Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. The founder and perfecter of our faith. When life gets tough, some people try to grin and bear it, others crack under the pressure. But Christians can have a different perspective, looking toward a future glory that makes our present suffering infinitesimal in comparison. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr.
Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, it can be hard to focus on future bliss when the pain right now is intense. How do we maintain that upward look when circumstances tell us to give up when suffering comes? You know, Dave, I'm going to answer that question a little differently. I want to ask a question.
To all those who are listening. Before you go to bed at night, what are you focussing on? Is it YouTube? Is it the Internet? If so, you'll wake up in the morning, but your heart will not be focussed on God.
What we must do is to cultivate a life of intentional obedience, intentional discipline. And then when life gets hard and everything seems to be hopeless, we will have some foundation upon which we can build so that we can make it through knowing that the future is going to be very bright. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. The reason I believe in this book so deeply is that it helps us fill in the gap as to who we really are and what we can be. because of God's promises, but also because of our involvement.
For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you. And by the way, this is one of the last days that we're making this offer. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-288.
218-9337.
Now, because I believe that this book is going to be such a blessing and a help, I'm going to be giving you that contact again at the end of this message. For now, let us listen.
Okay. Cancer. and cystic fibrosis. challenge a person's faith. They challenge our faith because the question is, are we able to trust God to believe in His care, His love, and His concern when we know right well He could heal us?
That's a challenge to faith. We as Americans are not very good at suffering. Helmutilleke says, Americans don't know how to suffer. They consider it fundamentally inadmissible, disturbing, embarrassing, and not to be endured. I expect that one of the political candidates will introduce a resolution.
In our Congress, saying that we should outlaw suffering constitutionally, make it illegal to suffer. And then claim that it is the right of every American to avoid all suffering.
Well, today we're going to talk about suffering, but we're also going to talk about hope. We're going to speak about groaning, which is an inward kind of grief that we have because of what we are enduring and because of what is happening in the world. As you know, this is a series of messages on the eighth chapter of the book of Romans, eight messages on Romans chapter eight. Last time we talked about what it is like to rule with Jesus Christ, to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. What it is to be a child of an awesome God is the title.
of the series. But today we pick it up in verse 18, and it is important that you have your Bible there. If you have a Pew Bible, it's on page 944, I believe. Because you need to look at the text. Because if you don't look at the text, you might think that what I'm saying isn't actually there, because some of the things that are said are so unbelievable.
In this passage of scripture beginning at verse 18, we have three groans. We're going to discover that nature groans. We're going to discover that we groan. And then we're going to notice that even the Holy Spirit groans. But we're going to see that it all is wrapped up.
in coming glory. Chapter 8, verse 18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. That the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
When Paul speaks about creation, he's talking about the inanimate world. He's talking about stars and rivers and earthquakes and tsunamis and floods and all of the things that happen upon this planet every single day. We notice when there is a tsunami, but actually in small ways that's happening a hundred times throughout the whole world killing people. Nature. Is in a state that it's not supposed to be in.
God did not create it that way. He's also talking about the animal world. I think one of the best channels on television is the Animal Channel. Because you see, the way in which animals live, the way they hunt, who they really are. But you see a tremendous amount of cruelty.
All kinds of terrible things happening. Little animals being ridded of their parents and wandering around and dying. You see lions. Jumping on small deer and eating them without a twinge of conscience, no weeping afterwards. And all of nature is in this state, and you'll notice that nature is in this state not because it made the choice to be.
Notice it says. For nature was subjected to futility, verse 20, not willingly. It didn't make any decisions. Why was nature subjected to futility? Why the curse on the earth?
Well, the answer is very clear. When man fell, God says there's no way. that you can have A fallen, cursed man and woman unless all of nature is cursed along with it.
So we have the curse there in the book of Genesis, but the curse was bigger than simply this earth. In some way, the entire universe was permeated by sin when man fell. That's what happened. And as a result of this, creation had to follow man's lead. We fell.
as a human race and God says the whole creation Falls and is subjected to futility and the curse. But now notice. That the Apostle Paul says that nature waits, I'm in verse 19, with eager longing for the revealing, the apocalypse, if you please, the apocalypse of the sons of God. Have I been going too fast? Let's think about this more carefully.
What Paul is saying is that nature followed man in the curse. And now the curse cannot be lifted from nature until mankind himself has been redeemed and Jesus Christ has come and we receive our new bodies and the curse then can be lifted from nature. But nature is cursed until we are fully restored. Until that time, nature. is subjected by God to futility.
The imagery that Paul uses, the personification here of nature, is very interesting when he says, For the creation waits with eager longing. It really means strained expectation. One translation says that all of nature is on tiptoe. because nature is waiting for the redemption of mankind so that its curse then can be lifted. Think of you attending the Kentucky Derby and your horse is in the race.
And you are there straining in the stands to see whether or not he is going to win. That's the way nature is. And the Bible says right here, it is in a childbirth. It says, from its bondage of decay to obtain the freedom of the glory of God, verse 22, for we know the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. There are some aspects of childbirth.
that are very painful. in some senses very ugly. Very much filled with anticipation and wonder, and from our standpoint, anxiety. That's the way creation is. But Paul says that.
It is in creation. That we find that though it is in childbirth, the child will be born, redemption is on its way. You remember C.S. Lewis? In the line, The Witch in the Wardrobe, a book which, if you've never read, you really ought to read.
It's a beautiful read. He says that as long as the witch was ruling in Narnia, you remember it was always winter and never summer. And then when Aslan, the lion, gives himself up and dies and is resurrected, what you find then is nature, all of nature is renewed and restored. That's the imagery here. Nature is waiting for the children of God.
Remember that we are number one on God's list of things to take care of in the universe. His people are so important. Nature can't be renewed until we are.
So first of all, notice that nature is groaning.
Now, somebody reading this might think, well, that's nature, but of course, we are redeemed, aren't we? Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it.
So we don't have to groan, somebody might say.
Well, look at what the text says here in Romans chapter 8.
Now notice the way in which Paul says it. Verse 23, and not only the creation, but we ourselves. Oh, we are redeemed. Yes, we have the Holy Spirit. But we ourselves, Paul says, we also have the firstfruits of the Spirit and we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies.
We also groan. We have the firstfruits of the Spirit. When you believe in Jesus Christ and you receive the Holy Spirit, it is a down payment. The Bible says the Spirit is an earnest. Down payment, there's more to come.
You've got the drop, but the ocean is on its way. You have the flower. And the garden is still future. It's like an engagement ring. That's a good illustration of the Holy Spirit.
The engagement ring is a promise of marriage.
Now you never meet a woman, I don't think that you ever have. who says, you know what I've always wanted, I've always wanted an engagement ring. And now that I have it, Now that I have this diamond, I don't care whether or not I marry the guy or not. I just am glad that I have the ring. No.
Remember, the ring is a promise that there's more to follow. The ring is a promise there's a wedding coming. There is a husband who's going to be there as part of the experience. There may be family. It's a promise of the future.
Now, candidly, maybe in five years' time she wished that she had just stayed with the ring. I understand that. I understand that, but... It's a promise that there's more to follow. And Paul says that we ourselves groan within ourselves inwardly, waiting for the redemption of our bodies.
We are waiting for that redemption when we can be rid of hospitals and cancer. And you know that. There are faith healers today. And they understand very clearly that when Jesus died on the cross, He died for us body, soul, and spirit. No question about that.
Redemption is total. What they miss is we do not enter into the benefits that Jesus died for us. in the physical realm or the spiritual realm, we do not enter into those benefits until we die. Our souls go to heaven. When Jesus Christ returns, we are restored, we are renewed.
And finally, The curse is gone. Forever. When Jesus was on earth, So far as we know, he only raised three people from the dead. He left thousands. in the tombs.
Because you see, That was not the consummation of redemption. It was the down payment. It was the proof that redemption's coming, but it is not here. It isn't here. When Paul says in verse 24, we are saved by hope, you'll notice it says, for.
In this hope, we are saved.
Now, hope. That is, seen is not hope for who hopes for what he sees. But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. What Paul is saying there, don't think that hope is the way in which we use the word hope. I hope it's going to be nice on Saturday.
That's not that kind of hope. It is the certainty, the confident expectation. to which we look forward Even though we don't see it, but we know that it is there and it's coming. And that is the confident hope. And meanwhile, we groan because we know.
that this life Can't go on forever. We groan. This morning when I got up at, I woke up at five and then stayed in bed to pray for a half an hour and then I got out of bed. I mean, even at my young age, you know, I felt stiff. I thought, you know, I can groan and be thoroughly biblical.
Thoroughly biblical. When you groan, you say, there's my text. I can groan. This past week, Rebecca and I were at the Billy Graham Cove, and I taught. Four one-hour lectures on the subject of one minute after you die.
Some of you might know that I've written a book on that topic. And I redid the lectures.
So even though the content was to some extent the same, they were still different. And I added some material, and one of the things I was impressed to add. Was at least ten minutes or more on the subject of infant salvation. and also the salvation of those who are mentally impaired. You know, oftentimes we say, you know, babies go to heaven and we all agree, but theologically, why do we agree?
It's not because they're innocent. Because they are born under the curse of sin.
So I gave biblical and theological reasons why I believe that indeed they will be in heaven. Later on, there was a woman who saw us who told us this story. She said, 53 years ago, I gave birth to twins. Twin girls, one of them died at birth, and the other is mentally impaired. And we have been her parents for 53 years, and she knows about her sister.
and about all that she can do is to ask about her sister. She said, when you were talking about this, she said, I cried the whole way through. Because she said, I knew in my heart. That someday we'd all be in heaven, both of my daughters would be, along with me. But she said, I never had anyone open the Bible and give theological and scriptural reasons for it.
That dear mother, God bless her. She groans. She groans. But she knows that spring is coming. She groans, but she knows that the redemption of the body.
is still future. And she's confident of it. My friend, Groaning is biblical. There is suffering all over, more suffering than we can possibly endure. Young people coming down with terrible diseases.
There's much groaning. We groan, but that's not the end of it. Nature groans. We grown and now of all things The Holy Spirit himself groans also. waiting for our redemption.
You'll notice in verse 26 The Apostle Paul says these words. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. And he's not implying that every once in a while we're weak. We're always weak, if we know ourselves well. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings.
Too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints. according to the will of God. Wow.
Okay. Well, of course, all of us know and we frequently say that life is hard. But it's not hopeless. I'm holding in my hands a book. Let me give you some of the titles of the chapters.
The Battle for Holiness Help in the daily battle. Obedience, not victory, putting sin to death. the place of personal discipline. holiness and our bodies. Here is a road map.
by which we can build a foundation of faith The Pursuit of Holiness, and it can help us even as we navigate all of the difficulties of life. And this is one of the last days we're making this resource available for you. It's entitled The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy, because here's the contact info. Go to rtwoffer.com.
That's rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. We hear it running to win. Want to ask you to join us as we run toward the finish line right now. Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life.
When love has left a marriage, A wife confined herself in an emotional prison. Listen to the story of this anonymous listener. I live with an emotionless man who is often cruel and uncaring toward me and our children. He occasionally asks me for forgiveness, But nothing changes. How do I live with a man like that without becoming bitter and carrying these offenses around with me?
I'm absorbed by the hurt. And I want to be free.
Well, my dear sister, There aren't easy answers to the kind of question that you've asked, but just a couple of suggestions along with a prayer that God will grant you much grace in your difficult situations. First of all, let me say that when you are sinned against, may I encourage you to not sin back. Your husband is wronging you by his emotionlessness, as you put it, but There may be reasons for that, you know. If you went into his background and saw the way in which he was raised, there may not be any excuses, but there might be reasons.
So you even have to look upon a man like that with a certain degree of real compassion. Secondly, when your question says that he seems to be uncaring toward you and toward the children, What you need to do is to live with that.
So what you need to do is to pray that God will grant you the grace. To be able to accept your husband.
Now, if he's abusing you or the children, that's another story. Then you have to go for help. As a matter of fact, that's what I would suggest anyway. It's very important for you. to not have to bear these burdens alone.
I have found in my short ministry that frequently people with the same kind of dead marriages, if I could put them that way, marriages that are empty. that when they are sustained by others, When they do have a group of friends who care, When they're part of a small group, when they're part of a church, God enables them to bear their burdens much better.
So the question I have to ask you is this. Is God able to put some sense of peace and serenity into your life? despite the fact that your husband is not carrying his side of the load. I believe that there are instances When indeed God does Just that. It's not easy.
You're gonna fail. But remember this, the real purpose of all of this is not our happiness. Its holiness. And God is there to help you in the midst of an unfulfilling marriage. Thank you, doctor Lutzer, for that answer for our anonymous listener.
If you'd like to hear your question answered, you can. Just go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. Um Um You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life.
Christians get socked by life's reversals like anyone else. But there is a crucial difference. The believer knows he or she has a permanent home where no foreclosure is possible and where all suffering will end.
Next time on Running to Win, more about how the Holy Spirit shares our times of suffering and stays with us until we reach our glorious finish line in heaven. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
