http://bible.com/events/9323124
Free From Yesterday
Conclusion: Hope for Tomorrow
Hebrews 6:18-20 NIV
“God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
-The author is referring a promise God made to Abraham that was fulfilled.
-We can have confidence that God keeps his promises. He does not lie.
-Because of this confidence, we run towards the hope God has for us.
-Hope is the anchor that holds us, even when storms are raging.
-This hope is possible because the presence of the God is with us always. Jesus became the High Priest to give us access to the Holy Spirit.
The problem is, a past filled with shame, rejection, and wounds seems like the opposite of hope. We believe “hope is impossible for me, I’m too broken”.
The truth is our past doesn’t disqualify us from hope. Our past and the presence of hope are deeply connected.
Romans 5:2-5
2 And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
-Our hope is grounded in God’s ability to get glory from our circumstances.
-Hope is making a God-fueled decision about what has been and what will be.
-Your suffering in the past produces your perseverance today.
-Your perseverance today produces in you character right now.
-And in your character, HOPE springs forth.
Your past can actually become the fertile soil by which hope springs up!
Bottom line:
Being free from yesterday IS hope.
More verses for reflection:
Hebrews 6:11-17
11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. 16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
Philippians 3:10-14
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:3-5
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.