"Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation…"  Ephesians 6:13, 16-17a

"But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."  1 Thessalonians 5:4-11

HOPE is the confident anticipation of an event that is sure to happen (Romans 8:24-25 and 1 Peter 1:3). It embraces the belief in the present goodness of Abba Father and the continual looking forward to the coming eternal world of incredible happiness and joy in the NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH.

APPROACHES TO HOPE

1. The Fool's Way - He puts the blame on the things themselves and goes on thinking that he will find true happiness in the next vacation, or the next life partner, or the next job, or the next zip code.

2. The way of the disillusioned “sensible man” - He understands that the pursuit of happiness will never be realized and settles down and learns not to expect too much from life and represses his previous desires to achieve the “good life” (“grin and bear it” mentality).

3. The Christian way - “I must take care never to despise or be unthankful for these earthly blessings, but on the other hand to never mistake them for something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country (heaven )and to help others to do the same.”  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book three, Chapter 10

BECAUSE WE HAVE PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

1. We do not stumble in the darkness or in the stupor of drunkenness, but we are called to live with a biblically informed sobriety (Proverbs 4:18-19).

2. We understand the brevity of life - “Sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (v. 3)

3. Salvation is found in Christ, the one “who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him” (v.10).

4. This hope builds deep encouragement (v. 11)

APPLICATIONS:

1. We do not sleepwalk! (1 Peter 4:7-8, 5:8) We battle against an adversary who is a prowling lion and wants to consume us.

2. Why should believers be filled with hope tinged with optimism?

3. We embrace present joys with gladness, remembering… “life cannot get better… this side of heaven.”

“Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”  C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

4. Romans 5:3-4

“And as He (Aslan) spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.”  C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

5. Christ-laden ponderings gives rise to/generates biblical optimism

•  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30).

• As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Genesis 50:20).

• Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20)

QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think of the concept of the “Great Exhaustion”; which occurs when we live with constant digital stimulation, isolation, and the relentless pressure to produce or perform and consume?

2. Why should believers be filled with hope tinged with optimism?

3. Death: The end or a door?

4. How would Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World, 1932) evaluate the year 2026?

5. Those who die in the Lord are not leaving the party, they are going to the real party. They are not leaving home, they are going to their true home.

6. Do I daily reflect on the brevity of life?

7. How can I fulfill Ephesians 5:15 today?
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.”

"Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of."  Jonathan Edwards, Resolutions (1703-1758)