The Hope of Glory - Romans 8b - 3/1/09
Turn with me this morning to the book of Romans, chapter 8. This morning, we want to talk more about problems, something that happens to us all. Normally when we face problems, we go to one of two extremes. Either we hide our problems, and act like everything is all right: I remember a man in Indiana, Walter Ballard, he was dying, about to get his legs amputated, on morphine constantly, and when the doctor would come in and ask, “How are you today Mr. Ballard?” he would answer, “Oh, just fine!” His son used to say, “Dad, don’t say that you’re fine, let them know that you’re hurting!”
Sometimes we minimize our problems. The other extreme -- we often magnify our problems. We always have it worse than someone else. Someone shares their struggles and we say, “That’s nothing, let me tell you what’s wrong with me!” If they have a headache, you have a migraine. If you have the flu, they had pneumonia. But it’s sad that often we tend to magnify our problems. Because when we minimize our problems and when we magnify our problems, we tend to lose our focus on our God and the good He is doing in our lives.
This morning, as we come to Romans 8, we want to have a healthy view of our problems and see the right way to put them into perspective in our lives. We know why the sufferings come; we saw that in Romans 5. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. The sufferings help us develop perseverance, which builds godly character, which in turn teaches us to keep on hoping in our God. So, the trials we face are really good for us. Just like an athlete goes into training and runs miles every day or lifts weights or does pushups and situps; the trials make us stronger. But Paul also reminds us something else about the trials: Our problems are only a light affliction. As Paul writes to the church at Corinth, in 2 Corinthians 4 we find these words that he writes: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Paul reminds us that the temporary trials that we face in this life are trivial compared to the glory that awaits us. And that is what we want to look at here in Romans 8. Look with me as I begin reading in Romans 8 at verse 18. READ Rom. 8:18-39. PRAY.
Paul starts out this section with the phrase “I consider” or “I reckon”-- this is a banking term that is a statement of truth, a statement of fact. Just like when you receive your bank statement, you can rely have the money in your account that the statement says you do. So, Paul is saying you can “take this to the bank”- and here is the truth: our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
That is what we saw in 2 Corinthians 4 -- God will greatly reward us for the present troubles and trials we face with far more glory. I love the story of Job, not just for Job’s faithfulness in trusting God, but for the way it shows us how God rewards. In the end of the story, God doubles everything Job had, just for going through a few weeks of trial and suffering. And that is what Paul reminds us here: our sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that God has in store for us.
Now, the question is, Do we really believe what the Bible tells us about heaven? Do we really believe that God will set everything right in the end. Do we have the hope of Abraham who confidently said, Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? The truth is, that many times we think very little about heaven. Those who are near death do, but the rest of us, who think we are in the prime of life, who think we will live many more years, often fail to think about heaven. Far too often we are invested heavily in the here and now, and not in the sweet bye and bye. Remember what Jesus said, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21. In the book of 2 Timothy, Paul relates that he is alone. He tells about different companions who had left for one reason or another. He says, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. I have heard sermons before stating that Demas left Paul because he had a worldly, materialistic heart. And that could be. But it could also be simply that Demas was afraid to lose his life. He loved this present world, he loved being alive. But either way, it shows us he was not looking forward to heaven.
When we focus on this world, we don’t focus on the next. 1 John 2:15 reminds us,
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So, when our focus is on this life, it shows we treasure all the world has to offer, it shows our heart is here, and it shows that we don’t have a love for our God. So, let me ask you to search your heart and ask this question:
Do you love God? But as you seek to answer that, use this criterion: Do you love this world? If you do, you do not love God. You can’t love both! Matthew 6 tells us, No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying life. But we don’t live for it. Our focus, our hearts, our desires, should be set on heaven and the glory that awaits us. And that is the point that Paul makes here in chapter 8. When we really are looking forward to the glory that awaits us, the trials, problems, suffering, sickness, pain, loneliness, and frustration of this life will seem trivial compared to what awaits us.
When we consider the truth, the reality of heaven -- when we consider it to be true, to be a fact, to be a guaranteed assurance for the future, it will inspire us to live faithfully day by day. If you have been struggling to live an obedient life, one key reason could be that you don’t really believe God is going to reward your faithfulness. If I opened up a suitcase, and you counted out one million dollars, and I said “I’m going to give you this money, no strings attached, if you can go one week without swearing -- or lying, or looking at pornography, or drinking, or just insert your struggle in there -- if you can live right for one week I will give you the money-- I believe you would control yourself for that week to get the money. In the same way, when we don’t control ourselves, it shows that we really don’t believe God has an incredible, glorious reward awaiting us. When we believe the truth of the glory that awaits us, it WILL change the way we live.
Now, going on in Romans 8. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
We need to understand that we live between two perfect worlds. There is the world that was -- Eden, God came down and walked with Adam in the cool of the day. It was a perfect world. Then there is the world that will be: heaven. We will be in the very presence of God. God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. But we live inbetween these two perfect worlds, the world that was and the world that will be, in the world that is: a sinful, fallen world where we face every day the effects of sin. Our hope is not in this world, but in the one that is to come.
I have talked with many people who said “this life is all there is; there is no heaven.” And just like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world. The truth is that scripture tells us much about heaven. I have preached about it before. Let me just offer a few reminders this morning.
- Heaven is a Real Place- Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us. It has to be a real place, because it takes a reality to contain a reality. We will live there for all eternity.
-There will be real establishments there. Revelation 21 speaks of literal walls, streets, and gates in the heavenly city. There are walls of twelve precious stones, streets of gold, gates of pearl. There is a river there and fruit trees.
- There will be real inhabitants there.
- We will have real bodies there. Our new bodies will be:
Imperishable - glorious - spiritual - we’ll have perfect knowledge
- there will be no more tears
- Heaven is a Big Place- Heaven sends down a city, the New Jerusalem, that is 1500 miles high by wide by deep. Revelation describes "a great multitude that no one could count . . . standing before the throne."
-Heaven is a Place Where God Is- John 14:3 - "that you also may be where I am"
We believe that God has a wonderful reward prepared for us in the place we call heaven. But not only do we look forward to glory, but Paul goes on to tell us that even creation itself is excited about God’s redemption. Look at verse 19 - The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
Why is creation eager for us to receive our glorification? Because all of creation is also in bondage to the effects of sin. Did creation sin? No, but it faces the effects of man’s sin. In Genesis 3 God told Adam, Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you. What was once a beautiful garden producing abundant fruit became a thorny, weedy field. And not only that, but Romans 5 tells us that death entered the world by sin. Before Adam sinned, nothing died. After Adam’s sin, all of creation began facing death as a consequence of sin.
So all of creation is affected by man’s sin. And in the same way, all of creation is eagerly hoping for what God has promised. That Jesus will come back and restore everything. Acts 3:21 - He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
How does a rock hope for God’s restoration? I don’t know, I’ll be the first to admit, but I know that God says that all of creation is awaiting the renewal that God will bring. Look at verse 20 - For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
So, in the same way that creation waits for its redemption, Christians also should long for heaven, eager expecting what God has in store. We have been given the Holy Spirit, as the “firstfruits” He is called-- just like the first fruit on a tree in the summer tells you more is coming, so also because God has given us the Holy Spirit, we can be assured that He will give us everything He has promised. The Holy Spirit is our “downpayment” - look at Ephesians 1:14 - the Spirit is the downpayment until we receive the glorious inheritance that God has in store for us.
And in verse 23, we see that our bodies will be redeemed. There are lots of jokes about aging. The older you get, the more you hear, and the less funny they are. One of my favorites is the one about a group of Florida senior citizens talking about their ailments: "My arms are so weak I can hardly hold this cup of coffee." "Yes, I know. My cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee." "I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck." "My blood pressure pills make my dizzy." "I guess that's the price we pay for getting old."
"Well, it's not all bad. At least we still have our driver’s licenses!”
But one of the reasons we can laugh about physical ailments, real as they are, is because they ARE only temporary. There is nothing funny about being incapacitated, but we can rejoice at the thought of the redemption of our bodies. We will one day receive a new, glorified body. And this future redemption gives us HOPE, even in the worst of trials. Verse 24- For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
How do we live in hope? By faith! By faith we take God at His word, believing something better is coming. Just like a child on Christmas morning. Why is it at 5 AM your kids call out, “Can we get up yet?” And we yell out, “NO, go back to bed. It’s not time to get up yet!” They KNOW there are presents down there for them, even if they haven’t seen them. In the same way, we live in hope, because we KNOW that God has something better in store for us.
It’s like the story of the woman who wanted to be buried with her fork. At meal time, when you take the plates, the hostess says, “Save your fork.” It’s a sign that the best is yet to come. So we should be like that woman who was buried with a fork, believing that the best IS yet to come.
* Hope keeps us going in difficult days- verse 27 tells us the Holy Spirit helps us to pray for God’s will to be done. We are reminded in verse 28 that God is working through the problems and trials and difficulties in our lives to bring about our good and His glory.We understand that God has a beautiful plan in place. God’s plan for us started in eternity past. Ephesians 1:4 tells us, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.
Before the world was created, God made His plan for us. Nothing we face surprises God. It surprises us! But God knew it long ago. And He planned to bring about good in our lives as we follow Him.
Verse 29 goes on to tell us that God works to bring about our salvation, our sanctification, our glorification. We don’t understand how it all works out. We know it all relies on God and His plans; not on our efforts. But we also know that God gives the invitation, but it is up to us to accept it. Harry Ironside explained it best with this illustration. When you get to heaven, imagine a big wall around the city, and at the entrance gate you look up and see the phrase, “Whosoever will may come.” As you walk through, and look back, you see on the inside the words, “Predestined from the foundation of the world.”
Do we understand how the two go hand in hand? No, but we know that God does. He invites every person to accept the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, but he also is the one who predestines our salvation.
Verse 31 reminds us, that our God is for us! We don’t need to despair in times of trials, because we know that God is for us. We know that God is at work. Even when it may appear that God has abandoned us, forsaken us, left us on our own-- we know that is not true. Even when we feel that our prayers bounce right off the ceiling and God does not hear us, we know that is not true. Verse 36 reminds us that even when we feel like we are sheep being led to slaughter -- like everything is going against us, we know that is not true, we know that our God has not forsaken us. We have a confidence like Job who said, Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.
We know that no matter what the circumstances we face, the truth is that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God. God does not shelter us and keep us from difficulties, for we need the trials to help us grow. But God does keep us in the midst of the difficulties, using them to bring about our good. No matter what lies Satan tries to tell us, we know that our God never abandons us. No matter what we may feel like.
When we truly believe these truths about our God and the glory He has in store for us, it will drastically change the way we live. We will be able to face trials with confidence. We will face despair head on with faith and hope. We live make godly, obedient choices for we know our God has great rewards in store for us.
If we are not ready to light up the sky with the flame of our faith, we have not yet internalized Paul’s message. This hope of eternal glory is what was the driving force behind the faithfulness of the great heroes of the faith. In Hebrews 11, we find the reocrd of these spiritual giants, and it say this about them: Of Abraham it says, By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And of the others it says, All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. . . they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
We need also to live like visitors, pilgrims, strangers here on earth.
During the Reagan administration, the Secretary of State was known for keeping a large globe in his office. When newly appointed ambassadors had an interview with him, he would put them to the test. He would surprise them by saying, "You have to go over to the globe and prove to me that you can identify your country." They would go over, spin the globe, and put their finger on the country to which they were being sent. When Mike Mansfield was appointed Ambassador to Japan, he was put to the test. This time, however, Mansfield turned the tables. He spun the globe around and then put his hand down on the United States. He looked the Secretary of State in the eye and said, "That’s my country."
In Philippians 3:20 God reminds us, But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. We need to live like we believe we truly are citizens of a heavenly country. And we live in hope of one day receiving our glorified bodies and all that God has prepared for us. That’s why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Today, let’s keep our focus not on our problems, but on the hope of the glory that God has in store for us. Let’s pray.
