Sunday, September 21, 2014

A2G: More Than Conquerors!

Romans 8: 31-39
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 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 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. 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.

Where are you today in Christ?  Are you living the word or still wasting time living in the weakness of your flesh.  Not an easy start to this message, but yes we need to be called out and challenged regarding our engagement of God's word; its integration into our daily living.  Too many times, I find myself conversing with believers about emotional tribulations they are experiencing reflecting the need for God's word to be integrated into their lives.  Desperation surfaces often about the same challenges, many of which are caused by the same person or persons.  Often the advice is the same, focus on God's word and understand its truth, we are more than conquerors!  His word does not return void and given that fact we must then acknowledge that the challenges we are facing are nothing more than an opportunity to conquer.


For many of us, we believe challenges our opportunities to pray for the person or persons whom responsible for those challenges, we focus on the individuals or the problems failing to focus on the opportunity.  What opportunity?  The opportunity for individual spiritual growth, the opportunity to integrate God's word into every facet of our lives, and the opportunity to learn to practice the unconditional love God demonstrates to us with those who present the greatest challenges.  We must learn how to keep our egos in check, our pride under control, our emotions from being triggered by the actions of others, our low self esteem in check, and our insecurities from overcoming our rational thinking.  The word is intended to help us grow beyond our brokenness into the conquerors God created us to be.  Our rebirth begins the recreation process and it becomes our obligation to engage God's word, the tool that will help us grow into his perfected child able to overcome life's challenges and frustrations, becoming more than conquerors.  I say yes, I am more than a conqueror!  Just a little advice to go!