The
Leap Part 2 And
The Question Is…
I
want to share with you a trivia question.
Ready?
Which
of these US Presidents appeared on the
television series Laugh-In?
A.
Lyndon Johnson
B.
Richard Nixon
C.
Jimmy Carter
D.
Gerald Ford
Do
you know? The answer is Richard
Nixon.
That
answer was worth $1,000,000 to John
Carpenter. You see, in November, 1999
Carpenter became the first $1,000,000
winner on ABC’s mega-hit “Who Wants to
be a Millionaire?”
(Show picture of Regis.)
Isn’t it funny now answering such a trivial question
correctly can affect such a change in a
person’s life?
The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:31-39 presents us with
four very important, very powerful
questions. To be honest, you won’t win a
million dollars if you get them right, but
you will come to a greater appreciation of
who you are in Christ and in the security
that is yours as a Christian.
I covered three of the questions in last week’s
message. Those questions were:
·
“If
God is for us, who can be against us?” I
noted that if God is for us, it really
doesn’t matter who is against us.
·
Question
number 2: “Who will bring any charge
against those whom God has chosen?”
In other words, who
can indict or arraign before the Father
one whom the Lord has purchased;
one whom the Lord Jesus Christ has
declared to be innocent?
·
Question
number 3 “Who is he that condemns?”
One of the great verses in
Scripture, Romans 8:1, answers,
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus….”
Please turn with me now to Romans 8:35-39. I want
us to read this wonderful passage
together. It says: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword? As it is
written: ‘For your sake we face death
all day long; we are considered as sheep
to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us. FOR I AM CONVINCED that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love
of God that is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
This brings me then to the
fourth question. ROMANS
8:35 ASKS, “WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM
THE LOVE OF CHRIST?”
We shall spend the rest of this
morning’s message looking into this
matter.
Notice that he said, “FOR I AM CONVINCED.” The
King James Version
has it, “I
am persuaded.” The apostle is not
setting forth some new theory, or engaging
in a display of rhetoric. He had simply
faced nearly everything that hell could
throw at a person and as a matter of
personal testimony he declared that his
faith was still strong and that God’s
love had proven faithful.
How many things are there in life that you can be
absolutely, positively, undoubtedly sure
of?
·
Well, i am sure the sun is going to come up in the
morning. I am
absolutely convinced of it. I may not be
here to enjoy it, I may not see it, but it
is GOING to happen.
The rising of the sun has
absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with
you or me. Even if this planet were
destroyed by atomic warfare, the sun would
come up in the morning.
Its course is set.
·
I am absolutely sure of my love for my family and of
their love for me. While
it is true that I may not feel that love
all of the time, it is also true that I
don’t have to feel it to enjoy it and to
believe in it. I do not feel my heart
beating at this particular moment, and yet
I am sure that it is pumping away.
I do not have to feel love to know
love.
·
Then,
I am also sure of God’s love. The matter of His great love was settled once and
for all some 2,000 years ago on a cross.
There are no “if, ands, or buts” about
it. Paul was also convinced of this fact.
It was a closed issue in his mind.
The Complete Biblical
Library says here: "No one can drive a wedge and create
distance between Christ's love and us.
No one can cause Him to cease
loving us." The commentary then goes
on to state: "The apostle was
convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt
that no opposing force can bring about
separation between Christ and the
Christian."
Other translations of verse 38 state:
“For I am sure....”
“I have full
assurance....”
““For I am
absolutely convinced....”
Sure of what?
Certain of what?
Persuaded of what?
Of God's continued and abiding love for His children.
A sign in a certain jewelry store window reads as
follows:
“A box of candy means friendship;
A bouquet of flowers means love;
But a diamond means business!”
When it comes to love, God means business with us.
His love is truly unequaled.
Both 1 John 4:8 and 4:16 declare
that “God
is love.”
Please don't get me wrong here, I didn't say that
love is God, I said that God is love.
·
Love is the attitude of His heart.
·
Love is that which helps shape His decisions.
·
Love is that which made Him offer up His only begotten
Son on the cross.
·
Love is that force that causes Him to wait in patience
for everyone who will come to Him to come
to Him.
“God is love!”
He
loves the animals, the angels, the
mountains, the hillsides. He loves small
children and babies.
That's God.
Love is an essential part of His
character.
In
John 3:16 we read: “For
God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal
life.”
I do not know how many outlines
that I have on this blessed passage.
Here is one of my favorites:
In
John 3:16:
·
We see the "Source
of Love"
“For
God”
·
We see the "Sweep
of Love"
“So
Loved”
·
We see the "Sacrifice
of Love"
“That He Gave”
·
We see the "Symbol
of Love"
“His
Only Begotten Son”
·
We see the
"Simplicity of
Love"
“That Whosoever Believeth”
·
We see the "Security
of Love"
“Should
Not Perish”
·
We see the "Swelling
of Love"
“But Have Everlasting Life”
Just
in case someone wants to question the
Apostle Paul’s understanding of love,
may I remind you that it was this writer
who penned the great love chapter -- 1
Corinthians 13.
Did Paul know love? Paul knew love!
Knowing love as he did, he was all the
more convinced of the faithfulness and
effectiveness of God’s
great love for him, for you, for
me.
With such love in mind, Paul in Romans 8:38-39 gives us a list of terrible things that sometimes challenge love.
THE FIRST challenge THAT HE ADDRESSES IS “TROUBLE.”
As
he knew love, Paul was also well
acquainted with trouble. His list here in
Romans 8 seems to be a catalog of the
calamities that had befallen him in his
walk with Christ.
The
meaning of the word TROUBLE as used here
suggests pressure or some pressing action
from an outside source. It speaks of
affliction, upset, and anguish. It is used
in the case of persons who are bearing
heavy burdens and are heavily pressured --
like grapes in a wine press.
As
you can see, I have here an empty coke
can. (Put the can under foot). This can
illustrates what Paul means here. If this
can had life, it’s very life would be
being crushed out of it.
Trouble,
today, can be illness, bereavement,
prodigal children, or even poverty.
To be sure, the Bible does not
promise the saint an escape from trouble.
If it did, then everybody would become a
Christian -- just to avoid accidents,
trials, heart attacks, cancer or whatever.
That might be a good motive for being
religious, but it's a poor motive for
being a Christian.
Instead,
God offers us His love and presence in the
midst of all of life's difficulties.
Five times, covering both the Old
and the New Testaments, God promises never
to leave us or to forsake us.
I
want to share with you a story of victory
over tragedy. Some of you may know the story of Carol Schuller, daughter of
Robert Schuller of Crystal Cathedral fame,
and of how she lost her leg in a
motorcycle accident. In Positive
Family Arvella Schuller, the mother,
shares this incident: “Recently Carol accompanied us on a cruise to Hawaii. On
the last day of the cruise, she informed
us that there was going to be a talent
show that night and she wanted to take
part.
My husband Bob and I were surprised
that she wanted to share. She felt that
she had been stared at all week
‑‑ often in pity. But that
night she stood up and spoke. ‘You've
watched me walk this ship this week, and I
don't walk too well,’ she said.
‘I have a limp and my leg looks
funny.
Well, I was in a motorcycle
accident and I almost died.’ Then her
voice broke and she could not go on. The
entire audience quieted down. We could
have heard a pin drop. She continued. ‘I
cannot walk as well as most of you. But
that is not really so important. More
important than the way I walk is Who I
walk with.’ Again her voice broke and
there was a strange hush in the room.
‘Since I was in the ditch alone with my
Lord, from that time on I knew I would
never be alone again,’ she said.
‘Does He walk with you?’”
His
love gives us the necessary strength to
overcome whatever comes up against us --
including even the loss of a leg.
The
apostle says that trouble cannot separate
the saint from the love of God.
He knew; he had been there. Carol
also knew this to be true, for she had
been there too.
NEXT, PAUL ALLUDES TO “HARDSHIP.”
This
speaks of being so hemmed in, one is not
able to move. Every way out is seemingly
closed down tight. I call this situational
claustrophobia. The person is
in such a fix that he or she does not know
which way is up.
The
Psalmist once described people who were in
such a predicament as being at their “wit’s
end” (Psalm 107:27).
And
yet, even in such a hard place God's love
is steadfast and sure! The Word assures us
that the Lord is there working out a way
of escape.
Paul
says that even hardship cannot separate
the child of God from the love of God.
THE THIRD THING HE MENTIONS IS
“PERSECUTION.” IN THIS SAME VERSE HE
ALSO ALLUDES TO “DANGER AND THE
SWORD.”
Persecution
and danger -- in all their many forms –
have long hounded the saints of God. Yet
these things have never triumphed over the
church or the child of God -- they never
have; they never will!
Jesus
said that His followers would face
persecution. Paul added that “everyone
who wants to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted....”
This
is a true story. An unknown Christian
faced Pliny the Younger, a Roman Governor,
in the year 112 AD. Pliny was quite upset
concerning the matter of Christianity.
He
threatened, “I will banish you.”
“You cannot,” was the reply,
“for all the world is my Father's
house.”
“Then
I will slay you,” said the leader.
“You cannot,” answered the
Christian, “for my life is hid with
Christ in God.”
“I
will take away your possessions.”
“Again, you cannot, for my
treasures are all in heaven.”
“Then,”
said Pliny, “I will drive you away from
man, and you shall have no friend left.”
The Christian answered calmly:
“You cannot drive me from my friends for
I have an unseen Friend who is closer to me than a brother. You
will never be able to separate me from
Him.”
Ignatius,
an early church father, said, as he was
facing death due to his faith: “Let fire
and the cross, let wild beasts, let all
the malice of the devil come upon me; only
I enjoy Jesus Christ.
It is better for me to die for
Christ, than to reign over the ends of the
earth. It is part of a brave combatant to
be wounded, and yet to overcome.”
The
enemies of the cross have sometimes
confessed they were baffled and overcome
by the invincible courage of those who
suffered for the cause of Christ. Paul
wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:16-18,
“At my first defense, no-one came to my
support, but everyone deserted me. May it
not be held against them.
BUT THE LORD STOOD AT MY SIDE AND
GAVE ME STRENGTH, so that through me the
message might be fully proclaimed.... The
Lord will rescue me from every evil attack
and will bring me safely to his heavenly
kingdom.
To him be glory for ever and
ever.”
The
Lord stood with Paul in the midst of it
all.
The Lord's love was not suffocated
by the evil hatred of Paul's enemies!
I
like this story. It comes from Campus
Life magazine: Debbie Dortzbach,
missionary during the Ethiopian famines,
was kidnapped by soldiers of the Eritrean
Liberation Front.
She was beaten and made to run
miles of rugged mountain terrain in 104
degree heat while pregnant; she watched
her fellow nurse killed. However, after
twenty-six days of captivity she
summed up the experience by saying: ‘My
overwhelming impression is not the
fearsome parts -- the machine guns pointed
at me, the scary nights in a hut with
three ELF soldiers, the wild animals. The
one outstanding memory is a lesson I
learned. In the United States, or even
working in the mission hospital, I had
crowded out time alone with God and the
Bible. Other activities seemed more urgent
and pressing. But for 26 days I had no
props and no supports. Afraid, alone, I
had to trust in God and wait on His
answers. I learned that God is enough.
Even in desert mountains, surrounded by
potential murderers... God is
enough.'"
Hebrews
13:6 adds, “So
we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my
helper; I will not be afraid. What can man
do to me?”
PAUL'S LIST THEN goes on TO INCLUDE: “FAMINE” and “NAKEDNESS”
In
2 Corinthians 11:27 the Apostle notes, “I
have known hunger and thirst and have
often gone without food; I have been cold
and naked.”
He
had again been there; done that.
He also knew that it was going to
take more than missing a few meals, or not
having adequate clothes to convince him
that God's love had failed him.
“DEATH NOR LIFE”
On
the one hand, the saint knows that “To
live is Christ,” and on the other
hand, “To die is gain.” As
saints we enjoy the abiding presence of
the Lord in this life as we await His call
for us to the other life. Death is only
the vehicle that God uses to unite the
Lord and His children together for
eternity.
John
14:1-3 promises, “Do not let your
hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust
also in me.
In my Father's house are many
rooms; if it were not so, I would have
told you. 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.”
Neither
life or death are able to separate us from
the love of God.
“ANGELS NOR DEMONS”
At
this particular time the Jews had a highly
developed belief in angels.
Everything had its angel. There was
an angel of the winds, of the clouds, of
the snow and hail and frost, of the
thunder and the lighting, of cold and
heat, of the seasons. The Rabbis said that
there was nothing in the world, not even a
blade of grass, that did not have its very
own angel.
While
I doubt this to be true, it does show
again how the people of Paul’s day
viewed angels. They were numerous, active,
and powerful. Nonetheless, even the angels
– the good angels -- can not negate the love that God has for His
children.
Then
Paul shifts to the fallen angels --
demons.
Here he speaks of the powers and
forces of hell. And yet, again, the point
is, evil and fallen spirits are no match
for the awesome love of God in Christ
Jesus!
Think
about this. Satan and his evil hordes
would like nothing more than to move you
from the Kingdom of God to the kingdom of
darkness. Believe me when I say, they
would if they could. The truth is, though,
they can’t. John 10:28-29 declares: “I
give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand. My father who has given them
to me, is greater than all; no one can
snatch them out of my Father's hand.”
“NEITHER THE PRESENT NOR THE FUTURE”
These
words sum up all the measureless
dimensions of time -- things
present and things to come. We know that
the Jews divided all time into this
present age and the age to come.
Barclay’s Daily Study Bible says here: "In this
present world nothing can separate us from
God in Christ; the day will come when this
world will be shattered and the new age
will dawn. It does not matter; even then,
when this world has passed and the new
world come, the bond is still the
same."
“NEITHER HEIGHT NOR DEPTH”
Here
Paul speaks of all the limitless
proportions of space.
Psalm
139:8-10 confirms, “Where can I flee
from your presence? If I go up to the
heavens, you are there; if I make my bed
in the depths, you are there. If I rise on
the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the
far side of the sea, even there your hand
will guide me, your right hand will hold
me fast.”
Go
up, up and up some more and even there you
will still be able to experience God’s
love.
Go
down, down, down to the depths, even to
the depths of the grave and there again
you will still not be separated from the
love of God. Even there His right hand
will hold you secure.
“NOR ANY POWERS”
The
Greek work that is used here means power,
mighty work, strength or even sometimes it
is translated miracle.
In
other words:
·
No voodoo or witch doctor,
·
No curse or spell.
·
No force in this world or the next,
·
No, not even any other power or miracle worker -- can
separate the saint from the love of
Christ!
Then
in one last sweeping phrase, he declares
that “NOR ANYTHING ELSE IN ALL CREATION will be able to separate us from
the love of God that is in Jesus our Lord.”
One
commentator noted here: "You can
think of every terrifying thing that this
or any other world can produce.
Not one of them is able to separate
the Christian from the love of God which
is in Jesus Christ. Of what then shall we
be afraid?"
The
point Paul seeks to make is obvious.
He was persuaded -- firmly
convinced -- He had come to a fixed
conviction -- that these things which we
so often fear and dread have absolutely no
control over nor effect on the LOVE OF GOD
IN CHRIST!
Imagine
our being held securely in the grasp of
God's expansive hand.
And then try to imagine any of the
things that Paul alludes to as being able
to pry us out of His awesome grip!
It is not going to happen saints.
·
God is greater than time and space,
·
He is greater than angels and demons,
·
He is greater than life and death,
·
He is greater than anything and everything!
He is God!
Does this message
really have significance for us today?
Yes! LET'S LOOK NOW AT THE TRIUMPH OF SUCH
LOVE.
Paul
goes on then to state in verse 37: “No,
in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us.”
Let
me now share with you several translations
of this phrase “more than conquerors.”
It
literally means:
·
“We
overcome strongly”
·
“We
have complete victory”
·
“We
do more than overcome”
·
“We
are triumphantly overcoming”
·
“We
are excessively victorious”
·
or, "We are
winning overwhelming victory.”
The Greek word used here is "Hupernikao". The term comes from
HUPER which means "super" or
"above," and NIKAO from nike
which means "victory."
The literal meaning is we are
"super victors."
This
is the only place that this word is found
in the Bible.
In fact, it appears that Paul
himself may have coined the phrase.
The
ability to be a super victor is not based
on human ability or self-determination.
The victory comes “though
Him who loved us.” The Christ who
has defeated every foe because of His love
for us imparts His grace and strength to
make us “super- CONQUERORS!”
As
such, the church not only resists -- but
prevails;
The
church not only prevails -- but triumphs;
We
win a super surpassing victory in, by, and
through Jesus Christ!
Simply,
hell itself is no match for the love and
work of God and His huper-super saints!
An
older fellow -- around 90 years of age --
was asked by a pastor, "My dear
friend, do you love Jesus?"
The old man's deeply wrinkled face
lit up with a smile that some 67 years of
serving the Lord had imparted; and
grasping the preacher's hand with both of
his, he said, "Oh! I can tell you
something better than that."
"And what is that, the pastor asked?
"Oh! Sir," he said, "JESUS
LOVES ME!"
In
those 67 years he had no doubt faced a
little of everything Satan could throw at
him, but he had come through it all
victoriously -- as an overwhelming super
conqueror!
And now -- over 90 and possibly
facing death -- his testimony was simply
of the Lord's never-failing love for him!
As
I conclude I want to point out:
Although
He is willing that non perish, I can chose
to perish, I can will to walk away from
this great and eternal love. The
Scriptures are careful to point out that
divine love offered can be divine love
refused!
And
the question is: Have you accepted this
God and His great love? Do you know Him?
