For three months we've been considering the power of hope in discipling our children. (If you have just begun to receive The Chariot you might want to go to the website, www.spiritofelijah.com, and download the previous articles.) Although hope, in general, is a powerful motivation, according to the apostle Paul, the hope of the gospel is specifically powerful. This emphasizes the importance of showing your children the hope of the gospel and the hope of following God's ways. I want to minister now to your own souls so you can experience the power of hope firsthand. My prayer for you as you read this article is that the Word of God will wash you and fill you with hope so you can see the power of it. Then you will be convinced of the importance of passing the hope of the gospel on to your children.

If Jesus is in you, then you will be enveloped in God's glory.

Have you ever considered the tremendous hope that comes with the indwelling Jesus Christ in the heart of a person? After beginning his letter to the Colossians by encouraging them regarding their faith, love, and joy because of the hope of the gospel, the apostle Paul further encouraged them by explaining a glorious mystery.

...that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27).

Previous to Pentecost, only the Jews had any hope because the promises made to them. The promises with regard to the Gentiles had been hidden to the Jews and to the Gentiles. But the work of God, beginning at Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, unveiled a marvelous, glorious aspect to the riches of God's glory–the Gentiles also had a hope! The hope of the Gentiles was the very life of Jesus Christ, Himself, revealed in their hearts and lives. Indeed, it is still the same today for all of us who know Jesus is alive in us!

Do you see Jesus living His life in you? If so, then you have the hope of being enveloped in the glory of God when He comes or when you leave this earthly tent and enter into the presence of God. The gospel promises this to all in whom Christ dwells. One of the privileges of your calling as a child of God is this blessed hope. Additionally, your children have the privilege of knowing about this hope because they are YOUR children. Knowing Jesus in them is their hope of glory should encourage them to wait on the Lord and prepare their hearts for the day when He reveals Himself to them and in them. Until that day, they may hope with an eager anticipation of God's saving them as they become disciples in the kingdom of heaven.

Discipleship has a tremendous hope for our children

What do I mean by becoming disciples in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus taught that discipleship is the way to eternal life. Those who become disciples of the kingdom of heaven are those who will be saved. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is near (Matthew 4:17) and the narrow way leading to life is the way of hearing His words and acting on them (Matthew 7:14, 24).

Jesus did not mean becoming a disciple saves a person. Instead, He taught that as a person learns how to live life by applying what Jesus Christ revealed from heaven, his or her heart is prepared for the new birth and it leads to life. So, discipleship has the hope of salvation for those who believe and wait on God's promise to be fulfilled. You may give that hope to your children as they follow you in walking in God's ways instead of the world's ways. The apostle Paul put it another way to the Colossians. He told them there is a "wealth which comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3). If the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are "hidden" in Christ, then two things are implied:1) Wisdom and knowledge are not obviously apparent in Christ, and 2) One must seek for them in order to find them. When we know something is hidden, the hope of finding motivates us, doesn't it? We should hold that hope out constantly to everyone, but especially our children.

The basis of the hope of the gospel is the faithfulness of God

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;" (Hebrews 10:23). We have a sure word: He who promised is faithful! If God promises glory and blessing for those who follow His Word and ways, then we can count on experiencing them in the future–if not here, then in heaven with Him. Are you wavering in your faith? Do you see your children being tossed about by various trials and temptations?

The solution lies in not drifting away from believing our confession that God is faithful to keep His promises in Jesus Christ! That is our hope. If we take our eyes off the hope, we shouldn't be surprised if our faith, love, and endurance suffer. I invite you to pause for a moment and consider this wonderful truth: God will be faithful to keep what He has promised. What does that mean to you? Let this truth wash your soul. Our children probably need to hear this more often than we do, and we need it daily!

The gospel offers the hope of being transformed

Something in my heart bursts forth with joy when I think of the hope I have in Jesus. I hope these Scriptures will do the same for you and your children. Read them. Let the truth they teach sink into your heart. Imagine these events occurring just as you would imagine any other wonderful event to happen.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3).

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

 All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day (John 6:37-40).

What should motivate God's people to walk in His ways, to believe His Word, to love as He loved, and to endure faithfully until we die? It's the hope of receiving what God promised to those who do these things. Imagine experiencing the reality of being raised up incorruptible when Christ returns. Consider how badly you want to live on the new earth, in a new city, with Jesus, Himself, walking in our midst. Because God has given you a heart to hope in Christ, you live the way you do.

This world offers temporary gratification which turns to emptiness

When the hope of the gospel was not real to you, you lived for the temporal and the earthly. Numerous verses from the New Testament remind believers to recall the futility of how they used to live. He reminded the Ephesians,

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Further he encouraged them to "walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart" (Ephesians 4:17-18). Since you have seen the emptiness and futility of the world's ways, and been captured by the hope of the gospel, you also need constantly to expose the hopelessness and emptiness of the world to your children.

What hope does the world offer? It offers a hope of happiness and fullness, but cannot deliver. It's an empty deception. The deception lies in the fact that when sinful desires are first gratified, it feels great. But the feeling doesn't last, and the frequency of use and the amount increase until one is addicted. We must warn our children often just like the apostle Paul warned the Colossians.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).

A wise believing parent repeatedly teaches his or her children that there's no hope in the world's way of living. How do we teach them? We teach them from the Scriptures. Our own lives should be testimonies demonstrating the treasures of the kingdom of heaven far outweigh the temporal trinkets of this earthly kingdom.

The empty philosophies of the world assert that there's something in the world that can fill you. They inform us continually that joy and happiness may be derived from something you must have—a college degree, financial prosperity, a fine house, or a new car. Furthermore, they'll propose that happiness comes from something you must do. These are the elementary principles of the world.

Instead, we believe Jesus Christ is our fullness! He is God in the flesh, who fills all and is in all (Ephesians1:23). Let us teach it, demonstrate it, and rejoice in it because God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has offered the greatest hope that could possibly be offered.

Remember
* The heart is made to hope.
* Always give the hope for why you are doing things.
* When faith, love, or joy are lacking, apply the dynamics of hope.
Here's Your Hope!

When you give your children the PROMISES of God's ways, you give them HOPE for the future. This hope SEALS them and FILLS them, giving them FAITH to PROTECT them. May God fill you with hope in your parenting and in your relationship with God as you meditate on the Scriptures above and the principles we've discussed these past four months. I would love to hear from you if you've seen some fruit in your children as you have applied these truths. Perhaps God has given you further insight in how to give your children hope which I could share with our readers. Would you join me in prayer?

God of hope and faithful Father, we thank you for the hope of the gospel. Thank you for opening our eyes to see the hope of your calling us to yourself through Jesus Christ. We ask that you fill us with your Spirit and enable us to grow in our hope, love, faith, and endurance for your name's sake and for your glory. Amen.

            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
            PO 377
            Bulverde, Texas 78163
            www.spiritofelijah.com