WE SET OUR HOPE ON THE LIVING GOD - PART 2

WEDNESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2021

In Christ Jesus, we can never reach the end of hope because our hope is living and limitless (beyond this world). Having our hope set on the living God means that we have come to a place of complete answer and perfect solution for all of man's plight, not half the answer or few solutions. God is not a God who gives us some hope for a moment and then informs us that He has no more to offer us when we reach a particular point or a stage in our Christian walk. No! God is a realm of limitless hope for those who trust in Him.

Reference: 1 Timothy 4:10 English Standard Version (ESV) "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."

Indeed God is the saviour of all people, especially of those who believe. Frankly, this Scripture has a lot to do with the season we are in. We are celebrating the birth of the Saviour of all, who gives us eternal hope. According to Isaiah's prophesy, God sent us a Saviour from the root of Jesse. The Bible says, "In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place" (Isaiah 11:10 NLT). Notably, our Lord Jesus is the heir to David's throne because He is traced to root of Jesse, David's father, which is a symbolic tree or vine with spreading branches that represent the account of the ancestry and descent of Jesse in accordance with Isaiah's prophecy.

The root of Jesse signifies the lineage of Kings, having in mind that the patriarch "Jesse" belonged to the royal family. No wonder in apostle Paul's affirmation, he noted: And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:12-13 NIV). God is the God of hope and as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate a living and eternal hope brought to both the Jews and Gentiles. For without Christ's coming in the flesh, mankind would've remained hopeless forever. Ephesians 2:12 (NKJV) reveals that at a time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Divinely guided, several centuries before Jesus of Nazareth walked this earth, Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 9:2 (NIV) saying: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned", meaning that mankind is no more hopeless. John 1:14 (NIV) awesomely reveals that the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Beloved, this glory is the hope of everyone who believes and receives Christ as Lord. In Colossians 1:26-27 (NIV), apostle Paul testified to this hope as the mystery that had been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people, to whom God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Beloved, this hope we have is "Christ in you". It is not a short-lived or ordinary hope; it is the hope of glory, and in actual fact, the ever-increasing glory of God evident in the lives of the saints. We are no longer in the category of those who fall short of God's glory because "the hope of glory" permanently indwells us. In line with this hope, 1 Timothy 3:16 (NLT) reads, "Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory." Dearly beloved, we have our hope set on the living God, who is Christ, the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 10:28; Romans 8:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14.

Exuberant Declaration: Christ Jesus is the living hope that feeds and nourishes my soul. He is the mystery that describes my spotless righteousness and I'm recreated as a vessel to manifest His deity and the character of His divine nature in my world. As my living hope, His glory visibly dwells in me in an ever- increasing measure and I echo and reflect in my daily walk, His praiseworthy lifestyle ingrained into my whole way of life, to the glory of God. Hallelujah!