Have you Lost Hope?
Have you Lost Hope?
Hope
Hope is something we all have in many life circumstances. I’ve put hope in my wants and desires in this life and I’ve put hope in wanting my life to play out as I wanted it to.
However, most of my hopes have not worked out the way I would have wanted them to. Most in fact did not go one ounce of the way I had hoped they would.
After reading some scripture about Hope and the things we are actually suppose to put our hopes in, I realize the reason for my original selfish “wishes” did not play out. Before I had read what God had to say about Hope I was almost all out of hope for anything. I had fallen into despair and just couldn’t pull myself out of this “depression” I was experiencing. When I felt I had lost hope I became numb to this world and the people in it. Nothing seemed to astonish me anymore and I just couldn’t seem to pick myself up. That was exactly my problem. I tried to pick myself back up.
Hope
“Hope” is so important to a human Being that when it is lost, people just lay down and die.” William Frankl, the father of Logo therapy, saw this truth while in a Nazi concentration camp .Those that lost all hope of ever getting out died. Those who kept their hope and planned on what they would do when they got out lived. When hope dies in the human heart, the mind and the will to live cease functioning. God has so created us we must hope in order to live.
Hope
Hope is something we all have in many life circumstances. I’ve put hope in my wants and desires in this life and I’ve put hope in wanting my life to play out as I wanted it to.
However, most of my hopes have not worked out the way I would have wanted them to. Most in fact did not go one ounce of the way I had hoped they would.
After reading some scripture about Hope and the things we are actually suppose to put our hopes in, I realize the reason for my original selfish “wishes” did not play out. Before I had read what God had to say about Hope I was almost all out of hope for anything. I had fallen into despair and just couldn’t pull myself out of this “depression” I was experiencing. When I felt I had lost hope I became numb to this world and the people in it. Nothing seemed to astonish me anymore and I just couldn’t seem to pick myself up. That was exactly my problem. I tried to pick myself back up.
Hope
“Hope” is so important to a human Being that when it is lost, people just lay down and die.” William Frankl, the father of Logo therapy, saw this truth while in a Nazi concentration camp .Those that lost all hope of ever getting out died. Those who kept their hope and planned on what they would do when they got out lived. When hope dies in the human heart, the mind and the will to live cease functioning. God has so created us we must hope in order to live.
–(Practical Christianity by Dr. Robert Morey)
This has proven to be true in many people’s lives I know today. I’ve had friends who have tried to run their own businesses, start churches, start evangelism groups, start bible study groups, start new jobs, have several relationships, and change their major 5 or 6 times, etc and they seem to start out doing fine, and then all of a sudden they begin to loose hope and I begin to see a gradual slow downfall of their once exciting future plans. Then these future plans they had for themselves would cease to exist.
What holds for the individual also applies to a family and to a church. When people give up all hope that their family or church will succeed, that family or church will die. Bust as long as there is hope, there will be life. Thus, faith, hope, and love constitute the heartbeat of a person, a family and a church. Just as we would physically die without them, a church will spiritually die without them. The same applies to the spirit of a nation. If the “American Dream,” which is hope, ever dies, our nation will also die. – Robert Morey
This is why I believe Obama might be a decent leader for America in our present time right now. We have many differences in belief on many issues, but I will say that he is a great motivational speaker and I believe this gives American’s hope. I just hope he motivates us to have hope in the right things.
What Is the Meaning of Hope?
Even though hope is often connected with faith and love, can't confuse these three different things (1 Cor. 13)
Hope: concerns the Future (Rom. 8:23-24)
-Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Faith: Concerns the Past and Present (Rev. 1:5-6)
-and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Love: Concerns the Present (1Cor 13)
- If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong…Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, etc…and now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
While my Hopes were only “Wishes” in Greek the New Testament Hope was a word which implied absolute certainty. There was no vagueness or uncertainty connected with this word.
The New Testament word “hope” is:
The inner attitude of joyful and confident expectation and anticipation that everything God has promised in His Word will come to pass.
1.“Inner Attitude” : the way of mentally viewing and responding to life.
2.“Joyful and Confident” : Positive, victorious, assured, inspires joy, stability, etc.
3.“Expectation and Anticipation”: Plan on it and enjoy it.
4.“That everything God has promised in His Word will come to Pass”: What the Bible says about our future will happen!
Number 4. Brings me great hope. Good solid Hope. Everlasting Hope.
There are certain Attributes of Hope
Text The Attributes of Hope
Heb 7:19 A Better Hope (so that we can draw nearer to God)
1st Peter 1:3 A living Hope (Christ gave us New Hope)
Titus 2:13 A Blessed Hope (for his glorious appearance)
1 John3:2-3 A Purifying Hope (We will be as He is)
2 Thes. 2:16 A Good Hope (given to us by His grace)
1 Tim. 1:1 A Christ-centered Hope
(One in which made my hopes mere wishes)
Rom. 5:5 A hope which does not Disappoint
(because he poured love into our hearts.)
Heb. 6:18 A hope set Before Us (In the Gospel) (Col 1:23)
1 Cor. 13:13 An Abiding Hope
What’s some fruit that comes from Hope? How does this Help us live a Christian life? How does this Help us in practical Living circumstances? What does Hope Bring?
A Christian Hope produces Perseverance and steadfastness in the face of trials, tiredness, and temptation. Hope is the thing we cling tight to when we run out of money, when trials become overwhelming, when work has us bogged down, when nothing seems worth living for, etc. When we are against all hope, we can hope and believe. We can be fully persuaded that God has power to do what He has Promised to do. As did Abraham in Rom 4:18. We also can have endurance in these times because of our hope in our Creator! Like in 1 Thess. 1:3
( Rom. 4:18; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Thess. 2:16-17; Heb. 3:6; 6:7-12; 18-20; 10:23)
Why do people stop growing and going in the Christian Life?
Answers:
Trials: Personal, Family, Church, Financial, etc.
Tiredness: Physical, emotional, spiritual (in which I feel school and work make me)
Temptation: To pursue personal pleasure, wealth, fame, acceptance of the world, etc.
Why should Trials, tiredness or temptations affect us?
Answer:
When we become “self-centered” and begin to dwell on present problems instead of dwelling on future blessings, and build our security and joy around temporal objects or people, the grace of hope withers within us.
Since perseverance and steadfastness depend on a strong living hope in which our view of the future affects the way we respond to the present, a weakened hope will weaken our dedication to persevere in the Christian life.
What is the goal of life itself? For what should I live for?
Answer: The Glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)
A. The development of Christ-like character qualities in my life (Rom. 8:29; Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Pet. 1:3-9: Matt. 5:3-16, etc.)
B. Hope is essential to the development of our character (Rom 5:205).
C. He fruit of the Spirit comes from hope (joy, peace, faith: Rom. 15:13 Col. 1:4-5)
D. The ability to rejoice in the Midst of trials comes from hope (Rom. 5;2-3; 12:12; James 1:2)
E. Boldness in our witness comes from hope (2 Cor. 3:12; 1 Pet. 3:15)
F. We should derive strong encouragement from our hope (Heb. 6:18)
G. Hope is our helmet in the armor of God (1 Thess. 5:8) No wonder I felt depressed I had a piece of my own armor missing. The arrows of the enemy were getting intense.
Hope Gives us the Power to live the Christian Life!!
The Focus of Hope
To what does hope look? Just as faith can focus on the past and love will focus on the present Hope should focus on the Future.
The future meaning things unseen and experienced.
Some of our Future Blessings
1. Revelation (Rom. 8:19)
2. Liberation (Rom. 8:19-21)
3. Vindication (Rom. 8:23)
4. to look forward to the future (Rom8:23)
a. Our resurrection (Acts23:6; 24:15; 26:6-7)
b. Eternal Life (Titus 1:2; 3:7)
5. Justification (Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:9)
6. Glorification (Col. 1:27; Rom. 8:30)
The Glorious return of Christ
This is the basis of Our hopes
What do we base our hope on? What are the grounds of our hope? Where is the warrant for our hope?
It is sadly possible to have ill founded hopes (Matt 7:21-23)
“A mere profession of faith is sufficient.”
“MY religious works will get me to Heaven.”
“There is no need for a personal relationship with Christ”
It is possible to have a firm and secure hope (Heb. 6:19)
We must have our hopes on the following:
reliable document: The word of God, Scripture, The gospel, the word of truth (Col. 1:5, 23; Titus 1:2-3)
A Historical Guarantee: Christ’s resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3, 21; Acts 17:30-31)
How can we increase Our Hope?
Realize that God wants you to “overflow” with hope. There are degrees of hopefulness. We should strive to increase hope within us. (Rom 15:13) The more we know of God’s Promises the more our Hope will increase, the more we see God come to answer past promises, the more hope we can have in Him. We need the Holy Spirit for this to happen within us.
Recognize that all well-grounded hope comes from God. Thus you must look to the God from whom hope comes. (Rom 15:13) “The God of Hope”
“O, God of Hope, make me to abound in hope. Increase the amount of hope within me.”
In faith, ask God for the filling of the Spirit (Rom 15:13)
As “endurance” or Perseverance” in the Christian life arises of hope, your endurance of trials, tiredness and temptations will, in turn, give rise to more hope. (Rom15:4)
We must also find encouragement from the scriptures.
Encouragement meaning to take someone aside to give them comfort or consolation.
How can scripture encourage us?
. By knowing that even though we are unfaithful to God His faithfulness does not depend on us.
I always find it relieving when reminded of man’s fickleness—the best saints had besetting sins which they never conquered. I call them (Dog Sins) the ones that keep returning and I just never seem to be able to KICK!!! Some scriptures examples include:
Abraham’s problem: Lying
David’s Problem: Lust
Peter’s Problem: Cowardice
Paul’s Problem: anger
No one in the Bible was considered Perfect except Jesus Christ Himself. Paul, David, Peter and Abraham never reached perfection. They never reached a sinless life as Christ was. They strived for this life however they still had their struggles.
CONCLUSION
Only Biblical Christianity can give us a well-grounded and secure hope concerning the future. Western culture has reaped untold benefits from the scriptural hope that good will triumph over evil in the end; the wicked will be punish and the righteous vindicated and rewarded; and that justice will triumph in the end. The only alternative is the ugliness of existentialism, which has the evil triumphing over the good, the wicked set free and the righteous destroyed. Hopelessness and despair are the only things which humanism offers us.
As Christians, we know that we shall live “happily ever after” We look forward to a new earth wherein no evil shall dwell.
But the non-Christian does not have any well-grounded hopes for the future. He can look forward only to what Heb. 10:27; 29, 31, 12:29, describes.
We need a mighty hope which enables us to face anything in this life because we know what life to come will bring. – Robert Morey; Practical Christianity
So this may also conclude that non-believers have no real hope in anything if they do not know God. SO therefore we must give them reason for the hope we have in Christ. Know the Word of God, and live like Christ. Give them hope. If you do not hope in God’s promises and proclaim God to them who will?
People Do not give up Hope. If you are having any type of problem with this I would like to talk to you about it. I have been there. I have experience many nights where I had lost all hope in life, in myself, and in people. It was the most depressing consecutive ways of thinking I have ever experienced. I realized that I wasn’t putting my hope in God I was putting hope in EVERYTHING else, and all was failing me. I didn’t know who to trust or who to turn to. Please read the scriptures I have referenced all in which will replenish the lost hope you may have.
Thanks for reading. I hope this lesson really opened your eyes as it did mine.
- Brittany
This lesson was mostly taken from Practical Christianity By Dr. Robert Morey. If you like the flow of things you should check this book out for it is a great resource in things pertaining to Christianity. He is a preacher from California from a church called Faith Defenders. He is a great author and really just makes information understandable. He makes it easy to learn new things and He really studies and knows a lot.
http://www.faithdefenders.com/
you can purchase any of his books on this website.
This has proven to be true in many people’s lives I know today. I’ve had friends who have tried to run their own businesses, start churches, start evangelism groups, start bible study groups, start new jobs, have several relationships, and change their major 5 or 6 times, etc and they seem to start out doing fine, and then all of a sudden they begin to loose hope and I begin to see a gradual slow downfall of their once exciting future plans. Then these future plans they had for themselves would cease to exist.
What holds for the individual also applies to a family and to a church. When people give up all hope that their family or church will succeed, that family or church will die. Bust as long as there is hope, there will be life. Thus, faith, hope, and love constitute the heartbeat of a person, a family and a church. Just as we would physically die without them, a church will spiritually die without them. The same applies to the spirit of a nation. If the “American Dream,” which is hope, ever dies, our nation will also die. – Robert Morey
This is why I believe Obama might be a decent leader for America in our present time right now. We have many differences in belief on many issues, but I will say that he is a great motivational speaker and I believe this gives American’s hope. I just hope he motivates us to have hope in the right things.
What Is the Meaning of Hope?
Even though hope is often connected with faith and love, can't confuse these three different things (1 Cor. 13)
Hope: concerns the Future (Rom. 8:23-24)
-Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Faith: Concerns the Past and Present (Rev. 1:5-6)
-and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Love: Concerns the Present (1Cor 13)
- If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong…Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, etc…and now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
While my Hopes were only “Wishes” in Greek the New Testament Hope was a word which implied absolute certainty. There was no vagueness or uncertainty connected with this word.
The New Testament word “hope” is:
The inner attitude of joyful and confident expectation and anticipation that everything God has promised in His Word will come to pass.
1.“Inner Attitude” : the way of mentally viewing and responding to life.
2.“Joyful and Confident” : Positive, victorious, assured, inspires joy, stability, etc.
3.“Expectation and Anticipation”: Plan on it and enjoy it.
4.“That everything God has promised in His Word will come to Pass”: What the Bible says about our future will happen!
Number 4. Brings me great hope. Good solid Hope. Everlasting Hope.
There are certain Attributes of Hope
Text The Attributes of Hope
Heb 7:19 A Better Hope (so that we can draw nearer to God)
1st Peter 1:3 A living Hope (Christ gave us New Hope)
Titus 2:13 A Blessed Hope (for his glorious appearance)
1 John3:2-3 A Purifying Hope (We will be as He is)
2 Thes. 2:16 A Good Hope (given to us by His grace)
1 Tim. 1:1 A Christ-centered Hope
(One in which made my hopes mere wishes)
Rom. 5:5 A hope which does not Disappoint
(because he poured love into our hearts.)
Heb. 6:18 A hope set Before Us (In the Gospel) (Col 1:23)
1 Cor. 13:13 An Abiding Hope
What’s some fruit that comes from Hope? How does this Help us live a Christian life? How does this Help us in practical Living circumstances? What does Hope Bring?
A Christian Hope produces Perseverance and steadfastness in the face of trials, tiredness, and temptation. Hope is the thing we cling tight to when we run out of money, when trials become overwhelming, when work has us bogged down, when nothing seems worth living for, etc. When we are against all hope, we can hope and believe. We can be fully persuaded that God has power to do what He has Promised to do. As did Abraham in Rom 4:18. We also can have endurance in these times because of our hope in our Creator! Like in 1 Thess. 1:3
( Rom. 4:18; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Thess. 2:16-17; Heb. 3:6; 6:7-12; 18-20; 10:23)
Why do people stop growing and going in the Christian Life?
Answers:
Trials: Personal, Family, Church, Financial, etc.
Tiredness: Physical, emotional, spiritual (in which I feel school and work make me)
Temptation: To pursue personal pleasure, wealth, fame, acceptance of the world, etc.
Why should Trials, tiredness or temptations affect us?
Answer:
When we become “self-centered” and begin to dwell on present problems instead of dwelling on future blessings, and build our security and joy around temporal objects or people, the grace of hope withers within us.
Since perseverance and steadfastness depend on a strong living hope in which our view of the future affects the way we respond to the present, a weakened hope will weaken our dedication to persevere in the Christian life.
What is the goal of life itself? For what should I live for?
Answer: The Glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)
A. The development of Christ-like character qualities in my life (Rom. 8:29; Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Pet. 1:3-9: Matt. 5:3-16, etc.)
B. Hope is essential to the development of our character (Rom 5:205).
C. He fruit of the Spirit comes from hope (joy, peace, faith: Rom. 15:13 Col. 1:4-5)
D. The ability to rejoice in the Midst of trials comes from hope (Rom. 5;2-3; 12:12; James 1:2)
E. Boldness in our witness comes from hope (2 Cor. 3:12; 1 Pet. 3:15)
F. We should derive strong encouragement from our hope (Heb. 6:18)
G. Hope is our helmet in the armor of God (1 Thess. 5:8) No wonder I felt depressed I had a piece of my own armor missing. The arrows of the enemy were getting intense.
Hope Gives us the Power to live the Christian Life!!
The Focus of Hope
To what does hope look? Just as faith can focus on the past and love will focus on the present Hope should focus on the Future.
The future meaning things unseen and experienced.
Some of our Future Blessings
1. Revelation (Rom. 8:19)
2. Liberation (Rom. 8:19-21)
3. Vindication (Rom. 8:23)
4. to look forward to the future (Rom8:23)
a. Our resurrection (Acts23:6; 24:15; 26:6-7)
b. Eternal Life (Titus 1:2; 3:7)
5. Justification (Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:9)
6. Glorification (Col. 1:27; Rom. 8:30)
The Glorious return of Christ
This is the basis of Our hopes
What do we base our hope on? What are the grounds of our hope? Where is the warrant for our hope?
It is sadly possible to have ill founded hopes (Matt 7:21-23)
“A mere profession of faith is sufficient.”
“MY religious works will get me to Heaven.”
“There is no need for a personal relationship with Christ”
It is possible to have a firm and secure hope (Heb. 6:19)
We must have our hopes on the following:
reliable document: The word of God, Scripture, The gospel, the word of truth (Col. 1:5, 23; Titus 1:2-3)
A Historical Guarantee: Christ’s resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3, 21; Acts 17:30-31)
How can we increase Our Hope?
Realize that God wants you to “overflow” with hope. There are degrees of hopefulness. We should strive to increase hope within us. (Rom 15:13) The more we know of God’s Promises the more our Hope will increase, the more we see God come to answer past promises, the more hope we can have in Him. We need the Holy Spirit for this to happen within us.
Recognize that all well-grounded hope comes from God. Thus you must look to the God from whom hope comes. (Rom 15:13) “The God of Hope”
“O, God of Hope, make me to abound in hope. Increase the amount of hope within me.”
In faith, ask God for the filling of the Spirit (Rom 15:13)
As “endurance” or Perseverance” in the Christian life arises of hope, your endurance of trials, tiredness and temptations will, in turn, give rise to more hope. (Rom15:4)
We must also find encouragement from the scriptures.
Encouragement meaning to take someone aside to give them comfort or consolation.
How can scripture encourage us?
. By knowing that even though we are unfaithful to God His faithfulness does not depend on us.
I always find it relieving when reminded of man’s fickleness—the best saints had besetting sins which they never conquered. I call them (Dog Sins) the ones that keep returning and I just never seem to be able to KICK!!! Some scriptures examples include:
Abraham’s problem: Lying
David’s Problem: Lust
Peter’s Problem: Cowardice
Paul’s Problem: anger
No one in the Bible was considered Perfect except Jesus Christ Himself. Paul, David, Peter and Abraham never reached perfection. They never reached a sinless life as Christ was. They strived for this life however they still had their struggles.
CONCLUSION
Only Biblical Christianity can give us a well-grounded and secure hope concerning the future. Western culture has reaped untold benefits from the scriptural hope that good will triumph over evil in the end; the wicked will be punish and the righteous vindicated and rewarded; and that justice will triumph in the end. The only alternative is the ugliness of existentialism, which has the evil triumphing over the good, the wicked set free and the righteous destroyed. Hopelessness and despair are the only things which humanism offers us.
As Christians, we know that we shall live “happily ever after” We look forward to a new earth wherein no evil shall dwell.
But the non-Christian does not have any well-grounded hopes for the future. He can look forward only to what Heb. 10:27; 29, 31, 12:29, describes.
We need a mighty hope which enables us to face anything in this life because we know what life to come will bring. – Robert Morey; Practical Christianity
So this may also conclude that non-believers have no real hope in anything if they do not know God. SO therefore we must give them reason for the hope we have in Christ. Know the Word of God, and live like Christ. Give them hope. If you do not hope in God’s promises and proclaim God to them who will?
People Do not give up Hope. If you are having any type of problem with this I would like to talk to you about it. I have been there. I have experience many nights where I had lost all hope in life, in myself, and in people. It was the most depressing consecutive ways of thinking I have ever experienced. I realized that I wasn’t putting my hope in God I was putting hope in EVERYTHING else, and all was failing me. I didn’t know who to trust or who to turn to. Please read the scriptures I have referenced all in which will replenish the lost hope you may have.
Thanks for reading. I hope this lesson really opened your eyes as it did mine.
- Brittany
This lesson was mostly taken from Practical Christianity By Dr. Robert Morey. If you like the flow of things you should check this book out for it is a great resource in things pertaining to Christianity. He is a preacher from California from a church called Faith Defenders. He is a great author and really just makes information understandable. He makes it easy to learn new things and He really studies and knows a lot.
http://www.faithdefenders.com/
you can purchase any of his books on this website.
posted by Brittany @ 9:21 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
One of my favorite scriptures that gives me hope when I can not see where my life is headed.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
As Christians hope should mean soo much more to us. Jesus died so we might have a better life that is fully fulfilled in him. We do not have to hope for a better life. God had a plan to give us hope and It was bought and paid for by Jesus' blood. All we have to do is accept that he is in control and realize that no matter what happens in our lives that God has a plan...
Good stuff Brittany
Josh
Yeah, don't let the fact that Robert A. Morey is in gross sin, bother any ones conscience when reading his books.
http://moreylinks.blogspot.com/
May the Lord have mercy on him!
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (by not being a doer of God's WORD!). ~Jude 4
yeah, that website that Gadfly J posted was a sham! Those video's and what not were totally taken out of context. I actually have that cd. It's pretty sad when well informed scholars get slandered. But I guess it happened to all the reformers in their day too. Anyway, good article on Hope. During these times it seems like hope is an illusion. So why haven't you written an article in the past 2 months? You started writing then you stopped.
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