No Matter What Happens...We Win!
May the Best Man Win: The Basis of Our Hope • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 33:27
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Intro: [riding roller coasters (Biggest roller coaster drop in the World - Goliath at Magic Mountain) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aF7dgWvQ6Y]
Here are some safety facts:
1 in 17 billion that you will suffer death by roller coaster!
1 in 302,575,350, that you will win the Mega Millions Jackpot
1 in 41,416,353 that you will win the Super Lotto Jackpot
1 in 700,000 in any given year to be struck by lighting
1 in 3,000 to be struck by lighting in your lifetime
This discussion is very relevant to justification by faith alone. Because we humans are so focused on what we can sense that the idea of trusting what we cannot see is difficult. It is much easier for us to think that we have a chance with God if it is up to us keeping His rules. At least, we think that we have a better chance believing that God will see that we are sincere and overlook our failures. But our greatest security is with God. With God there is NO RISK! This is Paul’s reason to put so much hope in the Good News. And the benefits are great!!!
Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
The benefits of justification by faith.
Peace with God
In Christianity God is both a God of love and of justice. Many people struggle with this. They believe that a loving God can't be a judging God. Like most other Christian ministers in our society, I have been asked literally thousands of times, "How can a God of love be also a God of filled with wrath and anger? If he is loving and perfect, he should forgive and accept everyone. He shouldn't get angry." All loving persons are sometimes filled with wrath, not just despite of but because of their love. If you love a person and you see someone ruining them—even they themselves—you get angry. The Bible says that God's wrath flows from his love and delight in his creation. He is angry at evil and injustice because it is destroying its peace and integrity.
In Fleming Rutledge's new book, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ, she acknowledges the difficulty that modern people have with the concept of God's wrath. Nevertheless, she writes, "there can be no turning away from this prominent biblical theme." But forget the Bible for a moment: don't we have wrath, too? Rutledge writes: “A slogan of our times is "Where's the outrage?" It has been applied to everything from Big Pharma's market manipulation to CEOs' astronomical wealth to police officers' stonewalling. "Where the outrage?" inquire many commentators, wondering why congressmen, officials, and ordinary voters seem so indifferent. “
God is outraged at sin; and while he doesn’t hate the sinner, he does demand justice. We are at war with God.
Romans 5:10
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
James 4:4
4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
2. State of Grace
“access” vs. “introduction”
“we stand” (hystami) in the perfect tense means “to stand” or “to be”
We now live in God’s grace.
1 Peter 1:3-5
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,
4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
3. Hope that doesn’t disappoint
“rejoice” (“exult” in NASB) means to “boast in” when someone boasts they are speaking from a place of superiority, confidence.
Earlier Peter (1 Peter 1:3) has call this hope a “living hope”
Hebrews 6:18-19
18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
Romans 5:3-5
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Conclusion:
Humans seek after hope like moths seek after light. It’s intrinsic to who we are. Neuroscientists Tali Sharot argues hope is so essential to our survival that it is hardwired into our brains, arguing it can be the difference between living a healthier life versus one trapped by despair.
Studies show hopeful college kids get higher GPA’s and are more likely to graduate.Hopeful athletes perform better on the field, cope better with injuries, and have greater mental adjustment when situations change.In one study of the elderly, those who said they felt hopeless were more than twice as likely to die during the study follow-up period than those who were more hopeful.
It’s pretty clear: hope is powerfully catalytic, and why Dr. Shane Lopez, the psychologist (author of Making Hope Happen)who was regarded as the world’s leading researcher on hope, claimed that hope isn’t just an emotion but an essential life tool.