IF GOD IS FOR US! Romans 8:31 (NKJV) Romans 8:31 (NKJV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

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1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, July 15, 2018 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister IF GOD IS FOR US! Romans 8:31 (NKJV) Please open your Bibles to the Book of Romans, chapter eight. And let's read verse 31. Romans 8:31 (NKJV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? I N T R O D U C T I O N Romans Chapter 8...Is RICH with wonderful scriptural truths. It is one of those BIBLE CHAPTERS a preacher could glean dozens of sermons from...and still not explore its depths. Right here in the middle of this WONDERFUL CHAPTER is a very powerful verse...a verse that asks a very powerful question. If God is for us, who can be against us? ILLUSTRATION: I m sure you ve heard the old joke about FARMER HANK. Farmer Hank was a pillar in his little country church...a man of strong faith in God. Farmer Hank s farm was located near a river...and one night heavy rains brought an un-expected flash flood. Standing in water up to his knees...a couple of guys came by in a boat to rescue Farmer Hank...but he refused to get in the boat saying... I have faith that God will rescue me. The Flood waters kept rising and Farmer Hank had to get on top of the roof of his house to keep from drowning. Pretty soon another boat came by to rescue him...and again, Farmer Hank refused

2 to get in the boat saying... I have faith God will rescue me. Soon the flood waters rose to Farmer Hank s neck...and a helicopter flew over and dropped a ladder down to him. A man inside the helicopter hollered through a megaphone to Farmer Hank... Grab hold of the ladder...grab hold of the ladder But Farmer Hank wouldn t grab the ladder...and yelled back at the man in the helicopter... God will rescue me. Well shortly thereafter, Farmer Hank drowned. When he got to heaven he walked straight to the throne of God and said, God, I thought you loved me...i had faith you would rescue me... why did you let me drown? God said, Let you drown...who do you think sent those two boats and the helicopter? ************************* ************************* If God is for me...then who can be against me? As a CHILD OF GOD...you and I must put our complete FAITH IN GOD!...We must have FAITH that God is who He says He is....we must have FAITH that everything God tells us in His Word is true....and We must have FAITH that God keeps all His promises and will do everything He says He will do!!!! HEBREWS 11:6 (NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

3 The real question in this 31 st verse of ROMANS 8 is NOT who can be against me...the real question is WHO IS FOR ME? If GOD is FOR me, then who can be against me? And so the question we want to consider in today's message is this: DO YOU BELIEVE WITH ALL YOUR HEART THAT GOD IS FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU IN THIS LIFE? DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE? DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE GOD ALWAYS HAS YOUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART? We know that we are living in a world where many things are AGAINST us, don't we?...sickness...disease...pain...fatigue...tragedy...crime...stress...war...godless PEOPLE are against US!...TEMPTATION...SIN...SATAN...AND DEATH IS AGAINST US!

4 There are many, many things that threaten our happiness...our security...our peace of mind...our health...and our well-being. There are many things that are AGAINST US! But no matter who or what may be against us in this life, what matters most is WHO IS FOR ME! As long as I believe with all my heart that GOD IS FOR ME...that GOD IS ON MY SIDE...that GOD WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ME...then it really doesn't matter WHO or WHAT may be against me, does it? Is God for me when CANCER IS RAVAGING MY BODY and chemo has caused all my hair to fall out? Is God for me when THE DOCTOR tells me I ve got three to six months to live? Is God for me when MY MARRIAGE HAS BEEN SHATTERED BY DIVORCE? Is God for me when MY MATE DIES and leaves me all alone in this world? Is God for me when I MIS-CARRIED MY BABY? Is God for me when AN ACCIDENT LEAVES ME CRIPPLED OR DIS-FIGURED? Is God for me WHEN I LOSE MY JOB? Is God for me WHEN IT SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE WORLD IS FALLING APART? Is God for me EVEN WHEN I HAVE FAILED HIM TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME?

5 YES...YES...and YES...GOD IS FOR YOU! ABSOLUTELY... POSITIVELY...MOST ASSUREDLY...GOD IS FOR YOU! ILLUSTRATION: I love how Max Lucado puts it in his book, In The Grip of Grace. Listen to this, this is rich. Turn to the sidelines...that is God cheering you as you run. Look past the finish line, that is God applauding your steps; Listen for Him in the bleachers shouting your name. If you are too tired to continue, God will carry you! If you are too discouraged to keep up the fight, God will strengthen you. GOD is for you! If he had a CALENDAR...your birthday would be circled. If He drove a car...your name would be on His bumper; If He wore a tee-shirt...your name would be printed on it; If there is a tree in heaven, God has carved your name in the bark. In Isaiah 49:16a (New Living Translation)...God says, See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Remember when you used to write the name of your boy friend or girl friend on your hand? That meant you LOVED that person... it meant they were VERY, VERY SPECIAL TO YOU. God has written YOUR NAME on HIS HAND! GOD IS FOR YOU!!! *********************************************************************** **********************************************************

6 Now you are sitting there thinking, Reg...I hear what you are saying...but I m a DOUBTER...I m one of those people who WORRIES ABOUT EVERYTHING. How can a DOUBTER and WORRIER like me know for sure GOD IS FOR ME????? In this 8TH chapter of ROMANS, the apostle Paul gives us two reasons why we can know for sure that GOD IS FOR US First of all... I. I Know God is For Me Because of His Never-Ending Love 1. Let's read verses 31, Romans 8:31,32 (NKJV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 2. If God loved you so much that He was willing to sacrifice the life of His only begotten Son to save your soul, does it really make any sense whatsoever that GOD would ever stop loving you? 3. Look down through the remaining verses of this EIGHTH CHAPTER OF ROMANS and tell me God Isn t For You. verse 33 verse 34 Who shall bring a charge against God s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

7 verses 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 Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 4. GOD loved you before you were ever born! He loved you before you ever drew your first breath...ever took your first step...or ever spoke your first word! And He has loved you every moment, of every hour, of every day ever since. And He will continue to love you through all eternity. And if God's Never-Ending Love doesn't convince you that GOD IS FOR YOU then I don't know what will!... But not only is God's Never-Ending Love For Me proof that He is for me... II. I Know God Is For Me Because of His Never-Ending Faithfulness 1. Listen to what the apostle Paul writes in II Timothy 2:11-13 (NKJV) 11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

8 2. You and I can have complete confidence that GOD IS FOR US because His faithfulness to us is NOT based upon our performance or our success in living the Christian life, His faithfulness is based upon His own never- ending faithfulness. GOD'S NATURE NEVER CHANGES! He has always been a faithful God...He still is a faithful God...and He will forever be a faithful God! 3. Are you grasping this truth I am telling you? God's faithfulness to you is NOT based on you, it is based upon God Himself! There is nothing you can do to change God's faithfulness. There is nothing you can do to make God stop being faithful to you, because HE IS FAITHFUL! That is His eternal nature! That is His eternal, unchanging character! GOD IS A FAITHFUL GOD! 4. GOD knows everything that is against us in this sinful, fallen world. He understands that we can come up against some situations that can rattle our faith to the very core of our being! He understands that we are weak...and as fragile as the dust of the earth from which He created us! GOD IS FAITHFUL TO YOU...even when your faith is weak. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO YOU...even when you fail miserably. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO YOU...even when you get angry with Him. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO YOU...even when you blame Him for your troubles. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO YOU...even when you are not faithful to Him. GOD IS FAITHFUL! HE WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU! HE WILL NEVER QUIT ON YOU! HE WILL NEVER STOP CARING FOR YOU! HE WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU! HE WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU! HE WILL NEVER LET GO OF YOU! GOD IS FAITHFUL!

9 5. I love the way the late CORRIE TEN BOOM said it... When I enter into a dark tunnel, I just have to trust the train conductor will bring me safely through on the other side. ****************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N One day C. H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof. At the top of the vane were these words: GOD IS LOVE. Spurgeon remarked to his companion that he thought this was a rather inappropriate place for such a message. Weather vanes are changeable, he said, but God s love is constant. I don t agree with you about those words, Charles, replied his friend. You misunderstood the meaning. That sign is indicating a truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love. Source unknown Brothers and sisters, don't ever forget that truth! Regardless of which way the wind is blowing...regardless of what our circumstances may be, GOD'S LOVE AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS WILL NEVER CHANGE! And if God is for us, who can be against us?