SUFFERING AND DEATH

GRACE + GLORY

Romans 8:17–25 (NLT)

17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

VERSE SEVENTEEN

Sharing in His glory means sharing in His suffering. Being a part of this family of God means being a part of everything that accompanies it.

VERSE EIGHTEEN

The suffering he’s talking about is living on this broken earth with broken bodies. All of it pales in comparison to the glory that is revealed to us when the Kingdom of God is fully established.

The Kingdom of God has come and is coming. While we experience glimpses of Him here, we have yet to experience the unfiltered presence of God. We won’t know it until it is fully revealed in the return of Jesus.

VERSE NINETEEN

The revelation of the true sons of God comes when Jesus returns to fully establish His Kingdom. How will we know whose are His and whose aren’t? Verse fourteen says it will be the ones who are led by Him. The ones who follow Him.

VERSE TWENTY

Creation is under the curse and awaits its redemption. Why are there earthquakes and tornados and heat waves? Creation is under the curse! Jesus broke the curse and enacted the Blessing for the children of God, but creation is still subject to the curse.

VERSE TWENTY-ONE

Creation longs with hope for the days that, like us, it will be free from death and destruction.

That redemption comes when Jesus makes all things new again. It’s not just a restoring of the old. It’s the establishing of a new one.

Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

VERSE TWENTY-TWO

The groanings of creation are evident in the signs that we see in the earth. Natural disasters are the groanings of the earth. If you’ve ever experienced an earthquake, you know exactly what that means. It’s compared to childbirth, because the pain is in anticipation of new life.

VERSE TWENTY-THREE

We are also living in anticipation of new life. Our bodies have an expiration date. No matter how well you treat it, it’s subject to the broken world and the circumstances in which we live.

John 9:1–3 (NLT)

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

He was not afflicted because of sin. He was born blind because of the brokenness of the world. This individual’s situation was not orchestrated so that God could reveal His power. Jesus is speaking of a principle that applies across the board. Why has the earth not been restored? There is still more power to be shown in order to bring more into the family of God.

We groan in anticipation of our renewal. We don’t belong here. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, but not currently residents. We’re citizens, but living in a foreign land as representatives of our Kingdom. There is coming a day in which our King will come and establish His Kingdom here. We will not longer be ambassadors of a Kingdom on its way, but residents of a Kingdom whose King lives among us.

Heaven is not the eternal destination. Revelation 21 speaks of a new earth. God created the earth for humanity. We broke it. He’s going to restore it. Heaven is the waiting room. It’s the resting place for those who enter into reward for serving God in response to the finished work of Jesus. When Jesus returns, the new creation becomes what God intended it to be from the very beginning. How does it work? No idea. I just know I’ll be there.

We have to keep our eyes on eternity. If you really believe that you’re saved, you live with the Kingdom’s coming at the front of your mind. Death is not the end. We don’t live afraid of dying. We live aware of truly living.

We do that with the foretaste of glory that we’ve been given by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The down payment has been paid. We experience His presence in limited ways. God gave this to us to remind us of what is coming. You can have amazing experiences in the presence of God on earth, but they are nothing in light of the fullness that awaits us.

VERSE TWENTY-FOUR

This hope arrived when we were saved. We were transferred from certain death to guaranteed eternal life. Hope is essential to living in light of eternity and the return of Jesus.

We need our faith to propel us to the object of our hope. That hope is eternity with Him. We reach it by living by faith.

We hope for what we don’t see. If we see it, we just have it. There’s no need for hope when you have possession of something.

VERSE TWENTY-FIVE

If you’re going to wait, do it with confidence. Do it with faith.

Do it with patience. It’s not for us to know God’s timing; it’s for us to honor it. Wait on the Lord. He renews your strength.

ALTAR CALL

Salvation - Nik

Waiting - Pastor Stephen