Session 12

Faith = Hope

From The Gospel: Five Words You Need to Know

READ:                             
• Hebrews 11:1–3                             
• 1 Peter 1:3–9

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” —1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Yesterday we talked about the second part of Hebrews 11:1, and today we will look a little more closely at the first half of the definition of faith: “confidence in what we hope for.”

So what do we confidently “hope” for as a Christ follower? 1 Peter 1:3–5 shows us that through Jesus Christ, we will one day receive an inheritance in heaven as sons and daughters of God. That joy is ahead of us: the joy of forever being with God the Father. What a great hope to have! What an amazing goodness to have faith in! In our current life and current situation, what does that faith look like?

Think about your faith right now. Is there much joy in it? Is there much excitement in it? Faith is something that knows the goodness of God’s promises so clearly that that same goodness and sweetness are present in your life right now. Like we talked about before, faith is a spiritual ability to sense the joy of what God promises for our future TODAY. Faith does not just feel confident that this inheritance is coming “someday,” faith has seen and tasted that it is real. We don’t just have hope for our future, we have hope in Jesus right now! Faith’s daily enjoyment of God’s promises is a kind of an assurance of the reality that’s coming. Because it IS coming. Be confident and joyful in your faith of His promises! For He who promised is FAITHFUL!

RESPOND:
• Is there anything you have lost hope in: God, family, friends? Share this with God, and then with your group.
• Has there ever been a time where you have experienced life-giving, joy-filled faith like this? If so, thank God for it. If not, ask God why?
• We have seen that faith comes by the Spirit working through God’s word. Want more faith? Spend more time in His Word. Go ahead. See what happens.