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Boundary Lines
What We Can’t Lose…
Romans 8:31-39
October 23, 2016
Pastor Vic Willis
(Slide#1) We wrap up our series on Boundary Lines today. Just to recap
briefly, Romans 8 gives some great advice on what is off-limits to us. Areas that are
God’s domain only. Places where we must not dabble. Ponds in which we must not
fish. There are things God does, and there are things we do. Romans 8 says, “let’s
not get those confused and backwards!”
Two weeks ago we looked at the boundary line of (Slide#2) what we can’t
DO…we’re not able to save ourselves… only God is able to do that. When we try to
do His job we mess it up every time. When we think and act as if our goodness saves
us, we get in trouble every time because we can’t be good enough. We can’t work
our way into God’s worthiness.
Roman Catholics call people saints if there has been at least two verifiable
miracles done in their presence. We Methodists call people saints solely because of
what Jesus has done on our behalf. So…Good morning, Saints! All y’all…as Pastor
Perri would say. God does not love you more when you’re good… so don’t be good
for that reason…our only worthiness, our only righteousness comes through what
Jesus did on the cross! Through Christ and the Cross alone! DO Good because you
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Love Him back for what he’s done. Period.
Last week we looked at the boundary line of (Slide#3) what we can’t
SAY…it’s when we groan—we do it all the time, we do it when we don’t have
words, I groan when my kids disappoint me. I groan when the District
Superintendent gives me one more thing to do. I groan when Rick Nelson tells a
joke.
But there are moments when only God can groan for us—when our groans are
not cutting it for us…when life hits a hard patch…when the feet of our faith is
knocked out from under us…when we can’t look up to God, then He reaches down
to us…and He speaks for us with groans too deep for words. When God does that,
the Holy Spirit communicates what’s on our hearts perfectly even though we can’t
utter a sound…. So, what we can’t say, God says. And that’s very good news!
Today, we explore (Slide#4) what we can’t LOSE… It’s an interesting
boundary line God has established for us because we’re so good at losing things—so
good, in fact, that each of us probably thinks there’s nothing we can’t lose! Around
the Willis house we’re losing stuff all the time—Debbie and I both. Just the other
day I was late getting on the road for a meeting and it was a long drive and I needed
my sunglasses. Well, I tore through most of the rooms in the house looking high and
low…nothing. Finally, I asked Debbie if she’d seen them and she said, “they’re on
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top of your head!”
We don’t like to lose things, do we. We are well-practiced at hanging on to
what we’ve accumulated. Whether it's our health or our money or our family or our
home, or relationships…if they’re important to us, we hang on to them…so much
so, we can become somewhat obsessive about our possessions. The irony is we
spend so much time and effort and money on acquiring and keeping things that are
ultimately going to be totally relinquished one day.
If you hadn’t noticed, life is a process of gaining and losing—it’s the natural
ebb and flow of life…receiving something and giving it up, we come into this life
with nothing, and we leave with nothing. Job 1:21 says, (Slide#5) "Naked I came
from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return to the earth. The LORD gave
and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
The Bill Gates, the Warren Buffets, and the Donald Trumps of this world will
leave just like you will—with nothing in their hands. (Slide#6) The first part of our
lives is accumulation. And the last part of our lives is watching ever so slowly the
gradual loss of everything we have…except for one thing.
According to the Bible, there is one thing we cannot Lose! Not only is it off
limits to our losing it, this one thing happens to be the most precious possession that
we could ever glean in life! It’s the one thing that you potentially have today that
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you will take with you beyond the grave. And the amazing thing is that it will be
all you need there. IT’S GOD’S LOVE!
That’s the Word for us today…and it is Good News! So instead of investing so
much effort desperately holding on to things we’re going to eventually give up
anyway, it only makes sense to focus our energies on the one thing that will last
FOR ETERNITY.
WHAT’S EVEN MORE AMAZING … is this one thing that you potentially
have right now—You didn’t have to buy or beg or borrow or steal—it is all pure gift
-- God’s Love is free and available to all people simply for the asking, It is the
essence of our relationship with God through Christ on the cross—and it’s better
than super glue…it’s what holds us together with God. Listen to how Paul in
Romans 8 describes this most amazing sticky gift:
(Slide#7) …35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble
or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is
written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.”
(Slide#8) 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels
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nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, (Slide#9)
39 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.
I found this picture of a chain (Slide#10) where the middle link holds together
the two end sections. Say this end is us, and this end is God. What Paul is saying
here is that this middle link will never fail, and it is God’s Love—There’s nothing
that can break that link, and that link is what is holding us together with God! That
link represents what Christ did on the cross. He died our death. He conquered evil
that would have us for dinner. More than that, He showed us the pure, unselfish,
sacrificial Love that God has for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us! He didn’t require that we get our act together first. It was pure Grace and nostrings-attached-Love. That connection is so strong, we need not fear, we need not
worry, we need not fret over what might happen, because that link is secure.
The secret is what we focus on… instead of focusing on what you’re doing for
God (which never gets us anywhere with God!) it’s always important to focus on
what God has done for us! What might that be? He is like this link in the chain! He’s
what holds us in the storm. He’s the solid ground beneath our feet. He’s the
protector of our souls. He’s the bright and morning star—the guide of our lives. He’s
the provider of all that sustains us. He’s our All in All, He’s over and above
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everything. And he loves us with a never-ending love.
Doesn’t just knowing that make you want to please him and respond to him
and love him back like he’s loved you?
(Slide#11) Last February we celebrated the renewal of wedding vows of 28
couples that had been married over 50 years. We had the whole front of the railing
here filled with couples. There were some folks who had been married 65, 66, 67
years! But if you asked any of them, they would tell you it wasn’t all easy. They
weathered many storms in life that might have sunk any of the rest of us. And that’s
the way God’s love is—it’s persistent – it’s got sticking power. It doesn’t give up
when things get rough. It sees us through good and bad, and it never abandons us.
Going through storms like that is part of what strengthens love along the way.
Finding God Faithful in the middle of the storm is important to do, so don’t despise
the storm.
But also recognize we are in a spiritual battle for our own souls. Ever since the
cross the only game evil has is to deceive. The evil one's plan is to confuse, to make
us believe God is barely equal to the challenge leveled by the evil one. God already
met the challenge at the cross and was triumphant! But what that means for us is all
the power Satan has now is to trick us into thinking evil is has power than it really
doesn't have! Much like a cartoon one of you sent me a few months ago…it’s of a
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bunch of dogs at a seminar learning of the wily ways of cats.
The caption reads, (Slide#12) “Now, in this slide we can see how the cornered
cat has seemed to suddenly grow bigger……Trickery! Trickery! Trickery!
The only power evil has is trickery! Deceit and lies! None of what evil boasts
of is true!
That's why NOTHING will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord...
On the cross Jesus did several things: (Slide#13)
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He defeated the power of Satan.
2.
He eradicated spiritual death for the believer.
3.
He established a permanent link of security with those who believe
in him.
4.
He demonstrated the depth of God's Love.
DO put yourself in his place—as a parent of a wayward child. That’s who He
is really—we’re all wayward children to some degree, and this is his way of telling
us He still loves us. (Slide#14) All those things we did that we were sure cut off
the relationship from him are just not true. He says there’s nothing that can separate
us from His Love in Christ. You may think God’s mad at you because of All the
things you’ve done, or haven’t done…all the sins…all the mistakes…all the broken
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promises…he makes us “more than conquerors!” That’s where the boundary line
is—we can’t make ourselves that, that’s off limits to us in our own right. Only
through Him can we be more than conquerors. When we turn to him, instead of what
we might deserve, just like the prodigal, we get the royal treatment!
He went to Hell and back for us...like any Good Father would do for a son or
daughter...I love the song, Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin that the Praise Team
often leads us in. Let me remind you of the lyrics...
Oh, I've heard a thousand stories
Of what they think You're like
But I've heard the tender whisper
Of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You're pleased
And that I'm never alone
You're a good good Father
It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am
Oh, and I've seen many searching
For answers far and wide
But I know we're all searching
For answers only you provide
‘Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word
You're a good good Father
It's who You are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am
Cause You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways to us
You are perfect in all of your ways
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Oh, You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways to us
Oh, it's love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
Into love, love, love
You're a good good Father
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who You are
And I'm loved by You
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am
Cause You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways
You are perfect in all of your ways to us
You're a good good Father
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
What we can’t lose—we can’t lose God’s Love for us. As long as we have it to
begin with. We can’t lose that connection that means so much to us—that means
LIFE to us. As long as we’ve said YES to it already.
My concern for you is that you have received the gift that you can’t lose. Have
you said yes to God? Do you have the assurance of His Love for you? Or are these
words from me today like a dream, sort of unreal.
They can be real. It can be true for you today.
Wouldn’t it be a shame to go through life accumulating all this stuff…only to
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give it all up one day, and to miss out on the most precious possession—the
awareness of God’s love in your life…this is what brings purpose and peace and joy
and the ability to love—when we received this precious gift of God’s Love.
The way you accept that gift is simple and it is easy. I want to lead you through
the acceptance of God’s Grace in your life right now using these scriptures from
Romans.
(Slide#15) Romans 3:23 tells us that All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God. That means no one can do this on their own. We need God. None of us
are “good enough…”
(Slide#16) Romans 6:23 says, 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This means we have a choice to make.
Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross, what we could not do for ourselves…
(Slide#17) Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. His death and resurrection
sealed our life together with Him and showed us the depth of His Love for us.
(Slide#18) Romans 10:9-10 then says, 9 If you declare with your mouth,
“Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is
with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
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Pray: God, I’m tired of trying to do this on my own. It just isn’t
working. I tell you one thing, then I do another. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I
confess my sin to you. I want you to take over my life. Be my Lord and my
God—the One that I worship, and I will serve you. Wash me clean, today, dear
God. I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and I believe that you raised him
from the dead. Let me live for him for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ Name I
pray….Amen!
(Slide#19) If you prayed that prayer, please let someone know. Pastor Don and
I would love to celebrate with you your new life in Christ…talk to us before the day
is out.