1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,760 Our text today is going to be chapter 8, verses 18 through 25. 2 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,880 About six weeks ago, the U.S. News and World Report celebrated its golden anniversary and 3 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,800 as part of that had a special issue dealing with what they anticipated to happen within 4 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:29,340 the next 50 years by 2033. 5 00:00:29,340 --> 00:00:34,760 In the introduction to that section of the magazine, they said, a decade ago, doomsayers 6 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:39,720 painted a chilling picture of a planet ticketed for disaster. 7 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,720 Those ominous predictions of apocalypse have not come true. 8 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,360 Indeed, as this magazine looks into the future on its golden anniversary for a glimpse of 9 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:53,760 what the next 50 years will bring, its editors come away from talks with hundreds of experts 10 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,160 with a clearly optimistic vision. 11 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:02,040 While lies ahead could well be a renaissance for the U.S. in political prestige and technological 12 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:10,280 power, people will live to a healthy old age of 100 or more as super drugs cure diseases 13 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:16,000 like cancer and senility. 14 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:21,520 Genetic techniques will expand food production and curb pollution. 15 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:28,440 Space colonies will orbit the earth and the moon will be mined for its wealth. 16 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:34,880 Robots will do household and factory chores and cars will be programmed to avoid accidents. 17 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:40,720 Among many social changes, a woman, a black or a Hispanic, could well become president. 18 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,060 People will have three or four careers in their work lives. 19 00:01:44,060 --> 00:01:49,300 With home computers and other electronic marvels, families will tap into enormous sources of 20 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:52,780 data and entertainment. 21 00:01:52,780 --> 00:01:57,840 As the revolution in high technology gains momentum, an economic boom will give tomorrow's 22 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,080 citizens the highest standard of living ever known. 23 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,400 Floating cities will house thousands of people. 24 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,920 Levitating trains will travel at 250 miles an hour. 25 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:16,720 With exotic new energy sources, the U.S. will no longer depend on foreign regions for oil. 26 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:22,040 Yet, just as the Club of Rome was wrong in 1972 in its predictions that the world would 27 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:29,280 run out of gold in nine years and oil in 20 years, optimistic forecasts can prove equally 28 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:30,840 foolhardy. 29 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,720 The great ship Titanic was said to be unsinkable. 30 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:39,080 Japan, U.S. officials insisted, would never attack Pearl Harbor. 31 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:43,920 Slums would disappear from American cities and highways would be free of traffic jams 32 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:50,840 or so experts predicted at the New York World's Fair of 1939. 33 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:56,480 Looking ahead, no one knows for sure when and if California will indeed have that devastating 34 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,440 earthquake that so many forecasters say is inevitable. 35 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:05,520 What guarantee is there that some new and unknown plague won't emerge to destroy whole 36 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:11,080 populations just as lead poisoning insidiously infected the ancient Romans and helped to 37 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,640 topple their powerful empire? 38 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:18,240 Nor does anyone really know, despite reassuring words from many experts, if mankind will be 39 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:23,240 wise enough to avoid the ultimate catastrophe, nuclear war. 40 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,840 In short, prediction is at best a risky business. 41 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,400 Of course, that's true because man does not know what the future holds. 42 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:32,560 He cannot. 43 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:33,560 He is finite. 44 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,840 He is limited in his knowledge. 45 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,120 He is limited by time. 46 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:45,160 But this morning I have a message to present to you that far transcends anything that U.S. 47 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,920 News and World Report could predict. 48 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,440 And that is the glory that is to come for the sons of God. 49 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,360 And that is what the Apostle talks about in our text. 50 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:02,640 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared 51 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,240 with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 52 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:13,800 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 53 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:19,480 For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of him who 54 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:26,420 subjected it in hope, that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to 55 00:04:26,420 --> 00:04:32,640 corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 56 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:38,040 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together 57 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:39,960 until now. 58 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:46,220 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even 59 00:04:46,220 --> 00:04:53,860 we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption 60 00:04:53,860 --> 00:04:55,960 of our body. 61 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:04,840 For in hope, or for in this hope, we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, 62 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:09,000 for white is one also hope for what he sees. 63 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:19,520 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 64 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:24,560 The Apostle Paul was riding to a church undergoing suffering. 65 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:31,080 Although the full blow of persecution was yet to fall ten years later under Nero. 66 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:39,920 Yet even at this time, in the mid to late 50s AD, there was social ostracism because 67 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:46,540 of the difference of lifestyle between the believers and the pagans in Rome. 68 00:05:46,540 --> 00:05:54,020 That created economic hardship due to the frequent loss of employment and income. 69 00:05:54,020 --> 00:06:01,480 There was religious pressure because of the prevalence of pagan idolatry. 70 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:07,600 Within families there was rejection and misunderstandings because some became believers while others 71 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,720 retained adherence to their paganism. 72 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,920 The sufferings the Church in Rome was undergoing are the same kinds of sufferings, for the 73 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,560 most part, that Christians undergo today. 74 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:32,360 These are subtle pressures, quiet sufferings, which all godly Christians endure from time 75 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,880 to time. 76 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:42,680 In verse 17, the Apostle introduces this dual theme of suffering and glory to come by saying, 77 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:49,800 If indeed we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him. 78 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,000 The if here is not a conditional, it's an assumption. 79 00:06:53,000 --> 00:07:00,700 It literally could be since indeed we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified 80 00:07:00,700 --> 00:07:03,040 with him. 81 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:08,220 The Apostle says really three things about suffering in that brief sentence. 82 00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:12,120 First of all, the suffering is sure. 83 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:19,300 To Timothy he would write, near the end of his own life, yes, and all that will live 84 00:07:19,300 --> 00:07:25,320 godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 85 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:31,720 Not some, all who choose to live godly will suffer persecution. 86 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:39,320 To the Thessalonians, in the midst of their trials, he wrote to encourage them, you know 87 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:46,040 that we were destined for this. 88 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:53,200 Christians are destined to suffer in this world, as their Lord did. 89 00:07:53,200 --> 00:08:00,400 And the Apostle Peter wrote to the believers in Asia Minor, and said, do not think it strange 90 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:04,680 this fiery trial which is to try you. 91 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:11,800 In other words, it's something that we should expect, fiery trials of suffering. 92 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:13,800 Suffering is sure. 93 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,840 Secondly, suffering is shared. 94 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:23,480 We do not suffer alone when we suffer, for we suffer with Christ if we suffer in a godly 95 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:24,480 way. 96 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,680 It's possible for us to bring suffering on ourselves by foolishness. 97 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,120 That's not the suffering we're talking about here. 98 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:37,720 This is the suffering that comes to us uniquely because we are believers in Jesus Christ. 99 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:43,820 When we suffer that way, we suffer, as he says in verse 17, with Him. 100 00:08:43,820 --> 00:08:48,180 When Christians suffer, Jesus suffers. 101 00:08:48,180 --> 00:08:57,040 Just as He suffered in the world for our sins, we suffer in the world for His glory. 102 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,600 Our suffering cannot atone for our own sins. 103 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:07,180 His suffering at the cross was the expiation, the atonement for our sins. 104 00:09:07,180 --> 00:09:12,520 But our suffering now is in His place, since He is in heaven. 105 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,040 But yet He suffers when we suffer. 106 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:21,160 An example of that is when the church was suffering under the persecution of Saul. 107 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:27,960 Jesus met him on that road to Damascus and said, Saul, why are you persecuting whom? 108 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:28,960 Me. 109 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:36,160 Not, why are you persecuting those Christians down there, but why are you persecuting me? 110 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,340 You see, when the church suffers, our Lord suffers. 111 00:09:39,340 --> 00:09:41,120 We suffer with Him. 112 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,120 And that's an honor. 113 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:52,860 Philippians 1.29 tells us that it has given us as a privilege to suffer for Christ. 114 00:09:52,860 --> 00:09:57,300 And then we see also that suffering is significant. 115 00:09:57,300 --> 00:10:01,360 When we suffer as believers, it is never without purpose. 116 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:06,880 There is always some significance to it. 117 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:12,840 The apostle tells us in general here that it is that we may be glorified with Him. 118 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:22,640 For just as travail leads to the joy of birth, so our suffering now will lead to future glory. 119 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:29,020 Again, we do not suffer in a meritorious way so that we earn points with God by how much 120 00:10:29,020 --> 00:10:30,980 we undergo. 121 00:10:30,980 --> 00:10:36,180 But our suffering now prepares us for the glory that is to come. 122 00:10:36,180 --> 00:10:44,220 The glory itself is a free gift, but the capacity we will have to enjoy it, folks, is enhanced 123 00:10:44,220 --> 00:10:49,140 and imparted through the trials that we endure now. 124 00:10:49,140 --> 00:10:54,060 The apostle alludes to this in 2 Corinthians 4, and I invite you to turn there with me 125 00:10:54,060 --> 00:11:01,300 for a moment as we look at a parallel passage to Romans 8. 126 00:11:01,300 --> 00:11:09,060 He explains to these Corinthian believers the kind of pressure that he feels himself. 127 00:11:09,060 --> 00:11:17,760 He says in 2 Corinthians 4, 8, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. 128 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:23,420 You will notice that Paul says what his suffering is, and then he immediately goes on to say 129 00:11:23,420 --> 00:11:26,060 he is not overwhelmed by it. 130 00:11:26,060 --> 00:11:29,940 He says, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. 131 00:11:29,940 --> 00:11:33,380 Perplexed, but not despairing. 132 00:11:33,380 --> 00:11:37,940 Persecuted, but not forsaken. 133 00:11:37,940 --> 00:11:40,220 Struck down, but not destroyed. 134 00:11:40,220 --> 00:11:43,420 I like that spirit, don't you? 135 00:11:43,420 --> 00:11:49,380 He says, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life 136 00:11:49,380 --> 00:11:55,100 of Jesus also may be manifested in our flesh, in our body. 137 00:11:55,100 --> 00:12:02,140 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake. 138 00:12:02,140 --> 00:12:06,180 I believe the apostle is suggesting physical death here. 139 00:12:06,180 --> 00:12:14,180 He is saying that every day he in a sense is being delivered over to physical suffering 140 00:12:14,180 --> 00:12:21,820 and the possibility of death because of his faithful ministry in life. 141 00:12:21,820 --> 00:12:26,740 From time to time, every Christian who lives godly in Christ Jesus will know exactly what 142 00:12:26,740 --> 00:12:29,740 the apostle is talking about here. 143 00:12:29,740 --> 00:12:37,080 Verse 16, therefore we do not lose heart, though our outer man is decaying, yet our 144 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,420 inner man is being renewed day by day. 145 00:12:40,420 --> 00:12:44,820 We like to deny that the outer man decays, don't we? 146 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:48,380 We do our best to keep it in shape, and we should. 147 00:12:48,380 --> 00:12:52,980 We sometimes paint it up or get it tucked in. 148 00:12:52,980 --> 00:12:58,620 We try to do everything we can to make it appear like it's still young and vibrant, 149 00:12:58,620 --> 00:13:03,860 but all of us know the truth that the outer man is going downhill. 150 00:13:03,860 --> 00:13:07,060 It's decaying. 151 00:13:07,060 --> 00:13:09,780 But the inner man doesn't have to decay. 152 00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:13,860 That's what the apostle says. 153 00:13:13,860 --> 00:13:19,060 Sometimes the outer man decays because of suffering and persecution. 154 00:13:19,060 --> 00:13:26,660 Have you ever seen pictures of Christians who have been in the slave camps of Russia 155 00:13:26,660 --> 00:13:37,200 or Bulgaria to see their emaciated bodies, their bulging eyes because, appearing bulging 156 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:42,820 because their faces are so thin? 157 00:13:42,820 --> 00:13:50,420 And yet, though the outer man decays, the inner man knows renewal, and that's something 158 00:13:50,420 --> 00:13:54,220 the world does not understand. 159 00:13:54,220 --> 00:14:01,420 The world cannot understand why a Christian will not give in or give up his beliefs when 160 00:14:01,420 --> 00:14:07,500 he's tortured or when he's put into prison. 161 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:15,220 I read the other day about a dear brother in Christ who, back in the early church, was 162 00:14:15,220 --> 00:14:21,420 sewn up in skins and thrown to wild dogs in the arena. 163 00:14:21,420 --> 00:14:29,280 He refused to recant his faith and suffered that kind of indignation and death for Jesus 164 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:30,280 Christ. 165 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:31,280 Why? 166 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,620 Because he didn't give up. 167 00:14:33,620 --> 00:14:37,940 Though the outward man goes downhill and decays, not the inner man. 168 00:14:37,940 --> 00:14:40,740 He goes on. 169 00:14:40,740 --> 00:14:47,260 He says, for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory 170 00:14:47,260 --> 00:14:50,660 far beyond all comparison. 171 00:14:50,660 --> 00:14:54,260 While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen, 172 00:14:54,260 --> 00:15:00,700 for the things which are seen are temporal, the things which are not seen are eternal. 173 00:15:00,700 --> 00:15:02,740 You notice what he says in verse 17. 174 00:15:02,740 --> 00:15:08,300 He says, God has set into effect a certain ratio. 175 00:15:08,300 --> 00:15:17,180 It is that as you and I suffer faithfully through our moments on earth in light affliction, 176 00:15:17,180 --> 00:15:28,700 that that is producing for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 177 00:15:28,700 --> 00:15:32,140 The suffering that you endure now is significant. 178 00:15:32,140 --> 00:15:35,980 It has purpose. 179 00:15:35,980 --> 00:15:43,900 Whether your suffering is because you are a Christian, or your suffering today may be 180 00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:52,140 because of disappointment, hardship, uncertainty, and pain that comes to all men. 181 00:15:52,140 --> 00:16:00,060 In the midst of your suffering, be careful not to forget what God has in store for you. 182 00:16:00,060 --> 00:16:08,420 When we do forget, we begin to suffer from spiritual myopia, near-sightedness, and we 183 00:16:08,420 --> 00:16:14,660 see what we are going through and fail to have the long distant vision of the glory 184 00:16:14,660 --> 00:16:17,620 that is to come. 185 00:16:17,620 --> 00:16:25,220 When we lose that focus, we lose our perspective and can lose our faithfulness. 186 00:16:25,220 --> 00:16:31,020 I want us today to check our distant vision and perhaps to sharpen our focus a bit as 187 00:16:31,020 --> 00:16:37,220 we consider the culmination of God's calling in our lives as his sons. 188 00:16:37,220 --> 00:16:39,460 Paul did that. 189 00:16:39,460 --> 00:16:44,060 In verse 18, he says, I consider, I reckon. 190 00:16:44,060 --> 00:16:51,580 That word means I have come to this settled conclusion after careful analysis of the total 191 00:16:51,580 --> 00:16:54,700 situation. 192 00:16:54,700 --> 00:17:03,860 He says, I consider, I conclude that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be 193 00:17:03,860 --> 00:17:10,780 compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 194 00:17:10,780 --> 00:17:18,080 That glory, my friend, is the consummation of our sanctification, which the Bible calls 195 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:21,820 our glory or our glorification. 196 00:17:21,820 --> 00:17:24,140 That time will be made like Christ. 197 00:17:24,140 --> 00:17:30,260 Now, considering the coming glory with Christ and the blessed hope that we have, I would 198 00:17:30,260 --> 00:17:36,500 like for us to look at two truths that the Apostle tells us in our text about it. 199 00:17:36,500 --> 00:17:44,620 The first truth is that this glory is the hope of creation. 200 00:17:44,620 --> 00:17:48,340 And secondly, it's the hope of the Christian. 201 00:17:48,340 --> 00:17:54,780 In verses 19 through 22, we have what may be called cosmic soteriology. 202 00:17:54,780 --> 00:17:57,100 That is, salvation of the universe. 203 00:17:57,100 --> 00:18:07,580 Do you notice that he tells us that the creation itself is anxiously longing for something? 204 00:18:07,580 --> 00:18:13,740 That word means to be outstretched in the neck. 205 00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:18,620 It's like when you go to a concert down a symphony hall and you're in one of those seats 206 00:18:18,620 --> 00:18:23,140 where you can see part of what's going on but you can't see the whole thing, and you 207 00:18:23,140 --> 00:18:28,740 strain out trying to see more of the performance. 208 00:18:28,740 --> 00:18:35,900 Or you're in the ballpark and you want to see the play, and so you strain, you stand 209 00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:40,700 on your tiptoes, as it were, to anticipate what's going to happen. 210 00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:46,180 Well, the Apostle says that the creation is that way. 211 00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:54,020 It is anxiously longing, it is waiting eagerly, expectantly for something to happen, and that 212 00:18:54,020 --> 00:18:57,660 is the revealing of the sons of God. 213 00:18:57,660 --> 00:19:00,900 That's the hope of creation, my friend. 214 00:19:00,900 --> 00:19:05,420 Your glory. 215 00:19:05,420 --> 00:19:13,500 Creation is longing for you to be glorified with Jesus Christ. 216 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:16,140 That's its hope. 217 00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:19,420 You say, why is creation concerned about that? 218 00:19:19,420 --> 00:19:24,700 Well, because the creation is suffering. 219 00:19:24,700 --> 00:19:31,140 The creation was subjected to futility, as he says in verse 20. 220 00:19:31,140 --> 00:19:33,900 That word means frustration. 221 00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:39,780 It has to do with seeking something and not being able to find it, of desiring a certain 222 00:19:39,780 --> 00:19:48,500 goal and being unable to reach it, of coming short of a potential. 223 00:19:48,500 --> 00:19:50,700 That's the way creation is today. 224 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:55,460 It is coming short of its intended purpose. 225 00:19:55,460 --> 00:20:02,260 And with that load, that frustration, it groans in suffering. 226 00:20:02,260 --> 00:20:05,500 You say, well, why is creation that way? 227 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:11,220 You remember back in Genesis that God created, and several times God said, it is what? 228 00:20:11,220 --> 00:20:12,220 It's good. 229 00:20:12,220 --> 00:20:19,020 You see, God created the world as a perfect environment. 230 00:20:19,020 --> 00:20:22,980 There was nothing out of place. 231 00:20:22,980 --> 00:20:26,660 There was nothing to pollute it. 232 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:31,300 As much as we know, there was not even any death in those animals today that are carnivorous 233 00:20:31,300 --> 00:20:34,660 and that kill other animals to live. 234 00:20:34,660 --> 00:20:38,700 At that time, apparently, it ate grass. 235 00:20:38,700 --> 00:20:45,580 There was not death in God's creation, but man fell into sin. 236 00:20:45,580 --> 00:20:51,980 I'd like you to turn back with me to Genesis chapter 3 to show you specifically why creation 237 00:20:51,980 --> 00:20:57,880 is suffering today. 238 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:04,300 God came to fallen man and woman in the garden and had a little conversation with them with 239 00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:11,300 the serpent. 240 00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:19,220 He says in verse 17, after talking to the serpent and to the woman, then to Adam, he 241 00:21:19,220 --> 00:21:24,300 said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree 242 00:21:24,300 --> 00:21:29,900 about which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat from it. 243 00:21:29,900 --> 00:21:34,900 Dust is the ground because of what? 244 00:21:34,900 --> 00:21:38,020 Because of you, for your sake. 245 00:21:38,020 --> 00:21:42,220 In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 246 00:21:42,220 --> 00:21:48,500 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. 247 00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,580 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. 248 00:21:51,580 --> 00:21:55,620 To return to the ground, because from it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust 249 00:21:55,620 --> 00:21:58,620 you shall return. 250 00:21:58,620 --> 00:22:05,780 In pronouncing the curse of death upon Adam and his descendants, God also places a curse 251 00:22:05,780 --> 00:22:14,100 upon the ground, upon the physical earth, so that it would produce from that time on 252 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:23,460 thorns and thistles which would interfere with man and plague man and dandelions and 253 00:22:23,460 --> 00:22:28,380 all those things that we put up with today. 254 00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:34,500 At that point, apparently, animals began to be carnivorous. 255 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:36,900 Fear entered into creation. 256 00:22:36,900 --> 00:22:39,300 Up to this point, there was no fear. 257 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:46,020 Adam could walk out among all of the animals, and they were in unity. 258 00:22:46,020 --> 00:22:54,740 But at this point, fear came, and the environment drastically changed. 259 00:22:54,740 --> 00:23:01,820 Man began to suffer, and it says again back in Romans chapter 8 that the creation itself 260 00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:10,820 was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it. 261 00:23:10,820 --> 00:23:16,140 Now, there's been question by commentators as to who the him is, and I think the best 262 00:23:16,140 --> 00:23:19,540 answer is this God. 263 00:23:19,540 --> 00:23:27,740 God caused the creation to be subjected to frustration and to suffering. 264 00:23:27,740 --> 00:23:31,220 Why did God do that? 265 00:23:31,220 --> 00:23:37,920 Because the creation was originally given to Adam for his dominion, and now because 266 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:46,140 of Adam's sin, his dominion shared in the consequences of his sin. 267 00:23:46,140 --> 00:23:54,420 I think, furthermore, so that man would still be able to have a certain rule over the creation, 268 00:23:54,420 --> 00:23:58,260 it was subjected to futility. 269 00:23:58,260 --> 00:24:06,280 For man would be miserable, fallen man would be miserable in a perfect environment. 270 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:13,900 So God made the environment to fit a fallen king. 271 00:24:13,900 --> 00:24:16,340 Why do animals suffer? 272 00:24:16,340 --> 00:24:21,660 Have you ever been asked that question? 273 00:24:21,660 --> 00:24:23,500 Sometimes children ask that. 274 00:24:23,500 --> 00:24:28,020 Why do my dog have to die? 275 00:24:28,020 --> 00:24:30,660 My cat. 276 00:24:30,660 --> 00:24:36,980 Sometimes parents are not so upset with that question, but children are. 277 00:24:36,980 --> 00:24:38,980 Why is there suffering in the animal world? 278 00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:40,620 I'll tell you why. 279 00:24:40,620 --> 00:24:42,600 Because of man's sin. 280 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,340 We are the fault of it. 281 00:24:45,340 --> 00:24:49,200 The animals did not sin. 282 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:50,780 The ground did not sin. 283 00:24:50,780 --> 00:24:53,340 We sinned in Adam. 284 00:24:53,340 --> 00:25:00,020 And because of that sin, the environment is the way that it is. 285 00:25:00,020 --> 00:25:03,420 But that's not the whole story here. 286 00:25:03,420 --> 00:25:11,700 He says that in verse 21, the creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to 287 00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:15,020 corruption. 288 00:25:15,020 --> 00:25:19,420 That word set free is the same one used back in verse 2 about our being set free from the 289 00:25:19,420 --> 00:25:21,880 law of sin and death. 290 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,600 It means liberation. 291 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:33,340 The creation itself is going to be liberated from its slavery to corruption and to decay. 292 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:38,820 And it says that it too will have freedom of the glory of the children of God. 293 00:25:38,820 --> 00:25:47,860 You know why the creation is groaning in anticipation of your glorification? 294 00:25:47,860 --> 00:25:52,060 Because when you are glorified, it's going to be set free. 295 00:25:52,060 --> 00:25:53,740 That's why. 296 00:25:53,740 --> 00:25:59,940 And that is why it is so anxiously longing on its tiptoes as it were, looking for you 297 00:25:59,940 --> 00:26:05,380 to experience your destiny. 298 00:26:05,380 --> 00:26:07,520 When is that going to be? 299 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,380 When is the creation going to be set free? 300 00:26:09,380 --> 00:26:14,100 Well, I believe the answer to that is during the millennial reign of Christ. 301 00:26:14,100 --> 00:26:22,220 Jesus talks about that time as being the regeneration, Matthew chapter 19 verse 28. 302 00:26:22,220 --> 00:26:28,500 Not spiritual regeneration there, but physical regeneration of the earth seems to be in view. 303 00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:33,860 It's the period of restoration of all things, Acts 3, 21. 304 00:26:33,860 --> 00:26:40,020 It's the time that Isaiah spoke about when the deserts would blossom forth with flowers. 305 00:26:40,020 --> 00:26:45,580 When the lion and the lamb would again lay down together, one would not then be the predator, 306 00:26:45,580 --> 00:26:47,700 the other the prey. 307 00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:54,660 When the child will be able to play with a poisonous snake and not be alarmed. 308 00:26:54,660 --> 00:27:01,420 During the millennial reign, peace will come back to the groaning frustration of nature, 309 00:27:01,420 --> 00:27:03,740 of creation. 310 00:27:03,740 --> 00:27:11,220 And so creation, which was made good, now groans, but awaits its glory. 311 00:27:11,220 --> 00:27:15,860 And that glory is the glory that you are going to know, and that's what we come to next. 312 00:27:15,860 --> 00:27:22,800 For the second truth of the glory that is to come is that it is the hope of the Christian. 313 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:31,980 He says in verse 23, not only this, but we ourselves having the first fruits of the Spirit. 314 00:27:31,980 --> 00:27:35,820 Even we ourselves groan. 315 00:27:35,820 --> 00:27:38,660 Notice that he says that we have the first fruits of the Spirit. 316 00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:40,540 That's an agricultural term. 317 00:27:40,540 --> 00:27:45,860 It's a term that implies the first of the harvest. 318 00:27:45,860 --> 00:27:50,780 The Jews had a feast of the Lord that was called the feast of first fruits fulfilled 319 00:27:50,780 --> 00:27:53,500 in the resurrection of Christ. 320 00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:58,780 And on that feast occasion, they would go out to their fields of grain and take down 321 00:27:58,780 --> 00:28:04,580 a sheaf of it, the first of the harvest, and bring it back to the tabernacle of the Lord 322 00:28:04,580 --> 00:28:09,140 and there wave it before the Lord as an offering to him. 323 00:28:09,140 --> 00:28:11,220 That was the first fruits. 324 00:28:11,220 --> 00:28:12,980 It was a pledge. 325 00:28:12,980 --> 00:28:20,220 It was a symbol of all of the harvest that was to come, being dedicated to the Lord. 326 00:28:20,220 --> 00:28:26,620 This term first fruits is used of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15-20 where it says, now Christ 327 00:28:26,620 --> 00:28:31,500 has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 328 00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:37,100 In other words, his resurrection is the pledge of the resurrection of every believer in the 329 00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:38,100 future. 330 00:28:38,100 --> 00:28:45,180 It's used of Christians in James 1-18 where it says, in the exercise of his own will, 331 00:28:45,180 --> 00:28:51,660 he brought us forth by the word of truth so that we might be as it were the first fruits 332 00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:55,140 of his creatures. 333 00:28:55,140 --> 00:29:02,940 And then the same term is used of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will go throughout 334 00:29:02,940 --> 00:29:08,420 the world in the tribulation period preaching the gospel of the kingdom. 335 00:29:08,420 --> 00:29:14,660 Of them it says in Revelation 14-4, these have been purchased from among men as first 336 00:29:14,660 --> 00:29:18,340 fruits to God and to the Lamb. 337 00:29:18,340 --> 00:29:25,120 They apparently will be among the first saved after the church is taken out in the rapture. 338 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:31,820 It will be the first fruits of those who are saved during that tribulation period. 339 00:29:31,820 --> 00:29:36,300 But here in Romans 8, first fruits is not used of Christ or of Christians, but rather 340 00:29:36,300 --> 00:29:39,140 of the Holy Spirit. 341 00:29:39,140 --> 00:29:43,700 He talks about the first fruits of the Spirit. 342 00:29:43,700 --> 00:29:50,820 In other words, the Holy Spirit is given to you and to me as a guarantee of our future 343 00:29:50,820 --> 00:29:53,900 glorification with Christ. 344 00:29:53,900 --> 00:30:00,220 As it says in 2 Corinthians 1-20, God also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts 345 00:30:00,220 --> 00:30:02,860 as a pledge. 346 00:30:02,860 --> 00:30:10,180 Ephesians 1-13 and 14, having also believed you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit 347 00:30:10,180 --> 00:30:17,820 of promise, who has given us as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption 348 00:30:17,820 --> 00:30:23,340 of God's own possession, you and me, to the praise of his glory. 349 00:30:23,340 --> 00:30:32,060 The Holy Spirit is given to us as a promise from God that he will one day take us to be 350 00:30:32,060 --> 00:30:39,260 with Christ and we shall be fully like him in every way. 351 00:30:39,260 --> 00:30:43,860 The Holy Spirit is a foretaste of glory to come. 352 00:30:43,860 --> 00:30:46,520 That's one reason we groan. 353 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,420 We do groan in pain, don't we? 354 00:30:48,420 --> 00:30:52,780 You may have groaned when you got out of bed this morning. 355 00:30:52,780 --> 00:30:55,580 We do groan because our bodies are decaying. 356 00:30:55,580 --> 00:31:02,940 But I think here the groaning is a groaning of anticipation. 357 00:31:02,940 --> 00:31:13,980 Because you and I have a foretaste of glory in the person of the Holy Spirit, we anticipate 358 00:31:13,980 --> 00:31:19,900 the full inheritance that we have as sons of God. 359 00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:26,860 That's why he says we are waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons. 360 00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:31,500 That adoption legally has taken place already as we saw in verse 15, but it's not been 361 00:31:31,500 --> 00:31:35,660 fulfilled yet completely. 362 00:31:35,660 --> 00:31:39,540 We have not received the consummation of it. 363 00:31:39,540 --> 00:31:44,960 That consummation will be the redemption of our body. 364 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:49,780 That seems to be the leading feature of it all. 365 00:31:49,780 --> 00:31:55,300 I'm glad that when I die, if I should die before the Lord comes, which I don't really 366 00:31:55,300 --> 00:32:01,540 anticipate, but neither do a lot of other people who are now in heaven, but I'm glad 367 00:32:01,540 --> 00:32:07,740 that if I should die before the Lord comes that my spirit would be with Christ. 368 00:32:07,740 --> 00:32:08,740 I know that. 369 00:32:08,740 --> 00:32:11,140 I don't fear the result of death. 370 00:32:11,140 --> 00:32:16,860 I don't really look forward to the experience of dying, but the result of it does not frighten 371 00:32:16,860 --> 00:32:22,460 me because I know that to be absent from the body is to be what? 372 00:32:22,460 --> 00:32:24,740 Present with the Lord. 373 00:32:24,740 --> 00:32:28,940 But I'm glad that my hope doesn't stop there. 374 00:32:28,940 --> 00:32:33,140 You see, I'm rather attached to this body. 375 00:32:33,140 --> 00:32:37,500 Literally I am, but emotionally I'm kind of attached to this body too. 376 00:32:37,500 --> 00:32:45,140 As frail as it often is and as uncomfortable as it sometimes gets and sometimes it's in 377 00:32:45,140 --> 00:32:48,820 pain, it's still a pretty nice body. 378 00:32:48,820 --> 00:32:50,820 I'm glad I have it. 379 00:32:50,820 --> 00:32:54,100 I don't really look forward to being without it. 380 00:32:54,100 --> 00:32:58,700 I believe that during that interim time between the death of the Christian now and the resurrection 381 00:32:58,700 --> 00:33:01,940 of the body that God gives us a temporary covering. 382 00:33:01,940 --> 00:33:06,780 I think 2 Corinthians 5 indicates that. 383 00:33:06,780 --> 00:33:10,500 But there's a day coming, folks, when the bodies in which you and I now live are going 384 00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:12,700 to be raised from the grave. 385 00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:15,980 Now they won't be quite like they are now. 386 00:33:15,980 --> 00:33:16,980 Thank God for that. 387 00:33:16,980 --> 00:33:18,540 They're going to be perfected. 388 00:33:18,540 --> 00:33:23,500 They're going to be bodies of glory like Christ's own body. 389 00:33:23,500 --> 00:33:30,180 Fitted for eternity, suitable to travel throughout God's whole creation. 390 00:33:30,180 --> 00:33:33,460 Those bodies will be something else. 391 00:33:33,460 --> 00:33:37,100 That's part of our hope. 392 00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:42,100 That's why it goes on to say, for in this hope we have been saved. 393 00:33:42,100 --> 00:33:46,540 Without hope, the hope of the adoption of our bodies, our glorification, when our bodies 394 00:33:46,540 --> 00:33:48,860 will be changed to be like Christ. 395 00:33:48,860 --> 00:33:51,900 That's part of our hope. 396 00:33:51,900 --> 00:33:55,020 By hope he doesn't mean that's our uncertain desire. 397 00:33:55,020 --> 00:34:00,940 He means that is our certain anticipation. 398 00:34:00,940 --> 00:34:03,820 Now we don't have our hope at this point. 399 00:34:03,820 --> 00:34:05,180 We wouldn't call it hope if we did. 400 00:34:05,180 --> 00:34:08,780 You don't hope for something that you have. 401 00:34:08,780 --> 00:34:14,900 For something you anticipate is still out there in the future, you have hope. 402 00:34:14,900 --> 00:34:23,020 He says that's our hope that our bodies will be redeemed. 403 00:34:23,020 --> 00:34:28,820 One commentator said, the salvation given us at conversion had implicit in it promises 404 00:34:28,820 --> 00:34:31,740 which have yet to be fulfilled. 405 00:34:31,740 --> 00:34:37,260 Contrary experience may now bombard the believer's senses, but it cannot reasonably invalidate 406 00:34:37,260 --> 00:34:43,020 his glorious hope because its fulfillment essentially lies in the future. 407 00:34:43,020 --> 00:34:48,500 I tell you, we'll never get more salvation than we have now. 408 00:34:48,500 --> 00:34:56,060 But we're going to realize more of it in the future when we will be fully like the 409 00:34:56,060 --> 00:34:59,020 Lord Jesus Christ. 410 00:34:59,020 --> 00:35:04,860 Now he says in verse 25, if we hope for that we do not see. 411 00:35:04,860 --> 00:35:08,860 With perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 412 00:35:08,860 --> 00:35:13,260 Want to think about that in closing? 413 00:35:13,260 --> 00:35:19,420 There are some people who get so excited about the future glory that they decide to cash 414 00:35:19,420 --> 00:35:20,420 in all their chips. 415 00:35:20,420 --> 00:35:22,940 That's a bad analogy to make. 416 00:35:22,940 --> 00:35:30,260 They decide to give up serving the Lord now and to put on their robe as a word and go 417 00:35:30,260 --> 00:35:35,020 to the house top and sit there waiting for Jesus to come. 418 00:35:35,020 --> 00:35:38,180 And that is not God's will. 419 00:35:38,180 --> 00:35:44,580 We are to be expecting his coming every moment. 420 00:35:44,580 --> 00:35:53,180 We are to anxiously anticipate his coming, but it's to be with patience, with perseverance. 421 00:35:53,180 --> 00:35:54,620 How can we wait that way? 422 00:35:54,620 --> 00:35:58,460 Let me give you five suggestions. 423 00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:06,420 You and I wait eagerly with patience when we first of all reckon our suffering as did 424 00:36:06,420 --> 00:36:09,420 Paul. 425 00:36:09,420 --> 00:36:18,380 It's easy to get antsy about the coming of the Lord in the middle of suffering and to 426 00:36:18,380 --> 00:36:25,720 get discouraged and despondent when the Lord doesn't come and get us in the midst of trial. 427 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:29,780 So like Paul, you and I need to get the balance out. 428 00:36:29,780 --> 00:36:35,100 And on one side we need to put all of our suffering. 429 00:36:35,100 --> 00:36:41,100 And then on the other side put what the word says about the future glory that we shall 430 00:36:41,100 --> 00:36:47,580 have as sons of God and see that the glory far outweighs the sufferings. 431 00:36:47,580 --> 00:36:53,020 And when we reckon it that way, we will not get discouraged in the middle of the battle. 432 00:36:53,020 --> 00:36:56,580 We will not want to give up in the middle of the trial. 433 00:36:56,580 --> 00:37:04,340 So if you want to eagerly wait for Christ's coming with patience, then recognize that 434 00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:06,780 your suffering now has a purpose. 435 00:37:06,780 --> 00:37:10,860 It's working for you even more glory. 436 00:37:10,860 --> 00:37:16,900 Number two, be diligent in your ministry to others. 437 00:37:16,900 --> 00:37:22,140 In St. Corinthians 5-10, the apostle looks forward to the coming of Christ. 438 00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:23,740 He speaks about the judgment seat. 439 00:37:23,740 --> 00:37:29,940 He says we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give answer for what we've 440 00:37:29,940 --> 00:37:34,300 done in our bodies, whether it be good or bad. 441 00:37:34,300 --> 00:37:39,580 That's the judgment of Christians not to see if we get to heaven but for our rewards. 442 00:37:39,580 --> 00:37:41,180 That's part of Christ's coming. 443 00:37:41,180 --> 00:37:46,940 And as the apostle anticipates that, he goes on to say, knowing therefore the terror of 444 00:37:46,940 --> 00:37:50,580 the Lord, we persuade men. 445 00:37:50,580 --> 00:37:56,460 And my friend, the hope that we have in Christ is not only a glorious hope and a blessed 446 00:37:56,460 --> 00:38:01,260 hope, it's a terrifying hope. 447 00:38:01,260 --> 00:38:09,660 Because our entrance into that glory will be, as it were, through the fire of an examination 448 00:38:09,660 --> 00:38:13,820 before Jesus Christ. 449 00:38:13,820 --> 00:38:19,960 And so if I want to wait eagerly with patience for that glory, then I will be sure that I 450 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:25,940 am faithful to Christ now in this life so that I don't have to be ashamed before Him 451 00:38:25,940 --> 00:38:28,180 in His coming. 452 00:38:28,180 --> 00:38:33,780 That beam of seat judgment creates an intense desire within the believer to be approved 453 00:38:33,780 --> 00:38:35,700 of Him. 454 00:38:35,700 --> 00:38:42,860 Thirdly, stay in the Word. 455 00:38:42,860 --> 00:38:49,940 The Word of God will give you a perspective in your suffering. 456 00:38:49,940 --> 00:38:55,500 It will bring into sharp focus the issues that you face. 457 00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:57,300 Too often we are like Elijah. 458 00:38:57,300 --> 00:39:03,340 We get to feeling sorry for ourselves and we say, I am the only one left, Lord. 459 00:39:03,340 --> 00:39:10,860 Elijah forgot that there were 7,000 others in Israel who were faithful. 460 00:39:10,860 --> 00:39:12,300 God's Word brought that to him. 461 00:39:12,300 --> 00:39:13,300 He was encouraged. 462 00:39:13,300 --> 00:39:17,340 God's Word will bring encouragement to you too. 463 00:39:17,340 --> 00:39:22,420 It reminds us too that there are times of sowing and there are times of reaping. 464 00:39:22,420 --> 00:39:27,220 As we serve the Lord and suffer for Him, we sometimes get discouraged because we don't 465 00:39:27,220 --> 00:39:30,220 see more things happening in our lives. 466 00:39:30,220 --> 00:39:32,900 But remember something. 467 00:39:32,900 --> 00:39:39,460 That the Word of God tells us there are periods of sowing and then comes the harvest. 468 00:39:39,460 --> 00:39:43,380 And right now you may be in one of those sowing periods. 469 00:39:43,380 --> 00:39:49,060 Be patient for the harvest that is to come, as James 5 tells us. 470 00:39:49,060 --> 00:39:50,060 So stay in the Word. 471 00:39:50,060 --> 00:39:54,900 Allow the Word of God to give you a perspective in your suffering so that you will wait eagerly 472 00:39:54,900 --> 00:39:56,980 with perseverance. 473 00:39:56,980 --> 00:40:00,900 Fourthly, practice spiritual breathing. 474 00:40:00,900 --> 00:40:05,500 If you were here several weeks ago, you know what I mean by that. 475 00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:09,580 Keep appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you. 476 00:40:09,580 --> 00:40:14,260 One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is patience. 477 00:40:14,260 --> 00:40:18,480 And so if you want to wait eagerly for the coming of Christ and for the future glory 478 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:24,180 that is yours, then allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen you to enable you to wait with 479 00:40:24,180 --> 00:40:25,840 patience. 480 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:37,540 And finally, and maybe most important of all, develop a romance with Jesus Christ. 481 00:40:37,540 --> 00:40:44,980 If you would wait patiently for Him, preserve the flame of devotion in your heart to Jesus 482 00:40:44,980 --> 00:40:46,500 alone. 483 00:40:46,500 --> 00:40:50,700 As Jude says, keep yourselves in the love of God. 484 00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:55,780 He doesn't mean that we have to keep ourselves so that God will love us. 485 00:40:55,780 --> 00:41:01,020 He's saying keep yourselves loving God. 486 00:41:01,020 --> 00:41:08,420 Keep yourselves freshly in love with the Lord Jesus. 487 00:41:08,420 --> 00:41:11,420 Maintain a romance with Him. 488 00:41:11,420 --> 00:41:14,980 When you love somebody, you're able to wait. 489 00:41:14,980 --> 00:41:18,780 That's why some of you wives this morning could patiently wait in your car and probably 490 00:41:18,780 --> 00:41:22,900 honk your horn once or twice as your husband finished getting dressed and coming out to 491 00:41:22,900 --> 00:41:24,980 the car, right? 492 00:41:24,980 --> 00:41:29,740 Or maybe it was the other way around in some homes. 493 00:41:29,740 --> 00:41:34,420 You can patiently wait on somebody you love. 494 00:41:34,420 --> 00:41:37,540 Do you love Jesus? 495 00:41:37,540 --> 00:41:40,460 Are you falling more in love with Him? 496 00:41:40,460 --> 00:41:46,860 If so, then you can eagerly anticipate with patience His return to receive you. 497 00:41:46,860 --> 00:41:52,100 Folks, someday this hope that we see before us in this passage, this glory that's to 498 00:41:52,100 --> 00:41:55,500 come, is going to be ours. 499 00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:57,060 There's no doubt about that. 500 00:41:57,060 --> 00:42:01,860 But right now you and I have a tremendous job to do. 501 00:42:01,860 --> 00:42:08,300 And maybe these five suggestions we've given will assist you in your walk with God so that 502 00:42:08,300 --> 00:42:15,860 anticipating that hope eagerly, you can do it with patience and be faithful. 503 00:42:15,860 --> 00:42:17,500 Let's pray. 504 00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:22,020 Father, that is our desire. 505 00:42:22,020 --> 00:42:23,700 We don't want to be so heavenly minded. 506 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:26,740 We're no earthly good to you. 507 00:42:26,740 --> 00:42:32,980 We recognize you have us in this world for a reason, and we want that reason to be accomplished. 508 00:42:32,980 --> 00:42:44,220 I pray that you will give us an unfulfilled desire that we might be in love with Jesus 509 00:42:44,220 --> 00:42:45,860 more and more. 510 00:42:45,860 --> 00:42:52,340 Never let us get satisfied thinking that we love you enough. 511 00:42:52,340 --> 00:42:59,300 May we have a fervent devotion to the Savior. 512 00:42:59,300 --> 00:43:04,300 There may be some of us today, Lord, who have to confess coldness. 513 00:43:04,300 --> 00:43:06,820 Something's come in to our lives. 514 00:43:06,820 --> 00:43:10,020 Another love has come. 515 00:43:10,020 --> 00:43:16,380 And we have forgotten who we are as sons of God and what's in store. 516 00:43:16,380 --> 00:43:20,780 For those of us in that condition, I pray that you will get us on the right focus today, 517 00:43:20,780 --> 00:43:27,700 that we might have the distant vision and not suffer from spiritual nearsightedness. 518 00:43:27,700 --> 00:43:31,420 And Father, if there be someone here today without Christ altogether who's not saved, 519 00:43:31,420 --> 00:43:40,900 who has no hope and no glory, but only the fear of certain judgment, I pray that that 520 00:43:40,900 --> 00:43:44,300 one today would trust Christ and be saved. 521 00:43:44,300 --> 00:44:01,580 In Jesus' name, amen.