Future Glory Pt. 2

Recap

I had made a request of you all last Sunday. I asked that you would reread our text from last weeks sermon at some point throughout your week. Did anyone take the time to do that? It’s okay if you didn’t but the reason I asked you to do that is because I feel that rereading a passage after it’s been explained to you can help to open your heart and mind to the spirit of God.

and it’s essential that we open our heart to the spirit because he is the one whom intercedes for us. Now if you did happen to reread the passage your may remember what we talked about last week, however I find that most people don’t remember more than a point or two from each sermon they hear, so I want to review quick because we will be continuing the passage today.

We had read Romans 8:18-25. And as we read we learned a couple things;

There is a coming glory which is going to far exceed and outweigh all the suffering you’ve ever experienced on this Earth.

We learned that as part of this future Glory we are going to receive new bodies which will be glorious like that of Christ’s glorified state.

The creation itself will also be renewed with a new heaven and new Earth, which will be a combined Heaven on Earth.

And we learned that we will no longer be faced with the temptation of sin.

We should be excited about these things and it should be something that unites us. However, this future glory has yet to come so we wait patiently, though our waiting will be like child bearing. Speaking of, as I thought more about that analogy I began thinking of the process of childbearing and the labor a woman goes through before the baby is born. and that’s what our suffering is like, and those in the Old Testament were in labor we are now in the birthing process in which Gods glory could come at any moment, but it is also the most painful part of the birthing process.

and so God gives us an epidural right, he gives us the Holy Spirit to help us and that’s how Paul begins this next section in verse 26.

Romans 8:26

Go ahead and open your bible’s to Romans 8:26.

Romans 8:26 (ESV)

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

So what do we mean when we say weakness here, what weakness does the Holy Spirit help us with. Our weakness is our futility or our slavery to corruption. You face temptation because you live in a broken world and so the spirit assist you.

Now when this says the Spirit helps us it is talking about the Holy Spirit and when it says help. It doesn’t mean that it works entirely on our behalf, this isn’t a matter of the Spirit taking complete control. no this word here for help comes from a very long Greek word, “συναντιλαμβανεται” (sunantilambanetai) and this word is also translated “I take interest in,” “I assist jointly to perform some task,” “I co-operate with,” “I take my share in.” You see it’s not a matter of the spirit taking over for us, the spirit rather comes along side us and assist us as we work together.

To make this more clear, have you ever felt prompted by the spirit to do something or not to do something and you ignored what you felt prompted to do? So that’s a good example of how the spirit can come along side you however in order to co-operate we need to work together with the spirit. The spirit can only help us with our futility if we listen and work with the spirit!

Now the spirit helps us in many ways, yes it helps us to avoid sin, however it also discerns our heart and prompts us to pray for that which is godly, and not only that but the spirit is able to make sense of our senseless prayers and make them perfect before the father.

I want you to notice that this passage doesn’t say, “We don’t know HOW to pray,” it says, “We do not know WHAT to pray for”. Why don’t we know what to pray for, because we’re not all knowing. I can sit here and pray for this church and for this church to have good health and for this church to prosper, but I don’t know everything going on in this church, I don’t know what is going on in each members lives. I don’t know the dynamic of this church, so how could I possibly know what to pray for? the spirit however does know all of those things and so he takes these intentions of our prayer and he presents them perfectly to the father knowing that which we don’t.

And I love how it describes this process, The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And the word intercede is different than the word help, when the spirit intercedes here, it’s saying that the spirit groans on our behalf knowing our needs and our father in Heaven understands completely.

Think of it like this, my baby who is only 6 months old doesnt really know why he’s crying or groaning however his mom, knows exactly what he’s in need of even though he’s not actually saying any words. and that’s because she’s his mom. How much more does our father in Heaven know our needs and wants when the Spirit groans on our behalf.

Romans 8:27

and this is what we read in Romans 8:27

Romans 8:27 ESV

27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Now here when this says saints it is referring to us. Now catholics believe that sainthood is reserved for persons in heaven , who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation. However I would disagree with that definition. I would say that a saint is someone who is saved by grace. you are a saint when you are set apart by God for his holiness.

and that’s shown by the gift of the holy spirit. God gives us the holy spirit so that we can act out his will. and so when the holy spirit intercedes for us he prompts us to live our lives according to God’s will. and since the spirit is in perfect accordance with the father our prayers are raised up perfectly. You pray for the church to heal and the Lord knows exactly what needs done for it to be healed.

Romans 8:28

We could spend more time picking this apart but I ant us to move on and begin discussing Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Now there are plenty of misinterpretations about this verse some say that this means God makes all those who follow him prosper, but we know that’s not the case because plenty of us suffer and there are many who follow Christ who live in poverty you’ll see that clearly if you do any missionary work in a 3rd world country.

another misinterpretation is that if you are suffering then that means that you haven’t been called according to God’s purpose. but we read in verse 18 that we all suffer as we wait for the coming glory.

So when we say that God works together all things for good for those who love him, it’s important to understand what we mean by good. often times when we think of good things, we think of possessions or things that make us happy. but that’s not always necessarily good.

A lot of people think it’s good when they win the lottery, that is until they go bankrupt. So, the goodness that occurs is good according to God’s all knowing nature. God knows exactly how things will play out in the long run and that’s what is good. For example when the Lord comes that is going to be for the good of us believers, however it’s going to require a lot of us to suffer and face hardship in order that we may grow in our faith.

Now this should give us hope, hope in knowing that whatever you go through, assuming you love God, is going to benefit you for good in the long run. And so when people ask why do bad things happen to Christians, for the sake of goodness. does that make sense to you? Do you love God? if so then find hope in this.

Another good example of this is Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. he was a slave he was put in prison and all of this was required for God’s good plan to take place. Because of Josephs slavery he was put in charge of Egypt.

Now This takes us into the second part of this verse, those who are called according to his purpose. Joseph was called by God according to his purpose. all believers are called by God. Did you know you were called by God according to his purpose. What does that mean?

Jeremiah 29:11 says,

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

The plans God has for us result in the future glory that we have hope in, but God specifically chose you and has specific plans for you, and for how you can better serve him. That’s why the Lord give each person their own spiritual gifts that we could serve to the best of our ability God’s will.

I remember growing up i always thought it was cool in tv and video games there was that chosen character who had a greater destiny than everyone else. People like Neo from the matrix, Harry Potter, Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Po from Kung Fu Panda, the list goes on. and you love those characters because they have something special that know one else has.

You are the Chosen ones church, God chose you to be a part of his plan, God has a specific roll for you to play. You have something that the world doesn’t have a future glory, a place in Heaven prepared just for you. Now some of you may have an idea of what that plan is, I would like to imagine that mine involves a long life of ministry. But for you it may be playing an active part in your church maybe God gave you a voice to sing, use that gift. maybe God gave you a heart of hospitality, take people in or host a small group. Maybe you are good at getting things done and desire to be a deacon then desire to be a deacon. If you can teach then teach.

The only way to discover what God’s plans for you are is to put the gifts he has given you into practice for his sake. Be the chosen one and obey the Lord’s will for your life.

Romans 8:29

The Lord chose you for a reason that’s what we read in Romans 8:29

Romans 8:29 ESV

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

God knew what you could bring to the kingdom and so he called you. Even though you may not see what your gift is the Lord does.

Look at the apostle Paul, before he was called by the Lord he was killing Christians and attempting to destroy the church, and yet God saw something in him that know one else possible could and so he called him according to his purpose. and Paul became one of the most successful and influential of the apostles. God sees something in you that you don’t see in yourself he sees how you can become more like Jesus Christ.

Now this is where I get really excited, it says that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. You are the many brothers, and sisters, that he has. We are being adopted as Sons of God, to be considered as brothers with Christ Jesus. Do you understand how amazing that is. The Jesus Christ who died for your sins, who paved the way of salvation, who lived his life as the perfect propitiation for our sins, who created the perfect example for us. He will be considered your brother. Imagine that to be adopted into a family that sees you as a brother of Christ. In fact let’s jump back to Romans 8:14-17

Romans 8:14–17 ESV

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

We are fellow heirs with Christ that means we are going to share in his inheritance. share in God’s glory.

This should really change how you do everything. If we love God the spirit who dwells within us will intercede in our prayers knowing both our desire and the fathers will, and that spirit will prompt us to live our lives for the Lord. All you need to do is follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:30

Let’s finish out this passage and see what happens when we respond to God’s call.

Romans 8:30 ESV

30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

So when God invites us to salvation we need to respond and when we respond to the call God justifies us meaning that in his sight we are free of sin, the Lord sees us as saints, and those who he justified, those who responded to God’s call, they will be glorified in the last days when Christ returns. we will be in God glory in the new Heaven and new Earth, living in harmony.

Conclusion

Respond to the call people, follow God’s plan for your life so that you can be called co heirs with Christ that you could be the chosen one. These things we talked about today they should overshadow all that’s going on in your life, let this call be the primary concern of your life. the way that we respond to this will change how we spend eternity. It’s not worth it fight or argue amongst ourselves, when we can all be focused together on the promise of God to Justify us and bring us into this glory.

Let’s pray!