Matthew 8:12-25
July 18, 1999
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng of the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco to celebrate the first Sunday worshipping at the Gordon J. Lau School.
A week ago on Saturday, the headlines read, “U.S. Wins Women’s World Cup on Penalty Kicks.” After playing 60 minutes in regulation and then two 15-minute overtimes, it finally came down to a shoot out. After Liu Ying of China missed her shot on goal, the U.S. knew that they now had an opening to win. The score was 4-4. Brandi Chastain of the U.S. kicked toward the left goal post. It was just out of the reach of the Chinese goalie’s hand. The U.S. Women Soccer team won the World Cup 5-4!
Before the exhilarating win, it was a grueling painful game. After years of practicing and teamwork, players on both teams had to win many games before meeting each other in the Rose Bowl. In soccer, to win from a shoot out reveals how well both teams played. It came down to one ball in the net to bring the end to a sensational tournament watched by over 90,000 fans. In sports, players encourage each other by saying, “No pain, no gain.” We can see how painful it was to be tripped, tackled from the back, banging heads going for that header in front of the goal, and the constant running up and down the length of the field. The pain the women players endured led to a world cup win.
After the win, reporters said that thousands of young soccer players wanted to go out on the field to play. For you it may be basketball or golf or bowling or like me, playing tennis. The excitement of victory leads us to want to go out and suffer through the pain in order to gain.
Joy and I have watched a lot of soccer games in our life. Our son, Greg played soccer all the way up to varsity soccer in high school. He has good ball skills, but he was not a runner. For him to qualify to play on the team, he had to run a mile in 6 minutes. This was a painful challenge for him to accomplish. He would run after school. He would eat a lot of bananas that he didn’t like. He would worry and be depressed fearing the day when he would have to run the mile in 6 minutes. I can still remember driving him to the high school track. He didn’t want me to come in so I stayed in the car. You should have seen his face! His coach told him, he didn’t think he could do it. He did and made the team. No pain, no gain.
But sometimes, people are unwilling to suffer through the pain in order to gain. Rather, we want easy answers and quick solutions.
For those who want bulging biceps, they are looking for drugs that are sometimes illegal and untested.
For those who want to reduce weight, they have joined fitness clubs, bought exercise equipment, and are now looking for a pill that can dissolve away excess fat.
By the way, we have a NordicTrack cross-country skier machine at home. We bought and bought and hope and hope that with each successive generation of medicines and workout machines, that there will be quicker results.
Why do we invest in exercise machines? Why do we look for quick solutions to our weight problems? We do this because we want to look good. But a quick reality check reminds us that improving physical appearance still comes down to one thing: exerting energy and producing sweat for 20 minutes a day, at least three days a week. Anything else is a false hope.
A big part of the fitness problem is that people get discouraged when they don’t see results in one or two weeks. People get bored with exercise like being on the NordicTrack. After 20 minutes, you still haven’t skied down Tahoe. You are only standing still in your living room. We get bored and impatient and we give up before losing any weight or gaining any muscles.
Impatient First Century Christians
A similar impatience was being felt by the Roman Christians of the first century to whom the apostle Paul wrote his letters. They, like each of us, wanted quick results and clear benefits. But Paul challenges them to take a long-term view.
Paul said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.”
All the sufferings and persecution that Christians are enduring stand pale to the bright glory of God that is coming. All the pain they are experiencing will lead to gaining eternal life.
Paul goes on to say that when we take the long view and see our present sufferings leading us to God’s glory, we will witness not only the redemption of our individual lives but all of creation.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now;
and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our
bodies.
Rather than “No pain, no gain,” Paul had added, “No groan, no gain.”
Before we can see the glory of God, we have to endure the anxiety, stress, and suffering of the present time.
Before we can receive our complete adoption as children of God, we have to groan in sometimes excruciating labor pains.
Before we see the completion of God’s plan for us and for all of creation, we have to wait with patience, and “hope for what we do not see.”
There are no short-termed spiritual solutions that will do it. We have to endure the groaning of faithfulness before receiving the glory of being God’s redeemed children.
Our Retrofit Fitness
Today is a special day in the life of our church. By coming to the Lau School today, we are beginning our “retrofit fitness” program.
Before we can return to the comfort of our church home, we have to endure at least 6 months of displacement, stressful construction, and inconveniences of the present time.
Before we as a church can receive God’s adoption of us as his children, we have to groan in sometimes excruciating labor pains as children with different ideas and opinions. We need to continue to learn from each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Before we can understand God’s plan for us as the First Chinese Baptist Church and for all creation, we have to wait with patience, and hope for what we don’t see so clearly right now.
Just like the floors and ceilings in our old church building need to be tied strongly to the walls, we ourselves need to tie our lives more strongly with Jesus Christ. Not only does our building needs retrofitting, we need to be retrofitted. We need retrofit fitness!
The challenge for us is to turn away from false hope, and turn to true hope. To put no confidence in ourselves to find quick answers. But to look steadily beyond ourselves to find the fulfillment of our selves and actions in God.
False hope is life in the flesh, says Paul, a life of salvation by easy answers, a life that only leads to death, no matter how well toned you are.
But true hope is life in the Spirit, a lifestyle that puts to death the deeds of the body, and gives new life. True hope is found when we focus on the fact that we are children of God—people who will surely have to endure some suffering with Christ, but who will also be gloried with him. True hope knows the truth of the phrase, “No groan, no gain.”
FCBC’s Workout
In our present age for the next 6 months, we are engaged in a retrofit training program, a time of exerting energy and producing sweat for 20 minutes a day, three days a week…at the very least. During this time of hard work, we want to take courage, both from the prospect of future glory, and from the assistance already given us by the Holy Spirit.
But unlike times when we are exercising alone, we have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the companionship of each other to make the workouts of this earthly training period so much more bearable.
Unlike athletes who believe that it was the result of their individual achievements that brought glory and victory, we are like the U.S. Women Soccer team who emphasized teamwork and that only when we workout together will we produce long-lasting results.
We can encourage each other as we work hard to develop
our biblical biceps,
our theological triceps,
our emotional endurance and
our spiritual strength.
We can discipline ourselves to meet together on a regular basis for worship and study like we did last weekend at the church retreat at Mt. Gilead.
We can share tips and insights, techniques and fresh ideas, as we seek to get ourselves in shape for the glory that is going to be shown to us.
Church was never meant to be a place to relax and get soft—from its very earliest days, it was designed to be a community of challenge, encouragement and spiritual fitness. Maybe, it’s time that we get ourselves in a retrofit fitness program.
When we marched up to the Lau School this morning, I heard the groans of those around me. Walking up Clay Street is steep and we will groan every time we come up here. But it will also be a constant reminder for us that when there is no groan, there’s no gain.
Whatever sufferings of the present time and hardships of daily life we encounter are not worth comparing to the glory of God that will be revealed to us! As we groan together as a church, we are eagerly longing and waiting to know God. And as we know God, the whole creation will also know God. Let us have hope for the wonderful blessings that God has given us and will give us in the days to come.
It may not be a headline that says, “U.S. Wins Women’s World Cup on Penalty Kicks.” But six months from now, the headline on the CBC Newsletter will read, “FCBC Wins and Dedicates Building for the New Millennium on Groans!”
Let us pray.
Dear Gracious God, as heirs and joint heirs with Christ, we commit our lives to Christian service knowing that in the sufferings that we may endure, we may be glorified with Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.