4/19/26 - Romans 15:8-13: Praise God - Steve Gee

This morning we are in the book of Romans.

Believe it or not, I think it's week 43 or 44.

And so we're going to be looking at chapter 15, 8 through 13.

I'm going to start with leading us in missions.

And then also, like this morning, we had the next generation leading us in praise song.

So there's so much to be excited about.

I'm so encouraged this morning by everything that's going on.

So thank you, Lark and Susie, for helping us with that as well.

Okay, so yeah, Romans 15, 8 through 13.

A few weeks ago, one of my friends here at the church, who's not here this morning, I'm bummed, because man, I like to put him on blast.

But he pulled me aside.

He's like, hey, let me show you this picture.

So he pulled out his um his photo album called his phone, and he uh uh showed me, he said, You're not gonna like check this out.

And didn't even, that's all the context he gave me, and opened a picture of something that looked like a a long thorn on a strange branch.

And he's like, check this out.

Look at this thorn on this weird branch.

Well, that's what I was thinking.

I'm looking at him like I mean, he was obviously impressed.

Like he was like, look at this.

And even his wife was like, uh-huh, you see that?

And I'm like, what uh uh I mean I have a thorn, I have a rose bush in my backyard.

I mean, I I guess there that's a that's a big thorn.

Uh but then he told me this is called a wait, what was it?

A turkey spur.

Uh and I was supposed to be impressed by how big this turkey spur.

See, y'all don't even know what that is.

Do y'all know what that is?

Yes, okay.

All right.

So it and it was a it was a big turkey spur, and he said he measured it and it was a big deal, and I was supposed to be amazed by it.

And then even his like I think they read my face and they were like, I don't think he's impressed.

And then they told me how long the turkey's beard was.

Like I felt like I was being hanging out, because you know I can't grow a beard.

I was just like, and then I just felt like horrible.

And uh uh, but like, so here's the thing, here's here's what I'm I'm getting at.

We uh so when you think about the word praise, to praise, we praise what we uh respect, what we admire, what we're thankful for.

Uh one definition of admiration is uh pleasurable contemplation.

So we praise uh that which we have uh uh in pleasure contemplated, thought about, considered.

But again, uh uh uh it's it's different for all of us.

But what we're talking about here is not some you know thorn on a strange leg of a turkey.

What we're talking about here is the good news of Jesus Christ.

This is good news for all people.

So wherever you're at in your life, this photo that we'll look at today from Paul's photo album is praiseworthy.

Ought to capture every single heart in this room.

And so part of uh Brad reading that passage that the Spirit would help us see these things.

Part of it is that, hey, listen, I pray that the Spirit would help us see the beauty of this photo of Christ that we're about to look at in Romans chapter 15, verses 8 through 13.

Romans 15:8–13

That we would see this photo and say, oh my goodness.

That we would contemplate pleasurably, that we would be abounding in joy at the good news of Jesus Christ.

That's that's the hope today.

We need the work of the Spirit for that.

So then, let's read the passage.

Romans chapter 15, verses 8 through 13.

Romans 15:8–13

Romans 15, 8 through 13.

Here's what it says.

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

As it is written, therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.

And again, it is said, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.

And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.

And again, Isaiah says, the root of Jesse will come, and even though uh even he who arises to rule the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.

Verse 13, Romans chapter 15.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

See it.

If you haven't been looking so far, see this Romans 15, 13.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

I again, the goal here today is to uh with pleasure contemplate that.

That we would admire this, that we would be thankful for this, that we would then therefore praise God for this, for what he has revealed.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day.

Father God, we thank you for the sun, the morning light that you command.

And Father God, we we thank you for that common grace, but we thank you for this special grace that is your word, your special revelation.

Thank you for this word.

But again, we know the most special revelation is your son Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of God in the flesh.

And so we thank you for him.

Father God, I pray that we would spend this next half hour just considering with pleasure, contemplating, treasuring the good news of Jesus Christ, your son.

Thank you for sending him.

Father, we stand before you and pray this in all things, not in the confidence of who we are.

We stand before you and pray this in the name, in the person of your son Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Let me give you a purpose statement for today, a summary statement.

We praise God eternal for his faithfulness and mercy in Christ as revealed in the past, enjoyed in the present, and confidently hoped for in the future.

So that's the purpose statement.

And I do want to just say this in case, just so you know.

It's not like I say, you know what, I would like to preach on this Sunday?

I would like to preach a sermon that praises God, eternal for his faithfulness and mercy in Christ, as revealed in the past, enjoyed in the present, and confidently hope for in the future.

I want to preach that sermon.

That's not how this works.

How this works is I study and then I just give you a summary of what the passage says.

That's just exegesis.

So again, that summary statement is from the studies, not from what I felt like preaching this week.

And this is what I believe the summary is of this week.

So the three points to that, that summary statement.

Confirmation and incorporation, therefore praise, therefore trust.

So confirmation and incorporation, therefore praise, therefore trust.

So first, confirmation and incorporation, first two verses, well, first verse and a half.

So you have eight and nine A.

So A being the first part of verse nine, we see this, for I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

Okay.

So as Paul wraps up this section in Romans 14 and 15, really, and really 12 through this point where he's talking about how we live in light of Romans 1 through 11, as Paul wraps up this section, he begins with, for I tell you, he's saying, Hear what I'm saying.

Okay, so this is a moment of just like a somber, like, hey, hear this, okay?

This is about to be over.

Now he didn't take 40 some weeks, right?

But this is about to be over.

So if you haven't been, if you haven't been locked in, as the kids say, y'all still say that, is that okay?

Okay.

My daughter's usually like, Dad, we don't say that anymore.

Don't you dare say six, seven.

So he said, he says, listen, for I tell you, right?

So lock in.

He is saying, here's what I'm saying.

Listen up.

I'm about to put all of these things together.

Throughout the letter, Paul has been unpacking the power of God for our salvation and then addressing how that mercy works itself out in the lives of the church.

And he's writing this to a church, both Jewish and Gentile Christians.

That's what we've seen throughout the book of Romans.

And this has been clear, the clear focus of the application of the gospel in the last few chapters.

Last few chapters, 14 and 15.

Remember, it's all about unity.

It's all about bearing with one another, right?

Mature and immature Christians, all bearing with one another, but we're all welcomed by God, so none of us are going to say you're not welcomed.

Nobody gets to sit at the table of God and say, you're less welcomed than I am.

It's not how we treat each other.

Okay, that's what the last two chapters have been about.

And so he writes in verse 8 and 9 of chapter 15, it's meant to explain how the work of Christ provides a unifying foundation for both groups.

So he writes, For I tell you, Christ became a servant to the Jews in order to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.

Paul wants the church to see that all the promises made in the Old Testament to Abraham and Moses have been fulfilled in Christ.

That the covenants God made to his people have not been disregarded.

He is not forgotten.

He has not moved on.

Rather, he's fulfilled them in Jesus.

So then, God does not lie.

He see the truthfulness of God.

When you behold Jesus, see God's truth.

See the Word, Word made flesh, see the Word of God in the flesh, accomplishing what the Word has said.

A few weeks ago, uh my sweet, long-suffering, patient mother, who you may know as Miss Dorothy, she said, I would like to take you guys out for dinner.

Oh man, immediate anxiety for me.

Because, and she says, I want to go to your your y'all's favorite place.

And that favorite place is a buffet.

And that favorite place is expensive.

And uh, you know, and it's just, you know, I don't know that it should be expensive, but it is.

Uh, and so I don't want to put them on blast because it's good food, and I don't want them to kick me out.

Uh so when she said, I'd like to take you off, and they're like, There's 15 of us in our family.

We had to take three cars.

Uh and so, and so I was like, Oh no, mom, you don't have to please, please, please, please.

It's okay, it's okay.

And so, like, even at dinner, like I tried to say it's gonna be a lot, and she said, it's okay, it's okay.

You know how moms do?

It's okay.

So we're sitting there and we're eating, and I'm like looking at the the menu and like, or the thing, and I'm like, oh my kid, no, I have one kid now.

They're all like adult like buffets at this point, and I'm looking at them like you better eat up, you better eat up.

Don't you one plate is not enough, two's not enough, three.

I don't care how you feel right now.

I hope you wear elastic pants.

You are going to make this worth it.

And so, uh, like, so I'm I'm worried.

And then I, you know, they give me the bill at the end.

Uh okay, they give me the bill at the end, and uh I open it up, you know, open the nice uh leather thing, and I open it up, I'm like, oh no.

And like immediately Kristen's looking at me like this, and like, and I'm thinking, how do I do this in a way, like how maybe I should pay for some of this?

And I'm just nervous.

My mom's gonna be like, oh, I mean, I thought, I mean, that's a lot of, you know, that's a lot.

And I was I was nervous, but I but also at the same time I knew I knew it was okay.

That her promise wouldn't be voided by the cost to love us.

Does that make sense?

That her promise would not be voided by the cost to love us.

Okay, even at great cost.

I knew that she wouldn't say, just kidding.

You gotta lay away on this, you know what I mean?

Like, I it wouldn't not, her promise would not be voided by the cost.

Okay, you get it.

Child of God, when he sent his son in the flesh, he knew you all the way.

That is, he knew the cost, and it was not too great.

And he knew you, and you were not too out of reach of his grace.

So when you see Jesus on the cross, see the measure of his faithfulness.

He did not change his mind, even when those he had promised changed their mind about him.

The life and death of Jesus confirms his word to his people.

His promise was not voided by the cost.

If you've ever read the Old Testament, you know it's messy.

It can be quite exhausting and frustrating to read how the covenant people of God continually choose what is right in their own eyes, how they continue to turn their eyes away from the God who redeemed them and unto the temporary princes and pleasures of this world.

And it continues in the New Testament, even when he took on flesh and healed and fed them, and yet they shouted, crucify him, even when those who walked with him denied and abandoned him, even when the cost to fulfill the promise is his own life.

See the covenant of love that cannot be frustrated.

Death on the cross was more than an in more than inconvenient for Christ.

Crucifixion and losing the holy fellowship of the Father by taking our sin upon himself was not out of the question for the love of Jesus.

The bill was not too high for those whom he loves.

What more then could he have done to confirm his covenant promise?

We must see that God kept and keeps his promises to his people.

His character is revealed in these things.

We see that he can be trusted.

We see the depth of his love in Christ.

We see the truthfulness of God.

You see it in your passage.

In order to confirm the promise.

In Christ, we see the promise confirmed.

Even at great cost.

What more?

What more?

What what better, what bigger confirmation could he give than him paying that cost?

The promise is confirmed.

That's important, not just for yesterday, not just for today, but for the future.

We'll get to that later.

And then secondly, Paul explains that the that the Gentiles, those who were outside the covenants of God, those who were not in the three cars going to the to the buffet, the people outside of that, were not left abandoned.

I'm not saying my mom's inviting y'all to to to it you to the buffet.

Okay.

That's not what I'm saying.

I mean, right?

No, no, we're not saying that.

Okay.

But here's what Christ did.

In Christ, God has grafted them into his people.

In Christ, the Gentile world, which could only stand behind a wall of separation, was given great mercy.

And so we look at the cross and we see the width of his love.

The depth of his love, he went all the way to the cross.

The width of his love, Gentile world.

Those who were outside the walls of hostility were invited into the inner courts.

And we've been included.

We've been given away unto life in him.

And we see the character of God revealed.

He is a merciful God.

How merciful?

All the way to death in your place.

That merciful.

You cannot exhaust his mercies.

They are not simply new every morning, they are sufficient for whatever we might face.

His mercy is immeasurable.

And so we know that no matter what happened yesterday, today, or tomorrow, there is mercy.

He did not go to the cross to bring us near in order to be separated us from anything in all of creation.

And we talk about this a lot.

It is very important that your theology includes the theology that says God knows what you're going to do tomorrow and has always known how you are going to react and respond tomorrow.

If you don't have that, you're going to walk on eggshells around God.

But understand when He paid the price for you, He knows your thoughts tomorrow.

He knows every last one of them.

There's only one response.

Run to Him.

Again, we'll get to that later as well.

See Christ, see the mercy of God upon us.

As I consider the historical narratives again in the Old Testament, I was reminded that this book is unlike any other book that man would have would write and then and then follow.

So think about this.

This book, the Bible, and really at this point, the Old Testament, the scriptures, they were written like who else would write a book like this and then follow this book?

Here's what I mean.

When people sit down to write their own history, don't you think they tend to shade it?

They shape it, rose-colored glasses, details of their own shortcomings left out.

Why?

Because the book is meant to tell the story of their beauty.

But not this book.

The Old Testament is all about the failing of the people who wrote it.

Who writes that history book?

Like we don't have history books.

Does man write that kind of history book?

Hey, I want to give you a history of my people, of who I am, and it's going to be all about how bad I am and how I continually messed up, messed up, or mess up.

And then I needed some an outsert an outside force, an external force to save me.

This is the history they passed down from generation to generation.

Even their heroes were very flawed.

So then, who is this book about?

Whose glory does this book point to?

God's glory, his beauty, his worth.

That's who we're supposed to admire in here.

I don't have anything wrong with admiring David, you know, and Moses and looking at Noah and seeing those good men, and even in Paul and Peter and saying, yeah, they were great men, but my goodness, my goodness.

Read up, read the stories.

Don't just read the chapter, don't just read the verse.

Read the whole story of those men.

Right?

It is obviously not about their beauty.

It is about the beauty of God.

We praise God.

Okay.

Secondly.

Confirmation, incorporation.

Confirmation, confirmed on the cross, depth of his love, incorporation, the width of his mercy, right?

Gentiles grafted him.

Secondly, therefore, praise.

9B and on to 12.

As it is written, therefore, I'll praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.

And again, it says, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.

And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.

And again, Isaiah says, the root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles in him will the Gentiles hope.

Okay, therefore, if you've been here for any length of time, you all are probably exhausted by what I'm about to say.

It's okay.

I like to harp on that word, therefore, like it's important.

But again, uh I want to, I think we need to, I need to be reminded of what that word therefore is in the Bible.

It is to remind us and reorient us about the order of my love and praise of God.

I need to remember the right order of my salvation.

We, the people of God, the children of God, the Christians, the disciples, of whatever you want to call them, the way, whatever you want to call them, we are a people of the therefore.

That is, we are a people who are made alive and now are able to live in response to a work that has been done.

Our work, our lives are lived on the other side of therefore.

Everything we do as Christians is very it's not about our work, it's about the work that has been done unto us.

It is an outpouring of the work that we've received.

Right?

It is a therefore work.

Why do we go to hard places all over the world?

Why do we do that?

Because we exist on the other side of therefore.

We say, do you see what God, you see the the the depth of the love of God?

How He how the cost does not violate his promise?

Do we see the width of how I've been incorporated and grafted into that?

Therefore, I don't live my life this way.

I just I'm so thankful.

Just praise.

I just want to be in aroma.

We get it?

I think.

We are a redeemed people of a new covenant sealed in the blood of God, the God of mercy.

And that's transformative.

It's not just what we do on Sunday mornings, it ripples and reverberates into every area of our lives.

In light of this mercy, upon those who are on the outside, we present ourselves as living sacrifices, a pleasing aroma for the glory of God, for the praise of God.

And what we read here is that because of his faithfulness and mercy, we praise him.

We therefore sing his name.

And if I can be clear about his name for just one second, let me give you one note here about when we say we sing his name.

When we sing in the name of Jesus, we understand that his name is not as simple, is not simply a moniker or a label.

And also when we pray in his name, it is not a magical incantation that forces God to listen.

I know we've talked about this before.

It's not like, hey, listen, I'm gonna pray all these things, and I'm gonna say the thing at the end that's gonna make God obey.

I'm gonna pray in Jesus' name, and then he's gonna be stuck.

It's like that is the abracadabra.

That is he will have to do it.

That's not what praying in his name or singing his name means.

Rather, in the Bible, a name is the person, it is them.

And so to sing to the name of Christ is to sing Christ.

To pray in his name is to pray in the person of Christ, to go before God clothed in the name, clothed in the righteous son.

When we say the name, we're talking about the person.

And so Paul is saying, because of the faithfulness and mercy of God in Christ Jesus, we are meant to therefore, therefore, right?

Response, therefore, sing Christ, sing him, sing his beauty, his worth, his love, sing the person.

When Maya calls us to worship, when we when we are singing, we're not singing because Maya stands up and said, Sing with me.

I mean, that's that's the cue.

But why are we singing?

We are singing because we're a people of the therefore.

We stand and we sing loud, not because somebody asks us to, not because man or creature says, Sing with me.

We sing because we we are a people who say his mercy is so good.

Let me sing.

Let me sing.

And so that's that's what Maya does.

Therefore sing.

Therefore, praise.

The children of Israel in the wilderness were a praiseless people.

Why?

They forgot what came before the therefore.

Their hearts did not trust the faithfulness of God.

The God who did not leave them in captivity.

The God who did not abandon them at the shoreline of the Red Sea.

Having been made recipients of God's mercy and grace, they grumbled and complained.

They worried and tested God within when their current circumstances, current circumstances appeared to deny his covenant.

Let me say that again.

They grumbled and complained.

They worried and tested God when their current circumstances appeared to deny his covenant.

Their appetites, they were hungry, and they they said, Oh, God must not, God must be breaking his promise to us.

And so then also, it is a strange thing for a church to be without praise in this age.

It's a strange thing for a church to grumble and complain when their circumstances don't live up to their expectations.

We are not a praiseless people.

Paul tells the church of Rome, see his covenant faithfulness and mercy, see that he keeps his word.

When God declared the prophecy to the garden serpent that the offspring of the woman would crush his head, God was setting the stage for the Son.

So then, when we look at Christ on the cross, we see that what God sets in motion, he finishes.

When we see the empty tomb of Christ, we see that Christ was not crushed.

Rather, his heel was merely bruised.

We can then know that there will be a day when the head of the serpent will indeed, in fact, be crushed.

Child of God, do not repeat the praiseless posture of the children of Israel in their journey.

Praise him in the wilderness.

Consider what he has done.

Consider what he is doing.

Consider what he promised, and he will not fail to do.

Like our whole lives.

I know I've said this probably a lot, like, I want that on my tombstone, like, but now I'm like, oh, I want that on my tombstone.

He praised God.

He was a person of the therefore.

He lived in response, not trying to earn anything.

What about his legacy?

His legacy is a legacy of Christ.

Okay, you get it.

Sorry.

Third and finally, we're almost there.

Therefore, trust.

So therefore, praise.

Yeah, to summarize.

Confirmed it, confirmed his promises, went all the way to the cross.

No cost too great to violate or to frustrate his promise.

His love is wide.

His mercy is wide.

He incorporates all those outside of the family, incorporates a grasp in the Gentiles.

Secondly, in response to that, we then praise.

Extol God, praise him, praise him, praise him with your lives.

Sing.

Actually, sing.

Sing praises.

And then therefore, trust.

Paul ends the body of his letter to the Roman church here in verse 13.

I mean, it kind of takes a little while to say goodbye.

His final conclusion point is long, just like mine, usually.

But he's kind of summing it up here in verse 13.

And he does it with a blessing.

He begins by declaring that God is the God of hope.

God is the God, the God of hope.

Okay, if you say it's a nice, it, I you know, if you say I hope it's a nice day tomorrow, say, I mean, I just hope it's a nice day tomorrow.

You know, I have a day off, I might, you know, hit a bank, try to catch fish.

Like, I hope it's a nice day tomorrow.

That we know is uh it's almost about this point, a coin toss.

I don't care if you've looked at the forecast.

That hope is shaky.

It's shaky.

Okay?

It is shaky, right?

I hope it's a nice day.

But we would say that.

I hope, right?

That's how we use the word hope in English usually.

I hope it's a nice day.

Now, it would be weird for me to say this.

Okay, you you get it when I say that, you're like, yeah, me too.

I hope it's a nice day.

But what if I stood if what if you know we're standing together, we're talking uh over some donut holes in the foyer, and we're like, man, I sure hope the sun comes up tomorrow.

I really hope it does.

You would say that's a weird way to use the word hope, Steve.

Why?

Because I I think, because of the last 48 years of my life, I can probably have a confident expectation that the sun arise.

That's different than when I say I hope it's a nice day.

We get the difference there.

I hope it's a nice day.

That's how we use the word in English.

But to say, I hope the sun comes up tomorrow, you're like, I think that's a pretty good bet.

It's probably gonna come up tomorrow, right?

That's a confident expectation, so we don't say the word hope.

In the Bible, when we're talking about our hope in God, it is like saying, I hope the sun comes up tomorrow.

It is a confident expectation built on the what has happened before us in our entire lives.

And in this book, I mean we go all the way back from the prophecy in Genesis that the head, the snake crusher will come, and we see that he did come in the New Testament.

We go all the way back.

We look at the genealogies, we look at the Davidic covenant, we look at the Mosaic Covenant, we look at even the Noahic covenant, and we say, Oh, we look at all of these things, we look at the story, all of this is a big book.

We look at all of these stories and we say, Oh, he's faithful, he's faithful, he's faithful, his mercy is good, he's right, he's just, he loves.

Right?

So we have this huge evidence.

So when we say the God of hope, we're not saying the God of, I hope the weather is nice tomorrow.

We're saying the God of the confident expectation, right?

That's important.

Again, when the Bible uses hope, especially when it's in God, it's not a wish or a naive desire, it is a confident expectation.

So then Paul writes, may the God of confidence, right?

If the English word hope is confusing for us, may the God of confidence do these things.

Because this God is the eternal creator, the Alpha and Omega, all-knowing and all-powerful, all-present God, there is nothing outside of his authority.

The morning light, the sun, actually rises only because he wills it to.

So then, every hope that is outside of God is built on sin.

So then to say, every hope that is outside of God, you're hoping in something else other than God, is actually like hoping that it's a nice day tomorrow.

The only thing we can have a confident expectation of is his character and who he is.

I want to, I like I want to.

I want to get there.

Like I want to get there.

I want to live in such a way that I that in my mind I think there's a better chance that the sun doesn't come up tomorrow than there is that God is going to abandon me tomorrow.

The more surprising thing, let me put it this way, the more surprising thing is that God would not be with me tomorrow than if the sun didn't come up tomorrow.

Does that make sense?

I want to live that way.

I want to know that.

Hey, the sun can stand still.

God made that clear.

Okay.

You get it?

All right.

I like all that.

I want to there's a pleasurable contemplation.

So then again, Paul writes this.

He invokes a blessing from the God of hope.

He says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

See this.

The God of hope means to do more than inform our song.

He means to do more than preserve us.

He seeks to fill us with joy and peace.

Shalom, fullness, completion, with rejoicing and satisfaction and fullness in him.

On this screen, uh, on the screen behind me and in front of me, you can't see it.

Uh uh it says, I put the NIV translation.

Nothing wrong with the ESV translation, but for me, this word lands better for me.

It resonates more.

He says, May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in him.

Now, believe and trust, it ESV is not a bad translation of it, but for some reason for me, and maybe it's believe for you, for some reason for me, trust hits harder.

How do we take hold of the joy and peace that God of our the God of our confidence offers us?

How can we be filled?

Listen, if you want to know how you're filled with joy, youth, students, adults, you want to know how you can be filled with joy?

Here it is.

And he translates it this way trust him.

Trust him.

Trust God.

Just saying trust God actually relaxes my shoulders.

It's one thing to know all the facts about God, to proclaim that he is the God of creation, to declare from the mountaintops that Jesus is the Christ who died on the cross and rose on the third day, but do you trust that God?

You can recite it, but do you trust it?

If I may interject a personal experience.

On Friday night, this last Friday night, I laid in bed, spiraling from anxious thoughts and questions from a shadow valley of what ifs, of what if this, what if that?

And you know, as I was laying in the bed, like it began to consume my heart.

And at that time, it just, you know, you maybe you've had that.

You're laying in the bed and all these thoughts, what ifs, coming into your heart and your mind, you're thinking, you're just spiraling, and you feel like, man, sleep feels like a distant land of promise at this point.

How am I gonna get to that promised land of sleep, of rest?

I feel so consumed by these what-if questions.

And in that 7:30 p.m., I thought about this phrase in this verse.

And I whispered back to those concerns on that night.

I said this.

I whispered this to my his words.

Trust God in these things.

All those questions, Steve, would you just trust God?

You know these things.

Would you trust these things?

He sees you, he knows you, he loves you, he's all powerful.

I am his child, and he is my good father.

He does not simply want me to believe in him, he wants me to believe him.

He does not simply want my mind to know who he is, he wants me to trust who he is.

And then, this is sincere, like I sincere and good conscience as I can say this, and then I immediately felt myself drifting off to sleep.

Immediately.

And as I did, my heart was full.

That night falling asleep was a song of praise.

I imagine in the history of humanity, some of the sweetest songs of worship to the God of hope sounded like an exhale as hearts found rest and eyes flickered to sleep.

Like I imagine in eternity, some of the sweetest songs that we'll hear about from all of humanity will be when people who were going through some hard time or some big question of their lives is when they fell asleep and they trusted God.

I say, okay, God, I believe you.

I know all about you, but I believe you.

I'm gonna go to sleep.

You got this.

I know it's hard to sing a song you don't know the words and melody to, but what we see in the Bible is that what that while the words to our praise song are new every morning, they have a common chorus.

The common chorus of our praise song of our lives is this I trust him.

That's the song we sing.

When hard times come, when confusing times come, when things seem like they're different than what we signed up for, and we say, Okay, I trust you, God.

That's our chorus.

And we say, I have all these things and everything's going wrong, I don't understand.

And it seems like the sky is not doing what it's supposed to do.

What are these strange lights in the sky?

What is going on?

The chorus of that verse is I trust you, God.

I trust you, God, I trust you.

It's as if each moment and day of our lives represents a new verse in the song, and those verses all culminate in a daily chorus of praise to Him.

Sometimes our song of praise is trusting Him as we step out into something.

Sometimes it's stepping back from something.

Sometimes our song of praise is trusting Him as we speak up, and sometimes our song of praise is when we stay quiet.

Sometimes our song of praise is trusting Him as we move across the country or world, and sometimes it's when we stay.

The verses are different.

The chorus is the same.

I trust you, God.

Paul continues this blessing of God by saying, so that you may overflow with hope, overflow with hope.

In 1 Peter 3:15, when Peter explains that the exiled and persecuted Christians of then Asia Minor were meant to live with confidence even in the midst of their suffering, and that it would be so clear to those around them, so confusing to the rest of the world, that we're persecuting them, that they would want to ask them, what is this reason for your hope?

1 Peter 3:15

That's overflowing hope.

Because of the trust they had in Jesus, right?

That's what's happening in 1 Peter.

He's saying, hey, listen, have an answer for the reason for your hope.

Whenever they ask you, why are you so hopeful, have a reason.

Why?

Because their hope is overflowing, and people are gonna be like, what's going on?

Something's spilling out of you.

What is that?

We're persecuting you.

Why are you so joyful?

Why are you praising?

And we say, because my hope is in Christ.

The chorus of my life is trust him.

As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1, a Jesus they had never got to see again.

They've never seen Jesus.

They never got to see him in the flesh.

Yet they were, 1 Peter 1 8.

Though you have not seen him, you love him.

This is us too.

Though you have not seen him, you love him.

Though you do not now see him, you believe in him, trust him, and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

Rejoicing, a joy that is inexpressible, filled with his beauty and worth.

Why?

He says it here.

Peter says it, Paul says it.

Why were they filled with that joy?

What is the cause of their joy?

Is it because of the notebooks filled with the details about the attributes of God?

Those are important.

But that's not where the joy comes from.

The joy doesn't come from knowledge, the joy comes from trusting.

Does that make sense?

When you trust him, you say, I'm gonna go to sleep now.

I trust him.

I'm gonna take this step, I'm gonna do this thing.

I'm not gonna do this thing.

I'm gonna keep my mouth shut.

Why?

Because I trust my God.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, He is all knowing, all-powerful, and all-present.

I trust Him in this confusing time.

Trust Him.

That's where the joy comes.

And all of this by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father of hope through his Son, who is the person of hope, overflowing in us by the power of hope being administered unto us by the Holy Spirit.

So when we sing the doxology at the end, we praise God three and one.

Father, Holy Spirit, we're saying, God, you are all three of y'all are a part of this.

All three persons of the one true God are working this hope out in us.

The entire Godhead at work and in us, for and in you, that you might have joy and peace, praising him, even when your circumstances look like you're dying in the wilderness.

Okay, let's close with this.

The only way our praise will move from our mouths to our hearts is if we taste these things.

So how do you taste his mercy and grace?

How do you taste it?

The apostle Peter told Christ that he would remain faithful to him before Christ died.

He said, I'm gonna, listen, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna leave you.

Jesus said, Peter, it's not true.

You're gonna deny me.

And then, he did, we know, but remember, after the resurrection, when the apostles were fishing and Jesus appeared on the shore, John saw him and said, It is him.

What did Peter do?

He jumped out of the boat and he swam to Jesus.

Jesus then ate breakfast with him.

I am sure on that morning, on that shoreline, on that beach, I am sure the fish breakfast sounds great.

I am sure that the fish breakfast tasted so sweet to Peter.

The sweetest breakfast he's ever tasted.

Why?

Because of the mercy of the one whom he had denied.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Peter tasted it that morning.

He denied him.

And Peter tasted it.

I know I've fallen short.

I know you told me how to do this, and I and I did it.

I denied you three times.

And you were you were mocked and you were scourged, and I didn't even have the strength or the faithfulness.

When the cost got too great, I did abandon my promise.

And then he met him on a shoreline and he tasted the mercy of God.

Christ ate with him.

I think we taste and see these things in the same way that Peter tasted God's love, faithfulness, and mercy on the shoreline of his restoration.

We must consider our failings.

We must go before God in awareness of our falling short.

We choose the fruit of the forbidden tree daily.

We look to golden calves to be our God.

We put our hope in broken cisterns.

We deny the truth of Christ when our safety, security, and status quo are in danger.

And the rooster crows on our idolatry, and we are reminded of the one who knew us and yet was a restoration when we fell short.

May we, like Peter, continually jump out of the boat of our lives and swim toward him.

I don't know what you're walking through right now, or questioning, or fearing, or ashamed of this morning, or even angry about, or wishful for, or deciding.

But isn't it time that we went to him in trust?

Isn't it time?

42 weeks of Romans, and what we see is that there is one summary in every verse and argument.

Paul longs for the church, the fellowship of the saints, to be united in one voice voice, trusting him, and therefore abounding in praise and confident hope.

We are a people of eternal, therefore, praise to God, our Father who sent his son in love, praise to the Son, who is the Amen to all the promises of God, and praise to the Spirit who causes us to see and reminds us of his great mercy, that met us in our captivity and futility.

He, God, has kept every word.

He is keeping every word, he will keep every word.

Praise him.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day that you give us.

You command the morning light.

Your faithfulness is more sure than the morning light.

And so, Father God, we stand before you and we praise you.

May we spend more time this week contemplating with pleasure the goodness.

May we see the confirmation of your promise on the cross, the depth that you are willing to go to.

May we see the width of incorporating even those who are outside of the old covenant.

And may we praise you.

May we be a people who then therefore live lives of a chorus that says He is good.

We trust Him.

We trust Him.

Even when the wilderness looks like it's going to consume us.

Thank you, Father God, for your grace, for your mercy, for your word.

It is in the name of your Son Jesus Christ.

That is, it is in the person of your Son Jesus Christ.

That is clothed in the righteousness of your Son Jesus Christ.

That we pray this in all things.

Amen.