Hope - Part One: (1) Christ is Our Hope

I find that the more I think about doing this trilogy of blogs, the longer they get. I think I have to redo "Faith" - make it more readable. From now on I'm going to split these posts into three parts. I'll be reposting Faith exactly the moment I get to it.  :-) Which will be someday, eventually. Hopefully. (Ar ar ar...I kill me.)

As I said, Hope will consist of three parts. Each part will be either one post or separated points. I'll outline them here just to give you a preliminary view of how my brain works.

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Part One: 

1) Christ is Our Hope

2) We have hope through the encouragement of the Scriptures (Romans 15:4)

3) Hope springs into different things - being prepared, being purified

Part Two:

4) Hope is a mindset (1Thess. 5:8)

5) Hope is concrete through the Spirit

6) Our hope is not for earthly things, but eternal things. 

Part Three:

7) God is a God of hope

8) Our faith and hope are in God

9) Our hope is not unanswered - God has plans to fulfil our hopes

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1 Corinthians 13:13 "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; 

but the greatest of these is love."

1) Christ Is Our Hope

1 Timothy 1:1 - "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope..."

It seems fitting to me that this is number one. Especially in light of the time of year, when our thoughts are drawn to the moment Christ entered the world as a human being - when He came to earth to ultimately die for us. He came as a weak little baby, dependent for life upon another. 

"He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, He the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute." - Augustine

I'm reminded of the song "Mary, Did You Know". Did she know Christ was the hope of the world? 

Luke 1:26-35 - "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God."

I think Mary did know that the Child she was carrying was the hope of the world. When Mary is with Elizabeth and she prays to God, praising Him, it speaks so clearly of the hope she felt:

Luke 1:46-55 - "And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”" 

It was God's plan all along that Christ should be our hope. Christ is not our hope by accident, but on purpose. He planned it that way from the dawn of time.  Christ is the one God promised Adam and Eve when He said "He shall crush the serpent's head..." Adam and Eve were cursed because of their sinful disobedience, but there was hope right from the beginning. 

Let me put it this way: Christ is not only our hope, but He is our only hope. Without Christ being Who He is, without Christ doing what He did, we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins - we would all be enemies of God and destined for hell and eternal punishment. 

But Christ! Christ came down to die in order that we would be reconciled. You know the song: "In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song..."

Christ alone. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand...there is no other possible route to Heaven. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and He is our only hope. 

Psalm 71:5 "For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth."

We can each say that verse personally. It means the same to us as every other who utters it. Christ is our hope - Christ is my hope. Personally, mine. He is the hope for all of the world - the hope for all nations. 

Matthew 12:18-21 - “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,

my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to victory;

and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

We have the hope of salvation through Christ. His atoning death on the cross paid the price for all our sin. There is yet another way that Christ is our hope. 

Titus 2:11-14 - "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."

First, Jesus came to bring salvation. Second, Christ is going to come back! This is the hope we now have. Jesus will come back and purify us - we are His possessions! He is going to claim us! He has redeemed us! Praise the Lord! 

1 Peter 1:3-5 - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Our hope is living through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So, basically, our hope is going to be living as long as Christ is living. What a marvellous thought. Hope is sometimes a very fragile thing - let your hope be strengthened by knowing that Christ guards it. What Christ guards will never be lost. 

As Charles Spurgeon said: "Without Christ there is no hope." Similarly, with Christ is eternal, full hope. Be encouraged. Hope in Christ. He is worthy.