8th Sunday after Pentecost: Date: July 26, 2020
– THE SERMON: Exodus 33:12-23
Theme: Enduring Hope.
I. In Hope All Creation was Subjected to Futility.
II. Eager Anticipation of Glory!
SERMON TEXT: Romans 8:18-25
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (NKJV)
PRAYER; THE LORD’S PRAYER
HYMN 370 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
BENEDICTION;
C: Amen.
Hymn 644: Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
( Pastor Theodore Barthels )
Bulletin: Read Bulletin
Sermon: Read Sermon
THE ORDER OF SERVICE: (p. 22 Worship Supplement 2000)
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 13:1-9
On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Isaiah 55:10-11
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
Sermon
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
2100 16th Street SW
Austin, MN 55912-1749
Pastor Ted Barthels
Sermon preached on
July 26, 2020
8th After Pentecost Lay Service
(Previously preached on 7-06-2008)
Scripture Lessons: Isaiah 55:10-11, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Hymns: 17:1-2, 5-6, 427:1-3; 370; 644
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sermon Text: Romans 8:18-25
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (NKJV)
This is the Word of God.
Sanctify us, oh Lord, through Your truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.
In Christ Jesus, God our Savior, dear fellow Redeemed:
INTRO: Hope during life.
With hope people are stronger and endure adversity so much better. Hope is credited with so much for human success and survival. Hope is regarded as an essential ingredient, not only for the sick but for all people as they struggle through life. However hope is all too often a very fragile thing. People hope to retire with a good nest egg. A turndown in the economy, a few bad days on Wall Street, and those hopes are dashed! People get sick, sometimes seriously ill. We go to the doctor, and we are thankful for all the modern medical advances that are there to help us. We gain hope, until the doctor says, “I’m sorry, but there is no more we can do for you.” It happens all the time. It happens in the life of each and every human being that lives on the face of the earth, and then that hope evaporates. We hope for so much that depends upon human efforts. And always we find that such hope has no foundation.
This couldn’t be more true than when one hopes for eternal life, when one hopes for deliverance from the inevitable judgment that sin brought into the world. The masses of humanity seek for hope where in fact there is no hope. They cling to the false hope of human righteousness. In the end they will find eternal hopelessness in the words of the Lord, “I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.” (Luke 13:27)
Without doubt we need hope, but we need a better hope, we need hope that will not fail when it is needed most. We need hope that brings true hope to all the world. We need hope that only the Lord Himself can bring us. We need an –
THEME: Enduring Hope.
I. All Creation was Subjected to Futility in Hope.
The very frustrations that afflict us reveal the futility of much of the world’s false hopes and the need the whole creation has for hope. The hope the Lord gives is a hope that overwhelms the troubles of this life. Paul reminds us of the Christian’s hope and the view that it gives.
Romans 8:18-22 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
The sufferings that we endure, even the tribulation and the persecution which comes our way because of our faith in Christ, is not a betrayal of God’s good faith. It is evidence of the universal corruption that is to be found in this temporal world. We are not alone in our sufferings. We are not alone among the children of God. Neither are we singled out as children of God that we suffer sickness and distress and tribulation while the rest of the world is getting a pass. That is the false image of the world. The entire creation suffers because of the corrupting power of sin that man brought into the world.
So it is that we should not expect to get a free pass from the effects of sin in this life. Man is the source of trouble because man introduced sin, and with it death and corruption and sickness, and all kinds of evil. The entire creation suffers. The entire creation is subjected to futility because of sin. The entire creation has one true and enduring hope. The world’s last hope is found in our Creator God. The entire creation needs to look for the final redemption when God shall bring an end to this world, and a new heavens and a new earth shall be called into being in which righteousness, and only righteousness dwells. Sin with all of its distress, and sorrow, and tears shall be excluded, excluded forevermore.
That is the creation’s hope. That is what the earth we live on hopes for! If the creation looks to that day of the adoption, the final redemption, how much shouldn’t we also be living in –
II. Eager Anticipation of Glory!
Romans 8:23-25 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Yes, we groan within ourselves because of the difficulties that arise living this sin corrupted life in this sin spoiled world. But we already have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. We have been brought to know and believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin, to redeem our lives from sin and death, to redeem us from corruption. We have this hope alive in our hearts through faith in Christ Jesus. The world may well characterize our hope in Christ as a crutch, as a myth that gets us through this miserable life one day at a time. They say, “Show me, and I will believe!” How easily we are shaken in our hope by this silly idea of the world.
We possess the firstfruits of the Spirit. It is not being “brainwashed” or “gullible” to know and believe that there is a God in heaven, a God who has loved us with a great love. This God has sent His Son into the world that we might live through Him. As the evidence of God’s existence is seen in the marvels of creation, so also is the evidence of God’s love found in the sacrifice of His Son, and in the faith which the Spirit has worked in our hearts.
Hope that is seen is not hope at all. Paul says plainly enough, “Why should one hope for what he already has?” We hope for those things, (and this is always true, it is the very nature of hope) we hope for those things which are yet to come, which are still in the future. That doesn’t mean we hope without reason. Our hope in Christ is not without reason or foundation. It is the true and living hope which is based upon the cross of Christ as the redemptive price for sin, as the removal of the death sentence from man, as the release of the curse of sin upon all creation. We have reason to hope because the grave could not hold Jesus. He rose and lives forevermore as the first among many brethren!
Yes, it is true that we hope for what we do not see, but what we hope for is real, and true, and shall come to pass. It is by the Spirit’s power that we wait with perseverance for this final deliverance, this adoption to the glory of heaven.
CONCL.: This hope endures!
All other hopes are so fragile. They are easily dashed. They run out when they are needed most; they just seem to evaporate. Our hope in Christ endures! Our hope is that of everlasting glory with the Lord! Then we shall be delivered from this valley of sorrows. Our hope presented to us in God’s Holy Word shall find its fullness in the coming of the Lord when He shall call us to be with Him in glory forevermore!
AMEN.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Amen. (Romans15:13)