June 14, 2009Wayne Andrie

1 Corinthians 13:13 (New International Version)

 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 (New International Version)

3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (New International Version)

8But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

Galatians 5:5-6 (New International Version)

5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Colossians 1:3-5 (New International Version)

 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel

A. The Power of Hopelessness!

1. Begins with desire! We have expectations of ourselves, others, and especially God.

2. Leads to disappointment! We do not have our expectations fulfilled.

3. Creates discouragement! We are saddened that are expectations have not been fulfilled.

4. Generates doubt! We wonder whether or not anyone, including God, can be trusted.

5. Results in despair! We are overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness.

6. Ends in disbelief! We no longer trust anyone, including God

B. The Restoration of Hope (Psalm 77: 1-12)

1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.

 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.

 3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.   

   4 You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

 5 I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;

 6 I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired:

 7 "Will the Lord reject forever?   Will he never show his favor again?

 8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?

 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" Psalm 77:1-9 (NIV)

 10 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."

 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

 12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.

Psalm 77:10-12 (NIV)

III. Integration

a. What do we do with despair? Two activities….

b. Build the truth into our lives through the study and meditation of Scripture.

c. Practice the T.R.U.T.H

1. Trigger Event….an difficult circumstance…..especially one that challenges what we believe about ourselves, others, and God.

2. Reckless Thinking….thoughts that are not true fill

our minds….. 3. Unhealthy Response…we are overwhelmed by the

despair 4. Truthful Thinking…..we replace the lie with the

truth…..we identify the lie we are believing and reject it and then recall and remember the truth and declare that truth.

Example:

I renounce the lie thatI joyfully declare the truth thatMy father God is distant and disinterestedMy father God is intimate and involvedMy father God is insensitive and uncaringMy father God is kind and compassionateMy father God is passive and coldMy father God is warm and affectionateMy father God is impatient and angryMy father God is patient and slow to angerMy father God is disappointed with meMy father God is committed to my growth

5. Healthy Response…..the result of identifying a trigger event, recognizing the lies I believe about myself, others, and God and then replacing the lies with the truth is a life that if faithful and fruitful….a life of joy and peace…..a life of hope.