Rom 12-Getting through tough times-1
| Getting Through the Tough Times – Part 1Hoping Against Hope! Romans 12:12
May 4, 2008 (NIV) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (NLT) Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. PRAY Scripture Memory:Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:12 (NIV) Intro:How do you deal with tough times?When things get painful and the answers seem elusive at best, what do you do?This week: Be joyful in hope In two weeks: Be patient in affliction and be faithful in prayer.lit. in hope, rejoicingNLT Be glad for all God is planning for you.☞ Be JoyfulPhil. 3:1 – Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, & it is a safeguard for you. Phil. 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!Neh. 8:10 – The joy of the Lord is my strength.NOTE: joy is not the same things as happinessTo be joyful is not the same thing as being happyThe joy of the Christian is bound up in the Lord. It is found “…in the contemplation of His person, His offices, His power, His love, and in their union with Him. Haldane, R.Many a Christian, over the centuries, has experienced DEEP joy in the midst of deeply painful circumstances. How so?The Key: understanding and embracing Biblical Hope☞ Be joyful in Hopeelpis – hope – From elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure) Strong’sIn the OT there is no easy correspondence between the NT words for hope and any specific Hebrew word, although the most frequent expression of the concept may lie with the Hebrew verbs ‘to wait, to expect’ (kawah), and ‘to be full of confidence, to trust’ (batah). Harper's Bible dictionaryPaul prays for the Christians in Ephesus that they might know this hope – Ephesians 1:18 (NIV) – I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, Biblical Hope: A confident expectation of a future event, based upon a fully reliable promise 1. What Biblical Hope is NOT2. What Biblical Hope IS3. What Biblical Hope does for God’s children 1. What Biblical Hope is NOT:☞ Biblical Hope is NOT Wishful thinking – “I sure do hope that it doesn’t rain this weekend…”The majority of secular thinkers in the ancient world did not regard hope as a virtue, but merely as a temporary illusion; and Paul was giving an accurate description of pagans when he said they had no hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thes. 4:13), the fundamental reason for this being that they were ‘without God’. New Bible Dictionary[Ephesians 2:12 (NIV) – You were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NIV) – Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.] ☞ Biblical Hope is NOT Focused on anyone or anything other than GodFalse hope… leads to chaos and disaster. Neither weapons nor wealth give lasting security. Where there is a belief in the living God, who acts and intervenes in human life and who can be trusted to implement his promises, hope in the specifically biblical sense becomes possible. Such hope is not a matter of temperament, nor is it conditioned by prevailing circumstances or any human possibilities. It does not depend upon what a man possesses, upon what he may be able to do for himself, nor upon what any other human being may do for him. New Bible Dictionary☞ Biblical Hope is NOT Without any doubts or fearsHaving biblical hope does not mean that one never struggles with fear or doubt…Romans 4:18-21 (ESV) – In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations. …He did not weaken in faith. …No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised’Romans 8:24 (NIV) – For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV) – Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. | | 2. What Biblical Hope IS:☞ Biblical Hope IS The proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”Nothing is better calculated to enable us to bear calamities than the hope of a happy result. Haldane, R. ☞ Biblical Hope IS Founded on the unchangeable promise of GodGod’s loving-kindness (Heb. hesed), revealed in repeated deeds of faithful care & provision, (Ex. 6:4-8), gives the people of Israel confidence that he will fulfill his promises in the future; thus, he is the basis of all hope. Harper's Bible DictionaryJeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ☞ Biblical Hope IS Based on the very character of GodHebrews 10:23 (NIV) – Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.Ps. 33:18 (NIV) – The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing loveRomans 5:5 (NIV) – Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. ☞ Biblical Hope IS Bound up in our desire for God to receive the glory that is rightly His. (explain)Romans 5:2 (NIV) – We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ☞ Biblical Hope Grows from a deeper knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. Rom. 15:4 (NIV) – Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ☞ Biblical Hope IS bound up in the miracle of the resurrection. on the blood of Christ with which He has sealed His promise—on Him who was not only dead, but is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for His people. Haldane, R.1 Peter 1:3 (NIV) – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ☞ Biblical Hope IS Confident assurance of our standing before God (salvation)[Some] insist that the believer ought to be always in doubt as to his salvation; that he cannot know whether God loves or hates him; and that all the assurance he can have of His salvation can never go beyond conjecture…. Can he rejoice in a hope so uncertain and unstable? Haldane, R. ☞ Biblical Hope Flows from our understanding and acceptance of Grace1 Peter 1:13 (NIV) – Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 3. What Biblical Hope does for God’s children:☞ Biblical Hope Delivers us from fearWere this hope kept in lively exercise, it would raise believers above the fear of man and a concern for the honors of this world. It would also enable them to despise the shame of the cross. Haldane, R.2 Cor. 4:17-18 (NIV) – For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ☞ Biblical Hope Gives us a solid foundation for lifeHope, to be sure, is not a kite at the mercy of the changing winds, but ‘a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul’, penetrating deep into the invisible eternal world New Bible DictionaryHebrews 6:19 (NIV) – We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,☞ Biblical Hope Motivates us to become more like Jesus1 John 3:2-3 (NIV) – Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Summary / Review: A Truth to Remember: The hope of a Christian is FAR more than wishful thinking. It is a confident expectation of future blessing, based upon the love and power of God seen in the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A Challenge to Consider:Do you understand the promise of Hope well enough to find confident joy, even in the midst of pain and unanswered questions? One thing I heard this morning was… |