Forgotten is a Delusion
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Hope in Empty Places Week 2: Forgotten is a Delusion
September 24th, 2023
Today I am going to teach you to…
1. Hang onto Hope in forgotten places.
2. Move toward the Hope in front of you.
Foundational Hope Assertions
Assertion #1: Empty is an illusion because God is an ever-present presence.
Genesis 1:1,2 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
God precedes “empty”, He is present in “empty” and He fills empty making empty an illusion.
Assertion #2 Hope is not an emotion but an anchor in the person of Jesus. Hebrews 6:19,20 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Conclusion: Hope can be learned, practiced and passed.
Empty is an illusion.
Hope is an anchor.
Forgotten is a delusion.
Satan can really mess with our minds and our identity when we find ourselves in “forgotten places.” He can derail your Personhood (identity) and your Purpose if he can convince you that you have been “forgotten.”
A delusion is…
1a: something that is falsely believed
1b: a persistent false belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary
2: the act of tricking or deceiving someone
With God, to feel forgotten, overlooked, discarded, disregarded is to believe a lie. You can’t make stable decisions from an unstable premise.
Psalm 33:13-22 (NIV) 13 From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— 15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. 16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
The first 40 years of Moses’ life is summed up in 10 verses of Exodus 2.
The next 40 years of Moses’ life is summed up in 15 verses of Exodus 2.
The last 40 years of Moses’ life is summed up in 4 books, 135 chapters and 4,272 verses.
There is a lot of life left on the other side of “forgotten”.
Exodus 3:1-4 (NIV) Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Many times, when we hang our heads it takes something dramatic to get our attention.
It took Moses’ movement to open God’s mouth.
Exodus 3: 5-6 (NIV) 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
2 give-a-ways to determining who is speaking to you.
Content
Tone
Exodus 3:7-10 (NIV) 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
When we give into forgotten we give into a diminished identity and purpose. Diminished identities sit on rocks and pout. Restored identities grab ahold of Hope with both hands and moves forward!
Exodus 3:11-12 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Skepticism and hesitancy take root when we go long seasons of believing the feeling of forgotten. The longer Satan can keep you believing your feelings the more entrenched the roots of fear and inadequacy become.
Exodus 3:12 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
God transforms forgotten places into sacred spaces. You have never been alone or forgotten and while the place you are in is unfamiliar to you, it isn’t unfamiliar to God.
God doesn’t have to change your place to change your status.
Forgotten is a Delusion
Romans 5:1-5 (NIV) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand [anchor]. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Today I taught you to…
1. Hang onto Hope in forgotten places.
2. Move toward the Hope in front of you.