Untitled Sermon (7)

Tonight we begin this 4 part series called, “How Long, Oh Lord,” where we are going to try and put some tools in our toolbox to deal with questions like, “What does it mean when I feel fear, depressed, anxious, pain, and so on,” …And more than give you a checklist of how to have a brighter day, or tell you you should or shouldn’t be taking this medicine or that, we’re going to look at what the Bible says about these sorts of things and what are we called to do as Christians when we feel these things. Why are we talking about this? Because statistics say that about 1 in 5 of you young ladies are battling with depression if not more. About 70% of teenagers say that depression is a major problem amongst your peers. And about half of you say that you feel nervous or tense on a daily basis. I’d be happy to share with you the study that details all of that if you’re interested. So, "How Long, Oh Lord,” this is a cry that comes from multiple parts of Scripture primarily out of the Psalms, that book of poetry and songs right in the middle of your Bible, mostly written by King David. Now who was he? He was the most notable king of Israel. So we get bogged down in a lot of the Old Testament but just know that when we talk about David… It’s a big deal. We’ve talked about the Israelites wandering in the desert, exiled, in captivity, suffering judgement, etc. But just know that when we talk about David, we’re mostly talking about the complete opposite of all of that. This guy led Israel to the number one spot. Israel was a world power. Under his rule, Israel was the big show on the world stage. And yet we read some of his writings like: . 1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me? 3 Consider me and answer, LORD my God. Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death. . 46 How long, LORD? Will you hide forever? Will your anger keep burning like fire? 47 Remember how short my life is. Have you created everyone for nothing? Now Scripture has a little nickname for David. It says that he was a, “man after God’s own heart.” But you read his words and I know that so many of you connect deeply with this. God, why do you feel so distant? God, where are you? God, get me out of this mess! So what’s the connection here? I want all of you to know with fullness of heart that all of us fall. All of us at some point find ourselves in the pit of despair. All of us have things that weigh incredibly heavy on our hearts, and we frequently find ourselves in this dark night of the soul, as some call it. But the reason I want to kick off talking about these kinds of issues this semester is because I know that this has been a struggle for many of you and I want you to know that even if you find yourself in despair, and though it may sometimes feel like it, it does not mean that God has abandon you. Just because you battle, and wage war with these difficult things, things like depression, anxiety, fear, does not mean that you are a lesser Christian. David, a man after God’s own heart, pled with God and cried out, “Where are you?” Why, God?” So listen here, you too can cry out just like that... So with that said, as we get started in this series, I had in mind to ask you tonight… “What is pain?” Now when preparing this message what I didn’t have to do was pull out Webster’s dictionary and look up a definition for, “pain.” Right, that’d be stupid. We know what pain is. We don’t need it described to us because we have all experienced it. It hurts. It lasts. It keeps us from doing things we want to do and sometimes our pain causes us to lash out at other people or sometimes someone else’s pain lashes out at us. Pain sucks, that’s really all that needs to be said to describe it. No one likes it and no one wants to be in pain. We take measures against being in pain, right? We take medicine. We wear braces and casts. Sometimes you need to go and get a massage, right? When I was in college I got rear-ended one morning going to class. I was on an exit ramp coming off the highway and I saw this girl in my rear view mirror just booking it. I was staring at her an I knew that it was about to happen and there was nothing I could really do about it. She absolutely blasted my car and put my trunk essentially in my back seat. We got things all sorted out insurance wise, cops came, got everything squared away and we all went home. After all the frustration I laid down and took a nap to kind of recuperate and low and behold when I woke up I couldn’t move my head at all, I had a headache, I could barely get up because I was so sore and I just started freaking out. I had never felt like this really before so I call my mom who’s a nurse and she’s just trying to set me at ease saying that it’s just a bit of whiplash, take some ibuprofen, and rest up. She told me that she’d been sore like this when she’s been in wrecks before and though I was sore and in pain, I took a bit of comfort from someone telling me, “it’s going to be okay. I’ve been through it. You’ll be okay.” But it remained the same, I am hurting. And I don’t want to be hurting anymore. I think you can kind of see where I’m going with this. But hang with me for a second… Have you ever wondered what this world would be like if there was no such thing as pain? That would be awesome, right? You wouldn’t have to take aspirin. You would never be sore after workouts and you could just keep going and going and going until you had a 6 pack, like me… No migraines, no flu, no stubbed-toes or feeling like you took a razor scooter to the ankle. I mean that would be incredible if such feeling did not exist. If you didn’t know, I loooooove James Bond movies. Everything from the action. To the cars. To the sleek little gadgets that he has for just the right time… I think it's the coolest. But if you know anything about James Bond you know that every Bond movie has the ultimate “Bond villain.” In 1999, The World is Not Enough, debuted in theaters and it had all the tell tale signs of a Bond movie. A watch with a grappling gun built in, a BMW Z8 that could be remote controlled and it had missiles mounted on the side. And then there was Renard. The villain who felt no pain. You saw this man handle molten iron that seared his hand but he didn’t feel it. He got into fist fights but didn’t feel anything so he always won. And he seemed invincible until the end of the movie where his arrogance about feeling no pain led him to sink with a ship, not feeling any pain, but destroyed nonetheless. It may seem like a bit of a stretch but that’s the thing about pain. It lets us know that something is wrong, right? Sitting next to a fire feels nice, sitting in a fire does not. Pain is often the thing that tells us we need to sit down, take a break, get help, and/or avoid what it is that is causing our pain in the first place. Pain tells us that something is wrong. Paul, the guy who wrote most of your New Testament, talks about this quite a bit, but he doesn’t necessarily talk about pain like it is this ultimately bad thing. He doesn’t say, “I am writing to you so that you won’t be in pain,” or “if you do such and such, you will avoid pain.” But listen to what he writes in . 18 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. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Suffering, frustration, bondage to decay: these are not happy words, right? This is not really starting out like a pep talk but kind of just speaks to the reality of things right? Paul is saying, “yes, we are suffering now, but trust me it will all be worth it. Everything in creation is suffering because of sin, because this world is fallen, but this pain is only temporary. Pain tells us that something is wrong and that is what Paul is saying here, something is off! And you are right to want something better, a better world! Think of it like this. Have you ever gotten homesick? Maybe you’ve ben on a trip and even if it was this super awesome trip, if you stay there long enough, eventually you just want to go home and crawl into your own bed. I know that. A few of you at least have gone to Haiti on a mission trip and I’ve heard you speak so fondly of those experiences but you know what I also know, not a whole lot of air conditioning going on around Haiti. I’ve never been but I’ve been told that the heat is crippling and trying to sleep in that heat… fat chance. Eventually you just kind of want to go home! Paul compares homesickness to pain in when he says: 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition (your Bible may say “our lowly bodies”) into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. Paul is saying that pain, or every way that our lowly bodies (which includes our minds, our heart, our desires,) fall short is supposed to make us realize that we are not home! This world is not our home! We are just passing through until we are transformed into his likeness. Do any of y’all know what they dip their French fries in in France? Mayonnaise… that’s weird… some of you probably just gagged a bit. If we were in France and we saw that we’d say, “I can’t wait to get home to dip my fries in ketchup.” But pain is that marker where we see it, we know it, we experience it, and we say to ourselves, I can’t wait to get home. Paul says our citizenship is in heaven. That’s where we belong, and if that’s the case, I’m probably not going to feel OK all the time on this earth. For a Christian, pain is three things: Pain is the result of sin.Pain is temporary.Pain is a reminder that our world is not perfect. Now just to clarify on that first bit, Pain is the result of sin… please do not walk out of here thinking that I am saying, “your in pain as a punishment for what you have done.” All of us make decisions and decisions have consequences and sometimes those decisions and consequences are painful. If I wanted to prove my manliness and stick my hand on a hot stove, I better be prepared for the very real consequence of having a burn on my hand. But remember Paul’s words out of : "Who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?” All… That's right. Pain is a part of being homesick for who God created us to be. When we hurt physically, we should be reminded that in heaven, God has new, perfect bodies for us. When we hurt relationally, we should be reminded that sin has weakened all of our relationships, and the only way we can ever be truly loved and accepted for who we are is to be loved and accepted by Christ. When we hurt emotionally, we should be reminded of John’s words in where there will be a day where God wipes away every, single, tear. We are going to have pain in our lives. We can’t control that, but we can control how we perceive and respond to pain. Emotional pain, mental pain, physical pain. When we go through pain we can either let it define who we are, or we can let it remind us that who we are us so much more than what we are going through. We are not home, guys, not yet, but how sweet is it that we have been promised that that day will come. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that day will come. You were not made for this world, but for another, and so many people around you need to know that as well. Bow your head for a second as we close… 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), . Heavenly Father, so many of us are hurting. So many of us have been hurt… And we just want to lift that up to you right now, Lord. So many of us wander in confusion and pain, so God I pray for comfort for my friends tonight. I pray that you would lift them out of their pits of despair and that they would feel your presence as close as their next breath. But Lord, I pray that if anyone here feels distant, if they feel hopeless, that you would grant them a God-given endurance, to remember these sweet truths that we pour over week in and week out and even if they don’t feel it, they know in their heart of hearts that you have not abandon them. I pray for us all, Lord. That we would be good friends to one another, and much more than that, that we would be brothers and sisters who lift each other up in love. Because that is what your Son Jesus did for us on the cross. In our most hopeless moment, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us… Amen... Sermon Summary Sheet Title: What is Pain Text: ; ; Date: 1/15/20 Audience: Students Proposition: Pain is the thing we feel, which tells us that something is wrong, and reminds us that we were not made for this world. Purpose: Students should understand that pain is something that everyone endures this side of heaven and it all the more points to our need for salvation. Central Idea of the Text:

The most notable king of Israel. So we get bogged down in a lot of the Old Testament but just know that when we talk about David… It’s a big deal. We’ve talked about the Israelites wandering in the desert, exiled, in captivity, suffering judgement, but just know that when we talk about David, we’re mostly talking about the complete opposite of all of that. This guy lead Israel to prominence. Israel was a world power. Under his rule, Israel was the big show on the world stage.

Manuscript:

Summary

Tonight we begin this 4 part series called, “How Long, Oh Lord,” where we are going to try and put some tools in our toolbox to deal with questions like, “What does it mean when I feel fear, depressed, anxious, pain, and so on,” and more than give you a checklist of how to have a brighter day, or tell you you should or shouldn’t be taking this medicine or that, we’re going to look at what the Bible says about these sorts of things and what are we called to do as Christians when we feel these things.

Notes:

And yet we read some of his writings like:

"How Long, Oh Lord,” this is a cry that comes from multiple parts of Scripture primarily out of the Psalms, that book of poetry and songs right in the middle of your Bible, mostly written by King David. Now who was David?

.

He was the most notable king of Israel. So we get bogged down in a lot of the Old Testament but just know that when we talk about David… It’s a big deal. We’ve talked about the Israelites wandering in the desert, exiled, in captivity, suffering judgement, etc. But just know that when we talk about David, we’re mostly talking about the complete opposite of all of that. This guy led Israel to the number one spot. Israel was a world power. Under his rule, Israel was the big show on the world stage.

1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

And yet we read some of his writings like:

How long will you hide your face from me?

.

2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,

agony in my mind every day?

1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?

agony in my mind every day?

How long will my enemy dominate me?

How long will you hide your face from me?

3 Consider me and answer, LORD my God.

2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,

3 Consider me and answer, LORD my God.

agony in my mind every day?

Restore brightness to my eyes;

How long will my enemy dominate me?

otherwise, I will sleep in death.

3 Consider me and answer, LORD my God.

.

46 How long, LORD? Will you hide forever?

Restore brightness to my eyes;

otherwise, I will sleep in death.

Will your anger keep burning like fire?

47 Remember how short my life is.

.

47 Remember how short my life is.

Have you created everyone for nothing?

46 How long, LORD? Will you hide forever?

Have you created everyone for nothing?

Will your anger keep burning like fire?

Now Scripture has a little nickname for David. It says that he was a, “man after God’s own heart.” But you read his words and I know that so many of you connect deeply with this.

God, why do you feel so distant?

47 Remember how short my life is.

Have you created everyone for nothing?

God, where are you?

God, get me out of this mess!

Now Scripture has a little nickname for David. It says that he was a, “man after God’s own heart.” But you read his words and I know that so many of you connect deeply with this.

God, why do you feel so distant?

So what’s the connection here?

I want all of you to know with fullness of heart that all of us fall. All of us at some point find ourselves in the pit of despair. All of us have things that weigh incredibly heavy on our hearts, and we frequently find ourselves in this dark night of the soul.

God, where are you?

I want all of you to know with fullness of heart that all of us fall. All of us at some point find ourselves in the pit of despair. All of us have things that weigh incredibly heavy on our hearts, and we frequently find ourselves in this dark night of the soul.

But the reason I want to kick off talking about these kinds of issues this semester is because I know that this has been a struggle for many of you and I want you to know that even if you find yourself in despair, and though it may sometimes feel like it, it does not mean that God has abandon you.

God, get me out of this mess!

But the reason I want to kick off talking about these kinds of issues this semester is because I know that this has been a struggle for many of you and I want you to know that even if you find yourself in despair, and though it may sometimes feel like it, it does not mean that God has abandon you.

So with that said, I had in mind to ask you tonight… “What is pain?”

So what’s the connection here?

I want all of you to know with fullness of heart that all of us fall. All of us at some point find ourselves in the pit of despair. All of us have things that weigh incredibly heavy on our hearts, and we frequently find ourselves in this dark night of the soul, as some call it.

Now when preparing this message what I didn’t have to do was pull out Webster’s dictionary and look up a definition for, “pain.” Right, that’d be stupid. We know what pain is. We don’t need it described to us because we have all experienced it.

But the reason I want to kick off talking about these kinds of issues this semester is because I know that this has been a struggle for many of you and I want you to know that even if you find yourself in despair, and though it may sometimes feel like it, it does not mean that God has abandon you. Just because you battle, and wage war with these difficult things, things like depression, anxiety, fear, does not mean that you are a lesser Christian. David, a man after God’s own heart, pled with God and cried out, “Where are you?” Why, God?”

It hurts. It lasts. It keeps us from doing things we want to do and sometimes our pain causes us to lash out at other people or sometimes someone else’s pain lashes out at us.

Pain sucks, that’s really all that needs to be said to describe it. No one likes it and no one wants to be in pain. We take measures against being in pain, right? We take medicine. We wear braces and casts. Sometimes you need to go and get a massage, right?

So listen here, you too can cry out just like that...

Pain sucks, that’s really all that needs to be said to describe it. No one likes it and no one wants to be in pain. We take measures against being in pain, right? We take medicine. We wear braces and casts. Sometimes you need to go and get a massage, right?

When I was in college I got rear-ended one morning going to class. I was on an exit ramp coming off the highway and I saw this girl in my rear view mirror just booking it. I was staring at her an I knew that it was about to happen and there was nothing I could really do about it. She absolutely blasted my car and put my trunk essentially in my back seat. We got things all sorted out insurance wise, cops came, got everything squared away and we all went home.

So with that said, as we get started in this series, I had in mind to ask you tonight… “What is pain?”

When I was in college I got rear-ended one morning going to class. I was on an exit ramp coming off the highway and I saw this girl in my rear view mirror just booking it. I was staring at her an I knew that it was about to happen and there was nothing I could really do about it. She absolutely blasted my car and put my trunk essentially in my back seat. We got things all sorted out insurance wise, cops came, got everything squared away and we all went home.

After all the frustration I laid down and took a nap to kind of recuperate and low and behold when I woke up I couldn’t move my head at all, I had a headache, I could barely get up because I was so sore and I just started freaking out. I had never felt like this really before so I call my mom who’s a nurse and she’s just trying to set me at ease saying that it’s just a bit of whiplash, take some ibuprofen, and rest up.

Now when preparing this message what I didn’t have to do was pull out Webster’s dictionary and look up a definition for, “pain.” Right, that’d be stupid. We know what pain is. We don’t need it described to us because we have all experienced it.

After all the frustration I laid down and took a nap to kind of recuperate and low and behold when I woke up I couldn’t move my head at all, I had a headache, I could barely get up because I was so sore and I just started freaking out. I had never felt like this really before so I call my mom who’s a nurse and she’s just trying to set me at ease saying that it’s just a bit of whiplash, take some ibuprofen, and rest up.

It hurts. It lasts. It keeps us from doing things we want to do and sometimes our pain causes us to lash out at other people or sometimes someone else’s pain lashes out at us.

She told me that she’d been sore like this when she’s been in wrecks before and though I was sore and in pain, I took a bit of comfort from someone telling me, “it’s going to be okay. I’ve been through it. You’ll be okay.”

But it remained the same, I am hurting. And I don’t want to be hurting anymore.

Pain sucks, that’s really all that needs to be said to describe it. No one likes it and no one wants to be in pain. We take measures against being in pain, right? We take medicine. We wear braces and casts. Sometimes you need to go and get a massage, right?

I think you can kind of see where I’m going with this. But hang with me for a second…

When I was in college I got rear-ended one morning going to class. I was on an exit ramp coming off the highway and I saw this girl in my rear view mirror just booking it. I was staring at her an I knew that it was about to happen and there was nothing I could really do about it. She absolutely blasted my car and put my trunk essentially in my back seat. We got things all sorted out insurance wise, cops came, got everything squared away and we all went home.

I think you can kind of see where I’m going with this. But hang with me for a second…

Have you ever wondered what this world would be like if there was no such thing as pain? That would be awesome, right? You wouldn’t have to take aspirin. You would never be sore after workouts and you could just keep going and going and going until you had a 6 pack, like me…

After all the frustration I laid down and took a nap to kind of recuperate and low and behold when I woke up I couldn’t move my head at all, I had a headache, I could barely get up because I was so sore and I just started freaking out. I had never felt like this really before so I call my mom who’s a nurse and she’s just trying to set me at ease saying that it’s just a bit of whiplash, take some ibuprofen, and rest up.

Have you ever wondered what this world would be like if there was no such thing as pain? That would be awesome, right? You wouldn’t have to take aspirin. You would never be sore after workouts and you could just keep going and going and going until you had a 6 pack, like me…

No migraines, no flu, no stubbed-toes or feeling like you took a razor scooter to the ankle. I mean that would be incredible if such feeling did not exist.

She told me that she’d been sore like this when she’s been in wrecks before and though I was sore and in pain, I took a bit of comfort from someone telling me, “it’s going to be okay. I’ve been through it. You’ll be okay.”

If you didn’t know, I loooooove James Bond movies. Everything from the action. To the cars. To the sleek little gadgets that he has for just the right time… I think it's the coolest. But if you know anything about James Bond you know that every Bond movie has the ultimate “Bond villain.”

But it remained the same, I am hurting. And I don’t want to be hurting anymore.

In 1999, The World is Not Enough, debuted in theaters and it had all the tell tale signs of a Bond movie. A watch with a grappling gun built in, a BMW Z8 that could be remote controlled and it had missiles mounted on the side. And then there was Renard. The villain who felt no pain.

I think you can kind of see where I’m going with this. But hang with me for a second…

You saw this man handle molten iron that seared his hand but he didn’t feel it. He got into fist fights but didn’t feel anything so he always won. And he seemed invincible until the end of the movie where his arrogance about feeling no pain led him to sink with a ship, not feeling any pain, but destroyed nonetheless.

Have you ever wondered what this world would be like if there was no such thing as pain? That would be awesome, right? You wouldn’t have to take aspirin. You would never be sore after workouts and you could just keep going and going and going until you had a 6 pack, like me…

You saw this man handle molten iron that seared his hand but he didn’t feel it. He got into fist fights but didn’t feel anything so he always won. And he seemed invincible until the end of the movie where his arrogance about feeling no pain led him to sink with a ship, not feeling any pain, but destroyed nonetheless.

No migraines, no flu, no stubbed-toes or feeling like you took a razor scooter to the ankle. I mean that would be incredible if such feeling did not exist.

It may seem like a bit of a stretch but that’s the thing about pain. It lets us know that something is wrong, right? Sitting next to a fire feels nice, sitting in a fire does not. Pain is often the thing that tells us we need to sit down, take a break, get help, and/or avoid what it is that is causing our pain in the first place. Pain tells us that something is wrong.

Paul, the guy who wrote most of your New Testament, talks about this quite a bit, but he doesn’t necessarily talk about pain like it is this ultimately bad thing. He doesn’t say, “I am writing to you so that you won’t be in pain,” or “if you do such and such, you will avoid pain.” But listen to what he writes in .

If you didn’t know, I loooooove James Bond movies. Everything from the action. To the cars. To the sleek little gadgets that he has for just the right time… I think it's the coolest. But if you know anything about James Bond you know that every Bond movie has the ultimate “Bond villain.”

18 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. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.

In 1999, The World is Not Enough, debuted in theaters and it had all the tell tale signs of a Bond movie. A watch with a grappling gun built in, a BMW Z8 that could be remote controlled and it had missiles mounted on the side. And then there was Renard. The villain who felt no pain.

18 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. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.

You saw this man handle molten iron that seared his hand but he didn’t feel it. He got into fist fights but didn’t feel anything so he always won. And he seemed invincible until the end of the movie where his arrogance about feeling no pain led him to sink with a ship, not feeling any pain, but destroyed nonetheless.

Suffering, frustration, bondage to decay: these are not happy words, right? This is not really starting out like a pep talk but kind of just speaks to the reality of things right?

It may seem like a bit of a stretch but that’s the thing about pain. It lets us know that something is wrong, right? Sitting next to a fire feels nice, sitting in a fire does not. Pain is often the thing that tells us we need to sit down, take a break, get help, and/or avoid what it is that is causing our pain in the first place. Pain tells us that something is wrong.

Paul is saying, “yes, we are suffering now, but trust me it will all be worth it. Everything in creation is suffering because of sin, because this world is fallen, but this pain is only temporary. Pain tells us that something is wrong and that is what Paul is saying here, something is off! And you are right to want something better, a better world!

Paul, the guy who wrote most of your New Testament, talks about this quite a bit, but he doesn’t necessarily talk about pain like it is this ultimately bad thing. He doesn’t say, “I am writing to you so that you won’t be in pain,” or “if you do such and such, you will avoid pain.” But listen to what he writes in .

Think of it like this. Have you ever gotten homesick? Maybe you’ve ben on a trip and even if it was this super awesome trip, if you stay there long enough, eventually you just want to go home and crawl into your own bed. I know that. A few of you at least have gone to Haiti on a mission trip and I’ve heard you speak so fondly of those experiences but you know what I also know, not a whole lot of air conditioning going on around Haiti. I’ve never been but I’ve been told that the heat is crippling and trying to sleep in that heat… fat chance. Eventually you just kind of want to go home!

Paul compares homesickness to pain in when he says:

18 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. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.

Paul

20 but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition (your Bible may say “our lowly bodies”) into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.

Suffering, frustration, bondage to decay: these are not happy words, right? This is not really starting out like a pep talk but kind of just speaks to the reality of things right?

Paul is saying that pain, or every way that our lowly bodies (which includes our minds, our heart, our desires,) fall short is supposed to make us realize that we are not home! This world is not our home! We are just passing through until we are transformed into his likeness.

Paul is saying, “yes, we are suffering now, but trust me it will all be worth it. Everything in creation is suffering because of sin, because this world is fallen, but this pain is only temporary. Pain tells us that something is wrong and that is what Paul is saying here, something is off! And you are right to want something better, a better world!

Do any of y’all know what they dip their French fries in in France? Mayonnaise… that’s weird… some of you probably just gagged a bit. If we were in France and we saw that we’d say, “I can’t wait to get home to dip my fries in ketchup.”

Think of it like this. Have you ever gotten homesick? Maybe you’ve ben on a trip and even if it was this super awesome trip, if you stay there long enough, eventually you just want to go home and crawl into your own bed. I know that. A few of you at least have gone to Haiti on a mission trip and I’ve heard you speak so fondly of those experiences but you know what I also know, not a whole lot of air conditioning going on around Haiti. I’ve never been but I’ve been told that the heat is crippling and trying to sleep in that heat… fat chance. Eventually you just kind of want to go home!

Paul compares homesickness to pain in when he says:

But pain is that marker where we see it, we know it, we experience it, and we say to ourselves, I can’t wait to get home. Paul says our citizenship is in heaven. That’s where we belong, and if that’s the case, I’m probably not going to feel OK all the time on this earth.

20 but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition (your Bible may say “our lowly bodies”) into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.

For a Christian, pain is three things:

Pain is the result of sin.

Paul is saying that pain, or every way that our lowly bodies (which includes our minds, our heart, our desires,) fall short is supposed to make us realize that we are not home! This world is not our home! We are just passing through until we are transformed into his likeness.

Pain is temporary.

Do any of y’all know what they dip their French fries in in France? Mayonnaise… that’s weird… some of you probably just gagged a bit. If we were in France and we saw that we’d say, “I can’t wait to get home to dip my fries in ketchup.”

Pain is a reminder that our world is not perfect.

But pain is that marker where we see it, we know it, we experience it, and we say to ourselves, I can’t wait to get home. Paul says our citizenship is in heaven. That’s where we belong, and if that’s the case, I’m probably not going to feel OK all the time on this earth.

For a Christian, pain is three things:

Now just to clarify on that first bit, Pain is the result of sin… please do not walk out of here thinking that I am saying, “your in pain as a punishment for what you have done.” All of us make decisions and decisions have consequences and sometimes those decisions and consequences are painful. If I wanted to prove my manliness and stick my hand on a hot stove, I better be prepared for the very real consequence of having a burn on my hand.

But remember Paul’s words out of :

Pain is the result of sin.

"Who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?” All… That's right.

Pain is temporary.

Pain is a part of being homesick for who God created us to be. When we hurt physically, we should be reminded that in heaven, God has new, perfect bodies for us. When we hurt relationally, we should be reminded that sin has weakened all of our relationships, and the only way we can ever be truly loved and accepted for who we are is to be loved and accepted by Christ.

Pain is a reminder that our world is not perfect.

Now just to clarify on that first bit, Pain is the result of sin… please do not walk out of here thinking that I am saying, “your in pain as a punishment for what you have done.” All of us make decisions and decisions have consequences and sometimes those decisions and consequences are painful. If I wanted to prove my manliness and stick my hand on a hot stove, I better be prepared for the very real consequence of having a burn on my hand.

When we hurt emotionally, we should be reminded of John’s words in where there will be a day where God wipes away every, single, tear.

But remember Paul’s words out of :

We are going to have pain in our lives. We can’t control that, but we can control how we perceive and respond to pain. Emotional pain, mental pain, physical pain.

"Who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?” All… That's right.

When we go through pain we can either let it define who we are, or we can let it remind us that who we are us so much more than what we are going through.

Pain is a part of being homesick for who God created us to be. When we hurt physically, we should be reminded that in heaven, God has new, perfect bodies for us. When we hurt relationally, we should be reminded that sin has weakened all of our relationships, and the only way we can ever be truly loved and accepted for who we are is to be loved and accepted by Christ.

We are not home, guys, not yet, but how sweet is it that we have been promised that that day will come. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that day will come. You were not made for this world, but for another, and so many people around you need to know that as well.

Bow your head for a second as we close...

When we hurt emotionally, we should be reminded of John’s words in where there will be a day where God wipes away every, single, tear.

We are going to have pain in our lives. We can’t control that, but we can control how we perceive and respond to pain. Emotional pain, mental pain, physical pain.

When we go through pain we can either let it define who we are, or we can let it remind us that who we are us so much more than what we are going through.

We are not home, guys, not yet, but how sweet is it that we have been promised that that day will come. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that day will come. You were not made for this world, but for another, and so many people around you need to know that as well.

Bow your head for a second as we close…

3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

Heavenly Father, so many of us are hurting. So many of us have been hurt… And we just want to lift that up to you right now, Lord.

So many of us wander in confusion and pain, so God I pray for comfort for my friends tonight. I pray that you would lift them out of their pits of despair and that they would feel your presence as close as their next breath.

But Lord, I pray that if anyone here feels distant, if they feel hopeless, that you would grant them a God-given endurance, to remember these sweet truths that we pour over week in and week out and even if they don’t feel it, they know in their heart of hearts that you have not abandon them.

I pray for us all, Lord. That we would be good friends to one another, and much more than that, that we would be brothers and sisters who lift each other up in love. Because that is what your Son Jesus did for us on the cross. In our most hopeless moment, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…

Amen...