Would you turn with me to our text this morning from Romans 8, verses 18-30. Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 18-30. Romans 8, verse 18. Hear now the word of the Lord. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation itself, creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. So far the reading of his word. Let's turn to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Father, as we come before you this morning, Open this word up to us, that you make our minds clear. Lord, by your Spirit, speak to us, so that we may understand and apply these things to our lives. For we pray these things in your Son, Jesus Christ, his name alone. Amen. Earlier this year, a gunman entered the worship service of a small church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and killed at least 25 and wounded 20 more before killing himself. This follows the senseless and tragic killing spree in Las Vegas that killed 58 and left more than 500 wounded and in the hospital. The nation witnessed four major hurricanes this year. Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria, all category three and higher, and collectively they left behind 103 dead and over $300 billion in damages, prompting Time magazine to ask, is this the worst hurricane season ever? Over 40 people died, and dozens were missing as Northern California was engulfed in flames for some time. And recently, the Thomas Fire roared through Southern California, burning over 280,000 acres and destroying over 1,000 structures. It's now considered the biggest fire of California. For many who are from San Diego, you may recall our own fire over 10 years ago where many of us had to evacuate. And seeing those images on the screens again brought back many memories for our family as well. On this last day of the year, we look back with memories and often with heartaches. Maybe the heartaches are much more personal for many of us. Perhaps many of us have witnessed suffering, pain, and even death this year. Our loved ones, friends, and co-workers. In many ways, suffering and pain are all around us. Friends, Paul knew something about suffering, pain, and weakness. Listen to his words in chapter 8, verse 35, when he lists out tribulation, distress, persecution, Famine, nakedness, danger, or sword. A brief reading of his ministry in the book of Acts reminds us that Paul was not a detached person ruminating or contemplating about suffering and pain. No, he himself experienced these realities of life. In fact, life, for all its ups and downs, does not surprise Paul. Or in verse 18, he says, For I considered that the sufferings of this present life, he says. The sufferings of this present life. For you see, Paul was a realist. There is indeed sufferings of faith that you and I know well. It's true that Paul had in mind sufferings that accompany faith, what he calls in verse 17, sufferings with Christ. This should not surprise us, especially in our modern times, It's given that the New Testament authors regularly remind us what John says so pointedly in 1 John when he says, do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. Do not be surprised that the world hates you. And we are feeling the effects of those things in many ways in our present time. But what Paul has in mind in these words is not really sufferings that accompany faith per se, but sufferings of this present world. On this side of glory, all of creation is marked by suffering, futility, and bondage, all resulting from sin. Thus, creation itself, we're told, eagerly longs for freedom and restoration of God. But it's not just about the creatures and the created. We humans, even believers, experience the sufferings and pain that come with sin. Verse 23 says, and not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Suffering is all around us, whether from weak and weakening bodies, broken relationships and families, constant natural disasters, struggles through daily uncertainties, we daily realize that this world is not our home and that this is not the way it's supposed to be. We live, as Paul says, in weakness, according to verse 28. In place of order, we have disorder and rebellion. In place of peace, we have discord and brokenness. In place of health, we experience pain and illness. In place of life, we daily see and witness death. How can believers like you and I maintain hope in the face of suffering and weakness? This is the question Paul brings us to this morning. In today's passage, he answers this question by focusing on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in particular. And in it, he talks about four different things that the Spirit does. Parentage, perspective, prayer, and promise. Parentage, perspective, prayer, and promise. What does the Holy Spirit do to grant to us hope and peace and contentment in the midst of suffering and weakness? Well, first, the Spirit testifies to our parentage. He testifies that we, you and I, are sons and daughters of God. we should not miss the repetition of the phrase, the sons of God, verse 19, sons, verse 23, that Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers, verse 29. All of these phrases allude us back to the statement in verses 14 through 17, where we're told, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of adoption adoption as sons by whom we cry abba father the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of god and if children then heirs heirs of god and fellow heirs with christ every one of these verses speak in filial terms Sons of God, as sons, children of God, children. This is markedly different from how Paul referred to us before and outside of Christ. For he called us weak, ungodly, sinners. But now, because of Jesus Christ, we are called sons and daughters. Famed New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce reminds us the term adoption may have a somewhat artificial sound in our ears. But in the Roman world of the first century A.D., an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate. He has not in the smallest degree inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature and might well enjoy the Father's affection more fully and reproduce the Father's character more worthily. You and I in Christ have become sons and daughters of God. Perhaps the question that we can ask is, what does that mean for us? What does this mean practically? This means that those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they belong to God. You and I belong to him. This is quite important to us. Your value and your significance is based on the very fact that you belong to God. To put it another way, God does not love you because you are already valuable on your own, but you are made valuable because you are loved. The world says that you're valuable because of your successes, your experiences, perhaps your family and status, but God simply says that you're valuable because you belong to him in his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Nothing in this world, no one, and certainly no circumstance, can and will separate us from the love of Christ, love of God in Christ Jesus. This is exactly what Paul says later on, concluding, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Unequivocally, he says, no, nothing. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Last year, along with many of you, I watched the Olympics and look forward to next year when we see the Winter Olympics. It's about the two weeks out of every four years when we watch sports and events that we do not play nor watch for three years and 50 weeks. One of those events is called a 10-meter platform diving, something we try to avoid doing ourselves, falling off of a 10-meter place of anything. But we watch people doing it, but that wasn't hard enough at some point. So they created an event called Synchronize 10-meter platform diving, where two people fall together 10 meters into the waters. I don't know if you know this or not. Five years ago, an American named David Badiah won the solo 10-meter platform. And last year, he, along with his partner, Steele Johnson, won the synchronized 10-meter, this time, silver. Afterwards, NBA, representing the world's news media, actually went up to them to interview them. And as they were being interviewed, this is the kind of correspondence they had. They asked them, were you stressed about this particular event today? And this is how David replied. It's just an identity crisis. When my mind is on this diving, and I'm thinking I'm defined by this, then my mind goes crazy. But we both know that our identity is in Christ. And we're thankful for this opportunity to be able to dive in front of Brazil and in front of the United States. It's been an absolutely thrilling moment for us. Now, I don't know if you know this. Such an honest confession of one's faith is uncommon on national TV, let alone international TV. I think this phased the reporter somewhat. She turned her mic away from David to his partner, Steele Johnson. And this is where he chimed in. The way David described it was flawless. The fact that I was going into this event knowing that my identity is rooted in Christ and not what the result of this competition is just gave me peace and it let me enjoy the contest. It was an amazing moment, not simply pointing up to the skies as if that's to indicate one's faith. This was not only an honest confession of faith, but perhaps even a theological one that many of us can identify with simply, it's not what we do, but you and I in Christ belong to our Father in Heaven. where the Spirit testifies to who we are, our parentage in Him, that we are the children of God, that we belong to Him. That's the first thing that the Spirit does. But the second thing that the Spirit does is that the Spirit provides perspective. While admitting the reality of suffering and weakness, Paul reminds us that the Spirit directs our eyes beyond our present circumstances. You might have noticed that our present passage is enveloped in glory. As verse 18 says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. And this section ends in glory as it says in verse 30, Those whom he justified, he also glorified. And in the midst of this passage, we are reminded of the coming glory when he says in verse 21, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. In the midst of this present life, this present life on this side of glory, the Holy Spirit directs us to see and behold His glory, the coming glory. Instead of focusing on the circumstance and the uncertainties of the present moment, The Holy Spirit helps us to focus our eyes on the unchanging realities of heaven. The glory to be revealed is so transcendent, so wonderful, and so eternal that the present sufferings pale in comparison to it. We see this directly in the life of Paul. In 2 Corinthians, he has a very honest confession that perhaps you and I can identify with In chapter 1, verse 8, when he speaks of his own condition, when he says, For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we are so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. This is Apostle Paul speaking. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. Only a few chapters later, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, however, he says this, We do not lose heart. We do not lose heart. We do not lose heart. He repeats that phrase over. For this light momentary affliction, he says, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. For those of you, you might hear an echo of a title. That title itself is an echo of these verses. The eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Note the contrast. Light and momentary compared to eternal and weightiness. What changed then, Paul, in these few chapters and verses? Not the circumstance. One thing worth noting is that the Bible does not promise to take away or alleviate pain or suffering. It's the condition of this side of glory. The Bible simply assumes them. But what we see Paul doing is resting in the promises of God, where he summarizes his thoughts in Colossians 1.24 when he says, I rejoice in the midst of my suffering, not because of the sufferings, not in spite of them as if to simply endure, but in the midst of them. For friends, unbelievers like Christians rejoice and give thanks when things go well. Rejoicing and thankfulness in the midst of success and peace and health are not what makes Christianity and Christians unique. What is unusual about believers is that they rejoice and give thanks in the midst of suffering and pain and weakness. Not because we enjoy the suffering, not because we somehow revel in them, but simply because we know that we are not alone in the midst of it. God the Father is with us, holding us, pushing us, pulling us, and granting us peace for those who are in Christ Jesus. Thus, the Holy Spirit guides our eyes away from the circumstance of our time to his heavenly glory. This is why we hope, as verse 24 says, Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. We remember Elisha. Surrounded by the enemy, his servant comes out from his house to do his daily chores and declares to his master, alas, master, we're doomed. We will certainly die. Elisha's response to him was kind of interesting, wasn't it? Because he responded by praying, saying, Lord, open this young man's eyes. There's nothing about this young man that indicated that he couldn't see. In fact, every indication was that he could see, for he saw the enemy surrounding them. When the Lord answered and opened his eyes, do you remember what he saw? He saw his enemy surrounding them, but then he saw the chariots of fire, the army of angels surrounding the enemy. Where the conclusion for Elisha was simply, he who is for us is greater than he who is against us. allowing them eyes of faith to see not as we see in sin, but to see as our Father in heaven sees and recognizing the glorious presence amongst us. That's the second thing, perspective and parentage. And the third, the Spirit prays for us. The Spirit prays for us, even if we hope in the coming glory. Paul recognizes that you and I are quite weak. We're forgetful. Forgetfulness, confusion, or perhaps even outright rebellion often cause us to be in despair and desperation. If we're honest with ourselves, we have blind spots that prevent us from recognizing our own needs. Even when we know and understand the problem, we do not know how to pray as we ought with discernment and with the will of God. We're often insecure in our prayers. We look over many things which we might ask of the Lord and feel that none precisely meets our needs. We're not sure. This becomes even more acute in times of trouble when we have illnesses around us, people who are ailing and suffering. Here, it becomes acute because we do not want to ask for anything contrary to the will of God. So we find ourselves pausing, not knowing exactly what to say. Even more, our weakness is not only intellectual, but also spiritual, we often do not want to pray. We just don't want to. We feel this way sometimes because we think we can do it on our own, or perhaps more sinister, we think that God cannot do anything. In a little book called A Praying Life, Paul Miller said, one of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive among Christians, even those who are mature. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice, but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it is quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents make us structurally independent of God. I think that's true of many of us as well. For such a time, the Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray the way a parent teaches their children how to ride a bike. As a gentle counselor, he directs us to know what to pray for and what not to. He instructs us as to our need and to the promises of God which refer to those needs. He shows us where our deficiencies are, what our sins are, and what our necessities are. He sheds light upon our condition, makes us feel deeply our helplessness, sinfulness, and poverty. And then he casts the same light upon the promises of the Word. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, and what's amazing here, is that himself intercedes for us, we're told. Not only does he teach us how to pray, he prays for us. When Paul says that he intercedes with groans that words cannot express, I don't think he means ineffable. incapable of being expressed in human language. But what he means is unspoken, a figurative phrase that expresses longing, desire, groaning before the sight of God. And what's important here is that the Spirit, who teaches us how to pray, and who prays for us even as we sit now, advocates on behalf of the saints, fully knowing the will of God, Because He Himself is God. He not only reminds us of our parentage, not only does He provide us with perspective, He teaches us how to pray and pray for us. I've been in my office that my predecessors occupied with such grace and wisdom for all of about four months. I've learned to appreciate my predecessors even more in those four months because they've done so with such wit and grace, and I'm not sure how they've handled themselves with some of the stuff that we're working on. But as we are grateful for the Lord's blessings upon our institution, people often ask me, Joel, how are you doing? With that concerned look in their eyes. Are you doing okay? With the okay raised at the end. Frankly speaking, when you don't know what you're doing, everything seems fine. things feel and look great so far as far as I can tell I have an incredible group of staff members and faculty who are working really hard on behalf of the church but I do know this I do know that our institution has many friends who are praying for us I know that Escondido URC many of you individually and as church you've been praying for us we know it we feel it we're grateful for your prayers and we covet your prayers even more so as we go forward recognizing it's the prayers and support of the saints that sustain us in daily and we're so grateful for the power and the impact of prayer but if prayers of our friends can sustain us so just imagine the holy spirit is praying for you and he's teaching you how to pray even now one final thought which is the fourth point here which is about the promise. Parentage, perspective, prayer, and now promise. I'm going to read for us the words that are very familiar to us, verses 18 through 30, one more time, as we hear, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. The question for us with these verses is this. What does Paul intend to say with these verses? Here, I believe that the proper context is verse 18, where he reminded us of the sufferings of this present time. In the midst of suffering and weaknesses, know this. God is in charge. He is powerful, and he cares. We are told that the verse in verse 30 is called the golden chain, and it tells us about the order of salvation in many ways, and we don't want to minimize its impact upon our discussion of soteriology or the doctrine of salvation. Certainly these verses have some important things to say about that particular doctrine, But technical discussions can mask the intention behind Paul's words because Paul's intention in hearing these words is to simply point out God has a plan and he is trustworthy. Nothing happens by chance and those who love the Lord can trust in his care and providence. For Paul is convinced that God's sovereign hands stand behind everything in life. It is difficult to miss the collection of words and phrases that reinforce this point when he says all things according to his purpose. And he predestined, we're told. Lest we misunderstand what he means by good, all things work together for good. Let us remember that he does not have in mind primarily about wealth or physical health. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that he's not promising those things, For he later on comes to point that out, doesn't he? He who did not spare his own son, why will he not also along with him graciously give us all things is the promise that Paul reminds us later on. For my younger brothers and sisters here, I have two young, beautiful, and wonderful children, Anna and Simeon, but they're children nonetheless, and I'm a child myself. And there's a certain characteristic about children, don't you think? That is, if I can just share with you how hard Sharon, my wife, and I work as parents, we do these things as hard as we can. For instance, we provide housing for our kids without cost. We've never made them pay, ever. We provide three meals a day, mostly three meals a day, and mostly healthy, and never charge them, ever. I mean, they've sometimes paid for our meals once in a while out of their generosity, but mostly they've never paid. We've given them rides everywhere. That can itself be a full-time job, whether it be school or sports or any other activities that they're engaged in. And they've never paid for any of those gas fee or car fees. They've never even asked how we pay for these things. We're like Uber drivers. But those we're driving don't even have credit cards from which we can draw money. We just went through a season where we give gifts. And this often happens to parents as well. When kids say, so-and-so has this thing, I want it, but I don't have it. And as a parent, you say, you don't need those things, but it hits you right here. And you remember and you write those things down somewhere so that when time comes, whether it be a birthday or Christmas, you buy those things for your children, for them to play and enjoy those toys for about three days and forget about them for the rest of their time. I hope it's not just me or my children. That's exactly how children are. I wonder, sitting before God, that's how you and I are. We are like the five or six-year-olds. The Lord has given us his son, yet on our lips never is about, you're the best parents ever. Thank you so much for being so gracious to us. often, our lips are full of complaints, needs expressed, things that we desire that we don't have. If you're anything like me, I wonder the way our children are, perhaps, is a reflection of how we are. And the promise is that he who did not spare his own son, everything pales in comparison to him. But that's not the promise that he wants us to focus on here, in this particular verse. What he has in mind here is about the end-time glory. The promise to us here is that there is nothing in this world, nothing, that is not intended by God to assist us on our earthly journey and pilgrimage to ultimately bring us home so that we may see our Father in heaven, as that great hymn says, without a veil. He will bring us home, no matter what our circumstances may present us as evidence otherwise. He who is faithful will preserve us and bring us home. This is why it allows Paul to ask with confidence in the following verse, verse 31, if God is for us, who can be against us? And we are to answer, without actually saying it out loud, no one and nothing. Because that's the promise of God. He will bring us home. Our Father in heaven is our Father indeed in heaven. Our Father, through his Spirit, prays for us and teaches us how to pray. He grants us perspective so that we may see heaven and the paradise that awaits us. He reminds us by his spirit of his promises that our God who created all things, who redeemed us all in his Son, Jesus Christ, will preserve us until the end and bring us home. As we end this year and as we look forward to the new year, both as individual believers, as Escondido United Reformed Church, as Westminster Seminary, California, All of us are reminded of these promises and truths that Paul teaches us this morning. And all these things are summarized for us, interestingly enough, in the catechism that likely you'll read next week. Having grown up in the Christian Reformed churches, this catechism still stands as my first catechism, where we're reminded in an answer to the question, what is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my precious Savior, Jesus Christ. That we are not our own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all our sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over us in such a way that not a hair can fall from our heads without the will of our Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for our salvation. You hear the echoes of those verses. Because we belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures us of eternal life and makes us wholeheartedly and willing and ready from now on to live for him. May these words be the reminder of our thankfulness and praises to the Lord for this year past. May these words sustain and encourage, grant you trust and peace as you look forward to the new year of 2018. Let's turn to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Our Father in heaven, what great joy it is that in Christ we may call you our Father in heaven. Lord, we are delighted that we are able to approach your throne of grace this morning as your sons and daughters, privileged that only those who are in Christ Jesus may have. We thank you for granting us perspective so that we do not see according to the eyes of unbelief, but that we may have eyes of faith to see your presence and your sovereign care and preservation over us. We thank you this morning for the promise you give to us, O Lord, that you indeed as our Father will bring us home. When we hear those words, O Lord, we echo the words of the psalmist in saying, when we're afraid, we put our trust in you. We put our trust in you, O Lord. Grant us eyes to look back upon this past year, even with all the pains and weaknesses that characterize the world in which we live, O Lord. And may we lift up our thanksgiving and praises to you. Allow us to look forward to the upcoming year, O Lord, with confidence. Confidence not found in our own abilities or in our ability to think and do, but simply because, O Lord, we're desperately and utterly dependent upon you, the sustainer and giver of all good things. Lord, allow us to be used as your witnesses, not only as individuals, but as church, O Lord, witnesses of your grace in Christ Jesus, our Lord, that our lives and our declaration may declare to the whole world for them to see that indeed you are our savior and you are our sister and all knees shall bow before you we thank you for this time we pray this in the name of your precious son jesus christ our lord amen