Agents Of Hope By Dr. Tom Galt Part 1

[Dr. Thomas Galt]

Exodus 32:1-6 (KJV)

1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.



We find in these verses of scripture some of the most powerful thoughts that can and do apply to us as Ministers of the Gospel. Whether you are a counselor, a pastor, a psychologist or what some may call a layman. No matter the calling of God upon your life. The children of Israel fell into a trap that ensnares many people in the world even today. They waited and waited on Moses to come down from the mountain top. They had seen many miracles by the hand of God through His servant Moses and still, they lost one of the most important qualities of life. Even to the point of making graven images of earthly animals that they may worship. The same images that they had seen and been around while in bondage in Egypt even after seeing first hand God part the Red Sea. Been fed by manna from heaven. Delivered from the hand of satan into freedom.



I have read to frequently lately of a father, a husband, a wife, a mother taking matters into their own hands and committing the terrible act of murdering their family because of loosing this very same quality. 1 Cor. 13:13 speaks of this quality that they have lost. This self same quality that the Children of Israel lost. “Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three.” I was reading in the scripture on day in Matthew chapter 16, starting with verse: 13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven

But verse 19 stuck and I could not get off of it. I really prayed over these verses. The keys to the kingdom. The keys to the kingdom. What were those keys that Jesus was speaking about? In my heart I heard 1 Cor. 13. I read through the chapter and when I got to the last verse, there I saw it. Now abideth FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY. That middle word is what the Children of Israel and those that have done such unspeakable things to their family lost. They have lost all HOPE. When the children of Israel lost their hope they turned to graven images and worshiped them. When those that murdered their families did so it was because they had lost all hope. Financial problems, marital problems. No matter what it may be. They lost all hope.



People have built their lives upon sandy soil. When the rains come and the winds blow against that which they have built on the sandy soil, it begins to crumble and they loose all hope of ever getting it back. That’s what the children of Israel had done. Lost all hope. Moses was gone longer than they thought he should. Things weren’t going the way they wanted them too. They lost hope and turned to the graven images for hope and then rose up the next day and partied and danced and drank.



Donald Capps has a book that describes who we as ministers should be. “Agents of Hope”. Our goal as called men and women of God are to be those agents of hope. To turn lives toward the only hope that will last. Not in homes, not in cars, not in financial gain. But in a true and loving God who honestly does not look at the color of the skin, nor the gender of the person. But looks upon the heart. In my 37 years of ministry I have watched many who thought they had it all loose it all in a split second. They loose hope and it’s gone. They begin to have marital problems and they loose hope in that marriage. And it’s gone. They loose hope in their children because they act differently. And they are gone. Our job is to give them back that hope.



What is that hope? Part 2 tomorrow.