Romans 8: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.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. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Expectation. Manifestation. These are two big words that hold great meaning that we need to take to heart. Manifest means to appear. Expect means to await something. We expect the Lord to be there. He expects us to be where we should be.
What are you looking forward to? Paul reminds us how things are now and what they’re going to be one day soon. There are sufferings in the present time. The glories are to come. We are creatures of flesh and blood in a carnal body. Thank God the time is coming that we’ll be manifested as the children of God. Being saved, our soul is safe as we trust Jesus and follow him. The new you on the inside will bring a new you on the outside. It’s good to be part of God’s creation. Our life now is far better than before salvation. The body breaks down, but the soul is just as alive as it was the day you were born again. Our best moments are with Jesus. The current sufferings cannot compare with what’s to come.
These times call for us to look inward and keep our hearts clean. We are also to look outwardly to keep a look at what’s going on around us. We should keep looking upward. We don’t know what is ahead next week. It may be rough. We can still have great expectations because we know it will get better. That’s why we need to be faithful. What are your expectations? Are they real? Remember no matter how many dips your life takes to keep hoping and trusting God, and you’ll be head up before you know it! The expectation will become a manifestation.
We live our life in faith. We follow the Lord by faith. The day is coming when faith will come to an end. The manifestation will happen when the Lord reveals himself. The lost will wail but believers will lift up praise. We will no longer walk by faith but by sight. We’ll have a new body and will appear with him in glory.
Those who weren’t ready will want to do something but can’t. Whatever titles you hold in this life make sure the Lord says you’re a Christian. Right now suffering and tribulations are part of life. At best we fail because we’re still in this flesh. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. The Bible says to walk in the Spirit not after the flesh. If we make a daily decision to follow the Lord we’ll be all right.
One day we won’t have to worry about the devil. There’ll be no more pills, no more doctors’ appointments. There’ll be no more lots of things. Are you ready for the manifestation? Be expectant. Don’t be defeated and hang your head down. We’ve seen a falling away since so many expected the Lord to return in the year 2,000. Our calendar wasn’t even in existence when the Word of God was written. God reckons time by a different calendar than we do. We’re in the midst of a weeding out time. Be determined to live for the Lord. The more that life lets you down, the more you need to look to the Lord. We have hope! It ends with a manifestation, a revealing, a materializing. Jesus is coming again. There is a new heaven and earth coming along with our brand new body. That’s worth going through the sufferings.
Romans 8:22-23 says for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 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. The groaning will change and turn to praise. Weeping will turn to shouting. Tears will turn to laughter. Frowns will turn to smiles. Think of the time when all the bad will be gone. I’d rather groan and suffer as a child of God that moan and groan without him. Our inward person is renewed day by day. We won’t groan in heaven. We know we have to go through these things now. Let them bring you closer to God. When he’s manifested you will be as well. The shouting will begin.
John’s last prayer was even so come quickly, Lord Jesus. That’s when the manifestation will be a reality. The expectation is ours to do. How expectant are we living? It’s time to expect things to get better. Romans 8:28 says we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Let’s go to expecting!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 