Children of God

Romans 8:14-18

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Song 'cause it uh makes me think of Alex when he was younger. That's one of the first songs he learned, but he he exchanged he would instead of my debt to pay say my day to pay. So it was funny. And you were talking about Malcolm. I think his I think it was his son asked, because we were just recording some stuff, and and uh Malcolm will put it, he puts it on the internet, despite my protest sometimes. But I think his son said, Well, what if some of this goes viral? Malcolm said, we'll have to hire somebody. I said, we'll have to hire a bunch of people if anybody wants us to play anything live. That's funny. All right, uh, today we're picking up where we left off in uh Romans 8. Now, before we get into it, just a programming note. I'm I'm letting our calendar dictate our progression year. I really had originally planned on doing four more sermons to get through this chapter. But uh what include today, but I wanted to start a brief series on prophecy on September. Um, I think it's the 13th. It's the second Sunday that I'll be back, you know, after the Labor Day service Sunday. And I I planned on doing that really kind of in conjunction with the old covenant day of the Feast of Trumpets, so that only gives me three more opportunities to speak. And um so part of my problem is how I'm gonna get through, there's quite a bit of material here, how am I gonna get through all this um without keeping you too long and having you go to sleep during the service or whatever. Um so something's gonna have to be a little longer than normal. And today I didn't get much accomplished, I only got like one extra verse in. So I don't know. Well, in retrospect, I wish I'd have done more because today's is similar to what we've been going through, but I I got too far into it. Last night I was thinking about it and thought maybe I should just go back and try to redo this. Nah, I just I just don't have the energy for it. I'll be up back tonight. So uh anyway, I I just thought I'd let you know that. Another thing, um my most requested sermon ever was the one I gave about the water being turned into wine. I don't know if that's because I was telling you it's okay to drink. Uh I don't don't think so. But um I I decided I'll uh most of you are actually here, but I didn't record it. I was planning on it, but I just didn't. Um so I and I think the reason it resonated was just the take on it because uh we're in the Bible belt, so you wouldn't normally hear a take like that, I don't think. So uh I'll probably give that on the Thanksgiving service. I was thinking I would do that because it's related to the picture that Christ gave us with wine representing his blood. So we'll probably I'll probably go back through that again just so you're aware. Um anyway, now as far as today, I I feel like I I should give you a reminder of what has been taking place up to this point, given we've been apart a few weeks. Paul's been talking in chapter 8 about walking in the spirit as the way that we overcome sin in our lives. And to summarize that, basically to walk in the spirit means to be led by the spirit and to be empowered by the spirit. More succinctly, the spirit is leading us on that side of it when we know where God is wanting us to go, what direction to take. And that is true, we said, both morally and subjected, subjectively, is what I'm calling it. Morality is pretty much standard for all of us, right? We know that. But subjectively, that's more where you get a personal sense of what does God want me to do specifically? And I understand that's not always easy for us. Uh, at least we perceive it's not. We we relate more to Romans 7, we said, than to Romans 8. In other words, we know we don't always do what we would want to morally, but subjectively we just feel like we don't know what to do sometimes when we're dealing with situations that are not, you know, related to sin per se. We we may hope that there would be some dramatic movement of the spirit to make sure we're doing what God wants. I'll just say this as a 60-year-old, bona fide old man now. Uh, and I am. 60 is not the new 40. It's not, it's 60. It may be 65, actually. But let me suggest that if you are a Christian, you are normally walking in the spirit. Because you you are saying and you're thinking, I want to follow Jesus today. I want to do what God wants me to do. I'm trusting in God. I think that's really what he's talking about here, what he's referring to. It the way he expresses it, and we'll see it more as we get into it, but it's not going to be dramatic normally, and definitely not on the moral side, right? But even on the subjective, a lot of times, I think it's just going about your life. You know, going as it seems best, and it's kind of what Marilyn was talking about. God's sometimes just you're in the box of the boat and it's just going where it's going. God's leading it. Um, now it can be a little dramatic. I get that too, because I was thinking about this week. I'd learned about Faye before I left to go to Mississippi, and I thought, no, I'm I'm probably not gonna get back by the time she dies. I mean, I I didn't think I would. And even if I did, I wasn't supposed to get back here till yesterday. So, long story short, Mariah was supposed to come with me. We pretty much determined that Friday was the earliest she could get back, she could get ready because she had stuff going on there with work. And I was supposed to meet some people I worked with on Thursday evening. So basically I had it in my head, well, if they for some reason they extend it, you know, because Faye died on Monday. And so I I thought if they extend it till Saturday or Sunday night, I found out Monday, uh, I will uh, you know, I can do it. And I and I prayed about it. And then I found out it's Friday. And I've told y'all before, with with funerals, for me, I I I consider myself more of a teacher than a preacher. I I I'm not creative, and y'all have to suffer through that a lot of times. I I just I teach you things, but I don't I'm not good with analogies. And when you do a funeral, you know, you've got to you've got to be creative. I use a lot of the same scriptures, y'all that go to funerals I've been that I've done, you know that, and say a lot, some of the same things, but everyone's unique, and so every situation's unique, and so you have to go through that. And each time I find myself, you know, kind of crying out to God, basically like, please help me say something constructive here, and in a way that's you know, meaningful and good or whatever. So anyway, I found out it's Friday, and I'm like, ugh, that's the worst day. You know, Saturday, Friday, it's just one day ahead, and I mentioned it to Mariah. She said, Oh, you need to do what you think God wants you to do on that. So I'm I was like, Well, I prayed about it some more, and I said, What do you want me to do, Lord? Do you want me to go back or not? Because I I I figured, and Jeannie and I talked a little bit about it, the the way that Jerry had talked, I thought, well, maybe they got somebody to do it. I think there was a chaplain that visited some, so I thought, well, maybe he knows her son. And so anyway, as soon as I finished praying, I went to get my phone. I left it in another room, and Jerry had called. She just right then. And so I called her back. But before I called, I prayed again. I said, Lord, if you want me to go back to do it, just um just when I ask her, will you just let me know if they don't have anybody, then I'll go. And if they do, then you know, I'll I'll find out if she's comfortable with that. Um, because part of me wanted to go back, and then part of me felt like, well, I need to go see the people I worked with and stuff, but all that. But um, so I just asked her, you have anyone else yet? And she's like, Well, no, we don't, but please, if you're there, don't make a trip to come back and all that. But as soon as she said that, it's like the spirit said, There's your answer, bud. So you need to go back. Um, and so I was at peace with that definitely at that point. Um, and he's not always that direct, but you all know sometimes he is. If if there's something he really wants you to do, and you really want to know what he wants you to do, uh, then he'll let you know. And then that's the being led part. As far as empowering us, again, if you are a Christian, again, you are walking in the spirit. It's just a matter of us being more consistent and trusting in God for the power to move forward. Now, again, there are times when our lives can sense the supernatural more than others, but the reality is, as Christians, our lives seem pretty normal, right? I mean, they're just it's pretty natural as opposed to supernatural, don't you think, or at least that's my sense of it. The Spirit is empowering us every day, so he's giving us strength to not sin, to follow God, to move in directions. And perhaps he does that in what we might think of as mundane ways, but God is certainly working. And we're gonna get to more of this. That's he's been indicating that, and we're gonna get more into this then as we read what we've got today. So let's go ahead and pray and we'll read. Father in heaven, I thank you again that you uh do lead us and that you give us strength. We can't do anything without it, even though we don't always fully sense it. But we thank you, Father, for what you tell us in your word because we know it is true and you have revealed yourself to us, and we pray that you'll help us to take these things to heart. This is a wonderful passage as it highlights us being your actual children. Thank you for your great love for us and mercy for us. And we ask for your guidance name, Jesus' name. Amen. All right, so Romans 8, and I'll read verses 14 through 18. For all those led by God's Spirit are God's sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, instead you received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba Father. The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children, and if children also heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed in us. Okay, so verse 14 is a very black and white statement as far as who belongs to God. All those led by God's Spirit are God's sons. And so I've already mentioned this really in the introduction. Verse 14 is summing all that up. So again, I don't know where each of you are on this. Um I do know that some people think that being led by the spirit is this idea of I I couldn't find a good phrase that I wanted to use, but being highly sensitive, like, oh yeah, the spirits want me to do this. You know, it's just really um like I got a very strong vibe. Maybe we put it like that, you know. People think that about what God wants me to do. Uh some people say they're waiting on a word from the Lord. You've probably heard that. You may have said that. I don't know. Like again, I'll get a very strong indication. But as I've indicated, I it's as much, if not more, about just following what Scripture says. And if you're following Scripture, you're definitely following God's lead after all the Holy Spirit inspired all the biblical writers. But it is true, as we've said, it's not all just about obeying the moral code. We all have goals, we all have, you know, even it's just a goal to get through the day, right? We're trying to get something done. We have to make decisions, and in those decisions, a lot of times, it's not that there's a wrong direction, you know, neither neither decision, neither way is wrong. But as Christians, if God has a specific direction for us, we want to know that, right? Now, frankly, and you can feel free to disregard this if you like. Of course, that could be true with anything I say, I guess, but uh I I'm not sure God always has a specific preference for us. Sometimes I think he just wants us to trust that he's going with us whatever direction we take. I say this, and I don't know if this is your experience, but my experience is there have been some decisions where there's door A and door B, and I don't get a strong sense that God cares which way I go, and it can be fairly significant. Not a lot of times it's just mundane decisions during the day, but I mean I don't think that God cares that much. The issue is, I think, is am I trusting God as I go? Um, God will go with us. Now, it is good, of course, I think, and major decisions. I know when I decided to retire, I, you know, it came to me, oh, I I think I may want to retire. And I I definitely asked God about that for a couple of days before I wanted to do it. But the fact is, I I planned on staying longer. I think if I'd have decided to stay longer, God would have still stayed with me. But I think he was telling me, yeah, it's fine for you to go ahead. So, in fact, he'll even go with us if we picked the wrong door. Sometimes that can be a rough road, right? We've probably all done that before, too. Um, I had mentioned, I don't know if you'll remember, but when we studied Acts, Paul and his group had planned to go to Asia. And we don't know exactly why, but Luke writes um that's what they had planned to do. But they were forbidden by the spirit. They were just trying to figure out, it seems, where to go. They decided to go to Asia, and then the Spirit wouldn't let them, and we don't know how the Spirit stopped them. It is true that, you know, sometimes God spoke directly to the apostles, so he may have spoken directly, but maybe he just closed the door so they couldn't go. A lot of people want to get guidance from God that feels supernatural. I think we understand that. We want to be sure we're following God. So we'd like to have this spectacular revelation, we might say. Um, and we can get a strong impression, I know, but I generally think that living in the realm of the spirit is more natural than supernatural. I think that's the reason Paul, he's not talking about supernatural things here. He's just saying you are the children of God if God lives in you. Things happen after things happen in life, and we've all experienced this where it seems like you were nudged in a certain direction, sometimes pushed in a direction like you didn't really have that much choice in it. The Holy Spirit can lead in a lot of different ways. And of course, yeah, there could be dreams and visions, but honestly, even in scripture, comparatively, we don't see that a lot. And I would say, you know, if you don't have peace about something, or if you do have peace about something, that's a good indicator, you know, if you don't have peace about it, that could be the spirit saying, hold up here. Obviously, if something lines up with what you see in scripture, I know I've read, we've talked about narratives before when we read like in 1 Samuel, and just things that are going on with Samuel or David or whoever, and something happens in their life, and for whatever reason it translates to your life, and you think about it and you say, Oh, maybe that's the spirit. Yeah, that could be. So that's another way, of course, godly counsel from each other, from fellow believers. Just be open to the spirit's prompting. And again, and you know this, I'm not talking about sin, of course, but I think God just often wants us to walk where we're inclined to go. If it's some big move, God will be more vocal, shall we say. He's a big God, he will let you know if what his will is if you're open to it and it's something big. And if you're Christian, of course, you do want to know what his will is. So, in effect, verse 14 is telling us if you are a child of God, you are being led by the Spirit of God. You're being led by the Spirit, not perfectly every moment, because of course we get distracted, we get drawn in other directions, we can be tempted, all that. But in general, we are trying to follow God. The Holy Spirit lives in us, so he is directing us, he will convict us sometimes in an obvious way, sometimes in a more subtle, not so obvious way. I mean, isn't it true? If you look back on your life, some things just seem to happen that put you on the course you ended up on. My dad talked about this, the man talked about it with you too, sis. He mentioned it to me a couple of times in probably the last year of his life, just about how he could look back and see where God had denied something, he didn't get a job, or he he did get end up going here or there, and he just said it all like he got funneled into this place, and it was such a blessing. I mean, he just marveled at it, just looking back at it. And we've probably all experienced, I think all of us experienced that. I remember thinking when Alex graduated in um college, and he was going to work in Knoxville, and I went over there with him because he took this job that they offered him. He didn't know a soul. And I mean, I personally probably wouldn't have the courage to do it. He he just went, and I remember being in there with him in that apartment and him not knowing anybody. I went to eat with him or something, and I remember feeling kind of angst, you know, like, here he is, what's gonna happen? And I, you know, after I got in the car and was praying about it, it just came to me, you know, God just seems to direct a lot of big decisions behind the scenes, so you don't even really, you're not even really aware of what's happening while it's going on. Um, you're just doing the best you can. And then you realize that's what God intended, that's where he intended for you to be anyway. I'm certain that Alex feels like that now. Um, so God is really gracious with us. Um He's behind a lot of the things, and sometimes it's again, it's really not like we have that much choice in it. We're walking in the spirit, and we're kind of getting gently nudged along as we go. And we just say, okay, that seems to be where we're headed, so that's where I'm walking. That's where I'm going. Now, verse 15 is interesting in that Paul anticipates, I think, the types of questions we've been asking. Again, am I really, really following what God wants me to do? I think that's why he says we're not to have a spirit of fear, to fall back into slavery. The slavery term, as Paul used it, can mean at least three things that I'm aware of. One is license and sin, being a slave to that. Another is being a slave to legalism and the law, and then a third one is being a slave to the fear of death. Um, what he he means the law here. He's talking about being afraid you'll do something wrong. I was reading about this kid who wouldn't eat his breakfast until he got a word from the Lord about what cereal to eat. No joke. I don't know how I wonder if he ever ate. How did he finally figure out that the oh yeah, he wants me to have fruit loops today instead of? Applejacks. I mean, I I don't know. I didn't read, I just caught a glimpse. I'm like, what in the world? He he didn't want to make a wrong move. There's people like that. That's fearful. That sounds miserable. Afraid to do anything. Oh, I gotta wait and make sure I'm doing the right thing. Paul is saying that's not what this is. The spirit is within me, within you. He is in our lives. Yes, he can be very subtle. We want to be yielded to him, but he's also bigger than us. If I'm open to him, I don't have to go about fretting every decision to the nth degree. Living as a child of God means that we are in an intimate and joyful relationship with him. It's so close, we're told here, we can cry out, Abba Father. And as you may have heard, Abba is the Aramaic word for father. That's sometimes equated with the English word daddy. Not sure it's exactly the equivalent, but it certainly is more personal than the formal title of father. And we're God's children, so it's just indicating for us again, walking in the spirit is not a special kind of magic. It's just living in a relationship with our heavenly father, with our Abba. And that's what Paul is emphasizing here as he calls us God's sons. So when he does that too, as Paul is apt to do, kind of shifts his focus. And so he shifts then, he shifted from walking in the spirit to our status as God's children. And there's a similar passage over in Hebrews 2 that also brings out some more clarity to this, brings some more clarity. Hebrews 2, and starting in verse 10, for in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Now there's two words there that come out in our passage and in some other passages. One is glory and one is sufferings. And we're going to talk about both of them. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will sing hymns to you in the congregation. Again, I will trust in him. And again, here I am with the children God gave me. All those in verse 12 and 13 are quotes from the Old Testament. And so the Hebrew writer is bringing those in and saying, These were foretelling that God was going to make you his children, make you brothers and sisters of the Messiah. Now, since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death, that is the devil, and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. And then there, where I mention that's another way he looks at slavery, is that we have a fear of death. We can be free of that now, because Jesus conquered the grave. We conquer the grave too. And so we see that there. And then again, the sense of being brought to glory. And I'm going to come back to that. We we see that in verse 17 in Romans 8 and also in verse 30. But all this reinforces that we are the children of God. We have the Spirit of God. We are led by the Spirit of God. We don't have to be fearful being in Christ. He also then provides the parallel over in Romans 8 of adoption to help us understand. Now we'll see more next week that he he talks about the fullness of the adoption, if you will, doesn't come until Christ returned. But we've been given the Holy Spirit, as it says in Ephesians, that's our down payment, our guarantee that that is coming. And in the Roman world, during Paul's time, an adopted son was chosen by, was chosen deliberately by his adoptive father. And what it and if they were in a family, sometimes they wouldn't be, but if they were in a family, and for whatever reason they left that family to be adopted in another one, they lost all rights in the old family. They were no longer part of the old family. They were 100% total in the new family. They would have the family name, they would inherit the estate just as a natural son would. And they they gained all rights in the new family, and the effects of the old life was completely wiped out. So that's what he's telling us has happened. Our old life was completely wiped out. Now, again, we understand the tension we feel dealing with our flesh, but he's saying the debts are canceled. Paul's painting a vivid picture here. A legalist is only certain that he's got obligations to fulfill the law, but he's never certain he's done enough, you know, to really feel those obligations. That's why he's striving to be good enough, to obey more laws. He's unsure anytime if he fails to do something correctly. Can I make it up? Can I do enough to get back in the good graces? Being a child, we know it's not like that. It's not something you obtain, it's something that was given to you by your parents. The parent-child relationship is not based on performance at all. Now, of course, children should obey their parents. And when they don't, the parent needs to discipline their child out of love, but the parent doesn't disown the child. In fact, the reason you discipline a child, we know, is because you love them, right? And you want them to learn to do the right thing. The point Paul is stressing here is your status as a child is not based on anything you do. It's not based on anything you do, it's not on your performance at all. There's no security and legalism, but we're not under the law anymore. Praise God. Verse 16 is even more assurance. The spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children. Regarding God as Father, then is natural for us. The Spirit, again, which I mentioned that in Ephesians, Paul is saying, the Spirit's your guarantee. The Spirit in us gives us assurance we are God's children. That and understanding, you know, that we believe Jesus died for our sins. There's a similar passage in Galatians 4 as well, so I'm going to turn there. Galatians 4. And beginning in verse 6. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then God has made you an heir. And there the slavery he is talking about in that context is legalism. And that's somebody even said that I can't remember who wrote it, but but anyway, they said it looked like that Paul was writing a rough draft of Romans and Galatians, because it was written first, and then he expands on a little more in Romans. And we also, well, Paul is clear, let me first say this. Paul is clear that the relationship of a believer with God is a family, it's a familial relationship. And we understand that. It helps us relate to it. God views us as his children. We don't have to wonder if we are really Christians or not. God's children know who they are. Guzk makes the point that the Jewish law stated that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, everything had to be established. It's over in Deuteronomy 17, I believe it is. But Guzick says, there are two witnesses to our salvation: the witness of the Spirit and our own witness. So we have salvation. We're God's children. And we see the term heir in Galatians 4, verse 7. Paul says in verse 17 of Romans 8, because we are children, we are also heirs, indeed, co-heirs with Christ, as we would be since we are his brothers and sisters. Being a child of God means inheriting what God gives us. Again, the point is we don't do anything for it. We receive it as heirs. That's because we're in the right family. As they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know. We've heard that before. People who have children normally leave what they have to their children. Their children are their natural heirs. Unless they were disowned for some reason or there's some other in our situation, we worked out a deal to pass it on to the grandchildren. That happens sometimes. Or somebody might want to give it to charity, you know, there's different things, different reasons, but normally it's going to the children, or maybe the spouse, right? It'll go to the spouse if the spouse is alive, but isn't it interesting that we're also the spouse? We're the bride of Christ, we're part of Christ's bride, so we're both, we're the heir. Uh if they have no children, it would go to the closest relative. I'm reading Genesis. Um it's in my personal study right now. I'm going back through Genesis, and I just came across just recently where Abraham is complaining to God that he he's going to have to leave everything he has to his most trusted servant because he didn't have an heir. Um and under ordinary circumstances, of course, you leave what you have to your children. Uh and that made me think as a side note. I don't know if I even mentioned this to y'all. Mariah had to deal with an estate that was pretty contentious, and she wanted me to go to deal with the accounting part of keeping track of everything. And there had to be sheriff's deputies there because the five siblings were at each other. And Mariah was like, the first thing we want to deal with are the quilts. Because the mother had made, I don't know how many quilts. They're literally, I don't know if there were 50 or not, but you know, they were gonna have to just divide these up because she didn't specify in the wheel, who got what quilt. And goodness gracious, those people. I remember I said it'll be interesting, and she wasn't kidding. Because it's like mama wants me to have that. Mama wouldn't want me to have that. I gave that to mama, and it was three sisters and two brothers. The three sisters were all pretty contentious. One of the brothers was was pretty much so, and then one, you know, was just pretty easy going. He's like, whatever. You know, he didn't want any trouble. But the other four, I thought they was going gonna get after it, you know. And as I say that, that's been months ago, and one of the siblings is already dead. She she had stage four cancer at the time. And I was thinking, why is she getting so maybe she wanted it to go to her kids? I don't know, I shouldn't judge, but um, but wow. You know, point is I would say thinking about what we're heirs to, God's estate, we we don't need to get too upset, you know, about those sort of things. Um in the situation where you know there's quilts and stuff. I don't know. It was just eye-opening to me. But anyway, when it says we're heirs of God's estate, because that's how we would take it, I'm not sure how broadly to take that. What is God giving to us? Well, it says that we may be glorified with him. That's kind of a vague term to us, being glorified. Anytime I see that, I'm like, I don't sure what that means. I know it means we get eternal life. Um, so I looked at scripture, it looks to me like the biggest passage about it is over in 2 Corinthians 3. 2 Corinthians 3. I'm only only going to read one verse out of it. He actually starts in verse 7 and goes all the way to the end of the chapter talking about it. And what he's doing is what Paul's doing is comparing the Old Testament glory to New Testament glory. And he's basically New Covenant glory. He's basically indicating, you know, new covenant glory is much far surpasses the old covenant. But notice what he says at the very end to conclude it, verse 18, he says, We all with unveiled faces are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. This is from the Lord who is spirit. Now, clearly, again, I think we understand that when Christ returns, and but what the Bible's indicating is our ultimate destiny is to be glorified like Christ. And so we'll have resurrected bodies, that's part of it. We'll be sinless, that's part of it. But the word there transformed is the word from where it's we get metamorphosis. It's like, and so it says being transformed from glory to glory. It's also the words that that's used when it talks about Jesus at the transfiguration. So I think that it's saying that, yeah, we're being transformed now. It's glory, it's building on itself, and when Jesus returns, then there'll be the fullness of it. Um, yes, it certainly includes eternal life, but it must be more than that. I somebody suggested maybe it means we inherit God or what God owns, He passes it down to some in some way. I mean, eternal life is amazing enough. This is mind-boggling when you think about it. It's like God wants to give us so much, wants to give us all this. But now, do note this it does say if we indeed suffer with him. What does that mean? Well, we know as God's children, we're not immune from suffering. We need to remember this: Christ suffered, we will suffer. And as I've said it numerous times, when we talk about suffering, there is this distinction in scripture. Sometimes it's just referring mainly to persecution where you're suffering because you're a Christian. And then, of course, other times, you know, just suffering. Uh, we don't really live in an area where we suffer just because we're Christian. I mean, we just don't. Richard and I were talking about it the other day. We both believe it's coming. Um, because the only question is when, I think, because there's a very hostile undercurrent in our country towards Christianity. And I think you mentioned about the the black pastor in Michigan. Didn't you tell me that? And then I saw Solabit. I don't know if y'all saw that. He was in there talking about how Sharia law had taken over their town. And he was just trying to get the council members to at least denounce Sharia law, and they wouldn't. And I mean, it's it's coming. Um here the suffering, so the suffering, at least in some instances, is including our sufferings for Christ. It seems to be broader here, what Paul is talking about. It seems to be referring to what I think Peter also mentions, and so I'm gonna read what he says. 1 Peter 4 12. Now he, dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. There is that connection again that sufferings and the glory. And then he goes on to talk about persecuted Christians. And the reason they emphasize that so much is because they were being so persecuted by the Roman Empire in that day. But notice what he says in verse 19. So then, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful creator while doing what is good. So anytime we're suffering for God's will, that could be any suffering because God can always pull us out of whatever it is. If we're suffering because of sickness or a loved one's having difficulty, or loved one dies, or any kind of struggle, work, whatever it is, any kind of suffering. Um that's Peter is saying there, he's broadening the context, I believe. And so what he's saying is we need to be open, we we have to follow God in our suffering no matter what it is. Continue to trust in him even as you suffer. We don't know why he's always letting it happen, but it says, you know, over there in Romans 8, and we'll get to it maybe next time, that whatever you're going through, he's working it for the good for those that love him. You know, whatever you're dealing with. Another passage I won't turn to, but it's over in 2 Timothy 2, 11 through 13. Over there he says we need to endure with Christ. He can uh in other words, he writes that our reigning with Christ is conditioned on our enduring with him. So, of course, the word endurance would indicate hardship in some way. Well, we don't endure comfort, we like comfort, so we're not enduring that. So it's definitely indicating that as well. So, anyway, again, it's putting all that glory with sufferings. And so if we go back to Romans 8 and verse 18, we see that whatever we are suffering at the present time is not even worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us, the CSB says. I think most translations say in us. So I looked up the word, and you know what it can be translated either in or to, but you know what's translated most often is into us. So we'll go with that. Glory into us. That's a remarkable statement. It's saying, appears to be saying, the glory of Christ manifest into us. Somehow or another, that glory will be revealed in us, and apparently is related to our suffering. So, whatever that means, the interesting thing is that the Bible does remind us that really our afflictions are light in comparison to eternity. And uh we see this over in 2 Corinthians 4. I know I'm turned to more scriptures than usual, but I when I got into this, we need to be reminded. I know I don't need to be reminded, um, that our sufferings, there's great purpose in them. God has reason for them to link them to our destiny as being glorified in Christ is, you know, it's really very powerful. And I don't know that I've even thought about it in that way as much, but I just came across all these verses as I was looking at it. Um, and I I even mentioned it at Faye's funeral, you know, because it struck me as I was preparing for it. She she's I talked to Jerry, she had fallen, and she's such oh I mean, Jerry, I could tell was relieved. She had been so, Faye had been so in pain the last week, and just so difficult. And really the last year she'd struggle, but I mean the last week was really, really difficult. And that's not unusual, is it? I mean, for people you love as they I mean, definitely happened to mom. Dad, he by the time he went, he was doing a little better, we thought, but he had had a rough last month after he had fallen. I mean, just rough. And I I don't know what that is exactly, but notice 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 4, and verses 16 through 18. Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable, eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Any current affliction we have in our mortal bodies, we should consider to be light. Why? Because the affliction is somehow producing for us that look at that again, an absolutely incomparable weight of glory. That's pretty heavy if you think about it. I don't even know again fully what it means, but there's a weight of glory and a lightness of affliction by comparison. Well, if you think about your afflictions, they don't seem so white, do they? They seem heavy. But what Paul is saying is compared to the glory, think about the real, that's really weighty. So if that seems heavy to you, no eyes seen, no errors heard, as the Bible says, when the glory is revealed. That will be amazing. And this is coming from Paul, who had been beaten how many, many times. Everywhere he went, he was in danger. And he just says, our afflictions are temporal. I've said this many times, but it's true, and it actually speaks to the good spiritual education my son's got here. And I don't include myself in that, but came from Jeannie and Karen and Pat. Probably some of you others. But after Seth died, of course they were devastated. I was devastated, just rocked. But I think they were more helpful to me than I to them. They would remind me, I don't know how often, Dad, it's a short time. Eternity is a long time. Yeah. As difficult as the loss is, they'd say, we got to have that perspective. And they were right. And I knew that, but I need to be reminded of it. We need to be reminded of it when we're going through those very difficult times. But that's what Paul is saying here in Romans 8 and these various other scriptures. Suffering is momentary, it's a vapor. Our life is a vapor, we're told. Our glory in Christ is forever. And again, I wish I knew how to describe it, but the Bible doesn't. It's probably, as Paul said, when he went to the third heaven, I can't really describe it. It's so amazing. So all right. Well, I had wanted to get further today, but I definitely don't want to rush through what's coming up when Paul talks about the creation eagerly waiting for God's sons and daughters to be revealed. We'll get to that next time. Maybe even make it to the Calvinist section, but I've got two sermons to cover a lot of material. We can do it. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Just Father, what an encouraging just passage. We just praise you. Thank you so much. We're so blessed to just understand your revelation and that you're so generous to us and that you sent Christ to die for us. We we praise you, Father. And we pray that you'll help us to just be a blessing to others, be an encouragement to them. And if you can use us in any way to help others come to you, please do so. We pray for our friends and family, um, any of them that don't know Christ, that you would just bring them to you. And we know you want them. You want them, Father. We so we we praise you. We thank you for your great love. Thank you for leading us. Thank you for being so kind to us. And we just ask that you will give us guidance as we go through the week. In Jesus' name. Amen.