Introduction: Given the events of this past week, I think we can all agree that one must stand in awe of the power of nature. And before we go any farther, I want us to remember that the power of nature is something that we must praise God for. The Lord originally designed the power of nature for the benefit of humanity:
1. The law of seed-time and harvest: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).
2. Matthew 5:45 – “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.”
Sometimes, however, we can forget that the power of nature is a gift and blessing from God. On one extreme, there are those who are quick to pronounce any natural disaster to be the intentional judgment of God. On the other hand, there are those who blame God for natural disasters -- saying, “Why did God let this happen? Why didn’t God do something to prevent it?”
I believe that the Bible gives us some answers that will give us a perspective that is different from either of those extremes. God created the world, and in Genesis 1 we read 7 times that God saw that the creation was good, said it was good, and it was good. Natural law was put in place to keep God’s creation good. But then, sin came in. In Romans 5:12 we read, “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.” When sin came in, death came in. Death is a corruption of God’s good purpose of life.
The corruption introduced into God’s creation by the sin of man has had an impact on all of nature, even to the extent of the power of nature being corrupted from God’s original good”. Scientists call this the “second law of thermodynamics”. The second law of thermodynamics states that everything in this universe is decaying. What seems fresh and new one day will some day be old and broken down. Something that is growing and vibrant will some day shrivel up and die. The biblical term for the second law of thermodynamics is simply this: “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21).
The bondage of corruption is causing the creation to groan. The bondage of corruption causes you and I to groan. Even the Spirit groans within us. Can you hear the groaning?
I. Groaning of Creation 8:22
A. As we read in our text, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22).
B. We clearly heard the creation groaning on December 26, 2004. On the bottom of the Indian Ocean, an earthquake measuring 9.15 on the Richter scale generated a tsunami that devastated Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, and Thailand with of up to 100 feet high. Serious damage was caused as far away as the east coast of Africa, some 5,000 miles away. Between 170,000 – 250,000 people are thought to have died as a result of the tsunami, and the count is not yet complete.
C. Much closer to home we heard creation groan on August 29, when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast with 160 mile per hour winds and a 20 ft. storm surge. And area of over 90,000 square miles of the United States – which, for comparison, is about the size of Great Britain – has been impacted by this storm. Hurricane Katrina may eventually be classified as the worst natural disaster to ever hit the United States. The material cost of the storm is billions of dollars. The human cost is much greater, with tens of thousands of people evacuated and thousands feared dead.
II. Groaning of Ourselves 8:23
A. In our personal lives there is pain. We have physical problems that afflict our bodies. We endure emotional turmoil that comes with losing a loved one or that comes when we are disappointed by someone we love. If we are honest, we have to admit that we have spiritual struggles as we find ourselves disappointed with God.
As Paul talks about life, he does not want to candy coat the pain and struggles that we go through. But what he wants to do is to put them into perspective. Look again at what he says in 8:18 (Read). Paul uses language that helps us see life as an eternal proposition. We live here on earth for a little while, but we live forever. What Paul wants to make sure of is that we don’t get so discouraged with the difficulties of this life that we lose sight of the big picture of eternity. He says, "Don’t forget, there will be a time when there won’t be any more struggles, pain, death or tears. For those who are in Christ, there will be only joy and happiness."
B. When I watch the news these days, the groaning I feel within my spirit is almost overwhelming. So many people, struggling just to survive – homeless, no earthly possessions left to them other than the clothes on there backs. No food, no water for days. No jobs. Many who have lost family members, neighbors, and friends. And yet, as if our consciences have been “seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2), there are those with the audacity to complain about the increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline. I stopped by to tell you that anyone who has a home to go back to, food and water waiting for them when they get home, a family to share it with, and a job to go back to after the Labor Day weekend ought to be praising the Lord rather than complaining about anything!
C. I have been around people who groan outwardly because of the pain their bodies are racked with. It is difficult to hear. But I have been around more people who groan inwardly too. It might not be an audible groan, but more of an internal groan. It’s a sense longing for perfection. In Paul’s mind, the groan occurs when we recognize that there is a huge gap between what is and what ought to be.
Every one of us has been there. When we experience the fallenness of this world, we let out a groan. Maybe it’s when a friend or a child or a parent or someone we love who does something we wish they wouldn’t have or we know they shouldn’t have. And out of frustration we groan. Maybe it’s when circumstances arise that cause us or someone we love pain. And out of pity we groan. But Paul says that groaning is a sign of our hope. We are longing for something better. And if we are in Christ, we have the promise that there is something better.
III. Groaning of the Spirit 8:26
A. Sometimes, the groaning of creation and our own groaning becomes so intense that we don’t even know how to pray. It may seem that we don’t even have the strength to pray. Thank God, He knows our weakness! “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). Even when we do not know how to pray, the Spirit groans with in us and offers prayer to God.
B. The Spirit of God groans within us as we seek to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and their families. The Spirit groans within us as we pray for the Lord’s blessing and strength for all of the rescue workers, medical professionals, volunteers, and military personnel who are working to restore order and assist those in need.
C. It is the same Spirit that groans within us, praying through us for the lost -- in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our nation, and around the world.
Conclusion: Can you hear the groaning? Creation is groaning. We are groaning. The Spirit is groaning. All are groaning for the same thing -- man=s redemption, “the manifestation of the sons of God” (8:19).
"Isaac’s Storm" is a very interesting book about the hurricane that wiped out Galveston in 1900. One of the main plot lines of the book is about how everyone was convinced that a hurricane could never strike Galveston, even as one approached. The author vividly describes how as the streets began to flood people went about their business as if nothing was wrong. Children played in the water, men gathered for breakfast at the local diner, and no one fled from the storm that was about to strike.
Some didn’t worry because Isaac Cline, the national weather service officer in Galveston, assured them it would not be a severe storm. Other’s simply believed that Galveston was invincible. Some thought that since they had never seen a hurricane strike Galveston one never would. So for a number of reasons, people assured themselves nothing bad would happen. And as a result over 6,000 people died one September day in 1900.
Thousands more have lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Some of those who perished had already experienced a watery grave when they submitted to baptism. There is no hurricane or natural disaster that could have hurt them. They were translated from a groaning world of suffering and pain to a place where there is no sorrow or pain, and the Lord wipes every tear from their eyes.
There were many others who perished, however, who had never obeyed the gospel. The few moments of suffering and torment that they may have experienced as they left this life were nothing, really. Nothing compared to finding themselves standing before a Lord that they had rejected, appearing not to be comforted, but to be judged.
Before Hurricane Katrina hit, Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans made what pleas he could to his fellow citizens to flee. Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation for the city’s 485,000 residents and opened the Superdome as a shelter of last resort, bluntly warning those who stayed that they would be at the mercy of Katrina’s high winds, 28-foot storm surge and 15 inches of rain that threatened to overwhelm the city’s protective levees.
Yet, even with the warning, many stayed. Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard said some who have ridden out previous storms in the New Orleans area may not be so lucky this time. Then he spoke some words of haunting truth: “"I’m expecting that some people who are die-hards will die hard.”
Can you hear the groaning?
I’m not pulling any punches this morning. The intensity with which we can hear the groaning of nature, our souls, and the Holy Spirit is growing with every passing days. We can see storm clouds forming on the horizon. The warning signs are there for us to see – the signs that Jesus is coming soon. The signs beacon us to turn to the Lord and seek refuge in Him. How will history look back on what we did as the storm approached?
You have heard the gospel. You know that Christ was crucified for your sins. You know that Christ was buried in a borrowed tomb. You know that He rose up early Sunday morning. He did all of this to redeem you and I from sin, to restore us to relationship with God, and to give us new life. And now, you have to make a choice.
If you choose to ignore what Christ has done for you, if you chose not to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, if you choose to remain as you are, a die-hard sinner , then be advised: when the storm comes, you will die hard – and then face the judgment.
It is my earnest desire and prayer that you will make another choice. God has offered us a way to evacuate this sinful world and find a place of refuge in His kingdom. You may this very morning choose to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. You may this very morning chose to repent of your sins -- to turn around, and head towards safety rather than running head on into disaster.
Hearing, believing, and repenting gives you an opportunity to confess Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Then, in obedience to the gospel, you go down into that water grave of baptism. Just as recorded in the New Testament, you submit to that baptism in the same hour in which you believe. In that watery grave of baptism, you we come into contact with the blood of Christ, identifying with him in his death and burial. And friend, when you come up out of that water, you are identified with Christ in His resurrection. You are a “new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are born again.
The message is yours. Only you can decide how you will respond to heaven’s invitation. Will you be prepared when the storm comes? Will you be saved? Or, will you be lost?
