Romans chapter 8 verse 24, but
we cannot look at this verse without investigating the context
from which it comes, and the context includes verses 18 through
25. Look at the text first of all,
for we are saved in hope. The reason I'm reading it in
hope is because of the preposition that is used, and it ought to be in hope rather
than by hope. But hope that is seen is not
hope. For what a man seeth, why doth
he yet hope for? Hope is inseparable from saving
faith. No person can have the hope that
Paul describes in this text apart from possessing saving faith. Such verses as 1 Peter 1, verses
3 through 9, 1 John 3, verse 2, and Philippians 3, verses
20 and 21, should be considered in connection
with this text of Scripture. In hope refers to the fact that
the salvation bestowed in the past, the salvation that is now possessed, is characterized by hope. Now let's look at the context.
There are some interesting things in this passage. As many times
as I've studied Romans and taught Romans over more than thirty
years, my own heart was blessed as though I had never studied
this passage of Scripture before I studied it in the preparation
of this lesson tonight. I would like for us to think
about the context from this point of view, present suffering, future
glory. Present suffering and future
glory. When we take these verses, 18
through 25, all together we can see the beauty of the theme that Paul is discussing. will begin somewhat of a verse-by-verse
exposition. In verse 18, Paul said, For I
reckon. All of us know that this is familiar
language to the Book of Romans. This statement is made many times
by the Apostle Paul, especially in this Roman letter. The Greek word for reckon means
the following, take inventory. I reckon. In other words, I'm
going to take inventory or I do take inventory. The verb that
is used, of course, means to count. It means to calculate. It means to deliberate. It means to count up or weigh
the reasons. It means to compute. Yes, it means to ponder. So really
we could take this one word and look at the many places in which
it is found and have enough to keep us busy for a great length
of time. Suppose that I reckon, I calculate,
I'm taking an inventory, I'm weighing the reasons that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. A studied conclusion has been
drawn by the apostle, and after having made such a
studied conclusion, when we look at the word sonship,
for instance, as it is used in verses 14 through 17, sonship does not exempt the child
of God from physical suffering. And you're going to see the application
of this before we get through tonight. The charismatic movement has no foundation for such foolish
belief as they promote. Paul said, I'm taking an inventory,
I'm calculating I have given great deliberation to this, that
even though I am a son of God, verses 14 through 17, being a
son of God, being an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus
Christ, does not mean that I will not experience suffering, physical
suffering in this life. So he said, I reckon that the
suffering And we're going to have them. Of this present time, they're
nothing to be compared with what? With a glory which shall be revealed
in us. Our sufferings are for a purpose. And Paul knew that he was not
immune from suffering. We must count the cost, beloved,
when it comes to following Jesus Christ. And it's going to cost a great
deal to follow Christ fully. It'll cost us much in this life.
And if a person is not willing to count the cost, we know that he is like the person
described in the gospel according to Luke. He doesn't count the
cost of what it means to be a Christian, and he's going to suffer for
it. No revelation is needed to make
you and me conscious of our present sufferings. But experience fails to make
us know the glory that we are going to experience. Now, that
brings me to a very important point. I wonder if you've ever
thought about making a distinction between the word hope in chapter
8 with the word hope in chapter 5 of Romans. I've just made a statement that
now I will amplify. Eternal life is a present possession,
but its consummation and perfect enjoyment constitute our hope. There is a difference in the
believer's hope of Romans 5 and the believer's hope of Romans
8. Would you go back to Romans 5 for a moment? And read with
me beginning with verse 1. Paul said, Therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh
not ashamed. Now the literal meaning of that
is, hope does not disappoint us. The hope which the child of God
has as the result of possessing Saving faith will never disappoint
Him. Hope will never disappoint. Why? Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts for the Holy Spirit which is given or
who is given unto us. Here hope does not make ashamed. In Romans 5, It is the hope of
the newly justified person. It is the hope of the babe in
Christ, if you please, mixed with his early Christian experiences. He realizes that there is something
better than what he is experiencing in his Christian life. Now think about that for a moment. I can remember very well in the early days of my Christian
life, and it was not long until I was made to realize that even
though I had an enjoyment that could never be taken away from
me, yet I also knew that the experiences through which I was
going and I would continue to go as a follower of Jesus Christ
that I did not at that time believe that I had reached the highest
point of Christian experience. There was something better for
me. There is something even better
for us in this life as we grow in grace and knowledge of the
Lord. But the better part of the Christian life is reserved
for you and me when we see our blessed Lord face to face. Thus, in Romans 5, the hope here
is the hope of the newly justified person. In all of his Christian
experiences, he's made to realize there is something better for
me. And beloved, I'm aware of it more today than I was even
then. There's something better for
me now than what I'm experiencing. Now look at Romans 8. In Romans
8, it is the hope gained through progressive sanctification. Paul has now learned that perfect
satisfaction awaits the redemption of the body. There will never
be perfect satisfaction in this life. Perfect satisfaction awaits
us in the life which is to come. I will be satisfied, said the
psalmist in Psalm 17, verse 15, when I awake in thy likeness. And the New Testament passage
that compares with it is 1 John 3, 2 and 3. Now are we the sons
of God. and it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is." I want you to see
the difference between the hope of Romans 5 and Romans 8. I like what John Murray said in
his commentary on Romans. He made a significant statement,
and I've copied it down just as he gave it. And then I'll
amplify it. Quote, attempts to claim for
the perfect life or for the present life elements which belong to
consummated perfection, whether it be in the individual sphere
or in the collective, are but symptoms of that impatience which
would disrupt divine order." Beloved, that is a great statement.
Let me give it again and amplify it as I go along. Here is a statement
that puts the charismatic movement right where it belongs. And I want to speak with all
the dogmatism Because when people are deluded, when they are deceived
in believing the religious rot that is given by the charismatic
movement, that we can enjoy perfect hell now, I want to say that
statement is out of the very pit of hell itself. And anyone who follows it and
believes it is deceived by that religious rot. And sooner or
later, that hope which they claim to have is going to make them
ashamed. It'll disappoint them. Are you
with me? The hope the child of God has,
which is built on the foundation of biblical truth, will never
disappoint. You see, I'm not going to be
disappointed in this life if I go to my doctor tomorrow and
he tells me I have some dread disease. I'm not going to be
disappointed because I do not expect perfect health in this
life. I do not expect, according to
the Scriptures, which says I'm dying daily, that I'm not going
to experience pain and disease to some extent. and maybe to
a great extent before the Lord removes me. Listen to this statement
by John Murray again. I thought it was classic. It
jumped out at me as I read it. Attempts to claim for the present
life elements which belong to consummated
perfection. Now what are these people doing?
They're claiming things for this present life which will only
take place when? When we experience consummated
perfection. Then he says, whether it be in
the individual sphere or in the collective are but symptoms of
that impatience which would disrupt divine order. End of quote. That doesn't mean that you and
I are not to do everything that we can to protect our health. Now, there are many mornings
when I wake up at five o'clock and it's very cold outside, I
could just very easily turn back over and go back to sleep. But
I know that the thing I should do is get up and take my walk.
I need that exercise. And I've learned over the last
few years, and I'm sorry I had to live 50 years of my life before
I learned some lessons about eating properly and not eating
too much and taking some exercise. And I have enjoyed better health
in the last few years than I have enjoyed before that time for
a number of years. I thought I was too busy. But beloved, even in the doing
of these things, why I have my aches and I have my pains and
I'll continue to have them. Why? Because I'm dying daily. I'm dying daily, the Bible says. But yet, I am not making the
claim for this present life. which will not be fulfilled until
consummated perfection. And to make such a claim would
be to disrupt the divine order. Now look at the text again. But, beloved, I must say the
religionist cares nothing about what the Bible says. It's his
opinion over the Bible. But I'll tell you what, I love
the Word of God and I want to be conformed to the mind of God
and I don't have any problem in being conformed to the mind
of God. Look at the 18th verse again. I think it takes on even
a more precious meaning. Paul said, For I reckon that
the sufferings, whatever they are, of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed
in us. That's why I said to begin with,
our study should be under this caption, present suffering, future
glory. Present suffering, future glory. I'd like to go a little further. I think that the view that the
charismatic movement has, and that which is being promoted
by television, radio, and from pulpits, it is a false biblical
philosophy. And anyone who knows even a little
bit about the Word of God, that is, the person who has not reduced
the Bible to a little bit, you know, we talked about this morning,
if he takes all of Scripture he comes immediately to the conclusion
that this is the time of suffering, and the time to come is the time
of glory without any suffering. So the hope of the Charismatics
and all others will certainly disappoint them, not only in
this life, but I'll tell you it's going to be great disappointment
in the life to come. but the hope you and I have which
is based on true saving faith will never disappoint us. So
if I go to my doctor tomorrow and he says you have a disease,
an incurable disease, that's not going to destroy my hope.
My conclusion will be, and I'm very realistic as you can see,
and I like what Brother Pennington said to me this morning before
the service. He said, Pastor, you know why that you're as realistic
as you are? I said, I think so. He said,
my idea is because the time you spend in the word of God. And listen, beloved, the more
time we spend in the word of God, I'm dressed down every day. I'm unmasked every day I open
the book of God and start looking into it. And I see myself as
I am before God. Thus I have to say with Paul,
I am what I am by the grace of God. I am what I am by the grace of
God. And so the person who spends time in the book of God, he can't
help but being realistic. I believe that with all of my
heart. I have to admit to you, I'm more realistic now than I
was years ago. And the more I study, the more
I learn, the more realistic I become. The more realistic I become,
my hope will never be shattered. Because my hope is based on biblical
truth, and I know what the Bible says. And I know this is the
time of suffering, the time of glorious future. the time of
glorious future. Now let's look at the 19th verse. Paul said, for the earnest expectation. I enjoyed studying these two
words so much a couple of weeks ago. Did you know in the Greek
we only have one word for the two words earnest expectation? And the one Greek word is made
up of three different Greek words, earnest expectation. I like to
break it down for you into three parts, and then we'll see just
really what it means. The first part of this long Greek
word is a Greek preposition. And what does it mean? It means
from, are, afar. That is, from afar. That's the
first part of the word. The middle part of this long
Greek word, what does it mean? It means one who is stretching
his neck, as it were, long neck, looking out. You see how it harmonizes? how it harmonizes. And then the
last part of this long Greek word means to wait for. Now put them all three together,
what do you have? Get the picture. Here's the person
looking from afar, with his neck stretched way out, way out. and waiting for something. What a picture. That's one thing
about the Greek language that makes it so beautiful. It's so
picturesque sometimes in its description. It does a much better
job many times than our English words. Now that's the meaning of earnest
expectation from afar. with a neck stretched way out,
patiently waiting. Now let's look at three verses
together, will you? Verses 19, 20, and 21. For actually
these three verses should be studied together. So let's read
them now and then we'll look at them. For the earnest expectation
of the creation waited for the manifestation of the sons of
God. For the creation was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected
the same in hope. Because the creation itself also
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the sons of God." Now we'll go back to verse 19 and look at these three verses.
and what they really teach. What a lesson. Did you know that
even creation itself is looking for the day of deliverance? You go down to Galveston and
walk by the seashore. And I wish that sometimes that
I live close enough or that I could maybe do my walking. I think
that would be invigorating sometimes just to hear the waves and hear
the roar of the sea. But did you know the roar of
the sea that you hear is crying out for deliverance. You can go to the mountains or
you can go to the woods and you hear the wind whistling through
the trees. And creation is crying out for
deliverance. Paul says now, if the entire
creation, which is under the judgment of God, is crying out
for deliverance, How much more should the people of God, the
children of God, who are now suffering and are subjected to
suffering, cry out for deliverance? That's a beautiful description.
That's a biblical description. So look at verse 19. For the
earnest expectation of the creation is waiting for something. What's
it waiting for? The manifestation of the sons
of God. In other words, creation will
not be delivered from the bondage of corruption until the people
of God for whom Christ died are delivered And this we see within the context.
Now let's look for a little bit at verse 20. Because the creation itself,
verse 20, for the creation was made subject to vanity. Subject to vanity. What does
that mean? Not willingly. Now we're going to have to eliminate
some things, beloved, in verse 20. and they're easily eliminated
by the context. Let me mention a few things.
When you look at verses 19, 20, and 21, you're going to have
to eliminate first of all the angels, because the angels were
not made subject to vanity. Angels were not subject to vanity
and to the bondage of corruption. Well, let's look a little further.
You're going to have to even eliminate Satan and the demons.
They're not included in this passage of Scripture. Neither
Satan nor his followers are longing for deliverance because they'll
never experience The devil knows that our deliverance
and the deliverance of creation means what? Their eternal damnation
from the presence of God. Well, let's look a little further.
Believers are not included in this because they are distinguished
from the creation. Paul is simply saying, now if
creation is looking for deliverance, he's saying, so should we who
are the children of God by virtue of redemption. Mankind in general must be excluded
because it could not be said of mankind that it was subject
to vanity. subject to vanity, not of its
own will, this would contradict Romans 5.12. Are you following me? Unbelievers
are excluded from this passage because such expectations that
are mentioned here, they do not characterize unbelievers. unbelievers are not looking forward
to the day of deliverance. So the entire context of these
verses, 19, 20, and 21, must be restricted to what? To creation, non-rational creation. Now looking at verse 20 again,
when the apostle Paul says, for the creation was made subject
to vanity. Now look at the next statement,
not willingly, not willingly. Can you explain that? You can't
unless you've given a great deal of study to it. You sure can't. You'd be so confused and you
would really mess up the works if you tried to. But look at
it now. God alone could have subjected
it with such a design. Are you looking at verse 20?
For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but
by reason of him who has subjected it. Who subjected it? God himself. With such a design. I was reading Barnhouse on this
particular verse. And I like the statement Barnhouse
made. I thought it was classic. I thought
his statement on this was as good as the one that I read you
a moment ago by John Murray on verse 18. Barnhouse, first of
all, gave an illustration. He quoted H. G. Wells, the Englishman, in a statement
he made during World War II when the bombs were exploding in London. And H. G. Wells made this statement. quote, either God has the power
and does not care, isn't that awful? Or God cares and does
not have the power, end of quote. Now there were a lot of statements
during World War II made that could be compared to that. I
can remember very well, and I was such a young I was so green behind
the ears and still am. In fact, I feel that I'm greener
now in many ways than then. But I can remember many questions
were asked me when I was pastor at Big Spring. We had the army
base there. Why are our young men going overseas
and why are they dying in combat as they are? That's a question similar to
this. What did H.G. Wells say? Listen to it again. Either God has the power and
doesn't care, or he has what? Or he cares and doesn't have
the power. I like what Barnhouse said after
giving that. He said, God has power and care. and he demonstrates both his
power and care within the context of this passage. And that's true. But God subjected creation to
what? Vanity. Vanity, with his own
design in mind. And I am not one who is going
to question the design of God. You can if you want to, but not
me. By the grace of God, and if I
continue to have my right mind, I'll never question God in whatever
he does with me or anyone else, or with humanity in general. He has a reason. But I do say
that creation shall be delivered. So God does care, and he does
have power, and we have both his care and his power demonstrated
right here in this very passage of scripture. But let us not
forget, there are a lot of things about God's design that you and
I know nothing about and never will. Why? Because we only see
what? The hemisphere, not the sphere
of God's will. As I've said so many times, we
only see what God has been pleased to reveal and not that which
he has concealed. But he has a purpose in concealing.
My concern is what he has revealed. That's my chief concern. Let's
go a little further. So in verses 19 through 21, we
have the anxious longing of creation. And since creation desires deliverance,
saints should do likewise. And beloved, believe me, I do. And I think things are going
to get so bad for you and me in these last days until we'll
look even with greater expectation of such deliverance. Now coming to verse 23, verse 22 rather, for we know
that the whole creation groaneth. The whole creation is groaning.
You hear its sound? And travaileth in pain, like
a woman travailing in pain before she gives birth to her child.
That's the illustration. Groaning and travailing. Let me say, nothing is given
to relieve this pain. No anesthetic. creation's groaning,
groaning, travailing in pain. Together until now, Paul said. Now verse 23, and this should
make you and me shout for joy. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. You and I have
the down payment. We have the earnest. And since
we have the earnest, we know it's going to be completed. The
transaction is going to be completed. You and I are in possession of
the Holy Spirit now. And the Holy Spirit within us
is the earnest, it is the down payment, it is the guarantee
that what God has begun in us will be brought to perfection. a consummated perfection, and
that's our hope. That's the meaning of in hope,
saved in hope. He says even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting, waiting for the adoption to wit, what? The redemption of the body. I
can expect aches and pains now. I can expect many things. And the older I get, I'll probably
have more of them. But I'll tell you what, as I
have them, these verses will mean more to me. And these very
verses will give to me the spiritual strength that I will need at
that time. And it'll be these promises of God that will mean
so much to me. waiting for the adoption to wit,
the redemption of our body. Now I'd like to try to explain
this from a different point of view, if I can tonight. No revelation is needed to make
us conscious of our present sufferings. I don't need any revelation from
God to make me conscious of my present sufferings. No person needs any revelation
from God to make him aware of his present sufferings. But beloved,
experience fails to make you and me know the glory which is
yet to be. Now experience doesn't teach
us that. You don't need any revelation to make you aware of your sufferings.
Listen now. but you need the revelation of
God to make you aware of what you are going to experience.
You know when you're suffering. No revelation is needed to tell
you that. But it takes the revelation of
the mind of God to make us conscious and aware of what we are going
to experience in the future. Therefore, the calculation of
the future glory outweighs all of our present suffering. And
beloved, really, when we complain, we just ought not to complain.
That's a sign of spiritual weakness on our part when we complain.
I hope by the grace of God that if I do experience, and I have
experienced some pain in my life, I have a rheumatoid problem,
and I'm thankful that it doesn't bother me now as much as it did
a few years ago, and I'm grateful for that. And I've had terrific
pain with iritis, and I do know what pain is. But I hope if these
things were to increase that I never get to the place where
I complain about my sufferings. I hope and I believe by the grace
of God that he will supply the grace that I will need not to
do so when that time comes, if he should ever come for me or
for you. Now listen to this. I came across this statement
from an old work that I have, and I thought it was good. I
can't improve on it. Not even going to try. I'm just
going to give it to you as he gave it. This person said, man
has but three days in his span of life. He has but three days
in his span of life. I like the way he expressed it.
A yesterday, a today, and a tomorrow. Now that's true. You can see
why he said that. We religious have three days
in our lifespan. A yesterday, a today, and a tomorrow. I'm going to give you the rest
of it, then my application from scripture. He went on to say,
yesterday is gone. It cannot be redeemed. How true. When the Bible talks about redeeming
the time because the days are evil, as we're told in Ephesians
chapter 5 and verse 16, I think it is, we can't redeem the mistakes
that we made yesterday. All of us have made mistakes.
If I knew that I were going to face the Lord within the next
hour, there are many things that I regret, and I'll name one in
particular. See, I'm human. My first and
major regret is that I compromised too long a time before I took
a stand that I should have taken for the Lord. Back 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 years
ago. And you know, I tried to justify
it for a long time by saying, well, I have an opportunity here
that I wouldn't have probably if I took that stand. And that
sounded good, see. After all, I have the opportunity
of speaking to more people now than if I took a stand and isolated
myself. You see, I didn't know as much
as I should have known about the biblical doctrine of separation. There are a lot of things. And
I think personally, beloved, I've been chasing for it. I ain't no bones about it. I've
been chasing for it. I don't think that you or I can
disobey the Lord in any regard without being chastened. So listen
to this. This man said, yesterday is gone. It cannot be redeemed. Today
is here. That's why I'm concerned about
now. Aren't you? And I hope you are. Today is here. I must live in
the today. And living in the today, I must
redeem the time because the days are evil. I must buy it up. I must make the most of the opportunity
which I now have. Yesterday is gone. I'm living
today. Listen to this. I'm accountable
for today. I'm accountable for today. You're accountable for today. Tomorrow is coming. Tomorrow
is coming. Oh, I can see so many things
in this statement, and you can too. What is man's hope? And then
I like what he said. apart from God there is no hope. How true. The God of yesterday,
here's his application, the God of yesterday, plus his grace
today, gives hope for tomorrow. Isn't that wonderful? I'll repeat
it. the God of yesterday. He's the
eternal God. Plus, God's grace today gives
me hope for tomorrow. Now, let us think about three
great truths in the book of Romans that fit the yesterday, the today,
and tomorrow perfectly. And what are those three truths?
You already know them. justification yesterday. We were justified yesterday. Sanctification today. Sanctification today. Glorification
tomorrow. Now I want to even draw you a
picture of that. What about the charismatics?
And what John Murray said, you see, the more I got into this,
the bigger it got, and the more wonderful it got. When John Murray
said, attempts to claim for the present life elements which belong
to consummated perfection. I was justified yesterday, by
the grace of God I'm being sanctified today, but perfection and glory
is for the future, that's tomorrow. So really, we can say that for
the Christian, they're just three days in his life span. Yesterday, today, tomorrow. Now there's no need of me moaning
and groaning and grieving over my mistakes of yesterday. That
won't help me a bit. I'm living today. And if I spend
my time today grieving and mourning and groaning over my mistakes
yesterday, I'm going to fail to accomplish what I should today. So beloved, you have a responsibility
and I have a responsibility in our today, in our today. All of us have made terrible
mistakes. All of us have floundered looking
and looking and pursuing for that which is truth. Sometimes
we didn't even know what we were looking for, but we knew what
we were hearing was not truth. I can remember that very well
in my life as a young Christian. I can remember for three or four
years in the early days of my Christian life, I listened to
this man and it just didn't make sense. There was no meat there.
There was not anything to feed my hungry soul. And the man had
restricted or he had reduced the Bible to one verse. And it's
just that same verse, just one little message over and over
and over and over again. and my soul was not being fed,
so I'd look here and I'd look there, and I can remember with
my wife and I living in Houston, right after our conversion experiences. And I remember one time we saw
in a paper Dr. Norman B. Harrison, a Presbyterian,
going to speak at the old Baraka church. So Juanita and I said,
we got together and we said, let's go out there. And we were
living in the east end of Houston. We'd get on the bus and go down
Harrisburg Boulevard and get to town and get on the old Interurban,
old streetcar rather, streetcar. Interurban came out the parkway.
That's what I quoted Juanita riding, the Interurban. Got off,
by the way, just right over here. But we'd catch that old streetcar
and go out in his own, between 18th and 19th Street on Heights
Boulevard, a little old frame building. You'd see about less
people than this auditorium will see. We listened to him for two
weeks. He fed my soul. And we heard
one time, Dr. Thorne, who was pastor of Second
Baptist Church, he had a man to come that was teaching the
book of Galatians for a week. We went there and he went through
the book of Galatians and he gave us some great things. We
were just going and looking anywhere we could go to where our souls
would be fed. And I can understand that. And
I guess, beloved, that's the reason that I have such a desire
to study and to feed you. I know what my responsibility
is. But we've all found it. But I can't grieve over the mistakes
I've made. I'm living for today. And I want
to buy up the opportunity now. Because my hope of consummated
perfection is tomorrow. And I want a reward, don't you? I want rewards. So you see how timely this is? I like what he said. Man has
but three days in his span of life, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He consummated his statement
by saying, the God of yesterday plus the grace of today gives
hope for tomorrow. And I couldn't help but say,
oh, justification yesterday, sanctification today, glorification
tomorrow. Isn't that Bible? And that's
the theme of the entire book of Romans around those three
great truths. Justification, sanctification,
and glorification. Now look in closing. Verses 24
and 25. For we are saved in hope. But hope that is seen is not
hope, for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if
we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience, with
patience wait for it. The Christian never finds his
today to be a time of rest. But he is possessed with one
incomparable advantage. And what is it? His hope. His
hope will never make him ashamed. This hope renders duty delightful. Whatever my duty is under God,
it's delightful. It is not something I enter into
as a matter of drudgery. It's delightful. My duty is delightful. This hope which I have not only
makes my duty delightful, but beloved, it enlightens the darkness
that I encounter. It alleviates the sorrow that
I often experience, and it teaches me contentment, patience. Listen to these things in closing.
Like the helmet of salvation that we discussed recently, This
hope guards the head in the day of battle. Like the anchor of
the soul in the sixth chapter of Hebrews, verse 18, it holds
and secures in the day of storm. This hope, like a pleasing companion,
travels with me throughout my wilderness journey. Hebrews 6,
verse 11. What is hope? What is hope? It is a pleasing expectation
of something good. What is the object of this hope?
Jesus Christ, Titus 2.13. What is the consummation of this
hope? It's the eternal kingdom of my Savior. So when I look
at these verses, 18 through 25, present suffering, future glory. And the future glory outweighs,
in my calculation, all of my present suffering.