1. April 3, 2016 Strengthening Hope

2. Hope  Definition: An expectation of a desired, positive outcome  Something that we need to continue living and going forward  1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

3. Faith, Hope and Love  God’s Love is the starting point  Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  This gives us hope which produces faith – and we respond by believing and trusting (faith) in God for forgiveness of sins (which gives more hope)  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,

4. Faith, Hope and Love  Colossians 1:5 - the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel  God’s forgiveness and love give us hope which then causes love and faith to grow in us  Faith is a strong trust that God is faithful to his promises  Heb 11:1 - Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

5. Jesus is the God of Hope!  Bible has so many examples: Peter, Joseph, Abraham, Sarah, Hannah and certainly Jesus  Jesus is still giving hope today

6. War Against Hope  As we saw last week there are many things that can bring us down  Disappointment  Failures  Death  Satan is an enemy who is trying to destroy us  1 Peter 5:8 - Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

7. Strengthening Hope  Proper Focus  Recite Your Blessings  Glory in your Sufferings  Listen to God’s works in Others  Pray

8. Proper Focus  Hope always has a source – We hope IN something  Has to be the proper source  Ps 33:17 - A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.  Proverbs 11:7 - Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.  God is the only source that will not fail us and our focus should be on him  Psalm 25:3 - No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame

9. God has proved his faithfulness  Ps 65:5 - You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,  Romans 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.”  Jesus – Mark 10:32-35 - Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

10. Recite Your Blessings  Ps 42:5 - Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Jer 14:22 - Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.  Thankfulness Journal

11. Glory In Your Sufferings  Not an easy one  Romans 5:3-5 - Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  Perspective of growth – suffering -> perseverance -> character -> hope

12. Listen To God’s Works In Others  Rom 15:4 - For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.  Read Scripture  Listen to / ask others about God’s work in their lives  Tell others about God’s work in your life

13. Pray  Eph 1:18 - I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,  We need God’s help to see spiritually and know deep inside the hope he has called us to  Adoption as God’s children  Eternal life – relationship with God  Living in his love, rest, enjoyment and presence forever

14. Strengthening Hope  Proper Focus  Recite Your Blessings  Glory in your Sufferings  Listen to God’s works in Others  Pray