The God Who Is For Us! Series

The God Who Is for Us!

Intro: 5-year-old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone: “It’s dark in there and I’m scared.” She asked again, and he gave the same answer. She smiled and said, “It’s OK – Jesus will be in there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw that it was dark and started to leave…and then an idea came to him and he asked this question: “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me a can of tomato soup?”

-Life is filled with questions, isn’t it? Some questions make us laugh while others make us scratch our heads. Here are a few that I’ve come across…

1. If you throw a cat out a car window, does it become kitty litter?

2. If corn oil comes from corn, where does baby oil come from?

3. Why do we press harder on a remote when we know the batteries are going dead?

4. When a cow laughs, does milk come out its nose?

5. Why do they put Braille on the number pads of drive-through teller machines?

6. What do they use to ship Styrofoam?

7. Is it possible to be totally partial?

8. How do they get deer to cross at that yellow road sign?

9. If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?

10. Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

-On top of these really deep questions, you may have some questions about CLC. If you’re new here you may wonder what the next step is for you. Here’s a pathway for you to follow. Start with Sundays and then plug into a Sunday Bible class or a Bible Study group. This will help you connect with others who can encourage and help you grow spiritually. After joining a group, then look for somewhere to serve. We believe that this will help you connect with Jesus and it will equip you to become a growing and faithful follower.

-Some of you may have some questions about our Sunday morning worship services. Why do we do what we do? What does it all mean?

-As we come to the end of Romans 8, Paul fires a load of questions. See if you can spot them as we read the passage.

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.

-Most of these questions are rhetorical in nature and do not need a response because the answer is or should be self-evident. Here is the main idea that Paul is bringing across in these verses: God is for us, not against us, and there is no person or situation that can separate us from His amazing love!

-Let’s look at the implications of this as Paul spells them out.

1. Because God is for us, the opposition will not win!

Romans 8:31b: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

-There will always be opposition, but who are they in comparison to God? Nobody can stand against God and win! It may look like they are winning sometimes, but that is because we do not see the bigger picture.

-We find some encouraging words in the Bible about God’s people prevailing against their enemies who wish to destroy them.

Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.