Well, thank you to our praise team and We want to take our Bibles this morning turn to Romans chapter 8 we're gonna be looking at verses 18 through 25 Today as we work our way through the book of Romans this epistle this letter that Paul wrote to the church at Rome We're about halfway through the letter. It's been a great and marvelous and wonderful Study for us as we've marched our way through chapter 8 and chapter 9 are very important chapters in the Bible, whereas they explain some very deep truths to us and we're soon to be marching toward those truths. But there's much that the Apostle Paul wants to tell us in verses 18 through 25. As you're turning, be in prayer for Frank and Ashley. They were married on Friday evening. We had a great time and wonderful ceremony to be able to celebrate their coming together as husband and wife. And as Grady mentioned, our five-year anniversary is just right around the corner. It's two weeks away, September the 25th. We hope that you're all here. Invite a friend. We're going to have a special cookout after the service that'll be here on the grounds. And there'll be some things that we want to give to each and every one who are here as sort of a way to commemorate our five-year anniversary. So we'll have a special service. Our children will be singing. And so we'll look forward to that. And so we're looking for a packed house On the 25th as we celebrate the Lord's faithfulness to our church. So we hope that you'll be able to be there Well, we're going to be looking at Romans 18 8 18 through 25 today and then the the message is entitled there is hope and and you you will hopefully glory in what we're going to look at today in the scriptures as Those who have been redeemed by God chosen by God saved by God set apart for holiness and righteousness. God has a magnificent future for us. And so we want to talk about that future today. Well, when I look back on my life, I've been blessed to meet a lot of what the world would call very famous people. I've had the privilege to meet two United States presidents. I've met United States senators, governors of states, movie stars. Lot of current and former professional athletes, many of whom are now in the Hall of Fame. One particular summer was especially memorable for me because as a 12-year-old, I got to meet and interact with two very famous baseball players who are both now in the Hall of Fame. One was Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. I got a chance to spend time with him and talk with him and meet with him. And the other was the great knuckleball pitcher, Phil Necro. Well, I met Ernie Banks at a baseball camp that I attended, and we had a chance to talk, and he told me that if I kept working hard, that I had a chance to one day make it to the major leagues. Can you imagine the great Ernie Banks telling you that, talking to you about that, pulling you aside, and sharing that with you? It was an amazing thing. My encounter with Phil Negro was similar, but a bit different. After watching me pitch in the World Series, he says that he sees me one day playing professional baseball. And so two similar statements, but different on one key point. Ernie Banks said that it was possible, if I worked hard enough and I kept developing, that one day I could play in the majors. And so he instilled this sense of hope in me that it one day could happen. It could really happen one day. But much of it was left up to me. If I worked hard enough, if I kept doing the things that I was doing and I kept on progressing as a baseball player, one day it could possibly happen. Phil Negro, on the other hand, assured me that it was probable that I'd one day play professional baseball because he had seen what he said in me was all the necessary tools for that to be a reality. Well, as you may know, I have mentioned this before. It's a bit of a sore spot for me, but I was actually promised by a scout, a Philadelphia Phillies scout nonetheless, that I would be one day drafted in the draft and that my hopes and dreams would be fulfilled. But as you well know, that never happened. At the heart of the passage that we're going to be considering today is this idea of hope. And so using my encounter with both of these great baseball players, let me illustrate. Ernie Banks gave me hope that I would one day play professional baseball, but it was contingent upon me continuing to develop as a player. Phil Negro gave me hope based upon his experience and knowledge of the game, but he didn't give any contingencies at all. He just said that he believed it was going to happen. Well, neither of these two examples that I've offered up for you today illustrate what biblical hope is. Biblical hope is not a possibility. It's not even a probability. It's an absolute certainty. It's not based upon anything that we can do or speculation, but it is solely contingent upon the integrity and power of God himself. You know, as I said, we tend to view hope as wishful thinking or or a probability. But when God said that it is Christ in us and Christ in us brings about the hope of glory, it's an absolute certainty because any promise by God is tied to his character and to his power to bring it about. And so with that in mind, our passage that we want to consider this morning is all about hope. the certainty of what God will one day do in the future for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross of Calvary. So let's take a look at our passage beginning in verse 18. 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. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope for for who hopes for what he already sees. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it. What a neat passage of scripture for us as Christians. And so here Paul mentions two major benefactors of what has been promised, but not yet seen. And so the first is the Christian, the hope of every Christian. Look again at verse 18. 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. And then verse 23, and not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, Even we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption of sons the redemption of our body For in hope we have been saved But hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he already sees But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it the hope of every christian this is what This passage is all about the hope that we all have as those who have trusted in christ as our savior from sin This majestic this wonderful hope that is yet future that we do not see but it it is right around the corner for us Notice here in verse 24 That paul says that in hope we have been saved And then he rhetorically asks for who hopes for what he already sees He then says that hope that is seen is not hope. And so just to be clear as to what Paul is saying here, while there's an absolute certainty that those who have exercised faith in Jesus Christ are currently saved, remember there's now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, the culmination of our salvation, our hope is yet future, it is currently unseen. Second Corinthians 5-7 says, for we walk by faith and not by sight. Hebrews 11-1 says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The world does not understand faith and hope. They don't understand it. They want to see what it is that they believe in. Their motto is, I got to see it to believe it. Now, Paul has reiterated for us, for chapters in the book of Romans, that our justification is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And as we've said, we are in Christ and Christ is in us. He then says in verses 23 and 25 that we must persevere, meaning endure, as we eagerly await the day that we will one day see Jesus Christ and our bodies Redeemed and see further reminds us that the Holy Spirit serves as God's seal of possession and protection on our lives And that's what he means when he says that we have the first fruits of the Spirit in verse 25 The word spirit isn't a positive genitive meaning that the first fruits is the Spirit and so as Christians we can't wait for the day when our faith is made sight and our hope is realized and But notice in verse 18, in the meantime, there will be times of suffering in this life. He doesn't go on to enumerate what kind of suffering that we may endure in this life, but as Christians, we know and we understand and we have looked at repeatedly that we, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, are rejected by the world. They don't see what we see. Their motto is, I got to see it to believe it. The world doesn't understand faith. They don't understand hope. And because of that, they reject what the gospel is. They view it as foolishness. And so that may be at the root of why we suffer in this life. Again, he doesn't go on to say what it is that may cause the suffering. But I think he's hinting at the fact that we're going to suffer in this life, even though it's a joyous Christian life. And and we have the abundance of of grace and mercy that God has bestowed upon us. We have sweet fellowship with one another. Even in our country, we have great liberties to worship the Lord freely. And so it's a wonderful, abundant life that God has given to us, and yet Everything that we believe runs contrary to what the world teaches and believes And so because of that it seems that we will at times in this life Suffer for the sake of Christ and how that looks and how that plays out in your life and in my life may be different But that is what we can look forward to that is what we probably have already experienced in many ways So notice here in verse 24 that Paul says, in hope we have been saved. And so our faith and our hope are tied together. We look forward one day to seeing Christ, being with Christ, the manifestation, the culmination of our faith. But we must persevere as we eagerly await that day. Look again at verse 18, it 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. It's not even close. Paul says that despite all of our sufferings, it will be worth it. They don't even compare to what is ahead. They don't even compare with the glory that is to be revealed to us. The hope that is within us. And he says something very similar in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. If you'd like to turn there, you can do that. I'll read it to you. It's chapter 4, verses 16 through 18 of 2 Corinthians. This is Paul's heart. This is the same guy who who suffered most of his Christian life, just to be honest with you. We talked a little bit in Sunday school last week about the miraculous conversion of the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus and the light shines down from heaven and God knocks Paul down and he regenerates him, he saves him by grace through faith in his son the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's a new person but prior to that this guy was the most egregious persecutor of the church that we know of, that scripture speaks of. He was an aggressive bulldog that went after the things of God. When God saved him, everything turned on its head. Everything flipped upside down. He was the persecutor of the church. And when God saved him from his sin, he became the persecuted. And so people who knew Paul probably loved him and embraced him and supported him now turned on him. Paul became the most persecuted man in the scriptures apart from our Savior Jesus Christ So Paul writes about this a lot. He talked to Timothy about it He talks to other people that he's written to about this suffering about what it's like But but notice the perspective every time he talks about it notice the perspective 2nd Corinthians 4 16 through 18 therefore we do not lose heart and but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. Notice how he characterizes the suffering. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen, For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Here's a guy who was beaten, stoned, left dead, imprisoned, suffered persecution his whole entire Christian life, and he says, hey, it's momentary light Affliction it pales in comparison to the eternal weight of glory that is beyond all imagination All comparison that is yet future. We can't see it, but it's coming and the Christian life is all worth it Now this is good stuff Think about it. Paul says that all the things that we can see are temporal Think of it all the things we can see are temporal In other words, they're temporary. Scripture says that all that we can see will one day burn up. 2 Peter 3 and verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up. So the world sees what it sees and doesn't see what it can't see. But everything we see and everything the world sees is temporal. It's temporary. And this is why scripture warns us not to get too attached to the things of this world. Jesus said in Matthew 6, 19 through 21, don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And then in the same passage, Jesus goes on to say in verse 24 of Matthew 6. No one can serve two masters For either he'll hate the one and love the other or he'll be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve God and wealth First John 2 17 says the world is passing away and also its lusts But the one who does the will of God lives forever and then first Corinthians 731 says in part for the present form of this world is passing away and It's true. It's all passing away. Everything that we see will one day burn up. And so there may be suffering in this life for the Christian. And Scripture says that we should even expect it, but it'll all be worth it when we see Jesus. Back in chapter 8 of Romans, Paul uses an interesting word. He uses the word grown three times. Groaning is an internal reaction or response to that which is difficult to endure. It's sort of like watching the University of Illinois play football. You just groan inside. I had been looking forward to watching my team play all week long. I checked the time, I bet you six times throughout the week. Wanted to make sure that I'd gotten everything done and reviewed with my sermon, everything was set, and I'm gonna be ready at the television at 7.42 p.m. last night. And so I began to watch the game, and Illinois scores within the first two or three minutes of the game. And I'm like, what's going on? We're playing North Carolina. They killed us last year and I'm thinking Maybe things have changed. Lovey Smith's our coach things are on on the the uprise and things are going great North Carolina comes back and scores they go back and forth and all of a sudden the bottom just drops out Typical, Illinois football I am sitting in my recliner And I am groaning inside. Do I have to endure this another year? Is this going to be the same? There are very few things in life that I enjoy as a hobby. One of them happens to be putting myself through this each and every week. Lord. Can you let him win a few games seriously? But but this is kind of the idea of groaning. It's this internal reaction or response to that which is difficult to endure. I think all of us know that feeling. Can you think of times in your life where you've groaned inside? Maybe something happened to you and whatever that was was so heavy and difficult that you just groaned on the inside. We groan when things are very difficult to navigate. I remember groaning when my mom passed away some 25 years now. It was so difficult for me to hear from the corner that my mom had passed away. And upon hearing those words, I just began to groan inside. What are we going to do now? My kids, my grandkids will never know my mom. My mom was the one who always comforted me. She was always there for me. She always was the one who cared for me, even as a young adult. She knew all the stuff I liked to eat. She knew the things that I liked. She was the glue in our family. But now, she's gone. Difficult, difficult time to endure. I groaned on the inside at that time, but I never questioned God. In verse 23, Paul says that the Christian life may be like that at times. There may be times in your life where we groan inside. We may groan within ourselves as we eagerly await that glorious day when our salvation is culminated. We groan because our flesh provides a constant battle for us. We groan because we must suffer for righteousness sake. We groan because we don't know how long we'll have to wait for the coming of our Savior. But we don't question God. Instead, it's the glorious hope that motivates us to endure. And so Paul talks about this hope, this absolute certainty of every Christian. But he also shares about the hope of all creation. So Tucked in here into this passage in verses 19 through 22. He talks about creation the hope of all creation We actually sang of it if you noticed it this morning verse 19 for the anxious longing of the creation Waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it meaning God subjected creation to futility because of sin and in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And so not only do we as Christians groan, but all of creation groans as well. Paul says in verse 19 that there's this anxious longing of even the creation for the revealing of the sons of God I've never been a good waiter Never have From the time that I was a little kid even to now. I just I just am NOT a good waiter Waiting on things if there's a big game that I want to watch I or if there was a big game when I was a kid and I was playing it, I had the hardest time waiting for that to happen. I just wanted it to get here. I wanted it to be a reality right now. I was terrible on Christmas. Christmas Eve, every year that I can remember, I would get up in the night, scope out the landscape a little bit, Go into the living room, tiptoe in there to see what I might be opening up in a few hours. We set a vacation time. It's two or three weeks away. I can't wait. I can't wait. I've never been a good waiter. Paul says in verse 19 that there's this anxious longing for what lies ahead for the Christian. this culmination of our salvation. We can't wait. And I'm not so sure that we should be good waiters. We have this natural longing to be with our Savior. We just can't wait as Christians. Remember when Adam and Eve sinned, everything that was earthly was affected, right? Sin tainted everything, all the things living, began to die. The creation here that I believe that Paul is speaking about seems to include everything that God created that does not have a soul. So he's distinguishing between people and the things, the creation that he has brought about. So there's a distinction between humans and everything else. And so when he says creation, I think what he's referring to are the plants and the animals and the oceans and the mountains and all the other inanimate objects that God created. Even the creation groans as they await for the new heavens and the new earth and the renewal of all that God has created. Verses 20 through 22 says that all of creation figuratively groans because it's been cursed by God because of the sin of man. But one day, as part of God's plan of redemption, there's going to be this new heaven, this new earth, that is untainted by sin. 2 Peter 3.13 says, but according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And so our hope is in the Lord. All of our hope is in the Lord. But what are we to be about in the meantime? What are we to be about as we await the coming of Christ? And so I want to I want to give you four things that were to be about as we await for this amazing hope that we have as Christians. And so what I thought I would do is I would use the letters in the word hope to do that. So H.O.P.E. Four things that were to be about as we await the coming of Christ. And I think this these all four of these encapsulate the Christian life. This is what we are to be about as God's people as we await the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Number one, H, honor the Lord. Honor the Lord. We are to honor the Lord. And we can do that in five ways. And so I want to give you five ways that we can honor the Lord in this life. Number one, we are to praise him. We are to praise him. Psalm 34 in verse 3 says, Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. It's all about him. It's not about us, it's about him. And so we are to praise him. Secondly, we are to glorify him. First Corinthians 1031, whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. First Corinthians 620, for you've been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. Thirdly, we are to worship Him. Psalm 29 in verse 2 says, Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. Worship the Lord in holy array. Now we've talked about this concept of deconstruction, right? Deconstructionism. What does it mean to deconstruct something? Well, it means to take it apart. something that's constructed. I watched a program the other day, and it was one of the home improvement project programs. And they had had a contractor come in, and they had put in a kitchen in the home, but it was the cheapest stuff that you could ever think of. It wasn't even attached to the studs in the walls. They just put it into the drywall. It was falling apart. And so they took it apart. They deconstructed it. And then they put in the good stuff, the new stuff. So what is what is deconstruction have to do with worship? Well, I was thinking about this this morning as I was singing and we were all singing out to the Lord today. There are some that have tried to deconstruct what worship is, in other words, to take it apart and and to give it a new meaning. Some have made worship all about them. It's a worship experience. If you look at websites all across the area and in the United States, a lot of them, I mean a lot of them, I've looked at a lot of them, they say come to our church and experience this worship. Well, that's not what worship is. Worship is ascribing worth to God. It's not anything that we experience. It's ascribing glory to God. This is why we sing. It's not because we like the tunes. It's not because we want to feel good about what we're singing, although we do. But it's all about him. It's all about God. It's worshiping him. Ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due his name. Worship the Lord in holy array. Secondly, or fourthly, we are to obey him. We are to obey Him. How do we show our love for God? How do we demonstrate our love for God in this life? Well, Scripture says, and Jesus said in John 14, 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. You will obey me. 2 John 1, 6 says, and this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love. And then, fifthly, the fifth way that we can honor the Lord in this life is by serving Him. We are to serve Him. Colossians 3, 23 and 24 says, Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's a perspective, I think, that we are losing today in the church. We're losing the idea that we are to be servants of the Most High God, not to serve our own interests in our own time, for our own convenience, for our own sake, but to places the priority in our life as Christians serving God. Serving him, how do we serve him? How do we serve God? Scripture says we serve God by serving others. By being his his hands and his feet and his mouth, to tell people about Christ, to help them, to show the love of Christ, to serve others. That's how we serve God. And so there are five ways that we can honor the Lord. We're to praise Him, we're to glorify Him, we're to worship Him, we're to obey Him, and we're to serve Him. Number two, O, oppose sin. First, honor the Lord. Second, oppose sin. We are to oppose sin in this life as the righteous. Sin is never okay with God. We must stand on the side of righteousness, and we are going to be tested in that in the days ahead. I'm just telling you, we are going to be tested in the days ahead as to whether we will oppose sin or we will give in to sin, whether we will stand with God and stand on righteousness, on the side of righteousness, or we will cave and give in to sin. That day is coming, and it's right around the corner. As Christians, as those who await the amazing, glorious return of Christ and forever in eternity with Him, we are not only to honor Him in this life, but we are to oppose what He opposes. sin stand on the side of righteousness Colossians 3 3 through 5 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is our life is revealed then you also will be revealed with him in glory therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality and purity and passion you will desire and greed which amounts to idolatry Proverbs 28 13 he who conceals His transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. And then first, John, chapter one, verses seven through nine, for if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins or we agree with God about sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Sin's a big deal with God. Think about the one sin of Adam that catapulted the world, the creation, into the mess that we are in today. The one sin of Adam and Eve as well, when they sinned as our federal head, we sinned And we are sinners because that is our nature. We sin because we are sinners. And so God, sin is a big deal with God. And I think sometimes we kind of flippantly look at sin. We are so inundated with sinful things. I don't remember, Kathy and I were in the living room the other day and we were watching television and we were flipping through In every single channel that we turn to, there was something that I didn't want to see, and she didn't want to see. And like five in a row, everything we would turn on, whether it was a commercial, or it was a program, or it was somebody saying something that was inappropriate, or whatever it was, we've become in some ways desensitized to what God hates. And we use it as entertainment in our lives. And so we're to honor the Lord, we're to oppose sin, and number three, P, we're to pray fervently, or pray expectantly. James 5.16, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Romans 12.12 says, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5.17, to pray without ceasing. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God. Pray fervently. Speaking of deconstruction, I just read an article the other day that was endorsed by a person that if I mentioned his name, you would know who he is. He's a prominent evangelical leader. He's now advocating for contemplative prayer, which is this closer to Eastern mysticism than it is to biblical prayer. It's this idea of emptying His mind or emptying our minds. To. Allow God. To come in and to speak to us and to tell us what to do. Surprise, that's not that's not biblical prayer that has nothing to do with prayer. Again, that's closer to Eastern mysticism that is biblical. Prayer is us praying to God. It's us talking to God. God speaks to us through his holy word. And we're so grateful to have it in our language. Again, I've mentioned over and over, I probably have 30 or 40 Bibles in my house. It's it's an amazing blessing to have the word of God in our own language. But this is how God talks to us today. This is how he leads us today through his inerrant, inspired, infallible, closed canon of scripture. This is how he talks to us. So let's say we're feeling dry in the Christian life. We're feeling like, I just don't feel this connection to God. Well, more than likely, the reason why you don't have that connection with God is that you're not saturating yourself in God's word. Every time I read the Bible, my mind is renewed. Every time you get into the text of Scripture, your mind is set on the right path on the right course. This is what God wants. This is how he talks to us. This is how he speaks to us. This is how he communicates to us. So we understand that. And so prayer is not that. Prayer is us talking to God. It's not mindlessly emptying our minds so that God can. or something else can pop into our heads and into our minds. Again, worship has been deconstructed, prayer has been deconstructed, and in some ways, even evangelism has been deconstructed. We've gone to this idea, and this whole WWJD thing, what would Jesus do? I understand the heart of that, and I understand that, It's really not WWJD for the Christian, not what would Jesus do, but what does the Bible say? Because we don't know exactly what Jesus would do, right? We know the character of Christ, we know about Him, we know what He did in Scripture, but that's why the Word of God has been given to us. What would the Bible say? And so E, evangelize the lost. Honor the Lord, oppose sin, pray fervently, and evangelize the lost. Be God's mouthpiece in this life. As we wait for the glorious hope, the returning of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, we're to tell others that they may have the same hope that we have. There is hope, folks. There is hope. I went to a religious funeral And I sat there in this church with all these relics, these dead statues all around the auditorium. And I watched these guys take a lantern with smoke coming out of it and go around and do this. And I listened to a lot of empty words when this authority in that church was speaking. I sat and I listened for an hour. There was no hope whatsoever that was given to the people. I have never been at a funeral where there has been so much despair, so much crying, so much lack of, what do we do now? There was no hope that was offered. Folks, the Bible offers the hope of eternal salvation with Jesus Christ, our Lord. This is part of our motivation for telling other people about the hope that is within us. First Peter 315, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you. Yet you do that with gentleness and reverence. Mark 16 15. And he said to him, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Romans 10 14. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher, without somebody telling them about the hope of Jesus Christ? And so hope we honor the Lord, we oppose sin, we pray fervently, and we evangelize the lost. Some are hoping that a certain candidate that's running for president will win. They're hoping real hard. In fact, a lot of them are hoping so much that they're giving millions and millions of dollars to political action committees to help in a back room way fund the candidates. I mean there are people that are really hoping for one or the other to win. It's football season. A lot of you are Steelers fans. A lot of you are Eagles fans. You're hoping that your team has a good year. You're looking forward to what could be. There are a lot of people that I know that really would like to win the lottery. Every week they go and they pick the numbers and they hope upon hope that they can one day win the lottery. Well, none of those things are certain, are they? None of them. We don't know who's going to win the presidency. God does. We don't know what teams are going to win the games throughout the year. This has already been determined by the sovereign plan of God. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know who's going to win the lottery. We don't know a lot of things. Those things are all things that are yet out into the future, but how different are they than the hope that we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? People say, Pastor Dave, you can't see Jesus. How can you believe in Jesus? How can you believe in something that you can't see? Well, that's what faith is, right? That's exactly what faith is. That's what hope is. And so we place our faith in our trust. But it's not that we hope that it happens sometime down the road. It's this certainty. And so people say, well, give me some evidences. How is it that you know that this is real? How do you know? And I said, you know, I can give you some of these things. I mean, there have been some validations in my life over the years as I as I have walked the Christian life. I mean, why would I have a hunger and a desire for the things of God? That's not natural. That has to be something that God did in me. Why is it that when I pray about certain things that God miraculously brings those things about? That isn't happenstance. That's not coincidence. That's the sovereign hand of God working in the life of someone whom he has saved, a filthy, rotten, dirty sinner like me. But God has changed me in a way that is miraculous. He's changed you in a way that is miraculous. So people, they want this evidence, they want to be able to see it, but that's not what it is. That's not what faith is, that's not what hope is. But we know that God is in us, Christ is in us, and we are in Him. And it is the hope of glory. I hope you're looking forward to the day that you see your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, when our salvation is finally culminated. That one day all of our life's work, all of the service and the obedience and the honoring and the praise and the glorying of our Savior all comes to fruition one day when we see Him and He sees us. And that is going to be a glorious, glorious day. I can't wait for that day. The older I get, the more I look forward to that day. The older I get, every day I think about is today the day that Jesus is going to come again. I don't want to get so wrapped up in the world's cares and concerns that I lose sight of the fact that my hope is not in this world. It's in Jesus Christ, my Savior, and I cannot wait for the day that I can be with Him. I hope that is your heartbeat today. And I want to ask you if you're here today, do you have that hope? Do you have that certainty in your life? The promise of God. Everything hinges upon the character and the power of God to bring about what he promises. I don't know about you, but I'm going with him. I'm going with God who can bring about all that he has said that he will bring about in our lives. And so the question is, do you have that hope today? The hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust in him today. Place your faith in him today. And he will save you from your sin. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for the glorious hope, the amazing hope that we have as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself up for us. Thank you for the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, who you have placed there as a seal of possession and protection over us. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not anything can separate us. No one can snatch us out of your hand. We are forever secure in the hands of the most powerful, amazing, majestic God, the creator of the universe. You are the one, Lord, that is providing us with this amazing hope. And Lord, may we live in light of it. As we even thought about today, the letters H-O-P-E. May we live in light of the hope of your return. May we be eager in this life to honor You, which includes praising You and obeying You and serving You, magnifying You. May we stand on the side of righteousness and oppose sin. May we communicate with You and pray fervently and expectantly as we await Your return. And then, Lord, may we finally Tell others about You. May we be Your ambassadors in this life as we look forward to the day of the culmination of our salvation. Thank You that our hope is secure in You and the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and His righteousness. We thank You and we praise You in Jesus' name, Amen.