HOPE

we don’t just merely randomly hope that something is going to happen because of our efforts, but rather, a hope and anticipation according to the word of God.

not blind hope/faith, but hope based on truth or faith.

hope goes beyond a mere desire for things to happen in a worldly sense.

but towards both a present and future spiritual sense.

this is sometimes why many people search for hope in many worldly vices..

they are looking for that inner satisfaction and finding nothing permanent but only temporary.....

this is because only God can give that true inner peace

Godly hope is an anticipation, longing and desire for, not only Godly things in this present world, but in the eternity to come.

GODLY HOPE: The confidence that, by integrating God’s redemptive acts in the past with trusting human responses in the present, the faithful will experience the fullness of God’s goodness both in the present and in the future.

in other words: having full faith and belief in the things accomplished by Christ in the past and trusting God for the things present and future

we have a hope of not only today but for an eternity that God will do what he said he would for us in redemption.

there are many words in the bible used for hope. but two main words used in the old testament for hope are:

Yakhal: which means to simply wait for something

as in the story of Noah....Noah had to wait (or Yakhal) for weeks for the flood waters to recede

Qavah: which also means to wait...

it comes from the Hebrew word “Qav” which means cord...

when you pull a Qav tight....you create a state of tension until there is release..which is Qavah.

this is the state of tension and expectation while you wait for something to happen

Hope is about

waiting or

tense expectations

but waiting for what?

Isaiah 8:17 KJV 1900

17 And I will wait upon the Lord, That hideth his face from the house of Jacob, And I will look for him.

Isaiah 8:17 AMP

17 And I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for and hope in Him.

or that he would Qavah for him.....

the hope that Isaiah had in those days was the hope for the fulfillment of Gods plan and redemption or (the coming of Gods’ kingdom and power)

we find this type of waiting all through the old testament writings.

what they are waiting for is simply “God”

Psalm 130:5–8 KJV 1900

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, And in his word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord More than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: For with the Lord there is mercy, And with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Psalm 130:5–8 AMP

5 I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope. 6 I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is mercy and loving-kindness, and with Him is plenteous redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

in this passage they are using both Qavah and Yakhal in waiting and anticipation

Biblical hope is based on a person which is different then optimism

Optimism is about seeing, in any circumstance, how things could work out for the best.

but biblical hope is not really based on circumstances but rather on the hope that God is in control of all things and will accomplish all things for us through him for the better

though, at times, situations seem hopeless....we can still have hope

Hosea 2:15 KJV 1900

15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for a door of hope: And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, And as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

Hosea 2:15 AMP

15 There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

like the Prophet Hosea who lived in a time of great oppression from great empires..

though this situation existed, he chose hope...rather than despair when he said...

God could turn this valley of trouble into a door of hope

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Hope

Biblical faith rests on the trustworthiness of God to keep His promises. The biblical view of hope is thus significantly different from that found in ancient Greek philosophy. The Greeks recognized that human beings expressed hope by nature; however, this kind of hope reflects both good and bad experiences. The future was thus a projection of one’s own subjective possibilities (Bultmann, “ἐλπίς, elpis,” 2.517). Biblical hope avoids this subjectivity by being founded on something that provides a sufficient basis for confidence in its fulfillment: God and His redemptive acts as they culminate in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ

we have a hope in a resurrected savior...therefor we have hope for the future by looking back at the death, burial and resurrection.

if Christ had not resurrected we would have no hope

the empty tomb opened up a new door of hope described in the greek as “ELPIS” as the sense of anticipation.

1 Peter 1:3–7 KJV 1900

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

the apostle Peter said that because of the resurrection of Christ...we have a new and living hope

this type of Elpis or hope....is a hope not blind or faithless, but rather is based on a person....the risen Savior

hope is the faith and knowledge that our current and future rest completely on Jesus Christ and his promises

deliverance from the stain of sin and judgement that was our end but now is swallowed up in victory

what was once our sorrow and despair, is now our Joy and rejoicing....or hope.

the bible doesn’t say that we cannot have hope in this current life, but rather, not just in this life, but more importantly, in the life to come…eternity.

if the God of creation is our God indeed…he is the God of our past, present and future...

1 Corinthians 15:19 KJV 1900

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

if in this life only....

hope is not optimism based on the odds, but rather, a choice we make to wait and put our trust in God to bring about a future resurrection for us as Christ was resurrected.

although, all hope is not just merely waiting by doing nothing....

hope compels us to action....

hope is not a wish…but rather, an active anticipation and participation, that drives our purpose and sets our goals...

to fulfill Gods purpose in this life

Isaiah 40:31 KJV 1900

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 AMP

31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.

hope is a many faceted word to include:

an expectation

participation

a looking for

faith

An active service to God

an enduring spirit: unto the end of this life and into the next.

hope is an active anticipation based on past events and promises.

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition Hope

Where there is a belief in the living God, who acts and intervenes in human life and who can be trusted to implement his promises, hope in the specifically biblical sense becomes possible. Such hope is not a matter of temperament, nor is it conditioned by prevailing circumstances or any human possibilities. It does not depend upon what a man possesses, upon what he may be able to do for himself, nor upon what any other human being may do for him. There was, for example, nothing in the situation in which Abraham found himself to justify his hope that Sarah would give birth to a son, but because he believed in God, he could ‘in hope’ believe ‘against hope’ (Rom. 4:18). Biblical hope is inseparable therefore from faith in God. Because of what God has done in the past, particularly in preparing for the coming of Christ, and because of what God has done and is now doing through Christ, the Christian dares to expect future blessings at present invisible (2 Cor. 1:10

we see that by looking back we look forward in hope.

Godly faith and hope are in essence..inseparable.

because faith is the substance of hope

we have hope because of our faith or belief in the word of God and his promises.

Romans 10:17 KJV 1900

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17 AMP

17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

faith is believing....

not in some random things, but in the signs and life of Jesus Christ..

in the word and plan of God

in what he has already done for us...

in the model that he has set forth.

we have an anticipation and a longing for the things of God, to live, breath and participate now and in the future.

2 Timothy 4:8 AMP

8 [As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return).

Hope what you please; but remember, that hope without truth at the bottom of it, is an anchor without a holdfast. A groundless hope is a mere delusion. Christ’s Incarnation, Page 146

Charles Spurgeon

our hope is not blind hope or powerless…but is based upon

the Holy Bible

the words of Jesus

Christs resurrection from the dead.

creation itself

so we see that hope is not merely a wish or an empty longing

3. our hope and salvation or deliverance is in Christ alone and is active and lively…never dull and boring but in a life more abundant and an eternity beyond this vail of tears.

4. we have hope in Christ through faith...

faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

therefor our hope is not blind but wrapped up in Christ

hope is a longing and anticipation to be with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, God and creator of all things.

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