Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Pastor Kyle opened our 2022 Easter service stating that the holiday celebration of Easter is about hope. Generally, hope is defined as a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. Everybody is looking for a fresh dose of hope in every area of our lives. We crave the feeling that we are going to be okay. Secondly and more specifically, hope is confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense. A well-founded scriptural hope is in our Christian religion is the source of ineffable happiness. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three.”
Thirdly, hope is that which gives hope; God, Father, Son and Hoy Spirit, which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good. Joel 3 says, The Lord will be the hope of his people. Fourthly, Hope is an opinion or belief not amounting to certainty because it has not come to pass yet, but grounded on substantial evidence. The Christian indulges a hope, that his sins are pardoned. 1 Peter 1:3-5 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” God is more interested in growing us as we go through our circumstances than changing our circumstances.
IF God changed all of the negative circumstances in our lives, none of us would get any better than we are right now. True hope generates when we get a glimpse of what God can do in and through our circumstances because they are real, tangible and something that we can hold onto. One of the traits of being a Christian is having a hope within an eternal perspective that extends beyond our circumstances. There are two primary types of hope that a Christian possesses: (1) the hope of forgiveness of sin, regeneration of the spirit, reconciliation with Creator God and salvation from Hell based upon Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross; the hope that His resurrection from the grave conquered sin and death, and His ascension into Heaven to the right hand of God means that we died to sin and rose with Him that we may live eternal in Heaven with Him. Real hope is the confident expectation in the future. For the Christian, this hope is grounded in the character and attributes of Almighty God, in His love and mercy, and in His promises given us in His Word for a hope and a future. The Lord tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” This is the most important reality for any Christian for it is constant.
Let's continue Kyle's Message on Hope in Christ on the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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