Hope for the Weary

Introduction

I love to travel. I enjoy seeing new places and eating new foods. I like to meet new people and observe new customs but no matter how exciting a trip is, inevitably I get weary.

The food is good but it’s not my food. The people are great but they aren’t my people. The accommodations are good but they aren’t my house.

No matter how great everything is…it’s not my home. And I grow weary to return to my home. Eventually i agree with Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.”

For the believer this longing for home is a feeling we never quite shake. Even when things are going “great at home” we are constantly reminded that we live in a broken world. Things aren’t as they should be.

There is death everywhere, discontent everywhere, injustice everywhere…and the result is that we cry out with great discontent about this world that we live in.

And friends, this world should weary us—we should be discontent with this world—because as long as we are on this side of redemptive history—while we are waiting for our glorification—the reality is that we are not home.

Hebrews 13:14 “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”

SO if you feel weary in this world you are in good company—the children of God are waiting for the day when they will be home.

This is why when Paul was faced with his own death he says in Philippians 1:23 “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

But friends while we are still here God has given us work to do—and so we must not live as if we are in heaven now.

The battle rages around us and we must be engaged in it. We must be faithful in the spheres of influence that God has given us. Our coworkers, our family, the businesses where we live are all part of our mission field. Our children and our spouses need us to be engaged as spiritual warriors in this current age.

So we don’t want to be those who are lost in our longing for heaven, that we are not of any use in this present darkness.

But we make a mistake if we neglect thinking on heavenly things. In fact what we see from our passage today is that our hope comes from dwelling on the surety of our hope in Christ.

Let’s read the passage.

Romans 8:18-25 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

When we are weary in this world we need the hope of our sure future in Christ to fuel us in the current fight while we wait for the arrival of our hope.

And in our text we see that we I. Hope for our Future Glory (18), II. Hope for A Perfect World (19-22), and III. Hope that is Sure. (23-25)

I. Hope for Our Future Glory (18)

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

This is a verse that you and I need to read and hear and then we need to ingest it and believe it.

Because oftentimes I think our response to a statement like this is, “Maybe that’s true for some people—even a lot of people—but not for me. If you knew my present sufferings you wouldn’t say they are not worth comparing to future glory.”

But when God speaks he doesn’t ever speak wrong. This is the power of God’s word. If he says it, then it is true.

We literally, physically see this in Genesis. “Let there be light.” And there is light.

“Let there be water.” And there is water.

Jesus says to Lazarus in the tomb, “Live!” And Lazarus lives—he comes back to life. When God speaks it is always true.

So when God says through the apostle Paul, “Your present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that is to revealed” that is a true statement.

So you and I we need to hear verse 18 this morning and say to ourselves, “This is true. No matter what I am going through. No matter how hard it is. No matter how painful it is. These current sufferings can’t even be compared to how good my future in Jesus is!”

We need to remind ourselves of this often and we need to believe it and pray that God would help us believe it.

Why? Because this gives us hope in the suffering. Our suffering is temporary. It is not eternal.

To be a follower of Jesus is to suffer. If we walk with Christ then we are going to walk against the grain of the world and it means that we will suffer for it.

What happens if you run your hand against the grain on a piece of wood? You get splinters.

It’s the same with this world. If we are walking with the world—and we’re in step—there is less suffering.

But to be a Christ follower means that we not only experience the natural suffering of living in a fallen world, but we also suffer rejection from the rest of the people that live in this world with us. And oftentimes Christians don’t just experience rejection, but animosity. At best we are considered to be those poor, unfortunate souls that have been tricked by the lies of religion and we’re viewed as an oddity.

And we shouldn’t be surprised because Jesus told us it would be so.

But we must not lose our hope as we live in this world. We must not lose our hope as we fight the spiritual battles that we are engaged in.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Because the reality is…is that whatever we suffer in this life it is not even comparable to our future glory.

Imagine that someone you loved greatly was drowning. They are in the sea and they are trying to stay above the water, but you can see them with greater frequency dipping below the waves. Imagine that in order to get to them you had to swim as fast as you could a mile. That you had to walk across sharp rocks and then swim another great distance to reach them. And that you then had to swim them back to the shore.

While those things would be difficult they would pale in comparison to your loved one being safe and rescued. As the person that you loved was breathing normally on the beach your tired and pulled muscles, your cut feet, and your aching lungs would would be worth it.

When we dwell on our future glory it gives us hope and strength in our present life now.

This life of suffering is the path that you and I walk on in order to get to glory. And not one of us will arrive to future glory and say “It wasn’t worth it.”

In Michael Bird’s commentary on Romans he quotes Theresa of Avila who says, “In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more than one night in an inconvenient hotel.”

And if you can’t imagine thinking about your suffering in this way then I want to tenderly suggest to you that it is because you think more of your suffering than you do of the promises of God.

And I don’t want to come off as unrealistic here. When someone dies. When you suffer an illness. When hatred comes against you in some form or another you are going to feel the weight and sting of your suffering—to feel these things is not a failure—but if you believe what God has said, if you believe his word and what has been promised to you—the weight of these sufferings will be to you “light and momentary”.

And the big question is how do we get there? How do we go from being blinded by our sufferings so that we cannot see the hope of our future glory to being fixed on our future glory so that we are not blinded by our sufferings?

Friends, the answer is maddeningly simple. Read God’s Word and believe it. Read it often and daily. The Bible says the Word is like a sharp two edged sword—wield that weapon against the suffering in your life.

Take your anger. Take your dissapointment. Take your sorrow. And look up Bible verses that apply to those specific struggles. And then write them down, memorize them, read them when you struggle. This is how we fight and how we have hope when we are living and working in this weary world. Amen?

So we have hope for our future glory but also...

II. Hope for A Perfect World (19-22)

Romans 8:19 (ESV)

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility...

Let’s review a little biblical history for context.

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

There are many beautiful things about creation. In a couple of weeks the whole Jackson family will be camping in the creation for 5 days and I can’t wait. There is a beauty and a peace in creation. The creation is broken just like we are and just like we are even so, the goodness of God shines through. So mountaintop vistas, beautiful sunsets, and pleasant weather all are echos of the perfect world that God created.

But along with these there are mosquitos—and I don’t know what a mosquito’s purpose was in perfect creation, but I know that it has been horribly twisted sin—we have earthquakes, devastating tornados and hurricanes, famine, drought, and heat.

Sin has corrupted all creation. Not just humanity, but all creation. Everything we see on land, sea, and space has been corrupted by sin.

Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

Part of our work was to “cultivate” and “keep” the garden. We were supposed to steward all of creation and care for it so that it grew. That the creation would be a testimony to the goodness of God.

But instead we disobeyed God and creation was “subjected to futility” “subjected to corruption”

And we see the effects of it all over the world today. All of creation is a blood bath. Everything is trying to kill everything. It’s only with modern conveniences that we feel some reprieve from the harshness of the world. But for most of history—our ancestors felt the reality that creation itself was trying to kill them. How long would you and I last in the Australian Outback?

My point is that creation is just as broken as we are—just as twisted by sin as humanity. ALL OF CREATION fell when humanity did.

But our passage this morning tells us that it won’t always be this way. The creation—all of the creation—was not irreparably lost to the corruption of sin.

We have hope of a better future.

Our passage says that creation is “longing for the revealing of the sons of God”. What does that mean?

Creation is longing for that moment when the children of God will be glorified. Creation is longing for this specific point in redemptive history.

It’s described in 1 Corinthians 15:52-53 “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”

Creation is eagerly waiting for this. And the word picture in Greek is like someone craning their neck to see something.

Like when you go to the Zoo and there is something exciting happening in one of the animal enclosures. There’s a crowd and everyone is craning their neck to get a glimpse of what’s happening. Or like my kids waiting for an Amazon package to come to the house—it doesn’t matter if we tell them it’s coming on Wednesday. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday they are eagerly waiting for it to arrive.

Creation is eagerly waiting for the sons of God to be glorified because it is at that moment that redemption and freedom from corruption will come to all of creation! When the jewel of creation—man is glorified—all of creation will benefit.

Creation fell when man fell and creation will be raised up when man is raised up.

Romans 8:20-22 “...not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

Paul says that creation was not subjected to futility willingly. “But because of him who subjected it.

The question here is who is the “him” listed in verse 20? Who subjected creation to futility?

And we may be tempted to lay the “blame” on Adam or Satan. It was Adam who sinned! It was Satan who tempted them to disobey God!

And that is true. Satan tempted them—and Adam and Eve chose to sin—and so both parties are morally culpable in the fall of creation.

But ultimately the “him” of verse 20 is God. God in his sovereignty subjected creation to futility at the fall of man as a consequence of sin.

God declared that the sin of man would not just submit mankind to corruption, but the stewardship of man, creation, would fall too.

So as we look at the world around us and we grow weary from the hardships contained within it—we can point the finger squarely back at ourselves.

Why is the creation so messed up? Because you and I are sinners.

But this is not the end of the story. It’s not always going to be this way. As our passage continues Paul says that creation is longing for the revealing of the sons of God because

Romans 8:21-22 “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

When the hope of our future glory comes to fruition—the hope of a new world comes with it.

What awaits all of those who have put their hope and trust in Jesus as their savior? An eternity where we are made perfect and live in a perfect creation.

The gospel brings the garden of Eden back full circle! Except it will be even better because there will be no possibility of sin destroying it.

We have hope that the world we live in will be perfect. And by the way eternity is not spent in a heavenly realm where we are bodyless and ethereal. That’s not what scripture says.

Revelation 21:1-2 “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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

For all of God’s people they will live in a physical place—a new creation that is perfect.

Let this give you hope—as you are wearied by this world that we live—know that this world will not last forever—it will be transformed at the revealing of the children of God. And when they are glorified the cretion itself will “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

We have hope in our future glory, we have hope in the future glory of creation and finally...

III. We Have Hope that is Sure (23-25)

Romans 8:23 “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Paul reminds us here that just as creation is eagerly waiting for our glorification we too should be eagerly looking forward to the the moment when our adoption is complete.

Every follower of Christ lives in a “now but not yet” reality. In Jesus we have been adopted as children of God and that adoption is not yet complete.

It is as good as done, but we have not yet been redeemed, glorified as we will be.

And as those who have received the “first fruits of the Spirit” we too—like the creation groan as we wait for our sure hope.

Usually when you talk about hope there is some reservation built into it.

The Jackson’s are trading in my Kia for used car that’ll seat all of us and can tow. And we are supposed to get it before we go on our vacation to the mountains. Our van has over 300,000 miles on it and it’d be great if we had two vehicles that could fit our whole family. And since the new car will tow that means that we can all ride in the same car as we go on vacation instead of taking two separate cars.

The car is supposed to arrive on the 18th and we hope that it will. But the reality is that something could happen that would cause the new car to not get here when we want it to. So we are hoping that this will work out.

This is how we usually use the word hope.

But when God tells us that something will come to pass hope takes on a different meaning. Our hope becomes sure! We can plan on it.

Romans 8:24-25 “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Pauls point here is that you don’t need to grasp in your hand a promissory note from God. You don’t need to see the coming hope. We can’t currently see what it will be like.

Scripture tells us that we see dimly.

1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Even as these things have been told to us we don’t know truly how great they will be. Our hope is not based on our sight, Paul says.

And friends that is because we have a better promise giver than our own two eyes.

You’ve heard people says, “I won’t believe it unless I see it.”

Our hope is not built on what we can see—our hope is built on what God says!

And in every circumstance this is a better foundation for hope!! Because your eyes will lie to you.

Your eyes will see the brokeness of your body, the brokeneness of creation and will tell you to fret, to be scared, to despair—but God’s Word says have hope, rejoice, be brave because your sovereign God has told you that your hope is sure.

We don’t hope in the word of God like I hope for my car to come. That might not happen. But if God said it then we can believe it because He never says anything that isn’t true! Amen?

And in this way, friends, dear children of God, your hope is sure. It is a fact—you can count on it. Even if the world is falling down around you—you can count on this hope that you have in Jesus Christ.

Bottom Line

The children of God are not living in their forever home and so we grow weary in this place.

But while we are still living here we have great hope that fuels us to live boldly now. Why share the gospel? Why live for Christ? Why suffer well?

Because our hope is sure—it is secure in Christ.

We can live in the power of God knowing that nothing can take away our hope in Him.

And so this morning as we close I want to challenge you. Will you believe what God says this morning? Will you trade out your fears, disappointments, and sorrows for the rock solid hope that He has given you in Christ?

Will you decide that you are going to conform your thinking to what God says?

Covenant Life we can live in the coming hope of glory in such a way that the world around us takes notice and questions why we live with such hope, joy, peace, and patience in this world.

We simply need to know what God says, and believe it, Amen?