St John's - The Word

April 6, 2008
Pastor David Kuhnle

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! He lives to give us hope in all our troubles and pains we live with in this life.
Have you ever heard nature groan? Paul says that all of creation groans in anticipation waiting to be renewed. Here are some examples of nature groaning: volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, famines, fires, earthquakes, sand storms, etc…..All of creation is subjected to frustration. Sometimes life is a matter of taking one step forward and two steps back. We think we may be getting ahead, but then something else happens.
The economy is a good example of this. Corn prices are good; farmers should get ahead right? Wrong! Fuel prices along with everything else go up so the cost of production goes up right along with the corn prices. Why is life that way? Why does creation groan?
Paul says all creation was subject to frustration because of sin. As part of God's judgment on sin, he enslaved all creation to sin. In Genesis 3:16-19 we read, "He told the woman: 'I'll multiply your pains in childbirth; you'll give birth to your babies in pain.' He told the man: 'Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from, the very ground is cursed because of you. Getting food from the ground will be as painful as having babies is for your wife. You'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds; you'll get your food the hard way, planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried. You started out as dirt; you'll end up dirt.'" [The Message]
The creation was an innocent victim of the fall. Everything was ruined. As beautiful as some parts of our world are, it is nothing compared to what God originally had made. Sin enslaved even creation to frustration and futility. Creation waits to be liberated [Romans 8:20-22]
We as God's children also groan, waiting to be liberated, even though we are God's adopted children, redeemed and blessed, as Paul lays out for us in Romans 8:1-17. We are forgiven through faith in Jesus (no condemnation) [Romans 8:1-3]. We have the Spirit of God living in us [Romans 8:2]. We are free from sin's rule [Romans 8:4-14]. We are adopted children of the King [Romans 8:15-16]. We are co-heirs with Christ [Romans 8:17].
All of this is ours now. Yet we still deal with the effects of sin in every part of life. We still sin daily and struggle with temptation. Sin has left our bodies to be physically weak so we get sick and die [Romans 5:12].
We also long to be liberated. In 2 Corinthians 5:2-5, "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling….For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened….we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling….God who has made us has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
Notice, he refers to our bodies as tents. A tent is flimsy and easily destroyed. That is like our bodies. These bodies we live in now are weak and flimsy things. I don't care how buff you are or how big and strong; it takes very little to put us down. And tents wear out; they get holes in them, and they begin to leak. Finally, they must be discarded. So it is with our own bodies. These are flimsy and weak. They are uncomfortable, especially as we age. They are full of aches and pains, and they can be brought down in an instant. No matter how big and strong you are, you can be brought down by something so small you can't even see it. And someday these tents we live in will wear out and will have to be put down. And so we groan…
But we groan with hope. The good news tells us that our groans will be changed to cheers. The resurrection of Jesus assures us that we will be freed from all these things. Easter means that our liberation and the liberation of all creation is coming. The empty tomb tells us that our future is secured.
In Christ we have the promise of eternal life [1 John 5:13]. We will be renewed physically [1 John 3:2]. We will have a new heaven and a new earth: the home of righteousness [1 Peter 3:13].
While we wait, we live by faith and not by sight. Keep your eye on the goal. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17: "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen."
How you view the future directly affects how you will act today. Let's go back to our tent. Say you do live in a tent. You go about your daily chores in drudgery. But one day, someone comes to you and says, "I am going to build you a house to live in. It will be made of concrete and steel. It will have hot water and soft beds and carpeted floors and a big kitchen door and indoor toilets. And it is yours as a free gift." You say, "What's the catch?" "No catch. I have paid for everything; it is my gift to you. Here is a book with all the details and the deed. When it's done, I will come get you."
That would change everything. As you go through the usual daily grind of living in a tent, you would do so with a different attitude. You have a house. When your back hurts from the hard ground, you can smile because you have a soft bed waiting for you. As you go through all hard things of tent living, you can take it because you have a house. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." This changes everything. In the face of life's difficulties and troubles, we always have hope. Do you live like you already have it? Do you live as though you have eternal life? Do you live as though your name is written in heaven? Do you live as though heaven (not earth) is your home? Do you live as Christ is risen!
The glory to come is far greater than the pain we feel now.

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 Groaning Turns To Cheers April 6, 2008 Pastor David Kuhnle Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! He lives to give us hope in all our troubles and pains we live with in this life. Have you ever heard nature groan? Paul says that all of creation groans in anticipation waiting to be renewed. Here are some examples of nature groaning: volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, famines, fires, earthquakes, sand storms, etc…..All of creation is subjected to frustration. Sometimes life is a matter of taking one step forward and two steps back. We think we may be getting ahead, but then something else happens. The economy is a good example of this. Corn prices are good; farmers should get ahead right? Wrong! Fuel prices along with everything else go up so the cost of production goes up right along with the corn prices. Why is life that way? Why does creation groan? Paul says all creation was subject to frustration because of sin. As part of God's judgment on sin, he enslaved all creation to sin. In Genesis 3:16-19 we read, "He told the woman: 'I'll multiply your pains in childbirth; you'll give birth to your babies in pain.' He told the man: 'Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from, the very ground is cursed because of you. Getting food from the ground will be as painful as having babies is for your wife. You'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds; you'll get your food the hard way, planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried. You started out as dirt; you'll end up dirt.'" [The Message] The creation was an innocent victim of the fall. Everything was ruined. As beautiful as some parts of our world are, it is nothing compared to what God originally had made. Sin enslaved even creation to frustration and futility. Creation waits to be liberated [Romans 8:20-22] We as God's children also groan, waiting to be liberated, even though we are God's adopted children, redeemed and blessed, as Paul lays out for us in Romans 8:1-17. We are forgiven through faith in Jesus (no condemnation) [Romans 8:1-3]. We have the Spirit of God living in us [Romans 8:2]. We are free from sin's rule [Romans 8:4-14]. We are adopted children of the King [Romans 8:15-16]. We are co-heirs with Christ [Romans 8:17]. All of this is ours now. Yet we still deal with the effects of sin in every part of life. We still sin daily and struggle with temptation. Sin has left our bodies to be physically weak so we get sick and die [Romans 5:12]. We also long to be liberated. In 2 Corinthians 5:2-5, "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling….For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened….we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling….God who has made us has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." Notice, he refers to our bodies as tents. A tent is flimsy and easily destroyed. That is like our bodies. These bodies we live in now are weak and flimsy things. I don't care how buff you are or how big and strong; it takes very little to put us down. And tents wear out; they get holes in them, and they begin to leak. Finally, they must be discarded. So it is with our own bodies. These are flimsy and weak. They are uncomfortable, especially as we age. They are full of aches and pains, and they can be brought down in an instant. No matter how big and strong you are, you can be brought down by something so small you can't even see it. And someday these tents we live in will wear out and will have to be put down. And so we groan… But we groan with hope. The good news tells us that our groans will be changed to cheers. The resurrection of Jesus assures us that we will be freed from all these things. Easter means that our liberation and the liberation of all creation is coming. The empty tomb tells us that our future is secured. In Christ we have the promise of eternal life [1 John 5:13]. We will be renewed physically [1 John 3:2]. We will have a new heaven and a new earth: the home of righteousness [1 Peter 3:13]. While we wait, we live by faith and not by sight. Keep your eye on the goal. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17: "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen." How you view the future directly affects how you will act today. Let's go back to our tent. Say you do live in a tent. You go about your daily chores in drudgery. But one day, someone comes to you and says, "I am going to build you a house to live in. It will be made of concrete and steel. It will have hot water and soft beds and carpeted floors and a big kitchen door and indoor toilets. And it is yours as a free gift." You say, "What's the catch?" "No catch. I have paid for everything; it is my gift to you. Here is a book with all the details and the deed. When it's done, I will come get you." That would change everything. As you go through the usual daily grind of living in a tent, you would do so with a different attitude. You have a house. When your back hurts from the hard ground, you can smile because you have a soft bed waiting for you. As you go through all hard things of tent living, you can take it because you have a house. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." This changes everything. In the face of life's difficulties and troubles, we always have hope. Do you live like you already have it? Do you live as though you have eternal life? Do you live as though your name is written in heaven? Do you live as though heaven (not earth) is your home? Do you live as Christ is risen! The glory to come is far greater than the pain we feel now.
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