HOPE FOR THE HARD PLACE

 HOPE FOR THE HARD PLACE

Jeremiah 29:1-7

Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet

sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were

carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the

people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from

Jerusalem to Babylon. 2  (This happened after Jeconiah the king,

the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and

Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from

Jerusalem.) 3  The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of

Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah

king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of

Babylon, saying, 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of

Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have

caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build

houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.

6  Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for

your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may

bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and

not diminished. 7  And seek the peace of the city where I have

caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for

it; for in its peace you will have peace.

Jer 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD,

thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a

hope.

Rom 15:13

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.

Hope is a reality that allows you to live now as if the promises are already fulfilled…

Who find themselves a prisoner:

• In a ministry assignment you don’t enjoy

• Forced to deal with difficult people

• Trouble in your marriage

• Difficult of unfulfilled job

• Raising difficult children

• Caring for elderly parents

• Having suffered betrayal in ministry

• Post Covid Ministry

I. Typical Responses to Tough Places

1. “Why Me?”

Exodus 3:9-11

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel

has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression

with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10  Come now,

therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may

bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

11  But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go

to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of

Israel out of Egypt?”

Moses WHINNING about his assignment.

2. “Not Me!”

Jonah 1:1-3

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of

Amittai, saying, 2  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great

city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has

come up before Me.” 3  But Jonah arose to flee to

Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went

down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish;

so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with

them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

3. “Poor Me”

1 Kings 19:1-4

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also

how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.

2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So

let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make

your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about

this time.” 3  And when he saw that, he arose and ran

for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to

Judah, and left his servant there. 4  But he himself

went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came

and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that

he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD,

take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

II. HOPE IN THE MIST OF DIFFICULTY

1. Remember that God put you there

v. 4 whom I have caused to be carried away from

Jerusalem to Babylon:

Ex. Joseph in Egypt

Genesis 45:5-8

But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with

yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me

before you to preserve life. 6  For these two years the

famine has been in the land, and there are still five years

in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

7  And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for

you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great

deliverance. 8  So now it was not you who sent me here,

but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and

lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land

of Egypt.

Ex. Me driving Church Van

Three times Joseph said to his brothers, “GOD sent me

here!”

Settle it in your mind that GOD is in charge of your

life—even in YOUR BABYLON.

Psalm 37:23: “The steps of a good man are ordered of

the Lord.”

Daniel 5:11-12

Daniel was in captivity.

Daniel was in a DUNGEON.

He had once been master of all the intellectuals

of the kingdom.

God was in charge of Daniel’s life, even in the

DUNGEON.

Just because you’re in a hard place, don’t think

God has forsaken you.

Krumacher: “When the gold is in the fire, the

Refiner is nearest.”

If God is in charge and if I am in trouble, there is

something for me to do or learn here!

2. Find the good in your difficulty

v. 5. Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and

eat their fruit.

A. Stop waiting for God to bail you out.

Life’s most fertile soil is trouble! Make your

trouble a garden!

B. Occupy until He comes

Luke 19:11-13

Now as they heard these things, He spoke another

parable, because He was near Jerusalem and

because they thought the kingdom of God would

appear immediately. 12  Therefore He said: “A certain

nobleman went into a far country to receive for

himself a kingdom and to return. 13  So he called ten

of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and

said to them, ‘Do business till I come.”

OCCUPY’til I come

Pragmateuo The word pragmatic is in there.

Or get busy.

Hang in there. DONT QUIT. Do

business!

Don’t seek a softer PLACE; become a

tougher PERSON!

Don’t change your circumstances; change

your character!

“When the going gets tough, the tough get

going!”

GET ON WITH THE TASK AT HAND.

Wherever you are.

Whatever it is.

Whoever it involves.

Work THROUGH, not around, your problem!

Philippians 2:12

“Work out your own salvation with fear and

trembling.”

It is already inside you!

3. Increase in the midst of your difficulty

v. 6   Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take

wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands,

so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may

be increased there, and not diminished.

A. Accept your difficulty as an opportunity for

growth

Psalm 137:1-2 – Setting: Hebrews were in Babylon.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and

wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our

harps upon the willows in the midst of Babylon.”

 It is not Babylon itself that defeats us; it is giving

up that defeats us.

 If you don’t want to diminish, dry up, or die in

your hard place, you must find a way to sing

again!

“It is not what happens to you in life that counts;

it is how you handle what happens to you!”

• God is not interested in changing your

circumstances until you become interested

in changing your POSSIBILITIES!

Romans 8:28-29

28  And we know that all things work together

for good those who love God, to those who

are the called according to His purpose.

29  For whom He foreknew, He also

predestined to be conformed to the image of

His Son, that He might be the firstborn

among many brethren.

4. Seek the best for those who are mistreating you

v. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused

you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for

it; for in its peace you will have peace.

A. “PEACE” – SHALOM - It means: fullness,

prosperity, wellness

“Seek” is Darash and it means work for, pursue

diligently

In other words, do your best to SUCCEED in your

hard place.

B. Pray for your captors

C. Pray for the place of your hostility

Ask God to bless your “CAPTORS.”

Change your prison to a palace by PRAYER.

FOR IN ITS PEACE YOU WILL HAVE PEACE!

As you learn and grow, your own life will be

filled with strength, wisdom, patience, love, and

joy.

AN ABUNDANCE OF HOPE

Rom 15:13

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.

Abound – perisseūo – to be over and above, to go way beyond

Hope – elpis – expectation

Hebrews 11:8-13

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as

an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9  By faith he dwelt in the

land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with

him of the same promise; 10  for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and

maker is God. 11  By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a

child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

12  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky

in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13  These all died in faith, not

having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced

them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Hope is a reality that allows you to live now as if the promises are already fulfilled…

It does not defer gratification or praise or thanksgiving. With enough hope the soul is

transferred to the place that you experience the same emotions you will when the thing

manifest.

Ex. Zachariah (How do I know this will happen?)

Ex. Mary (Be it unto me)

ABRAHAM

Romans 4:16-18

Abraham, who is the father of us all…Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he

became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants

be.

 He’s 75 and Sarah 60 when called

SENIORS

Abraham Called at 75

Joshua entering the Promised Land at 65

Moses started at 80

Psalm 92:13

Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14

They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing.

 Nomadic Life

 Promised Father of Many Nations

AGAINST HOPE

1. Biology Against Them (Seed and Menstruation)

2. Physiology Against Them (Strength)

3. Laws of Nature Against Then

I. THE POWER OF HOPE

1. An Anchor

Heb 6:19

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which

enters the Presence behind the veil

2. Helmet

1 Thess 5:7-8

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and

love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation

II. THE RESULT OF HOPE

1. Joy and Peace

Rom 15:13

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.

2. Boldness

2 Cor 3:12

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech

3. Deliverance from Shame

Rom 5:3

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation

produces perseverance; 4  and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in

our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

III. HOW TO GET HOPE

1. Holy Spirit Infused

Rom 15:13

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

2. Scriptures

Rom 15:4

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we

through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

3. Experience

Rom 5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our

Lord Jesus Christ, 2  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in

which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3  And not only that, but

we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

4  and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5  Now hope does not

disappoint

The Power of Internal Confession/Wise People Talk To Themselves Min. John Howard Jr.

Message: The Power of Internal Confession/Wise People Talk To Themselves

Min. John Howard Jr.

This timeless narrative is given in Matthew, Mark and Luke;

*Luke tells what she did.

*Mark tells us that she said something.

*Matthew tells us that she said something but gives complete transparency by telling us who

she said it to.

The biggest problem is that we are talking to too many people about what we should be

speaking to ourselves about.

*Sometimes internal conversations must be between you, yourself & God. 

-Joseph shared his dream with his brothers and suffered because of it.  Let the dream or

vision come to past and be satisfied with people learning about it after it happens. 

Self-application qualifies you to advise others. If it is not working for you, why should I believe

what you say will work for me?

Spoke to doctors for 12 years and got nowhere… 

The pandemic gave us all an opportunity to develop the capacity and the art of talking to

yourself.  Isolation can serve as the best platform for great conversation with yourself.

Everyone spoke to her based on what they saw (pronounced unclean due to the issue of

blood for 12 years), she spoke based on what she knew by faith.

*She is pronounced unclean by the culture of that time, but she spoke against the culture based

on faith!! Culture must bow down to faith in God!

Romans 4:16- 20 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise

might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of

the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father

of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and

calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope,

that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall

thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when

he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 20 He

staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to

God;

 Sometimes it is not only about talking to God about our issue, but also about talking to

ourselves about our issue from God’s perspective. 

David encouraged HIMSELF in the Lord!

1 Samuel 30:6 6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because

the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David

encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

Remember that when you talk to yourself, God is still in on the conversation, by default!! He

sees, hears, and knows everything!!

Psalms 139: 1-3 1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and

when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying

down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it

completely.

Talking to yourself can be beneficial, but depending on yourself can be dangerous.

-Jeremiah 17:5 5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh

his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

Dependency must remain on God.

-2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but

our sufficiency (meaning: ability/power) is of God; 

-Psalms 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

-Proverbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own

understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Before you talk to yourself, make sure your heart posture before God is healthy

-Jeremiah 17:9 AMP 9 “The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick;

Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives? 10 “I, the Lord, search and examine

the mind, I test the heart, to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of

his deeds.

-Luke 6:45 Out of the abundance of the HEART the mouth speaketh

-Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Before the woman spoke, she knew that after 12 years and spending all she had on doctors

(Luke 8:43); she could only depend on God.

Acts 17:28 For in HIM we LIVE, MOVE & HAVE OUR BEING

Live: To master/behave/conduct yourself 

Move: I stir, I excite

Have Our Being: Exist

God responds to our faith, not necessarily because of our prayers or needs. 

-Matthew 9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

*She did not pray to God, but she was able to TOUCH Jesus based on what she said to herself

about Jesus!! Her FAITH was stirred up and activated based on what she said to herself. God

identified with it and responded accordingly.

-Matthew 9: 28-29 28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and

Jesus saith unto them, believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29

Then touched he their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you.

-Psalms 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

* God heard the woman even though she wasn’t talking to him. God hears every word even

when we’re not speaking to him directly.

-Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat

the fruit thereof.

*The woman’s internal and silent confession/declaration still created a sound/frequency that

connected with God. Silent words and thoughts still create sound/frequency based on the

motive and heart behind them.

-Proverbs 23:7 7 For as he thinketh in his heart (Mind), so is he

*Align your thoughts with the mind of God, so that you will live out the destiny HE has for you

Talk to yourself, say what God says about you to yourself

-Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and

making melody in your heart to the Lord;

-Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the

Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

-Deuteronomy 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

 

Affirmation (Learn to affirm yourself based on who God is in your life!)

-Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

-1 Samuel 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because

the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David

encouraged himself in the Lord...

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he

hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.