Matt Hagee - Holding On To Hope
If you brought your Bibles, turn them to the book of Hebrews 10:23, as this morning we conclude the series "Hope for a Better Tomorrow" with this message "Holding On to Hope". In this series, we've seen the biblical perspective of what hope is and how it was created. First and foremost, we have hope because of the love of God. Without God and his love, we would be hope-less. And he demonstrated this love when he gave us his only begotten son. That's what Paul said in the book of Romans, "What shall we say of these things? Seeing that he has not withheld his son, how will he not freely give us all things"?
We have hope because of the love of God and we have hope because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our hope is anchored in what Christ did when the Bible says, "He went behind the veil". That's into the presence of God. "And he anchored us to the Word of God". Why did he anchor us to the Word of God? Because God cannot lie. And when you're looking for something that you can hope in, what you want is something that will always work. The reason that it is impossible for God to lie is because God knows everything and God can do everything, so when God says something, he has to do it. This is why the Bible says in Isaiah 55, "My word that comes forth from my mouth will not return void".
Why doesn't it return void? Because it will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. All of the promises in God are yes and they are amen. Our responsibility is not to discover whether or not his promises are true. Our responsibility is to hold onto hope no matter what circumstances are going on in our life. People are giving up hope. Why? Because they have forgotten that the hope that we have, the world didn't give it and the world can't take it away. Our hope doesn't come from the promises of men. Our hope does not come from the mouths of mortals. Child of God, the greatest hope that we have is this fact: Jesus Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, is soon to appear and is coming back. Give the Lord a handclap of praise.
Today we look at Hebrews 10:23. If you're there, say, amen. "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful". Read that last line again. "He who promised is faithful".
Heavenly Father, today we're standing in your sanctuary, and your faithfulness is what we've come to celebrate. You have promised that when we gather, you would be in our midst. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
You may be seated. In this verse of scripture, Paul is challenging us, almost daring us, to go find a place where God is not faithful. He says, "He who promised you is faithful". That's why you can hold on to hope without wavering. Not being moved in what you know his word to be because he is faithful. And if you take time and you go look, it doesn't matter what end of the book you begin with, either in Genesis or Revelation, from one end to the other and all the way back around, God is faithful. Joshua 21:45, I love this verse. It says, "Not a word failed. Everything, anything good thing, which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel, all came to pass". "All came to pass". Say that with me. "All came to pass".
How faithful is God? God is so faithful that when he says it, it all comes to pass. He has never made a promise that he did not keep. Now his promises might take longer than you want. But if he said it, he'll do it. The question is, will you wait in hopeful expectation until it comes to pass? Will you wait without wavering? Will you believe that everything that he has ever sent you in his word is true? This is what Psalms 130:5 says: it says, "I wait for the Lord. My soul waits and in his word I do hope".
Now, what word in Hebrew is being used for "Waiting" here? The word is "Qava". And literally what it means is that I am twisted, tangled up, can't get out of it too easy. You ever been twisted with something? I mean, you just can't get it out of your mind, you can't get it out of your mouth? People telling you, "You should get over it". And you're like, "I can't get over it. I'm all twisted up". Sports people do this all the time. They get twisted up in their team. Even when there's nothing to cheer for, they keep cheering for them. They just can't let it go.
Well, what David is saying in Psalms 130:5, "I wait for the Lord. And my hope is in his word". When I find something in God's word, I just twist it up in my heart, in my mind, in my spirit until I get so tangled in it that I can't let it go. Because I believe that if it's in his promises, then it has to come to pass. So, how does this work in your life? You have to take God's word and get your life so entangled in it that when the circumstances of this world come at you, you just can't get out of it that easy.
You read his word in the Psalms where it says, "He sent his word and he healed them". And you begin to believe that God is a healer. And then you go to the doctor's office and the doctor gives you a diagnosis. Well, if you're twisted in his word, that diagnosis doesn't unsettle you because you've been connected to something that doesn't fail. And even if family history is against you, you're not worried about the generational curse because the blood of the lamb can overcome it. And even when the statistics don't line up with whatever it is that you were wanting, you're not too concerned because you can't let go that easy. This promise has done something to you. It's tied itself around you. You can't get out of it that easy.
What I'm telling you is, is you have got to get yourself so entangled in the Word of God that it doesn't matter what hell throws at you, they can't take his promise out of your life. It really doesn't matter what you're facing, God has a promise to meet that need. It really doesn't matter what you're going through financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually, in your family, wherever it happens to be, you cannot escape the fact that God has met that with a promise. You will never go to the throne room of the Lord in grace and mercy in the name of Jesus, and God goes, "Well, we've never dealt with that before". Listen to this promise, "My God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory".
Let that promise get twisted around your soul until you begin to believe that there's never been a problem that God could not solve. There's never been a mountain that he couldn't move. There's never been a storm that he couldn't calm. When you find a promise, wrap it up in your life, and hold on to it knowing that the God who made that promise is faithful. What is it about God's word that we can place our full assurance of hope in? First and foremost, his word is truth. Jesus said in John 17, "Thy word is truth".
There's so many places you can look in the world today and people say, "Well, we just want to know the truth. We're searching for the truth. We're hoping to find the truth". The truth is not hard to find, the truth has been printed. And this is the standard of truth: everything that you hear in the world that does not align with the word is not true. Why? Because thy word is truth. And the truth has benefits. John 8, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free". Now this process of becoming free is a derivative of knowing the truth. Lots of people have heard the truth, but it's not until you know the truth that it starts to make you free. How do you know the truth? You read it and you obey it. You just can't hear it. You have to read it and you have to obey it. What does the truth set you free from? Well, fear.
2 Timothy, "God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind". So, how do you receive that? First, you have to declare that his word is true. Then, check him. Find out if he's faithful. God's promises are everlasting. That means there's no expiration date on his word. Everything that you receive in this natural life, it begins to lose value over time, except the Word of God. It only becomes more valuable the farther that you go. Here in this world we're always looking for new ways to solve old problems. We're always looking for updates in our technology. We always want a faster solution and a quicker fix. The good news is, is the Word of God is everlasting. Everything that he said is still valid from the moment he spoke it until this morning.
There's never going to be a download and an update to your Bible that comes up whenever you go to sleep. Which means what you need is to put these promises in your heart and then remember them and do them. It also means that you can trace the hand of God and build an expectation because his promises are everlasting. Whenever you face a problem, you can look at someone else who's had that problem, and if they use God's word to solve the problem, if the word worked for them, the word will work for you.
Psalms 18:30, it says, "As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven". It's not a theory. It's a fact. You see, theories are things that people keep trying to prove. Whenever you say it's proven, it goes from theory to law and fact. God's word is proven. They've done all the experiments they can do and it still doesn't change. And it's a shield to those who trust him. You need to solve a problem? Look back at those who've come before you. If grandma prayed in Jesus' name and those prayers in Jesus' name worked in her life, then those prayers in Jesus' name will work in your life. If daddy took the Word of God and he read it and he obeyed it and the Lord directed his path, when you need to know what to do, you do what daddy did.
You read the Word of God and you follow that path because the Bible says that whenever you lean not on your own understandings and in all of your ways acknowledge him, he'll direct your path. Whenever you're searching for an answer, you don't have to look to this world. You just have to look to his word. And the Bible says that the God who gives liberally, will give wisdom and knowledge to you. How do you know that? Because his promises are everlasting! The same promises he made to Moses and to Joshua and to Elijah and to Elisha is the same promise he's made to you. The same way he performed for them is the same way that he performed for you. If he delivered them, he can deliver you. If he poured out goodness and mercy upon them, he'll pour it out upon you. If he made a way for them, he'll make a way for you. If he resurrected Jesus on the third day, that same power lives in you! You'll conquer death, you'll conquer hell, you'll conquer the grave because he promised you would!
Don't let go of your hope. Because he who promised is faithful. His word cannot be broken. Say that with me. His word cannot be broken. So, if the word cannot be broken, then how does it not happen in your life? You let go. He won't let you go, but you can let go of him. Whatever you do, don't let go of his promise. Don't lose hope in his word. Don't turn away from what he has said he'll do in your life. When you hear it, let it go down into your spirit until it comes out of your mouth and you start to speak it. Why? Because it will not return void but it will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it. Not only are his promises true and everlasting, but they're alive. They're dynamic. That means that if you read it from cover to cover, you need to read it again because it's changing you and you're changing with it.
The Word of God doesn't change, but it's so powerful in its truth that in everything that changes in your life, this becomes the anchor. Have you ever read one of God's verses over and over and over again? And every time you read it, it says something just a little different? I mean, sometimes you pick up God's word and you say, "Yes and amen. That's for me". And sometimes you pick it up and go, "Ouch". Now what happened? What's the difference between amen and ouch? It's not the promise. It's the people. When your life changes, the dynamic truth in this book changes with you.
That's why Hebrews 4 says, "The word of the Lord is living and it's powerful". It's not an outdated promise. It's alive. It's sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the division of the soul and the spirit. What's that mean? It means it gets past the surface stuff and it gets all the way down to the root of the problem. When Paul was talking about a sword, he was describing the most common weapon in the natural world. And what he was saying about the Word of God is that the Word of God is effective for protection and for offense. Just like a natural sword could be used to defend and it could be used to conquer. The Word of God can be used to defend and it can be used to conquer. You don't always have to be on the defensive when you're a child of God.
You can actually conquer when you use the Word of God. It has supernatural power to go into heavenly places and the Word of God says, "Pull down high things that exalt itself against the knowledge of God". But it also will protect and defend your heart, soul, mind, and body whenever you're under attack. When the Word of God is used to protect your life, you first have to read it and then obey it. Read it and then obey it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who hears and does these sayings of mine". Nothing works in your life until you do it. You can hear all about it, but until you put it to practice, it's ineffective. When you put it into practice, it works every time. The Word of God will protect you physically.
Proverbs 3:8 says, "It's health to your navel and it's strength to your bones". That means when you read it, it's giving your body the vitamins that you need to continue to get stronger. You say, "Well, I don't know that I believe that". It don't matter what you believe, just obey it. Just obey it. You know how many people in this church have a testimony of healing and the only thing that changed in their life after the diagnosis is they picked up the Word of God and started reading his promises about what the Bible says concerning healing? And as they read it, they brought it into their spirit and from their spirit it began to affect their body and when they went back to the doctor, the doctor said, "I don't know what's going on, but it's working". You know why? Because the Word of God does not return void but it accomplishes every reason for which it was sent.
The Word of God will defend your physical health. The Word of God will defend your state of mind. Romans 12:2, it says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind". How do you renew your mind? You read the Word of God and you do it. Isaiah 26, "I'll keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee". This means that your peace is not a byproduct of the circumstances in your life. Your peace is part of your focus. If your mind is focused on God and his promises, he'll give you peace in the midst of chaos. It'll defend your emotions.
Psalms 28, "The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted in him and I am helped. Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices". Say that last line with me. "Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices. And with my song, I'll praise him. My heart greatly rejoices". Why? "Because I put my trust and I put my hope in the Lord and he helped me. He kept his word to me. Therefore, when others are consumed with fear and worry and doubt, I'm not because I know where my help comes from. And therefore, I greatly rejoice".
The Word of God is not only for the defense, but it's for the offense. You have the ability to go into heavenly places. And Jesus said, "Whatever you bind, will be bound. And whatever you loose, will be loosed". We live in a world where hell is on the loose. Why? Because the people who have the power to stop hell aren't doing what God told us to do in order to accomplish that. If hell's running loose, it's because the church is backing up. And not standing up because the promise is the gates of hell shall not prevail. So, why is hell prevailing? Hell is prevailing because the church is failing to remember what the promise is.
Go look at this in the life of Jesus Christ. Whenever he was tempted by the devil, Matthew 4, he's led into the wilderness by the spirit. Don't ever think that any time you get in a difficult situation, it's just hell coming after you. He's led into the wilderness by whom? The spirit. He's right where God wants him to be. And at the end of this fasting, the enemy comes, and it's the devil himself. He didn't send some used rent-a-demon, he came here all by himself. Most of the time, people say, "Oh, the devil, the devil, the devil". The devil's not bothering you. He sent some bush league demon to come get you. But here with Jesus, he actually shows up.
And what he does is the same thing that he wants to do with you. He wants Jesus to doubt his identity. He says, "If you are the Son of God, in every scenario, if you are the Son of God, well, I mean, it shouldn't be anything for you to change these rocks into bread. And I know you're hungry, so why don't you just do it? I mean, after all, you are the Son of God. If you are the Son of God, well, then I'll give you all of these nations. If you are the Son of God". Every time he wanted him to doubt who he was. What does the enemy want you to do? They want you to doubt God's promise in your life.
Are you saved? Has God made a difference? Do you really believe? All of these questions and doubts. Why? Because they get you to give up your hope. And every time that the devil came at Jesus and asked him to question his identity, do you know what he said? "It is written". He says, "Okay, let me tempt you again". He says, "It is written". And then he tempted him again. He said, "It is written". And he said, "Away with you, Satan". And the enemy had to flee. The enemy had to flee. Why? Because the enemy cannot fight God's word. What does that mean for you, that whenever you take God's word and you begin to declare that in your life, you drive the enemy out of your home. You drive the enemy out of your marriage. You drive the enemy out of your mind. You drive the enemy out of your business. Because my God has given me a victory through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ has given me a victory in the authority of his name.
So, here's how I want to end this service. If you need God's promise in some place in your life, in your physical body, in your mind, in your family, wherever it happens to be, and you want to leave this place wrapped up in hope, then I want you to stand right where you are. And we're going to go before the Lord in prayer. And we're going to lay this promise in our heart, our soul, our mind, and our mouth. And then when we leave here, we're going to hold on to that promise until it comes to pass because if God said it, he will do it. So, I want you to repeat this prayer with me.
Lord Jesus Christ, in the authority of your name, and based on the promise of your word, I come into the throne room of grace and mercy. And today I need your promise. Thank you for anchoring me in the promise of your word. Thank you for giving me hope today that everything that God has promised he will provide. And father, thank you for being faithful. You have never failed. And you will not fail me, in Jesus' name. Amen.