Romans 15:8-13

[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. As Josh said, last week I think I said I was six verses shy of where I hoped to get to.

[0:12] ! And I was fine with that. That happens.! As Josh said, I think Josh is serious.

[0:36] So here we are. Last week in Romans 15 is where we was. We got through the first seven verses of Romans 15.

[0:51] We learned about the strong Christians versus the weak Christians. We talked a little bit about how we're not talking about putting each other down.

[1:09] Strong versus weak. In fact, Paul addresses that here. He talks about how those that are stronger, those that have been in the walk longer, those that have been in the Word longer, they need to be examples unto the quote-unquote weaker Christians.

[1:27] Those that don't have the understanding that we do. Those that haven't got quite the relationship with God that we do. Not that they don't have a relationship, but, you know, they're new.

[1:38] And I can relate to that. Because I look back on when I first got saved, and my theology was horrible. It was horrible. But I knew what happened.

[1:50] I knew that I was a sinner. I knew that God saved me. But as far as some of the more in-depth things of Scripture goes, I didn't have any clue on some of those.

[2:02] I knew what I'd heard, and I knew what I'd been taught over the years, and things along those lines. And folks, I've got to be honest with you, and some of y'all are probably in the same boat, some of the things that I'd heard turned out to be untrue once I started comparing them with Scripture.

[2:16] Right. So, again, Paul addressing the stronger Christians and then lumping himself in with that category, encouraging them to help the weaker Christians alone.

[2:29] We talked about when Paul says, for whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for us. They were written for our benefit, and they were written as examples unto us.

[2:41] Amen. And when we left off last week, we left off in verse 7. I'm going back up to verse 6. Because verses 6 and 7 set the stage for verses 8 through 13, which is what we're going to cover this week.

[2:55] So, Romans chapter 15, beginning with verse 6, says, That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[3:08] Wherefore, receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. And of course, last week, we capped it off with verse 7, where he's saying, Receive ye one another, even as Christ received us.

[3:21] And we said last week, you know, Christ received us as filthy, rotten, no good, low down, dirty sinners. And so, in this context, verses 1 through 7, we're talking about Christians and Christians.

[3:37] Strong Christians and weak Christians. So, if Christ will receive us as the sinners that we were, granted, He didn't leave us in that shape, praise God.

[3:48] But, if He'll receive us in that shape, how much more should we receive one another, regardless of the length of the walk, regardless of the knowledge of the Word of God, regardless of any of that, how much more should we receive one another?

[4:04] And so, that's what sets the stage for verses 8 through 13. So, all that being said, Romans chapter 15, verse 8, He says, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.

[4:24] So, He says, He begins this verse with, Now I say. This is actually a rabbinical term. He's saying it with authority. In other words, this is something that the rabbis of the day would have said and something that Paul would have probably said as a Pharisee when he was a Pharisee.

[4:44] But, this is Paul grabbing the Roman church that he is writing to here, grabbing them by the collar and saying, Listen to me. Listen to what I'm saying.

[4:55] He says, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision. Jesus Christ was a minister for what? For the circumcision. What is the circumcision? That's the Jewish people.

[5:06] He was a minister for them. Well, what about to us? As Gentiles, we're about to get into that in the next few verses. But, he says, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God.

[5:21] He was a minister to the Jewish people for the truth of God. What is the truth of God? What exactly is Paul getting at and saying this? Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of a promise that was given not only in Genesis 3, we talked about that a little bit last week if I have Paul correctly.

[5:42] Yes, sir. But, if you move forward a little bit to Genesis 12, and God is speaking to Abram, and He tells Abram, from your seed, from your seed, all nations will be blessed.

[5:56] All nations shall be blessed. So there was a Messiah promised. A Messiah promised in Genesis 3. That same Messiah is promised in Genesis 12. It's promised again in Genesis 15.

[6:08] Promised again. all throughout the Old Testament we see this Messiah promised. He says, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. The promises were made.

[6:20] They were made to Abram. There was a promise to David that there would come one that would not depart from his throne. That promise was also made to Judah back over in the book of Genesis where he said the scepter would not depart from the throne.

[6:35] There was a promise made to Isaiah that there was going to be a virgin that conceived and she would bring forth a child and his name would be Emmanuel. There was a promise made unto Micah that that Savior would be born in the town of Bethlehem.

[6:48] There was all kinds of promises and all kinds of things told to the people to the circumcision to the Jewish people and Christ was the fulfillment of all of those promises.

[7:01] So he came to be a minister to the circumcision for the promises of God to show the Jewish people that God keeps his promises. He doesn't make he doesn't just make empty statements like we do as human beings like I've done like you've done like we've all done both when we were lost and since we've been saved.

[7:21] We've all been guilty of doing that. God does not do that when he says something you can bank on it. It will happen and Christ came to be the minister a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God and it says to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

[7:40] He came to confirm the promises made to the fathers and I said last week as far as the church in Rome went it was likely a Gentile dominant congregation that was there but there were Jews that were in the mix and he's addressing both of those groups of people in these few verses we'll be covering this morning but Christ came to be the minister unto the circumcision unto the Jewish people because of and for and to prove the promises of Almighty God.

[8:12] Verse 9 says and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written for this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name.

[8:24] So back to the beginning of that verse so first we ended we ended verse 8 or went through verse 8 as Christ being the minister to the circumcision for the promises of God I praise God for this and that verse 9 starts with and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy in verse 8 Christ came to be the minister to be the servant in other words of the promises of God that were made to the fathers made to the Jewish fathers made to their forefathers to the patriarchs that we find in the Old Testament but here here we read and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy Christ came to fulfill the promises that were made to the Jewish people folks those promises weren't made to you and I they were not made now they're there we've already we covered it last week everything that was written aforetime is written for our learning it's written written for our help written so that we can learn something but we got mercy from God the Jews got a promise of a Messiah the Jews got a promise of a Messiah we were grafted in from the wild amen those promises were not made to us now us being heirs to God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ as Romans 8 talks about we're heirs to the same promise yes but here this verse it says and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy that's right for his mercy what is mercy mercy is simply not receiving what we deserve thank God and we as Gentiles now that's not to say that the Jews were perfect we all know that we all know that they weren't

[10:16] God even addresses that that the Jews were perfect he addresses that in the New Testament the Old Testament and a lot he told the Jewish people in the book of Deuteronomy don't think that I've saved you don't think that I've delivered you don't think that I've done these things for you because you were great in number or because you were good or because you were anything I'm doing this because of a promise that I made to your fathers I'm doing this because I am good that's why God done what he did for the Jewish people amen he says that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy folks we were never promised anything nothing was guaranteed to us nothing was guaranteed to the Gentile people that's why I've said a million times you ever see a real Jew walking down the street you need to hug him you need to kiss him on the head you need to tell him you appreciate him that when Jesus Christ came here he came into his own and his own received him not because had the Jewish people accepted Jesus Christ when he first came there would be no hope for us Gentiles there would be zero hope for us because that would have put all kinds of other prophetic things in the Bible into play and the Gentiles would have been left out in the dark so we need to we need to be grateful for that but folks none of that caught God off guard none of it

[11:34] God knew what would happen God knew that his people would reject his son he knew that the Gentiles were going to be corrected and he knew it all that's why he said again in Genesis chapter 12 that through Abraham's seed all the nations all the world would be blessed folks the gospel is not an afterthought it's not something that just came into being it's not innovated it was God's plan from the very beginning to have Jewish people and Gentile people alike worshiping him and again in the next few verses we'll see that and 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 this is a psalm of David you can read about this in psalm chapter 18 he says I will confess confess you but where is he going to be confessing not at a distance from the Gentiles not while he's in Jerusalem and the Gentiles are the nations or the heathen as the scripture puts it are hundreds of miles away in their own country he says for this cause

[12:45] I will confess thee among the Gentiles folks this is incredible to me that David a thousand years before Jesus Christ was ever born on this earth a thousand years before the sermon on the mount was ever preached here is David understanding what Christ preached on the sermon on the mount when he said let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven it's David doing that he says I will confess your name among the Gentiles I will let my light shine and why if you read the rest of that psalm you'll see that it's a psalm of deliverance you'll see that David praising God for delivering him from his own enemies he says I will confess I will confess your name among the Gentiles he says I will confess thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name what is he doing he is witnessing he is witnessing about his God about his deliverer about his savior the same thing that you and I are commanded to do in the new testament we are to witness of the goodness of God we're the witness of the mercy of God we're the witness of the grace of almighty

[14:05] God and David was doing this a thousand years before Christ ever walked this planet in human form for this cause I will confess thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name for what cause well if we keep this in context with what we're talking about we have to include verse 8 in that which is that Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy for that cause and that's actually two causes but for that cause David said and Paul is quoting David and saying that for this cause I will confess thee I will confess God among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name what Paul is showing here though is that the Gentiles have ever been part of God's plan again none of it caught

[15:05] God off guard we weren't plan B we weren't plan C we wasn't in case this happens then we'll just revert to this or that that's not what it was it has ever been that one people would serve and worship one God with one tongue and one adoration toward him as the one savior of the entire world that has ever been the plan of almighty God why was Paul writing this to begin with obviously there were divisions I said last week you can go back to chapter 14 in Romans and read about the divisions within the Roman church some were saying we should do this some others were saying no I don't need to do that but we also need to do this and there's division there and Paul is showing that Jews and Gentiles have always been part of God's plan verse 10 and again he says rejoice ye

[16:05] Gentiles with his people again talking about the Gentiles now if you read this in the original quote it's rejoicing nations but speaking of the nations we're talking about Gentiles we're talking about everybody that is outside of Judaism everybody is outside the culture of Judaism the language of Judaism everybody is outside of the religion of Judaism that's the nations but he says and again he said rejoice ye Gentiles with his people Paul again showing that you and I as Gentiles and people here in this Roman church have always been part of the plan of God but this is a commandment it's a commandment that is given in the scripture and again he says rejoice ye Gentiles with his people that's a command it's not just an invitation to do so it's a command of almighty

[17:08] God through his word through his inspired word for all people to worship him now all people do not worship him I understand that I get that Paul understood that and he got that that not everyone worships God but nevertheless it's a command it's no different than in the book of Acts we learn that at one time God winked at man's ignorance but now calls men everywhere to repentance not that all repent but God calls them to repentance God calls people to rejoice what are they rejoicing for though says and again he says rejoice ye Gentiles with his people who is his people the Gentiles are not Jews the Jews are not Gentiles but God is commanding the Gentiles to rejoice with the Jews because he is one God bringing several different ethnic groups Jews and Gentiles several different nations all into worship him and he's commanding them to rejoice over that verse 11 he says and again praise the

[18:15] Lord all you Gentiles and loud him all you people so he's given the commandment in verse 10 to rejoice ye Gentiles rejoice ye nations again as the original quote is verse 11 and again praise the Lord all you Gentiles and loud him all you people and again you can the original quotation there is actually the nations but he says praise the Lord so he's telling us to rejoice to praise but both of these are commandments toward the people not just you know if you got time to not if you feel like it it's a command to rejoice to rejoice over the mercy of God to rejoice over the promise of God that's fulfilled or I should say promises of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ we rejoice over his mercy and then it says praise the Lord all you Gentiles and loud him all you people or loud some people pronounce that word either way it's talking about it's talking about exhorting it's talking about uplifting it's talking about praise that word loud or loud there is now verses 9 through 10 we see a progression of something that's going on here verse 9 that the

[19:39] Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written for this cause will I confess thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name it's a confession it's witnessing we've already been over that it's testifying of God to the Gentiles by a Jew by a Jewish king by King David in the original text but it's witnessing it's showing them who God is showing them that God exists showing them what God has done in his life he has delivered David over and over and over he has delivered David he delivered David from Jewish people that wanted to kill him he delivered David from Gentiles that wanted to kill him and David is testifying that God is the deliverer so we have that I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name verse 10 and again he saith rejoice ye Gentiles with his people so he's confessed he has preached

[20:40] God if you like to phrase it like that he has shown them God witnessed of God and in verse 10 rejoice ye Gentiles with his people so he's calling to a collaboration of worship of Jews and Gentiles alike but worshiping one God verse 11 praise you the Lord all ye Gentiles and laud him all ye people this is the Gentiles you and me this is those that are outside of the original promises that's you and me praising God by themselves so we see the testimony of God in verse 9 of David to the Gentiles we see the praise of both of those groups of people and then we see the Gentiles themselves being commanded to praise God on their own all on their own and folks that is what we need to do we praise God on our own we don't need the help of an outside religion if you'd like to phrase it like that we don't need the help of a conference we don't need the help of an association we don't need people writing letters to us telling us how to worship

[22:00] God at 9 o'clock you're to do this at 9.15 you're to do that at 9.30 you're to blah blah blah no we praise God on our own now if we praise God in a manner that is not scriptural folks that's strange fire that's strange fire but if we are praising God in a scriptural manner the way that is prescribed in this Bible for his people to praise him and you find all kinds of different ways to do that you see it through music you see it through crying you see it through song you see it all kinds of ways you see it through people shouting there's all kinds of ways scripturally that we can praise God if we are praising God in a scriptural manner folks that's praise and God loves that the Bible says that he inhabits the praises of his people and I thank God for that but here in verse 11 it's the Gentiles and only the Gentiles that are being commanded to praise God and to love to exalt his name to lift up his name and why do we do that folks we've been delivered we've been just like I was talking about

[23:10] David in the psalm he was talking about deliverance we have been delivered we've been delivered from the enemy we've been delivered from Satan we've been delivered from death folks the second death has no rights to me now there's therefore now no condemnation to them to be in Christ Jesus yes I'll die but folks death is nothing more than an usher that leads us into glory if we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ death is a servant to us death takes us home to glory and I praise God for that verse 12 and again Esaias say that there shall be a root of Jesse and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles in him shall the Gentiles trust now again this is just Paul beginning in verse verse 9 just opening the door and giving a sweeping panoramic view of how the gospel has always been God's plan and it has always been for multiple people not just for the

[24:29] Jews that was one of the biggest problems that the Jews had was they were like we're God's chosen we're the one the promises were made exactly and that was a stumbling block to them and folks I ain't gonna lie to you had I been a Jew living back in that time it would have thrown me for a loop too it would have but God made it plain through his scriptures that's the thing God made it plain in the Old Testament and that's what Paul is quoting here everything that he has quoted in these verses we've been going over this morning everything he's quoted has been from the Old Testament so it was right there before them but they refused to sin that's the thing they denied Christ when he came they denied him they rejected him as Messiah because that's not the Messiah that they were wanting that's not the Messiah they had concocted in their head that was going to come they denied him although the scriptures were plain as day right before them but folks be careful before you snub your nose at the Jews yeah how many times have we denied

[25:42] Christ as well yes sir as New Testament Christians how many times have we done that verse 12 again and again Isaiah said there shall be a root of Jesse and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles in him shall the Gentiles trust there shall be a root of Jesse folks this is in the Old Testament it was quite amazing scripture and here with Paul quoting it it's quite amazing scripture there shall be a root of Jesse what is the root the root is what the branches come out of but we're talking about a root of Jesse yeah we're not talking about a branch of David so what is Paul getting at here he's getting at the eternality yes sir and the divinity of Jesus Christ amen that Christ and the gospel the good news that although man be a sinner

[26:42] God is a savior he is the savior has been from the very beginning amen he says a root of Jesse Isaiah said there shall be a root of Jesse someone before Jesse who was Jesse Jesse was a nobody in the little town of Bethlehem I mean and I don't say that as an insult toward Jesse but you really don't read a whole lot else about Jesse other than he was David's father other than Samuel came he paraded his sons before Samuel and David was anointed king we all know that account in the book of Samuel we should all be well familiar with that but Jesse was a nobody why would we go back that far again it's to show that yes Christ came from Jesse because David came from Jesse and Christ was part of the Davidic line and David being part of the line of

[27:49] Judah and that's where the Messiah was going to come from you can trace it all kinds of different ways but you come up to one Christ it all comes to one Christ but he says a root from Jesse showing that it was before Jesse it was during Jesse's time and it has been since Jesse and it was before David and it was during David's time and it was and it's been since David's time that's why the Bible teaches us that he's the Alpha and the Omega he's the beginning and the end he's the first and the last we know all those phrases about Jesus Christ and this confirms that and it was in the Old Testament and Paul here quoting it in the New Testament it says there shall be a root of Jesse and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles now this actual quote says he shall be an ensign he shall be significant unto the Gentiles to rule and to reign over the

[28:52] Gentiles and again the Jews thinking no God is our Savior God made us the promise we are to get the promised land we are to be brought into this wonderful relationship with almighty God not those dirty dogs the Gentiles that was never God's plan never God's plan we have always been part of it yes the Bible teaches we were grafted in from the wild yes the Bible teaches that once upon a time we were we were dogs but folks even that Sala Phoenician woman came to Jesus Christ begging for mercy she came to Christ begging for mercy and Jesus said that he shouldn't give the bread that's meant for Israel to the dogs she said the dogs even needed the crumbs the crumbs have become a feast for the New Testament church in Jesus Christ I thank God thank God yes sir it was never meant just for the Jews amen we have always been part of the plan folks and that gives me great comfort that gives me great comfort now granted we were once far off you read

[29:59] Ephesians chapter 2 we were once far off we were alienated God didn't even know who we was he knew we were here and he knew what we were doing but he did not know us but Ephesians 2 says we were brought nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ yes sir thank God and only by the blood of Jesus Christ are we brought nigh and that was always the plan was the blood yes sir of the only begotten son of the father thank you Lord would draw not only the Jews to Jesus Christ folks their rituals did no good their ceremonies did no good no more than anything we do like that like I was talking about earlier our religious practices there's nothing inherently wrong with them in and of themselves but when we start depending upon those for salvation yes sir that's when it becomes a problem that's why God said in the book of Amos I despise your feast days I hate your burning of incense I hate all of these things because that's what they were depending on to get them in right relationship with God not God himself and not God's plan but the things that God had prescribed for them to be doing and therefore they would go out and live their life any way they wanted to they would commit all the adultery they wanted to they would steal from their neighbor all they wanted to they would lie they would do all kinds of things and say well as long as

[31:21] I take a sacrifice to the temple all is going to be well and nowhere is that taught in the Old Testament but it's always it is always and by the promises of God all of them aside that we have one people worshipping him with one tongue it has always been that way Isaiah said there shall be a root of Jesse and he shall rise to reign over the Gentiles to reign over us and folks this is not just Christ as a savior that we're talking about here this is Christ as king amen that we're talking about here to reign over the Gentiles but not just the Gentiles the Jewish folks alike to reign over the Gentiles and in him shall the Gentiles trust trust and the Hebrew word that's used here for trust can also be interpreted as hope either way in him in this root of Jesse that's brought up here in this verse in him the one that is ruling over us folks we're not talking about

[32:25] Pharaoh we're not talking about Caesar in Paul's time we're talking about Christ Christ being king and Christ ruling over us in him shall the Gentiles trust or shall the Gentiles hope folks if we have hope outside of Jesus Christ it is all for nothing it is it is for naught but hope in Jesus Christ hope that is an anchor for the soul and we're not talking about just some fleeting hope that we have here folks this is eternal hope he is he is eternal he is everlasting and if he is everlasting and he is eternal and he is forever then everything about him is all those things too every attribute ascribed to almighty God is eternal every attribute ascribed to Jesus Christ is eternal it's an eternal hope that we have in Jesus Christ and in him in this root of Jesse in this descendant of the Jews we know that Jesus Christ was a Jew we know that salvation is of the Jews according to the scripture we get all that but it is in him it is in him that we have hope and in him alone now you might say

[33:39] I have hope in this or that and it may be all fine and good things but folks those things are temporal everything is temporal your wife your husband your children your grandchildren all are temporal but Christ is eternal put your hope in him and keep your hope in him and not only not only Christ in and of himself but his word is eternal as well the bible says that the grass withers and the flower fades but the word of our God shall stand forever forever forever is forever the word of God will stand forever and that's why Paul is using these old testament quotes not only to show that the gentiles have always been part of the plan of God to bring them in but to show that the word of God is eternal it has been that way from the get go it is that way before Adam and Eve were first formed and it will be that way millennia and millions of years from now the word of God shall stand forever verse 13 now the hope of

[34:50] God fill you with all joy and peace in believing that he may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost now we just got through saying that at the end of verse 12 in him shall the Gentiles trust how that Hebrew word can be translated as hope as well the word for trust but here he says now the hope of God fill you with all joy and peace now if you go back to verse 5 what we covered last week now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus so we got the same God we got different attributes of God in these two verses again verse 5 he's the God of patience and consolation and Paul is praying he is praying for the Roman church that God grant them to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus again here in verse 13 now the

[35:52] God of hope full you with joy and peace and only the God of hope can do that again we're not talking about fleeting hope if we have true hope which is the hope that is anchored in Jesus Christ and his word and his promises it is the hope that if I have confessed him as Lord with my mouth and I believe in my heart that God has raised him from the dead and because of those things I am saved that is hope that is cross bought that is world conquering hope that I have and God is the God of that hope now the God of hope fill you with joy and peace if I have that hope I will have joy and peace that doesn't mean my life is going to be candy and roses and sunshine all the way down through it and Jesus Christ never once taught that in his ministry nor is it taught in the word of God we'll have a hard life all the things we'll have

[36:54] God in Christ Jesus child we're going to have persecution we're going to have trials we're going to have temptations we're going to have all kinds of things tribulations in our life we're going to have sickness we're going to have financial issues we're going to have relational issues we'll have all kinds of things going on in our life but that does not take away our hope because the God of hope is the very one that imparted that hope to us it's just like life just like life I mean Jesus came that we could have life and have it more abundantly only he who is life can impart that life and only he who is hope can impart hope to us we can look in the world all we want to for hope and when we were lost we thought we found it over and over and over again sure but folks we never had true hope the God of all hope fill you fill you with joy and peace it doesn't matter what goes on in our lives it doesn't matter what turmoil is going on if our hope is in Christ and in his word and in his promises and in the promise that as much as I deserve it

[38:13] I'm not going to hell but I'm going to live forever and eternally with him not because of my work but because of his finished work on the cross if I have that hope I am filled with joy and peace many of you know that you know Missy and I we've had our share of health problems Missy more recently than myself the folks that didn't take away my hope yes it got hard yes it was trying but I had hope I had hope that God is the healer and that if he didn't heal her here he'd take her home but I also had the hope that I'd see her once again sometime might be a year might be decades but that's hope and that's the only hope worth having is the hope that God gives us and that brings joy and peace into our heart and into our soul and into our lives that's why it does us no good when things are going bad when things are going south in the life of a Christian for us to just fly off the handle in front of the world that is not letting our light so shine before men and it's hard to do that sometimes

[39:31] I've been guilty of doing it myself but we have hope and if we have hope we should have joy and peace but notice what he says now the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing what does that mean folks if we don't have faith we don't have that hope in believing this is another prayer that Paul is praying for the Roman church in this verse now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing we must have faith the Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God it is impossible to please God folks it's impossible to be saved without faith I'm living proof of that I heard sermon after sermon after sermon preached before I was saved hearing the sermon didn't do anything hearing the word of God didn't do anything now the spirit of God can take the word of

[40:31] God and convict the heart but if I don't believe it if I don't have faith in it it does no good the God of hope the God of all hope fill us with joy and peace in believing we must believe that he's the God of all hope we must believe that he has joy and peace and we must believe that he will give us that hope he will give us that joy he will give us that peace because the Bible says that he will do these things we believe what the word of God says as much as it might get on our toes sometimes I believe what it says that he may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost the God of all hope fill us with joy and peace in believing with faith that he may abound in hope the God of all hope folks it's not going to be a trickle and I've got scripture right here in Romans 15 verse 13 that says it won't be a trickle of hope that flows out of us we will abound in hope why because hope is abounding in almighty

[41:42] God he has an inexhaustible amount and supply of hope to give to his people and if I'm overflowing with it don't you worry he's still got plenty for you his hope is everlasting and his hope again is inexhaustible that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost we got all kinds of things wrapped up here in this one verse the God of hope will give us joy and peace in believing with faith he will give us joy and peace that you may abound in hope we can flourish in hope we can overflow with this hope but still yet it's through the power of the Holy Ghost and that is the only way that it will happen God does not reach down and pull a little cap off of our head and start filling us with hope God dwells inside of the believer in form of the

[42:48] Holy Ghost again in believing we must have faith if we have faith if we are in Christ and Christ is in us and Christ is in us the way of the Holy Ghost of God and for us to abound in this hope it will happen through the Holy Spirit even Christians now I said I know when I was lost I went out and tried to find hope in all kinds of dark corners of the world but as Christians even as Christians we're still susceptible to doing that we'll try and find hope elsewhere folks it won't happen it will not happen the God of all hope will give us joy and peace with our faith in believing and that will cause us to abound in hope but that will only happen through the Holy Ghost of God who already dwells on the inside how many times have you have you cried out in the middle of the night how many times have you had nowhere else to go no one else to turn to parents are sleeping wife sleeping husband sleeping whatever the case is you're sitting there you're tore all the pieces on the inside and you're begging for mercy from

[44:11] God you're begging for an answer you're begging for deliverance of some kind and suddenly that joy and that peace comes over you folks it doesn't just come over you but it comes from within you because that's where the Holy Ghost of God is it is by his power it's by the Spirit of God that we can feel that God bless you all I appreciate your attention anybody got any questions or any comments on any of that