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By the grace of God, I am thankful for Presiding Bishop Beacham\u2019s invitation to share the message entitled \u201cPlace of Hope\u201d with you on this momentous occasion.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how much time you spent traveling to this conference. Our 33-member team took 28 hours to fly all the way from Hong Kong. Why are all of us are here, traveling long distances to attend this conference? The main reason is that we want to be strengthened by the hope that has already been rooted and planted in our denomination.<\/p>\n
IPHC churches can be found in nearly 100 countries around the world. Imagine if every one of us in this big family lived a life full of vitality and manifested the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place–there would be places of hope in all these countries.<\/p>\n
This \u201chope\u201d is not a chimerical idea or a mere emotional comforter. Titus 2:13 describes it as \u201cthe blessed hope:\u201d<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>For the grace\u00a0of God has appeared\u00a0that offers salvation to all people.12\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>It teaches us to say \u201cNo\u201d to ungodliness and worldly passions,\u00a0and to live self-controlled,\u00a0upright and godly lives\u00a0in this present age,<\/strong>\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>while we wait for\u00a0<\/strong>the blessed hope\u2014the appearing\u00a0of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>who gave himself for us\u00a0to redeem us from all wickedness\u00a0and to purify\u00a0for himself a people that are his very own,\u00a0eager to\u00a0<\/strong>do what is good.<\/em><\/p>\n The \u201cblessed hope\u201d in the Scripture refers to \u201cthe appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.\u201d It says that Jesus Christ will lead us into an intimate bonding that has no end!<\/p>\n Hence, the \u201cblessed hope\u201d is not remote and far away. It is right here and right now in the present age. The life in the present age has already been connected with the blessed hope promised by God in the future. The present age is the place for Christians to witness this hope God promises.<\/p>\n The blessing of \u201cthe blessed hope\u201d helps us live differently in this world. The hope ignites our vitality. It empowers us with the ability to face difficulties, the ability to bear scars, the ability to love and sacrifice, and the ability to serve God as we wrestle against the powers of darkness in this world.<\/p>\n We see many people feeling hopeless as they face poverty, unfairness, sins, sorrows, and negative emotions permeating their entire lives, causing them to suffer from mood disorders that make them feel like there is \u201cno way out.\u201d This is not the way God intends for people to live.<\/p>\n In Hong Kong, the suicide rate is very high. As ironic as it may seem in a well-developed city like Hong Kong, it is in fact plagued with depressing poverty and a worsening wealth gap. Many young people have voiced that they feel disappointed and depressed by the fact that no matter how hard they try, with Hong Kong\u2019s excessive property rates, limited personal space, poor quality of life, and rigid education, they have lost the hope to survive! People in Hong Kong need to hear the message of hope from God through us. They need us to tell them we have a good life to live in Christ.<\/p>\n I launched a youth pastoral plan last year for young believers that were searching for their direction in life and had lost enthusiasm for life. The most basic goal of the plan was to help them live responsibly and live a faithful life. I organized a group of dedicated life mentors in the church to teach these young people to have a positive attitude about work, to write resumes, and to help them discover their talents. The main purpose was to ignite hope in them while they were still young.<\/p>\n A young man who took part in this pastoral plan told us that he was treated like trash by his parents which eventually also made him believe that he was worthless, like trash. He later said that it was God and his brothers and sisters at the church who helped him change and truly believe that he was unique and valuable.<\/p>\n OUR LIVES BECOME PLACES THAT MANIFEST HOPE<\/p>\n 11\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>For the grace\u00a0of God has appeared\u00a0that offers salvation to all people.12\u00a0<\/sup>It teaches us to say \u201cNo\u201d to ungodliness and worldly passions,\u00a0and to live self-controlled,\u00a0upright and godly lives\u00a0in this present age<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup>while we wait for the blessed hope\u2014the appearing\u00a0of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup>who gave himself for us\u00a0to redeem us from all wickedness\u00a0and to purify\u00a0for himself a people that are his very own,\u00a0eager to do what is good.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Titus 2:11-12 gives clear instruction to Christians who have hope in Christ. This Scripture points out that God plays a persistent role in \u201ccoaching\u201d Christians who have hope in Him. \u201cThe grace of God\u201d in this context can, therefore, be recognized as God, our coach, who trains and equips us in the present age to live our lives to the fullest.<\/p>\n There are two dimensions of God\u2019s coaching:<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201c<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>It teaches us to say \u201cNo\u201d to ungodliness and worldly passions\u2026\u201d (Titus 2:12a)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The first part of God\u2019s coaching is to know how to say \u201cNo.\u201d The Scripture says that God teaches us to say \u201cNo\u201d to ungodliness and worldly passions. To \u201csay no\u201d is to irreversibly \u201cremove\u201d and \u201creject.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUngodliness\u201d means \u201cno God in one\u2019s eyes,\u201d \u201cliving a life as if God is absent.\u201d However, without God, how can there be hope?<\/p>\n \u201cWorldly passions\u201d are \u201csinful impulses\u201d expressed physically. When people\u2019s hearts are filled with sinful lusts and they spend a lifetime satisfying their flesh, they are completely captured by sin. How can their hearts become \u201ca place of hope?\u201d<\/p>\n I find that some of God’s servants, seeing ministry as a job, lose their heart for God. What they remember all day long are their welfare and future retirement. They do not grasp the opportunity to serve God as best as they can; instead, they become servants without vision and dedication! If we unknowingly fall into worldly values and accept a godless attitude toward life, we are literally wasting the identity of being a servant of God.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cAnd to live self-controlled,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>upright and godly lives<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in this present age.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n (Titus 2:12b)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The second part of God\u2019s coaching is to know how to say \u201cYes\u201d as the scripture teaches us to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.<\/p>\n \u201cSelf-controlled\u201d means to live a life driven by the Holy Spirit. This is the only way servants of God avoid being controlled by the need of the flesh!<\/p>\n \u201cUpright\u201d means that we must do our part in living right in the eyes of God.<\/p>\n \u201cGodly\u201d means submitting the sovereignty of one\u2019s life to God; one who does not dare to fall short of the glory of God in complying to sin.<\/p>\n \u201cSelf-controlled\u201d is about how you manage yourself. \u201cUpright\u201d is about how you deal with other people. \u201cGodly\u201d is about how you relate to God. Only then can we live a life guided by the Holy Spirit that glorifies Christ! Only then we can make a \u201cplace full of hope\u201d anywhere we go. Hope is not a hidden dream for Christians, but a vision for Christians to live out.<\/p>\n PARTICIPATING IN UNDEFEATABLE WARFARE<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201c\u2026who gave himself for us<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>to redeem us from all wickedness<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and to purify<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>for himself a people that are his very own,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>eager to do what is good<\/strong>\u201d (Titus 2:14).<\/em><\/p>\n According to the Scripture, the word \u201cgood\u201d in this verse carries the instruction that we should confront \u201cevil.\u201d When Christ\u2019s followers are willing to overcome evil by doing what is good in the eyes of God, we are indeed making our everyday lives the \u201cplace of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Many people, including some pastors who serve God, stay in their negative emotions for a very long time. While they keep complaining about how life fails them, they somehow give up in becoming involved in the spiritual warfare led by the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting involved\u201d is, in fact, a blessing, a precious chance of working together with Christ and being used by Him. No matter how many difficulties we encounter, we should never give up!<\/p>\n Our power in facing difficulties comes from God who is the source of hope. As a matter of fact, the spiritual war has already been won by our Lord Jesus Christ, hence we are participating in an UNDEFEATABLE warfare!<\/p>\n BE THE PLACE OF HOPE: BE A CHRISTIAN WITH ESCHATOLOGICAL HOPE IN GOD<\/p>\n In conclusion, \u201cplace of hope\u201d is not referring to the future in a linear timeline but referring to \u201cthe present with a hope of eternity.\u201d Whenever we encounter God\u2019s words and make the conscious decision to please Christ, the choice can be seen as an \u201ceschatological choice.\u201d Our \u201ceschatological choices\u201d here and now turn our present existence into a \u201cplace of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n As \u201cChristians with this eschatological hope,\u201d we see now as the ultimate end time while we fight the spiritual war of the present age. We should hence make use of every opportunity to glorify the Lord Jesus in various life situations.<\/p>\n My dear brothers and sisters, let our lives here in the present age become a \u201cplace of hope.\u201d Let our everyday lives become places of hope. Let the place where we are, become places of hope. Let\u2019s be the places of hope right here and right now! Amen.<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/Untitled-1.1.png\")
<\/a>Dr. Joanne Wong Yuet-ying<\/p>\n