Jesus gives us sure hope; He's like an anchor for our soul!
There are two very different meanings of the word hope.
The biblical definition of hope is “a promise in scripture yet to be fulfilled. It’s a sure hope – not a wishful hope!
In English, the word hope is rooted in a fallible person or unreliable situation or thing. It could be described as wishful thinking, a deeply held feeling that what is desired will occur. However, there is no guarantee or certainty.
A Promise Is Given; a Sure Hope - The Messiah Will Come.
The last book and final verse in the Old Testament – Malachi 4:5-6 closes with both a warning and a promise:
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers.”
Then, for about 400 long years there was silence! It seems that God did not speak and no scripture was written.
During that time, Israel fell under the control of the Greeks then the Egyptians, then Syria and finally the Romans.
After all that time, I wonder how many people were still looking for, or even aware of the promise in Malachi that God would send the prophet Elijah.
The Promise fulfilled; a Sure Hope - John Prepares the People for the Messiah
As the New Testament opens, Herod the Great, a descendant of Esau, is ruling as king of Judea. He was functioning as “king of the Jews” under the authority of the Roman republic.
In Luke 1, the account is told of a faithful, old priest named Zachariah who was married to Elizabeth. The Bible describes them as godly, devout people. Luke 1:5-6. They had tried for many years to have children, but Elizabeth remained barren and now they were well past their child-bearing years. Their hope was crushed.
But God, never forget those two words! When all hope seems lost remember – But God!
So, when the time was right, God brought about the plan he had for Jesus the Messiah to be born and Zachariah was part of the plan. He would be the father of John the Baptist whose role it would be to prepare the way for Jesus ministry.
How did God reveal His plan to Zachariah?
Zachariah was chosen to be the one to enter the temple to offer and burn incense in the Most Holy Place. It is important to know that no one could enter the Most Holy Place, except the high priest, and he could only enter on the Day of Atonement which was only once a year.
So, this was a once in a lifetime honour, quite likely the biggest event of Zachariah’s life as at this time there were many priests.
He probably wondered what it would be like to enter the holy place, and if God would have something special to say to him during this holy event.
While in the Most Holy Place, we don’t know what Zachariah prayed for specifically but most likely he prayed for the needs of the nation of Israel, which was occupied and oppressed by the hated Romans. He probably prayed for God to send the Messiah. It is not likely that he prayed for a child for himself and Elizabeth as this dream was now dead to them.
As Zachariah stood before the altar in the Most Holy Place, suddenly the angel Gabriel appeared to Zachariah to the right side of the altar. Luke 1:11-17 NLT
Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. (yes, sounds frightening!)
But the angel said,
“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.
He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.
He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah.
He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord.
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
These words of the angel Gabriel, “he will turn the hearts…”echo the last words from Malachi. A prophesy has been fulfilled.
Zachariah's Message of Sure Hope - Elizabeth will bear a son.
Did Zachariah recognize the significance of Gabriel’s message? After nearly 400 years of silence, prophecy was being fulfilled!
Zachariah must have wondered if this sort of thing happened to everyone who had the privilege of being in the Most Holy Place. What he heard was overwhelming to him!
Elizabeth is to have a son!
You are to call him John.
He will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
John will minister in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Wow, that was a lot to process! Wanting assurance of what he just heard, Zachariah questioned the angel Gabriel. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
I think it’s significant that the angel did not give him the answer. Instead, he said:
“ I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
Have you, have I, given up our dreams of having our prayers answered because we are looking at circumstances and forgetting those two powerful words – But God?
Indeed, very soon, Elizabeth conceived and a son was born to Zachariah and Elizabeth. They named him John just as the angel directed and John began his ministry preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah Jesus.
This is the good news we are called to share!
What are you hoping for? Do you have a sure hope for eternity?
In this life we all hope for some things, like buying a home, getting a good job, travelling or marrying and having a family. But hope in the worldly sense is NOT SURE.
HOPE in Jesus Christ is SURE. He came into the world to save sinners…which we all are. Sinners are spiritually dead and have no hope for eternity.
The good news is that Jesus gives us spiritual birth; everyone who has been born again by receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has a Sure Hope that they will spend eternity with Him. John 3:3-21
Have you had a spiritual birth – have you been born again? Do you have a Sure Hope for Heaven?
If not, do not delay! Time is like a vapour that disappears.
We are often reminded that time is not something that we can be sure of. We hope to live a long and healthy life but again, that is worldly hope. The reality is our life is as short as a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. This verse in James 4:14 emphasizes that human life is brief, temporary, and uncertain, like morning mist that quickly disappears, urging us to live with purpose and an eternal perspective.
To be sure, in comparison to eternity, even a long-lived life on this earth is so short it can not be measured!
Another sure fact of life that we should always keep in mind is that – at any given time our life is just one breath away from eternity.
So, if you sense God speaking to you, nudging you or convicting you of your need to be born again, don’t delay!
The Bible gives us a warning. It says in Hebrews 3.15:
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Are you trusting in good works for your salvation?
Many people mistakenly believe that their good works will give them entry into heaven. This simply is not what the Bible teaches.
In James 2:24 we read:
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
If you just read that verse alone out of the full passage, it would lead you to believe that works are a means of salvation. But, when taken in context of the entire passage, James 2:14-26, it becomes evident that James is not saying our works make us righteous before God; instead, he is making it clear that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works.
The person who claims to be a Christian, but lives in wilful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved. This is not a sure hope!
James is making a contrast between two different types of faith, true faith that saves and false faith that is dead.
In agreement with the fact that we are saved by God‘s grace alone is Titus 3:4–7:
“when God our Saviour revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Because of his grace, he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
Ephesians 2: 8-10 NIV once again establishes the fact that we are saved by God‘s grace alone.
“ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God‘s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Evidence of Salvation: Fruitfulness
Therefore good works do not contribute to salvation, but they will always be characteristic of one who has been born again. Good works are not the cause of salvation; they are the evidence of it.
So, works are the fruit of our salvation! And the really exciting part about good works is that God had them all planned for us long ago before we were born. I love that!
I pray God will show me and help me to do all that he had planned for me!
When you die, do you know for certain that you will go to heaven? You can have a SURE HOPE!
How do I know?
1 John 5:12-13 NIV says,
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God‘s son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Hebrews 6:17-19 give us an oath from God that he would never change his mind, verse 18 and 19 say:
So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence.
This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary.
Those words are full of sure hope in the biblical meaning!
