Glorious Groans

Reading the Word of God from Romans chapter 8, beginning at verse 18 and concluding with verse 27. 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.

For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God.

May the Lord help us to understand what it really means to groan. On January 6, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the Congress of the United States. Of course, there was a war going in Europe, and he talked with them about the situation in the war.

Much of what he said in that speech has been forgotten. But at the close of that speech, he made a statement that has been remembered by many, many people and probably will be remembered until the very end of history. He said that war would be fought to bring about four freedoms.

Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. I can recall as a lad in school seeing posters on the bulletin board with these four freedoms listed. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Unfortunately, not all of these freedoms have been achieved in the world. Those of us who are Christians have four additional freedoms. We have been looking at Romans 8, and we have discovered that Romans 8 is the declaration of independence for the believer.

If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you can enjoy four very wonderful spiritual freedoms. Verses 1-4, freedom from judgment. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

Verses 5-17, freedom from defeat. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh. Not only is there no condemnation, but there is no obligation.

Freedom from defeat. Verses 18-30, freedom from disappointment. No frustration, because we know what God is doing in this world.

Verses 31-39, freedom from fear. No separation. You see, there is freedom from judgment because we have the righteousness of God.

There is freedom from defeat because we have the Spirit of God. There is freedom from disappointment because we have the glory of God. And there is freedom from fear because we have the love of God.

Or, to put it another way, because Christ died for me, there is no condemnation. Because Christ lives in me, there is no obligation. Because Christ comes for me, there is no frustration.

And because Christ loves me and intercedes for me, there is no separation. I hope that each of you is enjoying these four freedoms. You say, but Pastor, the life we live is a very real life.

We have problems and burdens. Not only are we confronted with death, but there is sickness. There are financial needs.

And I know this. All of us who live in this tent of clay, this house of clay, know what it is to have problems and trials. It is very easy to be frustrated today.

The unsaved crowd doesn't get too frustrated because they are living for today. They are living for themselves. But those of us who have trusted Christ as our Savior are living on a different level.

When you are lying in the grave as an unsaved person is, dead in trespasses and sins, your viewpoint is not too broad. But when you have been lifted up to the heavenlies and you begin to look down upon things and you begin to wonder about things, Paul uses words like suffering in verse 18, the suffering of this present time. In verse 20 he uses the word vanity, hopelessness, frustration, purposelessness.

Verse 21 he talks about the bondage of corruption. Verse 22 he talks about the travail of pain. You see, to the unsaved person, this world is heaven.

And they better enjoy it as long as they can. It's the only heaven they're going to know unless they trust Christ. But for those of us who have met Jesus Christ, we know that this world is not our home.

And all of the vanity and the frustration and the disappointment and the pain and the travail that are going on around us only add to the burden. We live in a very real world with real problems and real pain and sometimes real frustration. And so what is the answer? Well, as Christians we're not disappointed because we understand what God's plan is.

Paul uses in this passage three expressions that explain to us how we can live without frustration. How we can live without frustration over disappointment and pain and suffering These three expressions ought to be marked in your Bible. Verse 22, the whole creation groaneth.

Verse 23, we ourselves groan. Verse 26, the Spirit himself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered. Creation is groaning.

Believers are groaning. The Holy Spirit of God is groaning. And if you will understand these three expressions, you'll know what this is all about.

And you'll never say, I'm going to end it all. Life is not worth living. You'll never look up and say, God, you don't know what you're doing.

Let's take this first expression, verse 22, the whole creation groans. Now this is explained in verses 18 through 22. In 18 through 22, Paul is talking about creation.

He's talking about the world around us. He's talking about lakes and oceans and mountains and valleys and trees and flowers. He's talking about everything that we see and from which we get our sustenance.

And Paul says we Christians need to understand creation. Now what do we need to understand? Number one, it is a good creation. There was a time when creation was not in bondage.

It is a good creation. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31, God looked upon all that he had made and he said, Behold, it is very good. And so it's a good creation.

At one time there was harmony and not discord. At one time there was great beauty and not ugliness. At one time there was health and not disease.

At one time there was abounding life and not sickness and death. At one time there was unity and harmony and purity and fulfillment and glory. You say, what happened? Well, the good creation became a groaning creation.

Something happened, verse 20. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly. Creation did not do anything against God.

It was man who did something against God. And of course the story is told back here in chapter 5 of the book of Romans, where Paul explains how the world got into the mess it's in. Verse 18, Therefore, as by the offense of one, Adam, judgment came upon all men to condemnation.

Verse 17, For if by one man's offense death reigned by one. Verse 19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. You see, the whole problem is summed up in verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

This explains why creation is groaning. Adam sinned. Now, I'd like to spend the rest of the time on this, but I'll not do it.

I want to drop this into your heart. Man was made the king of creation. God said to man, Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue the earth.

God handed to Adam a mandate to learn all he could learn and achieve all he could achieve. He said, I'm going to give you dominion. He put a crown on his head.

So man was created the king of creation, and man sinned and became the slave of creation. So that today, every man has a tension within him. He wants to rule, but he's a slave.

Everything man invents creates a few new problems. This is not true of God. When God does something, it's good, it's perfect.

The blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow thereto. When God does something, he doesn't create problems, he solves problems. Let man invent a new insecticide, and it kills the bugs and creates 20 more problems.

Let him invent a faster way to get from New York to London, and he gets there faster, but he creates three or four more problems. Man is both the king and the slave in creation, and creation is groaning. He tells us why creation is groaning.

Creation is groaning, longing to be delivered. Paul doesn't say that creation is groaning, seeking to create a better man. Paul's not teaching evolution here.

Paul is saying creation is suffering and longing to be delivered. Creation has a meaninglessness about it. Why are there earthquakes? Why are there famines? Why are there droughts? Why do these terrible calamities happen? We don't understand it.

And creation is groaning to be delivered from this. Creation is in bondage. Creation is in bondage to decay.

Verse 21, to be delivered from the bondage of decay. The hymn writer says, Change and decay all around I see. O thou who changest, not abide with me.

And so creation is groaning because the good creation, through sin, became a groaning creation, but one day will become a glorious creation. All of creation is travailing. And when a woman is travailing, there's pain, but she gives birth to something.

Paul is comparing all of creation to a woman who is in travail and pain. Ah, but one day Jesus Christ shall come, and then creation shall be delivered. The word that's used in verse 19 is most interesting.

For the earnest expectation of the creation is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God. All of creation is on tiptoe, stretching their necks, stretching their heads, looking for Jesus to come back. That's more than some Christians are doing.

I speak to some Christians now who are hoping Jesus won't come back. They've got plans for this week, and they don't want the Lord to interrupt these plans. Creation is groaning, but one day creation shall have a glory that's going to come when Jesus comes.

But creation cannot be glorified until we are glorified, and creation will be delivered when we are delivered. The whole creation is groaning. This explains why the world's in the mess it's in.

Now, how do we respond to this? Well, there's a second groan here, a second expression, verse 23. We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body. You see, the believer responds to the groaning of creation by groaning himself.

This proves we're saved. You see, the unsaved man looks at the groaning of creation and says, It's not worth it all. I'm going to end my life.

I live in a meaningless world with a meaningless existence. It's not worth it all. The Christian says, No, no.

God has a plan, and I belong to that plan, and I am saved, and I am looking for glory, and I am groaning, waiting for Jesus to come again. You see, my friends, the only hope for you and for me and for this world is for Jesus to come back. The groaning of creation is not going to get any less.

It's going to get worse. The travail, the pain, the suffering is not going to get any better. It's going to get worse.

When you read the book of Revelation and see the tremendous cataclysmic changes that are going to take place, just before Jesus returns to this earth to reign and to rule, creation is going to go through those last pains of travail. And then he shall come, whose right it is to rule. And then the shadows shall flee away, and then death shall be no more.

And then creation shall be made glorious, and the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and a little child shall be able to lead the wildest of the beasts, and the desert shall blossom like the rose, and men will learn war no more. But that's not going to happen until our Lord comes back. Now, what do you do before he comes back? You groan.

You see, he tells us here that we are groaning because we have the firstfruits of the Spirit. The firstfruits of the Spirit means we have the Holy Spirit down inside, who has given to us a foretaste of glory. And because we have this foretaste of glory, we have experienced something of what it means to be a child of God.

We long for something better. As you look at the milling masses on the streets of Chicago, you wonder what they're living for. You wonder what they're looking for.

One more six-pack of beer, one more pint of whiskey, one more this, one more gathering things, having experiences. And you say, look, what are you living for? What are you looking for? Where are you heading? I don't know. I'm just going to enjoy life while I can.

But a Christian isn't like that. A Christian is groaning within because he has the firstfruits of the Spirit. That means that when you get the firstfruits of the Spirit, the rest is going to come.

We also have not only the firstfruits of the Spirit, but we have the promise of the adoption. I like that word he uses in verse 23. He says, not only is all of creation groaning, but we are groaning waiting for the adoption.

Now, in the Bible, adoption does not mean what it means in Cook County. In Cook County, it means you go someplace where they have children who don't have parents, and you adopt one of them. You take that child, put him in your family, give him your name, and legally he is yours, and it's a marvelous thing.

It's a wonderful thing. That's not what he's talking about. In the Bible, adoption means God treats me like a mature son.

When I was saved, God gave me an adult standing in his family so I can draw upon his wealth, I can talk to him, I can walk with him. I'm not a little baby. But the culmination of adoption is the redemption of the body.

When you were saved, God saved your spirit. He is now saving your soul. That is, day by day, your mind, your heart, your will are being sanctified.

You're growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But he hasn't saved your body yet. And your body is a part of this groaning.

My friend, expect suffering. Expect pain. Expect decay.

God does not promise his children in this life that they shall be protected from the normal human burdens of life. I know there are those churches that teach that there's healing in the Atonement and it's a sin to be sick. I don't agree with them.

Jesus Christ did die for all of my sins, and one of these days he will redeem my body, but he hasn't done it yet. And I know he hasn't done it. And my groaning, crying out to God for that day when he shall come, is proof he hasn't done it.

Sometimes the saints of God get out of balance and they think that God's more concerned about the physical than he is the spiritual. God has allowed our bodies to suffer that our souls might grow. God has allowed our bodies to be sick that our souls might learn to trust him.

Sickness and pain and handicap and age and decay are all a normal part of this groaning creation, but we are groaning, waiting expectantly for Jesus to come back. My friend, trust in the promise of God that Jesus is coming again. This will keep you from being frustrated by all that's going on around you.

God never promised us a Garden of Eden in this world. In this world ye shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Creation is groaning, and we are groaning.

Groaning for what? Groaning for the redemption of our body. Verse 24, For in this hope we were saved. When you were saved, God gave you a hope.

He talks about this back in Romans 5. By whom also, verse 2, we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So the instant you were saved, God said to you, I'm going to give you a blessed hope. One day you're going to share in my glory.

And so we are waiting expectantly. Now, waiting does not mean resignation. It means anticipation.

Waiting doesn't mean sitting back doing nothing. Waiting means being busy and growing and serving, knowing that our Lord is coming again. Are you groaning today? Is there down within you that groan that says, Oh, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Which leads us to the third expression, verse 26, The Spirit groans. That to me is amazing, that the Holy Spirit of God, who is perfect, is groaning. People say, Isn't God concerned about the problems in this world? Certainly he is.

He solved them all at Calvary. Is God concerned at all about sickness and death? Ever read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? God came down from heaven, took upon himself a human form, and he went around doing good, and he healed the sick, and he raised the dead, and he groaned. I read in John chapter 11 that when Lazarus was lying there in that grave and when Jesus, the Son of God, came and stood by that grave, he groaned.

Twice it says that. And groaning within himself. God groans.

God is identified with the burdens and the travail and the difficulties and the problems of your life. And the Holy Spirit is groaning. Paul is assuming here that Christians pray.

He says that the Spirit also helps our infirmity, our weakness. That's all we are is weakness. Our minds are weak.

We don't understand. Our wills are weak. We can't do.

Our bodies are weak. We can't accomplish all we'd like to accomplish. So what do we do? We know not what we should pray for as we ought.

Paul is suggesting here that when you get frustrated, pray. When you can't understand what's going on, pray. When the burdens get heavy, pray.

When the physical affliction becomes so intense you want to quit, like Job, pray. You say, but preacher, I don't know what I should pray for. And Paul said, I agree with you.

I don't either. I find two occasions in Paul's life when he wasn't sure how to pray. When he had this thorn in the flesh, three times he prayed, Lord, take it away.

Lord, take it away. Lord, take it away. And God didn't take it away.

Paul didn't know how to pray. In Philippians chapter 1, when Paul was in prison and death was around the corner, he says, I'm in a strait betwixt two. I'm not sure what I want to do, whether I should stay here or whether I should go on to go to glory.

To depart and be with Christ is far better. Sometimes we don't know how to pray. People call me and say, Pastor, there's sickness in the home.

Would you pray? Sometimes we don't know how to pray. And sometimes we get to the place where our praying cannot be verbalized. The burden is so heavy and the problems are so great.

All we can do is just groan. And at that point, the Spirit of God intercedes for us. F.B. Meyer used to tell a cute story about a little brat of a girl.

She thought she could play the piano. And she and her mother were at a holiday resort. And at the close of the dinner hour, the little girl would run up to the piano and sit down and try to play.

And in five minutes, the dining room was empty. People were thoroughly disgusted because the mother thought the girl was a little prima donna and the girl thought she was one too. Well, one day she sat down at the piano and began to play.

And a man came and sat down next to her. And she began to play and he began to play. And the most beautiful music came out of it.

It turned out he was a great concert pianist and for every wrong note she made, he dropped in a few others and compensated for it. And she thought she had played a beautiful song. And when she was finished, she got up and curtsied and the man just slipped out of the dining room.

But he was the one that brought forth the beauty. A second story I heard that fits into the same category is about the person with the ink pen that got some ink on a handkerchief and an artist came along and just drew around it and turned it into a beautiful picture. The same idea.

I pray. I don't know how to pray. I don't know what to pray for.

I am sitting with two fingers playing chopsticks on the piano. And along comes the Holy Spirit and says, let's make some sense out of that. Aren't you glad the Holy Spirit filters out your foolish praying? Aren't you glad the Holy Spirit of God intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered? This doesn't mean that a quiet prayer is the most spiritual prayer.

If that were the case, our Lord's prayers in the Bible would be unspiritual. It simply means there comes a time in our praying when we just don't know how to pray. And if this was true of the great Apostle Paul, how much more true must it be of us? And he says here the Spirit helps us.

I like that word helps. It's the word that's made up of three little words. Three little words when you put them together that mean facing each other, helping to carry the burden, sharing the load.

It's the word that Martha used when she said, Lord, don't you care I'm doing this all by myself? Tell her to help me. The Holy Spirit doesn't pray instead of me. I don't go out and say, well, Holy Spirit, you pray.

I'm busy. No, no. The Holy Spirit prays in us and through us.

In other words, he helps to carry the load. He helps to share the burden. The Holy Spirit is groaning.

You know what the Holy Spirit is groaning for? He's groaning for the will of God to be done. Never be afraid of the will of God. I don't know what you're facing this next week.

You may be saying, Lord, I don't want to go through with that. Lord, I can't face that. My dear friend, never be afraid of the will of God because the will of God is the expression of the love of God.

And we know that all things are working together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose. And what is his purpose? Glory. This section begins with glory.

It ends with glory. And here's the Holy Spirit within you. You know what the Holy Spirit enjoys praying? The last prayer in the Bible comes from the Holy Spirit.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Oh, how the Holy Spirit of God longs to see the purpose of God consummated in this world. How he longs for Jesus to come and to reign.

And so these three expressions say to me, don't give up, don't quit, don't get frustrated. Why are things in a mess? Creation is groaning. What should I do? Groan within you, longing for the coming of Christ.

Not just deliverance from your arthritis, the coming of Christ. Not just escape from the grave, the coming of Christ. And while you are groaning, the Holy Spirit of God is groaning, groaning for glory.

Every once in a while when I'm flying someplace to preach, the stewardess will come down the aisle with her little notebook and she'll say, final destination, please. I'm tempted sometimes to look at her and say, glory. But I don't dare because she's liable to think I brought a bomb on board with me.

And this is one thing you don't joke about on an airplane. But is it not true? Final destination, glory. David said, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.

Imagine being ushered into glory. Imagine one day having bodies with which perfectly to serve him, minds perfectly to understand him, hearts perfectly to love him, wills perfectly to obey him. Oh, what will it be like when we are ushered into glory? No wonder the Apostle John said, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.

But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Groaning, yes. Groaning for glory.

Are you a part of this, my friend? I would much rather today be groaning for glory than for all eternity weeping and wailing and gnashing my teeth. I would much rather on this side of eternity be suffering affliction with the children of God than for all eternity to be banished from the presence of God. For what are you groaning today? Are you groaning for glory? Are you looking for Jesus to come? He's coming again.

Are you ready? Do you want him to come? Do you want to meet him? Thank you, Father. You have put within us a heartache for glory, a hunger for eternity. Thank you.

You've given us an appetite for the eternal. Thank you that we are not like animals, merely eating and drinking and existing. Thank you we have become the children of God, and we live on that heavenly plane, and we've set our affection on things above.

I pray, Lord, you will help us by your grace to live expectantly, waiting, knowing that one day the sufferings of this present time shall be turned into glory to the honor of Jesus Christ. Seal this to our hearts and help those who need to trust Christ to receive him, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.