Because you are Chosen you have Hope

Recently I was given the opportunity to preach a Sunday sermon at my church. It has been at least 7 years since I last preached a Sunday sermon. It was a humbling honor to be able to do so and it looks like I will be able to do more in the coming months.

I would like to share what I preached. It is about how we can have hope.

2020 and 2021 have not been easy years for most of us. With the pandemic has come a lot of issues. We have had to deal with lockdowns, quarantines, businesses closed, wearing masks and getting vaccines.

Some of us have had to deal with the loss of jobs, illness, financial issues, relationship issues, loneliness and many other things.

There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the world today. It is a scary world and a lot of people are having difficulty dealing with it.

For many, we live in a hopeless world. I found a statistic recently that according to the World Health Organization, 1 out of 100 deaths now is due to suicide.

I also found an article where the “Center for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield said in a Buck Institute webinar that suicides and drug overdoses have surpassed the death rate for COVID-19 among high school students.

Redfield argued that lockdowns and lack of public schooling constituted a disproportionally negative impact on young peoples’ mental health.”

The article went on to say that “The most recent publicized federal data records 48,000 deaths from suicide and at least 1.4 million attempts in 2018. In 2019, almost 71,000 people died from drug overdoses.”

That is a lot of people who have given up on their lives because they have lost hope.

Most people become hopeless because they don’t understand what hope really is. What we need to share with others is -

I. A Biblical Definition of Hope

A lot of people hope for a lot of things. Tonight I hope the Washington Football Team can beat the Dallas Cowboys, but the way they have been playing I’m not confident that they will. My hope is more of a wish. (It ended up being the worse defeat of the year for the team.)

For most people that is what they think is hope. It is something that they would like to see happen, but at the same time they have to be prepared unless they become disappointed when it doesn’t.

Biblical hope is very different. The hope of the world is based upon circumstances and chance that something may happen. Biblical hope is based upon the One who has promised that He would do what He said.

Since the One who made those promises is the all-powerful God of the Universe, then the hope of a believer becomes more than just hope. It is a certainty that just hasn’t happened yet.

Listen to the confidence of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:18 – He said,

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

In other words, he is saying we have the promises of God that go way beyond our present trials we face.

The believer has a hope that the rest of the world does not have.

One of the favorite passages that often gets quoted at this church also speaks about that biblical hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Our hope does not come from us or our ability, but solely from God Himself. He gives us that hope so that we can be confident.

We can encourage one another with the words that the author of the book of Hebrews said in

Hebrews 10:23

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

This brings me to my next point. If we are to be a hopeful people -

II. What are the reasons we can have Hope

We can see the reasons we should have hope in today’s passage in Romans 8:28-30. First of all, we can have hope -

A. Because God is in Control

Romans 8:28 says,

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

God is working in our lives. If we are believers who love God, we have the promise that he will work things out in our lives.

The first thing to notice in this verse is do we love God. If you don’t love God with your whole being than this verse doesn’t apply to you.

Remember what Jesus said the greatest commandment was.

Mark 12:30

“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”

If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength then Romans 8:28 says, all things work together for good.

Let me repeat, ALL THINGS - that means whether they are good things or bad things, all things will work out for your good.

Why do they work out for our good? Because according to the end of the verse you have been called according to God purpose. You have been chosen and God has a purpose for your life. Knowing God has a purpose for you also gives you hope for your future.

The next reason we should have hope is -

B. Because God has a Plan

Romans 8:29 says,

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

There are a lot of theologians who do a lot of needless arguing about predestination and free will. There are some that say there is no free will, God predestines who will be saved and who will not, and we have no say in it. Others say it is all up to us to choose to accept God’s gift. That God doesn’t choose who is saved or not.

The truth is both free will and predestination are in the Bible, so both are true.

God, by His very nature has the ability to do what He wants with us and if He wanted to He could have decided who is saved and who is not.

But God in His grace and mercy has given us the opportunity to freely choose to serve Him by choice.

In verse 29, Paul simply says “For whom He foreknew.” What that means is God, who in His infinite knowledge of all things, who knows what has happened and what will happen all at the same time, knew beforehand who would receive Jesus as the Lord and Savior.

Those whom God foreknew would receive the Gospel, He went ahead and predestined so that we may be made into the image of Christ.

Predestined is an interesting word. The original Greek word used here means to put a boundary, like a fence around something. In this verse then what is being said is God has put a spiritual fence around you saying this one is mine.

If you are a believer in Christ, you belong to God and He has a fence of protection around you. He wants to protect you and make you holy like Jesus.

When did He do this?

Ephesians 1:4-5 says,

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”

You have been in the mind of God before the foundation of this world. Never think you are unimportant. God has a plan for you, specifically for you. Not only in the future, but also here and now.

Ephesians 2:10 says,

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

God’s plan for us in the present time is to do good works. Not only in the church but also at home, at work and in the community.

Verse 10 says God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in these good works wherever we go. When I look at the word beforehand I believe Paul is saying that since before the foundation of the world, God has been planning for you to be where you are today and is giving you the opportunity to do something good that will glorify Him.

Now not only does God have a plan for us in the present that will give hope, but we also have a reason to hope -

C. Because God is working in our lives preparing us for eternity.

Going back to Romans 8, let us now look at verse 30.

Romans 8:30

“Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Some might look at this at first sight and say that this is a pleasant hope, something that is wishful. That someday we will be justified and glorified when we are up in heaven.

I want you to notice something in this verse though. Look at the words justified and gloried. Both of them end with ed. What does that mean in English grammar? That means they are past tense.

As a believer, you are predestined, past tense, it is already done.

You are called, past tense, it is already done.

You are justified, that means you are made righteous, past tense, it is already done.

And you are glorified, past tense, it is already done.

In God’s eyes, if you have put your faith in Christ, you are already righteous, you are already glorified. Our hope is in the certainty of when reality catches up with the fact that God has already done a great work in you.

To God, you already are righteous and glorified, the only thing we are waiting on is the Lord’s return.

It is no wonder that immediately following this verse Paul wrote in Romans 8:31

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Now that is the God I serve!

We have covered the reasons we hope. Now I want to turn our attention to another more practical side. That is -

III. What are We Hoping to See?

There are four things that our hope is looking forward to seeing in the future.

We have the hope for help in the present.

We have the hope in our salvation.

We have the hope of eternal life.

We have the hope of a glorified body.

Let’s look at the first one which is -

A. We have Hope for Help in the Present

Because of the promises of God we can have hope for today.

Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Just before Jesus said these words He was talking about how God takes care of his people.

He was teaching that whatever necessity one has, whether it is clothes to wear, food to eat or shelter, as long as we are seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness these needs will be provided for by God.

That is a promise. Sometimes God will test our faith and withhold these things until the last possible moment, but He will provide what we need.

That doesn’t mean we can use God as a means to get what we want. He is not a genie that grants wishes, but He is a loving father who will make sure that if it is a need we will have it.

God is not only our help in the present but also our help when we are having problems.

Psalm 46:1 say,

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Also in 1Corinthians 10:13 it says

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

Troubles and temptations will come into all our lives. Anyone who says life as a believer is easy doesn’t know what they are talking about. We have just as many problems as anyone else.

The difference is we have a Savior who will help us through our trials. He will help us and give us the strength and hope we need and will even help us grow through them so we can be stronger and able to help others.

So, the first thing is we have hope because we have help with our needs and troubles.

Secondly,

B. We have the hope in our salvation

Going back to today’s main passage in Romans 8:23, it says,

“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

If you are honest with yourself, you know how difficult it is to live a holy, upright life. In the chapter before this verse Paul was saying things like, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19)

We struggle each day with our anger, our pride, our jealousy and other such characteristics that make us human.

But one day, when Christ comes back for us we will finally be rid of the temptation and sin that we deal with on a daily basis.

In this we can have hope, but hope with a promise.

Ephesians 1:13b-14 says,

“You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Back during the time Paul wrote this, in business, a businessman would buy things and if they were too big to transport right away he would put a seal on that product that identified the product as his. That was the guarantee that when he came back he could take what was his

Those who have put their hope in Jesus as their Lord and Savior have this same guarantee. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who guides us in our walk with the Lord. But the fact that we have Him means that we belong to God and we have God’s guarantee that he will come and redeem us to be with Him.

That is a sure hope that we have to look forward to seeing.

Thirdly,

C. We have the hope of eternal life

We have the hope and promise of living forever.

Titus 3:7 says,

“that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Some joke about living forever saying it sounds boring. That all we will do all day every day is sit around playing a harp.

I once heard about this elderly man. He was really old. He went into a music shop and asked if he could take lessons and learn how to play the harp.

After a couple months he came back in and told them he was not going to take anymore lessons. When asked why he answered, “I wanted to learn how to play because I figure I will die soon and wanted to know how to play the harp when I get to heaven. Now I figure I know enough to get by.

The truth is heaven will be so much more than playing harps. I had a mentor who liked to explain the phrase “forever and ever” that appears in the Bible. Literally in the Greek it means “ages upon ages”. He would say there will be an age like the millennial kingdom. Then the age of the New heavens and New earth. Then another age after that and another after that. Our imagination can’t even grasp all that we will see and experience in the thousands of years that lies ahead of us -- but for certain it will not be boring.

The most significant thing about eternal life is who we will spend it with.

John 17:3 says,

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

You can’t get any more definite about what eternal life means than that. This is eternal life, to know God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.

The fourth and last thing our hope is looking forward to is -

D. We have the hope of a glorified body

The Bible is very clear on this point. Sometime in the future all those who are true followers of Christ will be transformed. Like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon we will be changed into something different. Look at these passages.

1John 3:2 says,

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

I Corinthians 15:51-53 says,

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

And Philippians 3:20-21 says,

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

No longer will we have to suffer with this decaying body. No longer will it age and have issues.

Those who are old aren’t the only ones who suffer with this mortal body of ours. Children’s Hospital is full of children who are suffering.

That’s not to say that what God has given us isn’t amazing as it is but our body is a product of this fallen world that we are all a part of and God has so much more planned for us.

When I think of this topic, I am always reminded of an old friend I had. His name was Brett Sigler.

When I pastored a church in Middletown, I tried to have Brett over to be a special guest speaker maybe twice a year. His attitude and his spirit was so inspiring.

I was told that when he was a young man he was tough and strong. He got a job working at the rail yard in Brunswick.

One day there was an explosion and he ended up on the bottom of a bunch of those large railroad ties that lay under the track. His back was broken and he had no feeling from the waist down.

That accident brought him closer to the Lord. He loved to talk about how the Lord had taken care of him.

He led a country gospel band that went around singing the praises of the Lord and he would give his testimony. He would be so funny sometimes telling of the predicaments he would get himself into being stuck in a wheelchair.

He also talked about how he hoped to walk again one day, but eventually infections ended up causing his legs to be amputated. But Brett never lost hope, because his hope was in the Lord. He knew that one day he would stand before his Lord in his glorified body that the Lord would give him. He knew he would be whole one day.

Infections eventually took Brett from us, but right now I’m sure he is running and leaping for joy.

Conclusion

It’s because of the grace of God toward us and the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross that we have hope both in the present and for our future.

It is a certain hope knowing God will fulfill what he has promised.

We should be a people who are grateful to the Lord for what he has done in our lives and what He is going to do for us.

That gratitude should encourage us to serve the Lord even more.

As people of faith we need to be like my friend Brett who fulfilled1Peter 3:15 which says,

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”