16 July, 2010
The Word of God is a collection of the most hope-filled passages ever to be recorded.
John 3:16 (NLT) says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This scripture is the anchor of our hope, the basis of all that we believe. It is the reason we can look to the future without fear and uncertainty, but with promise and expectation.
Throughout the bible, all of God’s great promises give us hope: HOPE for our past, HOPE for our everyday, and HOPE for eternity.
Hope for My Past
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He took the punishment for all of our sins. The bible clearly tells us that we are no longer slaves to sin, but that Christ died to redeem our past mistakes. He has removed our inequities as far as the East is from the West; that we might move from a place of bondage and despair into a life of freedom, and with a hope for our future.
I once heard it said that, “Grace is the way that God sees you…Hope comes by seeing ourselves the same way.”
Once we have asked Christ to live inside of us and asked for forgiveness from our past, we are covered by the grace of Jesus Christ - and to enable ourselves to hope we must recognise the enormous sacrifice He made for us. When God looks at you and me now, He doesn’t see a past sinner; He sees a new creation - a son or a daughter of the King.
People of faith MUST be people of hope. Christianity that lacks hope is faith without substance. If you have no hope, you cannot give hope; and if you cannot give hope, then you have lost sight of God.
Over 2000 years ago, Jesus died and the angel declared with confidence, “He is not here; He has risen!” Those very words cause a deep stirring in my sprit, and an unexplainable reassurance that indeed my Savior conquered the grave and bought me with the blood of Christ.
Let’s never forget the sacrifice God made for us, that we might be free from our past and look to the future with unwavering hope.
Brian
*Pastor Brian's HOPE article originally appeared in a Hillsong London publication in 2009. For part two of this article click here: HOPE Part 2 For part three click here: HOPE Part 3
For more information on Pastor Brian including resources & upcoming itinerary please visit brianandbobbie.com
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