I invite your attention to Romans
chapter 8, the eighth chapter of the epistle of Paul to the
church in Rome. My text will be found in verse
number 18. My message is titled, Present
Sufferings and Future Glory. I'm going to begin reading from verse number 14. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage against the fear, but you received
the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out. Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then
heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. If,
now watch this very carefully, if indeed we suffer with him,
that we may also be glorified together. Here's my text. For I consider, I reckon, that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Let me read it
to you again. I want you to grasp what is here
said. For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. My son, my only begotten son
is afflicted with a cancer that is slowly and painfully sapping
his life from him. In the providence of God, my
beloved and I were blessed to relocate from abroad to a place
quite close to our son. We therefore are blessed to visit
our son quite often. Every time I walked through the
door of the house, I glanced to the wall on the right. On
that wall is a chalkboard. And on that chalkboard, my son's
beloved has written the words of this text. For I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory that shall be revealed in us. I told my son's
wife that every time I walk, and this was a few months ago,
every time I walk through this door, I'll look at that wall.
I want to see if those words are still there. For I know that
your sufferings are increasing daily. And it's not just my sons,
it's hers. It's the sufferings of their
son and their daughter. There is so much suffering in
that house. But I told my daughter-in-law
that every time I'll walk through, I'll look to see, is it still
there? Has she taken it down? No, it's
still there. It's still there. For I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. My son's wife
told me that That text was written on their wall, she wrote it,
a few years ago. They were at that time going
through a different circumstance of sufferings. But the sufferings of that time
have paled in comparison to the sufferings of this time. The
sufferings of that time may just almost be forgotten. It's in
the past, it's over. But the sufferings of this present
time, there is a day by day and hour by hour reminder of them,
and yet the words still stay on the wall. For I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Well, That chalkboard with that text
is now permanently fixed in my mind. I see it every day. It comes to my mind repeatedly. And I must tell you that the
more I think of those words, the more precious this text becomes
to me. I'm seeing it fulfilled. I am
seeing that the Lord is teaching his children that the present
sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that
shall be revealed in us. So we need to consider this,
the present sufferings and the future glory. I want us to take
a look this morning at that subject presence sufferings and future
glory Well, first of all, and we're just going to expound it
word for word. First of all the word for f o
r Paul is very fond of this conjunction He repeatedly uses it he'll say
something and then you'll say for or therefore he repeatedly
does it all the way through his writings and Now, it is a conjunction
that joins this verse, number 18, with what I read to you before.
And what Paul has written in the verses before is this. We
are God's adopted children. And the Holy Spirit is a witness
unto us that we are God's children. The Holy Spirit testifies to
us that we are heirs of God. And the Holy Spirit testifies
to us that we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ and he inherits
everything. And then the Holy Spirit tells
us, assures us that if we suffer with him in this present life,
we shall be glorified together with him in the next. Therefore,
Paul, having written those words and having explained the promise
of the Spirit says, well, therefore, I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed in us. Now look at that word,
I reckon. I reckon, Paul says, Paul does
not say, I hope that the future glory is better than these present
sufferings. Oh, surely he did. Surely he
did. But Paul uses a word with more
force than a mere hope. He says, I reckon, I reckon,
a word of more force than hoping. Nor does Paul say, I know that
the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the
future glory. Because although Paul knew a
whole lot about present sufferings, he did not know much about that
future glory. He says it is still to be revealed. I don't know much about it. Therefore,
I cannot say that I know what it's going to be. Oh, that's
the same with us, is it not? Paul did not speak of what he
did not know. He uses a word that has more
force than a hope, but he's not gonna be overly confident with
saying, I know what he did not know. So he says, I reckon. Now, this word reckon, it's an
interesting word. It means to consider taking the
available information that you have. It means also to calculate. It means to calculate all the
sufferings that you now are experiencing. And you know a whole lot about
those. Now, calculate what you know about the future glory.
Well, we do not know much about that. It has not yet been revealed. But I'll tell you this, I reckon that these present sufferings
cannot compare with what's over yonder because I've gotten a
glimpse of them and they've got to be better than this that I'm
going through now. It's like the crew of a ship
in an ancient time. And these mariners have discovered,
remember, in ancient time, that their voyage is now much longer
and more treacherous than they had thought it would be. Gales have ripped their sails. Billows have tossed them to and
fro. Their food and water are now
almost depleted. The ship is springing leaks. And yet here again, there is
another storm. It's coming upon them. And yet
in the midst of that storm, someone points over in that direction. He says, I see land, I see land. And everyone looks in that direction. And over there on the horizon,
in front of them, the sun is shining. It's green. It looks peaceful. And these
sailors believe they still have enough sail to catch enough wind
to make it to that shore. The captain says, men, lose not
your hearts. For I reckon that what we're going to find
on that peaceful shore is far greater than the present storm
you experience. I reckon that the travails of
this present storm are not worthy to be compared with the peace
we're going to enjoy on that shore. And so it is with the
child of God. We've got suffering on every
hand. But we reckon that, what's over yonder? Oh, it's
got to be better than what I'm going through now. There is no
comparison. These present sufferings will
not compare with the glory that shall be revealed in us. I want you to observe that when
Paul says, I reckon, that's the language of faith. It's more
than a hope. Now it's not knowledge because
we do not know what's over yonder yet. But we have calculated everything
that we've come through and we've calculated what little bit we
know and we are going to say this that I reckon. that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Now consider
the sufferings, the sufferings of this present time. They are
many and varied, both physical and mental. They're caused by
ailments, infirmities, diseases, debilitations, catastrophes,
persecutions, and dying. And no child of God is immune
or exempted from these sufferings. None of us. Job tells us that
man that is born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble,
full of trouble. I mean, every time you get over
one trouble, here comes another one. This is, you know, oh, I
noticed that you had a little more room for another trouble.
Here it is. You get over that trouble and
you're beginning to feel good and here comes another one full
of trouble. Job tells us that man is born
in the trouble as the sparks fly upward. Now I want you to
remember that verse. Man is full of trouble as the
sparks fly upward. Going to be summer soon. We're
going to be building campfires and you know, going out and doing
some camping. Now, when you sit around that
campfire or when you're burning, you know, the wood in your yard
or even in your home in the wintertime, every time you see those sparks
going up, remember this, that is proof that your life is full
of trouble. Man is full of trouble as the
sparks fly upward. Even God's only begotten son
endured sufferings. His life was full of them. His life was full of them. He was rejected and persecuted
by his own countrymen. His own countrymen. He came into
his own and his own received him not. Folks, it's one thing
to be rejected by your enemies, but he was rejected by his own
countrymen. They didn't want him. He was deserted by his own followers. I mean, think about it. The temple guard comes on the
night of his arrest. He's up there with 11 of his
disciples, his closest confidants, and here comes the enemy and
he looks around for his disciples and they're running away. They
leave him alone. Think about it. Jesus Christ
deserted. by his own followers, betrayed
by one of his closest associates, the man who shared the house
with him, the man who ate from the same table, the man that carried the money
for Jesus and his disciples. That man betrayed him. You ever
been betrayed by your closest confidant? Oh, what troubles
Jesus had. And then he was arrested, mercilessly
whipped and beaten, and the beard plucked from his face, crowned
with the planted thorns, nailed to a cross, what sufferings.
No one endured the kinds of sufferings Jesus Christ endured, crucified
by his enemies. His life was full of sufferings.
Proust was put on his head very shortly after he was born by the king of the land. Suffered all the way through
life So just bear this in mind No one ever born of a woman Was
immune from suffering or exempted from them. Oh Paul the Apostle
now he could tell us something about sufferings. He's the one
who wrote this text and I dare say you have not experienced
his kind of sufferings. Consider what he tells us in
2 Corinthians 11, he tells us that he was tried and imprisoned
by civil authorities a few times. What was the charge? Preaching
the gospel. More than once, a few times.
Tried and imprisoned. Spent months in prison. He was
beaten with a rod thrice, whipped with 39 stripes five times by
the Jews. Why preaching the gospel? Consider,
if you suffer with Christ, you'll be glorified together with him.
Every bit of Paul's sufferings were for the cause of Christ.
Think about it. 39 stripes he received. Five times. He was thrice on a ship that
wrecked. A night and a day, struggling
to stay afloat on one occasion. On another occasion, he was stoned
and left for dead. He was often hungry, thirsty,
weary, painful, cold, insufficiently clothed. He says he was in perils
of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen,
in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils
in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren. Now, interestingly, he does not
record some of these instances. They happened. They happened. He suffered them for the cause
of Christ. And then one day they came to
his prison in Rome, said, come it's your turn. They led him
off to a block. And there it is said that he
was beheaded under the order of Nero the Caesar. And Paul being led from his prison
to the place of his execution, he could look back on his life
and all those suckings he had endured, all the sorrow, all
the trouble, all the heartache. He could look off into the future
and he just might have a glimpse, just a wee glimpse of the glory
that's going to be over there. But he's got the promise of the
Holy Spirit that if I suffer together with Christ, I shall
be glorified together with him. And what does Paul say? As he
lays his head on the block in order to be executed, he says,
for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed
in us. Therefore, child of God, never
think your earthly sufferings are unique to you. They are not. Every child of God is going to
have these sufferings. But notice this also. They are
confined to this present time, this present time. When I have breathed my last,
I have suffered my last. When this earthly life is over,
these present sufferings are over, never to be experienced
again. And then consider this, consider
that You should rejoice in reckoning that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be
revealed in us. It's just not worth it, folks.
All that is just not worth it in comparison to what's there. I know a whole lot about those
sufferings. I know very little about the
future glory, but I still reckon that the present sufferings are
not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed
in us. Why is that? Consider these differences. I'll show you four differences
between the present sufferings and the future glory. First,
these sufferings are experienced on earth, but that glory will
be experienced in heaven. There will be no suffering in
heaven. Heaven. No doctors, no nurses, no hospitals,
not even a first aid kit. None of it. Oh, this world's full of it.
That place is void of it. None, none at all. These sufferings are known, but
that glory is yet to be revealed. And though I know much about
the sufferings and little about the future glory, I am convinced
that these sufferings are not worthy to be compared with that
future glory. Third, these sufferings are inflicted
upon us but that glory will be revealed in us. Did you catch Paul's words? It's
very subtle. The glory that shall be revealed
in us, in us. And these sufferings are temporal,
but that glory is eternal. Now, since the future glory in
us is yet to be revealed, we do not know much about it. But
this little bit, we do indeed know. First, in that future glory,
there's gonna be no sin. Think about it, no sin. I will never again, no unholiness, no unrighteousness,
No ungodliness. Well, that kind of knowledge
is just way beyond me right now. But think about it, in that glory,
I will never again know sin. No knowledge of it there. There'll
be no suffering in heaven. because suffering is the result
of sin. Every sin experienced on this
earth has its source in the garden of Eden in the first sin. Well,
there's no sin in heaven. It is a land in which there is
no suffering. At the very moment that this
earthly life is over, it's gone. It's gone. The glory that shall be revealed
in us. The man who is stricken with
cancer wakes up in heaven's glory and he looks inside and he says,
it's gone. It's gone. What has replaced
it? It has been replaced with something.
With what has it been replaced? The likeness of Jesus Christ. Think about it, think about it.
A body that is wracked with cancer, debilitation, infirmity and ailment,
at the moment of death, it looks like Christ. How do we know? For having suffered with Christ,
we shall be like him. Having been glorified together
with him, we shall be like him. John writes, beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be. But we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him. Him. Everybody in heaven's going to
look like Jesus Christ. Well, can you think of anybody
you'd rather look like? Everybody's going to be just
like him. Oh. My mind does not fathom that. I see no resemblance in me and
Jesus Christ right now. Although I am predestined to
be conformed unto the image of the son, and I can assure you
God's not done with that yet. But if I suffer with him now,
I will be glorified together with
him there, and I shall be like him. I will never again sin in either
deed, word, or thought. God says, I think so highly of
my only begotten son. I'm gonna see that all my adopted
children look just like him. And we will. We shall be like
him. Now, as I look back on the sufferings
of this present time, oh, I know so much about them. A whole lot about them. I've
already calculated them up. And as I look off into the future,
folks, I cannot tell you much about that, but I can tell you this, I'm
going to be like Jesus Christ. Well, I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed in us, in us. I tell you, Is
that not a precious promise? I mean, you know, this is a reckoning
that to us should be so dear. Surely it is. However, I must
not close this message without speaking to anyone who may be
here today. And you're not a believer in
the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There just may be one. There
may be one. And I must speak a word to such
a soul as that. You are experiencing the same
sufferings we're going through. Sickness, infirmities, ailments,
debilitations, cancer, leukemia, whatever. You're experiencing the same
sufferings we, children of God, are suffering. But there's a
difference. When this life is over, our sufferings
are over, but yours have just begun. If one dies apart from Jesus
Christ, the sufferings of this present time are just a taste
of the sufferings of the future time. Oh, do not die apart from
Christ. The sufferings of that time. To be cast into the unquenchable
lake of fire. To know the weeping and the wailing
and the gnashing of teeth. To know the torment The sufferings
of that future time for unbelievers will be far greater than any
they've known now. I must speak with you concerning
your soul because the only reason why anyone
ever experiences suffering in the future life is because He
refuses to trust in Jesus Christ in this present life. Do not walk out that door. I
implore you. Do not walk through that door
at the end of this message today until you can say, I'm trusting in Jesus Christ.
Have the witness of the Holy Spirit that I am God's child. I Am convinced that I'm an heir
of God I Am convinced I will be a joint heir with Jesus Christ
who inherits all things. I Am assured that if I suffer
with Christ in this present life, I should be glorified together
with him in the next I Therefore, I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed in us.