(All Scripture from NLT unless noted otherwise)
Hope is not a situation, location, occupation, possession.
It’s a person and his name is Jesus.
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.” —Genesis 3:15
I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” —Genesis 12:2-3
But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever. —Genesis 17:21
Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever. —2 Samuel 7:16
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. —Micah 5:2
“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. —Malachi 4:2
1Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.
8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.
9Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it.
10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness. —Isaiah 35:1-10
2 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, 3 “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” —Matthew 11:2-3
4 Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— 5 the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” —Matthew 11:4-5
Hope deferred is hope preferred.
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. —Titus 2:11-13 NIV
1. Be patient in the waiting.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. —2 Peter 3:8-9
2. Pursue God and others, and practice His ways.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. —I Corinthians 15:58
3. Share the good news of the Savior.
Hope is not a situation, location, occupation, possession.
It’s a person and his name is Jesus.
Study guide
- What is the most difficult thing about waiting?
- Read Titus 2 and list the things that we should be occupying our time with until the “Blessed Hope.”
- Read Hebrews 11:13,39. What does it mean they didn’t receive the promise? Why does the writer commend them?
- How have you pursued God, pursued others, and practiced His ways. Be specific.