Hope: Confident Expectation That Motivates Righteousness

Gifts of Christmas

Horrible Gifts:

It is that time of year again!

We hang the Christmas decorations, make tasty Christmas treats,send out Christmas cards, etc.

It is also the time of year when many people search high and low for that perfect gift. But let’s face it, we don’t always land that perfect gift, do we?

Husbands tend to be notoriously lousy gift-givers.

So men, unless your wife asks explicitly for these items, please don’t give them!

I want to provide a little bit of preventive medicine so you and your wife will be spared having to sit in my office for counseling. So take notice now and avoid the agony. Here are some gifts you should never give unless asked VERY SPECIFICALLY!

A vacuum or a crock pot, blender, or any other household item or kitchen appliance that seems to remind your spouse of his or her domestic responsibilities.

Gym membership or a subscription to the Nutri-system weight loss program. unless your spouse specifically, very specifically, asks for a gym membership or piece of exercise equipment, don't tread in these waters. Anything exercise-related can have dire consequences, for obvious reasons.…this kind of gift is just loaded with implications

Scale — even if it is a marvelous piece of technological wizardry that can measure fat-to-muscle ratio unless you want to measure the speed of knuckles-to-nose ratio. The implications that come with that gift are far weightier (pun intended)

Hair Removal Kit — Nobody needs to be reminded if they have a little extra hair on their upper lip or on their chin.

Just so the ladies don’t feel left out, a gift certificate for hair replacement products is also a major no-no.

Wrinkle cream…Nobody will appreciate anything with the words "skin-firming," "toning," or "anti-aging."… regardless of how good it smells, cross this off your list.

Reason for Gifts

The reason for giving gifts at Christmas time varies from household to household and the traditions.

Our practice on Christmas day is that once everyone is up, we have some sort of breakfast, usually homemade cinnamon rolls accompanied with minor friendly skirmishes over who gets the middle ones.

Time is allowed for the adults to have at least one cup of coffee because no one wants to start the process with a grumpy guss…in case someone happens to give a gift from the previously mentioned bad gift list.

Then before we open any presents, we gather around as a family and read the Christmas story from the Bible, pray, and focus on the greatest gift of all…Jesus

We strive to remind our children and the adults that we give gifts to each other to show our love for one another because of the ultimate gift of love from God in Jesus Christ.

Giving and receiving gifts can be a time filled with joy and laughter with one another if we take the time to do it right.

Doing it right means we think about what that gift will communicate to the recipient.

Exchanging gifts ought to communicate your love for the individual with a desire to bless them with something special.

No matter what gifts you give or receive, they all have something in common…none of them will last forever.

The Indescribable Gift

This Christmas season, we want to focus on the one gift that provides multiple gifts…and communicates God’s everlasting love for us.

You never have to worry about God giving you a horrible or worthless gift.

James 1 17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

Of course, we are talking about the gift of Jesus Christ

2 Cor 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

Why is this gift indescribable?

There aren’t enough words in our language (or any language) to accurately and adequately describe the total richness and depth of this marvelous gift of grace.

We will use this 4 part series between now and Christmas to focus on just a tiny portion of what a relationship with Jesus Christ brings to those who receive Him…these are all part of God’s loving gift of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus came, he brought gifts with him... every day with Jesus is Christmas because he never stopped bringing us gifts.

Jesus gives us the gift of Hope!

We want to begin with hope because we are at a time in our lives when many people are losing hope or searching for hope in temporal things.

The political landscape is filled with individuals that seem to have no moral compass, or if they do have one, it doesn’t seem to affect their decisions much; there appears to be no willingness even to sit down and talk about the issues at hand…that contributes to hopelessness on both sides of the aisle.

Suicide rates increase this time of year because while some people have families and friends to enjoy sharing life with, others face times of loneliness and despair thinking no one cares for them, all is lost…they are without hope.

The list seems to be endless when it comes to identifying people losing hope.

As dark and bleak and hopeless as things appear to be here now, this world and culture we see now are not our future.

That, in part, is the message of Christmas! Romans 15:12-13 “Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.” 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.”

Our hope will never be found in changing the political landscape, nor getting everyone to think the same thing regarding those hot button issues.

Our hope will never be found in eliminating terrorism, or sex trafficking, or drug addictions /alcoholism, etc. (not saying we should not try). Remember what we see presently is a result of living in a fallen world!

True and lasting hope is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Eph. 2:12 “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Anyone living today without Christ has no hope for the future.

Those who have accepted the wonderful gift of Jesus are headed for heaven, and we have an eternal hope that guarantees our future is one of glory and delight!

Defining Hope

Hope is the confidence in God that He will fulfill His promise to give His children a blessed and eternal future that motivates us to pursue Christlikeness with maximum effort.

In the time remaining, let’s examine the theology and practice of hope that ought to motivate our pursuit of Christlikeness.

The Theology of Hope

We start with theology because our theology impacts our practice.

It is secure – Hebrews 6:19-20

Hebrews 6:19–20 (NASB95)

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

It is an anchor…unmovable or unshakeable...it is not a wish…it is confidence.

We are confident that when Jesus Christ Himself entered the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, He entered on our behalf…He serves as our great High Priest, always interceding for us.

Peter reiterates this for us...1 Peter 1:3-6 “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, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,”

It is an essential part of the gospel – Col. 1:3-5

Col 1:3-5 “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel”

The joy of our salvation is that one day we will enter the presence of God because of the promise of eternal life in heaven…we view that as a guaranteed fact.

It is not a wish…I wish I could go to heaven…it is a fact that those who trust in Christ are guaranteed heaven

Our salvation has three aspects: past, present, future! Hope exists in all three parts.

Past – saved from the penalty of sin. We will not be condemned because we have the imputed righteousness of Christ given to us the moment we believed.

Present – we are being saved from the power of sin because the indwelling Holy Spirit and the truth of the Scriptures give us victory over sin.

Future – we will be saved from the presence of sin when we get to heaven. Our sin cursed bodies will be finally perfected.

It comes from God – Psalm 33:17-22

Turn to Psalm 33

v.17 — Our hope is not in the military (as much as we love our military personnel, our hope is not in them for victory), the horse was a symbol of military strength...regardless of how strong our military is, it is God who delivers us.

v.18-19 — God is the one who delivers us from death, from suffering…we are to look to Him

v 20 - 21— God is our help and shield. Hope says we can wait on Him being assured of His deliverance, our heart rejoices because we trust Him.

v 22 — If you are struggling to find hope, it is not because hope does not exist. Perhaps you are searching for hope in someone or something other than God!

No matter what the earthly conditions may be, there is no reason for fear or despair because our source of hope is God.

It is a gift of grace – 2 Thess 2:16-17

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 (NASB95)

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, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

We don’t deserve hope…but God graciously gifts it to us.

It is defined by Scripture – Romans 15:4

Romans 15:4 NASB95

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.

When you find yourself in need of comfort and encouragement, turn to the Word.

What is interesting here is that when Paul wrote that Scripture was not complete at the time. The Old Testament was the only completed portion of Scripture available to them. So Paul is telling them you can find comfort in reading the Old Testament

…the Psalms are great sources of hope, the story of Ruth, Joseph, Job, David (the murderer and adulterer) was the greatest king of Israel, Samson (although he squandered the resources God gave him and wasted his life, at the end of his life, God still used him…Go to Hebrews 11 and see how the writer of Hebrews used the examples of people in the Old Testament as a source of faith and hope.

God’s Word gives you hope in the struggles and trials of life.

It is reasonable. – 1 Peter 3:15

1 Peter 3:15 NASB95

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Sanctify = set apart - when our innermost being is transformed by grace, then the outward manifestation of that transformation displays itself in proclaiming the truth about Jesus.

Our hope doesn’t depend upon whether the political landscape or current “hot button” issues are solved the way we think they ought to be.

Nor does our hope rest in what some insignificant Hollywood goofball thinks or tweets.

There is no need for us to get (as my dad often said) “your bowels in an uproar” with everything happening around us

When we set Jesus apart in our hearts, none of these other things matter, so that when people ask us why we are not bothered by them, we reasonably proclaim the truth about Jesus.

It is secured by Christ’s resurrection – 1 Pet 1:3

1 Peter 1:3 NASB95

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,

Jesus said in John 14:19 ““After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.”

Our hope is as certain as the resurrection of Jesus!

Living = hope is sure, certain, real as opposed to the deceptive, empty, false hope the world offers.

Jesus went through death and came out on the other side alive…we will too!

It is confirmed by the Holy Spirit – Rom. 15:13

Romans 15:13 NASB95

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.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to endure trials and hardships. He wants us to abound in hope.

As you grow in your knowledge of the Scripture, He uses that to energize and sustain you at the worst moments of life, so you don’t lose hope.

It is a defense against Satan – 1 Thess 5:8

1 Thessalonians 5:8 NASB95

But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

When Satan wants you to doubt and question God with a lack of assurance, you put on the helmet of salvation that protects your thinking, and you remain secure in your knowledge of God and his promise of eternal life.

It is strengthened through trials – James 1:4,12

James 1 4 “And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:12 NASB95

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The more you experience trials, the more opportunities you have to exercise hope.

The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.

It produces joy – Psalm 146:5

Psalm 146:5 NASB95

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Even in sorrow, our hope produces joy.

When you have hope in God, you also have joy.

Transition: There is much more we could add regarding the theology of hope. We need to have a firm grasp on what the Bible says about hope. We want to have a sound and robust theology of hope.

However, theology without practice makes us practical atheists. If our theology does not change how we live, then it is useless for us to say we believe it.

Let’s turn our focus now to the Practice of Hope

The Practice of Hope – 1 John 2:28-3:3

In the time remaining, let’s walk through the text of 1 John 2:28-3:3

We won’t shrink back (2:28).

Abide – to remain

This is a favorite word of John…It is a reference to staying in fellowship with Christ…how do you know when you are in fellowship with Christ…when you are obedient…remaining in Jesus is evidence of salvation.

People with genuine faith will remain with the fellowship.

This is a call for the perseverance of the saints…to adhere to the gospel, to live in constant dependence…to faithfully obey his Word.

We know we won’t lose our salvation because God secures us.

However, that does not give us the right to go on living in any way we want…We can’t stand outside the entrance of heaven and sing “I DID IT MY WAY!”...

We are to be obedient children…we have a responsibility before God to persevere in our faith, to lovingly display our commitment to God and His Word.

We will act righteously (2:29).

You will be known by your fruit.

You can claim any level of allegiance to Christianity you want to, but it all comes down to the pattern of your life.

Since God is righteous, those who are correctly related to Him will also reflect that righteous character.

Practices righteousness is a present active participle meaning it has continuous action.

The genuine believer who possesses real hope will have a desire for righteousness.

If there is no desire for righteousness, you have reason to doubt your relationship with God is authentic.

We will be motivated by God’s love (3:1).

We ought to be amazed by the love of God when he confers such an incredible honor upon us to be called His children.

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”

“how great a love” = “from what country”; “what sort of”; refers to something foreign.

The love God has shown us is foreign to anything we can conceive, imagine, or anything known to the human race.

That love of God bestowed upon us ought to motivate us because it is like nothing we have ever known

We anticipate His arrival (3:2).

Our hope is not yet fully realized.

Titus 2:13 “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”

When Christ returns, our hope is fulfilled. Are you looking ahead?

God plans to make us like His Son, and that is what will happen. Conformity to Christ is guaranteed!

We pursue purity (3:3).

When you live intending to meet Jesus face to face, that has a purifying effect on your life.

I don’t normally do this, but I think a minor Greek lesson (I have studied Greek, but I am not an expert on Greek) here is important: John writes this as present, active, indicative…tense, voice, mood

tense = present = not past tense where you did it one time and you are okay with that

voice = active = not passive where someone else is doing it to you

In other words, you can’t get by with your parents faith…just because someone you are connected with does it, that does not mean you can skate by...

mood = indicative = an assertion as fact, as opposed to possible or contingent upon intention.

John is stating it as a fact that believers don’t intend to pursue purity, they do it.

Genuine believers take an active role in their own growth, not being content in a one time decision for Christ, rather they are presently pursuing Christ-likeness with maximum effort.

Hope causes genuine believers to continue that pursuit knowing they will attain perfection when they see Jesus.

Review the definition of hope:

Hope is the confidence in God that He will fulfill His promise to give His children a blessed and eternal future that motivates us to pursue Christlikeness with maximum effort.

Life Lessons

Hope only exists within a right relationship with God.

Hope is only promised to God’s people. It is only guaranteed to those who are in Christ.

Gospel

Live today believing the future could happen right now.

Hope says your future is secure, and you do not need to fear…does being loved by God motivate you to greater obedience…do you have a relationship with God that is growing…are you more obedient, or are you shrinking back?

Rest in knowing that God will fulfill his promise to come get you and make you like His Son.

Get involved in your growth and you won’t be disappointed!

Romans 5 1-4 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;”

Romans 5:5 NASB95

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.

Let’s Thank God for Hope!