Hope's Foundation

8/13/06

 

 

Pr. 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

 

Many people put their hope in the wrong things.....

 

Ps. 33:17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

despite all its great strength it cannot save.

¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

¹⁹ to deliver them from death

and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;

he is our help and our shield.

²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

²² May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,

even as we put our hope in you.

 

We know the importance of faith and we know the importance of love--hope is placed in the same category!

 

1 Cor. 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

You will never be put to shame when your hope is in Jesus Christ.

 

Ps. 25:1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

² in you I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

³ No one whose hope is in you

will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

who are treacherous without excuse.

⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

 

Hope is the fuel for your strength.

 

Is. 40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

 

Hope is something you can see in a person.

 

1 Pet. 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

 

Let’s look at what hope is built on --  “Hope’s Foundation”

 

1.  Hope is built on God’s faithfulness.

 

Heb. 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

The Bible says that character produces hope--why is that?  Because true godly character understands the faithfulness of God!

 

Rom. 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

 

2.  Hope is built on God’s Word.

 

Rom. 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ²Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ⁴For 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.

 

3.  Hope is built on the promises of God.

 

Ps. 119:140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested,

and your servant loves them.

 

2 Cor. 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

 

2 Pet. 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 

Abraham understood the power of God’s promises.....

 

Rom. 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²²This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ²³The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 

 

4.  Hope is built on His unfailing love.

 

Ps. 147:10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his delight in the legs of a man;

¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him,

who put their hope in his unfailing love.

 

5.  Hope is built on his timing.

 

Rom. 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

 

6.  Hope is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

 

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.