The Foundations of Our Hope

I've never done a study on hope until today. I was recently asked how to help someone have hope.  That question forced me to look into what hope means.  I found a key to be in this passage:

Ephesians 2:11-12 NLT  Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.  12  In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

This verse presents the idea that there is a strong correlation between the covenant promises of God and hope.  The promises of God raise our expectations.  The promises of God fill us with hope.  No matter our present circumstance, the promises of God birth in us with joy and hope.

Romans 15:13 KJV  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT  So God has given 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 have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  19  This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

As unbelievers our hope in mankind was wounded.  We were disappointed, betrayed by our fellow man.  Promises were broken.  Those we thought were friends, wounded us. But where men are unreliable and as unstable as water in all things, God is a rock solid foundation on which to build our lives and dedicate our future hope. 

God's promises never fail us.  God's promises birth our hope. . . 

As Christians we are to be as little children, trusting and full of faith.  If I tell a small child that I am going to give them a great prize in three days.  Their excitement will know no bounds.  We must be like that.  As Christians, our hope rests on and is spawned by the promises of God.  His Word is full of promises.  This is the most certain foundation of our hope.

If you need fresh hope, fill your mind with the promises of God.

Here are promises from the book of Matthew: 

Matthew 1:21 KJV  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew 3:11 KJV  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Matthew 4:4 KJV  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:19 KJV  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Matthew 5:3 KJV  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:4 KJV  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:5 KJV  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:6 KJV  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:7 KJV  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Matthew 5:8 KJV  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:9 KJV  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Matthew 5:10 KJV  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:11 KJV  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Matthew 5:12 KJV  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:19 KJV  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:45 KJV  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 6:4 KJV  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:6 KJV  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:14 KJV  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Matthew 6:18 KJV  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:30 KJV  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Matthew 6:31-33 KJV  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 7:7 KJV  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 7:8-11 KJV  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Matthew 7:21-23 KJV  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 8:11 KJV  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 8:17 KJV  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Matthew 9:29 KJV  Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

Matthew 10:15 KJV  Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Matthew 10:19 KJV  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

Matthew 10:22-23 KJV  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Matthew 10:26 KJV  Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

Matthew 10:29-32 KJV  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:33 KJV  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:35 KJV  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Matthew 10:39 KJV  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Matthew 10:41 KJV  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

Matthew 10:42 KJV  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Matthew 11:22 KJV  But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

Matthew 11:23 KJV  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Matthew 11:24 KJV  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Matthew 11:28-29 KJV  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Matthew 11:30 KJV  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 12:31 KJV  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Matthew 12:32 KJV  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Matthew 12:36-37 KJV  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Matthew 13:12 KJV  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Matthew 13:15 KJV  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Matthew 13:41-43 KJV  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:49-50 KJV  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 16:18 KJV  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:19 KJV  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 16:27 KJV  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Matthew 17:20 KJV  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 18:4 KJV  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:11 KJV  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Matthew 18:18 KJV  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 18:19 KJV  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 18:20 KJV  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Matthew 18:35 KJV  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Matthew 19:14 KJV  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:29 KJV  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Matthew 19:30 KJV  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Matthew 20:28 KJV  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 21:21 KJV  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Matthew 21:22 KJV  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Matthew 22:30 KJV  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Matthew 23:39 KJV  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Matthew 24:13 KJV  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Matthew 24:27 KJV  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:28 KJV  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Matthew 24:29 KJV  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Matthew 24:30 KJV  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:31 KJV  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:35 KJV  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Matthew 25:21 KJV  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Matthew 25:23 KJV  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Matthew 25:31 KJV  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Matthew 25:32 KJV  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Matthew 25:33 KJV  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Matthew 25:34 KJV  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Matthew 25:40 KJV  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:41 KJV  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Matthew 25:45 KJV  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Matthew 25:46 KJV  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.