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8/18.
8 verse 18.
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. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same and hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the ******* of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travail us and pain together until now, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
We are saved by hope, but hope that is seen as not hope. For what a man seeth, why does he yet hoped for? But if we hope for that which that we see not, then do we with patients wait for it? Likewise the Spirit also help with our infirmities. 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.
For he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did for know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, That he might be the first born among many brethren, or over whom he did predestinate them he also called, and whom he called them he also justified.
And whom he justified them he also glorified. What shall we say then to these things? If God before us, Who can be against this, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yeah, rather, that is, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God.
Also maketh intercession for us who shall separate us from the love of Christ.
Shell tribulation, our distress, our persecution, our famine, our nakedness, our peril, our sword. As it is written, for thy sake we are killed. All the day long we are counted as sheep for the slaughter they and all these things we are more than conquerors. Through him that loved us, Brian persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things that come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.
Which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Great encouragement to look ahead for those that are suffering so much. We know little of this, but many of our brethren are suffering greatly for Christ.
To and looking forward to the to the glory which shall be revealed to us. I think it ought to read.
The glory that we're going to enter into haven't yet, but what a day that will be.
Not to us only, but the whole creation suffers as a result of man's sin. And so when the rabbit gets a frightened look on its face, when it sees the fox or the Sparrow, we saw some sparrows and Hawks flying up above. They were made subject to vanity, not willingly, not by reason of their own sin. What a wonderful release there will be for the creation when the sons of God are manifest.
The peering of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When it says in verse 21, the creature itself shall be delivered from the ******* of corruption, should read into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. We are now enjoying the liberty of grace, but the liberty of glorious future. It's not just a it's a glorious liberty, but the liberty of the glory. When everything will be set right in the creature, as you say the creature will.
00:05:14
Benefit from that?
Mr. Long Dean used to say that glory is excellence in display. It's displayed excellence, and we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus made a little lower than the angels. I thought of that. The last indignity that man did to the Lord was thrust his spear into his side, and they would have put him in the grave with the wicked. But God had other plans.
And we see now Jesus by faith raised the right hand of God.
But in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we see that little lamb that the world despised, and he's going to come in great power and glory and set things right and take what is rightfully his. And when he comes in his glory, it's going to be deliverance for the whole creation.
Even in the Millennium the there's going to be big changes the lion and the lamb will dwell together in The sucking child shall play on the whole of the Aspen. They shall not hurt nor destroying all my holy mountain. So there's going to be a complete change of things even among the animal creation.
Liberty of the Glory.
Will be a wonderful.
Change over what we have today, this now, the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Not only that I should it should read, but ourselves also, which which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body.
We have redemption of our souls and our spirits, but the body is not redeemed as yet.
What's the first fruits of the spirit that is mentioned here?
We have the firstfruits of the spirit.
It's in connection with this groaning creation.
And in that coming day, even the Millennial day.
There's going to be, as just mentioned, quite a change in this earthly creation.
When the Spirit of God.
Works in that new way to bring about those changes. We already have the Spirit of God in US, indwelling us. So we have the first fruits of the Spirit even before it is supplied to the to the earth, to the scene down here.
That's a thought who pre trusted? The Apostle says in Ephesians who pre trusted it could be translated in Christ trusted in Christ ahead of the time of His manifestation and all the world will see him so in that same sense first fruits of the Spirit.
We mentioned it yesterday, but it's good to repeat it. Everything that God does.
The Spirit of God is involved in it. So is the Son. So is his Father. All three persons. So the Spirit of God will work in in a wonderful way.
Where is it? It's in Isaiah.
11 Not sure get that right.
Yes, Isaiah 11 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might.
The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord shall make him a quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked, and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reigns.
00:10:00
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion and the fattling together. And a little child shall lead them, and the calendar bear shall feed their young ones shall lie down together, And the lion shall eat straw like the ox, And the sucking child shall play on the whole of the *** and the wean child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.
As the waters cover the sea, And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an end sign of the people, and it shall the end to it shall the Gentile seek, and his rest shall be glorious. Well, that's the Millennial reign. What a day that is. And that's what this is looking onto, isn't it? Get a little more of that in Isaiah 55, verse 11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth.
It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper. And the thing where unto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be LED forth with peace in the mountains and hills shall break forth before you into singing. And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands, and instead of the thorns shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the Myrtle tree, And it shall be to the Lord for a name for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Won't be a perfect scene though, will it? No. Added to that that you stated there the last verse of Isaiah 65, verse 25 says the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the bullet. Notice this one expression and dust shall be the serpent's knee. And the salt marshes also will not be healed. Maybe I'll use the salt there for sacrifices.
They'll be pretty close to perfect, you know, Satan being bound to those thousand years.
That shows that even though the Lord would give such a time of tranquility and blessing on the earth, it will not change man's hearts will. Because as soon as Satan is loose for a little season at the end of 1000 years, immediately an immense court follows him rebellion against the Saints that are in the environs of.
We're living today in the day when righteousness suffers, and in the Millennium righteousness will reign, and in the eternal state righteousness will dwell.
There won't be any evil whatsoever in the eternal state, but in the Millennium there still will be, and it will be dealt with immediately. Day every morning. Wicked will be dealt with in that day.
We spoke of the first fruits of the Spirit, but perhaps if we turn to Colossians chapter one, we'll see what the present activity of the Spirit of God is.
In the day in which we're living.
Colossians chapter one, verse 10. That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, and to all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.
So this is how the power of the Spirit of God is manifested in the present dispensation at Pentecost, the Spirit of God.
The apostles could say.
The Joel Spake of this What they saw in the miracles at Pentecost was a little foretaste of what was going to be in the Millennium. But what is characteristic of the dispensation in which we're living is, as you've pointed out, is that righteousness suffers the same suffer. And so the power of we enjoy the power of the Spirit of God today in going on with the Lord in a day when the Lord is rejected and looking forward to that day of manifestation.
When the Lord will be manifested, not just we ourselves, but that the whole creation is going to be delivered from the ******* of sin.
Man is trying to deliver this world from the consequences of man's sin. And that's really why a believer wouldn't know where to put themselves on the political spectrum, as a conservative, or on the Green Party, or where they were. Because man is trying to deliver himself from the consequences of sin. There are many mercies we enjoy that, that abate the feelings of it. We have air conditioning and all kinds of things. Mercies, good roads and so on and and.
Helps in agriculture and all that sort of thing, but we're really looking forward to the day when the Lord has his rightful place.
00:15:05
First Corinthians chapter 15 says there in verse 5757. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so God never changes his mind as to what he had in view. He gave to Adam that dominion. He was to have dominion over the fish, the the sea, and over the air, the the, the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. And he was too, as it were, Enjoy that creation.
With his Creator, and he lost it all. And so here we have the contrast given and God goes back to the beginning, and he desires that we would remember that we're going to.
While the creation suffers, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. Why? He says, I I count it. I'm. I'm just counting the balances. I'm balancing this, balancing that.
And why I see that the whole creation that's suffering, it's not even worthy to count that suffering when I consider the glory that's going to be revealed to me as I see Christ and see what is his rightfully His, and how he's brought it all into subjection to the Father.
He's going to have the glory. So God always had in view that a man would reign over this creation and his man is Christ Jesus. And that's why he says now there's the victory and it's he restored that which he took not away. It's lovely to see that the Lord Jesus, he restores that which he took not away and it's the glory of God.
We're living in the last days of Sodom because in the days of Sodom and sought his pleasure and his ease in a world Lot sought, though a real believer sought that place of pleasure and ease. And even when he was put out of Sodom, let out of Sodom, he said, well, here's a little city, can I go there? And the craving of our heart is to have an easy time here. But Paul suffered, Paul suffered. As our brother pointed out the other day that Paul suffered more than any servant of the Lord besides the Lord himself.
For the truth of God.
And he counted that as as nothing compared to the glory that was going to be revealed to him in that day. And So what is the point of this suffering? We're learning lessons here now that we cannot learn in heaven.
He can't learn the Lord's goodness to us and sustaining grace and suffering in heaven, because there isn't going to be any.
We're not going to have to learn the suffering of come out from among them and be separate, and I will receive you, saith the Lord. Because at the Rapture every St. is going to be a gathered St.
There is going to be no separation then, but there is separation now and walking in that pathway and there's suffering connected with it. And so we're learning what the mind of the Spirit is in this time of suffering and we can just try to avoid it and run away from every kind of suffering. And I think very often we see Christians who are growing up and especially in large assemblies in a privileged situations, the moment there's a difficulty, the tendency of the heart is to run away from the difficulty.
Rather than realize that the Lord is really teaching us what the mind of the Spirit is in it, and to be faithful to the Lord and look forward to that day when that day of manifestation, when all was going to be made right. And so this is what He is learning, what we are learning now in this day.
At 24th verse says we are saved by hope. That's that's wrong. We are saved in hope and the Christian.
Has two aspects of hope. We can say Lord Jesus come, that's to come for us and take us home. That's the rapture. Then we can say thy Kingdom come. That's what he taught. That's what we have here. When the Kingdom comes, Lord will reign and everything will be set right down here. But something.
Precedes that for us who are part of the Church, Lord Jesus come for us first and then Thy Kingdom come. So both are proper. It's not wrong to pray Thy Kingdom come. It's not our proper hope, our immediate hope. But we certainly are looking forward to that day when He will have His rights down here and He will reign.
Don't you feel that as you go about, and you hear the Lord's name taken in vain, and you see obscenities all over the place, and you say what a blessed thing it's going to be when the Lord comes and has his rightful place. You hear people. I worked with a man and he took the Lord's name in vain, and he was my boss, and I said, can I please? I want to be respectful, but it bothers me to hear about the way you speak of the Lord, he said. Oh, he said.
00:20:04
I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of it. I didn't even think of it. He took the Lord's name in vain. But you just longed for that day when the Lord is going to be given his rightful place. And as you say, the Lord's Prayer is not ours. Thy Kingdom come, but the heart rejoices in the appearing of the Lord. Jesus. My brother was asking me yesterday, what's the difference between suffering with Christ and suffering for Christ? Well, the apostle Paul suffered much for Christ as well as with But when we hear the Lord's name taken in vain, when we, when we see the evils that are just everywhere around us, we suffer. We see.
We suffer with him. We have the same feeling. Well, Lord said, How long shall I be with you? He groaned just at the unbelief of his own. And how long shall I suffer you?
And when we see how the enemy is working and the the, the, the trouble he's he's created amongst the the Saints, not only the gathered Saints but the Saints everywhere the they're going through problems. The churches are.
Are being divided and scattered.
We ought to feel that. We ought to feel that we should have the attitude. Well, that's they're not gathered. I'm not concerned about them. They're part of the Lords. And whenever we see Christians suffer and churches being broken up that that were once true and faithful to the Lord in whatever measure they had, it ought to cause us to suffer.
We ought to feel it, but then suffered for him is to take a stand for him and preach him and then and and and get all the the evil that will be heaped against us. There are many in China and other parts of the world, Muslim lions and that they're suffering for him, aren't they?
That's what it says, Chuck. That.
No, don't let the sun go down upon your eye. And some people think, well if I have a core with somebody I couldn't go to bed till I've got it cleared up. But it also means, as as Neil just said that we're not to get so used to hearing people the Lords name being taken in vain. And not that we just say oh wow that that's the way it's that's the way it is. And we we we don't want to never let the sun go down upon our wrath for for things like that.
When you look at the Lord at the grave of Lazarus, and you see him groan at the effects of sin, it's a it's a real picture of the the same groaning that our chapter Speaking of, but just another little additional thought. Maybe strength from the chapter or some. But, you know, there's another aspect of his visage was so marred, more than any man Pin shall be astonished at him when they see the Lord Jesus.
In power and glory.
They're going to be astonished that that man.
Who was so despised and whose name has been dragged through the mud for the last 2000 years?
There has been no man.
Whose outward appearance that is that which the world can see.
Over the last 2000 years, that has been more marked than his his visit.
That which can be seen by others.
Even by that which professes to be the Church of God, and so dishonored that name and that man when they see him on the throne, and they say that man.
That man is the one whom the king delights honor. They're going to be astonished at him.
In this connection with the word hope, verse 424 and five, we're saved in hope. But hope that his scene is not hope. If you see it then it's been realized. But our hope is it's not an uncertainty. I can say to you, I'll see you tomorrow or there's an uncertainty in that. But our hope is an absolute certainty. But it's something future. It hasn't been realized yet. And so he he goes on to say hope that his scene is not hope, but what a man seeth Why did he had hoped for?
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we, with patience, wait for it. Absolute certainty. We know he's coming and we're waiting for it. We don't know when, don't know when.
I remember maybe I mentioned this. If I did, it's because I'm getting old and you're going to repeated things. That's what happens when you get old. But I was visiting with.
Bruce and we visited Brother Rule and I I was trying to.
Encourage him maybe to think maybe you should move out of this big huge house down Royce. He's in his 90s and I said if you thought about moving and he said, well, maybe maybe this afternoon.
00:25:07
And the only thing that's going to move me is the Lord's coming. I thought that was good.
We're saved in hope.
In scriptures the word salvation is used in three ways and the salvation of our souls.
And the salvation of our lives, the brother referred to that we can have a saved soul and lost life.
That is, in a practical way that we go on indistinguishable from the world, Peter says. It's they think it's strange that you run not with them, but there are many believers that are running with the world, and they're indistinguishable from the world, and in certain sense they'll be saved like Lot out of Sodom. And then there's the salvation of our bodies now as our salvation nearer than when we first believed.
And it is really having the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord coming to set all things right.
Having that as our goal, if we set our goal here is to be the largest church in vessel or be the largest assembly and we're going to be disappointed. Paul had to say look at Asian say all day of Asia forsaken me. His hope was not in seeing natural fruit for his laborers, but just to to see that day when he saw the church presented to himself without any spot or wrinkle or any such thing. If we have another object, we're going to be disappointed and we're going to fall into sin.
And so we're saved in hope and we can see that when we see the the end of all things.
We have. I'm trying to keep us going because if we're going to finish this chapter, and it would be nice if we did before five, we have to move on. There's two, there's two that are making intercession for us, very precious. The one is the Holy Spirit down here and the other is the Lord Jesus on high. He's at the right hand of God, verse 34, making intercession for us. So we have the heavenly man interceding, but the Spirit of God here below. And let's look at that 26th verse.
Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. That's not our sins, but our infirmities. For we do not know. We know not what we should pray for as we ought. There's a lot of things we we don't know exactly.
What to pray for?
What school to go to? Where to move?
What person should I marry?
There's there's all kinds of things that have an element of uncertainty. What about my job and so on. But the Spirit himself or itself maketh intercession. I just, I want to just make this I said himself. But why does it say itself? Because the word spirit in the Greek is in the neuter gender.
And it's not male, it's not female, but it's neutered and neuter is it. And so that's all it means. But the Spirit of God is not an it. He is a person. And just because it says it, the spirit itself. Other translations render it the spirit himself.
Very. If you look at, say, John 14, John 16, you'll see him referred to as he or him all the time. He is a person. Not in it, Not a thing, not an influence.
Not of power, but a person. And so the Spirit himself make an intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Sometimes all we can do in our prayers about a certain matter is saying, oh Lord.
With tears flowing down our cheeks, we can't put it into words. We just weep.
And he knows that and he intercedes on our behalf. And that's very precious, isn't it?
And we don't know our own hearts because we may pray for something, thinking we're really praying for something in love or for somebody's blessing. And maybe the thing we're praying for might be very hurtful to them. But the Lord searched. The Spirit of God searches the hearts, and he knows the Spirit has one object, and that is that we be conformed to Christ. And so he steps in and intercedes for us. And that's why I believe to move on, that it's important that we know all things work together for good to those that love God, to those that are called according to his purpose.
Is that we see God behind the circumstances of life.
There's an interceding of the Spirit that we might know what is the mind of the Spirit, but practical infidelity really comes from not seeing that God is in control of the circumstances. Well, he said this to me, or they did that to me or this happened to me. And we see second causes and not see like Joseph, when Joseph finally said God put me here for your blessing.
00:30:12
And and when Joseph finally saw that, then he could be a blessing to his brothers. And maybe that's why it took so long for him in prison, is to realize that it wasn't his brothers that had put him there. It was God that had put him there, and God had put him there so that he could be a blessing.
And what a blessing he was to his brethren.
And so that's why we need to see that all things are working together for good. The the best, the worst thing that can happen to a believer is, as we said yesterday, hasten the journey that leads him home. And so we can really submit to what God allows and not fight against God.
I believe that's why it says here in the end of verse 27 he makes his intercession for the Saints according to the will of God.
And so the will of God is perfect. It's flawless. And in the proverbs, or I should say in the Psalms Psalm of 1830 says, As for God, his way is perfect and shouldn't we want the will of God? And oftentimes we strive against what the spirit desires, and what the Spirit would desire is the will of God in our lives. And those circumstances then require that their submission and as you say, Joseph.
It took him time to come to the point in his life where he would submit.
And what the Lord had allowed in his life, and what a lovely example he was a picture of Christ. And so will reflect the life of Christ and will reflect the submission of the Lord Jesus. There is no one on earth that ever walked this earth that submitted to the will of God like our Savior the Lord Jesus. What an example for us. It was the will of God that he submit.
And so the result of this is is that to be conformed to the image of his son.
So that we would be more like Christ.
Joseph had the truth when he went to his father and his brothers and said, you know your sheaves are going to bow down to mine and so on. What he said was true, but it wasn't very edifying to his brothers. It just provoked their jealousy of what a different scene we see now when God has worked through repentance and done a work in Joseph heart too, that he might be a blessing to his brother.
And so that's the purpose of these circumstances, that that Christ, that would God's original object was that he would have many that were just like his Son.
And so the world, Paul says that the world teaches that gain is godliness. And whether it's winning in sports or it's winning in money or it's winning in this or that, getting ahead, getting ahead of who? That's the whole thought of the world is to get ahead, to be a winner. That's why the universities and the schools occupy themselves so much with sports and so on. They want to teach people to go for the juggler and to be a winner. But the son of God came in and.
As our brother quoted Isaiah 52, he took that low place and.
Men are just going to wonder when they see that he's been exalted to that place and so God would have us to be conformed to the image of his son. The world teaches just stand up for your own rights. Put yourself forward. They look for self-confidence in individuals. I don't mean to despise the abilities that God has given you or to or to. You know, if the Lord has given you ability to do something and you don't do it, then you're not really using what God has given you. I'm not referring to that, but the world is always trying to press self forward.
The object of God is by the circumstances of life, is that we would conform to the image of his Son.
Verse 27.
He mentioned twice, Is that referring to the Holy Spirit or to the Lord Jesus?
God first one is God.
Either search at the hearts N what is the mind of the Spirit? Because he, the Spirit maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God.
But notice notice in verse 29.
Whom he did for now, whom he did for now he knew you, before you even existed. In time he knew you.
How can that be? Well, he is God.
To them that are called according to his.
Purpose whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate.
Now the foreknowledge and the predestination are in the past. As far as we're concerned with God, there is no past, present or future. He lives in an eternal present.
00:35:02
So you get the past, present, and future here to us as though it's all accomplished. Well, the foreknowledge was accomplished. The predestination it's whom he foreknow and what he did predestinate us for. Predestination is with a view to something. And what is it here?
Predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many Brethren. That's the past foreknowledge, and the predestination. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, then he also called. He called us in time, and whom he called, then he also justified, He justified us in time. And whom he glorified, them he also whom he justified them he also glorified.
To us that's future, but not to God.
It's in his purpose. The purpose was made before time began.
The foreknowledge, the predestination, the calling, the justification, the glorification, it's all the same to him. He lives in an eternal present.
He says in Isaiah.
5715 is it that he inhabits eternity?
Can you grasp that he inhabits eternity? Time is. I mean, I can't. You can't think without time of me. I can't think without time. Space, but not God.
The sister said the other day that he taught in the church that, well, God predestined certain ones because he knew that they were going to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. And that's not the thought at all.
Is that God knew just how bad I was going to be, and he just knew what it was going to take to make me conform to the image of his son.
It took the death of his Son and the shedding of the precious blood of the Son of God to cleanse me from my sin. It took the Spirit of God to compel me to come in, took the servants to invite me to come in the Spirit to compel me to come in. And if God did not act in sovereignly sovereignty and in grace towards me.
And towards you then there would have been nothing at all. It's not that God sort of looked out and said, Oh yeah, there's a good one there and there's a good one there and there's another good one there. That's not the thought at all. And so that's why he's going to be glorified in them. That believe is because it's going to just show the majesty of the grace of God that he could pick up on such as ourselves.
Fitness for glory?
I remember talking to a man who was a rank unbeliever.
But he was wanting to argue about it, so he said, what about predestination?
I looked at him for a minute. I said. That's God's prerogative. That isn't mine.
So I said, if you want to argue about that, why don't you ask God?
And I thought of this verse.
Predestined also.
In verse 29.
That he predestined to be predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brothers, moreover, whom he did predestinate.
Then he also called.
And again, as our brother has already said, moreover, whom he did predestinate? When did he predestinate us?
Before we were born.
Before we were even came into this world, we were predestinated.
Then he also called. When did he call us In time. Time. The time came when we got a call, and then it says and boom, he called.
When did he call you? When did he call me? The time came after so many years of rejection and unbelief. The time came when we responded to that call.
Then he also justified.
And then it says And whom he justified.
Then he also glorified that hasn't come yet.
That day when we're going to be glorified with him, I am a very precious verse to think that God here in the book of Romans and rises to this time of glorious time here. Doesn't many, many ask this question. What shall we then say to these things?
If God before us, who can be against us, he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?
00:40:02
What? What a beautiful line of reasoning the apostle comes up with here. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifies. He makes us righteous. Who is he that condemn it?
It is Christ that died. Yeah, rather that is risen again. It was even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us. The Spirit below makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered even in Christ interceding for us on high, so his work on the cross is finished.
When he entered the glory, he began a new work of intercession as our High Priest and Advocate and.
It's all in the hand of God. Wonderful that it will come to pass, exactly as stated here.
Man resents the fact that God has a right to choose.
And really, what we learn in this chapter is that all our blessing flows from the fact that God did the choosing and the predestinate all of man's choice, free choice, got him into sin and misery, and brought this whole creation into ruin.
But it was God's, and we see this beautifully here, that it was all on God's part, God acting and God acting his own free will. And that is why the gospel is to be obeyed.
Man's free will got him into nothing but trouble and brought creation into ruin. And really, the obedience to the gospel is setting aside the man's will. God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent because man has wrong thoughts about God, the Sinner said. Well, God's against me. God's going to send me to somebody said God's going to send me to hell for Steve.
And blessing is that God is for us.
And that he's given everything that he can give. And so that everything now that that God sends our way is for our good and our for our blessing if we're exercised.
There are things along the way, and you maybe not appreciate the value of them. And so there has to be exercise in connection with them, not just sort of a fatalistic attitude. Well, whatever happens, happens. As things come along. We need to be exercised by them. But it's a good thing to realize that everything that does happen and that God sends along is for our good and for our blessing.
And every time we exercise our own will, we just get ourselves into trouble and sorrow.
And none of these things that do happen to be ever so painful to us can separate us from the love of God. Who can separate us from the love of God? His love hasn't changed because our circumstances have, and they might be very bitter, but His love doesn't change. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ, tribulation, or distress, and persecution, or famine, or negativeness or peril or sword?
All these things happen to the Apostle Paul. He knew what they meant. He felt it. And he's the one that writes this. Isn't that precious?
But, you know, we can't emphasize this enough because we're living in a day when we do not want to suffer. We think all about those poor Christians that suffer in China, or those poor ones that suffer in some other part of the world, Muslim part of the world. And yet how much are we prepared to suffer?
And the way that we conduct ourselves is a believer.
You know, we get into a business deal and it's it maybe involves something that's not really to the Lord's honor and glory or getting involved with a some kind of union or association that a Christian shouldn't be in. And we say, Oh well, a man's got to have his living and we're not willing to suffer 1 little bit for the Lord.
Perhaps take a lesser paying job because so that we can be at the meetings or to be close to to be a help in situations and we're not willing to suffer. Well, We're fine to go and watch videos about suffering Saints across the world and read books about it, but we don't want to suffer.
And yet we realize that this is we are in the days. And this was the apostle Paul. Look at his life. This was mentioned in First Corinthians 15. All the things that Paul suffered for the as a sign of the apostle was the sufferings that he went through and for the Lord to stand faithful to the Lord.
A Chinese brother was talking to an American brother, the American brother said to him. We're praying for you that you don't suffer so much.
Chinese Brother said. That's strange. We're praying for you that you'll suffer more.
Suffering doesn't hurt us. It's needed we grow from that.
00:45:07
Let's look at some of the passages that talk about those sufferings in First Corinthians 4, First Corinthians 4.
Paul says in verse 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong only back up. In verse eight he says to these Corinthians, Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us.
I thought he was talking to the Corinthians here. Maybe he's talking to the United States.
Think so? You've raised kings without us. I would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you. We've been thinking of the reigning time, but that's still future. For I think that God hath verse nine set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. We are fools, for Christ's sake. But ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong.
You are honorable, but we are despised.
Even under this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffered and have no certain dwelling place and labor working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we suffer it. Being defamed, we entreat we are made as a filth of the world and are the off scouring of all things Under this day I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you, they were living as kings, just like we do.
But what did he go through? And that's just one passage. We could read many others as well.
Should we read some more?
2nd Corinthians 11.
I think it's that.
Start with the 2nd Corinthians 11.
Verse 18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also for you. Suffer fools gladly, seeing you yourselves are wise.
For you suffer if a man bring you into ******* if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smites you on the face, I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. How be it, Whereinsoever any is bold, I speak foolishly. I am bold also.
Are they Hebrews? There are those at Corinth that were that were speaking against the apostles, apostleship and speaking against him. So he he deals with that. He says. Are they Hebrew? So am I. Are they Israelites or am I? Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I more in labor's more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons, more frequent in deaths OFT of the Jews five times received by 40 stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods once I was stoned?
Thrice I suffered shipwreck a night and a day. I have been in the deep, in journeyings, often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watching this often in hunger and thirst, in fastings, often in cold and nakedness.
Beside those things that are without that which cometh upon me daily.
The care of all the churches. What a man.
The Apostle Paul and he was from the upper crust of society. He wasn't a hardened.
Calloused Galilean fishermen, where they really got, knew what it was to to work hard. He was at the upper crust. And that man, the Apostle Paul, went through all this tremendous. I often wondered if why that First Corinthians, Second Corinthians 11. It ends with him telling him that being let down in a basket over the wall, that wasn't the most difficult, difficult, humiliating thing for this man to to endure and so.
But these things are for our blessing.
We may sit here in a comfortable room like that and say that then when we pass through difficulty, but it is our privilege and Paul suffered for the truth. Why did he suffer at the hands of the Jews? Because the law said God is going to reward me according to what I am.
And there's something to glory in that, and the world will say make something of yourself.
00:50:02
Be something and the world will respect you for that.
But the gospel, what does it say? It says God acts towards us according to the goodness that is in his heart, in spite of what we are. It makes nothing of man and everything of Christ. The world doesn't want to hear that. The Christian world doesn't want to hear that.
Nice what he says here.
In in verse 36 of our chapter, as it is written, for thy sake we are killed. All day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Now in all these things we are more than conquerors.
Through him that loved us beautiful. Isn't that more than conquerors? Why? Because he had glory before him. Your glory was before him. That's truly that. For each one of us, we can say we're more than a conqueror. Because when we get home from glory, we're going to see the Blessed Lord Himself face to face.
There's another part here in verse 35.
Where it says.
Chuck has read shall tribulation or distress.
For persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword.
That can maybe make a person scared and afraid to think that they have to go on. But if you're walking with the Lord and he puts you through some serious thing, he'll be with you and he'll give you the grace to to walk in it. I know there are many here that have passed through some pretty severe and severe trial.
And some of them have said people who said to you, well, I could never lose my son. I could never do this, I could never do that.
No, they weren't asked to do it. But when you come to it, the the Lord will will give you the strength and go with you through it. Look, brother, in connection with what you're saying in Second Corinthians one verse 8, Paul says, For we would not brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia.
That we were pressed out of measure above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life, but we had the sentence of death in ourselves. He thought, This is the end that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God. Which raises the dead who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us, he also helping together by prayer for us, and so on.
That man suffered for Christ, didn't he?
And he says it in our chapter, verse 38, of Romans 8. I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a chapter this is.
We started at the beginning, we said. It starts out with no condemnation, ends up with no separation, no separation from his love.
I wonder if we're really enjoying the Lord's love. Then when these situations come, there will be that response, Man told me. A friend of his was a cab driver in London ON and somebody pulled a knife on his neck.
He'd been newly saved and he said go ahead, make my day, send me straight to glory. And the man got such a frightened look in his face, he jumped out of the car with the knife and took off. But I just think, I'm not advising you try that. But I just thought that it was just a spontaneous answer of this man's heart, that he realized that the worst that could come would just bring him straight to glory.
And to be straight with the Lord rather.
And he was. He was convinced of that in his own soul. And we need that. We need that. We often avoid difficulty and we say, well, if we do this, I'm going to suffer too much, but we realize that it's just going to bring us a deeper sense of the love of God. And that's in Christ Jesus the Lord.
It's it's recorded. It's not it's not in the Bible, but it's recorded that all the apostles except John was martyred.
In church history, John was.
Exiled to the Isle of Patmos and he was supposed to have lived until he died a natural death, but whether it be not be or not or so.
The all the apostles.
Suffered so.
00:55:01
Because.
They witnessed to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And.
That pretty well proves that they saw the risen Christ they were willing to suffer even to death and the terrible torture some of them under endured because they knew that Christianity is real.
They saw the risen Christ. That was one of the requirements of being an apostle to have seen the Lord in resurrection. Paul saw him, Salsa saw him in glory, didn't he? Glory.
In the Philippians chapter 2 That we often read it in verse eight, it says being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And So what brings us into blessing in this way, And to be counted worthy to suffer? For the Lord is obedience to the precious word of God. And the Lord Jesus was perfectly obedient, and his obedience led him to the cross.
Well, if we were perhaps more obedient to the word, obedient and not characterized by the 1St Adam and his disobedience, his lack of wanting to suffer, the new man in Christ, we want to follow Christ. He's obeying, He wants to obey Christ, he wants to follow, and so we need to follow the Lord Jesus. He followed his his Father's word, He desired it. It was his very nourishment and in obedience that led him to the cross.
Would rather obey and die rather than disobey. He couldn't disobey. But you and I, you know, we just tested just a little bit. After we leave these meetings, we're going to be tested whether we'll be obedient to the word, whether in affection for Christ we'll just set our own wills aside and we'll obey the word. And if we do, if we obey, we'll follow in the pathway of the Lord Jesus and we'll share in his sufferings.
All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And the prosperity gospel which is preached in this country, it wouldn't be preached in a country where Christians were being martyred for Christ, but they can be preached here that it's God's will, that you drive around in a Cadillac and that you have a nice $1,000,000 home. And all this, that's a lie that just appeals to the to the lust of man trying to make something of himself. The apostles, the Lord himself, of course, suffered the worst, and the apostles followed in that train. And if we're true to him.
We'll know what it is.
Suffer for him, not just with him, we all suffer with him. But to suffer for him comes when we take a real stand for him in an evil day. And this day is getting worse and worse and worse.
Peter was a witness of the Lord's sufferings.
And he looked forward to the glory that would follow. But Paul was caught up and saw that glory. And he says in Philippians chapter 3 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto his death.
Every one of theater's chapters has suffering and glory. Everyone, I think.
And the reason the Christian path isn't it, the reason he brings it up in Peter, is because it's written to the tribes scattered abroad because for them.
Everything was here and now, naturally, as Jews, but it was a different thing to see that they had a better.
A heavenly home, an inheritance in an incorruptible place, and that now is the scene of suffering. It was quite a reversal to the Jew because the Jew to every blessing was here on this earth. But all our blessings are in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And naturally speaking, we tend to think like Jews is that our blessings are here, but they're in heavenly places.
But the love of God is seen in Christ Jesus. The Lord is. It's the love of God. But it's been manifest in Christ. That is the anointed man, the man who walked in the power of the Spirit, Jesus, a real man. And he's Lord. And we really need to learn the Lordship of the Lordship of Christ to to submit to the circumstances will be into His word and to submit to the circumstances that he sends. All things work together for good and if we're really to enjoy this truth in a practical way.
Verse 37 We have the expression more than conqueror.
It is one thing for a general to say at the end of the battle that is a conqueror. But we are an admitted and we can say by the language of faith that we are more in conquerors. Why? Because God is for us. Christ intercedes for us, and God's purpose is to bring us to the moral conformity of the Lord Jesus. So it's beautiful that it's a battle. We can say that we are more in conquerors through Him that loved us.
01:00:23
These are very practical things that we've been reading about these three meetings our brother mentioned yesterday, and sometimes these are difficult to expound on. But if I could give a little word for some of the younger ones, we find and believe in this chapter that which is needful for us as a believer in this life. We need to understand our position as a believer and we find that we're in Christ Jesus. We need to have a grasp in our soul of our position we're in Christ Jesus.
We need to know our position as a believer in the power of the believer, that is, the power of the spirit of God in verse 9. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. That is the power in our life, the power of the Spirit of God, and to the path for the believer in verse 14, as many as are led by the Spirit of God. So that is the path for the believer to be led by the Spirit of God in every aspect and every facet of our life. And two, as we've recounted of suffering, there's the purification of a believer.
Things that are very difficult and very painful that we might pass through, but it's for our good and for our blessing. We are earthly vessels here, and we're not yet with and like our Savior. But there's the purification of the believer, which God allows us to pass through difficulties and trials. And then in the end of the chapter, I believe we see our portion of the believer, our portion if God before us, who can be against us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors.
Neither heights nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. So in the very first verse we find them which are in Christ Jesus. In the very end we find the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. This is the portion of the believer. God has given us a position. God has given us the power of the Spirit of God. We've been given a path, we've been given purification meaningful for us as we pass through the scene, and we've been given a portion so glorious and so wonderful.
Home, the road leads home and one day we'll be with and like our blessed Savior in His glorious presence. But here we've been given to walk in a difficult path for this scene and He can help us and enable us through the difficulties in the trial that we pass through down here.
All things work together for good presently.
And just enjoy this last part of the 8th of Romans in connection with a little scene unfolded in the end of Genesis.
Jacob says when God brings them into the place where he's just so pressed, hedged in on every side.
Verse 36 of Genesis 42 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me, Ye have bereaved of my children.
Joseph is not and Simeon is not, and he will take Benjamin away.
All these things are against me, but you know, it's as if.
The like the verses we've had in the end of this chapter, a little later on in the book of Genesis.
45.
Verse 25 They went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not, and they told him all the words of Joseph which he had said unto them. And when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.
And Israel said it is enough.
It's a simple the spirit of God leads all those wagons out. Of course, in the end of this chapter and the response of the renewed heart, not old Jacob Israel said It is enough.
It was Jacob that said. Without doubt he's been torn in pieces by some wild beasts. He's dead.
It's Israel that says Joseph is yet alive. The difference between Jacob and Israel.
If you stick 100%.