There Is Hope

By Tom Battle

What is hope, and what do you mean when you say you have hope? Do you have a confident expectation when you hope for something, or has hope become just a new way to express doubt and unbelief in what could be possible? Most of the time in our societyand sometimes even in the churchwe hear the word hope used in a weak, doubtful way. So what must we do to have hope become born again in our vocabularies?

In There Is Hope, author and minister Tom Battle offers a way to restore hopes true meaning, using a biblical perspective to explain how hope is not merely a weaker form of faith. Instead, believers can learn how hope is the powerful partner of faith. Hope can be the anchor of our souls, and as we wait on the Lord, it is our hope that unlocks the key to the futureresurrection and eternity with Christ. Hope is the spiritual compass that points the believer in the right direction.

It is time for the word hope to be born again in the vocabulary of each and every believer. Be encouraged! There is hope for the hopeless, and when a weakened hope based on circumstances and the world fades away, real Bible-based hope will still be there to show you the way to truth and salvation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973622406

Tom Battle

Tom Battle is a graduate of Georgia Tech (1969) and Lakewood Bible Institute (1988). While he held prominent positions with several oil companies during his business career, a supernatural conversion and deliverance from substance abuse led him to the full-time ministry. He and his wife were ordained in 1990 by Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, where they served for a decade. During that time, they were mentored by Dr. John Osteen and traveled as evangelists and teachers. Along with their son Brandon, they founded The Lords Glory Church in Humble, Texas, in 1995. Tom is also the author of several Christian books.

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Copyright © 2018 Battle Ministries.

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-2239-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2238-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2240-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018902787

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/13/2018

CONTENTS

Chapter 1   Real Hope

Chapter 2   Changing Your Hope

Chapter 3   The Confession of Our Hope

Chapter 4   Hope Does Not Disappoint

Chapter 5   Hope, the Anchor of Our Souls

Chapter 6   Waiting on the Lord

Chapter 7   Hope, the Key to the Future

Chapter 8   Resurrection Hope

Appendix A:   Scriptures Used in There Is Hope - Listed by Chapter

Appendix B:   Salvation Prayer

Appendix C:   Poem by Tom Battle

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Real Hope

Often we hear the word hope used in a weak way. Most of the time in our society, and sometimes even in the church, hope is used to express doubt and unbelief rather than confident expectation, which is the word’s true meaning from a biblical perspective. I have even heard some well-meaning teachers of God’s Word give such a negative connotation to this word, hope, that the listener walks away with hope settled in his or her mind as merely a weaker form of faith. As a result, the listener is somewhat reluctant to use hope in his or her conversations because it seems like an expression of weak faith when, in fact, it is a very powerful partner of faith. It’s time for this word, hope, to be born again in the vocabulary of the believer. Be encouraged! There is hope for the hopeless. When hope based on physical circumstances fades, real Bible-based hope is still there.

The world does not understand the real meaning of hope. Most of the time when we hear someone say, I hope, the implied meaning is, I think this is possible but very unlikely. The world bases the strength of hope on physical evidence, whereas the Bible bases the strength of hope on faith. There is a great biblical partnership between hope and faith. Hebrews 11:1 describes this great partnership: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Without hope, faith is the substance of nothing, and hope without faith is empty; it has no real substance. But faith with hope draws the wonderful promises of God from an unseen realm. Faith without hope is like a powerful engine cranked up but sitting in neutral. Hope adds forward gears to the engine of faith.

Faith means more than believing in the existence of God; it means trusting in God. Faith focuses its attention on God Himself, whereas hope focuses its attention on God’s promises—things hoped for. Put another way, faith dwells on the God of the promises while hope dwells on the promises of God. Faith (trusting in God) is the sure foundation of a believer’s life while hope is the spiritual compass that points the believer in the right direction.

The unbeliever does not understand this marriage of faith and hope. Worldly hope requires something physical as its substance, but the Bible says in Romans 8:24, Hope that is seen is not hope. For example, a sick person without faith would need a good medical report or an encouraging prognosis by the doctor in order to have hope, but a person of faith can focus his or her hope on the promise of healing in the Bible because that person trusts in the invisible God who made the promise. We are always thankful for good medical reports, but our hope is not extinguished by bad medical reports! Our hope gets its report from verses like Psalm 103:1–3: Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.

When we tell a person with a medically incurable disease that God can still offer healing, we are sometimes accused by the world (and even by some Christians) of giving that person false hope. Actually, such an accusation is false because the accuser doesn’t understand the biblical meaning of hope. We are giving the ill person real hope based on God’s promise of healing, and it is a hope backed by faith in God who can do the impossible. The angel Gabriel said to Mary, the mother of Jesus, For with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37).

The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26b). When the river of possibilities runs dry, God’s river of hope and power is still flowing! We all can be strengthened by hope in the face of impossible circumstances! There is always hope!

My wife and I thank God for our doctor and for all good members