HOPE
INTRODUCTION
— Hope is able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
– Hope is a fundamental component of the life of the righteous. (Prov. 23:18)
– Like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity. (Hebrews 10:23, 1 Pet. 3:15)
– Hope is one of the three main elements of Christian character. (1 Cor. 13:13)
– It is joined to faith and love and it is opposed to seeing or possessing. (Romans 8:24, 1 John 3:2)
– In hope, the whole flurry of Christian vocation is centered. (Eph. 1:18; 4:4)
– Without Hope life loses its meaning. (Lam. 3:18, Job 7:6)
– Without hope, one can be sick — heart sick. Sick in the mind and souls. The sickness can lead to discouragement, depression and hopelessness. (proverbs 13:12)
— In death, there is no hope. (Isaiah 38:18; Job 17:15)
– Unbelievers are without hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:13)
– Christ is the actual object of the believer’s hope because it is in his second coming that the hope of glory will be fulfilled. (1 Tim. 1:1; Col. 1:27, Titus 2:13)
– It is spoken to as lively (1 Pet. 1:3)
– The righteous who trust and put their hope in God will be helped, not confounded and put to shame. (Psalm 28:7; Isaiah 49:23; Jer. 29:11)
– Along with Faith and Love, Hope is an enduring virtue of the Christian life and love springs from hope. (1 Cor. 13:13; Col. 1:4-5)
– Hope produces joy and peace in believers through the power of the Spirit. (Romans 12:12; Romans 15:13)
– Hope in the return of Christ is the basis for believers to purify themselves in this life. (Titus 2:1-14; 1 John 3:3)
— Hope is an anchor of the soul that makes a believer’s faith in God’s promises unsinkable. It is so rich that the rapture of the church is called the Blessed Hope.
– The word hope in the Greek is the word used for the Christian’s joyful, sure and confident expectation of what God has promised. It is the cousin of faith.
– True hope is uniquely a Christian thing.
– Hope takes practice, it takes faith, hope takes work. It must be an active word in out vocabulary. Hope must be invited, welcomes and practiced.
- DEFINITION OF HOPE.
– The word hope in the Greek is the word “elpis”, which was coined by the great philosopher Plato. The same word is used by Paul in Phil. 1:20.
– Hope is not a wish neither is it a kind if unsure optimism. Modern idea of hope is to wish for, to expect but with uncertainty of the fulfillment; to desire very much but with no real assurance of getting your desire.
– In scriptures, according to the Hebrew and Greek word translated by the word hope and according to the biblical usage, hope in the scripture means a strong and confident expectation.
— Hope is akin to trust and confident expectation.
– Hope may refer to that activity of hoping or to the object hoped for —the content of one’s hope.
By its very nature, hope stresses two things: futurity and invisibility. (Romans 4;24-25)
– Hope is to trust in wait for, look for or desire something or someone or to expect something beneficial in the future.
–Hope is the proper response to the promises of God. (Romans 4:18; Hebrews 6:18)
–The New Testament definition of hope is comprised of 3 indispensable elements: patience, confidence and expectation.
– Hope is our confidence in an unfailing source. (Romans 15:13; Jer. 17:7)
Our hope is only as good as the credibility of the source we are hoping on.
– Hope is our conviction of His unlimited solutions. (Jer. 17:17)
Hope there means a shelter or refuge. Jeremiah did not know how, when or where but he knew surely that the Lord would find a way to help him.
Our lives will never face a predicament that is not met by the providence and provision of God. That is why Paul wrote in Romans 5:5. “hope maketh not ashamed”.
– Hope is our comfort from his unwavering security. (Prov. 14:32;Col. 1:5)
– Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown. (Romans 8:24-25, Hebrews 11:7)
– Therefore, Hope can be said to be the confident expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised in the word is true, has occurs or will in accordance with God’s sure word.
–Hope is powerful because it is grounded in faith that is founded in the word of God.
Hope depends on knowing the word of God (Romans 15:4; Col. 1:5-6), in knowing and resting in God’s grace (2 Thess. 2:16) and the spirit filled life. (Romans 15:13, 1 Pet. 1:13)
– There are a number of warnings in the scriptures against putting our hope in anything other than the Lord because these things leave us ashamed, frustrated, disappointed and in ruin. (John 8:11-15; Psalm 33:17; Psalm 146:5;Proverbs 10:28; proverbs 11:27, proverbs 24:14)
– Worldly hope is different from biblical hope in the sense that worldly hope speaks about something in the future that is not certain but biblical hope means that something in the future is certain.
THE MEANS AND BASIS OF THE ONLY TRUE HOPE
God is called the God of hope. This means he is the source of all real hope. If we are going to have hope, it must come from God fir He alone has the power to give it. (Psalm 62:5, Romans 15:13)
If you are without Christ, you are without God and without hope. (Eph. 2:12, 1 Tim. 1:1-2)
THE NATURE OF HOPE
The word hope generally expresses two different ideas. Outside of the Christian context, it entails wishful thinking, the desire for something we might not receive. On the other hand, hope refers to a desire for something we are certain to receive, an assurance concerning the future. This is Christian hope.
OBJECT OF HOPE
Like faith, hope depends on its object. Hope can be false when we look to something or someone that cannot fulfill it. (Psalm 33:17)
Hope can be uncertain, when it stands on something or someone that may not be able or willing to fulfill it.
Hope is sure when it reacts in something or someone absolutely able and wiling to fulfill it. This is the object of Christian hope. Like faith, the object of our hope is Christ. (1 Tim 1:1)
Christian hope stands on the excellence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. (John 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:20-21 2 Thess. 2:16-17, Romans 15:13, 2 Cor. 1:20-22)
THE COMMAND TO HOPE
Like faith, God tells us to have hope. Lack of hope may stem from ignorance, a lack of attention to God ad His promises or unbelief. (Psalm 131:3, Psalm 62:5, 1 Tim 6:17, 1 Pet. 1:13)
DESCRIPTION OF HOPE
- It is dynamic or active.
Biblical hope is alive and dynamic. It doesn’t leave us idle. If our hope is biblical and based on God’s word, it will put us on gear.
- It has results
- It changes how we see ourselves. (2 Pet. 1:13, 1 Pet. 2:11)
- It changes what we value. (Matt. 6:19-21)
- It affects what we so with our lives —time, talent and treasures. (Tit. 2:1-13, 1 John 3:1-3)
- It has rewards and blessings.
- It gives joy and peace. (Romans 15:13, Romans 5:2)
- It gives us protection (Psalm 33:18)
- It gives us strength, courage and boldness. (Psalm 31:24)
- It gives us endurance, comfort, confidence in the face of death (1 Thess. 4:13)
- It gives us confidence in ministry. (1 Tim. 4:10
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND HOPE
We see faith in our action when we trust God and we see hope in our attitude when we have confidence in Him.
Both faith and hope depends in God’s promises.
The author of Hebrews mentions several occasions when God made a promise with an oath. An oath is a serious declaration that He will do those things promised. The promise fives us faith because we trust God’s promises. The oath gives us hope. God gave the oath so that we would have confidence (hope) in him. (Hebrews 6:17-18)
SOURCES OF GETTING AND BUILDING HOPE
- The scriptures engender hope and it is a major source of building hope. (Romans 15:4)
Hope is a portion of faith. Hope is faith in the future tense. This implies that hope like faith comes and is strengthened by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17))
Hope comes from reading His precious and very great promises and looking to Christ who purchases them. (Romans 8:32)
- The Holy Spirit is also a source of hope. (Romans 15:13)
- Hope comes as a gift from God through grace. (2 Thess. 2:16)
BENEFITS OF HOPE
- Hope leads to Joy and peace, boldness, faith and love. (Romans 12:12, 2 Cor. 3:12, Col. 1:4-5)
- Hope also leads to comfort (1 Thess. 4:18)
- Hope has a sanctifying effect. (1 John 3:3)
- It stimulates good works (1 Cor. 15:51-58)
- It gives protection. (Psalm 33:18)
- It gives us strength and courage (psalm 33:18)
- It gives us endurance and confidence even in the face of death (1 Thess. 4:13)
- It gives us confidence in ministry. (1 Tim. 4:10)
WHY DO WE HAVE HOPE?
- Because we serve a God of hope who cannot lie. (Romans 15:13; Titus 1:1-2)
- Because of Jesus who is our hope and resurrection. (1 Tim. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:3)
- It is an anchor to our soul. (Hebrews 6:18-19)
- You never get disappointed or ashamed if we keep our hopes alive. (Romans 5:5)
HOW DO WE KEEP OUR HOPE ALIVE
- Have a possibility mentality. Irrespective of the situation, keep the right perspective. (Mark 9:23; Proverbs 23:7)
- Refuse to give up. (Isaiah 38:2-5)
- Remember the past victories. (Lam. 3:27, Psalm 103:1)
- Remain joyful. (Romans 12:12, Neh. 8:10)
HOW TO GET HOPE
- Be born again
- Be believing patiently. (Hebrews 6:11-12)
- By feeding on the word of God (Romans 15:4)
- Through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
WAYS TO PRACTICE HAVING HOPE IN TIMES OF TROUBLES
- Pray often. Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess 5:17)
- Remind yourself of who you are in Christ. (1 Pet. 2:9)
- Confide in a trusted friend especially a man of God. (Listen to the wisdom of others)
- Go outside. Take a walk. Thank God for His beautiful creation.
- Count your blessings. Write them down. Create a gratitude journal and add to it daily.
- Be joyful (Romans 12:12)
- Praise. Praise draws you into the presence of God and silences the enemy
- Do not neglect fellowship through the Body of Christ. (Hebrews 10:25)
- Get in the word, stay in the word, pray the word, memorize the word, meditate the word. His word life to us.
- Expect the unexpected turnaround.
REASONS WHY WE CAN HOPE IN GOD
- God is higher than anything that causes us to feel hopeless. (Psalm 113:4-5)
- God’s ways are higher than our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
- Jesus is Lord over all. (Phil. 2:9-11)
- God is faithful and cannot lie. (Titus 1:2)