Message: Abounding in Hope
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome
What the Lord is Saying:
This statement here is a concluding admonition offered to the Gentiles which was the audience for verses 9-12. Jesus brought hope to the Gentiles.
May the God of Hope
This verse is a prayer and word of encouragement that begins and ends with hope. God is the God of hope and His goal is to give hope to the believer. He orchestrates this through the Power of the Holy Spirit. I am filled with hope with joy and peace when I believe.
God is the origin and object and giver of hope. Abounding in hope is only possible when the God of Hope moves in the life of a believer. Society may think they have hope, but it is a false hope. With God hope is a permanent state.
Fill you
This idea means literally to fill to the brim. Filling is to make something complete. When I fill a glass or container with something, I make that empty container complete with that substance. Here it is the idea of filling a person with all that they need.
With all Joy and Peace in Believing
God is filling the person with joy and peace. The believers responsibility in this process is simple: to believe. God will give the believer joy and peace. Joy is something we have that signifies our position in Christ. There is great joy in our salvation. But, that joy can go away at times, but peace will always hold. We need peace to be reminded that our condition of salvation is permanent.
Joy is a state of knowing I belong to God. It looks past my sin and gives me joy. Peace makes this state a permanent thing.
The act of believing is done when we consider something to be true. It is not enough to read the scripture. It is not enough to go through the motion of going to church. It is not enough to be in the habit of lifting up concerns to heaven. We must believe. A person is to believe. In believing, the floodgates are opened to joy and peace. Reading the Word, going to Church, and Praying are each important, but they all are only real under the umbrella of believing.
I have seen this in my life. Sometimes I think that by just going through the motions of reading, church going, praying, listening to sermons or Christian music that it will make all things fine. But, my real issue is whether or not I really believe. Have I placed my trust in God?
By the Power of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not an afterthought or this other option that is just there. The Holy Spirit has a real purpose and we cannot, as a Christian, live a life of power without the Holy Spirit living and working in our life.
I saw this written on preceptaustin.org and it is is so perfect regarding the Holy Spirit and His Power:
Remember that when Jesus was on earth, having emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives (albeit still fully God - mystery of mysteries! See Phil 2:5, 6, 7-note), He presented us the perfect example of how to live a supernatural life. And what was Jesus' "secret"? Luke unfolds the beautiful truth that at the beginning of His ministry, "the Holy Spirit descended upon Him" (Luke 3:22, compare Isa 11:2, Isa 61:1, 2, 3, notice also the timing = Luke 3:23 "And when He began His ministry..."). Note what Luke is saying - Jesus receives the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and this event marks the inception of His powerful ministry over the next three years. Luke goes on to record that then "full of the Holy Spirit" (Luke 4:1, see Paul's command to believers to be continually full of the Spirit, Eph 5:18-note), Jesus "was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness" (Luke 4:1b) which resulted in a period of intense temptation "by the devil " (Luke 4:2-17). In short, Jesus gives us His example for powerful ministry - filling with and submission or surrender to the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that now indwells all believers (Ro 8:9-note, 1Cor 6:19-note, 1Cor 6:20-note). In the book of Acts, Luke reiterates the vital role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' ministry recording Peter's declaration...
You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power (dunamis), and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. (Luke 10:38)
Notice the association of the Holy Spirit with the presence of enabling power, power to accomplish the ministry the Father had assigned to His Son (Do you see the Trinity at work?). Now return to Luke 4 and notice that after His victorious temptation.
Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Holy Spirit began His ministry. In so doing, Jesus the perfect Man is providing us the pattern for powerful ministry! Have you learned the "secret" of the Holy Spirit's power in your life? Paul (1Cor 11:1), Peter (1Peter 2:21-note) and John (1Jn 2:6) all call on believers to follow in the steps of Jesus. While clearly there are some exceptions (Jesus' miracles of raising the dead, etc.), the basic pattern of power for supernatural ministry is provided - the secret is the Holy Spirit! Jesus' charge to His men in Acts 1:8 and playing out of that verse in the remainder of the book of Acts affirm the basic principle of the Holy Spirit's power enabling us to live the Christian life as more than conquerors!
You may abound in HopeMay God open the eyes of our heart to the surpassing greatness of the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:18, 19-note) available in our lives so that we might experience an abundant, fruit filled life (Gal 5:22-note, Gal 5:23-note), in turn so that God the Father might be greatly glorified by the supernatural deeds the Spirit of grace (Heb 10:29b) enables us to perform (cp Mt 5:16-note, Jn 15:8) as we progressively learn more and more to yield to Him, to be filled with Him and to walk by Him (Eph 5:18-note, Gal 5:16-note).
Hope here is not just the desire that something will happen in the future, but it is the assurance and confidence that it will indeed happen. We spoke to a man at the mall last night at the mall and it was clear in our discussion (eventually) that this man was in a permanent state of hope, believing that Jesus Christ did it all for him, and his confidence was not in his own ability to be obedient, but his confidence was in Christ and all his hope was in Him. He knew his future was secure not because of anything he had done, but because of what Christ had done for him. He was in a state of hope.
Promise: The promise to the Christian is by believing they receive the Power of the Holy Spirit and in their life, this gives them a Hope that never fades.
So powerful! Awakens my Soul to the Truth!! Thank you, Paytonfamily, for being a vessel for Our Sweet Lords Revelations
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