Hope for 2013

Even a 24-hour day, never mind a year, can make a huge difference to the course of our lives.

Especially if your name is Jack Bauer and you've got 24 hours to save the world.

But for Jack Bauer, it's the most 24-hour traumatic day of his life.

For everyone watching, it's just wasted 24 hours.

But either way, 24 hours makes a difference.

And a year in our lives makes a huge difference.

And so at the end of it, as it comes, you know, closer to the end of the year,

and as it comes to 11 p.m. on the 31st of December,

we get very conscious of time passing by.

The world around us is changing.

People around us have changed.

And as we reflect, we feel the need to change ourselves as well.

The change is troubling.

And sometimes we want to change just to keep up with the pace of everything else.

Everything from changing our clues to changing our minds.

Most of the time, in truth, the changes that we make,

and the New Year's resolutions,

rather being a desire for something really new,

are an attempt to control or to limit the change that's already happening too fast in our lives.

We make resolutions, for example, to change diet and exercise,

because we look in the mirror or we go for a walk and we don't like how our body is changing.

Many other changes we make to save more, to spend more time with children.

Whatever the change might be,

chances are that we're doing it because we're afraid of what else might change if we don't.

We don't like change.

That's why whenever people look at a child,

if they haven't seen them for a while,

they say,

Wow, you've really grown.

Because I think deep down in our hearts,

we kind of expect everything to just stay the same.

We almost get shocked when a child grows,

whereas it would be terrible if a child remained two feet tall all their life, wouldn't it?

But we don't really like it when things change.

But it's nearly 2013,

and everything, everything except God,

has changed and is changing.

And being a believer is being certain of what we're changing into.

So that as we see all the change in the world around us,

we don't get overcome with fear and troubled in our minds,

but instead we well up with hope.

Why?

Well, turn with me please to Romans 8.

We'll read it through together.

Excuse me when I cough.

So Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

I'll just read through the whole chapter,

and we're going to look through it briefly.

We're not going to focus on anything in too much detail.

But the flow of the chapter kind of lends itself to looking at it all at once.

So we'll read the whole chapter.

Therefore,

there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

because through Christ Jesus,

the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law was powerless to do,

because it was weakened by the flesh?

God did,

by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.

And so he condemns sin in the flesh,

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us,

who do not live according to the flesh,

but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires,

but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind governed by the flesh is death,

but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God.

It does not submit to God's law,

nor can it do so.

Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however,

are not in the realm of the flesh,

but in the realm of the Spirit,

if indeed the Spirit,

thank you again,

if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.

And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,

they do not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you,

then even though your body is subject to death because of sin,

the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,

he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters,

we have an obligation,

but it is not to the flesh to live according to it.

For if you live according to the flesh,

you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,

you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God

or the children of God,

the Spirit you receive does not make you slaves

so that you live in fear again.

Rather, the Spirit you received

brought about your adoption to sonship,

and by him we cry,

Abba, Father.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit

that we are God's children.

Now if we are children,

then we are heirs,

heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,

if indeed we share in his sufferings

in order that we may share in his glory.

I consider that our present sufferings

are not worth comparing with the glory

that will be revealed in us.

For the creation waits in eager expectation

for the children of God to be revealed.

For the creation was subjected to frustration,

not by its own choice,

but by the will of the one who subjected it,

in hope that the creation itself

will be liberated from its bondage to decay

and brought into the freedom and glory

of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation

has been groaning

as in the pains of childbirth

right up to this present time.

Not only so,

but we ourselves,

who have the first fruits of the Spirit

grown inwardly

as we wait eagerly

for our adoption to sonship,

the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope,

we are saved.

But hope that is seen

is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what they already have?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have,

we wait for it patiently.

In the same way,

the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us

through wordless groans.

And He who searches our hearts

knows the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for God's people

in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things,

God works for the good of those who love Him,

who have been called according to His purpose.

For those God foreknew,

He also predestined

to be conformed to the image of His Son,

that He might be the firstborn

among many brothers and sisters.

And those He predestined,

He also called.

Those He called,

He also justified.

Those He justified,

He also glorified.

What then shall we say

in response to these things?

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

He who did not spare His own Son,

but gave Him up for us all,

how will He not also,

along with Him,

graciously give us all things?

Who will bring any charge

against those whom God has chosen?

It is God who justifies.

Who then is the one who condemns?

No one.

Christ Jesus who died,

more than that,

who is raised to life,

is at the right hand of God

and is interceding for us.

Who shall separate us

from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble,

or hardship,

or persecution,

or famine,

or nakedness,

or danger,

or sword?

As it is written,

for your sake,

we face death all day long.

We are considered

as sheep to be slaughtered.

No.

In all these things,

we are more than conquerors

through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced

that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else

in all creation,

will be able to separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

So we'll just pray briefly

before we look at the passage.

Father, we thank You for Your Word.

And we thank You, Lord,

that we have it in our own language,

that we can freely read it

and think about it

and hear it talked about.

And Father, we pray

that as we look at it now

that You would help us

to understand it

and apply it to our hearts and lives

and be changed as a result

to be more like Jesus.

And in His name we pray.

Amen.

Well, Romans 5

till the end of chapter 8,

I suppose the biggest theme

is probably the theme of hope.

Hope comes through faith.

And chapter 8,

particularly towards the end,

is all about the future hope.

But before we get to that,

Paul talks about

two different types of people.

And the reason why he does

is because only one group

has a future.

Only one has a hope.

So verses 1 to 17,

briefly then,

the people of the Spirit

and the people of the flesh.

Now, he starts with those

who are in Christ,

identified with Christ.

They have the Holy Spirit

that was living in Christ,

now living in them.

Now, previously in chapter 7,

he had been talking about the law,

the moral law,

the Old Testament law,

the simple knowledge

of right and wrong,

and how really,

even though it's good in itself,

it condemns us as human beings

because we fail to keep it.

So here in verse 3,

if you look at verse 3,

when he writes about

the law being powerless

because it was weakened by the flesh,

he is saying that,

right and good,

though the law may be,

it won't save us

from our sinful, selfish self

because the more law we know,

the more we just end up breaking.

So really,

even though the law,

like the law in society,

may have a restraining effect on us,

because of the way we are

as human beings,

because of our sinful selves,

always inclined to look out

for number one,

then it might help us

clean up a little,

but it will never really change

who we are deep down.

And that's because

we've got a serious problem.

Now Paul describes it here

as the flesh.

Now he's not literally,

of course,

talking about our skin

or our shells

or our physical bodies,

but really more

the fallen part of our humanity,

our worldly desires

and our materialism

and our worship of self.

And instead of, I suppose,

using the word material,

like the material uses

versus the spiritual,

he uses flesh.

Because the image is more like

something to do with

our own humanness.

Even, if you will,

if you kind of stretch it

about our human meat.

Meat, it's not,

a flesh is not an appealing term.

If you think of flesh,

flesh of an animal

or a flesh of a human,

it might be something

that looks nice

and appealing one day,

but a few days down the line

it's all rotten.

It's not really

that glamorous an image.

Now if we think about

the context of Romans,

it'll maybe make it

a little bit clearer.

In AD 49,

Claudius,

he expelled all the Jews

from Rome.

And the reason was

because there was

continual rioting

between the Jewish Orthodox,

the Jewish believers,

or the Jewish Jews,

and the Jewish Christians.

So the Jews,

whether they were Christians

or whether they were

traditional Jews,

they were all expelled

from Rome.

And Aquila and Priscilla,

I suppose,

in Acts 18.2

are examples of this.

It talks about it

in Acts 18.2.

But five years later,

whenever Nero came to power

in AD 54,

the expulsion was revoked

and all the Jews,

including the Jewish believers,

were allowed back to Rome.

So now,

as Paul writes

in AD 57,

he's writing to a church

that was predominantly

Gentile believers

for five years

and then the Jews

come back,

Jewish believers,

and they're struggling

to understand the whole thing

about the Jewish heritage

and the gospel.

And that's what Paul

writes to.

Now,

for the Jew,

the word flesh

goes right back

to creation.

When Adam looked at Eve

and he says,

bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh,

it's really the meat

of human existence.

God says later,

at the time of Noah,

that all flesh

had become corrupted

and we have other references

to flesh

and the flesh of man.

So,

for the Jewish,

for the Jews,

the Jewish understanding

is that for man

to be flesh

means that man is mortal.

He is dying.

And so,

in verse 3,

when Paul writes

that Jesus came

in the likeness

of sinful flesh,

he isn't saying

that Jesus came

in the likeness

of sinful nature.

It doesn't make any sense

to say that Jesus

looked like he had

a sinful nature.

But what is clear

is that Jesus was born

in human flesh.

He was born

just like us

with a decaying

and cursed body

even though

he had no sin.

he was born

in the flesh

just like us sinners.

And the purpose of it,

as he says,

was so that he could

offer his flesh

as a sacrifice

to us,

for us,

to redeem our bodies

through the Spirit.

And so,

the whole consequence

of Paul's argument

is that he's saying

for those in Christ,

there is no condemnation.

Instead,

we have the same

Holy Spirit

that was in Christ

living in us.

so that unlike

before when we

didn't know Christ,

when it was impossible

for us to keep the law,

we can now keep the law

by following Christ

because we follow

the one who kept the law,

who came

in the flesh.

So then in verses 5-8,

we move on,

we have this great distinction

between those who live

according to the flesh

and those who live

according to the Spirit.

Those who live out their lives

always keeping in mind

their own flesh,

their own skin,

their own earthly,

mortal existence,

and those who look beyond that

to the spiritual.

Now everything that goes

with the flesh is decaying.

It's going to die.

It's rotting

because it's under God's curse.

But to live in the Spirit

means peace with God

and life to come.

And we get to verses 9-11

and Paul explains

just how the Spirit

brings life.

He says,

you either have the Spirit

or you don't.

You either belong to Christ

or you don't.

If you have the Spirit,

Paul explains,

that you're not in the realm

of the flesh.

In other words,

your flesh doesn't own you anymore.

It doesn't control you anymore.

Now even though we have

a physical body

with flesh and blood,

he explains in verse 10,

in spite of that,

you will live

because you have the Spirit

dwelling in you

and the Spirit brings life.

Now how or what does he mean?

Is he talking about

spiritual life

and out-of-body life

in another realm?

Well,

we do have

a new spiritual life

in Christ.

But really,

what he is referring to

mostly here

is that we're going to have

a real physical life.

Rather than being

rid of our bodies

in the end,

those bodies

are going to be redeemed.

And this is the whole purpose

of these verses.

The whole point

in these verses

and the whole

what the hope

rests on.

And that's why

Paul says elsewhere

that if it was only

for this life

that we have no hope,

or sorry,

if it was only

for this life

that we have hope

in Christ,

then we of all people

are to be most pitied

because the hope

isn't for this life.

It's all in the next.

It's all in the resurrection.

All eggs in one basket

and that's in the next life.

The hope is in the resurrection.

So verse 12 and following.

Why then?

Would you have anything,

would you want to have

anything to do

with conforming to this word?

Focusing on our attention

and setting our thoughts

and such

fleshly things

in this life

when in the end

they're all just going to

pass away into death.

And if we're gripped

by these things

then they're just going to

drag us down with them.

But Christ,

he says,

saves us from that.

He frees us

from slavery to sin

and saves us

from ourselves,

me, myself and I.

And he gives us

a new identity

as a child of God.

Having the Spirit

of God in us

marks us out now

as belonging to him,

as his children

with privilege.

In the Old Testament

God sat at the top

of Mount Sinai

in unapproachable fire

whenever the Holy Spirit

came at Pentecost.

The very feast

which commemorated

the giving of the law

to Moses

at Pentecost,

that unapproachable fire

came down

and rested

on the disciples' heads.

Because of what

Jesus had done,

the unapproachable

holy, holy, holy God

would now be called

Abba Father.

Basically,

Dada.

The same kind of

word that

a little child

would use

to cry out

to their daddy.

Now if you've put

your trust in Christ,

then this

is

your identity.

The first verses

that we looked at there

in the chapter

are all about

the technical legality

and the theology

that tells us

about the two identities.

There's people of the flesh

and there's people

of the Spirit.

But if you've trusted

in Christ

as your Savior

and your King,

then this is where

you are now.

You're identified

with God

as his Son,

as one who has

the Spirit of God

inside them.

Because of Jesus' death,

you have forgiveness,

you have no condemnation,

freedom from sin,

freedom from self,

to have a new identity

and a new relationship.

One where God

becomes our Father

and our protector

and our provider

and the one that we live

to please

and enjoy.

So like Christ,

if we love him

and know him

and accepted him

as our Savior,

then we are God's sons,

his children.

And like Christ,

we will be raised

from death.

And that's

where the hope lies.

So verses 18 to 30,

secondly then,

let's look a little bit

at the hope

and what that means

for us

in an uncertain world.

Well, verse 18,

well, Paul says

the main consequence

is that when you think

about the hope

for the future

and you think

about today's troubles,

whatever they might be,

they're not even worth

bothering

comparing to

what is coming.

The pure glory

of what's going

to happen to us

as our broken bodies

get fixed

and our troubled minds

are finally

and completely calmed

and every sin

which bothered us

is finally taken away

or removed.

Every pain

and every hurt

is gone.

That will be

the greatest

demonstration

of God's work

in all its glory.

The redemption

of the creation

and particularly us

the redemption

of his prize.

He says it's not worth

comparing

even the greatest

troubles in life

that we might have

and he had plenty.

He says

even

in verses 19 to 22

even the creation

looks on

in anticipation

to see what's

going to happen

to us

as we're fully

transformed

into the children

of God.

The creation

can't wait.

Since the fall

everything in the

entire creation

from stars

to shellfish

has been suffering

because of our sin.

Everything from

massive tsunamis

to hurricanes

to myxomatosis

and little bunny rabbits

can be traced back

to the first

human decision

to rebel

against the creator.

The creation

didn't decide

to sin.

It didn't rebel

against its creator.

Animals didn't decide

to rebel

against their creator.

But Paul reminds us

that God chose

to frustrate

the entire world

and any hope

for humanity.

God frustrated

the creation

so that it might

play its part

in the redemption

of humanity

in the hope

that the creation

itself would one day

be set free

and share in the

freedom and redemption

with the caretakers

that it was originally

created to have.

That's the hope

for the world around us.

Verse 18 to 22

and then 23 to 30

we have the hope

for the child of God.

Now it's not just

the creation

that wants the redemption

to come.

We should too.

We must do

if we have the spirit

of God in us.

Not that we'd want

to give up on life

or want it all

to be over

or wish it all away

but there's something

in us

that just wants it all

to be fixed.

Instead of having

a fearful expectation

of judgment

to come after death

there's a desire

for everything

to be made new

for us to be made new.

And specifically here

of looking forward

to redemption

of our bodies

as we gain

the full benefits

of sonship.

As Christians

a huge amount

of our time

is spent

in demonstrating

God's redemption

to the world now.

Good deeds

transforming society

where we can.

Having a good

or a redemptive influence

on someone else's life.

And most of all

sharing the good news

of Jesus

with others.

I know

even though we can hope

for some kind of redemption

in the world around us

and we should

just as we are

described as first risk

we should also hope

for fruit in the world

but really

ultimately

the real hope

is as just in the last point

isn't for now

but it's all eggs

in one basket

and it's all for the life

to come.

Hope through Christ

beyond the grave.

Verse 24

because it's this hope

that we're saved.

No hope

in results

for the transformation

of the community

or society

or even results

for our church

that is not

what our hope is in.

Our saving hope

cannot even be seen

in this life

he says.

In fact

Paul says

the hope that is seen

is no hope at all.

It's no hope

for something

that we can actually

envisage getting hold of

in this life

or something more

of what we already know.

it's hope for something

that we don't have yet

and we have to

read right up

until the end

patiently he says

until we can claim it.

Until then

the spirit will help us

even in our prayers.

Verse 26

And he's not

talking about tongues

here so much

but he's talking about

like before

some kind of

a holy attitude

of discontent

where we know

that we need to pray

and we know

that there's something

not right in our lives

and we're not content

with the way

the world is around us

and we just want to change

but we don't even know

what to say

or where to start

or how to pray about it.

The Holy Spirit

is interceding for us

and groaning

in our behalf.

That's what Paul's

talking about

because it's all

in the context

of hope

and change.

The spirit is

inside us

and he's changing us

and transforming us

as we look forward

to the day

when everything

is going to be

completely restored.

In all things

we know

that God is working

and will work

for the good

of those who love him.

And it all comes back

to that initial trust

and faith.

If we

have faith

and trust in him

to save us

and guide us

in our lives

then we have

the spirit in us

and we know

that there is

a future for us.

we have been called

according to his purpose.

He knew us

and he loved us

from the beginning

and he gave us

the destiny

of being like Jesus

predestined

according to the

likeness of his son.

That means our destiny

is to be like Jesus.

The day is coming

when we will see

Jesus face to face

along with many others

like ourselves

and he says

it will be glorious.

That's the future

that we hope for.

So finally then

what is the response?

And what should

our response be

for 2013

as we face change

and uncertainty

and trouble

and pain

in the world

around us

and in ourselves?

Verses 31 to 39

the response is

confidence.

God subjected

his entire creation

to futility

and decay.

He sent his son

to rescue us

in our hopeless state.

He set out

a whole plan

of redemption

for us

in a new creation.

Verse 31 then

if God wants

good for us

and loves us

and went to such

length

to redeem us

if he really has

this eternal plan

for our little lives

then no change

or trouble

is ever going

to upset that.

If he has already

sent his son

to die

to bring this

whole plan

into action

and bring this

hope to reality

then he's not

going to just decide

now that he wants

to give up on it all

and not bring us

to redemption

or bring us

everything that he's

promised to give us.

No one can bring

any charge

no one can condemn

Jesus has died

and he has risen again

so that we will die

and we will rise again

with him.

So nothing

he says

will separate us

from God's love

and his plan

for us.

No financial difficulty

not even to the point

of nakedness

no slagging

or work at school

even to the point

of physical persecution

no danger

no threat

not even death

itself

will thwart his plan

or separate us

from being loved

and loving him

as our father

forever.

Paul finishes

by explaining

I'll just read out

the verses

for I am convinced

that neither death

nor life

neither angels

nor demons

neither the present

nor the future

nor any powers

neither height

nor depth

nor anything else

in all creation

will be able

to separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

So

when you look in the mirror

on Monday night

or consider your finances

or worry about the future

or your children's future

or just feel some fear

of what might lie ahead

remember

the hope

of the redemption

and the hope

of the resurrection

that one day

it's all coming

the world is changing

our bodies are changing

but no matter what happens

if the Holy Spirit

lives in you

through faith in Christ

then nothing

will change the plan

that God has for you

and nothing

will stop the changes

that God has set in motion

for his creation

the creation will be changed

we will be changed

and we can be sure

that our hope

will not be disappointed

Amen

Thanks so much