Sermon for July 26, 2020 25 Minutes

Good morning everyone,,, watching by video.

I sent out text messages and Facebook post asking for praise reports and prayer request during the week.

These are the ones that I've written down.

If I've missed yours,,, please text me or post it in the comments and we will add it at the end.

Praise reports

Thanks to our healthcare workers during this terrible pandemic. I believe that we truly know who our heroes today are!

Prayer Request:

-----------------------------------------------------------

Before I begin with my sermon,,, I wanted to begin this morning with an opening prayer and lead into the Lord's prayer like we usually begin our worship service. That way if you like,,, you can join me in saying the Lord's prayer.

Invocation and Lord's prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for your continued presence among us today and every day. I thank you for our healthcare workers who continue to work tirelessly and sometimes without a thank you! I thank you for those that are listening and watching by video. I ask for continued guidance for them and others. So we ask for healing for all of those that are sick this morning,,, we pray for all of those that we mentioned this morning,,, those on our prayer list and even any needs that weren't mentioned,,, we ask for safety and guidance for our healthcare workers and all others that must work during this time. Lord,,, I pray for all of those that are still working on clearing storm damage and helping others. We ask for healing from all these events for our great nation,,, and

We ask these things in Jesus's name who taught us to pray, by saying:

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever.

Amen.

-----------------------------------------------------------

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 8 verses 26 through 39.

I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Romans 8:26-39

In the verses that we will look at this morning,,, Paul is explaining how the Holy Spirit will help us during our weakness.

Romans 8:26-39

26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?

34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, 39 height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

-----------------------------------------------------------

We are back in Romans looking at the words of Paul again.

Last Sunday we saw the "hope" that we have,,, because of the Holy Spirit helping us today!

The Sunday before that,,, we saw that the Holy Spirit was the power we needed to live a holy life.

Three Sunday's ago,,, we saw the Holy Spirit was what helps us deal with the effects of sin after we become Christians.

This morning we will look at the way the Holy Spirit will help us during our weakness because it knows our needs even if we are broken and cannot see them.

So lets look at these verses and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verse 26 says: 26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.

Just as we are sustained by the glorious hope that we looked at last week in verses 24 and 25,,, the Holy Spirit sustains us in our weaknesses.

Sometimes we are confused in our prayer life.

Sometimes we don't know how to pray as we should.

Sometimes we pray selfishly,,, only thinking of ourselves.

We pray too limited,,, only thinking of our small church,,, family,,, budget,,, community,,, etc.,,, the list goes on and on.

Sometimes,,, we don't know what or how to pray!

But once again the Spirit comes alongside to assist us in our weakness,,, this verse says,,, interceding for us with unspoken groanings.

It is the Spirit who groans,,, instead of ourselves,,, though that could also be true at times.

Especially if you are trying to pray about something that hurts so bad,,, but you don't know exactly the correct words to pray!

That's where the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and will make God aware of what we are trying to say,,, even when we can't!

This is something that we don't fully understand.

We read this,,, but we truly don't understand how this is accomplished,,, because we are talking about a conversation between God and the Holy Spirit,,, and they are at work on our behalf!

And although we cannot understand it all,,, we can take tremendous encouragement from the fact,,, that a groan,,, may sometimes be "our" most spiritual prayer.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verse 27 says: 27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

My Believer's Bible Commentary says "God searches the hearts of men,,, and He can also interpret the mind of the Spirit,,, even though that mind finds expression only in groans."

The important thing is that the Holy Spirit’s prayers for us are always according to the will of God.

And because they are always in accordance with God’s will,,, they are always for our good.

That explains a lot,,, as the next verse reveals.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verse 28 says: 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

This verse is hard to believe when we are just beginning to experience something terrible that has happened in our life!

Sometimes when we are suffering heartbreak,,, tragedy,,, disappointment,,, frustration,,, or loss of a loved one,,, we wonder what good can come out of it.

So many times,,, I've been able to look back over my life and I've seen the good that has come from terrible things in my life.

The next verse helps us with this answer also.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verses 29 and 30 say: 29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

These verses give Paul’s explanation of what it means to be one who has “been called according to His purpose” and why God keeps on working all their experiences together to their benefit (v. 28).

Believers are those God foreknew.

In other words,,, God knew us as Christians,,, before we knew that we would be Christians!

This knowledge means that God has been conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ.

So,,, those that God knew would answer His call,,, see that God has laid out a plan for them so that His enabling grace would make them a part of the family of God.

And having made such a plan,,, God follows through in its application.

It says in my Wesleyan Commentary,,, the only way to fall short of the calling,,, is to refuse the call.

From the standpoint of God’s grace and provision,,, there is no failure.

As fast as the called ones come, He justifies.

And as surely as He justifies, He takes them through to a safe landing in glory.

Paul is looking ahead in absolute reliability in God's plan that this will be accomplished.

Paul is saying,,, that for those who answered God’s call,,, He has no doubt of the outcome!

With this concern and faithfulness on the part of God there is a most reassuring thought,,, and we see the answer to this in the next verse.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verses 31 and 32 say: 31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?

Do you see the answer in verse 31?

We are invincible. If God is for us, who is against us?

God has done the most difficult and expensive thing for our salvation by giving His Son for our sins.

Since God has done this for us already,,, why wouldn't He supply us with everything that we need.

Our salvation is guaranteed!

Up to this point in the letter,,, Paul has repeatedly emphasized the opposition of the flesh,,, sin,,, and even the law,,, to believers.

Here Paul declares that what matters,,, is not "what" is against them,,, but "who" is for them,,,—,,, which is God Himself.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verses 33 and 34 say: 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.

The next two questions Paul raised and answered would be what we call forensic or legal in nature.

Who is the accuser,,, and,,, who is He that condemns?

Satan is identified as “the accuser” of God’s people (Rev. 12:10; cf. Zech. 3:1).

His accusations are valid, because they are based on the believer’s sinfulness and defilement.

But Satan’s accusations will be thrown out of court, because it is God who justifies.

The Judge Himself declares the accused person righteous on the basis of his faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:24; 5:1).

As a result all accusations are dismissed and no one can bring an accusation that will stand.

So the next question is,,, Who is He that condemns?

Jesus Christ is God’s appointed Judge (John 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31), so Paul answered this question by stating, Christ Jesus.

But,,, Jesus is the very One whom the believer has trusted for salvation.

Furthermore,,, He is the One who died—more than that (lit., “but more”) who was raised to life—who is at the right hand of God (cf. Luke 22:69; Acts 2:33; 5:31; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22) and is also interceding for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the Judge,,, but He is also the One with whom each believer is identified by faith.

So,,, as we can see,,, he is a believer’s Sacrifice for sin (cf. Rom. 5:8; 8:32), his new life (a believer shares in Christ’s resurrection life; 6:4, 8, 11; Eph. 2:5–6; Col. 2:13), his Intercessor (cf. Heb. 7:25; also the Holy Spirit intercedes, Rom. 8:26–27) and his Defense (1 John 2:1).

Certainly the Judge will not condemn His own who are in Him by faith! (cf. Rom. 8:1)

Which leads us to Paul's final question in verse 35,,,

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verses 35 through 37 say: 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us.

In these verses,,, Paul is talking about the love that Jesus has for us as Christians.

Paul gave 7 examples of things that a Christian might experience,,, that some might think could come between a believer and Christ's love,,, and Paul experienced all of them as seen in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28.

Beginning in verse 35 they are,,, 1- affliction 2- anguish 3- persecution 4- famine 5- nakedness 6- danger or 7- sword.

Non of these things separate us from Christ,,, instead they are a part of the "all things" seen above in Romans 8:28 that God uses to make us or change us to be more like Christ,,, to conform us to the image of Christ.

Then Paul quoted Psalm 44:22 to remind his readers that in this life the people of God must face much affliction (cf. John 16:33) including even martyrdom for some.

In the early days of the church one or more Christians were martyred every day, or faced the possibility of it.

Their persecutors valued Christians’ lives as nothing more than animals to be butchered.

In all these adversities (for example - “all things” in Rom. 8:28 and “everything” in v. 32,,, and with all these things in v. 37), rather than being separated from Christ’s love, believers are more than conquerors,,, through Him who loved us.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Verses 38 and 39 say: 38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, 39 height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Here,,, Paul ends this part of his discussion with a positive declaration that nothing will have the power to separate us from God's love!

Paul’s list of 10 items begins with death,,, where the list of 7 items in verse 35 ended.

These elements in God’s universe are shown in “extremes”.

extremes of existence: (1) death and (2) life (in either death or life,,, believers are in God’s presence - 2 Corinthians 5:8-9)

extremes of created spiritual armies: (3) angels and (4) rulers - both of the Greek terms used here commonly refer to unseen divine beings - some translations use demons instead of rulers - (so angels would not and "demons" (or rulers) could not undo God’s relationship with His redeemed ones)

extremes in time: (5) things present,,, or,,, (6) things to come (nothing known now,,, for example,,, the hardships listed in Romans 8:35,,, or anything that happens in the unknown time to come)

spiritual enemies: (7) hostile powers (perhaps Satan and his demons,,, found in Ephesians 6:12,,, or,,, maybe even human governments,,, then and now)

extremes in space: (8) height,,, or,,, (9) depth (nothing overhead or underneath can suddenly come swooping down or up to separate believers from God’s love)

and

(10) everything that has been created. Absolutely nothing in His whole Creation can stop or change God's plan for those of us that believe in Christ.

What a climactic way to assure us of the certainty of our salvation!

-----------------------------------------------------------

I believe that we can safely say that we should be so thankful for the many ways that the Holy Spirit helps us as we go about our daily life.

It helps us when we are helpless and unable to do or say the things that need to be done or said.

It helps us to see the "hope" that we have,,, because of the Spirit helping us every day.

It helps us to see the Holy Spirit as the power that we need to live a holy life.

It helps us to deal with the effects of sin in our lives,,, even after we become Christians!

So I hope from these last few Sundays,,, you have understood that this is very important to our every day health as Christians.

Jesus knew that this was important and He knew that it would be a tremendous help to us today!

-----------------------------------------------------------

As we end today,,, lets remember all of the scriptures in Romans that we studied this month that help us to see how important the Holy Spirit is to our every day walk with God.

And be sure to just trust in the Spirits guidance,,, as He gets us back on track,,, if,,, we should ever stray!

-----------------------------------------------------------