Mark these Key Words: God, Hope, Jesus
Just as a wakeboarder wakes confidently and full of excitement across the potentially perilous waters of a deep dark lake behind a $100,000.00 Super Wake Nautique, so we, as true followers of Christ grab a handle and rope of “confident hope” and move safely atop the “awe and reverence of God” in the wake of our hope in Him through the ups and downs of life.
Ephesians 1:18
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
What does it mean to have “the eyes of your heart enlightened” to the “Hope of His calling?”
Isaiah 40:31
“Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
What does it mean to “hope in the Lord?”
Why does “hoping in the Lord” renew your strength?
Romans 5: 1 & 2
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
What does it mean to you to “exult in the hope of the glory of God?”
PRODUCT WARNING! THE DANGER OF HOPE MISPLACED:
Proverbs 13:12
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
What are “hopes that disappoint” and “false hopes” that you have experienced in your past?
Why do “hopes of this world” so often fail and make your heart sick?
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
If hope in Christ is a fine gold vessel, if you melt it down, the essence of this hope is faith. Just as the essence of a steak is protein and the essence of a good apple is vitamins; the essence of hope is faith. How does faith in Jesus produce hope in your heart?
1 Peter 1:3-6
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.”
Hope has been defined as a “confident expectation” of what will be fulfilled. When you say “my hope is in you, Lord,” what does that mean and how does that hope guide your life?
How does your “hope in Christ” carry you through your life’s most difficult and hurtful days?
What challenge are you facing today that your “hope in Christ” can help you with?
APPLICATION:
How do these passages relate to me today? What changes does it bring to my life?
LOCKER ROOM:
How are you refocusing your hope today?
MEMORY VERSE:
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
MY PRAYER
Adoration: Father, today I praise You for…
Confession: Father, please forgive me for…
Thanksgiving: Father, today I’m thankful for…
Supplication: Father, the people and things that I wish to pray for today are…
