Home Page | Calendar | Forums | Login | Turn Images On |
Home > Word > Teaching > Messages
The Kingdom of God | Repositioning | The Gospel | Biblical Heroes | Gospel of John | Hallmarked | Walking in step with the Spirit | Visiting speakers | 1 Samuel | Jabez | The Parables of Jesus

Hope (Part 3)

1 Cor 13: 13 puts faith, hope and love together; with the greatest being love, but hope and faith alongside each other.
It is because of what Jesus has done for us in living, dying, rising and ascending that we have hope. It is our privilege to be hope-full, whilst around us the world is hope-less.

For me these lines from a song by Wendy Churchill capture in a few words a great deal about hope

Jesus is king and I will extol Him
Give Him the glory, and honour His name
He reigns on high, enthroned in the heavens
Word of the Father, exalted for us
We have a hope that is steadfast and certain
Gone through the curtain and touching the throne
We have a Priest who is there interceding
Pouring His grace on our lives day by day
We come to Him, our Priest and Apostle
Clothed in His glory and bearing His name
Laying our lives with gladness before Him
Filled with His Spirit we worship the King
O Holy One, our hearts do adore You
Thrilled with Your goodness we give You our praise
Angels in light with worship surround Him
Jesus, our Saviour, forever the same

Hope is: CERTAIN … and … FUTURE-FOCUSED

Hope is centred on: THE CROSS … and … GOD’S PROMISES Hope brings: EXPECTATION … DIGNITY … and … SELF-ESTEEM   I am on a mission this morning, in which I want to focus on Abraham, but this mission is called:

Operation Restore Hope!!

Romans 4: 16-25 (New Living Translation)

So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.   Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.   Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.  

Matthew Henry Complete Commentary: Verses 17b-22

Having observed when Abraham was justified by faith, and why, for the honour of Abraham and for example to us who call him father, the apostle here describes and commends the faith of Abraham, where observe,   I. Whom he believed: God who quickeneth. It is God himself that faith fastens upon: other foundation can no man lay. Now observe what in God Abraham's faith had an eye t-o that, certainly, which would be most likely to confirm his faith concerning the things promised:-1. God who quickeneth the dead. It was promised that he should be the father of many nations, when he and his wife were now as good as dead (Heb. 11:11, 12), and therefore he looks upon God as a God that could breathe life into dry bones. He that quickeneth the dead can do any thing, can give a child to Abraham when he is old, can bring the Gentiles, who are dead in trespasses and sins, to a divine and spiritual life, Eph. 2:1. Compare Eph. 1:19, 20. 2. Who calleth things which are not as though they were; that is, creates all things by the word of his power, as in the beginning, Gen. 1:3; 2 Co. 4:6. The justification and salvation of sinners, the espousing of the Gentiles that had not been a people, were a gracious calling of things which are not as though they were, giving being to things that were not. This expresses the sovereignty of God and his absolute power and dominion, a mighty stay to faith when all other props sink and totter. It is the holy wisdom and policy of faith to fasten particularly on that in God which is accommodated to the difficulties wherewith it is to wrestle, and will most effectually answer the objections. It is faith indeed to build upon the all-sufficiency of God for the accomplishment of that which is impossible to anything but that all-sufficiency. Thus Abraham became the father of many nations before him whom he believed, that is, in the eye and account of God; or like him whom he believed; as God was a common Father, so was Abraham. It is by faith in God that we become accepted of him, and conformable to him. II. How he believed. He here greatly magnifies the strength of Abraham's faith, in several expressions. 1. Against hope, he believed in hope, v. 18.   There was a hope against him, a natural hope. All the arguments of sense, and reason, and experience, which in such cases usually beget and support hope, were against him; no second causes smiled upon him, nor in the least favoured his hope. But, against all those inducements to the contrary, he believed; for he had a hope for him: He believed in hope, which arose, as his faith did, from the consideration of God's all-sufficiency. That he might become the father of many nations. Therefore God, by his almighty grace, enabled him thus to believe against hope, that he might pass for a pattern of great and strong faith to all generations. It was fit that he who was to be the father of the faithful should have something more than ordinary in his faith-that in him faith should be set in its highest elevation, and so the endeavours of all succeeding believers be directed, raised, and quickened. Or this is mentioned as the matter of the promise that he believed; and he refers to Gen. 15:5, So shall thy seed be, as the stars of heaven, so innumerable, so illustrious. This was that which he believed, when it was counted to him for righteousness, v. 6.  And it is observable that this particular instance of his faith was against hope, against the surmises and suggestions of his unbelief. He had just before been concluding hardly that he should go childless, that one born in his house was his heir (v. 2, 3); and this unbelief was a foil to his faith, and bespeaks it a believing against hope.  2. Being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body, v. 19. Observe, His own body was now dea-ecome utterly unlikely to beget a child, though the new life and vigour that God gave him continued after Sarah was dead, witness his children by Keturah. When God intends some special blessing, some child of promise, for his people, he commonly puts a sentence of death upon the blessing itself, and upon all the ways that lead to it. Joseph must be enslaved and imprisoned before he be advanced. But Abraham did not consider this, sy katenoeµse-he did not dwell in his thoughts upon it. He said indeed, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? Gen. 17:17. But that was the language of his admiration and his desire to be further satisfied, not of his doubting and distrust; his faith passed by that consideration, and thought of nothing but the faithfulness of the promise, with the contemplation whereof he was swallowed up, and this kept up his faith. Being not weak in faith, he considered not. It is mere weakness of faith that makes a man lie poring upon the difficulties and seeming impossibilities that lie in the way of a promise. Though it may seem to be the wisdom and policy of carnal reason, yet it is the weakness of faith, to look into the bottom of all the difficulties that arise against the promise. 3. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief (v. 20), and he therefore staggered not because he considered not the frowns and discouragements of second causes; sy diekritheµ- he disputed not; he did not hold any self-consultation about it, did not take time to consider whether he should close with it or no, did not hesitate nor stumble at it, but by a resolute and peremptory act of his soul, with a holy boldness, ventured all upon the promise. He took it not for a point that would admit of argument or debate, but presently determined it as a ruled case, did not at all hang in suspense about it: he staggered not through unbelief. Unbelief is at the bottom of all our staggerings at God's promises. It is not the promise that fails, but our faith that fails when we stagger. 4. He was strong in faith, giving glory to God, enedynamoµtheµ-he was strengthened in faith, his faith got ground by exercis-rescit eundo. Though weak faith shall not be rejected, the bruised reed not broken, the smoking flax not quenched, yet strong faith shall be commended and honoured. The strength of his faith appeared in the victory it won over his fears. And hereby he gave glory to God; for, as unbelief dishonours God by making him a liar (1 Jn. 5:10), so faith honours God by setting to its seal that he is true, Jn. 3:33. Abraham's faith gave God the glory of his wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, and especially of his faithfulness, resting upon the word that he had spoken. Among men we say, "He that trusts another, gives him credit, and honours him by taking his word;" thus Abraham gave glory to God by trusting him. We never hear our Lord Jesus commending any thing so much as great faith (Mt. 8:10 and 15:28): therefore God gives honour to faith, great faith, because faith, great faith, gives honour to God. 5. He was fully persuaded that what God had promised he was able to perform, pleµrophoreµtheis-was carried on with the greatest confidence and assurance; it is a metaphor taken from ships that come into the harbour with full sail. Abraham saw the storms of doubts, and fears, and temptations likely to rise against the promise, upon which many a one would have shrunk back, and lain by for fairer days, and waited a smiling gale of sense and reason. But Abraham, having taken God for his pilot, and the promise for his card and compass, resolves to weather his point, and like a bold adventurer sets up all his sails, breaks through all the difficulties, regards neither winds nor clouds, but trusts to the strength of his bottom and the wisdom and faithfulness of his pilot, and bravely makes to the harbour, and comes home an unspeakable gainer. Such was his full persuasion, and it was built on the omnipotence of God: He was able. Our waverings rise mainly from our distrust of the divine power; and therefore to fix us it is requisite we believe not only that he is faithful, but that he is able, that hath promised. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, v. 22. Because with such a confidence he ventured his all in the divine promise, God graciously accepted him, and not only answered, but out-did, his expectation. This way of glorifying God by a firm reliance on his bare promise was so very agreeable to God's design, and so very conducive to his honour, that he graciously accepted it as a righteousness, and justified him, though there was not that in the thing itself which could merit such an acceptance. This shows why faith is chosen to be the prime condition of our justification, because it is a grace that of all others gives glory to God.  

A book that has become quite a constant companion for me during the preparation on hope has been: “Abraham: or The Obedience of Faith” by F.B. Meyer. If you want more on this passage in Romans and on the origins in Genesis then Chapter 10: “The Firmness of Abraham’s Faith” may help.

Hope and faith go hand-in-hand in this reflection on Abraham. Let’s look at this passage in some detail:   NB: most commentators estimate that the time between God’s first promise to Abraham concerning children and descendants to the birth of Isaac is about 25 years; with Abraham ageing from 75 to 100.

 Against all hope = when all natural hope was gone; contrary to the normal nature of hope; not according to reason

(Author: Keith Brockbank)

See feedback for this article

Articles in this group

Alan Scotland
Alan brings a powerful encouragement to us from the life of Moses In the desert- Moses spoke his heart to the people. Where they have come from. Where they were at. What they must give themselves to and a prophecy about their future. (Author: Alan Scotland)

Standing Firm in Your Faith
Christine encourages us to stand firm on the rock of our faith. (Author: Christine Foster)

Shining a torch on 2011
The problem we have with looking back, even on the most recent past, is that it can seem like shining a torch into a now darkened room. We see just parts of the whole, that which our minds rest on. The glow of the light also changes the reality sometimes. (Author: Tim Blake)

 Shining a light on 2012
This week I want to change my light and shine a spotlight forwards into the rest of 2012. (Author: Tim Blake)

The King is coming!
Tim Blake prepares the Church for the King's coming! (Author: Tim Blake)

Awareness Sunday
Keith brings the message of tolerance and peace right to our font door as we remember the tragedy of 9/11 and learn the lessons from it. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Our Identity in Christ
Adrian Clarke brings a challenging and thought provoking word to us on the nature and implications of our identity in Christ. (Author: Adrian Clarke)

Something to Ponder while you Eat your easter egg...
Do we take the Easter story for granted? Dave encourages us to spend time considering our response to Jesus' single-mindedness entering Jerusalem. (Author: Dave Donoghue)

A sneak Peak through the open door
Keith's purpose was to encourage and mobilise us to move forward on the next phase of our journey together. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Go make disciples- but no pressure!
SamDonoghue brings refreshing new insight to a familiar passage. Don't be fooled by what you have heard before, Matthew 28 demonstrates Jesus' heart to communicate Love and Grace even within what is so often called the 'Great Commission' (Author: Sam Donoghue)

The Big Picture
Peter brings to us a vision of the heavenly, eternal, universal Church that is God's chosen way of administering his kingdom in this world. (Author: Peter Douglas)

Watch and Pray
No-one can have observed the events of early 2011, without a sense of feeling- What does this mean? As nations seemed to rise and fall, Brian Foster brought a word to us that called us to watch and to pray. (Author: Brian Foster)

Don't wear Saul's Armour
William's uncompromising and challenging message will leave you keen to know more about this Jesus who saves and heals (Author: William Lee)

Discipleship
A look at discipleship, what it means, who it's for and how it can be applied to our lives together. (Author: Brian Foster)

A Community that grows
Peter amazed us by taking us back and bringing new insight to the passage God had shown us in Genesis 26 concerning unblocking the wells in our lives. (Author: Peter Kaunda)

A Community Resourced to Grow
Brian encourages us to dig deep in seeing the provision for all God has for us (Author: Brian Foster)

A Community that Loves
Christine Foster looks and the foundational role that Love plays in the Comuunity of God's people (Author: Christine Foster)

An Empowered community
In this the second of five sessions on the future priorities of the Church, Tim calls on God to reveal to us what it means to be a community empowered by his Holy Spirit. To be the aroma of Christ and a living letter communicationg the Gospel to all. (Author: Tim Blake)

The Journey
Keith Brockbank continues our look again at the direction God has given to the Church. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Corporate Worship
Sue encourages us to reach for a deeper life of corporate worship. (Author: Sue Blake)

Fruitfulness- Can God Furnish a Table in the wilderness?
Dave brings a message of fruitfulness to the Church Challenging us to have faith in our God who is able (Author: Dave Latham)

Hope
These notes draw together the material Keith will have shared over three sessions including at our Church weekend at Oak Hall (Author: Keith Brockbank)

The Treasure within
Tim Calls us to look at the treasure God has placed in each one of us (Author: Tim Blake)

Is Anyone Thirsty?
The harvest of souls needs water and the water comes from within us. Jesus stood up at the Feast of the Harvest and promised the Holy Spirit would flow from our very being (Author: Tim Blake)

The Gospel: Faith
This is more teaching from Ben in the Gospel teaching series, this time about the importance of Faith. (Author: Ben Benest)

The Gospel 4: A Power to believe in
June Silber reminds us of the influence we have and Don takes us to Pauls letter to the Romans to focus our examination of the Gospel on the power of God for Salvation. (Author: Don and June Silber)

Getting Closer to God 
Brian challenges both our conscience as Christians and the prevailing secular fundamentalism. with a rallying call to return to the clarity of God's Word (Author: Brian Foster)

What are we aiming for?
What is it that is foundational to our launch pad to love- Faith, a good conscience and a sincere heart. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

God is Mindful of us.
What this Psalm shows us is that God Almighty chooses YES chooses to connect His glory to the success or otherwise of the redemption of mankind. (Author: Tim Blake)

Offer your body as a Living Sacrifice
Helen Watts speaks to us clearly about the need to turn our spiritual understanding into practical sacrificial love. (Author: Helen Watts)

New Wine Skins
Sue challenges us to look at our attitudes and responsiveness to the Holy Spirit (Author: Sue Blake)

Getting it Right with God
David shows us that we can still learn a lot from the sermon on the mount. (Author: David Donoghue)

The Good Soil
Sue developed the theme of this Parable concentrating on the Good soil rather than the inadequate soil (Author: Sue Blake)

Colossians 3
Sam Donoghue speaks to us about the reality of the challenges we face in our walk with God. He shows how the apostle Paul was no less challenged and wrote the Christians in Colossae with clear guidance. (Author: Sam Donoghue)

The Grace of God
Dave Evans from Kings Community Church Basildon, provokes us to remember that the all powerful grace of God is poured on us, to encourage us into a godly life. (Author: Dave Evans)

Fruit of the Spirit: Self Control Pts 1 and 2
Sue Blake takes a radical approach focusing on our need to understand our old self is truly dead in order to know true self control. (Author: Sue Blake)

Telling the tales of God
Testimony has a Kingdom purpose. It impacts our own faith and that of others. It strengthens the weary and the strong as well as challenging the lies of our age. (Author: Tim Blake)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness 
Ben looks at the amazing quality of Gentleness as demonstrated by Jesus and hopefully in us as we see the 'harvest' of the Spirit in us (Author: Ben Benest)

The Fruit of the spirit: Kindness
Against the backdrop of early Church controversy David paints an up to date and relavent picture of a life walking in the Spirit. (Author: David Donoghue)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
Sue Blake continues our series on the fruit of the Holy Spirit looking at goodness, defining goodness as moral actions that spring from a life filled with God's Holy spirit. (Author: Sue Blake)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
Keith Brockbank shares the amazing connection between all the fruit of the Spirit. His clear and helpful message encourages us to allow the Holy Spirit to continue that work of Grace within us that will lead us to be the people God calls us to be. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

The Purpose of temptation
Steve Watts challenges us to look at how God can bring maturity and strength as we stand up to the temptation in our lives and that we can see areas of potential growth in those areas that Satan attcks us with most. (Author: Steve Watts)

Five Smooth Stones
Brian brings us timely wisdom from life of David (Author: Brian Foster)

The Fruit of the Spirit- Peace
Peace for Our Time. In 1938 Chamberlain promised Peace and failed to achieve this. Jesus promises us Peace but not as the world gives. (Author: Tim Blake)

The Fruit of The Spirit- Joy
Pete and Pat share from the word and from their life on the sustaining Joy of God (Author: Pete and Pat Garratt)

A New Season
An encouragement for the Church as the eldership is enlarged. (Author: Alan Scotland)

The Fruit of the Spirit- Love
Christine Foster begins our series on the fruit of the spirit from Galations 5, looking at Love. Christine looks at the life of Jesus as our model for love (Author: Christine Foster)

Daniel Man of God
Sue Blake reminds us of the character of the prophet Daniel a man of prayer and the word. A man prepared to stand for what he believed. (Author: Sue Blake)

For the Joy Set Before Him...
We are so tempted to believe the lie of rejection and isolation. When we look at the death of Jesus, we see someone who faced it all for us. (Author: Tim Blake)

Relational Influence
The Word of God is a mirror into which we can look and see the image that God has of us and of the world. Hudson Luwi, of Fountain of Life Church in Lusaka. Visited Living Word Community Church and spoke to us about how God reveals Himself to us (Author: Hudson Luwi)

The Pencil
Barbara talks about how a vision of our Church as a pencil can lead us to a new focus in God (Author: Barbara Brockbank)

Receiving an empowering vision
This is the second part of Keith Brockbanks encouragement for us to live with an empowering vision. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Empowering Vision
Keith Brockbank shares the amazing power and authority that God enables us to move in when we pursue His vision for the Kingdom. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

Clash of kingdoms
The Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is the backdrop for a clash of kingdoms- The kingdom of god and the ambition of men (Author: Tim Blake)

A Spade is a Spade
We continue our look at Mark's Gospel by looking at a bad week for the disciples (Author: Tim Blake)

Who am I?
The seriees on Mark's Gospel continues with a look at Mark Chapter 8 and Peter's confession of Christ. (Author: Tim Blake)

A ministry of power and authority
The next part of the series on Mark's gospel moves to examine the power ministry of Jesus Christ. (Author: Tim Blake)

Personal Effectivenessa way to personal revival
Listen as God calls us to make a Divine exchange, to leave the sin, sickness, sorrow at his feet and to walk in His forgiveness, health, and joy. (Author: Keith Brockbank)

People God Uses- Jonah
What kind of person will God use for His purposes. Ben explores this question looking at the life of Jonah. (Author: Ben Benest)

Out Of The Wilderness (Part 2)
This examination of the testing of Jesus provokes us to look at the testing in our own lives with new perspective. (Author: Sue Blake)

Out of the wilderness part 1
The first of five studies in Mark's Gospel. The message we carry is the same as John the Baptist- A voice crying in the wilderness. (Author: Tim Blake)

God's Word Living and Active
The Bible brings clear help to us in a world without clarity. (Author: Tim Blake)

Getting our Bearings
Finding our way in an increasingly hostile secular nation needs us to go back to the word to get our bearings (Author: Tim Blake)

Making a Breakthrough
David Donoghue brings a provocative short word followed by Brian Foster with a word on breakthrough. (Author: Brian Foster)

The Romans Series
The teaching to date on Paul's Letter to the Romans (Ch's 1-5) (Author: Tim Blake)

Peace with God
The wonderful promises that result from being justified by Jesus. (Author: Tim Blake)

Romans Chapter 1:20 - No Excuses
Life without Jesus can be like a doughnut- a God shaped hole we stuff with every possible rottenness to supress the truth of God. (Author: Tim Blake)

That's What Friends are For.
The one driving motivation of God is to establish friendship with His people. The one driving ambition of the enemy is to isolate us from God and each other. (Author: Tim Blake)

“Be strong and courageous…the Lord Himself goes before you'
Strength and courage Weakness and fear run like parallel tracks through my life. Yet my God says Be strong and courageous. (Author: Christina Wood)

The Fellowship of the holy Spirit
I so want to see the constant working of the Holy Spirit in my life. (Author: Tim Blake)

a Heart to Give
Look again at how you give and see if you have a heart to excel in the grace of giving. (2 Cor 8) (Author: Tim Blake)

Spritual Warfare
The topic of spritual warfare can be a mine field. So I avoid the mines by staying in the safe zone of the word of God (Author: Tim Blake)

What do you See?
A look at how we bring the vision to bear on our lives (Author: Tim Blake)

FRUITFULNESS
A look at God's plan to bless us abundantly (Author: Brian Foster)

Make Way 4 - "Make Way"
The final look at the story of Joseph looking at the work of the Holy Spirit and our need to allow Him to have complete authority. (Author: Tim Blake)

Make Way 3- Two Robes
God changes us as he changed Joseph- from a people who demand undeserved status, to a people who live out the image of Christ wearing His royal robes (Author: Tim Blake)

Make way Part 2
God is impressing His character into us as a seal into soft clay and in turn we see His kingdom grow as we press God's Character into the world around us (Author: Tim Blake)

Make Way - Joseph Restored
The first in a series on the restoration of Jopeph, that teaches us to be confident that God speaks and is building His Kingdom using us as we co-operate with Him. (Author: Tim Blake)

Vision and Values
An examination of the Vision and values of LWCC (Author: Tim Blake)

Faith Series January 2004
Tim took us through a study in Hebrews on the principles of faith. (Author: Tim Blake)

© 2013 Living Word Community Church High Accessibility Version. (Full Graphics Version)