Turn with me. Turn with me to the book of Romans. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter
8. Before we look, I'd like to look
at verses 18 to 21, but before we do, let's ask our Lord's blessing.
Our Father, how thankful we are for another evening. to be able
to come together and worship, calling upon You, blessing, praising
You for who You are. We ask You, Lord, bless the Word
to our hearts tonight. Help us. Forgive us, we pray
for Christ's sake. Amen. I began to think over the last
couple of months There has been some real devastation in this
country. As far as hurricanes being in
Houston, I was made to remember the devastation of the flooding
that went on in that city. Earthquakes, people buried Forest
fires, I'm watching television that said these forest fires
in California, they said this morning they were zero percent
contained. And just hundreds of homes being
burned. And then seeing the recent devastation
of life, Just someone just taking people's lives. And as I began
to think on that, my mind went back to this one thought. If there's one thing that we
can count on in this life, it's that we're going to have trouble.
We're going to have problems. Nobody is exempt. Job 5.7 says,
yet man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. Deuteronomy 4.30 and 31 says,
when, it doesn't say if, but it says when. When thou art in
tribulation and all these things are come upon thee. All these
things have found you. The problems of this life, all
these things that are providentially ordered for God's people. I know
this. Therefore are good. They're profitable
unto us. They're grievous for the moment.
But I know whom the Lord loveth. He chasteneth and scourges everyone. that He loves, when thou art
in tribulation, and all these things that come upon thee, even
in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt
be obedient unto His voice. For the Lord thy God is a merciful
God. He will not forsake thee, neither
destroy thee, nor forsake the covenant of thy fathers, which
He sware unto thee. I know we're going to have problems,
but in the midst of the revelation of the certainty of the problems
that we're going to have, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle
Paul, gives God's people a word of comfort. Now right here in
Romans 8, if you're going through something
right now, you're going through some trials, some tribulations,
some problems, Here's what the Spirit of God has to say through
the Apostle Paul. He says in Romans 8.18, 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. Here we see, and we know this,
believers just like unbelievers, Suffer. But the Apostle Paul
states that he reckoned, I reckon, I judge, I count, I conclude. He said that the present sufferings
of this life are not worthy to be mentioned. They're not worthy to be talked
about when it comes to the glory which shall be revealed in us. Now that us right there, us,
who's he talking about? Now you know who it is, but that
us is talking about a particular people. It's talking about someone
that Paul includes himself in the group. Us. The us. Now we're in chapter 8. Now look
at verse 1 of chapter 8. I tell you who the us are. The
us are those which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh but after the Spirit. Those in Christ, those who were
put in the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the
world, Almighty God chose a people and put them in Him, meaning
this, the Lord is going to be the representative of all that
the Father has given Him. That's those that are in Him.
He'll answer. So, the us. Who are the us? Well, look at verse 28. We know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. So, the us that
Paul is talking about are the elect. Look at verse 30. Moreover, whom He did predestinate
them, who? The us, the usses. Them He also
called. Whom He called, them He justified.
Whom He justified, them He also glorified. So, what, look at
verse 31, shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? If the Lord's on our side, What
difference does it make who's not? But I want you to notice
this glory back in 18. I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared. with what we're going to experience,
is what Paul is saying. This glory, the future state
of God's people in Christ shall be revealed, the scripture says,
in us. Now, without a doubt, I know
this. The glory, the glory of Christ,
I know it's going to be revealed to us. Listen to this. As our mediator and our surety
and our redeemer, 1 John 3, 2 says, 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, for we shall see Him as He is. I know that the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, Father, I will that those that
You've given me Be with me that they may behold my glory. I know that the glory of God,
the glory of God in Christ is going to be revealed to us. And
I know secondly that it will be revealed upon us. Listen to
Philippians 3, 20 and 21. For our conversation is in heaven.
From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto His glorious body, according to the workings whereby He is
able even to subdue all things unto Himself." So, I know that
the glory of Christ will be revealed to us, we're going to see Him,
and it will be revealed upon us. Our body is going to be changed. It's going to be our body. But it's going to be changed.
This vile body is going to be fashioned like unto His glorious
body. Now, I don't understand all this. I don't understand how it's going
to be, but I know it's so. I know it's going to happen.
I believe it. You that know it, you do too.
The hope and the interest of God's people, it's not tied to
this world. We're in it, but we're not of
it. You don't have the same love
of this world, you don't have the same desires of this world,
interest of this world, you just don't. No, Christ who is your
life. I know that our interest is not
tied. We're bound to this world right
now in a body. wherein sin dwells and we're
subject to the frailties of this life. And we know that in that
day, according to His Word, He's going to change this body of
humiliation by His might and power into the glorious majesty
like His body. So God's people, they have His
glory shown to them and upon them, but the scripture says,
in us, in us. I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. Now, I want you to just
take your Bible, hold it right there, turn to John 17. John
17. I read quite a few different
writers and commentaries on this particular passage. I'm going
to read verses 20 to 23. And there are times that I truly
believe the best thing to do is just read God's Word and let
The Word of God, speak. And pray that the Spirit of God
gives us some understanding, because I'm going to tell you
this, that the more I try to explain what I'm about to read
to you, the worse I'll make it. So I'm going to read it. This
is that glory that will be revealed in us. John 17, 20. Neither pray
I for these alone. Who's he praying for? Well, look
at verse 9. He said, I pray for them. I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine. There's nothing that is more
gloriously set forth in God's word than that God's got an elect. He's got a people that are his. And he's praying for them. He's
not praying for the world. He said, I'm not praying for
the world. I'm praying for those that you've given me out of the
world. Then he says in verse 20, neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their
word, as the Spirit of God has revealed that God has an elect."
Now you think about when these words were penned, thousands
of years ago. And here's the Lord Jesus Christ
praying, praying not only for those believers that were alive
then, that the Father had given Him, but He was praying for those
that would believe, The certainty of believing on Him through their
word, the gospel of God's grace that they would preach, the same
gospel, the same message, the same message over and over and
over. And all that the Father had given
Him, He said, they're going to believe. And here's what He's
praying. He's praying that they all may
be one as Thou, Father, art in Me. and I in thee, that they
also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me. And the glory which thou gavest
to me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are
one. I in them, thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one, that the world may know that Thou hast
sent me and hast loved them as Thou hast loved me." I wish I could express with absolute
clarity and certainty the wonder of the glory back in Romans 8.18.
Paul says that the sufferings of this present world are not
even worthy to be talked about, to compare them. Sufferings that
we have in this world are just light afflictions, light afflictions. He says, not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. I can tell you as closely as
I know, This speaks somewhat of the understanding that we'll
have concerning that which Almighty God has eternally purposed for
those that He's everlastingly known and loved. Right now, we
see in a riddle. We see through a glass darkly. We know in part, we prophesy
in part, but in that day, God's glory will be revealed in us,
and we will know as we're known, seeing Him as He is, the glory
of God revealed in us. But not only does the Apostle
Paul speak of the glory that shall be revealed in us, But
he speaks in this next verse concerning the great desire of
God's creation to behold the glorious blessing of that day
in which the saints of God, the dead in Christ, shall rise and
we which are alive on this earth shall meet them in the air. We
won't prevent them, they'll rise first. But this whole creation
I mean the sufferings that we're talking about now are not even
compared to the glory that's going to be revealed in us. But
the creation itself anxiously anticipates the resurrection
of God's people. Look at verse 19. For the earnest
expectation of the creature, and that word right there really
is creation in verse 22. For we know that the whole creation,
same thing, it's the creation. The whole creation. The earnest
expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. The scripture sets forth that
in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. When
Almighty God created the heaven and the earth, He began to continue
creating. He made light. Let there be light. And there was light. He said, let there be land. Let there be firmament. And there
was land. Let there be waters to separate
the land. and all the life that was on
the land, and in the oceans, and all of the vegetation, and
the birds, and the stars, and the sun, and the moon, and finally
He created man. And Genesis 1.31 says, And God
saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good. Well, man was in a place of absolute
goodness, perfection. And God Almighty told man, all
of this fruit in here, except one, one tree, one tree, don't
eat of that one tree. And man sinned against God. And
when he did everything that God created, was affected because
of man's sin. The scripture says the heavens
and the earth are going to be destroyed by fire and God's going
to create new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. That's according to God's Word.
This is what's happening. This earth is in a cursed But right now, the whole creation,
it says, for the earnest expectation of the creature, the creation,
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. The whole
creation, that is a state of being cursed, awaits the resurrection
of God's people. Because of man's rebellion, Creation
itself intently awaits and hopes for that final resurrection when
God's elect are going to see Him and be like Him. This whole
earth, I was talking about all of these hurricanes and these
tsunamis and these fires and this killing and all this, this
whole earth being cursed is feeling the effects of one act of disobedience. That's where all of this stuff
is coming from. One act of sin. Why is it waiting for the manifestation
of the sons of God? It's talking about the creation
as if it's a person. It's got a personality. It's
waiting It says in verse 20, for the creature, the creation,
was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him
who hath subjected the same in hope. Verse 20 declares here
that the creation, because of sin, was made to be in subjection. That's what it says. For the
creature was made subject to vanity. It means that the whole
creation was made and put into a state where it was going to
have to be subject. It was going to have to submit.
It was going to have to obey to its now worthlessness. That's what it's saying. It says
that for the creature, the creation was made subject. If somebody's
a subject to something else, they're in submission to it.
You're my subject. You know, here's a king and here's
a... All of them are subjects. They're all subject to the king.
Well, the earth was made subject. It had to bow. It had to obey. that now it was in voidness,
it was vanity, it was worthless. The creation is subject now to
corruption and it cannot be restored until the sons of God are fully
restored into the presence of God. So the creature was made
subject to vanity, not willingly, This subjection, this obedience
to corruption that the earth has to bow to because of sin
was not a voluntary act of creation. The earth didn't voluntarily
submit itself, but the creature's subjection to corruption was
imposed upon it by God. Almighty God declared, listen
to this, Genesis 3, 17-18, And unto Adam he said, Because thou
hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of
the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake. And I'm telling
you, when God Almighty said, Cursed is the ground for your
sake, the ground was cursed for Adam's sake. And it was made
subject. It had to submit to its worthlessness
now, to vanity. It said, not willingly, but by
reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Here's what
he's saying. He says the earth now is subject. bowing. It's in turmoil, even
in verse 22 that we'll look at, Lord willing, next time. For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until right now. All these, you know, they say
that the plates and under the earth, and they're all sliding,
and this one does this, that, and the other, and volcanoes
and stuff like that. This whole earth is just groaning and travailing. One sin. One sin. And Almighty God declared, cursed
is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistle shall
it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat of the herb of the
field. and the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou
return unto the ground, for out of it thou wast taken, for dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." So this subjection,
this obligation to obey, to obey because of the penalty of man's
rebellion, sin. It wasn't willingly. Earth didn't
do that. Earth didn't say, well, I'll
just fall into chaos. One sin just shows you the heinousness
of one act of rebellion. Man drinks iniquity like water.
I mean, sadly to say, how often when we find ourselves, knowingly
what we do, but how many times unknowingly what we do. Sins
of commission and omission, things that we didn't do that we should
have done. We don't have sense enough to
know the depth of our depravity. But Almighty God, declared by
one act of disobedience, this whole earth, was thrown into
chaos, and the creature was made to be in subjection now to its
worthlessness, not willingly, but by reason of him who declared,
the earth is cursed for your sake. Now this marvelous truth
is being set forth. Creation has been made to be
in subjection because of man's sins, but God has made creation
to have a hope. It's a hope, even in its subjection,
even in its state of being cursed, it's got a hope. Here he is,
he's still speaking of creation as an intelligent being that
understands God's promise. Look at this. Verse 21, because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Almighty God is going to make
all things new in creation. There's going to be a new heaven
and a new earth. Therein is hope. This creation
that's subject to God's curse because of man's sin has got
some hope. Everything in creation. according
to the power and will of Almighty God remains in perfect order
as it continues in that order just like God created it. God
made the sun and the moon and the stars and the seasons and
everything stays right in order, right in order, right in order,
even in a cursed state. Why? Why? Because the creature
itself shall be delivered. from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Just as
believers have reason to rejoice in the hope and the glory that's
going to be revealed, creation has got a hope. It knows it's
going to be set free. Isn't that amazing? It's going
to be delivered from the bondage, just as God's people. are going
to be Romans 7. I'm right here, just right across
the left side of my page. Romans 7, 22-24. Paul says, I
delight in the law of God after the end of man, but I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, bringing
me into captivity, the law of sin, which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body
of this death? The Scriptures is revealing that
the earth thinks like that. The earth struggles and longs
for the deliverance of God's people in resurrected glory.
Because at that time, Almighty God is going to destroy this
earth, going to make a new one created in righteousness. Oh,
what a dreadful curse man deserves. But how marvelous the grace of
God that would deliver a sinner from the bondage of sin and this
creation too. This is where God's people, Almighty
God makes a new heaven and a new earth. This is where we're going
to be. I don't understand all of this.
I know this. The earth is suffering. Suffering
because of the penalty of man's sin. But according to the will
and the wisdom and the power of God, there's coming a final
day of deliverance. Not only. for the chosen vessels
of God's mercy in Christ, but even in creation itself. And
in the midst of this corruption, it submits, it bows, it bows,
but it bows unto God in hope. Creation itself, in some way
that I cannot explain the depth, only known to God Himself according
to its nature, creation, is going to be made a partaker of the
glories that are held in reserve for the sons of God. What a wonderful
promise to us who believe. Last Scripture, 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians 15. Verse 51, 54. 1 Corinthians 15,
51. Beloved, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible. and
we shall be changed. For this corruption must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruption shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory."
We look with anxious anticipation for the deliverance out of this
body here because of the presence of sin. The creation does too. Almighty God is going to make
His people new. This corruption is going to put
on incorruption. And the earth has been made to
be in subjection to the vanity, to the worthlessness because
of Adam's sin. But it is, but it's in subjection
with a hope, with a hope. God's going to make it new too.
May the Lord bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake.
Amen.