Hope is the most important ingredient in a person’s life. Without hope, people fail in life. Without hope, people fail in faith. They fail in their jobs, goals, and ambitions when hope gives way to despair. When a person gives up all hope, they die spiritually and physically. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen...” The Bible tells us that hope is part of faith. You must have hope to have faith. So, hope is part of a person’s ability to choose. Hope becomes a personal responsibility to possess, maintain and keep.

Without hope, people perish! It requires hope to raise your children correctly. Proverbs 19:18 reads, “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” Hope has the elements of successful child rearing. It is part of the follow-through decisions to have Scriptural faith. Because I hope my children will become God-fearing, responsible, loving human beings. I will raise them according to the Scriptural commandments. Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 29:18 reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law; happy is he.”

Medical science tells us that when a patient or healthy person looses hope, he starts to deteriorate. Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life.” 1) As long as a dying person has hope, he has a chance to live. 2) When a person looses hope emotionally, mentally or physically, he becomes ill. 3) One factor which initiates depression is a loss of hope. 4) When a depressed person looses all hope, he wants to die and thinks of suicide. (Galatians 6:9)

If hope is lost, fear grips and rebellion (complaining, etc.) manifests. Exodus 14:10-15, “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them: and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” The Lord here tells Moses to quit complaining to Him and exercise hope, thus faith, and lead the people over their fears.

If we loose hope, the mission fails. Nehemiah 2:17, “Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.” If you loose hope, fear will grip you when the enemy attacks, and you will seek help from those whom God has forbidden. I Samuel 28:5-7, “And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her...”

If you loose hope when great trouble comes upon you, as the loss of family and health, you will curse God and die. Job 2:9, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.” If we loose hope in pleasing God, faith ceases and eternal life is lost. I Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

What is Hope? Where does it come from? God gives every person hope. Hope is intuitive. Genesis 1:26, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Hope is intuitive. Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Life comes from God! John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father; but by me.” Our hope is in the Lord!

I Timothy 1:1 reads: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.”

Our hope is found in the gospel; it is the gospel. Colossians 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul as made a minister.” Jesus Christ is our hope of glory, both now and forever. Colossians 1:27, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Jesus Christ is the key to blessings and anointing, now, as well as glorification (new bodies) later.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit called patience comes from hope in the Lord. I Thessalonians 1:3: “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God our Father.” The promise of being with Jesus at His return to earth is our hope. I Thessalonians 2:19, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” Once again, hope is intuitive and we choose whether to have hope in the Creator who made us!

Those who died who put their trust in Jesus Christ through life’s choices have the hope of coming back to life and living again. I Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” This is the reason we live as Christians! Intuitive hope given to us by our Creator, if initiated by ourselves, gives us faith, love, and salvation. I Thessalonians 5:8, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.” I Corinthians 13:13 reads, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Charity (love), is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Charity, along with hope and faith, are commanded in the Scriptures. IF YOU LOOSE HOPE, YOU HAVE LOST THEM ALL!

Strong hope and strong faith equal many mighty victories! Miracles and promotions happen when you put your hope in the Lord. Daniel 3:16-30, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter: If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury; and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded that most mighty men that were in his army to bid Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hose, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither: Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.”

David put his hope in the Lord while King Saul and others were trying to kill him. David put his hope in the Lord after he became king and others were still trying to destroy him. Psalm 39:7, “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.” Psalm 71:4-5, “Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.” Psalm 119:81, “My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.”

Abraham put his hope in the Lord and the result was not only the birth of many nations, but the miracle of Isaac being born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah’s womb long dead. Romans 4:18-24, “Who against hope believed in hope; that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able to perform. And therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it is not written for his sake alone, that is was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”

Because of our hope, we do not have to be ashamed or defeated, no matter what others do or say about us. Romans 5:3-5, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

No matter how impossible the situation is, we always have hope for the impossible to become possible; for the miracle to happen; for the victory to be won! Romans 8:24-28, “For we are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what w should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searched the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 12:12, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” I Corinthians 13:7, “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” If you have hope for people to get saved, then you can lead them to the Lord. If you have hope to receive finances, then you will see the provision of the Lord as Elijah did with the ravens and the children of Israel with the manna in the wilderness. If you have hope for a godly husband or wife, God will give you one, as He did Isaac and Naomi.

~ Joshua had hope, and he saw the walls of Jericho come tumbling down, and the nation of Israel conquered the promised land.
~ Sampson had hope, and though he was blind, he defeated the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, pulling down their temple and killing 3000 men.
~ Daniel had hope and interpreted the visions and dreams of kings. The Lord gave him visions and dreams, and he prophesied. He refused to quit praying, and the lions could not touch or kill him.
~ David had hope and he killed Goliath.
~ Elijah had hope and he killed 850 prophets of Baal.
~ Elisha had hope and he did twice the miracles that Elijah accomplished through the Lord.
~ Moses had hope and the plagues fell on Egypt, he led the exodus, the Red Sea parted, and water came out of a rock.
~ Noah had hope and he and his family were saved from the wrath of God.
~ Joseph had hope and became a mighty ruler in Egypt, providing salvation for the nation of Israel.
~ John the Baptist had hope and called the king an adulterer.
~ Peter had hope and walked on the water.
~ The apostles had hope and healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead.
~ Jesus had hope and rose from the grave!

Never give up hope! Jesus said: “All things are possible; only believe.” God has used me to heal the sick. I have seen blind eyes opened, the lame walk, the crippled jump up and run, ribs come together, the hunch back standing tall, bones come together, goiters disappear, a finger straighten out, diabetes healed, ulcers healed, high blood pressure healed, malaria and tick fever healed, cancer healed. I have prayed for a dying 2-month old baby in intensive care with a ballooned heart, given no hope of coming off the heart machine, and God healed the boy and the heart returned to normal. The hospital witnessed a miracle! I have rebuked the spirit of death in a dying man in the hospital. The death rattle was in his throat. The doctors were telling me there was no hope; yet, the man was healed and walked out of the hospital!

I have seen! I have seen! I have cast out demons as they have screamed and shrieked while coming out of people, vomiting green slime and crawling on the ground with their tongues pointed sharp as a snake! I have prophesied to leaders of the world and the church, and used the word of knowledge to reveal their sins! I have sat in political interrogation cells in several countries of the world and been put on nation-wide trial in tow cases because I would not give up hope!

I have an adopted miracle daughter whose case became a political and religious issue where we were given no hope to win the case. Yet, God said she was our daughter. We would not give up hope, and we won! That same miracle daughter was never supposed to be able to breathe, eat, or talk because her throat was slit and she was left to die. Yet, she did not die, and we did not give up hope. Four years later God healed her, and she is perfect today. She breathes without the tracheotomy tube, she eats, and boy, does she talk! Talk, talk, talk...she never quits talking! (See my article – Melita’s Story).

In Africa when we had no money to purchase any food, we had food left on our doorstep—exactly what we had wished for! Like the children of Israel in the wilderness and Elijah with the ravens, God provided us food.

If you follow the Scriptures in praying, fasting, confessing, repenting, forgiving, believing and accepting God’s will, you will see the miracles. You will see the bounty of God and the supernatural. You will see His hand reach down and heal, deliver, encourage, and prosper. Hope is the key to all your prayers being answered and miracles and victories being won! Hope, faith, and victory! Never give up hope, and faith will arise. Read James 5:13-18 and Hebrews, Chapter 11 and victories will be won!

Blessings, Jonathan Hansen

WMI is now focusing on the following 42 nations: The United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Philippines, India, Jamaica, Honduras, Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, The Congo, Iran, Sweden, Norway, England, Russia, Germany, Finland, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Yugoslavia, Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Turkey. In these countries we are trying to saturate the nation with the prophetic warning through articles, newspapers, radio, television, etc. We encourage you to study the prophecies on many of these nations on our web site at www.worldministries.org. They will help you know how to pray for each nation. We need intercessors in and for these countries.

© 2001 World Ministries International