Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:12-13).
Trifecta is defined as a series of three things, factors, or influences. The Holy Influences the Bible lists are faith, hope, and love. While the greatest of these is love, the root is hope.
There is a story from Our Daily Bread, December 19, 1996, that reads:
The English poet Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest.” But where does man turn when hope dries up?
The director of a medical clinic told of a terminally ill young man who came in for his usual treatment. A new doctor who was on duty said to him casually and cruelly, “You know, don’t you, that you won’t live out the year?”
As the young man left, he stopped by the director’s desk and wept. “That man took away my hope,” he blurted out.
“I guess he did,” replied the director. “Maybe it’s time to find a new one.”
What was this young man hoping in? . . . The treatment? . . . His body’s ability to heal? . . . The skill of the doctors? . . ., Perhaps the Clinic’s reputation? . . .
Commenting on this incident, Lewis Smedes (professor of theology and ethics for twenty-five years at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California) wrote, “Is there a hope when hope is taken away? Is there hope when the situation is hopeless? That question leads us to Christian hope, for in the Bible, HOPE IS NO LONGER A PASSION FOR THE POSSIBLE. It becomes a passion for the promise.”
The fact is that man’s hope does not spring up eternally. There are all sorts of times that we lose hope or feel hopeless. That is why medication for depression is on the rise. That is why the number two reason teenagers die is suicide. There is a reason why:
OUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS BASED UPON THE FAITH THAT WE HAVE NOW.
Thomas Aquinas said, “Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.” Restating this, hope deals with things in the future and faith is our beliefs in spite of our current circumstances. The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for (Heb 11:1). In other words, the substance of our hope is our faith or, what you believe is the tangible reason for whatever hope that you possess.
WE NEED AN ETERNAL HOPE
Job rightly said, “If the only home I hope for is the grave … where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?” (Job 17:13-15).
Job had lost everything and he was extremely sick and in pain. He was saying that if we believe that this life is all there is then what kind of hope for the future is there for him? Do you see how what we believe now affects what hope we have for the future?
Leo Tolstoy shares his testimony that when he was fifty years old, he found no purpose in life being a “fortuitous concatenation of atoms,” meaning an accidental compilation of matter. If one would think on this they would agree that life’s purpose needs to be more than living and dying.
When you come to hear a sermon, I believe you come to find that there is hope for your life and your circumstances beyond what you would normally see. So it is my job to show you where that hope that springs eternal can be found.
BIBLICAL FAITH IS THE ONLY PROPER BASIS FOR OUR HOPES
Five different times in Psalms 119 David says, “I have put my hope in your word.” Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life (Ps 119:49-50).
Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Rom 15:4).
A working definition of hope is - to desire with expectation of obtainment or to expect with confidence. The basis for our hope and expectations is found in God’s Word, the Bible. That is why the Bible teaches faith comes from the hope found in God’s Word:
So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ [the Messiah Himself] (Rom 10:17 AMP).
How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him (Hebrews 2:3).
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth (Colossians 1:3-6).
WHY, CAN WE HAVE HOPE?
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure (Hebrews 6:17-19).
A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, [i.e. cannot lie – most other translations] promised before the beginning of time (Titus 1:2).
We take hold of the hope that is offered to us. In other words, we believe what God has said that that gives us hope. What can we hope for in this passage?
Since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants" (Hebrews 6:13-14)
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit (Gal 3:14).
“I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David” (Acts 13:34).
NO LONGER A PASSION FOR THE POSSIBLE BUT PASSION FOR THE PROMISES
You see; we can have great confidence for our hope when it is based upon God’s Word because He cannot lie and He has the power to bring about what He has promised. His Word is guaranteed. That is why God said:
Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matt 24:35).
My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand” (Isa 14:24).
THE NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF FALSE BELIEFS WILL BE FALSE HOPES.
If we have hope that is not based in God’s word when conflicting circumstances come to us we will fall into despair and lose hope.
Notice the story from Luke 24:13-27:
Now that same day two of them [referring to the disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things [what had happened that resurrection day] with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
Notice, because they believed the wrong thing their hope for the future was dashed.
He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! …And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Do you see their problem was a faith problem? The problem was they did not believe what the Scriptures had said. Without Biblical faith that comes from the Scriptures we will lose our hope.
Some of us are only “hoping” for salvation because we have yet to find ourselves in the Bible. We have no security that way. The Bible says, all have sinned (Rom 3:23). That’s me and you; Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15). Since we are all sinners, Jesus came to save us! It is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph 2:8-9). We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand (Rom 5:2).
Some of us only hope for God to hear our prayers without understanding when God listens or why He refuses to do what we request.
The LORD said to me, "…, I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled" (Jeremiah 1:12).
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14-15).
The phrase “hope against hope” is often defined as – having hope when there is no basis for that hope. But that is NOT what the Bible teaches about the subject.
Romans 4:18-25 says: Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Just as much as our faith is not baseless but there exist tangible reasons for what we believe so our hope is not baseless, it is based upon our faith in the promises of God. We have hope because God has given us hope in His Word.
WHAT COMPLETES THE TRIFECTA IS LOVE
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).
Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
LOVE MAKES OUR FAITH EFFECTIVE
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2-3).
You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:4-6).
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15-16).
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5).
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