Title: More than Conquerors!!
Scripture: Romans 8:31-39
(Romans 8:31-39)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 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? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 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. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.
Introduction:
What hits you read this portion of scripture? More than once, when reading this portion of scripture, I’ve been reminded of the athletic team that had no choice but to put all of its support behind one big player. From the little league to the pro teams, you can usually see one here or there that has no other talent than that one person.
You can see it in that small high school or little league basketball team. They have that one big tall guy that scores all the points. You can see it in the children’s soccer league. They have that one good dribbler that they all depend on. He’s the one that gets the ball and takes it the entire length of the field to score.
We all know that those guys are always going to get the ball. And, they do. They get the ball, but, the other team just can’t do anything about it. Those guys always get the ball, and come through for the team. They score all the points.
But, it’s not only in sports, is it? You see it in life, too. You see it going on in the churches, in the schools, in the companies. The story is the same, if it wasn’t for that one person doing something heroic, the house would have burned. If it had not been for this one person stepping in at just the right moment and catching an error, the company would have gone bankrupt. If it wasn’t for that one stop they had made while they were on the way, they would have been in a traffic accident.
We’ve all seen it. We watch TV and movies and love to see that person or group come rushing in at the end and save the day. We’ll see the soldiers on their horses riding over the hill at just the right time to save the day and chase the enemy away. We see the plane come over the horizon, just at the right time to respond to the final, big attack of the enemy. We see the shadow of the big brother appear behind his little brother just in time to scare the bully away. It’s been the classic plot for years and people never get tired of it. At just the right time, the hero appears and responds to the evil at hand.
In Romans, chapter 5, it says that at just the right time, while man was still powerless to do anything, the star player came into the game. Jesus went to the cross on behalf of you and I.
Our scripture reading continues in that frame of mind. In our scripture today, we are presented with some interesting facts:
I. My Shield
II. My Portion
III. My Defense
III. My Position
Conclusion: My Everything
I. My Shield
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
In almost every ‘good guy/bad guy’ movie the enemy puts up an obstacle that must be overcome for the good guys to win. There is always a hindrance to the success of the mission or the goal. Many times we see it as a shield. The shield or barrier around the enemy must be penetrated before anything can be done, before the mission can be accomplished.
I am sure it’s the other way around as well. We have hindrances or obstacles that are in the way of the devil. Satan knows what those obstacles are. Satan knows what those hindrances to him are, and he is constantly adjusting his plan to infiltrate our defenses.
There are plenty of ways that we stay fit in order to defend against his attacks, and against simple worldly influences. We exercise and eat right, which is a defense against colds, flu, and other illnesses. We wash our hands and keep ourselves clean which helps us fight against viral and bacterial infections.
But, those all deal with the physical makeup of the body. What about the spiritual and mental aspects? What do we do to exercise those portions of our body? What do we do to ensure they are in top form in order to defend against sin, Satan and the world? Prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship are the primary ways we can defend against Satan. How does that work? These three, prayer, Bible reading and fellowship bring us closer to God, and as we draw nearer to God, He draws nearer to us. And, as He draws nearer to us, we feel and experience the awesome protection that He provides us. In Psalms 7, verse 10, the Psalmist reminds us of that very fact:
(Psalms 7:10) My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.
And then in Psalms 119, verse 114, we read the even more of the protective shield that God provides:
(Psalms 119:114) You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
In Romans 8:31 it says:
31 …If God is for us, who can be against us?
Can you believe that? Can you draw on that to ensure that nothing will happen to you? I’m talking about your spiritual and mental well-being. For if your spiritual and mental self do not remain intact, then it does no good to attend to the needs of the body.
But, how can we draw on this power? How can we tap into the uninterrupted Protective Power of God? Again, prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship. These draw you closer to God, spiritually speaking.
Let me give you an example. If you take a dry sponge and put it into the sewer, it will soak up sewer water. If you take a dry sponge and put it in oil, it will attempt to soak up that oil. But, if you put that same sponge in clean and pure water, it will soak up clean and pure water. The sponge, no matter what you put it in, will attempt to soak up to its capacity the liquid that it’s in.
We are that dry sponge. Whatever you put yourself in, your mind, your brain, your eyes, all of these will try to soak up the sights, sounds and activities going on around you. So, if you put yourself in a bad place your attitude will be bad. If you put yourself in a Buddhist place, even if you are Christian, over time, your attitude will be influenced by that teaching. If you put yourself in a tribe of savages that have never known our so-called civilized ways then, given enough time, your attitude will be influenced by their way of life.
But, if you put yourself in prayer, Bible reading and fellowship, your attitude will become the attitude of Christ. And, how do we do that? Set aside time to read the Bible. Set aside time for prayer and fellowship. Make those the priorities in your life. Make those times as if they were set in concrete. If you can’t make it to church because of a problem that you could have worked out earlier, or could have avoided through the Spirit of God, then what response do you think you’ll get from God? You’re putting last in your priorities and He needs to be first! Your putting Him way behind all the other areas in your life, and He needs to be first and ministering to you as you work through those areas.
Yes, there will be tough times. Yes, there will be times when you feel overwhelmed, but don’t worry, He is there to pull you through them. If we back up a little in Romans 8, we can see the help we have. Verse 26,
(Romans 8:26) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
We have no excuse! If we are falling down in our prayer life and Bible reading, we have nothing else to blame except ourselves. Turn your schedule over to God. surrender your plan to Him, and let Him plan your life.
Jeremiah 29:11, is always the verse to turn to when you start talking about planners, schedules and timetables.
(Jeremiah 29:11) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God is your shield. He is protecting you, and
31 …If God is for us, who can be against us?
II. My Portion
32 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?
I remember going through a sort of survival school in the Navy. Me and about 40 other guys were in a secluded mountainous area in southern California for two days. Back in San Diego, we had already completed a week of classroom training on what to eat, how to prepare it [like snake or frogs, or bugs],and so forth. And, now, during the first day in the mountains, we tried to gather wild onions, potatoes, and other things, so that we could use that training. However, all of the other classes over the years had taken what few wild vegetables the land had yielded, and it wasn’t yielding any more. So, for 40 guys, two or three onions boiling in a bunch of water really didn’t fill us up.
By the end of the second day, we were starving! In the evening our instructors brought us a couple of rabbits. They taught us how to prepare wild rabbit stew. There seemed to be enough for everyone. Everyone got a portion of that stew.
As I listened to the guys around me, many of them complained that this person or that person got more. They complained about that person over there having a bigger portion than them! It was really quite sad, as everyone got almost exactly the same, and there was even a little left over!
Sadly, it applies to life as well. In life, people complain about the portions that others have when there is, like the stew, some left over. We posture and complain about what we don’t have, when we truly don’t know what being without truly means. For, there are some places that haven’t anything with which to compare against one another.
Sadly, it applies to spirituality also. In churches, or other Christian environments people will become envious of those that appear to have more of a portion of God’s abundant grace and love than they do. It needn’t be that way. We all have the opportunity to claim our own portions, and go back to the well for more!
(Psalms 119:57) You are my portion, O LORD; I have promised to obey your words.
You and I have promised to obey His words and His words tell us to drink daily and deeply from the fountain of abundance found in His Son.
And, where do I have the promise of abundance? Where is that mention of overflowing plenty? Right there in our scripture. It tells us that:
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? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
There is only abundance found in God. If your portion is so slight as to cause you to complain, then step up and get more! As we grow in the Lord, God wants us to realize that HE IS OUR PORTION. He desires that you realize that more than anything else.
III. My Defense
34 … 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. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Do you ever have that feeling of being invincible? You are, you know.
God wants you to know that in whatever you are doing, He is there to offer you His protection. His protection will, at times, extend to your physical body, but His promise applies to the spiritual body.
Our physical body is perishable, which means it’s not going with me when I began my final road home. Paul tells us:
(2 Corinthians 5:8) We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
The physical body and the spiritual body are separated at physical death. The defense of the physical body is never what Paul talks about in his epistles, it’s always the spiritual body.
In this Psalm
(Psalms 35:23) Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.
the psalmist indicates in the rest of the Psalm a deeper defense than what appears. Actually he is asking for something that can only be done for the spiritual body of a believer. Defend us God!
That should be our cry. That should be our desire. That should be our passion. We should welcome the willingness of our mighty God to defend that which can cost us eternity with Him. We should see to it that we remain in constant fellowship with the One who will stretch out His mighty arm to defend that which can be defended by Him.
IV. My Position
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.
Are you convinced of that? Notice first, though, how Paul arrives here at this position in Christ. He surrendered all that he had and allowed God to be his shield and defense, and clamed his portion in Christ.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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 can’t reach this position of assurance in Christ until you claim the other three. Paul has been persuaded, he has been influenced, he is certain, positive and confident that God is his shield and defense and that this rightfully allows him to take up this position in Christ. What position is that? A position of being untouchable. He tells us that he is convinced that nothing can take away from him what he has in Christ. Nothing can wrench away what he has in God.
You can have that, too. It comes from surrendering to God all that you have. It comes from letting Him be your shield. It comes from letting Him be your Portion. It comes from letting Him be your defense. Through all of that, you will know your unmovable position in Him.
Conclusion: My Everything
37 …we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
What is your everything? The love that God has for you in Christ Jesus, your Lord and Savior. If your everything is more than that, then rest assured, you are not convinced and you are not a conqueror. If your everything depends upon more than that, then rest assured, you are not satisfied and you are not a conqueror.
This is your everything. This is your all in all.
