WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.960 With verses 23 and 25. 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:09.580 So if you have a Bible or you can open your bulletin and turn with me to Romans chapter 8. 00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:19.039 ! 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:21.359 Romans 8, 23 to 25. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:51.340 Romans 8, 23 to 25. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:53.780 Let's pray. 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:56.179 Lord, we're thankful for your word. 00:00:56.299 --> 00:01:01.859 We pray that you might use it to work in our hearts to see Jesus more clearly. 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:06.180 And Father, that we would lift those hearts up in praise to you. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:08.420 And we ask this in Christ's name. 00:01:09.019 --> 00:01:09.299 Amen. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:11.539 I'm glad to be with you this morning. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:17.640 I just got back from a week with my family, with our extended family in North Carolina. 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:25.400 And it was a good time of reconnecting and doing things that you do in a larger family gathering. 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:27.340 You might do some of these yourself. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:29.060 Eating everything fried. 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:34.560 Drinking tons of Sundrop, which is just sugary, sugary drinks. 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.019 Catching fish. 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:41.100 Swimming through humidity and navigating through pollen and all that. 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:48.879 But most importantly, at this time of year, if you're from North Carolina, you watch college basketball. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.819 That's really important. 00:01:52.259 --> 00:02:00.939 And for those of you that are unacquainted and lump every sport into this generic sports ball category that you don't care about, stay with me for a minute. 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:01.379 Okay? 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:04.879 It's that time where you fill out those office brackets. 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:07.500 You maybe let your kids stay up late. 00:02:07.659 --> 00:02:08.699 Maybe even miss school. 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:10.240 Not saying that happened in our house. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:16.980 And there you find yourself in the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. 00:02:17.860 --> 00:02:21.760 You might even utter the phrase, I really hope my team wins. 00:02:23.420 --> 00:02:32.120 Let me remind you that in hoping that your team wins and hoping, impending all your hopes on the athleticism of teenagers, because that's what they are, 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:40.420 that we enter into a game that has no hope, or that's what we think. 00:02:41.920 --> 00:02:51.819 In fact, the game with no hope at all is a reminder to us, not of just life, but of the 1992 version of March Madness. 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.240 Now, some of you will know this game. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:58.580 It contributed to the greatest sports villain of all time. 00:02:58.580 --> 00:03:02.800 And in this game, there's something called the shot. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.920 The one shot that is above all other shots. 00:03:07.820 --> 00:03:15.200 It's Duke and Kentucky meet two perennial powers of college basketball, and they're tied throughout the whole game. 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:19.280 And then they go into overtime, and Kentucky's up by one. 00:03:19.380 --> 00:03:20.900 There's two seconds left. 00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:22.460 There's no hope. 00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:25.800 You can't even dribble the ball down the court the whole way. 00:03:26.140 --> 00:03:26.920 So what do they do? 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:29.579 They throw the ball 80 feet. 00:03:30.059 --> 00:03:31.659 A basketball court is 90 feet. 00:03:31.780 --> 00:03:32.979 So almost the whole thing. 00:03:33.399 --> 00:03:39.159 One guy catches the ball, bounces it once, turns and shoots, and it goes in. 00:03:39.299 --> 00:03:40.060 And they win. 00:03:40.259 --> 00:03:41.819 And they win the national championship. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:49.859 And Christian Laettner became the greatest villain of sports of all time. 00:03:50.239 --> 00:03:55.599 Now, some of you might actually agree with that statement, that he is the greatest sports villain of all time. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:04:02.099 Now, in that moment, Duke fans are waiting, saying to themselves, I hope he makes it. 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:08.719 And little Kentucky kids are sitting in front of their TV at home and saying, I sure hope he misses it. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:15.079 And Laettner, for all of his past success, he didn't miss one shot that whole game. 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:18.920 He's thinking, I really hope I make it. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:27.180 You see, leading up to that game, that same exact play had happened earlier in the season. 00:04:27.580 --> 00:04:30.500 And if you know sports history, he misses it. 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:32.360 In fact, he doesn't even catch the ball. 00:04:33.200 --> 00:04:40.900 So he can't even depend upon his own past success, even though he's not missed a shot the entire game. 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:42.399 He's hoping. 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:45.799 But he's not the only one that hopes. 00:04:46.239 --> 00:04:46.859 I hope. 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:48.139 You hope. 00:04:48.919 --> 00:04:49.879 We all hope. 00:04:50.339 --> 00:04:53.339 And it might not be basketball or sports ball generally. 00:04:53.979 --> 00:04:55.919 You might not hope your team wins. 00:04:56.039 --> 00:04:58.459 You might not be glued to the television this month. 00:04:59.039 --> 00:05:00.519 But you hope other things. 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:04.339 You hope tomorrow that your presentation goes well. 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:08.539 You hope mortgage rates drop again. 00:05:09.619 --> 00:05:11.539 You hope that war ends soon. 00:05:11.659 --> 00:05:15.879 You hope that you'll have enough money at the end of the month because you've overspent. 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:19.419 You might hope that there's still snow left this season. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.620 You might hope that summer comes more quickly than it should. 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:25.319 You might hope that you get married. 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:28.799 You might hope that one day you would have children or grandchildren. 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:34.460 You might hope that you would save enough money to retire. 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.060 Unless, kids, you think it's just adults that hope. 00:05:39.280 --> 00:05:40.259 What about this? 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:42.939 I hope I remembered my homework today. 00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:49.840 I hope my mom and dad don't forget to pick me up on the way home from school or way home from work. 00:05:50.340 --> 00:05:51.680 And I get left at school. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:56.620 So whether it's little things or big things, 00:05:56.620 --> 00:05:59.160 we still hope. 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.000 We hope that our marriages will get better. 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:04.759 We hope that one day we'll be married. 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:10.199 We hope that we won't struggle with sin like we do now when we get older. 00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:15.040 I hope that someone remembers me when I die. 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:22.439 Hope often communicates to us what's most important in our own hearts. 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:27.100 But in fact, everything I just said could also be us worrying. 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:28.699 That's the interesting thing. 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:33.219 But the hope of Christian Laettner, the hope of our own hearts, 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:36.879 is that the hope that Paul's talking to us about this morning? 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:40.000 Is that the hope that God communicates to us? 00:06:40.339 --> 00:06:42.300 It's a little bit different if we think about it. 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:45.659 Because there's an aspect of certainty. 00:06:46.860 --> 00:06:49.139 Christian Laettner doesn't know if that shot's going in. 00:06:49.139 --> 00:06:51.039 You don't know if you're going to get married. 00:06:51.159 --> 00:06:53.159 You don't know if you're going to be rich or wise. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:55.479 You don't know if you're going to walk out of here and die. 00:06:58.219 --> 00:07:02.639 But there is certainty in the hope that God shows us this morning from Romans 8. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:08.019 In fact, hope is essential to salvation, is what Paul says. 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:09.199 It's a pretty big deal. 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:12.579 If it's that big of a deal, it's worthy of our attention. 00:07:12.919 --> 00:07:15.139 So this morning, we're going to look at two aspects of it. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:16.120 Kind of two headings. 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:20.079 It's groaning, which we talked about last week, and then hope itself. 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:22.100 So hope under those two headings. 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:25.280 Groaning and hope itself. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:27.480 First, let's turn our attention to the groaning. 00:07:27.840 --> 00:07:30.019 If you look back with me at these short verses, 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:33.980 you'll notice that that groaning that we talked about in all creation, 00:07:34.300 --> 00:07:35.439 the groaning continues. 00:07:35.939 --> 00:07:38.959 It starts exactly where Matthew left off last week. 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:43.759 And it's not just us that's in view at CMPC or people in the modern day. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.560 It's all people of all time and everywhere. 00:07:47.039 --> 00:07:51.319 Because this groaning is a cosmic issue. 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:56.480 It's not just an issue of hoping first, 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:01.740 and then the groaning kind of is just something that happens along afterwards. 00:08:02.099 --> 00:08:04.159 The groaning is like essential to this. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:08.199 It's wrestling because everything is not right as it should be. 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:15.219 And all of it, all of creation participates in this. 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:17.199 But it doesn't stop there. 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:19.519 It's not just out there creation. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:20.699 It groans. 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:23.420 There's groaning inside of us as humans. 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:26.180 Because we're the crown of all creation, right? 00:08:26.219 --> 00:08:26.759 We're mankind. 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:33.139 And Paul, like Jesus, argues from lesser to greater things. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.939 Creation, even in all of its manifold witness to God's glory, 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:40.179 is not as great as humankind. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:42.939 Because we are made in God's image. 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:45.259 And so if creation groans, 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:49.059 man, humanity is groaning as well. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.899 John Piper famously calls this groaning creation and groaning Christians. 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:56.199 Which I think is pretty clever. 00:08:56.439 --> 00:08:58.899 Because oftentimes we don't think that we can groan. 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:04.259 We think Christianity doesn't have this element of wrestling and struggling with stuff. 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:06.340 That everything's just a-okay, right? 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:07.120 All the time. 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:11.039 But that's not the view that we get here. 00:09:11.379 --> 00:09:14.079 The groaning is part of who you are. 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:16.959 But what's all the groaning about, really? 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:18.379 Is it complaining? 00:09:18.659 --> 00:09:19.799 Is it hating this world? 00:09:20.419 --> 00:09:21.620 Is it something different? 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:25.259 I think I've said this before in our march through Romans. 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:30.419 Is it being so heavenly-minded about what's to come that you're of no earthly good? 00:09:30.659 --> 00:09:32.460 That wouldn't cause you to groan, would it? 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:34.360 Because you wouldn't care about this earth. 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:39.679 It's, again, this longing for things to be made right. 00:09:40.259 --> 00:09:42.220 Something is wrong with this world. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:43.980 I can't put my finger on it. 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:46.440 Or maybe I can, but I don't know what the solution, 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:48.940 or I can't affect a solution to this. 00:09:50.140 --> 00:09:52.940 Because the solution has yet to come. 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:56.860 There's a kid's book that describes it this way. 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.640 That God, we're waiting until God and his children are together again. 00:10:02.380 --> 00:10:04.480 No more running away or hiding. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:08.440 No more crying or being lonely or afraid. 00:10:08.900 --> 00:10:10.560 No more sick or dying. 00:10:10.640 --> 00:10:12.280 Because all those things are gone. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.500 Yes, they're gone forever. 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:18.080 However, everything sad has come untrue. 00:10:19.059 --> 00:10:21.919 That, friends, is why Christians groan. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.360 Because the sadness still remains. 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:27.960 The darkness still remains. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.399 The loneliness still remains. 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:33.440 Because that day has not yet come. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:35.080 And that should give us encouragement. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:40.059 The really fancy term for this is the already and not yet. 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:44.340 Matthew's made reference to it before when we talk about wrestling with sin. 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:48.159 But this aspect, and it's all throughout Paul. 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.259 Or the $10 word. 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:53.419 Is inaugurated eschatology. 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:54.720 I don't even want to say that again. 00:10:54.899 --> 00:10:56.279 But the already and not yet. 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:56.580 Right? 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:58.159 There's something that's coming. 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:01.519 And there's something that's already happened. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:04.340 The not yet. 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:07.019 That day when all things are made right. 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:08.139 Has not yet happened. 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:10.059 Okay, so what about the already? 00:11:10.179 --> 00:11:11.159 What's going on now? 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:15.659 Now, there's a difference between hoping that that basketball shot will go in. 00:11:15.659 --> 00:11:19.539 And the hope that is in this passage. 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:21.139 And that's the certainty. 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:28.439 Creation wouldn't be groaning or complaining if they didn't know what would happen in the future. 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:32.040 So we can use a bunch of different terms for this. 00:11:32.040 --> 00:11:33.980 The coming of the new heavens and new earth. 00:11:34.380 --> 00:11:35.420 The consummation. 00:11:35.780 --> 00:11:36.840 Heaven generally. 00:11:37.880 --> 00:11:41.640 Whatever term you want to use, it's not here yet. 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:45.699 There's aspects of us being Christians. 00:11:46.019 --> 00:11:48.299 If you call upon the name of Christ. 00:11:49.139 --> 00:11:51.139 That not everything is settled yet. 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:55.080 But it's also kind of a strange phrase if you think about it. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.620 Because we have, what does the text say? 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:00.480 The first fruits of the spirit. 00:12:00.939 --> 00:12:08.860 Now when Paul uses this phrase, he's calling forth from the Old Testament this idea of bringing that which is worthy into worship. 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:11.019 In the Old Testament sacrificial system. 00:12:11.019 --> 00:12:12.480 We get something like that. 00:12:13.100 --> 00:12:18.799 But he says, not that it's a deposit telling us that surely this will happen. 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:24.019 But he's calling forth this idea that the Holy Spirit is already at work in you. 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:30.000 And in that, we have surety that it will be accomplished. 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:31.360 That it will succeed. 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:35.240 And that assurance does a couple things for us as Christians. 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:42.980 It reminds us that when we think about that struggle with sin that we talked about a few weeks ago. 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:46.980 That Paul got to the point when he cries out, oh wretched man that I am. 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:50.500 That when we struggle with sin and we don't see victory immediately. 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:53.759 We know that it's coming a day when we won't struggle with sin. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:13:00.759 We know that there's a day coming when all things are made right. 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:02.539 That the spirit will win. 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:11.899 And the source of that groaning is because it hasn't happened yet. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:17.279 We talked about the spirit being this deposit of something that will happen in the future. 00:13:17.819 --> 00:13:19.259 That's certainly true. 00:13:19.259 --> 00:13:25.000 But what's in view here is the spirit working and already making you more and more holy. 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:30.779 That he's begun a good work in you and he's carrying it to completion. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:32.879 But it hasn't happened yet. 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:34.840 And until then, we groan. 00:13:35.580 --> 00:13:37.220 Okay, that makes a whole bunch of sense. 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:42.080 But when we look at that back half of verse 23, it's really confusing. 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:44.799 I thought that we were already adopted. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:50.199 I thought that we were already saved. 00:13:50.859 --> 00:13:53.099 Wait, are we being saved in the future? 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:59.579 It can get really confusing if we view this not through the lens of already and not yet. 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:03.439 You see, it doesn't just apply to heaven. 00:14:03.579 --> 00:14:05.399 It also applies to us. 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:10.319 This tension between when we say that you're saved now. 00:14:10.719 --> 00:14:12.639 And we can say it with such certainty. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:17.340 And even use language like it's happened in the past, even though it will happen in the future. 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:22.740 You might even talk to a non-Christian friend and say, have you been saved? 00:14:24.199 --> 00:14:26.659 And if we're honest, it's really weird to talk like that. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:31.620 If you haven't had that reaction, just do it enough and somebody will say, save from what? 00:14:31.779 --> 00:14:34.000 I don't understand what you're talking about. 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:38.039 And we should be mindful of that as we're sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbors. 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:40.639 That kind of language can be really weird. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:46.699 But it's a present reality based on the certainty that something will happen in the future. 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:49.179 And that comes true even in salvation. 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:51.279 And that's true even in adoption. 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:55.779 Because we know it will happen. 00:14:57.179 --> 00:15:00.819 And so there's aspects of our adoption that are true now, 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.220 but we'll experience more fully in the future. 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:06.540 We see this in all kinds of areas of life. 00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:07.720 Think about marriage. 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:13.540 Even if you've never been married before, chances are you've known someone that's engaged to be married. 00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:20.320 And when a man proposes to his bride, he might give her a ring as a reminder of the commitment that's to come. 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:25.220 And when it's there, there's a sense in which the benefits of being married are already there. 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:29.040 Remember, the ring is not just for him. 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:32.120 It's also to ward off all those other future boyfriends, right? 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:35.460 And those suitors know that she's to be married. 00:15:37.040 --> 00:15:40.019 And there might even be groaning as the wedding planning goes on. 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:41.259 But I could go on. 00:15:42.680 --> 00:15:46.899 But there's a sense in which the marriage is not truly, fully realized yet. 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:57.860 There's an engagement to be married, but the benefits, the companionship, all of the intimacy has not yet been fully realized. 00:16:00.079 --> 00:16:01.819 The same is true of salvation. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:03.860 The same is true of adoption. 00:16:04.579 --> 00:16:06.759 But right now, we're still waiting. 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:13.379 And I'll admit, it's harder to wrap our minds around this idea for salvation or adoption than it is for heaven. 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:18.639 We'd like to think that adoption is just in the here and now. 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:23.100 But it's part of this larger logical flow when we talk about salvation. 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:29.320 That there's aspects in which we don't feel truly as sons and daughters of the king yet. 00:16:29.620 --> 00:16:31.039 But one day we will. 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:34.700 And that's why Paul, he talked about adoption already. 00:16:34.860 --> 00:16:38.759 If you think back to verses 15 and 17 of Romans chapter 8. 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.539 He can say, you have received the spirit of adoption. 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:43.799 Something that's in the past. 00:16:44.719 --> 00:16:48.099 But now he's talking about it as a future event. 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.579 There's a tension. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.099 The groaning that we feel. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:54.620 It's because it's ours, but it's not happened all yet. 00:16:55.719 --> 00:16:59.559 And as we do that, we recognize that the world is off. 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:04.079 Matthew prayed earlier for the war in Iran. 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.139 We can see something's not right there. 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:08.440 We don't want that. 00:17:09.099 --> 00:17:10.619 But it's not just out there. 00:17:10.619 --> 00:17:12.659 It's also inside of us. 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:14.119 We sin. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:16.500 I don't want that to happen. 00:17:17.199 --> 00:17:18.739 I want that to go away. 00:17:19.739 --> 00:17:22.839 We can see evil and things not being right. 00:17:23.419 --> 00:17:27.939 And if you joined us this morning and you've never put your faith in Jesus, 00:17:28.399 --> 00:17:30.059 I'm glad that you're here. 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:33.839 And God is not distant in all of these things. 00:17:33.939 --> 00:17:35.859 In fact, very much the opposite. 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:43.159 He's meeting this evil and this personal aspect intimately in the form of his son. 00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:47.059 Sending his son, God, and man to pay for sin for us. 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:52.319 God is not just letting that happen and doing nothing about it. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.960 And then as we think about Easter that's coming next week, 00:17:56.379 --> 00:18:00.339 we know that we celebrate Christ's glorious resurrection from death. 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:04.500 He's been raised from the dead and is coming again. 00:18:04.859 --> 00:18:08.559 But that coming again is where we find ourselves right now. 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:10.099 Because we're waiting for it. 00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:14.319 In the time between him being raised and coming again, 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:18.539 there's still an aspect in which things are not yet right. 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:22.019 And that tension is why we groan. 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:26.139 But if we know the future is certain, 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:30.019 how much more should that change us while we wait? 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:35.799 How much more should that mark us in our joys and sorrows? 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:41.180 We recognize that things are not as they should be when our bodies don't work. 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:44.359 But one day, they will. 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:47.599 When our relationships with family are broken, 00:18:47.939 --> 00:18:51.979 whether it's within our own family with our children or broader family, 00:18:52.399 --> 00:18:54.199 one day they'll be set right. 00:18:55.959 --> 00:18:58.419 When we go to work and it's frustrating 00:18:58.419 --> 00:19:01.559 and I can't just seem to get everybody on the same page 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:04.319 and you feel like you're banging your head against the wall, 00:19:04.439 --> 00:19:07.839 one day it will work without any problems. 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:13.039 When nations oppress their people and they cry out 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:14.699 and they just want a good king, 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:18.319 one day that good king will come. 00:19:18.939 --> 00:19:22.240 When sin seems to have the upper hand in our lives 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.559 and we just think to ourselves, 00:19:23.699 --> 00:19:25.419 I surely must not even be a Christian. 00:19:25.939 --> 00:19:27.419 I can't struggle like this. 00:19:27.919 --> 00:19:29.619 One day we won't struggle. 00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:33.099 So what do we do in the meantime? 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:38.239 We rejoice and we struggle as ones that have hope 00:19:38.239 --> 00:19:40.559 because of the certainty of the future. 00:19:41.899 --> 00:19:44.479 If I'm honest, I struggle in this department. 00:19:45.159 --> 00:19:47.879 And I don't know if it's God's making me, 00:19:48.199 --> 00:19:52.879 but when I share the gospel with people that seem more joyful than me, 00:19:53.239 --> 00:19:56.739 I'm convicted even by people that don't know Christ. 00:19:56.740 --> 00:20:01.019 But we, of all people, 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:05.940 should know the joy that comes from the certainty of our future. 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:09.380 And that should infuse everything that we're doing. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:11.380 And so when we hold that forth to somebody, 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:12.779 to our friends and neighbors, 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:15.620 we hope that it changes them. 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:17.400 We hope that they can see that. 00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:21.700 But there is a sense in which we're groaning. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:25.059 So groaning, but what about hope itself? 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:28.099 Look with me at verses 24 and following. 00:20:29.259 --> 00:20:32.299 This is what Paul says about hope. 00:20:35.419 --> 00:20:38.960 Honestly, if we were talking about hope 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:42.099 and we were of, you know, two, three hundred years ago, 00:20:42.379 --> 00:20:44.059 we might say something like hope. 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:48.119 The explanation, the definition, the application, the implications, 00:20:48.379 --> 00:20:52.799 all of that is wrapped up into what Paul says in these few verses. 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:55.680 It's truly an expansion of the topic, though. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.180 Because if you've been walking with us through Romans, 00:20:58.339 --> 00:21:00.740 this is not the first time that we've talked about hope. 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.919 Remember, he's visiting a theme that he's already talked about. 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:05.839 This is what he says in chapter 5. 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.200 When he's explaining the inner workings of salvation, 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:10.960 he touched on hope and he says this. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:17.680 Through him we've also obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:20.740 We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:24.960 But not only that, we rejoice in our sufferings, 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.960 knowing that suffering produces endurance. 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:30.579 Endurance produces character and character produces hope. 00:21:31.120 --> 00:21:33.000 And hope does not put us to shame 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:37.240 because God's love has been poured into our hearts 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:40.039 through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.700 This hope is future-oriented, 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:46.339 but it has implications for right now. 00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:49.579 Paul says this in 24. 00:21:50.119 --> 00:21:52.000 For in this hope we are saved. 00:21:52.819 --> 00:21:54.379 And we might read that and think, 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:56.119 uh-oh, what's going on there? 00:21:56.859 --> 00:22:01.279 He's not saying that hope is the instrument by which you're saved. 00:22:01.379 --> 00:22:01.779 What's that? 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:02.500 That's faith. 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:08.019 He's saying that hope is so bound up in salvation 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:09.980 that the whole house is going to collapse 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:11.880 if you pull hope out of it. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:16.579 Again, the rationale for this is the ongoing work of the Spirit. 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:18.900 Other places, Paul called it a deposit. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:19.819 We talked about that. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:23.660 And the death of Christ as a demonstration of this love 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:25.920 is all kind of swirling together. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.800 In that way, Paul can say, 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:31.380 in hope we are saved. 00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:34.340 It's not simply future salvation. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:36.640 Christian granted, 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:40.600 Christian have been granted by God 00:22:40.600 --> 00:22:42.800 a sense of salvation now. 00:22:43.060 --> 00:22:45.840 And we can be sure because of his promises. 00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:48.519 We can see all the weaknesses of this world 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:50.400 and feel let down by all these people, 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:54.200 but we know that God will deliver this for sure. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:58.019 Again, what he's not saying is hope is not the thing 00:22:58.019 --> 00:23:01.280 by which salvation is accomplished. 00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:03.660 In your life, that's faith. 00:23:04.320 --> 00:23:06.720 It's not the law as we saw earlier in Romans, 00:23:07.620 --> 00:23:09.880 that hope is just so bound up in it 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:13.440 that salvation without hope is no salvation at all. 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:16.100 And he goes on to kind of explain 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:21.159 that hope is not simply just seeing things as they are. 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:22.779 It's something that's not seen. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:25.740 He asks this question, though. 00:23:26.199 --> 00:23:28.039 For who hopes in what he sees? 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:29.559 Because that's not hope at all. 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:31.980 Look at verse 25. 00:23:33.159 --> 00:23:34.819 But if we hope for what we do not see, 00:23:34.919 --> 00:23:36.879 we wait for it with patience. 00:23:37.399 --> 00:23:40.980 So hope is not simply seeing things in front of you, 00:23:41.099 --> 00:23:42.939 but hope is also patient. 00:23:42.940 --> 00:23:46.700 He picks up on that idea that we heard in Romans 5, 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:51.759 but it's not simply affirming what you see, 00:23:52.320 --> 00:23:55.220 but he introduces this new idea of patience. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:59.160 There's a French theologian that said this about this, 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:01.960 that hope ever draws patience with it. 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:04.220 You can't have hope without patience. 00:24:04.820 --> 00:24:07.580 It's so integral that without patience, 00:24:07.820 --> 00:24:09.039 it's not hope at all, 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:12.940 just like salvation is not salvation without hope at all. 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:14.740 In spite of all these things, 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:16.339 the groaning kind of continues 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:18.960 because they're not as they should be. 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:20.460 There's wrestling against sin. 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:22.059 There's this world. 00:24:23.139 --> 00:24:25.299 But Christians wait with patience. 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:26.559 But why? 00:24:27.659 --> 00:24:28.220 Why? 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.339 Because the certain common glory 00:24:31.339 --> 00:24:33.059 of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:24:33.059 --> 00:24:35.000 propels us through this life 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:37.500 and makes us wait with patience. 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:41.880 There's a really famous theologian 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:43.640 from the Carolinas that said this, 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:46.000 if the church could be aroused 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.180 to a deeper sense of the glory that awaits it, 00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:52.339 she would enter with a warmer spirit 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:54.420 into the struggles before her. 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:57.700 So if they are so enamored with God's glory, 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:00.599 it would change how we wait with patience. 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:02.819 That's what Paul is saying to us. 00:25:03.659 --> 00:25:06.879 And that hope would inspire us 00:25:06.879 --> 00:25:08.659 to march on. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:14.839 That's the picture that we have in Abraham as well. 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:18.779 That Abraham, in spite of all his unfaithfulness 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:20.000 and stupidity 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.199 and him being knuckleheaded, 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:25.579 he still trusts in God's promises. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.639 And that's why Paul uses him as an example. 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:30.440 That we're to wait 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:33.860 knowing that God will accomplish his promise. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:35.920 The same is true for Christians. 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:38.500 And the same is true 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:39.940 if we think about Palm Sunday. 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:43.440 What did they all do? 00:25:43.520 --> 00:25:44.740 They celebrated him 00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:46.280 as he entered into Jerusalem. 00:25:47.560 --> 00:25:50.320 Some of them thinking he was this king 00:25:50.320 --> 00:25:51.800 that was gonna come in 00:25:51.800 --> 00:25:54.240 and change all their political fortunes. 00:25:54.900 --> 00:25:55.060 Right? 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:56.420 Kick all the Romans out 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:57.660 and everything was gonna be awesome. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:25:59.880 To lead the revolution. 00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:02.980 Instead, he came as a king 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:04.759 not just doing that 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:06.180 but so much more. 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:09.880 He came to secure salvation from sin. 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:12.300 The Romans are no small feat. 00:26:13.100 --> 00:26:15.160 But it's so much less than sin. 00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:18.920 He came to give hope 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:21.120 as they wait for redemption. 00:26:21.360 --> 00:26:22.860 As we wait for redemption. 00:26:22.859 --> 00:26:26.219 As we wait for the coming glory of the kingdom. 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:29.379 We do so groaning 00:26:29.379 --> 00:26:32.259 but we don't do so as those without hope. 00:26:32.819 --> 00:26:35.579 And we pray that he might increase our hope 00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:36.479 in our hearts now 00:26:36.479 --> 00:26:39.240 as we wait for that coming day. 00:26:39.979 --> 00:26:41.399 Marching as we groan 00:26:41.399 --> 00:26:43.719 and wait with hope. 00:26:44.139 --> 00:26:44.539 Let's pray. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:46.859 Lord, we thank you for your word 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:49.099 reminding us to endure 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:51.500 the present sufferings of this life 00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:53.839 and may we cling to your word 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:56.399 and cling with hope 00:26:56.399 --> 00:26:59.519 knowing that you will accomplish your purposes 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:01.199 that you have secured 00:27:01.199 --> 00:27:02.639 through Jesus Christ. 00:27:03.139 --> 00:27:04.359 It's in his name that we pray. 00:27:04.659 --> 00:27:04.980 Amen. 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:05.019 Amen. 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.019 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:07.259 Amen. 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:07.480 Please.