Well, we won't comment on all
those verses, but I thought just from verse 35. So from verse
35 in the eighth chapter to the Romans, and we'll just read those
last few verses again. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or
famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Well, it's wonderful to know
and to believe that if we are blessed with the wonderful love
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it will never be taken from us. That which God gives to us will
remain. And what a wonderful situation
it is to meditate on and to realise what a favour that is. to be
loved with an everlasting love of God, not only through time,
but through eternity. It's really beyond our little
minds, isn't it? To comprehend the greatness and
the wonder of God's love. Well, clearly, the Apostle Paul
knew about it, and clearly he knew the wonder of it, and he
wanted, therefore, to confirm to the Romans how it was a great
and glorious blessing. And as he commences in this verse
35 and tells them, he asks the question, who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? He's asking the question, is
there anything, anybody that can separate us from the love
of Christ? It's a fair question. It's a
question perhaps the devil will tempt us with by telling us that
that love will be removed from us. But no, says the apostle,
it will not. And he gives us then really a
comprehensive list. And he says, he asks the question
then, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword. Well, we see there many things. We're promised tribulation in
this world. The church of God is promised
tribulation. We're told it's through much
tribulation we should enter into the kingdom. But however difficult
and hard that will be, It will not separate us from the love
of Christ or distress. We will come into distressing
situations, perhaps in our own heart, perhaps in the Church
of God, perhaps in the situations which develop in our life. And
yet here we have a situation that the Apostle says, distress
won't separate us from the love of Christ, And then he says,
oh, persecution. Paul knew what persecution was.
Perhaps we don't know very much about physical persecution, but
we may know something about spiritual persecution. Persecution from
the devil, who will tell us there's no hope, that we're out of the
secret, that we've sinned against light and knowledge. Persecution. Whatever that may be, and perhaps
We might have to enter into physical persecution. Many today in the
world do. And it's a great trial. But here's
the promise. That won't separate from the
love of Christ. Or famine. Well, natural famine
and perhaps even spiritual famine. We're told about a famine of
the hearing of the word. And we may sometimes come into
that situation. And if we are a true believer,
that will distress us. We won't be happy to carry on
in a situation where we don't receive spiritual food. But that's
a path where Paul says that won't separate either. Or nakedness
or peril or sword, whatever that really means, nakedness or peril
or sword. That means when the enemy comes
in against us, nothing, none of those situations will be able
to come between us and separate us. And then he goes on and tells
us, as it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day
long. We're accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. What it really means is this.
We are to be willing to lay down our life. We are to willingly
suffer for the sake of Almighty God. And sometimes, perhaps,
if the devil is allowed to pursue such a course, we may be very
tempted to believe that because we find ourselves in these difficult
things, that the love of God has been removed from us. No,
says the apostle. This is the truth. This is what
may well happen. But even in this situation, it
will not separate. Wonderful, isn't it? To know
this truth. And then he tells us now in all
these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved
us. It's a wonderful truth, isn't
it? In all these things we are more
than conquerors, not through our own ability, not through
our own skill, but through the great and glorious blessing that
Jesus brings to us. Now in all these things we are
more than conquerors, not just conquerors, more than conquerors. It's a wonderful statement. The
friends when I offer refer to it. It is a wonderful blessing
to recognize that here in this world no one, no situation will
be able to conquer. We shall stand. Stand, yes. Kept, as Peter tells us, kept
by the power of God. through faith, unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. Yes, nothing. And then
he comes and, as it were, reinforces this situation. And he tells
us, for I am persuaded. Why was he persuaded? Because
he'd passed through many of these difficult situations. You only
have to read in the Corinthians where he gives us that great
list of all the difficulties that he was called to pass through
but he proved he was more than conquerors and therefore he's
able to come and say for I am persuaded and then he gives us
a tremendous list really that neither death nor life nor angels
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. It means this, once in Him, in
Him forever. no separation and also let me
say this let us not despise the day of small things sometimes
we may be tempted to think that what God has done for us is just
really of not much consequence when we're not to despise the
day of small things because if God has loved us It cannot be
a small thing because it's with an eternal love. And if he's
loved us, that love will never be taken away. And as we might
try and ponder that to think how wonderful it is that love
is an eternal love. Yes, we never we never perhaps
sought it. We definitely never deserved
it. And God gave it to us, totally unmerited, isn't it real cause
to praise and to honour and to glorify our God for his amazing
love to such unworthy sinners. Well may we tonight rejoice in
what Christ has done, realising that he loved us so much And
he suffered throughout his life. He suffered at Calvary. He suffered in the Judgment Hall. He suffered in Gethsemane. And
it was all because he'd loved us with an everlasting love. Great cause, isn't it? For thankfulness. Great reason for meditation. Great cause bless his holy name
for the great truth contained in the word of God and we can
believe as the Lord himself said when he prayed to his father
thy word is truth. Well tonight may we rejoice in
it and bless God for it. We'll leave the