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“There Shall Be Glory After This”

📖 Main Text: Romans 8:18

“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.”

📖 Supporting Texts:

• 1 Peter 5:10 - And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
• Luke 24:26 - Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"
• 2 Corinthians 4:17- For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

We just talked about Persecution Before Resurrection…
We saw the betrayal… the beating… the burden… the blood…

But can I tell you something this morning?

👉 The story doesn’t end at the cross!

Because after the suffering…
After the pain…
After the humiliation…

💥 There shall be GLORY after this!

🔑 KEY POINT 1:

Suffering Is Temporary—Glory Is Eternal

📖 2 Corinthians 4:17

“For our light affliction… is but for a moment…”

🧠 Truth:

What you’re going through has an expiration date.

🪶 Illustration:

A storm that feels endless—but eventually passes.

📚 Short Story:

A woman sat through a long, turbulent flight gripping her seat in fear. When it landed, she said, “I thought it would never end.”
The pilot said, “Storms don’t last forever—we just had to fly through it.”

👉 Punch:
You’re not stuck—you’re just going through!

🔑 KEY POINT 2:

God Uses Pain to Produce Purpose

📖 Luke 24:26

“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things…?”

🧠 Truth:

Your pain is not pointless—it’s purposeful.

🪶 Illustration:

Gold being refined in fire.

📚 Short Story:

A sculptor chips away at a block of marble. Someone asked, “Why are you damaging it?”
He replied, “I’m not damaging it—I’m revealing what’s inside.”

👉 Punch:
God is not destroying you—He’s developing you.

🔑 KEY POINT 3:

Delay Does Not Mean Denial

📖 John 20:1 (The stone wasn’t moved immediately)

🧠 Truth:

Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

🪶 Illustration:

Waiting for the sun to rise after a long night.

📚 Short Story:

A man planted seeds and saw nothing for weeks. He almost gave up—but beneath the surface, growth was happening.

👉 Punch:
What you don’t see, God is still working on.

🔑 KEY POINT 4:

Your Darkest Moment Precedes Your Breakthrough

📖 Matthew 27:45

“There was darkness over all the land…”

🧠 Truth:

Darkness is often a sign that something is about to shift.

🪶 Illustration:

The darkest hour is just before dawn.

📚 Short Story:

A young man quit his job, lost his savings, and felt like everything collapsed—only to discover later it pushed him into his true calling.

👉 Punch:
Don’t judge your life in the dark—morning is coming!

🔑 KEY POINT 5:

God Will Turn Your Shame into Glory

📖 Hebrews 12:2

“Despising the shame…”

🧠 Truth:

What embarrassed you will eventually elevate you.

🪶 Illustration:

A caterpillar in an ugly cocoon becoming a butterfly.

📚 Short Sto

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Theme: The Road to the Cross

“Persecution Before Resurrection”

📖 Main Text: Isaiah 53:3–7 - 3. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

📖 Focus Thought: You cannot get to resurrection power without first going through persecution pressure.

🎯 INTRODUCTION

Before there was an empty tomb…
Before there was a rolled-away stone…
Before there was a “He is Risen”…

👉 There was suffering.
There was rejection.
There was persecution.

Jesus didn’t just die…
He went through something to get there.
If you want resurrection in your life, you must understand the road that leads to it.

🔑 KEY POINT 1:

He Was Betrayed by a Friend

📖 Luke 22:47–48

“Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?”

🧠 Truth:

The first pain Jesus felt was not physical—it was relational.

🪶 Illustration:

A handshake that hides betrayal.

📚 Short Story:

A man gave his best friend a job in his company. Years later, that same friend stole clients and started a competing business.
He said, “I could handle losing money—but losing trust broke me.”

👉 Punch:
Sometimes your greatest pain comes from the people closest to you

🔑 KEY POINT 2:

He Was Abandoned by His Disciples

📖 Matthew 26:56

“Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”

🧠 Truth:

People who shouted with you may not suffer with you.

🪶 Illustration:

Cheering fans disappear when the team starts losing.

📚 Short Story:

A young athlete had many friends when he was winning—but after an injury, nobody called.
He learned: loyalty is revealed in hardship.

👉 Punch:
Don’t be surprised when your circle gets smaller on the road to purpose.

🔑 KEY POINT 3:

He Was Denied by Peter

📖 Luke 22:61

🧠 Truth:

Even strong believers can fail under pressure.

🪶 Illustration:

A strong bridge collapsing under unexpected weight.

📚 Short Story:

A man boldly declared he would never quit his faith—but when faced with ridicule at work, he stayed silent. Later he wept and repented.

👉 Punch:
Failure is not final when God still has purpose for you.

🔑 KEY POINT 4:

He Was Mocked and Humiliated

📖 Luke 22:63–65

They mocked Him… blindfolded Him… struck Him.

🧠 Truth:

The enemy will try to shame you before God elevates you.

🪶 Illustration:

A king forced to wear rags before his coronation.

📚 Short Story:

A young preacher was laughed at for his calling. Years later, those same people came to hear him preach.

👉 Punch:
Don’t let mockery make you quit yo

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Sermon Title: “Don’t Hang Up Your Harp”

Text: Psalm 137:1–4
Key Verse: Psalm 137:2 — 1. By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.

We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land?

Introduction

Psalm 137 records one of the saddest moments in Israel’s history. The people of God had been taken captive to Babylon after Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was gone, their homeland was gone, and their freedom was gone.

The psalmist says:

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.”

These were people who once sang songs of praise in the temple courts. But now they were sitting by a foreign river in a strange land. Instead of singing songs of joy, they were crying tears of sorrow.

And the Bible says something very powerful:

“We hanged our harps upon the willows.”

The harp was their instrument of praise, their symbol of worship. But in their sorrow, they hung it up.

And if we are honest, many believers today have done the same thing.

• Some have hung up their harp because of disappointment.
• Some have hung up their harp because of injustice.
• Some have hung up their harp because of grief or betrayal.

But today God sent me with a word:

Don’t hang up your harp.

1. Sometimes Life Places You in Babylon

Babylon represents a season of hardship, confusion, or captivity.

Israel didn’t plan to be in Babylon. They didn’t want to be there. But life placed them there.

And sometimes life puts us in situations we didn’t expect.

• Unexpected sickness
• Family struggles
• Financial pressure
• Changes in our nation and society
• People doing things we never thought we would see

It can make you feel like:

“Lord, how did I end up here?”

That’s what the Israelites felt.

But notice something important:

Even though they were in Babylon, God had not abandoned them.

God was still with them.

Psalm 34:18 says:

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.”

Just because you are in Babylon does not mean God has left you.

2. Pain Can Tempt You to Hang Up Your Harp

The Bible says:

“We hanged our harps upon the willows.”

The harp represented praise, worship, and joy.

But their grief was so heavy that they stopped singing.

Have you ever been there?

When pain makes you say:

• “I don’t feel like praying.”
• “I don’t feel like worshiping.”
• “I don’t feel like going to church.”

The enemy loves when believers hang up their harp.

Because when praise stops:

• Faith begins to weaken
• Hope begins to fade
• The enemy begins to whisper lies

But the Bible teaches us something powerful.

Paul and Silas were in prison in Acts 16.

They had been beaten. Their backs were bleeding. Their feet were in chains.

But instead of hanging up their harp, the Bible says:

“At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God.”

And when they praised God in prison, the prison doors opened.

Sometimes your breakthrough is connected to your praise.

3. The Enemy Wants to Silence Your Song

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