Victory Through Hope.

Steve Gentry

[0:05] Go ahead and have a seat. [0:06] Welcome to Village Church. [0:07] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village. [0:10] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:14] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Romans chapter eight. [0:17] We’re going to be starting in verse 18 this morning.

[0:21] For the past few Sundays, we’ve been going through this series through Romans eight, [0:25] talking about the different victories that we have through the gospel of Jesus. [0:31] We started by talking about the victory that we have through the fact that Jesus has defeated [0:38] the condemnation that we justly deserve because of our sin. [0:42] And if we trust Jesus, we will never face condemnation for our sin. [0:47] And then last week, we talked about how that condemnation gives over into a life in which

[0:52] we have the ability through the power of the Spirit to obey the callings of God in [0:58] our lives. [0:58] And we actually can live lives in which we please God by resisting the devil, fleeing [1:05] temptation, actually obeying the commands of God in our life. [1:10] And then last week, we just took a look at the power of the Spirit and the victory that [1:14] we have through Him in our lives and that we have the Holy Spirit in our lives through

[1:19] our faith in the gospel. [1:20] And He is empowering, He is working, He’s guiding us to actually live as God designed [1:27] for us to live. [1:29] And then in verse 18, the apostle seems to transition into almost a reality check for [1:36] our lives. [1:36] I think that verses 18 through 25 are the catalysts through which the entire chapter

[1:43] kind of swings on. [1:45] It actually exists to let us know what life in faith is actually going to look like because [1:53] I don’t know if you’ve lived a human life, but if you have, you’ve realized that life [1:58] is difficult. [2:00] Life can oftentimes be almost overwhelmingly disappointing. [2:06] And that just when you think everything’s going good, something will happen to set you

[2:11] back a few steps. [2:13] And when we go through life, whether we are following Jesus or whether we are not following [2:19] Jesus, we have to realize that life is filled with pain. [2:25] Life is filled with suffering. [2:27] Life is very hard. [2:30] And the apostle Paul doesn’t want us to deny that reality.

[2:34] He actually gives us the way in which we can drill down into the hard stuff of life and [2:41] actually find hope in difficulty and actually find the life that God has designed for us [2:48] to have through the power of the Holy Spirit. [2:51] You see, when life is difficult, when life is overwhelmingly disappointing for you, you [2:57] need to realize that the weapon that the follower of Jesus combats that with is the weapon [3:02] of hope.

[3:04] Hope looks forward while an unbelieving world has no vision for why bad things happen, [3:12] why life is so hard. [3:16] Here’s what the apostle Paul says starting in verse 18. [3:19] “’For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with [3:24] the glory that is to be revealed to us. [3:27] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

[3:33] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected [3:39] it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and [3:45] obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [3:49] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth [3:54] until now. [3:55] And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit grown

[4:01] inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [4:08] For in this hope we were saved. [4:10] Now hope that is seen is not hope. [4:12] For who hopes? [4:14] For what he sees. [4:15] But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.’“

[4:21] That is a text that defines for us that our attempts to live life with no disappointment, [4:32] to have only victories, to have only successes, to never taste defeat, to never taste pain, [4:39] to never taste suffering are not just unbiblical. [4:43] Those attempts are futile. [4:45] When I was in probably the third or the fourth grade, there were these two heroes of mine, [4:52] they were called the Bash Brothers, and they were Jose Kinseko and Mark Maguire.

[4:56] They played for the Oakland A’s. [4:58] I mean, they were awesome. [5:00] Years later we would find out that most of their accomplishments were chemically enhanced, [5:04] but back then we were gleefully ignorant of such things. [5:08] And I was convinced that with all of my athletic prowess there was going to come a day where [5:17] I was going to be a professional baseball player.

[5:22] Then it was either in the tenth grade or the eleventh grade where I realized while playing [5:28] high school baseball I wasn’t that good. [5:33] I was good enough to play high school baseball, but that was the ceiling. [5:39] That was as good as it was ever going to get for me. [5:43] And I had to come up with a backup plan. [5:48] I had to come up with a new plan for my life.

[5:50] I had to come up with a new path, a new direction. [5:53] I had to come up with something because I knew that if I wasn’t the best player on [5:59] my Christian school baseball team, I certainly didn’t have any hopes of a professional baseball [6:05] career. [6:07] The issue though that I see so many people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, sometimes even [6:18] in your 50s, the issue that I see so many people walking through is you have still

[6:26] not given up on your 16 year old hopes and dreams. [6:33] The visions that you had for your life when you were a teenager, you have never grown [6:41] past those immature thoughts of what life was all about and what life was going to [6:49] give into your life. [6:51] And yet you still cannot connect the dots that that is why you are filled with disappointment [6:58] after disappointment after disappointment after disappointment.

[7:03] Your dreams and your visions for your life desperately need to outgrow you. [7:12] Some of you are only living for a dream that is only as big as you are. [7:20] And what this text I think is actually confronting us with is the futility of my dreams for myself, [7:28] the futility of my vision for my life, the futility of the things that I will by my natural [7:35] disposition chase after. [7:37] I am not meant to chase after a dream that is as big as I am.

[7:42] I am meant to eagerly expect a dream that is as big as God is. [7:48] And I am meant to live a life by His design and I am meant to root my life down into [7:57] the overwhelming disappointment, the suffering that is coming, the pain that is going to [8:04] be experienced by me day in and day out and realize that my life is bigger than every [8:11] one of those things. [8:12] Why?

[8:13] Look back in the text in verse 18, he starts with the word for. [8:19] You see, Paul is introducing the next train of thought by pointing back to the last train [8:23] of thought. [8:24] He is pointing back to the reality of suffering on the path to glory and the necessity of [8:30] the power of the spirit to hope for victory in the middle of suffering. [8:35] And how does he do that?

[8:37] Number one this morning, the certainty of future glory shapes our present hope. [8:42] The certainty of future glory shapes our present hope. [8:48] Friend, if your life is no bigger than what you think you can accomplish, you will never [8:53] know the certainty of future glory. [8:56] You will never experience the joy of waiting with eager expectation for the goodness of [9:03] the kingdom of God and the glory that awaits God through every moment of your life.

[9:09] That is what you are meant to pursue. [9:12] If all that you can think about is your best life now, if you are building your life around [9:19] chasing more leisure, more material gain, more avoidance of suffering, more avoidance [9:28] of pain, and hopefully heaven at the end, the apostle Paul is warning you that you will [9:34] never experience that. [9:36] All that you can ever experience is all that you are capable of and you are not capable

[9:42] of what God is capable of. [9:44] How do I know that? [9:46] Because he says, for I consider. [9:49] Now we often pass over some important words when it comes to the text and that word consider [9:55] is a vital aspect of the entire text. [9:58] Because what it is is actually a mathematical term.

[10:01] He’s saying I count or I weigh a calculation between these two things. [10:09] And he is pitting suffering against glory. [10:13] He pointed backwards to verse 17 which says that if you want the glory of God, you will [10:19] have to walk the same path of suffering that Jesus Christ himself walked through. [10:24] And if you don’t want suffering, you don’t want the resurrection. [10:28] Because it requires death in order to get resurrection.

[10:30] There is suffering on the path of glory. [10:34] But then we are tempted in that to say, well I don’t want any suffering. [10:39] Well I don’t want to go through any hard stuff. [10:41] I don’t want to make hard decisions. [10:43] I don’t want to have to sacrifice anything that I can have in this world. [10:46] I only want that which is easy.

[10:49] So the apostle Paul confronts you and says you are thinking about it wrong. [10:53] You are weighing these things wrong. [10:55] And he says I consider that the sufferings of this world are not even worth comparing [11:04] to the glory that God has in store for the followers of Jesus. [11:10] He says weigh the two. [11:11] He says the glory is so good that every moment of sacrifice, every moment of pain, every

[11:18] moment of suffering is absolutely worth everything that you are going to have to endure in this [11:25] life. [11:25] It’s all about the way that you think about things and so often we think about things [11:31] wrongly. [11:32] We think about things wrongly. [11:34] Do you know that faith is all about the way you think?

[11:37] You choose faith. [11:39] You choose to not have faith. [11:41] You choose to believe. [11:42] You choose to not believe. [11:44] Every moment of your life is a choice between following Jesus and not following Jesus. [11:50] And the apostle is warning you, if you follow Jesus you are going to experience pain, you

[11:54] are going to experience suffering, you are going to experience doubt, you are going [11:59] to have some tough times.

[12:03] But when you see the glory that Jesus has for you in the end, it will all be worth it. [12:08] And it is the certainty of that future glory that keeps you going. [12:13] But faith has to do with the way that you think about your circumstances and that’s [12:18] hard.

[12:20] I mean nobody says woohoo suffering, let’s do this. [12:23] You’ve got to be crazy to think that way. [12:26] We are tempted to lose hope. [12:29] The reason that he does this mathematical equation is because it is difficult. [12:33] Because we are tempted day in and day out to think about our suffering as better, excuse [12:39] me, as greater than the glory that God has before it.

[12:42] So it’s not worth suffering. [12:45] Look at what he says in 2 Corinthians 4, he explains this in better development. [12:49] He says in verse 16,

[12:56] I get an ingrown toenail and I’m questioning whether or not God is good.

[13:04] It’s just reality that life is difficult, life is hard and we are not meant by God to [13:12] deny that. [13:15] I’m telling you straight up, if you ask me, so many people do because it’s just a cultural [13:18] rhythm that we walk, you say hey Steve how are you? [13:22] Ten times out of ten I’m going to say pretty good. [13:25] Mostly because if I weigh it all, I’m doing pretty good.

[13:29] Could be worse. [13:32] Did you ever ask somebody how they’re doing and they actually tell you?

[13:36] You’re like I asked the wrong question. [13:38] I really should have just said hi and kept walking. [13:42] Thirty minutes later if someone asks you how you’re doing, terrible. [13:46] I just had the worst conversation of my life. [13:49] Someone had the audacity to be honest with me about how they’re doing. [13:55] Because life is hard and we are tempted to think that as a Christian we’re supposed

[14:01] to pretend that it’s all rainbows and unicorns every single day of our lives. [14:07] No. [14:08] Our faith enables us to have the honesty and to have the courage to admit that we [14:16] are walking through hard times almost every day. [14:21] Suffering and pain are subjective. [14:24] Now you can put it at an objective rule and say hey man if you’ve got this going on in

[14:28] your life that’s way worse than what I’ve got going on in my life. [14:31] But it doesn’t mean that I’m not experiencing suffering at a level for myself. [14:38] It is safe to assume that everyone you encounter every single day is experiencing suffering [14:45] at some level. [14:48] And as a follower of Jesus you are not meant to deny that. [14:52] You are meant to be honest about that because this world is cursed by sin.

[14:59] Did you know that suffering is the dark backdrop of hope? [15:04] Suffering is the dark backdrop of hope. [15:07] Without suffering why would you need hope? [15:10] Without pain why would you need hope? [15:13] Hope exists because life is difficult. [15:19] When he says we do not lose heart my response is always I often think I do.

[15:25] But then he goes on. [15:27] He says though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day [15:32] by day. [15:33] He calculates again. [15:35] He weighs the reality. [15:37] And he confronts you.

[15:38] He doesn’t say that for some of us the outer self is wasting away. [15:44] No it’s a rule. [15:47] Did you know that you’re older now than you were 30 seconds ago? [15:51] Let’s get really macabre. [15:53] You’re 30 seconds closer to death friend. [15:55] Just saying.

[15:57] It’s true. [15:58] You are always getting older and you are not always getting better. [16:05] I think some of us like to play that game where it’s like I’m like a fine wine. [16:09] No you’re not. [16:11] I’m telling you when you get to your upper 30s you realize that’s foolishness. [16:15] Things don’t work right.

[16:18] It’s like I’m experiencing death almost every day it feels like. [16:22] He lets us know that this is a rule of life. [16:26] You are getting older no matter how much magic face cream you put on. [16:32] You’re aging lady. [16:34] It’s a reality. [16:36] None of us can get younger than we currently are.

[16:40] But note what he says. [16:42] When you drill down into that fact you can then realize that God is working behind the [16:49] stuff that the outer self doesn’t display. [16:52] He says our inner self is being renewed day by day. [16:58] He’s saying that there is something about pain in your life that can be sanctifying. [17:05] There is something about the outer self fading away and when you drill down in the disappointment

[17:13] and the difficulty of life and the curse of sin in this world that it can grow your [17:20] faith to where on the inside you are being renewed every day. [17:25] Have you ever wondered why we look at discipleship as a progression and that as you get older [17:32] you should be closer to Christ and you should be growing in your discipleship to a place [17:38] where you are getting spiritually mature even though that as you spiritually mature [17:44] you will undoubtedly get physically weaker and someday you will die.

[17:50] It is because that God has designed for as we experience the aging process we can tap [17:58] into a faith in Jesus Christ and a hope for future glory that will have what’s called [18:05] a vivifying or a regenerating effect on what’s actually going on in our faith. [18:13] So when you invest only in the material only in the physical you miss out on a weight [18:20] of glory. [18:20] How do I know that?

[18:21] Verse 17. [18:23] This light momentary affliction you might say doesn’t feel light doesn’t feel momentary. [18:31] He says it is preparing us. [18:36] Suffering has purpose. [18:39] He says it is preparing us for it. [18:41] Note this an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

[18:54] We don’t have the vernacular to explain what the apostle Paul is talking about. [18:57] I don’t think he did either. [18:59] He can only say it is a weight of glory and if I say what’s a weight of glory? [19:05] I can’t describe it. [19:07] I can’t. [19:08] It is such goodness that we do not in this physical realm have the right vernacular

[19:15] to explain what is waiting for us on the other side of suffering but we know that it is [19:21] glory. [19:23] It is a great weight that you can’t compare anything to but in the process we need to [19:31] realize we will be tempted to despair. [19:34] I have been tempted to despair. [19:37] We have all been tempted to despair at one point or another.

[19:40] We have to realize that in that temptation to despair there is going to be questions [19:44] that come into our mind and they are not always great questions. [19:48] They are real questions we shouldn’t deny that we have questions. [19:50] We will be tempted to say, has God abandoned me or forsaken me? [19:55] That is what you ask at 2 a.m. when you are experiencing insomnia and you are like why [19:59] have you abandoned me Lord?

[20:00] Give me sleep.

[20:03] We will ask ourselves a question. [20:05] Oh my goodness does God have a plan for my life if I can’t figure it out? [20:11] Or we will ask the great question that has been asked so many times is God even good [20:15] if I am facing this pain in my life? [20:18] You need to realize really two things in that line of questioning. [20:24] The first one is how is that aiding you in your suffering?

[20:30] How is despair aiding you and the reality is it isn’t. [20:34] I have talked to people who are enduring suffering that I have never even personally experienced [20:39] and I have walked with a few people through terminal illness and it is hard. [20:44] But they have all told me that the physical suffering is not as painful as the mental [20:49] and emotional suffering that it causes.

[20:54] That is what despair is. [20:56] It is mental pain. [20:58] It is emotional anguish but it does not make it better. [21:03] But the second thing you have to ask is how does faith in the gospel affect my despair? [21:08] And there are two ways of looking at that. [21:10] If I am despairing, does it say that I don’t have faith?

[21:16] What does it say about me?

[21:19] I will tell you what it says. [21:20] It tells me that I am weaker than I always thought I was and I am. [21:24] But if you despair to a certain extent it will reveal a hopelessness and when you cross [21:30] over into hopelessness you are denying faith. [21:34] But you also need to turn that and say how does faith teach into my despair? [21:41] In other words, does my faith in the gospel have anything to say about my despair?

[21:46] And it does. [21:47] What it has to say is there is a better day. [21:53] If not in this life, the eternal one that is to come. [22:00] Douglas Moo writes that there is a necessary incompleteness to the Christian life. [22:05] And I think that is why some of you are struggling. [22:08] Because I truly think that some of you believe that there is going to come a day where you

[22:13] will feel complete. [22:16] You will feel like you have got all the Jesus that you can have. [22:20] You will feel like you have learned all that you can learn. [22:22] You have discipled to the point where you can’t be discipled anymore. [22:26] You have grown to the extent where you can’t possibly grow anymore. [22:29] And you just feel complete in this life.

[22:33] It won’t happen. [22:35] And that is why Romans 8 is here. [22:38] There is a necessary incompleteness because in that incompleteness the Holy Spirit works [22:43] hope down into our lives. [22:45] And He allows us to drill down into our hardships and realize that this material world is not [22:52] all that there is.

[22:53] And I need hope and that is exactly what the Gospel has to offer. [22:58] Because number two, God will deliver creation from corruption. [23:02] God will deliver creation from corruption. [23:05] You know the consequences of sin are further reaching than you think that they are. [23:10] Because we tend to just think about sin in a personal way. [23:16] We think that I have a corrupt will.

[23:19] Therefore I need Jesus Christ as my Savior. [23:21] I struggle with temptation. [23:25] I struggle with repentance. [23:27] I, I, I and most of our concepts of sin don’t go as deep as everything. [23:35] You see there is no part of creation that is not tainted with sin. [23:39] Did you realize that in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam disobeyed God that it was work was

[23:47] part of the curse but it wasn’t work. [23:49] It was that works hard. [23:51] You see when everything was great and sin didn’t exist in this world, God made Adam [23:56] work but somehow it was fun. [23:58] And I don’t know how that happened. [24:00] It was in Genesis 3 that the curse of sin, God said you will now have to work by the

[24:07] sweat of your brow. [24:08] In other words it’s going to be difficult because it’s not just you that struggle with [24:14] sin. [24:15] It is all of creation that is affected by the curse of sin. [24:20] Everything isn’t what it should be. [24:25] So we’re in a great season for that in Virginia.

[24:28] It’s when all the leaves are falling. [24:29] And there’s two things that leaves falling show us about sin. [24:33] First, creation gives us a revelation of how it is affected by sin. [24:39] That fruitfulness has a season and then everything dies for a season. [24:44] But secondly, when leaves fall, if you have a yard, you know work is coming and you know [24:52] your back will be hurting and you know, you will begin to question the goodness of God

[24:57] because you don’t know where the rest of these leaves keep coming from.

[25:03] That’s the curse of sin. [25:05] That’s the incompleteness that this world has to offer to us that nothing is as it [25:12] should be. [25:12] We are to work for the glory of God. [25:16] But when we work, there is always a temptation to cease from working because it is so difficult. [25:23] But God urges us keep going, keep working, keep investing, keep stewarding because there

[25:30] is coming a day where the curse will be lifted because friends what God has cursed, he will [25:38] redeem. [25:40] In the text it says that this creation has been subjected to futility in verse 20. [25:49] Not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. [25:53] Now, I want you to understand there that there’s an important reality that you need to deal [25:57] with where the Bible is concerned here because it gives us an answer to a question that most

[26:02] people will ask at some point in their discipleship. [26:05] Who is it that brought the curse of sin? [26:09] There is one train of thought that’s totally wrong that we subjected it to futility because [26:15] it says the creation around us didn’t choose this. [26:18] It was subjected to it. [26:20] And then it says by him who subjected it.

[26:22] That wasn’t us. [26:24] I’m not that powerful. [26:26] I can’t curse this world with sin. [26:28] I can’t put it under the weight of that. [26:32] God did that.

[26:35] God subjected this creation to futility. [26:39] He brought pain into this world as a response to our sin. [26:45] He cursed this creation, but then it says he subjected it to futility. [26:51] And those next two words are very important for you. [26:54] In hope. [26:56] See if I subjected it to futility, it wouldn’t be subjected to futility in hope.

[27:00] If you did it, it wouldn’t be in hope. [27:01] If Satan did it, it wouldn’t be in hope. [27:04] Only God could do it in hope. [27:07] And that is what Genesis 3 tells us when it has the first statement of the Gospel of [27:11] Jesus Christ. [27:12] It says that someone is coming who will defeat Satan.

[27:15] He will redeem us from the curse. [27:17] It was Jesus. [27:18] But note that when you are tempted to despair, you are tempted to not trust in God. [27:26] And I think sometimes it is our false understandings of how the curse comes about and how pain [27:30] comes into our lives that cause us to question God. [27:34] See, some of you are living under the notion that when pain comes into your life, when

[27:40] hardship comes into your life, when suffering comes into your life, that God doesn’t have [27:46] any authority over it, that He is not sovereign over that pain. [27:49] He is. [27:50] The Scripture tells us over and over again that nothing comes into your life outside [27:56] of the sovereign will of God. [27:57] You will never experience a moment of pain and you will never experience a moment of

[28:03] suffering that God is not absolutely sovereign over. [28:06] And you think, how is that good news? [28:09] It’s good news for a couple of reasons. [28:12] First, if it wasn’t God being sovereign over pain and suffering, then who would be sovereign [28:22] over it? [28:24] Satan?

[28:26] If Satan is sovereign over pain, then how can I trust that God can ultimately redeem [28:30] us from it? [28:33] Or is it just chaos and sin is reigning supreme? [28:38] That’s an even worse reality because then there’s no answer to anything. [28:42] There’s no purpose behind anything. [28:43] And again, it causes a problem.

[28:45] If God is not in control over it, how can God be trusted to redeem me from it? [28:52] The Scripture gives us this revelation to tell us that God subjected this world to [28:58] futility in hope that He would also bring Himself glory by redeeming it from futility [29:07] after He proved that we couldn’t redeem it from its futility. [29:13] God brought the curse and God is the Redeemer. [29:18] That is the gospel message that the Scripture gives us.

[29:21] And I tell you, friend, it is good news because it carries with it the implication that every [29:29] moment of suffering in your life, every moment of pain in your life, every hardship that [29:34] you will ever face has purpose.

[29:40] Every moment of it has a reason and that reason is with the sovereign Creator God. [29:49] And then He can be trusted to wield your suffering to bring Himself ultimate glory.

[29:59] But friends, that tells us that we should not base our hope or all of our purpose in [30:04] this material world. [30:07] This world is ripe with disappointment. [30:09] This world is ripe with difficulty. [30:12] And there are two false hopes that I see people in our culture. [30:16] There are many of them, but I see two main ones that people in our culture are investing

[30:21] their lives in where they will reap only difficulty and disappointment. [30:25] First there is the false hope of material gain. [30:29] Friend, you will never be satisfied with anything that this world has to offer to you. [30:33] Therefore, if you spend all of your time pursuing and building material gain, you’re going [30:38] to face a lot of disappointment. [30:41] There are no riches, no power, no sex, and no fame that will prevent the painful reality

[30:49] of the curse of sin over this world. [30:52] As the great theologian Biggie once said, no money, no problems.

[30:59] It’s true. [31:02] The more gain you have, I’ve had the privilege of knowing some people with power, knowing [31:06] some people with wealth, knowing a few people that even had fame on top of that. [31:11] And they will tell you that the more you get, the more burden is brought into your life, [31:18] the more responsibility, the more decisions. [31:22] And you’re like, I would welcome some of those decisions.

[31:25] But you see, that’s the lie that this world has over you, that all of the answers to [31:30] your problems are in this world. [31:32] They aren’t. [31:33] But there’s a second false hope. [31:35] And I see more young people struggling with this than older people, but it is the false [31:40] hope of environmentalism, or what some in evangelicalism are calling creation care.

[31:46] Now, don’t get me wrong. [31:47] I am all for stewarding the resources that God has put into this world to bring God glory [31:53] from our wisdom. [31:54] But some people are finding their purpose in believing that their carbon footprint or [31:59] lack thereof will make them more righteous. [32:03] This is a fruitless endeavor, friends.

[32:06] While we should not work towards destroying the planet, and we should care for it with [32:11] wisdom, we must realize that it is God that will cure the curse through the victory of [32:16] the gospel. [32:17] It is God that will do that in the end. [32:20] We will not do that. [32:22] And we have a false view of ourselves and a false view of God.

[32:26] Environmentalism is rooted in a worldview in which you think you inflicted the curse [32:32] of sin on this world, so you must redeem it from the curse of sin. [32:36] That’s untrue. [32:38] The text actually tells us in Revelation that God will lower His kingdom on top of this [32:43] world. [32:44] So you should stop defining righteousness by your bamboo paper towels and paper straws.

[32:52] I got the quicker picker-upper, and I’m just as righteous as you. [32:57] All right? [32:59] And let me tell you something. [33:02] Paper straws are the greatest example that our generation has of the curse of sin. [33:08] I can’t get halfway through my Coke Zero, and I got floaties. [33:12] All right?

[33:13] No one should live like that. [33:15] All right? [33:16] Reject it entirely. [33:17] Also, there was a story I read weeks ago about a woman who bought one of the metal reusable [33:21] straws, and then she slipped and fell, and she impaled herself on it, and she’s dead. [33:26] That’s what environmentalism does to you, friends.

[33:30] It will kill you. [33:32] All right?

[33:35] I have to qualify now. [33:37] That is what’s called a joke. [33:39] So if you send me an email, you will just realize you don’t have a good sense of humor.

[33:46] But it is. [33:47] It’s ridiculousness, and it is all our attempt to find a functional Savior in this world [33:53] while God has meant for us to find our satisfaction in Him. [33:57] If you want to know how to truly care for creation, it is to invest your life in being [34:03] and making disciples to hasten the day of the return of the Lord. [34:08] See, there are signs of sorrow in all of this that anticipates joy.

[34:15] The text uses the phrase that it waits eagerly. [34:19] This is a waiting in great anticipation, but with patience, because you’re so certain [34:25] that it’s going to happen. [34:28] When I was engaged to my wife, she finished her undergrad, and I finished a master’s [34:35] degree at the same time, and we had to spend the next two months before our wedding separated. [34:42] She was 2,000 miles away from me because she wasn’t blessed to be born in Virginia like

[34:47] I was. [34:48] Unfortunately, she was born in New Mexico. [34:50] And so for two months, we were completely separated. [34:54] Let me tell you something. [34:55] That was not the most fun. [34:58] That was a tough eight weeks.

[35:01] But I didn’t despair during that period. [35:05] I was longing to see her, but with this great anticipation that when we were reunited just [35:13] a few days before our wedding, that it was for the purpose of never being apart as single [35:21] people again.

[35:24] I longed for the day, but with great anticipation. [35:29] I didn’t fear that it wasn’t going to happen. [35:32] I was certain that it was going to happen. [35:35] I wasn’t sitting there fretting, oh no, what if war breaks out and we don’t get to get [35:40] married? [35:40] I wasn’t sitting there fretting.

[35:41] What if she meets someone else? [35:43] I mean, how could she? [35:44] Let’s be honest about that.

[35:47] She met the man of her dreams.

[35:52] You can tell, she knows that I think that way.

[35:59] But there was this eager anticipation, but with patience, because I knew the day would [36:07] be so worth the wait. [36:10] This is what the scripture tells us that we are waiting eagerly for, and it doesn’t even [36:17] need much commentary. [36:18] I’ll just read it to you. [36:19] In Revelation chapter 21 starting in verse 1.

[36:22] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. [36:25] The first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. [36:30] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a [36:38] bride, adorned for her husband. [36:41] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with [36:49] man.

[36:49] He will dwell with them and they will be his people. [36:54] And God himself will be with them as their God. [36:59] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. [37:04] Death shall be no more. [37:06] Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have [37:13] passed away.

[37:16] Friend, as a follower of Jesus Christ, we wait eagerly for that day, but not just me.

[37:26] Creation itself, it says that it is groaning with anticipation. [37:31] Creation, there is some sense where creation itself knows that it is not what it should [37:38] be and it is not what it could be. [37:40] And creation itself longs for the day where God will refine this world where every personal [37:48] pain, every physical pain, every mental, every emotional, every relational, every societal [37:57] pain that we endure will be no more.

[38:06] But friends, it’s coming. [38:09] And that’s why number three this morning, hope, is the centerpiece of the Christian [38:13] life.

[38:15] Christians over and over in the New Testament are defined as people of hope, people who [38:24] have that longing with anticipation, but a people who long for it with the hope that [38:29] it is actually going to happen in their lives. [38:33] And our mindset is dictated by that reality. [38:36] In 1 Peter 1.13, he says, Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, [38:42] set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus

[38:49] Christ. [38:49] He says, Fix your mind on hope. [38:55] Never be tempted to turn from your hope. [39:00] The problem that I see with many people is that you let your attitude determine your [39:06] hope. [39:07] Friend, don’t let your attitude about any present situation that you are facing determine

[39:11] the hope that you have. [39:12] Let your hope determine your attitude towards your present situation. [39:19] Your, excuse me, do not let your bad attitude about your present situation determine your [39:24] level of hope. [39:25] Reverse your attitude through your hope. [39:29] You know, life is difficult.

[39:31] Let’s not play around with that. [39:33] It’s still true. [39:35] Romans 8 is the revelation that God doesn’t want us to deny that. [39:40] He wants us to root down in that because every human being on this earth is experiencing [39:46] a difficult life and the follower of Jesus enduring a difficult life with hope is a [39:54] witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to an unbelieving world.

[39:59] Unbelievers do not see purpose behind their pain, but the follower of Jesus can look [40:04] them in the eye and say, You don’t understand. [40:06] There is an eternal weight of glory on the other side of pain, but it’s only available [40:13] to followers of Jesus Christ. [40:15] Did you know that suffering in this life can do nothing to stop the glory that is [40:20] prepared for the Christian?

[40:23] Suffering can only accomplish the will of God. [40:26] It can do nothing more than that. [40:29] That is why the text says, We wait eagerly. [40:33] See, that eager expectation is more powerful than despair can ever be. [40:38] First Corinthians 15 notes this. [40:40] It says, It is, so is it with the resurrection of the dead.

[40:44] What is sown is perishable. [40:45] What is raised is imperishable. [40:47] It is sown in dishonor. [40:49] It is raised in glory. [40:50] It is sown in weakness. [40:51] It is raised in power.

[40:54] You see, this physical body that we all inhabit, it’s like those bananas that you buy. [41:01] You promise you’re going to eat every one of them, but by the end of the week there’s [41:03] always three on the counter that are turning black and too mushy to eat. [41:08] Our bodies are perishable. [41:11] We are fading, but we realize that if we follow Jesus Christ there is going to come a day [41:17] where we will physically perish.

[41:21] But he says, when you physically perish, on the other side the promise of God is that [41:26] you will get up in that which is imperishable, that which is eternal, that which will never [41:34] die. [41:35] And see, Christians do not have a hope that is just based on our wishful thinking. [41:39] Well, we hope it all turns out good. [41:41] No, it is rooted in the objective truth that if Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then

[41:50] God can and will deliver on every single one of his promises. [41:58] You see, friends, God has integrity. [42:01] He has proven integrity, that he has power over life and death, and that is exactly what [42:07] Jesus proves. [42:10] The text tells us that hope that is seen is not hope at all. [42:14] In other words, do not base your level of hope on that which is right in front of your

[42:19] face because it will either A, get you to hope in the wrong things, or B, it will get [42:25] you to despair because of the wrong things. [42:28] Base your hope on what God is doing behind the scenes because he has proven that he can [42:36] because Jesus went to the cross to die for your sin and he rose from the dead to give [42:42] you victory over sin and death. [42:47] He shall reign forever and ever, friends.

[42:49] You see, all of this suffering is transient. [42:53] All of it is temporary. [42:56] It will conclude in a magnificent deliverance and restoration to God’s ultimate glory. [43:04] And I am hoping for that day. [43:09] I am arranging my life for that day, and you should too. [43:15] Every week we reflect on the price that Jesus paid to give us that hope.

[43:22] The bread on the tables in the front as well as in the back represents the broken body [43:28] of Christ. [43:29] The cup represents his shed blood. [43:32] And when we eat and when we drink, we are making a statement to everyone around us that [43:37] we believe that Jesus is God and we believe that he came to this earth and we believe [43:44] that he paid the price for our sin.

[43:46] We believe that he rose from the dead and we believe that he is coming again to renew [43:52] his creation. [43:54] Friend, if you believe that, in just a moment these tables will be opened for you. [43:58] Come, eat, drink, profess your faith in the King. [44:02] If you don’t believe that, I am going to ask you instead to go out into the foyer where [44:07] somebody will talk to you about the gospel, answer any questions that you might have.

[44:11] Someone will pray for you. [44:13] Someone will pray with you. [44:15] But friend, today can be the day of salvation for you if you will put your faith in Jesus. [44:23] When you are ready, come.