Runners (1–4). The people listed in chapter 11 are the “cloud” that witnesses to us,
“God can be trusted!
Put your faith in His Word and keep running the race!”
When you read the Old Testament, your faith should grow, for the account shows what God did in and through people who dared to trust His promises (Rom. 15:4).
When you read the Gospels, you see the greatest example of endurance in Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:4 NIV For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
The Message
Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverancethe race marked out for us,
Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
James 1:12 NIVBlessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Galatians 5:7 NIV You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Philippians 3:12-14 NIV Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Faith is confidence in God that leads to obedience to God.
True faith is based on what God says and is demonstrated in what we do.
People with faith do things for God, and God does things for them.
Faith is not a luxury; it is a necessity. It is for common people and not just great leaders.
We need faith for worshiping (v. 4) as well as for working (v. 7), walking (vv. 8–9), waiting (vv. 10–12), and warring (vv. 30–34). In any area of life where you ignore faith, you will sin (Rom. 14:23).
The Message
Hebrews 11:1-6 NIV 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
Psalms 33:6, 9 NIV 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 9 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Psalms 19:1-4 NIV The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Genesis 4:3-4 NIV In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Genesis 5:24 NIV Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
He had walked so far with God that God said you might as well come and stay at my house…
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Psalms 9:10 NIV Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalms 34:5 NIV Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
Most people understand hope as wishful thinking, as in “I hope something will happen.” This is not what the Bible means by hope. The biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation.”
The righteous who trust or put their hope in God will be helped (Psalm 28:7), and they will not be confounded, put to shame, or disappointed (Isaiah 49:23).
The righteous, who have this trustful hope in God, have a general confidence in God’s protection and help (Jeremiah 29:11) and are free from fear and anxiety (Psalm 46:2-3).
Remember:
Hebrews 11:1, 6 NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Message Theme
Romans 8:24-27 NIV
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
This is hope fulfilled
The Benefits of Christian Hope
Hope has lots of friends. It never lives alone. It comes with a happy company of other blessings and benefits. For example:
Hope Moves You Forward
The more you hope, the less you will reminisce. The more you long for the future, the less you will yearn for the past. Hope deletes regrets and underlines expectations. It will build you up, not drag you down…
Hope Energizes the Present
It is worth living today because tomorrow, the eternal tomorrow is so much brighter. Our problem is that we often see only the short-term problems but not the long-term solutions, which makes us more pessimistic than is warranted.
Hope Lightens Darkness
Hope does not deny or remove the reality of dark and painful providences. It shines a bright light into these valleys, however, and points to the sunrise at the end of them. But we don’t need to wait until heaven for hope to pay off. There are emotional, spiritual, and even physical benefits in the here and now. Expecting an event can bring as much benefit as the event itself. How much joy we are missing by not exercising hope!
Hope Increases Faith
Faith fuels hope, but hope also fuels faith.
As Hebrews 11 makes clear, hope and faith are very closely tied together, the one enlivening the other. Without faith, we cannot soar in hope, but without hope, faith will limp home. The greatest believers are the greatest hopers and vice versa.
Hope Is Infectious
Just as we can drag others down by our recriminations and moping, so we can inspire and motivate through our inspirational hoping. It not only encourages other sagging Christians, but it also affects depressed unbelievers who cannot help but ask a reason for the hope they see in us.
Hope Is Healing
The Mayo Clinic website links high levels of negativity and pessimism with increases in mortality, depression, stress, and heart disease.
Of course, pessimism is sometimes warranted and even healthy for us; we ignore warning signs at our peril. But many of us would get closer to health and balanced realism with less pessimism and greater optimism.
Hope Is Practical
Hope does not mean we just sit and wait for utopia to appear. When we hope for better days for the church, we serve the church. When we hope for the conversion of our children, we are motivated to share the gospel with them. When we hope for God’s blessing on His Word, we listen to it much more avidly. Hope produces action.
Hope Purifies
This inspires and motivates us to persevere to the end and to persevere in holiness:
Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. – 1 John 3:3
Hope Broadens the Mind
Unlike negative emotions that tend to narrow people’s outlook, potential, and possibilities, a positive emotion like hope broadens people’s minds and especially the range of possible actions they can conceive of in any particular situation. Hope makes people more receptive to ideals and more creative about producing their own. Scientists have found that students infused with a positive emotion such as hope literally see more; their peripheral vision is wider and sharper.
Hope Stabilizes in the Storm
Researchers have discovered that optimists “cope better in high stress situations and are better in high stress situations and are better able to maintain high levels of well-being during times of hardship.” Optimistic people seem to experience less pain and stress than their pessimistic peers and also tend to gain and grow more from trials.
There are forty-five drawings of anchors in one of the Christian catacombs, the caves and tunnels where Christians hid during the Roman persecutions. Hope was their anchor during those terrible, dark storms. Like the anchor, hope grabs what is out of sight. The cable of faith casts out the anchor of hope and lays hold of the steadfast rock of God’s promises.
Hope Defends
Paul also depicts hope as a defensive helmet that must not be taken off and laid aside until the battle is over. That image points us to the main area of vulnerability and danger – the mind or thoughts. That’s the key area in building up hope.
Hope defends our minds by helping us to hope, but biblical hope also protects by shielding us from unrealistic expectations.
To put it bluntly, Christian hope is not the same as the American dream.
Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Philippians 4:13 NIV I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
The Goal: Aim to please Him
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 NIV For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Remember: The honor of Christ and his church is in his ambassadors’ hands. He expects them to represent him well. People will think more highly or less highly of Christ and his church based on the effectiveness of his ambassadors’ service.
The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.
The Message
John 3:16-18 NIV 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Reminder:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
The wages of sin is [eternal] death (Romans 6:23).
The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b).
Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
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The theme of the first letter is the grace of God (5:12), and Peter tells us how to live as aliens in a hostile world. Peter opens his first epistle by reminding his readers of what God’s grace has done for them in saving them (1:1–2:10). He then points out that God’s grace helps them in various relationships of life (2:11–3:12)
Intro: Where James addressed the Jews, Peter is addressing the Gentiles.
1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (bih-thin-ee-uh) (Modern day Turkey), who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
1 Peter 1:3-9 NIV
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us:
new birth
into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade.
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you;
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power
until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Note: The new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit not human will (see Jn 3:3–8).
John 3:3 NIV. Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now:
for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Philippians 4:4-5 NIV Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Note The “soul” (GK 6034) is used in the Semitic biblical sense of “self” or “person.” Therefore the thought of this section closes with the believers’ total enjoyment in this present age of their future salvation.
Romans 8:24-25 NIV For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Living Hope
Men’s hopes are dead hopes. Like cut flowers, they bloom awhile and then fade and die (1 Pet. 1:24–25).
The Christian’s hope is fresh and fruitful because it is a “living hope” (v. 3),
It is a mirror that helps us examine ourselves (vv. 23–25) and cleanse our lives. We must do the Word of God, not just read it or study it; the blessing is in the doing.
“He is already half false who speculates on truth and does not do it. Truth is given, not to be contemplated, but to be done.” F. W. Robertson
Psalms 119 The theme of this unique psalm is the Word of God. Every verse except five (84, 90, 121, 122, 132) refers to God’s Word, what it is and what it can do in your life if you let it
The call to “do what it says” lies at the center of all that James teaches and sums up the whole book: Put into practice what you profess to believe.
James 1:22-25 NIV
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
Matthew 7:24-25 NIV “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Matthew 7:26-27 NIV But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Those who listen to the Word do so attentively and at length, so that they understand what they hear. They know what God expects them to do.
25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Joshua 1:8 NIV Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
2 Timothy 2:15 NIV Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Psalms 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
The reason for this blessing is fourfold.
(1) He “looks intently” (GK 4160) into God’s truth, a verb that described John’s act of stooping and peering into the tomb of Jesus (Jn 20:5). Here it is as though a person stoops over the Scripture, zealously searching for its message.
(2) “He continues to do this.” He is the blessed man of Ps 1 who meditates on God’s law day and night.
(3) He does not forget “what he has heard.”
(4) Most important, he puts the truth into practice.
Philippians 4:4-8 NIV 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Matthew 6:27 NIV Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
The two prayers in Ephesians complement each other. Ephesians 1:15–23 focuses on knowing what God has done for you in Christ, while 3:14–21 emphasizes experiencing His blessings.
The first is for enlightenment;
The second is for enablement.
The Reason
Ephesians 3:12-13 NIV In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
The Message
Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
Matthew 6:9-10 NIV “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Ephesians 2:19, 22 NIV 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Colossians 3:12 NIV Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— 10 the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
The four dimensions Paul now presents as the object of such perception are closely linked with the knowledge of Christ’s love. That love, exemplified in Christ’s magnanimity to the Gentiles, is too large to be confined by any geometrical measurements.
It is “wide” enough to reach the whole world and beyond (1:9–10, 20).
It is “long” enough to stretch from eternity to eternity (1:4–6, 18; 3:9).
It is “high” enough to raise both Gentiles and Jews to heavenly places in Christ Jesus (1:13; 2:6).
It is “deep” enough to rescue people from sin’s degradation and even from the grip of Satan himself
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
