Abounding Hope

Quotes:

“Hope is a waking dream.” - Aristotle

“Hope, Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering 'it will be happier'” - Alfred Tennyson

“Hope is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.” - Emily Dickinson

“The highway of hope is better than the road of despair, even if they both go to the same place.” –Samuel C. Fulkerson

“Without the dark, we'd never see the stars. Hope is a wonderful thing.” –Samuel C. Fulkerson

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” - Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

Romans 15:13

HOPE: Greek(g1680) = (El-Peace) meaning: to anticipate with joy.

HOPE: Hebrew(h8615) = תקוה (Tic-Va) meaning: anticipation or expectation.

This HOPE is a powerful thing:

Romans 8:24 “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”

This level/depth of HOPE is fairly unique to Christianity, as is a similar depth of faith and love.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Having a HOPE that goes far beyond the grave is an incredible thing.

Paul said that we are to ABOUND IN HOPE by the power of the Holy Ghost!

Where does this HOPE (abounding hope) come from? (It is after all a fair question that deserves an answer).

Paul told the Ephesians in chapter 2:12 “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”

So then where does out HOPE come from?

Psalm 39:7 “And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.”

Our HOPE comes from the LORD!

HOPE is joy and righteousness that brings true peace.

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

For Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 “…seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

And Paul said in Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

HOPE is so important to us that if it is “…deferred” it “makes the heart sick…” - Proverbs 13:12

Abounding HOPE is a HOPE based on/sourced out of a “full assurance”; Meaning that you fully trust in the God of HOPE – Jesus our Christ!

Romans 8:23-25 “23- …even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24- …we are saved by hope… 25- … f we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

Patience is the trust in-which we hold our HOPE.

For “…we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28

Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

We have “a reason for the hope that is in us.”

We have Scriptural reasons. Sound Biblical reasons for Trusting in the LORD of Glory!

According to the power at work within your life:

Have HOPE, Grab HOPE, Hang on-to HOPE, Embrace HOPE, Never let HOPE go!

II Corinthians 3:4-6, 12 “4- And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5- Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6- Who also hath made us able ministers…” “12- Seeing then that we have such hope…”

Story (Sourced from John Maxwell): “British clergyman G. Campbell Morgan told the story of a man whose shop had been burned in the great Chicago fire of 1871. The man arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table. He set up the table in the midst of the charred debris, and above it placed a sign that said, "Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."

After such a heavy loss, where did he get his hope?

From his circumstances? Certainly not.

From good timing? No.

From other victims of the fire? There's no indication that he did. How many others faced the future with such positive determination?

If this man saw a bright future for himself and his family, it was because he made a choice to have hope.

Hope is in the DNA of men and women who learn from their losses. When times are tough, they choose hope, knowing that it will motivate them to learn and turn them from victims into victors.”

Don’t be a Victim tonight; have HOPE in Jesus Christ; be a Victor/be Victorious!