If you'd like to follow along,
I'm going to be in Romans chapter 15 for a start, and for the most
part. Romans chapter 15, and I'm going
to begin reading in verse 13. Now, the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, in believing. that ye may abound
in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself
also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full
of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish
one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have
written the more boldly unto you in some sort as putting you
in mind because of the grace that is given to me of God. That I should be the minister
of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God. That the offering up of the Gentiles
might be acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I'm gonna
stop right there. I want to talk about believing
today Specifically, this is my title Paul joy and peace in believing
in believing now this book of Romans was written by the Apostle
Paul and he calls himself specifically the minister of Jesus Christ
to the Gentiles and But now this book, I have heard,
you might not believe this, but I have heard that the book of
Romans was written to Jews in Rome. Well it was. As long as you put in these two
words at the end. And Gentiles. You understand? Romans one and
seven says to all that be in Rome, beloved of God. Beloved of God. That's the address. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, I understand in this
book you will find direct references to Jews, Paul was reading some
of them, and you will find direct references to Gentiles, as in
this chapter here, and others. But let's be clear. I mean, for
everybody, no matter what anyone else tells you, Every word of
this Bible is written to and for believers. Old Testament, New Testament,
Gospels, Epistles, Prophets, Psalms, Proverbs, it's all for
those who are beloved of God. That's who it's to, that's who
it's for, and it is concerning about the Lord Jesus Christ. and his gospel. But now, I'm gonna start here
in Romans 15 verse 13, and that's pretty much where I'm gonna spend
most of my time. Now, the God of hope. The God of hope. Now the direct reference of this
title is found in verse 12. Who is the God of hope? The God
of hope is a root of Jesse. That's what it says in verse
12. And again, Esaias, which is Isaiah, saith, there shall
be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the
Gentiles. In him shall the Gentiles trust. That's Jesus Christ. He's the
root of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David,
Jesus Christ was known as the son of David because his lineage
was directly from David. You can read that in the first
chapters of Matthew, Luke, wherever you want. Jesus Christ is the
son of David. He is the root of Jesse. He is
the righteous branch that was going to be raised up. That's
who the God of hope is. And if you look just a little
bit before this in verse nine, and that the Gentiles might glorify
God for his mercy as it is written for this cause, I will confess
thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. And again he saith,
rejoice ye Gentiles with his people. I'm not gonna go into that, Paul
did that really well. And again, praise the Lord all
ye Gentiles and laud him all ye people. And then he says,
the root of Jesse shall rise to reign over the Gentiles. In
him shall the Gentiles trust. Now, the God of hope. It's the
same person all along. Jesus Christ is the God of hope. That's the direct reference.
The son of David, the Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ
of God. Isaiah also calls him, The Lord
of hosts is his name. The Holy One of Israel. What? The Redeemer. The Redeemer. That's Jesus Christ. He is the
God of hope. And here's the thing. He is God
and he's our only hope. He's our only hope. Jeremiah
put it this way. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord. and whose hope the Lord is, is. Peter wrote this, blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope,
a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The God of hope, who is our hope,
and I love this, part two, where it says, hath begotten us again. That's that word fathered. The God of hope is our father.
He fathered us. That life where there's only
death before, a dead alien sinner given life, you have been fathered
by God. If you know Christ, if you believe
Christ, And he has fathered us again to a living hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He has fathered us. I like that,
I do. So what about this God of hope
Paul wrote here? I mean, Paul wrote it. The God
of hope fill you. Now, I like Young's literal translation
because it actually renders it just a little better in this
case. It says, now the God of hope shall fill you. You understand, this is not a
prayer of Paul saying I hope he does. No, he says the God
of hope's gonna fill you. The God of hope shall fill you.
It's the way the tense of the verb is in that case. The God
of hope shall fill you. Who? Believers. Believers, that's who Paul's
talking to here. That's who Paul is writing to. The only ones
who know the God of hope are those who have received this
hope. You understand, you can't believe
in whom you've not heard. That's just the facts. You understand,
you can't believe in something or someone, in this case, whom
you don't know. But the God of hope, who is our
hope, who has fathered us, is gonna fill you. He's gonna fill
you. He's gonna fill you. He's gonna
fill me. Oh, I like that, I do. John said, and I preached on this, I think,
back in July, in of, His speaking of Christ of his fullness Have
all we received and grace for grace Sinners saved by grace
His grace his hope and his fullness He's the one that fills you don't
fill yourself. I I know a lot of people say
that you gotta pray, and you gotta get down, and you gotta
work it up, and you need to get that second helping of grace.
No, the God of hope shall fill you, and you'll be full. You'll be full. Hope maketh not
ashamed. Why? The love of God is shed
abroad, where? In our hearts, in our hearts,
the God of hope shall fill you, shall fill you by the Holy Ghost
given to us. The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us. The blessed
hope himself fills the believer. The only hope, the living hope,
Who is Jesus Christ? What does it say? I like quoting
this one. It's Jesus Christ, what? The
hope of glory. But not only that, the hope of
glory in you. In you, in you the hope of glory. Of his fullness we have all received
and grace for grace. And this, is the only place man
will ever find true hope, is in Christ. Without Christ, there
is no hope. Without Christ, there's nothing
but death. And that's part of what makes this such a glorious
verse here. You understand? We've talked
about it. I've preached it. Walter's preached
it. Paul, you've been. We're worms. We're maggots. We're less than the small dust
of the balance, and yet the God of hope shall fill you. I was listening to Henry coming
up the road here before I had my flat tire incident. And he
was talking about all those Pharisees and scribes around him. He said,
this man, who did Jesus Christ stop and talk to? Who did Jesus
Christ preach to? He preached to sinners and publicans. and harlots, and a woman that
had been possessed of seven devils. And they said, this man is the
friend of sinners. Yes, he was. And wait a minute,
ain't done yet. Yes, he is. He still is. You understand, those Pharisees
and scribes didn't realize that they fell in that same category
of sinners. But he'll show you. He'll show
you. He'll show you what category
you fit in when he's gonna give you, before he gives you that
hope. You're gonna know. And of this fullness, we have
all received and grace for grace. I like that. But next thing it
says is with all joy and peace. He shall fill you with all joy
and peace, because there is a joy, actually the joy and the peace,
being in Christ Jesus. And it's a joy and peace I can't
explain. I wish I could. All I can say is this, and I
can tell you this from my own personal experience and from
what I've observed, It's good to know Jesus Christ. And I mean
it's God good to know Jesus Christ. It's good to know him. It's really good to know God,
and more importantly, it's really good to be known of God. Moreover, known of God. You understand,
see, there's a lot of single way religions out there. They say they know God, but they
don't know anything about his scripture. They say they know
God, but they hate his election. They say they know God, but they
hate his sovereignty. They say they know God, and then
boast about their free will, boast about what they've done.
I'm sorry if you're doing that. You don't know God. because there
is no boasting except for of God and of Jesus Christ. Think about this for a minute.
God knows your name. And he's not spitting it out
of his mouth when he says it. He knows your name. He knows
your name. If you're in him, God knows who
you are, where you are, and what you're doing. Isn't that amazing? The fruit of the Holy Spirit
is love, joy, and peace. There's more, but I'm gonna stop
right there. And Jesus Christ has sent his Holy Spirit into
every believer. And you have a joy and a peace
that this world will never know. that unbelievers never know. There is no true joy or any true
peace without Jesus Christ. Because he is our joy. Jesus Christ is our peace. Jesus Christ is our living hope. But this is what kind of stopped
me here on this verse. With all joy and peace, in those
next two words, in believing. That joy and peace. He's gonna
fill you with all joy and peace in believing, in believing. There is joy, true joy, in believing
Jesus Christ. because believers are the sons
and daughters of God. And there is peace, true peace,
true peace in believing Jesus Christ. Believers are saved in
Christ Jesus. Excuse me. Let me be clear here. Very clear. Believing Jesus Christ
is not a burden. Believing Jesus Christ is not
a duty. Believing Jesus Christ is not
your right. And believing Jesus Christ even
is not a privilege. Believing Jesus Christ is a blessing
from God. Believing Jesus Christ is one
of those spiritual blessings. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Believing Jesus
Christ is a blessing from God. It's a wondrous thing because
believing Jesus Christ is a miracle of grace. You went through your life before
he met you not believing him. I did the same. I did the same. It's a blessing from the Lord. Because I wanna stop and just
ask you a question here for just a minute. Think about this. Do you like believing Jesus Christ? I never really stopped and thought
about that specifically. And when I did, though, I realized
I like believing Jesus Christ. I like believing God. Now, if
you had met me before I turned 23, I would have told you, I
don't know what you're talking about. But right now, this scripture
made me stop and think and ponder on this. I like believing Christ. I like
believing Jesus. I like knowing him. And actually, it's kind of double
good When I come to the point where I realize, now I realize
in me, still in my flesh, is an evil heart of unbelief. It's
still there. But when I stop and I think about
it, I can't imagine now not believing Christ. I can't imagine what
that would be like, Walter. He is such a part of my life.
He is in me and has been in me now for decades. And yes, thank
God by his grace, I have grown in the grace and the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I like it. I really like
it. And when I stop and think about
it, it does give me a little joy and peace. to know that by
his grace, he has given to me to believe him. You understand? To believe him. Not to pay lip
service to believing him. You understand, whatever I find
in his book, I believe. Whether I understand it or not,
I ask him for understanding. But his word, especially I gotta
admit, I really like the words he spoke when he was on this
world. For those three and a half years of that ministry, the little
scraps that we have. I like believing his word. I
like believing Christ. This God, who at one time, I
didn't even know, didn't even care about. About whom I probably,
the true him, I never had a thought about him. And if I did have a thought about
him, it was probably wrong. And I'm willing to bet y'all
were the same way. But now, by his grace, by his Holy Spirit, I know him and
I know the Father who sent him. And you know what Jesus Christ
called that? He called that eternal life, is to know thee and the
one that you have sent. It's a most gracious and glorious
gift given to his people. And I want to tell you this,
if you think, if you think If you think believing in Jesus
Christ is a burden, you don't know him. That's all I can say. You don't know him. You don't
know anything about him. Because most people don't understand
because most people do not believe Jesus Christ. And that's just
as true as I can say it. Understand, there's many that
are on that broad way. And the end thereof is what?
Destruction. And straight is the gate, and
narrow is the way, and few there be that find it. You know the
reason you find it? It's because he puts you in it.
He puts you there. Those who were lost, those who
were lost, those who are called out, those who are brought in,
those lost sheep that he picked up and carried on his shoulders
and brought them back to the flock, Those people are blessed
to believe him. To believe him. Because the lost
don't know. You understand? The very gospel
that we preach, the very gospel that we preach is hid to them
that are lost. Whom the God of this world has
blinded their minds. They can't see it. They don't
know it. And for them, see, going to church is, oh, I gotta
go to church. If I don't, my wife will yell
at me. Or my husband will yell at me. And I gotta get them kids
into church, because they gotta learn how to behave somewhere. If believing Christ is a burden
to you, you don't know him. You don't know him. The minds
are blinded, they cannot see, and no one will see until the
glorious light of Jesus Christ shines in them. In them. Then, only then, will
they know the joy and peace in believing Jesus Christ. And Paul said this, that you
abound in hope. The God of hope is our hope.
Those who believe Jesus Christ abound in hope. You got more
hope than you know what to do with. You abound in hope. Believers live in hope in him,
in him. What'd he say? In him we live
and move and have our very being. Every thought I have about him
is in hope. Every step you walk is in hope. That's abounding in hope because
he is our hope. He'll put in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure through the power of the Holy
Ghost. Ephesians 1. 19 says this and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power? Toward us to us word Who believe
who believe? According to the working of his
mighty power Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and set him at his own right hand and in the
heavenly places. We have all joy and peace in
believing. And we believe according to the
working of his mighty power. And I looked it up again. His
vigorous forcefulness. That's what mighty power means. I'm sorry, we're so pitiful we
can't even believe on our own. He gives us his faith. He's the
author and finisher of faith. And he gives us his faith. And
what? He gives it to us to believe. In joy and in peace. I like that,
I do. It takes the mighty power of
God to believe God. through the power of the Holy
Ghost. Now doesn't that sort of put
to rest that statement? I'll believe God when I'm good
and ready. I'll come to God when I want to. I'm not ready yet,
I don't wanna go now. Well the last part is a true
statement, I don't want to now. And if God doesn't change your
want to, you won't. That's the way it is. That's
the way it is. Because without the Holy Spirit,
man cannot believe. And man will not believe. They're both true. It's not,
well, if it's will not, then what are you worried about cannot?
Well, if it's cannot, why are you worried about will not? They're
both true. They're both true. Let's see. 1 Corinthians chapter two. Verse 11, for what man knoweth
the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him?
Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things
also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth.
That's certainly true. But with which the Holy Ghost
teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
For their foolishness I do. And that's not the only reason.
Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. You understand? Believing God is
a blessing from God, a blessing of God. Without the Holy Spirit, man
cannot believe. But here's the thing. With the
Holy Spirit, man shall believe. You shall, you shall, you shall. And Paul writes, and I myself
am also persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye are full of
goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. What's Paul saying here? I am
persuaded you know Jesus Christ. Now don't worry about that word
admonish. I know, able also to admonish one another because
we use the word admonish right now in a negative sense, okay? But the actual definition of
that word is here, where? That you are also full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, able also to put in mind to one another. That's what it means, to put
in mind. What's that mean? What is it? Exhort? No, I've lost it. Be instant in season and out
of season, able to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering
and doctrine. That's what Paul's talking about
here. Talk to each other about Christ. Talk to him. Rejoice in him. Praise him. Speak and teach and preach him. Who is all joy and peace to believe. The last thing I'm gonna mention
here is the reason One of the reasons that this is such a nice
thing is because this God of hope here, this God of hope himself
is our surety. He's our surety. He's gonna fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, and guess what? He's gonna keep it
that way. He's gonna keep it that way. Hebrews chapter seven and verse
19 says, for the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in
of a better hope did. By the which we draw nigh unto
God. And inasmuch as not without an
oath he was made priest for those priests that were made without
an oath, but this with an oath by him that saith unto him, the
Lord swear and will not repent, thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. He's a better hope, and he's
a better testament, and he's the surety of it all. There's
no way on God's green earth that you are ever gonna lose
anything that he has given you. He's the surety. You understand,
Paul wrote it this way, and I love the way he wrote this. What did
he write? Now, now the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in believing. I know I might whine and complain about
work, and I do. You know why? Because I'm not
believing as I should. The Lord give me that job. They
pay me for showing up and doing some work. If it weren't for
Him, I wouldn't have it. If it wasn't for Him, I wouldn't
have anything. But here's the thing. Always,
now and always, you will have all joy and peace in believing
Him. in believing him. That's never
gonna end. That's never gonna end. It never
shall end. Thank God for that. He's the
surety of the better hope. He's the better hope and he's
the better surety of a better testament. Thank God it's not
up to me. And you thank God it's not up
to you. He saved his people, he's saving
his people, and he's going to keep saving his people until
that salvation is totally and completely complete. We're complete in him now, and
we're gonna continue to be complete in him. And one day, this mortal's
gonna put on immortality. He's the surety of it. Our Heavenly
Father, we're thankful for this time, this place. Help us. Help us, Lord, to realize the
joy and peace we have in you, that you've given to us. Help
us to believe you more fully, to trust you every day, all day,
Lord, we need your help. We're fragile, fallen, sometimes broken creatures. Clay
pots at best. Help us, Lord. In Christ's name
we pray, amen.