August 5, 2012
Morning Service

Chapter 8 has given us many truths that bring comfort to our souls.  There is no condemnation upon us as we allow the Spirit to lead us (Verse 1).  By allowing the Spirit to lead, we are granted many blessings including life and peace (Verse 6).  By yielding to Him, we also are given the privilege of a new relationship.  We are called the sons and daughters of God, and He is our Heavenly Father (Verse 14).

 

Paul explained how we are adopted into God’s family (Verse 15) and we looked at the privileges that we are blessed with.

·         Our old lives are done away with and our sins forgiven.  We have a “new” beginning.

·         We are now “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”(Verse 17)

·         We have a Heavenly Father who will give us all we need and also discipline us as we need it.

 

Rom 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.  (17)  And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; so that if we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together.

·         All who follow Christ will suffer, in some form, for our faith.  Paul has not been called to “sugar coat” the Gospel Message, but to be very truthful about it.

Phi 1:29  For to you it is given on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

·         Read Paul’s account of his suffering in 2 Cor 11:23-28.

·         Where is our suffering?

·         What is our attitude when we are called to suffer?

Act 5:40-42 And they obeyed him. And calling the apostles, beating them, they commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  (41)  Then indeed they departed from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.  (42)  And every day in the temple, and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching the gospel: Jesus Christ.

 

Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed in us.

·         Paul not only speaks to us and the suffering we endure, but also to those who were martyred for their faith.  The excruciating pain many of them endured does not compare to their reward.

·         Our attitude in suffering must come from the hope of the future, not the pain of the present.

 

Rom 8:19-22 For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God.  (20)  For the creation was not willingly subjected to vanity, but because of Him who subjected it on hope  (21)  that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  (22)  And we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 

·         All of God’s creation is longing for the day He reveals Himself to us in His return.  Sin has changed God’s perfect world (Garden of Eden) into the world of suffering, pain and death.  Nature itself suffers from the curse given by God.  Paul states that there is a universal hope for that curse to finally be lifted.

 

Rom 8:23-25 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting adoption, the redemption of our body.  (24)  For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what anyone sees, why does he also hope for it?  (25)  But if we hope for that which we do not see, then we wait for it with patience.

 

 

·         We too, as Christians, though we have been given a taste of God through His Spirit, long for our adoption to be completed and we shall “see Him as He is.” (I John 3:2)

·         It is that hope that gives us the perseverance to live this life, knowing this is not our home.  Death, pain and suffering here keep us from truly feeling at home.  We long and hope for something better.  We, like Abraham, are looking forward to a city that we have never seen.

 

Rev 21:2-7 And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband.  (3)  And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.  (4)  And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying out, nor will there be any more pain; for the first things passed away.  (5)  And He sitting on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.  (6)  And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the Water of Life freely.  (7)  He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.

 

Rom 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  (27)  And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

·         This longing for God often brings us to the point of not even knowing what to pray for.  We find ourselves speechless before God.

·         Have you been there?

·         The Spirit then “intercedes” for us and pours out our hearts desires to Him.  These verses probe into a spiritual realm of prayer that we cannot see nor totally understand.  We can, however take infinite encouragement in that we do not have to verbalize our deepest desires to God; the Spirit does that for us.

·         We are often unable to know what to pray for, but God who knows our hearts always lines it up with His will.  It is there (His will) that we who are led to by the Spirit most desire to be.

 

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

·         What comfort and joy we can take from this verse.  The fact that every event in our life is by design and that design will end in our good.

·         As we experience tragedy, heart break, suffering, frustrations, disappointments, and bereavement we often struggle with the question “why?”  Paul gives us the answer in the next few verses.

 

Rom 8:29-30 For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.  (30)  But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, those He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified.

·         God not only knows us, but He chose (predestinated) us to be like His Son.

·         Everything along our journey to meet God happens in order to mold us into the image of our Savior.  There is no such thing as luck, chance or fate; “all things work together for good.”  God has a plan for you and is preparing you to complete it. 

·         As we surrender to His will, we now can accept all things, good and bad, transform us into His image.

·         He has chosen you, called you, justified you, and one day will glorify you.

 

Along our journey to meet God, we will suffer and long for something better.  The Spirit, who leads us, will use every situation to help mold us into the person God wants us to be, and create a hope within us that will not disappoint but be fulfilled one day as we hear our Savior say; “Well done, enter in My good and faithful servant.”