Strength in Weakness

Recap Whom Shall I fear

We continue on with our sermon series on the early church. We have been working our way through Paul’s letter to the Romans. So far in chapter eight we have been dealing with Paul’s bold proclamation of faith. That proclamation is that we are saved by Christ and His blood. The Law shows us how to live, but it is Christ that forgives us. He wipes the slate clean as if the sin was never there. He is the perfect sacrifice. There is nothing greater that could be offered. That is why we no longer make sacrifices for sin. That was paid for us at the cross. Hebrews 9:22 “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Last week, we looked at how once we come to know Jesus, we are under new management. We once took orders from the flesh. We see that all the time. The flesh wants something, it takes it. That’s why we see such greediness in the world. That’s why we see all of the other nasty violence and licentiousness out there. People don’t have to be taught how to be bad, they have to be taught how to be good. We are no longer enslaved to the flesh when we come to know Jesus. However, since it is something we are not used to, then our tendency will go back to the ways of the flesh. Old habits die hard. Every last one of us has some level of a routine and when that routine changes, it takes a bit of time to readjust to it. So, even though we have this new life in Christ in which we are no longer sinful because of what Christ did for us, we will ultimately fail to meet the mark still. I know this because I fail. Not because I want to, but because that is the learned behavior I have. There is such a thing as learned behavior. For instance, for a long time there, Dania and I had a garbage can with a lid on it to keep the dogs out of it. Well, we have one dog that has no respect for boundaries, so he figured out how to get into it. So we then put the garbage can in a closet and closed it off with a baby gate. We kept it there for years and it worked for the most part, but we decided to get a new can, one that was hidden in a cabinet. It’s right there in the kitchen, so it saves some steps. I kid you not, though, I find myself going to where the garbage can used to be. It happens to Dania as well. So if we as human beings are going to find silly things like our garbage cans after we have moved them, then how much more are we going to struggle with sin?

We come to know Christ and we should abandon those old sinful ways. We need not fear that we are going to miss out on the stuff the world has to offer. The fact is that the world cannot offer us anything better than what God has in store for us. There’s nothing better than heaven. That’s our final destination. We don’t know a whole lot about it, but whatever is down here will never compare to it. That’s why we don’t have to fear missing out on stuff here. When we get to heaven do we really think our minds are going to be preoccupied about not doing something? I don’t think that we are going to take our eyes off of God and His glory. There’s the old sentiment of loved ones that passed away and they look down on the earth on a special day in the life of their family members on earth. I think that is a nice sentiment, but I don’t think it actually happens. I sure don’t want my family members to stop doing what they are doing just to come down here and look at the mess here on earth. I don’t think I’ll want to do that either when I pass on from this existence. Why would we want to break away from God’s presence? In heaven, I think it is easy to make sure that we stay locked in on God. However, while we are here, there will be a constant struggle. That struggle exists because we are weak. What’s more is that no matter how strong we get, we will still be weak. Thankfully, God made provision for our weakness. That’s an amazing thing. God knows our struggles. He knows our issues. He knows what we need. That’s why from the very beginning He had His plan all worked out. Today we are going to look at how the Holy Spirit helps us live our lives for God here on earth. If you have your Bibles, please turn them to Romans 8:18-30

Romans 8:18–30 CSB

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience. In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Paul provides a promise to us. The things that we are going through one day are not going to matter. The sufferings we have, the diseases we have, none of that is going to matter one day. For those Christians that are persecuted, one day those persecutions won’t matter either. They won’t matter because they will be measured against the backdrop of eternity. These bodies we have break down, they have problems. I recently got myself plugged in the Veteran’s Affairs folks for medical stuff and I have had an appointment about every week because of all the stuff I developed while I was Active Duty. That’s just what happens with age, right? I was talking to a pastor buddy of mine earlier this week. He has been recovering from knee surgery, but it is taking longer than they thought it would. It’s only taking longer because he’s older. I mean I remember when I was in my 20s, I could fall off a roof and just keep going like nothing had happened. Now if I sneeze funny, I’ll feel it for days. One day, that’s not going to matter. One day, those injustices we have suffered will not matter anymore.

The fact is that as believers, this world is not our home. As Christians, we are supposed to be different. We should not be able to blend in with the world, we should stick out. Admittedly, here in the States it is a little easier to blend in as a Christian. I think that is because in many places, cultural Christianity is prevalent still. However, even within those culturally Christian contexts, those that choose their faith over anything else will stand out. God doesn’t call us to fit in. He calls us to be different. Peter puts it like this in 1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.”

We are strangers in this world. We are not supposed to fit in. We see injustices and all kinds of other garbage happening out there. We see Our LORD spit upon and diminished to promote humanism. We see our LORD brought down to the status of a mere man by people that then turn around and try to instill certain values in everyone, picking and choosing what of His teachings to implement. That drives me crazy. Far too often I see public figures out there posting only hand picked Scriptures to plead their case while not presenting facts. It’s disgusting, but what is even more concerning is not so much that the outsiders look at the church and say “yeah, that’s right, you all should be doing this one thing.” What’s really concerning is that there are some people within churches that see this and they buy the lie that the outsider is peddling. When we see public figures posting Scriptures or using Bible studies, as believers it is best to go back and look at the Scriptures ourselves and see what the whole picture is. We don’t have to take people’s word for it. I hope that you don’t take my word for it either. I hope that you all go in and verify what I’m telling you every Sunday.

As believers, we are strangers in a strange land. We believe in the Gospel. We believe that there is no way to get to heaven except through the blood of Jesus. We believe that there are no good works we can do to get us into Heaven, only Christ can. We believe that God sent His Son to die a gruesome death so that we can be forgiven. It is an incredible account of what God has done for us. We are supposed to be different. We are not supposed to go along with the world and its garbage. Instead, we can follow God and trust that He is going to make everything right in the end. We know He will. One day, these things that trouble us won’t matter. One day, we will be joined with our Father in paradise and we won’t even really remember the trials and tribulations we suffered through here.

It’s not just us that is groaning and suffering. It’s not just us, but all of creation. There has been groaning and longing since the fall of man. Prior to the first sin, humans walked with God. They enjoyed perfect fellowship with Him. However, they were still there to work. There in paradise, the man and woman were given charge to care for the garden. Part of our makeup as humans is the need to work. Paradise doesn’t mean there is no work. That’s one of the reasons that when we go on vacation, after a while, we are ready to get back to normal life and get back in our work routine. One of the ethical dilemmas with Artificial Intelligence in the theology community is the challenge that AI brings to human anthropology. As humans, we were meant to carry a load. Before the fall, they worked, but they had an easier time. Since the sin, though, there has been a curse on all creation. Genesis 3:17–19 “And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.”” We see that curse today. The whole creation groans under that curse. The world longs for a paradise. As believers, we know that we are going to reach that paradise one day! In the meantime, we are going to labor. Sometimes, that labor is going to seem like it’s in vain.

We know that is going to happen because God promises it to us. He promises that that one day He will make everything new. Isaiah 65:17 ““For I will create new heavens and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.” That’s a promise we can count on since God always delivers on His promise. We don’t know how long it is going to take, but we do know that it will happen one day. I know some of you are thinking, “but Andy, surely God is being metaphorical there.” There are some theologians out there that believe it is all metaphorical and that really what God is talking about there is stuff in the Spiritual realm. I respect a lot of these theologians, but I do not think God is being metaphorical there. The reason for that goes back to the covenant He makes with David. God tells David that He is going to make it so that David always has a descendant on the throne. When God tells David this, He doesn’t say, “but you know, after your son Solomon dies, the kingdom is going to fracture into two kingdoms, then the northern kingdom is going to fall to Assyria and the southern kingdom will fall to Babylon, but one day I will send Jesus back to the land, then He will die and take His rightful rule in heaven.” God doesn’t do that. David would have had no reason to think God was being metaphorical here. God has given a promise of restoration and He will one day deliver on that promise.

That is why Paul can say here in verse 28 that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are appointed to His purpose. Sometimes things are going to get tough. Sometimes we are going to be stretched. Sometimes we are going to go through a valley and we are not going to understand why. All I can say is “trust God and trust His process.” Even when it does not make sense to us, God is working on it and it will be for our good. Mike Philipps commented last week about how the last time we had a Friday the 13th and Ides of March on a Sunday was six years ago. I’m sure most of us remembered what happened six years ago. I had just been out a month earlier to interview with you all and had been voted in to become the pastor here. Things were looking good, things were looking great, and then Covid hit and man oh man, did we ever have to scramble. The Navy pulled my retirement and forced an extension on me again. I remember calling Larry up and saying , “Hey, here’s the situation, if you all want to find someone else, I promise I won’t be offended.” Thankfully the committee decided to keep me on. Then we got hit with a gathering restriction. They were crazy times. With that there was no sense in bringing on an interim because we couldn’t meet as a group anyway. We had a deacon meeting at one point and someone asked what we were going to do. I just said, “well, I’ll just start recording sermons and putting them on youtube.” and I’ll never forget Larry Marshall’s question after that “are you going to be comfortable doing that?” I believe I said something to the effect of “comfort has nothing to do with it.” The situation was not ideal. In the moments, the situation looked grim, and it was. But God saw us through. I think about this relatively often. This church was primed to shutter its doors during the Covid pandemic, but God kept us here. God kept us on this corner here in Southwest Virginia. He worked all of the stuff together for good. He has done it before and He will do it again.

Yet, even when we know that God is in control, we are still going to be weak. We struggle, we gripe, we moan, we mourn. Simply put, we are human, that fleshy side of us is weak. So we get help, and it’s not just any kind of help. We get help from God Almighty Himself. So as we are struggling, as we are groaning, it is good to ask ourselves where does our hope come from? That’s why we have titled the sermon where does my hope come from. David puts it this way in Psalm 121:1–2 “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” We don’t receive help from mere mortals. We receive our help from God Almighty.

Our help in weakness comes from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the paraclete. When Jesus is getting ready to go to His death, He tells the disciples not to worry because Another is coming to take His place. John 14:23–26 “Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me. “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

The Spirit is not limited to a physical space. The Spirit rests on those that call Jesus Lord and Savior. So where does our help come from, it comes from The LORD. What’s more is that He advocates for us. Paul gives us insight into what the Spirit does in the life of a believer. At the Wednesday night Bible study, we were looking at the instance when David sends his men to Nabal to ask for provisions. Nabal gives a speech that is very selfish. As I was doing my research for it, one commentary remarked at how selfish Nabal’s speech was. He used “I or my” a total of eight times in his denial of David’s request. Those eight times were enough for Nabal to be labeled as self centered and puffed up with pride. Which got me to worrying because how often do I go before God and talk about myself asking on behalf of me, my, or I? There’s great comfort here knowing that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in our weakness. Paul explains it here as an unspoken groaning. Sometimes that’s all we have. Sometimes when we pray we don’t have words, only tears. Even then, we should take it to The LORD. Sometimes that prayer will just be a “help” or “Lord, I don’t even know where to begin.” We don’t have to let that stop us. Instead, we can carry those unspoken grumblings to the LORD knowing and trusting that the Holy Spirit is going to intercede for us anyway. We never need to worry about what our prayers sound like. I tell you, it is difficult at the hangout when it comes time to get volunteers to pray. People don’t think they can pray properly, so they don’t volunteer. If you ever get to the point that you don’t know what to pray or are worried that it won’t sound right, please remember that the Holy Spirit is filling in the gaps for us. We have no need to worry about the prayers we bring before God.

We have grumblings and complaints as we walk this earth. The whole creation is under strain. As believers, we have a super power, though. Our help does not come from governmental systems, wealth, fame, money, or family of origin. Our help comes from The LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. The very One that put all this into motion is the One that helps us. So as we grumble and groan, let us never forget that we belong to God Almighty and He always takes care of us.