Romans 8:31-39

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things?

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?

It's God who justifies.

Who is he that condemns Christ Jesus who died?

More than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God,

and is also interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

As it's written, for your sake we face death all day long.

We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors.

Through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,

neither angels, nor demons,

neither the present, nor the future, nor any power,

neither height or depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God,

that in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us pray, just ask God to bless his word to us.

Lord, we just pray that you will open our hearts and mind,

and that you bless your precious word to every one of us.

We thank you and we love you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Paul wrote this letter about 57 AD,

even before the persecution is coming to the Romans church,

as if he was prophesying what the church in Rome will go through.

To answer this question,

who will separate us from the love of Christ?

There is nothing, small or big,

in this world or the world to come

will separate us from the union

and the deep relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

And because of the different blessings,

the different promises,

the different privileges the Lord gave us,

which continue to strengthen

and to inspire us to continue in this journey,

journey of faith and journey of life.

And if you review with me quickly, loved one,

these promises in chapter 8.

First, he said,

there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So don't allow guilt and condemnation to rule your life

because Jesus took your condemnation

and my condemnation on Calvary.

And second,

we are able not to allow anything to separate us

from the love of God

because we become his children.

And the Holy Spirit testifies

and witnesses to our spirits

that we become the children of God

through Christ Jesus.

And also because we have been called

to suffer with Christ.

And we cannot join with his glory

unless we experience what it means

to suffer with Christ.

And he said,

all the creation is also suffering.

And the creation in agony is waiting in hope,

which is waiting the children of God

for that ultimate salvation

that will be also hope for the Holy Creation.

And also he talks about

the Holy Spirit is interceding our behalf,

especially in the difficult times.

When you're not able to pray

or to know how to pray,

you have the Holy Spirit inside of you

taking this agony deep inside,

bringing it before the throne of God.

And God the Father,

who understands the language

and the need of the Spirit,

will answer you and me

according to our needs

through the intercede of the Holy Spirit.

And then he said,

another thing which is continue to inspire us

and not allow anything to separate us

from the love of God,

that whatever happened to you or to me,

not everything happened to us is good.

Sometimes evil around us

and evil happened to us.

But the good news and the miracle,

which is only God can do,

whatever hurts,

whatever disappointed we're going through,

the loving God will take this evil things

and turn it in miraculous way

for your good and my good.

For those who love him

and who've been called according to his purpose

in order every one of us

to be more like him.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

You know, it says in verse 31,

if you look with me,

what then shall we say in response to this?

In response to this,

it's probably relate to the previous verses,

especially 28 to 30.

But then say,

if God is for us,

who can be against us?

In other words,

if God is with you

and in your side,

you are the majority,

if everything else against you.

If God for us,

who can be against us?

You know,

Elisha, the prophet,

the king of Aram in 2 Kings,

turned against him

because he was giving counsel

to the king of Israel

and also prophesy

against the king of Aram.

So the king of Aram,

when they brought his army

and surrounding the prophet

and his servant.

And this is what 2 Kings 6.15 says.

When the king of Aram

wanted to capture Elisha,

it says,

when the servant of the man of God

got up,

went out early the next morning,

an army with horses and chariots

had surrounded the city.

Oh, my Lord,

what shall we do?

The servant asked,

don't be afraid,

the prophet answered,

those who are with us

are more than those

who are with them.

And Elisha prayed,

oh, Lord,

open his eyes

so he may see.

Then the Lord opened

the servant's eye

and he looked and saw

the hills full of horses

and chariots of fire

all around Elisha.

So when God is for you,

indeed,

you are the majority.

also,

when God for us,

we will be able

to overcome fear.

And this is what Caleb

and Joshua say

to the people of Israel

after they spied the land

and the people are scared.

It says

in Numbers 14.9,

only don't rebel

against the Lord

and don't be afraid

of the people

of the land

because we will

swallow them up.

Their protection

is gone,

but the Lord

with us,

don't be afraid

of them.

And Psalm 118.6,

the Lord

is with me,

I will not

be afraid.

What can

man

do

to me?

I want to say,

loved one,

it's not only

God for us,

but also

he is with us.

And the presence

of God,

we see it

in different way.

In the Old Testament,

in the most holy place,

the Holy of Holies,

the presence of God

was there in a special way

where is the Ark

of the Covenant,

where is the mercy seat

above the Ark,

and where is the cover

above the seat of mercy,

which is above the Ark

of the Covenant.

And the Lord God

was speaking

from above the cover.

And that cover,

it's called

the Shekinah glory,

which is

the very presence

of the Lord.

But we see

the presence of God

in the New Testament,

it's more intangible

way through

Jesus Christ.

Like he say

in first,

like he say

in John 1,

14,

the Lord

become a flesh

and made

his dwelling

among us.

We have

seen his glory,

the glory

of the one

and only

who came

from the Father,

full of grace

and a truth.

And I want

to say

his presence

now is

with us

by the Holy Spirit.

I think one

of the most

beautiful things

for us

as the children

of God,

when not only

just close your eyes

and bow your head

and feel the presence

of God,

but the presence

of God

continuously

with us

by the presence

of the Holy Spirit.

It reminds me

of the Queen

of England

many,

many years ago.

it used

to visit

the widows

and the boar

in England.

And one day

she visited

one of the widows

in one of the churches

and one of the brothers

in the church

heard about it

and he said,

I want to go

to see what's happened.

So he went

to the widow

which used

to go to the church

and he sat

and he started

asking the question,

I heard the queen

came to visit you.

And she said,

yeah,

and she was

very excited

and she said,

she sat here

and so loving,

so kind

and was very happy

about that visit.

And this brother

from the church

said,

well,

I will ask her

if Jesus

come to visit her.

I want to see

how her respond.

And he said,

sister,

she said,

yeah,

does Jesus

come visit you?

And she looked

at him,

he said,

no,

he doesn't come

visit me,

he with me

always.

Continuously,

he's with me.

And this is what

we experience,

loved one,

in our walk

with the Lord.

One of the approve

that indeed

he's with us,

like in verse 32,

if you look,

he who didn't

despair his own son,

but give him up

for us all.

And you know,

when he said

that the sacrifice,

the atonement

of our Lord Jesus

is not only

for a small group

of people,

but it's for us all

and it's sufficient

for our humanity.

But the one

who benefited

from this atonement

is those

who open their hearts,

humble themselves,

and receives

God's gift,

what Jesus did

on the cross

for every one

of us.

and he said

if he gave us

the ultimate

sacrifice,

the ultimate gift,

the gift of gifts,

wasn't he able

to give us

the small things

we need?

The one who gave us

life and put

the breath of life

in us

wasn't able

to give us

the food we need

for this life.

If he gave us

this body,

wasn't able

to give us

the clothes we need

for this body.

Indeed,

the Lord can,

will provide

because he is

our shepherd

all the time.

In verse 33,

who will bring

any charge

against those

whom God

has chosen?

It's God

who justifies.

Who will bring

any charge

against those

who have

been chosen?

You know,

those who've been

elected

or chosen,

they've been

approved

and accepted

by God the Father.

So who can

bring accusation

or charge

against them?

You know,

the evil one,

the Hebrew word

Satan,

which means

the one who

resists,

and devil,

the Greek word,

which means

he's the accuser.

And this is

what he does

day and night,

24-7,

against the

children of God

in the presence

of God.

But we have

our lawyer,

our defend

attorney,

who's standing

in the presence

of God

is defending

his children.

And this is

what we read

in Revelation 12,

Revelation 12:10

verse 10,

the Lord

cast down

the accuser

who accused

the brethren

before the Lord

day and night.

But then he said

they overcome

him by the

blood of the Lamb,

by the word

of their

testimony,

and they

did not

love their

lives so

much as

to shrink

from death.

And then he

said,

it's God

who justified.

And this

justification

is not like

what the Pharisee

used to do.

But when we

say we are

justified,

or Jesus

justified us,

he is not

only forgive

us our sins,

but also he

gave us

his righteousness.

He didn't

forgive

just our

sins,

but give us

all the

qualification

we need

to be

justified

or be

right before

the Lord

and forgiven

as if we

never been

sinned

before.

So no one

can bring

accusation

and succeed

against me

and you

as the

children of

God,

God,

because

our

Redeemer

continue

to pray

for us

because he

is the

one to

intercede

in our

behalf.

Verse 34,

who is

that he

that

condemns?

Who is

he that

condemns?

A Christ

Jesus

who died

more than

that who

was raised

to life

is at the

right hand

of God

and is

also

interceding

for us.

Who can

condemn?

For the

one to

condemn,

he has

to have

three

requirements.

First of

all,

he has

to die

and to

rise.

He has

to be

alive,

sitting on

the right

hand of

the Father

and he

to intercede.

And this

is only

applied to

our Lord

Jesus.

So no

one have

the right

to condemn.

But the

one who

intercedes

for us

who is

our

Savior.

So there

is no

condemnation

for those

who are

in Christ

Jesus.

And we

see many

verses

which show

Jesus

is the

one to

intercede,

is the

one who

is sitting

on the

right hand

of the

Father.

Let me

quickly,

if I

may,

read

some

verses

about that.

Mark

16,

19.

After the

Lord Jesus

had spoken

to them,

he was

taken up

into heaven

and he

sat at

the right

hand of

God.

So Jesus,

he didn't

finish what

he came

to when

he just

died,

buried,

and raised,

but he

continued to

intercede

24-7 for

every one

of us.

Colossians 3,

1.

Since then

you have

been raised

with Christ,

set your

heart on

things above

where Christ

is seated

at the

right hand

of God.

Hebrews 1-3,

after he

had provided

purification

for sins,

he sat

down at

the right

hand of

the majesty

in heaven.

Hebrews 2-20,

and sat

down at

the right

hand of

the throne

of God.

Hebrews 8-1,

we do

have such

a high

priest who

sat down

at the

right hand

of the

throne of

the majesty

in heaven.

1 Peter 3-22,

who has

gone into

heaven and

is at

God's

right hand

with angels,

authorities,

and powers

in submission

to him.

And see

how he

intercedes,

Hebrews 7-25,

because he

always lives

to intercede

for them.

Hebrews 9-24,

he entered

heaven itself

now to

appear for

us in

God's

presence.

1 John

1-2,

it's known

verse,

he writes

in order

for you

not to

sin,

but if

anybody

does

sin,

we have

one who

speaks

to the

Father

in our

defense,

Jesus

Christ,

the

righteous

one.

Verse

35,

if you

look with

me,

who

shall

separate

us

from

the

love

of

Christ,

shall

it

trouble

or

hardship

or

persecution

or famine

or nakedness

or danger

or sword.

he talks

about some

of the

heroes

of faith,

Hebrews 11,

he say,

they were

stoned,

they were

sowed into

two,

they were

put to

death

by the

sword

and

mistreated.

people

and

they were

called

polycarb

and

polycarb

was

the

disciple

of

John,

the

disciple

of

Jesus.

And

he was

a

bishop

in

Asia

Minor

and

polycarb,

he was

in his

80s

and they

captured

him and

they asked

him to

deny

Jesus.

He refused,

they brought

him to

stadium and

people is

watching and

they asked

him to

deny

his

Lord.

And

he said

for 84

years he

was faithful

for me

and you

want me

in the

end of

my life

to deny

my Lord.

And he

refused

and he

burned

the life

in the

front of

many people

but he

kept his

eyes on

the Lord

and in

the most

difficult

moment in

his life

he refused

to deny

his

faith.

In

verse 36

as it's

written

and this

is taken

from

Psalm

Psalms 44:22

44

verse 22

for your

sake

for your

sake

we face

we face

death

all day

long.

We are

considered

as a

sheep

we are

considered

as a

sheep

to be

slaughtered

for your

sake

we face

death

all day

long.

And if

you look

to the

list

loved

one

which

Paul

went

through

in

2

Corinthians

11

23

it's

a long

list

because of

the time

we're not

going to

read it

but may

I read

a few

verses

for example

1 Corinthians

15

30 to

31

Paul

said

why do

we

endanger

ourselves

every hour

he says

I die

every day

I mean

that

brothers

and 2

Corinthians

4

11

to

12

for

we

who

are

alive

are

always

being

given

over

to

death

for

Jesus

sake

so

that

his

life

may

be

revealed

in

our

mortal

body

so

then

death

is

at

work

in

us

but

life

is

at

work

in

you

you

know

Paul

when he

stood

before

Nero

and

shortly

he

murdered

after

he

wrote

2nd

Timothy

the

last

epistle

he ever

written

he said

in

2nd

Timothy

4

16

17

no

one

no

one

came

to

my

support

but

everyone

deserted

me

we

are

considered

as

sheep

to be

slaughtered

and

this

is

the

topic

which

we

see

it

in

the

Middle

East

before

I

continue

I

like

if

I

may

just

show

you

a few

pictures

and

what's

happening

to

many

Christians

in the

Middle

East

and

we

are

considered

as

sheep

to be

slaughtered

the

Coptic

brothers

21

one

of them

from

Sudan

in

the

beaches

of

Libya

you

see

the

verse

almost

literally

fulfilled

as

our

brothers

has

been

taken

as

a

sheep

to be

slaughtered

next

please

next

in the

most

difficult

moment

of

their

lives

they

keep

their

eyes

on

the

Lord

and

one

of

the

voices

we

heard

in

Arabic

when

they

showed

the

video

in

the

darkest

moments

they

crying

out

Lord

Jesus

Lord

Jesus

next

please

another

family

we

minister

to

who

is

from

Iraqi

Christian

her

husband

been

kidnapped

by

ISIS

and

came

with

two

of

her

children

Mario

12

Marianne

is

14

but

in

spite

of

the

difficulty

they

experienced

healing

in the

midst

of

suffering

next

please

and

some

of

you

probably

knows

about

Rami

who

was

a

member

in

the

church

I

was

pastor

in

Gaza

he

refused

to

deny

his

faith

and

in

the

darkest

hour

of

his

life

he

kept

his

eyes

on

the

Lord

and

his

testimony

continue

to

inspire

us

and

to

encourage

us

next

please

and

he

left

a

wife

two

children

and

his

wife

was

pregnant

and

now

she

is

raising

three

children

by

herself

in

the

West

Bank

you

know

it's

the

picture

we

saw

in

front

of

us

this

is

what

happened

to

our

master

to

our

Lord

Jesus

himself

Isaiah

prophesied

when he

said

in

53

verse

6

we

all

like

sheep

have

gone

astray

each

of us

has

turned

to

his

own

way

and

the

Lord

has

laid

on

him

the

iniquity

of

us

all

and

see

what

he

say

in

verse

7

he

was

oppressed

and

inflicted

yet

he

did

not

open

his

mouth

he

was

led

like

a

lamb

to

the

slaughter

and

as

a

sheep

before

her

sharers

is

silent

so

he

did

not

open

his

mouth

and

my

question

loved

one

if

the

Lord

allow

us

to

talk

or

to

walk

in

the

same

road

will

we

continue

to

follow

the

Lord

if

there

is

a

price

we

have

to

pay

as

followers

of

Christ

are

we

willing

to

pay

that

a

price

in

verse

31

after

he

gave

a

list

about

different

things

a

trail

sword

could

separate

us

and

then

the

answer

in

verse

31

no

in

all

these

things

we

are

more

than

corn

cookers

through

him

who

loved

us

why

Paul

said

we

not

just

only

have

a

victory

or

conquer

but

we

are

more

than

conquerors

and

I

think

one

of the

reasons

because

in the

tough

time

we

learn

things

we

probably

couldn't

learn

in any

other

way

the

most

precious

lessons

in our

walk

with the

Lord

we

learn

it

in

the

toughest

days

of

our

life

and

also

in

the

difficult

times

loved

one

we

see

the

Lord

in

a

way

we

never

saw

him

before

the

disciple

realized

indeed

he's

the

son

of

God

after

the

storm

and

also

I

want

to

say

our

faith

will

be

tested

in

the

difficult

time

not

when

everything

is

going

fine

if

it's

genuine

faith

or

or

not

so

I

pray

may

God

help

us

all

whatever

we

go

through

to

continue

to be

faithful

to

the

Lord

he

says

suffering

in

Romans

5

3

to

4

suffering

produce

perseverance

and

perseverance

produce

character

if

you

want

to be

more

like

your

Lord

don't

complain

much

about

the

trial

and

the

tribulation

but

say

Lord

what

do

you

want

to

show

me

in

the

time

of

disappointment

in

the

time

of

disappointed

when

the

time

I'm

hurt

Lord

build

me

to

be

more

like

you

and

suffering

you

produce

perseverance

perseverance

produce

character

and

characters

produce

hope

and

hope

will

not

disappoint

us

because

God

poured

his

love

in

our

hearts

I

end

with

verses

38

to

39

for

I

am

convinced

this

mean

past

and

also

now

I'm

convinced

that

neither

death

nor

life

neither

angels

nor

demons

neither

the

present

nor

the

future

nor

any

powers

neither

the

present

nor

the

future

and

verse

39

neither

height

nor

depth

nor

anything

else

in all

creation

will be

able

to separate

us from

the love

of God

that is

in Christ

Jesus

our

Lord

you know

loved one

it's not

worth it

don't

allow

anything

small

or big

affect

your

relationship

with the

Lord

or

even

separate

you

from

the

Lord

I

end

with

this

story

about

Hook

Candy

who is

a minister

in

Scotland

when he

was dying

in the

last moments

of his

life

was laying

on bed

and his

friends

surround

him

and then

he asked

them to

bring

him

a Bible

and then

when they

brought

the Bible

he realized

he lost

his sight

so he

asked them

to open

at Romans

Romans 8:38

chapter 8

verse

38 and

verse 39

and he

said

put my

finger

on these

verses

and then

he asked

is my

finger

on these

verses

they said

yes

and without

speaking

more

he said

my beloved

children

I'm going

to leave

you

and I

will be

with the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

tonight

and in

this way

he departed

he departed

depending on

the word

of God

you know

the promises

of God

the word

of God

this is

where we

stand

and this

is why

we consider

it it's

worth it

to live

the rest

of our

life

not for

ourselves

but

for the

one who

gave his

life for

every one

of us

I'm really

grateful for

the blessing

and the

privilege

to share

with you

my brothers

and sisters

because we

belong to

a bigger

body

the body

of Christ

and when

part of the

body is

suffering

the whole

body is

suffering

in spite

of all

the difficulties

God really

helped us

and we

really grateful

for the

partnership

and for

the church

that we

work together

and especially

in the last

12 months

there's

hundreds

we minister

to thousands

of Iraqi

Christians

who fled

the persecution

of ISIS

and came

to Jordan

many of them

didn't have

much

maybe just

the clothes

they have

but God

helped us

helped us

by his grace

to minister

to one another

to learn

from one another

and to grow

and the Lord

always is the

shelter

and also

even in Gaza

we say

they say

about 14%

of the people

in Gaza

sympathize

or agreed

with ISIS

doing

so please

pray for the

Christians