“Our Hope”
Romans 8:18-29
When I was a young boy, one of things I looked forward to
the most was going to “Uncle Rogers.”
See, my cousins lived on a farm, and whenever my dad took us for a
weekend, I knew that weekend would be filled with AWESOMENESS: Exploring the
woods, playing army, riding motorcycles, hunting, and fishing. Man, it was
heaven for an eight-year-old boy! It took about two hours to drive there from
our home, and the entire time I would be so excited, it felt like I was going
to jump out of my skin! Every week, I would
wait anxiously to find out if we were going to Uncle Rogers, because I knew
that no matter what problems I had that week, what bully picked on me, not
matter how lame school was, some magical things were going to happen that
weekend! I looked forward to it.
Roman’s chapter 8 paints a similar picture, when Paul says,
“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.” (Vs 18). See saints, while this world may throw rocks
at us from time to time, something better is coming, Heaven!
18 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.
1.
One of the thorniest questions that Christians
face is, "Why do Christians suffer? “
a.
Why does a God of love and power permit his
loved ones to go through any anguish here on the earth?"
b.
You’d think that our Heavenly Father would put
some type of protective shield (bubble-wrap kid) around us so that we’d never
have to suffer.
c.
Fact is many of us have suffered through trials,
or have watched a loved one suffer, and so you’ve felt the full force of that
question… WHY?
2.
Well if anyone is qualified to answer that
question, it would be the Apostle Paul. You may be familiar with the record of
his suffering (2 Cor 11)
a.
He was shipwrecked and left afloat on the sea;
b.
He was beaten with rods many times; he was
beaten with stripes five times, 39 stripes each;
c.
He was hounded and hungry; he was in prison
often; he had some physical infirmity that bothered him all of his life;
d.
And to top it off, all of these things came into
his life as a direct result of his decision to follow Christ!
3.
So we could say that Paul is someone that has
credibility when it comes to helping us understand why suffering occurs in the
life of a Christian.
a.
And the first thing that he says is about
suffering is that it is an expression of our union with Christ, i.e., we suffer
with Christ
…and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified
together. (vs17)
b.
See, there’s “suffering,” and then there’s
“suffering with Christ," and it’s important to understand the difference
the two.
c.
Because suffering alone accomplishes nothing,
but “suffering with Christ,” that’s an entirely different thing.
4.
There are different reasons why suffering may
come into our life;
Three Types of
Suffering
Self-Inflicted
Suffering
5.
This is the suffering that happens as a result
of our own actions; stubbornness, and our selfishness, and our
rebelliousness... our sin.
a.
I'll Go ahead and say it, this is the source of
most suffering in our lives!
b.
In This way, Christians are the same as all
human beings,
c.
This kind of suffering, obviously, is not suffering
with Christ; You're not suffering for Jesus if you've caused it yourself!
d.
However God can and does still use this type of
suffering to teach us,if we're willing to turn to Him in the midst of it.
Circumstantial
Suffering
6.
This is suffering which originates from
circumstances over which we have no control,
a.
It may come from the actions of others, or
unforeseen circumstances, acts of nature that come crashing into our lives.
b.
Death, sickness, the sin of others
c.
This can be suffering with Christ or not, depending
upon our attitude toward it.
7.
If we become rebellious, and refuse to accept
it, and fight against it, then we gain nothing from it.
a.
In accomplishes nothing good. It only makes us
hard, and bitter, and difficult to live with.
8.
If we will see it from the perspective that
these circumstances came to us filtered through the hands of our Heavenly
Father who knows what He's doing, and in whom we can trust...
a.
If we will turn to Him, allowing His grace to
fill our hearts, recognizing that He may have allowed this to come into our
life to accomplish something that He wants to accomplish...
b.
then this is suffering can be with Christ.
c.
(Our experience with Chelsea)
9.
Being persecuted or suffering because of our
faith would fall into this category.
10. Now,
unforeseen suffering can have one of two effects on the Christian: It either draws them closer to Christ, or
drives them away from Christ,
a.
Which way it goes depends on their perspective
and understanding of how God uses these trials and afflictions to shape and mold
us into the image of His Son!
Shared Suffering
11. Shared
suffering comes from involving ourselves deliberately and willingly in the
problems and heartaches of others.
a.
This is when we love someone, and we see them
suffering, and so we come alongside and suffer with them.
b.
This is suffering with Christ; as it is was what
Christ did when he was here.
c.
In other words, there is a connection between
love and suffering.
Love &
Suffering
12. FACT: If we love, then it is a certainty that we
will suffer! Why? Because Christ’s life
is love, and love always suffers in a fallen world.
a.
Think about it; Love and goodness are always
persecuted, it’s a common plot in novels and movies,
b.
There’s the hero, the good person, the person in
love, usually surrounded by the villains, and the villains always go after the
good person, trying the thwart their love.
c.
It’s a common theme because it speaks of the
reality of life in a fallen world!
13. Think
about what Jesus told us:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me
before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own.
Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you. John
15:18-19
14. In
fact, it could be said that the test of true love is one’s willingness to
suffer.
a.
Some of you ladies that have men who are
interested in you, if you want to find out if he really loves you, let him
suffer a little!
b.
Have him come over and wash your car, better
yet, tell him that you’re not sleeping with him until you’re married, that’ll
tell you real quick if he’s willing to suffer for you!
c.
(Think I’m crazy? That’s what my wife did to
me!)
15. Christ
loved us, which is why He was willing to suffer the cross for us.
a.
So, if we love Christ, then we’ll find in our
hearts a willingness to suffer for His name's sake.
Three Responses to
Suffering
16. There
are three responses you can have to suffering. In the face of suffering, you
can either:
a.
Break out, break down, or break through.
17. Breaking
out is rebellion; You leap over the walls, you break out of the boundaries; you
fight the situation
a.
This response causes a person to become bitter,
negative, and cynical, prickly to everyone around them.
18. You
can break down: Give up, run away, drown
in self-pity, self-medicate, withdraw from people.
a.
This response also causes bitterness and
hardness; because unresolved pain makes us hard and closed off, unable to love
or trust.
19. But
the third option, by the grace of God, the Christian can break through,
a.
Breaking through is when, instead of wrestling
with the situation, or running from the situation, you ACCEPT the situation.
b.
I’m not talking about a passive “Oh well, this
is how it’s going to be,” but a declarative “I will lean on Him, and He will
sustain me”
Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who
sustains me Ps 54:4
c.
This is when we touch the hidden springs of the
life of Christ within us
d.
This is how we accept the suffering with joy,
gladly counting it a privilege to bear suffering for his name's sake.
20. This
is what you read about in the Early Church; When they were beaten and
persecuted, the went home rejoicing that they were counted worthy to bear
suffering for his name's sake (Acts 5:41).
a.
Now, that’s what I call breaking through!
b.
See, suffering with Christ is the way to glory.
It is the process by which God brings glory into our present life.
Suffering &
Glory
21. In
2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul says, "this slight momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."
a.
In other words, it is the suffering that creates
the glory; you can't have the glory without the suffering.
b.
If you avoid the suffering, you cancel out the
glory, because the one is the process of the other.
22. This
is what Paul is telling us; Suffering will happen, Christian or not, but if we
walk through it with Christ, we will achieve a gain that is far beyond the cost.
a.
In our present moment, it may seem as if nothing
is happening, like nothing is being accomplished;
b.
But just over the divide between heaven and
earth, where we cannot see, this great floodtide of suffering is forming into a
great tidal wave of glory which shall be revealed in its time.
23. And
we’re not the only ones waiting…
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits
for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly,
24. See,
man wasn’t the only thing affected by that apple incident in the garden!
a.
Did you know that nature fell too?
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall
eat of it lll the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring
forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.” Gen 3:17-18
25. We
might look around and marvel at the beauty of our world; The calm sound of
ocean waves, the cool rain of spring, the delicate beauty of a flower, the
pretty birds singing...
a.
But nature can also turn on you: Earthquakes,
tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, poison plants, venomous snakes…
b.
Nature can be a real bear!
c.
Just one more thing we can blame on Adam!
26. See,
just as man was corrupted by sin, so too was the planet we live on.
a.
But it’s not permanent: Our planet will be healed, but it won’t be
Greenpeace or Cap & Trade that will restore nature; It will be God Himself.
but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the
creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation
groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
27. If
we think that we’ve hurt the planet, we haven’t seen anything… the worst is yet
to come...
28. Now
if you know anything about The Tribulation period (if not, read through
Revelation), you know that our planet takes quite a beating:
a.
Wars, earthquakes, famine, widespread disease,
meteor’s hit the planet and wipe out 1/3 of the vegetation, the seas are struck
and 1/3 of the ocean is wiped out… it goes on and on!
b.
We’re talking major planetary destruction-
Rommulan warship kind of stuff!
29. But
it doesn’t end there. Revelation goes on
to reveal that after the seven-year tribulation, Christ will establish His
Kingdom, here on this earth, and it will last 1000 years.
a.
One might wonder, “How is Jesus going to rule
when the planet is so battered?”
30. Well,
the prophet Ezekiel explains what is going to happen, beginning in chapter 40
Ezekiel is visited by an angel (I call him “the bronze man” the original Iron
Man), and he’s shown the Millennial Kingdom in great detail.
a.
And in chapter 47 we read something very
interesting:
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and
there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the
east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under
the right side of the temple, south of the altar. (1)
Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the
eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches
the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that
moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude
of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything
will live wherever the river goes. (8-9)
31. Praise
God hallelujah - you can go for a hike in the mountains and not worry about
getting eaten by a bear!
a.
Now we read that and think, awesome! As followers of Christ we’ll have a redeemed,
restored planet to live on!
b.
But that’s small potatoes compared to what will
happen to US…
23 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. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but
hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with
perseverance.
32. What
is Paul talking about? The future
resurrection of those who are “in Christ”
a.
When we receive a new and improved body
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. Phil 3:20-21
33. When
Paul says “change our lowly body," the word “change” means to transfigure
a.
You could also say metamorphosis, which is a
remarkable change in the form and structure of a living body.
b.
Like a caterpillar turns into a butterfly
c.
When our Lord took Peter, James, and John up
into the Holy Mountain, we read that “He was transfigured before them” (Matthew
17:2).
d.
Christ appeared during that brief period of time
in His glorified body. He was transfigured (or metamorphosed) before them.
34. That’s
the same kind of body we will have,
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. 1 John 3:2
35. Some
skeptics say, “that’s impossible, there is no way that all of the people who
have died can be resurrected, their bodies have decomposed down to the basic
atomic elements - dust!
a.
Like in “Lion King” - the circle of life: Someone dies, they’re buried, the elements of
their bodies are absorbed into the plants around that grave, then animals eat
those plants, then we eat the animals… (Oh no, I ate Aunt Jane!)
36. Well
the answer to that is found in 1 Cor 15, where Paul explains:
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it
dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere
grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases,
and to each seed its own body. 1 Cor 15:36-38
37. In
other words, when a farmer drops a seed into the ground, the seeds that come
from the plant that grows aren’t the original seed, but they are the same
plant.
a.
In the same way, we are made up of elements, but
those elements don’t define who we are.
b.
Matter of fact, every seven years you get a new
body! The cells of your body are in a constant state of dying, and being
replaced with new cells.
c.
So while you don’t have the same body you had
seven years ago, you’re still the same person.
d.
So God doesn’t need all the cells of your body
to resurrect you, one will do.
38. Matter
of fact, NONE are required because God formed you in your mothers womb, He knows
your DNA!
It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead.
Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be
raised to live forever. (vs 42)
Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly
people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we
will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and
sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These
dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. (vs 48-50
39. What
is Paul talking about? OUR BLESSED
HOPE!
a.
This is the hope that we as Christians have, and
the Apostle Paul seemed to believe to be of vital importance that we understand
this, as he spent much time writing about it.
b.
That we will not sped our life living for
Christ, experiencing suffering, dealing with the harshness of the world and the
decay of our body…
c.
We will BE CHANGED…
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We
will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into
bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal
bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that
will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where
is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
1 Cor 15:51-54 (NTL)
40. Every
archaeologist's spade turns up the dust of the silent civilizations of the
past, where men and women lived, like you and me,
a.
People with hopes and dreams, but they’ve all
long since died and crumbled away into the dust of the centuries, and been
forgotten.
b.
Every cemetery is a stark reminder of the lives
that have come and gone, with markers erected to remember the names and the
lives, and yet no one remembers.
41. Bertrand
Russell, who was the high priest of atheistic philosophy, wrote of the futility
of life:
The life of a man is a long march through the night
surrounded by invisible foes, tortured by weariness and pain, towards a goal
that few can hope to reach and where none tarry long. One by one, as we march,
our comrades vanish from our sight, seized by the silent orders of omnipotent
death. Brief and powerless is man's life; on him and all his race, the slow,
sure doom falls pitiless and dark. Blind to good and evil, reckless of
destruction, omnipotent matter rolls on its relentless way; for man, condemned
today to lose his dearest, tomorrow himself to pass through the gate of
darkness, it remains only to cherish, ere yet the blow falls, the lofty
thoughts that ennoble his little day.
42. Sadly,
this is what life looks like those who do not possess the hope of Jesus Christ!
a.
Man in his arrogance would discard the true
source of life and hope, and instead strain for the pointless and empty things
of this world, which are on a collision course with destruction
b.
According to Paul, nature itself even recognizes
this truth!
43. So,
Paul is painting a picture of all of creation, standing on tiptoes, eagerly
craning its neck to see the day when God reveals the sons and daughters that
He’s been preparing -- the manifestation of the children of God - you and I!
a.
And this present life is just a boot camp that
we’re going through, growing us and preparing us for the great day yet to come.
b.
And day it’ll be graduation day -- the day when
you and I, the children of God, we will shed our humble attire, and reveal that
we have been princes and princesses in disguise all along,
c.
We’ll experience the fullness of the indwelling
by the same wonderful secret of life that Jesus Christ had when He was here.
44. As
we move toward the end of this life, the outward man is perishing, but God is
only interested in what's happening with the inward man.
a.
That is what His eye is on; What is happening in
us?
b.
Are we learning to walk in the Spirit? Are we
learning how to be obedient to the divine life within?
c.
Are we learning how to walk in continual fellowship
and dependence upon that risen life of Christ dwelling within us?
45. It
is this that prepares us for those glorious bodies which will someday be ours,
a.
Which will be responsive to every demand the
Spirit makes upon us,
b.
And through which God will reveal to the whole
of the created universe the greatness of His power and glory!
c.
That is our hope; not “I hope it happens,” but “it is going to
happen, and I know it because I’ve experienced some of it right here...”
Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he
sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans 8:24b-25 RSV
46. Saints,
the future for the Christian is as bright as the promises of God.
a.
We are like the young boy, riding in the car on
his way to his cousin’s farm, anxious, excited, ready!
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor
angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39
nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Copyright © 2014 Clay Ritter.
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