In last Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Chiefs prevailed over the 49’s. The first three quarters may not have been especially exciting, but the Fourth Quarter and Over Time were something else! Last Sunday’s game was sure a lot more competitive than Super Bowl XXIV. In that 1990 championship game, the 49’s crushed the Broncos 55 to 10 in the most lopsided Super Bowl victory on record.
Have you ever pulled off a lopsided victory—a volleyball match perhaps or a basketball game in which your team dominated from start to finish, or a race in which you finished minutes ahead of everyone else? What about your life? Would you say that you are “crushing it” or barely managing to hang on? In our wonderful sermon text this morning, the Apostle Paul wants you to know that, thanks to God’s love, you already prevail completely over every difficulty, demon, and even death. Let’s find out how this is true, even though you may not feel like a conqueror. (Read text.)
According to the Apostle Paul, God’s love is always present though not always evident—like how the sun is always shining even if it is hidden by a cloud. Still, Paul quoted an Old Testament believer who complained that, because of the troubles he faced, he felt like a sheep that was being dragged off to the slaughterhouse and there was nothing he could do about it (Psalm 44:22).
You might not feel like a sheep bound for the butchers, but perhaps you feel like a guinea pig as your doctors prescribe this treatment and then that trying to provide some sort of relief. Or maybe you can relate to a stray dog that no one wants around. Coworkers demean your work. Family criticizes you so that you can’t ever seem to do anything right. Could these difficulties signal that you are not really loved by God? No. Listen to the Apostle Paul again. He writes: “If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)
The ultimate proof of God’s love for you is Jesus’ death on the cross. Think of it. Who was it that delivered Jesus over to death on the cross? Was it Judas who betrayed Jesus for money? Was it Pontius Pilate because he was afraid for his political career? Was it the Jewish leaders who were envious of Jesus? No, it was not any of these people who handed Jesus over to die. Rather it was God the Father who did that, says Paul, and he did so out of love. And you, my friends, no matter who you are, where you are from, or what you have done, you are the person for whom God did this. For Paul says that Jesus was given up for us “all”—no exceptions.
Ponder how deep God’s love for us must be that he gave up his holy Son in exchange for us sinners. That’s like handing over a diamond for a handful of cinder that we throw on the roads around here after it snows. It’s like handing over a brand-new Tesla for a broken tricycle. It’s like handing over a Van Gogh painting in exchange for a wad of used Kleenex. Who would do such a thing? God did when he handed over his sinless Son to death in order to save us sinners from a certain eternity in hell.
If God the Father willingly gave up Jesus to cleanse you from your sins and bring you into his family, will there be anything else that you need in life now that God will fail to give to you? No. Smart phone owners understand this truth. What’s the first thing you purchased after getting your latest phone? Wasn’t it a screen protector and a case? Why? Because if you spent hundreds of dollars on a smart phone, you were willing to fork out another $50 or so to protect your investment from scratches and cracks.
That’s what Jesus is doing for you now—protecting you from things that would shatter your eternal future. Paul put it like this as translated by J.B. Phillips. You can find this translation printed in your bulletin. As you follow along, circle the truths that you want to remember. “Who is in a position to condemn [us]? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us! 35-36 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, pain or persecution? Can lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms? …37 No, in all these things we win an overwhelming victory through him who has proved his love for us. 38-39 I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 8:34b-35, 37-39)
What I especially like about these verses is how Paul uses the present tense when he writes that we ARE prevailing, not some day will prevail. This means that even though it may not feel as if you are “crushing it” in life right now, you actually are. Or rather, Jesus is doing so for you.
That last sentence communicates an essential truth. We only prevail when we are with Jesus. Step outside of your faith in Christ and you might as well be like the astronaut who steps out of his protective gear when on a spacewalk. As that gear protects the astronaut, so Jesus’ love protects us. While nothing can separate us from God’s love in Jesus, there are plenty of things that can distract us from it and lead us to treat that love as cheap and unimportant.
If I spend more time perusing the latest news headlines about wars and diseases than I do listening to my Savior speak to me through his Word, I’m going to feel on edge. And when I continue to let my thoughts center on my aches and pains and on my loneliness and don’t counter with an infusion of God’s promises, I may become convinced that life isn’t worth living. When I pursue what my body and mind says it wants to do even though these things are contrary to a life of purity Jesus has called me to live, then I am turning my back on Jesus’ love for me—the way you might turn your back to someone you don’t want to talk to at the grocery store.
Because Jesus has not stopped loving us, he calls us to repent of these sins. He pleads with us to focus on his promises of love and forgiveness and to take them seriously. For it’s only “in” and “through” Jesus that we prevail completely over every difficulty, demon, and even over death.
But why does God even let trouble, persecution, famine, and other hardships into the lives of his beloved children? One reason is to remind us that we’re not in heaven yet. Friends, don’t get too comfortable with what this world has to offer so that you get distracted from your eternal goal. That would be like getting tired of your long trip on a Greyhound bus to Disneyland, so you decide to get off at the next pit stop and spend your vacation there instead. Would anyone really trade the fun of amusement rides for the boredom of hanging out at a truck stop where the best food you can hope for is a corn dog and some nachos? Many do that spiritually speaking when they abandon their journey of faith for some seemingly important trinket this world offers.
Another reason that God lets hardships into the lives of his people is to refine their faith. Just as sandpaper smooths rough edges, God uses hardships to make us more empathetic towards others. He also puts us in situations we would not otherwise choose for ourselves because he wants to put his love for us on display. He wants us others to see that with God’s help we can remain calm and cheerful because we can trust this promise God makes in the verses before our sermon text. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Yes, God is working out all of your challenges to serve your eternal good. You can be certain of this because God called you to his side. He did so at your baptism. Therefore you are crushing it whether it feels like that or not. For while we cannot see our loving God, he sees us. It’s like the father and son who were rushing into the root cellar on their farm to escape a tornado. After the dad flung open the cellar doors and jumped into the darkness below, but the boy froze because he could no longer see his father. Dust and debris from the storm whipped around the boy but he still didn’t take a step forward. “Jump!” the dad hollered from the gloom. “But I can’t see you!” cried the boy. “That’s OK because I can see you,” responded the father.
Friends, every time you put your faith in God’s promises, you are jumping into the strong arms of the God who sees you—the same God who gave his Son in exchange for you—the almighty God who is in fact already holding you. You are prevailing completely. Don’t let any difficulty, demon, or even death itself convince you otherwise. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
God’s love is always present though not always evident. How have you personally felt this to be true?
The Apostle Paul says that Jesus was delivered over to death. Who exactly was the one to deliver Jesus? How does this truth give you confidence?
Circle the truths you want to remember from the J.B. Phillips translation below.
“Who is in a position to condemn [us]? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us! 35-36 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, pain or persecution? Can lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms? …37 No, in all these things we win an overwhelming victory through him who has proved his love for us. 38-39 I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 8:34b-35, 37-39)
We only prevail when we are “with” or “in” Jesus. In what way(s) might you be currently stepping “outside” of your faith in Jesus?
If we are God’s beloved children, why do we have to put up with troubles in this world?
While we cannot see our loving God, he sees us. How does that truth bring comfort and energy to face life’s trials?
