Reflections on: Hope (2023)
Reflections on various biblical topics • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:16:37
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What do you have hope for?
What do you have hope for?
When child and asked what do you have hope for? Then as you grow up. Then as teenager, then as an adult, a parent, then a grandparent.
Hope is a good thing, it links right up with faith and love and it is worthy of our careful consideration, reflection and application.
8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Moral excellence, is that not knowing, and doing the right thing? Is it not taking what you have learned and received and applying it? The results are the peace of God will be with you!
The right thing we are talking about this morning is Hope.
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Hope, the middle of faith and love. Two weeks ago we used the verse from 1Cor13, and this one now from Thessalonians.
3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,
The steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ in which you have faith in and labor in love for.
Our hope is not just in something, our hope is in someone! So lets spend some time this morning looking at what hope defined, described, developed and demonstrated looks like.
I. Hope Defined
I. Hope Defined
Take a minute and consider what is the definition of hope? If someone were to ask you today what would you say you have hope in?
elpis: expectation, hope Original Word: ἐλπίς, ίδος, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: elpis
Phonetic Spelling: (el-pece')
Short Definition: hope, expectation
Definition: hope, expectation, trust, confidence.
According to Vines dictionary it is “favorable and confident expectation”
According to Complete Word Study, Dictionary “desire of some good with some expectation of obtaining it.
So hope defined has to do with the unseen and the future as you can see in the scripture (Rom8:24-25; Heb11:1; 1Pt1:21)
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Hope is not a wish, like you wish for something for your birthday or Christmas. It is a strong expectation, confidence that is placed in God according to Bridgeway Bible Dictionary.
Hope in short definition is confident expectation to receive something that is unseen at this time.
Now staying in the context of Christian living you will see that it is inseparable from faith
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Not a hope you may receive something, but a confident expectation to receive it.
What does our Christian hope rest in? several things we could name.
II. Hope Described
II. Hope Described
How would you describe hope, how could you illustrate hope in your life?
Hope of righteousness (Gal5:5; Rom5:1) Paul explains, writes that it is waiting for the hope of righteousness
5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
That comes from the justification we have being in Christ because of our faith.
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Now keeping the Gal5:5 in context it does have to do with the freedom we have in Christ Jesus but also the ability to fall from grace
4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Because our justification only comes by faith, faith in Christ Jesus in which we have our hope in.
Paul in Galatians and in Romans is speaking of the righteousness we have, the justification we have in Christ knowing we are found not guilty to suffer the consequences of sin.
Our hope is based on the hope we have in Christ Jesus. (Php3:7-11; 2Tim4:6-8)
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Count everything as loss because of our hope, our faith, our righteousness given from God because of our faith so that we may know the power of His resurrection and the hope of our resurrection from the dead.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Now this is confident expectation; this is hope!
Now we have hope defined, and we have seen hope described through the righteousness of God, but now how about the revelation of Jesus Christ?
Revelation when Christ appears, when He returns (1Cor1:7; TIt2:11-13; 1Pt1:7)
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
When He returns is He going to find us awaiting eagerly?
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
We know God’s grace appeared in Christ making salvation available to us, and we know we have hope, hope of the appearing of the glory of our Great God and Savior. In that time
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Our faith will be proved, our hope will be fulfilled and it will result in the praise and glory and honor when He returns (1Pt1:13; 1Pt4:13)
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So hold on to your hope, your confident expectation of good to come, that being the revelation of Jesus Christ
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
In the interim, as you wait, as you cleave to your hope know there will be suffering you are going to share in, keep on rejoicing, for it will be worth it!
For at that time, we will be revealed as son’s of God (Rom8:19; Col3:4)
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
or there is
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
You revealed with Him in glory. the Glory of heaven, the glory of His presence, the glory of eternity with Him.
How about another hope described, the hope of the resurrection.
Are we eagerly waiting, do we have a confident expectation of the final revelation, redemption of our bodies (Rom8:23-24)?
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
The hope and the resurrection (Act23:6, Act24:15; 1Cor15:42-44, 50-54)
6 But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!”
15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
Where we will put on immortality
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.
Long passage but we are talking about everlasting victory here! This is not by our doings, it is by His doing, by the power of the Lord
Power of the Lord will change us (Php3:20-21; Heb11:10, 16, 13:14)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
A confident expectation, that we will be raised up on that last day and spend eternity with Him.
We have hope of a new creation
10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
A new creation, a new city where God is the builder
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
A better country, a heavenly one where God Himself prepared a place for us, a city for us. (see Jn14:1-2 for more on this if you want)
14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
A better country, better city, a lasting city (2Pt3:13-14
Which is yet to come for us in our heavenly home. where the righteous of God dwell
13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
This heavenly home is described more in (Rev21:1-7; 10:11) but I will challenge you to read, study, contemplate those scriptures on your own.
How much does your hope, your confident expectation of things to come impact your life today? How can we develop our hope more?
III. Hope Developed
III. Hope Developed
We develop our good hope through grace, grace freely given to us through faith (Consider 2The2:16)
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,
Through justification by faith in Christ Jesus we have this grace as noted in Rom5:1-2
This grace, this eternal grace, available through Justification by faith makes us heirs (Tit3:7; Rom15:4)
7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Hope, eternal hope, eternal grace, made eternal heirs!
We further develop our hope through the Word of God
Hope if found for our education in the O.T.
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Our hope in the gospel (Col1:5, 23)
5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel
23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Hope that is laid up for us, because we heard the word, and we hold firmly to it. The Word, the hope of the gospel.
Paul says the hope of our calling, God’s calling in us in eph1:18.
Hope like faith comes by hearing the Word of god.
We develop our hope through our experiences (Rom5:3-4; Jm1:2-4; 1Pt1:6-7)
yep, even the hard experiences (aka: tribulations)
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
For it produces perseverance and that leads to confidence
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
and that helps to prove and perfect our hope
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Hope is empowered, developed further by the work of the Spirit (Gal5:5; Rom5:5; Rom15:13)
5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
Hope does not disappoint
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
We can abound in powerful hope
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hope that fills with all joy, all peace because of your faith. It is strengthened! But hope should be displayed or demonstrated too.
IV. Hope Demonstrated
IV. Hope Demonstrated
Eager hope (1Cor1: Php3:20)
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
Eager hope of our final salvation (Heb9:28; 1Jn3:3; 1Cor15:58)
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Hope that is patiently working in us
As mentioned before in Rom8:25; 1The1:3; and because we have this hope we should be growing in hope, growing in holiness
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Now does that make you want to rejoice in hope
May we rejoice in Hope (Rom5:2, 12:12)
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
So what is our hope?
A confident expectation of good to come. The revelation of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of our bodies to our eternal dwelling in heaven
It is made possible by the grace of God through the Word of God that is empowered by the Spirit of God for us to serve the Living God.
so how can you manifest your hope? by eagerly waiting, confidently expecting, patiently working and rejoicing all the while.
It is the living hope we have that will help us.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
(invitation/encouragement Do you have the living hope? if you have it are you developing and demonstrating it so that others may come to have the same hope?