James 4:13-15 - Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
Proverbs 16:9 - The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
1 Timothy 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope…
Romans 15:4 - For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 12:1-2 - Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
5 characteristics of the hope our Savior provides
I. Hope Founded in Sacrificial Living
A. We ought to bear the weaknesses of others and not just please ourselves
Romans 15:1 - Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
B. Choose to please and edify those the Lord has placed around you
Romans 15:2 - Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
Ought - Opheilo – “owe a debt or have a strong obligation”
C. Enjoy the privilege of becoming more like Christ
Romans 15:3 - For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
II. Hope Based on God’s Unchanging Word
A. The instruction for how and why to pursue this kind of sacrificial lifestyle is available for us in Scripture
B. You will receive both perseverance and encouragement as you grow in God’s Word
Romans 15:4 - …so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:5 - Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus…
III. Hope Leading to Corporate Unity
A. We’re united in purpose
Romans 15:6 - …so that with one accord you may with one voice…
B. Which glorifies our God
Psalm 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
Romans 15:6 - …so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:7 - Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
IV. Hope Focused on Accomplishing a Significant Mission
The mission of Faith Church is to glorify God by winning people to Jesus Christ and equipping them to be more faithful disciples.
V. Hope Resulting in Joy and Peace
Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- well, I hope the first few days of your new year have gone well and I’m very much looking forward to talking to you this morning about Why are We Here, Where are We Going, and How Do You Fit In?...
- I’ve had the privilege of giving some form of this message on one of the first Sundays of the new year for several decades now…
- that doesn’t mean it’s the same message of course…because there are many different passages of Scripture that help us answer the question why are we here…or what is our essential mission…
- then the answers to the last two questions change depending on where we are in the life and development of our church…
- but still, the key questions are the same and while I’ve always enjoyed giving what amounts to a “State of the Church” type message – this year’s has to be one of the easiest and most exciting for sure…
- I say that because, by God’s grace, a lot of the hard work was done last year…
- our congregation and assorted ministries invested significant time, and effort, and creativity, and passion, and vision into our planning process…so now we’re able to launch the year with a very clear and precise understanding of what we believe our Lord wants us to seek to accomplish together…
- having said that – I hope you were last week for the message several of our campus pastors gave from James 4 about always planning within the framework of what God’s sovereign, and at this point unknown, will might be for us…
- they led us to consider…James 4:13–15 - Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
- that was a very good precursor to what we’re studying today…
- often as we’ve gone through a planning process together, we’ve reminded ourselves of Proverbs 16:9 - The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
- what we’ve learned over the years is that sometimes, the most important and significant ministry opportunity for us as a church comes as a complete surprise…but it would appear that the Lord often rewards those who are already trying to serve Him with the knowledge they have at the time…it’s a lot easier to redirect a ship that is already out in the water heading somewhere than a group of people who are still standing on the shore arguing about what kind of ship they want to build…
- so for every person hearing this message who invested time and effort into last year’s strategic ministry planning process…thank you for your faithfulness and diligence because you have placed our church and assorted ministries in a marvelous position to get right at it this year…
- to help us frame this discussion, let me invite you to open your Bible to Romans chapter 15…page ____ of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…
- our church’s theme this year is Hope for Everyday Life
- many are talking about a coming recession in the US and around the world…
- the political landscape in our country is disappointing on many fronts…
- COVID seems to continue to raise it’s head in all sorts of ways…
- but in spite of all of that…followers of Jesus Christ can be people of hope…
- and not just in some pie in the sky ethereal, fashion...but even we navigate the challenges and questions and trials that are part of living each and every day…
- it’s practical hope…reliable hope…sustaining hope…
- Ultimately of course that’s true because we find it in the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior…I asked you to turn to Romans 15…but earlier in this book Paul had already explained that…Romans 5:1–2 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
- if you’re not sure, as we begin this new year, that you know that you know that you know that there has been a definite time when you admitted your sin and placed your faith and trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as your own means of being reconciled to a holy God…I hope you’ll do that today…during this message…or at least take steps to meet with someone this week, receive answers to whatever remaining questions you might have – so you can, as the apostle Peter said – make your calling and election sure…
- because for a follower of Jesus Christ – there never has to be a time where we’re completely hopeless…because as Paul reminded Timothy – his son in the faith who often struggled with sinful fear -- 1 Timothy 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
- so, can this annual theme be a reality for each and every one of us?...absolutely…based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross…He is our hope…
- now, this passage before us is noteworthy for a couple of reasons…
- first – it contains a couple of our favorite verses on the subject of hope…if you don’t have these memorized…I would encourage you to consider doing that this year as we contemplate this marvelous theme…
- I’m thinking about…
- Romans 15:4 - For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
- Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- so if you’re looking for a couple of “hope verses” – we surely wouldn’t have to go any further than these…
- however – and this is the second reason this passage is noteworthy…these two verses were not given in a vacuum…one of our core principles of Bible study or hermeneutics is that we always seek to interpret/understand God’s Word in its context…
- so let’s back up for just a minute…we know that the book of Romans is one of the most comprehensive treatments of systematic theology in all of Paul’s letters, especially as it relates to the nature of the gospel…
- you may recall that when the pandemic hit…we were actually in a year-long verse by verse study of the book of Romans…
- and we immediately had to make decisions about how we were going to respond to serve our church family best
- and we even asked – should we pivot to a different series…should I or one of out other staff members start preaching from our basements next to our fireplaces, etc…
- and we decided – no – our church family needs some sense of normalcy in this topsy- turvy world…so let’s keep having our worship team lead us from their same positions on the platform…let’s keep studying the book of Romans verse by verse from the same pulpit…
- and so that’s what we did…and looking back – I think that was a sound decision…
- marveling at the beauty and intricacy and reliability of the gospel even while experiencing turbulent and in many ways, lonely times where we were unable to meet together…
- you probably remember if you were part of our church at that time that the book follows a very clear outline…where the first 11 chapters are primarily doctrinal…but then there is a clear shift to practical application in chapter 12…Romans 12:1–2 - Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
- what’s fascinating in part is – what aspects of practical Christian living Paul emphasizes in the rest of the book…because he could have pivoted to practically anything…
- but here’s what he did – and I’m summarizing for sake of time…
- but chapter 12 is about how to respond when someone is treating you in an evil fashion…
- chapter 13 focuses on how a Christian is to relate to government…
- and then chapters 14-15 (including what we’re studying this morning about hope) is all about the issue of Christian liberty…
- what about those areas of the Christian life that are not specifically called out in Scripture in black and white terms…where we have freedom to decide what we believe is best for ourselves…realizing another brother or sister might take a different path…
- failing to get that right can torpedo a group of people’s ability to live and proclaim the gospel…
- and here’s why that matters this morning…these 45 initiatives that our congregation approved last May 15th as being what we are going to especially focus on in 2023…
- they’re not biblical truth…we’re not inscripurating our plans…
- and if you think about that long enough you could say – oh oh, we’re headed for division…we’re headed for endless arguments and ineffectiveness because of a variety of opinions on these matters…
- that’s not true – because Scripture gives us general principles about how we relate to one another even on issues that are not specifically called out in the Bible…and for that reason…a very diverse group of people like us can have great hope…
- now, time doesn’t allow us to review all of chapter 14…but with that context in mind, please allow me to read the first 13 verses of chapter 15…and we’re looking for 5 characteristics of the hope our Savior provides.
- read Romans 15:1-13
I. Hope Founded in Sacrificial Living
- I think it would be unfortunate for us to jump to verse 4 and talk about the great hope we read about at the end of that marvelous verse without first considering this context of a lifestyle that sacrifices what we might want in order to serve others and ultimately our God…
- you could say it this way – selfishness will rob us of hope…
- because we’re living unlike our Savior, and inconsistent with our God-given design
A. We ought to bear the weaknesses of others and not just please ourselves
- that’s the essence of verse 1…Romans 15:1 - Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
- I realize you might say – I feel like I walked into the middle of an argument – that’s what chapter 14 was about…if you glance back over the first few verses…Paul raises the question of some young Christians – considered spiritually weak in this discussion – who only want to eat vegetables…
- that’s because in their culture some meat was offered to a pagan deity before it was sold…you can read all about that in 1 Corinthians 8, 9, and 10 as well…
- whereas someone who was stronger spiritually would say – the idol is nothing – so it doesn’t matter if the meat was offered to it, and if it’s a more economical choice…I prefer to eat that…
- Scripture doesn’t specify exactly how to handle that – which is why we refer to it as an area of Christian liberty…
- but a church could very easily get off track on arguments about such matters…
- you talk about a hopeless existence – let a church go down one of those rabbit holes…arguments like that will suck all the vitality and joy and hope out of a church family about as fast as anything…
- but what about when we let the gospel have its desired effect?...
B. Choose to please and edify those the Lord has placed around you
- now we’re getting somewhere…Romans 15:2 - Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
- now to be clear – this isn’t a take it or leave it proposition…
- do you see the word “ought” in verse 1…Opheilo – “owe a debt or have a strong obligation”
- when a person chooses to live that way – it breeds hope…in the positive spiritual benefit that might come to the person you’re trying to serve…
- you might say – what does that have to do with our key questions…why are we here, where are we going, and how do you fit in?...
- or our ability to accomplish these 45 strategic initiatives we’ve laid out this year?...
- in a word – everything…
- that’s why I’m so thankful for where we are…as people were investing time in completing the surveys last year…or suggested ministry initiatives…or ranking the suggestions…
- its wasn’t in the spirit of – I’m lobbying for my preferred idea…
- it was – what serves the people in our community best…
- what serves people in our world best…
- what serves our God best…
- even if that means we are going to have to sacrifice something…to give something we have up in order to achieve that together…
- think about the keystone projects…constructing a new Christian High school building, finishing the barn/woodshop at Restoration, paying off our external debt, upgrading FE, and expanding our FE athletic fields…
- the amount of money that the Lord allowed His people to commit to those projects is astounding – 11.3 million dollars…
- but just as significant is how the vast majority of people in our church family made some kind of financial commitment…
- 625+ individuals and families…
- in many cases…people who will never set foot inside that school…
- will never have reason to visit Restoration…
- have zero interest in outdoor athletics…
- but who said…if that’s what our church family believes is God’s will for us…whether it’s my first choice or not…I’m willing to sacrifice in order to make it happen…
- that level of sacrificial maturity will naturally breed hope…and ultimately it helps us be like who according to verse 3?...
C. Enjoy the privilege of becoming more like Christ
- Romans 15:3 - For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
- please allow me to sketch that out in one of dozens of ways we possibly could…
- building the new Christian High School facility is going to be a major part of our attention the next couple of years because of its size and complexity…
- but what about the members of our church who are involved in public schools, or home schools?...
- and here’s the answer – we want to support them too…
- education is another area of Christian liberty – the Bible doesn’t say there is only one way to educate a child…so we’re glad for, and want to support people regardless of what choice they’ve made for their vocation or their educational choice for the own children…
- but here’s a beautiful thing…when those very same people turned right around and made a generous financial commitment to a ministry from which they may never personally and directly benefit…that’s sacrificial maturity…
- and when you think about it – I suppose there are all sorts of groups of people planning to do all sorts of things together in the next coming years…
- pooling our God-given resources and trying to build a Christian High School facility together – that’s about as exciting as it gets…
- and I believe we’re going to find and achieve and experience hope that is founded on sacrificial living…
II. Hope Based on God’s Unchanging Word
- how does verse 4 fit with what was just emphasized in verses 1-3?...
- this isn’t purposeless sacrifice…we’re talking about participating in God’s eternal and redemptive plan that has been laid out in all the Scriptures
A. The instruction for how and why to pursue this kind of sacrificial lifestyle is available for us in Scripture.
- I realize you might say – I don’t feel like living for others in 2023…I don’t feel like living for God in 2023…It’s all about me, its all about my, it’s all about number one, me, my, oh my…
- that gets us right into the core of these 45 initiatives for this year…
- we don’t believe in simply saying – here’s how we ought to live…here’s what God wants us to be/do…without providing teaching, training, and mentoring resources to help make that kind of lifestyle more attainable over time…
- another way of saying that is – biblical churches are equipping churches…mentoring churches…training churches….
- we don’t just talk about the what, we talk about the how…
- please take a look at the list of initiatives you were given this morning…I’d like to make a few general comments…
- the reason a staff member’s name is listed is so that you know who is shepherding that particular effort…here’s why that matters…
- now you know specifically who to pray for…because we all believe that all of this has to be bathed in prayer [keep a copy of the plan with your Bible and pray regularly and specifically for the ones that especially interest you]
- now you know who to hold accountable…because we all believe accountability is a good thing, don’t we?...feel free to ask any one of us at any point this year how that particular one is coming…
- most importantly, if you have a skill or interest or desire that especially matches one of these particular initiatives…reach out to the person and offer to join the team…
- now, more specifically – look how many of them involve training or mentoring…[share examples]…
- I would encourage you to prayerfully consider where you are in your walk with Christ…and which of these training opportunities would be especially helpful to you this year
- in our Sunday services – we’re going to be focusing on this topic of hope from many perspectives…and I hope you’ll decide right-now, that you and your family are going to do whatever is necessary to be in in-person worship as often as you possibly can
- the more you learn the Word of God – because perhaps it goes without saying that each of these training efforts will be based on Scripture – the more your heart and life will be filled with…hope
- and do you see the long range-effect that is mentioned twice in verses 4-5…
B. You will receive both perseverance and encouragement as you grow in God’s Word
- Romans 15:4 - …so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
- and what’s fascinating is that Paul turns right around and makes it very clear…
- Romans 15:5 - Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
- and the lesson there is – what God expects, He also enables…and that is extremely good news to the people of God…
- and I would challenge each and every one of us to make a concrete plan for how we are going to grow in our understanding of Scripture this year…
- how we are going to take advantage of the training and mentoring opportunities that we said back on May 15th of last year that we wanted to develop and offer…
- and this passage is promising us that one of the net effects is that we will be growing in biblical hope for everyday life…
III. Hope Leading to Corporate Unity
- please note the purpose clause at the beginning of verse 6…
A. We’re united in purpose
- Romans 15:6 - so that with one accord you may with one voice…
- how is that even possible?...because we’re all looking to the same Savior…
- and in the divided world in which we live…when you get a large group of people all pulling in the same direction…the world takes notice…and ultimately…
B. Which glorifies our God
- Psalm 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
- let’s face it – these are God-sized plans…and they ought to be…
- because this is Jesus’ church…and he promised that He would build His church, and that the gates of Hell will not prevail against it…
- and we don’t want to have little plans – because we don’t serve a little God…
- and we don’t want to be divided in our efforts, or apathetic in our efforts, or unfaithful in our efforts – because that would not glorify our God in the way He so richly deserves…
- Romans 15:6 - so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- let me pause and ask a couple of specific questions about all of this…
- I spoke a moment ago about whether you know for sure that there has been a specific time in your life when you admitted your sin and trusted Christ as Savior and Lord…
- if not, I hope and pray that you will do something about that right away…meaning, this week…that decision is what unites you with Jesus Christ…which is the foundation of our union with one another…
- if you have made that decision – here’s the next question – have you been baptized by immersion as an outward sign of that inward reality?...
- and if the answer to that question is no – let me love you enough as a pastor to tell you that you are being disobedient to Christ’s command on that matter…and I would challenge you to do something about that right away…
- greater obedience leads to greater hope…it’s just that simple…
- the next question I’m going to ask you is – have you taken steps to join our church…that’s part of what’s necessary to be united to a group of brothers and sisters…and if you’ve not yet done that – I would challenge you to sign up for an Intro to Faith class and let’s get that handled…
- here’s the bottom line – we intend to have a lot of fun this year…and we’d love to have you join the party…jump into verse 6 with us…
- and if you’d say – but I have all sorts of baggage…I don’t know if there would be a place for me….that’s how verse 7 fits in to all of this…
- Romans 15:7 - Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
- and hope comes when a group of people are willing to treat one another in that way…
- I noticed that afresh during the Living Nativity…
- the Lord has blessed us with both Vision of Hope for women and Restoration for men…
- but those are not just one way ministries where we are trying to help someone else…
- those residents provide an incredible blessing to us as well…
- so they’re helping with the set-up day
- and participating in the cast and support crew of the Nativity itself…
- and helping with the tear down…
- and no one’s saying – hey, what were you struggling with or what are you trying to overcome…
- let’s face it – this side of heaven – we’re all struggling with something and if truth is to be known, struggling with many things…and as soon as one area is handled the Lord has a way of bringing to mind what’s next on the sanctification path…this hope leads to a corporate unity among imperfect but growing people…
IV. Hope Focused on Accomplishing a Significant Mission
- the phrase in verse 4 – whatever was written in earlier times needs to be understood in light of the overall context
- the bulk of the OT passages that Paul goes on to quote are in verses 9-12…which is about the mission of redeeming people from every tribe and every nation…so Jews and Gentiles – people of a variety of ethnicities and every other aspect of diversity we could mention – come together as the wonderful people of God…
- the point – in its context is – that’s why we don’t have time to be judging each other about who’s eating what…
- in a purposeful pun – we’ve got bigger fish to fry…
- if the Lord is redeeming men and women all around us and drawing them to Himself and to our church family…that’s a mission we wholeheartedly embrace…
- that’s why our mission statement is – The mission of Faith Church is to glorify God by winning people to Jesus Christ and equipping them to be more faithful disciples.
- [read whatever portion of verses 8-12 that time allows]…
- several of our initiatives are specifically focused on outreach…
- we also now have multiple community centers that can and should be wonderful platforms for outreach…
- I would encourage every person in our church to seek to present the gospel to at least person who does not know Him this year…or whatever numerical goal would stretch you in your evangelism in 2023…
- I would also encourage you to plan to join us for every church family night as we celebrate those who have become followers of Jesus Christ…
- Being on-mission and seeing God bless those efforts with fruit provides incredible hope to His people…so, what are we doing this year – finding hope for everyday life by living in a mission-oriented fashion…and where does that take us according to verse 13?
V. Hope Resulting in Joy and Peace
- Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- let me sketch out one more way that’s true that may not be readily apparent but I believe is very important for our church family to consider, and also brimming with hope…
- please sit back and enjoy this because it’s almost like a breath of fresh air blowing through your hair on a warm spring day…
- we just approved a 3 year plan…and keep in mind, that we always develop our next plan in the final year of our existing one…
- do you know what that means we’ll be doing, if the Lord tarries His coming, 24 months from now?...beginning to work on our next one…which, although the decision hasn’t be made…will probably be a 5 year plan – from 2026-2030…
- Here’s where the concept of being Free to Dream comes in…if the Lord allows us to achieve what we’ve set out to do over the next 3 years…which includes in part retiring all of our external indebtedness…and if our financial condition stays the same…that will free up over 1M per year in funds we can devote to missions and ministry in ways we would have never even dared to contemplate before…
- I’m encouraging you to begin thinking and praying about that now…because we all know that 24 months will go very quickly…
- what mission field would you like to see us explore…that perhaps we’ve never even dared consider that before…but now we can…
- what ministry could we launch…what need could we meet…
- what we’re setting out to do here is substantial…but what could happen my friends?...repeat verse…
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