Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20040801.htm

ADAPTING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT'S PRESENT MINISTRIES
Part IX: Adapting To The Spirit's Intercession FROM WITHIN Us
(Romans 8:26-27)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

There are times in our lives when the challenges we face in the physical or emotional or even the spiritual realm are so foreboding or large for us that we do not even know where to begin to address them!

(1) In view of the coming national elections, a couple of Christians have shared with me how concerned they feel over what might happen to our individual religious freedoms to live for God and to serve Him were certain candidates to be elected to office. Political rumors abound, and talk radio, television and the written media all have their ideas on what is reality, leading to confusion and concern.

In fact, I have heard one politically conservative talk show host claim his current goal is to get his listeners so frightened at considering what would happen if a certain man were elected to the presidency that they will be driven to vote and get their friends out to vote against him!

This concern along with the seeming HELPLESSNESS even BELIEVERS can feel over their incapacity to do anything to insure the freedoms we have to do God's work will not be taken from us can cause us to wonder how to BEGIN to KNOW WHAT to DO about it all? Acts 1:8 calls us to be God's vehicles to share His truth -- But WHERE do we BEGIN to DO that when the CHALLENGE AGAINST doing this work seems so BIG we don't know HOW to START to address it?!

(2) Often coupled with such a need are the seeming overwhelming challenges individuals face in their personal lives. Marital, family, job, substance abuse and physical illness problems can at times be so foreboding that we do not even know where to begin to address them, let alone to pray about them!

I know several Christians right now who are in this category -- they do not know even how to begin to pray about their trials or needs!

What is a believer to DO if he is so burdened with a certain concern or a trial and feels so inadequate about it that he does know even where to BEGIN to address it in PRAYER?



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "I or an associate faces some physical, mental, emotional or spiritual need that is far too big for the afflicted party even to START to address! What HOPE is there, and what can they DO about it?!"
  1. The Holy Spirit's intercessory program FROM WITHIN us believers occurs in reference to our MORTAL WEAKNESS, L. S. Chafer, Systematic Theology, v. VI, "Pneumatology," p. 42-45.
  2. This ministry is described in Romans 8:26-27, and we view this passage within its context to answer our "Need" section as follows:
    1. Romans 8:26 with verses 20-21 reveals we who trust in Christ experience a wide range of debilitating experiences in our lives, for we suffer from the effects of sin and God's curse upon it:
      1. The Greek word for "infirmities" (KJV) or "weakness" (NIV), astheneia, as used in Romans 8:26 to describe the believer's need, appears elsewhere in Scripture for human "physical, emotional and spiritual disability," Bible Knowledge Commentary, N.T., p. 473.
      2. Since this weakness is combined with the effects of God's curse on creation in Romans 8:20, 23a, we along with creation experience a wide range of suffering caused by sin's effects and the effects of God's curse on creation for Adam's sin, cf. Genesis 3:14-24.
    2. Thus, both creation and we humans are said to "groan" in suffering the comprehensive disability we face in this life, cf. Romans 8:22-23:
      1. The Greek word for "groaneth" (KJV) or "groaning" (NIV) in Romans 8:22 is sunstenadzo from sun (with) and stenadzo (groan) to show how all creation together suffers the effects of sin and the Adamic curse of God upon it; U.B.S. Grk. N.T., 1966, p. 550; Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the N. T., p. 433, 416.
      2. Then, Romans 8:23 uses the original verb, stenadzo to show we along with creation suffer sin's effects and curse, Ibid., U. B. S. Greek New Testament; Ibid., Abbott-Smith, p. 416.
    3. However, for the believer, there exists (the following) great INTERCESSORY ministry of the indwelling God the Holy Spirit WITHIN US to compensate for this weakness and suffering:
      1. In keeping with the context (a) where in verse 22 creation together "groans" and (b) where in verse 23 we "groan" under the effects of sin and Adam's curse, Paul uses a word derived from stenadzo, the noun, stenagmois to picture the Holy Spirit's "groanings" in Romans 8:26, Ibid., U. B. S. Greek New Testament, p. 551; Ibid., Abbott-Smith, p. 416.
      2. Such "groanings" of the Holy Spirit are so intense that they are made beyond the realm of words according to Romans 8:26.
      3. This "groaning" of the Spirit is also done within us believers to help bear the burden of our physical, emotional and spiritual weakness in the ongoing intercessory work of the Holy Spirit to the Father to have Him compensate for such needs that we have:
        1. The Spirit's "groanings" in concert with our own "groanings" are made to attract God the Father's attention so as to produce a petition regarding what we "groan" over so that God's will in our earthly trials with our weakness will be done: (a) The word translated as "maketh intercession" (KJV) or "intercedes" (NIV) in Romans 8:27 is entugchano and means "to petition," Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N.T.; Arndt & Ging., A Grk.-Engl. Lex. of the N.T., p. 269. (b) This petitioning is made as an intercession to the Father in our behalf, for Romans 8:26 uses the Greek word, sunantilambanomai , meaning "to keep on helping in bearing" of the Holy Spirit's ministry of interceding to the Father re: our weakness, Ibid., B.K.C., N.T., p. 473; W. R. Newell, Romans Verse By Verse , p. 326-327 as cited in Lewis S. Chafer, Syst. Theol., vol. VI, "Pneumatology," 1973 unabridged, p. 44-45. (c) The Father then Who searches the hearts knows what is the striving or aim (phronayma, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N.T.; Ibid., Arndt & Ging., p. 874) of the Hoy Spirit Who petitions the Father in accord with God's will for the believer, Romans 8:27.
        2. This ministry of the Spirit's "groaning" compensates for our inability to pray properly to address our many human "groans" due to our ignorance caused by our weakness, Romans 8:26b!
Application: If facing a physical, emotional or spiritual burden that is so difficult we don't know where to BEGIN to address it, (1) trust in Christ as Savior to be saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John 3:16: 7:37-39. (2) Then, pray to God about the LOAD of the concern we have and see Him work in our behalf!

Lesson: (1) We who trust in Christ are SO DEBILITATED by the effects of sin and the Adamic curse that we don't even KNOW how to counter the resulting weakness and its negative effects by properly praying about it. Thus, the indwelling Holy Spirit "groans" in helpful intercession beyond mere words to get the Father to HELP us by ADDRESSING these needs in His will! (2) So, if facing trials we do not know how to BEGIN to meet, we should PRAY to God about our PAIN, and He does the rest!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 One of the seemingly overwhelming challenges we face that we often do not know how to begin to address is that of discipling others from Liberal Theology Churches or Evangelical Churches that are long on the Gospel but short on effective Bible teaching that really disciples. We at Nepaug find ourselves standing against the error of Liberal Theology and thus separating from it in accord with 2 John 9-10 and Galatians 1:8-9, and, due to our focus on Bible teaching in accord with 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2, we also do not mingle with Gospel preaching Churches that are short on Bible teaching and real discipling.

Though our stand is upright Biblically, it seems that holding to it humanly blocks us from outreach to needy people in such churches!

However, this past week, God revealed a glimpse of His Spirit's intercessory work to help us in our limitations in this matter as follows:

(a) After the Child Evangelism Fellowship workers we hosted for our VBS ministry last week had finished their Monday morning responsibilities here, they began a Five Day Club ministry in Goshen that afternoon. In that session, 7 children from a Liberal Theology church in Goshen attended, and all 7 of them received Christ as Savior!

That Church belongs to a fellowship we at Nepaug Bible Church would not join for Biblical reasons; yet, because of the VBS we had this past week with the CEF workers, these workers were put into contact with these children and led them to Christ! By God's grace, we helped disciple part of a Liberal Theology Church without compromising our obedience to 2 John 9-10 and Galatians 1:8-9!

(b) Then, in the last several weeks, I have received reports from others in our body that a number of people who have attended Gospel preaching Churches that were short on accurate or sufficient Bible teaching have been very positively affected by discipling efforts spanning our from this Church.

Thus, by grace, we have also been used of God to minister to others from Gospel-preaching churches that are weak on in-depth discipling. God is equipping us to disciple regardless of our human limitations due to our Biblical stance on holiness and a focus on truth!



May we PRAY about the LIMITATIONS we have as mortals that the Spirit may intercede to OVERCOME them, and that so we can accomplish the supernatural work assigned to us!