Grow With Pastor Joe

There is no such thing as a life without conflict. We are born into adversity and constant conflict looming over us throughout our life. Job 14:1 says, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Sadly, many today have bought the lie that if you trust Jesus that you get health, wealth, and prosperity in this life. The reality though, is that while you and I still live in these bodies of flesh we will see daily trials in this life. Some big. Some small. Some crippling. Some manageable. As a pastor, I have seen an epidemic of believers being crushed when conflict comes their way. The doctor says cancer. Grandma dies. Friends disappoint us. Laid off from work. Waiting. Unanswered prayer. Unseen growth or results. Church hurt. Depression. Sin. There are countless things that have toppled those who know Christ. So many who are saved today are not living in the security that Christ provides. As conflict comes, their lives and faith are shaken. We must understand that biblical convictions are constructed through conflict. We only learn to live what we learn in Him through the challenges of life. Convictions in our life are the driving force of our beliefs and behavior. We need today, now more than ever, to live faithfully with consistent gospel convictions so that we would not waver as the storms of life rage. We are living in a world filled with conflict; therefore, we must build our conviction to live on the gospel. It is sure. It is stable. It is secure. It is strengthening. It is sufficient. We need concrete convictions to endure the continual conflict of the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

            As we continue our study through Romans 12, we now come to Rom. 12:12 which says, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;” God is calling us in the greater passage to live a consistent life with our confession of faith and within our community of faith. In this verse, we see hope, tribulation, and prayer linked together. They are linked together as well in Rom. 5:1-5 which says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ² By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; ⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope: ⁵ And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Then again in Rom. 8:24-26 which says, “²⁴ For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? ²⁵ But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. ²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Hope and prayer enable us to endure tribulations and conflict. It is hope and prayer that not only allows us to endure hard times but allow us to live consistently with the gospel. All of this though is not by our strength, but His. It is the work of God in and through us. As we are reminded that all of life is indeed, “of Him, through Him, and to Him” (Rom. 11:36). The gospel is how we experience the grace and glory of God while empowering us to live with hope in tribulations with prayerfulness. Conflict in this life are constant, but are our gospel convictions? Are we consistently trusting in the truth and transforming power of His gospel, grace, and glory? The Lord wants us to be consistent in our convictions for the good of the Church and glory of Christ. Today, as we study Rom. 12:12, we will see that we are to be delighted in hope, determined in tribulation, and devoted in prayer.

            First, we must be delighted in hope to be consistent in our gospel convictions. The gospel is our delight and hope. It is what we rejoice in and rest in. You don’t graduate from the gospel or grow out of need for His grace. The first phrase of the verse says, “rejoicing in hope.” The word rejoicing is the Greek word “chairo” meaning to be cheerful, calmly happy, or content in any circumstance. The idea is that the gospel enables us to live joyful lives of delighting in God’s grace. Rejoicing here means to experience and express joy, delight, and contentment. Adrian Rogers said, “Happiness is like a thermometer—it just registers conditions. Joy is the thermostat that controls the conditions.” D.L Moody said, “Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition.” This word is in the present tense meaning it should be the manner of life, and it should be a constant in our life. Joy and delight only come from Jesus in you. The Holy Spirit empowers us to delight in the gospel of grace as He constantly points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. See Rom. 15:13 and as well we see joy or delight in Gal. 5:22. True delight and joy doesn’t have to be faked or forced. As we learn to rejoice through resting in the realities of the gospel, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ we are able to delight in hope. Hope is the word “elpis” which is an expectation of a coming reality. Gospel hope rejoices and rests in what Christ has provided and promised to us. Hope is not wishful thinking, but it is the present assurance and anticipation of an actual future. Faith and hope are a package deal (Heb. 11:1). Our future present and future hope is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Hope rejoices and rests in our deliverance from sin’s penalty, our current deliverance from its power, and our coming deliverance from sin’s presence in our lives. Hope is the gospel conviction to rejoice and rest in our eternal expectations in Christ. It is rejoicing in this hope that keeps our heads above water when the waves are crashing and our eyes on Jesus when everything else seeks our attention. If you aren’t resting in assurance, then you can’t rejoice in the anticipation of what is to come. Rom. 8:18-39 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18 reiterate that the gospel empowers us to live a life of rejoicing in hope as we rest in what Christ has done while waiting for our future deliverance. We should be delighted that we have hope, but even more so, we should consistently be convicted to choose to live with delight, joy, and rejoicing in our hope in Christ. The only way to live by faith is to live by rejoicing and resting in Jesus. Joy can’t come from anything else.

            Second, we must be determined in tribulation to be consistent in our gospel convictions. Rom. 12:2 continues by saying, “patient in tribulations.” It is gospel convictions that enable us to continue in faith through the conflicts of life. The more convinced you are of the gospel, grace, and glory of Jesus, the more you can live a consistent life of gospel convictions as conflicts arise. Tribulations are to be expected in the Christian life, but they are also expected to be endured. The only way we can endure is by the enabling work of God in our life through the Holy Spirit within us. Being determined by tribulation is less about our grit, and more about His grace. It is less about our grasp on things, and more about His grasp on us. Being determined in tribulation only comes as we learn to be determined to depend on Him and not us. Hard-headedness is not a fruit of the Spirit. Don’t be determined in your grit but be determined that the gospel and His grace are your sufficiency and strength to endure the trials of life. We aren’t patient or persevering people on our own. We can only persevere patiently in His power. The word patience is the word “hupomeno” which means to remain under in endurance and hope. It is resisting the conflicts of life by holding one’s ground with steadfast endurance in the face of serious trouble. The more dependent you become upon the Spirit, the more you will be determined in the face of suffering, trials, and difficulties of life. The believers that Paul was writing to were facing insurmountable difficulties. There was poverty and persecution. They had targets on their backs. Conflict was on every side. Because of this, Paul reminds them that it is the gospel that allows us to patiently endure such trials. The gospel is not just for our sin, but it is for our suffering. Grace is not just for our salvation, but for our steadfastness. The word tribulation is the word “thlipsis” which means to crush, press, or squeeze. We aren’t talking about ingrown toenails or rainy days. This is referring to when life is constricting you. These are the trials that crush you with a heavy weight. C. H. Spurgeon wrote, “Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.” Your tribulations in this life (you fill in your own blank) are to bring you to the place of determined dependence upon the grace of God. It is through tribulations that we experience His grace and grow in endurance. There can be no development of patience without problems or pain. However, as we learn to rejoice and rest in hope, then we can learn to endure the trials of life knowing that God is at work in it (See Rom. 8). Philippians 1:6 says, “⁶ Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” The more determined you are to build your life upon the gospel, the more dependent you’ll be upon His grace and determined to patiently endure for His glory. You can trust the work that He is doing for, in, and through you in the midst of tribulations. James 1:2-4 says, “² My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; ³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. ⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Be determined to patiently endure the painful tribulations of life by depending upon His grace. Let the gospel be your conviction to endure until the end and through the trials of life, knowing that God’s work and will is being done.

            Third, we must be devoted in prayer to be consistent in our gospel convictions. The last phrase of Rom. 12:12 says, “continuing instant in prayer.” Whatever we do without prayer is done in self-sufficient trust. Prayer is the present tense life of the believer. It is our breath. Prayer is how we commune and communicate with God. It is the most needful but neglected of convictions in the Christian life. We know theoretically that we should pray, but practically we are lacking. Praying produces praying. Prayerlessness produces prayerlessness. The key to praying is praying. Raymond Edman gives a good perspective as he instructed his seminary students to live with “chin up and knees down.” The phrase continuing instant is the word “proskartareo” meaning to be strong, steadfast, firm. There can be no steadfast perseverance without steadfast praying. Constantly and continually praying before, during, and after the conflicts of life is how we live consistently with our gospel convictions. We should be devoted in prayer throughout all areas of life. It is an act of devotion and dependence upon God. There are numerous other verses in the New Testament that call us to constant praying such as Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; and 1 Thess 5:17. As conflict comes to us, our gospel convictions should keep us devoted in prayer so that we can be determined through tribulations and delighted in the hope of the gospel. Prayer puts the pieces together when problems try to break us apart. As we live with gospel convictions that drives us to devoted praying, we draw upon Him in constant dependence while giving Him our devotion. Prayer itself is the breathing in of His grace and breathing out faith. Don’t face life’s conflicts while holding your breath. Without prayer, we’ll never be able to rejoice and rest in hope through the tribulations of life. It is often tribulations that drive us to prayer, but our devotion to prayer should continue long after the trial has come and gone. Prayer is the way that we can stay delighted, determined, and devoted in our Christian walk. Prayer rejoices and rests in the gospel, grace, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Devote yourself more to prayer than problem solving and you’ll solve your biggest problem. Our biggest problems aren’t tribulations, but rather the lack of trust that to live with and in the sufficiency and strengthening power of the gospel.            

Today, we need to develop a life of not just convictions, but gospel convictions. We need to be convinced that the gospel is for all of life. We must live with the conviction that Jesus is sufficient and that He alone can satisfy and sustain us through the sufferings of life. As we live, we must understand that each tribulation is to prepare us for the next, but His grace is sufficient for everyone. The gospel gives us hope to delight in. It gives us determined strength to depend upon Him through every tribulation. The gospel causes us to devote ourselves to prayer so that we may draw upon the endless supply of grace to endure in our life of faith. The question today is this, are we living with gospel convictions? Have we built our life on it? Are we going through life in our grit or by His grace? It is gospel convictions that enable us to be delighted, determined, and devoted through all of the conflicts of life. God wants us to live consistently with our confession. Because we have confessed the truth of the gospel, we can trust that it will transform us through the trials of life. Stay delighted in the hope of the gospel and grace of Christ. Stay determined in faithful dependence upon Him through tribulations. Stay devoted in prayer allowing Him to strengthen and sustain you through the tribulations that you face. A life of gospel convictions is all by His grace for our good and His glory.