"More Than A Conqueror"
Romans 8: 28 –39
-Rev. A. LaMar Torrence, Pastor
Cross of Life Church
In one of my favorite scenes of Charles Schultz “Peanuts” Lucy says to Charlie Brown “ Sometimes, I feel we are not communicating: You, Charlie Brown, are a foul ball in the line drive of life. You’re often in the shadow of your own goal post. You’re a miscue. You’re 3 putts on the 18th green. You are a 7-10 split in the 10th frame. You have dropped a rod and reel in the lake of life. You’re a missed free throw. You’re a shanked 9-iron, a called 3rd strike, a bug on the windshield of life! Do you understand? Have I made myself clear?”
There may be times when we feel like Charlie Brown. There may be some days when we feel that life itself is against us. We are always coming up short. We are just missing our victory by a hand’s length. I would even say, that there have been times in my life where I have even felt that God almighty was against my gaining success. I pray for certain situation hoping that it is in his will for me to have it; and, later, when it flops, I would just surmised that God did not want me to succeed in the venture. But, it is just that type of thinking I believe that God wants me to dispel this morning. Because he has been that type of thought process that has hinder the saints from achieving their visions. It has been that mentality that has kept churches stagnated. Well, maybe God did want us to have a house or a car. Maybe it was not meant for me to be married happily ever after. Maybe this is my cross. Maybe I am always to be sick or poor. Because certain things have not gone our way, we have assumed that God was working against us; keeping us from been happy at what we thought we deserved. Many of us have become our own worst enemies. Because of past failures and disappointments we are filled with doubts, anxieties, and phobias. Our fear paralyzes us and hinders our potential. Yet, in spite of all of his comical imperfections, when I consider good old Charlie Brown, even he had dreams and hope for a better future. That was the primary reason for Charlie to never give up or give in. (You can’t give up and you can’t give in.)
In his book, “Releasing Your Potential,” Myles Monroe once said, “The poorest man in the world is the man without a dream. The most frustrated man in the world is man with a dream that never becomes a reality. Every individual regardless of race, culture, or class has a dream. We have a God given desire placed inside of us that drives and motivates us to take risks and confront challenges in everyday of our lives. We are not animalistic in our reasons for living. We do not live just to eat, sleep, and reproduce. No, what makes us higher than the beasts is our ability to dream and pursue our visions. We were created with purpose - to filled the earth, subdue it, and have dominion. We were created to be more than conquerors. We are destined to become rulers.
That’s why I believe and still proclaim that the Gospel may be summarized in four small words. God is for us. Every Christian who desires to share the good news should know that all they have to tell a dying world is that short declarative sentence. God is for us. No matter who you are. Regardless of what you have done. In spite of where you may be in your walk with him. You must know that God: Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai, the Lion of Judah, Emmanuel, Jesus the Christ, is for us. God is on your side. You are not on the battlefield alone. God has your back. He is walking with you. He is talking to you. He is with you and I. God is with us and for us.
And that’s good news. It is good to know that we, as believers in Christ, have an omnipotent God on our side (omnipotent meaning all powerful). His power is my strength. His authority is at my command and in his name, I can cast our demons, speak in new tongues, pick up serpents, and if we drink any deadly thing it will not hurt us. We have his power. Power to heal the sick. Power to raise the dead. We have his dunamis power to be his witnesses in the uttermost parts of the world.
His omnipotence is for us, as well as his omnipresence; that is, his eternal and infinite presence. David once wrote that, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Our God is present in each of our troubling times. Jesus said himself that, lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Where ever you are, what ever your situation, and who ever you may be God is with you and for you.
That’s just who God is. God loves you so much that he just can’t and won’t let you go. His love has a hold on you. We are connected to him – Natalie Cole would say - Inseperateable. Marvin Gaye and Tammy Berelle, would probably say, “Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough, Ain’t no river wide enough to keep us always from him.” We are caught up. We are tied up. We are wrapped up in his love. That is the gospel. That’s the good news. We have a God who is for us.
You see that statement just seems to profound me. When I consider the object of the preposition in that sentence – the us, I am left with wonderment. Why would a God who is so powerful, so righteous, and so holy be for little old me. I have to ask the same question that Job posed, “What is man that you, god, should magnify him and that you should set your heart upon him?” Why are you so hook on me? What is it about us that won’t let God’s give up on our estate?
When I think about us – I get disappointed and discouraged. When I see us – I see a people who are still disconnected by racism, classism, and sexism although we are globally linked through satellites and the information highway. I see a people blinded by greed yet eyes wide open to those in need. I see so-called saved folk tight lipped and sitting down on God while the unsaved bravely speak out and take a stand against the Lord. Lord, when I think about who I am and who god is, I begin to understand Isaiah’s cry, “woe is me! for I am lost I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Lord, what is it about me that you would consider my low estate.
Well, one theologian said that to proclaim that God is for us to declare that God has called us; that He has predestined us; and, that he has justified us.
To say that God is for us is to declare that he has called us. You are chosen. God has a plan for us. He has purpose for your life. You were hand picked from a world of trillions. You were selected and elected from universe of infinitude. Your existence here has more meaning than you realize. God has plans for you. Think about it. He did not bring you through the fire and flood just to live a menial existence. God did not lead you through the valleys and over mountains to abide in insignificance. God has a plan for you. Oh the world may see you as some corporation’s human resource – some number in a personnel database. It may have tried to reduce your humanity to just punching a keyboard, filing paper, and crunching numbers. But God has a plan to improve your quality of life. You have a calling upon your life.
And that’s good news when everyday attempts of dehumanization and historical recaps are being played before our eyes. Like Paul, we too are surrounded by those who doubt of capabilities and question our motives. Oh, Paul could never live down his past and present frailties with society. He was constantly reminded of what he used to do and what he still could not accomplish. Someone always sought to destroy his dreams and deter him from his goals. And that still holds true for us. There are those who still like to remind us of what we use to be and what we use to do. There will always be a group questioning your qualifications and reminding you where you came from. There will always be a doubting Thomas questioning your capabilities and your true intentions. “Oh, you’re not smart enough for that college.” Child, you’ll never lose that weight. You are not talented enough for that position. You haven’t been here long enough to gain their respect. You are still too different for them to let you in their little clique. ‘Things will never change around here. Some folks are always quick to remind you of your limitations and your boundaries. Oh, every day the principalities of this world seek to have us doubt our value and capabilities. Every day we are reminded of our vulnerable status with those around us. Oh don’t let a little integration and P.C. language fool you. There are those who still desire to have us ride the back of the bus and use separate washrooms. There are those who still desire for us to say ‘yes sam’ and call us ‘boy’. This world is still filled with individuals who want us to cowl with fear and know our place.
And yet, in spite of their opposition, God has designed our lives where we still do not faint. We have a calling. We each have a role to play in salvation history. You are valuable to his anthropological strategy. You are critical to his cosmic design. Like our ancestors before us, we are links in an eternal chain that’s whining up time. CEOs, MDs, PhD’s, nurses, secretaries, and teachers, grocery clerks, masons, and teamsters, teachers, homemakers, and entertainers: God has given each of us an unique talent that only we can mastered and magnify His name. We must discover our own individual gifts-tap into it and use it to maximize our potential as a testimony to God’s glory. Find what how what you do best and use it to glory God. That’s your calling – to glorify his name.
But not only has God call us, he has predestined our lives. We have a destiny. God is taking our lives to a specific place in time. We may have been shaped in iniquity but our future place is in glory. Now, regardless of the human decisions we have made – we will still arrive at our appointed destination. God know us. He knows our frailties. He has the keys to our closet of bones. Yet, there is destiny for your life. The fact is that your life has been predestined – shape before you were conceived. God knew the wrong turns you would make; the foolish decisions you would make; the wrong choices decided. God knew you before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. Not that’s is important for us to know. So, even when the unexpected occurs in our lives – we know that it is still all apart of the plan. (Say it’s a part of the plan). That’s why Joseph could still persevere when his brothers sold him into slavery and when he was unjustly casts into prision. HE could could say, You meant it for evil but God meant it for good.” It was a part of the plan. Even when it seems that God himself is working against your desires, your dreams, your ambitions, he is still working for you. He knows what’s best for your life. He knows what will make you your best. He is training you for your final destination. Sold that when you arrive to your final level in glory, you will be able to stay there and not fall.
Finally to say that God is for us is to say, we are justified. That is, what we obtain, we are entitled to keep. The victory is ours. What God has for me is for me only and no one can take it away. That’s why Paul said we are more than conquerors. Conquerors take what they are not entitled to. To conquer something or someone is to gain or acquire it by force; to overthrow or gain mastery. Attila the Hun conquered Mongolia and China. Julius Cesar conquered Northern Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. The Spanish conquistadors conquered South America and Mexico. Shaka Zulu conquered the tribes of South Africa. To conquer is to acquire by force and when you conquer something you have to worry about keeping it conquered. But, when Jesus took on our sin, died on the cross, was buried in a tomb, and arose on the third day – he conquered sin, death and the grave. That’s why Paul says that we are more than conquerors. Because the conquest has been completed. Every obstacle that will attempt you from getting to your destiny and keeping it has been defeated. In fact to be more than a conqueror is to be a Ruler – an heir upon the throne. When you rule something, it means you have a right to it. It is your inheritance. We talk about fighting for that which is ours. You don’t have to fight. It’s yours, you just have to now rule it. And that’s what God is preparing us for – he is preparing us for our inheritance.
