No Separation

It can be difficult since God's love.

We go through wave after wave of difficult trials today on Truth for Life weekend.

Alastair beg explains that no matter what were going through.

We are never outside of God's care. This is the conclusion of the series called life in the spirit Alastair begins today in the book of Romans chapter 8 while by the time we reach verse 37, Paul's rhetorical questions have come to an end and he's moving to a grand finale, and in doing so he makes these two great declarations he has affirmed the fact that nothing will separate as from the love of Christ. It's important for us to recognize that it is the love of Christ, not our love for Christ by Christ's love for us.

It's not as encouraging if it where about our love for him, which frankly can ebb and flow. But the love of Christ towards us, and for his people is an unerring love and it is without any variableness or shadow due to change, and nothing separates us from the love of God for us and so having identified these things which we said this morning would challenge our happiness and challenge our security trouble or hardship or persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword as it is written in the Old Testament as we read from Psalm 44.

The people of God have faced death all day long they've been regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. He then says triumphantly.

No, no, no, in all these things we are more than conquerors I see. It's as if he actually invents another Greek word he uses a word which is a compound word.

He is not happy just to say we are conquerors. He declares that we are more than conquerors. We are actually the word he uses is a war that gives us our word hyper. We are hyper conquerors.

We are hyper nickel men. We are the hyper conquerors through him who loved us and only this heightened word can do justice to describing the victory that is ours in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and it is important for us to realize that he's not saying that it is because we are removed from these things or because we have been taken to a realm that is above and beyond all these things, but rather it is in all these things reminding us again of the fact that suffering the experiences that are identified in these characteristics are not to be regarded as strange or as alien to the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and of the risk of just repeating myself ad nauseam. I say to you again the part of the challenge that we face in our generation is in being able to articulate to our friends and neighbors. An understanding of suffering and the place of suffering in the life of the believer. It is in all these things that we are more than conquerors know because were very special people know because were very powerful people know because we been able to look inside of ourselves and say you know you really are quite a remarkably strong character. After all, know the conquering nature that we enjoy is that which is provided for us through him who loved us. He loved us. Paul has said in verse eight of chapter 5. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And when Jesus died upon the cross, he triumphed over all of the principalities and over all of the powers and he is loved.

As with an ever lasting law and there are there is no other love that is an everlasting love love a spouse can never be an everlasting love love parent for a child for a friend can never be everlasting, it will inevitably be large or spoiled curtailed ended by day by the love through which we conquer is the love of the Lord Jesus, who has loved us in this everlasting way so he says we are more than conquerors and then in verse 38 and I am convinced I am convinced Paul is the servant of God encourages these believers in Rome encourages them by the sound of his voice in print as he says to them in the face of all of their struggles experienced and anticipated. I convinced and this not on the strength of rhetoric. This is not some attempt on his part to manipulate their minds or instill in them a false confidence or false courage. No, I am convinced that neither death nor life, angels, demons, present, future powers hi dad anything else in all creation will be able to separate ours from the love of God is tense is the perfect tense in some translations it reads. I am persuaded, which is a good translation.

In other words, I am sure I am convinced I am persuaded. In other words, in the view of the process of this thought that is outlined not just in chapter 8, but throughout the whole book so far, his mind has been persuaded by the truth of who God is, the revelation of all of God in Christ in the work of Christ is the basis of a convinced mind and heart. It is not an emotional search easy. It is knowledge which provides the basis for being able to say in all of this, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. How has he loved us read the Gospels and you see how he is loved us.

He has loved us enough to come in the humility of Bethlehem. He has loved us enough to identify with us in our sin is baptism. He has loved enough to stand outside the grave of Lazarus and we he has loved enough to sit with the woman at the well and introduce her to Walter whereby she will never thirst again. He has loved us enough to agonize in Gethsemane and ask for the father to remove the cup from him. He is loved, is enough to endure unmitigated suffering and the cross, refusing even the anesthetic potion that was offered to them in order that he might enter into the depths of all of human suffering and all of our knowledge of the provides the basis for being able to say I convinced I am persuaded in the him writers of help does Emily.

I know not why God's wondrous grace to me has been made known North Y, unworthy as I am.

He bought me for his own, but I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day in the same way when we sing it is well with my soul. I've told you already, and I think we may have changed and we probably haven't change that is certainly not James in the books.

But when Spafford wrote it is well with my soul. He did not write. You have taught me to say it is well with my soul. He wrote you have taught me to know it is well with my soul.

We need to know that it is well so that we might be able to affirm that it is well knowledge is strength in Christian living as well. I am convinced, persuaded, I know. I'm sure that nothing can and nothing will separate ours from God's love.

What a wonderful, wonderful truth, nothing will separate us from God's love looking where he starts, we can work our way through this in detail how you will be glad to know perhaps but will just note them in passing, for I am convinced that neither death nor life life with all the battles all the benefits all the triumphs all the temptations no matter what it throws at us. It's not going to separate us from God's love, dad will not separate us from God's love. This struck me very forcibly the other evening as I was reading appointment to my wife. I'm not sure that she was as excited about it as I was, but she was very very gracious in the way she listened and I had actually come to this point by ardent know because I remembered it from school because I was introduced to in a novel that I had been reading at the time, and I found just a line from it that that the that the novelist used a line stop all the clocks cut off the telephone and I said oh yes, and as is and then thank, thankfully, we all have Google and or whatever you want to have.

I'm sorry that it is not an advertisement for Google but thankfully you can go so all I did was I just I just googled stop all the clocks cut off the telephone and then this is what I got. Stop all the clocks cut off the telephone. Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin. Let the mourners come let airplane Circle morning overhead scribbling on the sky.

The message he is dead. Put crêpe bows around the white necks of the public doves let the traffic policeman where black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West. My working week in my Sunday rest my noon my midnight might talk my song I thought that love would last forever. I was wrong. The stars are not wanted.

Now put out everyone pack up the moon dismantle the sun for a way the auction and sweep up the wood for nothing can ever come to any good as a classic expression of the separating nature of death will be separated. Some of us have been separated from those who are nearest and dearest from the mother who gives birth from a sibling. I think anybody who is experienced the reality of death understands why Arden would write as he did. Do you remember when someone close to you died I would just seems so wrong that anyone would ever laugh that anyone would make a joke about graveyards somehow or another the birds would even say that everything would go on as usual. All of that is the reality. That's what makes this so distinctive we will never be separated from the love of God – we never will. We will pass through the valley of the shadow of death, but we will never be separated from the love of God. If like me you wonder what this transition will meet you must harness your mind to this, you must anticipate death on the strength of this that Dan will not cannot separate us from God's love that for the Christian to die is to fall asleep in the arms of Jesus and is to waken up and to discover that there actually home home in a way that they have never ever encountered discovering that which Paul writes about in first Corinthians 2 that I hasn't seen and ear hasn't aired and neither is it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love for I am convinced as Paul. What a tremendous encouragement. This must've been for these believers as they read this letter.

After the persecution of Rome began after Nero started his dirty business after their friends and loved ones were sent to the liens and as the thought of the implications of the ravaging impact of the state on the life's physically of their brothers and sisters must've come back to Romans eight again and again and said you know this is been a dreadful separation, but they're not separated from the love of God, death or life angels or demons. The heavenly realms of spiritual benefit or of spiritual wickedness, the unseen in the cross, the Lord Jesus has disarmed all of these things. Paul is the one who reminds the Colossians about that when he writes to them. Colossians chapter 2, he says when you were dead in your own circumcision of your sinful nature. God merely made you alive with Christ, and he took all these things that were against us and nailed him to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. He says much the same thing right around two thirds into Ephesians chapter 1. Neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, the present nor the future, the passing of time of essence is I know what time is until somebody asked me what it is.

The future comes in at the rate of 60 seconds a minute. It chases as it changes as the US Airways magazine is a very splendid magazine. As it turns out that has a terrific review of a book on the on the impact of the Internet and the amount of messages that are that are passing all the time, not millions, but billions and then the article the writer in this book is pointing out the dramatic shift that is taken place as a result of this, we've explained to ourselves that we now have so much more time overusing up all that time. Looking to see if anybody is emailed as Facebook does predators or Fritos or drinkers or whatever there is to the and that actually hasn't enabled us for more communication. It hasn't made it better for us to actually see each other that there is no way that LOL comes close to a genuine laugh.

There is no way that: and half of a parenthesis is anywhere close to the smile from the eyes of a friend and time chases us and how Reza's one of the benefits of age is wisdom. One of the detriments of age is worry, it is of significance when you find yourself saying things. Not that your parents were saying, but that your grandparents were saying when you find yourself taking the newspaper and saying I don't know how my grandchildren are ever going to manage in this world there is no possibility of them being able to make it. That's what my grandfather said by God's grace I'm making my grandchildren unless Christ returns, will make because neither the present nor the future will separate them in Christ from God's love.

God is not as stopping when we pass away. This is a dreadful narcissism represented in this is not as long as we can make it. Finally, to our grave. After that, you know, if God wants to go on vacation for a while at the you know so be, but no that's not it at all. He's our help in ages past, and he is our hope for years to come. And neither height nor depth, can separate us from him what what Paul is actually doing is taking all of the notions of time and space in the same listen you are secure in Christ, he is sovereign over the present is sovereign over the future of the death of her life over demonic powers over the Angels and he is sovereign over the vastness of creation and so our children learn to sing Jesus love is very wonderful so I can get over so wide you can get around so deep you can get under the wonderful love of Jesus and what we taught our children. We need to live and believe ourselves.

Neither height nor depth, future, nor powers, any powers any powers and then, nor anything else that's been created just in case you're worried that we might have slip something by he gives a comprehensive summary. No loopholes. This is comprehensive. Nothing can. Nothing will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Since we are in Christ by his grace. There is now no condemnation and there is no separation. I read a lot of books on Romans eight in the last while in the first part of this year, but none more daunting than this book by Thomas Jackson who was a Puritan live in the 17th century.

I got it in the secondhand section of our book stall here is really quite good. It runs to some 380 pages of of pretty full text and what makes this book quite remarkable is that this is his work, but only on verses 1 to 4.

I really wish he was your pastor because you wouldn't do. You wouldn't even average barstool.

After all this time and some of you were saying Ivan will be in Rome. Is it for the rest of our lives.

But in his introduction, this is what he says and I want to use his introduction is my conclusion in this book he writes to his readers.

If in the discussing of these points, and is in my sentiment as I come to the end of these as well. If in the discussing of these points I have said nothing but what the learned in their treatises about them have said before, yet, however, two things I have done one. According to my duty. I have given my testimony to the great truths of God. Let it signify what he pleases to. I hope I have. I'm sure it has been my endeavor made some things in themselves dark and intricate to be somewhat more plain and intelligible to weaker capacities and if I have done, but that though I have brought no new matter. My pains have not been ill spent my soul's desire is that the professors of this age may be well grounded in the articles of the Christian faith and that they may attend to a clearer insight into gospel ministries than what is. Yet they have attained to and if what is here done shall conduce to the promoting of these most desirable thing. It will be a sufficient recompense to me for all the labor that I've been at Thomas Jacob 17th century and with that we come to the end of the series titled life in the spirit of Truth for Life.

We can save the last few minutes of our program to your final prayer from Alastair big today so please keep listening.

Before we get to that. I want to remind you about a book were recommending this month for summer reading the biography of the famous Scottish athlete Eric Littell titled running the race Littles athletic career was certainly impressive, but it's just part of the focus of this book more remarkable than his Olympic victory in a race he did not normally run the 400 m was his steadfast commitment to Jesus above all else. As you read this remarkable story.

You will be struck by how very ordinary Eric Littell was and yet, through simple faith.

God used him in extraordinary ways.

Would love to send you a copy of this inspiring book, so be sure to visit us online today to learn how you can request your copy look for running the race@truthforlife.org get much Truth for Life.or RG one final reminder before we close. If you have a voice activated device like an Amazon Alexa or Google home. Did you know you can play truthful. I for with some simple voice commands. With Alexa you just say Alexa as truthful. I to begin today's program with Google home you just say okay Google listen to the Truth for Life broadcast. Find out more about how to access Alistair's teaching when you go to truth for.org/subscribe to close today with prayer. Here's Alastair.

Father, we thank you tonight for the love that drew salvation's plan for the grace that brought it down to man for the mighty golf that you God have spanned at Calvary for their mercy was great and grace was free and pardon their was multiplied to me in there my burden so found liberty at Calvary. Help us Lord to know to know as a result of the use of our minds to know as a result of the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit constraining our thinking and guiding so that we might live not on the roller coaster of emotions which Evan flow rather than the strength of your forever love towards us in Jesus Christ.

And it's in his name we pray. Amen Bob Lapine. We invite you to join us next time.

As we begin a new series in Matthew is called to know Christ. This program, the Bible teaching of Alastair big is furnished by truth for Learning is for Living