1 Corinthians 13:13
'Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.'1 Corinthians 13:13
'Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.'
https://www.bible.com/bible/116/1CO.13.13
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (TPT)
Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the
things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.
Substance - hypostasis
● It can refer to a foundation, ground, or base - something that stands underneath and
provides support
● It can mean substance, essence, or actual being
● It can convey the sense of confidence, assurance, or guarantee
● Our faith NEEDS something to add substance to.
1. Our faith NEEDS something to add substance to!
In life, Hope, Faith, Love, Wisdom are essential!
Hope is a corollary to Vision, It gives us direction. It shows us the destination.
Godly wisdom is like my GPS, or my map. It helps me plot the way there.
Faith is the vehicle that takes me there.
Love is the fuel in the faith vehicle!
2. Hope sustained with the Word of faith will result in the miracle
Hebrews 6:13,18
' When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it all the way, putting his own reputation
on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and
bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people
make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is
any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God
wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break
his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who
have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands
and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the
very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post
as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.'
https://www.bible.com/bible/97/HEB.6.13,18
Romans 4:18
Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would
become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, 'That's how many descendants
you will have!'
Romans 4:19-21
"And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his
body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah's womb. Abraham never wavered in believing
God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully
convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises."
3. Hope delayed can hurt the heart and introduce doubt.
Proverbs 13:12
NKJV: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
Sick: weakness and suffering
TPT: When hope's dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at
last your dream comes true, life's sweetness will satisfy your soul.
4. 3 Things to protect our hope against:
a. Doubt
b. Unbelief
c. Hardened Heart
Doubt can lead to disappointment.
Disappointment can lead to Unbelief.
Unbelief can lead to a hardened heart.
a. Guard against Doubt
Doubt in Scripture typically involves questioning or wavering while still maintaining some level
of faith.
● Intellectual or emotional uncertainty while still seeking truth
● Often temporary and can coexist with faith
● Seen in biblical figures who still followed God despite questions
Examples: Thomas, John the Baptist, Father of the demonized child
b. Guard against Unbelief
● A willful rejection or hardening against divine truth
● Persistent resistance rather than honest questioning
● A heart condition that prevents faith from taking root
●
Examples: The Pharisees & Sadducees, The Home crowd of Nazareth, Zachariah
c. Guard against a Hardened Heart
This represents a more severe spiritual condition than either doubt or unbelief. It's characterized
by a deliberate, progressive resistance to God's truth that eventually becomes a fixed state of
spiritual insensitivity.
● It’s progressive, occurring over time
● It is having eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear
Examples: Pharaoh, the Israelites in the Wilderness, the disciples of Christ!
Mark 6:52 For they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Mark 8:17-18 Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you
not hear?