Never Lose Hope: Sustaining Hope
Dr. Neil Epler
December 15, 2024
Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7 & 2 Peter 3:8-10
1. Sustaining hope is a matter of Perseverance (Luke 18:1-5)
(Luke 18:1-5) And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”
2. Sustaining hope is a matter of Patience (Romans 8:24-25, 12:11-12 & James 5:7-8)
(Romans 8:24-25) For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
(Romans 12:11-12) Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
(James 5:7-8) Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
3. Sustaining hope is a matter of Perception (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Isaiah 43:18-19 18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.