Celebrating the Hope of Christ - Part 3

🎧 Listen on the go: Audio Narrative of Part 3

This final message in the series explores God’s eternal hope—revealed through Christ—and how that hope shapes both how we live now and the life to come.

Introduction: From Earthly Hope to Eternal Hope

In the previous messages, we explored the hope of humanity—how God is willing and gracious to bless people in the natural realm. Throughout Scripture, we see many examples of people hoping and praying for provision, healing, success, family, and restoration. These hopes are good, and God is pleased to respond to them. He is a caring Father who knows our needs and invites us to bring them before Him.

However, God’s plan for us does not stop with natural hope alone. No matter how many prayers are answered in this life, every human life will eventually come to an end. Our bodies return to dust, and everything earthly is temporary. This reveals an important truth: human hope, though meaningful and good, is limited and perishable.

God’s hope for us is far greater. His plan is eternal. Even after this life ends, another life awaits. God wants us to understand that His love for us is not confined to this world. He cares deeply for us now, but He also desires to bring us into eternal life with Him. His hope is that we would share in His glory together with His Son, Jesus Christ—an immeasurable gift, freely given through His redemptive plan.

In this message, we look at hope from God’s perspective—the hope of the Father, revealed through Jesus Christ and made real to us by the Holy Spirit.

God’s Desire: Knowing Him, Not Just Religious Acts

Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly reveals that His deepest desire is not religious activity, but relationship. During a time when Israel continued to offer sacrifices while living in sin, God spoke clearly through the prophet Hosea.

📖 Hosea 6:6 (NKJV)

“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

And the knowledge of God is more than burnt offerings.”

God was not rejecting worship, but empty worship. He desired hearts that truly knew Him—hearts shaped by mercy, humility, and obedience. God’s hope was never that people would simply perform religious acts, but that their lives would be transformed through a relationship with Him.

Transformation, not repetition, has always been God’s desire.

God’s Hope for Our Future

God’s heart toward His people is beautifully expressed through the prophet Jeremiah.

📖 Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

This verse reflects what any loving parent desires for their children: safety, provision, direction, and a secure future. God’s hope for us is not destruction or despair, but life, purpose, and hope.

David also recognised that God’s mercy and redemption extend beyond human failure.

📖 Psalm 130:7 (NKJV)

“O Israel, hope in the LORD;

For with the LORD there is mercy,

And with Him is abundant redemption.”

Jeremiah reminds us that hope often involves waiting.

📖 Lamentations 3:26 (NKJV)

“It is good that one should hope and wait quietly

For the salvation of the LORD.”

Biblical hope is not passive resignation—it is patient, trust-filled waiting anchored in God’s faithfulness and timing.

The Hope of God Revealed Through Christ

After generations of promise and expectation, God revealed His eternal hope fully through Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What was promised throughout the Old Testament was fulfilled in the New.

📖 1 Peter 1:3–5 (NKJV)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…”

Through Christ’s resurrection, we were given a living hope—a hope that does not fade, weaken, or expire. This is where hope moves from the natural into the supernatural. Our inheritance is not fragile or temporary; it is secure and eternal.

Paul affirms that eternal life has always been at the heart of the gospel.

📖 Titus 1:2–4 (NKJV)

“In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…”

Eternal life was never an afterthought. It was God’s plan from the beginning.

Knowing the Hope of His Calling

Paul prayed that believers would not merely hear about hope, but truly understand it.

📖 Ephesians 1:17–19 (NKJV)

“…that you may know what is the hope of His calling…”

God desires that we would know, not guess or assume, the hope He has given us. This understanding draws us closer to Him.

📖 Hebrews 7:19 (NKJV)

“There is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

This better hope brings relationship, intimacy, and assurance.

📖 Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit…”

Hope does not disappoint because it is rooted in God’s love and confirmed by the Holy Spirit within us.

The Different Expressions of God’s Hope

The Hope of Salvation

📖 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NKJV)

“Putting on… as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

This hope guards our minds, protecting us from fear, despair, and spiritual confusion.

The Hope of Glory

📖 Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

📖 Romans 5:1–2 (NKJV)

“We… rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

God’s glory is both present and future—Christ living in us now, and us living with Him forever.

The Hope of Eternal Life

📖 Titus 3:7 (NKJV)

“…heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

The Hope of Our Calling

📖 Ephesians 4:4 (NKJV)

“You were called in one hope of your calling.”

📖 1 John 3:3 (NKJV)

“Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

This hope actively transforms how we live, shaping our character and choices.

From No Hope to Living Hope

📖 Ephesians 2:12–13 (NKJV)

“Having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus… you have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Once we were without hope. Now we live in a covenant relationship with God through Christ. Hope is no longer distant—it is alive within us.

Jesus’ Final Prayer: God’s Eternal Desire

📖 John 17:20–24 (NKJV)

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory…”

Jesus’ prayer reveals God’s ultimate hope: not merely that we would be blessed on earth, but that we would be with Him forever. This is the hope of this life—and the hope of the life to come.

A Gentle Moment of Reflection

📖 Ephesians 1:18 (NKJV)

“That you may know what is the hope of His calling…”

📖 John 17:24 (NKJV)

“Father, I desire that they also… may be with Me where I am.”

God’s eternal hope is relationship. His desire is not only to bless us now, but to have us with Him forever. Through Christ, eternal hope has been secured.

May we live today in the light of that hope—confident, anchored, and assured—knowing that our future is safe in Christ.

A Gentle Summary of the Journey – Parts 1, 2, and 3

Throughout this three-part series, we have seen that hope is central to the Christian life.

• In Part 1, we learned that hope shapes how we live today. Natural hope is part of God’s care for humanity, but biblical hope is rooted in God’s promises and expressed through prayer and trust.

• In Part 2, we discovered that our hope in Christ is divine and eternal—secured by His finished work, guaranteed by the Holy Spirit, and unshaken by circumstances.

• In Part 3, we have seen that God’s ultimate hope is relationship and eternity with Him. His desire is not only to bless us in this life, but to bring us into everlasting life and glory with Christ.

Together, these messages remind us that:

• Hope is not wishful thinking, but confident expectation

• Hope anchors us in suffering and steadies us in uncertainty

• Hope transforms how we live, serve, and endure

• Hope finds its fulfilment in Jesus Christ

May we continue to live as people of hope—rooted in Christ, guided by His promises, and strengthened by the assurance that our future is secure in Him.

A note from the speaker: "It is my prayer that as you engage with this message, you gain a deeper understanding of how precious you are to our heavenly Father. Remember, hope is not optional—it is essential for the journey ahead."

Ps Salome

Living Faith Community Church

Ps Salome is a leader dedicated to sharing the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Her heart is to help you move from a place of uncertainty into a confident, biblical expectation that is rooted in God's deep love for you.

"God invites us to live with hope—not because life is easy, but because He is faithful."