More Than Conquers

More than conquers

Romans 8

Introduction-

We are glad that you have joined us this morning. Every message as we gather, my prayer is that the Lord would touch a heart and meet a need and we would draw close to Him.

We have just come out of Holy Week. Easter Sunday is behind us. The resurrection celebration of Christ being raised from the dead is last week’s news to some people… because they have heard it but they do not live it. Everyday ought to be a celebration of what Christ has done for us and we need to be living the life that Christ promised for those who put their faith in Him. Amen.

Let’s Pray-

Romans 8 is our text and it begins with Apostle Paul making a direct statement of faith- “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Does that get your attention this morning? We have come out of Easter Celebration and now it is the first week after being told and shown that Jesus is all He says He is and you can have all that He said you can have- are you living it out?

Paul tells his audience that condemnation does not come from the Lord-

Condemnation is condemning!

It is bringing up your past with things that you have brought before the Lord in prayer that He has forgiven you for.

Some people really struggle with that- they have brought their sin before the Lord with a sincere heart and have asked him for forgiveness and He has forgiven them because that is the goodness and grace of God.

“That if we confess our sins that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins”- yet some struggle that Jesus is enough.

They keep allowing the Devil to bring these sins against them even though God has forgiven us for them.

God has forgiven yet they have not forgiven themselves!

God convicts and the Devil condemns, it is one way we can know who is speaking to us and what voice you are listening too.

If you are convicted of something that you are doing and it leads you closer to God to ask for forgiveness and direction, then you can know that the Lord is working in your life.

If it is condemnation and it is bringing up your past with something that you have brought to the Lord in the past then it is the devil deceiving you into believing that it is not under the blood of Christ.

How you pray and what you ask is important to God

You see I don’t want to just cut down smoking, I want to quit smoking.

I don’t want to cut back on my drinking, I want to give up drinking.

I don’t want to just be on my good behavior when people are watching me, I want to live what pleases the Lord.

It is becoming who Christ wants you to be.

It is being convicted by the Lord and making changes as He sees fit and not listening to the devil condemning you and pulling you down for things that the Lord has already forgiven you for.

This morning I want to look at how that is possible.

How can we be sensitive when the Lord is convicting us and moving us closer to Him and illuminating sin and how can we identify when the devil is condemning us and actually pulling us away from the Lord and isolating us from receiving what the Lord has for us.

How can God use us for His glory and by what power are we able to do that.

Romans chapter 8:1-11

“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Jesus Christ He has set us free! (That should get an Amen!)

By saying Amen, you are saying that is the truth, or so be it Lord!

So I say it again- There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus- because through Jesus Christ He has set us free.

Christ has set us free (if we are a believer) or at least is willing to set us free, but it has cost Him dearly to do that for each one of us.

Let’s put that in perspective this morning-

No condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Condemnation comes from Satan. It is the beating down of us in our minds for things we have done in the past. We never seem to get a release from God because we are not able to forgive ourselves.

That does not come from God.

Conviction on the other hand is from God. It is the state of showing an error, God compelling us to right a wrong. A strong persuasion of truth, leading us back into a right relationship with God.