The steps to being filled with the Holy Spirit fall on the pavement of faith. The reason to have faith comes from a special hope. Five times Paul pleaded his case in the book of Acts based on his own hope. He even says in the text I just cited that he is bound by a chain of hope. How does one function when bound by such a chain? Paul had a variety of experiences that tell us what faith is about. We can vicariously understand what that means.
To address the question what hope is about means that in the case of Paul and all the other early Christians there was misery and misunderstanding.(1 John 3:3) Remember that hope is not something that takes place in the realm of today. It looks to the future anticipating a change for the better. Look for the location in our text after the shipwreck occurred. Look for kindness to counteract evil. (John 21:9) look for the Viper that did not strike out until the fuel was added to the fire. The devil is most active when God’s believers are active in service to the Lord. The devil will poison the life of dedicated servants of God anyway he can so he can defeat them and frustrate the end result for God’s glory and people to be saved. God may start the fire in our hearts, but we must stoke it so that it burns hotter and brighter otherwise our enthusiasm will only be temporary and quickly flicker out.
As we hold tightly to hope, it is about mercy and mileage. Mercy for God’s expression and mileage for footsteps (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4) Jesus expects his believers to follow his example. Likewise, in our service to God we present our current efforts as a duplicate of Christ coming is from within ourselves. It is a wise believer who desires to find other brethren of like hope and faith. Ours is to compete against the world and challenge each other to strive for victory. The Christian who lacks enthusiasm in a positive direction in their spiritual life will at best be on the defensive because there is not enough leaning on the arms of Christ.
For hope to blossom in our lives it is about the message of Christ and his ministry revealed through us.(1 Peter 3:15) Jesus gave an illustration about the needs of people living by the world’s standards. He said that the harvest was white. He said to pray that more harvesters join the effort out of concern about eternity and not just the affairs of this world. God’s volunteer he was successful must be bound and yet driven by hope. Anyone who falters over the roadblock of unbelief binds significantly the prospects of Christ in his own life and for a blessing for others. (Hebrews 4:1-6) In our canceling of the fire that God started must not allow ourselves to stop because of someone else’s unbelief. Ours is a great challenge. Our challenge isn’t fully addressed or accomplish much more than wishful thinking.
Christian Writer 