To close our series on calling, enjoy the words of D.L. Moody himself in his sermon “Blessed Hope.”
“So, if our hope is false, let us find it out today. Let us be honest with ourselves, and ask God to show it to us. If our hope is not in the solid rock, if we are building our house on the sand, let us find it out. You may say, ”My hope is as good as yours. My house is as good-looking a house as yours.” That may be. It might be a better looking house than mine. But the important thing is the foundation. What we want is to be sure that we have a good foundation. A man may build up a very good character, but he may not have it on a good foundation. If he is building a house on the sand, when storms and trials come, down will come all his hopes. A false hope is worse than no hope. If you have a false hope today, make up your mind that you will not rest until you reach a hope that is worth having.
Now, here is a test that I think we can put to ourselves. If we have got the spirit of Jesus Christ, our life will be like His; that is, we will be humble, loving. We will not be jealous, will not be ambitious, self-seeking, covetous, revengeful, but we will be meek, tender-hearted, affectionate, loving, kind and Christ-like, and we will be all the time growing in those graces. Now, we can tell whether we have that spirit or not. ”If any one have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Now, that is a sign that we have a good hope, and we haven’t got the spirit of Christ, our hope is worthless.
Now, I was speaking about that house on the foundation. If you will turn to Isaiah, twenty-eighth chapter and sixteenth verse, you will find that the foundation is already laid. ”Therefore; thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.” There it is tried; it is a precious corner stone; it is a sure foundation. It was tried when Christ was here. He is the chief corner stone. He was tried. The Scribes tried Him. The Sadducees tried Him. He was tried by the law. He kept the law. He was tried by, and He overcame death. He was tried by Satan. Satan came and presented temptation after temptation, and He said, ”Get thee hence.” He overcame Satan. He was tried by the grave and He conquered the grave. This stone has been tested and tried.
Now, if we build on that, we have a sure foundation. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must saved. ”There is no other foundation that man can lay than that is laid,” and all that build on that foundation shall be saved. Let the storms come then and try that foundation. It has been tried. Your foundation, if you build on any other, has never been tested. It has not been tried. Your hope has not been tried. Our hope has, because our hope is in Jesus Christ, and it was put to the test, and we have got a hope that is sure and firm, if we are in Christ.
Now, a false hope just flatters people. It is a great flatterer. It makes people think they are all right when they are all wrong. Someone has said that false hopes are like spider webs. The maid comes in with a broom and sweeps them all down. When a storm comes, the foundation of our false hopes is all gone. Suppose death should come and look you in the face this afternoon, and say to you, ”This is your last day,” and should begin to lay his cold, icy hand upon you, and you should begin to look around to see if you had got a foundation and a good hope. Would you be ready to meet God? That is the question. Now, what may happen any day let us be ready for every day. You know very well there is not one of us but that may be summoned this very day into the presence of God. Have you got a hope that will stand the dying hour? Have you got a hope that will stand the test? If you have not, you can give up your false hope today and get a good one, a hope that is worth having, that has been tried and tested.