THE GLORY OF LATTERDAY ASSEMBLY

SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 2024

THEME: THE POWER OF HOPE
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Rom.5:2-5; Rom 4:18 - 23; HEB 11: 1

WEEK 1
INTRODUCTION
MEMORY VERSE: Hebrews 11:1
THE POWER OF HOPE

Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Habakkuk 3:17-19

My greatest scripture on hope is found in Habakkuk 3:17-19

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls
— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician.
With my stringed instruments.

“Every area of our life not glistening with hope

means we are believing a lie and that area
is a stronghold of the devil in our life.”

Of all the people alive today, Christians are the only one who have true hope. There is nothing as terrible as a
feeling of hopelessness in any particular situation but the good news is that if you are a believer there is hope for us
in every situation irrespective of what the circumstances are. And the reason is because we have Christ who is our
hope.

There are three powerful forces in the kingdom of God according to 1 Cor 13:13. And now abideth Faith, hope and
love but the greatest of this is love. There must be a reason why God has put hope in the midst of faith and
love. There are a lot of teachings on faith and love, but one rarely hears teaching on hope but hope is one of the
three powerful forces in the God’s kingdom.

God does not waste words and I believe that for our faith and love to work, we have to have hope.

Hebrews 11:1 ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. This means
that you have to have hope that something will happen before your faith can work

Someone once said ‘what oxygen is to the lungs is what hope is to life’. If one is deprived of oxygen for a
few minutes the person dies or at least becomes brain dead and in the same way, if we give up hope, life goes
downhill.

In fact for non Christians, once they give up hope, they just go and commit suicide

As a believer if you are able to keep your hope alive, it doesn’t matter what your situation is, you will always
come out victorious. That is why I believe that you will have victory in that marital challenge or financial situation
or health issue you are going through right now in the name of Jesus

WHAT IS HOPE?
It means to cherish a desire with anticipation.

It means to desire with expectation of obtainment. That you just know that it is going to happen.

To expect with confidence. Hope is generally used like maybe something will happen or it might not. That is a
wrong translation of hope.

It is a living force that causes a believer to press on in faith despite the prevailing circumstances of life. It enables
you to keep pressing on till you get your desired result.

Hope means believing when things looks hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. it is only when everything is hopeless
that hope begins to be strength.

That is why in Romans 4:18 ‘Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many
nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

NLT ‘Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping–believing that he would become the father
of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have’

That is why that situation if you can only keep your hope alive, you will be victorious in Jesus name.

There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.

A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing
hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water
and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then
returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a
rest, but because they suddenly had hope!

Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and
rescue them. If hope holds such power for irrational rats, how much moreshould hope affect our lives.

That is why whatever difficulty you may be facing in life nothing can ever be resolved without hope first. Nothing
ever gets done in life without the force of hope. And until hope is in place, faith does not deliver.

WEEK 2
TOPIC: WHY DO WE HAVE HOPE
MEMORY VERSE: Romans 15:13

A. Because we serve a God of hope who cannot lie. Rom 15:13 ‘Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’.

Titus 1:1 – 2 ‘Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect
and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot
lie, promised before time began

B. Because of Jesus who is our hope and His resurrection. 1 Tim 1:1 ‘Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the
commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.
1 Peter 1:3 ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has
begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

The fact that Jesus Christ resurrected gives us hope that we too will resurrect and that there is no situation, however
dead it seems that cannot be resurrected by the power of God.

C. It is an anchor to our soul. Heb 6:18-19 – Please read. We hope because it acts as an anchor to our soul. An
anchor is what secures a ship to the bay or the water. Without the anchor the ship gets tossed all over the place
because it is not secured. That is why we have to keep our hopes alive. Don’t let your hope be lost because it is
what secures your soul. When your hope is not alive, you are like a ship without an anchor that gets tossed thrown
here and there.

D. You never get disappointed of feel ashamed if we keep our hopes alive. Romans 5:5 ‘Hope does not
disappoint or make ashamed. KJV says hope does not make ashamed. You never in the finally analysis feel
ashamed or disappointed if you hold onto to hope. That is why we never throw in the towel or give up. There is no
situation we are going through that someone else has not gone through and emerged victorious. There is never a
closed door with God.

SCRIPTURES ON HOPE

My greatest scripture on hope is found in Habakkuk 3:17-19

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls
— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician.
With my stringed instruments.

Romans 15:4 ‘For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

This means that God gave us the scriptures so that we can learn from it and be comforted that if He did it for the
people in the bible, we can have hope that He will do it for us. Bible is a book of hope. That is why you have to
read it regularly.

Psalm 33:18 ‘Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. If you
fear God and put your hope in Him, God’s eye is upon you.

Psalm 42:5 ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall
yet praise him for the help of his countenance. This scripture shows you can speak to your soul to be hopeful. King
David did it.

Proverbs 10:28 ‘The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 ‘For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead
lion. The fact that you are counted among the living, there is hope for you. Can we all say, there is hope for me.

Joel 3:16 ‘The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the
earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Zechariah 9:12 ‘Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to
you’. We are meant to be prisoners of hope meaning that we should never give up hope.
We have examples in the scriptures of people who could have given up but decided not to.

WEEK 3
TOPIC: HOW TO KEEP OUR HOPE ALIVE
MEMORY VERSE: Romans 4:18
SCRIPTURAL TEXT: ROMANS 4:16-25

FOR US TO KEEP OUR HOPE ALIVE

1. Have a possibility mentality: Mark 9:23 ‘To Him that believes, all things are possible to him that
believes.

Irrespective of the situation around you, keep the right perspective. What are your thoughts about your situation
because as a man thinks in his heart so is he. Prov 23:7

Your situation is subject to change. Someone has been through that same situation and emerged victorious.
Someone might say what if I keep my hope up and nothing happens, what if something happens? God is your side
and He is a God of restoration and He will restore all that you have lost in the name of Jesus.

Refuse to throw in the towel.

Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10 was born in sorrow and had a difficult start in life and he could have remained there but
he prayed to the Lord

‘And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God
granted him what he requested’

Hezekiah was told by prophet he was going to die but he cried unto God and did not give up hope and the Lord
added 15 more years to his life.

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said,

Isa 38:2-5 “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and
have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah,
saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your
prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.

2. Remember past victories. Lamentation 3:21 ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. We need to
always remember the goodness of God in our lives. David said in Psalm 103:1 Bless the Lord O my soul and all
that is within me bless His Holy name. Forget not His benefits.

We need to remember past victories in our own lives and in the lives of others around us.

When David was going to fight with Goliath, he remembered past victories. He said the same God that delivered
him from the hand of the lion and bear will deliver him from the hand of the uncircumcised philistine.

3. Remain joyful. Romans 12:12 ‘Rejoicing in hope’. Wherever there is joy there will be hope. Today we
curse spirit of sorrow or sadness in your life in the name of Jesus.

I command every spirit of depression to lose its grip over your life in the name of Jesus.
What the enemy wants is for you to deny the Lord in the midst of our challenges and leave the faith. Thousands of
people have done that before.

May any of us never face challenges that will take us out of Christ in Jesus name.

WEEK 4
TOPIC : HOW DO WE GET HOPE?
MEMORY VERSE: Romans 15:4

1. Be born again and stay connected to God. He is the God of hope and if you detach yourself from Him who is
the source of hope, everything will begin to look hopeless. That will not be your portion in Jesus name.

2. By Praying and Believing Patiently. Isaiah 40:28-31,

Hebrews 6:11-12“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope
until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises.”

3. By feeding on the Word of God.

Romans 15:4. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the
patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

4. Through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

5. Stay connected to true believers and church (Ecclesiastes 4:8-12, Luke 1:39-45, ) i.e.
Do not neglect the assembly of the brethren, iron sharpens iron, when Mary visited Elizabeth the child in her womb
(hope) leaped for joy

5 Things the Bible says about Hope

This Christmas season is one filled with the message of hope that is found in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!
Yet, for many, this time of year is only a magnification of the hopelessness and despair that they feel inside.
Whether this hopelessness comes from a loss of a loved one or a commercialized view of Christmas, the Bible has
the truth about this matter. Here are five things the Bible says about hope.

1. Hope is Never Lost

Hope is crying out to be heard, seen, and experienced.

Sometimes it’s difficult to see hope in a situation. But, the Bible says that true hope is unseen. And if we can be
hopeful for one thing, such as our salvation, which is also unseen, then we can be hopeful for other things too. It’s
just that simple!

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?”
Romans 8:24

2. We can be Confident in Hope

We can find rest when we confidently hope on the Lord.
We have now understood that hope is unseen. But, if it’s unseen, can we trust it? After all, we can trust the chair
we sit in or the mug we pour our coffee into because we can see it. Likewise, there are things that we can trust
without seeing. We can trust that our insurance company will cover a certain amount of losses or that baking
cookies will leave a wonderful aroma in our kitchen. We are confident in them because these are legal and natural
laws. In the same way, although we can’t see it, we can be full of hope. Hope assures us that we can be confident
in it because it’s the law of God.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

3. True Hope comes from God

True hope comes from God. He is the Creator of all things, including hope.
Sometimes we hope for things in which there is no hope. A car can’t bring true hope; it can bring a feeling of
contentment and exhilaration, but not real hope. Financial stability can’t bring true hope; it can bring security and
a level of ease, but not true hope. A spouse can’t bring true hope because a spouse’s abilities are limited to what
he or she can control. True hope comes from the One who created hope: God. True hope comes by trusting God
even when circumstances are difficult. One way to know whether you’re trusting God is whether you’re obeying
his Word. Trust produces obedience, which produces hope, which results in joy and peace; and that is the power of
the Holy Spirit.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

4. Hope is a Gift

A wonderful result of hope is delivered by the Holy Spirit of God. He gives us the power to hope and that is a
demonstration of God’s love for us. Hope given by him works together to give us confidence, joy, peace, power
and love. That is a true gift!

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5

5. Hope Endures

Hoping in God will never lead us into despair, because He has a plan for all of us who look to Him. He has a future
that is full of hope.

“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:18

CONCLUSION
Hope is a very powerful virtue. Never give up hope on that situation. God is able to make all things possible but He
needs your cooperation and He needs you not to give up hope.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord
is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Meditate on These Things 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things
are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—
meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do,
and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9.