Hope in God!

Jul 30

Sermon Summary

True joy and peace are not found in circumstances, but in relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

In a world overflowing with blessings and conveniences, it’s easy to assume that happiness and contentment should come naturally. Yet, despite living in the most materially prosperous era in history, rates of depression and emotional distress are higher than ever. Modern technology, medicine, and comforts have not solved the deep ache in the human soul. Many find themselves isolated, overstimulated, and underfulfilled, searching for meaning and connection in a world that often offers only shallow substitutes. Even within the church, these struggles are real and present.

Scripture does not shy away from the reality of depression. The Psalms, especially Psalm 42, give voice to the anguish of the soul. David, a man after God’s own heart, experienced deep despair, as did Moses, Elijah, Hannah, and even Jesus Himself in Gethsemane. Depression is not a sin, nor is it a sign of spiritual failure. It is part of the human experience, and the enemy often uses it to isolate and paralyze us, whispering lies that we are alone and beyond hope.

Yet, the Word of God offers a powerful antidote: hope in God. David models for us the discipline of speaking to his own soul, commanding it to hope in the Lord even when every feeling and circumstance says otherwise. This is not a denial of pain, but a refusal to let pain have the final word. The promises of God are not just for the good days; they are anchors for the soul in the darkest nights. God is near to the brokenhearted, and His presence is our consolation.

Repentance and surrender open the door to the Holy Spirit’s power, enabling us to command our souls to hope. Even when healing and restoration take time, as with broken bones, God’s faithfulness remains. We are called not only to receive this hope for ourselves but to become encouragers to others, like Barnabas, lifting up those who are struggling. The victory over despair is found in Christ, who conquered the grave and gives us His Spirit to walk in newness of life.

“The victory over despair is found in Christ, who conquered the grave and gives us His Spirit to walk in newness of life.”

— Pastor Adam

Watch/Listen

Message Study Guide

Youtube chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:30] - Modern Blessings and Hidden Distress
[03:21] - Everyday Comforts and Their Limits
[05:25] - The Rise of Depression in Our Generation
[07:00] - Causes of Emotional Distress
[08:17] - Reading Psalm 42: A Soul in Despair
[10:03] - Biblical Examples of Depression
[13:33] - The Church and the Reality of Suffering
[15:18] - The Language and Target of Depression
[16:57] - Forgetfulness and Feelings of Abandonment
[18:14] - The Power of Loneliness and Enemy Voices
[21:17] - The Command to Hope in God
[23:46] - God’s Promises for the Downcast
[25:40] - Job and Simeon: Waiting for Consolation
[28:41] - The Skill of Commanding Your Soul
[30:06] - Hope Connects Us to God
[31:23] - Joy in the Midst of Suffering
[32:15] - Repentance and Receiving God’s Hope
[36:43] - The Importance of Receptivity to God
[40:00] - The Gift of Encouragement
[42:49] - Walking in Resurrection Power and Closing Prayer

Key Takeaways

Material blessings cannot fill the void in the human soul. Despite unprecedented access to comfort and technology, many still experience deep emotional pain and loneliness. The ache for meaning and connection is spiritual at its core, and only God can satisfy it. [04:22]
Depression is not a sign of spiritual weakness or sin, but a common human experience—even among the faithful. The Bible is honest about the struggles of its heroes, reminding us that we are not alone or abnormal in our suffering. The enemy seeks to isolate us with shame, but God invites us to bring our pain into the light. [10:03]
The soul, our innermost being created for connection with God, is the primary target of discouragement and despair. When we forget God’s goodness or feel abandoned, our souls become bowed down and restless. Recognizing this spiritual battle helps us resist the lies that would drive us further from God. [15:56]
Hope in God is an act of spiritual leadership over our own souls. Like David, we must sometimes command ourselves to trust in God’s promises, even when our emotions resist. This hope is not wishful thinking, but a supernatural confidence rooted in God’s unchanging character and faithfulness. [22:48]
Healing and joy are possible, even in the midst of pain, through repentance, surrender, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to open our hearts to God, receive His comfort, and become encouragers to others. The victory over depression is not the absence of struggle, but the presence of Christ and the assurance of His love. [32:15]

Bible Reading

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭42‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬ – “my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. “O God my rock,” I cry, “why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?” Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”

Observation Questions

In Psalm 42, what are some of the emotions and experiences David describes as he talks to his own soul?
According to the sermon, what are some reasons people today still struggle with depression and loneliness, even with all our modern blessings? [04:22]
What does David do in response to his feelings of being cast down and forgotten by God?
The sermon mentions other biblical figures who struggled with depression or despair. Who are some of these people? [10:03]

Interpretation Questions

Why does David command his soul to “hope in God” instead of just waiting for his feelings to change? What does this say about the role of faith in hard times? [22:48]
The sermon says depression is not a sin, but can lead to sin if not handled well. How might depression affect someone’s relationship with God or others? [11:59]
The pastor mentioned that the enemy tries to isolate us with shame and lies. Why is isolation so dangerous for someone struggling with depression? [18:14]
The sermon talks about the promises of God being “anchors for the soul in the darkest nights.” What does it look like to hold onto God’s promises when you don’t feel hopeful? [23:46]

Application Questions

The sermon says that material blessings and technology can’t fill the void in our souls. Are there any comforts or distractions in your life that you turn to instead of God when you feel down? What would it look like to turn to God first? [04:22]
Depression is described as a common human experience, not a sign of spiritual failure. Have you ever felt ashamed or alone in your struggles? How can you bring your pain “into the light” as the sermon encourages? [10:03]
David models speaking to his own soul and commanding it to hope in God. Is this something you have ever tried? What would it look like for you to practice this kind of spiritual self-leadership? [22:48]
The sermon says that healing and restoration can take time, like a broken bone. If you are in a season of waiting for healing, what helps you keep going? How can the group support you in this? [19:41]
The pastor talked about the importance of repentance and surrender to open the door to the Holy Spirit’s power. Is there an area of your life where you need to surrender or repent to experience more of God’s hope? [32:15]
The sermon encourages us to be encouragers like Barnabas. Who is someone in your life who might need encouragement right now? What is one practical thing you can do for them this week? [40:00]
The enemy tries to use depression to isolate and paralyze us. What are some ways you can stay connected to God and others when you feel down, instead of withdrawing? [18:14]

Let's open up our Bibles to the book of Psalm, Psalms 42. And as I was preparing for this Sunday morning, I was led by the Holy Spirit, I believe, to preach on this topic this morning. I hope it's a blessing to you.

We, how many know, we live in perhaps the richest and most blessed generation of all times. In all human history, you and I have it better than 99% of all those who have lived before us.

In order to put us in the proper frame of mind this morning, I want to share with you some of the blessings that you have that previous generations never had. For example, you can pick up a smartphone and contact anybody in the world in a matter of seconds. That's pretty incredible.

Through WhatsApp, through Facebook Messenger, smartphone, video calls, FaceTime, social media— all of these are incredible tools for connectability. You have access to virtually all human knowledge that mankind has ever produced on the Internet.

We have the blessing of antibiotics, vaccines, and treatments for diseases that used to kill lots of people. The birth rate is far, those who survive beyond the first year of birth is far higher than it used to be even 50, 60 years ago. So the number of children that live beyond the first year used to be very few. That's why people had so many babies.

We have in our world today things like robotic surgeries. We have personalized medicine. We have vast knowledge of mental health and therapy. It's easy to get around the world, comparatively speaking. I know that not everybody's traveling around the world, but compared to the cost of what it was 50 or 100 years ago, you can travel. You can go to nations around the world. It's affordable. It's safe for the most part. Fast.

There's high-speed travel around the world. You know, you have something in your pocket that ensures that you will never get lost. For people like me, I remember a time when if you wanted to know where you were going, you had to open a map made out of paper and unfold it and figure out where you were so that you could figure out where you're going. And then if you're not good at reading a map, you talk to the guy at the gas station who was like the guru of knowing every road in town. No longer.

We all have capabilities to pinpoint ourselves on a map at any moment and know where to go. We have the blessing of air conditioning. How many are addicted to air conditioning? You know, air conditioning has only been around for what? Since the 1950s and 60s? Widespread?

Every human being before that, you know how they cooled off? They sweat or they jumped in the lake. There was no air conditioning. Microwaves, dishwashers, washing machines. I have a robotic vacuum in my house. I named him Tony Shark. It's incredible. You just push the button and the floors are clean. Wow.

You can push a button and have the entire inventory of amazon.com show up at your house in two days for no shipping. That's incredible. Amazon Prime. I wish I got a commission, but online shopping with next-day, sometimes same-day delivery. Have you seen this? Same-day delivery.

You know, you can turn on your faucet and out comes water that you can drink. You know, there's very few people in the world that have ever had that. But you have it. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Clean water, reliable power, and modern plumbing. You know, I have missionary friends that don't have those things today.

I have missionary friends in Thailand and Cambodia that don't have those things. I have a missionary friend in Nigeria that half of their service they do on a generator because of the rolling blackouts in Lagos, Nigeria. On and on and on it goes. I have a long list of amazing blessings that we have.

But here's what I want to ask you to think about. With all of the modern blessings we have living in 2025, how is it possible that there are more people who are emotionally distressed, downcast, sullen, and depressed?

I have a picture I want to show you. This is a study that was done. We got— oh, praise the Lord.

Trends in depression prevalence in people. This is ages 12 and up. And this is starting in the year 2013. And this is, anybody want to guess what happened right here? COVID. That was COVID. That's right. 2020 COVID. So female total population and male depression from starting in 2020 has just been on the uptick until this study was done in 2023. So it's only gone up from there. The trend, let's just say the trend has continued.

And so when I saw that, here's what I thought. I thought, if this is an average of all human beings in the United States, is it possible there's people in the house of God experiencing that as well?

So 15% of all females report depression and the kind of depression that's not just a sad day, but the kind that keeps people from working, the kind that is debilitating.

And it's amazing to think about with all the blessings that we have. And yet people are still emotionally destroyed.

I think it's for a few reasons. Social media, deep relationships are being lost. Community is being lost. People think that they can replace true community with social networks, and that is not true. I think people are overstimulated, underfulfilled, a loss of purpose and meaning.

Breakdown of family has something to do with it. And I think people are overmedicated. Can I just throw that out there? I think that many people think that they can take a magical pill. And I'm not saying that all medicine is evil, but I'm saying that we can be overmedicated.

And the reason why is because your doctor and drug companies make money when they get you taking your prescription. And so they're motivated that you would be overmedicated. Chemical imbalances.

And connected to that is a rejection of the things that really matter, the spiritual life.

So I want to talk to you this morning about hope in God, because in the scripture we're about to read, we find a man experiencing the depths of depression. You know, the Bible is not silent about this. The Bible does speak to people who find themselves in depressive states.

And I want to encourage you this morning because I believe that we have an answer in the scripture. We have an answer in God. Psalm 42, verses 6 through 11. Let's read them together.

Ever felt like that?

Therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, from the heights of Hermon, from the hill of Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls. All your waves and billows have gone over me.

The Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime. And in the night, his song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with the breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me while they say to me all day long.

But to—? a long break, moving towards other people will know when they say to me all day long lol. Because you are saying to me, it doesn't matter who Jesus Christ is while you say to me, where is your God?

Verse 11, why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him, the help of my countenance and my God.

Let's pray.

Lord, we're coming this morning, God, desperately in need of your Spirit to help us. I pray for those who have experienced the darkness of depression, anxiety, and fear. I'm praying, God, this morning that the Holy Spirit would empower us to do what David experienced, to hope in God. And I'm asking you this morning, in Jesus' mighty name, God's people would say, amen.

I want to look at depression's reality, its reasons, and its redemption. And I'm so grateful this morning that the Bible does not sugarcoat this issue, that there are real people who have real problems in the Scripture.

The Bible has example after example of faithful and even righteous people who struggled with and showed signs of depression. David, the Bible describes him as a man after God's own heart. He did many mighty things for the Lord.

We know he is not a perfect man. He also committed sin, great sin, in the eyes of God. He had a relationship with God, though. But in the moment that we find him, we find him in a state of deep and dark depression. He's not the only one.

If you read the Scripture faithfully, you will find many. Moses, Hannah, Solomon, Elijah, the prophet who called down fire from heaven. And the next thing that happens is he runs away in fear from Jezebel, that wicked queen, saying, Lord, take my life. It's too much for me. I'm done. The heights of joy paired with the depths of fear and depression.

John the Baptist, even the Apostle Paul, we see. And so the reason I say that is because this is not something that we should shun or we should separate people and, you know, let them stew for a while. This is us.

I think every one of us, we all have a certain kind of personality. Some people are more prone to depression than others, but I think all of us are going to go through times where we go through dark moments. Even Jesus.

Jesus showed moments of emotional distress when John, his cousin, was beheaded. Jesus heard that, and the Bible says he went by boat to a deserted place by himself. That sounds like he was not feeling well that day.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, as he's preparing to go to the cross, it says that his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground in Luke 22:44. And that is actually something that doctors know about. It's a real state, a condition of people who are in deep emotional distress that the capillaries in your skin can break and produce blood at the surface of your skin.

Depression is a part of the human experience. And I want to say, first of all, this morning, that it's not sin. It can lead to sin, but depression itself is not a sin. It doesn't make you weird. You're not the only one.

The devil always tries to tell you in the moment of depression that you're the weird one, you're the odd one, that no one else feels like you. You're the odd one out, so you might as well quit. That's his goal, right? Give up, quit, disconnect, backslide, turn away from God.

And yet, with that reality that depression and despair can be part of our Christian experience in life, sometimes I believe the Christian community does not do enough to put a highlight on this issue.

We have, you know, Christian radio stations like K-Love. And there has never been a hit on K-Love in a minor key. Everything is positive and encouraging. And there's a reason, right? We want to uplift people, right? We get it.

But listen, Christians seem that they don't sing the blues. And that can be a problem sometimes when you're going through it. We get the idea that we have to candy coat, that we have to put on a face for people, that we have to perform in front of others because the way that I'm feeling is not acceptable.

Jesus said, Matthew 5 verse 4, he said, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. It's okay to go through the process. It's not okay to get stuck there, but it's okay to go through the process.

In Ecclesiastes, the wise Solomon said this, this has been on my heart in times past. He says, Ecclesiastes 7 verse 2, it's better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. What does that mean? Better to go to a funeral than to a party.

Well, funerals aren't exactly exciting. Why? Because the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. The heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

And so what does it do? What does depression do to us? In our scripture, we get an idea. David, speaking to his own soul, he says something like this: Why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?

The language here, when he says my soul is cast down, there is a physical motion connected to those words. It means bowed or crouched down. Picture a person who has arthritis and their spine is curved forward. That's the word picture that David uses about his soul.

My soul is bent over with heavy burdens. I've been carrying this weight too long.

He also uses the word disquieted. In the original language, it means not just noisy, but growling, crying, mourning, clamorous, to be troubled. It's the sound of someone who's in trouble, someone who is broken.

He says, my soul feels like that. The New Living Translation, why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? Have you ever felt like that?

Depression's target is your soul. What is the soul that David is speaking about? The Hebrew word is the word nefesh. It's the part of you that is supposed to be connected with God. It's the part of you that makes you unique from the animal kingdom, right? Animals have bodies. Animals have a non-physical part of them, like a will, like emotions.

But God created man in the garden. The Bible says he breathed into him the nefesh, the life of God into his nostrils. That was something he did not put into animals. Our soul is a part of us which is supposed to connect with God.

Is it any wonder then why the devil targets your soul with discouragement and depression? Because if he can get us into this state, you know what the next thing happens is? We become disconnected from God if we're not careful.

When depression comes, it puts undue weight and causes a lack of peace in your soul. So why? Why does this occur? There's a few reasons that are identified in Scripture.

Number one, David says in the midst of his depression, he says, my soul is cast down within me, therefore I will remember you. There's an interesting clue right there. Why does he need to remember God? Because he's forgotten something.

So depression often is connected with a forgetfulness of the goodness, the blessing, the power of God. We forget things that we're supposed to remember.

There is also a feeling of abandonment. Look at verse 9. He says, I will say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? So we know that God is everywhere present at the same time. Is that right? He is omnipresent, is the big fancy word. He is everywhere at the same time.

And yet David, in this moment, he feels as if that God has forgotten him in his moment of pain. Loneliness is one of the most powerful of human emotions. If the devil can make you feel isolated, then he can do almost anything else to you.

It's when you feel isolated that you end up in great trouble. So it's the feeling. It's not that David has been abandoned. It's just that he feels abandoned. Have you ever been there? Abandoned by people that are supposed to care about you. Abandoned by friends and loved ones. Worse, to feel abandoned by God himself.

David is also in this moment because he is experiencing the reproach of enemies. Listen to what he says in verse 10. He says, as with the breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me while they say to me all day long, where is your God?

And so it's bad enough that he's feeling a certain type of way. But now he's got those that are speaking against him. Enemies who are reproaching him, mocking him, saying, where's your God now, David? Thought you were a man of God. Thought you were on the up and up.

Anybody here ever had a broken bone? You know, something about broken bones is that they can heal, but it does take time. Is that right? You have to set the bone back in its place. That's painful. And then you have to wait. There's no shortcutting the process. It takes time to heal a broken bone.

And this is what David is saying. Just like a broken bone, when my enemies reproach me, it causes a breaking in my soul. Changes my perspective. It changes my activity. And if we're not careful, we can allow it to affect our relationship with God, the enemy that he's speaking about.

There is such a thing as spiritual warfare. And this is not just speaking about people, but the forces behind those people that speak against us as the people of God, speak against your family, speak against your marriage. Hello?

The voice of the enemy that whispers, I don't know about you, but in my experience, some of the hardest battles that I've been through happen right here. With the voice of the enemy whispering things that sound so true, you're not making any difference. You're not a good provider for your home. All of your efforts, they're going to lead to nothing. That's the voice of the enemy.

And if we're not careful, if we listen to that and accept it, things can break. And the whole purpose behind it is to paralyze you, to stop you in your tracks, to make you feel worthless. That's the purpose.

Sticks and stones do hurt. They do break bones. So I want to give you the hope this morning that is in the scripture, because this is true for every one of us: that there will be, maybe you're feeling good today, maybe you're on cloud nine today. Thank God. You can encourage somebody around you, but you take this message and put it in your back pocket because you're going to need it one day.

There is tonight reason. There is reason to hope in God. I want you to say the word hope. Hope is a powerful force. It is supernatural.

Now, we're not just talking about Pollyannish, rose-colored glasses. We're not just talking about popping a pill and feeling a little better. The kind of hope that God has to offer is supernatural in its ability to lift us from the depths of despair. Thank you.

Verse 5 and verse 11, David says the same thing. He says, hope in God. And the way that he uses it is a command to his own soul. He is rebuking himself.

Now, sometimes I want to tell you, you're going to have to have this skill in your life: to rebuke your own soul. You say to your soul, soul, you better hope in God today.

People who say that they're not leaders, they're good followers. I want to say to you this morning, every one of us has some role of leadership in our lives. You might not have a team of people. You're not a coach of athletes. You're not a pastor of a church, but every one of you has at least this role of leadership in your life: you've got to lead your soul.

You've got to be able, like David, to feel all the feels, to experience the emotions. It's okay, but not to stay there. You've got at some point to turn around and look at that soul that's in defeat and say, it is time now to hope.

And not hope in hope itself. It's not hope in the world. It's not hope in religion. It is hope in God.

I mean, no, the world doesn't have much to offer. You can go visit the self-help section of your local Barnes and Noble, and you might get some good hints and tips and tricks and hacks, but what you won't find is hope in God.

Deuteronomy 31 verse 8, the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. So do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.

God spoke to Joshua and said, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

The Bible is filled with these kinds of promises. You know why? Because we need them. We need them. When we find ourselves discouraged and in darkness, we need the word of God to speak life into the dead places of our soul.

Psalm 34:18, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Isaiah 41:10, do not fear. I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

When you find yourself in this place and it's time for you to speak to your soul, that needs to be your food. Those promises need to be on your lips and on your heart, and you might not believe them when you read them, but you can command your soul: You are going to hope in God.

Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Even in the depths of despair, hope is still possible. I think about Job. Perhaps no greater example of someone who lost it all, right? The kind of experience that you would not wish on your worst enemy.

He loses his family, his children. He loses his business. He loses all of his property. And then the devil comes and takes away his bodily health from him. So he's sitting, the Bible says, sitting on the ground, scraping the boils off of his skin, painful boils.

And then if that wasn't bad enough, his wife comes to him and says, Why don't you curse God and die, you miserable worm? I added that last part. And when it seems like he's got nothing left, but the Bible does call Job a righteous man. God defended Job in the chapter one. Problem was, Job wasn't there to hear it.

And neither are we. We're not there to hear the ways that God is going to help us. But listen to Job as he hangs on to that last thread of hope in Job 13:15. He says, Though he slay me, speaking about God, yet will I trust him. I will defend my ways before him.

I don't feel good. I don't see hope. I don't see the reason to continue. But listen, I know God, and I will trust him even though he slay me.

I love the account of a man named Simeon in Luke chapter 2. The Bible calls him a man who's just and devout, and he was waiting for something. Sometimes to get through depression and fear and anxiety and darkness, sometimes it is a matter of just waiting.

This man, the Bible says, he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Say consolation. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit was upon him, and he was there at the exact moment that Jesus is presented in the temple as a little baby. And this man, Simeon, the Bible says he looks at Jesus in his infantile form and finds hope. Consolation in a time of difficulty.

Can I tell you, that's possible for you and I also. We can find the consolation of Israel. Depression comes to us all, but I want to give you hope. It does not have to consume you.

So whether you've come here this morning in the midst of depression and anxiety or not, it's going to touch your life at some point. And I want to give you the tool that you need in the midst of it.

And that is what David did. He said to his soul, hope in God. And if I could leave one thing with you this morning, you can do that.

The Holy Spirit, we studied the Holy Spirit today in our Sunday school, and the Bible tells us that if we are saved, if we are set free from sin, if we have a right relationship with God, and we are sons and daughters of the Most High, then the gift he gives to us is his Holy Spirit.

And that Holy Spirit is a spirit of power. He empowers you to do what we're talking about today. David didn't know. David lived before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. We have an advantage on David that he didn't have.

So certainly, if David can talk himself into hoping in God, you have an advantage on him. You can submit your heart to the Lord. You can ask for forgiveness of sin. You can be sure that you are living right for God, first of all, that you have repented of sin, and you're living for him.

And once you've done that, you can, by the Holy Spirit, you can say to your soul, it's time to hope. It's time to hope in God.

It's okay to experience. It's not okay to stay there. Because God has a plan.

Some of you have allowed feelings of depression to paralyze you, to stop you in your tracks. You believe the lies of the enemy. I want to encourage you this morning. Don't stay there. Time to command your soul in Jesus' name to hope in God.

Hope is a powerful thing. And it might not solve all your problems. In fact, I can guarantee to you it won't. But what it will do is it'll connect you to the one who can.

What better place to be than in the hand of the Almighty God? Lord, I might not be feeling good today, but you are with me. And that's where the source of joy comes from.

I want to tell you, as we close, about joy. Joy is not just eating sugar and getting a high. Okay? Joy is not just Krispy Kreme. True joy... remains, even when you're not feeling it.

It's not an emotional thing. True joy can take a hit in life and say, you know what? I will yet hope in God. Lord, I trust you because I know you. I know who you are, God. And I can still have joy and I can still lift my hands.

And sometimes when I look out during the praise and the worship in our services, sometimes I look out and I see people and I know that they're going through something. And I know that they've lost a loved one or they're about to. And I look at people and I see them with hands lifted, even through tears streaming down their face.

And you know what that is? That's joy. I can still praise in the midst of my storm. That's somebody who has said to their soul, hope in God.

And so if you haven't got there yet, you need to get there. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. We're going to bring the service to a close.

The Bible promises to followers of the Lord Jesus, a peace that passes understanding, a joy unspeakable that is available to you and me.

And before we close this service today, I want to give you an opportunity to experience the hope in God, the joy in the Holy Spirit that so many people in this world are desperate for.

The first step is to turn from sin and to trust in the Lord. Sometimes the problem is self-inflicted. Sometimes we have opened up the door to hell because of our choices. Sometimes we are not experiencing attacks from the enemies, but we are experiencing judgment from the Lord because we remain in our sin.

And so to deal with that problem, first of all, what we want to pray for is a prayer of repentance. There's people here this morning, you need to repent from sin and trust in Jesus. He can't bless you if you remain in rebellion against him.

He can't give you the hope and the joy of the Holy Spirit if you're still living in unrepentant sin.

And so my first call is simply this: turn from sin and trust in Jesus. If you need that this morning, that first step of turning away from the evil that has separated you from God, David had to do that.

There was a time when he took another man's wife. He murdered that husband and then covered it up, dishonored God and parents and broke every one of the 10 commandments in one shot. And God did not bless that. God had to judge that.

It wasn't until David repented through the instruction of a prophet that put his finger in his chest and said, David, you're the man. Sometimes the Holy Spirit does that to us in a church service. He says, It's you. It's not me, it's you. You have brought this.

And for that, I want to give you hope this morning because the Bible says, you turn from sin and trust in the Lord. You can be saved. There is healing in the name of Jesus. But you've got to call out to him. You've got to turn from sin.

If that's you this morning, I want to pray with you. Someone who's not right with the Lord, but you want to get right before you leave this place. Can I pray with you? Would you lift up your hand right now so I can see it? Being honest with the Lord, without the fear of man, you lift up a hand and say, Please, please pastor, pray for me. I want to get my heart right. I want to turn from sin and trust in Jesus.

Something that has separated me from God and I'm tired. I'm tired of living in sin. Is there anyone at all? Quickly, with an uplifted hand right now.

Sin can destroy a relationship with God. Leads to destruction. Anyone at all? Quickly this morning. Thank God.

Then let me speak to believers. We're going to open this altar for prayer. Right now we have an opportunity. I believe God is dealing with some people who maybe now are in the midst of a season of depression.

We're going to open this altar for prayer. We're going to open this altar for prayer. Maybe you are prone to those seasons. I have known people who are more prone to that. And you know that about yourself. If certain circumstances hit you, that you are prone to those kinds of negative emotions. This is an altar for you this morning.

You come in and begin to ask God for that skill. Lord, I need to figure out how to command my soul, trust in God, trust in God, to rely on the Holy Spirit to restore that relationship. Or maybe you're going to put this message in your back pocket for when the time hits you.

I want to open up this altar for prayer. And if you need the power of the Holy Spirit to set you free, as children of the Most High God, sons and daughters, we can find the joy in the Holy Spirit. We're going to open up this altar for prayer. Can we stand together? You need to pray. Would you come? We're going to pray together right here.

We can come kneel our hearts, kneel our heads before the Lord. And for a few moments, I want to ask you to join us in prayer. We're going to believe God to help us this morning. We're going to pray together.

I want to pray with you this morning, a prayer of victory, of hope in God this morning.

I want to, before we pray, I want to, I want to share one quick thing with you. And that is we have hearts that are open and receptive to God. There's something happening in our world today that people are becoming unreceptive. And you know, one mark of that is people who walk around every moment of their waking lives and they have something in their ear.

Have you noticed that? They got earbuds or the, or younger people having, uh, having the, the headphones on their head all the time. It's a fashion state now, but what does that do? One of the things it does is it says, if I'm listening to something now, so I don't want to talk to you.

If I'm in the gym, everybody in the gym has something in their ear. And what it's communicating is I don't want to talk to you. And we're missing out on all those little encouraging conversations that can happen.

And the problem is not just the thing, the earbuds in our ears. The problem is that when we have that same position toward God, Lord, I'm busy now. I can't hear from you. Lord, I've got too much going on. I can't hear from you. Or worse, I'm afraid, Lord, that if you speak to me, it's going to change the way that I'm living.

And so I want to pray this morning because we need to rebuke that. We need to be open. We need to be ready to receive from the Lord because he is faithful to help us. Let's bow our heads. I want to pray with you this morning and lead you in a prayer. Can we say this together?

Say, God in heaven, thank you that you are a God who speaks. Help me, Lord, to hear from heaven your voice. Lord, the Spirit of God would unlock the ability to receive from you when I'm depressed, when I'm anxious, when I'm fearful, when I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

I believe you can speak into my depression in Jesus' name. And I receive that spirit. I rebuke my soul and provider. I have no reason to fear. You have blessed me. You have set me apart. Lord, you have adopted me into your family. And now I have surety, the assurance of my salvation.

And that makes me joyful. Even through pain, and I give you glory today in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's give him praise right now. Father, we thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord.

I want to say one more thing quickly before we close. There are people here that God has given you a gift of encouragement. Sometimes you're a little more buoyant than others for no reason. The Holy Spirit helps you to encourage others. I believe that God can use that.

There was somebody in the book of Acts named Barnabas. You know what his name means? The son of encouragement. Man, that is a good guy to have in your group. That when you are, uh, when you are, uh, the apostle Paul getting kicked out of cities and people throwing stones at you, you got a Barnabas next to you saying, Hey, brother Paul, it's going to be okay. Let's be encouraged in the Lord.

And somebody here, I believe God’s going to speak to you. You've got the gift of encouragement. You need to activate that. Brother, saving, you got a word, please.

Let's give God praise for that word. Thank you.

Oh, man, the devil would have victory if he could keep you depressed. He would win, but he doesn't have to win. We have the victory. He’s conquered the grave. That same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is alive in you.

Walk in the power of that new life in Christ. Let's close in prayer.