The Spirit Helps Our Weakness

The Spirit Helps Our Weakness
Romans 8:18-31
January 10, 2015

 The Spirit helps our weakness. If you want to follow along the sermon notes on your tablet or your smartphone, all you'll need is the church app for that. Just do an app search in the app store for Cavalry Hillsboro.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word which ministers life and strengthens our faith. God, we open our hearts this morning and pray that you would just powerfully move upon us this morning as we open our heart for you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Here we are in Romans chapter 8, and I got to tell you, it is my favorite chapter in the whole, entire Bible. Because it is so filled with practical, spiritual insight. It is a foundation of our soul. And if we can take hold of the truths found in this chapter, it would radically transform our faith and our relationship to the living God. The theme of the chapter's victory. And it's victory over the flesh. Paul's been building up to this. Every chapter before is building up to this. Telling us that we were born in the weakness of flesh, we were born in the sin of Adam.

We were born in this flesh, we're going to die in this flesh, but it does not have to defeat us. It does not have to ruin our lives. We can have victory. And remember, in the earlier verses of this chapter, Paul spoke about the significance of what happens in the mind. For true victory, spiritual victory cannot happen until the mind is victorious. So we need to grasp the significance of this. But this is where the Spirit helps us. Because the Spirit dwells inside the heart. And begins to ignite the soul, begins to transform from the inside.

Here's the contrast - Paul was talking about the law. And he said the law's no help. In fact, the law just sits there being bossy. And we can relate to this, we can so grasp it. The law just sits there being bossy without lifting a finger to help. And in fact, it only makes the flesh worse because the flesh responds to that bossiness by acting like a rebellious teenager resisting its parents' rules.

But as we saw in our study last week, parenting is actually a good analogy because some approach parenting very much like the law. In other words, they're bossy and they're intimidating and they're demanding obedience and they're completely lacking in relationship. But good parenting is quite different from that. Good parenting gets into the heart of the child, into the mind of the child and helps the child to process and think better. because true victory only comes when the mind and the heart is victorious. So it says, 'In the same way, all who are being led by the Spirit are the true sons of God'. It's a great illustration. Great illustration because Paul says, 'We didn't receive a Spirit of slavery leading to fear again. We received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out aba father.

'Aba' is a word that means 'daddy'. The most endearing, intimate word that a child can call her father is 'daddy'. And Jesus is calling us when you pray, call him 'father', your 'Father in Heaven'. So Paul is saying, your relationship to God changes everything. He is so near to you, so intimate in that love for you that you can call him aba. It changes everything.

I. The Father Helps His Children

And as we look at these verses today, we see how that's applied for our victory. Verse 18. 'For I consider that the sufferings of this present time', in other words, living in a broken, evil world, we're suffering through it. He said, 'But the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us'. Yeah, we're living in a tough old world. Broken down, evil world, but there is a glory to be revealed, there is a hope yet to come.

And he builds this big picture, goes all the way back to Creation. And it says in verse 19, 'For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of the sons of God'. What does this mean? Well, it explains it. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it', that's God, 'in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God'.

Creation and man are intimately intertwined, he tells us. So he says, 'We know that the whole creation is groaning and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now'. The pains of childbirth, we can get this, we can relate to this. At least those who had a baby can understand the pain and the groaning that comes with having a child. But your longing and the groaning and the suffering, there's something glorious that is yet to come. The child!

And so it goes on to say, 'And not only this', verse 23, 'but also we ourselves, we having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves because we're waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body for in hope we have been saved. But hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance', which means strength of faith, 'we eagerly wait for it'. 'And in the same way the Spirit helps our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.' Man, there's a lot of groaning going on in this chapter.

What does this mean? Very important, which we're going to see. 'For he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, and he's interceding, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.' And then verse 28, the famous verse 28, one of the most famous verses of the entire Bible, I would say behind John 3:16, probably, this is the most famous. 'We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he predestined, these he also called: and whom he called, these he also justified: and whom he justified, these he also glorified.'

Now, those two verses are chop-filled with awesome, deep, theological truths. But it all builds up to verse 31, where he says, 'What then shall we say to these things? What can we conclude from these things'. It's this, 'If God is for us, who can be against us'. That’s the whole truth, that's the foundation of our faith.

Now let's go back over these verses because remember, the greater context is the fact that he is our aba, our father, and that we need to see this - the father helps his children. There's a relationship here. A good father is going to be for his children. A good father is going to help his children. All who are being led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God. The Spirit that bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.

Well, if we are sons and daughters of God, then we are heirs of God. And fellow heirs with Christ, which is to say, we have a glorious inheritance. This is future laid out for us. This is the key to our faith, where Paul build this to a great crescendo and says in verse 31, 'Hey, if God is for us, then take this in heart, who can possibly be against us'. We must grasp it, we must take hold of it. It has to be the rock on which we stand. It has to be the foundation of faith because Paul then is very honest. He says, 'Look, this is a world where there's a lot of suffering. You suffer with Christ in order that we might be glorified with Christ'.

Then he makes this comparison between the sufferings of this present time, the sufferings that comes as a follower of Christ in a broken and evil world, but that our sufferings now, at this present time are nothing in comparison to that future glory laid out for us, that future inheritance, that future that he has laid for us. And then he says over and over, Paul speaks of this groaning that goes along with suffering. It's part of living in the broken and evil world.

A. The world itself is groaning

But this is the hope of the Father, this is the hope of his help. In John 14:16-18, Jesus says it this way: 'I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper', I know you're living in a broken world'. 'Take courage', he says, 'I've overcome the world'. So here he says, 'I'm going to ask and he will give you another helper and he will be with you forever. That is the Spirit of truth, you know him because he abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you'. So then he gets really practical and he gives us some interesting insights building this case starting with Creation and he says, 'The world itself is groaning'.

What does this mean? Well, first of all, groaning is part of suffering. And so he's painting this picture that even the Earth itself is groaning. It suffers the pains of childbirth until now. The condition of the Earth is connected to the condition of man. It's a very important thing. It was also subjected to futility, brought under slavery to corruption. This goes all the way back to Adam.

Remember in Genesis 1, when God created man, he gave him authority over all the earth. Very important theological truth. Genesis 1:26, 'Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image', alright. You all, all of us have been made in the image of God. We have his image, all of us, within us. He goes on to say, 'Let us make man according to Our likeness and let them rule'. See, it's important to see, the very first thing he says after 'Let's make man in our image', is 'let them rule'.

Authority is an aspect of being made in the image of God. And so much so he says, 'Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the cattle and over all the earth'. When Adam sinned, everything under his authority was affected by that sin. That includes the earth itself. This is a very important principle. If someone has authority, whatever position you have as authority, everything under the cover of that authority is affected by whatever you do. Great principle of a man, a husband, a father, a mom, very important principle. Everything is affected by that authority.

And in this case, even the world itself, because it was under the authority of Adam. Genesis 3:17-19, 'Then to Adam God said, 'Cursed is the ground because of you. Both thorns and thistles it will grow until you return to the ground for you are dust and to dust you shall return'.

Now, you look at the world, you look at the creation of the beauty of the creation around us, and you have to say there's a lot of glory. There's a lot of biddy. Go out and see the sunset on a summer evening, see the mountains in midst of winter, a Vernon valley in spring and wow! The glory of God abounds everywhere! That's true. But also we got to see that there's thorns, there's thistles, there's bar bushes, there's and there's deserts and earthquakes and hurricanes and tsunamis as well.

In fact, Jesus said that the signs of the times of the end of the age are actually going to be seen in the earth itself. Matthew 24:7-8, 'And in various places, there will be famines and earthquakes, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains'. Interesting, he uses the very same analogy. And in fact, he says that earthquakes will grow in intensity, just like a woman in... In other words, a woman in childbirth knows that the closer you get to the birth, the more intense are the birth pains and the closer they come together. As you get near the end of time, there will be greater earthquakes with greater intensity.

Paul says that the creation is waiting eagerly, groaning while waiting eagerly for the reveling of the sons of God in hope that it will be set free from corruption, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. It longs for something better. In other words, Creation itself is linked to the believer. We have a future glory, the earth itself has a future glory laid out for it. Yes, Isaiah 65:17, a prophecy through Isaiah, 'For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: the former thing shall not be remembered, nor come to mind'. Very interesting.

Revelation 21:1-4, all the way at the end of the Bible, 'I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, there will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain, for the first things have passed away'. There's a longing for something greater, a greater glory yet to come. And then he goes on to say, and it's true for us, 'For we also grown within ourselves', verse 23, 'Having the first fruits of the Spirit, we groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for the redemption of our body'. In other words, we're groaning because we're longing for something greater. We're longing for something more glorious, something more grand.

B. We also groan within ourselves

We're not just groaning because we're getting older. Although, that is truly a sign of the times. That and when your joints are more accurate at predicting the weather than a meteorologist with live doppler. Yeah, you know you're getting older when you groan every time you get out of a chair. That's true. But we're not talking about that kind of groaning.

We're talking about a groaning because this world is evil. And we're longing for something greater, something more grand, something more glorious. And he says, 'Because you've tasted of the Spirit, you long for it', because you've tasted of something better. You've experienced it, the taste of Heaven. If you tasted of the Holy Spirit, the first fruits, notice he uses the word 'fruits' here, because fruit is good, fruit is sweet, fruit is juicy, fruit is tasty. Notice he doesn't talk about the vegetables of the Holy Spirit, no. The broccoli of the Holy Spirit, that wouldn't be encouraging. No, he's talking about the fruit because it's good, it's sweet, is juicy. You long for it. And he says, you've tasted of something better. That makes you long inside your heart, is longing for something greater.

You know we just had Christmas and many people, when it comes to Christmas, they want things to be just right. A lot of times it's about the atmosphere of Christmas. We want the smell of the pine needles or the bells. And we want the eggnog and we want the Christmas tree to be right and the lights and everything... And the pie to be just so and the whip cream and we want it all. And we want our family to get together and we want everyone to get along. That'd be glorious.

Why do we want that? Why do we have this ideal? Man, it would be so great if everything could be just so and we can just experience this wondrous Christmas. Why do we want that? Because i think Christmas is an opportunity to experience something greater, something more wonderful. Man, wouldn't be awesome if our family could all get together and everyone just enjoy one another? Wow! Yeah, we long for that. Cause there's a part of us that just wants something deeper. We just look for something better. Because we're living in a broken world. We're living in an evil world. And there's an emptiness, there's a brokenness. But we've tasted of something better and we want it.

Second Corinthians 5:1-3, 'We know that if this earthly tent, which is our houses torn down', he's talking about our bodies here, 'we have a building from God, and not made with hands, eternal in heavens for indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven'. What a glorious picture for us. We're going to go to heaven and we're not taking these bodies of ours with us. We're living these old things behind.

C. The Spirit groans in our behalf

No need for glasses in Heaven, no need for back braces or crutches or wheelchairs. We are gloriously set free from this old body of ours. We're not going to be tired in Heaven, we're not going to be sick and tired. We're not going to be cranky and grumpy. That's all part of the nature of the flesh. We're going to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If you tasted the Holy Spirit, you've tasted of the first fruits. You got a down payment. There's so much more.

The glorious fulfillment of that promise is that your spiritual cup will overflow when you are in the presence of the living God. Not with these dead bodies of ours, but with the Holy Spirit alive and overflowing and we are filled to the full. Words cannot even contain it.

We long for it. When you're going through this broken, evil world, you groan for it. Oh, God. Oh, Lord. Then it says something really interesting. The Spirit tells us that the earth itself is groaning, we ourselves groan, but then he says the Spirit is groaning. Why? Why would the Spirit be groaning? Is the Spirit suffering? Actually, it's an interesting question. Because what we see is that the Spirit groans in our behalf. The Spirit is taking up our groanings and groaning for us. See, it says, that's why he says in verse 26, 'in the same way, the Spirit helps our weakness'. In other words, you don't even know how to groan right.

The Spirit is going to groan for you. He's going to intercede for you with groanings to deep for words. He's going to carry your burdens, he's going to carry your groanings. Just like Jesus said, 'Come onto me all who are weary and heavy-laden'. In other words, 'I'll carry your burden'. The Spirit is carrying your burden. He's carrying your groaning for you. Cause when you're groaning, you're crying out to God. That's the idea.

When Moses stood in front of that bush that was burning, remember, when Israel was held captive in Egypt... When Moses was standing in front of that bush, the presence of God was there and he said, 'I have heard the groanings of my people'. That's the idea. There's a longing, there's a praying, 'Oh, God! Oh, Lord Jesus'. But we don't know how to praise, we should. We don't know how to praise we should. We so often lack in the insight of how to pray. But the Spirit intercedes for us, takes up our groanings. With groanings too deep for words, he prays of course, when the Spirit takes up our burdens and groans for us. When he groans, when he prays, he prays according to the will of God.

Our groanings are more like grumblings. Many people, when they call out to God, they're complaining. They're bitter. We don't know how to groan right. We start to grumble is what we do. We start getting grumbly, we start getting complaining, we start getting complaining, we start getting bitter with the Lord and, 'God, how could you? I thought you loved me'.

Reminds me of Naomi in the Book of Ruth. Remember the story of Naomi and her husband. They live in Israel, in difficult times. There was a terrible famine. And they had two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, which meant 'weak' and 'sickly'. When you got two boys named weak and sickly, you're pretty much in bad days. And they went over to the other side of the Jordan to Moab. Things were not better there. Things got worse there. The other sons married Moabite women, but her husband died. Her sons died. She lost everything. And at one point she says, 'I'm going back. I'm going to back to... I've had enough! I'm just going home'. So at first, the two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth said, 'We'll go with you'. And she said, 'Don't. Don't go with me. Why? I have nothing. Go back, go back to your people'. And Orpah did, she turned around. But Ruth, her beauty and her character was seen in the story where she says, 'I'm going with you'. Her character stood out. 'Wherever you go, that's where I'm going. Your people are my people. Your God is my God.'

Well, so Ruth and Naomi come back to Bethlehem. And it tells us in Ruth 1:19-20 that when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred, like talking, 'Did you see Naomi? Is that Naomi'. They're shocked. The reason why is because of her name. Her name actually means, in Hebrew, 'pleasantness'. And it's just like saying, 'Hey, did you see pleasantness? Well, she doesn't look very pleasant. She looks like she's been through something bad'. They're all stirred about it. And so they said, 'Is this Naomi'. And she says, 'Do not call me pleasantness. Don't call me that. You can call me bitterness. Call me Mara. For the Lord Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me'. Many people relate to this.

Difficult times come, we're suffering, this world is evil and things happen that are difficult and troublesome. And we get bitter. 'The Lord's dealing bitter with me. The Lord is dealing very bitterly with me!' And they start to complain. And they lose hope, they lose faith, foundation of faith.

About a month or so after our daughter was killed, somebody came up to me and had been here through the process and just wanted to come up and give condolences and then said, 'I got a personal question, if you don't mind'. I said, 'Sure'. And he said, 'My question is this: How do you have even a shred of faith left'. 'How do you mean?' 'I've been through hell and back. And I'm just hanging on by a thread. I don't see how you can have anything after what you've been through.' So maybe that's your problem. Cause you're not looking. See, if you have a foundation, a faith to stand on, it's a rock to stand on. It's not a thread to hold onto. It is a rock, it's a foundation. You stand on this!

Our problem, our problem is that in this life we can't see very well. We see it, the Scripture says, 'as through a glass dimly'. But he's telling us here, right in this chapter, look, let's be straightforward, we live in a crazy world. We live in a world that's evil and broken. Let's be straightforward about this.

Have you followed the news this last week? This world is going crazy! But I suggest to you that this is just a tip of the iceberg. This is just a beginning of a great storm. This world is suffering. And many and all who walk through it can relate to those words, the suffering of this present time. But we have a hope, we have an assurance of hope and therefore, with perseverance we look forward. We know and we look forward to a greater thing. We only see in part, but we have a greater hope.

See, First Corinthians 13:12-13, 'For now we see in a mirror dimly', in a glass darkly in other words, 'but then we will see Him face to face. Now I know only in part, but then I will know fully just as I have been fully known'. Then he says, now look, 'faith, hope and love, abide these three, the greatest of these is love'. This is what you need. We see only in part, but this is what you need. You need faith, you need hope and you need love. The greatest of these is love.

And this is the hope that we have because we understand that He is our aba, father. And we have this hope, this perseverance. We stand on this rock. First Corinthians 15:19 says, 'If we hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied'. No, our hope is far grander. It's glorious. Because it tells us that all leads up to the famous verse 28, where we have the foundation of faith contained in this verse. God causes all things to work together. For good, to those who love God and those called according to His purpose. Probably more plaques, more cards, more Christian art has been based on that one verse than any other verse. If one verse could capture the hope that we have in this broken, evil world, it would be that verse right there.

II. God causes all Things to Work Together

It's important to see however, he does he doesn't say, he doesn't say that God causes all things. He says He causes all things to work together, doesn't cause all things. Because this is an evil, broken world, and He is not the author of evil. Someone would say, 'Well, why does God allow evil'. They have this thought in their mind, that if God is good then He should not allow evil to exist. They have this conclusion in their mind. If God is good, he should not allow evil to exist. Now, I realize I'm touching on some of the greatest questions of faith, but that's the reason the chapter is there. To give us an answer. You see, because what we need to understand is that there is such a place where evil does not exist. There is such a place. It's called Heaven. And this is not it.

When God made man in his image, He gave him a will that he may freely choose to follow Him or freely choose to reject Him. Love must be freely given or it is not love. So, if someone chooses then to reject God, then they don't have God in their hearts. And if they don't have God in their hearts, what are they left with? They're left with the nature of man and all the evil that goes with it. That's why we live in a broken and evil world. And that's why we go through it understanding that the sufferings of this present time are due to it. But this verse tells us that in this world of suffering, we can know that God is our father. And that in His great love for us, He works all things together for good. For those who love God and called according to His purpose.

A. God’s will interfaces with human choice

Let's step back and see it this way - God's will interfaces with human choices. With human choice. See, there's a choosing of man, but there's a sovereign hand of God. God's will interfaces with human choice. The premise of this verse is that God can take all things and work them together for good according to His purpose. So here it says the Spirit's interceding, the Spirit is interceding for us. And God is answering. God is answering that intercession prayer by working all things together for good. The theme that covers it all. The theme that covers it all is the greatness of God's love. In verse 31, 'If God is for us, you tell me who could be against us'. Faith works together with love.

If you believe that God loves you, if you believe that God loves you and you believe that God is for you, and you believe that God is able to work all things together for good, then you have faith. You have the substance and the rock of faith on which you can stand that you can endure through and go through this present time with an assurance of hope. It's very important.

But let's make it personal. Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe that God loves you? How much do you believe that? See, faith has the grease, great faith, little faith. Some have faith just a little thread to hold onto. Some have faith that's a rock on which to stand. Some have faith that is an anchor to the soul. How much faith do you believe? Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe that God is for you? Do you believe it? How much do you believe that God is for you? See, if you believe that God loves you and you believe that God is for you and you believe that God is able to work all things together for good for those who love God and call according to His purpose, then you have a foundation, you have a rock.

The faith is required when you're talking about things that on the face of it, are not good. It's difficult to understand when life takes a hard turn. Finances fall apart, you lose your job. It's hard to understand how anything good can come from this. The doctor gives you some very, very bad news. 'God, I don't understand. How can anything good come out of that?' Someone very near to you dies. 'God, I don't understand how can anything good come out of this!' Relationship is in shambles, 'God, I don't understand. You say all things work together. I don't see it, I don't understand it'.

The premise of this verse is that God loves you as your aba, father. And that we love Him in return with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and trust. See, a child trusts... A child with a good father will trust that father. The father sees way more than the child, the father understand way more than the child. But when the child trusts their father, then that child has a hope.

Reminds me of our granddaughter, our granddaughter Aviah. We're spending much more time with her these days, we're in the process of adopting her. She was riding the car this week and she was in the back and I was in the front. A good thing she was behind me, I didn't want her to see me crying because of what happen. It was so beautiful. So she's in the back and she said, 'Grandpa, do you want to hear a radio station'. I said, 'Sure', soshe says, 'Okay, turn the radio on'. So I turn the radio on, then she says, 'Now turn the radio off', so I turn it off. And then she said, 'Now you have found via radio. And the next song is bi Via Jones and it's called whatever', and she starts to sing. It was the most beautiful thing because she just makes stuff up and she goes, just making it up. But it's so beautiful because when she starts singing like that, just making it up, something honest is coming. She's real honest. And she starts singing, 'The next song is by Via Jones', and she starts singing.

They woke me up that morning. Here we go. They woke me up that morning and I went down stairs and they gave me the worst news I had ever heard. It was the worst day of my life. My mom is dead. But I have to remember that she's with Jesus and that's a good thing. It's very sad. But I have to remember that she's with Jesus and that's a good thing. And I have to remember that God is with me and that's a good thing. And then she sang some more and finished and said, 'That was Via Jones. And the next song is by Via Jones also because all the songs on this station are by Via Jones'. But I'm listening to her. She's getting something, she's understanding something.

Faith that truly trusts Him comes out of receiving the greatness of God's love. He is your aba, father. Do you believe that? And it comes from loving Him in return extravagantly. First Corinthians 2:9 says, 'Just as it is written: things which eye has not seen, ear has not even heard, which is not even entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him'. It says, we know, we know this. God causes all things to work together for good for those who God, love Him extravagantly and are called according to His purpose. Well, what's His purpose?

B. God’s purpose is to transform you

His purpose, which He explains in the next verses is to transform you. God's purpose is to transform you. That's His agenda, that's what He's doing, that's His heart. That's the good that He's working.

Now, there's a lot of theological debates about the finer points of verses 29 and 30. But it could be summarized straightforwardly. It could be summarized this way - God knew you before you were even born, the foreknowledge of God, and God determined in advance, predestination, that those who love God would become conformed to the image of His son. God has an agenda. He's working all things together for good. What is that good? That you would be transformed into His image. That's what you need. You need to be like Him. You need His peace. You need His joy. You need his character. You need His faith. You need His maturity. You need His relationship to the Father. Follow Him. Be like Him. It's the very best thing for you.

You know, there's a key example in Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called as a very young man to be a prophet to the nations. Notice how he ws called, Jeremiah 1:5 says, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations'. Could something like that be said to you and me? I think yes. I think you would say something to us like this. 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I concerted you, I set you apart. For a purpose and that purpose is that you would be like my Son, transformed into His image'.

God works all things for the good of conforming us to that image. Strengthen our faith, changing our character. But hear this. It's often the difficulties of life that have the greatest effect upon our character and upon our faith. We grow the most through trials and difficulties if, if, if we trust Him. That's our aba, father. If we trust Him through every trial, every difficulty, Jesus said, 'In this world, you will have many troubles, but take courage. Trust me. I've overcome the world'.

Our steadfast hope is in knowing that there is an eternal wait of glory far surpassing the things of this earth. Many people concern themselves with things that have no eternal weight. They have no weight to them. But the things that have eternal weight have glory. Something wondrous. Long for that, groan for that. Ephesians 1:18 says, 'I pray that the eyes of your heart may be opened, enlightened and that you would know the hope of this calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance'.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for being our aba, father, helping us to see, understand that the suffering that comes from living in this broken and evil world, the troubles, the trials, the difficulties are nothing in comparison to the eternal weight of glory. God, this morning we will trust you as our aba, father. We'll trust you through every trial, every difficulty, every trouble that comes.

Church, as we're praying, would you know this? It begins with opening with your heart. It begins with opening your heart to receive the love of a father, aba, father. Receive that love. Trust Him. Love Him in return. Believe in that love for you, believe that He's for you. Trust Him to the difficulties of this life. But you need Him. You need His spirit. You need His presence. You need His life.

Would you this morning, would you open your heart? Say, 'Yes Lord! I want your love. I want You to fill me with your spirit. I want your life. I will trust you as the rock on which I stand. I'll trust you, Lord. Through every trial, every difficulty I go through, you will be the foundation'.

Would you just raise your hand this morning and say that to the Lord? 'God, I want you to know it.' Just be spiritually bold, you know. Just raise your hand spiritually in boldness. 'God, I want you to know it. I'll trust you. Be my aba, father. I'll stand on this rock. You're my foundation, You're my hope. I will persevere.' Long for the things that have eternal weight. Touch, feel, bring your life. In Jesus name, everyone said.