The Vineyard Church of North Grand Rapids, MI

It's that time again! Winter is past, spring has arrived: it's motorcycling season! 40 mpg, baby! Feast your eyes on this beast--a Triumph Speed Triple, the definitive British street fighter. This famous motorcycle was a supporting actor in Mission Impossible movies with Tom Cruise! Two headlights, 1000 cc's, three snarling, barking, torquey cylinders propelling you to the moon and back. Triumph dares you to take a test ride and experience the power of three!

If a church could be a motorcycle, I would want Vineyard North to be a Speed Triple, for the power of three is life-changing. I'm talking about three strengths that signal that an individual Christian, a small group of believers, or an entire congregation has reached a place of spiritual power and maturity. Three powerful marks of spiritual maturity. Three powerful qualities that transform life. I'm talking about faith, hope, and love. The power of three. If all three of those cylinders are barking out power, a church can climb mountains!

All that we do here in the church-- the worshipping, the teaching, the praying, the counseling, the giving, the serving--is designed to give God pleasure and to help . . . us grow in faith, hope, and love.

When the Apostle Paul looked around at various local churches like this one, he doesn't tell us that he was looking for creative facilities or good music or sparkling ministries for children. But, the Apostle does let us know that he was constantly on a search for indications that people like us were growing in faith, hope and love.

If you've attended more than a couple weddings, you've probably heard these three qualities quoted from I Corinthians 13. After talking about a few other spiritual gifts, like tongues, words of knowledge, and prophecy, Paul concludes by explaining that the big three are faith hope and love. You want to know what three qualities have lasting power to change lives, change marriages, change whole cities; that's right--faith, hope, and love (read 13:13)..

Almost all the Apostles bring up their special interest in these three qualities. Check out Ephesians 1:15-18. Take a look at Colossians 1:3-5. Hebrews 10:22-24. I Peter 1:20-22.

A lot of church challenges, problems, struggles, and disappointments will take care of themselves if we're growing in faith, hope, and love. The power of three! So, kick your bad habits, nail down your theology, and bring your kids to Sunday School. But major on majors and, there's nothing bigger or more powerful as growing in faith, hope and love.

How's your faith? Are you trusting Jesus for forgiveness. Way to go. Are you trusting him with your money, your sexual boundaries, your business ethics, your dreams for the future? Faith can be tricky, sometimes. A young guy and a girl come to the pastors to get married. And they both say that they believe in Jesus. They say that they both believe the same things about Jesus. But, little do they know that they're coming from two radically different world views.

He's a grapefruit Christian. Jesus, Christianity, his faith, is an important slice of his life . . . but just one small slice of his life. He believes that Jesus is important person, mostly when you're in deep trouble. But, his faith is separated from the other categories of his life--his friends, his family, his career, his money, his sexual activities, his hobbies, his secrets. He values faith, but doesn't take Jesus or his faith into those other dimensions of his life. His faith is isolated from his life. It's by-and-large, a church thing, a Sunday morning faith.

But not her. She really believes in Jesus. She believes Jesus is far more than a spiritual helper in hard times. Jesus is her God, her center, her focus in all of life. She brings Jesus into every decision--to give or to forgive, to have sex or to wait, to spend or to save, to serve or to sacrifice. She brings up Jesus in ordinary conversations that have nothing to do with religion or church. You see, she's a chocolate milk Christian. Jesus isn't a small slice of her life; she's poured Jesus into the whole of her life and now he's part of every day, every decision, every category of her life. She believes in Jesus alright. She believes that he's smart, that he's powerful, that he's present with her, and that she can trust him with al her dreams.

The tragedy for their impending marriage is that she thinks that he means the same thing when he says that he believes everything she does. He's completely sincere, but he's speaking from a different paradigm, a different worldview. He's a grapefruit Christian; Jesus is his spiritual guide in hard times, not the center of his everyday life.

Faith is powerful force in life, when you're talking about faith that trusts and follows Jesus in everything. But, conversations about faith can be tricky. Sometimes believing isn't the same thing as trusting and following.

But this new Sunday teaching series isn't about faith. It's not about love either. Love is investing your heart in other people--particularly people who are different than you. Jesus said that if we only love those who love us in return (like family and friends), we aren't really much different than atheists, agnostics, and members of other religions. Everyone loves the people who love them back (Matthew 5:43ff). Real love invests in the people who are different, even those who hurt us. It's hard to invest your heart in people who are older or younger than you are, who are married when you are single, who have more or less education or money than you and your friends. That's why Christians often substitute being nice for actually loving. Nice is easier; nice is manageable. Love is harder than nice and often messy. But love is more powerful. And the way we invest our hearts in people outside our families or friends is the ultimate measure of our spiritual maturity, the ultimate measure of how close we are to sharing Jesus' heart.

But this teaching series is about hope, not faith or love. Hope is the middle child in this trio--sometimes overlooked, but just as valuable and important to our spiritual maturity as faith and love. Just ask the Christians in Thessalonica, who lost their grip on hope. In I Thessalonians 1:1-2, Paul commends this church for it's faith, hope and love. They became a model church in the whole region (v. 7). About six months later Paul wrote a second letters to the church in Thessalonica. Evidently he had gotten some news that the church was struggling. In II Thessalonians 1:3, Paul notes their faith and love, but says nothing about hope. What happened to hope? Actually, the church had lost hope. False teachers had convinced them to believe that God had overlooked them, that God had passed them by, that they were suffering because they had been left out of Jesus' second coming (2:1-2). Jesus had come and gone, and they were left behind. The hard life they were living was indeed the final chapter. All bets were off; all promises had expired; they were on their own. So, Paul spends the rest of the letter building a fresh sense of hope.

What is hope? Hope is a force that drives tired men and women to worship with passion, a force that animates discouraged men and women and keeps them praying earnestly when others have given up and turned on the television. Hope moves people on tight budgets to give sacrificially. It move ordinary people to give and forgive like Jesus, to hold the line in simple obedience when others are compromising, and to patiently endure instead of slamming the door and walking out. It's not the same thing as wishful thinking--like maybe if I blow out all the candles on my birthday cake I'll be 27 again. It's not blind optimism . . . like God would never let me lose my job "I know that I'll never lose my job!"

Hope isn't something you do, like reading 10 psalms or praying 20 Hail Mary's or 50 Our Father's. Its something you take hold of--the assurance that God will never leave us or forsake us, the confidence that God is going to keep all his promises to us, the expectation that God will have the last word and we will be eternally grateful that we trusted him in our times of testing.

Hope doesn't mean that we won't be tested, that we won't suffer, that we'll be protected from al the hardships that are part of life. Hope is the grateful awareness that this present ordeal isn't the final chapter in our lives, because the God who loves us will never leave us and will keep his promises--all his promises to us. Hebrews 6:19-20 states that "this hope is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus has entered on our behalf".

Imagine this scene: Jesus, somewhere in an amazing dimension of eternal existence, sits on his throne beside the father. His head is bowed. His eyes are gazing out into the distance, as though he's seeing something far in the distance. He's not speaking but his lips are moving. Perhaps he's whispering. No, he's praying--interceding for you. He's listening to the songs you're turning into prayers. He's listening to your petitions and requests. He's reminding the Father of his promises and your needs. He's inviting the Spirit to blow on your life with power. He's sending out angels to war on his behalf for your good. And did you notice what is in his hand? With a tight grip, he's holding a chain.

Here you are, back in your little world, surrounded by a storm of chaos and grief, threatening job losses and home foreclosures.
Has he forgotten you? No, his eyes are on you and his ears are tuned to your voice. In your hand, you hold the other end of this chain that stretches from your hand to his hand. It's your anchor chain that keeps you from drifting into hopelessness or despair. And when you pull on this chain in prayer or shake it vigorously in worship, he who watches over you feels the tug and tightens his grip. All is secure. His heart is still for you. His promises are true. He is working his plan. And, when this storm passes you're going to be smiling in the sunshine. Your soul has an anchor that is fixed and secure.

Psychologists tell us that, with all of its physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational dimensions, at its core depression may be characterized as a profound loss of hope. There may be chemical imbalances and circumstantial stresses, relational breakdowns and even spiritual oppression at work when people like us succumb to depression. But depressed people characteristically feel that they've lost all hope. Their troubles seem personal, pervasive, and permanent. In other words, they believe there is no hope, because they are the problem. It's personal. They deserve to be where they are; they are flawed; they are damaged goods. And, the problem is pervasive. Everything around them is poisoned. Nothing can be redeemed. No one can help them. And the situation is permanent. Nothing will ever change; the future will just be more of the past. This is your life sentence. For the depressed man or woman, every day is groundhog day. Depression's most characteristic symptom is a profound loss of hope.

Last month Christianity Today ran a cover story titled "The Depression Epidemic". It was authored by Dr. Dan Blazer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University Medical Center. After cardio-vascular disease, depression is now the second most common cause of personal disability . . . world-wide. In this lengthy series of interviews and articles on various aspects of depression, Dr. Blazer ask the question, "Why is depression increasing everywhere at such an alarming rate? If statistics bear out, a hundred of us (in this church) will fall into disabling depression at some point in our lives, and at least 60 of us may be taking anti-depressants right now. Not like it's a sin, but why is this troubling issue increasingly affecting us?

The authors suggest that while sadness and discouragement generally begin with painful, individual issues--from genetics to personal stresses and losses--the increasing breakdown of structured commitments and stable social conditions in our world makes all of us more vulnerable to losing hope and falling into depression.

More and more, we're doing life on our own--individually, privately. You may see us in a company photo or sitting in a crowd at the movies or even worshipping God in room like this that is full of people. But appearances can be deceptive. Many of us are living very isolated, independent, and lonely lives . . . at a time in history when society has become many more times more complext and competitive than it even was in the past. Very, very little around us is settled or secure. And to a large extent, we're doing life on our own.

You're not part of a family at work, are you? No, you're on your own. Your job is only as secure as or yesterday's sales the last quarter's financial reports. When we're at work, we often feel that we're behind, and that our performance is being measured against others. We're so specialized in our jobs, that we can't just move from one job to another and maintain our lifestyles. We're swimming with sharks and there is no land in sight. Who can say if we'll sink or swim through another day.

But it's not just our jobs. Its our relationships at home and even here at church. There's less and less commitment or structure to our relationships. We're living like free agents. We're marrying less or at least later. We don't join clubs or teams or even churches like previous generations. Yes, we hang out with people, but there's not much structure, commitment, or security in our relationships. This lack of structure, commitment, and security in our relationships makes us more vulnerable to depression than previous generations. For instance . . .

When and man and women get married, their marriage lends them it's strength. The vows and the families lend the couple strength and hope during hard seasons in their marriage. They may experience deep sadness and discouragement over the realities of marriage, but when they are at their weakest, the commitment and institution of marriage provides them with a sense of vision, stability, and security. Their marriage vows may give them the strength to recover before slipping into hopelessness.

Not so with the couples that choose to live together. They have a loving relationship to be sure, but they are on their own. When the relationship becomes strained and she wakes up discouraged, she has only herself and her own strength to rely on. So, she tries harder to stay fit, be fun and make him happy, to make more money and keep the house clean. But she's only human; she's all alone in the relationship. She's more vulnerable to depression than her marred mother ever was. God gave us marriage as a gift to lend us strength to pursue our dreams even on our saddest days. But, increasingly, people are deciding that marriage is a burden; that it's better to go it alone. So we do, and we're more vulnerable to losing our grip on hope. Of course, divorce is another doorway to depression.

Church isn't always that much help. People come to meetings when it's convenient, but who joins a church any more? Who makes a structured commitment to help establish a community of faith that will be there in good times and bad, like a family, like a safety net when you're feeling like you could fall of the edge? On many Sundays, we gather as isolated individuals or couples in a room for a private spiritual experience. We try to be nice.

Some people think that church membership is inauthentic, that attending a home group week in and week out, even when you don't feel like it, is somehow compromising their integrity. But Dr. Blazer believes that when we commit ourselves to one another in a community of faith, through good times and hard, we are lending each other enough strength and hope to keep ordinary sadness and discouragement from pulling us down into disabling depression. Like marriage, church is a gift from God to lend us strength to pursue our dreams, even in seasons of sadness.

Currently, studies show that Christians fall into depression as often as non-Christians. Our individual faith is no real protection against the hopelessness of depression. The authors think that if we want to help address the depression epidemic, we should think a little more seriously about repenting of our individualism and investing in committed, structured community . . . where we commit ourselves to meeting together regularly look deeply into each other's eyes, look and listen for the signs and sighs of sadness . . . where we stand with each other in stresses and losses . . . where we make it safe to talk about breakdowns and discouragement . . . where we sometimes comfort each other and we sometimes challenge each other to stand firm in the truths of Scripture. Individual medication and individual therapy can certainly help when a fellow Christian is depressed, but Dr. Blazer is convinced that we have underestimated the need that we all have for committed, structured expressions of community to lend us strength in times of sadness and discouragement. Hope grows best in the soil of structured, stable community.

I think that one of the finest complements that anyone can give us, as Christians, is this: you give me hope. I've been watching you, and you give me hope. I've been listening to you and, you give me hope. I came in here feeling pretty discouraged, but you've given me hope. I was ready to quit, but you've given me hope. I wasn't sure that I could trust God, but you've given me hope. Just when I thought you'd stay home, here you are; you give me hope.

Let's end by considering a few steps you and I can take to become men and women who are pipelines of hope to others.

Join the church, join a home group, and be there consistently--on days when the meetings are marvelous and days when the meetings are miserable! When a person is depressed, it helps just to have a place to go and know that people will be there. You don't have to stir anything up or make anything happen. The rest of the community will be there worshipping, praying, serving, learning, and growing. Your decision just to be here for others is a source of stability for the weak, security for the discouraged, and hope for those who are suffering.

Decide to be a little more transparent about your sadness, your challenges, your fears. A lot of people don't know that a Christian can still hang on to hope during times of sadness, discouragement, or confusion. It would give hope to others if you'd just share a little more of what's going on in your heart in mind as we all share in this journey. Nothing communicates acceptance and validation for other strugglers, like our transparency.

Stop using the superficial question, "How're you doin?" as you walk briskly down the hallway and the foyer. Stop and look at people in the eye and ask them to tell you about the best and worst of their week. After the tell you about their current events, ask them how they're feeling. Take time to pray for them, and pray about their feelings.

While you're praying, summon all your faith, lay your hand on their shoulder and impart hope in Jesus' name. In Romans 15:13, the Apostle Paul writes, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". I believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we who have hope can impart hope to other men and women--a hope that they can feel . . . a deep assurance that God is with them and will never forsake them . . . a certainty that God is going to keep all his promises . . . and expectation that God will have the final word in all our struggles and that we are going to be eternally grateful that we trusted him in our times of testing.

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