1 Peter 1:3 “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.”
There are many things that set believers apart from this world. An important one I wanted to talk about today is HOPE. When we watch the news or hear people talking about our world today the feeling of hopelessness tries to creep in. But it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that fills every heart with living HOPE!
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
God has promised us HOPE. God always had a plan to renew us back to hope when sin came into this world, and that hope is JESUS. When Jesus died on the cross He took all of our hopelessness, our sin, and gave us hope being born again into eternal life.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Sin weighs heavy, Jesus said those who sin are slaves to sin (John 8:34) . There is no hope when our sin still has a hold on us because sin leads to death. So how do we receive this hope?
To receive this HOPE, we must believe with all our heart in the power of Jesus blood, in Gods mercy upon us. Repent, Confess our sins and Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior over our lives.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This is our hope, that in Jesus we have received the gift of eternal life. Death has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55-58) Our hope is in His victory. “Heaven on earth” is now our reality, victory after victory, glory to glory! (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Jealous of this victory is an enemy, the devil, prowling around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) seeking who he can destroy (John 10:10) It is important then we nurture our Hope with being filled with Jesus’ Holy Spirit that guides us and teaches us in Jesus’ footsteps. Fully surrendering our ways to put on a new yoke that is easy and light (Matthew 11:29), Being sanctified by truth (John 17:17-26), meditating on His words, believing in your heart His word as truth, ignoring the lies and misleading voices that want to steal your HOPE away.
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Now being filled with HOPE, as we confess and believe in Jesus’s finished work on the cross, being born again into eternal life, being cleansed, purified, and sanctified everyday as we walk closely with our Savior Jesus Christ. And to stand on the most firm foundation of truth that is never shaken when the world is shaken.
Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”