This message is based on three verses: Romans 8:18, 26, 28.
The Bible states that those who sell out to Jesus Christ have the power of God at work within them. We’re not going to be living perfect lives. All of our lives, we’re going to be saying with Paul, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" That’s going to be our lifestyle as we become more and more like Him but never making it. We’ll take one step forward, half a step back, two steps forward, one back; that’s going to be the Christian life. But we do have at our disposal the very power of God. That’s what our Scripture is about this morning.
It tells us, if God is going to save our lives, we must give our lives to Him to save. If He is going to mend our broken hearts, we must give Him all of the pieces. Then He can give us life.
We also learn through the example of the one who wrote this and through the words of this Scripture that if you have just a one-world view ... if you think life is only being born, living in this world, then dying, and it’s over ... there may be some advantages to being a follower of Christ, but there are far, far more disadvantages to being a follower of Christ. Here the word is telling us that, sometimes, people lose jobs because of Christ. Sometimes, people lose the love of someone very special to them because of Christ.
Through the years, because of Jesus Christ, many people have been persecuted and shut out, and they’ve suffered. A lot of people have died in this world, because they followed Jesus Christ and for no other reason. In fact, the man who wrote the verses that we will use for our text this morning later would be beheaded for the outrageous, scandalous crime of telling the world about Jesus Christ.
In light of that my question to you is: Is it worth it? Is it worth it to follow Christ? Is it worth it to live faithfully? Is it worth it to give faithfully? I’d like for us to look at three summary statements in Romans 8, vv. 18, 26, and 28. These statements will sum up what’s found in these Scriptures.
In verse 18: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
Verse 26: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness."
And in verse 28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
A Few Scenarios
Let me paint a few pictures for you. A man in his forties had a good job, and he learned that his company was defrauding people and lying to and cheating his clients. He confronted his superiors with this and was promptly fired. He did this because of his Christian convictions. For more than a year, he was out of work. Was it worth it?
There was a lady who was asked to work on the Lord’s Day, on Sunday. She said to her boss, "I’d rather not do that, because this is the Lord’s Day. I want to teach my children that they need this one day in seven to feed their spirits, just like they need to feed their bodies." He said, "Are you going to work for me or for God?" She smiled and said, "Well, I guess I’m working for God." He said, "Is He going to pay you as much as I pay you?" She said, "He may not pay as much, but the retirement plan is a lot better." Was it worth it?
One family was faithful in the church. They were financially well off. In five years, they gave over ninety thousand dollars to the church. That’s a lot more than a tithe of their income. They would like to have a second home. With that money, they could have bought one. They have an eight-year-old car. It would be nice to drive a new one. And with that money they could have bought several. They could have taken luxury trips and vacations, but they decided that the better investment was in the kingdom of God through their church.
Is it worth it?
One pastor shared Christ with an Air Force general, someone who has the power to influence thousands of men and women. He came very close to receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. His wife said to him, "If you decide to become a Christian, I’m going to leave you." He decided it wasn’t worth it, and he turned away from Jesus Christ, and will one day spend eternity in hell.
One family believed that God’s will for them was to give their life, time, ministry, and substance to do His work in Honduras for two years. In order to do that, they had to sell their home and use the money. They did that, and they are there. Is it worth it?
A husband told his wife who was a relatively new Christian, "I’m so sick of all the time you’re spending in your development with God. You’ve got to choose between me and God." With tears streaming down her face, she said, "I’ve already made that choice. I love you. I love you more than I could ever love any other man. I don’t think I could ever love another man. But I cannot choose you over God." He packed his bags, and he left. Was it worth it?
The rest of that story is that the man was a very egotistical fellow. He drove about two blocks and said, "She looked very sad. I’m sure by now she’s reconsidered. She’ll want me back, and she’ll be glad to see me back." He drove back home, got out of the car very quietly, walked up to the back door. He heard her crying and sobbing. He said to himself, "Yeah, she’s going to take me back.
Her heart’s broken."
As he quietly opened the door and went in, she was crying and sobbing all right.
But she was praying and saying, "Oh, God, please take care of Norman. Please don’t let him be hurt. Oh, Lord, I pray with all my soul that he’ll become a Christian and know Jesus." That proud, egotistical heart was broken, and he joined her on his knees in that kitchen and said, "Oh, Lord Jesus, come into my heart and be my Savior."
But there have been times when that happy ending didn’t happen. Is it worth it?
It Is Worth It Because ...
The man who wrote these lines had been a great religious leader. His zeal, intellect, and drive had put him at the very top of the young men in his religion. For that, he was given power, honor, recognition, and wealth. But his religion was empty, and he left it all to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
All these years later, he had scars on his body from beatings. He had been dishonored in his world. His name was slandered throughout the kingdom. He had no wealth and little health. He was going to be imprisoned and beheaded for following Jesus Christ. Was it worth it? His resounding answer in almost every page of the New Testament, for he wrote half of it, is: Yes! It is worth it! It is worth it because the purpose of God runs through our lives. Selling out to Jesus Christ is worth it, because the power of God operates in our lives. It is worth it because of the great changes that are coming.
... God’s Purpose Runs Through Our Lives
It is worth it, because the purpose of God runs through the life of a Christian. In Romans 8:28 it says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." In summary, this is saying there is a purpose of God working through the lives of those who follow Him, who give themselves to Him wholeheartedly.
Did you see the movie A River Runs Through It? It’s a story of the McLain family in Montana. There was the stern, but loving father who was a minister. I liked him. There was the wonderful, supportive, and lovely wife. There were two boys ... Norman and Paul. But the real story is about that river. The river that ran through where they lived actually ran through their lives, and every important event in their lives took place on the banks of that river.
It was in that river that Mr. McLain bonded with his boys. It was on the banks of that river that those boys expressed their sibling rivalry and their brotherly love. When it came time for the boys to prove to themselves that they were men, it was on the river that they stole a boat and took a death-defying ride down the rapids. It was on the banks of that river that Paul McLain made a name for himself as the best fly fisherman in the territory. It was by the side of that river that, when Norman McLain came back from college to find himself and discover his roots, he spent time on those banks.
David Wilkerson observed these things about that movie and has said that, in all our lives, there’s a river that runs through them. That river is the purpose of God. There’s a purpose that runs through it if you follow Christ. And if you can live your life on the banks of the river, which is the purpose of God ... if you give yourself to Him ... then you can know that just as God took the good and the bad that occurred in the life of our Lord and put them all together for His purpose, then He takes all that happens and works it together for good to those who love Him and answer the call of His purpose in our lives. You grow up on the banks of God’s purpose, and it’s good. It’s worth it.
I read about a fellow who went to see a psychiatrist. He said, "Before I went to see the doctor, I was afraid to answer the phone. Now I answer the phone, whether it rings or not." There are a lot of people in this world who are answering phones that are not ringing. They’re living for purposelessness. There’s nothing really there. The apostle says, "It is worth it. All that I have suffered is worth it, because there is a purpose that runs through it. That purpose is the purpose of God."
... God’s Power Operates In Our Lives
Now in Romans 8:26 is another summary statement. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness." Not only do we have the purpose of God in the lives of those sold out to Him, but we have the power of God at work. We don’t have to do it alone.
There was a little boy who was asked by his father if he would move a fairly large stone in the backyard. The boy said, "Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll try."
He tried very hard, but he couldn’t budge the stone. The father said, "Son, give it all you’ve got." He tried again and strained very hard. The father said, "Son, give it all you’ve got." The boy worked harder and harder. He said, "Daddy, I can’t do it." The father said, "Son, I asked you to give it all you’ve got, and you’ve got me. You didn’t ask me to help you." God is saying, "You haven’t given it all you’ve got when you’re trying to do it by yourself. You link your life by faith to Me, and you’re going to have Me within you. You’re going to have Me leading you. You’re going to have Me putting all this together for good. You’re gong to have Me helping you and facing everything you have to face in this life."
I read recently about a young boy who had been alienated from his family and found himself homeless. Can you imagine what that’s like? No home. No place to go. No money. Nothing. He was homeless and on the street.
He said, "I was terrified. I spent the first night in the doorway of a building,
trying to keep warm and get out of the wind. Some other young men on the street saw men and realized that I didn’t know what to do. They shared their food with me in the park. Then they took me to a soup line. That night, they showed me how to find shelter. There were about a hundred of us lined up to go into that shelter. I was frightened and shaking in my boots." "We got in there ... a hundred of us on these cots in one room ... and when they turned the lights out,
I was terrified. I heard all this coughing and people shifting around, trying to get comfortable. Then over in the corner, somebody began to say, ’Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name...’" "Then it seemed as like all one hundred of us joined in that prayer in unison. I never felt so close to God in my life. I learned that night that whoever and wherever you are, God is with you. Now I’m seeing God’s love and grace in brothers and sisters everywhere."
God says, "I’ll be with you. You’ll have Me. You’ll have My purpose running through your life. You’ll have My power coursing in your veins and in your life.
You’ll have My presence with you, and you have wonderful changes in store."
...Great Changes Are Coming
In Romans 8:18, we read, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
In Los Angeles, during the times of the Watts riots, the city was on edge, and it seemed as if it would erupt into a war. Things were tense. Coming out of the L.A. airport, someone saw a billboard that simply said, "Don’t Lose The Hope."
Romans 8:24 says essentially the same thing. "For in this hope we were saved."
He says, "Don’t lose the hope. Don’t let go of the hope." No matter what we’re facing, we have this great hope ahead of us. Paul said, "I haven’t lost the hope." With all that he was suffering, he said, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
He had the hope. He knew the changes were coming.
In Job 19:25-26, here was a man stripped of everything most of us think is important. He sat there in the ashes ... his wealth, family and health were gone. He said, "I know that my Redeemer lives...yet in my flesh I will see God."
He had not lost the hope.
Have you ever noticed how God’s Word always moves from evening to morning when it describes a day? We talk about from morning to evening. That’s the one-world way of looking at life and looking at a day. In Genesis 1, there’s a recording of the first six days of creation. After each day of creation, the Word says the very same thing: It was evening, and then it was morning, and it was the first day; it was evening, and then it was morning, and it was the second day and so on. God is always moving us from evening to morning, never from morning to evening. One-world people see life as moving from morning to evening, and then it’s over. God’s people see life moving from evening to morning, and then it’s just begun.
Psalm 30:5 says, "Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning."
That’s what God’s Word is saying to you and me. We don’t move as people of God from light to dark to end. We move as God’s people from dark to light to beginning. These wonderful changes are going to be taking place. Listen beginning in Romans 8:19
READ 8:19-22
Do you understand the pains, the agony, and the hurt in this world are not death pains? They are birth pains. We’re moving toward a rebirth of planet earth.
Do you remember Isaiah saying there will come a time when it will be just like God intended ... no wild animals, just animals? The lion will lie down with the lamb, and the wolf and the bear will be tame. They will not eat flesh but grass.
One pastor showed an atomic scientist what it says in 2 Peter 3:10, and the man turned white. He said, "This describes atomic annihilation. If this Word is right, then what’s coming is just as catastrophic as atomic annihilation for this world.
The Word describes all of that destruction and that judgment that’s coming upon the world. But then in 2 Peter 3:13, it says, "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth..." The rebirth of planet earth is coming.
In Revelation 21:1-4, we read how it’s going to be. The Lord Himself will come down with the New Jerusalem ... the Holy City, as beautiful as any bride ever was for her groom. He said there will be a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain, for all of those things will be gone.
Listen, Christian, you are moving toward the rebirth of planet earth. Great changes are coming. Evening to morning. Dark to light. We’re not moving toward the sunset. We’re moving toward the sunrise.
Not only will the world be changed, but you and I will be changed. Look at Romans 8:23 ... READ Not just your soul is going to be saved, but your body is going to be saved.
In Philippians 3:20-21, the Word says that when Jesus comes again, He is going to transform our lowly bodies like His glorious body. We’ll never get tired, sick, wear out, become frustrated or angry, or die. Our bodies will be saved, too.
Tell me, down deep in your heart, what do you think life is? Do you think it’s something moving from morning to evening, and then it’s over? Or can you see by the power of God as you give your life to Christ that life moves from evening to morning? It moves from the darkness of this world. In the time that we have here, we can accept it easily because God’s purpose runs through it, the power of God helps us as we go through it, and it’s moving toward sunrise not sunset ... dawn not dark, life not death.
One day, when you face the last hours of your life here on earth, you’re going to look at all you’ve done, what you’ve achieved, what you’ve gotten together, what you’ve given your whole life to, what it’s meant to you to live, and how you’ve judged yourself and measured your own success. Then are you going to say, "Is it worth it?"
Or are you going to look at how you linked your life to the purpose of Jesus Christ? Are you going to review the fact that you’ve been through some very tough things but always victoriously, because He was with you? Are you going to think about the wonderful changes that are ahead when the world will be reborn and your body will be saved and redeemed? If so, then you’ll say, "It is worth it."
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
