Are any of you tired of that video yet?
Can you start saying the words ahead of time?
You know, kind of where it's going to be with us for a while.
You spent a couple months so far in the book of Romans,
and we're going to be, finishing, finishing out Romans eight this morning.
And so if you have a Bible and brought one with you on a smart device
or whatever turned there, Romans eight, I'll give you a moment to get there.
And before we open that up, let me just give you a little bit of,
family business as far as the church is concerned.
Kaylee Dubay has been serving
this church on staff for over four years.
And, hey, there's gone by fast for years.
And just this school year,
she accepted a full time position at Stone Creek Elementary.
So for the past seven months, she's working full time there
and then still leading all things children's ministry here.
To say that's a big task is an understatement.
And she has been working very hard for a very long time.
And I'm so proud of you. And I thank you.
You've done a great job.
You and Sean have served together for a long time.
But what's happened?
Because as we grow,
we need to make a change.
And Kaylee and I have talked about this, and she's good with it.
But we're making a change as far as Kaylee's role here to.
She won't be on paid staff as she has been.
Michael Rondon, who has been our youth pastor, is moving into the position
of next gen ministry to oversee birth through eighth grade
and to administrate and coordinate the whole thing.
And Kaylee is stepping aside as far as being a paid staff member.
Still loves the church, loves us, loves your kids,
and still involved, but in a way that allows her,
a little bit of breathing room in her.
I know you love her.
Say that again.
Jeff's in there. You. Absolutely.
So it's it's it's within.
And this needs to happen.
But also, it's a little bit of a sad heart, too.
So after the service, just make sure you give Kaylee a hug.
Tell her you love her.
Thank her for all of her ministry and her years of service,
and we're going to celebrate her next week a little bit as well.
But just want to let you know that ministry is still in good hands.
Okay.
It's still in really good hands and we're excited.
What God's doing?
But I didn't want this to happen without your knowledge.
I want you to be able to love her and celebrate her in that we're good.
Okay, Cathy. You good? Yeah.
All right.
Hey. Romans eight.
Before we were going to be in, verses 29 through 39 today, but.
But I need to go back to verse 28 to kind of set the stage for us.
We need to set the table before we eat.
So in setting the table, verse 28, and we know that
for those who love God, all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose.
Here's what I know.
That's a promise from God that he is synergize all things
for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
But here's the thing.
Our trust in that promise
will be based on our belief
of the character of God.
Our trust in that promise
is going to be the foundation of our trust
in that is going to be on what we believe to be the character of God.
If we don't trust the character of God, we will not trust the providence of God.
Do you understand?
Providence is God's way of working
within natural systems to work out his good and perfect will.
Not. Miraculously, that's when he overrides those systems,
but providentially working within them to accomplish his good purpose and will
and our trust that God is providentially working.
All things, synergize all things providentially
for good is going to be based on how much we trust his character.
If you don't trust his character, you don't trust his providence.
That makes sense to you, doesn't it?
Anytime we start to doubt
the providence of God,
it's really a statement that we're starting to doubt his character
because we don't trust him.
And and so so all of this, these promises
to synergize all things together for good.
Our trust resides in the trust of his character, of his heart
and understanding what it is.
He is working all things together for good for.
And that's what gets us to verse 29.
So because I trust his character, I'm going to believe this verse,
that he's synergize all things together
for those whom he for new.
He also predestined to become, to be conformed to the image of His son
in order that he might be the firstborn amongst many brothers.
So we're going to get into this in a minute.
We're going to deal with some some issues here that some people bicker about a lot.
But before we get there, I want you to understand
that verse 29 tells us that verse 28 says
he synergize all things together for good and the good.
He synergize all things together for is to conform us to the image of Jesus.
See, we often think that because God has promised to work
all things together for good, it means our ease and our comfort.
That's how we translate good.
Like God's going to synergize this pain for my pleasure.
God is going to synergize this difficulty for my comfort.
God is going to synergize this turmoil for my ease.
And that's not what God means by good.
What God means by good is to conform us to the image of His Son.
We have to understand that
because if we think that God's going to
synergize, work together, all things together for my ease and comfort.
How many of us can give testimony that you know what?
Sometimes my life doesn't turn out that way, right?
But through all things,
we can reflect the image of Christ to the world.
Does that make sense?
That's the good God is working us towards
and synergize us toward so that we have to.
And so let's just let let's go back now and put 29 and 30 together.
For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed
to the image of His son,
in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called.
He also justified in the same jealous fire also glorified.
There's a
there's a lot of people
that want to sit down and talk about this whole idea
of predestination or free will, and that's what they get out of these verses.
Well, let's debate is it predestination or is it free will?
Does God predestined some to heaven or predestined some to hell?
If so, it doesn't seem like people have much choice.
And there's others are like, you know, God just it's all free will.
You choose God?
And that's up to you. Listen,
let me explain to you
when Paul uses these words foreknowledge,
predestination, calling, justification.
Gloria Fication. Those are the biggies.
Yes, God for knows all things.
We call it omniscient, all knowing.
So God knows ahead of time
everybody who's going to respond to him.
You understand that?
Listen, here's the deal we have to get this foreknowledge
does not necessarily imply content
or consent.
Foreknowledge is not imply consent.
You can know your kid's going to sneak out and be an idiot,
but does that mean you consent to it?
No. Okay, so
so foreknowledge doesn't necessarily imply consent.
God has, for all he knows, all things,
and what he knows is what he has called.
He has predestined everybody.
Second Peter three nine the Lord is not willing or not
slow to fulfill his promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient
toward you and me, not wishing that any should
what he don't want anybody perish.
He doesn't predestined anybody to perish.
But all that all should what come to repentance?
So his predetermined destination is repentance.
That's what he wants for everybody.
He, in his
foreknowledge, knows those who will and those who won't.
Just because he knows someone doesn't mean that he consents to those who won't.
That's their choice.
So his foreknowledge knows all.
He is predestined.
Every person that's been created by him to live with him.
And though that is his predestined
destination, ultimately that's what he desires.
So then he calls.
Let's go back.
Those whom he predestined, he also called.
So he puts out the call to everyone
and calls them to respond.
Romans three.
Sorry.
Revelation 320 behold, I stand at the door and knock.
I'm calling.
I want you.
If you open the door and let me in.
We'll have fellowship.
So? So he knows who will and who won't.
His predetermined death desire is that we
all are a part of his family through faith.
He calls us to respond.
And those who respond, he justifies
for those who foreknow it predestined to become the image of the son on earth.
Those might be the firstborn of his, of the brethren, of the brothers,
those who whom he predestined, he called, those he called and respond
with, or are justified were made right with him
through faith by his grace,
not of our own doing.
And whoever he justifies, he,
he, he also has glorified. Now
God's know it foreknowledge knows who is going to open the door and who's not.
Who's going to reject that,
though he knows, doesn't mean
that he has determined solely.
He's determined that the desired destination is a relationship.
And so he calls and whoever opens the door of their free
will because God has initiated that,
he enters.
And because of what Jesus did on the cross has justified made them right with God.
And whoever is justified through faith because of God's grace.
The Paul says, is is glorified.
Now the word of glorified means completely made new.
It's the glorification that happens when we are with God in heaven.
All things new.
And Paul talks about it as if it's already happened.
Now listen, I have been justified
through Jesus with the father.
So God looks at me through faith because of his grace, as if I had never sinned.
Now Paul says, I am right now glorified.
Now here's my problem.
I looked in the mirror this morning.
And though he talks about me
as being glorified, I don't feel glorified.
Anybody else?
Yeah.
So why would he say that?
Here's why.
He says that because of who God is.
Let me just expand on who this God is.
God is what we call omnipresent.
God is.
So God get this that he's outside the space time continuum.
If I can just blow your mind for a minute.
There was a time when time wasn't.
All of time exists within God.
He's bigger than time.
So if you can.
You understand. I'm saying, like there's a time when time was that.
You understand that?
No you don't. It's too big. I don't understand it either.
We understand the words, but we can't get our minds around that.
But because God is outside of this space time continuum,
he talks about things that are in our future as if they've already happened.
Because for him, they have.
So he sees us.
He's already at that point when we're glorified with him in heaven.
And so he talks about us as if you're in me through my son.
You're glorified. It's a done deal.
You don't have to hope that happens one day.
It's a done deal.
And so that's what he's saying.
He said so listen, God is synergize all things together
for the good so that you look like my son because he's desired you.
He's called you.
You've opened the door.
You're right with me through my son.
And you stand now glorified before me.
It's amazing.
Definitely amazing.
No, a lot of people use these verses
to debate predestination or for or free will.
Listen, I will never have that conversation with you
because these passages are not about the debate of predestination.
These verses are about the assurance of culmination.
This is where it's headed.
It's not so that we can debate destination or free will.
Listen.
If you could know,
there are some things in Scripture that are just in tension with each other.
They're not in contradiction. Their intention.
And if
we could understand everything that's in tension in Scripture,
if we could understand all of that about God, God wouldn't be very majestic.
I'm comfortable living with the tension that is in Scripture
because it says to me, My God is so big.
Listen.
Any of you men who are married, can
you understand everything about your wife?
You know,
they give testimony.
We don't even understand a thing about a wife.
How can we think we can understand everything about God?
There are things about God that cause tension.
Like I don't understand.
And personally, I'm comfortable living in that tension
because it just shows me. Here's the deal.
I can make a case from Scripture and convince you
about predestination that God has chosen from the beginning
who will come to faith and who will not like.
It's his decision and it predestined.
I can make a biblical case from that.
I can also make a biblical case that you wouldn't be able to argue with that.
It's about our free will.
I can make a case for both biblically,
that's tension.
And I'm comfortable living in that tension, because what Scripture tells me
is not about the process, what Scripture tells me.
It's about the culmination.
Do you understand?
For you and I,
he is knocking on the door of your heart.
He's chosen you already,
but he knocks on the door.
He has chosen you.
But yet Jesus says, whoever will come, let him come.
So there's still the choice.
And that's the tension.
Watch what he says.
Where am I?
Verse 31.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Okay, so so what's your response as he says, what's your response?
What are you gonna say?
Now, we don't know exactly what Paul's talking about.
He could be talking to all of Romans up to this point.
He could be talking about. So what do you say now?
What is it now?
You deserve wrath.
But, Jesus, what do you say now?
He could be talking about everything we've talked about in the book of Romans.
Or he could just be talking about what we've talked about in in Romans eight.
And what do you say now?
Now there's no condemnation because of Jesus.
So what do you say about that?
What do you say now?
Now you've been adopted. All the rights and privileges. A son is yours.
You're a career with Christ. What do you say?
What do you say now? Romans 828.
All things God synergize us for the good so you'll look like Jesus.
What do you say about that?
That's what he could be talking about. Everything in Romans eight.
Or he could just be talking about this whole
foreknowledge, predestination call justification and glorification.
What do you say about that?
What he's doing is he's asking you for a response.
He's asking me for a response no matter what it is.
He's. What do you think? What's your response?
And then he answers his own question.
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Now, a lot of people could be against us.
That's the answer.
Right.
If you ever had someone against you.
Do you have had someone against your faith?
Have you ever had someone against the way you're trying to live?
There's a lot of people. Could be.
But the the question is not.
Well, nobody can be against it. Well done.
A lot of people could be against it, but who cares?
Who cares? That's the point of it.
Who cares who's against me? Why?
Because God's for me.
And God's already made his declaration over me.
He loves me. He gave his son for me.
I'm right with him.
So your opinion. You.
Do you really think I care about your opinion?
Like whenever I say stuff like that, my wife is like Carl.
Like, don't be mean.
You should care.
Sometimes,
I guess, but.
I'm not suggesting be a jerk and don't care.
I'm not saying that.
But like, Paul is going to develop this further.
Like, as if God is for us. Who cares?
Verse 32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all,
how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Listen, Paul's making both
a logical and a theological argument.
He's saying, If God gave you his son,
why would he hold anything else back from you that you need?
Does that make sense?
He gave you his son,
so why would he hold anything else from you?
Think about it like this.
The most expensive diamond in the world.
It's called the pink.
The pink lady.
Okay. The most pensive diamond in the world.
I think it's 52 carats, $72 million.
Can you imagine
it now?
Now, consider for a moment the one who own that says to you.
There's just something about you.
And I so value you and treasure you.
I'm captivated by you.
I want to gift you this diamond
gives you that $72 million diamond,
and you're taking it back.
And think about it for a moment.
You're holding this diamond in your hand,
and you say the gift to the gift or of that diamond.
This is
some think
I don't want to carry it out of my pocket, though.
And I don't want to get all smudgy.
Can I have.
Will you give me a little black velvet?
You know, a little case to put it in.
Can you imagine after they just gave you that diamond?
Can you imagine the saying?
What do you want me to give you for free?
A little baggie?
Are you kidding me? Who do you think you are?
Why would I just give that to you?
That makes no sense.
Why do we approach God that way?
He just gave us his son.
Why did we come before him and think.
Can can I bother you for something? No.
Like, could you at all see it in your heart?
Do you understand?
He just.
Paul saying this is both logical and theological.
Someone gave you his son.
God gave you his son.
Why would he keep anything else from you?
Now? Apparently,
we have the freedom
to ask the father for anything
because he didn't spare his own son.
And so, if you have a need, I will boldly tell you to ask.
Just ask.
Be bold in that.
And the reason I can be
so bold in telling you to be bold is because I know you're not asking me.
You're asking God.
If you're asking me for something, you better temper your ask.
Yeah.
Do you understand?
I will not give my son for you.
I won't get my bulldog for you.
I don't know that I'll give you my sandwich, let alone you know.
And so you can ask God boldly.
But in your ask, you trust his character,
and you know that his answer to your ask
is going to be in line with what energizes you into the image of Jesus.
So sometimes that ask will be in line with his synergy to make you like Jesus.
And he will say, absolutely.
Thank you for trusting me and asking.
And other times you will say no
because to say no
is works a greater good of the image of His Son in you.
Do you follow?
So ask.
The verse to leave off,
and I don't remember.
He didn't say, okay, so look at verse 33.
So who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
It's God who justifies.
Verse 34, who is to condemn Christ?
Jesus is the one who died.
And more than that was also raised.
He was at the right hand of God, who in is indeed is interceding for us.
He says, look who's going to bring a charge against us.
Well, like we just said, a lot of people.
Anybody can bring a charge.
So for me,
you know,
the uniqueness of the charges against me
are pretty significant because here's the deal.
I have this role as pastor,
and people have brought a
lot of charges because they don't agree with my faith.
You understand?
It's a lot of church hurt out there, a lot of religious people out there,
a lot of non-religious people out there who would make charges.
Okay, I get it.
But not only as a pastor.
I'm also a high school coach.
And anybody who coaches the high school understands
they're going to be a lot of people
like players, moms.
It's like, just,
like.
You could never please anybody,
you know, like as a pastor or a coach, right?
Eric?
Is the point is, nobody's going to make a charge.
This is a legal term. Par sock. Right.
And he says, who's going to sustain a charge?
You cannot.
So you can make a charge against God and against his people.
You can make it.
Anybody can make a charge.
Anybody could file a claim.
But can you sustain it in court?
Not even a little bit.
Who's going to sustain a charge against God?
Go ahead and try.
And God has made his declaration about me spiritually.
You want to make a charge against me spiritually?
God's always made his declaration.
You can't sustain a charge against me.
So your opinion, Paul says, I'm not saying this.
I'm not being mean right now.
Like my wife would say.
I'm being like, so you're
what's the old adage the lion doesn't care about the opinion
of the sheep?
Who's going
to sustain the charge against God?
It's Jesus who died and who was raised and who is,
who is at the right hand of God interceding
for us like right now,
the son Jesus is standing between you and the father,
and Jesus is pleading your case
to him, to the father right now.
He's interceding for he's pleading on your behalf.
Can you imagine?
Now, I love the opportunity to pray with you and for you.
And there's a group of us that meet at first Tuesday of every month
that pray over the needs of you.
If you let us know, and your church, it would be so much more power
if you were to come and pray with us for you and your church.
But we stand and we love that.
But can you imagine Jesus himself
interceding for you?
How much like you don't need me to go to God.
You don't need a priest.
You don't need a saint, a patron saint for any of that stuff.
You can go to God because the son is interceding for you.
And why do we need the son to make intercession for us?
Because we have an accuser against us.
Revelation 12 verse ten.
And I heard a loud voice
in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power,
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.
For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before God.
The reason we need an intercessor before God other than us, who is Jesus,
is because we have the devil against us, who stands before the father day
and night saying stuff like this
God, you know,
you know what Carl did?
You know what a failure he is.
You know what a sinner he is.
You know, he still struggles with, you know, he's still messed up.
You know,
you can't
you shouldn't move on his behalf.
You should be offended at him.
You should be disappointed at him.
You should have discouragement in your heart because that's the guy
you chose.
Are you kidding me?
That's what the devil does day and night.
And in the midst of that, Jesus like.
Father,
see Carl through me
and so well, the devil makes all these accusations day and night.
God the father goes, la la la la la la la la la la.
Shut up!
I don't pay attention to the thing you say.
Jesus is there interceding.
No, father.
Now I covered him, remember, I covered him, I covered him.
You got some else to say? I covered that to.
Do you understand?
That's why
you can approach his throne of grace with confidence.
Because we know that will receive grace and mercy to help us in our time of need.
Scripture says
interceding for us.
And so, Paul, in a summary statement,
he wraps this thing up with this who
who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or danger or sword?
He says, who's going to separate us from his love?
And then he lists seven things that are pretty bad things.
He lists seven things that would make the ordinary person question God's love.
If you've
ever lived in the seasons of troubles and tribulations
and distress and persecution and famine and want and need
and nakedness and danger and peril, if you've ever lived in those seasons,
at some point probably we've asked God why,
if you love me, why do you allow this?
If you love me, why did you let my family, my wife, my child?
If you love me, why right?
So Paul doesn't say these things won't come.
He says just when they come.
Don't let these things make you question God's love.
Because he gave you his son, and he synergize even those things
to make you in the image of his son,
who suffered.
So when you and I go through these seven very terrible things,
we have confidence in God's character
that he synergize even those things to make us into
the image of his son, so that when we go through those things,
the question we ask ourselves is, I'm going through trouble right now?
Is my response that trouble look like Jesus
as a response to his troubles?
I am really hurt by people.
Does my response in the midst of that hurt look like Jesus's response
when he was hurt by people?
Where in scripture do we read that
Jesus got so stressed and angry he just couldn't sleep at night?
Where do we read the Scripture?
Where he laid his head on his pillow and was still haunted by the injustice
that was done?
Where do we read in Scripture where he just lost his mind
over what God would allow?
We don't.
And so Romans 828, for
we know that God is centralizing all things to make us look like Jesus.
And sometimes we all go through tribulation
and distress and persecution, or famine, or nakedness and danger and sword,
because God synergize all those things to give us
the opportunity to look like Jesus in this world.
It doesn't mean he makes things good and easy.
It means he makes us look like his Son and our responsibility,
and is to trust the character of God
and in those moments, respond like Jesus,
dare I say in those moments to post
like Jesus.
You follow. You.
How in the world is this possible?
I mean, does this sound like our our normal modus operandi?
Is this is this how we normally respond when stuff happens?
Okay, I'll go on.
Verse 36 and 37
for your as it is written for your sake, we're being killed all day long.
We are. We are like sheep to be slaughtered.
That's a direct quote from Psalm. 4422.
And I don't have time to get into that.
But you Bible students might want to dive into that psalm.
It's profound.
It says no.
And all these things were more than conquerors through him who loved us.
How do you how do you respond?
Like how do you
how do you embody the image of Christ for the wounded going through all this stuff?
And Paul says, we can't, but but in Christ we're more than conquerors.
And this is a profound statement
that Paul has just made about being more than a conqueror.
Here's why.
When he uses
this, this whole idea more than conquerors
is this Greek word that he kind of puts a couple Greek words together.
Harbor Nick.
Oh, two different words.
This is what they mean.
The word hypo hyper means super or more than Nick.
Oh, is that from the Greek god Nike,
which means conqueror?
And so he puts these two together.
He says, you're just not a conqueror.
You are a super conqueror.
You're just not a conqueror.
You're a hyper conqueror.
Like, here's how you know the difference.
A conqueror gets through the battle,
realizes they've won, and rejoices in the victory.
I'm a conqueror, a hyper conqueror, a super conquer.
Paul says you're more than conquerors is one who knows ahead of time.
They're already a conqueror, and they rejoice in the midst of the battle.
Do you understand the difference?
Most of us live life.
We're in these troubles and difficulty, the trials and tribulations,
and we think, God, get me out of this. Get me through it.
And when God does one, we're a little bit surprised at a word.
And two, we're like, oh yes, now I'm a conqueror.
And the super conquers, say God in the midst of it before you do a thing.
I am already a hyper conqueror.
I will rejoice in the battle.
Again, stand.
Most of us have decided I want to live as a conqueror.
Because I want God to fix.
Paul says that is not who we are in Christ.
We are hyper conquerors in the midst of it.
Has that been your experience?
If not, as they say,
we're leaving money on the table.
Let me put it to you in terms of cards
in the car world, a conqueror is one
who can get us from point A to point B I I'm on this journey.
I'm on traveling. I need to get from point A to point B.
You can do that in a lot of different cars.
For instance, you could do that in a Chevy Spark,
get you to point A to point B, you conquered the journey.
Good for you.
You you used all of your 84
horsepower to do it.
Did you make it
through?
Probably not
with a lot of confidence or speed or elegance, but.
And isn't that how we go through difficulties sometimes?
God, I just I just want to get to the end of this,
and you just putt along
and you just plod along like, man,
I hope the engine.
That's a conqueror.
You know what the super conqueror is?
The Hennessey Venom F5,
only 24 made.
$7 million or so.
The Hennessey Venom F5 6.6l twin turbo V8.
I wrote it down 1817 horsepower,
speed of 311 miles an hour.
That's a super conquer,
you understand
something? Most people have come to Jesus
and they just leave it a as a as a Chevy Spark.
And they got these hills, they got to climb and they just plugged
along, praying that the engine didn't give out in their own road back down hill.
And when they make it to the top, they're like, whoo
hoo, boy, I don't ever want to do that again.
Oh, you're a conqueror.
I guess you made it. Is that really it?
When Paul says you're not a Chevy Spark?
You're a Hennessey Venom F5.
You got 1850 horsepower under the hood.
You don't go 311 miles an hour.
You can make it up the hill and then another one after that.
With no problem.
You get to the end destination not just making it,
but making it with power and speed and style.
Like, that's a super conqueror.
And my fear is that so many of us have settled
for a Chevy Spark faith
and never embraced the Hennessey Venom F5.
Faith.
I want to make it to the end, but I want to make it to the end
knowing that as I go through it, I got power to spare.
What am I worried about right now?
In the trouble and distress and difficulty?
What am I worrying right now about your opinion?
About the world's opinion about me? What am I worried, right?
I got strength to spare.
I'm a hyper super more than conqueror.
In the midst of it, I'm going to rejoice because I know it's already done.
Thank you. Understand what I'm saying?
And my fear is that we've settled for a Chevy Spark faith.
God, I know you gave Jesus
for me and I'm thankful for forgiveness.
Could you please see it within your good
heart to maybe
I just want to make.
As your Christian experience,
as your faith has been, has your life, maybe you're separated from Christ.
You don't even have a Chevy Spark.
Has it looked and felt more like a Chevy Spark existence
than a Hennessy Venom F5?
Do you realize what you've been called to
and gifted?
David, don't say anything else about this.
You're in the first service I'm seeing. You must.
Don't miss something.
I think I got it.
What he says.
Verse 38.
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor anything else, all creation will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Who have been adopted by God.
I'm a coworker with Christ, and nothing going to separate
from his love.
I'm a I'm not just I'm a super conquerors.
Nothing are going to separate me from his love.
I go back to verse one now.
There's no condemnation.
There's no failure in my life that's going to separate me from his love.
I'll go back to verse 15.
I've been adopted by God.
I'm forever loved as his child knows.
I'm going to separate him from that love.
I go to verse 28,
God is synergize in all things together so that I'll look like his son.
He's not going to abandon me now.
There's nothing will separate me from his love.
I go to verse 30 and 39, death.
That's not going to separate me.
Separate me from his love. I've got eternal life,
rulers and authorities and powers
and he's talking about the forces of hell and Satan himself.
They're not going to separate me from them.
So they've already been conquered and defeated.
No charge they bring against me can stand.
No created thing will ever separate me from his love.
Jesus proved it on the cross.
Romans five eight God shows his love for us in this.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Nothing's going to separate me from that.
And this is all accessed through faith by his grace.
For by grace you've been saved through faith.
This not of yourselves.
It's not your own doing.
It's the gift of God, not the result of works.
Nobody can brag about it.
God initiated Augustine that God did it.
We just respond to receive it.
Can you imagine this?
Hennessey.
Venom F5. Faith,
strength and power to spare.
Not because you deserve it. Not because I deserve it.
Not because we weren't just, but because of God's grace.
His love is so profound.
And so that's what drives me back to where I started this whole thing.
Grace really is greater than anything you want to put in a blank.
It's the free gift of God.
And if this isn't
your experience, that's not God's fault.
It's the free gift.
Through faith, by grace.
And this great thank you, Lord.
That's all I can say is thank you, Lord.
And so, my dear friends,
if this has not been reflective of the faith that you live with,
why not?
A complete transformation
of who I am, of who you are,
is available to us
freely
through faith,
because of God and by his grace.
And I invite you.
It's not my invitation.
Is Jesus's invitation into a super hyper
conquerer faith
because of who Jesus is.
And so
I invite you.
Let's pray. And.
If what we've talked about
has not been your experience,
I want to offer you the invitation
that Jesus has offered.
To be made new,
fully understand this
what I'm saying fully and completely new.
To allow yourself to be conformed into the image
of the Son Jesus.
And to receive, by God's grace, freely,
a super hyper conquering faith.
Towards that end,
I invite you in this moment in prayer
to say, God,
I'm realizing what it is
I am and you are.
I am weak,
I fail.
And I've just been surviving.
And I want more.
I acknowledge who you are,
and I accept who you are
to be the God and the leader of my life.
I confess my sin to you.
Jesus.
I accept what you did for me on the cross.
And I receive
through faith, by grace
a right standing before you.
Father
and I receive the gift
of a hyper super conqueror faith no longer
do I want to live as Chevy Spark.
Life.
I want to be a super conqueror
that rejoices in the battle.
Because I'm being made
into the image of your son,
tell him I trust your character. God,
because I know you love me.
The Bible says, keep your eyes close to me.
Just be in prayer.
The Bible says that God looks to and fro about the earth
for those whose hearts are firmly his, that he may strongly support them.
He's looking for you right now.
His name is called Elroy, the God who sees.
He's looking for us right now.
To solidify
your commitment, not just in your heart,
but to solidify that commitment.
So I can pray with you.
So, Jeff. So David can.
Would you just. I'm going to pray over you specially.
Just a minute.
Would you just raise up your hand and say, I prayed that prayer.
I want to be a super conqueror.
I want what God offers me.
Thank you. Good. Just keep it up for me. A pray over your hand.
I'm gonna pray over. You're raising your hand.
Thank you.
Good for you, good for you, good for you, good for you.
Just keep them. Keep them. Let me see.
This isn't for me.
It's for you. I just want you to solidify this.
I want you to allow me the opportunity, the privilege to put.
Thank you.
Good good good good good.
There you go. Thank you.
Just keep your hands off them and just let me just receive
this prayer, agree with me and pray you guys with your hands. It.
Father, I thank you for these with their hands up
that their body is representing the position of their heart.
They want you.
They want to receive all you have.
Thank you that it's not contingent upon what we've done about what they do,
but just and receiving every great show in the name of Jesus right now.
Do what you said you would do.
I pray a measure of your grace that is so profound
and so unknown to them, that it would wow them with who you are,
that they would receive it as a free gift.
This hyper conqueror of faith,
that they would be allowed to be the image of you in this world.
That they would feel your presence in such a mighty way, such a profound way.
Father, that they would be so overwhelmed and impressed with you,
so grateful
for what you've done in their lives and for them that they would walk and move
and think and respond and be hyper conquerors in this world.
That is your desire.
You said that you're looking for people right now whose hearts are firmly yours.
God, see these hands?
See these people now in the name of Jesus, strongly support them
according to your word,
God. Thank you.
Thank you for these.
Thank you for this time. We love you.
In your name I pray. Amen.
Listen,
it's good for us to be this good to go through His Word.
His word is alive and active, sharpened to an end to a sword.
It recreates us, his spirit, us through his word.
This is good, if you may.
If you prayed some prayer like that.
Jeff, David, and we'd love to talk with you.
To pray with you again. I'll be here. We'll be in the welcomes.
Just come talk to us and let us just pray specifically
if that'd be good.
If you just want to spend time praying yourself,
there's a prayer in my back there. Nobody's in it.
You just need a little bit of time. Just a you and God to
stick her ahead and see if anybody needs some prayer.
And I know Bob and Jennifer would love to pray with you too. And
anyway, don't let this moment
I love you.
It's good for us to be together on this week.
Now go through Romans eight again and then read Romans nine Romans.
We just there's four sections to Romans write God's wrath, God's grace,
God's plan, and God's will.
We just finish this, that God's the God's grace part.
Now we're going to get into God's plan in Romans nine.
And it gets really pretty deep.
And I'm going to actually geek out over this stuff.
So I hope you don't mind, but it's going to be fun.
And I want you to read,
try to get your minds ready for what God's going to reveal to us in Romans 911.
Okay,
I love you.
I'm proud of you fellas. One more song.
You guys doing a great job.
All of our band's up at camp. Yep.
You guys doing a great job.
We're running lean and lean.
This morning is good,
but I'm sure we're going to sing something about Jesus and love.
You will be me.
We're going to go back a few years, right?
Stand up. Let's sing. Let's be happy.