BETTER DAYS AHEAD

(S1)

Isaiah 11:1-2

The Sprit of God to the Son of God—Spirit of Christ in the children of God

SERIES—Living the Good Life/Life in the Spirit

—Ministry of the Spirit in the life of the believer

Last week—The Spirit of adoption as children of God

8:15-16

The Spirits role...is the ASSURANCE that we are God’s children— Leading—Intimacy—testimony—Inherit blessing

17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

…this Christian things sounds pretty good so far...

(S2)

17 “But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

…suffering…?

As Christians in a contemporary world...we can have a pretty simplistic view of salvation...

“There is often an assumption that Christians should be free from any kind of suffering, and guaranteed only pleasantness in life (2). The reality of suffering in this life is undeniable, but, for believers, it is also unavoidable”(1).

No one likes to suffer? Living life in the Spirit does not give you a pass to the easy life…with the world the way it is, there is no easy button

Paul is very clear...God’s Glory will be revealed in two ways...

1. Through the suffering of CREATION in hopes of liberation

2. Through the suffering of BELIEVERS in hope of redemption

This glory (doxa)...Paul’s words point to the Spirits role in transforming creation, our bodies, and our lives, for one purpose—GOD’S REVEALED GLORY!

Paul’s strategy is a long-view approach to suffering through Life in the Spirit, knowing that there were BETTER DAYS AHEAD!

“Such a perspective builds a genuine HOPE for the glorious freedom which lies ahead when creation itself will be liberated and all believers will be fully redeemed.”

Jesus also had a long view strategy through his own suffering promising BETTER DAYS AHEAD!

Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Not a message about getting through suffering, but…

How Life in the Spirit helps us look BEYOND suffering

PRESENT SUFFERING—FUTURE GLORY

PRAY/BIBLES

(S3)

The present sufferings which Paul is speaking to, and the ways we suffer now are very different, and yet they are interrelated?

Paul understood the stresses of the Christian life…physical, relational or spiritual in nature.

— He candidly writes of his own personal struggles with a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7).

— He addresses the personal and political squabbles that exist in the churches he has planted ( 1 Corinthians 1:10–13).

— He describes the life of the believer as warfare with Satan and the forces of evil (Ephesians 6:10–17).

— He offers no answer for why suffering persists after Jesus’ death and resurrection, particularly for those who are in Christ. Romans: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (Chapter 10: The Believer’s Hope

And yet, he does point out four realities of present suffering and future Glory, that gives all believers the reason for their hope

I. Suffering and Glory are INSEPARABLE!

(S4)

(NIV) 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Paul’s perspective…he knew suffering…he knew Jesus. His encounter with Christ certainly transformed him…

2 Corinthians 12:2–4 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

Confronted with the gospel (Jesus), he was transformed, who he was and his life—His suffering REFINED him into a faithful follower of Jesus.

We will never fully understand why God allows suffering…one reason is to make us into instruments for His glory.

(S5)

“A lump of iron ore is violently ripped from its comfortable place in the earth, shipped to a place far away, exposed to melting heat, poured out into a mold, squeezed by rollers, smashed and pounded in a forge, subjected to electric shock to bond other metals to it and later scraped against grindstones to give it a final shape. The resulting screwdriver or exquisite piece of tableware could never have existed except for the difficult experiences it endured along the way." Ref: Godsview.Com. Accessed January 9, 2011.

Suffering and glory are inseparable—you cant have one without the other

TWINS

Jesus could not be glorified without going through hell, literally (complete separation from God)—something we will never have to experience (28)…

And yet we can’t get to heaven without going through hell on earth, even believers!

1 Peter 2:19–21 “For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

Jesus…you will have trouble…but no matter what your going through…don’t loose heart or faith, there are BETTER DAYS AHEAD!

There is HOPE because suffering and glory are inseparable

Present suffering/future Glory…

II. The future glorification of creation is INEVITABLE!

(S6)

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.

Notice that ALL of creation suffers…it is subjected to frustration not by choice...

— Ask, “how long must we suffer from one mans sin?” As long as all things are not yet glorified…

Notice also, that even creation has hope. Creation knows its creator (not like we do)—of God’s promise of being liberated and recreated...

Isaiah 11:6-9

Jesus said himself!

Revelation 21:5 “And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.””

There is HOPE because God is not finished with the world he created!

Present suffering/future Glory…

III. The future glory of believers is IMMEASURABLE!

(S7)

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.

Our groaning is a foretaste of our glory to be revealed—Nothing we endure is worth comparing with the day when we are fully adopted, fully redeemed—fully released from sin/suffering, and fully with God

How do we know? We won’t fully know until Christ’ return—Paul spoke of this glory to the church in Corinth

1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Including new bodies as he has promised…

1 Corinthians 15:40–41 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

Ready to trade this one in!

There is HOPE because God is not finished with us yet! The future glory of believers is immeasurable

IV. The believers HOPE is INVALUABLE!

(S8)

24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

Life in the Spirit is living in Hope of what we cannot see, but yet we know its true value!

God’s free gift of salvation is priceless! The kingdom of God is invaluable

…parable of buried treasure

Hope is invaluable to the believer because it helps us not only get through suffering, but to look beyond it!

1 Peter 3:15 “if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

There is HOPE because God has given you his greatest treasure!

(S9)

Present suffering/future Glory…

— Suffering and Glory are INSEPARABLE—The glorification of all of creation is INEVITABLE—Future glory of believers is IMMEASURABLE—The believers Hope is INVALUABLE

What do we do in the mean time? We live the long-view of life in the Spirit

(S10)

25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.

1. We wait EAGERLY

— 3X...

2. We wait PATIENTLY

— Like a mother in the pains of birth who waits...

3. We wait in HOPE

— live life with the long-view in mind—Hope in Jesus

(S11)

4. We LIVE life in the Spirit!

Romans 8:18 “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

Living life in the Spirit—We look beyond our suffering—We look to Jesus!

Present suffering/Future glory—There are BETTER DAYS AHEAD!