We're studying the biblical doctrine of heaven, and we're studying it under three headings. The now heaven, that is the heaven that we enjoy a foretaste of in this life, having been raised up with Christ and seated with Christ in the heavenly places, that Christ in us is the beginning of glory itself, And then we consider briefly the next heaven, that is what most people associate with heaven, the place where Christians go after they die and before the resurrection when Jesus returns. And then the new heaven, we began considering the new heaven, that is that place where in this world, when heaven comes to this earth, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and he makes all things new. Well, last week we looked at that fact from the Scriptures. We saw creation's past ruination. that God imposed his curse upon creation. We saw that God imposed the curse. We saw the dreadful implications of the curse, its dreadful implications for mankind, and then for the rest of creation, indeed for all of the cosmos. And then we looked at creation's present anticipation, that is, groaning under the curse of God for the realization of the promise. that cursed creation longs for man's glorification, and we saw the groaning of fallen men longing for their glorification. And then we concluded with a few applications. Well, that brings us, this morning, having seen creation's past ruination and its present anticipation, to begin to consider creation's future renovation, that is, the removal of the curse and God's glorification of creation. Now, I'm gonna begin this morning with an extended quote from the book of Genesis, Genesis chapters one, two, and three, slimming it down for our purposes this morning. So let us consider then creation's future renovation, the removal of God's curse and his glorification of creation. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and God saw all that he had made and behold, it was very good. Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. And God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Then God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth and every tree which has fruit yielding seed, it shall be food for you. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth, which has life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. And the Lord commanded the man saying, from any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate. And she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man and said to him, where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself. And he said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? And the man said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. And the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you. Then to Adam he said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you saying, you shall not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because of you. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you. And you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you are taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Now, let us fast forward in redemptive history to Paul writing in Romans chapter five with this history in his mind as he writes the effect of the fall, the curse, and of God's interceding on behalf of fallen, cursed sinners. So then as through one transgression, there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. And the law came in that the transgression might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now about 800 inspired words I have just read summarize both the cause of our grief and point us as well to the foundation of our hope. As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. Now, with that extended scriptural introduction, we're going to begin considering creation's future renovation, the removal of God's curse, and His glorification of creation. This morning, we are just going to consider preparation for creation's future renovation, and that is hopeful groaning. hopeful groaning, and we will consider the groaning of creation, the groaning of Christians, and then we will come to a few words of concluding observations. Notice then as we consider, begin to consider creation's future renovation, notice preparation for creation's future renovation in the hopeful groaning of creation. We're returning to this theme today to fill it out with more detail. Now, from what we have seen that God imposed the curse, and the God who imposed the curse is the only one who can remove it. You see, we can ruin, but we cannot recover ourselves. Only God can bring good out of evil. Only He who inflicts death can restore life. Only the God who created the world very good can restore it to perfection. We cannot do that. We can ruin, but we cannot renovate. Please turn with me in your Bibles then to Romans 8. Last time we looked at the relationship of the groaning of Romans 8 to the curse imposed in Genesis, and we kind of flip-flopped back and forth between Genesis and Romans. Now we're going to be spending time just in Romans today. Please follow with me as I read verses 18 through 22. Romans 8. 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 of its own will, 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. We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." So let us consider then the groaning of creation. And what Paul is teaching here is that all subhuman creation groans as a result of the curse. All animate and inanimate creation, all the flora and the fauna, the rocks, the hills, the rivers, the trees, all lament the evil effects of man's fall. We noted last time that Paul here, she's speaking metaphorically. He's personifying creation. He's giving it a life and a mind of its own. And we observe its groans in the production of thorns and thistles. We hear its moans of death and we witness creation's decay all around us. We cannot escape it. The personification of creation in the Bible, it didn't originate with the apostle Paul. If you're familiar with your Old Testament, you will have read from the psalmist and the prophets, they speak of the land mourning and of wild animals calling to God. Even remembering the curse, speaking of it specifically in Jeremiah 23 in verse 10. On the other hand, they also speak of exalting fields and trees, of the forests and mountains singing together with joy, of rivers and trees clapping their hands, of the wilderness and desert being glad and rejoicing, of mountains and hills breaking forth with shouts of joy. One commentator summarizes it this way. He says, so in the language of scripture, the sins of men cause the creation to mourn. But the mercy of God, when He removes, He rebukes, His rebukes, He causes creation to rejoice. And that is what we are looking for. Creation now is singing in a minor key. groaning under the effects of the curse. One day creation is going to join and sing in major key the glories of the God that has restored it and glorified it. When God brings in the new heaven and new earth in the future renovation, creation's painful groans will be forever exchanged for paeans of praise and songs of joy. That is what we are looking forward to if we are the people of God. You see, moving from sin to grace, we're going to be moving from grace to glory, and it is a one-way street, brothers and sisters. We who have entered into the grace of God will one day enter into the glory of God. And the creation around us that is even now moaning and groaning under the curse will one day be singing and praising the God that restored it to beyond its original innocence and glory. But not all creatures groaning under the curse groan in hope for the coming renovation. Notice, first of all, the good or the elect angels are God's creatures, but they do not groan because they are not fallen and they are not subject to corruption. Further, Satan and the evil angels, though fallen and subject to corruption, they do not groan. They are reprobate. They will never be set free. Remember creation and Christians grown in hope. Evil angels have no hope. Instead, the devil and his angels, they tremble. at the prospect of their coming eternal doom. 2 Peter 2 in verse 4, For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell, and committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment, There's no singing of Satan's angels in hope of restoration. No, they are reprobate. They shall never be saved from their sin. They shall never be admitted into heaven. Jude likewise writes, and angels who did not keep their own domain, that is those who sinned with Satan in his rebellion, but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. I just read in my morning devotions, Revelation chapter 20, Satan and his angels will be cast into hell where the fire burns forever. Moreover, the non-elect who are at enmity with God are not included among those who groan, No, they have no hope. They're without God and without hope in this world, and therefore they're not groaning in hope of the renovation. And since they are without faith in Christ, they're not groaning in anticipation for the new creation. 2 Thessalonians 1, verses 8 and 9, speaking of the return of Christ, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Frightening words are these. Non-Christians experience the painful effects of the curse. They know about thorns and thistles. They know about the sweat of brow. They know about the little return upon much labor. They sense the frustration and the futility of work that doesn't pay, doesn't pay what is given. There's no return on the investment. They know about that. They know the painful effects of the curse, but they're not new creatures in Christ who long for the fullness of the Spirit and glory. Oh, they may want an ideal world. They do, don't they? They want a nirvana or a utopia of their own making, but they don't want God. They may vainly seek for some fountain of youth, but they never thirst for the water of life in Christ. They may talk much about saving the planet, but they care nothing about saving their own souls. This is because they fail to trace the wrong that's in the world to the curse, and the curse back to sin, and not just to Adam's sin, but to their own sin. It's always somebody else's fault that they're suffering the way that they do. They never trace it back to their own sin, and they never trace their sin to the cross. Because unbelievers reject God's curse, they refuse God's cure. That's the problem. Even atheists and agnostics are innately and incurably religious. They don't want to be, but they are and they can't help it. That's the way that God has made us. He's made us to want something more than ourselves and will satisfy us only with himself. When men reject the gospel of Christ, they become their own saviors. And none of them have ever saved themselves. Rejecting God, repudiating the fall, and relying on universal human goodness, that led men to erect the Tower of Babel. And that tower is still being constructed in men's imaginations, creating a world without the God of the Bible. It's reflected in their songs, and I'm gonna date myself when I quote these old songs. Many of us know of John Lennon's song, Imagine. Among the lyrics, imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us, only sky. Nothing to kill or to die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine all the people sharing all the world. Imagine all the people living life in peace. Well, that world has never been realized. We're not at peace until we're at peace with God. And then when we're at peace with God, we seek to be at peace with each other. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. And then Joni Mitchell's song, Woodstock, expresses her hope in man's basic goodness, flavored with a little biblical allusion. She says in that song, we are stardust, we are golden, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden. Well, that garden didn't prove to be Woodstock. That was a Bacchanal. Creation groans because of our sin. You see, secular humanism, it recognizes that all is not well with this world, but it envisions making a better world without the God of the Bible. But on the other hand, Christians and cursed creation long for a better world, but not a world of man's making some imaginary utopia, but a world of God's remaking, not a return to the garden of Eden, but for a coming new creation that's even better than the garden was before the fall. Creation groans because of God's curse upon sin. Creation cries, vanity, vanity, all is vanity, anxiously awaiting its release in God's creation of a new glorified universe. Creation longs for the day. It was cursed not because of its sin, but because of man's sin. And it's paying the consequences, collateral damage upon creation because of man's sin, because man lives in that environment. God is not gonna make it any kind of a utopia to encourage men in their sin. Finally, Paul does not include the elect among the wider groaning inanimate creation, since the elect constitute a separate category of groaners. They're not among the animate and inanimate. They are a special group. Notice, secondly, having seen the groaning of creation, the groaning of Christians, Not only does the whole subhuman creation groan under the curse, but perhaps the loudest groaning of all arises from those who lament their sin in Adam that brought on God's curse upon themselves and upon creation and the evil effects of their own sin. I wasn't saved as a young man. I wasn't saved as a boy. I went long in the ways of sin. And the memory of days gone by before God plucked me as a bran from the burning caused me to groan as I remember those things. But I thank God that I don't groan in despair. I groan in hope. I'm not what I once was, what I am. I am by the grace of God, and I look forward to what I'm going to be by the glory of God. But looking back causes me pain. When I see things in Technicolor, I wish I didn't see it all. Verse 23 through verse 25. And not only this, that is the groaning of creation in hope, 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 why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it." We're saved in hope, Paul says. Notice first of all, notice three things. First of all, the intense hope evident in the Christians groaning. Paul seems to go out of his way here to speak about the groaning of Christians, how surprising that it is. And not only this, but we, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves. So notice the intense hope that's evident in the Christian's groaning. Notice, first of all, that the Christian's groaning is a spiritual groaning. It's spiritual because it's produced by the Holy Spirit in our spirit. This groaning may be understood in one of two ways, Paul may be expressing Christian surprise as if to say, even though we have the Holy Spirit and a foretaste of the glory that's to be revealed to us, even though we have the spirit and we have the beginnings of glory and grace, we still groan within ourselves. It's an amazing thing that we have the foretaste of glory and yet we groan, we groan. Or he may be affirming the work of the Spirit in producing this groaning, as if to say, my spirit groans because of the Holy Spirit within me moves me to moan and to groan. That need not be one way or the other, however we interpret this. The Holy Spirit that testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God. and that we are the children of God makes us groan for all that our heavenly Father has for us. And we hear something of this groaning, even in the language of the apostle John. Even so, Lord Jesus, come. That's a groan. That's a groan in hope. And we noted that non-Christians know nothing of this groaning. It's sad that they groan for temporal things, but they don't groan for eternal things. Only Christians groan in anticipation of the new creation because only they possess the Holy Spirit. See, this is a hopeful groaning. It's not the painful, despairing groaning of those that are under the curse. Only Christians know this internal groaning as they anxiously await their full redemption. What's begun in us, Lord, finish. Would you please bring it on soon? Notice second, that the Christian's groaning is eager, hopeful groaning. This word hope appears five times, no less than five times, and are eager waiting twice in verses 23 through 25. And dear ones, this is no vain repetition. Paul's making a point here. We eagerly anticipate our full redemption. We see here that hope is not a passive grace. It works patience, but it also excites expectation. The hopeful Christian knows something of Jacob's perseverance and expectation and even insistence. You remember when he wrestled with the angel and he says, I will not let you go until you bless me. That's the spirit here. Thirdly, the Christian's groaning is a persevering groaning. Paul describes it with a present tense of verb. We continue to groan. It's not one and done. No, it's lifelong, you see. Like the persistent widow who pesters the unrighteous judge in Jesus' parable, so the Christian groans continually until he gets his relief from God. So that's the intense hope evident in the Christian's groaning. Notice, secondly, the blessed objects that prompt the Christian's groaning. Now, brethren, we groan not only because we wish to be free from the dreadful effects of the curse. That works in us, strong groaning, does it not? And nor is our groaning motivated by some vague, indistinct notions of a coming better world. We don't know all that we would want to know, but we know enough to make us long for it, do we not? Notice the two blessed objects for which the Christian groans. One is familial, that is family, and the other is spiritual. Both are blessed and both are promised to all Christians. Notice first the familial object of this groaning. What are we groaning for? For our adoption as sons. Last week, we noted from our message from Galatians chapter 4, that adoption is a key blessing of the Christian life. We're justified, we're declared right by God, and then we're brought into the family of God. We're declared right, and then we're declared family. The Christian religion, you see, it's a family religion. We're saved not so much as individuals, we're saved as members of Christ's family, as parts of his body, as living stones, which are being built together into a holy temple of God. We are united to one another because we are united to Christ. We are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ in the family of God. You see, we are members of one another in the Christian family. Adoption into God's family first takes place when we place our faith in Jesus. At the moment we are reconciled to God and numbered among his children. And our first adoption is private. I think the Apostle Paul has in mind here the picture of adoption in Roman culture. In Roman culture, adoption had two phases. First, it had the private, ceremony just with the family, and then later on there was a public adoption ceremony before all of the gathered town. We've already had our private adoption in the presence of God by Christ. One day we're going to experience our public adoption. So we've experienced the sense of the presence of God within us by the Spirit. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Verse 16 of Romans 8. And even now we demonstrate our family lineage that we're heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. Paul says, if we suffer with Christ, all Christians have identifying scars upon them that mark them as belonging to God's family. We have the brand marks of Christ upon us, suffering for the sake of our Savior. But the adoption that Paul is speaking of here in verse 23 is future and it will be public. The ceremony will be witnessed by the gathered universe. It will take place at the dawn of the new heaven. And we know this because the recognition of this adoption will happen at the redemption of our body, that is, at the coming general resurrection. And the date of our resurrection and our adoption will be day one in the age to come when Jesus comes back and restores all things to the Father. Notice second, the glorious liberation for which Christians continually groan. We groan as we look forward as God's adopted children to the freedom of the glory of the children of God. What a statement that is. This freedom involves our liberation from the curse and enslavement to vanity and corruption, We are Christians adopted now, we still feel the effects of the curse, we groan. You see this liberation, this glorious liberation of which Paul speaks here, it's the new birthright of every child of God. It is for this that we anxiously wait. One day, Christian, you will be forever set free from sin, from corruption, from evil desires, from calamity and from death itself. You've already experienced the foretaste of this freedom in regeneration when you were raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places. It was pictured in your baptism when you were raised to newness of life, picturing your being united to Christ. It's forecast in the life of the fruit of the Spirit, where old things pass away and new things come, and you become conformed more and more to the image of Christ. Notice that the liberty of the sons of God is a glorious liberty. The renewal that began in grace will be finished in glory, and there we will be liberated from the debilitating effects of the curse. There we will experience unfettered freedom to fully obey God, which is the essence of liberty, free to obey God without any sin at all. God originally made us to be free. And we lost that freedom in the fall, and we are slaves to sin until Christ makes us free. When Christ makes us free, we are free indeed. We look forward to the fullness of that freedom. And we know a foretaste of that perfect freedom in Christ, even while we wrestle against the remains of sin. And that's one proof that we're a Christian, that we wrestle against the remains of sin. God, you've begun that work in me, continue to perfect it in me, and give me the ability to fight with a holy sword to cut off right hands and gouge out right eyes. But when we experience the redemption of the body at the resurrection, gone forever will be our struggle against sin. We shall be fully, finally, and forever free. And what does Paul say? What's his word for us today? Christ in you, the hope of glory. Contrast this true liberty with a counterfeit carnal liberty of the wicked, The freedom of the wicked consists in bondage and leads to further bondage. It is slavery to sin. Their glory is their shame. Instead of liberty, Paul speaks of, to use the language of one commentator, This liberty belongs to the children of God. No hope of liberty and glory exists for the ungodly. Hence, the future of the creation is not bound up with them, and not a word here is said about them." Oh, if you don't find yourself in Romans 8, what a dreadful case you are. Christian, yours is a glorious liberty. You groan now, you will glory then. And from the dawn of that endless day, you will increasingly reflect the majesty of your Savior. And therefore notice finally, this morning, the glorious goal of the Christians groaning. Verse 23, what are we groaning for? The redemption of our body. That is the work of adoption in perfection, the redemption of our body. I can only introduce the subject of the resurrection of Christians today. Next time we'll ponder it in its relationship to the recreation of the cosmos. But notice 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 as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Paul doesn't speak about that in length here. He does in various other places, especially the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. And God willing, we'll look at that next time. But notice these points by way of introduction from Romans 8.23. First, Christians who possess the first fruits of the Holy Spirit grown in anticipation of their adoption, which will take place in connection with their bodily resurrection, which is here called the redemption of the body. Second, that Christians now possess the first fruits of the Spirit suggests that they will enjoy a fuller experience of the Holy Spirit at the resurrection. Third, that the body awaits redemption teaches that our full redemption does not take place until the resurrection. Our spirits, which have been partially redeemed at conversion, will be perfected in glory after they depart our bodies. Heaven, therefore, is referred to as the abode of righteous, the spirits of righteous men made perfect." Completed adoption, completed redemption. You see, awaits the resurrection. We're not just looking for the next heaven. We're looking for the new heaven. And that will be our subject next time. And if time permits, we will consider God's great conflagration that will renew the universe and make it a suitable habitation for fully glorified, resurrected saints. What does it say to us by way of a few words of conclusion? First of all, how great must sin's evil be that God cursed creation on account of it? We have such slight views of sin, don't we? Even as Christians, we should quake at the thought of our sin and run on the feet of faith and repentance to the Savior, even before what is a thought becomes an act. Lord, have mercy upon me that I would even think of such a thing. Every thorn, every flood, every tornado, every drop of sweat, Each tear reminds us of God's response to our sin in Adam. Far more evil than the curse is the sin that brings it, and our sin which is a part of it. Let us not look at the sin of others. Let us look at our sin, and then from our sin to the Savior. There's only one thing in all of the universe that God hates, and that's sin. God must punish sin, but there's a gracious purpose in the curse. Why? Why do I say that? Well, the curse points us to our sin and points us from our sin to the Savior. Now, if you're here this morning and you don't know the Lord, Oh, dear friend, God has injected misery into your life that he might make you long for deliverance, not just from the effects of the curse, but from your own sin. Seek Jesus who delivers not only from the curse of sin here, but from its unending effect hereafter. In hell, Jesus came into this world to save sinners. Secondly, how hopeful Christians should be because of God's promised renovation. We're looking forward to that day. Oh, we should be people of hope. The removal of the curse has begun in your soul by the saving grace of God. If you're a Christian, you are a child of hope. Your groaning forecasts your glory. Paul goes on to promise that God is working all things together for your good, to those who are the called of God, those who love Him. You see, the worst that can happen to you as a saved sinner, protected by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, the worst thing that can happen to you here is death. But even death has been cushioned by God because Jesus has taken out the sting. And what is death for a Christian but a portal to glory? It's the doorway to heaven. You see, for you, dear child of God, adopted in the family of God, cared for by God, the best for you is yet to come. This isn't your best life now. It is for those who don't know Christ. Oh, may God open their eyes to see Jesus Christ and be saved from this kind of utopia mentality that we're to enjoy the best that life has to give here. No, we're to groan here that we may glory there. Full freedom, full adoption, perfect redemption awaits us. Finally, thirdly, how glorious are the Christians' prospects in the coming renovation. Brethren, the grace of hope enables you to keep your chin up. Even when you're groaning, Keep your chin up in this fallen world. How do you keep your chin up? You look to the one who has reversed the curse, Jesus Christ. And one day he'll take that reverse to this earth. He's begun it already. We know the end from the beginning. We know that there's a new heaven and a new earth coming in which righteousness dwells. You need the promise of it and part of the experience of it in regeneration we experience here in this age. And we'll experience the fullness of it in the age to come. Keep looking to the future with cheerful expectation. You see, once you enter heaven, you leave your hope behind because faith becomes sight. And those things that you long for, you haven't handled. Behind you will be the curse, and before you the fullness of your redemption, awaiting the shout of the archangel and the trump of God, when your glorified spirit will be rejoined to your redeemed body." And what do we say? Lord, hasten the day. Let's pray. Lord, these are things in which angels long to look. but we experience them personally in Jesus Christ. We come to know him who loved us and gave himself for us. He sent his spirit into our hearts by which we cry, Abba, Father. and the work that you begun you will perfect, and the day of grace will end with the dawn of glory." Lord, we look forward to these things. They seem so unbelievable, but they're true. They're spoken from Him who cannot lie. And we pray that they would be the blessed portion of everyone in this room. that these things would be ours by faith. Oh, grant faith that they might be ours. Oh, Lord, come into our hearts. Enable us to cry, Abba, Father. Enable us to know Him who loved us and gave Himself for us, and that we might walk by faith in Him. fixing our eyes upon the Lord Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We pray these things in His name, amen.