SERMON: NOTHING BUT YOU

Easter Message Preached by Gregory W. Lee
16 April 2006

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Romans 8:30-39

30. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31. What, then, shall we say in response to this? 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?
33. Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
34. Who is he that condemns? 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.
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."
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 nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
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.

-- One day there was this young farmer who was having a bad turn of events -- first, the drought came and killed half of his newly planted crop -- then, the rain started and wouldn't quit and killed the rest -- being a Godly young man, he was out in his fields pouring out his heart to God -- he just knew that God had a reason for all that had happened -- as he was praying he glanced up and saw two clouds that formed the letters "P" and "C" -- he stared at those clouds, just knowing they were a message from God -- then it hit him -- God was telling him to "P"reach "C"hrist
-- so he went out and sold his farm and bought a used circus tent -- he set up in town and hired one of the county's best gospel groups to open for him -- he announced an evangelistic crusade, and on the planned night, the gospel group began to sing -- all were in agreement that it was the best singing they had ever heard -- they waited in anticipation for the sermon as the young farmer went up behind the pulpit and started to preach the longest, driest, and most confusing sermon they had ever heard -- the crowd sat there in stunned silence and began to file out, leaving one old man behind
-- the old man walked up to the dejected young farmer and asked him why he felt that God had called him to preach -- the young farmer told him the whole story and how the clouds told him that he was supposed to go and "Preach Christ" -- the old man scratched his head and said, "Did it ever occur to you that God might have been telling you to go and plant cotton?"
-- this farmer was well-intentioned -- he just had a problem understanding the message that he received

-- just like him, a lot of times we have a problem interpreting messages or events in our lives because our perspective is wrong -- a lot of us tend to focus on the things of the earth -- and that can cause us to put our time and energy into the wrong thing
-- if your focus is only on the here and now, then you'll find yourself working only for the temporary -- for the good things in life -- and it will cause you to see all your problems and trials as insurmountable
-- but, if your focus is eternal, then we can look at our problems and trials as light and momentary affairs that will be swept away in eternity -- in the same way, we can spend our time working on what is truly important in light of eternity
-- in this passage, Paul is trying to get his readers to change their focus -- to quit looking at the world and the world's way of doing life and to start focusing on eternity and on God's way of doing life -- it all comes down to perspective

-- the message Paul is trying to get you to see here is, "Don't lose your perspective -- focus on what is truly important in life" -- as we will see, this passage is written for the Christian believers in Rome
-- look now with me at Romans 8:30

II. Scripture Lesson -- Romans 8:30-39

-- verse 30

-- 30. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

-- now don't get hung up on the term "predestination" -- as we understand it, Paul is referring here to the foreknowledge of God -- in other words, God knew beforehand who would respond to Him and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior
-- in this verse, Paul lays out for us our entire Christian journey -- it always starts with the call of God in our lives through God's prevenient grace -- God calling us and wooing us and putting things and people in our lives so that we will hear His voice and respond to Him
-- and when we respond, when He brings us to the cross and we give our life to Jesus -- we are justified -- we are just as if we never sinned -- when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, His blood covers all our sin and He forgives us of everything that we have ever done and all that we ever will do -- this is the point of salvation -- the time when we are born again
-- finally, Paul says that those who are justified -- those who are saved -- are glorified -- this refers to the Holy Spirit's work in our life to sanctify us and to make us more like Jesus -- this is the time in our spiritual lives when we become mature in the faith and we progress further and further down the road toward Christ-likeness
-- to be fully glorified means that we fulfill the purposes and meaning and calling for which Christ called us -- that we have become the person God called us to be apart from sin

-- now, with this salvation comes the blessing of God -- look at verse 31

31. What, then, shall we say in response to this? 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?

-- salvation gives us eternal life with God and it puts us in God's hand -- He watches over us and protects us -- Paul asks the question, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" -- in other words, God has your back -- you don't have to fear -- speaking spiritually, God is standing up for you against all those who may come against you
-- in addition to this, He has blessed us with a spiritual inheritance through Christ -- as it says in Ephesians, God has blessed us with every heavenly blessing -- every single one -- we even have the presence of God living in our heart -- His very Spirit leading us and guiding us as we go about our days

-- Paul goes on to tell us of the good news of the power and presence of Christ in their lives -- you have to remember the context of this passage -- Paul is writing this letter to the Christians in Rome -- to those who are living at the very doorstep of the Emporer Nero -- within just a couple of years, these Christians are going to be persecuted in horrific ways -- they are going to be killed through crucifixion -- they are going to be put in the arena with the lions -- they are going to face untold horrors in their life
-- and God has given this message to Paul to encourage them during this time so that they might not despair at their wordly sufferings

-- verse 33

33. Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
34. Who is he that condemns? 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.

-- Here Paul asks rhetorical questions to point out that if God is on our side, we have nothing to fear -- "Who can come and bring charges or accusations against you?" -- it doesn't matter whether it's Nero or Satan himself, they have no case -- Christ justified you and paid the penalty for all of your sins and wrong-doings on the cross -- you are holy in the eyes of God -- you are righteous in the eyes of God -- there is nothing that they can say against you that has any merit now that Christ is on your side -- and, not only did He die on the cross for you, but He continues to pray for you and intercede with the Father on your behalf in times of trial and troubles

-- verse 35

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."
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 nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
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.

-- in these verses, Paul is trying to change our perspective -- he knew how easy it was for us to become distracted in our Christian walk by the trials and troubles that we face day in and day out -- granted, things here aren't as bad as they were for the Roman Christians -- we aren't facing persecution and famine and danger like them -- but we have our own problems, don't we? -- we go through life in this fallen world with trials and troubles on all sides of us -- sickness -- death -- accidents -- failed marriages -- rebellious kids -- abusive relationships -- addictions -- all kind of things come into our life and threaten to take our eyes off Jesus
-- but Paul wants to remind us in this passage that our time here on earth is just a fleeting moment compared with eternity with Christ -- compared to the love that Christ has for us

-- at the Milan Cathedral there are three doors that lead into the sanctuary -- over the right-hand door there is this inscription: "All that pleases is but for a moment" -- on the left-hand door it reads, "all that troubles is but for a moment" -- but over the middle door there is a simple sentence: "Nothing is important save that which is eternal" -- Paul wants us to see that our focus needs to be on the eternal and not on the moment

-- he says that there is nothing in this world -- there is nothing in this world that can separate us from the love of Christ -- not trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness -- not danger or the sword -- not death or life -- not angels or demons -- not the present or the future or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
-- sometimes we forget that -- sometimes we take our eyes off the eternity ahead of us and instead put our focus on the things of this life -- it's kind of like the little boy who was trying to put together his first puzzle -- he opened the box and poured out all the pieces on the table and tried to put them together -- some of the pieces were bright -- some dark -- some seemed to go together -- others seemed to fit nowhere -- finally, frustrated and exhausted and with nothing to show for his effortts, the boy gathered up the pieces, put them in the box and gave it to his father -- I can't do it, he said, you try it
-- to his amazement, his father assembled the entire puzzle in only a few minutes -- you see, he said, I knew what the picture was like all the time -- I saw the picture in the puzzle, but you only saw the pieces
-- Paul is trying to get us to see here that we need to quit looking at the pieces but instead focus on the big picture -- none of this can separate you from the love of Christ -- none of this can keep you from Him

III. Scripture Lesson 2: Isaiah 59
-- but there is something that can keep you from Him -- there is something missing in that list that Paul gave in those last five verses we read -- there is one thing that can separate you from the love of Christ -- and that is you
-- each one of us is born with a choice -- a choice to listen to God's call and respond to His voice and accept His free gift of salvation through Christ or to turn away and live life on our own
-- if you would, flip over to Isaiah 59 and we'll end there
-- verse 1

1. Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
2. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

-- your sins -- your iniquities -- separate you from the love of Christ -- all those things that you do -- all those times that you have lived life for the moment -- lived life for yourself -- all those times that you chose to do things your way and not God's way -- those sins keep you from enjoying the presence of God
-- if you have never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then that is where you are this morning -- separated from the love of Christ -- separated from the blessings of God -- separated from the presence of God -- condemned through your own actions and with nothing more to look forward to than what you can find here on earth
-- when you are separated from God, there is nothing that you can do to save yourself -- you can't work your way to heaven -- you can't buy your way to heaven -- you can't be good enough to get there on your own -- you are facing eternity separated from God in hell
-- but God loves you too much to leave you where you are -- He loves you too much to see you go to Hell -- to see you live life apart from Him -- as it says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that through Him you might have eternal life"

-- look at verse 15

15. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
16. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
17. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

-- God knew that there was no way for you to ever be holy enough or righteous enough or perfect enough to get to Heaven, so He made a way for you -- since no one else could save us, God Himself saved us in the most remarkable way -- God became a man -- He was born to a woman, just like all of us -- He lived here on earth and suffered trials and tribulations and temptations life us -- He went to the cross and He took our place and He paid the penalty for our sins with His own body -- and then, He was raised from the dead on the third day to prove that He had conquered sin and death
-- when our sins separated us from God, God took the steps to remove them so that we might come to him -- all we have to do is to get out of the way -- to recognize the fact that we are sinners and that we have allowed ourselves to be separated from the love of Christ -- all we have to do is to acknowledge our sin -- to turn away from our sin -- and ask Jesus to forgive us for all that we have done in our lives -- and God's word promises that He will do just that
-- and all of those spiritual blessings -- God's protection and providence and presence -- will flow into your life and you will be able to say with Paul, "Now there is nothing that can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus" -- and you will live life with a new perspective and a new focus -- that of eternity with Christ in Heaven

IV. Closing
-- George Washington Truett was a preacher in Dallas for 47 years -- he once visited a wealthy West Texas rancher and had dinner in his huge ranch home -- after dinner, the rancher took Dr. Truett up to a veranda on top of his house and lit up a big cigar
-- the sun was setting, and if you've ever been to west Texas, you know you can see a long way out there -- the man pointed to the south toward some oil rigs and said, "I own everything in that direction as far as you can see"
-- he pointed east toward some cotton fields and said "and I own everything in that direction, too" -- he pointed north towards a huge herd of cattle and bragged, "and preacher, I own everything as far as you can see in that direction" -- finally, he turned to the west and said, "and I own everything you can see in that direction, except the sun, of course"
-- Dr. Truett turned to the man and pointed straight up to the sky and said, "and how much do you own in that direction"
-- that, my friends, is the question before us this morning -- how much do you own in that direction? -- have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- are you living in the light of eternity through His love or are you living life only for the here and now
-- give altar call
-- let us pray