Title: God of Hope (Romans 15:13)
Contents
Romans 15-2 The God of Hope 11.1.30 (4th week of Epiphany)
Romans 15:13
The text shows us a God who has a great hope for us and promises to fill us with joy and peace in faith and overflow with hope.
However, since it is a very short sentence, it needs explanation.
Let's learn how God really gives us these precious gifts of grace.
I. The God of Hope wants to fill us with joy.
The text speaks of ‘all the joy’ that the God of hope wants to fill us with.
The joy we are talking about here is the joy based on the awareness of our relationship with God.
So true joy comes from our relationship with God and being grateful for what He has given us.
Joy is to be grateful for who God is and what God has given us through the death of his Son.
In other words, it is the joy that comes from knowing who God is and knowing that God is our Creator, Father, supplying our needs, guiding and protecting us with love.
So this joy is not dependent on circumstances.
Therefore, this joy only increases when our relationship with God and what he does for us are confirmed in our lives.
C. S. Lewis described joy this way:
“Joy is the joy of God, the enjoyment of the good things that come from the hand of God. If our new freedom in Christ is a piece of castella on the inside of the cake, joy is the cream on the cake. If the Bible gives us good lyrics for our lives, joy gives us a tune. If the road to the sky is a steep and difficult uphill after all, joy is an elevator.”
How, then, does God fill this joy with our lives?
God wants us to be filled with joy through obedience.
Obedience is a way of affirming and giving thanks to our relationship with our Father and God.
God wants us to fill the joy of being in God's family.
So, you should be happy as you hang out with your father and ask for help.
In this way, when we rejoice and give thanks that everything in our life is in relationship with God, we receive God's blessing in everything we do.
Ⅱ. The God of hope fills us with wonderful peace.
Everyone seeks a life free from pain. The heart wants peace.
But we are caught up in contradictory wishes and ambitions.
1. God gives us faith and gives us peace.
Jesus gave peace to his fearful disciples.
That peace comes through faith.
When you fully trust and rely on God, you will find peace instead of anxiety and fear.
2. God gives us peace by making all things work together for good.
There are pains and trials in our lives, but they are not all and that is not the end. They are like a stepping stone for a better future, and they are the process of coordinating and harmonizing everything.
This providence of God allows us to enjoy peace in all circumstances.
3. God gives us the Holy Spirit to give us peace.
The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us from the moment we are saved, gives us peace as he continues to guide us to do God's will.
The Holy Spirit protects us, guides us into truth, and teaches us.
He is the God who works with power for all these things.
Therefore, when we know that the Holy Spirit is within us, we can find peace instead of worry.
Ⅲ. The God of hope makes us overflow with hope.
The Bible repeatedly tells us about hope. God does not leave us indifferent or despairing about the future, but rather to have hope.
1. Hope fills us with optimism.
Paul said that we can “rejoice in hope of the glory of God. He said to rejoice in hope. Hope, along with the ever-present faith and love, is a great Christian virtue.
2. Hope breeds patience and perseverance.
Without hope, one cannot develop the patience and perseverance necessary for the Christian life.
The famous psychologist Victor Frankl said when he was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, he watched his fellow prisoners give up their lives and die.
“Friends, don’t you see that little window?
A prisoner replied nervously to his words.
“The only thing you see through the window is a black gray wall.”
“No, look at the clear blue sky across the gray wall. Let's look at the stars that shine even at night."
While in the Nazi concentration camp, Victor Frankl shaved every day with shards of glass from broken bottles. So he said he could have survived until later.
3. Hope helps us face the future.
Why should we have hope?
1).Because hope is the gift of God's promise for us.
Our hope is based on God's promises. So that hope is as firm as the word of God.
2) Because hope is a gift of God's presence with us.
Our hope is a gift of grace because God is still with us. So I am sure that that wish will surely come true.
3) Because hope is a gift of God's power working in us.
Our hopes are not just dreams. Because the power of God makes it happen.
Lessons learned and application
Dean Janney of Scotland was always so happy that his students thought he was going to heaven every day. When describing the joy of a Christian, he said:
“I think that joy is a spirit. The presence of a flag in the castle indicates that the king is living there. For a Christian, joy is a sign that God is in me.”
Let us thank God for filling us with joy and peace and overflowing with hope.
God responds to God by our faith, and God does this for us by the power of the Holy Spirit.