Suffering In The Life of A Believer

Transcript

GRM 811
9/29/2002
Suffering in the Life of a Believer
Romans 8:18-39
Gil Rugh

We’re going back to the book of Romans this evening. Sort of leads us to the conclusion of really what we’ve been talking about in this series on the Christian life, and it wouldn’t be fitting to stop without finishing Romans. We touched on where Paul’s taking us, we talked about the freedom from sin in Romans 6, having died with Christ. That’s what breaks the power of sin in a life, what frees a person from the hold and grasp of sin, the slavery to sin, or what the world today delights in calling addictions. I’ve shared with you an article that appeared a number of years ago in Newsweek magazine entitled something like “Our Addiction to Addictions.” Really what the Bible says is sin enslaves, takes control of a person, dominates them, but in Christ we are set free. Then the first part of Romans chapter 8 we’re told we’re not only set free, but the Spirit of God Himself moves into the life of the person who has been redeemed and becomes the indwelling power of God to lead and control that life now. The person lives, honoring to the living God.

In all of this God is moving us to glory, but even though we’ve been set free from the power and domination of sin, Satan and the world, even though we have the Spirit of God residing within us, life can be painful and difficult. Paul addresses that matter in the last part of Romans chapter 8. You can talk about the matter of suffering in the life of a believer. Even though we become a believer we’ve not left the world and there’s that general suffering that goes on. By general suffering I mean loved ones die, illness comes into the lives of those who belong to God as well as those who don’t. There are pressures, financial difficulties, our children maybe go astray. There are a variety of kinds of difficulties, pressures and trials that do come into our lives. Added to that are often the pressures that come because we are believers and there’s persecution and opposition that compound the difficulty. If we’re honest even as believers, we have to admit there are times when we’re discouraged.

There are times when it seems the burdens, or the pressures, start to get to us and we all realize how weak we are when those times come. All of a sudden it just seems like all the energy has been taken out of us and we want to say Lord I don’t know that I can go on, this is getting to be too much. It’s those situations that Paul is now going to address. He puts it in the context of the fact that we are God’s children. In Romans, chapter 8 beginning with verse 14, "all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." At the end of verse 15, we are privileged to call Him "Abba, Father and the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children heirs also of God and fellow heirs with Christ in order that we may also be glorified with Him." That’s our exalted position and our glorious destiny. Then in verse 18 Paul says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." He takes that occasion as he carries us to the glory that’s promised to us to anchor that in the reality of what we may be experiencing presently today. True we have future glory, but life today can be very difficult, maybe very unpleasant, it may seem very burdensome.

Well, He’s promised that if we’ve suffered with Him, we’ll be glorified with Him. In verse 17, "if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may be glorified with Him." Paul sees our sufferings as part of the plan of God, now that we are in Christ, in preparing us for future glory. Romans 8:18, "For I consider," and that word consider represents a firm conviction or conclusion that as a result of a careful consideration of the evidence. So, I consider as I carefully have evaluated all the evidence, the fact is no matter how great, how painful, how unpleasant the sufferings of this present time are, they are nothing in comparison to the glory that will be ours. You’ll note the contrast. Paul does this in other places as well. "The sufferings of this present time," and that’s literally of the now time, emphasizing the fact these sufferings that we may have to endure are limited to this present time. They're the sufferings of the now time, this present time, and that’s the limit of those sufferings. Put it in the proper context. He wrote to the Corinthians and referred to the sufferings they were going through, but the eternal weight of glory, the momentary light afflictions, Paul said, are not worthy to be compared with the eternal weight of glory. It’s the sufferings of the present time, the now time, are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us. Now part of the difficulty we have is the glorious future and the sufferings are now. We probably wouldn’t be honest if we didn’t all admit, or I’ll admit for you, that there are times when we think I would exchange a little bit of my sufferings for a little bit of my future glory. Since my future glory is so limitless and endless, I wouldn’t mind having a little bit more of it now and a little less suffering. That’s what Paul wants to address, the purpose that these sufferings have.

Verse 19, "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." He expands the picture here. All creation has come under the curse of sin and the picture here is of the non-rational creation of animals, plants, the creation around us as we see it apart from the personal creation, human beings. That all labors under the weight of sin. Now the creation itself didn’t sin in that part, Adam and Eve sinned, but the non-rational creation, the trees and the plants and all of that didn’t sin. But everything God created was impacted by the sin of Adam and Eve, and so in Genesis 3 God said now the earth will bring forth thorns and so on. All creation is viewed as existing in anticipation, and he uses a picture here of the creation anxiously longing. The picture is of someone stretched out and looking, trying to see for what’s on the horizon, and what’s on the horizon for creation is glory, the lifting of the curse. The creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. Now we are sons of God already, that was back in verses 14 to 16, which we read a few minutes ago. But we have not been revealed and unveiled before creation. We know we’re the children of God, and we recognize others who have believed in Jesus Christ as children of God, sons of God also, but generally the sons of God go unrecognized. But there’ll come a future day when the sons of God will be revealed; there’ll be an unveiling and we will be displayed in all the glory that God has prepared for those who love Him.

"For the creation was subjected to futility not of its own will but because of Him who subjected it in hope." Creation was subjected to futility, emptiness, purposelessness. The creation is unable to fulfill the purpose of its existence. There is an emptiness about life all around, and even the creation that was displayed to manifest fully the glory of God, that’s been marred and hindered. There is an emptiness about all of this. It wasn’t of its own will, but it was because of God who subjected it in hope. In other words, because of sin, it was God’s plan that all creation would be impacted by it so that be God’s grace all creation ultimately would experience the impact of redemption. Now that does not mean that everyone is going to be saved. The scripture delineates this very clearly. In the personal creation there is a division between those that will be sentenced to an eternal hell and those who will enjoy eternal glory. In the context of Christ’s redemption all of creation, including the non-personal creation, will experience the impact of redemption. It will happen when Christ comes.

In verse 21," the creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God." When we are unveiled as the sons of God, His children, then the curse will be lifted. That’s when the desert will blossom as a rose, when the lion will lie down with the lamb. Turn back to Isaiah 11, familiar passage to many of you, Isaiah chapter 11. You’ll note this is in the context of when Jesus Christ will rule and reign on the earth. When you come down to verse 6 of Isaiah 11, "the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, the calf and the young lion, the fatling together. A little boy will lead them. The cow and bear will graze, the young will lie down to together, the lion will eat straw like the ox, the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." That’s what we’re talking about when the curse is lifted from the creation. You see even the animal world experiences the impact of the redemptive work of Christ.

You know what this all is waiting for? For one thing we say the return of the Lord. Yes. Another way to put it, the unveiling of the sons of God. Because when He returns in glory, we will come with Him, and all creation will behold us as the redeemed of God. That reference in Isaiah 35 I referred to earlier where the desert will blossom as the rose or the crocus, you might want to just jot down Isaiah 35. Then come back to Romans 8. You know I received something in the mail Thursday or Friday here at church and received it because I assume they sent it to all churches and religious people around. It was encouraging us to get involved in some kind of environmental things, you know earth day or something (I don’t think it was earth day, but that kind of thing). I have to admit I didn’t read it very carefully before I filed it appropriately. But you know as believers we understand, number one, that the world is not going to self-destruct and, you know, we’re not destined toward a cataclysm because we’re putting too many things in the air that are changing the temperature. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be careful, that we don’t have to use wisdom, but the fact is the creation labors under the curse. In many ways the creation goes from bad to worse like people do, because the impact of the curse is there and there is a deterioration all around, not only in the personal realm of human beings but in the non-personal realm, the environment has its problems and that. But the Bible presents the solution to this, and the solution is the time when the sons of God will be unveiled when Jesus Christ comes. Then everything will be set in order. We need to be sure we are shaped by the Biblical truth in these kinds of areas.

Verse 23 says, verse 22, "the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." Creation, you’ll note, is in turmoil and travail and pain. But it’s not the pain of death, it’s the pain of birth. The picture here, the travail, the labor that results in something glorious, not something terrible. Labor is in anticipation of the birth of a child, that’s the picture. "Not only this but we are also ourselves," now let’s get more personal here. Paul brings it back to where his concern is, as he talked about in verse 18, our sufferings in this present time. He has shown this is a time of suffering and trial and the whole creation is experiencing this, but it all is focused on the glory that will be ours. "Not only this but we ourselves also having the first fruits of the Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of the body." The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is what is called the first fruits here. Now remember the first fruits in the Old Testament; they were the first ears of grain and so on that were brought and presented before the Lord which what? Were the evidence of a coming harvest. So, the Holy Spirit being within us is simply the first stage, if you will, and the initial blessings of what God promises is to come. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is not just to empower and enable him to live a godly life, but it is the evidence that there is far more blessing to come that we have yet to experience.

Look over in Ephesians, chapter 1, going back a little bit from Romans through Corinthians, the Book of Galatians and Ephesians. In Ephesians, Chapter 1 you have the exact same picture, a little different analogy but the same thing being pictured. Chapter 1 of Ephesians, verse 13, "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise." The Holy Spirit coming into the life of the one who believes is God’s seal that we now belong to Him. But the Holy Spirit is more than just a seal. Note the next verse. "This Holy Spirit of promise is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of His glory." He’s given as a pledge, as a down payment, as a guarantee. It’s called the earnest of the Spirit. When you buy a house, you put down earnest money, which is what? The money that is to guarantee that you will go through with the contract. Well, you note what the Holy Spirit is? God’s earnest to us, His guarantee He’s going to complete the contract. It guarantees our redemption. Verse 14, "a view to the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of His glory." God’s given us the Holy Spirit as His guarantee to us He will complete the work of redemption and it will be to the praise of His glory.

When you come back to Romans 8 it’s the same picture, only in Romans 8 the Holy Spirit is called the first fruits. Same thing, though, is being pictured. It’s the guarantee of what is yet to come because let’s face it, in this present life basically we can experience a lot more of the pain and suffering than we do of the glory. I’m not minimizing God’s blessing and God’s provision in our lives, but as far as the glory, that is yet to be seen. That’s why it is called our future hope. We have God’s blessings, God’s joy, but the glory? No. We hardly have but a taste of what He has for us and what is yet to come.

"Waiting eagerly for our adoption," back in Romans 8:23, "we groan within ourselves." There is this picture of laboring under burden and load and difficulty we groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons. Again, He’s made clear we are the sons of God but waiting until we are placed fully with all the prerogatives and all the glory of sonship. When will that occur? Well, when we experience the redemption of the body, called glorification. That’s our adoption as sons, that’s when we are placed fully before all as the sons of God, when our body is redeemed. So that is yet a future date. There is struggle, there is toil, there is difficulty now, and we are going through this, even having the first fruits of the Spirit. We sing about, we talk about, we pray about, even so come Lord Jesus. Do you know what the sufferings and the trials, the pain does? It even heightens our anticipation, doesn’t it? You lose a loved one, someone so close to you what’s your thought? Oh boy won’t glory be wonderful? Oh, I wish the Lord would come tonight. It heightens our anticipation, doesn’t it? I mean you just got a raise and a bonus of $100,000 and a relative you didn’t know you had left you…….you’re not saying, Oh come tonight Lord. You’re saying wait a week Lord, I will enjoy this. By God’s grace He gives us many things to enjoy, many good gifts. But in it all this is nothing, we are moving toward glory, the redemption of our bodies.

Take you to Philippians 3. There are a number of passages on this subject. In Philippians 3, if you don’t want to turn there, I’ll read it to you, but Philippians, chapter 3, the last two verses of the chapter. Paul draws a contrast between those who don’t know the Lord, those that he says in verse 18, by their walk demonstrate they’re the enemies of the Lord, "the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, their glory is in their shame. They set their mind on earthly things." The mind set on the flesh is death, he’s talked about that in the first part of Romans, chapter 8. But "our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of the power that He has, even to subject all things to Himself." There will be an unloosing of the power of God in our lives that will bring about a remarkable transformation so that this body will be brought into conformity with the body of His glory. John wrote in I John, chapter 3, the opening verses there, that "when we see Him, we will be like Him for we will see Him as He is." The glory of His resurrected body is a glory that we will share, and our bodies will be transformed, glorified, to be like His.

So back in Romans, chapter 8, verse 24, "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one hope for what he sees. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." Very simply, hope by definition is something you don’t see or don’t have. We talk about what we hope to do. We don’t talk about hoping for something that happened yesterday. Hope is something that is yet before us, so we don’t hope for what we’ve seen. I don’t hope for this Bible, I have it. I might hope for a new one, which would be one I don’t have, I don’t see. That’s the picture here. The believer is occupied with his hope. This becomes crucial. One of the marks for us to check ourselves in whether we’re keeping our focus on the things above, on the hope that is promised, is just how we’re affected. Now none of us goes through life and it’s not real to say, Oh no, I have a loved one who died but life goes on. Well, in a sense life goes on but the pain is there. Illness comes into your life and requires major surgeries, the pain is there, the suffering is there, and the impact is there. But I have to be careful. We see believers getting mired down, worried, concerned, fearful. They’re turning to the pills and the drugs to what? Help them get by the day, and I have to be careful to sort out things here. These things are painful, Lord, but I have a hope beyond this life. I’m thankful for my good health, but you know everything is not gone when my health is gone because I still have my hope. I thank God for the material blessings we enjoy in this country, but if they are all removed you know what? I still have my hope. Glory is still my destiny, and on it goes in every situation. Things are put in proper perspective. This is how Paul says we as believers face the pain of death, isn’t it? When he wrote to the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 4 he says, "I don’t want you to grieve as those who have no hope." He doesn’t say I don’t want you to grieve. There is sorrow, there is pain in the loss of a loved one, but we don’t grieve as those who have no hope.

I was talking with a couple this past week in another town and happened to bump into them. We got talking and you know they wanted to talk. I started to share the gospel with them and talked about heaven and hell and they were more than normally interested. Then it came out a little bit later that they had had a loved one who had died, and they wanted to know, will we know a person in heaven? Wanted to talk about it. Why? There is a concern. What is beyond this life? There is pain, and apart from Christ there is a grief that cannot be softened because there is no hope, but in Christ we have hope, we have answers. We face pain but we face it differently. We suffer and the trials take their toll on us, they wear you down physically and emotionally and spiritually. I must find my strength in the Lord and His promises. That’s why these passages of scripture need to become part of my life, part of my way of living and thinking in the best of times. One of the difficulties we have in the best of times we lose our focus and then difficulty and trial come, and we’re thrown into such turmoil we don’t know what to do. We need to be anchored in God’s truth so that we trust Him and have our hope as our firm possession. It gives us perseverance, verse 25 says. "If we hope for what we do not see with perseverance we wait for it." Perseverance. Enduring under the suffering, we stay with it, we keep at it. What gives a person hope? I have a hope, moving toward the hope. Why don’t we give up? Because we’re moving toward the hope.

"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness." This is not just adjusting our thinking. We have to have a Biblical understanding, but we have the Spirit, remember; and He has a multifaceted ministry in our lives, and when we talk about our weaknesses, and under pressure we realize how weak we are. Sometimes under the pressure we don’t even know what to pray for. Verse 26, " in the same way the Spirit helps our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we should or what to pray for as we should." The word how is the word usually translated what. We don’t know what to pray for. How gives you the idea. Sometimes we are at a loss, we have to say Lord, I don’t even know what to say. I come and talk to the Lord, and Lord I don’t even know what to say, I don’t know what’s right here, I don’t know. Lord, I’m at the end of my rope. What will I do? You know we’re not even without resources there. Well, until you can come up with what you ought to pray for, the right thing to pray for, I can’t do anything for you. That’s not the way the Lord deals with us; "but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." You know those times when I am without strength, and some of you, many of you have experience and many of you mention. Sometimes when you’re going through a trial of one kind or another it seems you can’t even, you just, you’re not even able to carry on a prayer life. You’ll mention it makes a difference when others are praying. It does. You appreciate believers upholding you in prayer. But you know there is one who is acting on our behalf that is greater than any human being, and that is the Spirit of God who dwells within us. He intercedes with us with groanings too deep for words; "and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." You know what? When my sufferings and trials are so difficult, I wouldn’t even know what to say to the Lord, there still is someone bringing my situation before the Lord, and that is the Spirit of God Himself. The communication there is on such a level it doesn’t even have to be expressed in words. Be sure you read this. Some have taken this to be that we talked about tongues in Acts this morning, that what we’re really talking about is a heavenly language because it is too deep for human words. That’s not what it says here. What the Spirit communicates goes beyond what could be communicated in words. Doesn’t mean you need another language, but God the Father knows what’s in the mind of God the Spirit as He would intercede on our behalf, because He always intercedes according to the will of God. So, there's a communication going on at a level I am not capable of entering into. In that sense all of us have a shallow prayer life because there is a dimension in communication with God the Father that can only be carried on by another member of the Godhead. That’s not to minimize the place of prayer in the life of the believer, but it is a tremendous encouragement. I am never without resources; I am never at the end of my rope, so to speak, because when I can’t go any further, when I can’t say anything else the Spirit is working on my behalf.

You know what? In this context it’s not only the Holy Spirit who intercedes for me, but in verse 34, if we can jump ahead, we’re told that Christ Jesus who is seated at the right hand of God, He "also intercedes for us." I have God the Spirit and God the Son interceding on my behalf with God the Father and as members of the triune God they always function consistent with the will of God. Their intercession for me is always perfect, so a believer is never without resources. I may lose my ability to think coherently, I may lose my ability to function, I may be a vegetable, but I’m not without resources as a child of God. Because the Spirit of God and the Son of God are acting on my behalf, representing me at the very throne of God in glory.

The Spirit Himself intercedes for us. Think about that. What a privileged position we have as the sons of God. Groanings too deep for words, and this is a figure of speech. We’ve seen the creation groaning in verse 22, it’s been said we groan within ourselves in verse 23. Obviously, the creation doesn’t express it audibly, nor is the picture of us groaning in verse 23 an audible groan. It speaks about the Spirit groaning in verse 26. Again, it’s a picture, a metaphor. Some people read into things here, that’s why we have a prayer language, that ecstatic speech. That’s not what he’s talking about, he’s talking about a communication that goes on between members of the Godhead that you and I could not carry on in any language. It’s a communication that goes from the mind of God the Spirit to the mind of God the Father, and it’s on my behalf.

"He who searches the hearts," verse 27, "knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for God." You note the flow here, the Spirit always intercedes according to the will of God the Father, and the will of God the Father is always to bring about good for His children. You know sometimes my prayers can be misconceived. You know when I’m under pressure, when there’s tragedy or trial or difficulty in my life, what’s my first prayer? Lord, make it go away. Lord, make me well. Lord, fix the problem. Sometimes that is not what God is going to do. Sometimes His best for me means the suffering will get worse, the pain will get greater, but there is always the confidence to know God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. I cannot tell the unbeliever that God is making everything to work together for good. I have to be careful. Sometimes I want to say something nice to an unbeliever going through difficulty, especially if there is someone I like or appreciate, so you want to comfort them and say God always has a good purpose in this. God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. In all honesty this person’s tragedy and trial can maybe be just another step toward the ultimate destruction and ruin of hell. But I can tell them there is hope in their situation, but the only hope is Jesus Christ.

This couple I referred to that I was talking to, I could not tell them that, oh yes, you for sure will see your loved one in heaven. What I can tell them is the only hope for seeing anyone in heaven is for you yourself to know you’re going there. The only way anyone can go to heaven is to realize their sinful, hopeless condition and believe in the salvation of Jesus Christ. But I cannot guarantee something that the scripture does not promise, but I can promise everything the scripture promises. But here the promise is to those who love God. God causes all things to work together for good. The context here is the suffering, the trial, the pain that comes to us. "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

God has a purpose in calling us. He’s called us to Himself, and then He unfolds that in this passage that we often refer to, and I’m just going to highlight it for you. "Whom He foreknew He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Whom He predestined He also called, whom He called He also justified, whom He justified these He also glorified." That’s why God causes all things to work together for good. From beginning to end God is working His plan for His children. It begins with His foreknowledge, as He unfolds it. He’s referred to those who are called according to His purpose, that’s those He has called to Himself, they have come to His salvation. He backs it up, those whom He foreknew. That word foreknowledge as you’re aware, we’ve done it on other occasions, we don’t have time to go back to the Old Testament, where in the Old Testament to be known of God was to have God put His favor or love on someone. Amos, chapter 3, verse 2 is a passage we often use; "God says concerning Israel, you only have I known of all the families of the earth. Of all the nations you’re the only one I’ve known." Well God is omniscient, He knows everyone and everything, but Israel is the only nation that God placed His love upon. Adam knew his wife, it denotes a love and a relationship, not just factual knowledge. When God foreknew us before the foundation of the world, He placed His love on us.

So "that those that God foreknew He also predestined," and He predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son. God chose some for Himself and predestined those that He chose to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that His Son might be the firstborn among many brethren. The glory that Christ experienced in His resurrection was anticipatory of a group that would follow. He would be the firstborn among many brethren. Jesus Christ was the first to receive a glorified body. Remember Peter in Acts, chapter 2 referred to the bones of David, they’re still there, still buried. David hadn’t received a glorified body yet, he still hasn’t to this point. Jesus Christ is the firstborn.

God predestined that, that everyone that He foreknew, that He chose, that He placed His love upon, He predestined that they would be conformed to the image of His Son. Then those that He predestined, He called. That moves us now from what we would call eternity past, what God did before the creation when He foreknew and predestined, to the call of God. That happens in time. The call of God, as you’re aware, in the epistles is the effectual call of God that always results in salvation. He called us and we respond to that call, and whom He called He justified. The righteousness of Christ was applied to us, He declared us righteous in Christ.

Whom He justified, note, He also glorified. You note this is settled material, something viewed as done. The other words here are dealt with as past, the normal past tense in Greek. There is tense often used for the past, and the word glorified here is used in the same tense. As far as God is concerned it is a settled fact. Now my glorification has not yet occurred, but as far as God is concerned, a done deal; He’s settled it, it’s part of the package. That’s why we can say God causes all things to work together for good, because He is moving those that love Him as a result of the work of His grace in their lives (we don’t love Him first, He loved us first and then we love Him, I John 4) he’s moving them to glory. God is working everything like you do with your children. As they’re growing at a young age, some things they find unpleasant, some things they find very difficult, some things they don’t want to have come into their lives. But you as a parent know it’s part of the process of growing and maturing and being shaped and so on. God is doing that in our lives as well.

"What shall we say to these things? If God is for us who is against us?" There is no condemnation for us. There is no one or nothing, according to verse 35, that can separate us from the love of Christ. No kind of suffering or difficulty or trial, "tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword." "In all these things," verse 37, "we overwhelmingly conquer through Him. For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities not things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus." Does that not pretty well cover it? So that doesn’t mean I won’t have painful things in my life, doesn’t mean there won’t be suffering. That’s what he’s talking about. Includes persecution, includes famine, includes nakedness, you know you lose everything you have, you lose your health, your whatever. Nothing separates you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That puts our suffering in proper perspective. A loving God is accomplishing His purposes, working His will in our lives, for good, to prepare us for glory. I think, well thank you Lord. We talked about suffering and trials in this same context in chapter 5, and the pattern is the same. It’s moving us to glory. So, the trials, the difficulty, the suffering, they’re part of that refining process, they’re part of that molding process, they’re part of that process getting us ready for glory. It doesn’t mean I like trials in that sense, but I can appreciate trials in a way that I could not otherwise. It doesn’t mean I’m glad to have pain in that sense, but it does mean I can count it all joy when I am going through pain. This is not meaningless tragedy, this is just not something that interrupts the plans of life, because God’s plan for me will be accomplished. I’m going to glory. Interrupts some of my plans, but that’s all right. The plans that are sure and fixed are the plans for glory. Those other things are diversions. You know we get so caught up, oh, you know, I want to see my children, I want to see my grandchildren, I want to do this, I want to have that, I want to retire, I want to enjoy things. They are all things that will be gone, you know in a hundred years it’s all going to be gone, for most of us a lot sooner than a hundred years, even if Christ tarries that long. You know what’s there? Glory. If I get a fatal disease diagnosed within the next few weeks -- I was reading about a well-known preacher, some of you use some of his commentaries, he was dead within three months of his diagnosis. Preaching, doesn’t feel well, goes to the doctor, and in three months he’s dead. Plans were interrupted, things were changed, you know one thing’s fixed -- glory. Oh, it’s too bad, he lost so much, he missed the best part of life. I don’t think so. I’ve read Romans 8. He just got a head start, just got there a little ahead of us.

My brother-in-law is in glory now and we were out at my sister-in-law’s place for vacation this summer and I remember him saying, you know what Gil, you’re going to be down here struggling, laboring, toiling and I’m going to be in glory. I think of him often. You know I don’t think you can communicate with the dead, but I find myself saying, Richard, you were right. The difficulty is over, passing through the last enemy, death, is taken care of for him. Now it’s glory. I should feel sorry for him? I visit with his children and say it’s too bad he couldn’t be here to see them. Well, you know there is a hope they will see him again in a better place. That’s the hope we have as believers. We don’t live like the world, we don’t grieve like the world, we don’t suffer like the world because we have a hope. have the indwelling Spirit of God who acts on our behalf, and we know that God’s purposes are always perfectly accomplished in and for us.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your sustaining grace. We would not make light of the trials and troubles that come. There are some here tonight who may be going through special difficulties, especially painful situations and trials. Lord, what a blessing it is to know that your grace is sufficient, your strength is sufficient, and your purpose and plan for us is perfect. Some day we will be brought into the glory of your presence, unveiled before all creation as sons of the living God. Lord may this be a strength, an encouragement, a blessing, a purifying hope even as we face trials and difficulties in days ahead. We praise you in Christ’s name. Amen.