Romans #22 The Fulcrum Between Blessing and Purpose
Romans Series #22
A Blessing, A Fulcrum, and the Purpose
Romans 15:13
I spoke for a group of Pastors on Thursday and I had a short time to cover a large topic. So, knowing they were Pastors and learned men, I just took off and rammed my way through it. When I got finished one Pastor said, "Jim listening to you talk is like drinking from a Fire Hose"
Well today, I hope to not be that way, today I want you to take a long slow drink from a truth that has been camping with me for the Last couple of weeks as I've been thinking toward this message
READ verse 13
"May the God of Hope fill you with All Joy and Peace as you Trust in Him, So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
1. May the "God of Hope" Fill You With Joy and Peace
The Blessing
A. Who
1. Who is the Pronouncer of blessing?
a. Father pronounced blessing -
b. so Paul as a Spiritual Father pronounces the blessing
2. Who is the vehicle or giver of blessing?
a. well that's a good question - often our "blessings" don't have an able vehicle
- "hope you have a nice day"
- "feel better"
- "good luck"
- "may the road rise up to meet you"
who's is our vehicle?
b. The God of Hope - now we are getting somewhere
- does your vehicle for blessing have a name?
- where are you going to get your blessing
- if he doesn't have a name and doesn't have the authority or power behind the name, you probably won't receive the blessing. You are dead in the water, you have lost before the race started
- Our God is the "God OF Hope" not the "God, I Hope".
He is the keeper of the Hoper
The Fulfiller of Dreams
The Redeemer from sin
The Giver of Life
The Waymaker
The Expression of Truth
- That is MY Vehicle for the Blessing
3. Who is the Receiver - YOU!
a. You - Who?
b. God's People, in this case the Church at Roman, but more specifically calling back to the Old Testament at Israel, God's People and in the New Covenant we've learned that All who Receive Christ make up the New Israel, the chosen people of God
c. If you know Christ as Lord and Savior then this Blessing is for You!
B. What
1. Fill
a. not just a bit
b. not just some
c. not just quenching your thirst
d. If you are NOT full, you will never overflow
2. with ALL Joy and Peace
a. Joy
Psalm 132:16 (NIV)
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints will ever sing for joy.
Isaiah 35:10 (NIV)
10 and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
When God's Joy hits you, it will seem like the whole world is joining you in singing his praises.
Even the Thunderstorm and Lightning will seem like the Tympanis of Praise with a Light Show to boot
Tornados will look like a whirlwind or worship
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
b. Peace
how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity(peace)
Psalm 133:1
The Peace of God surpasses all human understanding according to Paul in Philippians 4:7
The Blessing from Father Paul and from This Pastor as your spiritual Father is
"May the "God of Hope" fill you with Joy and peace …
2. As You Trust in Him
The Fulcrum - def
1 a : prop; specifically : the support about which a lever turns
b : one that supplies capability for action
Trust is the Fulcrum between the Blessing's Potential and the Purpose Fulfilled
Say it after me
Trust is the Fulcrum between Blessing's Potential and the Purpose Fulfilled
Without trust, the blessing that has been spoken over you can't be completed.
Eternal Life and Hope in Christ has been pronounced a blessing for all, but is only realized into us coming into the likeness of Christ as we TRUST him with our heart and life as we make him Lord.
Hebrews 11 is full of people throughout the Bible who came to understand this principle through the experience of Trust and Obedience
Hebrews 11:1-2 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
God promised to bless an acceptable sacrifice with this favor, Abel trusted God by faith he was commended as righteous and acceptable before God and thus accepted into the Kingdom as one who pleased God
Enoch knew that if he pleased God he would experience life after this life and he knew that he couldn't please God without faith, trust in God was the fulcrum that caused him to please God and experience the blessing of Life
Noah blessing pronounced was life and salvation from death, the purpose that he might be the righteous one of God to begin anew on the earth, the fulcrum, trust/faith in the word and provision of God
Abraham received the blessing pronounced that God would bless those who bless and curse those who curse and make his name great, for the purpose of becoming the Father of a people who would bring salvation through Christ
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses' Parents, Moses', the People of Israel that left Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, Crossing Jordan, Marching around Jericho, Rahab a woman of poor reputation heard the promised blessing of a God she had only just heard of and put trust with the word of God's messenger and experienced her purpose fulfilled;
Men like Barak, Samson, Jephthat, David, Samuel, won battles, gave out Justice, shut the mouth of lions, put out flames in their fury, escaped the sword, became strength in their weakest moments, were powerful in battle with mighty nations,
Some were jeered and beaten, chained and put in prison, were stoned, cut in half, killed with the sword, They had beautiful clothes and sheepskins, were persecuted and mistreated,
Hebrews 11 says that the world was NOT WORTHY of them as they wandered even in deserts and lived in caves.
Women of faith who received back to life their loved ones who died. Some who were tortured and yet refused to be released that their reward might be greater;
For most of them, the greatest part of their blessing was not seen in this life, but it WAS fulfilled, it WAS received, and Trust through Faith in God was the fulcrum between the Blessing pronounced and the Purpose Fulfilled.
Hebrews 11:40 says that God has something better planned for us as well if we would TRUST God that our purpose might be fulfilled
In response to all of that… the writer says in Hebrews 12:1 - Since we are surrounded by this great cloud of Witnesses, who knew what it was to trust, and THROW OFF THE things that HINDER us from TRUSTING, and the SIN that entangles us
What hinders us from Trust?
What hinders you from TRUST
Past
- "God won't do that for me, because he never has before"
- "That won't happen in me because I've never done anything like that before"
- "No one I've ever known has done this before
so we don't TRUST"
Pre-conceived Ideas
- "God doesn't work like that"
- "I'm not worthy of that"
- "I'm not gifted enough or wealthy enough or anything else enough"
- "that's not the way we do things in my church"
Pride
- "I don't need God to move on my behalf"
- "I'm supposed to do this myself"
- "I'm fine just like I am"
Bad old fashioned SIN - entangles us and trips us up from Trusting God like the witnesses cheering us on and keeps us from seeing the purposes fulfilled as we trust.
Trust is the Fulcrum between Blessing Pronounced and Purpose Fulfilled
Trust lends itself to obedience
Trust and obey,
There is No Other way
To be Happy in Jesus, but to
Trust and Obey
Why Trust? Because you've seen and heard of his faithfulness to fulfill his promises and Because you've seen and heard of his mighty power to complete his promises
Isaiah 26:4 (NIV)
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.
Nahum 1:7 (NIV)
7 The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
Psalm 9:10 (NIV)
10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
2 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
>>"as you trust" is literally translated by one translator with this rendering …
"in the sphere of the act of habitually believing"
As you live out the habit of continuing to TRUST as a FORCE of Habit,
Habitual Trust becomes the Fulcrum for the Habitual fulfillment of the purposes for which God has pronounced blessing on your
We are full of sorrow when we don't trust
We are full of strife when we don't trust
Because we are fighting in our own strength
We often don't have time to Trust because our hands are full trying to meet our needs ourselves, we are busy holding on to our hopes and dreams instead of Trusting in God and seeing our dreams fulfilled
If you are full of sorrow and strife,
Let God fill you with Joy and Peace.
As Joy and Peace rise up within you through your Trust, then Sorrow and Strife, are pushed out like bad water being pushed out of a container as Fresh Water is continually poured in until only the Fresh Water Remains
In order for him to Fill us, we must Stop moving away from the Flow as we fail to trust,
instead TRUST him and Move Under the Flow of His Joy and Peace
The Blessing pronounced is May you The God Of Hope fill you with Joy and Peace AS You Trust in Him So ….
3. So, You May Overflow With Hope
THE PURPOSE
The overflow has a purpose.
You Only NEED to be FULL, right
Overflow is just Extra right?
Overflow is waste RIGHT
Can't you hear your mom telling you to "stop pouring", "you are wasting the water, or the milk", "you are making a mess".
But Paul says God fills you with Hope until it overflows the riverbanks and spills out.
Why is this important?
>>ILLUSTRATION I remember my Grandparents had a vacation cottage in a little North Houston Community that had about 6 or 7 lakes stocked with fish. When we went to visit we would swim at the swimming pond, and we would fish in the fishing lakes. There was one lake that we fished the most our favorite, just up the street from my Grandad's house. However, I don't really remember catching very many fish from that lake. Others caught fish but I just didn't do as well. But one summer we were there and it started raining, and then it kept raining and then still more rain, the rain just wouldn't quit.
Before long the Lake filled up with water and began to overflow. The ditches filled up and then the ditches began to overflow and water began to run into the streets.
As the rain let up, but the overflow continued, my cousin and I went out into the streets and though we didn't catch much fish in the lake, two young boys, went into the streets and picked up 21 Fish! That's right we caught 21 fish in the overflow.
We couldn't catch fish but because of the overflow we got fish that we hadn't fished for.
The reason that God wants you to habitually trust him so that he can fill you with Joy and Peace is that he might keep pouring and overflow you, that you might continue to overflow and fill up the ditches and run into the streets that those who don't know God standing in the streets might experience the blessing of the overflow and place THEIR TRUST in Jesus Christ, that he might fill them with salvation and the Holy Spirit followed by Joy and Peace
How does it overflow you, v13 - by the Power (dunamis) of the Spirit of God. HE DOES IT!
You can't work it up and cause the overflow yourself.
It is the power of the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of the Holy Spirit
The hardest part is that we've put up so many walls between the Church and The Streets that it's going to take a lot of filling or a lot of wall destruction to get the overflow out into the streets
The purpose of the Blessing is that the Lost world might see and believe that they might benefit from the same grace we know.
Look at the beautiful picture and progression Paul paints as he quotes Old Testament scripture in vv9-12
V9 - the Jews glorify God among the Gentiles (Ps 18:49) - witness
V 10 - Gentiles rejoice with the Jew (Dt. 32:43) - "that's great I like that"
V 11 - Both Praise God together (Ps 117:1) "I want that, I receive that"
V12 - Christ is Lord over all (Is. 11:10) "we are One under Christ as Lord"
May the God of Hope Fill New Life Baptist Church With Joy and Peace as we make it a habitual part of our lifestyle to TRUST in God, so that his Joy and Peace may Overflow this church building and pour out past our parking lot and into the ditches, filling the streets and flowing into the homes of Florissant, Hazelwood, Ferguson, St. Louis, St. Charles, O'Fallon, Edwardsville, The Entire metro area that they might KNOW CHRIST as we know Christ
Drink Deep and Slow of this truth today
Joy and Peace are the Lever that moves the world, The movement we hope in is the Overflow of God's grace through the body of the church in it's believers and the
Fulcrum that makes it possible is TRUST
Trust is the fulcrum between the Pronouncement of the Blessing and the Fulfillment of Purpose
Trust is the Pipeline that connects God as the source and carries God's Blessing to fill you till you overflow
Trust is the needle that injects his Joy and Peace into your blood stream until it overflows and pours out of every pore in your body and the whole world sees and feels and experiences it
Don't miss the Trust
The World needs us to Trust
American needs us to Trust
Missouri needs us to Trust
St. Louis needs us to Trust
North County needs us to Trust
Florissant needs us to Trust
Your family needs you to Trust
You need to Trust
Trust is the Fulcrum between The Blessing Pronounced and the Purpose Fulfilled