Richardson said, if you knew
what God knows, He would order your life exactly the way He
ordered. And we'll look back and say, it was good. I was glad. And we'll say, what we read now,
we'll know with absolute certainty that the sufferings here were
not worthy to be compared. Incomparable to the glory that
we will be experiencing. They lied affliction, we will
consider them all Very likely. Romans 8. Romans 8. For those
of you who know and love the Lord, His Word, lean on His Word. This is one of our favorite passages,
isn't it? Like Psalm 27. Joseph preached
on that a couple of Wednesday nights ago. He read it tonight.
Look at verses 20 through 24 again. Let's read these verses.
Romans 20-24, the creature, meaning every creature on earth, every
plant, animal, everything, was made subject to vanity. Not willingly. That is, had to
endure sin. And not willingly, but by reason,
the purpose of God, who had subjected the same in hope. Because the
creature itself also shall be delivered. There will be a new
heaven and a new earth. And I do not doubt that there
will be animals perhaps. But the creature itself also
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation
groaneth under this terrible burden of sin. which travaileth
in pain together until now, not only they, the creatures, but
ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even
we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the
redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope. Saved by hope. And the Scripture
says, We have a good hope. Good hope through grace. And
he went on to say, the reason it's called hope is because we're
not there yet. We haven't experienced it. We don't see Him yet, but we
believe Him. And we believe Him. Peter said,
whom have you not seen, you love and rejoice. But we don't see
Him. We're not there. And Scripture
says we are seated together with Him. We're as good as there according
to His Word. He's good to His Word. And He
said, I'm coming back. He said, if I go to prepare a
place for you. And in my Father's house are
many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have
told you. He wouldn't promise us these
things. He said, if I go, I'll come again and receive you unto
Myself. But we hope. We hope. But it's a good hope
through grace, a hope in His Word, hope in His promises, and
God who cannot lie has promised salvation, promised eternal life
to all who hope in His mercy. Anybody? I would say most everybody
in this room hopes in His mercy. Well, you have it, and you will
someday be with Him in glory. This is a message of hope. After
speaking, you read it with me. After speaking of bondage, and
we feel like we're in such bondage to the flesh, to this world,
and our passions, and the things of this world in bondage, sufferings,
we all suffer. My pastor used to say, God had
one son without sin, but no sons without suffering. Suffering,
corruption, Paul said, an old wretched man that I am. And like
the lot, we're vexed with the corruption around us and in us. Groanings. Do you not find yourself
walking around often just groaning over your own inward
corruption? Groaning over all you see around
you? Groaning over the troubles and
sorrows that you go through? Pain. He spoke of pain. And there's hope. Hope in a seemingly
hopeless world. This world looks dark. That's
what Isaiah 8 says. Look around. Look to this world. Trouble, darkness, dimness, and
anguish. People driven to darkness and
a dark hole, a deep hole. That's the reason it says, In
Psalm 28, the Lord is my light. Bring me out of a dark hole.
Don't have to stay in a dark hole. He looked to the Son of
righteousness. There's healing in His wings.
There's hope in a seemingly hopeless world. There's hope for the present.
Right now. I need hope right now. David wrote in one of the Psalms,
Make no tarrying, O Lord. Hasten to help. Hurry. This can't
wait. There's hope for the present,
there's hope for the future, there's hope for us, there's
hope for our children, there's hope for our church, there's
hope in God. That's good hope. Hope in Christ,
hope in His Word, His promises. This is a message of hope. There's no such thing as no hope
as long as Christ lives. As long as this Word is still
being proclaimed, as long as You have breath to call upon
Him. There is no such thing as no
hope. It's never hopeless. Because
our hope is within the veil. And it's a person. The Lord Jesus
Christ. A message of hope. Okay? Alright,
look at verses 13 and 14. It says, If you live after the
flesh, you'll die. And if you eat through the Spirit,
you'll mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God." What is he saying here? And up in verse 6, to be carnally
minded, is death. Death. If all you live for is
this world and things of it, it's death. It's dying a slow
death. Because the things of this world
are dead things. Perishing things of clay. And
so that's all we're after. It said in verse 20, This creature,
everything about this world is subject to vanity. There's nothing
in this world that will give us any fulfillment, any peace,
any happiness, any lasting joy. If you find joy in something,
but it doesn't last, then it really didn't bring you much
joy, did it? It's over. Christ said, the joy I give unto
you. No man can take it away. And when all this sadness and
sorrow and this vanity is over, then there'll be joy unspeakable,
full of glory. There'll never be a time when
there is no joy. That's hard to imagine. There's
hardly a day goes by we don't have some sadness, some sorrow,
some darkness, is there? But there, it's eternal day. It's a message of hope. If we
live for this world, it's vanity and it will just bring us down. It's like dying a slow death. But through the Spirit of God,
the Holy Spirit of God, we can mortify, see that the things
of this world, even us, we are dying. If we can just keep that in mind,
and yet Christ said, There's life more abundant. If He will
set our affection on things above. This is what the Spirit of God
does. Takes our affection off the things of this world. Sets
our affection on things above. And it gives us hope. Everything change and decay and
all around I see. O Thou who changes not, abide
with me. This is Bannett. Bannett. Alright,
look at verse... He says, you've not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear. Some of you were in legal
religion, under the law, and maybe some of you are still under
it. There certainly is, on the Lord's Day, when we have more
people. But those who are trying to live in such a way to feel, I
don't know, some sense of morality or goodness. Nothing wrong with
that. But you never can attain to this
perfection, this holiness, this righteousness so as to make you
accepted by God. But Christ came. Christ came
to give us this righteousness. And the law, the strength of
sin, Scripture says, is the law. We cannot do the things that
we would. And the law just keeps convicting us. And yet, he said
down here in verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of
God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemns? It is Christ that dies. You see,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law
to redeem them that are under the law. So, if anybody's trying
Live in such a way. Be holy and righteous. I hope the Lord will convict
you and make you see that in your flesh dwelleth no good thing.
Because Paul said, I thank God. There's no condemnation if I'm
in crime. And if you can look to Christ,
you won't despair of yourself of reaching this this, I don't
know, this level that you're trying to reach. But verse 15,
it says, you've received the spirit of adoption. The spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Abba. Our God is a consuming fire,
the scripture says. In the Old Testament, the people,
God told, and this is the law, God told Moses, don't let the
people come near this mountain. Mount Sinai. Don't let them come
near. Don't let an animal come at all. I'll kill it. I'll just
hold it. Don't come near. Alright? But Christ. Christ came as our
representative. Like Abraham and Isaac went up
that mountain. Christ went up that mountain.
Made sin for us. He who knew no sin. Christ went
in the Holy of Holies with his own precious blood. Obtained
eternal redemption for his people. Scripture says when Christ died
on the cross, the veil of the temple was ripped and talked
about. It says, therefore, all God's people, sinful though they
be, in Christ have boldness to enter in. Come right up into
the presence of God and say, Father. Call God our Father. God is a consuming fire. Abba, Father. It's a term of
endearment. It's a close, affectionate term. of endearment. Look at verse
29 and 30. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate. Whom God did set His love upon,
choose. He did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son. Verse 30, whom He did predestinate,
that is predetermine everything about them. He also called by
the gospel whom he called. He justified whom he justified.
Then he also glorified. Well, whom did he do this for?
Who did he do this for? Who did God choose? Who did God
foreknow? Who did God choose for his family? Adopted his family. Not many
righteous. Not many wise. Not many noble.
There are not any righteous. You see your calling, brethren? 1 Corinthians 1 says, God has
chosen base things. God has chosen the weak thing.
God has chosen the despised thing. Things that are not, nothings,
nobodies. Do you know that this is a faithful
saying? And worthy of all acceptation?
That Christ Jesus came into this world, sent by God, to save sinners. That's who God chose. That's
who God adopts into his family. I told you about Brother David
Edmondson's daughter and son-in-law choosing a child of a drug addict. Now who would choose a child
like that, and set their love upon that child, and take it
into their home and love it forever? God does. That's the only kind
He chooses. That ought to give us hope, shouldn't
it? All God's sheep are black sheep. We can call him Abba Father,
a blessed, precious term. What do you call your earthly
father? What did you call your earthly father? Dad? Daddy? Did you call him Daddy? Steve, big old hulk of a man,
you know, called his daddy Daddy. This message actually was suggested
to me. My daughter left a note on my
desk while I was away, and it says, Hi, Daddy. Love and miss
you, Hannah, with a big old heart. I'm going to keep that. There
are many of them just like it. And I began to think of, it immediately
made me think, of this birth, Abba, Father. There's no sweeter
word to me than Daddy, unless it's Pawpaw. And Sophie, Sophie
was up snooping around in my study, I guess, while I was gone.
She left me a note. This was a year or two ago. She
left me a note. It said, I love you, Pawpaw. And she signed it, Sophie. Eight
years old. I had that on my desk for a year
or more. I wouldn't part with that for
anything. You know what I did after reading that? After I finished
drying my tears? I wrote my Lord a note. I wrote
my Father a note. And when I left that office,
I put it on my desk. I said, I love you, Father. Paul, 63 years old. Our Lord doesn't need to hear
that from us. No. You need to tell him. I know
we're ashamed of that. We're ashamed of our love of
him. Peter, Simon Peter was ashamed, wasn't he? He just denied his
Lord. It was the first thing Christ asked of him. It was the
first thing he asked. He knew. The Lord doesn't need
to hear it from us, but we need to tell him. Simon, son of Jonah,
lovest thou me more than this? Yea, Lord. Abba, Father. Verse 16 says that spirits beareth witness with our spirit
that we're the children of God. And if we're children of God,
we're heirs of God. Join heirs of Christ. Turn over
to Matthew 6. Listen to what our Lord says
to His dear children. Listen to all these blessed promises. that trust Him, those that look
to Christ, those that believe Him, those that worship the Father
and rejoice in Christ. No confidence in the flesh. Matthew
6. By the way, that's Philippians
3. I just quoted it. One of our
next subjects. Matthew 6. These are words, sermon,
blessed sermon on the mouth of His children. And you know how
it started. Blessed are they that, blessed
are the poor, blessed are they that hunger. Matthew 6, verse
6, When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and thou hast shoved
thy door of prayer to thy Father which is in secret. And thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. You don't have to
use vain repetitions, he said. You're not heard for your much
speaking. God's not impressed with our
words. You know, it's better to have
a heart without words than words without heart. He knows. We're
going to read the Metta from Romans 8. It says, if you pray
with just groanings, He knows what you're saying. Like a little
baby. Mothers and their children were
very young, and they just gave up. You know what they're saying,
didn't you? You know what they wanted. Our Father. How much
more of your Father? Look at verse 9. After this matter,
therefore, pray ye. Our Father. Richard in heaven. You want to hear a good message
on this, look up John Chapman's message on it. Our Father which
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will
be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive
our debtors. Lead us not into temptation.
Deliver us from evil. Thine is the kingdom, the power
and the glory forever. Amen. Look at chapter 7. Chapter
7 verse 9. Verse 7. Chapter 7, verse 7. Ask, and it shall be given you.
Seek, and you shall find. Knock, it shall be opened unto
you. Everyone that asketh, receive it. What did he tell us to ask just
now? Forgive us our debt. You'll receive it. Forgive it.
He that seeketh, find it. He said, seek your face. Lord,
I face what I seek. He that seeketh findeth him that
knocketh, it shall be opened." What are we knocking on? The
door of mercy. What man is there of you, if
his son asks bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks a
fish, will he give him a serpent? And you, then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children. How much more shall
your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that
ask Him? Listen to this. You can turn
if you want. Isaiah 63. Listen to Isaiah 63,
verse 15. Listen, if you didn't turn. Look
down from heaven and behold from the habitation of thy holiness
and thy glory, where is thy zeal and thy strength? The sounding
of your bowels and your mercies toward me. Are they restrained?
Doubtless thou art our Father. You're our Father. O Lord, our
Father. You're our Redeemer. Thy name
is from everlasting Everlasting. Listen to Isaiah 64 verse 8. Lord, thou art our Father. We
are the clay. You are our potter. We are the
work of thy hand. Be not wroth or very sore, O
Lord. Neither remember iniquity forever.
Behold, see, we beseech thee. We are all thy people. Will he hear that? He just said
he would. Ask and you will receive. Abba, Father. And this is the
groaning that we have. We hope in His mercy, we hope
in His grace, forgiveness of sin. We groan over our men. Who are the children of God?
Look back at Romans 8 verse 16. The Spirit bears witness that
we are the children of God. Who are the children of God?
Do you remember the children of Israel? That's what God named
them, the children of Israel, the sons of Jacob. He said, I
am the God of Jacob. He said, Israel, they are my
children. The children of Israel are the
children of God. What kind of children were they?
Were they good children? It started out in Isaiah, and
I just read the end of Isaiah. It started out in Isaiah by saying,
I have raised up rebellious children. And they rebelled against him.
He says, the ox knows he's owner, the ass knows he's master of
creation. But he went on to say, now come now, let's raise him
together. And in the end of that, the children
through Isaiah are pleading, yes, you are our Father, forgive
us. Who are the children? Spirit
itself beareth witness that we are the sons of God. If the Spirit
of God convicts you of sin, and you mourn over sin, blessed are
they that mourn. You're a child of God. The children
of men don't mourn over their sin. The children of men don't
need forgiveness of sin. The seed of Satan don't need
this gospel, do you? That's the Spirit bearing witness
with your spirit. The Spirit's not telling you
you're good children, and therefore God's pleased with you. That's
not what He's saying. What He's telling you is God's
pleased with Christ. Are you looking to Christ? You're accepted. And He, the Spirit, also said,
I want to work on you. It's not going to be pleasant,
but it's going to be good. Yep, God calls us His children. Christ called all His disciples.
Look at Luke 12. Luke chapter 12. I want you to
turn to these scriptures. This one in particular was, I
just can't tell you what it meant to me, when I was a young believer. The Lord called all of his disciples
that followed him, my little children. My little children. Luke chapter
12. One time when I was a very, very
young believer, and working on the railroad, Steve and Olga
lived a long day. and night, and out in the world,
and you know what it's like? I haven't forgotten what it's
like to be out there in the midst of people out there. It's tough,
isn't it? Tough to deal with these people.
And a lot of times it seems to rub off on you, doesn't it? And
you wonder, am I a child of God or am I not? So I was struggling,
just walking along, walking the train, Stephen, walking along,
checking the brakes. in the middle of the night. And I was just
feeling so sinful, so sorry. And this scripture came to me
as if God spoke it out loud. Look at Luke 12, down in verse
32. Fear not, little flock, for it
is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Boy, my steps quickened, my heart
lifted, my head lifted, and I made it to the caboose. And just sat
down, caught the caboose and sat down and just wept. Tears of joy. It's your father's
good pleasure. He's just delighted to give you
the game. It just gives him great pleasure. Who, me? Yeah, you. You. Good pleasure. All the groanings that we have. Look at verse 17 in our text. Go back to Romans 8. 17. It says,
if we're children, then we're heirs. Heirs of God. Joint heirs
with Christ. Joint heirs. Heirs. We have an
inheritance waiting on us. An inheritance. And listen to
this. 1 Peter. You don't have to turn.
1 Peter 1, listen to this. Blessed be God, Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ and His abundant mercy. He's begotten us more
and again through the lively hope of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. Remember, Christ said, He that
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. We have an inheritance,
incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through this
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed. It's close.
Ready to be revealed in the last time. Our sister Kathy Pruitt
had it all revealed to her, didn't she? Wherein ye greatly rejoice,
though now for a season it need be. You're in heaviness through
many temptations. And I remind you, if it be, whatever
it be, if it be, it need be. Or it wouldn't be. Heavy trials,
the trial of your faith. Faith is more precious than gold. It perishes. Though this faith
be tried with fire, it's going to be found under praise and
honor and glory and at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having
not seen, you love, in whom though now you see and not yet believe
in, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and you're
going to receive at the end of your faith a salvation of your
soul. So we have an inheritance. We
have an inheritance. Reserved in heaven. They're joint
heirs with Christ. At thy right hand, David said,
are pleasures for evermore. An eye hasn't seen, an ear hasn't
heard. And it hasn't really entered
into our hearts fully the things that God has prepared for them
that love Him. Do you love God? Don't be ashamed to admit that.
Don't be hesitant to say it. You do. You do, don't you? Our
Lord said it to Simon Peter, that you believe in God. He just
told Simon, you're going to deny me before the crow, before the
rooster crows, you're going to deny me. But you believe in God. So the next thing he said, let
not your heart be troubled, you believe in God. Well, how does
he know that? He gave him that thing. Believe
also in me. I go to prepare a place for him. Joint heirs with Christ. So be
it. We suffer with Him. All of God's
people suffer. Crucified with Christ. We suffer
the effects of sin. Our Lord suffered because of
our sin. Well, we suffer the effects of
sin too, don't we? We suffer with it. And we suffer
for His cause. Some measure of persecution. Sorrow for others. Our Lord came
here and He felt compassion and a burden and a heavy weight for
the troubles of His brethren. There was a time when I didn't
even know any of you. I had no burden for you. I had
no sorrow for you. I didn't lose any sleep over
you. I do now. But it's a good thing, isn't
it? Suffer. Christ did. We do too.
We suffer these things. But he says in verse 18, I reckon...
And that's where we got on these old Southern sayings. You reckon? The biblical saying, isn't it? I reckon. And you need to
reckon. that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory it shall be revealed in them.
Turn with me again to Isaiah 65. Turn over there. I reckon, we need to reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory. You remember when Paul said,
our light affliction, brethren, our light affliction which are
but for a moment, they don't last When this whole thing is
over, it's going to seem like in a moment, in a twinkle of
an eye, we'll be changed. Our light afflictions, which
are but for a moment, work in us a far more exceeding eternal
weight of glory. Not weight as a burden, but we're
going to be so filled with glory. We're not going to be weighted
down, we're going to float up with glory. We're not going to
remember these things. And when Paul said that, have
you read of the afflictions that Paul went through? Read those. And he's the one that said they're
like compared to the blessings. Compared to the innumerable blessings. And like compared to the afflictions
of some, others. A young lady I've texted today
and asked her how she was doing. I've been better, but I said
there's others worse. Much worse. We need to always
keep that in mind, you know. That will lighten our afflictions. First lesson in self-help, think
on somebody else. Your troubles will lighten. Your
afflictions will lighten. Second lesson, cast all your
care on Him. Okay? You've got a lot to care
for, a lot of people to care for, a lot of things that burden
you, a lot of troubles, a lot of responsibilities. Cast all
your care on Him. Why? He's the one taking care
of you. You're not caring for Him. He's
caring for you. If you're gone, He'll still care
for you. Okay? Cast all your care on Him. Look at Isaiah 65, verse 16. He who blesses himself in the
earth blesses himself in the God of truth. He that sweareth
in the earth shall swear by the God of truth, because the former
troubles have forgotten They are hid from mine eyes, the Lord
said. Behold, I create a new heaven, a new earth. The former
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. Be glad and rejoice
forever in that which I create. Behold, I create Jerusalem a
rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in my people. And the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. Oh, these light afflictions,
he said in our text. Sufferings of this present time,
incomparable. Read on in our text. The earnest expectation of the
creature waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. The creature,
this world and everything in it, all the animals, made subject
to the vanity. God made everything for a purpose.
And he said it was good. Not vanity. It was good. Plants,
animals, everything. But Satan, according to the purpose
of God, tempted the woman. You know, the fall of man. Brought
in sin and corruption and bondage and pain and sorrow and suffering
and death because of sin. Death because of sin. The first
thing Adam and Eve had to see was an innocent animal. Sweet,
precious lamb. Might have been Eve's pet. Might
have been her favorite pet. You know how innocent lambs are? That's why the Lord chose a lamb
to represent Himself. Doves? Sad to see an innocent animal
laying there dead. No matter what it is. They're subject to this sin and
this corruption. And they wait. The creation is
waiting for all this sin to be gone. A new heaven, a new earth.
Just like the Lord put animals on the earth the first time,
and they were waiting for God's crowning creation. All the animals,
plants, everything was created for man. For the glory of God,
for the happiness of man. Man created for the glory of
God. Alright? They're all waiting. And they're
watching. Maybe the animals were around.
You ever thought about that? They hovered around while the
Lord Jesus Christ reached down in the dust and started creating
Adam. And this man in Christ's image,
living creature. And they all came to Him. He
named them. Horse. Dog. Friends. No fear. Nobody afraid
of anything. No need to be. Now this place is a fearful place.
A dark place. There was no darkness. All light,
beauty, glory, peace, happiness. Now it's the opposite. So everything's
waiting. So God's created. He said, I've
created a new heaven and a new earth. What's waiting on? Same
thing. The sons of God. Christ to come
in. He'll bring them all in. Everybody's
waiting for them. And there are no possibilities.
If anything ever spoiling that, I can't. Wonderful. Groaning. Groaning. And we ourselves, verse
23, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the
redemption of our body. That's what Paul said. And Romans
7 goes with Romans 8, doesn't it? He said, in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. Oh, wretched man that I am, please
come deliver me from this bondage of corruption. How long, O Lord,
how long? It won't be long. So, he says,
verse 24, we're saved by hope. Wait, you'll see. Hope in Christ. Hope in His Word. Wait, we're
saved by hope. Hope that is seen. It's not hope. You know, if Paul went to the
third heaven, When they stoned him that time, he died. They
took him up for dead. Now, he's the one that wrote
about that in 2 Corinthians 12, I believe it is. He said, I knew
a man where the inner body or outer body went up to the third
heaven, the heaven of heaven. He said, I heard things that
were unlawful to others, impossible. Describe it to them. You know, that's why he said,
I have a desire to depart and be with the Lord, which is far
better. Oh, he said. He'd already been there and seen
it, but God. Somebody asks why the Lord wept
at Lazarus to Him. Well, many reasons. One, the
effects of sin on this world. But somebody once said the Lord
perhaps wept that He had to bring Lazarus back to this land. We're not going to come back
here. He's not going to be here to come back to you. He's going
to destroy you. Oh, man. Our groanings. Our groanings. Look at verse
23. We're waiting for the redemption of our body. Redemption. Waiting
for redemption. Would you turn to one more passage
with me? You'll be glad. Hosea. Find the little book of
Hosea, chapter 2. You'll be real glad. that you
read this, I was. Redemption. Waiting on redemption. Can a wasted life be redeemed?
Can a wasted life, and if every one of us were honest, we'd say
we've pretty much wasted most of our lives. And I look back,
I'd like to do it all over again. But no, John, you know what I'd
do? I'd do it again. Wouldn't you? I'd waste it again. Wouldn't
we? Sure we would. Because we're
sinners. Can a wasted life be redeemed,
re-ransomed, bought, paid for? You know, people try to do things
to redeem themselves. Try to buy, pay back, pay for
things they've done. Try to undo their past and, you
know, buy favor and redemption, you know, to seek redemption.
None of us can redeem ourselves. We're not redeemed with corruptible
things, silver and gold, our vain conversation and trying
to redeem ourselves. We're redeemed one way, by the
precious blood of the Lamb. Redemption. And I need to find
Hosea. Okay, there he is. Listen. Hosea chapter 2, verse 5. The mother's played the harlot.
She'd done shamefully. She said, I'll go after my lovers.
They'll give me bread and water, my wool, my flax, my wine, my
oil, my drink, my lovers. So, he said, I'll hedge up her
way with thorns. She won't find her path. She
won't know if she's coming or going. She'll follow after her
lovers. She won't find them. She won't
overtake them. She'll seek them, but she won't find them. She'll
say, I'll go and return to my first husband. He was better
with me than now. She didn't know. She just didn't
know that I was the one that gave her corn and wine and oil
and multiplied her silver and gold and gave her everything.
Verse 9, I'm going to take away those things from her. Verse
10, I'm going to discover her lewdness in the sight of her
lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand. Verse 11,
I'm going to cause her mirth to cease. Her happiness is going
to be over. Her feast days. I'm going to destroy, verse 12,
her vine and her fig trees. She said, these were my lovers.
I'm going to visit her, verse 13, I'll visit upon her. Verse
14, Behold, I will allure her, and I'm going to bring her into
the wilderness, alone, by herself, when she reaches rock bottom
or hem, and I must be comforted. Keep reading, it gets better. And I will betroth thee unto
me forever, yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness,
in judgment, in lovingkindness, in mercy. I will even betroth
thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord. It gets better. Verse 23, I will
sow her unto thee in the earth. I will have mercy upon her that
hath not obtained mercy. I will say to them, were it not
my people, thou art my people. And they shall say, thou art
my God. It gets better. Look at chapter
3, verse 1. Go get, love a woman. Here's
who the Lord came to redeem, people. Beloved of her friend,
yet she is an adulteress according to the love of the Lord toward
the children of God, those who love other gods and flagons of
wine, or all kinds of pleasures. So I bought her to me. I bought her for me. She's mine. You know the whole story, don't
you? The whole Zion. Redemption. So there's hope. There's hope. As long as there's
a Redeemer, there's hope of redemption. And we're saved by hope. Those
we hope for, hope in His mercy for them, we say we hope. We hope in His mercy. And back
in our text, he says in verse 26, I love this, Spirit, help
with our infirmities. We don't know what we should
pray for as we ought, do we? Do you not find yourself most
of the time groaning. I'll just be honest with you.
I try to pray most of the time and about all the time, most
of the time, all that comes out of my mouth is, Lord, I need
mercy. Lord, would you have mercy on
so and so? Lord, please have mercy. Lord, save us all. We
pray for the same things and we often feel like, Lord, I keep
saying the same things. You know what I need. Yes, He
does. It says the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. He knows. He knows the mind of
the Spirit. He knows. He makes intercession
for us according to the will of God. So, here's what we know. I don't know much, but this I
know. Okay? I'm going to end it with
this. And if this doesn't give you hope, nothing will. We know. And John wrote a whole book on
it. We know. We know. That the Son of God
is coming. We know that all things work
together for good. For our good. It seems bad. It
seems like you can't get anywhere. But it's all working for good.
To them that love God, do you love God? If you do, it's because
He first loved you. And if He first loved you, He's
always loved you. And you always love Him. Who
is called according to His purpose. Have you heard this gospel called?
Some of you are nodding your head. Yeah. Called according to His
purpose. Called to His purpose and glory
which shall be revealed. Called to the purpose of our
God. We know that. Alright, stand
with me. Heavenly Fathers, thank You for
Romans 8. Thank You for Your Word. Thank
You for the sure mercies of David that are found in the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of David. Our hope lies within the veil
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We wait for Him. We wait for
our redemption. We wait for this liberty, the glorious liberty
of the sons of God. We wait, Lord. We say, like David,
how long? How long? While we're waiting,
Lord, cause us to sing, cause us to pray, cause us to praise
Thee, because it won't be long. It won't be long at all. And
we'll all look back and say, it wasn't long. We thank You
for everything. Lord, we hope in Your mercy,
we hope in Your grace, we hope in Your love and loving kindness
for those that don't know You. We ask that You would rescue
another forlorn woman. a child, a wayward child. We ask that you bring her or
him to yourself, we pray, for your glory and honor, we pray
in Christ's name. Amen.