12-4-22 Sermon Romans 15:4-13 "Proclaimed Peace" 15 Minutes

Romans 15:4-13

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 15 verses 4 through 13. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Romans 15:4-13 Paul wrote these verses to the Roman people to help them see that our hope and peace comes from Jesus Christ. And to show us as well.

Romans 15:4–13 (HCSB) — 4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. 5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with one another, according to the command of Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice. 7 Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God. 8 For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, 9 and so that Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles, and I will sing psalms to Your name. 10 Again it says: Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people! 11 And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; all the peoples should praise Him! 12 And again, Isaiah says: The root of Jesse will appear, the One who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in Him. 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we had our hanging of the greens service and our 1st Sunday of advent reading,,, where we lit the candle of “Hope”.

The hanging of the greens service helps us to see the way that decorations,,, flowers,,, and our Christmas tree and all of the trimmings,,, all work together to help us see the magic of the season.

It helps us to see the way that the festivities and the decorations can help us to celebrate the birth of our Savior,,, Jesus Christ.

And by lighting the candle of hope last Sunday,,, we see that we have that “hope” because of all that God has done for us.

A “hope” that is sure and definite,,, all because of God,,, and His attributes,,, that makes our “hope” a blessing each and every day of our life!

This morning we lit the candle of “Peace”.

And I hope that you remember the words that were spoken during the reading,,, We light these candles, the candle of joyful hope and the candle of proclaimed peace, in part to remind ourselves that we are a people rising toward God’s promise.

But we also light them as a sign to the world, an announcement there are some who hold on to hope and there are some who work the ways of peace.

We stand as a sign that Emmanuel is still our fervent prayer.

We are looking back to the birth of Christ,,, the blessings of Christ in our lives today,,, and,,, we are also looking to the future,,, the glorious return of our Savior and Lord!

We watch and do our best to see the “hope” in this world,,, while holding on,,, to the sure “hope” that we have,,, in Jesus Christ.

This morning we will look at these verses in Romans and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 4 says: 4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.

Paul is stating a significant principle concerning the purpose and ministry of the Scriptures.

The Scriptures serve to give us endurance,,, a “steadfastness in the face of adversities”,,, and encouragement so that we might have hope,,, and “keep on having hope”.

Romans 5:3-5 says: “And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

As Christians learn from the past,,, (what is written in the OT about others who have lived through their own hardships),,, we are motivated to endure and be comforted in the present,,, looking ahead in hope,,, (confidence),,, to the future.

___________________________________ Verses 5 and 6 say: 5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with one another, according to the command of Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice.

Everything that we have,,, comes from God,,, (we know that,,,) and here we see that God gives us “endurance” and “encouragement” to help us live in harmony with one another.

When we obey this correctly,,, (living in harmony with one another,,,) we are glorifying God when we are united and doing the work that God has called us to do!

___________________________________ Verse 7 says: 7 Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God.

In spite of any differences that we might have with anyone,,, (as long as they are not things of importance),,, we should receive one another,,, just as Christ,,, also received us.

We should accept all Christians without argument or bitterness without relying on any denominational affiliation,,, spiritual maturity,,, or social status.

None of those things should matter.

We should receive those whom Christ has received,,, again,,, in order to promote the glory of God.

___________________________________ Verses 8 and 9 say: 8 For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, 9 and so that Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles, and I will sing psalms to Your name.

Jesus Christ came as the Promised Messiah,,, for the Israelite people,,, just as God promised them,,, so many years before.

But He also came for the Gentiles,,, “us”,,, the rest of the people in the world,,, those not naturally born into the family of Abraham.

We are included into the family of Abraham,,, even though we aren’t naturally born into this family,,, by the life,,, death,,, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,,, once we accept Him,,, as our Lord,,, and Savior!

___________________________________ Verses 10 through 12 say: 10 Again it says: Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people! 11 And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; all the peoples should praise Him! 12 And again, Isaiah says: The root of Jesse will appear, the One who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in Him.

In Deuteronomy 32:43 the Gentiles are pictured as rejoicing in the blessings of salvation with His people Israel.

In Psalm 117:1 we hear Israel calling on the Gentiles to praise the LORD in the Millennial Reign of the Messiah.

Finally Isaiah adds his testimony to the inclusion of the Gentiles in the dominion of the Messiah (Isa. 11:1, 10).

The particular point here is that the Gentiles would share in the privileges of the Messiah and His gospel.

The Lord Jesus is a root of Jesse,,, as we have seen from the family tree of Mary and Joseph.

In Revelation 22:16 Jesus speaks of Himself as the Root and Offspring of David.

As to His deity,,, He is David’s Creator; --- as to His humanity,,, He is David’s descendant.

___________________________________ Verse 13 says: 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So Paul closes this section with a gracious benediction,,, praying that the God who gives good hope through grace,,, will fill the saints with all joy and peace,,, as they believe in Him.

Perhaps he is thinking especially of Gentile believers here,,, but the prayer is suitable for all.

And it is true that those who abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,,, have no time to quarrel over non-essentials.

Our common hope,,, is a powerful unifying force in the Christian life.

___________________________________ Paul makes it clear to the people of Rome that the only way that they can truly experience “hope” and “peace”,,, is through the blessings that they receive from God!

That’s true for us as well!

And we have the chance to receive those blessings,,, because of Jesus Christ,,, and all that He did for us.

Billy Graham said: “Christ alone can bring lasting peace—peace with God—peace among men and nations—and peace within our hearts.”

Billy Graham

Peace is not arbitrary. It must be based upon definite facts. God has all the facts on his side; the world does not. Therefore God, and not the world, can give peace.

Billy Graham

So we can see,,, as we continue to look forward to the celebration of Jesus’ birth,,, we are able to do so with “hope” and “peace” in our hearts regardless of the things going on in our world today.

We can do that,,, as stated during the reading of the advent wreath candle lighting,,, because we are a people rising toward God’s promise,,, and,,, as a sign to the world,,, an announcement there are some who hold on to hope and there are some who work the ways of peace.

This week as we continue our journey toward Christmas day,,, remember the words of Paul,,, and the “proclaimed peace” that is available to all of us,,, this Christmas season,,, and every day,,, of our life!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------