The Hope The Drives US

The Hope that Drives Us

Romans 8:18-30

I. Introduction

A. You can’t walk in a straight line

II. We have a hope that sustains us (18-25)

A. Explanation

1. Compare present sufferings with the Glory that is to be revealed

a. This is based on v17 – Provided you suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with him - This is not exactly a winning strategy of evangelism by itself

b. From Paul’s perspective – 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 – The Corinthians endured persecution

c. We tend to keep our minds on the difficulties of life

d. Paul is telling us to keep our minds on the end

i. The glory to be revealed is qualitatively better than the suffering here

ii.We have hope to endure suffering when we know that her is an end that is greater!

2. The futility of creation

a. After the fall, apart from the hope of the future, there is only pain and suffering with no point to it

b. Sin has brought suffering, and we all feel the pain of it - Some pains are so deep that it is hard to go on – Lost love, death, defects, etc.

c. Not willingly – this was not the will of God

d. But because of him who subjected it – man and his sin

3. But we still have hope

a. that we will be set free from the bondage to corruption – This is the point of the cross

b. obtain freedom of the glory of the children of God – this is coming when all will be set right          

4. The groaning of creation

a. The whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now – The pain of childbirth is painful.  It would be pointless and unbearable, and yet, no mother looks back at the pain on that day.  They look at the new child that came

b. That is how we as Christians see the hope we have – We endure the pains and hardship, but there is something good to come through the pain and suffering

5. Hope

a. If we could see it now it wouldn’t be hope

b. We have a real hope because we know God is setting all things straight in Christ

c. We wait for it with patience because we have assurance that it is coming

B. Illustration – The curse of Oak Island – This show follows two brothers as the look for a treasure that has been sought for more that 200 years.  What drives them?  The hope of something of great values.  We see eternal life with Christ as of infinite value and thus we continue to seek Christ, even in the face of suffering

C. Application

1. This is the hope of every believer

2. We will endure pain and suffering, but we know that is part of this broken world that we have created with our sin

3. And still, we know that Christ bore the nails of the cross to give up hope of forgiveness and redemption

4. We should always be looking forward to what Christ is doing in our world

III. We have the Holy Spirit interceding for us (26-27)

A. Explanation

1. The Spirit helps us in our weakness

a. The word for “helps” is active – He is coming to our aid

b. He is the comforter.  He is the one who is working in us and in our favor

c. He helps in our weakness – When we need Him most

2. He helps when we don’t know what to pray for

a. Have you ever been in such a desperate situation that you didn’t even know what to ask of God?  When the pain is so great and it isn’t going away and we have no idea what to do?

b. This is when the Spirit intercedes for us – He does so with groanings to deep for words

i. This groaning is the communication of pain when we don’t know what to say

ii.The Holy Spirit sympathizes with our pain, and He is the one perfectly interceding with the Father on our behalf

iii. He knows exactly what to communicate when we don’t know what to say

3. He knows our hearts and God’s mind

a. He searches our hearts – He knows us intimately

b. He connects that with the will of God

c. He prays in our favor and in the will of God – He prays rightly, even when we cannot!

B. Application

1. There is an intimate relationship between God’s people and the Spirit – He knows us, He knows our hearts, He knows the goodness and the sin, and He knows the will of God

2. It is the Spirit who points us in the right direction and prays what ought to be prayed

3. This is why we trust in Him

IV. We have a future that is secure (28-30)

A. Explanation

1. All things work together for good

a. For those who love God

b. Not that everything works out the way we want it to – Sometimes we want the wrong things

c. They all work together for God’s good – to fulfill His plan in our lives

d. For those who are called according to His purpose – His glory, not ours

2. God has the plan from beginning to end –

a. He Foreknew

b. predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son – Likeness of Christ

c. Called - to follow Christ

d. Justified – Made righteous in Christ

e. Glorified – Eternity forwards we are His

B. Application

1. God has a plan for His people from beginning to end

2. We have nothing to fear because we are in God’s will

3. We are His great work of art that began before the foundation of the earth and continues into eternity

4. We are simply to trust God’s plan for us, Be holy, and let Him transform us into the likeness of Christ

V. Conclusion

A. So, what are you waiting for?

1. If you have your eyes on this world you will be stuck in the groaning

2. If we can see our hope in the fruit of the Spirit and await redemption we have something real to look forward to

Research Shows We Can't Walk in a Straight Line

For some reason, human beings can't walk in a straight line. There's just something about our inner orientation that causes us to walk in a crooked or warped way. That's the conclusion of Robert Krulwich, science correspondent for NPR. In an interview on Morning Edition, Krulwich cites a study from Jan Souman, a scientist from Germany, who blindfolded his subjects and then asked them to walk for an hour in a straight line. Without exception, people couldn't do it. Of course everybody thinks they're walking in a straight line, until they remove the blindfolds and sees their crooked path.

Krulwich observed,

This tendency has been studied now for at least a century. We animated field tests from the 1920s, so you can literally see what happens to men who are blindfolded and told to walk across a field in a straight line, or swim across a lake in a straight line …, and they couldn't. In the animation, you see them going in these strange loop-de-loops in either direction. Apparently, there's a profound inability in humans to [walk] straight.

According to this research, there's only one way we can walk in a straight line: by focusing on something ahead of us—like a building, a landmark, or a mountain. If we can fix our eyes on something ahead of us, we can make ourselves avoid our normal crooked course. Kurlwich concludes, "Without external cues, there's apparently something in us that makes us turn [from a straight path]."

Steve Inskeep, "Mystery: Why We Can't Walk Straight?" NPR: Morning Edition (11-22-10)