Romans 5:2-5
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

We spend a lot of our lives looking for HOPE.  We have a president that ran a rather simplistic campaign promising HOPE to the battered nation.  We look for better jobs, better homes, even better churches all looking for a different HOPE.  The American Dream (although changing more and more) is based on HOPE.  Hope for a better tomorrow.

I would argue that much of the “Green” movement is based on fiscal policy but the spin that we hear from media and politicians is that we need to build more HOPE for future generations.  Although some would abuse the idea of HOPE… we need HOPE.

A good HOPE leaves us healthy and vibrant, ready to take on the world.  If we have no HOPE then we face a dismal reality.

We tend to take comfort in these verses thinking we can identify with the key signposts on the road to HOPE.

Suffering – We are suffering after all (excuse the McDonald’s wrappers and empty Starbuck cups) and the mounds of entertainment that we burn through in a day, a week, a month, a year.

Endurance – We can make it to the next paycheck!  We have suffered and now we must endure.  Little Johnny doesn’t have the latest game for his Gameboy.  We are building up endurance for when we can choose to afford it.

Character – Our reputation is as flippant as the next tweet or facebook post that comes down the line.  Our Character used to be terms on a hand shake.  Now we change our contracts and change our minds so often pages have to be written to protect the “character” …

Hope – We hope we are doing the right thing.  Close our eyes and HOPE we are doing what GOD wants us to do, ministering to who GOD wants us to minister to, giving like God wants us to give.

I am afraid, afraid we have lost sight of what God wants us to have in these verses.  We need to look deeper at the first part of these verses

Through Him – Christ alone gives us Hope

Access – We can approach God knowing that Christ has made a way for us to be able to speak to him.

By faith – Hope that is healthy is hope that is built on faith that God will do what he says he will do and he is faithful to do it.

Grace -Ephesians 2:8 says it best “For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God”  it is this grace that is not something we have contrived, this is not something last minute that God was taken by surprise. Grace a gift from God.

Stand – When we stand where God wants us to stand we will find Hope.

Rejoice – Hard to rejoice when we have trials and tribulations but it is still a command we are given and an attitude that we must CHOOSE to embrace.  The glory MUST belong to the Lord.  We must not sit and wallow in self pity and shame, we must rise up and rejoice that our King is the HOPE for all.

Hope.

So … where does your hope come from?

I wiped the tears from my eyes watching the end of am Episode of  Extreme Makeover Home Edition with Ty and the gang.  I didn’t get the see the beginning  of the show with the reason the family was in such desparet position.  I sat to eat a bite and tuned in to the program.

Within 30 minutes I was fully engaged watching as the story revealed itself in front of me on TV, the family had lost their dad, he had been “a man of character and faith” and a leader for his family He evidently was a pastor of some sort.  Ty and the gang made great efforts to reach out to “faith and religion” but never really presented the Glory of God in what they are doing.

The cast of characters is fairly known, the TV show puts great emphasis on helping people in need and enlisting the community to do the same.  Great cost and great effort go into producing a “reality” tv show.  Even if that reality is not as common as it should be.

I sat with tears in my eyes as I watched the widow and her children explore the house, I was waiting for them to expose the chapel that they had built in the home. A specific place.  Full of specific memories for the family.  Full of friends.  Full of love.

Even the unregenerate know how to reach out in love.  How much more does our Father God know how to reach out to His children?

Time and time again, the faces come across the TV show of people desperate for help.  Ty knows how to reach out to them in earthly terms.  The writers, directors and producers carefully craft lines and situations to meet their standards.  They are sent thousands of letters, videos, emails and hear many stories of people in need across the US.  The heart break just as they can only help one.

It is great to think about how much more God blessed us (grace, faith, mercy) and how much more He will bless us beyond anything we can comprehend here.

(Part 2:  a different reaction)

We rush to help with a physical need… why don’t we react in the same way to the spiritual need?

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted

Do we grieve for the spiritual condition of people we see all around us?  Should we grieve for sinners?  Should we grieve for our sins?  Do we mourn the lostness of  those around us?  Do we share a burden for sinners?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary has this to say:

Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God.

Oh that we would embrace the mourner’s position before our God, our family, our church and our nation.  That the sight of sin, of our sin would grip us in such a way that we cry out to God for mercy.

2 Corinthians 7:10-11
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!

Our sin is no casual thing that offends our Holy God.  Our sin, though forgiven, is still part of the life that we are to be dead to, and yet… and yet I find myself fighting the same battles day after day.  I find myself struggling just to keep the intentions that I made the day before.  We must ask, we must cry out, we must wait, for mercy.

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted

Are you able to mourn?  Are you willing to mourn?  Where is our indignation, our fear, our longing, our zeal…

Note: Lifeway helped with this episode and there is a massive back story and future story to all this as well. http://www.bpnews.net/printerfriendly.asp?ID=22832

As a child I memorized the book of James and although my memory is not clear enough to spit it back out word for word, I find myself paraphrasing it all the time.  This is one of those verses that screams God’s will, God’s Grace, God’s Choice for each believer.  I love it!

I remember as a college student I struggled and came to grips with the Grace of my salvation.   Knowing that God had saved me was a “no brainer” but coming to the reality of the  process left me in a state of mental duress.   One night while visiting home, my father and I ran  to pick up a pizza (or two or five) from Dominoes.  It must have been a burden that was showing through my face because my earthly father took the time to as me what was bothering me.

I don’t remember the pizza being cold so the conversation couldn’t have taken that long.  I was fighting with two sides of an argument while never being told either out right.  Did I choose God or did God choose me? This verse came back to my mind today as I was working and I shot it off to Facebook and Twitter but that doesn’t do  it justice.

Titus 3:4,5 But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior,  He saved us — not by works of righteousness that we had done,  but according to His mercy,through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

“He saved us, His Mercy, His Son, His Regeneration, His Holy Spirit”  Man how long I struggled with my inner desire to say I am worthy to be saved.  The reality (ask my wife) is that I am far from it.  The gap between God and I was so great there was no way I could even ask for salvation… but “He chose is, He saved us.”

The struggle was over.  I realized that this was part of the continued process of God’s working in my life.  This process of regeneration gave me a comfort, a peace and a hope.  I didn’t get the magic answers to all my questions, but I did come to realize God chose me, in spite of my sin.

Isaiah 64:6 — All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;
all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

I am humbled with the knowledge as a Christian, God gave me His Word for my Salvation.  For with out Christ, I could do nothing on my own.

Matthew Henry’s commentary says about the call of God to the saints, “It is an effectual call, from self and earth to God, and Christ, and heaven, as our end; from sin and vanity to grace and holiness, as our way. This is the gospel call. The love of God, ruling in the hearts of those who once were enemies to him, proves that they have been called according to his purpose.

It is  amazing that we sat close the the brink of  a destruction of our own making.  Then comes “the call.”  Left to our own we would not give a thought to the call to repentance…yet we hear a different call,  a purpose.  It is  God that brings this call to us.  We do nothing on our own.

John 6: 43-44 Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End.  (The Message)

I love this translation!  He draws people to me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come.

One of the most difficult things to face is that we on our own can do nothing to achieve the Holiness that is required to come near to God.  We can not even get close.  Add to this that, we on our own we would be happy to just sit and perhaps even mock God.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines the “Effectual calling” as follows:

“Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ and renewing our wills, He persuades and enables us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel.”

God has purposed His call to us.  Humbling, but at the same time liberating.   We do nothing.  God  convicts.  God works.  God  changes.

Romans 9:11 What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative.

God keeps. God chooses. God has a purpose that is beyond our minds, beyond our control.  Romans 9:11 calls that purpose “a sure thing.”

How  awesome is our God.  The mystery of God’s grace as one grows in its knowledge  continues to deepen and it is a wonderful thing… “a sure thing!”

II Timothy1:9-10 We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.