It is a wonderful, wonderful
privilege to be here, to be with people that I love so
much, and they reciprocate that love while you turn to Romans
chapter 8. And I certainly thank you, John,
for that message. Very, very wonderful message. The Gospel still saves me. The
Gospel still comforts me. The Gospel still assures me. One thing about the Gospel that
gets you saved and lost at the same time. It strips you and
clothes you. It empties you and fills you.
All at the same time. All in the same message. But
it is a wonderful privilege to be here, and I pray that God
will make me to be a blessing. But let's start reading together
here in verse 17, read down through verse 24. And if children, talking about
being children of God, and if children then heirs of God and
join heirs with Christ, If so be that we suffer with him, that
we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy, not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. For the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected
the same in hope. Because the creature itself,
or creation itself, shall also be delivered from the bondage
of corruption. into the glorious liberty of
the children of God. For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only
they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the redemption
of our body. Adoption, the redemption of our
body, for we are saved by hope But hope that is seen is not
hope, for what a man seeth, why doeth he yet hope for?" The Apostle
starts out here telling us that we're heirs of God. Heirs of
God. Join heirs with our Lord Jesus
Christ. Our Lord Jesus, our blessed Master,
He's the heir. He inherits everything. Well,
God adopted a group of people, made them sons, sent the spirit
of adoption into the heart to make them know that they're his
children. And he had so much wealth and so much glory that
he said, I can't keep it all to myself. He said, I'm going
to share it with all of them. All the inheritance that I get,
I'm going to share it among them. Everything I get, they get. And
oh my, and when he tells about us being heirs with our Lord
Jesus Christ, he also means in that that if Christ is going
to have His inheritance, and we're joint heirs with Him, that
what's it going to be like when we enter into that inheritance?
The glory that's going to happen when we enter into that inheritance.
And it means a great and glorious coming of glory, and that'll
be our full and final salvation when we come into that glory.
And then he chums and he changes that we're made heirs together
and he suddenly changes to the idea of suffering. Suffering
before we enter into that glory. Ain't that what he says there
in verse 17? If so be that we suffer with
Him, that we may be also glorified together with Him. You see, our
Lord Jesus Christ, He told His disciples on the Emmaus road,
He said, ought not Christ to have suffered to enter into His
glory? But why is there going to be
suffering before we enter into glory? Because our Lord Himself
said, in the world we're going to have tribulation. We're going
to have tribulation. Psalm 107, the man got in all
kinds of trouble. And four times, five times, he
said, this poor man cried unto the Lord and He heard him and
delivered him out of all his trouble. Man that's born of a
woman who's a few days in full of trouble. It's through much
tribulation that we enter into the Kingdom of God. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said in the world, in this world, while we live
in this world, While we're in this flesh and in this world,
we're going to have much tribulation. He said, but you be good cheer.
I've overcome this world. And because I've overcome it,
you're going to overcome it. And you're going to enter into
glory with Me. And I tell you, beloved believers, that at all
times, old Scott Richardson used to say this, and I know it's
so and you do too. He said there's three places
a believer is at any one given time. He's either in trouble,
Coming out of trouble, or going back into trouble. Now that's
true. He's either in it, coming out
of it, or going in again. One of three places. And I tell
you, beloved, though we may suffer in this life, the Apostle encourages
us, be of good cheer. Patiently, patiently wait on
the Lord Jesus Christ and it is certain, it's absolutely certain
that we, we shall all enter into glory. Look over here in Romans
5 with me, just a moment. It says here, In verse 3 of chapter
5. See, tribulations can't put a
believer to shame. John talking about our Lord being
our friend. It says in another place that
He's not ashamed to call us brothers. And here it says that we have
this These tribulations, and we glory in these tribulations.
We rejoice in these tribulations. We say, it's the Lord's hand
that does this. And also knowing this, that these
tribulations, these trials, these troubles, are going to work patience. And this patience means that
you just wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and keep on going
about your life, and live in this world waiting on the Lord
till He brings us into glory. And these tribulations, I'm not
ashamed of any trial that I've ever had. Are you? Are you ashamed
of anything that God's ever put you through? Are you ashamed
of any time that God has ever turned the screws on you? Are
you ashamed of any sickness you've ever had? Of any burden you've ever carried?
Any tear you've ever shed? Any loved one you ever buried?
Are you ashamed of any trial you've ever had that God gave
to you? No! Blessed be His holy name! He cannot possibly do wrong.
And so, he goes here in verse 17 and 18 and he makes a comparison. He makes a comparison here and
he says this, there's an association with suffering and glory. He
said, if so be, we suffer, and here's the key, with Him. Then
look what he says, that we, with Him, may also be glorified together. And what He's showing us is that
our fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ is both in suffering
and in glory. The one is as real as the other.
The suffering with Him is as real as the glory that we'll
enter into with Him in the other. And our fellowship is based on
these two things. And there's three things that
I want to bring from this right here. First of all, it tells
us this, that Christ and His blessed people are one. We're
so united to Him. And what it says that we may
be also glorified together? You look in Ephesians chapter
2 and how many times it says there, together, together, together. I mean, beloved, Christ and His
people are one. We're together. When our Lord
Jesus Christ was on this earth and when He lived, we lived.
And when our Lord Jesus Christ suffered on that cross, we suffered
on that cross. When our Lord Jesus Christ died
on that cross, we died on that cross. Everything our Lord went
through because of our unity with Him, our union with Him,
we did too. And beloved, of that efficacy,
that blood that was shed, that wrath that was endured, that
justice that was satisfied, I mean, beloved, we was involved in that,
and I mean, we was worn with Him in that. We partook of that. No wonder the Apostle says when
Christ, our lives shall appear, then shall we also appear with
Him in glory. And secondly, because of our
union with Him, there'll be sufferings to bear for His sake and the
Gospel. I mean for the Gospel. You keep
Romans 8 and I'll show you what I'm talking about in John 15.
I'll show you what I'm talking about.
Because of our union with Him, because of our being joined to
Him. You know, His disciples, John and James, His mother said
to Him, said, Master, I'd love for my children to set one on
Your right hand and another on Your left when they come into
the kingdom. Our Lord said, Are you able to be baptized with
the baptism I am and drink the cup that I'm going to drink?
And they said, We are. And they did. They were baptized
with Him in His death. And they partook of the cup of
God's wrath in Him when He was on that cross. And every believer,
I don't care who they are, how strong they may think they are,
but every believer, they was baptized in the death and sufferings
of our Lord Jesus Christ and drunk of the only wrath that
they'll ever drink at the hand of God Himself because Christ
drunk it for us and we drunk it with Him. And oh, look what he said here
in John 15 verse 17. These things I command you that
you love one another." Oh, I'm glad to do that. I like that
commandment. Everybody, every man I've met since I've been
here, every one of them walks up and gives me a big kiss on
the cheek. You know why they do that? Because they love me. You greet one another with a
holy kiss. And then he goes on to say here, he said, if the
world hates you, You know that it hated me before you. If you
were of the world, the world would love His own. If you thought
like the world, you loved the world, and you just conformed
to the world, it'd love you. But I've chosen you out of the
world, and this is what I'm saying. This is where you hit trouble.
When you start telling the world that God chose me in Christ before
the foundation of the world. That's what they say about us
down home. Said, you folks think you're the only ones in Cumberland
County that's saved. You're the only people that's
preaching the gospel. There's just a handful over there.
You know, you think you're the only handful around. And that's
what I'm talking about. They hate you for that. They
despise you for that. And that's what our Lord said.
He says, you know, when you start telling them that God is sovereign
and He chose me, I didn't choose Him. That He called me, I didn't
call Him. That He set me apart, I didn't
set Him apart. That He found me, I didn't find
Him. Then you'll find out real, real
quick the religious world certainly don't want nothing to do with
you. And have you ever found out anybody yet that ain't got
a profession somewhere, some way, somehow? And then he goes
on to say this, when I've chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hates you. That's what they said about our master. You
mean to tell me you're the only Savior? You're telling me that
Moses can't do nothing for us? Tell me Abraham can't do nothing
for us? You're telling me we can't do nothing for ourselves?
I'm telling you that I'm the only Savior. If you're ever going
to come to God, you're going to come through Him by me. If
you're going to speak to Him, you're going to speak to Him
by me. There ain't no other Savior on the topside of God's earth
other than me. If you're going to worship God,
you're going to worship me. But if you're going to have your
sins put away, I'm the one that'll do it. If you're going to have any hope,
I'm the one that's going to give it to you. And beloved, when
He starts talking like that, and we talk like that, and we
tell the world, Abraham won Jesus Christ, and I'm telling you that
He sits on a throne with all power and glory vested in Him.
And then if anybody's going to speak to God, they're going to
speak through Him. And if you're going to worship,
you're going to worship God through Him. And then when you start
making the thing so particular and you get it right down the
line, then the world says, oh, listen, them fellows are just
absolutely nuts. That's what our Lord says. Remember
what I told you. Service not greater than His,
Lord. They hated you, they hated me before they ever did you. Here's one thing that I know
for sure, error can walk hand in hand with error, but truth
and error cannot walk together. And it's another thing that'll
cause them to hate you. I don't have no Arminian brethren. I
don't have no free will brethren. Everybody I know that's converted
believes the same gospel I do. Got saved the same way I did,
by the grace and free power of God. And let me tell you another reason
why this idea of us suffering in glory is because of this frail
flesh. That's why there's suffering
before glory. This flesh is so frail. It's subject to infirmities. Oh, the infirmities of this.
It's subject to decay, diseases, and death. Job said a man that's
born of a woman He's just a few days. Just a few days. And they're full of trouble.
He comes forth as a flower and then He's just cut down. And
oh beloved, there's so much suffering. Spiritual suffering. Oh, the
spiritual suffering we go through in this world. Spiritual suffering. How many preachers and how many
believers have laid in their bed at night and wept over their
children and wept over the church and wept over people in the church
that's been such a burden to them. How spiritual suffering
we have. Mental suffering we have when
our mind just gets stretched like it's a banjo string and
you think it's going to pop. And then the emotional roller
coasters up and down. The physical suffering that we
have in our bodies. No wonder James says, oh brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into temptations because temptations
works patience and let patience have her perfect work. One of
these days patience is going to come to an end. We'll enter
into glory to be with our blessed Savior. Huh? Now that's the comparison. Now look at the second thing
here I want you to see. There's some no comparisons too.
Down there in verse 18, look what he says. Fellowship, suffering,
and glory go hand in hand. But here he says, now listen,
no comparison to suffering and glory. Verse 18, For I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time, how many of you here tonight
are suffering at this present time? At this present time, suffering
over a child that's lost? Suffering over an
affliction in your body? Suffering over the loss of a
job? And oh, listen, At this present
time, the sufferings of this present time, now listen to this,
are not worthy, are not worthy to be compared with the glory,
the glory which shall be revealed in us. Don't even mention suffering
and glory in the same breath. That's what he's saying. Paul,
he makes two columns. Over here is the sufferings of
this present time. He said, just don't even put
that up now. Just don't even, just set that
aside. Just don't even compare that
to the glory that's going to be revealed. Oh, bless His name. You think your present time is
suffering something? Just put that aside. Don't even
compare it. Don't even compare it to the
glory that's going to be revealed in us. Oh my. There's no comparison between
them. Keep Romans 8 and look with me in 2 Corinthians 4, 17.
I tried to preach on this here a while back and didn't do such
a good job of it. Which that's not the first time,
won't be the last. Is it, Tom? The only reason you two was the
worst in the, sorry I said in that preacher's class, I wasn't
there. I wasn't in it. But look what he said here. For our light of 2 Corinthians
4.17, for our light of affliction, which is but for a moment, works
for us a far more and exceeding eternal weight of glory. Now
listen to this. What? What makes our affliction
light? When you have an affliction,
it don't seem light to you. Everything's relative. I mean,
you know, what may lay you up would not bother me at all. What
may bother me and lay me up may not even touch you. Everything's
relative. But he says, in these afflictions,
you say, my affliction ain't light. Well, I tell you what
makes it light. In light of what our Lord Jesus
Christ suffered, anything we go through is nothing compared
to what our Savior went through. Oh, did our Lord Jesus Christ
suffer from the day He was born until the day they took Him off
of that cross and put Him in a barred man's tomb, a rich man's
tomb. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered.
He was acquainted with grief and sorrow. And He suffered,
and the awful suffering that He did was not for anything that
He ever did, but all of His suffering was for us. And you know what
the greatest suffering that He suffered? Was to be made to be
sin. How could someone so holy, gloriously,
righteous, sinless, perfection, God in the flesh, how could He
willingly Voluntarily. Gladly. Joyfully. Say, take everything that Donnie
Bell ever thought, said, or done, or ever will think, say, or do,
and charge that to me, put it to my account, and I'll suffer
His wrath, His hell, His justice, and I'll suffer everything that's
due Him. Now that, beloved, is an affliction. Wherewith has the Lord afflicted
me in the day of His fierce anger? Is it nothing to you that pass
by? And I'll tell you what, it's our afflictions are light, no
matter how heavy they may be, in light of what they deserve. Our afflictions here are so light
compared to what we deserve. And listen to this, and this,
this, this about our afflictions. Just a moment. Just a moment. You know, it was about a few
days ago, not very many days ago, I brought my son home from
the hospital. Just a few days ago. A few days
after that, I brought my grandson home from the hospital. A few
days after that, I brought my great-granddaughter home from
the hospital. Where'd those few days go? Just a moment. Our light affliction, just a
moment. Just a moment. Just a moment. That's all it
is. And look what it does for us. These afflictions, they're
working. They're working. They're doing a work. And what
are they doing? They're light. But it's working
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight. The frictions of light, but the
glory is going to be so heavy and glorious and blessed. It's
going to have the glory of God. And look what He said. Because
we're not looking at things that are seen. We're not looking at
things that are seen. If we look at just what we see,
every single, there wouldn't be none of us in this building
tonight. If we just looked at the things
that we saw, and what we see in the world, what we see in
ourselves, what we see in our families, what we see in our
children, we just, oh, it's, oh, so we're not looking at the
things that are seen, but we're looking at things we can't see.
Oh, blessed Savior, I see You up there on that throne. How
do You see me? By faith? I see the saints, the spirits
of just men made perfect. How do I see them? By faith. I see all those that's gone on
before. How? By faith. I'm not looking at time. And look what he goes on to say
here. For everything that you see and everything that you touch
is so temporal. It's temporal. It's temporal. Every marriage is temporal. Every
child, mother and child, is temporal. Every relationship is temporal. And that's why we hold to them
so loosely, Greg. They're the Lord's. He that obtaineth
a wife obtaineth the good favor of the Lord. And if you have
children, it's the Lord's quiver. He's the one that fills you quiver
with them. Isn't it? It's a weird thing. It's temporal. But look at this. But the things
that we don't see, they're eternal. Oh, what a Savior! Oh, what a
Savior! What a Savior! What a Savior!
And oh, beloved, let me go back over in our text. The certainty,
the certainty of suffering is going to be followed by glory.
Ain't that what he says? The glory? I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory? The glory which shall be revealed
in us? Look at the glory. Our Lord Jesus
said, Father, give me the glory which I had with Thee before
the world was. Well, that glory. He says, Father,
I will that they be with me, that where I am, they may behold
my glory. And we're going to have that
glory. And it's going to be revealed in us. And toward us. I'll tell
you there's some glory that's revealed in us right now. The
glory of God's eternal love is revealed in us right now. The
glory of God's electing grace is revealed in us right now.
The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ's redeeming blood is revealed in
us right now. The work of the Holy Spirit that
set us apart by the Gospel is revealed in us right now. The
power of the Holy Spirit and regeneration is revealed in us
right now. So I'm telling you, beloved,
it's inevitable, I'll get that out in a minute, that's absolutely
certain that we shall inherit glory with Him if we suffer with
Him. You keep Romans 8 and let me
show you one other thing over here in 1 Peter 4 and verse 13. Look what he says here. Verse 12, Beloved, don't you dare think it strange
concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, something strange
happened unto you. But do this, rejoice in as much
as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Why? That when His glory shall be
revealed, You may be glad also with exceeding joy. Be happy. You see His glory? Rejoice in
that. Because I tell you, suffering here? That's alright. As long
as we see His glory. That's all that matters. That's
all that matters. That's all we want to see now. Now let's
go back over to our text. He confirms this suffering. This
suffering in glory. He confirms it. How does He confirm
it? He says in verse 19, He says, for the earnest expectation of
the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of
God. He says, the creation itself
is waiting until the future glory of the sons of God, when God
gathers all his blessed people together. And every earth and
every creature in it is waiting, expecting, to what? When God
manifests all His children. Say, here's I and the children
which Thou hast given Me. And you see, beloved, the creation
right now is under a curse. It's under the sin. It's under
sin. It's under the curse. And I tell you, there's no harmony
in this world, in this universe right now. And you know why?
Because of sin. Just like you said, because of sin. Everything
in this world suffers because of sin. Everything. The ground
suffers because it brings forth briars and thorns fit for cursing. Animals suffer. How many of y'all
take your dogs and cats to veterinarians so they won't suffer? You ever
heard a dog or a cow when they get real sick and start whining
and groaning and hurting? How many people get a gun and
go put an animal out of their misery because they're suffering
sin? Man, he suffers because of sin. You can't get a vegetable that
won't rot because of sin. Floods cover this earth because
of sin. This whole creation, earthquakes
come and mountains blow the tops off of them. Pestilence and droughts
all because of this thing called sin and this earth and the whole
creation earnestly waits for God's people to be manifest.
War goes on and the creation grows to be set free. And when
will the creation be set free? When the sons of God are revealed
in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look what He said in
verse 20. For the creature The creation
was made subject to vanity, not willingly. But who made it that
way? God did, by reason of the same
who subjected the same in hope. And then he says down in verse
21, Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from
the bondage of the corruption, and to the glorious liberty of
the sons of God. For we know that the whole creation
groans and travails in pain until now. This creation was made subject
to vanity. I mean, it cannot resist. This
is why the creation groans. That's why it groans. That's
why these things that happen in this world, it groans and
travails in pain even until now. And you know when it'll stop
doing that? When that promise is fulfilled. When He says, Thou
shalt be a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Oh, my. And I tell you, when
God resurrects His people, the creation was good, but when man
fell, the earth fell with him. And when man's restored back
to his proper place in glory around the throne of the living
God, then their whole creation is going to be restored too.
Now, look at how we're to act as believers, and look at this
as believers. And He says, not only they, verse
23, not only they, not only the creation groans, not only the
creation earnestly expects the manifestation of the sons of
God and waits willingly till that happens, not only does it
corrode and groan right now, not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, we ourselves groan
within ourselves, When's the last time you groaned
in yourself? Oh my, we are burdened and we've
groaned over our sins. We've groaned over our old nature.
I know that in me, in my flesh, there was no good thing. I know
that when I would do good, Evil's present, and what I wouldn't
do, I do, and what I would do, I don't do. I see this and I
cry out, O wretched man, who shall save me and deliver me
from this body of flesh? And we groan, and we're waiting
for that eternal glory. Who does? Those who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit. And you know what firstfruits
are? That's what you get When you get to first in, that's why
I said, bring me the first fruit. God gives us the first fruits
of the Spirit. That's just a foretaste of life. Life, when he gave us life from
spiritual death. And oh beloved, and then let
me go on here. I don't know how long I've took,
but it seems like... Let me tell you. God give us these firstfruits
of the Spirit. Just like this morning. Take
a minute and talk to you. This morning in the meeting back
there. I don't know how many men were
back there. But that was just a foretaste. That was just a
foretaste of what we're going to enjoy forever. How much did
we delight in the Scriptures being opened to our understanding?
How much did we enjoy The preaching and the teaching of God's Word.
How we rejoiced in it, and were comforted in it, and taught in
it, and struck in it, and blessed by it. That's just a foretaste. And as we enjoy one another here,
imagine what it'll be when the sons of God are manifested. And
we just have a taste of it here. That's the first fruits of it.
And then look what he says in verse 24. We're waiting for the
redemption of this body. And oh beloved, we're saved by
hope, or saved in hope. We're waiting patiently for that
that we don't see. But someday, someday we will
realize. Right this moment, we're justified.
Right this moment, we're sanctified. Right this moment, we're secure
in Christ. And yet, yet we're not in glory yet. That's when we'll be, as the
old preacher said, plumb sand. Plumb sand. Oh, what a day that's going to
be. You know, you want to go swimming,
the water's real, real cold, the only way you can get standing
is just jump in all over. Well, that's the way you know
right now. We just get a little foretaste and it seems like you
think, boy, I don't want to jump. But I'll tell you what. The longer
you live, the more you're willing to jump. You know, we're going to be plumb
saved. Plumb saved! Oh my! And that's why David said,
I'll be satisfied when I awaken thy likeness. We have been perfectly,
completely saved from the guilt and condemnation of sin. No condemnation
to them that are in Christ. And I, but as far as sin's power,
sin still has some power over me. It has power over me while I'm
in this pulpit. It makes me afraid. It makes me anxious. It makes
me weak. It makes me tremble. It makes
me want to not embarrass myself. It makes me want to do good. Y'all understand that? And I'm still in the presence
of sin. I still have sin present in me and I live. Sin's present
in my home, sin's present in my children, sin's present in
this building. But one of these blessed days, bless His name,
we'll be plumb safe from its power and its presence. Goodbye, sin. Goodbye, death. Goodbye, world. And one of my dear brothers said,
he said, I'll see you in the morning. And that'll be a brand
new day when that day star arises. And Christ arises with those
healings in His wings and ushers us in. Oh, two things for us to learn
here. In verse 22 and 23, we know this, that the pressure
of suffering. He said in verse 22, we know
that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together
until now. And then it says also there in
verse 23, that we ourselves groan within ourselves. Suffering brings
such pressure. It brings pressure on you. And
it brings you to the place where you're just grown. You lay in
bed and you're just grown. You sit in a service and you're
just... You can't articulate your words. So Christ takes our words and
He makes them articulate. I know you've been through this,
John. I know you have. And I know some of you have.
And you just groan. You say, oh Lord. I've heard
old Scott Richard groan. We groan. How keenly, how acutely
we feel the presence and effect of sin in ourselves. and the effects of sin in the
world. And we're strangers. Aren't you
grateful we're strangers and pilgrims? We don't have to live
here forever. Just passing through. Just don't
even leave a footprint. I don't. People say, boy, you're going
to leave a big footprint. I don't want to leave any footprint.
I want to see the footprints of my master, and I want to follow
them all the way until I take my last step. And I take my last
step, and I step into his holy presence. I want to walk in his
steps, Tim. That's the only steps I want
to see on this earth, that I want to walk in and see. I don't want
my footprint. I don't want to see your footprint.
I want to see his. I want to be like Like when in
Banyan's holy city, they was having that war and the king came in and he took
over the throne of the man's heart, took over Man City's,
the soul of Man City and sat on the throne. And boy, understanding
watched him as he started walking down through the avenue of his
soul and he said, oh, look how he carries himself. Oh, how magnificently,
how gloriously. Oh, He carries Himself with such
strength and glory and majesty. I'm going to step in behind Him,
see if I can step in every footprint that He's made. That's what I
want to do. Step in His footprints. You know,
beloved, and in spite of all the glories and comforts we have
of God's blessed grace, We still have the fact of the problem
of sin and suffering in this world. Physical suffering, mental
suffering, moral suffering, soul suffering. But look what he says
in verse 8, for we're saved by hope. Look at the power of hope.
We are saved by hope. Saved by hope. The suffering
may be vivid and seem like extreme, but our expectation is vivid
too, for we're saved by hope. Oh my! When it says back up there
in verse 19, the creation, earnest expectation, that means like
the creation has got his neck stretched out, looking, looking,
waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, like he's got this blessed hope.
Waiting for what's expected. Future glory is absolutely certain.
We have God's Word on it. And here He says, you know, we're
saved by hope. But hope that's seen is not hope.
Oh my! Hope is essential. It's essential. Faith looks back. to the cross
and what our Lord Jesus done for us. Oh, our Lord accomplished
salvation. It's over and done with. My sins
are gone. Oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought. My sins not in part, but the whole is nailed to the
cross I bear. And then faith looks up like
Abraham. He believed the promise of God.
But hope looks out into the future. Hope looks behind this world
into the next. Faith accepts what God gives
us right now. To say, yes, it's from the hand
of God and we'll kiss it and say, blessed be His holy name.
The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. The Lord
make we come into this world naked. We're going to leave this
world naked. And he says in old faith, except but hope expects. It's like a man that's been gone
from home a long, long time. And the kids get a letter, Daddy's
coming home at 4 o'clock Friday afternoon. Boy, Daddy wrote that. About 3 o'clock Friday afternoon,
all the kids go over the window, start peeking out the window,
looking, looking, looking. They believe what their Daddy
said, going to be home at 4 o'clock. Oh, boy, it'll be a wonderful
day when Daddy comes. Quarter to four, they're still
looking out the door. Five to four, they just look and they
got their legs stretched out there. And then they hear some
wheels start running. Hear some wheels coming. Oh,
I hear a car! And then he pulls up the driveway. They believe what their father
said. They believed it. They believe that he's coming
home. But they hope went to the window waiting for him to come.
Christ promised He's going to come. And we're going to wait here
and we're going to go through whatever He puts us through until He takes
us there. Won't we? I hope that made some sense. I really do.