Hope In God Alone
Hope In God Alone
The transition into a new year often brings questions about where we place our hope and what we're expecting from the months ahead. While many people anchor their hope in resolutions, relationships, financial security, or career success, these temporary foundations will inevitably shift and disappoint. David's powerful words in Psalm 62 provide a different framework, emphasizing that our hope must be placed in God alone.Life's fundamental challenges don't change simply because we enter a new year. Uncertainties, struggles, and hardships continue regardless of calendar dates. This reality makes David's message even more relevant, as he wrote these words during his own season of pressure and betrayal. His response wasn't to seek quick fixes or temporary solutions, but to anchor his hope in God's unchanging character. David identifies three crucial reasons why God alone deserves our hope: only He can carry the weight of our burdens, He serves as our true safe refuge, and He alone can strengthen our souls through seasons of waiting.When God becomes our foundation, we stop trying to manage burdens that were never meant for our shoulders. Instead of running to control, distraction, or validation when life gets difficult, we learn to run to God as our refuge - not to hide, but to be strengthened and empowered. This requires building an authentic relationship with God through quiet moments of prayer and reflection, allowing Him to do transformative work in our hearts that prepares us for what lies ahead.
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Finding Hope in God Alone: Your Foundation for the New Year
As we transition from one year to the next, many of us find ourselves asking important questions about hope. What are you hoping for in the coming year? Where is your hope placed? These aren't just casual thoughts - they're foundational questions that will shape how we navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.
What Does It Mean to Have Hope in God Alone?
David, in Psalm 62:1-8, provides us with a powerful framework for understanding true hope. He writes, "I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken."
Notice how David repeatedly emphasizes "God alone" throughout this passage. This isn't accidental - it's intentional. David understood something crucial: when life gets difficult, when enemies surround us, when everything seems uncertain, our hope must be anchored in God alone, not in temporary solutions or human strength.
Why Life's Challenges Don't Change
Here's a reality we must face: life doesn't change just because we enter a new year. We can make resolutions, create plans, and get excited about fresh starts, but the fundamental challenges of life remain. Uncertainties, brokenness, hardships, and struggles don't respect calendar dates - they come regardless of what season we're in.
This is precisely why David's message is so relevant. He wrote these words during a season of pressure, betrayal, and threat. Yet his response wasn't to find temporary fixes or quick solutions. Instead, he anchored his hope in the unchanging character of God.
Three Reasons Why God Is Our Only Hope
1. Only He Can Carry the Weight
David calls God "my rock" - not a pebble floating downstream or a tiny stone on the side of the road, but a solid, unmovable foundation. Jesus illustrated this principle in Matthew 7:24-27, comparing those who build their lives on His teachings to someone who builds a house on solid rock. When storms come, that house stands firm.
Here's a crucial truth: whatever carries the most weight in your life becomes your foundation. If your relationship, your job, your financial security, or even your church attendance is carrying the primary weight of your life, then that has become your foundation. But when God alone carries the weight, He becomes your unshakeable foundation.
Many of us try to carry burdens that were never meant for our shoulders. We attempt to manage the weight of our worries, our family's problems, our financial stress, and our future uncertainties. But this approach leads to being shaken by the very things we thought we could handle.
2. He Is Our Safe Refuge
David declares, "He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me." When life becomes hard and uncertain, we all run to something. Some run to control, others to distraction, people, validation, or comfort. But these temporary refuges never bring the lasting change we hope for.
A refuge isn't a place of hiding - it's a place of safety and empowerment. When we run to God, we're not shrinking back in fear; we're being strengthened, guided, and transformed. Just as children instinctively run to their parents when hurt or afraid, we can run to our Heavenly Father who knows us by name and loves us unconditionally.
The key is building this relationship over time through hope, vulnerability, and authentic encounters with God. Your safe refuge is built on your relationship with Christ when no one sees you - in those quiet moments of humility and hunger to sit at His feet.
3. Only He Can Strengthen Your Soul
David writes, "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him." This isn't passive waiting - it's active trust-building. In our noisy world, there's something powerful about sitting in quiet reflection, asking ourselves where we stand with God.
God uses waiting to strengthen our souls. In the waiting, patience replaces anxiety, humility replaces self-reliance, humble trust replaces the need for control, and faithfulness replaces frustration. He's doing work behind the scenes that no one else sees, preparing us for what's to come.
The Danger of Hiding Behind "Waiting"
However, we must be careful not to confuse genuine waiting on God with fear of stepping into what He's already shown us. Sometimes what we call "waiting on the Lord" is actually hiding from our purpose and calling.
God doesn't always give us the whole picture - He gives us the next step. If you've been feeling stirred in your heart to step into something new, don't let fear disguise itself as spiritual patience. There's no such thing as the "right moment" - there are only God moments.
Moving Forward with Confidence
When our hope is anchored in God alone, we can step forward with confidence, even when we don't have all the answers. We don't have to wait for hope before we obey - we obey because our hope is already anchored in God.
This hope, as Hebrews 6:19 tells us, "is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls." It's not wishful thinking or positive psychology - it's confidence in the unchanging character of God who has proven Himself faithful throughout history.
Life Application
As you enter this new year, challenge yourself to identify what's currently carrying the weight in your life. Is it God alone, or have you placed that burden on relationships, circumstances, or your own strength?
This week, commit to building your relationship with God through quiet moments of authentic prayer and reflection. Stop trying to carry burdens that were never meant for your shoulders, and instead run to God as your safe refuge when challenges arise.
Consider these questions:
What areas of your life need God to be your safe refuge right now?
What have you been hesitating to step into because you're waiting for the "right moment"?
How can you make your "yes" to God's calling the greatest yes you've ever given?
Where do you typically run first when life gets difficult - to God or to temporary solutions?
Remember, when we say God carries the weight, Jesus carried the cross. When we say God is our refuge, Jesus opened His arms. When we say God strengthens our soul, Jesus gave His body and blood so our hope would never rest on ourselves again. Your hope for the new year isn't found in perfect circumstances or flawless plans - it's found in God alone.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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All right, who's ready for the Word?
I've been working on three sermons and it was very hard to pinpoint which one to end 2025 with. Spent time in the Word and in prayer. And then I landed on Hope.
Hope for the New Year. What is your hope for the New year? What are you hoping for?
What does hope look like for your life?
You're hoping that your marriage is still strong the following year. You're hoping that your kids find Christ for themselves. You're hoping that your relationships with your family have love in them. What is it that you're hoping for? And where is your hope placed?
David shares a Psalm, Psalm 62:1 8, and he says this. I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. My fortress where I will never be shaken. So many enemies against one man.
All of them trying to kill me. To them I'm just a broken down wall or tottering fence. They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling me lies about me. They praise me to my face, but curse me in their hearts.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock, my salvation. My fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honour come from God alone. He is my refuge.
A rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. What a powerful message. He finished 25, eh, let's launch into 26 with this.
Having hope in God alone. David writes this in a season of pressure, betrayal and threat. And yet David keeps saying the same thing over and over again. God alone, God alone. Repeated phrase.
Throughout the entire chapter he repeats certain phrases. My rock, my fortress, my refuge. God alone, God alone. God alone is your hope in God alone. And only God, who here loves Christmas presents.
Two of you something About Christmas presents, right? And you have kids, right? This time of year, for me and my wife, she's somewhere in the corner. Pastor Alex, right? We hope and pray we never get toys given to our kids that require batteries.
We made a rule, right? And the first time they received a toy, we didn't think anything of it. Thought to ourselves, it's just a normal toy. Then it started kind of annoying me, right? Keeps annoying me.
It's like the same sound over and over and over, right? 6am, 9am, 3am, 10pm Same sound over and over and over. Following year, we get another toy, same thing, more buttons. It's just louder. Everything's just louder.
Same sound, same sound. And then now frustration seeps in and Alex is like, nah, nah, nah, can't do it anymore. Let's put it away now. Let's get rid of it.
Alex made a mistake this Christmas past. Alex, she went and brought this bad boy. I don't even know what this is. What is this? A bitsy, right?
Bitsy. She bought this for one of our girls. She loves our girls and cherishes them. And here you go. May your life be full of love and compassion.
I'm gonna bless you with this, right? I'm gonna open this up.
And it goes on and on and on. And it's the same thing. On and on and on. Funny thing is, on that night, Alex cracks it, grabs the toy and goes, that's it. You're not getting it back.
I look at my wife and I go, okay, hun, we all stray from the Lord somewhere, so we can't all be saviors. Alright, I'm here. I've got you. I'll carry the weight. It's okay.
School holidays, right? This is on top of school holidays. Parents, you know what school holidays is like, right? A jungle. Survival.
It's survival, right? It's either them or us. Pick your side, right? I know you love your kids, but school holidays, man, it's a tough gig, man. You run out of things to do and you run out of patience, right?
But I put together a hope list. Fool is hopeless. I hope they sleep in, right? I hope no one fights today. I hope I don't lose my patience.
It's my favorite one. I hope that toy breaks, right? That's my favorite one, right?
The truth is, church, the thing is, we hold on to the same truth of hope in our own lives. We just want a little bit of hope just to get through. We want a little bit of hope just to get through the day. Just enough hope. What Can I tell you this morning, church, that's the wrong hope.
The Lord's hope doesn't come in bits and pieces, comes in waves. Rushing roar the Holy Spirit. When it fills you, it is a different feeling. And the hope in God is cemented as concrete. It does not waver from left to right.
It does not worry if a storm comes or not. It is grounded. Is your hope in God alone grounded in the New Year?
The thing about life is it doesn't change. We can plan out our New Year's and get excited, New Year's resolutions. We're going to do this, we're going to build that, we're going to buy this. We're going to whatever it is. One thing doesn't change is the challenges of life.
They will come regardless of what season you're in. They don't pick what season. They don't care what season. They will still come. The uncertainties, the brokenness, the hardships, the struggles.
And that's why David repeats this phrase, God alone. God alone is repeated. It's a repetition. God alone. My rock, my refuge, my salvation.
This morning, church. Why is God our only hope? I'm going to give you three things. First, one is this. Only he can carry the weight.
Only he can carry the weight, right? The weight of life pressures your burdens. If you try and carry that stuff on your own, good luck. Right? Who here is trying to carry stuff on their own?
Yeah, pretty sure there's more than you guys. All right. Doesn't work. Doesn't work. In verse 6.
He alone is my rock and my salvation. My fortress where I would not be shaken. My rock, not my pebble, just floating down the stream. Not a tiny stone just left on the side. A solid rock.
That's good timing, that. Hey, it was, eh. Thanks for that awesomeness. It was all part of the plan. See?
Got you guys. Foundation, right? Jesus Christ says in Matthew, he paints a picture of what life looks like when God carries it compared to someone that carries their own weight. And what life looks like when it's on foundation of Christ or not. Matthew 7, 24, 27.
Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise. Like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish. Like a person who builds a house on sand.
When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.
What are you building your life on in the new year? Sand or solid rock? Who carries the weight of your life?
The pastors? Your group leaders, Your work friends, your family? Or God alone?
Here's the thing I've got for many years working in the chef industry. It's wired me to have a big capacity and handle many things, multiple things at one time, and be able to function and focus under pressure. And I learned very quickly that that does not apply to the real world that you try and do that out there. It never works. What happens is that the things you think you can carry alone end up being the very things that shake you, that breaks you, that hammers you to the ground.
Those are the things you thought you could carry. But David is saying, he alone is my rock, my salvation. Let him carry the weight of your life. Church David repeats the phrase God alone because David knew this really well. He had faced enemies in countless battles, yet he learned the powerful truth that only God carries the weight of our lives.
And here's one for you. Whatever carries the most weight in your life becomes your foundation. Let me repeat that. Whatever carries the most weight in your life becomes your foundation. If something else is carrying the weight of your life, that is your foundation, right?
If you're building your life around your relationship with your partner, that's your foundation. If you'll build your life around turning up to church every Sunday, that's your foundation. But if you build your life around Christ alone, He is my only foundation, the one who carries my weight.
You don't have to carry it anymore. And here's the truth. I look around the room, even the first service and the one last night. I know there are people here who are leaving this year going, man, I just want to let go of some of this stuff. It's too heavy.
I can't take this anymore. I can't hold it together anymore. I can't pretend to be someone that I'm not.
2 Samuel says this God's way is perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord, who but our God is a solid rock? God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect.
He makes me as sure footed as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle. He strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory. Your help has made me great.
What is carrying your weight in your life? Church Is that God alone or is there something else?
What things are you carrying yourself that you need to let go?
When your hope is in God alone, He carries the weight. No one else. And when he carries the weight, watch your life start to transform and shift. Watch things open up. Watch yourself put your hand up.
Even more to say, I'm going to step in because I have this new confidence now. I don't have to carry this anymore.
That is hope in Christ.
That is the first thing. Church. The second thing on how God is our only hope and why is only he is our safe refuge. Right? So point one foundation is what we sit on is what we lay on our lives is built on.
Right? Refuge is who we run to, Right? Very important. Who we run to. Because in crisis, in our hardships and brokenness, who do you guys run to?
Facebook? Mr. Instagram? Mr. I put up a story and I'm feeling a bit hurt at the moment.
Or do you run to God?
God alone is your only safe refuge. His love, his grace, his compassion, humility, his mercy.
He knows you by name. He knows you by name. So why would you run anywhere else other than to the Father?
Verse 7. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge. A rock where no enemy can reach me.
When life becomes hard and uncertain, we all run to something. Church. We run to control. We run to distraction. We run to people.
We run to validation. Right? That's a big one. We run to comfort. There's always something that we run to.
And we have this big hope that it will bring big change, but it never does.
Where do you run to when life gets tough? Where do you run to when all your plans and dreams for the new year have fallen apart?
My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge. He is my refuge. Run to God first. Church.
Not to hide, but to be safe and empowered. When we hear the word refuge, we often imagine hiding and running away.
But a place of refuge is not a place of hiding. A place of refuge is a place of going. You know what? I just need a reset. I just need to realign myself.
Yep, I've been struggling with this, struggling with that. Yet my relationships are not as good as it was. And I just need to sit with you for a moment and just realign everything.
Scripture doesn't invite us to run to God and shrink back in fear. We run to Christ to strengthen, guided and transform. Right? And it's an interesting thing, right? Seeps of kids here and parents and that.
And your kids run to you for something don't they? Yeah. Who do they run to the most? Mum or dad? Oh, my core's a riff here this morning.
Put up your hand if your kids run to you more than the other.
So no kids are running. That's it? Yeah. It's a few of yous? Yeah.
Don't be shy. It's okay. It's all good. Your kids will always run to you for something, just like me and Alex. My kids will run to Alex.
Not for spiritual growth, for chocolate. That's true. It's for chocolate, right? Run to dad for what? Right?
They run to me and I give them what I can give them, right? But they don't run to us because of what we have. They run to us based off their specific relationship they have with that individual. Right? Alex loves chocolate.
Chocolate everywhere in the house, right? Chocolate this, chocolate that. I'm waiting for a microphone covered in chocolate. And after that, ah, you know, you just clicked onto that, huh? And my girls know that, so they run to her for it.
With me, it's slightly different. If they're hungry, they know Daddy cooks, so they'll run to dad. But here's the most powerful thing about this part here. When kids run, kids run to a certain someone when they're hurt, when they're sick or when they're unwell. Who do they run to?
My sister's, like, Mom. Stephanie. Mom.
It is Mom. A mother's love. A mother's love, right? It's a different type of love. Daddies, we can do the fun things and do all these things in that.
But when the kid is hurting, right? The kids hurting or sick or unwell, they're not running to dad. My kids come to me. Just put a band aid on it. Yeah, but it's a headache.
It's all right. Just put another band aid, right? We're not wired that way because we don't have that relationship with them. Mom does. And just like God alone, when you run to God alone, it's because you've built that relationship over time through hope, vulnerability, all those moments.
I can tell you now, many of you here, you've had many moments where you've sat alone, weeping away because of struggles of life. You know, those moments count. Those moments are building blocks for a relationship with God. So when you need to run to a safe refuge, you already know where to run.
Refuge is not protective, it's relational. It's a relationship with the father. That's a safe refuge. Church.
For you and I, Refuge in God is more than walls or shelter. It's a relationship with God built on hope, trust, honesty, vulnerability, dependence. It's knowing God will be there, listening, steady, faithful. His presence in the middle of life.
That's the safe refuge. Church.
Verse8o My people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Pour out your heart to him. Church when was the last time you poured out your heart to the Lord?
I'm not talking about, you know, putting content together so you can put it up and go, yep, sitting in stillness and all that jazz. When have you had a real authentic encounter with God? When no one is looking? When was the last time you encountered Jesus? When there was no followers and no likes.
Your safe refuge is built on your relationship with Christ when no one sees you, the humility, that hunger to sit at his feet, to say, I have nothing, I have nothing left to give. Fill me up, help me to receive you.
When fear, pain or uncertainty hits. Church where do you run to first?
What areas of your life need God to be your safe refuge?
Right. Who could use a safe refuge right now? Yeah, Many of you nodding your heads, yeah, we can't. We course with you all the time.
So those are the two things. Church Point one, he carries the weight. Point two, he is our safe refuge.
And number three, only he can strengthen my soul. Only God can strengthen my soul. And verse five, let all that I am wait quietly before God for my people, for my hope is in him. New King James Version says, my soul waits silently for God alone.
Is this powerful picture of my soul. It's yearning for God, hungering for God, my soul. I wait quietly before God, hoping God alone strengthens your soul. Does that in the waiting, in the quiet moment when you sit.
Don't we live in a noisy world right now? Church yeah, very loud out there.
I just believe every now and then it doesn't hurt to sit in quiet, sit in silence, to be still, just reflect, to have a moment to ask yourselves the question, where am I at with everything? Does he carry the weight? Is he my refuge? Where's my soul at? Am I becoming bitter?
Am I not? Am I serving God? How am I serving?
Something powerful about strengthening someone's soul and how he does this in the waiting is he strengthens our trust and the waiting is that trust. Especially when answers don't come quickly. You want an answer? What's going to happen? What's going to happen next year?
What's going to happen next month? What's my relationship going to look like? Was my job going to look like Ah, but he steadies you. And he goes, just trust me, just trust me.
Steadies our emotions. We live in a world where it's like, if you get me, I'll get you. Heightened, heightened behavior. He steadies. All of that, calms the storms.
And he says, I got you.
He says, I got you. Trust me. Deepens our hope.
When outcomes are still unclear.
Waiting slows the noise so God can work within us.
This is not silence because nothing is happening. It's silence because God is working beneath the surface, strengthening our souls, right? He's doing a work behind the scenes, work that no one else sees. And he prepares you in the waiting. He prepares you for what's to come.
Next, your patient. Patient replaces anxiety. No more. I'm not anxious anymore. I'm patient.
Humility replaces self reliance.
Humble trust replaces the need for control. You can have all the plans in the world, church. You can have all the spreadsheets and Google Docs and emails all you want. No, no, no. Trust me.
Faithfulness replaces frustration.
But I thought I was going to get this. But I thought that opportunity was coming. But I thought this job, but I thought this and I thought that the Lord's going, trust me. Where is your faithfulness?
God uses waiting to fortify the soul so when the pressure comes, you don't collapse when the storm comes. That's not the power of the storm. That's the issue that doesn't. That doesn't really matter. The issue is, will you stand on God alone or not?
Sometimes when our certainties and things in life come, we're so fixated on what that thing is doing to us that we forget what he has done for us.
David knew that. He knew this truth about strengthening the soul.
He knew this so much that in verse one, right at the beginning, verse one, what does he start with? I wait quietly before God. Verse 1. He knew this truth. Repeat a truth, for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation. My fortress where I never be shaken.
Is your hope in God alone?
Is your hope in God alone? Or is your hope in the next best thing that comes along? Or is your hope in the next best church that comes along? Or is your hope in the next best relationship that comes along?
It's a challenge for you, Church. I know it's something new for me. Challenge.
Sometimes what we call waiting on God is actually fear of stepping into what he's already shown us. God doesn't always give us the whole picture. He gives us the next step.
We can be careful because we can say, I'm just waiting on the Lord. I'm waiting quietly before the Lord. What that ends up being is you hiding from your purpose. You hiding from your calling. You hiding from the Lord, right?
How many times there's been something stirring in your heart, stirring in your soul, and then you have this urge to step out, right? And we say this, right, I'm waiting for confirmation.
I'm waiting for the right moment.
I'm waiting until I feel ready, then I'll step in. Let me tell you, church, no one's ready. No one's ready. Pastors are barely ready, right? Right moment.
There is no such thing as the right moment. There's only a God moment. Only God moments. That's how I know the Word. The challenge is if you sit in the waiting for so long without the relationship with God, without doing your part, all you do is hide and wilt away in fear.
And all you'll say, your response to everything is, I'm not ready yet. I'm not good enough. I'm waiting for the right moment. What are you waiting for?
You know what the Lord says? Step out. Step out in faith.
You know what he says? He says, I may not have given you the full picture, but I've just given you enough. Will you trust me there?
Obey what I've already shown you.
We don't have to wait for hope before we obey. We obey because our hope is already anchored in God alone. It's already anchored. He is strengthening your soul.
Years ago, I struggled. I wrestled. I wrestled with this question, right? And convicted me in my early years and that. And I was just early in my walk of God and that, and I started asking myself, well, if I. I'm going to ask you this.
If you believe in God, you trust in God, your hope is in God, then why do you hesitate? And stepping into the things of God doesn't quite fit, does it? But hold on, Pastor Fau. I trust God. I pray every Sunday morning at the front here.
I play the guitar as well, and I play the drums. Play the drums. But you hesitate. Now it's okay. 4.
I'm the one with the outreach team. We go every Thursday and all those things and all that, but you hesitate.
I struggled with this for so long. And then I got to a point of going, man, it's either I'm all in or I'm not, right? It's either I'm all in or not. I thought myself, you know what? I'm gonna go for it.
I'm all in. I'm all in. And what followed next. Many years later, this pastor Adrian going for. You're the creative pastor.
Cool. And hesitate. 4. You're the young adults pastor. Took that on same time.
Yep. Cool. For your the lead pastor. Yep. Cool.
And not one time did I hesitate. And not one time that I said, adrian, just give me a second. I'm just gonna go and fast for 21 days and I'll get back to you, all right? Not once did I tell him, look, just let me just sit with it so I can be quiet for a whole week and sit with the Lord and then I'll get back to you. I never hesitated.
I can't control what comes after, so what's the point? But what I can do is I can control my response. What is my response? My hope is in God. I trust him.
I trust him. Whatever follows. After all, glory to him.
My hope is in God alone. And this hope, the hope that I'm talking about church. Hebrews 6:19. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
That hope.
What are you going to step into next year church?
What are you going to say yes to? I know I've spoken to some people over the months and that and they've been stirred. God's been stirring them to say, yeah, I want to step into something that I've never stepped into before. You know, what does that look like for you in the new year? What is your yes gonna be?
Right? Is it still going to be a maybe from 20, 24 or you wanna, you wanna go? It's a yes now. I'm gonna be a yes person. Can encourage your church head into a new year.
Make your yes the greatest yes you've ever given. Make account. Have hope in God. Hold strong, stand firm when you're feeling convicted. That is normal.
I've been there of being there. Learn from it, grow from it. Make the change. If you don't make the change now, next year we'll be talking about hope yet again. And nothing has changed.
Again and again and again, David repeats, God alone, he is your only hope. And if I look around this place here, I see many of you are holding strong, holding strong to the truth.
We're gonna come around a time of communion, if the team can hand out the communion.
Psalm62 keeps pointing us to one truth.
God alone. God alone. And the reality of the the holidays right now is that there's many, many people, many families here who don't, who are not doing so good, who are going through hard times, who are struggling with Things they don't have a church like this, that they don't have a community like you guys.
Why it's so important to have this moment of reflection of God alone. That he is our rock, he is our refuge. He alone strengthens our soul.
So as followers of Jesus, we don't just read the truth, we receive it. Because the God David trusted in is the God who stepped into our world in Jesus Christ.
When we say God carries the weight, Jesus carried the cross.
When we say God is our refuge, Jesus opened his arms. When we say God strengthens our soul, Jesus gave his body and his blood so our hope would never rest on ourselves again.
Communion is our moment to stop striving, stop holding it together and wait quietly before God. Not empty handed, but open handed. A moment of reflection, a heart of gratitude that there is a greater hope for each and every one of you to live out your purpose in God.
So you may take communion and we'll have a moment.
Jesus. Jesus. Name of the.
Name jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Name of.
Jesus. Sa.
God is a greater hope for you purpose like none other. There is no one else church. There's no one else other than God alone.
What you receive today and what you have today, take from it. Grab a hold of that truth that he is, Lord. Say yes. Say yes to the greater things. Are you going to make a mistake?
Yes. Are you going to fall apart at times? Yep. You're going to get it wrong. Yep.
All the pastors do. We all get it wrong at times. We're not perfect. But the thing you can get perfect at is your response of saying yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Step into young adults.
Yes. Step into youth. Yes.
Whatever it looks like, whatever your yes looks like for the new year, keep it grounded on hope. Hope in God carries your weight. He's your safe refuge. He strengthens your soul. So I'm gonna pray and after that I'm gonna get the team to actually do the song from the beginning.
And we're gonna finish this moment off in worship. Let's go to our church. Father, we thank you.
We thank you, Lord for this reminder. Lord, as we leave this year, we head into the next. Father, that hope in you is the only hope we need.
That you carry the weight of our lives, Lord. All our burdens and all our struggles, Lord, that you are our safe refuge, Heavenly Father. That we know where to run to. We know where to sit, Father, at your feet.
You're reminding us every, Heavenly Father, that you continue to do the work of strengthening our soul. That all our quiet moments Are not moments of hiding away or sitting in fear, but moments of you doing a work in us. Transforming us. Filling us with your spirit law. So we may head back out.
So, Father, I end this year on God alone. On you, Father. I pray for each and every person here. Father, we thank you. We thank you, Lord Jesus name Amen.
Amen. So why don't we stand and let's worship? We close the service.
Us with your hand. Your word is infinite wisdom and your ways are higher than man. The seasons obey your commandment. The thunder punies can fly. No one can fathom your power.
Your voice is the wellspring of light. There is none like you. You alone are worthy of all honor ever praise Go of the name.
You. You the nations with justice mercy hold back the night.
Blameless you bore our transgressions became sin that we should not die. Darkness can h. But you triumphed over the grave. The throne is established forever from Zion.
There is none like you.
You alone are worthy of honor and great. There's no one the name.
There is none like you.
You alone are worthy of all honor.
Name.
Thank you, Jesus. All we need now I pray.
No other name can serve me. No other name can restore no other name Other name can heal my heart. No other name but your no other name can sa.
No other name can restore no other name can heal my heart. No other name, Lord. No other name can sa.
No other name can restore no other name can heal my heart. No other name.
Jesus. No other name. Oh, Jesus.
Jesus.
Revival.
Come on.
There is none like you. You alone are worthy of all honor and praise. There's no other name. Can you sing it again? One last time?
There is none like you. Just the voices alone are worthy of honor and praise. There's no other name.
There is none like you. You alone are worthy of honor and grace. No other name.
Heading to this year with joy church smile on your face. We have a good, good father, don't we? Good good shepherd. Why don't we give him a hand? Why don't we give him a hand?
I want to thank you all. And if you're here right now and you want prayer, going to be here at the front. Love to pray for you. Other than that, thank you church for coming up. Join us for morning team.
We'll see you out there,
Related Bible Verses
Psalm 62:1–8 (NLT)
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. So many enemies against one man— all of them trying to kill me. To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence. They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts. Interlude Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Interlude
Psalm 62:5 (NKJV)
My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.
Matthew 7:24–27 (NLT)
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
2 Samuel 22:31–35 (NLT)
“God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock? God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.”
Hebrews 6:19 (NLT)
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.