Just Desserts – Celebrating Hope – 8/19/07
Date: 8/19/07
Sermon Series: Just Desserts
Sermon Title: Celebrating Hope
Text: Romans 5:1-5
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Also through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5, HCSB)
Theme: For the Christian who obtained peace with God, all of our vistas take on a fresh look. No longer do the challenges and hardships that beset us carry the dire, drab and depressive quality of an existence with no meaning: Now we understand that our lives are woven into the larger tapestry of God’s grace-filled plan. This frees us to experience a life that God intended.
Introduction: By chapter 5 of Romans the Apostle Paul has painted a vivid picture of the lost-ness and decay of man who has chosen to live outside of a relationship with God. He has also shown that this relationship is only possible through a belief in Christ as Lord and Savior. In chapter five the Apostle begins enumerating some of the awesome blessings that come to the person who has chosen to believe God.
1. Peace with God
a. A law fulfilled justification that allows us to be in God’s presence.
b. A release of the guilt and anxiety that we felt before we entered into covenant relationship with God
c. Peace is not the absence of strife; instead it is the calm security that exists because we are in the arms of the one in who rests all power and perfect love.
d. Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered. The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled.
As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.
A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.
The man who had envisioned the contest uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
Berit Kjos, A Wardrobe from the King, pp. 45-46.
2. Access to the Father
a. Our mediation is complete; we no longer need to have a priest sacrifice for us because that has been done once and for all.
i. All of the functions that the priest used to perform are now a part of the direct relationship that we now have with the Father.
1. Confession of sin.
2. Atonement
3. Petition
b. There is great power in knowing who your Dad is.
c. Jamie Buckingham tells a story in his book, Power for Living. It was a story first told by Fred Craddock while lecturing at Yale University. He told of going back one summer to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to take a short vacation with his wife. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal—just the two of them.
While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn’t come over here.” He didn’t want the man to intrude on their privacy. But the man did come by his table.
“Where you folks from?” he asked amicably.
“Oklahoma.”
“Splendid state, I hear, although I’ve never been there. What do you do for a living?
“I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University.”
“Oh, so you teach preachers, do you. Well, I’ve got a story I want to tell you.” And with that he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife.
Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly: Oh no, here comes another preacher story. It seems everyone has one.
The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Ben Hooper. I was born not far from here across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born so I had a hard time. When I started to school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunch-time because the taunts of my playmates cut so deeply.
“What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering just who my real father was.
“When I was about 12 years old a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me.
“Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’
I felt the old weight come on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down.
But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. “Wait a minute,” he said, “I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God.”
With that he slapped me across the rump and said, “Boy you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.”
The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, “That was the most important single sentence ever said to me.” With that he smiled, shook the hands of Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends.
Suddenly, Fred Craddock remembered. On two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected an illegitimate to be their governor. One of them was Ben Hooper.
Jamie Buckingham, Power for Living.
3. Hope of Glory
a. What do you live in expectation of?
i. The idea of hope in the NT carries with it 3 Characteristics.
1. Expectation
a. Our beliefs in God’s promises need to be as sure as Christmas.
i. We don’t stand around each year and wait to see if Christmas is going to come around again. We plan for it and look forward to it. Our expectation of God’ future announced plans needs to just as sure.
b. We are told in this passage that we are to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. The Greek word used here carries with it the idea that we are supposed to brag or boast about it. Our expectation is so clear that we are telling the world about it.
2. Trust
a. We trust that these are true because they are based in the person and work of God. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul assures the believers in Corinth that their resurrection is assured because they know that Christ has been raised from the dead.
b. We can trust in God’s plan for the future because He has carried through on His promises to us.
c. Also this future hope is the glory of God that we get to share in.
3. Patience in waiting
a. Because we are certain in our expectation and because this trust is based on the person and work of God then we can be patient. God’s timing is not ours but it is sure and perfect. When I was younger I used to hate the idea that God might come back before I lived a full life. Now I earnestly look forward to God’s glory because even with the abundance of this life I know that sharing i His glory will be awesome.
4. Trials take on a new meaning
a. For the Christian who has obtained peace with God, all of our vistas take on a fresh look. No longer do the challenges and hardships that beset us carry the dire, drab and depressive quality of an existence with no meaning: Now we understand that our lives are woven into the larger tapestry of God’s grace-filled plan. This frees us to experience a life that God intended.
b. In the margins of my study Bible I wrote beside these verses: if I know Jesus, if I stand bathed in the grace this provides, if I take advantage of the access to the Father that is promised to me and I exult in the sure hope of God’s coming glory then everything looks different. Even bad times take on the quality of God’s grace and become an opportunity for growth. This is God’s circle of Hope. Video of Nick Vujicilk
