Rejoice In Hope

Rejoice In Hope

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Rom 12:9)

1. What Is Hope?

- Hope is not just a “wish”.

- Hope is “a joyful & confident expectation” of what God is doing & will do on our behalf.

·(Rom 15:13) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

- Hope is the “future tense” of faith.

- Hope is no weaker than faith because both are set upon God.

- Hope is vital.

·(1 Pet 1:3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

·(Rom 15:4) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

2. What Are Hope’s Companions?

- Hope is never alone.

- Hope is one of a triad of Christian virtues.

.(1 Cor 13:13) And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (Col 1:4-5)

·(1 Th 1:3) We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Th 5:8)

·(1 Pet 1:21) ..your faith and hope are in God.

3. What Does Hope Contribute To The Christian’s Life?

- Hope stabilizes the spirit of the believer.

·(Heb 6:18-19) We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

- Hope produces patience in trials.

·(Rom 5:3-5)We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us,

- Hope motivates godly living.

·(1 John 3:3) Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

- Hope inspires joyful confidence in God.

·(Rom 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

4. What Consolation Does Hope Bring Us?

- Hope is associated with victory, not defeat.

- Hope is the expectation of the best God has in store for us.

- Hope is the assurance of God’s future work, just as we now trust His present ministry.

- To be “filled with hope” is to be filled with joy.

·(1 Pet 1:8) Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

5. What Hope Is There For Those Without Jesus?

- There is no hope without Jesus.

·(Eph 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:

- Jesus is our “hope of glory”.

·(Col 1:27) Christ in you, the hope of glory: