Waiting with Hope

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 8:18–30 (CSB)

Grab Attention: A traumatic Story that I tell now that doesn’t seem to be the traumatic when I now tell it but at the time of experiencing it I wondered if I would live through it.

FCF: How many of us suffer well in the moment? Most likely if you are like me, we are tempted to make our struggle worse by the way we handle it. How many times have we made a situations worse by the way we handled it? Even Christians can struggle with this.

CIT: The suffering one experiences here isn’t comparable to the glory (blessing) we will experience in Heaven.

Illustration: Right now it may fill like like we are having our arm chopped off, yet when we look back on it from the glory of heaven it will be nothing more than a pin prick.

Context: Paul had previously spoken on salvation through Christ, Now he is speaking on how believers are now to live in Christ although they may suffer while they live.

Propositional Statement: There are three reasons the suffering we experience now isn’t comparable to the glory we will experience later. There are three reasons we can have hope during seasons of suffering.

Purpose: That while we suffer at times, we will not abandon the hope we have in Christ.

We have Hope because God will gather His family

We are not slaves but we are adopted Children

Adoption is a roman term not a Jewish term. Adoption was a form of inviting someone into your family, as one of the family, with all the same rights as the other children. One stipulation, it signified that it cut all relations with their natural family.

Paul suggests that the adopted children of God cut all relations with their past, their sins. They cut that out of their life.

Adoption also implies that we have a close relationship to the Father, hence the term we cry out Abba, Father. Like a child would cry out for their father.

Illustration: As children did you ever stay at a friends home. You knew that was not your home and at some point your parents would come get you. So is the same way with this place, this is not our home and one day our Lord will come get us.

We Have Hope because what we experience is Labor pains not death pains: for the pain we are going through will result/end with life.

This life will not end our death but in life. The suffering we experience reminds us that life is on the way, just as labors pains as a reminder that a baby is on the way.

Something good is on the horizon.

One days the groaning will come to an end, the suffering, the pain, the difficulties will end and give way to life and blessings.

We have hope because the Holy Spirit is the firstfruit and more fruits are coming.

In the OT people would bring the firstfruits to God as a sacrifice/offering. It was to show their dedication to Good but also they knew more fruits were to come.

God has given us the Holy Spirit, in sort like a down payment to indicate more from God is to come.

As the follow text will indicate more to come will happen while we exsist here but mainly it pointing to heaven.

Can we imagine more than salvation and the Holy SPirit. We cannot possible comprehend what God has around the corner.

Illustration: Sometimes Miranda reflect 20 years ago when we began in ministry, we would have never been able to imagine what God had done.

How do we respond to the suffering we experience here: We Wait

Waiting might be the hardest thing we do but there are three ways we can do it.

So we wait through our sufferings with patience.

We hope for what have yet to experience but know we will in Christ.

We wait together

Paul uses words like “we”; we are in this together.

This is why things like church, cooperate worship, and small Bible study groups are so important.

One of the huge negative effects of the COvid was the separating of people. We suffered alone.

We wait eagerly for not what is here, for not what we see, but What God has promised.

We live/ we suffer with faith in God because we trust Him and love Him.

We believe the one who died for us will also redeem us, and bring us to himself in the right time.

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