The Benefits Of New Life- Hope Series

Text- Romans 8:18-27

Title- The Benefits of New Life- Hope

Romans 8:18-27 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

What we have to look forward to…

I. Glorification- vs. 19-23

a. A completely new kind of existence.

II. Realization- vs. 24-25

a. We hope for what we can’t see yet

III. Communication- vs. 26-27

a. Close communion with God

This week I saw a survey of the top 10 favorite books. I thought I’d share that with you because I thought it was interesting. My question as I read through this list was, “Have the people in this study actually read these books?”

10. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- A depressing book about teenage angst and rebellion, full of foul language, sexual references, and generally devoid of morality. But it has been a part of the required reading in a lot of English classes so it’s probably the only book that a lot of people could think of.

9. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand- This is a humanistic, existential philosophy book that presents a world view that is completely opposed to a biblical world view. Also the book is like 1200 pages long, I can’t image there are that many people who have actually read it. But it is supposedly one of the most influential, life changing books according to this study.

8. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown- This is the guy who wrote The DaVinci Code. This is another work of fiction, but it presents a world view that is very contradictory to scripture. My guess is that this book is only on the list because of the recent popularity of The DaVinci Code.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee- Again, this makes the list because it’s required reading by just about every high schooler in the country. That and it’s a good book.

6. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown- Again a very unbiblical work of fiction.

5. The Stand by Stephen King- I went through a period early in hig school and college where I read all of Stephen Kings books; including this one. It’s also about 1000 pages long and scary.

4. Harry Potter- J.K. Rowling- Not surprising given the recent popularity of this book among children and adults alike.

- So far this list is looking pretty depressing.

3. Lord of The Rings- J.R.R. Tolkien- Finally, something that has at least some basic Christian themes.

2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- I know, when did they make that movie into a book?

1. Any guesses about number 1? That’s right the Bible. That’s encouraging, but I wonder if these people polled have actually read it, or if they just think it sounds good.

Even though the Bible is #1, just about every other book on that list is either worthless, or actually anti-Christian.

What are your favorite books? What are you reading? What are you putting in? I hope our list of favorites would look a lot different than this list, with the exception of number 1.

When I first came to Christ I have to admit that the main motivating factor was a fear of going to hell. I was saved by a hell-fire and brimstone type message. I believed that hell was real and I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to end up there.