Gtcotr/ss072521
2 Corinthians 7:5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.
The devil knows he could never make God stop loving you … no doubt he has tried. He also knows he can’t make God stop doing good things for you. What the devil is banking on however, is that he can get you to stop loving God, stop trusting God, or just to stop wanting to do things for Him. This has been the devil’s relentless pursuit since the Garden of Eden.
The
attacks of the devil against the people God loves is evident. The devil will
stop at nothing in his attempts to separate people from the blessings of God. The
devil has used lies and false accusations; he has planted seeds of doubt and distrust;
He has tried disappointment and discouragement; he has fostered fear,
frustration, worry, shame, and all types of anxiety disorders to captivate and
control the minds of men and women in his attempts to get them to blame God for
their problems.
The devil looks for ways to cause pain, loss, anger, shame, and regret in the lives of those who love God and are called according to His will. He tries every thing imaginable in his efforts to either to push or to pull people away from God. One of the favorite tactics of the devil is to cause separation between friends or amongst family members, Church members, citizens of a community or a nation, hoping he can get one of both sides to act ungodly towards the other.
The devil cannot separate people from people or people from God unless he can trick at least one person into working for him.
The
devil knows ungodliness disrupts the flow of God’s blessings in our lives. We
see this played out over and over throughout history and even in the lives of
some of the greatest heroes of the Bible. Men and women like:
·
Adam
and Eve (with the forbidden fruit)
·
Abraham
and Sarah (in the matter of Hagar)
·
Job
and his wife (and her attempts to get him to curse God and die)
·
The
sons of Isaac and Rebecca (Esau and Jacob fought and divided)
·
The
tribes of Israel (sold their brother into slavery and lied to Jacob)
·
The
Scribes and Pharisees in the days of Jesus (Hypocrites)
·
The
congregation in the first Church in Jerusalem (murmured)
·
The
Church in Antioch (Barnabas and Paul, no small dissention)
· The life ministry of the Apostle Paul (persecutions and thorns)
It’s been a long tough road for both God and those who refuse to deny Him, blame Him, or leave the place to which He has called them.
In the spring of AD58, the Apostle Paul was concluding his third missionary journey just prior to heading back to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover that year. Paul and his companions were in Greece, specifically in the city of Corinth. Paul had been teaching the Believers in the Church at Corinth for about 3 months and had been raising contributions for the poor and persecuted Believers in Jerusalem.
It was while he was at Corinth that Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write a lengthy letter to the Church in Rome. Paul had not visited Rome yet, but he had heard much about their faith in Jesus Christ and was moved to include them in his prayers without fail. The letter Paul wrote was intended to convey those essential doctrines of the Church which were given to him by God and to encourage the Believers in Rome to Continue the pursuit of Christ in the midst of a world gone crazy.
The Emperor Nero was a madman, Believers in Jesus Christ were being persecuted and they were soon to become enemies of the state.
This is certainly not the first letter Paul had written to a Church congregation, yet it holds first place in the order of the Pauline epistles in the New Testament. The reasons it comes first may be many however none more notable than the fact that the Book of Romans establishes the fundamental doctrines of Jesus Christ for every New Testament Church that followed.
Romans is often called the heart of the Bible and its authorship has never been questioned nor has its intent been in doubt. With that in mind let’s go together to our text for today which is found in the 8th chapter of the Book of Romans.
Remember the title of the message today: The Devil Knows.
The devil knows he could never make God stop loving you, although that hasn’t stopped him from trying. The Bible calls satan, the accuser of the brethren, (Revelation 12:10), who accused them before our God day and night. God will not be deceived by the devil’s tricks. He can’t make God stop doing good things for you. What the devil is banking on is that he can alter the way you feel about God and/or your willingness to personally participate in God’s plan.
Let’s read a few verses in Romans 8 before we get to the heart of this morning’s message.
Romans 8 NKJV
26 ¶ Likewise the Spirit also
helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we
ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the
hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose.
29 ¶ For whom He foreknew, He
also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might
be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He
predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and
whom He justified, these He also glorified.
31 ¶ What then shall we say
to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things?
33 Who shall bring a charge
against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
That’s God’s part … and He has done it perfectly and forever. Now …
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
The
devil knows that God will never stop loving us … what the devil does not know
is if there is anything he can do to make us stop loving God.
·
Who/What
shall keep us from us loving Jesus?
o Tribulation?
o Persecution?
o Famine?
o Nakedness?
o Peril?
o Sword?
·
Any
of those things which came to Job or to Joseph or to Peter, James, John, Mary,
or Paul?
· What can stop us or keep us or separate us from loving Jesus? Nothing can stop Him from loving us … Paul is merely asking, what can make you stop loving Him? What would make you quit on God?
36 As it is written: “For
Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
·
“We” are more than conquerors – this is our part!
·
The
challenge is to us … not to God – God is not going to quit on us … the
challenge is: Are you going to quit on Him?
· We have been made more than conquerors …
1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 5
4 For whatever is born of
God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the
world — our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We have been made more than conquerors by Christ who loved us …
Romans 8
38 For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things
present nor things to come,
·
Not
when faced with death and (not gonna quit)
·
And
not when faced with a blessed and busy life … (Not quitting)
·
Not
from an angelic visitation and not by a miracle demonstration
·
I’m
not going to be wooed or woe’d into quitting on Jesus …
· No current problem and no fear of the future is going to rob me of my victory in Christ …
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am determined that nothing is ever going to make me stop loving, stop trusting, or stop serving the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Shepherd, and my Friend, Jesus Christ, Son of Jehovah Almighty!
What can you do to gain and maintain your victory in Christ?
1. Consider and Compare
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
2. Hope and Persevere
Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
3. Pray
Romans 10:13 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Don’t
quit on Jesus!
