What Are You Praying For? | Conquering Love

Do you feel overwhelmed by anxiety and uncertainty?
 Have you wondered where real security can be found when life feels fragile?
 What holds you together when fear keeps pressing in?
 Can anything separate you from the love of Jesus?
 
 Romans 8 speaks directly into the fears and pressures we carry every day. Jesus meets us in our weakness with a conquering love that cannot be broken by suffering, failure, loss, or fear. The gospel gives us something solid to build on because our hope rests in what Christ has already done through his death and resurrection. When life feels unstable, the love of God becomes a strong tower that steadies our souls and carries us safely through every season.
 
 This message invites you to rest in the unshakable love of Christ and remember that God is for you. Even when anxiety rises and hardship feels close, the Holy Spirit reminds us that we belong to Jesus and are held securely by his grace. If you are searching for peace, strength in suffering, hope for the future, or assurance of salvation, this sermon points to the Savior whose love never lets go.
 
 Scripture: Romans 8:31 to 39
 “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31
 “Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39
 
 Belong at First Pres by taking the first step: join us for worship on Sundays in person. https://firstprescos.org/belong

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:17

No matter where you are on your journey, you belong here. And we're praying that this sermon might help you take a next step in faith towards Jesus. Hey, let's dive into today's message together.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Alright, church, we're in Romans 8. So please open your Bibles. We're looking at Romans 8 31 to 39. So let's pray. Lord, as we open our Bibles, we're also just opening our hearts. We know that the scripture that we're holding and that we have in front of us, that's before us here as we gather in church, this is not like another book. This is your word. You inspired this word by your spirit, and you're bringing it right to our hearts by that same power. So, Lord, open up our hearts and our minds that we may hear your voice speaking to us. In Jesus' name we pray. Church said. Amen. Romans 8, 31 to 39. What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns no one. Christ Jesus, who died, more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Our Lord. This is the word of the Lord.

unknown 2:53

Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God. What a message. But honestly, this passage, all I need to do is read that to you and say, you got it. Right? Amen. It's about as far as we need to go. Last week I was uh I was sick, folks. I wasn't here. Um, I had to call Greg Sunday afternoons, I'm Saturday afternoon. It's one of the first times we've had to do this, and say, hey, I cannot be there. I had uh something in my throat. It was very painful. I couldn't talk. I couldn't, I had to sort of like rouse myself to swallow, like, okay, we're gonna swallow now. You ever been there? And it was really painful. I was knocked out flat. And um, and I don't say that to get sympathy. Most many of you have gone through much worse for much longer, but it just made me think as I was preparing this message, it made me reflect again just how frail we are. Just how frail we are, and how strong the tower of God's amazing love. Amen. Today's Pentecost. This is a special day in the life of the church. Every year we celebrate this day. There was there were three festivals that would bring the Jewish people to Jerusalem to celebrate in person. The first one of the year was Passover, and Passover was celebrating how God called the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt and set them free. And so they would come and celebrate Passover. And then 50 days later, they were in Mount Sinai, and the word of the Lord came to Moses. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses. And so the people of God would celebrate these two festivals, Passover, and then 50 days later, Pentecost, celebrating the giving of God's word. And there was a Passover that Jesus came to Jerusalem, and that's when he died, and when he was buried, and when he rose again from the dead. And that Passover became what? Easter. That's the Passover that became Easter. This is the Pentecost 50 days later. The Pentecost 50 days later became the birth of the church. And what was happening? The people were gathered to celebrate the gift of God's word. And as the believers in Christ were gathered together, the Holy Spirit was given. And it was given in such a palpable way, they could feel it, they could see it, they could taste it. It was right here. The Spirit of God is with us. As they celebrated the Word, they came under the power of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God and the Spirit of God. They walk hand in hand. They accompany one another. The word and the spirit, the Spirit and the Word. Sometimes we want to say, I want to feel the this, uh, I want to feel these remarkable outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Let me tell you, church, where to go. Come and listen to Him in His Word. The Word and the Spirit is when the Word was being celebrated that the Spirit came down on the people of God. God's word is full of God's Spirit. And when you come to a passage like this, Romans 8, 31 and on, oh, you feel it, don't you? You just read it and you feel the Spirit. The Spirit of God in the Word of God. This is a passage that it rises so high so fast, it's hard to keep it pinned down to its context. It's like, oh wait, this is just a letter to a church in Rome in the first century. Yes, it is. But it just takes off from there. Because this is also a direct love letter from God's heart to yours. Let him speak to you directly today, by word and by spirit. We've been in the series in Romans and going through Romans, and we've walked through a little series in Romans 7 and 8 called What Are You Praying For? We've prayed for inner peace. We've prayed for resurrection life. We have prayed for enduring hope. We prayed last week for renewed creation. Today we're praying for conquering love. Do you believe God can speak to you in this hour? Do you believe that you can hear from the living God? If you do, you're going to hear about a God who wins by love. You're going to hear about a love that is an absolute bulwark, a tower, it's an impregnable fortress. God's love for you. Let's dig in. How frail are we, and how strong is God's conquering love? Verse 31. What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? What then shall we say about all these things? Well, we've got to ask, like about what things? What things are we talking about? Which things? Well, about the things as we roll back, about the things like in Romans 7, how we're still struggling with our addiction to sin called the flesh. We've still got to fight on. About how in Romans 8, we've got the Spirit of God within us, but we're still living in a really broken and a fallen world. And sometimes we don't even know how to pray. We don't even know if we can hang on with enduring hope. And but the Spirit of God prays for us with groans that are beyond words. And then about how we have a certainty and assurance of our salvation. That's the last bit of the passage right before this one. We need to roll up and look at that. The certainty of our salvation. Verse 29. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called. And those he called, he also justified. Those he justified, he also glorified. What is this? This is the certainty of our salvation. What this is, church, this is a look at salvation from God's point of view. We're often looking at salvation from our point of view. We're often telling stories about salvation from a human point of view. This is a glimpse of salvation from God's point of view. It's like when you're thinking about a like a woven carpet. And from our perspective, we're looking up and we can't fully understand. You see, we can see like these globs of yarn, and we can see these threads and these things that are running this way and that, but we don't fully understand it. But God looks down over it where everything is perfectly in order and beautiful and balanced. And this passage, some of these passages, they give us a little glimpse of this is what it looks like from God's point of view. But we can't fully get it. We don't fully understand it. Because God's thoughts are not our thoughts. God's ways are not our ways. He is the immortal and everlasting creator. We are the mortal and frail creation, and there's only so much we can understand. And it remains, much of it remains to us a mystery, doesn't it? This is a strong passage, and we'll get more of them in Romans. This is a strong predestination passage, right? How many of your Bible studies and women's groups and prayer circles and conversations have sort of drifted off into, you know what? Let's figure out that predestination thing. Right? Let's talk about that. Let's just get it hammered out. Did you get it figured out? Why not? Because that's a view from God's point of view. And we can get a glimpse, but we can't fully understand it. Salvation belongs to the Lord. But what does it give us? What is the gift? The gift, church, is this. This picture, this glimpse, gives us a full and sure certainty of our salvation. Look at what God has done. There's this chain of events, and there's no gap in the chain. It says God foreknew and God predestined. And those who predestined, God called and God justified in Christ. And then God glorified. God has done it all. God has hammered out our salvation from beginning to end. And so we don't understand it. We ask these questions like, what about those who prefer, who say Jesus says preferred the darkness? They ran from the light. What about those who chose to run away from God in disobedience? And who is in charge of all this? We can't get it all figured out, but we know this for sure. Our salvation rests in a golden chain of God's divine activity. And we can rest in that and know that because God has done it, church, because God has done it, you know what that means? Nobody can undo it. Not you, not me, not anyone. God holds you fast. Because of that. Because of that, on that basis, Paul says, What then can we say about all these things? And now watch. As Paul for the Roman Church, as the Spirit of God for us builds a tower five stories tall of God's conquering love. It's five questions. The first one we already saw. What should we say about these things? If God is for us, what who can be against us? And the first thing we think is, I mean, I think a lot of people can be against us, right? I mean, I feel like there's a lot of people that are against us. I feel like there's a lot of pressure against me. I feel like I feel like we're dripping with anxiety because there's so much that's against us. I mean, I don't even know what's out there that's coming my way, trying to attack me. There's a lot of things against us. And honestly, Tim, you already talked about a couple of them. Like, you can just get a little bacteria in the back of your throat and it'll knock you down. I mean, there's all kinds of stuff out there. How about how about the world? How about the flesh? How about the devil? They are amassing as much force as they can to try to wreck my life. Sometimes it feels like they're winning. There's lots of powers out there that are against me. What do you mean who can be against us? What he's saying is this. If God is for us, can anybody else really win? Can any of your opponents take your life? Can any of these opponents come at you so hard that it wrecks what God intends of your life? Can any of the can anybody and here's the thing, because we're building a foundation here and it needs to be solid and true. And so we need to ask this question, and we need to take an honest assessment, church. Who are you thinking of? Who has the power? Who's pushing on you? Who is the opponent? And you're sitting here right now wondering do they have the power? Who is it? Is it your boss at work? Is it a uh personal enemy who just won't give you any room? Is it a family relationship? Who's pushing against you? Are you thinking that uh there's powers in the world? You know, the uh uh the mayor, the governor, the president, the the nations, the economies, the the the all these things, are these all gonna just push me off? Push me away? The algorithms, the secret societies and cabals. Who is it? Who is it that's pushing on you? Because this is what we need right now. You need to banish that thought. Banish it. There is no power in heaven or on earth more powerful than the Lord your God. There is no power more powerful than the Lord your God, and the Lord your God is for you. He is for you. Amen. Banish that thought. Don't give it any room. That's the first floor. The first floor. If God is for us, who can be against us? Second floor. Second question, verse 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? Listen to me. Are you starting to think that God is holding out on you? That's a lie. It's a lie from Satan. And he started telling that lie all the way back in the garden. God doesn't want what's good for you. He's holding out on you, he's lying to you. You need to banish that thought. God sent his only son, Jesus. Jesus gave his whole life for you. Would God now, having given you this immeasurable gift, hold back from you? The things that you truly need from him, Jesus said in Luke, fear not little flock. For it is your Father's good pleasure to give you what the kingdom. Third floor. Third floor, verse 33. Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. The third floor is this. Who has the authority to bring an accusation? Who can accuse you? And again, you sort of think, well, there's a lot of people that could bring an accusation. I mean, there's people who throw accusations at me. Um, uh my own conscience accuses me. Uh there's uh enemies that would love to pick up anything and chuck them my way. They seem to just accuse me all the time. Who can accuse you? Who has the authority to bring an accusation? The devil loves to accuse. He's an accuser. He comes and he pushes his dagger in the weakest place in your armor over and over again, accusing, accusing. But none can stand. Why? Because Jesus has paid for our sins and God has declared us justified. It is God who justifies. We put our faith in him. Martin Luther, the great reformer, he said, so when the devil, when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this. I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? For I know one who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf, his name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is, there I will be also. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus, who died. More than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. You might know this is such a beautiful divine truth. It became part of Christian liturgy throughout the ages, where people would say, Let's confess our sins, you confess your sins. And then someone would stand up and say, Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ. And Christ died for us, and Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Your sins are forgiven. Alleluia. Amen. You recognize that, anybody? Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ. No one can slip in from the side and get in the way or threaten our standing. You see? It would be just for God to punish us as wrongdoers. It would be just, but Jesus has taken that punishment on himself. And so now it would be unjust for God to render punishment for something that has already been punished. See? In the great and ultimate tribunal, we already stand acquitted. Fifth floor. Fifth floor, you ready? You with me? Come on, let's go up. Fifth floor. Here we go. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, what can separate you from the love of Christ? God, this is we have built a foundation, a fortress five stories high, and underneath you is the solidity. Do you feel the solidity of God's truth? At every step, these questions that have been asked. And now we get to the top and we say, who can separate you from the love of Christ? Do you have any idea how much God loves you? Do you have any idea how much Christ loves you? You can't fathom it. And there's nothing that can separate you. What about hardship? I've seen people go through hardship. I've seen people go through hard times in life where life doesn't deliver what you ordered and things get very, very hard. And I've seen people allow hardship to blow them up against the rocks. But you know what I've also seen? I've also seen when the winds are blowing the hardest, the sails are tilted toward Jesus. And I've known many people who have said, you know what? I never knew Jesus. Like when I was going through that suffering. I knew him the best when I needed him the most. What about persecution? The church grows faster in persecution than when it's doing great, right? Persecution can't separate you from the love of God. How about famine, nakedness? When you live each day relying on Christ for your provision, you just grow closer and closer to his heart. How about danger and sword? There's no atheists and foxholes. When your life is on the line, you turn towards Jesus. What can separate you from the love of Christ? Nothing. Verse 37, no, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through what, church? Through him who loved us. The conquering love of Jesus. And this is love. Not that we loved him, but that he loved us and gave himself for us even when we declared ourselves his enemies. This is the love. This is the conquering love of Jesus. And it's a tower. It's a bulwark. It's a fortress. Come on up to the fifth floor. You're on the fifth floor now. You're not in the streets of Rome. You're not in the streets of Colorado Springs. You're on the fifth floor. Walk out to the terrace and look around and take it in. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor demons, not the present, not the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, no matter how high you go, how low, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Our Lord, just look around. Take it in. Feel the strength of each one of those five floors underneath you. Because we need them. We need this tower. Because we are steeped in worry and anxiety and fear. John Stott said we urgently need them today. Since nothing seems stable in our world any longer. Insecurity is written across all human experience. Isn't that true? Christian people are not guaranteed immunity to temptation, tribulation, or tragedy, but we are promised victory over them. God's pledge is not that suffering will never afflict us, but that it will never separate us from his love. This is the love of God which was supremely displayed in the cross. And these are Roman quotes here, 58, 832, 837, which has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which has drawn out from us our responsive love, and which, in its essential steadfastness, will never let us go, since it is committed to bringing us safe home to glory in the end. Our confidence, look at this. Our confidence is not in our love for Him, which is frail, fickle, and faltering, but in His love for us, which is steadfast, faithful, and persevering. We're steeped in worry. We're steeped in fear. We're dripping in anxiety in our times. And here's the thing, church, if we're not careful, if we let that slip in, if we let that seep in, if we let that crawl up our sleeves, this is what happens. When you start to believe the fear, when you start to absorb the worry, when you start to give in to the anxiety, this is what happens. It starts to erode your confidence in Christ. And when you let that in, a panic sets in your heart. Oh no. Maybe God is holding out from me. Maybe God doesn't want me to have what's good. And I'm gonna run and get it on my own. And when you make that decision, you know what happens. You start to make choices that do damage to your most cherished relationships, that do damage to yourself, that do damage to your life. And before you know it, you've lost your confidence in Christ's love. The love of Christ is a conquering love. It's a strong tower. It is a fortress, invincible, impregnable, and impenetrable, impregnable. What else you got? In you can't you can't knock it down, okay? Now how do I get in there? Proverbs says this. Proverbs says, the name of the Lord is a fortified tower, a mighty tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. This is a bulwark, friends. What you're reading here, this passage, this is a fortress against fear and anxiety and distress. It's not a castle in the clouds. This is built brick by brick on solid, eternal foundation stones of divine truths. How do I run into that tower? How do I run into the tower of Christ's conquering love? Run to the tower and be safe. Here's the way. Remember, it's Pentecost. Jesus, when he was on the cross, and when he was finished with his work, he had paid every debt of sin. He had paid everything. He drank the cup of wrath. He drank it all the way down. He said it is finished. And then what did he do? He breathed his last. He gave up his spirit. Do you remember when Jesus was with his disciples and he said, I have to go somewhere, you're not going to understand it, you're not going to get it. But it's good. It's right. Because when I go, I'm going to be able to send. When I go forward where you cannot see, I will send a spirit that you will fill. You will know the spirit of God within you. You will have the spirit of God inside of you. How do I get to the tower? How am I going to get home? How do I know the way to the place where you are going, Jesus? I'm going to send the Spirit of the Living God within you. I'm going to be inside of you by my Spirit. You call on my name. It doesn't matter how far you've run. It doesn't matter where you wound up. The Spirit of God will be in you to guide you home. And if within you is the Spirit of the Living God, now what do those external threats look like? How do they appear compared? Same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. How do I get to the tower? The tower is right here. He's Jesus. He's right here. By his spirit, he's right here. He says, Call on my name. The name of the Lord is a mighty tower. How do I run there? How do I get there? You just pray. Jesus. Knock down everything that keeps me from you and win me. By your conquering love. You just pray, Jesus. Let's bow our heads. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Jesus, Jesus. Lord, we want to run to the tower that you have built for us. Conquer us by your love. We want to be settled in the assurance of our salvation. You've won us. We are yours. Jesus. If you're on my side, Lord, if you're on our side, who can stand against us? Jesus. Break down every barrier. Tear down every stronghold that keeps me racked in fear or anxiety or doubt. Grab a hold of me. Jesus. And Lord, we pray for the wayward and the lost. Those who turn their back. Break down whatever keeps them from turning to you, Lord. Only you can do it. Jesus, we can't do it. Only you can do it. Lord, tear down every stronghold that keeps minds entrapped in falsehood and lies, that keeps hearts running and fleeing from your right hand of good blessing. Thank, Jesus, break down everything that restrains and sets your children free. And we pray that your conquering love would win every battle and push back every strain of darkness and evil. To the glory of your holy name, we run to you, we run to you, we run to you, and we are saved. Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

In your name we pray. Hearing God's word is just the beginning. What connected with you? What challenged you today? Maybe it's surrendering something, stepping into community, or simply trusting him more deeply. Whatever it is, don't leave it for later. Act on it today. We're praying that this message moves you closer to Jesus. And we'd love to walk with you in that journey and answer any questions you've got. Connect with us by visiting firstprints.org. Today's message encouraged you to take a moment and subscribe so you never miss an episode. And share it with someone who needs to hear it. Check in next week and we'll continue to grow in our faith together. See you next time.