Well, dear church family, this evening we carry on with our Bible study series in the Apostle Paul's epistle to the Romans. Last time we looked at Romans chapter 8, 12 through 17, where we considered the duties and the privileges of all true believers who are led by the Spirit of God. So we thought about the responsibility of justified believers. We considered how that true saving faith in grace in Christ does not exempt us from obedience to the moral law of God. Truly justified saints cannot live like the unconverted. We thought about that, unless of course they're in a backslidden condition. Christ himself confirmed this in John 14-15 when he said, if you love me, keep my commandments, true love for the Lord, true salvation brings in and ushers in a love, of course, for the commandments. True saving faith comes with loving responsibilities, loving duties, and, of course, wonderful privileges, which are a direct result of receiving the new nature of God. We thought about how mortifying the deeds of the body is all part and parcel of the Christian experience and the Christian life. Far be it really from being an ugly word. It's not mentioned nowadays in very few churches they talk about Christian mortification, mortifying the deeds of the body. It's not an ugly word. The Apostle Paul had in mind the Christian's victory and comfort and peace and blessing in mortifying the deeds of the body, anything that resists the Holy Spirit's governing power over us, the new management over you and I, must be subdued, it must be mortified, it must be brought into subjection so that the life of Christ can be increasingly manifest in you and I. Our allegiance, we thought last time, is no longer to the flesh, to go after the things of the flesh, the things of this world. Our allegiance now is to the new management, the Holy Spirit. We must have a sensitive conscience to the promptings of the Spirit, to its management, to God's will in that regard. And like I said, the Apostle Paul really had in mind when speaking of such sometimes difficult things to talk about, he really had in mind the believer's comfort and victorious life of faith when speaking on subjects like mortifying the deeds of the body. Well, for this evening's study in Romans 8, verses 18 through 27, I would like for us to consider the Christian's anticipation of glory, the Christian's anticipation of glory. Verse 18 really sets the stage in this regard for the rest of the chapter. It kind of sets that stage, how we really, who are justified by faith in Christ, born of the Spirit of God, led by the Spirit of God, how we have this wonderful anticipation within us of glory, the future hope. of glory. Well verse 18 says, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. The word reckon here to begin with in verse 18 has in mind really to account I reckon for I reckon says the Apostle Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So the word reckon has here to account to add up as it were. It is as if the word of God wants us to know assuredly that the sufferings of this present life as a believer and all the difficulties and afflictions that we face and we've sung about as a Christian are not even worthy to be compared to what we will enjoy and experience in glory one day. The one far, far exceedingly outweighs the other. Really like a divine accountant The Holy Spirit of God calculates and gives us almost like these two columns. The present sufferings of this time, as it were, the things that we experience as believers, we are far more afflicted than the natural man is. Because we of course have burdens for the lost. There's so many things that press upon us. And so almost we have here the Holy Spirit giving us a column. This is the present sufferings of this time. And then this other column, and if you can imagine, which far outweighs the glory, the glory which we can expect, of course, and it's wonderful. The first, of course, one is the sum total of the sufferings of this present time. And the second is the glory which shall be revealed in us on the day of judgment, on the day of the Lord's return. And in order to demonstrate this really, the Word of God begins with the fact that God's creation The word of God here begins with God's creation, the creature, that it groans for the day of restoration. It groans for that day. Look at verses 19 through 22. For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope. because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. We are the children of God, aren't we? For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. When Adam fell into sin, of course, not only did the whole of mankind fall into sin and had inherited that corrupt God-hating nature, but the whole of God's creation did as well. We read in Genesis 3 how the ground brought forth, before it brought forth only fruit, everything was only flourishing. And of course the ground brought forth thorns and thistles and animals started to fight against one another. Literally the whole of creation, yes everything in the seas and the land and the air, even Even the heavenly bodies, even they have been corrupted. The whole of creation has been corrupted. Nothing is without corruption. It's hard to imagine that, isn't it? But the whole of creation has been affected. And so we see that this is cursed, as it were. The whole of creation, verse 22, has been put under a curse since the fall. And so what we've got to ask ourselves a question, would we labour for a curse? Would we give our time and our energy and our heart's affection to labour for that which is cursed? for that which is ultimately going to be destroyed in the end? Or would we give our hearts and our time and our affection for that which is going to last for eternity? And we see this. We know this, don't we, within us. We see the world groans. We see, evidently, everything groans in this world. We see how everything has been affected. Everything has that curse upon it. Now, we who have become the children of God, by God's grace, have yes, been delivered from that curse, yes. But we're still waiting for the redemption of our body, aren't we? Verse 23, we're still waiting for that. Our bodies, as we thought about, are exactly the same as they were in our pre-converted days. Nothing has changed. in our bodies. We've received new management, remember. So we're waiting for the redemption of our bodies. The whole of creation with the children of God, with the justified believer, is waiting for the end of this present evil and corrupted world. The whole of creation is literally out of joint. It's not what it ought to be. It's in pain. It travails like a woman wanting to have that release from a child, it travails, it's out of joint, it's in pain. And we see it all around us, don't we? And we experience it. And in a sense, it is like a justified believer with those besetting sins and those corruptions of the flesh. and those influences of the world that press in upon us, press in upon our marriages, press in upon our families. All those things pressing in on us. Creation is not mother nature as popularized in our culture. It is not subject to what the media or the government tell us concerning net zero. Creation did not come about by natural means, did it? Or natural purposes. And it certainly will not end by anything that we can do, that man can do. I don't know if you've heard recently, my wife told me this to my horror, is that they're giving cows pills now so that they won't flatulate as much. They're actually giving them cows. Nothing that we do can ever stop that day of God's judgment because it is him that has ordained it and it is him that has subjected it. And that net zero and all these things, it's a bare faced lie. God has decreed that his creation should be linked to the state of the pinnacle of his creation, man. That's what it's linked to. The pinnacle of God's creation is man. When man rebelled, creation was affected. Yet God subjected it in hope. And did you know that the whole of creation is eagerly awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God? That's us who believe, who are saved. The whole of creation, it's hard to think of, isn't it? Every part of creation is awaiting When all true believers will be announced, when the trumpet will sound, when the Lord will return back in the clouds, the whole of creation all around us is groaning and waiting, it's out of joints and pain. And like a believer feels estranged in this world, Like that, the creation around us, it feels that way, it eagerly is waiting. It's strange to think of that, but it's eagerly awaiting that day where we will be completely remade, body and soul and spirit, as it were. Makes you want to hug a tree, doesn't it? Not really, but it's interesting to think about, doesn't it? Did you know that the whole of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God? Verse 19. On that glorious day of Christ's return these vile bodies of ours as believers will be changed into the likeness of Christ's glorious body. When we rise and are caught up in the air forever to be with the Lord. These vile bodies will be changed to the likeness of Christ's body. The whole of God's creation and its complete restoration is linked to that day. It's awaiting the announcement of the just. It's awaiting the trumpet sound. Are you eagerly waiting that trumpet sound? I can say before I was converted, I was actually, and I heard the gospel, I actually feared, feared the sound of the trumpet. There was a part of me actually that was actually in fear of that great day of reckoning. Are you in fear or are you living in that anticipation where that trumpet sound and every person will hear and every eye will see, as it were. Are you awaiting eagerly for that day and see that your salvation has come? Many people are living in fear because it's going to come as a thief in the night, isn't it? But are you waiting because you love the Lord, because you've sought the Lord as a pearl of great price, and when that trumpet sounds, you'll lift up your arms and your head because your salvation has come, because you'll be caught up in the air to be forever the Lord, and you have that anticipation. You're looking forward to that day. Or really, have you made this life your all in all? Are you anticipating that trump, as it were? The new heavens and the new earth will be ushered in, won't it? And yes, even the stars. Everything will be made anew. Everything. There will be no such thing as a falling star. Everything will have a different splendor and a beauty to it. Everything will flourish as it were. That's why it's called paradise in the Bible. It will be perfect. Nothing will be tainted with sin or corruption ever again. Condition of creation is not a permanent one. It will not always be ravaged by sin and plundered and spoiled by war and corruption and greed. There will be a day of great release, there will be a day of great beauty, a day of overwhelming joy for creation and for every true justified believer. The wolf will lie down with the lamb and be at peace, won't it, as Isaiah speaks about. Creation cannot wait for that day. It cannot wait to be free. It's like a woman that travaileth in labor to be delivered of her child. And so this is true of God's creation, and it's true of us who know and love the Lord. Something doesn't sit right, does it, with us? We want rid of our sin, of the old man. We want rid of this body of flesh, this body of death. We want rid of it. And all the afflictions and the trials and the pressing on of this wicked will, we want rid of that and we want to be with the Lord. And so there is a sense where the whole of creation is eagerly awaiting to be made anew. It will shine in its proper splendor. It will tell out the glory of the Lord, surpassing everything of this present creation. Think about that. Everything you've experienced in creation is corrupted, to a degree, in the new heavens and the new earth. It will far surpass, I mean it's beyond our telling, beyond our imagination. It's going to far surpass the splendor and the beauty which we would have ever experienced before. That's how wonderful, that's how far it outweighs These present sufferings and afflictions that we have to undergo because of our faith in the Lord, because we often are shunned in society. The glory, this anticipation is far outweighs even our wildest imaginations. It will tell out the glory of the Lord. Everything will flourish. everything will be in good health, constantly, and sing forth the glory of the Lord. What a day! What a day! Not like we need health, because we'll be perfect. So, it will be wonderful. Not only does God's creation long and groan for that day, but we also, that are saved, do also. Look at verse 23 through 25. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit." Notice the Spirit is in capital letters there. It's not talking about any old spirit, it's talking about the Spirit of God here. Even we ourselves, grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it? There is a sense here, isn't there, where we groan within ourselves to be freed from this body of death, and we long for that resurrection day. As we wait and watch for that glorious day, we have the first fruits of the Spirit, we're told, aren't we, in verse 23. That's a down payment. really on what we can expect. We have received the Holy Spirit of God. We still have these corrupt bodies, but we have the Holy Spirit of God, the new nature of God. We've received the first fruits of the Spirit. The first fruits really is talking about in agricultural terms, isn't it? When you have the first fruits, you're taking the first fruits of the harvest. and you can try the first fruits of the harvest and it can be wonderful. And as believers we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good because we've received the Holy Spirit but we're still living in a corrupt wicked world and a corrupt body and all the influences. So we've had tasted those first fruits but in glory we can experience the whole harvest, aren't we? And it's going to be wonderful. We will experience the great bounty, the great feast that the scriptures speak about. And this will be a reality in glory. And similarly, we who have been born again through the Spirit have a guarantee, a foretaste of that great feast to come in glory. Sin in our members causes us to groan and yearn for the day when both spirit and body will be joined, and you, as it were, things will be a lot different. Then the Spirit of God assures us, the Spirit of God assures us of that because we've been adopted, haven't we, into his family. And so we are given that assurance. The word hope in verses 24 and 25 is not referring to a fond kind of wish or a kind of a wishful thinking type of hope here, which people often say. Oh no, the hope here has in mind absolute certainty. We are saved by hope. It's certain. It's not a wishful thinking here. This hope cannot be seen because it's a sure hope that arises through the power and might of the Holy Spirit of God within us. It's not something which, you know, is lucky or is wishful thinking. It's certain because the Holy Spirit assures us of it and it springs up from the Holy Spirit. It's sure and certain. Carnal man's hope is bound up, isn't it, in just the things of this world. Hoping in the things of this world, uncertain riches, fame, and all the things under the sun. But our hope, of course, is in Christ and his promises to us. The Holy Spirit assures us of these things. It's a work of the Holy Spirit. If this hope is in you, if this sure hope and certain hope is within you, it's not of your own making. It's because the Holy Spirit has given it to you. It's a gift. this hope, the certain hope. The climax and full blessing of our salvation is yet to come. The present effect of this sure and certain spirit-wrought hope is that we wait patiently for it. And that can be very hard as content and I readily put my hands up. It can be hard. That's probably the hardest part of the hardest part is waiting for it. Waiting for that blessed day. All around us nature groans and suffers. We who believe and who have been saved groan within ourselves for that day. And this present order will not go on forever. Glory awaits us, doesn't it? And in conclusion of today's study we're told emphatically in verse 26, and verse 27, are the Holy Spirit of God's divine help to us no matter how hard afflictions and sufferings may come. We are guaranteed of God's divine help and the Holy Spirit's help. Look at verse 26 and 27, likewise the Spirit, look at that, capital letters once again, the Holy Spirit of God here, likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, our weaknesses. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. as justified believers in Christ, we have many infirmities. Do we not? Not as the natural man does, for, you know, I'm speaking in a spiritual sense here. It's not what the natural man experiences. The infirmities is talking about the infirmities as us, as believers, the afflictions and the trials that we go through. As Christians, we are in a spiritual warfare. We're mortifying the deeds of the flesh. If it were not for the Holy Spirit of God within us, our faith would be utterly crushed, wouldn't it? We would not even be able to pray and seek God genuinely. Every day our faith, our minds, our bodies, Our affections, our marriages, our families, our churches are assaulted, aren't they? By sin, by this present evil world, by the devil. It all presses in on us, all the influences, every day. And at times it can be hard to pray because we feel so spiritually battered, don't we? And if we're honest with ourselves, it can really feel like that some days. And we feel so wearied over sin and fighting the good fight of faith, our minds so faint and sometimes distracted, and the pressures of this life. And if it were not, beloved, once again, if it were not for the indwelling might and power of the Holy Spirit, we would be lost and without Christ. Just think about that. What a debt of love we owe to the new management of us, the Holy Spirit of God. It's the Holy Spirit that causes us to pray. Even with groanings, even with mutterings, as it were, it doesn't matter how eloquent your prayers are or how long your prayers are, it doesn't matter at all to God. What matters is if it's genuine and earnest and heartfelt. And that is of the Holy Spirit, isn't it, friends? The Holy Spirit in our weakness does not leave us in our infirmities and in our fainting mind and flesh, but it intercedes for us by giving us grace for us to cry unto the Lord and to pray to Him. God is not interested in, like I said, in the length. of our prayers. We know that with the Pharisees. He's not interested in what other people think of our prayers. He's not interested in our eloquence of our prayers. In so much he wants our prayers to be genuine and heartfelt as a work of the Holy Spirit. Even if they're groans, even if they're mutterings, even if like Hannah you can't even get your words out and people think that you're drunk. Sometimes it can be like that. And in fact some of the best prayers that you and I would have ever prayed would have been short, pungent, heartfelt prayers where we just feel like, I failed you Lord. And I just cannot do it. And we just cry out to the Lord. And it's almost, before we get on upon our knees, we sense that the Lord has already heard our prayers. Because it's the Spirit. You see, it's the Spirit overshadowing us. Giving us that power and might from within. That's all the Spirit's work within us. It's a great, it's a wonder, isn't it, friends? And it is so comforting. that we have that in the Holy Spirit. We can cry like the publican, God, short prayer, God be merciful to me, a sinner. And that man went home justified, said the Lord. Not the Pharisee, not the eloquent prayer, but the one who just could not even so much as look up to heaven, beat his fist upon his chest, as it were. So overwrought with sin and his failings, That man went home justified. The one that just cried unto the Lord, the one whom the Spirit of God is in. He went home justified, said the Lord Jesus. Friends, if you pray like that, if your prayers are like that, heartfelt, caused by the Spirit of God and you mean it, You're going home to glory in heaven. You're a justified believer. You're justified. If that is the type of prayer you're praying, not so much what other people think, but if it's heartfelt and spirit wrought, you're going home to heaven. You're justified in Christ by his spirit. Who stirs these holy desires within us to pray and seek God's face and guidance and blessing? It's the Holy Spirit of God. Who shows us our need of prayer and strengthens our faith to do so? It's the Holy Spirit of God, isn't it? Look at verse 27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And who communicates to them to God? It's the Holy Spirit, as verse 27 says. Well, dear beloved, the inward aches and burdens which cannot be put into words at times have a meaning which is discerned and understood by God, isn't it? Sometimes we cannot be understood understood by people. I mean, that was me. I remember when I was newly converted, I was all over the place with my prayers. But they were genuine, sometimes with tears, but they were genuine. And some people couldn't make them out, but the Lord discerned them, the Lord knows them and understands them because of the Spirit of God. And that is a great comfort, isn't it? They can be prayers that are more groans and mutterings, but be assured they are prayers according to the will of God, because they have been prompted by the Holy Spirit of God. 1 John 5, 14 confirms this when it says, and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And the inward desire of the godly will not always be disappointed. Our inward longings will become reality if we're praying for God's will. And I know I've often mentioned this, but I'll mention it again. How do I know God's will? Well, God reveals his will through his word. If we are prayerfully seeking God's guidance and to live according to his will, it's not just about understanding doctrine and theology, it's about understanding that his word is living. It's the living word of God. And he speaks to us through his word. So it's living and it's breathing. It's a double-edged sword, isn't it? And it gets right through, as it were, to the heart. And so this present order of afflictions and burdens will not go on forever. Sufferings will at last give way to glory for the believer. And that is what we will be looking at in our next Bible study. Sorry, Junior. I'm glad you made it so you can walk your wife home. The many reasons why we have much, we're gonna be looking at next time, the many reasons why we have much cause to rejoice amidst our many afflictions. Our present trials are, if I can put it this way, are an ugly porch which leads to a threshold of an unspeakable mansion in glory. The day spring is at hand, brothers and sisters in Christ, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land, because the King, there in his beauty, without a veil, we will see. And we're going to sing just that now, aren't we? With hymn 816. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk.