THE HERE AND THE HEREAFTER
SCRIPTURE:
Romans 8:18 “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.”
II Corinthians 4:17 “For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory;”
INTRODUCTION:
What I have just read would
bear little weight to any one in the real world if it had been written by some
ordinary person in
some ordinary book. However, the writer and the book here spoken
of are both far beyond ordinary. These
Scriptures were penned under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost by the Apostle
Paul and became part of our Holy Bible.
Again, had Paul not of had a personal experience with suffering and a
clear revelation of eternity, these Scriptures might bear less weight. Few have experienced even a fraction of the
tribulations that followed Paul every where he went. Read with me as he lists some of his experiences in a letter to
the Corinthian Church:
II Corinthians 11:24 - 27 “Of
the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. (v. 25) Thrice was I beaten with rods, once
was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the
deep; (v. 26) 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; (v. 27) In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”
I. THE HERE
A. Being Created
in Perfection “it was good.”
1.
The Lights of the Sky
Genesis 1:4 “And God saw the
light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Genesis 1:18 “And to rule over
the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and
God saw that it was good.”
2.
The Land and Sea
Genesis 1:10 “And God called the
dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas:
and God saw that it was good.”
3.
The Fruit of the Ground
Genesis 1:12 “And the earth
brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was
good.”
4.
The Creatures of the Sea and Air
Genesis 1:21 “And God created
great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought
forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and
God saw that it was good.”
5.
The Beasts of the Field
Genesis 1:25 “And God made the
beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every
thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was
good.”
6.
All in All
Genesis 1:31 “And God saw every
thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening
and the morning were the sixth day.”
B. Being Defiled
by Sin, it was cursed.
1.
The Lights in the Sky
Job 15:15 “Behold, he putteth no
trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.”
Job 25:5 “Behold even to the
moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.”
Many of the stars, planets, etc.
are named after gods of this world and several have been, and are being,
worshipped
2.
The Land And The Sea
Genesis 3:17 “And unto Adam he
said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:
cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”
Man has, and continues to,
pollute the land and the sea.
3.
The Fruit of the Ground
Genesis 3:18 “Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;”
4.
The Creatures of the Sea and Air
Are subject to the many
explorations and pollutions of man.
5.
The Beasts of the Field
Genesis 3:14 “And the LORD God
said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above
all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go,
and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
When Adam fell, all of creation was put under
the curse. Adam became a fallen man in
a fallen world. In the here and now, men are against men; beasts
are against beasts; and men and beasts are enemies one of another.
But it will not always be the way that it is here
and now. The hereafter
awaits on the horizon. Then the Lamb will lay down with the Lion.
II. EVERYONE SUFFERS HERE
A. Being Fleshly
Inhabitants of a Sin-Cursed Creation, Humans Suffer.
Regardless of any and all factors, humans all
partake of suffering though to differing degrees.
B. Being Fleshly
Inhabitants of a Sin-Cursed Creation, Christians Suffer Too.
1.
Suffering, hurts, pains are part and parcel to life. We are not exempt.
It is unrealistic and unhealthy for a person
to think everything must go his way with ease and comfort. Wil Pounds @Sermoncentral
2. In
fact, Christians may suffer more.
a. For righteousness’ sake.
Matthew 5:10 “Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness’sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
b. For Christ’s sake.
Matthew 5:11 “Blessed
are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
for my sake.”
Matthew 10:22 “And ye
shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
Matthew 10:39 “He
that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake
shall find
it.”
Matthew 24:9 “Then
shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s
sake.”
c. For the Word’s sake.
Matthew 4:17 “And have no root in themselves, and so
endure but for a time: afterward, when
affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are
offended.”
3.
Tribulation will come.
John 16:33 “These things I have
spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world [the here] ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John H. Jowett told young
preachers going into the ministry, "Preach to the hurting pew and you will
always have a congregation."
But it will not always be the way that it is here
and now. The hereafter
awaits on the horizon.
III. EVERYTHING GROANS HERE
A. The Creation
Groans
Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
One day creation will be delivered, and the
groaning creation will become a glorious creation. W. Wiersbe
B. We Groan
Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
As kids we eagerly look
forward to Disneyland, yet as fun as Disneyland is, it doesn’t quite live up to
our hopes. We look forward to going off to college, to getting married, to
having kids, to moving up in the world, to retirement, yet none of these things
deliver all we hoped they would. We spend all our time and energy climbing the
ladder of success, but when we reach the top we find that the view isn’t nearly
as wonderful as we’d once thought it would be.
There’s a restlessness behind our yearnings that nothing can seem to satisfy.
Almost sixty years ago, the Christian author C. S. Lewis preached a sermon
called "The Weight of Glory" that addressed this very issue (Lewis
361-70). Lewis claimed that the true longing behind all our earthly longings is
a longing for heaven. Lewis said, "Our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to
be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to
be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside"
is really a hunger for God himself (368).
Timothy Peck Sermoncentral
Like the children of Israel,
after we have sampled the milk and honey, and the fruit of Canaan land, we will
never be satisfied here.
C. Even The
Spirit Groans
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth
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.”
But, . . . it will not always be the way that
it is here and now. The hereafter
awaits on the horizon.
I John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know
that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is.”
IV. THE CONSOLATION OF SUFFERING HERE
A. Suffering
without Christ
There is no consolation, only damnation. There is nothing to look forward to.
B. Suffering with
and for Christ.
1. It is but for a brief time.
II Corinthians 4:17 “For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory;”
A few short years at most, and we
shall pass from this vale of tears into that blissful country where groans
and sighs are never heard. Arthur W.
Pink
2. It
is not worthy to be compared.
Romans 8:18 “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.”
Paul declares that present
hardships are not worthy to be compared with the glory awaiting us. So great is
this glory that it will transform even the material universe. An indication of
this, Paul finds in the decay which reigns over all things around us, so
inconsistent with the original destiny of a good creature of God, a doom
inflicted on Nature because of man’s sin.
This doom of decay, Paul represents as a groaning for deliverance and
accepts as a pledge that deliverance will come. Beet’s Notes
V. LOOKING FORWARD TO THE HEREAFTER . . . TO THE GLORY
To Paul “the glory” was something more than a beautiful
dream. It was a practical reality, exerting
a powerful influence on him,
consoling him in the warmest and most trying hours of adversity. The Christian has a solid support in the
time of affliction, which the unbeliever
has not. A. W. Pink
A. “Which Shall
Be Revealed ”
1.
The splendor awaiting the sons of God is now hidden from the eyes of
themselves and of those around. But Christ
will soon appear in splendor; and with His own splendor, before men and angels,
He will clothe His
brethren. Thus He and they will “be glorified together.” In the light of that
glory, present afflictions are
of no worth. Beet’s Notes
2.
All that this means we are not yet capable of understanding. But more than a hint has been given.
A. W. Pink
B. “In Us”
1.
The Glory of A Perfect Body. We
shall be changed.
I Corinthians 15:42 - 44 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It
is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: (v. 43) It is sown in
dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised
in power: (v. 44) It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual
body.”
2.
The Glory of A Transformed Mind.
I Corinthians 13:12 “For now we
see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even
as also I am known.”
Then will all mysteries be
unravelled, all problems solved, all discrepancies reconciled. Then shall each truth
of God’s revelation, each event of His providence, each decision of His
government, stand transparently clear. A.W. Pink
3.
The Glory of Perfect Holiness.
4.
The Glory of Perfect Worship.
5.
The Glory of God.
One second of glory will outweigh a lifetime of suffering. What years of toil, of sickness, of battling with poverty, of sorrow in any or every form, when compared with the glory of Immanuel’s land!!! One breath of Paradise, one hour amid the blood-washed around the throne, shall more than compensate for all the tears and groans of earth. A. W. Pink Comfort For Christians “Sufferings Compensated” pg 27