Erica and Pastor Jesse dive deep into the power of HOPE in the new year. It’s all about setting your sights on God’s presence and keeping the flame of hope burning bright through daily decisions and trusting in Jesus. But, hold up! He warns against placing hope in fleeting things like jobs, money, or popularity because, let’s face it, they come and go. Embrace the endless well of hope that comes with believing in God. Hope is not a fragile little thing that shatters at the first sign of trouble. It’s tough, it’s unbreakable, and it’s all about Jesus and the church. So, let’s get fired up for hope in the new year!
What is Faith Filter? We take what’s on our minds, what’s percolating in our hearts, and what’s happening in the world… and put it through the filter of our faith… everything we believe and what God Word says about it!
Guest: Pastor Jesse from Grace Community Church in Auburn/ Host of the Bonfire podcast on Purposely, AND author of the brand new book, The Power Of The Second Thought, How To Live With Indestructible Hope!
Do you have a question about faith that you’d love Pastor Jesse and Erica to talk about on the radio? Connect with Erica at Mornings@SPIRIT1053.com!
Need Prayer? Leave your requests here.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
Our hope is not in the new year, but in the one who makes all things new. Welcome to Faith Filter. I’m Erica with Pastor Jesse from Grace Community Church in Auburn, and host of the Bonfire podcast. You can find that at onpurposely.com. Pastor Jesse, I’m ready to feel more hopeful here at the beginning of the new year. How are you doing?
Pastor Jesse:
Doing well. Glad to be alive in a new year, walking with Jesus and just looking forward to what he has planned already.
Erica:
Amen. There’s something about the New Year, Pastor Jesse that causes us as humans to kind lean into hope. And we know that we’re not putting our hope in the things that we want to happen, but we want to put our hope in Jesus. I know that requires intentionality. We have to cultivate it like we would work in a garden. So, how can you and I create Jesus focused hope habits in the New Year? Because I want to stay hopeful all year long.
Pastor Jesse:
Yes. I think hope begins with God’s presence. He is the God of hope, and as you abide with him, he’s going to fill you with hope and that hope’s going to be overflowing. It’s important to know that hope’s available. Like you say, hope can be cultivated and all those make a difference in our lives. There’s lots of daily decisions as we follow Jesus, and one important part is to have God’s perspective, and I think that comes from his promises. When you read in Ephesians chapter two, that not only are we saved through faith in Jesus, but then also right after that in verse 10. God already goes ahead of us and he places things in our past that we get to walk into. I think that’s comforting. It takes pressure off me to know that God’s already gone ahead. He’s already placed good things there, and now I trust him and walk with him… Now my eyes are open and I’m looking for, okay, Lord, how do I make the most of this opportunity this day? Because it’s truly a gift and I know God’s hope is greater than our circumstances. I’m not preaching a false hope. This is a real hope. The hope of Jesus is indestructible, and I look at the big picture and how the story ends. I’m so thankful for the last book of the Bible, book of Revelation. We know how the story ends. It couldn’t end any better, so whatever hard things we’re going through right now, you’ve got to see them in the light of eternity. That we have this inheritance, we have this promise, we have God’s presence forever, and hope is just jumping into a nice, refreshing lake of God’s grace and goodness on a hot summer day here in the sound.
Erica:
Oh, I like that so much. What do you do though when that alarm goes off and it’s cold and dark outside and maybe you’ve been praying this prayer for years, and you’re a little hopeful at the beginning here of 2024, how do you lean in? Because I feel like something God is showing me, Pastor Jesse lately, is that hope is attached to trust in him.
Pastor Jesse:
Right on. That’s it. It’s a confident and joyful trust in someone or something. And when you put your trust in Jesus, it’s like you are going to your anchor in a boat. You decide where you’re going to drop it, and you decide where you’re going to place your hope. There are a lot of people who feel hopeless, and I know that growing up, I didn’t have God in my life. And then there’s a lot of people with misplaced hope. It’s subtle because they put their hope in their job or their career or their money or how much people like them, and those things… Okay, we all pay attention to those, but ultimately all of those sources of hope, even another person, a job you like, it’s a limited source of hope. And God doesn’t run out of hope. And that shift when we decide that I’m going to look to God for my hope, the source, my hope, and I’m going to receive it. It doesn’t mean denial.
We can be as real as we can be about the hard things in our lives, but this is a hope that’s greater than the sadness, greater than the fears. If this year started off and you feel like, oh, it’s not what I wanted, it’s okay to just tell God that because that’s what you read in the Psalms. Start with that level of honesty, but then be ready to receive and open up your heart and mind to receive His word every day, his goodness, every day, his grace, his wisdom, his encouragement every day. Find some other people that have the hope of God and come together. Embers go out alone, but when we come together, there’s a bonfire. We need each other and we need God. To be honest, I’m looking at this year and everything that’s coming up, whether you say economically, politically, all the things that are coming, there’s no guarantee it’s going to get easier, but my hope isn’t dependent on easy circumstances. And if you got some time, read through the Book of Acts and look at how their hope, the inner story, the hope that no one can take away. Look how that grows and what they cultivate. They’re devoted to prayer. They’re devoted to meeting together. They’re devoted to seeking God. In that kind of a lifestyle, that hope filled lifestyle… What happens? We make the right shifts each day. We abide with Jesus and we are able with an overflowing hope to change what’s around us. It starts in our hearts, then our homes, then our churches. Church should be the most hope-filled place in the world, and I’m praying for that for the churches and the Sound, that we would be hope-filled places. People in the Sound would be like, where do you go for hope? Do you go to the movie? Do you go to the game? It’s like, no. You go to church and you get Jesus, and then you start to realize, I can have Jesus the whole week, and the hope that you have is genuine. People are looking for genuine hope. It’s found in Jesus.
Erica:
He cares and he loves us so much. I want to say with the Psalmist here at the beginning of the new year, I am confident I’m going to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, so thank you as always for putting the spotlight on what’s most important. Looking forward to hearing more good stuff from you in the new year.
Pastor Jesse:
Thanks. Let’s walk by Faith in 2024 together. Happy New Year.
Erica:
Happy New Year, and amen. Let’s do it.
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