Proverbs 13:12 details the emotional and spiritual malaise brought on by unmet expectations—"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." It captures the essence of how prolonged disappointments can lead to despair, weakening our faith and challenging our belief in God's promises.  2 Corinthians highlights the spiritual warfare involved in overcoming these strongholds that exist as a barrier between us and God's truth in our lives. These strongholds manifest as entrenched negative thoughts that challenge our understanding of God’s will, preventing us from experiencing the joy and peace of living in His sovereignty. As we address these challenges, we also contemplate the church's role—whether as a HOSPITAL that heals and revives or a HOSPICE that merely comforts without curing. This distinction brings us to the goal of spiritual health and the church’s mission of building a community where hope is restored and God's promises are fulfilled.

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Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Today, as a church and individuals, we will discuss restoring hope and living in fulfillment.

Proverbs 13:12 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 provide a powerful framework for understanding how deferred hope can affect our spiritual and mental well-being.

Proverbs 13:12 states, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

This verse captures the spiritual, emotional, and psychological impact of unmet expectations and prolonged delays in fulfilling one's hopes. When hopes are continually deferred, they can lead to a state of emotional and spiritual sickness—despair, discouragement, and a weakening of faith. This "heart sickness" can profoundly affect how one views oneself, one's future, and faith in God's promises.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says:
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we wield are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

In this context, a "stronghold" refers to a mindset or thought pattern that has become deeply entrenched and is a barrier against God's knowledge and truth. 

• When hope is deferred, it can develop into a stronghold—a pervasive feeling of hopelessness that locks a person into believing that their situation is unchangeable and that God's promises are not applicable or real in their lives.

• This kind of stronghold is dangerous because it leads to a life lived contrary to God's will, which robs individuals of the joy and peace that come from trusting in His sovereignty and goodness.

The connection between these passages highlights the critical need for Christians to actively combat spiritual despair and mental strongholds with the truth of Scripture. 

• A believer can demolish these strongholds through prayer, the study of the Word, and the community of believers [where we fulfill the law of Christ by carrying one another’s burdens].

• Taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ involves consciously rejecting thoughts rooted in hopelessness and affirming God's promises no matter the delays or disappointments faced.

• This is not just an act of emotional or mental discipline but a spiritual battle that requires reliance on God's divine power.

Spiritual Détente

Détente was a relaxation of tensions and a strategic reduction in hostile interactions between the United States and the Soviet Union.  It is a metaphor for understanding how believers might respond to spiritual challenges when faced with deferred or lost hope. In the spiritual context, détente is a picture of a believer's decision to ease their active engagement in spiritual warfare due to weariness, disappointment, or disillusionment—trading their destiny in Christ for a period of lessened spiritual vigilance and engagement.

1. Relaxation of Spiritual Vigilance and Engagement: Just as political détente involved scaling back direct confrontation and pursuing mutual agreements to avoid escalation, spiritual détente might occur when a believer, tired of waiting for God's promises to materialize and worn out by spiritual warfare, reduces their intensity in prayer, devotion, and other spiritual disciplines. This relaxation might initially seem beneficial, as it reduces emotional and spiritual strain, but it also allows for complacency regarding a believer's duties and callings.

2. Reduction in Spiritual Warfare: In the throes of hope deferred, a believer might choose to "negotiate" internally, compromising with doubts and fears instead of confronting them with faith and truth. This is similar to how nations during the Cold War pledged to limit their armament to avoid direct conflict. For the believer, this might mean accepting less than God's best, diminishing their spiritual fervor, and allowing secular or negative thoughts to establish a foothold rather than actively using spiritual "weapons" provided by faith in Christ.

3. Consequences of Spiritual Détente: The primary risk of this relaxed tension in spiritual warfare is the potential to drift away from God's planned destiny. When believers lower their guard, they are less likely to stand firm against the lies of the enemy, which can lead to a spiritual decline. This can manifest as a loss of passion for God's mission, decreased effectiveness in ministry, and vulnerability to spiritual deception.

4. Renewed Call to Action: Like the geopolitical shifts that eventually led to the end of détente and a renewed emphasis on defense and strategy in the Cold War, believers are called to recognize the dangers of spiritual détente. Ephesians 6:10-18 emphasizes the need for believers to put on the full armor of God to stand against the devil’s schemes, indicating that constant vigilance, active engagement, and, most importantly, hope, faith, and trust in God, are essential for spiritual health and fulfillment of divine destiny.

The spiritual lesson parallels the historical lessons of détente: while a temporary easing of conflict might offer short-term relief, it does not resolve the underlying issues. 45 years later, we still have a BIG problem with Russia! For believers, this means

• continually seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit

• reaffirming their commitment to God’s purposes,

• resisting the complacency that can arise from deferred hope.

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The church embodies one of two roles: it can serve as a HOSPITAL or a HOSPICE, and we get to decide which. 

HOSPICE vs HOSPITAL:

• In a HOSPICE, a decision is made that nothing more can be done.

• In a HOSPICE, the goal is to make the patient comfortable because the medical community has decided the patient is incurable.

• In a HOSPICE, they want to ensure that the patient has to deal with as little pain as possible because medical science has given up.

• Not because they want to but because they have to.

• Far too many churches have settled into being HOSPICEs.

• They are set up to make people comfortable when God created us to be HOSPITALs to make people better.

As mentioned…The church embodies one of two roles: it can serve as a HOSPITAL or a HOSPICE, and we get to decide which. 

• As a HOSPITAL, the church actively engages in the healing ministry, offering restoration and new life through Jesus' life and ministry.

• It believes all individuals can find renewal and transformation, regardless of their spiritual wounds or afflictions.

• As a HOSPITAL, the church understands that individuals are not alone; they form a body, and when one part suffers, healing comes from the rest… If we are spiritually connected, when one part has victory, we all experience blessing.

• This results in an overcoming church full of the life and ministry of Jesus.

In contrast, when the church takes on the role of a HOSPICE, it shifts its focus towards providing only comfort and peace rather than a path to victory, believing and living the lie that its members' spiritual decline and the lack of resolution of their deepest needs, hopes, and visions are irreversible.

While this approach might offer immediate comfort, it resonates with the wisdom of Proverbs 13:12: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." When a HOSPICE church defers hope by focusing on comfort at the expense of healing and transformation, a deep-seated spiritual sickness develops as we lose sight of and the ability to participate in the fulfillment of God’s promises.

We get to Choose Our Church’s Future - we make these decisions by our actions and our words.

This sense of lost opportunity and unfulfilled potential can make the heart sick, 

• However, choosing to be a HOSPITAL church aligns with the second part of the proverb, where longing fulfilled becomes a tree of life.

• Embracing the HOSPITAL model of a church allows the church to actively fulfill its God-given, deep spiritual longings through the life-giving message of Jesus.

• This begins with a commitment to "carry each other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ," as stated in Galatians 6:2. By bearing one another's burdens, the church exemplifies Christ’s love. It sets the foundation for healing and transformation.

This commitment naturally extends to embracing the Great Commission, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19-20).

• A HOSPITAL church, fueled by a commitment to carry burdens and heal, is propelled to take the Gospel to the world, not just to comfort those within its walls but to actively seek and save the lost, offering them the hope and renewal found in Jesus.

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he choice between being a HOSPITAL or a HOSPICE church is not merely operational but deeply theological and missional. We get to Choose Our Church’s Future.

• It impacts how the church views its role in God’s kingdom—whether as a passive recipient of those ready to end their journey or as an active participant in the divine work of restoration and life-giving transformation.

• Choosing to be a HOSPITAL church is choosing a path of life where longings are fulfilled, and the tree of life grows, nourished by the vibrant, ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ.

A church is always made up of a mixture of people with a HOSPICE mentality and those with a HOSPITAL mentality. 

• The dominant mindset will create a corporate mentality in which the church corporately functions as a HOSPITAL or a HOSPICE.

• This corporate mentality will dramatically influence a church's mindset, personality, and efficacy.

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Prescription for Becoming a Healing Church and a Believer Who Is Whole

4 Steps

One: Understand that we are made for God’s life, blessings, and promises (we are His children):

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

• Mankind is hardwired for God's purposes. Missing them in your life and seeing them missing in the lives of those you love makes your heart sick.

• The underlying condition of humanity is either…

• Hopelessness and acceptance of loss or living a life of false hope, which is a form of denial

• Instead, we should live the abundant life of Jesus.

• God designed us to be fulfilled, satisfied, and have eternal hope.

• When we long for something that is not fulfilled or looks like it will never be fulfilled, we have a deferred hope or maybe even no hope.

Would you like to be all that Jesus intends you to be?

Would you like this church to be all that Jesus intends it to be?

Two: Receive Internal Medicine, the healing of the heart:  Differences in Burdens and Load in Galatians

Without God’s internal medicine of cooperation in carrying other’s burdens and having your burdens carried, you will drift on the sea of doubt.

Galatians 6:1-5

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load.

Understanding the Greek Terms

• Burdens in Galatians 6:2

• Greek Word: βάρος (baros)

• Meaning: Refers to a heavy weight or burden, typically too much for one person to bear alone.

• Scriptural Context: "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2 NIV)

• Explanation: Believers are instructed to help each other by sharing overwhelming burdens requiring communal support.

• Load in Galatians 6:5

• Greek Word: φορτίον (phortion)

• Meaning: Refers to a load or burden that one is expected to carry oneself, similar to daily responsibilities or personal tasks.

• Scriptural Context: "For each one should carry their own load." (Galatians 6:5 NIV)

• Explanation: Paul emphasizes personal responsibility, urging individuals to manage their basic spiritual duties and calling independently.

Two Types of Loads

The apparent conflict between Galatians 6:2 and 6:5 resolves when considering the nature of the burdens and loads.

• Galatians 6:2 focuses on community support and empathy.

• Galatians 6:5 highlights personal accountability and the importance of managing one’s own responsibilities.

• This balance fosters a community that is both responsible and compassionate, embodying Christian discipleship fully.

φορτίον (phortion) is related to the English word "portage." The Greek root "phort-" implies carrying, and φορτίον specifically means a load or burden that one carries. Similarly, "portage" refers to the carrying of boats or goods overland between two waterways, from the French "porter," meaning "to carry," which is derived from the Latin "portare."

Key Point:  There is a God-assigned burden you are to carry - this burden will make you strong and will fulfill your destiny.  

• There are other burdens you were not meant to carry alone.

• If carried alone, these burdens will crush you and destroy your destiny.

• Carrying the burden of lost children or a lost spouse alone.

• Living with the death of a spouse.

• Chronic physical affliction.

• If you are crushed by the burdens you can not carry alone, you will not even be able to carry the burdens you were made to carry alone.

Three:  Break the strongholds off your life together with the Body of Christ.

Stronghold: a mindset impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept unchangeable situations that we know are contrary to the will of God.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Today, we will break off hopelessness and strongholds.

Four:  Find True Partnership in the Body of Christ

Philippians 1:4-6

4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

• In Philippians, Paul directly associates partnership with the work of God being completed.

• We are not created to be alone. Jesus is our personal Savior and the Savior we all share.

• We are being built together as God’s house.

Ephesians 2:19-22

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

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Conclusion:

Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life,"  

• This passage presents a profound call to action for our church.

• The distinction between a church as a HOSPICE and a HOSPITAL is not merely an analogy but of foundational identity and mission.

• As a HOSPICE, a church may offer comfort to the weary, yet it risks surrendering to hopelessness, subtly leading its members to accept spiritual decline as inevitable.

• In stark contrast, envisioning the church as a HOSPITAL positions it as a vibrant center of healing, transformation, and revival.

We are at a crossroads, called to decide if we will be an institution that merely manages spiritual decline or a dynamic church that actively fights for spiritual vitality and growth. 

• By operating as a HOSPITAL, we commit to bearing each other's burdens (Galatians 6:2), fulfilling the law of Christ through acts of mercy, compassion, and intervention.

• This proactive stance allows us to tackle the real issues that plague our communities, from spiritual death and decline to the.

Embracing the role of a HOSPITAL church prepares us to handle an influx of new believers, equipping us to nurture, disciple, and integrate them into a healthy and life-affirming community. GOD DOES NOT WANT TO SEND US PEOPLE ONLY FOR US TO INFECT THEM WITH A HOSPICE MINDSET AND STRONGHOLDS.

Embracing the role of a HOSPITAL sets the stage for revival, a renewal of faith that reaches deep into the heart of our community, drawing in those on the fringes and rekindling the fervor of those within.

Let’s choose today to be a HOSPITAL, not a HOSPICE.

• Let us engage fully in the mission of Christ, taking up the Great Commission with renewed power, ready to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

• Let's transform our collective fear of missing out on God's promises into an active pursuit of fulfilling them.

• It's time to embody the hope and healing that Christ offers.

Call to Action: We get to Choose Our Church’s Future.

• I need my hope renewed.

• I desperately need help in carrying my burdens.

• I want to participate in carrying other people's burdens.

• I want to be all Jesus wants me to be.

• I want this church to be all Jesus wants it to be.

• I want this church to be a HOSPITAL, not a HOSPICE.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9  I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship (gk = partnership) with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit

• Word of Wisdom: A special wisdom God gives in the present moment that cannot be naturally obtained. (Acts 27:24)

• Word of Knowledge: To know facts and details about a person or situation that would not be known naturally. (John 4:17-18)

• Gift of Faith: A sudden impartation by the Holy Spirit of “special faith” at a critical moment to accomplish God’s purposes. (Acts 3:1-8)

• Gifts of Healings: A supernatural cure that takes place over a period of time and will be complete at some point. (Luke 17:14)

• Working of Miracles: When God’s power supernaturally overrides the laws of nature in an instant. (Matt 14) An instant healing or creative miracle.

• Prophecy: To speak on God's behalf to provide edification, exhortation, and comfort to others. (1 Cor 14:3) Declaring what is in God’s book about someone, reconciling them to it. (Ps 139:16, 2 Cor 5:19)

• Discerning of Spirits: A supernatural ability to understand or perceive a person's true nature or situation. (1 John 4:1)

• Gift of Tongues: Speaking in a language that is unknown to the speaker but known to a hearer. (Acts 2:5-12) When a message is given to the church in an unknown language and is then interpreted. (1 Cor 14:5)

• Interpretation of Tongues: Not a translation, and interpretation. The one speaking in the gift of tongues should pray to interpret. (1 Cor 14:13)

3 Important Truths About the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

• One of the main purposes of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to create a value and dependency on one another in the church (the Body of Christ).

• It is only as we eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit, will they be given to us by the Holy Spirit. He will honor the Word of God.

• Prepare yourself to be a GIFT GIVER (Jude 1:20, Isa 12:3, John 7:37-38).

1 Cor 12:7-11 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

1 Cor 12:12-20 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

1 Cor 12:31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

1 Cor 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

1 Cor 14:30 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

• Greek = Zeloo - To burn with zeal, to be heated or to boil over, to be zealous in a pursuit.

Jude 1:20  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Isa 12:3   Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

John 7:37-38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive;