Discussion:

I. David Had it all.

A.              Killed the bear and the lion with his bare hands.

B.              He had stood in the valley of Elah and killed the giant.

C.              Saul has killed his thousands but David had killed his ten thousands.

D.              He conquered Jerusalem

E.              He was the champion of Israel.

2 Samuel 6:12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

F.            Psa 100

F.               But... you say that’s not me. I don’t feel that way.

G.              Where did you get the idea that feeling ecstatic and bounding from one emotional ountain top to another is equivalent to being close to God?

II. David’s valleys were as deep as his mountains.

A.              Psa. 6:1-7; 10:1-11 13:1-4 18:1-8

B.              Psa. 42

C.              Psa. 23 The word restore is present imperfect

III. Hope brings the victory in the secular world

A.              Victor Frankel said that noone should have survived the Nazi camps. Those that did, survived because of HOPE.

B.              Hope the desire for something good with the anticipation of receiving it. The discipline of waiting for something we know will take place.

C.              In England’s darkest hour the British government called on Churchill to save a nation. He did so by instilling HOPE.

D.              1940 after being called from exile, on May 13, Sir Winston Churchill addressed the government,

“I say to the House as I said to ministers who have joined this government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.

You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs -- victory in spite of all terrors -- victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”

“Let that be realized. No survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall move forward toward his goal. I take up my task in buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. I feel entitled at this juncture, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say," Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."

E.            After Dunkirk he said,

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender" I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat"

IV. Hope brings victory in the spiritual world

A. Rom 5:1-5 8:24ff.

Col. 1:5 the 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

Eph 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

conclusion:

Hope moves us from:

A.              Panic to peace

B.              Anxiety to serenity

C.              Fear to courage

D.              Fickleness to faithfulness

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NKJV)

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David E. Parks

dave@wcofc.org