November 11, 2020
To the saints of Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, Oregon
Blessings on you in the hope-filled name of Jesus!
Today is Veterans Day, which is a day for us to remember and to thank all those who have served our country in the Armed Forces. We have many freedoms here in America that have been won by brave patriots throughout the years. Without our courageous warriors we would not be so fortunate. If you have served our country, I want to extend a personal, “Thank you for your service!” It means a lot and you mean a lot! If you did not serve, I would like to suggest that you thank someone who did. Do a kind deed for them; send them a card; or send up a prayer. I think we could always do better at showing appreciation, and what better day to do that than today. Let’s not take our freedoms for granted, nor those who helped preserve them.
And with the coming of Veterans Day, we have Thanksgiving Day just a couple weeks away, and then Christmas. Yes, we are entering “the holidays,” which is a shortened form of “Holy Days.” Indeed, every day is holy unto the Lord; but there is something special about Thanksgiving and Christmas. The event that Americans commonly call the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621. The feast lasted three days, and—as recounted by attendee Edward Winslow—was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were giving thanks to Almighty God for preserving their lives. The “First Christmas” was celebrated by Mary and Joseph in a town called Bethlehem, and they gave thanks to Almighty God for the birth of God’s Son, Jesus. In everything, we are to give thanks, the Bible says; and how much so during the “Holidays.”
But for many, the holidays are anything but holy. For them it is a time of depression, a reminder of loneliness and the futility of life. First Responders sometimes refer to this as the “Death Season” because so many take their lives, or they simply quit trying to live and simply die. What so many see as “Hopeful” these people see as “Hopeless.” If you are feeling a little discouraged, especially after the “wonderful year” that we have had so far… I would like you to take courage and know that there is HOPE for you! Why? Because for the child of God, we have been given great hope! Now, “Hope” is commonly used to mean a wish: its strength is the strength of a person’s desire. But in the Bible, “Hope” is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness. Now here is something else about hope…
“1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5 (NIV2011)
We can see in verse one that the Apostle is talking to true believers here. Hope begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ. And it is through Jesus Christ that we have been justified through faith. An unredeemed person is an enemy of God, (see Rom. 5:10). But when a person is truly saved, they are justified—and this is a source of tremendous blessings for us. Justification means that God has declared us righteous in His sight, which is essentially a declaration of peace with God.
Now the way we have peace with God is through the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, before we were justified, we were in reality at war with God. We were condemned and under God’s wrath. Woe to us should we come before the Judge of all the earth in this state. But when Jesus humbled Himself to death on a cross to atone for our sins; and when we received God’s gracious gift of eternal life, we were then pardoned of our sins. The result being that God’s wrath toward us ceased and we have peace with God. And since we have peace with God through Christ we also receive access to God by faith. The Jew was kept from God’s presence by the veil in the temple; and the Gentile was kept out by a wall in the temple with a warning on it that any Gentile who went beyond would be killed. But when Jesus died, He tore the veil and broke down the wall and now Jew and Gentile alike have access to God through Christ. See Luke 23:45 and Eph. 2:18. We can stand before God by grace and not “in Law.” For we are “saved by grace through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph. 2:8-9
No one can boast about what they did in order to be saved, but in this case we are told that we can “Boast in the hope of the glory of God.” We are not boasting in what we have done, but what Jesus has done for us. Boasting means that we can talk proudly of what God has done for us. Some translations render this as rejoice. And we can rejoice over this great salvation that has been given so freely. This reminds me of Jeremiah 9:23-24 which says, “This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.” The Lord has covered all the bases… “Peace with God takes care of our past: no longer holding our sins against us. Access to God takes care of the present: we can come to Him in confidence anytime we need help. And “Hope of the glory of God” takes care of the future: since one day we will share in His glory. We can’t lose with this Savior called Jesus.
But now is Romans 5:3-4 we see something else that we can be encouraged about. The Bible says that we can glory in our sufferings. Now that sounds odd, doesn’t it? The reason we can glory in our sufferings is because we know that suffering produces perseverance. In other words, it toughens us up so we don’t quit. We will endure, and it’s because we have learned perseverance through suffering. People who never have any trials, don’t know what to do when one comes along. They are so shocked that they give up. But if you have been through that before, you can just keep on keeping on.
When we persevere with Jesus we find something else happening. We find it produces character. We are talking about Christian Character. In other words, the result of suffering builds perseverance and the result of perseverance builds character, which means that you are becoming more and more like Jesus. No wonder James says we are to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, (see James 1:2) because this is how God is building Christlikeness in us. Life is not a series of accidents—rather it is a series of appointments where the Great Physician is fashioning us into His Son’s image.
Now as we see ourselves grow in Christ-like character we have hope. A hope with strength based on God’s faithfulness. It is a powerful and life sustaining hope. In verse five we are told that this kind of hope does not disappoint us because it will not put us to shame. We need never worry if this was a hopeless hope, or a futile hope, or a false hope. No, this kind of hope is as sure as the ground under your feet. One way that you can know that this is a sure hope is because God has poured out His love in your heart. When you sense His love and forgiveness—you can know that your hope is secure in Him. The way that He does this is through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Jesus told His disciples that it was better for Him to leave them because if He didn’t go He couldn’t send them the Holy Spirit. But if He did go, Jesus would send the Spirit to them and the Advocate would then be with them. See John 16:7ff.
The very fact that we have received the Holy Spirit is a sign that we have a steadfast hope. In Ephesians 2:13 we are told that when we believed in Jesus that we were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory. In other words, once we have the “Seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” we can be assured that our hope is secure.
As we move ahead into these holidays… let’s remember their significance and the hope that is all brings. There is no reason to be without hope and without God in this world except through unbelief in what God has done for you. Unbelief means a stubborn refusal to believe even in the face of evidence. And for us who believe—the evidence is in. Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the 3rd day—and many saw Him and believed.
“The Solid Rock,” by Edward Mote
“My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.” I say Amen to that.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.” I say Amen to that.
His oath, His covenant, His blood Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.” I say Amen to that.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.” I say Amen to that.
Benediction:
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV2011)
Pastor Russ Hilsinger
Grace Baptist Church of Dallas, OR
P.S. I would love to hear some of your thoughts, so please know that I’m available to talk with you by phone: 503.586.6727; text, or by email: rjhilsinger@gmail.com
Also, our new website is up. Check it out at www.www.graceplaceor.com
Blessings on you all.