Transcript for:
Romans 8:28,39 -More Than Conquerors- Pastor Rick Beaudry 2023-07-09

Would you please stand with me as we read God's Holy Word together Romans chapter 8 beginning with verse 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose For whom he did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren Moreover whom he did predestinate them He also called and whom he called them. He also justified and whom he justified them He also glorified what shall we then say to these things of God before us who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him? Also freely give us all things who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. It is God that justifies Who is he that condemns it is Christ that died? He read that has risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it? Is written for thy sake we are killed all the day long We are counted as sheep for the slaughter nay in all these things We are more than conquerors through him that loved us for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creatures shall be able to separate us From the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord father. We thank you so much We thank you so much for saving us. I thank you Lord for intervening in my life for arresting me for just radically Radically transforming and changing me. I didn't even see it coming and Lord I wasn't looking for you, but Lord you were looking for me You were wooing me by your spirit, and I didn't even know it and Lord I look back and I just thank you so much for that intervention I thank you so much for the work of your spirit in Kathy's life and So many of my friends and family members that I've watched over the years come to know you and Lord. I cherish my faith I cherish each and every person that's here That's a child of God the the price that was paid the precious blood of your dear son to purchase us out of sin out of Death out of hell and giving us Lord the unsearchable riches of Christ Lord We thank you so much And we pray this morning that Lord your words would sink down deep within our hearts that you transform us by the renewing of our minds That Lord we'd go away from here with greater Faith and hope and trust and dependence upon you that your love the fruit of the Spirit would just overwhelm our hearts and lives that We'd be so excited as we're looking up Lord knowing you're coming soon for us your bride So bless now pour out your Holy Spirit upon us teach us Lord. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Would you please be seated? more than conquerors We are more than conquerors because we know him we know number one. He has a plan He is in control. He is the Prince of Glory. He has a plan God has a plan God's in control not Klaus Schwab not Noah you've all Harari not Bill Gates Not the Rothschild's not Blackrock God is in control and they cannot nobody can do anything To you to me take one hair of my head unless they first go through the providential filter of God He has to allow them these things and if he does allow it he promises me that it's for my good That he's working all things together for good to those who love him and are the called Not according to my purpose driven life But according to his purpose what his plan and purpose is for me So he says verse 28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose So the example of Job Job's a man perfect and upright in all of his ways a man that fears God and eschews evil and then Satan comes along and Satan says these guys are mercenaries The only reason they you know, they follow you The only reason they raise their hands and worship you is because you've blessed them so much take away You know all this stuff and he'll curse you to your face and you know the story God allowed Job or God allowed Satan behind the curtain behind the scenes to take away all of Job's stuff as in a moment Including some of his kids and all and and Job is destitute, you know He's naked there and he says naked came in the world naked I'm gonna go the Lord giveth the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord and Job's able to say though. He slay me yet. Will I trust in him? So no dishonoring God through unbelief We many times we minimize the sin of unbelief that the testing the trials of things we go through Are in our lives to not expose so God can see what we're like so that we can see what we're like He already knows what we're like and our hearts deceitfully wicked Deceitful desperately wicked above all things and who can know it God knows, you know Man's heart our heart and so Job says in Job 1925 and one of his exultant moments of great faith He says I know that my Redeemer lives and that he shall stand the latter day upon The earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God That's the hope of the resurrection the hope of seeing Jesus in your new glorified body Well Satan came back a second time and said skin for skin All that a man has will he give for his life? Take away his health and many of you in the last few years God has allowed or part of the fall of Adam Just the fall our bodies are getting old and we're susceptible to disease and sickness and such but it's a test, isn't it? It's a huge test when we get sick and and in that sickness our walking relationship with the Lord can deepen or we can begin to doubt and panic and have anxiety and and almost give up if you will and Some of you were on death's door and the Lord definitely definitely spoke to you when you're in that condition, didn't he? And he's there with you. He helped you through every little bit of it, you know And so job saying, you know, hey, even if I die To be asking the bodies to be present with the Lord I know that my Redeemer lives and he shall stand the latter day upon the earth and though after you know My skin these worms tried to destroy my body yet in my flesh. I shall see God the hope of the resurrection If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? Where would you be you'd be in your new glorified body? Your new glorified body you'd be with Jesus already. So the downside is It's not that down it's not that bad heavens better not less but better and so we have an eternal perspective as we face Adversity as we face the injustices of life because we live in a fallen world This world is fallen Satan usurped authority over this planet. God gave authority to Adam your first federal head Adam blew it Adam and Eve blew it and so sin has transferred sin that fallen nature the day you eat of it you shall surely die We're separated from God because of sin and in that fallen nature Satan the usurper the serpent has become the little g-god of this world the prince the power of the air We fight not against flesh and blood Ephesians 612 but against principalities against powers the rulers of darkness of this world So it's a spiritual battle the problem with America is not a political problem. It's a spiritual problem You got to fix the spiritual problem. The churches are weak The churches are empty the churches lack the integrity. They lack the love the fervent love. Jesus said you're lukewarm I want to spew you out of my mouth I'd rather you're hot or cold But you're just indifferent because you're rich and increased with goods in a need of nothing We don't even need Jesus. We kick Jesus out of the church. We can do a better job without Jesus, you know and How sad that is the Laodicean, you know what Laodicean means? laity Leo people rule It's people rule The people rule it's what I think it's what I feel. I feel it's this Well, the Word of God says this I don't care. I feel it says this It's feelings. It's existential humanism absence of absolute truth Jesus is the truth But people want to bypass the truth I like the truth I like how it keeps me secure and sane as they're trying to gaslight me man. I just go back to the word It's like I'm not crazy. They're crazy. You know, these people are nuts. They're out of their mind So we gain a eternal perspective in verse 18 of chapter 8. He says that That the sufferings that we presently experience it's unworthy to compare them to the glory That's going to be revealed in us later. And so it's a Paul said it's a light affliction It's but for a moment and it's working for us. It's not working against us Job also said in Job 23 10 he knows the way that I take and When he's tried me, I'm gonna come forth as gold the fiery trials that we're facing They burn off the dross. It burns off the impurities of our life as our lives go through the fiery furnace it's the dross the impurities that are burned off and the Metallurgist the person working with the silver of the gold working with the metals He knows that that metal is pure when when he can see the face of Jesus in it That's when and so we're being conformed or being transformed by the renewing of our own We're being changed a metamorphosis being changed from glory to glory into the image of Christ so as we go through trials and as we die to self and as we yield to the Holy Spirit and God begins to change our Heart and to change our minds and as we come into sync with God's plan and purposes for our life Now we're becoming more Christ like less edemic Let's fall in the nature So our new nature begins to gain the dominance and now we're able to yield to the spirit that we not fulfill The lusts of the flesh so the fruit of the Spirit is love without love. We're nothing and so an example of Jacob Jacob says in Genesis 42 36 all things are against me so Jacob who is You know chain heel catcher as he's fighting with Esau as he's lying with his mom Rebecca with Isaac and and as he gets away and moves over to Laban because he stole the birthright and all from from Esau And and as he's as he's there and he has all of his kids and then he's got the 70 and he's getting older His brothers or his sons. I should say he's got 12 sons and his sons take Joseph Who is the son of Rachel Rachel he loved and Leah her name was sore eyes it hurt to look at her But Rachel he really loved Rachel and and you know Laban did the switcheroo He's working seven years for her hand it was as but a moment and then he works another 13 years a total of 20 years, you know for his brides and all but in that first seven years He's to get the hand of Rachel and Jacob the heel catcher the conniver and all He he winds up meeting his match in the in the person of Laban and Laban does the switcheroo He puts you know Leah in there and he wakes up in the morning and it's Leah not Rachel Well, he's got to work seven more years to get the hand of you know of Rachel and all and so They're fighting over him, you know, which I don't know if that's good or bad But and they got concubines and all and pretty soon they're prolific. They've got all these kids and everything there's 12 of them and there's this first child from Rachel named Joseph and Joseph is a dreamer Joseph has visions and all and he saw that all of his family members would be bound down to him Joseph is a type of Christ at 17 years of age Joseph was sold by his brothers was going to be killed but sold by his brothers to a Midianitish caravan of merchants heading toward Egypt and so Joseph was sold into slavery spent time in jail unjustly accused working at the home of Potiphar and Potiphar's wife making advances at him this young guy and then he's 30 years old and he's interpreting dreams unto the Pharaoh and letting Pharaoh know about the true and living God the God that can reveal these things concerning the famine and seven years of famine and then You know that are coming but seven years of plenty and then the famine come and position yourself to like black rock to own Everything the people will own nothing, but they'll be happy, you know, and so what happened was he He endured Jacob endured a time of famine not knowing that Joseph was still alive thought that Joseph was dead because the brothers Came back and took a some blood and put it on his jacket his coat of many colors They took some lambs blood and said we this is what we found, you know So they concocted a lie. They had to live with that lie all these years and now there's a famine and Simeon they kept Simeon Joseph kept Simeon there. So Simeon's gone. Joseph's gone Dinah she's been defiled Ruben's dishonored and you know, his whole family's a mess and all all things are against me But just Jacob has partial knowledge He has partial knowledge. He's not omniscient. He doesn't know all things Does God show you what he's gonna do with you a week from now two weeks from now a year from now ten years from now God requires that I walk by faith day by day. It's a walk of faith day by day. There's many things in my life I thought I dreamt of that I would enter into and enjoy and all and it hasn't happened yet but one constant in my life as the Lord Jesus is there in fellowship with me every single day and He's given me a future and a hope I know the thoughts that I think towards you thoughts of peace and not of evil To give you an expected end. So his way is far far better than anything I could ever Imagine but it is a walk of faith. There are times where you start to think, you know, all things are against me But he didn't know that Joseph was still alive What if he'd have known that Joseph was still alive and that he was climbed the ladder in Egypt all the way to out of second Of only a Pharaoh he'd be thinking man. We won the lottery man He's gonna take care of us, but he didn't know that and so then what happens is as the boys go there to get some food Joseph knows who they are, but they don't know who he is and Joseph says I want you to leave Benjamin here Who's Benjamin Benjamin is the last son that Rachel had before she died in Bethlehem in birthing of Benjamin and So, let me let me have my little brother Let me keep him and when the boys get back with the food bags of food There's money in there and all and they're thinking. Oh my gosh, we're in trouble. We're in trouble and And Jacob it's it's like more than he can take and so it Prompts Jacob to pack up the 70 and go down into Egypt and when they're into Egypt It's when Joseph reveals himself unto his brothers unto his father unto everybody and so the perspective later So that's perspective of Jacob all things are against me the perspective of Joseph later when Jacob died And he's nourishing his family and his brothers and they're all doing well there you know in Goshen and they're they're shepherds and they're able to raise sheep with great lush grass and all and And when When Jacob died the brothers are like, oh dad's not here not going to protect us. What's Joseph going to do? How's he going to seek vengeance? How's he going to get, you know, even with us? But his perspective in Genesis 50 verse 20 as for you You thought evil against me But God meant it under good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive Now, how did Joseph endure this how did he get through it complete surrender complete surrender My ways are not your ways God saying to us as high as the heavens above the earth sore my ways from your ways my ways past finding out You're gonna have to walk by faith You're not gonna understand in the short term in the long term later when you're able to look back on your life You're gonna say, you know These guys meant it for evil, but God meant it for good to save many people this day God worked it out for the good. It was the hardest time in my life. It was so incongruous so Antithetical of who I thought God was and he's loving and he's kind and he you know Certainly, he's gonna bless me and my family and all but God allowed the wicked one in with a demonic storm to just basically Wipe us out But we endured as seeing him who is invisible we persevered we were looking for a city whose builder-maker is God Our life became more important in regard to faith and getting to heaven and getting to the promised land Then it was enjoying the pleasures of sin, you know in Egypt for a season and so like Moses in our value system We esteem the reproach of Christ as greater riches than all the splendor of Egypt all the stuff that the world You know could provide as we Christianize the world. We want all that the world has and we want fire insurance and the bennies of being Christians We don't want persecution, but Joseph was persecuted and then like a type of Christ when he's 30 years old He's elevated, you know to being like that a Pharaoh just as Jesus at 30 years of age is public ministry And so how do you do it the same way you and I do it in Luke chapter 9? If any man come after me let him deny himself take up his cross daily and follow me How did he do it the cross? He surveyed the cross. He looked at the cross. He remembered the cross. Don't ever forget the cross now Notice the chain of five past tense Linking verbs these verbs in the heiress tense in verses 29 and 30. So he says for whom he did for know God foreknew you he also did predestinate Election In his foreknowledge God knew you and he predestinated You for what for what purpose to be conformed? God is conforming you and I into the image of his son To be conformed to the image of a son that he might be the firstborn many more to follow First fruits The first and the resurrection That he might be the firstborn among many brethren Moreover whom he did predestinate them. He also called So the foreknowledge the predestination the calling all completed action God called you God invited you and John 15. Jesus said you did not choose me, but I chose you and I ordained That you'd bring forth fruit that your fruit would remain that whatsoever. He asked the father in my name. He may give it you Thought I chose Jesus that night. I exercised my free will I raised my hand I went forward But man resisting the Holy Spirit that night It would have been choosing insanity My eyes were open for the very first time and it was so overwhelming so powerful. I wasn't looking for him. I Was not looking for God. I Was partying I Was looking for girls They were everywhere When I got into high school when I was in grade school I already kissed all the pretty girls in grade school and now I'm in high school and I'm nine year in ninth grade and I'm looking at that school and it's four thousand seven hundred students and There's the most beautiful girls anywhere And man, I was overwhelmed. How am I gonna possibly kiss all these girls? I've only got four years I've got only four years to try it, you know, but I did my best I gave it my best shot, but that's who I was and Kathy was the same way You know She she we were there to meet people we were there for social reasons to kiss To kiss the girls to kiss the boys and all and I'm at a concert and there's a lot of beautiful girls They're at church. I might have gone to church if I'd have known that, you know I didn't think they go up there pretty girls go to church and then there's a concert at the end of the concert they share the gospel and God loves perverts. He loves he loves he loves guys that that love little girls, you know he made him pretty for a reason, you know, and And I've I just can't understand this transgender stuff and this weirdness and all it's just so simple to me he made him so beautiful and so soft and and man, just why would why I better not go any further, but And so you kind of get me I wasn't one of those that the church people said yeah that Rick Beaudry, you know He'd make a good Christian. Nobody shared the gospel with me Friends of mine got saved during high school Eric my friend got saved during high school. He never shared the gospel with me if you're listening Eric, it's okay People when I'd go to the pier, there'd be the higher Krishna's They'd be papping their drums and everything Krishna Krishna Krishna and then there'd be people over there with Bibles black Bibles and everything and I can kind of Sort it out now, but at the time it's like what's what's going on here, you know, and Nobody ever ever ever approached me with the gospel ever Except that one night and so I look back now I'm not an accident God in his foreknowledge. He knew me God predestined me God predestined me to live in that place And go to that church that night and Glamis account invite me there and God to be working on my heart through all the different Circumstances leading up to that moment and God by the power of his Holy Spirit to call me to invite me to say Rick You're not rejected Rick. I Chose you Before the foundation of the earth. I knew you Before I formed you in your mother's womb Before you came out of her belly, you know like Jeremiah and I've ordained you and sanctified you, you know Prophet unto the nations now, that's not my calling. That's Jeremiah one That's for him and Paul said I was separated from my mother's womb. He's Saul of Tarsus. He's a hitman He's a persecutor of Jesus and the Lord says to Paul later. He's able to say That he separated me from my mother's womb as a Pharisee of Pharisees raised at the feet of Gamaliel Completely devoid completely clueless of who Jesus is a persecutor of Jesus Saul Saul. Why are you persecuting me? I'm Jesus whom you're persecuting then he tells Ananias Jesus tells Ananias. He's a chosen vessel unto me Show him what great things he must Enjoy for my namesake. No, he didn't say that Show him what great things he must suffer for my namesake. What a calling What a calling to be called to suffer to glorify the Lord and suffering as stand before kings and various leaders and such and to be one that would pen the the gospel and Whom he called them. He also justified Verse 1 there is now therefore no condemnation Why because you're already justified just as if you've never sinned completed action the aorist tense a Completed verb a past tense verb you're already justified. It's already happened Not gonna go back on his word now And if that isn't good enough for you You're already glorified He sees the finished you You're in your new glorified body in heaven already And when we get there Some of you have the audacity to say some of us Boy when I get to heaven God's got some questions to answer Why did you allow this in my why did you allow that in my life? Yeah, right You're gonna be looking around like how'd I get here? How come there's so many people that aren't here? You're gonna look at Jesus and you're gonna see the scars on his face and his hands and that's gonna answer all your questions All your questions answered Whom he justified them he also glorified so God's plan is to conform us the foreknowledge the predestination the calling in chosen vessels unto him More than conquers because we know him. We know he has a plan. He is in control. He is the Prince of Glory secondly We know him that he will protect us he is my pastor verse 31 What shall we say then to these things if now right next to it that word if it's not conditional since since Since God before us it's a Factual conclusion since God is for us Who can be against us notice not what but who who can be against you? We fight not against flesh and blood but against spirits and principalities Yes, there's people that work for the devil There's people human beings that are demonically possessed and many times when you come into their presence They don't like you their demons recognize you and they don't like you. They know there's something different about you The only way to get the world to like you has to smoke the doobie with them and drink the beer with them and laughed At their dirty jokes and then don't even tell them that you go to such-and-such a church in town Under the radar is the only way to get them to like you But if you're bold with the gospel if you're lover of Jesus and you say no to the idiocy now, you're a threat Now you're a threat to their little kingdom Your light that's shining light on their darkness and they don't feel comfortable in their darkness around you They're gonna beg you to flee. They're gonna be telling you to flee to leave Sodom and Gomorrah leave us alone But God's called me God's called me to proclaim the truth of his coming kingdom He's my pastor he's the chief shepherd he's the good shepherd he's the great shepherd the Lord is my shepherd I Shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake Ye though I walk through through not around Lord deliver me from No, I'm gonna take you through that trial I'm gonna take you through the loss of your wife the love of your life Abraham I'm gonna take Sarah from you at a certain point She's coming home to be with me And you've got some more years to live You got some more faith walking to do I'm gonna give you a Keturah to comfort you and give you more kids But you're gonna finally buy a piece of real estate you haven't bought any real estate yet You haven't climbed the ladder of equity You don't have your portfolio laid out like the world you're looking for a city who's builder and maker as God But you're gonna buy the cave of Mephilah At Hebron to bury your beloved Sarah a place to bury Sarah Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I'll fear no evil far with me Thy rod and I staff they comfort me Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies Thou anoints my head with oil My cup runneth over Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever The Lord is my shepherd I'm not a goat. I'm a sheep He's my the personal pronouns ownership relationship. The Lord is my shepherd I Shall not want He's gonna protect me I Am the Good Shepherd Jesus said the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me whole kind of sifting going on right now Whole lot of sifting going on and we ain't seen nothing yet It's called the apostasy. It's called the falling away from the faith Many many falling away already and I like when we were in Jeremiah 12 if you're wimping out with the footmen in this battle What are you gonna do when they come with horses and chariots dudes? What are you gonna do in the swelling of the Jordan you ain't seen nothing yet? The things I'm gonna do he says you're gonna cause a tingling to go through the ears of people when they finally see the judgment That's coming You Think God's indifferent to this evil this pedophilia this stalking and grooming and going after these children he thinks just indifferent He's boiling He's a God of love. He's holy, but he's a God of wrath and he's gonna boil in his wrath Who else is gonna protect these kids their parents Parents keep putting them in the schools Keep going with the idiocy Letting them change their gender and hormonally and Masculating them and all it's idiocy It's only in the West you don't see China or Russia or any of the poor countries doing this idiocy It's in the West where they're nut jobs in Europe and American such just complete nut jobs Because why because Pride fullness of bread idleness And we care not for the poor needy We're like Sodom and Gomorrah We're so filled with pride. We're so against God and so in rebellion against God That we're challenging God to a fight We're saying that we're saying that we're gods that we're gonna be as gods That we don't need God that we can remake the Bible with artificial intelligence Well, God's gonna protect me from these nut jobs We are more than conquerors because we know him. We know he has a plan. He is in control He's the Prince of Glory. He will protect us. He's my pastor and thirdly he will provide He's the bread of life the fount of living water notice verse 32 he that spared notice that word in the Septuagint the Greek writing of the Old Testament in Genesis 22 This same Greek word is used when God allowed Abraham to spare thy son. My only son Isaac Isaac was spared Jesus was not spared Jesus went to the cross He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all How shall he not with him also freely give us all things you're not gonna lack a thing With food and raiment therewith be content your greatest need is of Jesus Your greatest need is to know him Paul said that I might know him In Philippians 3 10 that I might know him the power of his Resurrection the power to lift you from the dead the power to lift you out of the pit You're in the circumstances may not change, but your countenance changes a smile comes on your face. There's a song in the night You're victorious. You're more than a conqueror through him that loved you Nothing can separate you from his love You're anxious for nothing but in everything through prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving You're letting your quest be made known unto God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guards your hearts and minds Through Christ Jesus the battlefields your mind. The devil is a liar He wants to defeat you and fill you with fear and destroy you In your mind But you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and every imagination every high thing that exalts itself above him And you bring it into captivity it cost God his son Isaac was spared Jesus was not God provides. He freely gives us all things. No good thing Will he withhold from them that love him? If it's good, if it's something he wants you to have he's gonna give it Fear not little flock Jesus said for it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom You're a joint heir with Jesus like we saw last week everything that he's created Everything that he's purchased with his blood through redemption He inherits and you and I as the bride of Christ are joint heirs with Jesus and the ages to come Ephesians 2 verse 7 He's gonna continue to lavish upon you and I to show us his kindness in the ages to come We're in the church age We're going to heaven We're coming back for the Millennium the age of the Millennium a thousand-year rule and reign with Jesus and after the Millennium The ages to come who knows? Revelation 21 and 22 who knows what he has in store for us in eternity The unsearchable riches of Christ beyond all we can ask or think beyond us But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus We're more than conquerors because we know him. We know he has a plan. He's in control. He's the Prince of Glory He will protect us. He's my pastor. He will provide. He's the bread of life fourthly. He prays for us He's our great high priest. Do you need someone to intercede on your behalf? Do you need help in prayer? You have the help of the Holy Spirit that with groanings Which cannot be uttered when words are inadequate when you don't know when you're just melted melted down and you don't know which end is up the Holy Spirit's interceding and Jesus He's standing at the right hand of his father. He's your representative. He's your advocate. He's your friend. Not your enemy He's not your judge in the sense of judging your sin the sins your sins my sins our sins were already judged By his father upon him. He's the propitiation the substitute. He took the wrath of his father upon himself You're already justified just as if you've never sinned So when he's praying for you, he's counteracting the lies of the wicked one Revelation 12 verse 10 the accuser the prosecuting attorney the devil who's using the letter of the law to try and condemn you try to Get into your head and condemn you and Jesus is praying before the throne of God saying father. He's one of mine comfort him with your spirit Comfort him remind him of who I am remind him of the cross remind him that it's for those sins that I died It's for his punishment that I took upon myself so that he would be saved delivered Don't let him succumb to the lies of the wicked one Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect is it God that justifies who is he that condemns Is it Christ that died? He rather has risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us Paul's asking these questions pretty obvious Jesus is our great high priest Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus is Almighty God Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world He's our atonement. He's our justification. He's our propitiation No one can charge us with a crime Satan accuses he tries Not gonna work in Luke 22 Jesus told Peter Peter Satan desires you that he may sift you as wheat How do you sift wheat you beat on it? You beat on him. He's gonna beat you Peter. It's gonna beat on you Some of you feel like that you've gone through the dryer cycle you're just like wobbly you just been beat on Pummeled Paul talked about a messenger of Satan that was buffeting him hitting him physical pain infirmity mental anguish Heartache despair discouragement all these things that riddle our minds That try to take dominance over us try to take our peace away to steal to kill to destroy That's what the wicked one does But Jesus said I've come that you might have life that you might have it more abundantly the life of the Spirit of living a quality of life above the circumstances on the material level the human level Walking in the spirit I'm gonna sift you as wheat. He wants to sift him as wheat, but Jesus told Peter, but I'm praying for you Peter Isn't it great to know that Jesus is praying for you? He knows every hair of your head. He knows every mole every scar every difficulty He knows every circumstance everything about you. He's never learned a thing about you. He knows all things He's omniscient all-knowing And he still loves you And that mind-blowing the things that he knows about me if you knew him you'd hit the door He's a wicked evil man Jesus knows everything about me, and he still loves me And he still loves you But I'm praying for you Peter, what's he praying that your faith fail not Most important thing that our faith fail not when we're going through trials That our faith remain That we honor God in the hard times with faith Because Ephesians or excuse me Hebrews 11 6 says what without faith it's impossible to please God For they that come to him must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of those who diligently Seek him and then the writer goes through Hebrews 11 by faith by faith by faith by faith Showing that these men and women because they walk by faith. They live by faith. They honored God by faith Don't fall back Don't quit Continue to go by faith continue to trust But Jesus prayed for Peter Jesus our great high priest he ever lives to make intercession for us He prays for us in verse 27 the Holy Spirit prays for us We're more than conquerors through him that loved us no condemnation We're more than conquerors because We know him to understand that it's we know him Christianity is a relationship Paul said that I might know him. I went from not knowing God having made my first communion Wearing the jacket getting the patch getting the checks from the ants getting a little book learning some rote prayers And that was it it was over Done we were done. We did that for a little season and all it did was take me from my Little League baseball games practice Tuesday nights Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee Blessed art thou among women blessed is the fruit of your womb the Lord Jesus. You know, I could say them all But I didn't know God I didn't know Jesus I didn't know the cross I understood nothing It didn't make any sense didn't register I was unregenerate a Degenerate as I told you Just want to kiss all the girls Such a degenerate and every guy in here wishes. He is me. I wish you could have done it, right? That's how it works Nobody's that holy All right So we're more than conquerors because we know him. We know he has a plan. He's in control He's the Prince of Glory. We know he will protect us. He's my pastor We know not maybe we know he will provide he's the bread of life. We know he prays for us He's our great high priest and fifth thing finally so you can have that ribeye over there His love is permanent and powerful. He is the bridegroom We don't want to leave doing this is fun This is a very very rich section of scripture that if you if you divest yourself if you dig in and Absorb what he's saying to you You're gonna float as you walk over there if you really really Allow these truths to sink down deep in your hearts It has the power to transform and change you To give you the victory over all the fear the doubt the discouragement the despair that the world wants to Bundle upon you that burden that's there. But Jesus said come unto me all you that are Heavy laden. I'll give you rest. He wants you to rest in him his finished work To tell us I paid in full no sense you working it Enjoy what he's purchased enjoy this relationship with him. His love is permanent and powerful He's the bridegroom. Nothing can separate us from his love in verse 35 verse 37 39 Nothing can separate me from his love Nothing no one nothing Who shall separate again who who shall separate us from the love of Christ Not good for man to be alone He made the male and female and he brought forth all the animals none of them are a suitable helpmate for Adam And then cause God caused Adam to go to sleep and God brought forth from Adam's rib brought forth Eve Bone on my bone flesh of my flesh the two come together and become one. Why does God hate divorce? It ruins this picture here Nothing will ever be able to divorce you from him Nothing will ever no one will ever be able to to reject you in that way To separate you from him. Nothing is gonna ever be more powerful than his love that he has for you as his bride Nothing who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress Paul gives a list of seven things here or persecution or famine as naked as peril. And here's the last one Paul hasn't experienced yet, but he will Because Nero is going to take his head off and second Timothy for the time of my departure is at hand He knew it was time to break the tent this temporary abode this tent was time to break camp I Fought a good fight Ran my course. I kept the faith Now therefore laid up for me a crown of righteousness not to me only but all those who are looking who are loving his appearing More than conquers The sword Paul wasn't speaking theoretically I Can't stand pastors that speak theoretically. I Flip them off so quick not like that I wasn't thinking it peace love I Turn them off turn it off poor choice of words One way one way I Can't I can't tolerate it I can't deal with it. It's it's it's like Why would I go over there and indulge in cotton candy when I got a big ribeye, you know, I don't I don't need that insipid Entertainment, you know With no substance nothing there And I don't understand how people get drawn into that but I have no no taste for it but when I hear a guy when I hear somebody that's living in Iran or China or actually experienced something Glorified the Lord and suffered and went through difficulty many of you Inspire me encourage me with the things you've gone through and your steadfast faith and love for Jesus it it ministers to me To hear Alan and Cora get up here and tell what they've gone through to hear Gloria Describe what she's gone through many of you gone through far worse things than Kathy and I could ever imagine and your faith remains Your faith is strong you glorify the Lord you have something to say That's a testimony You've been tested and you've been proven and now you get to testify of God's faithfulness That he got you through these things that your God is greater that his love is greater. There's substance there. There's something there than that shallow Insipid your best life now stuff Somebody needs to knock him in the face All right So who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation distress persecution famine naked parallel sword Paul speaking from experience He's gone through these things as it is written for thy sake. We are killed all the day long We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. He's quoting Psalm 44 22 and So we all suffer We're promised suffering all they that live godly qualified if you're living godly you're gonna suffer persecution Jesus said if they've hated me, they're gonna hate you if you stand for righteousness, you're gonna be hated Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all we through much Tribulation to enter into the kingdom of God in Acts 14. Those are promises in this world You will have tribulation pressure, but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world Those are all promises in your promise jar, right? That's cells suffering cells I've been teaching about suffering for 28 years Because it's all through the Bible Politics is all through the Bible power struggles are all through the Bible. I teach the Bible and People don't like to hear about suffering It's the part of Christianity They don't want that they cringe out But it's the very Avenue the very way to get to know Jesus because he's a man of sorrows And he's acquainted with grief and when Paul says that I might know him he also says in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings plural being made conformable unto his death you're filling up his sufferings as You suffer people are reminded of the cross They're reminded of his victory. They're reminded of the power of the resurrection They're reminded of the life of the spirit that they see evident in you rather than a little formula of how to not suffer You don't need to go looking for the suffering. It'll find you it's called life all of us We can walk through life as victims. I'm a victim Or we can walk through life as more than conquerors The old things are passed away all things are become new I'm not that guy's dog anymore. I Don't dance to that tune. They don't have that leverage or that monopoly over me anymore. They can't get in my head Jesus has my heart. Jesus has saved me. Jesus has purchased me. I belong to him Jesus has rescued me And he's never gonna let me go He's gonna complete the work that he's begun in me he says verse 37 nay in Not around but in All these things we are more than conquerors through him that notice in the past tense loved us You're questioning God's love God, why have you allowed this? Why am I going through this Lord? Do you really love me? Think of it in the past tense the cross Think back to the cross. That's where God demonstrates his love for you and I through him that loved us Cherish it remember the cross remember the bread in the cup. Remember this this do in remembrance of me. Don't ever forget the cross Don't ever forget my love for you for the joy that was set before me I endured the cross despising the shame and a seated down the right hand of the Father For you the joy of saving you the joy of rescuing Rescuing you from this putrid corrupt world. We're living in who would want to live forever in this world. I want out This isn't my home. My citizenship is in heaven Biden don't represent me Obama don't represent me the none of those jokers represent me Trump doesn't represent me only Jesus He's the only one King of Kings Lord of Lords Thanks be unto God which always causes us to triumph in Christ So no matter what Paul faced he was always triumphant More than conquerors now question as we finish up here What does it mean to be a conqueror? Or more than a conqueror in Hebrews turn to Hebrews 11 a Conqueror or more than a conquer. I want to be a conquer I Want to kick butts and take names. I want people to fear me That they're not gonna defeat me win me whatever, you know, I want to I want I don't want to be the off scouring The bathtub ring Paul said we're the off scouring Paul said we're a spectacle in the Colosseum When everybody's, you know killing the Christians with the animals and stuff. That's a spectacle Theatron everybody's watching the Christians be chomped to death. I don't want to be part of a spectacle I don't want to be a part of an ordeal. I don't want to be the off scouring I Want to be a conquer I Want to stop the mouth of lions like David like Daniel did I? Want to slay Goliath like David did I? Want to tell my kids my grandkids about these conquering Exploits and these great men and women of God who had great faith and God used them to do great and mighty things Watch how this transitions Watch how this transitions in Hebrews 11 Verse 30 by faith the walls of Jericho fell down and they were compassed about seven days That's Joshua They they just walk around the walls of Jericho 13 times they shout up Boom the walls go down and the walls don't go in from a pushing an army in they go out and They just go in and take the city and then there's a woman there with faith named Rahab Who's a harlot and she hides two spies and by faith? She overcomes not fearing the idiot King It says by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believe not when she had received the spies with peace Rahab's in Matthew 1 in the lineage of Jesus What a divine appointment here a harlot praise the Lord Verse 32 and what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon Gideon says man, I'm the least and I'm the least of my father's house. You got the wrong guy. Oh Mighty man of valor, where's Gideon? Where is he? My grandson Gideon's in there. He's in a wine vat and he's threshing wheat No, you thresh wheat up on a mountaintop. You don't want that stuff sticking to your face so you're beating it on the threshing floor and then you take a winnowing fork and you throw it up into the air and let The wind blow the chaff and then the colonel comes down He's down in a hole. Why is he in a hole? Oh that mighty man of valor Why are you in the hole threshing wheat because he's afraid Because the Midianites take all the spoil they wait for you to grow the food and then they come in and steal it all So he's trying to get some food without them knowing. Oh that mighty man of valor God sees the potential in Gideon God's gonna use Gideon mightily with 300 men and they're gonna drink this right, you know What a great story See it on VeggieTale, see it on Sunday School In a barrack and of Samson carrying the gates away and of Jephthah and Judges 9 You know being mightily used of God and and of David. Oh David man, Saul has killed his thousands, David his tens of thousands. I want to be a conquering pastor I want to be a conquering Christian I want a big church and big influence and just just making the devil so afraid, you know Taking ground And I tried I went all-in and I tried to take downtown Bremerton tried to take ground Take it take it for the kingdom Be an influencer Reach people with the gospel Boy, I got my butt kicked. I Got it handed to me But it was in God's will Sure is a reproach sure hurts your pride Be much better to conquer Maybe a few people would respect me today if I had millions of dollars of equity in a big huge house Because that's what people look toward is money Money it's always about the money Foxes have holes birds of their have nests, but the son of man is nowhere to lay his head. She just didn't have any money They Treated me this way. They're gonna treat you that way Got to learn some things I could never learn any other way any other way But believe me it hurts. I'd much rather be a conqueror For through faith they subdued kingdoms they wrought righteousness obtained promises they stopped the mouth of lions Daniel 6 man Daniel beloved of God the Lions the Lions chomped on the enemies man. God shut the mouth of the Lions They quenched the violence of the fire Shadrach Meshach and the bed to go wouldn't you like to be like that? Only the ropes are burned off. We're not careful. Oh Nebby how we answer you Our God is able And he will deliver us But even if he doesn't we're not gonna wear the mask and stand six feet away and take your jab. No way They quenched the violence of fire. They escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong They wax valiant in flight. They turned to flight the armies of the aliens Women received their dead raised to life again, and here's that word Here's that word so you have a kind there you have a kind That's called the conquerors Now you have a Greek word here called heteros which is others not of the same kind the conquerors, but others of a different kind and Others were tortured. Yeah, that's who you want to be That's what I want to be Not accepting deliverance All they had to do is pinch the incense. All they had to do is give them what they want. They could keep their job That they may obtain a better resurrection. They're saying I'll defer the reward I'm willing to suffer now like Moses because I have respect under the recompense of the reward. I'll wait for the reward and Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings. It may they may over a bonds and imprisonment They were stoned Paul got stoned at Lystra. They were sawn asunder. This is Isaiah Isaiah was sawn asunder by King Manasseh Solomon too Yeah, Lord sign me up. I Don't know anybody that can glamorize this sort of martyrdom It's Elizabeth Elliot, you know, she'd much rather have her husband with her and Serve the Lord their whole life long People romanticize, you know martyrdom and suffering It's not glamorous It sells because we're insipid weak American people that don't get out of the you know The pew and live our Christian Christianity out there so we want to support somebody that goes to the Sudan or China or Iran or somewhere else as our hero and Then all they need do is show us pictures of the danger Look at the danger. It's not romantic. These people are living through it. It's horrific. Absolutely horrific It's not funny If you can avoid it avoid it But if it's God's will for your life go through it. You got to go through it And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourging you ever bonds and imprisonment They were stoned and you know, so many of you guys come up to me all the time. Tell me that I'm going to jail Are you guys going with me? All right They were stoned. They were sauna Sunday. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted tormented of Whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth And these all having obtained a good report through faith. They didn't quit. They didn't wimp out They didn't give in to the edict of the king they didn't allow the devil to destroy their faith Take away his stuff. He'll curse you take away his health. He'll curse. You know, these guys are more than conquerors They received not the promise not yet. I don't get it yet. I don't get the reward yet God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect So on that resurrection day We're gonna see all these heroes of faith and they're all gonna have their rewards and such and their scars and hey What did you go through for Jesus? What how did how did you suffer? You know? Didn't you get your head cut off? Yeah, I got my head. What was that like? Over quick, but new in an instant. I got my new head, you know new body. No more headaches No more headaches, you know go figure So what does it mean to be a conqueror or more than a conqueror And so we see those that conquered the opposition. They subdued kingdoms. They obtained promises They stopped the mouth of lions. They escaped the edge of the sword. They're all conquerors And man, I like the prosperity. I like the prosperity that America's enjoyed That the church is enjoyed but that's an anomaly in history What's really going to inspire me is to watch The church in the West go through suffering and to watch our Lord Jesus be glorified because we refuse to quit We considered a privilege and an honor to suffer for his namesake They went away Rejoicing in that they are counted worthy to suffer for his namesake the more than the conquerors 35b and others of a different kind heteros. It says also they were strange. They're different different kind of people Those triumphant in and through how through him that loved us the cross Never doubting the permanence of God's love. Do you doubt the permanence of God's love a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways No matter what happens to you. Do you doubt the permanence of God's love? Does he give you the love then take it away? Has he quit loving? Colossians 2 14 blotting out the handwriting of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way and nailed it to the cross He took the charges that the law demanded of perfection and nailed it to his cross and took it out of the way He spoiled principalities and powers. He made a show of them openly Triumphing over them in it Jesus triumphed over all the principalities and the powers before he ascended He descended of the lower parts of the earth and it wasn't to preach the gospel is it was to proclaim his victory to all of the Fallen people and the fallen demons and such that were there in hell He went to hell and he proclaimed victory More than conquerors He says verse 38 ten things ten things here for I'm persuaded. Are you persuaded that neither death nor life? Nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come verse 39 Nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us. No divorce. No divorce. No divorce Shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord the power and the permanence of his love no separation No matter what we have faced no matter what we will face his love conquers all It's all about his love his love is greater than any suffering you and I would ever go through his love is greater We are more than conquerors through him that loved us the cross We know what do we know by way of review? We know he has a plan He is the Prince of Glory. We know he will protect us. He is our pastor the chief shepherd We know he will provide he is the bread of life We know he prays for us. He's our great high priest We know his love is permanent and powerful. He's our bridegroom We are more than conquerors through him that Loved us Jesus loves me this I know For the Bible tells me so No greater truth no greater truth Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible Tells me so Let's pray father. Thank you so much. Thank you for your love Lord. Thank you for the quality of life that we Have become a part of as you live through us Lord. Thank you that we don't have to live a meaningless powerless on the human level like animals Lord, but the life of the Spirit That you're lifting us. You're edifying us building this up preparing us for eternity Lord we thank you the way that you are the Potter and that we're the clay You know what men are a vessel you're making us and Lord We thank you that in these clay pots these clay pots are valid valuable because you Lord fill this temple You fill this clay pot with yourself We're filled with the Holy Spirit with a temple of the Holy Spirit and we thank you individually We thank you corporately collectively that we the Bride of Christ the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit And Lord, we pray evermore that you would live that you'd shine Brightly in and through us that we'd be a light in these last days. We'd be a beacon Pointing to your soon return dispelling the darkness Exposing the wickedness the sin Proclaiming the good news of your coming kingdom Give us that boldness Give us the wisdom the discernment give us the power that dunamis dynamic power of your spirit to go and make disciples To occupy until you come While your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed If you don't know Jesus if you don't know him if you don't have a relationship with him yet at this moment This is your chance. This is a chance for you to respond to his love. He's not condemning you He's not showing you the pit of hell. He's showing you the cross He's showing you that he willingly went to the cross to die in your place So that you would not be punished if you go to hell it's because you choose to go to hell He doesn't send anybody to hell people go to hell because they reject Jesus Because they reject his love Are you rejecting his love? Are you rejecting an eternity in the splendor of his love? Once you surrender now, what is it you have? What is it you have that you're so unwilling to give up to gain him He says you got to come You got to come to the cross. You got to die You got to turn from your sins You got to call out to him whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved you cry out you call unto him Lord save me Lord be merciful to me a sinner with a humble Pure heart a broken heart and he will come and he will Transform and change you he'll come into your heart in life and you'll discover that he's your pastor That he's your great high priest that he's your bridegroom That he loves you He's always loved you and that he's known you before the foundation of the earth Anyone here this morning you want eternal life. You want to know the true and living God Just lift your hand up. We want to pray with you anyone here this morning Lord bless you there anybody else So pray along these lines Dear gracious Heavenly Father. I Thank you for sending your son Jesus to the cross of Calvary to die for me. I Thank you that all my sins past present and future were placed upon him And Lord, I thank you that I can come by grace through faith alone in him that he's my Savior That he's my Lord That your wrath was poured out upon him and by his stripes I'm healed Lord come into my life and make me new cause me to be born again Give me ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches Write my name in your Lamb's Book of Life Help me to be discipled help me to learn Help me as I read your word. Please speak to my heart. Give me ears to hear And use me for your kingdom and glory Use my life for that plan and the purpose that you have Lord as I yield as I surrender my life afresh unto you May my life bring glory and honor unto you in Jesus name. I pray Amen