Oakwood Church
Filled with Hope - Matthew 1:18-25
Locations & Times
Oakwood Community Church
11209 Casey Rd, Tampa, FL 33618, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
According to Psychology Today, hope is the envisioning of a better future that directly impacts the betterment of today.
The coming of Jesus to our sin-struck, broken planet is the HOPE of the whole world!
Biblical hope is an eager and expectant confidence in God to usher in the best, most God-glorifying future.
It is a state of healthy anticipation about a better future.
It is a state of healthy anticipation about a better future.
Psalm 130:5
“I QAVAH for the Lord (I wait for the Lord), and in His word I YAHAL (I hope).”
“I QAVAH for the Lord (I wait for the Lord), and in His word I YAHAL (I hope).”
Isaiah 40:31
“But they who QAVAH for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
“But they who QAVAH for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
To wait on the Lord refers to that difficult tension created by the gap between what you see right now and what God has promised to you later.
Three reasons to be filled with HOPE:
1. Our hope is in a person, not optimism.
1. Our hope is in a person, not optimism.
Optimism joyfully plays the odds of circumstances.
Hope rests on the promises of a person.
Hope is a strong confidence.
Optimism is wishful thinking.
Hope rests on the promises of a person.
Hope is a strong confidence.
Optimism is wishful thinking.
Three reasons to be filled with HOPE:
2. Our hope is in a promise, not possibilities.
2. Our hope is in a promise, not possibilities.
Hebrews 10:23
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
Matthew 1:21
“He will save His people from their sins.”
“He will save His people from their sins.”
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
~ C.S. Lewis
~ C.S. Lewis
Three reasons to be filled with HOPE:
3. Our hope is soul-satisfying, not soul-destroying.
3. Our hope is soul-satisfying, not soul-destroying.
Four-Part Progression:
1. Look up at Jesus’ perfection of hope
1. Look up at Jesus’ perfection of hope
Hebrews 12:2
“…look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame.”
“…look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame.”
Four-Part Progression:
2. Look down at our sin of despair
2. Look down at our sin of despair
Four-Part Progression:
3. Experience the Gospel applied to the sin of despair
3. Experience the Gospel applied to the sin of despair
Colossians 1:27
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Ephesians 1:14
“We were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.”
“We were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.”
God’s design for overcoming the difficulty of today is to hope in all the goodness He plans for the future. He wants us to envision the fulfillment of all His promises!
Hebrews 11:24-27
“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Hebrews 10:34
“For you had compassion on those in
prison and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you
knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”
“For you had compassion on those in
prison and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you
knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”
Four-Part Progression:
4. Extend God’s hope to others.
4. Extend God’s hope to others.