Uplifting Insights: Basis For Believers' Hope

Uplifting Insights: Basis For Believers' Hope: Psalm 22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring...But thou ar...

Basis For Believers' Hope

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring...But thou are holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee; they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

This is the second of our series on Biblical Hope with our focus is answering the question, What is the basis of believers' hope? Let's begin by reflecting on King David and this Psalm where we see his cry for help as he is experiencing despair. King David himself reflected on Israel's past where his forefathers trusted God for their deliverance and was sure that God would delivers him. God delivers both then and now.

That being said, the basis for believers' hope is found in God Himself because He is trustworthy and it is His nature. God can do anything but fail. Trust Him for deliverance. Believers' hope is found in Jesus Christ our Savior and the holy scriptures which provides a plethora of evidence of God's trustworthiness and faithfulness to His promises. Who can forget God delivering the young nation if Israel when they were trapped with Pharaoh and his army behind and the Red Sea in front. God made a highway of dry land for them to cross and then folded the Red Sea to drown Pharaoh's army.

Additionally, believer's trust is found in Jesus Christ our Savior who suffered bled and died on the cross at Calvary taking away the sins of the world. Christ being the Son of God  who came to earth to destroy the evil works of Satan (1 John 3:8). Destroy them He did. These questions come to mind, Why not trust Christ our Savior who redeem us from the bondage of sin and Satan's control? Why not trust the person who has control over both sin and death? Why not trust in the one who is our high priest constantly making intercessions on our behalf? Why not trust in the one person who is coming again to take His bridge home with Him? Lastly, why not trust in the one who can heal all manner of sickness and diseases? Christ is our hope as He has begotten us from the dead through His resurrection (1 Peter 1:3).

Let us look at God's Word as the third and final basis of believers hope as scripture reveals God and His holiness as recorded by the prophets and the apostles. Scriptures were written as inspired by God Himself and is without error and is the final authority. Furthermore, His Words are eternal and stand firm in the heavens (Psalm 119:89); therefore, believers must place our hope in God's Word as they are true and will stand forever. God gave His Word for our benefit as they provide instructions on how to live in holiness with Him. Most importantly, scriptures reveals everything that is to be known about God Himself and  His Son Jesus Christ.

We can conclude then, believers have three principal foundations in which our hope is based upon and they are (a) God the Father, (b) Jesus Christ the Son our Savior and (c) the holy scriptures.

Believers have a sure foundation.

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Biblical Hope

Psalm 34:18-19

The Lord is nigh unto them tat are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be the of contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Today is the first of a three part series on Biblical Hope that will be discussed from (1) the definition of Biblical hope, (2) what is the basis of the believer's hope, and (3) what are the content of believers' hope.

That being said, the Bible defines hope as a firm confident in God about the future (Romans 8:24-25), which is based on God's promises and He is faithful to His promises. Biblical hope is looked upon as being linked inseparately with faith (Romans 15:13; Hebrews 11:1) and a confidence in God as outlined in Psalm 33:21-22, which states, For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let thy mercy,  O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. What these verses are saying to all is all believers' hope is found in God as He is the anchor for believers as we live this life here on earth with an assurance that we will one day live in eternity with Him.

That said, let's look at the definition of hope as defined in the Student Bible Dictionary (P. 115), which in a word coincide with the above definition by stating, hope is a belief in God  that He will accomplish what He has promised. Christian hope is never wishful thinking, but it is a divine certainty. Merriam-Webster School Dictionary (P. 422) defines hope as trust, reliance such as in the Lord. It is a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.

We can conclude, from the above definitions believers' hope is grounded in the Lord and is assured based on His trustworthiness and faithfulness to His promises. Biblical hope is an assurance of a future event, or an outcome; man's hope is a desire for the future.

Biblical hope is different from man's hope. Where is your hope?

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Persevering Through Faith

Ephesians 6:18

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Prayer has a long history in the lives of humanity and is effective when done is honesty as it is part of the believer's warfare against Satan and his army. As sincere prayers are made by believers and in unity Satan become frighten as he know he is a defeated foe because the believer and God are in union against him.

As stated in James 5:16 "prayers of the righteous availeth much" is true because God hears and answers the prayers of His people as He looks at the heart and knows the sincerity of the prayer. Paul's encouraging believers to pray constantly and make supplications unto the Lord while linking our spirit with God's Spirit is powerful.

In our efforts to persist in faith we will be tested by the Goliaths in our lives, but what we must do is face them with faith in God, trust in our Savior Jesus Christ and the confidence of victory through the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is because the God of all creation is more powerful than any god of this world. This was David's philosophy.

Let me encourage you to face the Goliaths in your life because we have victory through Christ our Savior.

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Walk In Love

Ephesians 5:1-2

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath given Himself for us and offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.

In Paul's message to the Ephesians believers he is encouraging them to walk in the love of Christ as it emulates Christ and His love for them. Paul also tells the Ephesians' believers why Christ sacrificed His life on the cross at Calvary was so that God the Father would smell the sweet savor of His Son's righteousness in every believer. Paul's message is true today.

These questions come to mind, Are you walking in the light and love of Christ? If so, do the world see the holiness of our Savior in you? Are you walking worthy of Christ atoning work on Calvary's cross providing salvation to all who believe being that He paid our sin debt? Walking in the light and love of Christ expresses our gratitude for Christ being our Savior.

Walk worthy in love.

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Put On The Yoke Of Salvation

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

This is Jesus' invitation for all those who are burden down with the troubles of life and by the human nature of our own lives. By accepting Jesus' invitation, the person is assured of being given rest from his or her burdens and will find peace as well as guidance from the Holy Spirit who will lead the person through life as He calms the troubled waters of one's soul.

It is noteworthy to say that by accepting Jesus' invitation, the person is committing to obeying Jesus and His direction as well as becoming a servant of God. In doing so the person make God the head of his or her life then life's troubles become of little to no worry because the indwelling Holy Spirit is there to lighten the load.

Believers are encouraged to cast all their cares upon the Lord for He is willing to take care of them (1 Peter 5:7). Take God at His Word. He never fails.

Put on the yoke of salvation and let Jesus' Spirit the Holy Spirit carry the load.

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The Chosen Of God

John 15:16

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.

Our scripture text makes a powerful statement in regards to believers being the chosen of God. This verse makes it very plain that we as believers were chosen and ordained by God as His special people for a special purpose, which is through our powerful witnessing we bring others to Christ. It is noteworthy to say that as we witness Christ we are operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. He gives believers the boldness needed to stand firm in the face of opposition while witnessing Christ.

Believers' fruit bearing is our spiritual virtues as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23. This is because the Holy Spirit refreshes us daily with a fresh supply of God's love and the ability to be tolerant of others. Just as God is longsuffering with us we must also be with our fellowman. This is fruit bearing.

The overall purpose of believers being fruit bearers is the conversion of lost souls to Christ (John 4:36; 12:24). This is kingdom building. Let's be reminded of Christ's earthly ministry where He stated the well didn't need a doctor, but the sick does. The spiritually sick still needs Dr. Jesus-He is still healing sick souls.

Believers, we are chosen and ordained by God to convert the sin sick of this world.

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A Call To Worship

Psalm 95:1-8

O come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our Salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

This psalm is a call to worship the One true and living God who created the heavens and earth with a heart that is obedient to Him and with expressions of gratitude for what the Lord has done in the lives of humanity.
Let's answer an implied question of God's goodness to all mankind, and they are:
a) Man was created in God's imagine and likeness. This means that mankind has a will, emotions, and a soul. God breathed the breath of life into man and he became a living soul. Man was created to be in fellowship with God our creator and sustainer. Sin destroyed that fellowship.
b) God's love for man would not allow man to remain in a fallen state; therefore, He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to pay man's sin-debt. Whosoever accept Jesus as Lord and Savior shall have eternal life (John 3:16). Our sins have been forgiven.
c) God provides for all our needs both physical and spiritual (Ephesians 4:19). Regardless of our anxieties, troubles and or concerns, God asks that we cast them all at His feet (1 Peter 5:7).

God's spiritual invitation remains open for all mankind. He continues to ask "the day you hear My voice harden not your heart" (v. 8). Given all God has done and continues to do in the lives of man, then why not worship the Lord. He is worthy of all worship, praises and honor. Therefore, let us come before the Lord in sincere worship.

Come let us worship the Lord our God.

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Members Of Christ's Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

In Paul's message to the Corinthians' believers he was explaining the spiritual gifts in the body of Christ which he compared to the physical body as it is comprised of many different parts that work in harmony with each other. This true of the body of Christ because if the body consisted of only heads then how would it move from place to place? That being said, it matters not if one believer is a hand or feet, eye, mouth, ears, or nose we are all members of Christ's body.

That being said, every member of the body operates in the Spirit of Christ as He is the head of the church and all believers are baptized into one body-Christ's body the church. It is also noteworthy to say, there is not separation of nationalities Jew or Gentile as we all are one in Christ and have come to Him by the same method-faith in Him.

Let's close by saying, believers being members of Christ's body is to glorify Him as we work together in harmony as the Godhead does.

A Unified body in Christ.

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Love

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life; For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

Our New Year's message focused on our Renewed Commitment to Christ, but today's focus is love, and we will look at love from God's point of view in that He loved mankind to the point that He gave His very best to redeem man from his fallen state of affairs. God the Father gave His Son; the Son Jesus Christ gave His life and the God the Holy Spirit resides in every believer directing his or her path to heaven. It is through Christ's atoning death on the cross man sin debt is marked PAIN IN FULL. What love!

In God's display of His agape love He provides several assurances that all believers have for accepting His love gift of salvation, which are: (a) they shall not perish, (b) believers will have everlasting life which is living forever in the presence of God. God's promises are sure.

God's love is all inclusive (whosoever), meaning it is not for a select few, but for everyone who believe in Jesus Christ. That being said, your sins cannot be too great that His love cannot reach you and neither can you fall too far that His arms cannot reach down and pick you up.

God's hand of love is reaching out to you; respond by saying yes Lord I love You. I accept Your love gift of salvation.

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