Hope and Joy

Let me add my hello to everyone else who said hello.

It is really great to see some parents of campers

and also our regular 5pm family

and of course all of the slightly weary and smelly summer campers.

We have had a fantastic week soaking in God's Word

and we are not done yet.

So I'm going to pray and ask that the tiredness

and the stickiness and anything else that might distract us

would be taken away so that we can hear what God has to say.

So let's pray.

Father God, we want to thank you for your Word

and we want to thank you for this time right now

where we get to sit and reflect on the hope that is held out in the Gospel

and the joy that you have designed for us in this life

and we pray that you would give us alertness and eagerness

and that we would hear you speak and that our hearts would be captured.

Amen.

So as we've kind of hinted over this week since Wednesday,

we've been walking through Romans 1 to 4.

So it's a bit hard for you if you've just walked in

to kind of catch this series.

But the good news is,

and this might disappoint all the people who are on summer camp,

Romans 1 to 4 can pretty much be summarised in chapter 5 verse 1.

So we might have been able to be a little more economical

if I'd planned to head further,

but that's good news for everyone else

and a refresher for those of us who are feeling tired.

So let's have a look at chapter 5 verse 1.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So far, this letter to the Romans has been all about the Gospel.

Paul's just been teaching what the Gospel is,

how the Gospel works,

why the Gospel matters,

and then he sums it up in this incredibly action-packed sentence.

We have been justified through faith.

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message of the Gospel

is not simply a message

that God will not punish us if we trust Jesus.

It's actually more than that.

The message of the Gospel

that comes out in Romans 1 to 4

and that comes out in all of Scripture

is God's message to say,

you don't deserve to be in heaven.

You don't deserve to know me,

a God who is righteous and perfect and holy,

but I choose to justify you.

I choose to declare you innocent,

not just so that you can avoid punishment,

but I choose to justify you.

I choose to declare you innocent

so that you might know me.

One of the verses that we have bounced around a lot this week

is back in chapter 1.

If you want to turn there really quickly,

chapter 1, verse 16,

says,

I am not ashamed of the Gospel

because it is the power of God

for the salvation of everyone who believes,

first for the Jew,

then for the Gentile.

For in the Gospel,

a righteousness from God is revealed.

The Gospel message is not just a way

to get out of the discipline

or the punishment that you deserve.

The Gospel message is God revealing who he is

so that we can know him,

so that we can actually have a relationship with him.

Back in chapter 5,

he continues on having explained

that we have peace with God,

and he says,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith

into the grace in which we now stand.

The message of the Gospel in Romans 1 to 4

is that God gives us something that we do not deserve,

and that if we place our faith in Jesus,

if we accept the forgiveness that God offers,

having sent his Son to die in our place,

that we now stand in grace,

that we now stand confident

that we will be able to continue to stand,

that we now stand confident

that one day we will stand for all eternity

at peace with God,

because it's by grace,

and it has nothing to do with what we have done,

or haven't done,

or will do,

or won't do.

It has everything to do with what God did

in sending Jesus to die in our place.

The peace with God might be a little bit bigger

than we first grab when we read a verse like this.

Yes, God deals with the fact

that we've been rejecting him,

and he brings peace there.

But he also deals with the fact

that God, who is perfect and righteous and holy,

and has to punish those who reject him,

so instead of standing under judgment,

we have peace.

Romans 1-4 makes it really clear

that although God loves us,

although God is gracious,

he will not tolerate sin.

He will not tolerate people

who treat him like he's not important,

and so this first verse of chapter 5

holds a lot of incredible encouragement.

It says,

we have been declared innocent,

and we have peace with a God

who should actually punish us

because that same God

provided his son

to take our punishment on the cross.

It's an action-packed four chapters.

And we are encouraged

since we have been justified,

because we are justified,

because we have peace with God,

because we now stand in grace.

In Acts 2-2,

we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Because of what God has done in Jesus,

we are joyful people.

The Christian faith is not a stoic

and sad and serious faith.

It is a joyful faith.

Because we no longer have to fear

any possibility of judgment,

because God has welcomed us back

into his family

and has restored us

so that we might have a relationship with him,

we are now people who rejoice

in the hope of the glory of God.

The hope of the glory of God

is the hope of his glory

and his character being fully revealed.

It's another way of saying

we rejoice in the hope of heaven.

We rejoice in the hope

that one day God will come back to the earth

and he will bring justice

where there is injustice.

He will remove pain and suffering.

He will deal out the punishment

that he's rightly deserved.

We rejoice in that hope

because we know that we stand

on the right side of the ledger.

We rejoice in that hope

because we have peace with the one

who will come back

and establish his rule and authority

finally and completely.

We have an anchor

that is bigger and greater

than the circumstances

that we face

in our day-to-day life.

With the hope of the glory of God

as an inevitable destination,

if we believe in the hope of the gospel,

if we believe we are forgiven,

if we believe we have peace with God,

it is inevitable

and immovable

and unchangeable

that our final destination

is heaven with God.

And because of that,

because we know how the story ends,

because we know

where we're going to end up,

because we know

what the finish line is,

verse 3,

we also rejoice

in our sufferings

because we know

that suffering

produces perseverance.

Perseverance, character,

and character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us

because God has poured out

his love into our hearts

by the Holy Spirit

whom he has given us.

Hope is our anchor.

Hope means that

as you deal with pain

in your life now,

you know that it's temporary.

Hope means that

as you miss out on things

that you deeply desire

and maybe even as you wonder

whether or not

God is withholding things from you,

you know that one day,

completely and finally,

he will pour out

every blessing

that you have asked for

and more.

Hope is our anchor

because hope

gives us confidence

that God loves us

even when the world

around us says

that can't be true.

As we deal with

sickness and death

and the world says

just give up on the God

who's clearly not

looking after you,

our hope for the future

enables us to trust

that God is loving

and good

in the present.

our faith

that he has done

what needs to be done

to guarantee

our eternal inheritance

means that we can trust

that even right now

he is doing

what is good

and beneficial

for us

even when it's painful.

We are confident

in the love of God

in verse 5

because he has poured out

his love

into our hearts

by the Holy Spirit

whom he has given us.

We're confident

because his spirit

reminds us

of God's love.

In those moments

of darkness

when we pray

and we cry out

he reminds us

that he is with us

but not just

by his Holy Spirit.

We are confident

of God's love

because of verse 6.

You see

at just the right time

when we were still powerless

Christ died

for the ungodly.

Very rarely

will anyone die

for a righteous man

though for a good man

someone might possibly

dare to die

but God demonstrates

his own love

for us in this.

While we were still

sinners

Christ died

for us.

When we were

rebelling against God

when we were there

cheering

that God

would be crucified

when we were

choosing that

he is not important

when we were

making the decision

that he has no claim

on our life

that we can live

however we want

at that moment

he sent Jesus

to die

so that you would

know that he loved you.

not just

so that you would

know

but so that it

would be possible

for you to be

forgiven

and have the

hope of heaven

if he did that

when you were

still a sinner

if he did that

when you were

still rejecting him

if he did that

while we were

still the ungodly

you can be sure

that as one

who is trusting

in his love

as one

who is calling

him king

as one

who is

leaning on

the hope

that he has

provided

that he still

loves you

and that he's

still working

for your good

if he gave you

Jesus

what would he

possibly withhold

from you?

Paul says

effectively that

in Romans 8

how could he

who did not

spare his own

son but gave

him up for us

all not

eagerly along

with him

also give us

all things?

If God has

delivered his

son

while we were

rejecting him

now that we

call him our

heavenly father

now that we

call Jesus

our savior

how much more

confident we are

even in the

depths of despair

and pain and

suffering

that God

is good

and loving

and that he

is using our

circumstance for

his glory

and our

benefit and

so we

rejoice

in our

sufferings

we are

anchored to

the goodness

of God

because of

the hope

of a savior

who died

in our

place and

who is

now risen

he spells

it out in

verse 9

since we

have now

been justified

by his

blood

how much

more shall

we be saved

from God's

wrath through

him

for if when

we were

God's enemies

we were

reconciled to

him through

the death

of his

son

how much

more having

been reconciled

shall we be

saved through

his life

the gospel

gives us the

benefit right

now of knowing

for certain

that we are

forgiven

knowing for

certain that the

slate has been

wiped clean

we are justified

we are declared

innocent

our punishment

has already been

absorbed and

exhausted in the

person of Jesus

when he went to

the cross

because we know

that and we have

future hope

we rejoice in our

sufferings because

we know that

even as beneficial

as that certain

hope is that

there is more to

come

having been

forgiven that

there is even

more as we

approach the day

when God returns

or calls us home

to be in heaven

having been

justified by

his blood

we will now

be saved

through his

life

not the life

he had before

the cross

but the life

he lives now

and for all

eternity

having been

raised

having defeated

death

Jesus life

now

sitting on the

throne in

heaven

is the life

that guarantees

our future

salvation

so we rejoice

in suffering

because even

as we hurt

we stand

and we say

with confidence

I'm loved

by God

I'm forgiven

by God

and I know

where I am

going

we rejoice

in the hope

of the glory

of God

in the future

that is to

come

we rejoice

even in

our sufferings

but there is

something even

better

have a look

at verse 5

let's read

from verse

verse 3

we also rejoice

in our sufferings

because we know

that suffering

produces perseverance

perseverance

character

and character

hope

and hope

does not

disappoint us

I remember

when it was

almost time

for Bailey

to be born

I'm sure

that some of you

would remember

it as well

because I was

fairly annoying

around this

particular point

I was busting

to become a dad

I was counting

down the days

I had decided

very early

in the pregnancy

that Bailey

was going to be

born at least

two weeks early

I had no basis

for that hope

but I was

absolutely committed

to it

and convinced

of it

and so I was

telling everyone

I was in

preparation

I even took

holidays from

work two weeks

before the due

date because I

was sure that

he was going

to be born

the result was

he managed to

come ten days

late

so not only

did hope

disappoint

but it also

probably seriously

annoyed poor

Sal as I was

wandering around

the house

and you know

hurry up

come on

what's going

on

I was

absolutely

convinced

it was

going to

work out

this way

that I was

going to

become a dad

on this day

that my life

was going to

be changed

and that hope

was absolutely

shattered

because by the

time he was

born I was

so exhausted

from disappointment

that I could

barely enjoy the

moment until

about two weeks

afterwards when I

somehow found

what normal was

again

hope is dangerous

if it's not

sure

hope creates

the possibility

of disappointment

hope that is

not met

breeds sadness

and grief

but that is

not a possibility

for our hope

in God

we can rejoice

in suffering

because it is

feeding our

perseverance

and our

character

and our

hope

and our

hope is

sure

our hope

is not

something that

we have

invented

it's not

some desire

that we have

that we have

elevated to the

position of our

eternal destiny

our hope is

specific

our hope is

that having

been justified

by the blood

of Jesus

having been

forgiven by the

blood of Jesus

we will one day

spend eternity

in God's

perfect new

creation

completely

restored

free from

pain and

sickness and

death and

most importantly

in the presence

of God

himself

we rejoice

in the hope

that one day

God's name

will be

vindicated

he will be

known as

glorious

throughout all

of his

creation

we rejoice

in our

sufferings

because we

know that

they are

merely part

of our

journey

towards that

hope

but we

rejoice

in verse

11

in God

we rejoice

in him

through Jesus

that's why

our joy

as Christians

is both

something that

is overwhelming

in our

circumstance

now but

also something

that we

anticipate

something that

that spurs us

forward in our

life

because we do

know our

heavenly father

now having

been justified

and having been

drawn into a

relationship with

him but we

know that now

we know

only partially

all we know

of God is

amazing and

glorious and

joy giving

but imagine

what it will

be like

when you get

to know him

face to face

imagine what

it will be

like when

you come

face to face

with the

one who

when you

were still

his enemy

gave his

son so

that you

could be

forgiven

we rejoice

because that

is the only

response

to the

glorious God

who has

revealed himself

to us in

the gospel

of Jesus

we rejoice

and we look

forward to

the day

we rejoice

in our

circumstance

now

we rejoice

in anticipation

of that

unhindered

relationship

Christians should

be the most

joyful people

there are

I always

find it

slightly

amusing

when people

talk about

how serious

we are

or how

focused

or stoic

we are

when we

gather

together

for church

sometimes

they're

right

sadly

but really

we should

be overflowing

with joy

we should

be exploding

with joy

we had a

conversation

with the

kids this

morning on

camp

and we

said

don't let

this joy

stay on

camp

bottle it

up as a

grenade

and release

it when we

get to

church

and I

think they

did a

good job

if you're

a parent

they're

saving a

second

grenade of

joy

for the

trip home

to share

with you

how amazing

the week

was

but really

as Christians

we should

have more

joy than

anyone else

because we

have nothing

to fear

because our

eternal destiny

is guaranteed

because we

live in

absolute

certainty

that God

loves us

and is

working for

our good

and expressing

his love

for us

in any

and every

circumstance

and situation

what else

could give you

more joy

than that

but what

if you're

sitting here

now

or what

if you're

sitting here

in a

week's

time

or a

month's

time

or a

year's

time

and you

don't

feel

joyful

it's

great for

me to

say we

should be

joyful

but what

about when

we're

not

then we

need to

go back

to the

beginning

we need

to go back

to verse

one

since we

have been

justified

through faith

we have

peace with

God

through our

Lord Jesus

Christ

through whom

we have

gained access

by faith

into the

grace

in which

we now

stand

we have

to go

back

and remember

that we're

innocent

before God

that we're

forgiven

that our

debt has

been paid

that there

is no

possibility

of God's

wrath for

us

because

Jesus has

taken it

we have

to look

back and

understand

that we

have peace

with God

which doesn't

just mean

the absence

of fighting

peace means

that we have

been drawn

into an

intimate

and loving

relationship

with a

heavenly

father

when we

struggle for

joy we

need to

come back

to the

hope of

that final

day when

the pain

that you're

experiencing

now will

be a

distant

memory

when we

struggle for

joy we

need to

reflect on

the limitless

love of

God shown

in the

sacrifice of

his son

when you

struggle for

joy you

need to

bask in

the encouragement

you need to

soak in the

adrenaline that

comes from

the hope of

the gospel

doesn't mean

that we'll walk

around with

goofy smiles all

the time and

we'll never get

sad and we'll

never cry

I'm sure

there's a lot

of people

from camp

that can

testify that

tears are

part of

the joy

but what

it means is

you have an

anchor and a

foundation

you have a

joy that's

bigger than

how you're

feeling today

that's bigger

than how you're

going this

year that's

bigger than

how much

energy you

have

you have a

joy because

your eternity

is certain

because your

God loves

you and

because no

one and

nothing can

take that

away since

we have been

justified through

faith we have

peace with God

and we have

joy let's

pray

father God

we want to

we want to

thank you for

Jesus we

want to admit

that often we

let our

circumstance and

our situation

and our

relationships and

our anxieties and

whatever else

speak louder than

the gospel we

want to admit

that we get

distracted by

right here and

right now and

we forget what

you have done to

prove to us that

you love us

that we forget

about the

amazing eternal

home that you

are preparing for

us that we

forget that you

have promised

that even right

now in the midst

of our pain you

are working for

our good you

are expressing

your love for

us but father

we ask that you

would open our

eyes to the hope

of the gospel

that we would

wake every morning

with a new sense

of awe that

when we were

enemies Christ

died and brought

us back in a

relationship with

you I pray that

we would know the

joy of a

relationship with

you today and

the anticipation of

the joy that will

come when we get

to see you face

face to face I

pray that the

world around us

will see us and

want the joy that

we have I pray

that you would use

us to represent

you and to draw

other people into

the hope of the

gospel the hope of

Jesus amen

amen

for

us and

let's

we feed on

life