Abundant Hope Rom. 15:13 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
With our abundant life in Christ we are also given abundant hope. This is not a hope that is based on a chance. This is hope established on the words of God. We have abundant hope:
In eternal life – Titus 1:2 – eternal life has been promised to us by God, who cannot lie. Therefore, when you consider or face death, you are not hoping to go to heaven as if you are not sure. You are hoping to go to heaven in that you are absolutely sure. This certain hope gets you through the transition from this life to the next without fear.
In the promises of God – Rom 4:16-18 – God had promised Abraham and Sarah a child. They were too old to have a child. Yet, they hoped against hope that Sarah would conceive and bear a child and she did. It wasn’t their hope [wishful thinking or belief in themselves] that brought Isaac. It was the promise of God that Isaac would be born. They hoped in that promise despite their lack of hope in themselves. Faith is the substance of things hoped for [Heb 11:1]. You can count on every promise that God gave you in this Bible.
In the glory of God – Rom 5:3-5 – the Christian life, when lived purely and genuinely, involves suffering and tribulation. Our hope that we will be glorified together with Christ [Rom 8:17-18] is what gets us through the tribulation and suffering. See also Rom 8:24-26. We can take the suffering when we are certain that it ends in glory.
In the fruitfulness of God’s word – 1 Cor 9:10 – sowing the word of God yields a harvest. And that harvest is eventually reaped. God’s word never returns void. You can sow the words of God through distribution and preaching with absolute confidence that God’s words bear fruit. That hope keeps us sowing even when we don’t see the results.
In God’s calling – Eph 1:18; 4:4 – when you do what God called you to do, your work will turn out right. See also Phil 1:20. People are often too worried about duplicating a successful man’s work in their own ministry. And they can feel like a failure if they don’t accomplish what he did by the same means. This is a grave mistake. God called you to perform a specific duty a specific way. And when you do, the hope of your inheritance is sure. The hope of your calling is what helps you to be content doing what God wants you to do.
In Jesus Christ – Col 1:27, Titus 2:13 – Jesus Christ is in you. He is the hope of glory. And he is coming back. He is our blessed hope. No matter how bad things get on earth you have all the hope you need when you have Jesus on the inside of you. And no matter how bad things get, you have continual hope when you know he’s coming back to get us out of here.
Conclusion: In Christ, we don’t just have hope; we have abundant hope!