REVIVING YOUR HOPE
Romans
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.
There are times when
circumstances can overwhelm us. We can easily become
frustrated and lose hope. There
are over 2000 deaths a day in the US, due to Covid 19.
We average one mass murder a
day across the US. Crime is on the rise. Concerns
for the safety of our families,
rising costs, our ability to pay bills, and keeping
food on our tables are some of the
things we face daily. It is easy to lose sight of the fact
that God is still in control.
Hope for today and the future can at times seem very dim.
If God is in control, we may
wonder why there is so much pressure on us to survive.
Why is so difficult to just
make it through the day?
We are in the holiday season
when the pressure to buy gifts for the family is building.
With our budgets already
stretched to the max, what can we do to ease the pain of living?
Understandable, we are worried
about the future, The old saying “Keep Hope Alive”
is difficult to visualize.
To understand what we are
facing we must distinguish worldly hope from Christian Hope
Webster’s Definition
Hope as a noun: to
cherish a desire with anticipation, to want something to happen or be true
.
Hope as a verb: to
desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment.
The worldly definition of hope
has an element of doubt. It could happen, I want it to happen, but
it may not happen. Worldly hope
is based on our circumstances, experiences and, capabilities.
Hope in the Bible is a divine
word.
It means to expect with
confidence, to anticipate knowing; to look and long for with assurance.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE COMES FROM GOD
It does not come from us, nor
is it based on us.
Romans 5:1-3
Therefore, since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through 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.
It is easy to quote a
scripture. It difficult to believe in it when things are falling a apart.
It is difficult to apply
scripture to our lives when relief is not in sight.
How can we have hope when there
seems to be no help?
Christians all over the world
face the same problems as the world. What makes us
different? It is our hope in
the promises of the Lord.
The problem with Christian hope
is it starts small with the promises of Jesus, and
has to be nurtured to grow in
wisdom and confidence. It is our confidence in the
Word of God that’s the problem.
Some mature Christians and,
babes in Christ have the most difficulty in troubled times.
Christian hope is based on
God’s love for us and carries no doubt. It is doubt part
we have rid ourselves of to
grow in faith.
Our daily prayer should be
“Lord Help My Unbelief”. Christian hope does not
exist in doubt.
Romans 15:13 Is Our Text for this lesson
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.
GOD
IS OUR HOPE
Christian hope is an exercise
of faith
Matthew 12:21
In his name the nations will put their hope."
Christian Hope is not natural.
It is a gift from God.
Christian hope is not temporary
but eternal. God has no beginning or end.
He always existed. Therefore,
our hope has no beginning or end.
Christians have a promise of
fulfillment in their hope.
For the nonbeliever, there is
no promise of fulfillment. There is only doubt.
Doubt is overcome by faith. The
reward of faith is peace, God’s grace, and joy.
Romans 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.
Our text gives us a number of
elements to consider.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE COMES FROM GOD
You can only experience divine
hope if you fully trust God
God is your hope, not the world
and all its circumstances.
You must conclude that the
promises God makes to you as a believer
in
Jesus Christ still stands in spite of your situation.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS TRUSTING GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE
Christian hope is trusting
God’s will for your life
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your
heart
and lean not on your own
understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge
him,
and he will make your paths
straight.
A word of caution, before you
can apply scripture, you must know scripture.
Before you can know scripture
you must study scripture in its context.
It is our ignorance that blocks
the development of our faith in the Word.
You can’t apply scripture to
your situation when your actions don’t match up
with requirements given in the
scripture.
For example, Proverbs 3:5 says
“with all your heart”. That means you have to
eliminate any doubt.
Proverbs 3:5 says “lean not on
your own understanding”. That means don’t limit
God’s blessing by what you
understand. What you see as possible is not God’s
concern.
Proverbs 3 says to trust God,
not you, not the man, and not your job. Trust God
CHRISTIAN
HOPE REQUIRES PATIENCE
Hebrews 6:12
We do not want you to become
lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been
promised.
You have to get it in your head
that God is not on your schedule. You got to wait on the Lord’s timing.
Lazy is doing nothing. We have
to endure what we are facing with hope. You must exercise a
measure of faith. Don’t start
crying when it starts raining, God has given you an umbrella of hope.
You inherit what is promised by
your own actions.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS UNWAVERING
James 1:6-8
But when he asks, he must
believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown
and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything
from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
You can’t believe today and not
believe tomorrow. You can’t believe the Word when you understand and not
believe the same Word when you don’t understand. Your circumstance does not
change God’s ability to answer your prayer. Any doubt is unbelief in God.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS NOT TEMPORARY, BUT ETERNAL
1 John 5:11-12
11 And this is the testimony:
God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the
Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Christian hope is not based on
circumstances
Your circumstances will change
from day to day. But God does not change
Jesus said heaven and earth
will pass away, but my Word will never pass away.
What the Lord said He will do,
He will do.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS NOT SELFISH
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than
yourselves.
Everyone has problems and
issues they deal with. In prayer, we can’t just consider ourselves,
but pray for the needs of
others. Every individual is important to God.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE FILLS YOU WITH JOY
The text says the God of Hope
fills you with all joy. All joy, not some joy.
We have been given the mindset
the be joyful in all situations, good or bad.
The filling of joy is a continuing
process with your trust in God
To me this says, there are
times and circumstances when your joy will fade away.
When trouble arises you can
lose sight of God who is the author of your Joy.
We can get so caught up in our
circumstances that we forget that God is in the
circumstances with us. He did
say, He would never leave us or forsake us.
When we see our joy fading
away, we need to stop, take a breath, and let the
God of our hope fill us back
with joy. It is just recognizing that God allows
stuff to happen to build our
trust in Him and thus strengthen our joy.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE BRINGS PEACE IN BELIEVING
Christian Hope brings peace
into your life.
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; my
peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your
hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
We can be peaceful in times of
trouble because God gives it to us.
We have to practice being
peaceful with ourselves at all times. We should never fail
to realize that it is Jesus
that provides peace. Peace is independent of your circumstances.
Jesus is the source of your
peace. It is a free gift. You have to accept Jesus’ peace.
Even the faith you have did not
originate with you. The Word says that each is given
a measure of faith.
God’s peace comes with no
trouble. Why? Because Jesus settled your troubles
The peace that you enjoy come
from the faith you have in Jesus your problem-solver.
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS A GROWING PROCESS
Look at the text again
Romans 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 overflows as you trust
Christ.
You are not born with hope, you
grow in hope by trusting God.
Learning to trust God is a
growing process.
Trust or faith grows because of
the trials and tribulations God allows in your life.
What you going through at this
present time is designed by God to grow your faith.
Romans 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.
HOPE
GROWS THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Every believer in Jesus Christ
has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and
will remind you of everything I have said to you.
You have the power within you
to overcome all problems.
First, you have a counselor
Second, you have a teacher
Third, you have access to the
Holy Spirit's power
Forth, you have inside of you the
one who will remind you of all the promises of God
WHAT
DOES CHRISTIAN HOPE LOOK LIKE?
It is not fear:
2 Timothy 1:7-8
For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.
It is not anger: Ephesians 4:31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage,
anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice.
It is not worry:
Luke 12:31-32
It is not lust:
1 John 2:16-17
For everything in the world —
the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he
has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world.
It is Confidence
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have
in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have
what we asked of him.
It is Peace peaceful living
John 14:27
It is Joyful living
Matthew 5:12-13
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which
were before you.
4. It is loving everyone you
come in contact with
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus replied: "'Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like
it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments."
5. It is serving God
Romans 15:17
6. It is gratefulness
SUMMARY
CHRISTIAN
HOPE COMES FROM GOD
CHRISTIAN
HOPE GROWS BY TRUSTING GOD
CHRISTIAN
HOPE BRINGS JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS POWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
CLASS
QUESTIONS
HOW
CAN HOPE OVERCOME ALL YOUR FEARS?
HOW
CAN HOPE BE THE SOLUTION TO ALL PROBLEMS?
HOW
CAN HOPE LET YOU LIVE IN JOY AND
PEACE?
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