Harmony of Hope
In A World Full Of Chaos, The Word Of God Gives Us Hope.
George Wright
Oct 18, 2020 39m
Has the world felt chaotic and unpredictable to you this year? You are not alone, God is with you. This uplifting message reminds us that in an uncertain world, turning to the Word of God gives us hope and strength. Video recorded at Columbia, South Carolina.
TranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
George Wright: 00:00 It really has been a privilege to have Todd serving as our finance committee chairman, and so I do want to thank Todd for his service, and for all the members of our finance committee, and our diaconate, and our stewardship team. This has been really, an incredible gift this year, in the midst of all the uncertainty and challenges, to propose a budget, to navigate a budget, to plan a budget with so much unknown still in front of us. It's really been amazing to see the way our team has come together. We have great leadership here among our staff team, but we have really great leadership as well among the lay leaders here at Shandon, and it is a tremendous blessing. So thank you all who have served.
George Wright: 00:39 Let me encourage you now to grab your Bible, and we're going to be in Romans chapter 15, as was stated just a moment earlier.
George Wright: 00:46 Before I step into the text for today, I've got to do something that really has nothing to do with the message, but it has a lot to do with this day. At least in our household, this is a special day in the life of our family, because this is my youngest son Everett's birthday. And so today Everett turns nine years, bro. I love you, I'm so proud of you. And because your birthday is on a Sunday, daddy gets to say it up top on the platform for everyone to see, you're the man. I love you, bro. Love you. Happy birthday, happy birthday. I love our other kids as well, but their birthdays not today, so I'm not saying anything to you guys, but I do love y'all.
George Wright: 01:25 Hey, Romans chapter 15 is an incredible gift to us, as we continue to navigate a conversation, as it relates to hope. The thing we've seen over the last few weeks, the thing we've touched on that is true for every single one of us is we are longing for hope. We see it here, we see it everywhere we look in our culture, we see it in all the conversations that are happening at large right now in our country, we see it in the conversations that are happening globally. People are longing for hope, and we want to grab a hold of something that will give us at least a glimmer of hope that things can get better, things can change, the best really is yet to come. And as we step into Romans 15, we see another beautiful example in the Word of God, of the hope that is laid before us because of what God has done through Jesus Christ our Lord. And here's the gift of this passage today, this passage brings the hope that we've been talking about in a big picture way to the ground. And it invites us to see that there is not only an invitation to understand a true reason for hope, but then there is application in how we live according to the hope that has been offered to us through the good news of what the Word of God reveals. So my prayer for today, for each and every one of us, is that today would have some very real, practical implications as it relates to how we live, how we interact with one another, how we process the decisions that we're making right now, that it would be from the lens of what is laid before us, and revealed in the scripture, as to what our reason for hope really is.
George Wright: 03:16 So Romans chapter 15, we're going to look at several verses, but I want to start with verse 4 to get us going here in this message today. And I'd like to invite you, if you're willing and able, to stand with me all around the room. Those who are joining us online, we invite you to stand too. I know that may feel a little weird, but we are standing here together to be reminded that the Word of God is our foundation. What we just sung about it, it is the solid rock on which we stand. It is the word that guides us, it is the word that shows us what is right and good and true. And it is the word that lays before us, our reason for hope.
George Wright: 03:56 Romans chapter 15, beginning in verse 4, it says this, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." There is a reason for hope, and when you clearly understand the reason for hope that the Word of God lays before us, it will impact the way you live specifically, the way you interact with others around you.
George Wright: 04:51 So let's pray, and let's ask God to speak into our lives through this text, to show us what we need to see and to tell us what we need to hear. Let's pray together. Father, as we stand before you now at the reading of your word, it is my prayer, that your voice would be what we hear today. Every single one of us comes to this message needing to hear something from the Lord God. And so I pray, Lord God, that you would speak into our lives. what you know, we need to hear. And that's challenging because sometimes it's not what we want to hear, but I pray, Lord God, that you would speak what we need to hear. That you would have your way among us, that we would recognize this beautiful gift of hope that has been laid before us through Jesus Christ. And Lord, since I'm praying right now, I just want to thank you so much for your grace, and kindness, and mercy, giving the Gamecocks a big win yesterday. It's in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. And you may be seated.
George Wright: 06:13 I caught some of y'all off guard with that one, huh? Hey, let's talk about the reality that we all are very familiar with right now in the way we live our lives, and that's how much time we spend in front of a screen. I'm just curious how much time you think you spend in front of a screen, a device of some kind consuming content, be it the TV, the laptop, the computer, your phone, whatever the case would be? How much time, just think in your mind right now, how much time do you think you spend on an average day in front of a device or a screen? Some really interesting research that has come out recently from the Nielsen group, they released a recent finding called The Total Audience Report, and it talks about digital consumption of content in America. And their conclusion was this, from their research, that the average American adult right now today is spending somewhere between 10 and 11 hours a day consuming digital content from a device or a screen. 10 or 11 hours a day, listening to watching, reading, digital content that is being pumped into our lives, through our devices and our screens. That's a lot of time, right? 10 to 11 hours. And some of you are thinking right now, hey, I'm actually way above average, I'm a overachiever, more like 16, 17, 18 hours in front of a screen. It's a lot of time, we all are spending a lot of time consuming content.
George Wright: 07:59 Here's the question I want to start with this morning, we'll just lay this before you. How much of the content we are consuming is providing encouragement, and leading us to hope? If it's an hour's worth, if it's 10 hours’ worth, if it's 11 hours’ worth, if it's 18 hours’ worth, how much of the content we are currently consuming is providing us with encouragement and leading us to hope? That can be a challenging question to consider, because the reality is so much of the content that is being pumped our way right now, is content that is leading to tension, content leading to hostility, content leading to division, and frustration, and anxiety, and even anger. How much of that constant is really encouraging and hope filled, how much of that content is really helpful?
George Wright: 09:09 It struck me in preparing for this series, knowing I was going to be preaching specifically on the topic of hope for several weeks. As I began to study and prepare for this series, it was just so obvious, you don't have to look very far in the scripture to find hope. In fact, all throughout the Word of God, from beginning to end, even in the very difficult passages and the very difficult places where the people of God find themselves, the message of hope still resounds very clearly. In fact, the challenge in preparing for this series was determining, okay, what specific passages of hope are we going to deal with in this preaching series. For the Word of God shows us over and over and over again, that there is reason for hope. So are we looking, and are we listening?
George Wright: 10:12 Here's something to think about, what if you took an entire day and decided not to turn on a device of any kind, not to consume any digital content at all throughout the day. And all you did during that day, when you consumed any content at all, was you consume the content of the Word of God. At the end of that day, would you be more or less encouraged? Would you be more or less hope-filled? Adversely, think about if you took an entire day, and you set the scriptures aside altogether, and all you did was consume that digital content is being pumped your way through the devices that you use. At the end of the day, would you be more or less encouraged? Would you be more or less hope-filled? It is sobering to acknowledge, it is sobering to admit, not only outside of the church context and community, but also inside the context of the church community, more often than not, it appears that the media driven, digital content that is being pumped our way is winning the day, and the scriptures are being set aside.
George Wright: 11:50 So that brings us back to the Book of Romans, specifically to our text for today, Romans 15. But before we look back at the beginning of Romans 15, I just want to set the context of what the Apostle Paul is writing about in this letter to the church in Rome. Specifically, in verses 13, through the end of the chapter, as he's talking to the church about the implications of the gospel. The whole beginning of Romans, all the way through more than half of the letter to the church in Rome, the book of Romans as we call it, it's all about the gospel, the good news of what God has done through Jesus Christ for us that we could never do for ourselves. That's what you see in Romans, it's beautiful. You need to read it, it's incredible. But then about chapter 12 and 13, the Apostle Paul begins to transition in his letter, and he begins to write about the implications of if this is actually applied to our life. If we actually live in light of what the gospel reveals, if we say we are a follower of Jesus and we begin to live as if the gospel is really true, here's where they'll start to show up. That's what the end of Romans is all about.
George Wright: 13:05 In chapter 14, he deals specifically with a growing tension, and frustration, that is at work among the people of God in the church of Rome. This is a church that is experiencing some division, because there are those in the church that have very strong opinions about how things should be done. I know it sounds strange, that there would people with strong opinions, on different sides of a conversation in the church, that might lead to division. But it's happened from the very beginning of the church. And so in Romans chapter 14, in the midst of this tension, and this growing frustration, that is alive and well among some of the people of God and the church at Rome. The Apostle Paul lays out two very big ideas. Romans 14, you can read this later today, this is so incredibly important.
George Wright: 14:00 Big idea number one, do not pass judgment on one another. That's the big idea of Romans 14, do not pass judgment on one another, especially, even if, you disagree. You're going to disagree, when sinful people get together, there is going to be disagreement. And the more sinful people you add to the party, the more disagreement there will be. But when you disagree, do not pass judgment on one another, that's the big idea number one.
George Wright: 14:37 And big idea number two of Romans 14, in the midst of tension or disagreement among the people of God in the church, is do not cause another member of the body to stumble. The Apostle Paul refers to this as a distinction between the strong and the weak in the faith, and he says, do not cause a weaker brother to stumble. So in the midst of tension, the big idea is do not pass judgment on one another, we all need to hear that. And number two do not cause a weaker brother to stumble, perhaps someone who doesn't understand what you're talking about, perhaps someone that's never experienced the freedom that you have, do not cause them to struggle or stumble, do not be arrogant and prideful, do not be self-righteous and act like you've got it all figured out and they're a fool, do not cause them to stumble.
George Wright: 15:31 And that leads us into Romans 15, and Romans 15 is so incredibly important for the life of the church because Romans 15 says, okay, here's the way this is lived out. if you truly are building your life on the hope of the Gospel. So let's pick up in verse 1 of Romans 15, it says this, "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." This is a very, very convicting passage of scripture, because the Apostle Paul is saying, if you truly are a follower of Jesus, if you truly believe the gospel, the way you navigate tension, or even division, or even frustrations among people in your context, it should look very different than the way the rest of the world processes this.
George Wright: 16:34 Let's break this down, what is the Apostle Paul talking about? Who are the strong, who have an obligation to bear the failings of the week? Well, according to what we see in Romans 14, leading into Romans 15, the strong are those who do not pass judgment on one another, and do not cause others to stumble. The strong are those who are devoted to being a voice of encouragement and understanding, even when tensions start to rise. They don't contribute to the tension and cause it to grow even greater, no, they are a voice of encouragement and understanding in the midst of this tension. And the strong are those that place hope as their foundation, what they would say is most important, and are committed to pointing others to hope so that others can see the good news of what God has done. Their commitment is to pointing others to hope over and above please being themselves. And that's why the Apostle Paul writes here in Romans 15, "Let each of us please his neighbor for his own good to build him up." The strong do not tear down their neighbor, but instead seek to actively pursue and build up their neighbor through encouragement and pointing them to hope. This is the message of the gospel, this is the message of the church, and this points to this self-sacrificing idea, this self-sacrificing love, that shows up all throughout the writings of the Apostle Paul, and specifically is on display in the life and the ministry of Jesus.
George Wright: 18:31 Let me point you to a quote from Dr. John Piper as he writes about Romans 15, he says, "What produces and sustains hope? Since hope sustains joy and joy sustains endurance and endurance sustains love and love is the aim of all Paul's instruction, the grades battle for the Christian is to sustain joyful hope in Christ." The great battle for the Christian, for you, for me, for anyone who says I'm a follower of Christ, one of the greatest battles we're fighting right now today, in this moment, is for us to sustain joyful hope in Christ. I believe that wholeheartedly. He says, "We must see our future with him as more precious and satisfying than any other treasure. That is what rejoicing in hope is, being satisfied with all that God is, and will be for us in Christ." There is a battle being fought for your heart and mine right now, a very real battle. And there is a very real enemy that is prompting us, and nudging us, and whispering at us, to place our hope in the things of this world, whatever they may be, different individuals, a growing portfolio, political reform, change in culture, new Supreme Court justices, whatever it may be. The enemy is saying place your hope in the things of the world. This is more like this (whispering) place your hope in the things of the world. Place your hope in the things of the world, and it's being whispered into our ear over and over and over and over again, countless times, every single day.
George Wright: 20:53 And the battle for our heart, is that the Lord is saying place your hope in the only hope that truly sustains, the joy of what Jesus Christ has done, who he is, who you will be in him, and what he will do in the days to come. The great battle for your heart is where will you place your hope? And the Apostle Paul says in Romans 15, Look to Jesus, look to Jesus and see what Christ has done, and as you see what Christ has done, you will see how you can begin to live in light of the hope that he has provided. That's what we begin to see in verse 3 of Romans 15. Romans 15:3, "For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” This is very interesting, because the Apostle Paul says, if you want an example of how to live in light of the hope that you have, if you want an example of how to live among the people of God, even in the midst of tension, or division, or frustration, I want you to just look to Jesus. That that seems like the right answer, right? I mean, that's the church answer for sure.
George Wright: 22:27 Well, Paul says, I want to take you back even further than the ministry of Jesus, I want to take you to the prophecy about Jesus. Because Paul understands his audience, and he knows that many people who'll be reading or listening to this letter read, are going to come from a Jewish background. And so he says, I want to speak this in such a way that you can recognize who Christ is and what he has done, and so he quotes from Psalm 69. He goes back to the old covenant and he says, remember what was prophesied about the Messiah? That the reproaches of those who reproached you would fall upon him, that he would take the sin of those who have wronged you on his back, that he would take the sin of your life on his back, that he would take the sin of the world on his back. That the sin of the world would fall on the Messiah, because he did not come to please himself, he came so that you might understand the pleasure of God through the hope he provides. And so if you want to know how to live in light of the hope that you have been given through Jesus Christ, you look to Jesus. And what you see in Jesus, is one who did not come to serve himself, but one who came to serve, one who came to sacrifice, one who came so that those around him might find hope.
George Wright: 23:49 Matthew chapter 20 verse 28, Jesus says this about himself, look, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This is what Christ has done for you and me. He did not come to please himself, he did not come to serve himself, he came to give his life as a ransom for many, and he came to serve, so that you and I, in our desperate need of hope, would understand there is hope to be found, real, true reason for hope. So look to Jesus, look at what Christ has done. And when you look at what Christ has done, the Apostle Paul is saying, you won't live with a posture that says, Hey, look, I know I'm right, so you better get in line to serve me. No, the Apostle Paul says, when you look to Jesus and what he has done, you will say, I know I've been made right with God, not in what I've done, but in what he's done for me. And so I want to give my life to serve you, because that's what my God did for me. It's so dangerous when we begin to live with this posture that says, hey, I know I'm right, so you better serve me. I'm digging in my heels, I know I'm right. No, Paul says to the church, that's actually opposite the heart of Jesus, for the heart of Jesus was one who came to serve. The heart of Jesus is one who looks at a neighbor and says, I'm not trying to just please myself here, I want to make sure my neighbor understands the pleasure of God that is available through the hope of the gospel that is offered through Jesus Christ our Lord.
George Wright: 25:44 And then we come back to Romans 15 verse 4, a verse that I believe every Christian should have underlined or highlighted or circled in their Bible, this one is so powerful, as we think about the Word of God. Look at what it says, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." This is such good news, what is the Apostle Paul saying to the church? He's saying, look, you have hope right in front of you. From the beginning to end, from Genesis to what is now being written in this letter to the church in Rome, you have hope in the scriptures. Everything that has been written in the scriptures, is for your instruction, your encouragement, and your hope, that's what it's for. So look to the Word, consume the Word, eat the Word, let the Word be what drives you in your quest for hope. For all that is written here, all that is written here, is so you would understand the reason for hope that we have in who God is, and what he has done through Jesus Christ our Lord.
George Wright: 27:03 So here's a little challenge for this week, and let me lay this out real quickly, and then wrap up my time here in this message. Here's a challenge to consider, if you're willing to accept it. Call this the hope challenge for this week, October, 2020, the hope challenge. What if you look at the way you are currently consuming content, and what if you just took half time that you currently have devoted to consuming content? Maybe just try this for one day, the week that might be too much of a detox, you might freak out. Try this for one day, determine how much time you're spending consuming digital content, and then devote half the time that you are currently spending to the consumption of digital content, and devote that time to only consuming what flows out of the Word of God. That's the challenge. And here's the good news, there is more content flowing out of the Word of God available to us today at this time, then ever before in the history of the world. There is more worship music, there are more great Christian podcasts, there are more sermons from around the world, there are more Bible studies, there's the Bible digitally in every language, audio, written, whatever you want, it to all there. There's more content flowing out of God's Word than ever before, you can fill some time with it. And so I am just asking, what would it be like this week if you took one day, and cut half of that content that you currently consume, and replace it with content that flows out of the Word of God? How different might your perspective be? How different might your attitude towards others be? How different might your outlook be as it relates to what you're currently navigating, or what you're walking through in this season of life? What if you ramped up the consumption of God's Word, and turned down the consumption of what our culture might be pumping your way right now?
George Wright: 29:21 Here's what's really awesome about Romans 15, is the Apostle Paul shows us what will begin to happen if we spend some more time consuming what has been given to us for instruction, encouragement, and hope in the Word of God. Romans 15 verse 5, he writes this, "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." The Apostle Paul says, look, I'll show you what's going to happen if you will pay more attention to what the Word of God says, than all the other content is being pumped your way by the world around you. If you will give more opportunity for the Word of God to speak life, and hope, and encouragement into your life, then you're giving the rest of the world to speak death, and frustration, and tension into your life, you will begin to see the world in a different way, and you will begin to interact with others around you in a very different way. Paul says among the people of God, there will be Christ centered unity, that will be the result. When we live in light of what the scriptures reveal, and we live in light of the good news of the gospel, there will be Christ centered unity with the other people of God around us, even though we still all have sin, even though we still all fall short of the glory of God, we will grow in unity because of what Christ has done, and there will be one voice lifted high for the glory of God among the people of the church. That's good news. That's really good news.
George Wright: 31:16 But in addition to that, in addition to that, the scripture says the way you interact with the world around you, that you so often disagree with, that so often disagrees with you, the way you interact with the world around you will begin to change. And you'll begin to look at the world through the lens of what I would call gospel hospitality, where even in your disagreements, you still say, you're welcome here. Even in our disagreements, I'm still reaching out to you because I care about you. Even in our disagreements, I'm not always looking to tear you down, or destroy you, or prove a point, no, I'm reaching out to you with Christ centered hospitality, the way God reached out to me when I so desperately needed hope. Isn't it a beautiful picture of what can take place when the Word of God is what drives the way we interact with one another, as opposed to the content that is so often being pumped our way from the world around us?
George Wright: 32:31 You see, here's what I believe, and I'll land right here today. We'll pick this up again next week. If the church would commit to be the church, and to pay more attention to what the Word of God reveals, then the content flowing our way from around the world tells us to believe. If the church would be the church, and would hold fast to our commitment to live in light of what we have received, the world would look at the church and would see harmony, and see one voice glorifying God, and they would be in awe. For how in the world could anyone have hope at a time like this? How in the world could anyone be kind, and gracious, and compassionate in a season like this? How in the world could anyone demonstrate love in a culture that is so hostile like this? That would be shocking, for I believe with all of my heart, when the culture around us is most divided, the church of Jesus Christ should be most visibly united.
George Wright: 34:06 I've heard a lot of people who are worried about the future of the church, there have been a lot of people complaining about what's going on in the world around us, afraid of what it might mean for the church, we're going to lose our freedom. People can I tell you, this is one of the greatest times in the history of the world to be a part of the church, because it is so obvious how hopeless our world is without the message of the gospel. What a privilege, we have hope right now in the midst of all this uncertainty, in this crazy year, we have hope. And I believe the world wants to hear it. If we would live in such a way that demonstrates the beauty of what God reveals as we interact with one another, and then as we show the world the reason why we interact this way with one another, it's because of the hope that we have through Jesus Christ our Lord. What if that is the way 20 20 ended, as the church stood up to be the true voice of hope in the world around us?
George Wright: 35:35 Let me pray for us as we close. Father, your grace is so amazing, your patience and your kindness is so incredible. And I just confess in my own life, how easily I get distracted, how easy my focus can move, or shift, or alter away from the true reason of hope that you have given me. It happens so quickly, that battle for the heart is always being fought. And how grateful I am for your grace, and your mercy, and your kindness, and your compassion, that you continually over and over again, very gently remind us of the reason for hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Oh Lord, I pray that you'd give me, I pray that you'd give us, the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the faith to believe what we say we believe. And Lord, I pray that you would nudge us, prompt us, to live in such a way that the world around us sees this reason for hope, in the things we say to one another, in the things we post about our culture. Lord, I pray, very practically, that you would show us where change might be needed in our own heart, so that we can join together for the sake of unity in the body of Christ, for the sake of one voice being lifted up to glorify God in a culture and a world that is so desperately longing for hope. Would you use us, use us to point to the reason for hope that we have in Christ.
George Wright: 38:04 And Father, as I close, I pray specifically for those who are listening today, joining with us today, who are truly longing for a reason for hope. There's been a lot of disappointment in their lives, there's been a lot of things that they have placed their hope in, but have not come through the way they had expected. They're exhausted, they're worn out, I understand that, many of us understand that. They're longing for hope, they're longing for something more. I pray, Lord God, that those who have never experienced the good news of the hope of Jesus Christ in a personal way, that today would be the day that they would say, Jesus, I am ready. Just like the testimony we heard in the waters of baptism earlier, all these questions, all this uncertainty, has led to this point where I'm saying, Jesus, I'm ready, I need hope, and I'm looking to you. I'm trusting you, I'm offering you my life, it's yours. Lord, please forgive my sin, give me a new beginning, I'm ready to live a story of hope. Oh Lord, there are some that need the faith to say that right now, I pray that you would move in their hearts in power, that there'd be some that would trust you today. Oh, how we praise you for this gift of salvation, we celebrate what you are doing to lead people to the good news of hope.
George Wright: 39:43 And so, as we close this service, we lift our voices and we sing, and we declare that there is a reason for hope, and his name is Jesus, we love you. It's in Christ' name, I pray. Amen.
Recorded in Columbia, South Carolina.
George Wright: 00:39 Let me encourage you now to grab your Bible, and we're going to be in Romans chapter 15, as was stated just a moment earlier.
George Wright: 00:46 Before I step into the text for today, I've got to do something that really has nothing to do with the message, but it has a lot to do with this day. At least in our household, this is a special day in the life of our family, because this is my youngest son Everett's birthday. And so today Everett turns nine years, bro. I love you, I'm so proud of you. And because your birthday is on a Sunday, daddy gets to say it up top on the platform for everyone to see, you're the man. I love you, bro. Love you. Happy birthday, happy birthday. I love our other kids as well, but their birthdays not today, so I'm not saying anything to you guys, but I do love y'all.
George Wright: 01:25 Hey, Romans chapter 15 is an incredible gift to us, as we continue to navigate a conversation, as it relates to hope. The thing we've seen over the last few weeks, the thing we've touched on that is true for every single one of us is we are longing for hope. We see it here, we see it everywhere we look in our culture, we see it in all the conversations that are happening at large right now in our country, we see it in the conversations that are happening globally. People are longing for hope, and we want to grab a hold of something that will give us at least a glimmer of hope that things can get better, things can change, the best really is yet to come. And as we step into Romans 15, we see another beautiful example in the Word of God, of the hope that is laid before us because of what God has done through Jesus Christ our Lord. And here's the gift of this passage today, this passage brings the hope that we've been talking about in a big picture way to the ground. And it invites us to see that there is not only an invitation to understand a true reason for hope, but then there is application in how we live according to the hope that has been offered to us through the good news of what the Word of God reveals. So my prayer for today, for each and every one of us, is that today would have some very real, practical implications as it relates to how we live, how we interact with one another, how we process the decisions that we're making right now, that it would be from the lens of what is laid before us, and revealed in the scripture, as to what our reason for hope really is.
George Wright: 03:16 So Romans chapter 15, we're going to look at several verses, but I want to start with verse 4 to get us going here in this message today. And I'd like to invite you, if you're willing and able, to stand with me all around the room. Those who are joining us online, we invite you to stand too. I know that may feel a little weird, but we are standing here together to be reminded that the Word of God is our foundation. What we just sung about it, it is the solid rock on which we stand. It is the word that guides us, it is the word that shows us what is right and good and true. And it is the word that lays before us, our reason for hope.
George Wright: 03:56 Romans chapter 15, beginning in verse 4, it says this, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." There is a reason for hope, and when you clearly understand the reason for hope that the Word of God lays before us, it will impact the way you live specifically, the way you interact with others around you.
George Wright: 04:51 So let's pray, and let's ask God to speak into our lives through this text, to show us what we need to see and to tell us what we need to hear. Let's pray together. Father, as we stand before you now at the reading of your word, it is my prayer, that your voice would be what we hear today. Every single one of us comes to this message needing to hear something from the Lord God. And so I pray, Lord God, that you would speak into our lives. what you know, we need to hear. And that's challenging because sometimes it's not what we want to hear, but I pray, Lord God, that you would speak what we need to hear. That you would have your way among us, that we would recognize this beautiful gift of hope that has been laid before us through Jesus Christ. And Lord, since I'm praying right now, I just want to thank you so much for your grace, and kindness, and mercy, giving the Gamecocks a big win yesterday. It's in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. And you may be seated.
George Wright: 06:13 I caught some of y'all off guard with that one, huh? Hey, let's talk about the reality that we all are very familiar with right now in the way we live our lives, and that's how much time we spend in front of a screen. I'm just curious how much time you think you spend in front of a screen, a device of some kind consuming content, be it the TV, the laptop, the computer, your phone, whatever the case would be? How much time, just think in your mind right now, how much time do you think you spend on an average day in front of a device or a screen? Some really interesting research that has come out recently from the Nielsen group, they released a recent finding called The Total Audience Report, and it talks about digital consumption of content in America. And their conclusion was this, from their research, that the average American adult right now today is spending somewhere between 10 and 11 hours a day consuming digital content from a device or a screen. 10 or 11 hours a day, listening to watching, reading, digital content that is being pumped into our lives, through our devices and our screens. That's a lot of time, right? 10 to 11 hours. And some of you are thinking right now, hey, I'm actually way above average, I'm a overachiever, more like 16, 17, 18 hours in front of a screen. It's a lot of time, we all are spending a lot of time consuming content.
George Wright: 07:59 Here's the question I want to start with this morning, we'll just lay this before you. How much of the content we are consuming is providing encouragement, and leading us to hope? If it's an hour's worth, if it's 10 hours’ worth, if it's 11 hours’ worth, if it's 18 hours’ worth, how much of the content we are currently consuming is providing us with encouragement and leading us to hope? That can be a challenging question to consider, because the reality is so much of the content that is being pumped our way right now, is content that is leading to tension, content leading to hostility, content leading to division, and frustration, and anxiety, and even anger. How much of that constant is really encouraging and hope filled, how much of that content is really helpful?
George Wright: 09:09 It struck me in preparing for this series, knowing I was going to be preaching specifically on the topic of hope for several weeks. As I began to study and prepare for this series, it was just so obvious, you don't have to look very far in the scripture to find hope. In fact, all throughout the Word of God, from beginning to end, even in the very difficult passages and the very difficult places where the people of God find themselves, the message of hope still resounds very clearly. In fact, the challenge in preparing for this series was determining, okay, what specific passages of hope are we going to deal with in this preaching series. For the Word of God shows us over and over and over again, that there is reason for hope. So are we looking, and are we listening?
George Wright: 10:12 Here's something to think about, what if you took an entire day and decided not to turn on a device of any kind, not to consume any digital content at all throughout the day. And all you did during that day, when you consumed any content at all, was you consume the content of the Word of God. At the end of that day, would you be more or less encouraged? Would you be more or less hope-filled? Adversely, think about if you took an entire day, and you set the scriptures aside altogether, and all you did was consume that digital content is being pumped your way through the devices that you use. At the end of the day, would you be more or less encouraged? Would you be more or less hope-filled? It is sobering to acknowledge, it is sobering to admit, not only outside of the church context and community, but also inside the context of the church community, more often than not, it appears that the media driven, digital content that is being pumped our way is winning the day, and the scriptures are being set aside.
George Wright: 11:50 So that brings us back to the Book of Romans, specifically to our text for today, Romans 15. But before we look back at the beginning of Romans 15, I just want to set the context of what the Apostle Paul is writing about in this letter to the church in Rome. Specifically, in verses 13, through the end of the chapter, as he's talking to the church about the implications of the gospel. The whole beginning of Romans, all the way through more than half of the letter to the church in Rome, the book of Romans as we call it, it's all about the gospel, the good news of what God has done through Jesus Christ for us that we could never do for ourselves. That's what you see in Romans, it's beautiful. You need to read it, it's incredible. But then about chapter 12 and 13, the Apostle Paul begins to transition in his letter, and he begins to write about the implications of if this is actually applied to our life. If we actually live in light of what the gospel reveals, if we say we are a follower of Jesus and we begin to live as if the gospel is really true, here's where they'll start to show up. That's what the end of Romans is all about.
George Wright: 13:05 In chapter 14, he deals specifically with a growing tension, and frustration, that is at work among the people of God in the church of Rome. This is a church that is experiencing some division, because there are those in the church that have very strong opinions about how things should be done. I know it sounds strange, that there would people with strong opinions, on different sides of a conversation in the church, that might lead to division. But it's happened from the very beginning of the church. And so in Romans chapter 14, in the midst of this tension, and this growing frustration, that is alive and well among some of the people of God and the church at Rome. The Apostle Paul lays out two very big ideas. Romans 14, you can read this later today, this is so incredibly important.
George Wright: 14:00 Big idea number one, do not pass judgment on one another. That's the big idea of Romans 14, do not pass judgment on one another, especially, even if, you disagree. You're going to disagree, when sinful people get together, there is going to be disagreement. And the more sinful people you add to the party, the more disagreement there will be. But when you disagree, do not pass judgment on one another, that's the big idea number one.
George Wright: 14:37 And big idea number two of Romans 14, in the midst of tension or disagreement among the people of God in the church, is do not cause another member of the body to stumble. The Apostle Paul refers to this as a distinction between the strong and the weak in the faith, and he says, do not cause a weaker brother to stumble. So in the midst of tension, the big idea is do not pass judgment on one another, we all need to hear that. And number two do not cause a weaker brother to stumble, perhaps someone who doesn't understand what you're talking about, perhaps someone that's never experienced the freedom that you have, do not cause them to struggle or stumble, do not be arrogant and prideful, do not be self-righteous and act like you've got it all figured out and they're a fool, do not cause them to stumble.
George Wright: 15:31 And that leads us into Romans 15, and Romans 15 is so incredibly important for the life of the church because Romans 15 says, okay, here's the way this is lived out. if you truly are building your life on the hope of the Gospel. So let's pick up in verse 1 of Romans 15, it says this, "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." This is a very, very convicting passage of scripture, because the Apostle Paul is saying, if you truly are a follower of Jesus, if you truly believe the gospel, the way you navigate tension, or even division, or even frustrations among people in your context, it should look very different than the way the rest of the world processes this.
George Wright: 16:34 Let's break this down, what is the Apostle Paul talking about? Who are the strong, who have an obligation to bear the failings of the week? Well, according to what we see in Romans 14, leading into Romans 15, the strong are those who do not pass judgment on one another, and do not cause others to stumble. The strong are those who are devoted to being a voice of encouragement and understanding, even when tensions start to rise. They don't contribute to the tension and cause it to grow even greater, no, they are a voice of encouragement and understanding in the midst of this tension. And the strong are those that place hope as their foundation, what they would say is most important, and are committed to pointing others to hope so that others can see the good news of what God has done. Their commitment is to pointing others to hope over and above please being themselves. And that's why the Apostle Paul writes here in Romans 15, "Let each of us please his neighbor for his own good to build him up." The strong do not tear down their neighbor, but instead seek to actively pursue and build up their neighbor through encouragement and pointing them to hope. This is the message of the gospel, this is the message of the church, and this points to this self-sacrificing idea, this self-sacrificing love, that shows up all throughout the writings of the Apostle Paul, and specifically is on display in the life and the ministry of Jesus.
George Wright: 18:31 Let me point you to a quote from Dr. John Piper as he writes about Romans 15, he says, "What produces and sustains hope? Since hope sustains joy and joy sustains endurance and endurance sustains love and love is the aim of all Paul's instruction, the grades battle for the Christian is to sustain joyful hope in Christ." The great battle for the Christian, for you, for me, for anyone who says I'm a follower of Christ, one of the greatest battles we're fighting right now today, in this moment, is for us to sustain joyful hope in Christ. I believe that wholeheartedly. He says, "We must see our future with him as more precious and satisfying than any other treasure. That is what rejoicing in hope is, being satisfied with all that God is, and will be for us in Christ." There is a battle being fought for your heart and mine right now, a very real battle. And there is a very real enemy that is prompting us, and nudging us, and whispering at us, to place our hope in the things of this world, whatever they may be, different individuals, a growing portfolio, political reform, change in culture, new Supreme Court justices, whatever it may be. The enemy is saying place your hope in the things of the world. This is more like this (whispering) place your hope in the things of the world. Place your hope in the things of the world, and it's being whispered into our ear over and over and over and over again, countless times, every single day.
George Wright: 20:53 And the battle for our heart, is that the Lord is saying place your hope in the only hope that truly sustains, the joy of what Jesus Christ has done, who he is, who you will be in him, and what he will do in the days to come. The great battle for your heart is where will you place your hope? And the Apostle Paul says in Romans 15, Look to Jesus, look to Jesus and see what Christ has done, and as you see what Christ has done, you will see how you can begin to live in light of the hope that he has provided. That's what we begin to see in verse 3 of Romans 15. Romans 15:3, "For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” This is very interesting, because the Apostle Paul says, if you want an example of how to live in light of the hope that you have, if you want an example of how to live among the people of God, even in the midst of tension, or division, or frustration, I want you to just look to Jesus. That that seems like the right answer, right? I mean, that's the church answer for sure.
George Wright: 22:27 Well, Paul says, I want to take you back even further than the ministry of Jesus, I want to take you to the prophecy about Jesus. Because Paul understands his audience, and he knows that many people who'll be reading or listening to this letter read, are going to come from a Jewish background. And so he says, I want to speak this in such a way that you can recognize who Christ is and what he has done, and so he quotes from Psalm 69. He goes back to the old covenant and he says, remember what was prophesied about the Messiah? That the reproaches of those who reproached you would fall upon him, that he would take the sin of those who have wronged you on his back, that he would take the sin of your life on his back, that he would take the sin of the world on his back. That the sin of the world would fall on the Messiah, because he did not come to please himself, he came so that you might understand the pleasure of God through the hope he provides. And so if you want to know how to live in light of the hope that you have been given through Jesus Christ, you look to Jesus. And what you see in Jesus, is one who did not come to serve himself, but one who came to serve, one who came to sacrifice, one who came so that those around him might find hope.
George Wright: 23:49 Matthew chapter 20 verse 28, Jesus says this about himself, look, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This is what Christ has done for you and me. He did not come to please himself, he did not come to serve himself, he came to give his life as a ransom for many, and he came to serve, so that you and I, in our desperate need of hope, would understand there is hope to be found, real, true reason for hope. So look to Jesus, look at what Christ has done. And when you look at what Christ has done, the Apostle Paul is saying, you won't live with a posture that says, Hey, look, I know I'm right, so you better get in line to serve me. No, the Apostle Paul says, when you look to Jesus and what he has done, you will say, I know I've been made right with God, not in what I've done, but in what he's done for me. And so I want to give my life to serve you, because that's what my God did for me. It's so dangerous when we begin to live with this posture that says, hey, I know I'm right, so you better serve me. I'm digging in my heels, I know I'm right. No, Paul says to the church, that's actually opposite the heart of Jesus, for the heart of Jesus was one who came to serve. The heart of Jesus is one who looks at a neighbor and says, I'm not trying to just please myself here, I want to make sure my neighbor understands the pleasure of God that is available through the hope of the gospel that is offered through Jesus Christ our Lord.
George Wright: 25:44 And then we come back to Romans 15 verse 4, a verse that I believe every Christian should have underlined or highlighted or circled in their Bible, this one is so powerful, as we think about the Word of God. Look at what it says, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." This is such good news, what is the Apostle Paul saying to the church? He's saying, look, you have hope right in front of you. From the beginning to end, from Genesis to what is now being written in this letter to the church in Rome, you have hope in the scriptures. Everything that has been written in the scriptures, is for your instruction, your encouragement, and your hope, that's what it's for. So look to the Word, consume the Word, eat the Word, let the Word be what drives you in your quest for hope. For all that is written here, all that is written here, is so you would understand the reason for hope that we have in who God is, and what he has done through Jesus Christ our Lord.
George Wright: 27:03 So here's a little challenge for this week, and let me lay this out real quickly, and then wrap up my time here in this message. Here's a challenge to consider, if you're willing to accept it. Call this the hope challenge for this week, October, 2020, the hope challenge. What if you look at the way you are currently consuming content, and what if you just took half time that you currently have devoted to consuming content? Maybe just try this for one day, the week that might be too much of a detox, you might freak out. Try this for one day, determine how much time you're spending consuming digital content, and then devote half the time that you are currently spending to the consumption of digital content, and devote that time to only consuming what flows out of the Word of God. That's the challenge. And here's the good news, there is more content flowing out of the Word of God available to us today at this time, then ever before in the history of the world. There is more worship music, there are more great Christian podcasts, there are more sermons from around the world, there are more Bible studies, there's the Bible digitally in every language, audio, written, whatever you want, it to all there. There's more content flowing out of God's Word than ever before, you can fill some time with it. And so I am just asking, what would it be like this week if you took one day, and cut half of that content that you currently consume, and replace it with content that flows out of the Word of God? How different might your perspective be? How different might your attitude towards others be? How different might your outlook be as it relates to what you're currently navigating, or what you're walking through in this season of life? What if you ramped up the consumption of God's Word, and turned down the consumption of what our culture might be pumping your way right now?
George Wright: 29:21 Here's what's really awesome about Romans 15, is the Apostle Paul shows us what will begin to happen if we spend some more time consuming what has been given to us for instruction, encouragement, and hope in the Word of God. Romans 15 verse 5, he writes this, "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." The Apostle Paul says, look, I'll show you what's going to happen if you will pay more attention to what the Word of God says, than all the other content is being pumped your way by the world around you. If you will give more opportunity for the Word of God to speak life, and hope, and encouragement into your life, then you're giving the rest of the world to speak death, and frustration, and tension into your life, you will begin to see the world in a different way, and you will begin to interact with others around you in a very different way. Paul says among the people of God, there will be Christ centered unity, that will be the result. When we live in light of what the scriptures reveal, and we live in light of the good news of the gospel, there will be Christ centered unity with the other people of God around us, even though we still all have sin, even though we still all fall short of the glory of God, we will grow in unity because of what Christ has done, and there will be one voice lifted high for the glory of God among the people of the church. That's good news. That's really good news.
George Wright: 31:16 But in addition to that, in addition to that, the scripture says the way you interact with the world around you, that you so often disagree with, that so often disagrees with you, the way you interact with the world around you will begin to change. And you'll begin to look at the world through the lens of what I would call gospel hospitality, where even in your disagreements, you still say, you're welcome here. Even in our disagreements, I'm still reaching out to you because I care about you. Even in our disagreements, I'm not always looking to tear you down, or destroy you, or prove a point, no, I'm reaching out to you with Christ centered hospitality, the way God reached out to me when I so desperately needed hope. Isn't it a beautiful picture of what can take place when the Word of God is what drives the way we interact with one another, as opposed to the content that is so often being pumped our way from the world around us?
George Wright: 32:31 You see, here's what I believe, and I'll land right here today. We'll pick this up again next week. If the church would commit to be the church, and to pay more attention to what the Word of God reveals, then the content flowing our way from around the world tells us to believe. If the church would be the church, and would hold fast to our commitment to live in light of what we have received, the world would look at the church and would see harmony, and see one voice glorifying God, and they would be in awe. For how in the world could anyone have hope at a time like this? How in the world could anyone be kind, and gracious, and compassionate in a season like this? How in the world could anyone demonstrate love in a culture that is so hostile like this? That would be shocking, for I believe with all of my heart, when the culture around us is most divided, the church of Jesus Christ should be most visibly united.
George Wright: 34:06 I've heard a lot of people who are worried about the future of the church, there have been a lot of people complaining about what's going on in the world around us, afraid of what it might mean for the church, we're going to lose our freedom. People can I tell you, this is one of the greatest times in the history of the world to be a part of the church, because it is so obvious how hopeless our world is without the message of the gospel. What a privilege, we have hope right now in the midst of all this uncertainty, in this crazy year, we have hope. And I believe the world wants to hear it. If we would live in such a way that demonstrates the beauty of what God reveals as we interact with one another, and then as we show the world the reason why we interact this way with one another, it's because of the hope that we have through Jesus Christ our Lord. What if that is the way 20 20 ended, as the church stood up to be the true voice of hope in the world around us?
George Wright: 35:35 Let me pray for us as we close. Father, your grace is so amazing, your patience and your kindness is so incredible. And I just confess in my own life, how easily I get distracted, how easy my focus can move, or shift, or alter away from the true reason of hope that you have given me. It happens so quickly, that battle for the heart is always being fought. And how grateful I am for your grace, and your mercy, and your kindness, and your compassion, that you continually over and over again, very gently remind us of the reason for hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Oh Lord, I pray that you'd give me, I pray that you'd give us, the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the faith to believe what we say we believe. And Lord, I pray that you would nudge us, prompt us, to live in such a way that the world around us sees this reason for hope, in the things we say to one another, in the things we post about our culture. Lord, I pray, very practically, that you would show us where change might be needed in our own heart, so that we can join together for the sake of unity in the body of Christ, for the sake of one voice being lifted up to glorify God in a culture and a world that is so desperately longing for hope. Would you use us, use us to point to the reason for hope that we have in Christ.
George Wright: 38:04 And Father, as I close, I pray specifically for those who are listening today, joining with us today, who are truly longing for a reason for hope. There's been a lot of disappointment in their lives, there's been a lot of things that they have placed their hope in, but have not come through the way they had expected. They're exhausted, they're worn out, I understand that, many of us understand that. They're longing for hope, they're longing for something more. I pray, Lord God, that those who have never experienced the good news of the hope of Jesus Christ in a personal way, that today would be the day that they would say, Jesus, I am ready. Just like the testimony we heard in the waters of baptism earlier, all these questions, all this uncertainty, has led to this point where I'm saying, Jesus, I'm ready, I need hope, and I'm looking to you. I'm trusting you, I'm offering you my life, it's yours. Lord, please forgive my sin, give me a new beginning, I'm ready to live a story of hope. Oh Lord, there are some that need the faith to say that right now, I pray that you would move in their hearts in power, that there'd be some that would trust you today. Oh, how we praise you for this gift of salvation, we celebrate what you are doing to lead people to the good news of hope.
George Wright: 39:43 And so, as we close this service, we lift our voices and we sing, and we declare that there is a reason for hope, and his name is Jesus, we love you. It's in Christ' name, I pray. Amen.
Recorded in Columbia, South Carolina.
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