One who has Hope that Fulfills Glory (Rom. 8:18-25)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” I hope that the blessing of God will be upon all of the regional churches that are worshiping, and also the people who are gathered here today. Christianity is talking about salvation, and when we talk about salvation, there are different types. When a boat is sinking, people go and save the people who are drowning in the water, and that’s what we call “Saving people in the water.” When there’s a building on fire, that’s when we can also say, “We saved people from the building.” So, we use this term, “salvation,” or “being saved,” in different ways, but when the Bible is talking about salvation, it’s talking about a spiritual salvation. This spiritual salvation means that I’ve been liberated from something I cannot see. When humans are born, they are born in a state where they are separated from God, and we have no kind of sense in order to know God. We live this life of slavery where we are bound by this fate, and we are living under the authority of death. So, when Christ has died on the cross, it means He has resurrected and saved us. We have been saved from sin, we have been saved from death, and we have been liberated, saved from Satan. So, with this Word, we can also equate salvation with liberation and freedom.
1. Present suffering
With salvation, we can also talk about our past, present, and future. We need to be liberated from our past. We need to be liberated from our past scars, traumas, experiences, and shocks. When people live in the present, they’re actually living bound by the past. We’re supposed to live in the present, but instead, we’re bound by our past as we live in our present. Why is that? We’re so unhappy with our present that we go back to our past. Because people are having a hard time with their present spouse, they end up thinking about their past love, thinking, “Oh, that woman or that man did this or that for me,” and they keep trying to look back upon their successful time period in their past if their present isn’t that great. Or, they dream of something in the future and that’s what they live their present for.
But the salvation the Bible is talking about, it’s talking about this justification. Christ has died on the cross for us and when you believe in that, you are considered righteous. So, those who are righteous, how will they live right now, today? They live a righteous life, and that is what we call “sanctification.” What’s the difference between us and nonbelievers? It is that we live a sanctified life. So, as we live in our present, we look towards this future hope of glorification with Christ, and that’s how we live our past, present, and future.
1) Co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17)
In Romans 1 to 5, it talks about this “justification,” and starting from Romans 8, it talks about this life of sanctification where we live a holy life with God. So today, we are talking about this glorification, this glorified state in which we live with God. When the Lord comes again, our body is redeemed, and now we live in this glorified state. That is the state where there is no illness or suffering, and it is a state where we glorify only God.
If you look at Romans 3, it says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” What does that mean? It means we were supposed to live in this complete and holy state, but because of sin, that has completely crumbled. The content of today’s message is that we live with this hope of this glorified state as we live in the present. During this time when they believed in Christianity, they were constantly persecuted so God gave the Word regarding this: Don’t live according to your present. With the hope and the glorification of God in the future, that is what you live your future with. So, the Olympic athletes constantly train for the goal of winning an Olympic medal. There is only one person who can achieve the gold medal, so they go through arduous and hard training in order to achieve that one gold medal and the glory they will receive through that. There was one person who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and he came from Jordan. So, there were three people who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, but one person was actually from Palestine and Gaza, but because it was so hard, he moved to Jordan and then immigrated to America, and he won this Nobel Prize now. There was one time when he would live with 12 other people in just one room, and in middle school, his father actually sent him abroad to America to study, so that’s how he won this Nobel Prize this year. That’s when the Arab nations were saying, “We Arabs are such renowned people,” and what did this person say? “Don’t give up on your dream, because there is no difference between people with their dreams,” and that is how he was able to achieve this dream, and it’s the same for your physical life.
But for us, when we lived a spiritual life with God, what kind of dream must we have? Our dream must be accurate. If it’s accurate, it must be a dream that is achievable, because not all of the dreams you dream of can be achieved. When you have this promised hope, that is when you’re able to pass through the present. If not, you will constantly say, “Oh, life is so hard.” Let’s say you’re addicted to drugs, or that you’re addicted to alcohol or gaming. Or let’s say you’re afflicted with mental suffering that you don’t know when will end. If you know it will end at a certain time, you can just pass through it, “This will be solved, I will come out of this.” If you just have this assurance, you can pass through your present sufferings. What is our walk of faith? With this guaranteed future, that is what you live in your present with. Those who have God’s dream will never surrender or kneel, those are the people with strength.
You’ve heard a lot of things like this, let’s say one nation becomes captive or colonized by another. That happened in Greece because the Roman Empire ended up colonizing Greece. They colonized Greece through weapons, but they could not colonize the ideologies of Greece; rather, the Greek ideologies influenced and overtook Rome. This mental world is far superior than the physical world. If we have this hope and assurance in the spiritual world, then we can overcome anything, isn’t that right? If you knew that you would resurrect in the future, you wouldn’t be scared of death. “Even if I fail in my business,” if you have assurance you will rise up again, then this failure isn’t a failure. Even between a man and a woman, if they have this guarantee, this promise that they’ll get married in the future, it doesn’t matter if they keep breaking up and getting back together. So, I hope you will have this true hope and dream of the future. The introduction was very long.
But we have become heirs of God and have been adopted into sonship and we are able to call God, “Abba, Father,” and now we are able to receive God’s inheritance. They will receive His inheritance, and what is that? That is God’s Kingdom, and everything is contained within God’s Kingdom. Isn’t that right? You don’t need to ask for this or that or money because everything is contained within that. Everything is contained within the rule and reign of God. This is God’s Kingdom that will be fulfilled on this earth. The Kingdom of God that will be fulfilled in the church and in the future. Why is the Church God’s Kingdom? It’s because Christ is the head and we are the body and we are receiving God’s reign, and that is God’s Kingdom. There are many nonbelievers who are prepared to receive the gospel and become His believers, and when you save those people, that is also the work of God’s Kingdom, that is our inheritance. The Kingdom of God we will go to after we die, the Kingdom where there is no suffering or diseases. There is no hate; there is only love. That is the Kingdom God has given and promised to us as our inheritance. All the things we do on this earth, God will change and give to us as our reward and our crown. When we go to God in our glorified state, that is when He will reward us. That’s why the Christian religion is a religion of the future, and it’s very realistic, and it is a religion where you can become liberated from your past, and those who constantly talk about the past cannot be satisfied with the present. That’s why they’re bound by their suffering and scars of their past, and they constantly go back to it; it means they have no hope for the future.
(1) Suffered with Christ (Rom. 8:17)
Do you have hope? Do you have this guaranteed hope? Then you can live in the present. You can live today, joyfully. If you went into war, knowing you would return alive, then you wouldn’t be afraid of war, and that’s why hope is so important, the hope God has guaranteed. In order to do this work, God said, “You will also face suffering in this world.” We suffer in this world because sin and curses and disasters exist in this world. If we were in heaven, there would be no suffering, but because we live on this earth, we face suffering, but that is the suffering we received with Christ.
(2) Received glory with Christ (Rom. 8:17)
It is the same suffering the Lord will take on with us, and it is the glory that we will also receive with Christ in the future. So, it’s not just humans who are suffering, but all of creation is suffering as well.
(3) Cannot compare our present sufferings with the glory that will be revealed (Rom. 8:18)
Why are we all suffering? It is because all of creation, all the creatures and plants, have been created for humans, but because humans sinned, the earth was also cursed. So, the plants and the trees were actually created to bear fruit. God had created it so we would not be lacking in food. But because the earth was cursed, we can only reap a harvest once or twice a year. God had originally created lions to eat grass, so God had originally created snakes so that even if they were to bite you, you wouldn’t die of the venom. If you look at Isaiah 11:6 and beyond, it says the children will be laughing and playing with the lions, and they will put their hand inside of a cave of snakes, but they won’t die of poison. God had originally created the world to be like this, but why do lions eat other animals instead of grass, and why do venomous snakes bite humans and make them die? It’s because humans who are representative of the entire creation, sinned, and that’s why the entire earth was also cursed.
2) Creation
(1) Waits for children of God to be revealed (Rom. 8:18)
(2) Subjected to frustration, not by its own choice (Rom. 8:20)
(3) By the will of the one who subjected it (Rom. 8:20)
So, originally, all of these things were created for humans, and then it says that creation was subject to frustration, Romans 8:20. We weren’t originally supposed to live like this; it is because creation was created for humans, so they are living regardless of their will.
3) What creation hopes for
(1) Liberated from its bondage to decay (Rom. 8:21)
In Rom. 8:21, it says, “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.” When do these people have to wait until? All of creation is waiting for this glorified time when humans are glorified in their new bodies and there is a new heaven and new earth. That’s why the theme of today is, “Glory, hope, and this redeemed body.”
(2) Glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:21)
(3) Pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom. 8:22)
2. Redemption of our bodies – Glorification
1) We, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8:23)
(1) Grown inwardly (Rom. 8:23)
In Rom. 8:23, it says “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Our bodies haven’t been saved yet. Our spirits have been saved, but our thoughts, heart, and emotion are so mixed with the world. So, this justification and the holiness is when our thoughts, emotions, and our minds have been saved as well.
(2) Wait for our adoption – Life of complete adoption (Rom. 8:23)
(3) Wait for redemption of our bodies – Glorification (Rom. 8:23)
Our bodies have not been saved yet, because we still die, we are still diseased, and so, when our body is resurrected and we are in the new heaven and the new earth, God will give us the crown and the reward that we were supposed to receive from our work on this earth.
2) Hope – Anchor for the soul (Heb. 6:19)
(1) In this hope we were saved (Rom. 8:24)
Rom. 8:24 says, “In this hope we were saved.” God will completely save us from our past, present, and future, but not right now. So, as we wait for the hope for the future, that is what we hope for, that’s how we live on this earth. That’s why in John 19:30, it says, “It is finished.” It is promised that it will be finished, but it hasn’t been fulfilled yet. But God has promised it, and it is in the process of being fulfilled. When will it be fulfilled? When our bodies are saved and in the resurrected form, that is when it is finished. That’s why when we talk about salvation, it has already been done, but not yet. We have been guaranteed salvation, but we are in the process of it being fulfilled. As we live on this earth, we are going through the process of sanctification, so we need to live on this earth with the hope of glorification. So, Hebrews 6:19 says we have our hope as an anchor for the soul, and so, this anchor for a boat keeps it very still, even though the wind blows the waves. You know what the anchor looks like, once it is put into the waters, even if a storm were to arise, that boat won’t move.
(2) Not hope that is seen (Rom. 8:24)
(3) Hope that is not seen (Rom. 8:24)
3) Wait (Rom. 8:25)
What is our anchor? We need to have this anchor no matter what environment we are in or what people do to us, and that is the hope that is being fulfilled. So, even if a problem, incident, or circumstance arises, we have this anchor and that’s why we will not shake. We’re able to wait, right? We’re able to wait in the present if we have this hope in the future.
(1) Hope for what we can’t see (Rom. 8:25)
If we know what is to surely take place in the future, then we can wait in the present. When I was in the Korean army, when the soldiers would go out on vacation, they would come back completely destroyed, and I asked them why, and it was because all of their girlfriends ended up dating other men. So, these women could only wait for 1-2 years, and they couldn’t wait any longer, so they would go to other men, so these soldiers would hear about that and would come back all dejected. But these women, if they knew it was guaranteed that these men would return back to them and be discharged from the army, they would be able to wait, but they didn’t have that, and that’s why both the women and the men were shaking. That’s why having assurance in this hope is so important. These things will happen in the future and you can’t see it.
(2) Glory we receive with Christ
As we wait, what are we waiting for? We are eagerly expecting and waiting for the glory of Christ, and we’re waiting as we think about the reward of heaven. After the Apostle Paul was saved, there were many sufferings that he encountered, and why was he able to go past them so boldly?
(3) Glory – Reward in heaven (Phil. 3:14)
It’s in Phil. 3:14; he says, “I am pressing on towards the reward of heaven.” So, to use the analogy of a marathon, once you’re done running the marathon, there is a prize waiting at the end. A marathon is about 41 or 42 km, and what the marathon runners say is that at the halfway point, that’s when they reach their limitation and everyone faces that. But how do they pass through it? They go through it, thinking of the finish line. It’s not just the finish line, because there is an award for the first, second, and third place, and those who receive the gold medal are glorified, and that’s what American runners expect as they compete. The Early Church and the Apostle Paul were able to pass through the current suffering and persecution as they looked towards the future hope.
“Why do we need to look towards the future? I just want to live in the present. Because the future, you won’t know until you die. Today, I just want to earn a lot of money.” Those people are living a religious life. If they’re living for the present body today, then they don’t need Christ, they don’t need to go to church, and they’re not aligned with the Bible because the Bible is talking about the future, the Bible is talking about spiritual things, the Bible is talking about heavenly things, and that’s what we’re trying to say. But the Bible is talking about heavenly things, but you’re trying to look at it from an earthly perspective? That’s why you can’t see anything. So how must we live today? What is the secret to living your walk of faith? It is living with Christ. We’re not alone, the Triune God, the everlasting, almighty God, is with me. What does it mean to live with Him? It means that I align my thoughts to the Holy Spirit, that is how you live with Him. That is a loving relationship.
Christianity is a religion of love. All other religions are a religion of fear because if you don’t listen, God will punish you for not listening. But for us, God has called us as His child, and we have this child and parent relationship. So, Christianity is about this relationship. What does it mean for your relationship to be going well? What does it mean for my relationship with the other person to be going well? What does it mean for a parent to have a good relationship with their child? What does it mean for a couple to have a good relationship with one another? Christianity is talking about a good relationship between God and you, and in religion, you don’t need to have this kind of relationship because I just need to achieve what I want, and so that’s why it’s like a relationship of love between a parent and a child. God is with us, even now, wanting us to restore this relationship. The better a relationship, the more inheritance they will receive in the future because a parent has an inheritance to give to the child. But if the relationship is more distant, the child cannot receive all the benefits.
Let’s say you have a good relationship with President Trump, then you’ll actually be in a higher position. But if you have a more distant relationship with Trump, then you’ll have a position that is lower. If you have a closer relationship with your manager or boss, then you will be in the seat of the summit. It’s not your individual strength or power, it is your relationship because Trump uses the people he wants. Why did God use David? It is because he had a good relationship with God, and it meant that he had the same heart as God. So, there are some children who constantly complain and curse at their parents. There are some believers who also constantly complain to God. Why do they do that? It’s because they don’t know Who God is. Why does the child do that? It is because they do not know who their parents are. When do they know their parents? It’s when they get married themselves. Even animals naturally protect and take care of their children, and it’s the same for parents. “I didn’t abandon you,” and sometimes, they do abandon you because they care for you. There is no parent who actively wants to abandon their child. They abandon their child because they love them; they think, “It’s better for this child to be with someone else,” so they send them off. It’s because they have this parental love.
What is our relationship with God? That is what we call our spiritual state. In your family and your workplace, what is your relationship with others? The better that relationship is, the more joy you will have in life. Humans are not happy because they have a lot of money. You can still find joy without money. “Even if I’m not in a high position,” there are people who are happy. The people who have a good relationship with God, the person who has a good relationship with their father all the time, in order to have this relationship, you need to believe in him. You need to have this relationship where God will protect and guide you, no matter what happens. Then, you’re able to come out of whatever mental problem or addiction that you have. There was someone who tested me, asking me, “What is 666?” and we don’t explain about that, because if we are with Christ, then 666 is not a problem. There are many people who take things from the Bible, saying, “Isn’t this a problem?” or, “Isn’t that a problem?” “What can we do about mental problems, or addictions, or the problems with the economy?” You need to have the answer. When you’re with the One Who has all the answers, then that itself is the answer. You already know the answer to the problem. The answer isn’t resolving the problem, but it’s actually having the answer to that problem. For a child, they don’t have any problems, and even if they face a problem, it’s not a problem if they’re with their parents.
What is Christianity talking about? It’s not saying that you won’t have any problems, but it’s saying that it’s not a problem to you. What is religion? It’s trying to solve that problem. That’s when you pray, you give offering, and you work diligently, but for us, we just need to be with God. When I’m with the Father and under His law, then nothing is a problem, and that is how you live with the Lord while you live on this earth. Do you know when children are filled with power and strength? It’s when they say, “Do you know who my dad is?” Then that’s it. Let’s say Ivanka Trump goes overseas somewhere, she can just say, “Do you know who my dad is?” and that’s it. Or she can say, “Do you know who my mom is?” That background is the blessing of that child. The one who has created the entire world with me, and with that, it is finished. Even if we are surrounded on all sides by our enemies, it doesn’t matter. Even if we were upside down or have to kneel before someone, it doesn’t matter because even then, the Lord is with you, because if the Lord is with you, it doesn’t matter.
Did the Lord allow this situation because He doesn’t have any power? He has allowed it because it is the path of blessings, so if you have a stronger relationship with Him, the better you will live your walk of faith. Let’s say that another person is mocking you or cursing at you. If you’re trying to change or resolve it, you’ll constantly be entangled within it. You need to trust God to do what He needs to do with that, because God is living and God will work on it on His own, but for people who don’t believe this, they have this disease because of their anger because they can’t do anything about it. So let’s say that your mom died early, you might complain to God, “How can God be so unfair?” So even if you complain like that, it will just be anger for you. What does it mean to have a good relationship with God? You need to ask God, “God, why did you call away my mom at this age?” Then you will realize, “Oh, this is a blessing of answers.” That is what Joseph did. God called Joseph’s mom early because his mom would actually be an obstacle for the work he would do in the future. It was far better for Joseph to do God’s work by calling his mom early, so it’s better to be with God than be with your mom, and that’s what Joseph encountered.
3. My life today
1) With the Holy Spirit
(1) Guidance of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18)
(2) Working of the Holy Spirit (Mt.12:28-29)
(3) Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
Now, we need to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, what does that mean? It means that we follow the way that God wants us to go. So, our thoughts are different from God’s, we need to align our thoughts to God’s, that means we need to let go of our thoughts. “I am weak, Your thoughts are powerful and complete.” So, even for a child, if they’re constantly stubborn in their thoughts, they won’t listen to anything their parents say. So, if you let go of your thoughts and actually ask your parents, then you can actually receive the answer, and it’s the same for our God. He is with us. He is giving us our answers in our thoughts. He’s giving us the answer in our hearts, and He is giving us the correct emotions we must have. That is when our bodies are used for what God desires, the guidance and the working of the Holy Spirit. When you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, you will receive His power to drive out the demons. We go out into the world in order to study, run our businesses, and do our jobs. That is where the working of the Holy Spirit must come upon us, that is when the evil spirits of Satan will flee, because Satan and these evil spirits are the ones controlling this earth, and there’s no Kingdom of God there. God has allowed them to temporarily rule the earth.
2) God’s kingdom – Present
(1) Word and prayer – Holy (1Tim. 4:5)
(2) Church – Work of building up the believer (Eph. 4:12)
(3) Evangelism, missions – Save the world (Mt. 28:18-20)
But why do we go out to study or work? In order to establish God’s Kingdom, I go there as a missionary, and a missionary means you have a mission; those who don’t have this mission are not missionaries, and those who have God’s missions are God’s missionaries. So, in the place where you are, fulfilling God’s mission is doing His work, but because you go out to earn money, you become a slave to money, you become a slave to other people, you become a slave to the environment. A child of God needs to be seized by God, but because they lose hold of God’s mission, they become a slave to the world. A characteristic of slavery is suffering, there’s no freedom. You don’t have any freedom in your emotions, your thoughts, and your body. That’s when your thoughts and heart are enslaved, and you’re suffering, but those who have this mission have freedom. Why do you get married? Why do you marry? For God’s Kingdom, for God to rule over that family, but we keep dreaming of something else. “After we get married, won’t it be a different world?” but that’s actually not a good world. The best world is for God’s Kingdom to come upon and be established in that family. Why do I run my business? You dream of something else, but that will disappear. It must be the dream of God’s Kingdom being established. That is the goal of our life. “Why do I live such a hard life?” For God’s Kingdom, and your goal must be sure and aligned with God. Then you will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
3) God’s kingdom – Glory of the future
(1) New heaven and new earth – Renew all creation (Rev. 21:1,5)
(2) It is finished (Rev. 21:6)
After we die and Jesus’ Second Coming comes, that is when our body will be restored, and be in this glorified state where it is redeemed, and that’s when there will be a new heaven and earth. In Rev. 21:1-5, it says that God will renew all of creation, so, even our dead bodies will be renewed, and even the lions will be eating grass, and the venomous snakes can play with children and it will be okay. Rev. 21:6 says it is done, it is finished. Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.” But when is it finished? When this new heaven and new earth comes.
(3) Receive as the inheritance (Rev. 21:7)
Before then, “It is finished” has been promised, and just like salvation is in the process of being fulfilled, it has already been promised for us. Rev. 21:7 says, we received this new heaven and new earth as our inheritance. This Kingdom becomes our inheritance, and all things are contained within that.
Conclusion
1. Go through present suffering with the Holy Spirit
In conclusion, we go through our present suffering with the Holy Spirit.
2. With the hope of the glory received in the future
Now, we live with the hope of the glory received in the future. When you have this hope, your mental problems will flee; when you have this hope, then your addictions will flee. Why am I so unhappy? That will also flee.
3. Life of focusing on the work of God’s kingdom
Nothing can overcome this hope, and that’s why we need to live a life where we’re concentrating on the Lord’s work, His mission: the work of raising up His church members, and saving the people out in the world to become children of God. That’s what we call, “Evangelism and missions.” God will remember all of that and give us the reward and the crown of the work that we do on this earth, and that is the hope we hold onto as we race forward towards the future.
Message Prayer
With the Word we have received, let us pray together. What am I holding onto as I live through today?
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. Thank You for calling us as Your child. Thank You for allowing us to live with You as we live on this earth. Thank You for allowing us to go through suffering and pain with Christ. Thank You for crowning us with a rewarding crown for all the work we do on this earth.
We return our material possessions as offering to you, and may the Kingdom of God be expanded and Your Kingdom be upon our church. We believe You will fill the hands of all the people who have given this offering in order to do God’s Work, and we believe You will be upon the work of Temple Construction, and may You bless the two hands that have given this offering to You. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Bible reading, writing – Ceremony 10/19
2. Stated Synod (10/13, 1PM), Pastor Ordination Ceremony (6PM).
3. RU lecture – Gospel Communication; 10/13-11/13, Every Mon.,Th. – 20 Lectures
4. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, fellowship, working, and filling of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants and future generations who desire to walk with the Holy Spirit, glorifying God with this hope, be with them now until forever always, amen.