rec0428-113927<\/a><\/p>\n \n Introduction–<\/em><\/p>\n Do you ever talk to yourself?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n [Cartoon Slide and PhotoShop Slide]<\/p>\n Lloyd-Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?<\/p>\n 23 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders.<\/p>\n 62 percent of evangelical Christians say they are worried about the future.<\/p>\n Rene Schlaepfer<\/strong><\/p>\n Our hope level is directly effected by our view of God.<\/p>\n How do you view God?<\/em>\u00a0 Is your view of God true?\u00a0 Do you see him like the gods of Roman and Greek mythology, always waiting to zap us humans in our sin and show us who the boss is?\u00a0 Or do you see Him as the Bible, as Jesus Himself, says He is?\u00a0 Do you see God as a loving Father?<\/p>\n Psalm 42<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n John Piper<\/strong><\/p>\n The psalms are instruction, and the psalms are songs. And Jesus taught that they were inspired by God. They intend to shape what the mind thinks, and they intend to shape what the heart feels. When we immerse ourselves in them, we are \u201cthinking and feeling with God.\u201d<\/p>\n 1<\/sup><\/strong> As the deer longs for streams of water, 4<\/sup><\/strong> My heart is breaking 5<\/sup><\/strong> Why am I discouraged? Now I am deeply discouraged, 9<\/sup><\/strong> \u201cO God my rock,\u201d I cry, 11<\/sup><\/strong> Why am I discouraged? Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Lloyd-Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man\u201d\u2122s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. \u201cWhy art thou cast down, O my soul?\u201d he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says,: \u201cSelf, listen for moment, I will speak to you.\u201d (Spiritual Depression<\/em>, 20-21)<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I want to show you just how the psalmist thinks and talks to God, and to himself.<\/p>\n John Piper<\/strong><\/p>\n His external circumstances are oppressing. His internal emotional condition is depressed and full of turmoil. But he is fighting for hope.<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 He Questions God<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 9<\/sup><\/strong> \u201cO God my rock,\u201d I cry, Do these questions give expression to how you sometimes feel?<\/p>\n God is not intimidated by our questions!\u00a0 In fact, we can\u201d\u2122t handle our own questions!\u00a0 But, HE can handle our questions, our doubts, our fears!\u00a0 So take your questions to God!<\/p>\n That kind of questioning is an act of faith!<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 He Thirsts for God<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 1<\/sup><\/strong> As the deer longs for streams of water, The psalmist knew a little secret about his own heart\u201d\u201dand it\u201d\u2122s true about OUR hearts as well\u201d\u00a6a lack of hope is the flip side of the coin of thirsting for God<\/em>.<\/p>\n In other words, when we lack hope, what we need\u201d\u201dwhether we realize it or not\u201d\u201dis a long drink from the spring of our God!\u00a0 What we need is a refreshing draw from the living waters of Jesus Himself!<\/p>\n Augustine<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.<\/p>\n And one place we uniquely get that drink is when we come together to worship, to drink from the Fountain of Living Water as a family!<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 He Reminds Himself that God is His Loving Father<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 5<\/sup><\/strong> Why am I discouraged? Now I am deeply discouraged, 11<\/sup><\/strong> Why am I discouraged? John Piper<\/strong><\/p>\n And the really remarkable thing is that at the end of the psalm, he is still fighting but not yet where he wants to be. The last words of the psalm\u201d\u201dand the last words of the next psalm\u201d\u201dare \u201cWhy are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.\u201d He leaves us still fighting for the joyful experience of hope and freedom from turmoil. He is not yet praising the way he wants to.<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n For the Lord your God is living among you. Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 1<\/sup><\/strong> Let all that I am praise the Lord; 6<\/sup><\/strong> The Lord gives righteousness 7<\/sup><\/strong> He revealed his character to Moses <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 15<\/sup><\/strong> So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God\u201d\u2122s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, \u201cAbba, Father.\u201d<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 13\u00a0<\/sup>There is no greater love than to lay down one\u201d\u2122s life for one\u201d\u2122s friends. 14\u00a0<\/sup>You are my friends if you do what I command. 15\u00a0<\/sup>I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn\u201d\u2122t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n 31\u00a0<\/sup>What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32\u00a0<\/sup>Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won\u201d\u2122t he also give us everything else? 33\u00a0<\/sup>Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one\u201d\u201dfor God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34\u00a0<\/sup>Who then will condemn us? No one\u201d\u201dfor Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God\u201d\u2122s right hand, pleading for us.<\/p>\n 35\u00a0<\/sup>Can anything ever separate us from Christ\u201d\u2122s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36\u00a0<\/sup>(As the Scriptures say, \u201cFor your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.\u201d) 37\u00a0<\/sup>No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.<\/p>\n 38\u00a0<\/sup>And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God\u201d\u2122s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow\u201d\u201dnot even the powers of hell can separate us from God\u201d\u2122s love. 39\u00a0<\/sup>No power in the sky above or in the earth below\u201d\u201dindeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Hebrews 6:18b-19a (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19\u00a0<\/sup>This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u201d\u2122t know where I found this piece about a special needs boy named Kevin.\u00a0 But it\u201d\u2122s fitting to sum up our thoughts here this morning, especially with Special Olympics coming up on Friday, Ann.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We need to live simply and trust simply\u201d\u00a6like Kevin.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin<\/span><\/p>\n He\u00a0 doesn’t know what it means to be discontent.\u00a0 His\u00a0 life is simple. \u00a0He\u00a0 will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does\u00a0 not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he\u00a0 eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that\u00a0 one day they may not be. \u00a0His\u00a0 hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working.\u00a0 When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is\u00a0 completely in it. \u00a0He\u00a0 does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave\u00a0 a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin\u00a0 knows how to relax. He is\u00a0 not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is\u00a0 pure. \u00a0He\u00a0 still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept,\u00a0 and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.\u00a0 Free\u00a0 from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid\u00a0 to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent,\u00a0 always sincere. And he trusts God.\u00a0 Not\u00a0 confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he\u00a0 comes as a child. Kevin seems to know God – to really be friends\u00a0 with Him in a way that is difficult for an ‘educated’ person to\u00a0 grasp. God seems like his closest companion.<\/p>\n In my\u00a0 moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the\u00a0 security Kevin has in his simple faith.\u00a0\u00a0 It is\u00a0 then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine\u00a0 knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.\u00a0 It is\u00a0 then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I\u00a0 am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances – they all\u00a0 become disabilities when I do not trust them to God’s\u00a0 care. Who\u00a0 knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he\u00a0 has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after\u00a0 dark and soaking up the goodness and love\u00a0 of God.<\/p>\n And\u00a0 one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all\u00a0 amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that\u00a0 God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived\u00a0 under his bed.<\/p>\n Kevin\u00a0 won’t be surprised at all!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sadly, most of us have to work hard\u201d\u201dmuch harder than Kevin–to remember the simple truth that God is our loving Father.<\/p>\n Hope comes when we remind ourselves that God is our loving Father.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 22<\/sup><\/strong> Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, Message by Chad Kelly rec0428-113927 Introduction– Do you ever talk to yourself? [Cartoon Slide and PhotoShop Slide] Lloyd-Jones Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead … Continue reading Hoping in the Source<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
Psalm 42\u00a0(NLT)<\/h3>\n
\nso I long for you, O God.
\n2<\/sup><\/strong> I thirst for God, the living God.
\nWhen can I go and stand before him?
\n3<\/sup><\/strong> Day and night I have only tears for food,
\nwhile my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
\n\u201cWhere is this God of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nas I remember how it used to be:
\nI walked among the crowds of worshipers,
\nleading a great procession to the house of God,
\nsinging for joy and giving thanks
\namid the sound of a great celebration!<\/p>\n
\nWhy is my heart so sad?
\nI will put my hope in God!
\nI will praise him again\u201d\u201d
\nmy Savior and 6<\/sup><\/strong> my God!<\/p>\n
\nbut I will remember you\u201d\u201d
\neven from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
\nfrom the land of Mount Mizar.
\n7<\/sup><\/strong> I hear the tumult of the raging seas
\nas your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
\n8<\/sup><\/strong> But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
\nand through each night I sing his songs,
\npraying to God who gives me life.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhy have you forgotten me?
\nWhy must I wander around in grief,
\noppressed by my enemies?\u201d
\n10<\/sup><\/strong> Their taunts break my bones.
\nThey scoff, \u201cWhere is this God of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhy is my heart so sad?
\nI will put my hope in God!
\nI will praise him again\u201d\u201d
\nmy Savior and my God!<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhy have you forgotten me?
\nWhy must I wander around in grief,
\noppressed by my enemies?\u201d
\n10<\/sup><\/strong> Their taunts break my bones.
\nThey scoff, \u201cWhere is this God of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nso I long for you, O God.
\n2<\/sup><\/strong> I thirst for God, the living God.
\nWhen can I go and stand before him?<\/p>\n
\nWhy is my heart so sad?
\nI will put my hope in God!
\nI will praise him again\u201d\u201d
\nmy Savior and 6<\/sup><\/strong> my God!<\/p>\n
\nbut I will remember you\u201d\u201d
\neven from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
\nfrom the land of Mount Mizar.
\n7<\/sup><\/strong> I hear the tumult of the raging seas
\nas your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
\n8<\/sup><\/strong> But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
\nand through each night I sing his songs,
\npraying to God who gives me life.<\/p>\n
\nWhy is my heart so sad?
\nI will put my hope in God!
\nI will praise him again\u201d\u201d
\nmy Savior and my God!<\/p>\nZephaniah3:17\u00a0(NLT)<\/h3>\n
\nHe is a mighty savior.
\nHe will take delight in you with gladness.
\nWith his love, he will calm all your fears.
\nHe will rejoice over you with joyful songs.\u201d<\/p>\nPsalm 103\u00a0(NLT)<\/h3>\n
\nwith my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
\n2<\/sup><\/strong> Let all that I am praise the Lord;
\nmay I never forget the good things he does for me.
\n3<\/sup><\/strong> He forgives all my sins
\nand heals all my diseases.
\n4<\/sup><\/strong> He redeems me from death
\nand crowns me with love and tender mercies.
\n5<\/sup><\/strong> He fills my life with good things.
\nMy youth is renewed like the eagle\u201d\u2122s!<\/p>\n
\nand justice to all who are treated unfairly.<\/p>\n
\nand his deeds to the people of Israel.
\n8<\/sup><\/strong> The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
\nslow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
\n9<\/sup><\/strong> He will not constantly accuse us,
\nnor remain angry forever.
\n10<\/sup><\/strong> He does not punish us for all our sins;
\nhe does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
\n11<\/sup><\/strong> For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
\nis as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
\n12<\/sup><\/strong> He has removed our sins as far from us
\nas the east is from the west.
\n13<\/sup><\/strong> The Lord is like a father to his children,
\ntender and compassionate to those who fear him.
\n14<\/sup><\/strong> For he knows how weak we are;
\nhe remembers we are only dust.<\/p>\nRomans 8:15\u00a0(NLT)<\/h3>\n
John 15:13-15 (NLT)<\/h3>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/em><\/h3>\n
Psalm 33:22\u00a0(NLT)<\/h3>\n
\nfor our hope is in you alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"