IntElecS
Infinite Never-ending Trinity Everlasting Lord Excellent Christ Savior

Once a small company that served control systems, now a couple that serves the All Powerful God.

To navigate the pages for this site, Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select the page you want to view.  Some pages have sub-pages as the seven sayings series so you must be on that page to scroll down and pick its sub-pages.

All of life's answers are found in His book.

Saved By Hope

Romans 8:24, "For we are saved by hope: but dhope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience [1]await for it." [2]

I.   Hope

     A. Saved

     B. Seen

II. Hype

     A. Secular

     B. Seem

III. Hold

     A. Stay

     B. Steady 

Introduction:  We often quote scripture that we have memorized without truly understanding the significance of what it says.  Today was to be a message of hope which we feel as we consider Romans 8:28.  When everything is messing up around you and you remember the words of Paul giving assurance that God makes all things right in the end, you just feel better.

How did Paul reach that point in his faith?  Just saying the words makes a person feel better I suppose but unless you remember that all things work together for good for those who love Him; for those who have received a call from Him, well that means that everything might not work out for the good for everyone every time.

If you are watching loved ones as they continue to abandon God’s will for their lives, then it will most certainly not turn out for their benefit.  If you have felt a call to attend to His purpose and rejected His call instead for your own purpose, He might call again or He might not.  If God insists and a person finally receives His call for God’s purpose and follows through, then things will most assuredly work out for God’s glory and that person’s good.

This is a conditional statement.  Paul had lived that which he was speaking about.  You can read and memorize words but unless the experience is real to you it means nothing.  God makes the Bible real when He allows a person to experience that which the person reads in the Bible.  Until God allows us to experience Him, we simply have words to comfort us.  That’s good but it’s not grace.

Today we will concentrate on this thing called hope.  We have emphasized this before.  A hope in something is not the same as a wish for something.  A hope for something that you absolutely know only through faith that it will happen is not the same as wanting something and wishing for something.  Hope is a certainty of what will happen even though it is yet in your grasp.

God the Father has eyes that see things before, after, and in the present.  We don’t.  That is why God knows more about us than we can possibly know about ourselves.  I hear people say, “We have to keep our options open.”  Some say, “I’ve got to know what those who are deciding will do so that I can prepare.”  That is not going to happen!  Never has, never will happen.  No man can know, only God knows the future absolutely.

You say, “What about Jesus?”  Jesus was man while He walked among us and even Jesus said that the Son of Man did not know the time.  Mark:13:32, “But of that day and that hour knoweth jjno man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, kneither the Son, but the Father.” [3]

The beginning of this popular memory verse begins with the words, “And we know.”  What can we know?  The what is tied to the “And.”  We must look at the scripture before this twenty-eighth verse to find what made this knowledge real.  And who is included in the “We?”  The focal text for today tells who “We” are.  We are those who are saved by hope.  Didn’t you believe that we were saved by Jesus?  We need to stand under the word of God to understand that there is no contradiction here.

Scripture:  The scripture for this message is Romans 8:24-25.  Please Stand Under the reading of God’s word.

Prayer:  Please be seated.

Message:  There are several “For” statements prior to our focal verse today.  Follow in the Bible to verse fifteen.  “For cye have not received dthe spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of eadoption, whereby we cry, fAbba, Father. 16 gThe Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are hthe children of God: 17 And if children, then iheirs; iheirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; kif so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” [4]

Jesus often referred to God the Father as Abba.  Which is to say, Daddy.  Very familiar.  Now we can also cry out to God the Father as Daddy.  We are truly and finally His children as He designed and meant for us to be.  Adopted children, we are heirs to the kingdom as Jesus is.  There is that truth there that many don’t like to talk about.  We will suffer with Jesus so that we may also be glorified together with Jesus.  Merry Oaks, we are in the suffering stage right now but not for long!

Next for statement, starting with verse eighteen, “For I lreckon that mthe sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with nthe glory which shall be revealed in us.” [5]  Paul states that the things that we are suffering now cannot be compared to the glory of heaven which will be revealed one day.  That everlasting day!  Hang onto hope!  You say, “I can’t do that preacher.  I have got to know what my options are.”  Jesus says in essence, “you can’t know.”  If you have hope you don’t need to know the future.  He knows!  He doesn’t just have your back.  He has your front back sides and insides.  Demanding to know is setting yourself equal to God.  That is the opposite of faith.

Next of the for statements, verses nineteen and twenty-one, “For the oearnest expectation of the creature pwaiteth for ppthe manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For qthe creature was made subject to rvanity, not willingly, but sby reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be tdelivered from the bondage of ucorruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” [6]

In verse nineteen there is a reference to the sons of God.  Sons is plural, meaning more than one.  We know that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.  In Genesis there is a reference to the daughters of men joining with the sons of God. 

Here it seems that God gave us an internal yearning to see heavenly beings to appear, angels in other words, and we have always felt that they would appear one day.  We yearn for heaven and earth to be one.

Now and for as long as the fall of mankind, people have been looking for little green men.  Mankind took that which was beautiful and priceless and turned it into something worthless or vain.  Why did we do that?  Because we think we deserve whatever we ask for.  We think we deserve to know our future.  We think we can’t trust God with it all so we make up junk.

In verse twenty-one we know that we who truly hold onto hope will be delivered from the corruption of this world.  We will find ourselves in glorious liberty as the children of God.

Now the next “for” statement.  Verses 22-23, “For we know that ||the vwhole creation wgroaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And xnot only they, but ourselves also, gwhich have ythe firstfruits of the Spirit, zeven we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting for bthe adoption, to wit, the credemption of our body.” [7]

We all groan and are going along together in this earthly life of pain.  Even us who are saved are in the same boat.  That is God’s promise.  Who said becoming a Christian would make everything easy in this life.  Who said that you could have your best life now?  Here we find that whoever said that is a liar.  What are we who are saved waiting for?  Adoption, which is the redemption of the body.

What saves us from all of this anxiety of waiting for adoption?  What saves us from the hurt and the anger and the anguish of waiting for these broken-down bodies and buildings to be new again.

“24 For we are saved by hope: but dhope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience await for it.” [8]

So, we are saved from the terrible anxiety of waiting by hope.  What is hope?  It says here first what hope is not.  If you can see it, then there is no reason for hope.  If you can touch it, then there is no reason for hope.  Experience is the opposite of hope.  The result of experiencing God in your life is faith.  Faith makes hope real.

If anyone believes that they are secluded from God they are in other words, secular.  If secular people promise you something in this world which they believe is secluded from God, they cannot deliver it.  That is hype, not hope.  Why would you want to get your hopes up?  That is an oxymoron.  Like giant shrimp, artificial intelligence, smart politicians.

If you have hope, true hope through faith in what you know God has promised, then you will not be let down.  There is no reason to worry about you getting your hopes up only to be let down.  When He gives you hope, your faith will see you through.  God doesn’t seem to be.  God is!  “Esse Quam Videri, the state motto of North Carolina, is a Latin phrase meaning "to be rather than to seem."  What has happened to our state?

If we hope for that not seen and we wait patiently we will realize it when God says so.  Hold the course.  Stay the course.  Hold steady mates.  We are in this boat together and only He can save us.  We all know this memory verse too.  1 Corinthians 15: 55, “sO death, where is thy sting? O ||tgrave, where is thy victory?” [9]

Prayer:

Invitation:  Jesus saves.  Jesus saves.  Death has no hold on us.  This world has nothing to offer us that will last.  Only God has the answers, yet we are still asking all the wrong people all the wrong questions about all the wrong things.  From where does our help come?

“26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for ewe know not what we should pray for as we ought: but fthe Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And ghe that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is hthe mind of the Spirit, ||because ihe maketh intercession for the saints jaccording to the will of God.” [10]

Do you know that?  Or do you know what Jesus expects you to know?  If you know that then Jesus says you should also know this, “28 And we know that kall things work together lfor good to them that love God, to them mwho are the called according to his npurpose.” [11]

You can know!  You must know.  If you are truly a Christian then you will one day have the mind of Christ and then you will know it all and will not have to ask.  Do you want that?  Have you that hope?  Have you that faith?

By the way, “Faith may be lost in sight, hope ends in fruition, but charity (or love) extends beyond the grave through the boundless realms of eternity.  Let us love and then faith and hope will not be in vain.  Come to His throne.  Lead them to Jesus.

d So 2 Cor. 4:18. & 5:7. Heb. 11:1.
a ver. 25. So Gal. 5:5.

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ro 8:24–25). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc..
jj Acts i. 7.
k Comp. John 5:20. Rev. 1:1.
[3] Ibid., Mk 13:32). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
c So 1 Cor. 2:12. Comp. ver. 26. Heb. 2:15.
d 2 Tim. 1:7. So 1 John 4:18.
e ver. 23. Gal. 4:5. Eph. 1:5. So Gal. 3:26. Comp. John 1:12. ch. 9:4.
f Mark 14:36. Gal. 4:6. Comp. Isai. 56:5. Jer. 31:9.
g See 2 Cor. 1:22. So ver. 23.
h See Deut. 14:1.
i Gal 4:7. See Matt. 25:34.
i Gal 4:7. See Matt. 25:34.
k See Acts 14:22. So 2 Cor. 1:7. Phil. 1:29.
[4] Ibid., Ro 8:15–17). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
l See ch. 4:4.
m 2 Cor. 4:17. 1 Pet. 1:6.
n 1 Pet. 1:7. & 4:13.
[5] Ibid., Ro 8:18). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
o Phil. 1:20.
p See 1 Cor. 1:7.
pp 1 Pet. 1:7, 13. & 4:13. See 2 Pet. 3:13. Comp. Acts 3:21.
q Gen. 3:18, 19. So ver. 22.
r Eccles. 1:2, &c.
s Gen. 3:17.
t So 1 Pet. 1:18.
u 1 Cor. 15:42, 50.
[6] Ibid., Ro 8:19–21). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
|| Or, every creature.
v Mark 16:15. Col. 1:23 in the Gk.
w Comp. Jer. 12:4, 11.
x See ch. 5:3.
g See 2 Cor. 1:22. So ver. 23.
y So James 1:18.
z 2 Cor. 5:2, 4.
a ver. 25. So Gal. 5:5.
b See ver. 15. So Luke 20:36 (Gk.).
c See Luke 21:28. Comp. ch. 7:24.
[7] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ro 8:22–23). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
d So 2 Cor. 4:18. & 5:7. Heb. 11:1.
a ver. 25. So Gal. 5:5.
[8] Ibid., Ro 8:24–25). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
s Cited generally from Hos. 13:14.
|| Or, hell. Matt. 11:23. & 16:18. Luke 10:15. & 16:23. Acts 2:31. Rev. 1:18. & 6:8. & 20:13, 14. See Ps. 16:10.
t Ecclus. 9:12. Song 66 marg. 2 Macc. 6:23.
[9] Ibid., 1 Co 15:55). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
e Matt. 20:22. James 4:3.
f Comp. Zech. 12:10. Eph. 6:18. See John 14:16.
g See 1 Sam. 16:7. & 1 Chr. 28:9. So Acts 1:24. 1 Thess. 2:4.
h ver. 6 marg.
|| Or, that.
i ver. 34.
j So 1 John 5:14. See 2 Cor. 7:9. marg.
[10] Ibid., Ro 8:26–27). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
k So ver. 32. 1 Cor. 3:21. 2 Cor. 4:15. Comp. Ecclus. 39:27.
l So Ezra 8:22.
m Jude 1. So ver. 30. See ch. 1:6.
n ch. 9:11. Eph. 1:11. & 3:11. 2 Tim. 1:9. See Acts 27:13.
[11] Ibid., Ro 8:28). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.