Victory Forever In Jesus.

Steve Gentry

[0:05] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:06] Welcome to Village Church. [0:07] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve. [0:08] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:10] As always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:14] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Romans chapter 8.

[0:17] We’re going to be starting in verse 31 this morning. [0:21] And we’re going to be finishing a series going through all of Romans 8, just going [0:25] the different levels of victory that we have because of the work that Jesus accomplished [0:32] on the cross and that He has accomplished through His resurrection. [0:36] And you know, it’s kind of fitting, I think, that we’re talking about this on Thanksgiving [0:40] because what verse 31 through 39 gives us is a praise song that the apostle Paul writes

[0:49] in reflection on everything that he has written, not really just in this section of Romans [0:54] 8, but really through the first eight chapters of the book of Romans. [0:58] But for our purpose, our focus will, of course, be on Romans 8 and everything that God has [1:04] revealed to us through the apostle Paul in this chapter. [1:07] And it really is a song of thanksgiving from the apostle, speaking about the overall victory [1:14] over anything that can happen in life through the gospel of Jesus.

[1:17] And he seeks to set our mind on the truth of that gospel. [1:22] And so let’s read starting in verse 31.

[1:27] What shall we say to these things? [1:30] If God is for us, who can be against us? [1:34] He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with [1:41] Him graciously give us all things? [1:44] Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? [1:47] It is God who justifies.

[1:50] Who is to condemn? [1:51] Christ Jesus is the one who died. [1:53] More than that, who is raised? [1:56] Who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us? [2:00] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [2:04] Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword, excuse me,

[2:09] or danger or sword? [2:10] As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. [2:15] We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. [2:17] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. [2:23] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, [2:29] nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation

[2:35] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [2:42] What’s fascinating is the question that He begins with is what shall we say of these things? [2:48] And it’s important that you realize that these things is recounting a large number [2:54] of things that He has said from Romans 1-8. [2:56] In chapters 1-4 He focuses on the redemption that we have through Jesus and the justification [3:02] that Jesus earns as we are forgiven of sins, as we are made right with God through the

[3:08] righteousness of Jesus Christ. [3:09] And then from chapters 5-8 He applies that to what it is for a sinful person to come [3:17] to faith in Jesus. [3:19] And so when He says in that passage of verse 31, what shall we say of these things? [3:25] He’s summarizing the totality of all that God has done for us in Jesus and all that [3:31] it means for every part of our lives and every part of our future.

[3:36] And so these things is a very important and exhaustive thing that He wants you to keep [3:43] in mind. [3:44] What are we to say about the gospel? [3:48] Is what He’s saying. [3:49] And then He begins with this series of rhetorical questions. [3:54] And the first one that He begins with is not just audacious, but it’s also unbelievable

[4:02] if you really think about the life that you live. [4:08] He says if God is for us, who can be against us? [4:14] To which I respond, well lots of things.

[4:18] Because I face lots of things being against me every day. [4:23] I face people being against me. [4:24] I face me being against myself. [4:26] I face all sorts of things. [4:28] And that is why the promise is so important. [4:31] And number one this morning, many will stand against you and that’s why you need this

[4:36] promise. [4:37] Many will stand against you and that is why you need this promise. [4:44] There is a wrong way to read what Paul writes there and it is actually the way that most [4:51] people read it. [4:52] And that is why you have a tough time trusting the promises of God. [4:57] If you read that question as to say if God is for you, no one will stand against you,

[5:05] you will be very disappointed in this life. [5:09] Because many will try to stand against you. [5:13] What He’s actually saying in that passage is that no one will successfully stand against [5:19] you. [5:21] He’s saying that nothing is bigger than the promise that God has given us in the Gospel. [5:29] See this question is recounting everything that He said in the book of Romans.

[5:35] But we have to understand the promises of God correctly to understand how we apply them [5:40] to our lives. [5:41] Because there are two temptations. [5:43] The first one we just talked about. [5:45] That we will misread a promise in Scripture and apply it to the wrong way. [5:48] If you apply that to the wrong way by the end of lunch you are going to be questioning

[5:52] whether the promises of God are legit because somebody or someone is going to stand against [5:56] you. [5:57] A three year old will ultimately stand against you before lunch is out if you have kids.

[6:02] Something is going to stand against you. [6:05] Young parents in here, something was standing against you at 3am. [6:09] A crying child. [6:11] Something is always going to be standing against you in this life. [6:16] It’s not what the promise says. [6:18] But the other problem that you are going to have in your life is you believe that you

[6:22] are too strong where this promise is concerned. [6:25] Because you think that the only thing that is going to make you question not just the [6:29] goodness of God but whether or not the Gospel is true. [6:32] You think that it’s going to take a cancer diagnosis. [6:36] You think that it’s going to take a serious terminal diagnosis. [6:41] You think that it’s going to take a divorce to make you question the goodness of God or

[6:45] the death of a loved one to make you question the goodness of God or a total inability [6:49] or some serious relational turmoil or relationships or anything. [6:53] You think that it’s going to take that level of danger, that level of accusation, that [6:59] level of hardship to make you question whether or not God is for you. [7:05] About a year ago I was driving into Midlothian from the city and I was on 195. [7:11] I remember it like it was yesterday because it was the worst day of my life.

[7:15] I had just gotten a haircut, man. [7:17] I go in the city to get my wig smoked because I got to look good. [7:21] I got to go to the good barber. [7:23] I pay a couple extra dollars. [7:25] I’m not going to lie. [7:26] I’m vain.

[7:27] You are too. [7:29] Quit lying. [7:30] And it takes a lot to get this looking okay. [7:33] When you got this kind of facial hair and you got this color hair, it’s tough. [7:37] So it takes professionals.

[7:40] I was driving in from the city and I’ll be honest with you, I’m kind of an anti-mechanic. [7:45] I love mechanics but I’m the opposite of one. [7:48] That’s what I mean by that. [7:49] I know nothing. [7:50] I know enough to know something’s not right. [7:54] And then I’m done.

[7:55] So I was driving. [7:56] I was on 195 and I felt a vibration in the steering wheel that didn’t feel right. [8:02] And I said something’s wrong. [8:04] And right about the time I got to the bridge going over the James River, the car was shaking [8:10] so much I knew that if I didn’t alter my direction, I was going to cause an accident or I was [8:14] just going to be an accident.

[8:16] And so providentially, I pulled over in the worst possible place that you can pull over. [8:23] I had no choice. [8:25] I had to, but it was on the bridge. [8:27] If you know anything about the side of the road on a bridge, number one, it’s not that [8:32] wide. [8:32] And number two, there’s a wall and on the other side of that wall is just a steep drop

[8:36] into water. [8:38] And so it was about, you know, five o’clock-ish in the afternoon. [8:43] And if you have to drive into the city to work or you come home about that time on [8:48] 195 into 76, you know that that’s not the best time in the world to be on the side [8:54] of a bridge with a car that you know something is wrong. [8:57] And so I opened the driver’s side doors by myself.

[9:00] I opened the driver’s side door just enough to know I needed to shut the driver’s side [9:04] door because if I stepped out, I was stepping into, you know, 70 mile per hour traffic. [9:09] I was like, you know, I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but maybe that’s not the [9:13] best idea. [9:14] And I don’t know if you’ve noticed since you’ve been in here, but I’m not slender. [9:21] Can we just be, can y’all just be nice about it and just say, I’m not slender.

[9:26] OK. [9:27] And I’m thankful that there’s no videotape of the process of me crawling over the center [9:34] console to get to the other side of the CRV to go out of the passenger door. [9:41] All right. [9:41] This is a lot of contortions and pulled muscles. [9:45] All right.

[9:45] And so I step out and I step out and just look down and there’s the steep drop into [9:51] water. [9:51] And then I look back and there’s just a flat tire. [9:54] All right. [9:55] And you know, find out later on there was a nail in the tire. [9:57] At some point in the day I had run over a nail and you know what happens when you run

[10:01] over a nail. [10:01] Your tire goes flat over a period of time. [10:03] And so I’ve got a flat tire. [10:05] It is cold. [10:06] It’s five something in the afternoon. [10:08] I’m in the middle of five o’clock traffic and I then I have to make a choice.

[10:13] And the choice is between machismo that could lead to death or safety that could lead to [10:21] life. [10:21] And what I mean by that is I had this picture in my mind of me with my CRV jacked up on [10:28] the side of the road. [10:30] And if you watch those, you know, I can’t believe they got it on videotape, you know, [10:34] and you always see there’s somebody on the side of the road and then somebody isn’t paying

[10:38] attention and they hit that person on the side of the road. [10:40] And I just had this vision of either me pancaked against that wall or me doing a Superman into [10:47] the James River. [10:48] And either way, I was like, I don’t think I’m that tough. [10:52] And so I chose safety over machismo. [10:55] And so I got back into the passenger side.

[10:58] I called my wife. [10:59] I said, here’s the deal. [11:00] I need the insurance and for information because I need to call a tow truck. [11:04] And so I called a tow truck. [11:05] The bad news is it took him almost three and a half hours to get to me. [11:09] All right.

[11:10] I know. [11:11] I know. [11:13] You guys are empathizing. [11:15] That means the story’s working. [11:17] All right. [11:17] I’ll preach your little preacher thing going on here.

[11:20] OK, so it’s working. [11:22] And so I was sitting there in the passenger side waiting for the tow truck to come my [11:26] way. [11:26] And it was cold and just miserable. [11:30] And I right then I realized I’m weak. [11:34] I’m weak because I’m sitting there and I’m like, oh, this is the worst day of my life.

[11:39] It can’t get any worse than this. [11:42] I had plans tonight. [11:43] I was going to do this, that the other thing. [11:46] I had all these plans and now it’s just ruined. [11:49] I hate life and I hate everybody. [11:51] And this is just the worst day of my life.

[11:55] And right there is where you realize it doesn’t take that much for you to despair. [12:02] It doesn’t take that much for you to question God’s plan for your life. [12:07] It doesn’t take that much for you to say this this famous question. [12:11] Does God love me? [12:14] If he did, would I really be on the side of the road? [12:16] I mean, yesterday I had a hangnail.

[12:18] I pulled it. [12:18] My finger was bleeding. [12:19] I was like, oh, God, make it stop. [12:21] Don’t you love me? [12:23] I’ve despaired over the love of God while on hold with Verizon before. [12:27] OK, I mean, can we just get together on that?

[12:30] All right.

[12:33] We are not as strong in our faith as most of us think that we are. [12:39] All that it takes is some inconvenience. [12:41] All that it takes is some discomfort. [12:44] All that it takes is youth labeling something the worst day of your life while someone in [12:49] the world may label it the best day of their lives. [12:52] It doesn’t take much.

[12:54] And so when the apostle comes to us and he says, what shall we say of these things? [13:00] He begins asking these levels of questions for us to understand just how big the promise [13:07] of the gospel is and just to what length we can trust that God is who he says he is, [13:16] that he did what he said he did, and he will keep the promises that he has made to us. [13:22] And some of it is that we have a wrong valuation of who we are in light of who God is. [13:29] Note what he says.

[13:31] He says four of the most powerful words, and this is the best promise in the world that [13:38] the follower of Jesus has that no one else in the world has. [13:42] God is for us.

[13:47] Do you realize the importance of that promise?

[13:53] To realize the importance of that promise, consider the opposite of that promise. [13:57] God is against us. [14:01] Do you know how bad that would be? [14:04] Or rather for some, do you know how bad that is? [14:08] If God is against you, that is hell. [14:11] If God is against you, that is terrifying.

[14:15] If God is against you, that is hopelessness. [14:19] If God is against you, then ultimately everything in your life will amount to failure because [14:29] that means you are an enemy of God and that means God is plotting against you and that [14:35] means God is looking to you as his enemy and saying you are headed towards the pain of [14:41] the wrath of God. [14:43] But for the follower of Jesus, he says that if God loves you, if God sent his Son for

[14:50] you, if Jesus died for you, if God has redeemed you, if he has justified you, if he has done [14:58] all the work necessary to forgive you of your sins and give you the righteousness of Jesus [15:02] Christ, if while you were a sinner, Christ died for the ungodly, if God is working all [15:11] things together for the good, like Romans 8.28 says, for those who love God, those who [15:17] are the called according to his purpose, if that is true, what shall we say of these [15:23] things?

[15:24] First, we shall say God is for us.

[15:31] And if you have a proper view of God, and I know that in our culture we struggle with [15:37] that, because we trust ourselves sometimes more than we trust God, do you know why we [15:42] despair when our tire goes flat?

[15:46] Do you know why we despair when our plans must be altered? [15:50] Do you know why we despair when our five-year plan becomes a 15-year plan, becomes a total [15:55] rewrite plan?

[15:57] It’s because we trust ourselves more than we trust God.

[16:04] We struggle to believe God being for us is the greatest promise that could ever happen [16:11] in our lives, because we value our wisdom too much, and we value God’s sovereignty [16:18] too small. [16:19] We have a very small view of God, and it shows itself every time we despair over anything. [16:28] If God is for us, who can be against us? [16:32] And to that I say lots of people.

[16:36] Lots of things. [16:37] Yesterday morning I woke up and I was against me, okay?

[16:42] We live in a context and a culture where we aren’t really facing a lot of threats every [16:47] single day from externally. [16:50] A lot of our threats are from the inside. [16:52] A lot of our threats are from me. [16:53] A lot of our threats are because I don’t trust God. [16:55] A lot of our threats are because I don’t believe I’m good enough for God, or I believe

[16:59] that my sin is too great for God to forgive, or I believe that I am too ill-equipped for [17:04] God to use me, or I believe all sorts of lies, and I believe my plan is better than God’s [17:10] plan, and I believe that my doubts are greater than my certainties, and I believe that the [17:15] sacrifice that God has called me to, to follow His Son, is not worth what this world offers [17:22] to me if I refuse to make that sacrifice.

[17:26] I trust the world more than I trust God. [17:29] Because of that I stand against myself often times. [17:33] In the book of Joshua, chapter 1, Joshua is in a terrible situation, and I love Joshua [17:41] 1 because Joshua is in a terrible situation, but here’s why. [17:46] Joshua 1 finds Joshua, I think, in the worst moment of his life. [17:51] I don’t think we read it that way, but it really is.

[17:54] I mean, just picture the fact that Joshua was Moses’ assistant, and Moses has just [18:03] died. [18:04] That’s the setting of Joshua chapter 1. [18:07] And to Israel, but specifically to Joshua, Moses was it. [18:13] He was really kind of the Christ figure to the Israelites. [18:18] They had suffered for hundreds of years in slavery in Egypt, and Moses came, and he

[18:23] wasn’t metaphorically God’s mouthpiece. [18:25] He was literally God’s mouthpiece to the people of Israel and to Egypt. [18:30] And Moses leads the Israelites out of the bondage of slavery. [18:35] He parts the Red Sea, and Joshua is with him, and he’s seeing this, and he’s following [18:41] him, and they cross over, and then God destroys the Egyptians, but all they see is God using [18:47] Moses.

[18:48] Then Moses leads them to the promised land for many, many years. [18:53] They see many, many miracles. [18:55] They see God give Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. [19:02] Joshua’s the first person that sees Moses come down from the mountain when he’s seen [19:08] the backside of the glory of God.

[19:12] And then Israel is judged, and they have to wander for 40 years because of their lack [19:17] of faith, and Joshua sees God endure them under Moses’ leadership. [19:23] He sees Moses lead them to forgiveness. [19:25] He sees Moses stand between God’s wrath and Israel and convince God not to pour His wrath [19:33] on Israel. [19:34] I mean, when you think about it, there was never a person like Moses other than Jesus

[19:39] Christ in Scripture, and Joshua had a front row seat. [19:43] And in Joshua 1, we find that Moses is dead, and God looks to Joshua and says, Now you [19:51] lead. [19:51] Could you imagine how intimidating that would be?

[19:55] It wasn’t like he was, you know, Moses part 2. [19:59] He was the secretary in some ways.

[20:03] And God looks to Joshua in a moment of burden where responsibility has laid sharply on [20:10] And he says this.

[20:18] He says,

[20:33] When you read verse 5, it sounds strangely like what we read for us in Romans chapter [20:39] 8. [20:41] But what happens through the rest of the book of Joshua, because if you read that wrong, [20:44] you’ll think, well, they’re just going to go in and everybody’s going to leave. [20:48] They’re just going to go in and everybody’s going to go, Oh, the Israelites are here. [20:50] Get the U-Haul.

[20:51] We got to move out of the promised land. [20:52] That’s not the way it goes down. [20:54] No, lots of people tried to stand in Joshua’s way. [20:58] God didn’t say Joshua, no one will stand in your way. [21:02] God says Joshua, no one will successfully stand in your way. [21:06] Do you know what Joshua had to do?

[21:08] He still had to lead Israel into battle. [21:11] He still had to lead them against everyone that would stand against them. [21:14] He still had to fight. [21:16] He still had to trust. [21:19] He still had to have faith that God would do everything that God had promised to do. [21:27] But it took effort.

[21:28] It took trust. [21:29] It took a life of real faith. [21:32] If you’re going to live out the promise of Romans 8, 31 and 32, it is going to take [21:38] a deep level of faith. [21:39] It is going to take a long journey and it is going to take effort. [21:44] You’re going to have to live your faith.

[21:48] The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 5, 4, everyone who has been born of God does what? [21:56] Overcomes the world.

[21:59] What an amazing promise. [22:02] He continues, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

[22:11] Not your talent, not your ability, not your intelligence, not your physical prowess or [22:22] acumen, your faith. [22:25] Do you believe God to be who he reveals himself to be? [22:30] Do you believe he has done what he said he was going to do? [22:34] Do you believe his promises? [22:37] Your faith overcomes the world.

[22:41] Number two this morning, nothing is more powerful than the love of God.

[22:48] Nothing is more powerful than the love of God. [22:51] It’s fascinating. [22:52] He gives all these rhetorical questions.

[22:56] So God is for us who can be against us. [22:59] Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? [23:02] Who is to condemn you? [23:04] He’s recounting everything that he said so far in Romans chapter 8, and the answer to [23:09] that is no one, no one, no one. [23:12] Because Jesus has the victory, because Jesus has done what it took, because Jesus loves

[23:17] me and that leads him to a very important question there. [23:21] Verse 35, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [23:28] Now the answer to that, I want to just let the cat out of the bag, nobody.

[23:33] Nothing. [23:35] If you have the love of Christ, you will never lose the love of Christ. [23:40] But we very quickly think, often times based on situations and circumstances that we encounter, [23:44] that we might have a little less of the love of Christ than we wish we did because we value [23:48] love differently. [23:50] I think love is whatever I want, and you giving it to me.

[23:55] And if you say no, then we have a problem. [23:57] You don’t love me the way that I want to be loved. [24:00] You’re not speaking my love language.

[24:05] Oof. [24:06] Yelzers. [24:08] You ever read the Bible and think maybe we read the wrong book too much?

[24:14] But he gives a second level of threat, because the first level of threat, if you noticed, [24:21] was just accusation. [24:24] Accusation from outside, accusation from inside. [24:26] If I’m following Jesus, someone looks at me and says, who do you think you are? [24:30] From trusting God and walking by faith, someone looks at me and says, you are a fool. [24:34] That is an accusation.

[24:36] That is a charge against God’s elect. [24:39] Someone saying, you’re no better than me, you self-righteous hypocrite. [24:43] See, that’s what people will say about Christians. [24:45] That is a charge against God’s elect. [24:47] And God says, if you’re in Christ, those charges won’t stick because God has forgiven you in [24:53] Christ.

[24:53] But then he goes to a level that I think is really threatening, especially in our culture [24:58] where we don’t understand these things as much. [25:01] He goes from an accusation to a real physical threat. [25:05] He says, who will separate you from the love of Christ? [25:08] And then he goes into a list of physical pains that we might endure. [25:13] Look at what he says.

[25:15] Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword.

[25:24] I’m afraid of all of those things. [25:27] Can I just be that honest with you guys? [25:29] I’ve never woken up and said, man, I could really go for some famine today. [25:34] That would be great. [25:35] No, that’s awful. [25:37] That’s to be feared.

[25:40] Danger is not something you should run into. [25:44] Right? [25:44] That’s foolishness. [25:46] I don’t want to face that. [25:47] I don’t want to face the sword. [25:49] I don’t want to think about a life in which so much has been taken away from me that I

[25:54] cannot afford clothes and I’m stripped bare by my enemies and humiliated. [26:00] I don’t want to face those things.

[26:06] Physical pain is something that every one of us seeks to avoid in every moment of our [26:15] lives. [26:15] And the apostle Paul is telling us that if you don’t value the love of God appropriately, [26:21] if you don’t trust the love of God just explicitly, then you will be tempted to question whether [26:30] God’s love you at the moment of pain in your life. [26:33] I know some of you, I don’t know every single one of you, but I can tell you without hesitation

[26:39] that every single one of you will experience pain at some point in your life and it’s [26:45] going to be more than you’re prepared for. [26:48] You will. [26:49] Every single one of you.

[26:52] And as a pastor, I walk with people that experience pain. [26:55] And I talk with them and I pray with them, I pray for them. [26:59] And it’s difficult because, and I’ve said this before, but every single person who’s [27:05] encountered deep physical pain in this life, whether it be self-inflicted, whether it [27:11] be an illness, whatever it is, they say that the worst part is not physical pain, the worst [27:15] part is the mental anguish.

[27:18] Because physical pain messes with your mind. [27:21] Physical pain messes with your emotions. [27:23] And physical pain will make you question, does God love me? [27:31] Israel was well acquainted with physical pain and anguish. [27:36] Right after he gives that exhaustive list, he quotes Psalm 44. [27:41] He says in verse 36 from Psalm 44, he says,

[27:51] That was written in Psalm 44 during a very dark time in the life of Israel. [27:56] You see, when Israel went into the promised land, it wasn’t like the ending of a Disney [28:00] movie where everybody was just laughing and hugging and having a festival. [28:04] No, they went to battle and that battle didn’t stop for hundreds and hundreds of years.

[28:11] And they won, but when they were unfaithful, they would lose. [28:14] And the Canaanites would come against them and there was a five nation, United Nations [28:19] at that point that came against Israel and the Philistines would come against Israel [28:23] and the Philistines beat Israel so bad at one point that they took the Ark of the Covenant.

[28:30] They were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. [28:33] They were taken into captivity by the Assyrians. [28:36] In Hebrews chapter 11 recounts at the end of the chapter, it’s the one that we don’t [28:41] read that often. [28:42] We stop at the Faith Hall of Fame because Hebrews 11 is about faith. [28:46] But then towards the end of Hebrews chapter 11, he begins to recount the history of Israel

[28:51] and in the first half, he talks about the amazing miracles. [28:55] And he said, they were so victorious and the miraculous happened and God delivered them [29:00] and as if risen from the dead, wives received their husbands back from battle as though [29:06] resurrections had happened. [29:07] It was that monumental that God had given a miraculous victory. [29:13] But then oftentimes we ignore the rest where he says that God also allowed many to die.

[29:21] God also saw thousands to fall by the sword. [29:25] Many wives did not receive their husbands back but were instead widowed and children [29:30] were orphaned. [29:31] And it says some were even taken into captivity and sawn in half. [29:36] They were tortured so extremely.

[29:42] Every single one of you is going to die at some point. [29:45] I don’t know when. [29:48] Some of you will live many, many years and you’ll live to be 70, 80, maybe even 90 years [29:54] old. [29:54] I don’t know. [29:55] Some of you are going to receive a report from the doctor that cuts that very, very short.

[30:01] And the reason that Hebrews 11 ends on what seems to be kind of a downer, let’s be honest [30:06] about that, is because God is not looking to you saying you will not endure pain in [30:13] this life. [30:14] God is looking you square in the eye and he is saying you will endure pain, you are not [30:20] going to be ready for it, you will be blindsided by it every single time that it happens. [30:26] But understand that in every single one of those moments, God is for you.

[30:33] Nothing can separate you from the love of God. [30:38] Look at 1 John 4 verse 18, the apostle John writes, he says, [30:42] There is no fear in love.

[30:45] Perfect love casts out fear. [30:48] For fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. [30:54] Perfect love casts out fear. [30:56] That is an amazing statement.

[30:59] It is a promise. [31:01] One that every single one of us struggles to believe because we are so fearful of so [31:05] many things in this life because for the most part all of us live kind of a favorable life [31:12] where the history of the world is concerned.

[31:16] And when you have much you are afraid of losing every bit of it, every single day. [31:22] And God wants you to understand that the reason that you have that mentality is because [31:27] you have a valuation of this world as though what you have been given by the world is [31:33] better than what God has promised in the gospel. [31:36] And he wants you to understand that when you have the perfect love of Jesus Christ [31:41] you have to look at that and understand you will never get anything better than that

[31:45] because there is nothing worth more than the love of God in Christ Jesus. [31:49] And when you have the perfect love of Christ Jesus you could lose everything [31:54] but so long as you have that you still have nothing to fear ultimately.

[32:02] There is no greater dread than the type of dread of a pain that you are enduring [32:10] coming at you because God hates you.

[32:14] That’s the worst. [32:15] But without Jesus that’s exactly what we have. [32:20] And that is not a comfortable thought. [32:22] That is not something that we want to dwell on within a great length of time [32:26] but that is the reality of who we are in our sin. [32:30] But the guarantee of this text though is that if I have faith in Jesus

[32:35] while I may suffer I will never walk the road of suffering alone. [32:42] God will be with me every step of the way [32:45] and his love will be mine every step of the way. [32:49] In Psalm 118 the Psalmist writes, he says, [32:52] the Lord is on my side I will not fear. [32:55] And then my love language is the next question because it is a sarcastic question.

[33:01] He says, what can man do to me?

[33:06] That is the gospel. [33:08] God is for you. [33:13] Therefore what can any power in creation do to you ultimately?

[33:23] And if you are a follower of Jesus the answer is nothing.

[33:29] Nothing.

[33:31] Because I have the love of God in my life. [33:35] Paul is writing that you are not to despair [33:38] because on the other side of pain is always the promise of resurrection.

[33:44] Jesus brings life to death. [33:48] Perfect love casts out fear because perfect love guarantees resurrection.

[33:54] Finally this morning number three, [33:57] Jesus wins and you should base your life on that. [34:02] Jesus wins and you should base your life on that. [34:05] He has given us the answer to what do you do [34:08] in a world where your enemies, your friends, [34:13] your family, your co-workers will accuse you.

[34:19] What do you do when you are enduring physical pain? [34:24] And then finally he says, what do you do [34:27] when it seems like you are going through the greatest spiritual battle of your life? [34:32] Look at what he says in the text. [34:35] First he says, as for your sake we are being killed all the day long [34:39] we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

[34:41] And then he just says no.

[34:46] He says no this is not the reality of the gospel. [34:48] In the gospel we still have hope even if we are slaughtered. [34:52] Why? [34:53] Because in all these things we are what? [34:55] More than conquerors. [34:59] So many promises in scripture are misread.

[35:03] And that one is really misread. [35:05] That is not a text that is about you being five minutes late for work [35:10] and being stuck in traffic and saying no traffic [35:14] you won’t stand in my way today I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus [35:17] I will make it to work on time. [35:18] Here’s the deal, you might still be late.

[35:21] That’s not what God promises. [35:22] God doesn’t promise that when you sleep too much [35:25] things are going to work out. [35:27] No you might get fired.

[35:30] But you are still a conqueror. [35:32] Because being more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus [35:35] isn’t about your status in this world so stop pretending that it is. [35:40] Because every time you take a gospel promise [35:42] and try to pretend it is about some level of worldly status [35:47] you devalue the promises of God.

[35:50] Every single time. [35:52] Here he is saying you are more than a conqueror through what? [35:56] Through him who loved us.

[35:59] Through the gospel and everything that God says it is yours. [36:02] That means that God’s wrath is not raging against you [36:05] if you’ve trusted in Christ. [36:07] That means his holiness is not to be feared. [36:09] That means that you have the love of God in Christ [36:12] you have the very righteousness of Jesus.

[36:15] And then he just it seems like Paul loses it a little bit here [36:18] because he gets so excited that he just starts throwing everything at it. [36:23] He says you are more than a conqueror [36:25] For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers [36:29] nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth [36:34] nor anything else in all creation.

[36:37] Paul is trying to be completely exhaustive. [36:40] He throws everything in the kitchen sink at you at that point. [36:44] And he says that you have the love of Christ [36:48] and if God loves you he is for you [36:51] and if God is for you then nothing coming your way [36:54] If you die God is still for you.

[36:57] Why. [36:58] Because Jesus wins. [37:00] If you live God is still for you. [37:02] Why. [37:03] Because Jesus wins. [37:04] If a host of the angels comes against you

[37:07] God is still for you. [37:08] Why. [37:09] Because Jesus wins. [37:10] If demons come against you [37:12] God is for you. [37:14] Why.

[37:14] Because Jesus still wins. [37:17] If things that are going on in your life right now [37:20] seem to be completely against you [37:22] God is still for you. [37:23] Why. [37:24] because Jesus wins.

[37:26] If you are fretting over the future, [37:28] hey, if you’re like me and you struggle with sleep [37:30] and you lay awake at night anxious [37:32] over what’s gonna happen tomorrow and next week, [37:34] guess what, God is still for you, why? [37:37] Because Jesus still wins and he goes on

[37:41] and he says things tomorrow, things now, [37:44] nor powers, nor there’s nothing so tall [37:47] that God will stop being for you, why? [37:49] Because Jesus still wins. [37:51] There is nothing so low that God will stop being for you, [37:54] why?

[37:55] Because Jesus still wins and then he gets exhausted [37:59] and he says, nor anything else in all creation, well what?

[38:04] Separate you from the love of God [38:05] that is yours in Christ Jesus.

[38:10] What’s interesting about that [38:12] is when he says anything else in all creation,

[38:16] that’s everything but God.

[38:19] Because he made it all.

[38:23] So then you begin to think about all of the reasons [38:25] you despair, all of the reasons you’re anxious, [38:28] all of the reasons that you’re afraid, [38:31] all of the reasons that you say does God love me [38:33] and you feel like an absolute fool.

[38:37] But guess what, even when you’re an absolute fool, [38:41] God is still for you, why? [38:46] Because Jesus wins.

[38:52] So why are you living as though he won’t?

[38:58] Every decision, every action, every direction [39:04] that you take in life should go through [39:09] the filter of Jesus wins. [39:13] And so when you say, is discipleship worth it? [39:16] Let’s be honest, we all ask that question. [39:19] Is taking the time out of my busy schedule

[39:22] and sacrificing other things that this world says [39:25] is more valuable and entering into environments [39:27] of discipleship, is it worth it? [39:30] If Jesus wins, yes. [39:33] If Jesus wins, absolutely. [39:37] Are the moments of your life where you make a decision

[39:39] that the world says you are a fool for making that decision [39:42] because the only way that making that decision [39:44] will make any sense is if the gospel of Jesus Christ [39:47] is true, should you still make that decision? [39:49] Yes, why? [39:50] Jesus wins.

[39:53] You should walk confidently through this world. [39:56] You should flaunt your obedience to the world around you. [40:00] Why? [40:01] Because Jesus wins. [40:03] I have no fear of the devil, can I tell you that? [40:06] I don’t like scary movies but I’m not afraid of the devil.

[40:10] And you say, Steve, oh my goodness, [40:13] we wrestle not against things of the flesh [40:15] but against principalities and powers of darkness. [40:17] Yeah, I know the Bible, I want to submit here.

[40:22] But the book of James also says all that I have to do [40:24] is resist him and he’s gonna flee from me. [40:26] You know what it takes to defeat the devil for a Christian? [40:28] No, he gone.

[40:33] That’s it. [40:35] A legion of demons could be standing at my door tomorrow [40:39] but guess what, the victory is mine. [40:41] Jesus wins. [40:43] Why are you so afraid of what you will lose in this world [40:49] when you have everything in eternity at your fingertips

[40:53] because of the victory that is yours in Jesus Christ [40:58] if you believe the gospel?

[41:01] But maybe that’s the problem.

[41:05] Maybe you don’t believe the gospel.

[41:12] In Romans chapter eight, verse 28, he says, [41:15] we know that for those who love God, [41:17] all things work together for good [41:18] for those who are called according to his purpose.

[41:22] Everything that he says in verses 31 through 39 [41:26] are expounding on that.

[41:30] Therefore, if you follow Jesus, [41:33] if you make the hard decisions, [41:35] if you fight the good fight, [41:37] if you live the victory [41:39] that God has given you in Jesus Christ, [41:42] that is your battle cry.

[41:46] Live it. [41:48] Jesus wins.

[41:53] Every week we reflect on the Lord’s Supper [41:56] which is called communion. [41:58] The broken bread on the plates [42:00] represents the broken body of Christ. [42:03] The cup represents his shed blood. [42:05] And if you’re in here and you’re not a follower of Jesus

[42:09] or you’re from a different tradition, [42:11] I want you to understand that when we eat and drink this, [42:14] what we are doing is we are proclaiming [42:16] the victory of Jesus to everyone in this room. [42:19] And that makes a very important distinction. [42:22] That if you’re in here and you’re not a follower of Jesus,

[42:26] you can’t proclaim that. [42:28] And so if you’re not a Christian, [42:30] then you shouldn’t come and eat and drink [42:32] because I don’t want you to lie and neither does God. [42:36] But here’s what I want you to know.

[42:39] You can begin a life of faith in Jesus Christ right now.

[42:46] You have sinned against God, that’s true. [42:49] But Jesus bore the penalty for your sin on the cross [42:53] and he has paid the price so that you can be forgiven. [42:58] And everything in the victory of Jesus [43:00] that I’ve been talking about this morning can be yours [43:02] if you trust Jesus Christ as your savior.

[43:05] As I’m talking or as other people are reflecting [43:08] in communion, I’m just gonna ask you [43:10] to do something very simple. [43:12] If you wanna trust Jesus today, [43:14] all that you need to do is pray to God. [43:17] God, I know that I am a sinner,

[43:20] but I believe that Jesus paid the price [43:22] for my sin on the cross and he rose from the dead [43:25] to give me a new life. [43:27] God, forgive me of my sin and save me. [43:31] There’s nothing magic about those words, [43:33] but if you believe them, God will save you today.

[43:38] He will make you new today. [43:42] And if you pray that prayer or if you want to trust Christ, [43:46] my request of you is that sometime after the service [43:49] is over, grab me, grab one of the leaders of the church [43:52] because I would love to pray with you and for you. [43:54] I’d love to answer any questions that you might have.

[43:57] For those of you that are in here and you know [44:00] that Jesus is your Lord and savior, [44:03] when you’re ready, come, proclaim the victory, [44:07] and then go live the love of Christ. [44:10] !