More Than Conquerors: The Security of Divine Grace

• Victory in Christ [00:04:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the Greek concept of 'hyper Nike' to describe overwhelming victory through Christ, asserting that believers win because God wins.
• Fear of Opposition [00:06:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the fear of opposition, citing Romans 8:31 to argue that while enemies may exist, they cannot successfully overcome those in God's hands.
• God's Provision and Presence [00:14:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses Romans 8:32 to argue that if God did not spare His Son, He will certainly provide for and not abandon believers in their trials.
• Justification and Accusation [00:16:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses Romans 8:33-34, explaining that God justifies His elect and Christ intercedes, rendering accusations ineffective.
• Justification and Condemnation [00:16:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that since God has justified believers, they must stop condemning themselves, using the metaphor of a settled legal verdict to counter feelings of guilt and shame.
• Perseverance and Separation [00:21:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the fear of separation, asserting that no amount of suffering, persecution, or death can separate a believer from God's love because God is the one holding on.
• Divine Security vs. Human Effort [00:28:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the common belief that faith depends on our grip on God with the theological truth that security depends on God's grip on us.
• Faith and Divine Security [00:28:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts human effort in holding onto God with the reality that God's grip on the believer is the source of security, correcting the misconception that faith's strength lies in human grip.
• Evangelism and Mission [00:29:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines the believer's purpose not just as worship, but as taking the gospel to others, specifically those 'destined to hell,' to introduce them to Jesus.

• Sermon Illustration [00:08:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about moving to the Southern Philippines with his pregnant wife shortly after seminary graduation. He describes the stress of fundraising, the logistical challenge of flying with a wife seven months pregnant, and the fear experienced during an emergency C-section in a hospital without modern amenities, illustrating moments of doubt and God's ultimate provision.
• Sermon Illustration [00:13:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biblical story of David and Goliath to illustrate the difference between analyzing the size of the enemy (opposition) and measuring the size of God, noting that David focused on God's greatness rather than Goliath's physical attributes.
• Sermon Illustration [00:26:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his childhood at the San Diego Zoo, where he let go of his father's hand to run toward an attraction, grabbed a stranger's hand, and was terrified when he realized his mistake. He uses this to illustrate that spiritual security relies on God holding us, not us holding onto God.
• Sermon Illustration [00:17:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a personal failure from his early ministry days where he complained about church problems in front of his young children, leading to lasting guilt and fear that his children would associate church wounds with kingdom work.
• Sermon Illustration [00:27:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a childhood memory at a zoo where he got separated from his father and started screaming. His father found him, reminded him he was told to hold his hand, and then held his wrist for the rest of the day to ensure he didn't get lost again, using this as an analogy for God's grip on believers.

• Pastoral Charge [00:29:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Evangelize/share the gospel with everyone encountered after leaving the service.
• Pastoral Charge [00:30:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > Continue experiencing and living out life transformation beyond the current week.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Amen. Good morning. Give it up for the band leading us in worship today.
[00:00:06] Can we give it up for our volunteers today, especially the parking lot? Come on.
[00:00:14] Today's a good day to recruit volunteers for the parking lot. Don't you just want to be standing out there in the rain? Man, I'll tell you what, all of our volunteers, they make life change
[00:00:25] happen. It takes all of us working together. So it's a joy to be here today. I hope we never take this time of worship for granted. It's every time we get to come in here and sing and lift
[00:00:38] high our praises. My family and I are coming up on one year here at Genesis Metro. In some ways, it feels like we've always been here. In other ways, it's just like we got here last week.
[00:00:54] But can I tell you that the life change that we've experienced in just one year at Genesis Metro has surpassed anything over the previous lifetime.
[00:01:05] Let me tell you a little bit about what it was like.
[00:01:08] We came a year ago and we got to go to our first Fuse camp last summer.
[00:01:16] And let me tell you about, yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming.
[00:01:21] Just give me a second.
[00:01:22] I'm gonna turn 50 in a couple weeks.
[00:01:24] I've been preaching since I was 18 years old.
[00:01:27] And at lunch with the pastors last Sunday, you know what I told them?
[00:01:30] I said, I've been, I've been spending 30 plus years looking for a church like this, trying to pastor a church like this, trying to plant a church like this, because this is a church who knows how
[00:01:41] to walk in the victory of Jesus Christ. And life transformation happens. And I can't tell you how overjoyed we are to be here. Last year at Fuse Camp, Fuse Camp is coming this week. Last year
[00:01:52] at Fuse Camp, my daughter Rhoda, she received the calling of God on her life and she responded with obedience. She was baptized that week. And let me tell you, if you know her, anybody who knows her
[00:02:07] had been walking with her for the last year, you've seen transformation. You've seen, this is what I want for my whole family. This is what I want for my kids. I want to see my kids walking
[00:02:17] in obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it begins by life transformation in response to God's word. And for her, it started at Fuse Camp. So, so this week is Fuse Camp. A couple of weeks
[00:02:32] ago, you were challenged to go give and pray for Fuse Camp. And let me just say on behalf of Pastor Tim, Pastor Titus, our Fuse staff, that, that we are thankful that you responded in obedience.
[00:02:45] You guys are going, you guys are giving. And if you hadn't been praying yet, get on your knees and pray for life transformation to happen this week because this is what it's all about.
[00:02:56] Tomorrow, well, actually, we're kicking off tonight.
[00:02:58] A little prep rally, right?
[00:03:00] A little prep rally happening tonight.
[00:03:03] But 585 students are going to camp this week.
[00:03:10] When you add the volunteers who are going to show up, 770 people from GM are going to be at Camp Copas this week.
[00:03:20] So I don't know if the camp knows what's coming.
[00:03:23] I don't think they do But let me encourage you Please pray Pray like you've never prayed before We've got students who are dealing with things They should never have to deal with We've got families that need to be rescued
[00:03:38] And reconciled and restored To the gospel Pray for Pastor Titus, pray for Pastor Tim Hit your knees tonight for both of them Because they're going to bring the word this week And the enemy is doing everything
[00:03:50] He can possibly do to keep them less than a hundred percent. Now I know my pastor, he's going to give it all. He's going to leave it out there. I know pastor Titus is going to leave it out there, but pray for them because life
[00:04:01] transformation, this is the, this is the week where life transformation happens. All right. Now we're in Romans chapter eight. So here we go. Romans chapter eight, if God is for us, everybody say, if God is for us. Yeah, it changes everything. It changes everything when we know that the God of
[00:04:19] heaven and earth, the creator and the sustainer of our very lives, is for me. He's not against me.
[00:04:28] He's for me. In our text today, we wrap up Romans chapter 8. We come to this very powerful key verse in verse 37. I'd like to put it on the screen. Here's what Paul said. We are more than conquerors
[00:04:41] through him who loved us. Let it soak in. Read it again. We are more than conquerors. I love the Greek language because there's a word for conquer, victory. It's, well, we get the word Nike from it.
[00:04:56] Nike means to conquer. In the Greek language, Apostle Paul adds a little prefix. He says hyper. We are hyper Nike. We are overwhelmingly conquering, okay? This is not eking out a victory in the last few seconds.
[00:05:11] This is a total annihilation.
[00:05:13] This is a sweep.
[00:05:14] This is a blowout.
[00:05:15] This is U.S. winning 4-1 against Paraguay.
[00:05:19] You know what I'm saying?
[00:05:19] Like, I'm talking...
[00:05:21] No, no, I mean, in those moments, I was like, I don't know.
[00:05:25] But here's the language Paul is using, is there's not a shadow of a doubt that we win.
[00:05:32] We, if God is for us, we win.
[00:05:36] Everybody say, we win.
[00:05:39] Now, I know the chant, I believe that we will win.
[00:05:42] No, no, no, uh-uh, no, not I believe.
[00:05:45] Whether you believe it or not, if you are in Christ, you win because God wins.
[00:05:50] I've read the end of the story.
[00:05:51] I've read the end of the book.
[00:05:52] I've watched the whole movie.
[00:05:53] I know how it turns out.
[00:05:54] If you ever had any doubt, God wins in the end.
[00:05:58] Nothing can conquer our God.
[00:05:59] And because he is for us, we win.
[00:06:02] In our text today, Paul addresses some fears that get in the way of us embracing that sure victory.
[00:06:12] And if we're honest today, we know that we find ourselves, even though we know we're winning in the end, even though we know God is for us and nothing will take us out.
[00:06:21] I know that we know that intellectually, but there are times when we have fears.
[00:06:27] There are times when there is the fear of opposition.
[00:06:30] there is the fear of accusation there's the fear of separation and in the middle of our turmoil in the middle of our suffering whether it's suffering that chooses us or suffering that we choose we have to reckon with the fears that come into our lives so let's deal with the first fear
[00:06:51] the fear of opposition Paul tells us in verse 31 that God is bigger than what you're facing Here's what he says.
[00:07:01] What then shall we say to these things?
[00:07:04] If God is for us, who can be against us?
[00:07:09] Now what this verse, raise your hand if you've ever read this verse before in your life.
[00:07:13] This is a good verse to put together, put down in your heart for memory.
[00:07:16] If God is for us, who can be against us?
[00:07:19] Paul is not saying that nobody is against us, but what he's saying is that nothing could be successful in their attempt to overcome us, right?
[00:07:28] there's a big difference. Not that nobody is against us, but nobody could successfully mount a charge that would pull us out of God's hands. Now, like I told you, I've been a child of God for a long time. I've been in ministry. Can I just tell you that I've been in some situations
[00:07:46] where I doubted whether God could pull me out of a situation? Has anybody ever been in a situation where you think, man, I don't know. I don't know how God's going to use this. I don't know how God's
[00:07:59] going to pull through. I don't know if God's even going to show up. When my wife and I were newly married, we had been married about two years, we decided that God's call in our lives
[00:08:13] was going to take us to the Southern Philippines. And so we found Ascending Church and the Ascending church said, hey, if you're going to go to the Philippines, you have to reach 90% of your funding
[00:08:27] before you can go. And we're like, cool. Well, so we started fundraising. We hit the road. We came and visited Pastor Tim and Carrie, like, hey, we need some support to get us to the mission field.
[00:08:38] We went from coast to coast trying to raise support. And to make matters a little more intricate. I graduated seminary in May of 99. My wife was pregnant with our firstborn. And so I was
[00:08:52] trying to figure out, I don't know how to say this. What's the, how, how pregnant can you be and still fly? Does that make sense? Like, like I'm trying to figure, everybody follow me here.
[00:09:03] Like this is before Google chat, GBT would handle it in two seconds now. Like how pregnant, like what's the, what's the farthest along she could be. And, and, and they will say, and so I looked
[00:09:14] it up. I had to call American Airlines. Um, they're like seven months. If she's more than seven months, you can't fly. And I was like, okay, well I know when seven months is. So we put on the
[00:09:24] calendar. I bought tickets. They're like, we're going to, we're going to go to the Philippine.
[00:09:28] Now listen, would I advise my kids to do this? Would you advise your kids? Hey, I, when, when you're newly, when you're married for almost three years, pregnant with your first kid, why don't you
[00:09:38] pick up and fly to the other side of the world and move when she's seven months pregnant? That's terrible advice, but we did it. We did it. And, and guess what God did? He provided two weeks
[00:09:48] before we even flew, we had all the funding we needed. And we were on that plane in a foreign country. Didn't know the language, didn't know the culture walking into this, this hospital, because we had to find a place to give birth and walking in this hospital. And it's like going back
[00:10:02] in time. It's like, they didn't have air conditioning. They, they didn't have an elevator.
[00:10:06] Like we had to carry on a stretcher up to the operating table and to make matters worse, even though they didn't have one of those fetal monitors, the doctor determined through a stethoscope that the baby was in distress. And so the doctor comes out and says, hey,
[00:10:24] the baby's in distress. We have to do an emergency C-section. And I was like, okay, what does that mean? And then she writes a prescription and she hands it to me.
[00:10:35] And I was like, what is this? She's like, well, if she loses a lot of blood, we have to have blood on hand to replace. And so she gave me a prescription for blood. So I take the prescription.
[00:10:48] I was like, what do I do? Like you go down to the blood bank. So I go outside, walk downstairs, go buy blood, bring it back to the hospital. They start surgery, emergency C-section.
[00:11:01] And can I just tell you again, I'm not trying to have a pity party. I'm just telling you that there are moments in your life where you don't know where God is.
[00:11:12] There are moments in your life where the opposition is in the enemy and the problem is the biggest thing that you've ever faced and you don't know a way through.
[00:11:23] And I sat outside her delivery room.
[00:11:25] They wouldn't let me inside and I'm just sitting there and I'm just, I'm crying.
[00:11:30] I curl up in a fetal position.
[00:11:31] I got nothing else to do.
[00:11:33] I'm just weeping.
[00:11:34] I'm 23 years old.
[00:11:35] I'm supposed to be a man fighting for my family and I don't have any idea.
[00:11:39] And guess what I was praying?
[00:11:40] I was praying, God, where are you?
[00:11:43] God, I answered the call to come here.
[00:11:46] Why in the world are you letting this happen?
[00:11:48] Where are you?
[00:11:49] Are you going to show up?
[00:11:51] Are you going to deliver?
[00:11:52] Have you ever been in that kind of situation before?
[00:11:54] Maybe not exactly, but you've been in a scenario.
[00:11:57] You've been in a scenario where you look at the problem and you have a list.
[00:12:01] You've got an Excel spreadsheet of all the ways that this scenario is not going to work out.
[00:12:07] all the ways that this problem is going to overwhelm you. Now, did God show up? What do you know? The answer is yes. Did God come through? The answer is yes. The baby was born. This is a
[00:12:20] story about me, not Jenny. She recovered fine. Somebody in between services said, I like your story about Jenny. I was like, that story was about me, man.
[00:12:35] the baby was born and sure enough he had the cord wrapped around his neck if she had processed through labor it would have been terrible my son is 26 years old he's got a family of his own he's doing kingdom work listen yeah but but in the moment the problem is huge
[00:12:56] some of you right now know everything you need to know about your problem you've analyzed it up and down. You have the spreadsheet. You have every reason. You have the papers that you've signed. You have all the evidence because we analyze the problems. Remember when Goliath came
[00:13:17] out to fight Israel, the Bible gives us a lot of information about Goliath. We know how tall he was.
[00:13:25] We know how big his sword was. We know about his armor. We knew what his voice sounded like. We have records in scripture that tell us about how big the enemy was because all everybody could do
[00:13:35] day by day is analyze the enemy. Well, when David steps in, David doesn't look at the enemy and start measuring how big Goliath is. He starts measuring how big God is. And there's a difference
[00:13:46] in the moments where we're tempted to evaluate how strong the opposition is. What if we, with the same intensity, with the same thoughtfulness, we started measuring how big God is. Because that's what David did. David measured his God and he said, there's no way
[00:14:03] that this dude can beat my God. And so he walked in, bent down, picked up five stones and took care of business. Why? Because he's smart? Because he's deserving? No, because God is bigger than
[00:14:16] anything that we could ever face. So you want to handle your opposition, the fear of opposition.
[00:14:21] Paul says, there is nothing that can stand against us because God is bigger than what you're facing.
[00:14:28] You wanna know why God won't abandon you?
[00:14:31] You wanna know why God's gonna come through in those moments?
[00:14:35] Paul tells us in verse 32, he gives us a little bit of evidence.
[00:14:39] He says in verse 32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for all of us, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
[00:14:53] So here's my question.
[00:14:55] If you think somehow God's not gonna come through, somehow the opposition is just too big, the enemy's too big, the problem is too big, there's no way this can be restored or healed or reconciled.
[00:15:06] Paul says, just look at the cross.
[00:15:08] If you wanted to know if God was for you, he gave you the most precious gift he could possibly give.
[00:15:14] Paul says he did not spare his own son, but gave him willingly for all of us.
[00:15:21] Let me tell you this.
[00:15:22] If God was going to abandon you, he would have abandoned you at Calvary.
[00:15:27] Before Jesus ever went to the cross, he was praying and weeping and saying, Father, let this cup pass from me.
[00:15:34] Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.
[00:15:36] But Jesus went through the cross.
[00:15:39] He went through the suffering at that time because he knew that you were worth it.
[00:15:43] For the joy that was set before him, he endured the pain and the suffering of the cross.
[00:15:49] If he was going to abandon you, he would have abandoned you then.
[00:15:52] but he did it. Paul says, you want to know if God's going to come through? Look no further than the cross. God settled forever whether he is for you when he gave his son for you.
[00:16:05] When God is for you, opposition loses its authority because God is bigger than what you're facing. We win, we win because God is bigger than your opposition. Secondly, we win because God has already settled the verdict in your case.
[00:16:24] When accusations come, God has already ruled in your favor.
[00:16:28] The very next verse in verse 33, Paul says, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
[00:16:34] It is God who justifies.
[00:16:39] Verse 34, who is to condemn?
[00:16:42] Christ Jesus is the one who died.
[00:16:44] More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
[00:16:50] If we're being honest today, there are moments in our lives where we know, if you're a child of God, you know that you've been forgiven, and yet we still walk in condemnation.
[00:17:05] We still live in shame and guilt.
[00:17:10] Don't raise your hand, but has anybody ever done something for which you feel a great deal of guilt and shame later on?
[00:17:17] I told you we've been in ministry a long time when when our kids were little we're trying to pastor and plant churches and and can I just tell you that that Everything doesn't always go smoothly in the church. I know that's shocking to you
[00:17:33] We're in the most perfect church ever, but not always does everything go easy and so What my wife and I tended to do and we really feel bad for it But we would bring the church problems home with us
[00:17:46] and in front of the kids who were impressionable, we'd start, oh, you know, like, oh, so-and-so, man, can you believe that they did this and can you believe that they said that and we're just like, oh, you know,
[00:18:00] trying to wrestle with the angst and the anger and the problems that we were going through in the church and looking back, can I tell you, I wish I hadn't have done that.
[00:18:10] Looking back, can I tell you that if you bring your work problems home in front of your kids, pretty soon, they start adopting some of those patterns and behaviors and dealing with problems in the same
[00:18:20] way. And for us, it was our little kids. And I was always worried that they were going to go to church and be like, there's old brother so-and-so. I spit on you, you know, or walk up to somebody
[00:18:34] and be like, are you Frisco Fred? You made my daddy mad, you know, whatever it is, you know.
[00:18:40] But looking back, I bear today, I still wrestle with the guilt because of what we allowed our kids to go through.
[00:18:50] Now, is there forgiveness?
[00:18:52] What's the answer?
[00:18:53] Say it louder.
[00:18:54] Yes, there's forgiveness.
[00:18:56] Jesus forgave me.
[00:18:58] I apologize to Jesus.
[00:19:00] I apologize to my kids.
[00:19:02] But there's still this haunting, like, what if they associate their wounds of the church with kingdom work?
[00:19:13] You understand what I'm saying?
[00:19:14] What if they start viewing the kingdom differently because of how we were reckless with our words?
[00:19:20] And I think we've all been there.
[00:19:21] We all have stuff that wants to creep back and haunt us.
[00:19:24] So, again, let me read the Scriptures, verse 34.
[00:19:28] Who is to condemn?
[00:19:32] Christ Jesus is the one who died.
[00:19:34] More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
[00:19:43] I want to encourage you this morning.
[00:19:45] If you are in Jesus Christ, you've trusted him with your life, if God has justified you, you don't get to keep condemning yourself.
[00:19:55] If there is no condemnation, Romans 8 verse 1, five weeks ago, if there's no condemnation, we don't get to live as if we are condemned because you can't lose a case that God has already
[00:20:09] won. Imagine the judge has ruled in your favor. Imagine the judge has said you're declared innocent, you're set free, and you're walking out living in freedom, and the old case is signed and sealed and delivered, and you're justified, and everything is over. But then you find yourself
[00:20:27] listening to the witnesses in your case that accused you.
[00:20:31] Imagine how foolish that would be if a witness came and said, oh, I saw what you did and I'm gonna accuse you some more.
[00:20:37] All you have to say is, no, no, no, that case is over.
[00:20:40] It's already settled.
[00:20:41] I'm not gonna listen to that accusation anymore because I've been set free, right?
[00:20:45] The challenge for us today is when we fear those accusations, whether it comes from the enemy or whether it comes from our own conscience, and let's be real, a lot of times it comes from our own conscience.
[00:20:57] our own guilt and shame, when the enemy says that, what do we say? We say, the verdict has been declared. Look at the cross. Look at the empty tomb. I am no longer condemned. You want
[00:21:08] to know how I know I'm going to win? Because God's already won and he's already said, you are declared innocent. It's like we studied last week. You are called. You are justified. You are glorified. The story's been written. Deal with your accusation. When the enemy comes
[00:21:25] and he accuses you, you need to rehearse God's verdict.
[00:21:30] No condemnation.
[00:21:31] God's already ruled in your favor.
[00:21:34] We fear opposition, Paul says.
[00:21:36] We fear accusation.
[00:21:38] Lastly, we fear separation.
[00:21:42] And here we go.
[00:21:43] You wanna know some of the best verses in this chapter?
[00:21:47] Let's read verse 35.
[00:21:48] Paul says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
[00:21:53] shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Everybody look at the verse on the screen. The apostle Paul says, who shall separate us? And then he gives us a list and the list gets progressively worse. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine,
[00:22:14] nakedness, danger, sword. Paul says, it's not that you won't face these things. Everybody listen to the sound of my voice. It's not as if you'll never face these things. Paul says, but when you do face
[00:22:26] these things, you cannot be separated from the love of Christ. That's the difference maker. If you want to know why we win, we win because God isn't letting go. Not because you're never letting go, hear me, but because God is never letting go. That you face these things, but you face them with
[00:22:46] confidence because you know that nothing has the ability to take Jesus from you. The problem is is not that we face suffering. Paul says the promise is that suffering can't take Jesus from you. Hear the sound of my voice. Suffering can't take Jesus from you. Cancer can't take Jesus from
[00:23:10] you. Divorce can't take Jesus from you. Broken relationships can't take Jesus from you. Listen to me. Death can't take Jesus from you. Are you following me? Are you following? Are you hearing what I'm saying? We think these problems are overwhelming. We think that in the middle of
[00:23:34] this grief that somehow God is not loving us the way that he ought to. We pray and we ask God to answer in certain ways. And when he doesn't answer the way we want him to, we think that somehow he's
[00:23:45] abandoned us or somehow he doesn't love us anymore. No, Paul says that you're going to face all of these things. And he put them on a list. And you know why Paul put those things on the list,
[00:23:56] tribulations and persecutions and suffering and famine and nakedness and sword? It's because Paul himself went through all of those things. Paul experienced suffering on behalf of the gospel.
[00:24:08] He went through persecution. He was stoned and left for dead. Now would you think that if there was ever a person who had a reason to doubt God's love, it would be Paul. This dude is on mission
[00:24:24] for the gospel. He's on mission for Jesus. He's doing all the right things. He's given his life for the gospel and yet he's still suffering, shipwrecked and stoned and beaten and left for dead and run out of towns. And Paul says, all of these things, he says, we're like lambs to the
[00:24:44] slaughter. We're being killed every day. But then he gets to a statement where he says in verse 38, but I am sure, verse 38, I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things
[00:25:02] present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation.
[00:25:08] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
[00:25:14] If you need a reminder, Paul said, I've been through it all for the glory of Christ.
[00:25:22] But I am convinced that nothing I've been through will be able to separate me from God's love.
[00:25:29] I am positive. I am sure.
[00:25:32] He looked everywhere.
[00:25:34] He looked up in heaven to see if there was something that could separate God's love.
[00:25:38] He looked in hell to see if there was something that could separate.
[00:25:41] He looked at the past.
[00:25:42] He looked at the future.
[00:25:43] He looked at life.
[00:25:44] He looked at death.
[00:25:45] He looked at the angels.
[00:25:46] He looked at the heights and the depths, and he said, I haven't found anything.
[00:25:49] He ran out of categories because he ran out of threats.
[00:25:53] There is nothing that can take you out of God's hand.
[00:25:56] Today, I want you to leave this place understanding that if your life is in Christ, his hand is wrapped around you.
[00:26:02] You are sealed in his grip, and there is nothing that can pull you out of his hand.
[00:26:08] Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
[00:26:13] God isn't letting go.
[00:26:14] So when you feel separation, when you feel as if God is not very close, when you feel as if God has abandoned you, anchor yourself in this truth, not in your emotion.
[00:26:31] When I was a kid, one of my earliest memories was going to the San Diego Zoo with my family.
[00:26:39] and I just remember it was the best day ever until it wasn't but it was the best day ever San Diego Zoo is awesome animals everywhere I was probably three or four and we're walking
[00:26:52] through the zoo we're just I mean it's the best it's the best when you're that young you know the animals and so my dad was like hey hold my hand so you don't get lost because there's people
[00:27:01] everywhere and so I'm holding his hand and we're walking along man we're just having a good old time. And, uh, at one point I got excited to see something, you know, I don't know what it was,
[00:27:13] but I had let go of his hand and I had run to see whatever it is that I wanted to see.
[00:27:20] Um, so then after a little while I reach up and I grab a hand. Has anyone ever done this?
[00:27:27] I grab a hand and I'm walking along. And then pretty soon the guy stops and he looks at me And he's like, I look at him. I was like, you're not my dad. And I was terrified. Absolutely
[00:27:41] terrified. Ran around screaming, crying. I am a big cry baby. It turns out I'll get, I thought I'm just getting emotional in my older age, but I think I've always been a cry baby. Anyways,
[00:27:51] start screaming and crying, running around. Where's my family? Where's my dad? You know, finally found him. My dad, he's like, I told you to hold my hand. And so things changed from that moment on, he grabs my hand for the rest of the day. And we walk through the zoo the rest of the
[00:28:10] day and he's holding my hand. Now, sometimes I want to hold his hand, right? Sometimes I want to run off and he's holding my wrist. Any parent ever done that? Like, get your, right? But he wasn't
[00:28:25] going to let me go. I think a lot of times in our faith, we think that the strength of our journey, The strength of our faith is the strength of our grip on God's hand.
[00:28:36] And we're going to say, oh, no, I'm just, I'm holding on, I'm holding on.
[00:28:40] But what happens when you let go?
[00:28:45] Let's talk about reality for just a minute.
[00:28:47] The strength of your faith matters not.
[00:28:52] What matters is who's holding your hand and who's not letting go.
[00:28:57] This morning, this morning, there's nothing that can separate you from God's love.
[00:29:03] whether you like it or not, he's with you. He's holding you. Sometimes your hand is in his and you're having a great old time. Sometimes he's dragging you, kicking and screaming towards the direction that he wants you to go, but he's in control. He's the father. We will never be
[00:29:20] separated from him because he paid too high a price to claim us as his children. Walk out of here in God's hands. And you know what you do next? You take the message of the gospel to everybody
[00:29:35] that you meet. Church, we got work to do. We got kingdom work to do. We got the best news that anyone has ever heard. We got salvation as a free gift from God. We're sitting here,
[00:29:48] we're holding on to it and God is holding on to us and it's beautiful and it's joyful and we're like, yes, and we come here and we worship with excitement, but don't you know, don't you know,
[00:29:57] this is not the only purpose for which we exist. We exist to walk right out of these doors and meet people who are destined to hell and introduce them to the Jesus who loves them and died for
[00:30:08] them. The Jesus who will rescue them and pull them out of the miry pit and set their feet on the solid rock. That's what we exist to do. This week, we're going to see life transformation. Don't let
[00:30:18] it stop this week. Understand your purpose as a child of God is to live on mission for the glory of Christ, for the advancement of his kingdom, and you'll never be happier than you are when you're
[00:30:29] walking for the kingdom of Christ. Let's pray. So Father, we thank you for your love. We don't deserve it. We didn't earn it, but God, you loved us anyway. Today, I want to ask, Father, that if
[00:30:50] there's anyone in this room who doesn't know you, who hasn't placed faith in Jesus Christ, that right now they will stop fighting and they will say, Father, I'm a sinner. I know Jesus died for
[00:31:07] me to pay for my sins and I trust in his work. And if there's anyone here today who's never trusted in Christ, now's the day. Today is the day. Now is the moment to make your life matter
[00:31:20] for his glory, to bring in forgiveness and healing and peace and joy. Everything that you're longing for, Jesus provides. And if you are a child of God today, remember the promise that there is nothing that will separate you from his love.
[00:31:40] Nothing, nothing high, nothing low, nothing past, nothing future, nothing.
[00:31:47] Remember today that in Christ, you and I overwhelmingly conquer.
[00:31:54] We win.
[00:31:55] We win because God wins.
[00:31:58] Let's walk out of this place today with worship on our lips, with our hearts full of praise for the one who loves us and gave himself for us.
[00:32:05] And all God's people said, amen.