Romans 8:18-25
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
We are glad you are here
This morning again we continue on in Romans 8.
Sort of a recap from last week
Because of Christ
To be a follower and a student of Jesus Christ
To be a disciple of Jesus
We must put to death the things of the flesh
If you expect to walk with Jesus then you cannot expect to live for yourself any longer
It is no longer about what you want to do but all about what Jesus wants to do through you
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
If you have been saved and repented of your sin and trusted in Jesus
Then you no longer have to or get to live according to the flesh
See salvation is free to receive and to walk with Jesus is costly
If you want to walk with Christ as a believer in Jesus Christ
Then to put your salvation into action is to walk with Jesus
That means you must put the things of the flesh to death
So church last week we asked the question
What needs to die so you can walk after Jesus
If we have repented of our sins and trusted in Jesus
Then Paul calls us sons and daughters of the Most High King
Church we have been adopted into the family of God
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God
Since we are adopted we are also heirs with Christ
Christ was beaten and crucified
Church don’t be surprised when the world hates you
You are not of this world but you are of Christ!
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The sufferings that you will encounter don’t hold a candle to what you will experience as you spend eternity in Heaven with Christ
So church what does it look like when you get to heaven
I am so glad you asked
18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
This is what Heaven will look like
The wall of the city is Jasper
I have never seen pure gold that looks so clear
The foundation of the city was set on stones
If this what the wall and the foundation stones looks like
WOW
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
No electric bill in heaven
We have God
The Light of the World
Church this is what it will look like in heave
There is no need to go somewhere to worship God
We are in His Presence
3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
Church in heaven there will no longer be a curse
We know that bodies are made new
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
What it looks like to be praising God
Church we will worship God
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Church the pain and suffering we will experience in this world doesn't hold a candle to what we will experience in heaven
We will be given new bodies
We won’t have any pain
There will be no death
There will be no sorrow or mourning
Church this is what awaits those who have repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus
Jesus though is not your get out of hell free card
We are still here
There is still work to be done
And so as you read some of that maybe you are like yea Jesus come on I am ready for you Jesus
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Paul says that since the beginning of being kicked out of the garden
Creation has been anxious to get back to how it was intended to be
that creation is excited to get back to where it was intended to be
To see the sons and daughters of God stand and step into where they were bought and paid to be
One paraphrase puts it this way
Exalting Jesus in Romans The Creation Will Be Set Free (8:19–22)
“The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.”
All of creation is excited for Jesus to come back
Because when Jesus comes back He will set things back in order
Want to know what it was intended to be read Genesis 1 and 2,
Then man messed it up for all of creation
Because of the sin of Adam it spread to the entire creation
Look at creation, there are issues between lions and lambs
there are issues between me and mice
When Paul says that creation will be set free
Creation will be put in the correct order of things because of Jesus
Because of the fall things are broken
Because of the fall the land was curse, man kind was issued punishment
Because of the fall we find life a struggle, families are broken, children struggle and are taken advantage of, men and women are broken, and continue to struggle
Life is frustrating and a struggle because of the fall
Has life been frustrating before
Or maybe know
Maybe work is a struggle and you hate your job and are at odds with your boss
Maybe it is a coworker and you are doing all the right things but it is still so frustrating and such a struggle
Maybe you home life is not good
Maybe your spouse is not a believer
Or you you have kids and they are rebelling and not walking with Christ
Maybe you don’t have kids and desire kids
Could it be you have lost someone close in your life
Of you are or someone close to you is very sick
Or the bills keep coming
You know the struggle is real when it takes a few months to get a refund but they willingly take your money immediately when you bought it
Maybe you are not walking with Jesus and you have a personal relationship with Jesus you are saved because its free but
walking with Jesus is just to costly and you constantly find yourself at war with your mind or your flesh because you don’t want to put to death the things of the flesh
Church sometimes and often times life is frustrating and a struggle because of sin
The world is fallen
But
Paul talks of hope
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Paul explains that no only creation is exited for what is to come but so are the believers who walk with Jesus
What this world has to offer is not the best you will experience if you are a believer in Jesus
The struggle you will encounter does not hold a candle to the joy and amazingness that is to come for the believer in Jesus
See there is an excitement that believers have because they know
They know exactly what we have talked about this morning
They know there is a hope in the midst of this frustrating and lost world
Church that hope is Jesus Christ
Jesus is not of this world so it would make sense that our hope is not what we can see
If you are hoping for what you can see you are settling for what this world has to offer
But as a believer in Jesus Christ you have set your mind on the things above you have set your mind on the Spirit
You have hope on what you can’t see and church that is far better than what you can see
Church your and my hope during this struggle of a life
Our hope in the midst of a storm or in the valley or in the desert
Church our hope is Jesus
That is what Paul is saying
Do you understand that
If you hope is what you can see and control then it will only be what you can produce or do
But if your hope is in Jesus well church He spoke stars into existence, he created man kind and breathed life into them
Church God created dirt
I would say that is far better then what you or I could ever come up with
This morning right now you need to hear this
Jesus is our Hope in this world
In this lost and frustrating world
As we come to our close this morning
I want to be very clear this morning
Out side of Jesus there is no hope for you
So as the band comes up
If you are here and have never repented of your sin and trusted Jesus would you do that this morning
If you want to make that decision we want to celebrate that with you
There will be someone down at the front to answer your questions, and they would love to introduce you to hope Himself Jesus
Or maybe you have a personal relationship with Jesus
And life is frustrating right now
Maybe it is sin in your life that you need to repent of
Maybe it is someone or something you need to pray about or for
During the invitation this is your opportunity to respond to what God did this morning
If you want to make a decision to follow Jesus or spend time in prayer the altar is open
You just need to come to the altar