The Question That Haunts Us

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Can anything that happens to us in this life separate us from God's love? Romans 8 35 to 39 answers that question with one of the most astonishing declarations in all of Scripture. The apostle Paul boldly declares that neither trouble nor hardship, persecution nor famine, nakedness nor danger, nor even the sword can separate those who are in Christ from the love of God. In fact, believers may face suffering so severe that they may seem like sheep destined for slaughter. Yet even in the midst of such trials, Paul proclaims that we are more than conquerors to him who loved us. He concludes with the breathtaking assurance that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor death, nor anything else in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Stay with me as we examine this remarkable passage and discover why every believer is spiritually invincible in Christ. The Apostle

Why Paul Speaks With Weight

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Paul was writing these lofty words regarding our ability to remain united with God's love from the perspective of one who had endured much. In 2 Corinthians 11, 24 to 25, Paul relates that among his many hardships, five times he received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods. Once he was pelted with stones and left for dead outside Lystra. Three times he was shipwrecked. On one of these occasions he spent a night and a day in the open sea. Here in Romans 8 35 to 39, the Apostle Paul boldly affirms that neither trouble nor hardship, persecution nor famine, nakedness nor danger, nor even the sword can separate those who are in Christ from the love of God.

The Courtroom Challenge Of Romans 8

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Paul's argument is almost like a courtroom challenge. He invites us to examine every possible force that could separate us from Christ and then systematically proves that every one of them fails. The first of these exigencies that Paul looks at is trouble or hardship. Trouble here conveys the idea of being squeezed, placed under pressure, or crushed beneath a weight. According to the ancient law of England, those who willfully refused to plead guilty had heavy weights placed on their breasts. They were then pressed and crushed to death. Hardship or disease figuratively describes the tight places believers have to go through. An example of such would be an army caught in a narrow, rocky ravine, with space neither to maneuver nor to escape. It could also be used to describe a ship caught in a storm with no room either to ride it or to run before it. Paul

Persecution, Famine, Shame, And Risk

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then speaks of persecution and famine. Paul is reminding us that persecutions are part of the required curriculum in Christ's school of discipleship. When holy Mr. Hawks was martyred, his lower extremities were burnt, and onlookers expected to see him fall over into the fire. Instead he lifted his flaming hands, each finger spurt in fire, and clapped them three times with the shout of none but Christ, none but Christ. Famine in Paul's time referred to those who were banished for their fate. Frequently they were carried to places where they could not exercise their handicrafts. They were taken away from their situations, from their friends and from their acquaintances. As a result, they did not know where to find even the necessary sustenance for their bodies. Paul next looks at nakedness and peril. Persecutors often strip Christian men and women naked to make them ashamed. It is reported by those who looked on that these believers seemed to be gloriously arrayed. Peril is constant exposure to sudden death. Early Christians were never sure of a moment's mercy, for a new edict might comfort from the Roman Emperor to sweep the Christians away. Perils by rivers and by robbers were the lot of the Christian missionary as a journey to inhospitable climbs to declare the gospel. Last but not least, on Paul's list, is the sword which speaks of execution. It is the only item on the list that Paul had not yet personally experienced in the course of living for Jesus and preaching the gospel. Tradition states that eventually he was beheaded by Emperor Nero.

Sheep For Slaughter Yet Still Held

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Are we willing to remain faithful to Christ whatever the cause? Paul then goes on to directly quote Psalms 4422, as it is written, For your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. The Greek word that is used here refers to the slaughter of animals, particularly for sacrifices. The term is used literally to identify the throat, the place between the collarbone where sacrifices are usually slain. Believers may face suffering so severe that they seem like sheep destined for slaughter. The carrier arc of the Christian is a living debt. This fate is ours by virtue of our identification with Christ. The songwriter Oscar Eliason wrote, Got any rivers you think are uncrossable, got any mountains you can't tunnel through. God specializes in things taught impossible. Sickness may come, unemployment may come, the loss of friends may come, mockery and disrespect may occur. True believers persevere because they have the power of God's indwelling spirit to provide the desire to keep on keeping on. God will shield and protect even the most fearful person who truly belongs to him. We can hold on to God because He holds on to us.

SIM Missionaries And Unexpected Provision

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On November 4th, 1893, Walter Gowance, Tom Kent, and Roland Bingham stood on the aft deck of a ship as they made their way to Africa. Despite expending tremendous effort, no missionary board in Great Britain would take up their cause. They had decided to call themselves the Soudan Interior Mission, SIM. Walter's mother would be the entire mission board. On December 7, 1893, three days after the men arrived in Lagos, a messenger arrived at their door with an invitation to dine with the superintendent of the Methodist mission. No sooner had they all sat down to dinner than the superintendent shook his head. Young men, he said, I would be neglecting my duty if I did not tell you that you're on a fool's errand. You will never see the Sudan. The superintendent's words did not discourage any of the three young men for long, though his warning did cause them to pray even harder. They realized that they did not have enough money to mount a successful inland trip. After an intense week of prayer, they felt they should sort through their belongings and sell anything that was not essential. However, even selling their belongings and eating frugally did not raise as much money as they needed. The answer to their prayers came when mail finally arrived from England. It contained a letter from a housemaid, Mary. As Roland opened the letter, a bank draft for 500 pounds floated out. They now had enough money to continue the work. Let us reflect on the truth that no matter what comes, we are still united to God in love. The story does not end with us merely surviving as sheep marked for slaughter.

What More Than Conquerors Means

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In 2 Samuel 11 and 12, we are told that in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. This army destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. However, David remained in Jerusalem. David did not have to go out and fight personally. The battle would still be won. The Apostle Paul in Romans 8.37 triumphantly declares that no, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Believers have and will pass through outward want, inward trial, persecution, want of bread, want of raiment, the constant hazard of life, and may even lay down life itself. Paul previously ascribed to believers the status of sheep destined to be slaughtered. Yet in every case, through the whole list of these gloomy fights, believers were, are, and will be more than conquerors. Importantly, all the glory of the victory believers obtain is to be ascribed solely to God. More than conqueror is the one who, by the strength of God within him, actually takes the very things that are designed to destroy him and makes them into stepping stones instead of stumbling blocks. More than a conqueror means that we rest from defeat values that could never be gained by conquest. While enduring tribulation, true patience and proven, we come to the hope that is not put to shame. While experiencing anguish, we secure fellowship with the suffering which saves. In the midst of bearing persecution, we demonstrate the meaning of true godliness. While suffering hunger, we prove that man does not live by bread alone. In nakedness, we reveal the beauty of spiritual adorning. As we are surrounded by perils, we reveal the power of our Lord. By yielding our lives to the sword, we demonstrate the weakness of the sword. It is Jesus who is at our right hand and who supports us in all our afflictions. If nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love, then we can face anything this world throws at us with confidence.

River Kwai Faith That Changed A Camp

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Ernest Gordon experienced what he meant to be more than a conqueror when he served as a British officer in the Japanese prison camp by the River Kwai in Thailand. He was one of the prisoners who built the bridge over the river Kwai. The prisoners existed on a starvation diet, which made them nothing but walking skeletons. Despite their physical infirmities, these prisoners were driven out each day to do heavy labor on the bridge. Thousands of them died as cholera and other diseases swept through the camp. The moral of the camp plummeted to the bottom. However, in that camp, there were one or two people who entertained a deep faith in God. These men organized a massage team to go around and massage one another's legs. They made their own musical instruments and eventually had a 40-piece orchestra. They organized a church. They began Bible study classes. Gradually the spirit transformed the camp, and faith, joy, and hope sprang into being. The outward circumstances were unchanged. The Japanese were as hostile and as cruel as ever. The work was as heavy as it had always been, and disease was just as rampant. Yet these men became joyous, happy, victorious individuals. It was when they were down in the darkest, the deepest, and the lowest depths of their lives that they became by faith more than conquerors. Are we living our lives as more than conquerors? If we are more than conquerors in the very things designed to destroy us, then we must also face the even greater question, is there anything at all in the entire universe that can finally separate us from the love that makes us conquerors?

Death, Life, Spirits, And The Future

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In Romans 8 38 to 39, the Apostle Paul concludes with the breathtaking assurance that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor death, nor anything else in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is the best news ever. It means that God will never forget us or cease to care for us. In Luke 23, 43, we are told that death could not separate the repentant thief on the cross from Christ. Jesus told him, Truly I said to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. Jesus disarmed death of its thing. Death is the messenger that takes a believer home to Jesus. When Paul refers to life here, he's speaking of our present earthly life, where very real and sinister spiritual dangers lie. As aliens and strangers in this life, all the forces that oppose Christ are also fighting against believers. However, due to the fact that we have placed our faith in Christ Jesus, our present-day threats are conquered. In Daniel 10, 8-17, we are told that in the presence of God's angel, Daniel felt overwhelmed by his utter worthlessness. There are also malignant angels who choose Satan's captaincy and work with him to render evil. In 1 Peter 5.8, the apostle Peter issues an admonition to believers, be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil proles around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Neither of these angels, good or evil, can separate us from that love of God which is fixed forever in Christ. When we consider things present, we remember Job, who lost everything that he had at that point in time. Nonetheless, Job was not separated from God's love. In the case of Elijah, Satan dealt in futures. In 1 King 19:1 to 2, Jezebel threatened, I will make thy life as the life of one of them, the slain prophets, by tomorrow about this time. When Elijah saw that, he arose and went for his life. Not only did he live then, but God took him up by a chariot of fire into heaven. The Greek word that is translated powers here is dunamis, energy. It refers to those uncanny and horrible workings of Satan and his hosts that are seen in spiritism and all kinds of magic. This is the same word that is used in Acts 8, 9 to 11 to describe the sorcerer Simon. We are told that he was called the great power of God. None of these powers can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are safe in Christ. Paul next declares that neither height nor death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Astronomers provide us with figures regarding the vastness of the universe. However, Christ has passed through all the heavens and is seated at the right hand of God. Furthermore, Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth, into the abyss at the heart of the earth. No death can separate us from God's loving Christ. Paul concludes his listing of the believers' enemies by stating, Nor any other creation. In John 10 28, Jesus states, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Everything else is a created thing, but we have the Creator on our side. Even our faith is a gift from him. His hand shall never relax his grip upon us. The love of God will stand any tests. Earthly duels are sometimes lost. Christ's duels never. None of these elements that have been listed previously can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The measure of love is how much it gives. By this standard, the love of God is immeasurable, because both the greatness of the gift and the cost of giving it are beyond our power to grasp. Suffering can become so intense at times that we don't know how we can take any more pain. It's in these moments that Jesus reassures us of his presence and sustains us.

Threats, Magic, And God’s Protection

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In December 1893, Roland experienced God's ability to keep him while surrounded by evil powers. Roland was a lone white man, an unwelcome missionary in the courtyard of the palace of the Muslim king of Iwo. While waiting to see the king, two burly, richly dressed Africans strolled into the area. When the men saw Roland, they drew their swords and strode toward the bench where he and his interpreter were seated. Just when Roland thought the men were going to attack, a courtier arrived. The courtier led them into a large open courtyard. The king sat on embroidered cushions on a platform, shielded from the fierce sun by an umbrella. A large crowd of men, including the two with the menacing swords, stood behind him. The king stood up and spoke to Roland. I have decided that you must leave our town tomorrow morning. There's to be no preaching. Just as Roland was turning to leave, a man lunged toward him, yelling curses in the name of Allah. He watched as the man deliberately raised his arm as if to signal something. That night two shadowy figures crept into Roland's tent. You're very lucky to be alive, the taller one said. There's some kind of magic about you. What makes you say that? Roland asked. That man who spat at you and cursed you, he is the headman at the moss. Early this morning, before you arrive at the palace, he stirred up the people and organized to have you stoned to death as a warning that no other missionaries should disturb you all. But when he gave the signal to rush at you, a great fear settled over the people and no one moved. Afterward they said, magic held them back, and even the angriest men stepped aside and let you through. You had better leave fast. The king is very scared of you. Let us reflect on the truth that there is no one greater than our God.

Thanking God For What We Cannot Lose

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We started by asking if anything that happens to us in this life could separate us from God's love. As we examine Romans 8, 35 to 39, we looked at the difficulties and calamities that can strip away the externals from our lives. We saw that even when we appear as sheep destined for slaughter, we are in reality more than conquerors to the one who loved us. We heard Paul's final sweeping declaration that none of these things, nor anything else in all creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Oftentimes when we express our gratitude to God, we emphasize material prosperity. Good health is a great blessing, but it could be gone tomorrow. Into the most loving families and friendships, debt intrudes when we least expect it. Our tables may be loaded with food today, but we could be out of work tomorrow and wondering about our next meal. Today, instead of focusing on the traditional areas of food, family, and friends, let's thank God for what we cannot lose. God's love is unfailing, unceasing, unchanging, and unconquerable. In the midst of all of our challenges, let us give thanks to God for his love in Christ, because no person or problem can take his love away.

Subscribe, Pray, And Keep Walking

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Before you go, if this message spoke to you, like this podcast and subscribe so you don't miss what God is doing here at Catch on Fire Podcasts. If you're ready for real change, take a moment right now to pray with me. Jesus, I give you my life. Lead me, forgive me, and make me new. If you pray that, welcome to the family. Follow along, stay connected, and let's walk this walk together. Growing scripture, discipleship and Christian leadership through the online course found at Biblical Discipleship Academy.uscreen dot io. Discover the covenant story and learn to see the Bible as one unified story. Go deeper with until Christ is formed in you and grow as a disciple of Jesus. Explore leadership is discipleship and learn why true Christian leadership begins with following Jesus. Start studying, start learning, start growing. Join us at Biblical Discipleship Academy.uscreen dot io. Please

Words Of Life And Final Blessing

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join me as we confess words of life over all of our lives. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are still holding on to God's unchanging hand. We are still in God's holy plan. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are living holy lives as God requires. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, giving clothes to those in need, ministering to the sick and visiting those in prison, and we are doing so to the least of those among us, as when we do so we are ministering to Jesus. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we have received healing, as by his stripes we are healed. From the crown of our head to the soles of our feet, all of our bodily organs are working correctly. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that God is ordering our steps, that all weapons that are formed against us have been utterly and completely destroyed, and every tongue that is rising against us in judgment is condemned. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that all generational curses are cancelled. Anything that runs in our ancestral bloodline that is not of God has no power over us, our children and our grandchildren, and is eliminated forever right now. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that angels are watching over and keeping our family, our children, our grandchildren, our loved ones safe. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that every negative word that has been and is being over our lives and that of our family, children, grandchildren, and loved ones is cancelled and sent back to the pit from whence it came. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are the head and not the tail. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are not and will never be ashamed. Our enemies have not and never will triumph over us. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that anything that is not of God, that has been dispatched to hinder our blessings, our progress, and our well-being is immediately destroyed. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are financially in line with God's word, and as such we are lenders and not borrowers. As a result, all of our debts have been paid and are forgiven. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that the enemy of our souls has no authority over our finances and our funds, and that we are good stewards of the money that God has placed in our keeping. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that in the area of business and our carriers, that just as Isaac reaped a hundredfold, the blessings of Abraham are falling on us, and we are reaping a hundredfold from whatever we put our hands to. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are living under an open heaven in every area of our lives. Blessings are falling on us, our family and our loved ones. These blessings are being manifested in our lives, in the spiritual and in the physical. Let's repeat the 23rd Psalm together. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restored my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen.