What are you dealing?

 This past summer I bought a new car. I’ve always enjoyed shopping for a new vehicle. In college, a friend and I would go around test driving vehicles just for the fun of it. I enjoy viewing the styling of different vehicles, driving and experiencing the performance, and I don’t even mind visiting with sales people either. I can find out a lot of interesting insights about people and sometimes the small talk can lead into spiritual conversations. I know it's not for everyone, but I enjoy car shopping.

 And when I find a car salesman who owns the brand he's selling, my confidence in the brand is bolstered. It’s one thing for the sales person to say a vehicle is great and a whole other level of sincerity if he personally owns that brand. I went to a Honda dealership and visited with one of the sales reps there about a Honda Civic. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any on the lot, but the salesman showed me his personal Civic that he had bought recently. That told me a lot about the vehicle. I didn’t end up purchasing a Civic, but it was as tight a runner-up as possible.

 My pursuit for a new vehicle was far more challenging this year than in times past. Pre-2020, I could go to a car dealer, look over a large selection of vehicles on the lot and test drive the model I was considering. This year I went to dealership after dealership and discovered the model I was looking for not on the lot or already sold to someone else. Supply chain issues meant that I would have wait months for a vehicle. There was no more going a dealership, test driving a car, buying it and driving it home on the same day. It was strange going to dealerships and finding very few vehicles on the lot. I began calling dealerships ahead of time to see if they even had any of the models I was looking for on hand. Most didn’t. Cars were in short supply.

 We’ve dealt with a lot of supply shortages this year, but perhaps the most detrimental to humanity has been the shortage of hope. Hope seems to be in short supply in our country. The church of our Lord Jesus should be a hope dealer. Carey Nieuwhof in a blog titled “The impending death (and rebirth) of cool church” pointed out that the church must deal hope if we are to impact this world. I couldn’t agree more.  https://careynieuwhof.com/impending-death-rebirth-cool-church/

 The church has been given ultimate hope in Jesus Christ and the privilege of sharing that with others. We should be the hope dealer in our world today. Read the verses below as a small sample of the hope we have as believers in Jesus Christ and the opportunity to share that with other.

 Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 Ephesians 1:18 Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

 Psalm 71:5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 I love this last verse in Romans. We worship and serve “the God of hope.” The author, source, and exhibitor of hope is God Himself. God is never hopeless. Never. As the omnipotent, omniscient sovereign over the universe He has no need to be. He knows all things will work together for good in the end because He has the power to make sure it does. And this same God of hope gives believers His Holy Spirit so that we may abound in hope. Not just have hope but ABOUND in hope. The church is a hope dealer.

 Now here is the question we must consider: when people come to our dealership (church), do they find plenty of hope or do they look around and see a supply shortage. I’m afraid during these past two years in many churches it was the latter rather than the former. However, that should never be the case in the church. God has never felt hopeless and His children have no reason to feel hopeless either. We may think we have a reason at times, but when we understand the sure promises of God’s word, we actually have no reason to feel hopeless. We worship and serve the God of all hope!

 God has not called us to hopelessness but to abounding hope. That doesn't mean we won't have troubles or trials. To the contrary, God says that we will. But He promises to be with us and the hope of a future with Him where we will no longer have troubles. Look at Romans 5:1-5,

1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 God’s hope will never put us to shame. God loves us with an incomprehensible love and has given us His own Holy Spirit to fill us with hope. No matter the trials and troubles we have hope in our eternal God who loves us beyond measure. He will ultimately bring us into His glory to dwell with Him forever. Any and every trial in this life will be supplanted with God’s glory and goodness. We have this sure hope as believers in Jesus Christ.

 This hope should be found in abundance in Christ’s church. We are hope dealers and hope should be on full display when guests stop by the church. They should be able to find hope in the lives of the members, in the worship service, and in the conversations they have with believers. We are hope dealers and should own what we are offering. Don't let anyone walk into your church without finding some hope. Hope is the last thing we want the church to be in short supply of.

If you want to change your world, then deal hope.