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Sunday, December 12, 2004
Rev. Dr. Harold E Kidd
THROUGH IT ALL
"Therefore,
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 this grace
in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."
(Romans 5:1-2 NIV)
Romans
ch. 5 focuses on two major themes which we give consideration to during the
season of advent, the themes of Peace and Joy. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this
grace in which we now stand. This peace which Paul declares we have received is
not the result of financial or material security, pleasant and tranquil
surroundings, nor is it the result of having life seemingly going our way. No,
this peace is the result of what God has done in having reconciled us back unto
himself.
We
have peace with God because there is no more hostility between us and God, the
power of sin no longer blocks our relationship with God, because Jesus paid the
price for our sins through his death on the cross. Amen. So the peace we have,
is more than just feelings of inner calmness and tranquility, the peace we have
is the soul's reassurance that when we leave this world, we will be received by
God in loving welcome and live with him through out eternity.
In
our text Paul introduces concepts he will be seeking to expand upon over the
next four chapters of Romans. That as believers ours is a dual reality. Amen.
On the one hand we are already complete in Christ, our salvation in him is
secure, yet, on the other hand, we are growing in Christ. Becoming more and
more like him in the process of sanctification.
By
standing we have already been made right with God. By standing we are saved, and
our salvation is secure. By standing we are now the sons and daughters of God.
But experientially, we are still challenged with the daily struggle of being
made conformable to the image of Jesus. Experientially, the old sinful nature
still wars with the new spirit nature, so that often times the good that we
would do, we do it not, but the evil that we would not do, that we do. So was
Paul's account of his own struggles with the flesh. Experientially, we still
have our share of trials and tribulations.
Yes,
you and I live a dual reality. At one and the same time we have the status of
being the sons and daughters of God and yet the duties of slaves.
"The
Spirit", declares Paul in ch. 8 of this letter, "Himself testifies
with our spirit that we are God's children." And by him we cry, 'Abba,
Father.'
Meaning,
Dear, Daddy. We are no longer enemies of God, but in Jesus, we have become
God's children. Jesus being our elder brother. In Jesus we have been lifted to
a place of highest privilege, yet the Lord himself will remind us that we have
been called to be his servants. Amen.
And
because we are God's children, God has already given us the best
Christmas
that we could ever hope for. He's given us his Son. He's given us his
forgiveness, and he's given us the Holy Spirit who is the down-payment and
guarantee that we now have received the gift of eternal life. And because we
are now his children, he's told us, "if you ask anything in my name, I
will give it to you."
Ours
is a dual reality. We are the children of the Jones, Smith or Brown family, but
we are also the children of God. We live in Southern California, Inglewood,
Hawthorne, Carson, Los Angeles, and have voting rights within these
municipalities, but we are also citizen's of heaven. We live one earth, but
heaven is our true home. "If our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, age does come, infirmities of the body do
come, but we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not
built with human hands." (2Cor. 5:1)
Yes,
ours is a dual reality, we are born to die in this earthly shell, but in Jesus
we are bound to live forever with God in eternity. Paul says it here in the
later vss of this chapter, That death came through Adam, but life has come
through Jesus Christ. Ours is a dual reality. In the world but not of the
world. We feel both the joy and peace of being In Christ, but we also feel the
pressure of sin while we are yet living in these bodies.
We
enjoy the peace that comes from being made right with God, but we still face
the daily problems, and trials, that often come our way. Which God, uses I
might add, to help us grow in our faith and in Christ-like character.
Two
Sunday's ago some of you will remember that in the message Wake Up Everybody, I
pointed out the fact that one of the teaching points of the New Testament
Church was that they always held it before God's people to be ready. Be ready,
be ready, be ready.. because they believed Jesus was coming back soon and very
soon. This teaching of readiness, kept the church vigilant and alive.
As
we consider our text for today, another teaching that the early church kept
before God's people, was teachings about heaven. Amen. Again, the early church
found itself living in a world of crisis much like our own world.
They
kept heaven before God's people to firstly (1) remind them that this earth is
only temporary, it is not our home, and secondly, they kept heaven before God's
people to offer hope. Amen.
As
we began the text, Paul declared, "And we rejoice in the hope of the
glory
of God." Hope grows as we learn all that God has in mind for us. Amen. If
we know what the Lord has in store for us, then it gives us hope in the times
in which we now live. If we know that this world is not all there is to life,
then it helps us to keep on keeping on. Paul reminded the church of Rome in ch.
8 of this Letter, "That We Are More Than Conqueror's through Him who has
loved Us." If you know that you are more than a Conqueror in Jesus, it
gives hope in times of difficulty.
And
what Paul is saying is that, God through Jesus will not let us fail in this
test of life. Hallelujah! No matter what happens, "Nothing Shall Ever
Separate Us From His Love." Much of the content of the early letters to
the church has references to heaven and the life of the believer in eternity,
in order to offer God's people hope.
Hope
keeps us alive. Amen. Hope keeps us pressing on even when the way is difficult.
I was watching the Jim Valvano Classic the other evening. Some of you might
recall that Jim Volvano was a college basketball coach.
A
winning coach who taught his players about life, who was stricken with cancer,
and eventually died from the cancer. But during his last months he organized
the Jim Volvano Foundation which raises money for cancer research, and so this
basketball classic has been going on for ten years after his death.
And
in his later months at a benefit banquet where they were honoring him, by this
time he had tumors all over his body, he made the statement "Cancer can
touch my body, but it cannot touch my mind, my soul, or my heart",
he
said to the audience, "Never give up, never give up." Jim Volvano had
hope that he would live on to be with the Lord, and that someday, we will find
a cure for cancer. And hope, declares Paul, "Does not make us
ashamed."
When
you read the lyrics of the Negro Spirituals and the Slave Songs, the majority
of them contain words which speak to the hope of heaven. Amen. When we hear
their music, so often sung by many college and university choirs, and some
church choirs. Their words remind us that in those fields of labor, in a world
that treated them as less than human, slaves found hope in their understanding
of what God had promised them in the world which is to come. "Soon I Will Be Done With the Troubles of
This World." Deep River, My Home
Is Over Jordan.", "Great Day!"
And
it was this hope vested in a future with God, that kept them moving forward in
the bitterness of their trials. We need hope in something, someone beyond
ourselves to keep us going. Amen. For the believer, our hope is in God.
"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."
In
the first century church, suffering and problems were the rule rather than the
exception. When you read this letter of Romans in particular chs. 5 - 8, Paul
is conveying his belief in our dual reality. Amen. In this life, we will be
tempted, tested and challenged, but in the New Jerusalem, we will become, even
as He is. Amen. So that while we are in this body, we must fight the good fight
of faith, knowing that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8) through him who has love us. Hope is what kept the early church alive!
Knowing
whose we are and who we are in the Lord, feeds the hope that is in us. To be
determined to live in this world, and not let the world beat us down into the
ground and accept defeat. Paul even says, "We are More Than
Conquerors,
Through Him Who Has Loved Us."
In
the face of Trials and Temptations we
continue on because we have hope in God, in the face of sicknesses and
setbacks and disappointments, we continue on because we have hope in God.
Paul
declares in vs. 3 of this text, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance
produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not make us
ashamed, hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into
our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
I
say to those of you whom God has called and is calling to lead this church.
Those
of you who are being ordained and installed today. You've got to have hope in
God. You've got to believe in the God whom you serve. In the midst of seeking
to give guidance and encouragement to God's people, you can't be pessimistic
about circumstances or people. In the church, God has to have those who are
like the yeast in the bread, those whose hope does not waver, and who are able
by their hope, to build others up. The word found in 1 Peter 3:15 tells us,
"Always be ready (there's that word
again), Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give
reason for the hope that you have." Thank You Lord.
In
other words, there are those who can be lifted up by the hope you have in
Jesus. There are those ready to give up, but your hope given to them in witness
that we are kept by the power of God; Hallelujah!; God can use to help them to keep on keeping on. There are those going through
tremendous trials, and tribulations, but the hope which God used to get you
through that very same ordeal, God now wants you to bear witness to that person
who is now going through, that Jesus
never fails.
Yes,
always be ready to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give reasons for
the hope that is in you. Some of You will be ordained/installed in a few
minutes, but let me ask you, Are You Ready to Give reason for the hope that is
in you? Well, let me ask the congregation, Are you ready to give reason, for
the hope that is in you?
And
our hope is not based upon any other reality than "Since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained.-listen again-.gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand.
What
this means is that when the devil tries to mess with us, he's got to answer to
God. When our enemies try to do us harm, just remember that the Lord is our
Light and our Salvation, whom shall we fear? When the trials and temptations
are getting rough, rejoice and be glad because our father who is in heaven is
but using them, in order to make our witness shine a little brighter.
Access, because we are children of
the king, trials just make us stronger. Access,
because we are daddy's children, he will provide whatever we need. Access, be not dismayed whate'er
betide, God will Take Care of You.
And
a final note, he says "this grace wherein we stand",
when nothing else is keeping you up, the power of God's grace will keep you
standing. Your standing but you feel like falling, Your standing but you've run
out of your own gas. Your standing, but you have no more fight in you. Grace
helps us to stand, and keep on standing!
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