New Series: Journey of Hope
Hey, we’re going to jump into a, a new series of talks, if you will. We finished under construction, even though some of you didn’t think it would ever stop, but we finally finished.
Now we’re going to start a new series of talks called Journey of Hope. How I do things, usually, as I’m preparing or thinking or studying, I kind of build off of themes or what God’s speaking to me. What you’re going to find is we’re going to start this series of talks, kind of where we ended the last one.
This is because Mt Carmel Illinois Church that’s where God was speaking to me last. So I just kind of pick up from there. He starts speaking to me more and I just like to stay in the flow of what he’s saying. I mean, it’s good to hear from God so we’re going to do that.
I encourage you today and, I said this in the first service. I don’t know how successful I was, but I’m going to try to do a little more teaching today than preaching. I don’t know that there’s a significant difference.
One guy told me after the first service, “You know, the only difference between teaching and preaching is volume.” And I’m like, okay, that may be the case. I don’t know. But there’s some things I feel like we need to break down today. Remember the thing that’s most important to me is that we grow in our relationship with Jesus. I want you to grow in him.
Our goal is not for you to be entertained by our services. Our goal is for you to grow in your own personal relationship with him. So I’m going to say a couple of things here and I mean this in an encouraging way.
Note Takers are World Changers
I want you to learn from the messages, apply the messages and be changed by the messages. I’m really not looking to entertain. I’m not looking for someone to walk out and go, “Man, that was a good message.” I used to say this phrase a lot and I want to start it again because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I believe it’s applicable. Note takers are world changers.
There’s a reason I give you sermon notes in your worship guide, and I give you sermon notes on the YouVersion Bible app. It’s not because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I’m a glutton for punishment, just wanting to create more content. It’s becauseMt. Carmel Illinois Church I want you to get it because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I realized there’s something that I know, and again, take this the right way. If you just listened to this sermon and you don’t take notes, don’t pay attention to the sermon notes, and never listen to it back again, you’re not going to grow from this sermon.
I’ve been in this a long time and I know these messages are really, really good. Just kidding. Just kidding. I’m just saying we can’t grow you and I can’t grow without a personal revelation of God’s word.
I’m all for technology. I’m down with, you know, the Bible on your phone or your iPad. That’s why I put the sermon notes on there, but here’s what I also know, we need a relationship with the word of God outside of a screen.
I’m not being like, oh man, hating on technology message. I’m saying we need a life that’s outside of our world where we just scan and flip. We need something that we can go to that we’re not going to be interrupted by a notification on Snapchat.
I can’t delve into studying the word of God and reply to Joe on Snapchat at the same time.
You can’t do it. I can’t go into his presence and hear from God and feel the vibration of my notification and check Instagram. I can’t do both. Maybe you can, but I can’t do both because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church once I get off on a tangent, I don’t know when I’m coming back.
This is one of my biggest struggles in studying and preparing. I’ll be listening to God. I’ll be looking at a reading and I’m focused on something and then Mount Carmel Church something will happen. I’ll get a squirrel, random thought, and I’ll go with that. Then Mount Carmel Church who knows when I’ll come back to.
So I just want to encourage you, listen today, but study today. Get your notes out there. The reason I had this thought is I realized, God, what’s my part? Because Mount Carmel Church I realize technology is good, but I was going to just change everything.
I’m like, okay, I’m not putting scriptures on the screen anymore because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I’m seeing more and more that people don’t bring their Bibles to church. And again, I’m all for the phone and convenience of being able to carry your Bible in your pocket. So I’m not hating on that.
I’m just saying, do you have a relationship with this book outside of this room? Do you have a time where you sit down without notifications and read and see what God is speaking to your heart? I want you to grow.
We want to make disciples, not followers, not followers like on Twitter. I’m glad that you’re here and I hope the message speaks to you. I hope it ministers to you. So if you didn’t bring your Bible and you didn’t get a worship guide and, you don’t have sermon notes, I’m not telling you leave.
While Listening to the Sermon, Listen for the Voice of God
I’m just saying, listen to it. Go back. Watch it again, because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church you’re looking for and I’m just helping. I’ve been going a long time on this, but I want to give you some tips. You’re looking for and listening for the voice of God in a sermon.
I know you’re hearing the voice of a man or a woman when you listen to a message and that’s good, but while you’re listening, that’s why I leave all those blanks. That extra space to learn to write down things in the sermon notes because Mount Carmel Church here’s what I’m counting on that while you’re listening to me.
You’ll hear him and something I didn’t even write down for you. God will speak to you. It’ll be like, “Oh, okay. That’s it. Yes, that’s God.” That’s what I’m counting on. So that’s what I’m praying for today, so let’s get our Bibles out if you got them, or your phones or your iPads, whatever.
Journey of Hope
Again, I’m not hating on any of that. Let’s get our sermon notes out and our worship guides. Let’s open up our Bibles today to Hebrews chapter 6. Whew! Hebrews 6! We are just excited about Jesus.
Are you ready to listen today? Ready to study? All right, let’s break into what God has to say to us. Hebrews chapter 6. Journey of hope, journey of hope. Verse 9 says, “But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation though we speak in this manner.
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown towards his name in that you have ministered or served the saints and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
I want to pray. Father, I love you and I thank you so much for your word. Holy Spirit, we welcome you and we invite you to teach us the words from Heaven.
God, I pray that people will not just hear my voice today, but they’ll hear yours. Bring it to life. I pray for understanding and clarity of communication. We pray that every lie be exposed and every truth be revealed in you Lord. I give you all the praise for it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alright, journey of hope is what we’re talking about, and maybe I’ll ask you this question to start up. Have you ever had someone tell you, “Hey, keep your hopes up.”
I was in a conversation one time with a group of ministers and it was just a ministers group. We were having this conversation, and one of the ministers was talking about an individual in their congregation and this person.
This individual had stage four pancreatic cancer. They were talking about how people kept, you know, coming by and praying for them and, and trying to encourage them and, and he said, “Sometimes I just want people to stop talking to them so they don’t get their hopes up”
You know, sometimes when you hear something you don’t really know how to respond. At first it shocked me so much. I was like, “Did I just hear what I thought I did? Aren’t we supposed to get people’s hopes up? Aren’t we supposed to encourage people? What is the alternative?”
Here’s what happens in our world. Here’s what happens in their life. The temptation is to get to this place where we start living our life where we don’t get your hopes up because Mount Carmel Church we don’t want to be disappointed.
And this is what people tell you, “I just don’t get your hopes up.” “Hey, that might happen, but don’t get your hopes up.” Thank you captain happy pants. You know, because Mount Carmel Church I’m like woo. You know?
But we get into this world where we start being so negative, and so expecting of the worst case scenario because Mount Carmel Church we don’t want to be.
Life is more of a Journey than a Destination
So we live our life so discouraged and cynical and looking at it like its Murphy’s Law. We’ll start saying these things like, “Well, I’ll tell you what, if something bad can happen, it’ll happen to me. That’s the way it is in my world.” Right?
This the way we live our life, and I’m just telling you, that’s not the life God wants us to live. I’m not talking about living in a fairy tale world where we have our eyes up in the clouds and we’re not facing reality. I’m just saying we have to be careful. What actually is reality? What someone’s telling you?
Hey Chad Everett, you need to wake up to reality. What’s reality? Being discouraged and depressed all the time, expecting negativity? That’s not my reality. I’ve lived there. I don’t want it. I want to live in hope. So we’re going to take a journey of hope because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church here’s what I’ve learned. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that life is more of a journey than a destination.
It’s a lot more about the big picture of the journey than it is events. My mistake in my life, I don’t know about you, but my mistake in my life at times is I’ve allowed myself to get so discouraged by moments in my life. I didn’t realize and didn’t allow God to tell me, “Chad Everett, that was just a moment. Don’t live there. That’s a season. I know it stinks. It’s bad. It’s horrible. It’s tragic, whatever. But it’s a moment in your big picture journey. So don’t get stuck there.”
I’m just wanting to encourage somebody who feels stuck in the moment. It is just a moment, and it will pass. You’re like, well, this moment has lasted years. That may be the case in some of our situations, but I’m telling you, God’s wanting to stir up hope in our life because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church the word journey by definition means passage or travel from one place to another.
I believe God’s wanting to take all of us on a journey from where we are to where he wants us to be. I may be stuck in this situation but he says, “Hey, that may be where you are now, but that’s not where you’re going to end.”
We’re going to take a journey of hope. So let’s look at how this is going to come together. Look at verse 9. It says, “But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you.” Everybody say confidence. We are confident.
This word confidence again and we’ll try and teach some of this and break it down. The word confident means to believe in, to be persuaded, or sure to the extent of placing reliance or trust in something to be convinced. Notice what he says. We are confident of better things. It’s one thing to be wishful that things would get better and it’s a whole other thing to be confident that things are going to be better.
He says, we are confident of better things. This confident means to be convinced, to believe, to be persuaded that things are going to get better.
Now, context for this previous part of this chapter and Hebrews chapter 6. If you look at the heading on verse one it says, the peril of not progressing. When we’re not progressing or moving forward in our lives, we can get discouraged that things are never going to get better. This is the context on who he’s writing to. He’s writing to believers who are ready to give up.
He’s writing to people who are threatening to throw in the towel. He’s writing to people that said, this is horrible, but now give context. I’m not talking about horrible like I’ve had a bad day at the office. He’s writing this to people who are being persecuted to the point of death.
Yeah, not hard kind of persecution like they didn’t wave at me. Can you believe that? They did. I’m not talking about that type of persecution. I’m talking about he’s trying to encourage people that are ready to give up serving Jesus.
Why not? Because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church they’re getting made fun of at school, but because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church they’re getting thrown into jail and beaten. This is a little different context. He says, we are confident, have better things to come. Oh man, we’re confident. He said, we believe we are persuaded. We’re totally convinced that something better is going to happen.
Don’t Attach your Hope to Feelings
God invites us to this kind of life of hope that there are better things coming. I want to say to you better things are coming. That word better things means superior in quality. Quantity means things are going to change and they’re going to be better than what they are.
So again, it’s not just hyperbole or trying to pump me up on emotions. It’s saying, I am convinced that where I am is not where I’m going to stay. It’s not this mindset. It’s not trying to say where I’m at is not real. It’s saying where I’m at is not permanent. I’m not staying here. I’m confident of better things.
So now let’s look at what he says in Romans 15:13 now. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in feeling. Maybe you could go ahead and read your Bible. Maybe you got a different version of mine or you can look on the screens if you want. It says now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in emotions. No, let’s try it again. Now, may the God of hope, so he’s the God of hope, fill you and me with all joy and peace in what?
In believing. He’s saying, listen, I want to fill you with joy and peace, but it’s not going to be attached to your feelings. Where he’s going to fill you and I with joy and peace is in a place that we have to get to. It’s a place called believing.
They’re confident of better things. They believe in better things. They don’t see better things. They don’t hear better things. They sure enough, don’t feel better, thanks, but they’re confident because Mount Carmel Church they believe in better things. God is not going to fill you and I with peace and joy as long as we attach it to emotions.
My problem, I don’t know if it’s your problem. I’ve got lots of problems. One of my problems is, too many times I attach my feelings to where I am for my identity or I attach my feelings to my joy. My joy is attached to my feelings.
My peace is attached to my feelings and he says, “No, no, no. I’m going to fill you with joy and peace in believing because Mount Carmel Church it’s hard to be filled with joy in the midst of depression.” It’s hard to be filled with peace in the midst of chaos and confusion. So he says, listen, Chad Everett, I’m not going to fill you with peace and joy in your feeling because Mount Carmel Church we want to feel it before we believe it.
We want to feel better. I’ll tell you when I’ll feel some joy when my circumstances change, then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I’ll feel some joy. I’ll be a whole lot happier when that Jughead changes. I’ll be a whole lot happier when this turns around. I’ll be a whole lot more peaceful when these crazy kids stopped acting the way they are.
He says, I’m not going to fill you with joy and peace when they act and behave perfectly. I’m going to fill you with joy and peace in believing so you know I got a chance. I’ve got a challenge. We’ve got to get to a place of believing and get out of a place of feeling. Feeling will take you and I on a Merry go round all around. We feel this in our life.
We have all kinds of emotions going up and down based on what’s happening in our life, and he says, “I’m going to fill you with joy and peace in believing.
So how can we have hope? He says, I’m on that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. How am I going to bound in hope?
I’m going to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s spirit in you and I is going to fill us with joy and peace so that I can abound in hope. This is what we’re looking for, the journey of hope.
Does anybody need hope in any area of their life besides me? I need it. I needed it a lot. This part of this journey, I was very transparent and open. Maybe not in huge detail. You know, they always tell you be a little bit vulnerable in the pulpit but not so vulnerable that you’re bleeding on people.
Maybe you don’t understand the difference. It’s like, there’s a certain thing that I need to be for you to give me validity. People want transparency too. This is totally going in a different direction. I’m trusting you. Holy Spirit. So like people want transparency to a certain level. As long as they don’t think I’ve lost my mind. Hey Chad Everett, be real, but don’t be crazy.
I mean, we understand you struggle a bit, but man, not that bad. I mean, you’re preaching to me. I mean, you’re falling apart. What am I going to do? Right? Like so you see what a certain level of honesty but not too much. Right? The problem is for me, this is why I’m explaining my issues. I get a lot of them. My issue is I can start to think those expectations or how I need to play a role.
So that now this is what you, okay, I’ll be this vulnerable but not that vulnerable. So I’ll show you this much, but I won’t show you this. It’s still there. It’s still going on. I just don’t show you. This is what we do to each other. I’ll show you this much, but I won’t show you that.
So we wonder why we’re struggling in this situation with our hope and this is how God wants to reveal this truth to us. So he’s given us this honesty so we can be in a place where we understand God’s going to fill us with hope.
How does he do that? In verse 10 he says, “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you’ve shown towards his name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister.” So how can we have hope? How can we have confidence of better things?
We can do it because Mount Carmel Church we know God doesn’t forget. I just want to encourage somebody that God does not forget where you are and what you’re going through. God has not forgotten your name. He’s not forgotten your issues. He’s not forgot any of that. He knows you.
That’s where I take great encouragement. That I’m filled with hope because Mount Carmel Church I believe God is showing me something different than what I feel. That’s what I was talking about.
I was a little bit vulnerable in that last series that I told you about. Hey, I was having some issues and feeling like, man, is this working? Am I doing good? And then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church the backlash was, you know, people, I have said several people come up, Hey, Hey, don’t leave.
Don’t leave the church. I’m like, okay. I was never trying to say I’m leaving the church. I’m just saying, so it was like I’m trying to put out fires. So people are saying, Hey, I just heard that Chad Everett’s leaving the church.
They asked, are you leaving? When are you leaving? He’s leaving. I’ll tell you what he’s said, I’m not leaving. I was just saying that sometimes I have to deal with stuff just like you do. He’s telling us, listen, I don’t forget about you.
I know where you are. I want to fill you with hope. I know your situation. I feel you. The Bible says that he was tempted in all points just like us, but he did not sin. So I want you to know, I want to encourage somebody hope this morning. God knows where you are. He knows where you’re hurting.
He knows where you’re confused and he still loves you in it. He loves you, right smack dab in it. God’s not waiting for us to get to a place of perfect behavior and perfect spirituality before he loves us. That’s us. That’s not him.
He takes all of us. He takes every part of it. He says, I love you. I liked that part. You’d said too. I know it’s a little crazy, but I love all of you and so he’s wanting to fill you with hope. So look, here’s how we’re going to see this.
What does Hope Look Like?
What’s hope look like? You’ll verse 11 what does hope look like? This is on our journey of hope. Get on. We’ll try and teach this. So just pray that your ears are tuned into what the Holy Spirit has to say.
Verse 11, we decided this is Paul writing. We believe it’s the apostle Paul’s that wrote the book of Hebrews. So he says, we desire, which was saying, we could say God desires this. God desires that each one of you show the same diligence. Everybody, the same diligence, to the full assurance of hope until the end. Now let’s break this down again. I want you to know what the Bible says.
I’m not saying this because Mt Carmel Illinois Church I know it all. I’m just going to tell you what God has shown me. I’m sure there’s way more to it, but I’m just going to give you what God has shown me.
This word diligence (we desire that you show the same diligence) that word diligence means eagerness to expend energy and efforts to accomplish something. So I want you to be eager to do something.
I want you to expend energy and effort to accomplish something. So what is it? We’re going to break this down a little bit by bit, because Mount Carmel Church by the time we’re done, I want you to hear what God’s saying about our hope.
So he says, “Listen, here’s what I desire of you. I desired that you show the same eagerness, your efforts and energy to accomplish something.
I want you to do that.” So you same “Diligence to what?” Notice what he says, the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the, to the full assurance. So all your energy and efforts, all my energy and efforts, I want you to work on this.
What does Full Assurance Mean?
I want your focus to be on your energy and efforts to get to a place, to the full assurance of hope. So walk with me. Walk me.
Here’s what he’s saying I want. Here’s what God desires for you. I want you to use all your energy and effort. I want you to be eager to go to the full assurance of hope. What is that? I’m glad you ask.
Here’s what full assurance means. The word full assurance and the original writing means absolutely, sure, certain firmly persuaded and confident. Absolutely, sure certain firmly persuaded and competent. But that’s one sense of it. But here’s the underlying point, and I study this a little bit further.
I found that this word absolutely sure, a firmly secure plan. A ‘competent persuaded’ actually comes from two words. One word means to be filled completely up and overflowing and covering.
Here’s the image I want you to get. Has anybody ever filled up a container so much so that it not only filled up the container, but it overflowed the container? It actually covered the container where you couldn’t see the container anymore? Has anybody ever done that? No? Okay, well here’s what happens. You’ve got the image.
When I asked you a question, you can go ahead and say, yes, I have heard. Yes, I have. So here’s the image that you’re filling up a container. So much of what’s inside of it. I’m not talking about water because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church you can see something that fills it up, floods over the edges of it and starts running over.
Someone gave me the image of a chocolate fondue. It’s just coming out over the top and it’s flooding the sides. That’s the image of this word. These saying, I want you to be filled with confidence.
I want you to be filled, totally persuaded. So much so that it covers, and here’s the second part of that word. That’s one part and the other one is to wear, as clothing, our constant companion. So now here’s the image.
God says, I want you to use the same eagerness, energy, and efforts to get to a place where you’re totally filled and overflowing with something. So that it spills over the top and actually covers you.
Get the imagery. I don’t want you to feel something. I want you to be filled with something. I want you to be filled with something so much. The other part of that word is to wear it like clothing.
I want you to be filled with something so much that it goes over the top and actually covers you so that when people see you, they don’t see you. They see what’s covering you.
They can’t find you. Why? Because Mount Carmel Church you’re hidden. You’re hidden with what you’re covered in. What is it you’re filled up with and overflowing with now? What is it? What are we supposed to be filled up with?
What are we supposed to be overflowing with? We don’t have to guess. The Bible tells us that you show the same diligence to that place of being filled up and overflowing, so it totally covers you. But with what?
I remember my oldest daughter, you know I have baby dedications. I remember when my oldest daughter was being dedicated. In 1999 we were dedicating her. We brought her up and her pastor at the time prayed for her and you know, dedicated her. He said these words. He said, well, Chad Everett, “One, things for certain you’ll always have hope.” Her name is hope.
We Need to be Filled with Hope, Not Expectations
We’re supposed to be filled with hope. What is hope? Here’s what the word means. It means to look forward with confident expectation or to anticipate. Now, let’s put it together. Here’s the verse in English in your Bible that you use, you and I.
God desires that we have the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. That’s the English words. Put it together with meaning.
Here’s what God’s saying. I desire that you show the same eagerness and use and focus your energy and efforts to get you to a place where you’re completely filled and overflowing with expectation and anticipation.
Here’s what God is not asking us to do. He says, I’m not wanting you to be filled up and overflowing with the solution. I’m wanting you to be filled up and overflowing with expectation.
Too many times we’re using all of our energy and efforts to try and figure out how God’s going to do something instead of being filled up with the idea that he will do something. Here’s where I get in trouble. I can’t be filled up with expectation until I see how it’s going to play out. Anybody feel me?
This is what it’s like. I have trouble being filled with expectation and anticipation unless I can see exactly how it’s going to play out. Like, somebody will say, hey, this is what’s going to happen, and we might say, I can’t see it. I don’t see that happening at all. God didn’t ask us to see it.
He asked us to believe it. We get tricky as we get ourselves in the wrong responsibility. The wrong job description. We need to fire ourselves. Look at your neighbor and say you’re fired. You’re fired.
Here’s what we’re firing ourselves from. We’re firing ourselves from the responsibility of being filled up and overflowing with answers.
I don’t need to be filled up and overflowing with answers. I need to be filled up and overflowing with expectation. I need to be filled up and overflowing with anticipation that I can do. I can’t control how much I expect.
I can’t control how or when. I’m trying to encourage somebody. He’s hoping here this morning. See because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church it’s not about us figuring out when and how. How we get discouraged is we won’t allow ourselves to be filled to the full assurance of hope because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church we can’t see how it’s going to come out. Here’s what I want you to do.
I want you to focus all of your energy and efforts, refocus. Look at your neighbor and say, refocus, refocus. Chad Everett, refocus. Here’s how I need to refocus. I need to spend all my energy and efforts concentrating on the one thing that I can’t control and that’s my expectation. How do I do that? I focus more on the promises of God than I do the circumstances.
I cannot be filled with expectation and anticipation as long as my hope is tied to end results. As long as my hope is tied to how it’s going to play out, I will never be filled with anticipation. I will be filled will with, let’s wait and see. I’d be filled with, let’s just see how it’s going to play out. I’ll be filled with, well you never know.
We’re filled with that kind of verbiage. We’re filled with that kind of thought and it’s because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church our hope is attached to circumstantial evidence.
It’s attached to things that can and possibly will change. I ride the rollercoaster of my emotions too many times. I don’t know what you know about you. Again, I’ve got issues, pray for me, but my problem is, too many times, that I’m looking at what I’m seeing and I’m attaching my hope to those circumstances. If my circumstances don’t line up with what I feel like God wants for me, then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I get discouraged because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I can’t see how the word of God tells me something, but then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I look at where I am.
I look at my circumstances, what they are or where they are not, and I won’t allow myself to be filled and overflowing with encouragement, or with expectation and anticipation. I’ve got my eyes on the wrong thing.
The more I focus on my circumstances, the more I open myself up to discouragement. The more that I need circumstantial evidence to prove the word of God in my life, the more encouraged I’m going to be, because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church notice if we’re supposed to be filled with anticipation and expectations so much that overflows us.
Then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church everybody should see my expectation and not see me because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church underneath is all kinds of doubts and fears and insecurities.
Our Expectations have to be in God, Not Ourselves
None of my hope and expectation can be in Chad Everett because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church Chad Everett’s not going to do it. Chad Everett’s not going to come through. Chad Everett’s scared. Chad Everett’s confused. I’m talking about in third person, like I’m a boxer or a wrestler.
But you understand what I’m talking about. Chad Everett’s got insecurity issues. He’s got problems with that. But when I allow the expectation of God, my expectation is not in Chad Everett. My expectations not in my brain to figure it out. My expectation is my God is bigger and if he’s bigger than what people will see is not my expectation of me, but my expectation of him.
This is what God’s inviting us to. This is the kind of hope that he’s wanting us to live in. He says, I want you to have this same expectation of hope. Put your focus, your energy, and all of your efforts on getting to a place.
Your End is not God’s End
All right, here’s what I want to say. Again, practical application sermons can be inspirational and that’s great, but if they only inspire you, it will never change you. I’m all for inspiration and I don’t preach the way I preach because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I’m just trying to be emotional. I’m just this.
This is the way I am. I’m just expressive. I’m a little loud, maybe too intense for some, but lose my voice a little bit, but it’s not so I can just be emotional. I want to be intentional. So notice what he says, “Each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.
It’s almost, you’d be filled with anticipation and expectation of what God will do until the end. What’s the end? We have all kinds of ends. We all have all kinds of ends for ourselves. We defined the end. It’s like we say, I am so done. I am done. Done. Like I am so over this, like here I am. I’m way over here.
I’m over. I’m over. Like we get done. We reach our end, but I’m not talking about our end. I’m talking about his end. There’s our, there’s your and my end. But I want to encourage somebody. It’s not the end until he says it’s the end.
I don’t know what your end looks like? I know what mine looks like sometimes, but God’s saying to me, “Chad Everett, why are you calling that the end?” “Well, because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I’m done.”
It’s like, I know you are, but I’m not. Are you going to quit? You go give up. I’m not done. See, God’s end looks different than your and my end. Jesus on the cross looked like the end.
Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples 2000 years ago. That they’re standing there on the hill of Golgotha and they see their Messiah, their savior, Jesus hanging on the cross between two other dudes.
It looks like the end. It’s over. Everything we live for, it’s done. Was it the end from heaven’s perspective? The father’s looking down and he’s like, whoo, we are about to get started.
Now we’re going to get started. But on the Earth, in the Earth’s perspective, it looked like it was over. So I’m talking to somebody that you say, it looks like it’s over. Maybe it’s dead, or maybe they died. Did they? Did they? Is it over? Is it the end or was it just your end?
Help me, Jesus. Is it done or is he done? Are they dead or do we believe in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ? Is that relationship over or can God resurrect it? I’m telling you, I’m done. I don’t care if you said you’re done. My God hasn’t said, I’m done, so I’m not quitting until he tells me to quit. We’re giving up too early.
Even if even if in the natural it dies. Sister’s come up to Jesus, say, Lord, my brother Lazarus is dead. If you would’ve been here earlier. How many times have we said, “God, if you’d showed up earlier. If you were to come here two months ago, we might’ve been able to salvage something.
But now it’s too late.” Yeah, yeah, Lord, if you’d have been here earlier. But Jesus said, ah, he’s not dead. He just sleeping. He just taking a nap.
Don’t Be Spiritually Lazy!
He said, because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church when I come on the scene, those things that were dead, they become alive. So I’m telling you, even if you think it’s the end, it’s not over with God. Let’s look at this last part.
I’m going to close with this. Let’s go to the full assurance of the end that you do not become sluggish. So wait a minute. He said, I want you to show, use all your energy and effort to get to a place where you’re filled with expectation. Anticipation. Is that Chad Everett? I can’t anymore. I did and something happened. Disappointment happened. I understand. I know.
We are not to be filled with anticipation and expectation of an end result. I’m supposed to be filled with anticipation and expectation of who he is, not how it plays out for me. And he says, do not become sluggish.
That word sluggish means to be lazy. If there’s an exhortation in our Bible to not become something, then Mt Carmel Illinois Church evidently there’s a possibility to become it, or you wouldn’t say do not become. So he said, Hey, don’t be lazy. When did he say, don’t be lazy. Right?
On the heels of saying, I want you to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end. Now in order to do that, you can’t be lazy. You can’t be spiritually lazy.
He says, don’t be lazy, but this next part, so don’t be that part. Be this next part. So we want to follow what’s he say next? Don’t be lazy, but imitate. Everybody say imitate. Imitate.
That means to copy the patterns or behavior of words like mimic these people. It’s the word mimic where we get our word mimic. It’s to actually do what they do. Say what they say. Imitate those certain people. He didn’t say imitate everybody. He didn’t say imitate all Christians.
He didn’t say imitate all church people. He said, imitate those who do what through faith and patience inherit the promises. Now we’re going to talk about that next week, but let me just give you faith.
Imitate those, who through faith, that word faith means certainty. Complete trust and reliance. Here’s what I’ve found. We often confuse want with belief. Sometimes the word faith has gotten such a bad reputation that some people have completely thrown it out.
Like some people have said, like their answer to all of your problems, why you didn’t receive something. They’ll say, well, it’s because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church you didn’t have enough faith and so you felt insulted and you felt like they’d just berated you. So you just say, well, forget that.
Then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church everything about faith is wrong. It’s not. Everything is about faith. It’s not wrong. How some people communicate it is not always right, but notice what he said. Imitate those who do use faith. So faith is important. There’s a difference in desire and dependency. Faith looks like dependency, not like desire. If I could drive this one home I need to get it in my heart. I need to get my heart.
Faith is depending on something. Desire wants something. They’re two totally different things. Faith is not if I tell God I want it, I want it. I want it bad enough, he will give it. That’s not faith. I’m not saying that to discourage you.
I’m doing that to encourage you because Mt Carmel Illinois Church God wants you to use your faith. Faith is receiving what he has already said. It’s believing it to be true. Even if you don’t feel it, see it or touch it.
Imitate those, who through faith and patience, inherit the promises. Let me say it this way. That word inherit means to gain possession by legal rights from someone after their death. Oh Jesus.
There are some people. There are those. He said, let me…Just stop here. I want to stop here because Mount Carmel Church we’re going to jump into this again next week. You’re like, where are we going to go next week? We’re going to talk about patience and we’re going to talk about Abraham and how he patiently endured.
Please don’t miss next week, the nugget that I have for next week, I wanted to give this week so bad that I could hardly stop the message, but I’ve got to because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church I’m like, you’ve got to get it. I’ve never got it myself. Maybe you guys did. Maybe I’m going to tell it and you’d be like, I’ve known that all my life. I’m like, well, I’m slow.
Okay, but here’s what I know about today. God’s wanting to encourage us to use our diligence, our energy, and efforts with that word to come to a place. Here’s what I believe God wants to do. God wants to chocolate fondue you.
D you know what that looks like? Amy gave me this image in her mind about this chocolate fondue that starts flowing up and it starts coming over and so now you can’t see the source of it anymore. It’s on the inside.
Your expectation and anticipation, it has to be a source on the inside and it can’t be attached to the outside. I will bail on my anticipation expectation all day long. If I just opened my eyes long enough. If I open my ears long enough, I’ll bail on all my expectations. I’ll be like, man, it isn’t happening.
God tell me in prayer. I could write it down. I can journal it and if I stare at my circumstances long enough, I’m moving. It’ll never happen. But if I hold to what he’s telling me, show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope.
Keep Focused until you get the Full Assurance of Hope
I’m talking about full assurance of anticipation and expectation, not full assurance of answers. Not full assurance of knowing. Wow, it’s going to be, but full assurance of expectation that my God is big enough.
I am anticipating God moving. I’m full of it. If you’re not full of it yet, keep digging. Keep going. We’re stopping too short because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church we’re not full. The full assurance of expectation, the full assurance of hope, we stopped when we feel a little hopeful.
Don’t stop when you feel a little hopeful because Mt. Carmel Illinois Church it’s got to go beyond feeling. I stopped too short. I’ve found this and, I’ve seen this and I mirror as I was preparing my error is that God says, Chad Everett, you get excited in the moment and you say, yes, I believe, but you don’t keep meditating until you get to full assurance.
It’s like getting so excited. My kids are like this, especially when they were younger. They get so excited wanting to go play that they won’t even hardly eat, like to eat just a little bit.
Lucas eats a little bit, but if wants to play, then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church maybe come back and eat a little more. That’s what he gets so excited. He like, okay, can I go play now? Can I play and the food is secondary.
So he wants to go play and then Mt. Carmel Illinois Church later on, guess what? He comes back, “Hey dad, I’m hungry.” I know. Supper’s still on the table. It’s a tad cold, right? God saying you aren’t eating long enough to get full. You’re not eating my word to the point you get full of assurance.
You read until you feel good. You read until you’re like, okay, I want that desire will not fill you. It has to be his word. He says, keep eating my word until you reach a full assurance of expectation that goes beyond what I see hear, smell, taste, touch. Are you getting this today?
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