Generally speaking, I must say I quite like the new Common Worship Lectionary: certainly with its three year cycle we hear more of the Scriptures read in church than the old Year A and B of the ASB.

But the passage chosen for tonight is quite an odd selection of verses. These verses 4 to 13 of the fifteenth chapter of Romans have been chosen because traditionally this Second Sunday in Advent was “Bible Sunday”, which we now observe on the Ninth Sunday before Christmas. So, I suspect that to start at verse 4 was done for those who still keep the old custom. Verse 4 is one of the New Testament verses about the Scriptures.

Romans 15 verses 1 to 13 actually divides into two distinct portions and we started halfway through the first half and with the word “For” which is there because of what had gone before which we never heard! The

The passage ends with one of the great verses of the New Testament in verse 13. So, I want to concentrate particularly on that verse.

First of all I’d like to say that there is a unity within the passage we heard. There’s one word which occurs in both verse 4 and verse 13, and that is the word “hope”.

“Hope”, of course, is one of the big Bible words Looking in my NIV Exhaustive Concordance, I note that “hope” and its cognates are used 181 times, and proportionately much more in the New Testament than the Old.

There is a specifically Christian hope. And hope is one of the themes of this Advent season. The Christian hope is that Jesus Christ, who came to save us from our sins, death, and evil will return again. This is the specifically Christian hope: that Christ is coming again. So hope should be one of the hallmarks of the Christian, of the Christian personality, of the Christian way of life.

Now, “hope” has, in the English language two meanings and sadly when we use the word “hope”, we often use it in a vague and general sense, and in a sense of wishful thinking. Last month we went away for a week’s holiday in Norfolk. Now when you go away in November you don’t expect a heat-wave. But you do hope for fine weather. You can do so much more, get out and about more when it’s not pouring with rain! So we said we hoped it would be fine weather on our holiday. Now that ‘hope’ wasn’t based on any weather forecast, but on a vague general wish. “Hope” in that sense of a vague wish is not what the Bible is talking about.

If you look in Vine’s Expository Dictionary, you will see that the Greek word which is used for “hope” as a noun is given as meaning “a favourable and confident expectation that has to do with the unseen and with the future”. When you look at “hope” as a verb: “to hope”, it’s not infrequently translated in the Authorised Version as “to trust”. Such is the Christian hope and its basis that is can be used in this sense of “trust”. So firm is the Christian hope.

So, let’s look at our passage and see how the two verses I’ve mentioned speak about hope.

In verse 4 we read that everything that was written in the past was written to teach so that through endurance and encouragement in the scriptures we might have hope. What Paul is saying there is that the word of Scripture - and for the readers to whom he wrote that meant the Old Testament, but we can surely apply it to the New as well, are written to give us endurance, encouragement and , therefore hope. We’re immediately reminded of those verses earlier in Romans, in chapter five. Paul says there that we rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured into our heart his love by the Holy Spirit he has given us. Hope does not disappoint us. Hope is actually the outcome of suffering and perseverance. The Christian can hope there, right in the middle of suffering. The Christian’s hope does not depend on the weather or our moods and feelings, upon our health and circumstances. It depends on what’s there in the Word of God. As we shall see when we come to look at verse 13, it depends upon God himself. God himself is the source of our hope. So our hope can be with us even in the midst of suffering and trials.

If I might be a wee bit personal for a moment: Many of you will know that at the beginning of this year, our daughter Victoria was very seriously ill and she was in Intensive Care For three weeks we had to look after our grandchildren down in Kettering. It was hard work! it was a job which lasted from the moment of getting up until that of wearily falling into bed. That beside all the angst and all the to-and-froing to the hospital. I think I can confidently say we only got through because we knew God was with us in it all. The God of hope kept us going.. We knew he wouldn’t let us down.

As I said a moment ago, this verse 13 of chapter 15 is one of the great verses of the Bible. Now the entire Bible is God’s word. One commentator says on verse 4 that some parts of it are more useful than others. I don’t think anyone can deny that there are certain passages and outstanding verses in the Bible. Romans 8:38 for example: ..nothing can separate us from the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus. So, this 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. That’s one of the great verses of the Bible. Let’s unpack it!

William Newell who wrote a commentary on Romans about 100 years ago says this:

This God who is a God of hope, wants us to be filled with all joy as we abound with hope in the power of the Holy Spirit. He wants us to be filled with hope as well as peace, as well as love. He wants us to be filled with joy and hope.

And one other things to note: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, so that you may overflow with hope. It’s God’s work. We can’t make ourselves joyful. We can create a sort of merriment and bonhomie by drink or drugs. But we can’t manufacture pure joy. We can’t be at peace by our human nature and abilities. Human nature is always at war. You only have to watch the television or read the newspaper. Do you notice it’s always bad news, which makes the news? There is no peace, no lasting peace outside the peace of God. All these qualities and characteristics come through the power of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, meekness, gentleness, goodness and self-control. Paul doesn’t name hope in that verse but surely it’s integral to all these qualities. Joy. Peace and hope come from the Holy Spirit. We can make ourselves joyful, peaceful or hopeful. It’s only going to happen as we expose ourselves to God’s Holy Spirit. As we daily come before God and say, “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into a person of joy and peace and hope”.

We have a part to play. The verse says May the God of hope fill you...as you trust him. We must trust in God. If we don’t trust in him then the other things, the joy and peace and hope won’t follow. Hope only comes as we trust, as we believe on God. As I mentioned a while ago, the Greek verb for “to hope” can be translated “to trust”. Faith and hope are integrally joined together. You can’t have the one without the other. You can’t have any true hope, any lasting hope, any hope for the eternal future without faith in God, without faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And notice that phrase overflow with hope. We overflow, as we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We should be so overflowing with hope that we can’t contain it. It’s something which fills our whole life, our whole vision. Whatever is going on on this earth. Whatever threats we face today from the threat of terrorism, from biological attack by smallpox or other agent. There’ so much in the world which can disturb us and frighten us, that can make us think there’s no future at all. “There’s no hope at al”, some people will say. But there is hope if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. For that hope isn’t limited or bounded by the circumstances of this world. As Peter puts it in his second epistle: the blessed hope of his coming.

At this Advent season we think of that. We prepare ourselves to think at Christmas of his first coming in meekness and humility. We also remind ourselves that he will return: he will come again in power and great glory to judge the living and dead. Yes: Christ is coming as judge, and how aweful that Judgment day will be! But if we trust in Him, we can have a sure hope. in the face of that oncoming judgment. For we can know in our hearts that we have been washed clean by his blood.

The great American evangelist of the 19th century, Dwight Moody said this:

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.