1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,240 Amen. It's good singing. 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,960 Let's turn in God's Word to Romans chapter 8. 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,440 I'm going to break into the chapter. 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:22,160 We're going to read from verse 28 through to the end, Romans 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,280 chapter 8. As you're turning to the place, 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:34,840 just want to inform you that at the month of February, then we 7 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:40,440 will return to our studies and 1st Thessalonians, and then 8 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:45,080 we'll slowly work our way through dealing with chapter 5. 9 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,360 So do you remember that in prayer? 10 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:53,440 And I appreciate that. But just for today we will turn 11 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:55,960 to this portion Romans chapter 8. 12 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,000 Let's read from verse 28. Let's hear God's word for those 13 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,400 online, the words that come up on screen, reading of course, 14 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,360 from the King James Bible, Romans 8. 15 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,840 And we know that all things work together for good to them that 16 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:22,800 love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose, 17 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,960 for whom He did for know, He also did predestinate to be 18 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:33,840 conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first 19 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,800 born among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did 20 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,000 predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called them 21 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,640 He also justified, and whom He justified them He also 22 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,680 glorified. What shall we then say to these 23 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,120 things? If God be for us, who can be 24 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,680 against us? He that spared not his own Son, 25 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,200 but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with them also 26 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:07,320 freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the 27 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:12,200 charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 28 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:19,560 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yeah, 29 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:24,120 rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of 30 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,200 God, who also maketh intercession for us? 31 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:32,960 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 32 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:40,320 Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 33 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:46,600 nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, for thy sake? 34 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,080 We are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for 35 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,960 the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are 36 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,680 more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 37 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:05,600 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 38 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,880 principalities, nor powers, their things present, or things 39 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,760 to come, their height, their death, the only other creature 40 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,880 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is 41 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,480 in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 42 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,280 We know God will stamp with His own approval and blessing this 43 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,880 reading of His own precious, infallible Word. 44 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:37,240 My text this morning is taken from Romans chapter 8, verses 38 45 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,960 and 39. Paul says, For I am persuaded 46 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,520 that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 47 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,760 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, their height 48 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,280 nor depth, the other creature shall be able to separate us 49 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,880 from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 50 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,040 Now my theme today is in the form of a question. 51 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,400 Are you fully persuaded of an inseparable love? 52 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,320 Are you fully persuaded of an inseparable love? 53 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:20,519 Notice that this text comes at the very end of one of the most 54 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:23,600 wonderful chapters in the whole of the Bible. 55 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,920 Romans chapter 8 stands as one of the great mountain peaks of 56 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,840 Holy Scripture. It begins with the words in 57 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:38,400 verse one. No condemnation, and it ends 58 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:46,840 with the words, no separation. And our text is the very summit. 59 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:54,760 This text is the top of that very mountain peak, and it 60 00:04:54,760 --> 00:05:01,400 extolls and highlights the unsearchable, unchangeable, 61 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:08,760 eternal life transforming love of God for us in Christ Jesus 62 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:14,880 our Lord. 1 Commentator by the name of James Montgomery Bush 63 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,200 used the analogy here of a mountain climber. 64 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,160 Think of a mountain climber tied to his guide with a rope. 65 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,040 The root is treacherous. It's difficult. 66 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:39,040 He often slips and slides, sometimes he even falls, but the 67 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:48,800 rope that ties is secured to the mountain guide, and he doesn't 68 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,360 fall to his death because of that rope. 69 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,840 Now the Lord Jesus Christ is our mountain guide, who never slips 70 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:05,320 or falls the rope that ties as securely to him as his great 71 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:10,080 love for us, as seen in his atoning death for us on the 72 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,320 cross. You see, I want you to 73 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,560 understand that the apostle Paul doesn't write these words from 74 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,800 an ivory tower of comfort, but from the battleground of 75 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:29,480 affliction, the chapters filled with words suffering, groaning, 76 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:37,800 weakness, persecution, death. Yet it rises to this triumphant 77 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:44,280 confession. Nothing can separate the true 78 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:50,600 believer from the love of God in Christ, and a grasp of that 79 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:56,280 truth will transform your life To the extent that you 80 00:06:56,280 --> 00:07:01,480 understand it, to the 10th. The extent that you fill your 81 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,880 heart and mind with this truth, to the extent that you feel it 82 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:11,960 in your soul, to the extent that you live with it in a deep sense 83 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:17,280 of reality, you will live in victory over temptation, over 84 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:23,120 sin, and you will be enabled to joyfully persevere in the midst 85 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,680 of trials and troubles. Now, this is not mere 86 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:32,560 sentimental optimism. This is a gospel certainty. 87 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:38,040 Paul doesn't say I hope, or I think, or I feel. 88 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:45,160 Look at the text, verse 38. For I am persuaded. 89 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,520 The old apostle stands fully assured. 90 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,480 He's absolutely convinced because this love that he's 91 00:07:54,480 --> 00:08:00,280 writing to us about, it doesn't rest or reside in US per SE. 92 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:06,160 This love is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 93 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:12,600 What does he say? Nothing nor any creature shall 94 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,480 be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 95 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,480 Jesus our Lord. Now I want you to think of this. 96 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:25,080 Paul, under divine inspiration, brings us up this mountainside. 97 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:33,799 He brings us to the summit, and he does so by a series of seven 98 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:38,640 rhetorical questions. Look at chapter 8, verse 31. 99 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:46,480 It's asked this if God be for us or or verse 31. 100 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,880 What shall we say then to these things? 101 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,000 There's the first quest. Notice the question mark the 102 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:59,280 second question, verse 31 B if God be for us, who can be 103 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:04,120 against us then he tells us in verse 32, he that spared not his 104 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,120 own son, but delivered him up for us all. 105 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,920 Here's the question, how shall he not with them also freely 106 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,960 give us all things? Here's the 4th question, verse 107 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,520 33. Who shall lay anything to the 108 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,760 charge of God's elect? Notice the question mark. 109 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:29,840 Then we have verse 34. Who is he that condemneth? 110 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:36,080 And he gives us the answer. It is Christ that died. 111 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,760 Yeah, rather that is risen again is even at the right hand of 112 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,520 God. He also make up intercession for 113 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,000 us. And then he asks this 6th 114 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,920 question, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 115 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:53,120 And then he adds, these words shall tribulation or distress, 116 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,600 or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. 117 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,440 And there after sword, you've got the 7th question. 118 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:07,600 Mark 7 rhetorical questions. And then the apostle Paul does 119 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:12,160 something amazing. He quotes from Psalm 44 verse 120 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,760 22. He says as it is written where 121 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,520 Psalm 44 verse 4022, For thy sake we're killed all the day 122 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,800 long. We're counted as sheep for the 123 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:27,840 slaughter. He quotes this verse to show 124 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,920 that experiencing and during these trials and troubles, even 125 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,840 death and martyrdom for Christ's sake, is nothing new for God's 126 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,920 people. And then he boldly affirms the 127 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,040 words of verse 37. Nay, and all these things we are 128 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,200 more than conquerors through him that loved us. 129 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:49,160 And then he answers our text. He concludes with his firmly 130 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,400 settled conviction. For I am persuaded that they 131 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,160 their death nor life, their angels, their principalities, 132 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,440 their powers, their things present, their things to come, 133 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,800 their height and their depth. Any other creature shall be able 134 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,200 to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 135 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,400 our Lord. To sum up, this is what he's 136 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,000 saying. God's great love for us in 137 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,560 Christ Jesus our Lord enables us to be more than conquerors. 138 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:25,680 Though we face trials and troubles, though everything that 139 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:30,480 we face in life's journey comes against us, we can still be more 140 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,920 than conquerors. So we're thinking this morning, 141 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,360 are you fully persuaded of an inseparable love? 142 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:43,440 And I have three points. One, Paul's persuasion is a 143 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,720 settled conviction. If you look at verse 38, Paul 144 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:54,760 says for I am persuaded that see Paul writes here, he he speaks 145 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,960 with the language of a settled conviction. 146 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:01,880 For I am persuaded. Why is he persuaded? 147 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,640 Not because of particular feeling in his him, his heart 148 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,200 and mind. Not because he is hopeful, like 149 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:14,200 hoping against hope. No, the words imply certainty, 150 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,720 for I am absolutely certain I am fully persuaded. 151 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:25,840 And the word persuaded in the Greek New Testament is put in 152 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:30,280 the passive case. That means that the word 153 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,000 persuaded implies a conclusion reached after a process. 154 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,600 Paul is saying I have come through a process of persuasion 155 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,960 that has led me to this settled conviction. 156 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:49,000 This persuasion has been reached after a process of testing and 157 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,520 trials. This persuasion has been forged 158 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:58,560 in the furnace of suffering and the facing of persecution and 159 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:02,960 near death experiences. He hasn't persuaded himself. 160 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,720 Someone else has persuaded him. He has persuaded. 161 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:14,000 He is passive in this process, and as a result of this process 162 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,200 of persuasion, he has come to this settled conviction. 163 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,040 He's absolutely certain he is beyond doubt. 164 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,880 He is brought to this conclusion by the evidence God has put 165 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,840 before him and the evidence goes all the way back to Romans 166 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,680 chapter 8 verse 28. Listen to these words and we 167 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,000 know that all things work together for good to them that 168 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,560 love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 169 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:46,920 This certainty didn't arise from Paul being in an emotional 170 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:51,600 state, it arose from God's sovereign purpose. 171 00:13:52,920 --> 00:14:00,680 It's interesting in verses 30 or 29 and 30, Paul brings home 5 172 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:06,320 great truths. If you think of the words who 173 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,480 are the called according to his purpose. 174 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:14,800 And then he talks about a people that God did for no, a people 175 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:20,600 that God did predestinate, a people whom God called, a people 176 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:25,240 whom he also justified, and a people whom he also glorified. 177 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,800 And since all that has happened, and in light of this golden 178 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:35,120 chain that cannot be broken, Paul is drawn to this great 179 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,320 conclusion and no other conclusion. 180 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,640 And we'll ask the question what he's fully persuaded off. 181 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:47,240 And here's the answer. For I am persuaded that they, 182 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,560 their death nor life, their angels, their principalities, 183 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:51,320 their powers, their things present, their things to come, 184 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,560 their height and their depth, or any other creature shall be able 185 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,120 to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 186 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,920 the Lord. Nothing shall be able to 187 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:04,120 separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our 188 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,160 Lord. That is Paul's persuasion. 189 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,280 Paul's persuasion is a settled conviction. 190 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:14,480 Now let me ask the question, Do you know the love of God which 191 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,760 is in Christ Jesus our Lord? It's the love of God which is in 192 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:24,560 Christ Jesus the Lord, the rope that binds you, the rope that 193 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:29,120 ties you to the heavenly guide going up the mountainside. 194 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,800 I want you to think of a ship. It's left the harbour, we'll 195 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,880 call it the harbour of birth. You're sealing out towards the 196 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:43,720 harbour of death. That ship is going to be beset 197 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,560 by many violent storms. It's going to be tossed 198 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,680 violently. There's going to be the fear of 199 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:51,880 the loss of life. There's going to be despair. 200 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,880 There's going to be hardship, but in the midst of those 201 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:59,960 storms, if you have an anchor that holds secure, then your 202 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:04,200 ship will not be destroyed. Your ship will not drift. 203 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:10,040 And that anchor is the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 204 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,360 our Lord. So I'm changing the analogy from 205 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:17,840 a rope tied to a mountain guide to an anchor in a ship. 206 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,600 Remember, the apostle Paul is writing to born again believers. 207 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,400 They're suffering hardship. They've got trials and troubles. 208 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,600 They've got persecutions. They've been put out of their 209 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,200 homes. Their possessions have been 210 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,640 taken from them. They face death. 211 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,400 They face martyrdom, All because of their love and loyalty to 212 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,120 Jesus Christ. All because they've been sealed 213 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,080 by God's free, sovereign grace, All because they're fully 214 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,440 committed to Christ and Christ's gospel. 215 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:53,440 And Paul is equipping the Saints of God with the knowledge that 216 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:57,280 not only can they persevere in the face of these trials and 217 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:02,000 troubles in life for Christ's sake, but we can be made more 218 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,480 than conquerors in all of these things. 219 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:11,640 The apostle Paul's persuasion is a settled conviction. 220 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:17,880 Paul's persuasion is also a scriptural conviction. 221 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:24,760 When I think of the words in verse 39, nor height, nor death, 222 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,280 nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the 223 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,920 love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 224 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:35,960 I'm writing over that text. No separation, nothing can 225 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,200 separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our 226 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:43,680 Lord. You see, we live in a world that 227 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,080 thinks that Bible believe in Christianity is just one of the 228 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:53,680 big religions in the world on a par with Judaism or on a par 229 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:59,400 with Islam. It is not Bible believe in 230 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:04,880 Christianity is the only true religion in the whole world, and 231 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:06,840 I could preach a whole sermon in that, but you're not. 232 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,600 But Bible believe in Christianity is different from 233 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:14,640 all the rest of the world religions. 234 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,400 And there's many reasons why it's different, but here's one 235 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:24,360 Ephesians one verse 6 talks about being accepted in the 236 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,160 beloved. And our acceptance in the 237 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:31,760 beloved begins and takes place at the moment of true 238 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,320 conversion, when we're born of the Spirit and washed in the 239 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,440 blood and brought into a saving union with Jesus Christ. 240 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,400 So our acceptance begins and takes place at the start of 241 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,440 having a relationship with God, and we discover at the start of 242 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,360 that relationship that salvation is of the Lord, that salvations 243 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,640 by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone as 244 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,000 revealed in the Scriptures alone. 245 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,520 We've heard the call repent ye and believe the gospel and we've 246 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,480 received Christ by faith and we've rest upon him alone for 247 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,160 salvation and we discover something wonderful. 248 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,560 We discover not only that we can have an audience with God and 249 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,960 access into his presence and we can come and ask him for things 250 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,760 in prayer, but we discover this and this is a wonderful message 251 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,480 that we are accepted in the beloved. 252 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,680 It says to the praise of the glory of his grace, for in he 253 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,080 had made us accepted in the beloved. 254 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:35,280 Our acceptance is in Christ, and God accepts us in Christ at the 255 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:40,560 beginning of the Christian life, not the end. 256 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:47,040 And that's one of the great reasons as to why Bible belief 257 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:51,360 in Christianity is different from all the religions of the 258 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,000 world, because the religions of the world are a workspace 259 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,560 religion. Bible belief in Christianity 260 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,440 proclaims that the work is done and the work is done by Christ. 261 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,400 And the moment we receive Christ by faith and rest on Him alone 262 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:09,040 for salvation, we're accepted in him as legally righteous. 263 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,680 That's the whole theme of justification. 264 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:20,440 This world's not getting better. Some people believe that the 265 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,480 world is getting better and all trials and troubles will 266 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:30,760 gradually come to an end, and people will begin to love God 267 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,040 and they'll live out the sermon and the mind. 268 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,000 And as they do so, the world will gradually change and the 269 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,000 people will become good and moral and uprighted. 270 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,320 And at the end of their days, then they'll be accepted, 271 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:50,440 thinking about good deeds outweighing the bad deeds. 272 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,440 God will be the judge. That that's the thinking of 273 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,360 many. But that's not the teaching of 274 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:58,560 Bible and Christianity. That's not the teaching of Paul. 275 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,720 Look at Paul's teaching. The world's not getting better. 276 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,280 People are not becoming good and morally upright. 277 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,760 People are not on a process of being accepted through good 278 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,680 deeds. Look at verse 36 as it is 279 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,520 written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long. 280 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,000 We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 281 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:25,800 No people will be LED as sheep to the slaughter. 282 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,160 That is, God's people will face martyrdom. 283 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,880 God's people will not be delivered out of all trials and 284 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,160 troubles. Trials and troubles will not be 285 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,320 removed from life's journey. Note the words here. 286 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,720 Paul says Frank, persuaded that neither death. 287 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:48,440 Paul commences with this final climax with the extremes of 288 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,880 human existence. One day we will all face death. 289 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,880 Death is the last enemy. Dost thy fear? 290 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:02,720 Death is a good question, and it's one of the believers 291 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,880 greatest fears, and yet it is rendered Paris. 292 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,960 Even if we're martyred, who shall separate us from the love 293 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,320 of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, 294 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,040 or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. 295 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,240 For I'm persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 296 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,480 principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 297 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,960 come, their hate, their death, nor any other creature, shall be 298 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,240 able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 299 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,000 Jesus. Who shall separate us from the 300 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,240 love of Christ? 3539 Separate us from the love 301 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,680 of God, which is in Christ Jesus the Lord. 302 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,960 Who's the US here? Do you see this? 303 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:50,480 Nothing shall be able to separate us. 304 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:54,240 That's the people whom God for knew. 305 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,360 That's the people whom God predestinated. 306 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,840 That's the people whom God called and justified and 307 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:10,960 glorified. God's love to them alone is 308 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:17,120 important. Not only is God a God of love, 309 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:26,320 but God is also a God of wrath against all others whom he has 310 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,360 not for you predestinated, called, justified, and 311 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:32,840 glorified. And here's the chief question 312 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:37,120 you have to ask on the journey. Am I the Lords? 313 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:42,880 Am I one of God's people? Do I belong to Christ? 314 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:49,040 Am I in Christ Jesus the Lord? You see people today say they 315 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,360 believe in the love of God. They never darken the door of 316 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:54,600 the church, never read their Bible. 317 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,400 They reject the great truths about the Lord Jesus Christ and 318 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,480 His personal work. They neglect, reject His 319 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,720 incarnation, don't believe he's the Son of God. 320 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,640 They reject his virgin birth. They reject his sinless life. 321 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,080 They reject his atoning death from the cross. 322 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:11,800 They reject his bodily resurrection. 323 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,880 They reject his ascension to glory, his universal priest of 324 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,080 the second coming. They reject that the God of the 325 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:26,880 Bible is a God of rather hate, sin, a God who punishes sin, and 326 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,840 God must punish an either in his Son or in the Sinner. 327 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,880 And you see those who say that God is love or we believe in a 328 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,200 God of love, they don't understand the Bible. 329 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:41,960 They don't understand Bible, believe in Christianity. 330 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,440 Let me explain John 3 and 16. For God so loved the world that 331 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,160 he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 332 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,480 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 333 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:54,320 I want to tell you this now listen to me carefully. 334 00:24:55,160 --> 00:25:02,920 No love of God can be known except in and through Christ 335 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:08,000 Jesus our Lord. The love of God is always in and 336 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,400 always through. Jesus Christ was speaking to one 337 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,680 of the men at the Junior Youth on Saturday and Friday night. 338 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:22,120 He was showing me 21 articles penned by a particular Unitarian 339 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:28,880 church close by. The first one is God. 340 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,360 Is love undefined? Of course. 341 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,600 But many have their own conception of what that 342 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:40,840 scripture means. God is love. 343 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,760 So I'll ask the question this morning. 344 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,440 Is it a holy love? Is it a just love, a righteous 345 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,280 love? Is it a love that's always and 346 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:54,680 only seen in Christ? And I don't care who they are, a 347 00:25:55,240 --> 00:26:01,080 Christian, a church, you cannot know the love of God apart from 348 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:03,720 Jesus Christ. You can't divorce the love of 349 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:09,040 God from the love of Christ. Do you know him? 350 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,480 Do you believe in him? Believe in his incarnation, that 351 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,200 He's the Son of God, His virgin birth, his sin, his life, his 352 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,200 attorney death. The Bible teaches Galatians 4:00 353 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:20,760 and 4:00. But when the fullness of time 354 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,760 was come, God sent forth his Son, made under the law to 355 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,640 redeem them that were under the law. 2nd Corinthians 521 For he 356 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,200 that is God have made him, that is Christ to be sin for us, who 357 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,280 you know, sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in 358 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:40,000 him, and the penalty for sin, and the punishment where sin was 359 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:44,320 dealt with and atone for in the death of Christ. 360 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:50,760 And the only way we can know the love of God is in Jesus Christ. 361 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:57,240 All the love of God comes to us through Him alone. 362 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,360 Look at verse 35. Who shall separate us from the 363 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:09,930 love of Christ? We'll link it up with verse 39. 364 00:27:11,730 --> 00:27:15,290 Separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 365 00:27:15,730 --> 00:27:19,170 our Lord. The love of Christ, verse 35, 366 00:27:19,450 --> 00:27:22,930 and the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, are one 367 00:27:22,930 --> 00:27:26,440 and the same. And what really matters is not 368 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,520 our love to Him, but that's important. 369 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,640 But what really matters is God's love to us because that's what's 370 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:38,480 in view here, God's love to us. Notice God's great love for us 371 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:45,880 is not diminished or terminated by our failures, our sins, our 372 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:54,760 followers, our shortcomings. Yes, our love for Him waxes weak 373 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:02,360 and weans, but this is an all powerful love because our love 374 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:09,320 or our salvation depends on God's choice of us, God's call 375 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:15,240 to us, God's hold on us, and it goes all the way back to God 376 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,360 choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. 377 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,000 Ephesians 1 and 4. Remember, He has called us 378 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,760 according to His purpose, to be conformed to the image of His 379 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:30,720 Son. In fact, He loved us and His Son 380 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:34,960 so much, He delivered His Son up for us all. 381 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:39,080 And that's what we read in Romans chapter 8 and verse 32. 382 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,800 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. 383 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,840 How shall He not with them also freely give us all thanks? 384 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,320 He did all that for us when we were yet without strength, when 385 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,200 we were sinners, when we were ungodly, when we were enemies. 386 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,960 And if He did that for us in this state and condition, then 387 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:02,520 how much more will He now by His life continue to save us until 388 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:08,160 the day we finally enter heaven? It's an all powerful love. 389 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,400 I'll tell you more than that. Christ has proved His love for 390 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,760 us. Look at verse 34 in that He died 391 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:21,080 for us in that sinful condition, and the power of Christ's love 392 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:26,200 holds us up and guarantees our continuance to the end. 393 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,520 It's a purposeful love because Christ stayed for His church, 394 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:33,920 not merely so that the Church could be forgiven of all sin of 395 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,000 thought. Word indeed, but that Christ 396 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:42,320 ultimately might present her to himself, perfectly cleansed, 397 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,640 perfectly washed, perfectly purified. 398 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,680 And that's exactly what we read there in Ephesians chapter 5. 399 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,000 Listen to these words in Ephesians 5. 400 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:55,120 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church 401 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,280 and gave himself for it. Note the word, that which is a 402 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:01,240 demonstrative, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the 403 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,000 washing of water by the Word, verse 27. 404 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,200 Here's another demonstrative that he might present it to 405 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,160 himself. A glorious church, not having 406 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:10,680 spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be 407 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,840 holy and without blemish. Christ set His heart on His 408 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:20,600 church for this end. His love was all powerful. 409 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:25,040 His love has been proven by His death in the cross, and His love 410 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:30,920 is a purposeful love. His love was not conditioned on 411 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,040 our worthiness or our performance. 412 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:38,640 It is His love that is in view, not our love for Him. 413 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,880 Notice God's love for us is not threatened or diminished by all 414 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:49,120 sorts of adversity. 835 less a possible list of things that 415 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,280 will try to separate us from the love of Christ, tribulation, 416 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:57,120 distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. 417 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,280 Remember the quotation from the Old Testament, Psalm 44, verse 418 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,160 22? You see, these tribulations do 419 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,320 come. They have come to many people. 420 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,480 They will come. Why? 421 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,440 Well, often times they come because we're Christians, 422 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:16,520 because we're born again, because we're God's people. 423 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,000 And sometimes we fear and the fear is this that is the result 424 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,000 of some of these severe trials and troubles. 425 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,960 We shall feel the Lord or, or that we'll fall away and and 426 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,560 that these trials and troubles will separate us from the love 427 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:35,240 of Christ. And Paul is teaching, no, God's 428 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:39,320 love for us is rock solid. It's like a foundation and 429 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:44,920 whatever we face and when the trials and troubles come, we 430 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,000 must come again and continually to the love of God, which is in 431 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:53,920 Christ Jesus our Lord. The word tribulation is a 432 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,240 general word for trials and troubles. 433 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,080 The word distresses. Here's in light of these 434 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:06,680 tribulations, the heart and mind can have a feeling of strange 435 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:11,040 emotion. And these feelings, of course, 436 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,320 come whenever we we battle through these trials and 437 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:17,080 troubles. Think of an old soldier and he's 438 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:21,040 captured, he's a prisoner, he's put into the cell and what they 439 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:23,720 used to do, they used to get heavy weights and put it on his 440 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:29,000 chest and and they would distress him until he was 441 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,560 crushed to death. At other times they took old 442 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,720 soldiers and put them into cages and sails where there was no 443 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,280 room to stand, no room to sit, no room to lie, and it caused 444 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,520 great distress. That's the picture there. 445 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:45,160 Think of the word persecution, pursuing someone to do them 446 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:49,760 harm, verbal persecution, physical persecution, famine, 447 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:55,040 nakedness, extreme poverty and deprivation, all because of 1's 448 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,600 love and loyalty to Christ. Some countries, of course, you 449 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,240 can't get a job if you're a Christian, you can't provide for 450 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,720 your family basic needs. Why? 451 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:06,800 Because you profess the name of Christ. 452 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,440 What about the word perils here? That has to do with dangers. 453 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:16,320 Because of a man's labour for Christ, he he faces danger. 454 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,320 And think of the word sword. It has to do with martyrdom. 455 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:26,480 It has to do with execution, again due to 1's love and 456 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:30,720 loyalty to Christ. But notice what Paul says, verse 457 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,560 36 as it is written. For thy sake we're killed all 458 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:34,960 the day long. We're counted as sheep for the 459 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:36,440 slaughter. I've already emphasised that 460 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:38,520 this is nothing new to God's people. 461 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:42,000 God's people have experienced martyrdom down through the 462 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,960 centuries from the very first martyr, which remember, was 463 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,840 able. Listen to me carefully. 464 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,960 Trials and troubles will come even though you're a child of 465 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,200 God. Notice these words, for I'm 466 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:02,200 persuaded that neither death, death will come come eventually. 467 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:07,600 Death will usher us into God's presence, he mentions, nor life, 468 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:13,280 Life with all its complexities, with all its anxieties, with all 469 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,760 its pressures. Often times life is even a 470 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:20,120 bigger threat than death because in this life we have to suffer 471 00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:22,719 the allurements and the enticements of the world. 472 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,520 We're tempted to sin and thought and word and deed, and we do sin 473 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:29,040 and thought and word and deed, and that's where we feel and 474 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,719 that's where we get most distressed, Spurgeon said. 475 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,360 I'm not so much afraid of dying as I am of sinning. 476 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,480 That is 10 times worse than death. 477 00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:45,080 And God's children do sin. And God's children do fall into 478 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,679 a state of worldliness and they can grow cold for a time and 479 00:34:48,679 --> 00:34:50,480 they can be careless of the things of God. 480 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,920 Place of prayer, Bible reading, the House of God, attendance at 481 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:55,760 the House of God on the Lord's Day. 482 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,240 They can get out of the habit of coming. 483 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:00,040 And if they're fit and able, they should be here. 484 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,240 We encourage them to come. Just don't sit at home if you're 485 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:06,160 fit and able and should be present amongst us. 486 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:16,880 But we do sin. But let's remember the Lord and 487 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:24,160 love take steps to convict us, to discipline us to to restore 488 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:24,920 us. Why? 489 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:30,760 Because life cannot permanently separate us from God's love. 490 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,400 And these trials and troubles that come, they don't single the 491 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:38,880 absence of God's love. They are proofs that God loves 492 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,640 us. You think of a Goldsmith and he 493 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:45,920 gets some gold. He puts it into the fire to melt 494 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,240 it down. The fire doesn't destroy the 495 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,840 gold. No, it, it purifies it. 496 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,720 And you see, trials and afflictions that come don't 497 00:35:55,720 --> 00:36:00,040 separate the believer from God. Love these trials and troubles. 498 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:03,280 I'll tell you what they do. They help to refine our faith. 499 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:08,000 It it, it drives us deeper to our knees and a deeper 500 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,680 dependence on the Lord. Notice what else he says very 501 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:16,440 quickly here. Nor angels, nor principalities. 502 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:21,800 That's neither holy angels nor fallen principalities, neither 503 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,280 Satan nor a host of demons can separate us from the love of God 504 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:27,920 in Christ. Isn't this a very bold 505 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:33,120 confession in a world where true believers often feel spiritually 506 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:37,000 assaulted? But Christ is sovereign, Christ 507 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,280 re and supreme. Christ is our Saviour. 508 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:45,800 He adds this nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 509 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:52,160 come, present circumstances or things that will happen to us 510 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:55,720 tomorrow in the future before we die as we live out our life. 511 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,320 Think of the mountain gig and up the mountain and you're 512 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:01,720 beginning to slip and fall, but you're hailed by the rope that's 513 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,600 attached to the gate. And that rope is the love of God 514 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,800 in Christ. And what is Paul saying here? 515 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:12,720 Nothing in this present age or nothing in the world to come. 516 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:15,080 He's sweeping across time and space. 517 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,640 He's thinking of anything that could possibly happen to us. 518 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:23,560 All unknown things. No bad circumstances now are in 519 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:28,360 the future, can separate us from God's great love for us. 520 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:33,880 Neither height nor depth, nor any creature, even us. 521 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:39,160 We're believers in Christ. We're full of weakness. 522 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,040 We're human. We're full of doubts and fears. 523 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:47,080 We're sin, but nothing can sever the love of God, which is in 524 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,880 Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing in heaven, nothing in 525 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,520 hell. It's his love for us that's the 526 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:57,600 rope, not our love for Him. And one final thing, because our 527 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,560 time is gone. Paul's persuasion is not only a 528 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,320 settled conviction, it's not only a scriptural conviction, 529 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,840 but it's also a spiritual conviction. 530 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:12,960 Listen to this as we finish the love of Christ, the love of God, 531 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:14,880 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 532 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:21,400 This is a divine love. This is a demonstrated love. 533 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:25,480 It's in Christ Jesus, the one who gave himself for us in the 534 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:27,880 cross, who died on atoning death for us. 535 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,080 It's a defined love. It's only in Christ. 536 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,280 It's always in Christ, and it's a durable love. 537 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:42,600 So there's a little outline. It is divine, demonstrated, 538 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,080 defined, and durable. It's eternal. 539 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:47,080 It's unbreakable, It's unchangeable. 540 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,480 It's unfathomable. So let me say this as I finish. 541 00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:55,320 When trials and troubles come into your life as they have 542 00:38:55,320 --> 00:39:01,200 done, those trials and troubles are not designed to separate us 543 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,560 from God's love. It's not a sign of God's 544 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:06,640 abandonment that he's allowed them to come. 545 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,520 It's a sign of sonship. Why does He allow trials and 546 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:14,720 troubles to come? Well, trials and troubles expose 547 00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:19,000 the weakness of self-reliance. Trials and troubles drive us to 548 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:23,000 pray to God. Trials and troubles draw us to 549 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,840 trust in the Lord at all times. Trials and troubles are designed 550 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,160 to help the conformers to Christ, the fellowship of his 551 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,040 suffering. And trials and troubles are 552 00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:37,440 designed to make us more than conquerors. 553 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:41,800 Don't look at yourself, don't look at the situation you face. 554 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:46,720 Look to the Saviour. Think of the love of God which 555 00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:51,600 is in Christ Jesus the Lord. See, here's a question as I 556 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:55,360 finish. Is it not possible that under 557 00:39:55,360 --> 00:40:00,040 the weight of such trials and troubles we will feel, we will 558 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:02,440 fall away? Are we not weak? 559 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:07,280 Are we not in the flesh? Are these not powerful enemies 560 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,720 that are designed to bring us down? 561 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,800 What did Paul say? Ned and all these things. 562 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:17,720 We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 563 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:24,080 Not loves, but loved. It's past tense. 564 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:28,400 See, Paul just doesn't answer this objection. 565 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:33,200 He rubbishes it. Are we able to stand up? 566 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:37,680 Are we able to overcome all of these trials and troubles? 567 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:39,560 Anything that we face completely? 568 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:44,240 The answer is yes. So I put it to you this morning. 569 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:49,200 Let every true believer be fully persuaded. 570 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:55,800 Not because life is easy. No, because God's love is 571 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,840 sovereign. Because God's love is a 572 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,760 redeeming love. Because God's love is an 573 00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:05,120 electing love. Because God's love is eternal 574 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:08,840 and unbreakable and unchangeable and unfathomable. 575 00:41:09,280 --> 00:41:15,000 And this persuasion is only found in Christ Jesus. 576 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:23,000 Trials and troubles will come, but let's remember, let's be 577 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:28,800 fully persuaded. Paul's persuasion is a spiritual 578 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,520 conviction. May the Lord bless you this 579 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:34,280 morning. Thank you for coming, thank you 580 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:36,240 for listening. I pray the Lord will take these 581 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:38,280 few words. I I hope it's been 582 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:41,880 understandable to you, but it's been something that's been on my 583 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:45,840 heart and it's difficult when you're trying to expound such a 584 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:48,560 deep passage all just in one sermon.