing. It is the
reverse of happiness. Happiness is the result of what happens of
an agreeable sort. Joy has its springs deep down inside. And that
spring never runs dry, no matter what happens, Only Jesus gives
joy." Joy is hope echoing within us!
Peace
God's peace passes understanding, Phi.47. "Peace is not the
absence of conflict from life, but the God-given ability to cope
with life!" Like joy it is an echo of God's life generating
hope within all who trust in Him.
(b) Trust "...as you trust in him...."
Trust and hope are twin sisters. Hope is trust in God as we face
the future. It is not a guestion of us fighting to hold on,
"Do no try to hold God's hand; let Him hold yours. Let Him
do the holding and you do the trusting." (H.W.Webb-Peploe)
As we trust in God, hope is generated in us by God Himself, then
joy and peace will flower in our hearts enriching our lives, our
relationships and society around us,
3. PERSONAL CHANNELS of HOPE
"....so that you may overflow with hope...."
(a) Connected to the Source
As we trust in God we are linked to Him Who is the only true
Source of genuine hope. It helps us to remain aware of this link
if we reaffirm our trust in Him daily in our prayers.
(b) Clean channels
Unconfessed sin, an unforgiving spirit, anger out of control and
other wrongs grieve God's Holy Spirit, see Eph.430. Sincere
confession clears hope channels. What has been clogging our
channels is then cleared away and hope begins to overflow again
into others' lives through us.
(c) Constant flow
The overflow from our lives enriches others' lives. Connected by
trust and kept clear by confession, we can become channels of
God's hope into the hearts of people around us. This is what God
wants us to be. What could be more wonderful than to bring hope
into the hopeless life of another person?
4. POWER GENERATOR of HOPE
is the Holy Spirit Who helps us
(a) Opening our hearts
To be without God is to be without hope, see Eph.212. The Holy
Spirit helps us to open the
door to the Source of hope when all else seems hopeless. Let's
not shut the door on hope!
(b) Overflowing with hope
Let's focus on hope in our prayers, see Psalms 42,43 where the
writer tells himself three times to put his hope in God. As we do
this, hope will begin to flow and eventually overflow to those
hopeless people in our circle of friends,
(c) Overcoming hurts
by generating true hope, God's hope surging through us, heals
relationships ruined by selfishness, resentment and unkindness.
Is God's hope surging through us or just trickling into us?
SUMMARY
As we resource hope
through trust in God
we become channels of hope
surging into other's hearts
empowered by God's Holy Spirit.
LESSONS
1. In prayer we must focus on God as our
Hope-Source in order to start the flow
of hope into our lives,
2. Joy and peace are hope products flowering
in our lives.
3. As hope pours through us into others' lives,
people are encouraged and lives are changed;
4. A hope surge generated ',y the Holy Spirit will beal hurts!
NJT 2000
PRAYER
Gracious heavenly Father,
hope is withering in so many hearts,
drying up in communities and families
all around me,
scouring society with hopelessness
and I'm hearing cries for help.
O Lord, You are the infinite Source
of all true hope,
so I come to You with a deep desire
to be Your hope-channel to people in need
I place myself at Your disposal.
Fill me with Your Spirit, I pray,
and pour hope through me
into hope-dry hearts.
Connect me to hope-thirsty minds,
turn on the flow from Your Spirit
and keep hope flowing through me
till fresh new life germinates
in receptors' lives
and overflows still further
from them into others' lives.
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