Spiritual Warfare
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8:35
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. Romans 8:38,39
There is a spiritual warfare and it centers around destroying the love of God
Either destroying God’s character making Him unworthy
Or, destroying our love making us unworthy
Love never fails
For all the battles you and I fight, all the rejection, failures and hatred
Facing fear and death
Love must never fail in us
So next time you are in a battle remember
The attack is on your character of love
If we fail at love there is hope
If we repent, we will find mercy
Because God is love and mercy triumphs over justice
The question is this
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8:35
Spiritual Warfare
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8:35
Romans 8:35-39…
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.
Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?
We are so quick to question God’s love when…
Trouble or hardship or persecution or famine
or nakedness or danger or sword…
Happen in our lives.
How can God be love or exist
if He allows terrible
to happen to good people?
Have you ever questioned God’s love?
The Bible tells us…
“God is Love”
1 John 4:8,16
It is His love that draws us to Him.
If God ceased to be love…
We would not want Him to be our God.
It is His character the devil works to destroy.
From the time God made Adam and Eve
and birthed us into the world…
God’s love has been under attack.
Satan’s tempting of Jesus in the wilderness
was to take His focus of love for the world
and focus on a selfish love for His own needs.
There is only one way Satan
can defeat God and that is…
To get God to corrupt His character.
Human leaders become corrupt all the time.
When they do not handle
their greed, lust and pride.
But God has never
and never will change…
He will always be the God of Love.
Satan’s strategy is to destroy God’s character.
The devil temps Him
with our rejection of Him.
Rejection is a weapon to destroy love.
Jesus came to destroy
the works of the devil…
The weapon of rejection.
So, Romans 8:35 asks the question…
Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?
Let’s look at this from two sides…
God separating Himself from us
and us separating from God.
Will God separate from us?
God certainly has plenty of reason to reject us…
To give up on us,
to forget us and serve Himself.
Isaiah addresses this question…
But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me."
15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands
Isaiah 49:14-16
God will never forget us
no matter how evil we become.
This does not mean God will not
bring correction or justice.
Pure love will always see the big picture
through the eyes of truth…
Because love never fails.
God over and over again demonstrated
His love for us…
Even when we were sinners
Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8-10…
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. NKJV
God demonstrated; He revealed the greatest love by dying for us
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:12-13
Satan has failed at corrupting God’s character.
God is pure
and has all rights to be God.
So, the second side
To why the devil comes
to destroy the work of God…
Is to get us to reject God’s love.
Romans 8:36-39 says…
"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.
Even angels and demons
do not have the power to
separate us from the love of God.
There is a spiritual warfare…
It centers around destroying
the love of God.
Either destroying God’s character
making Him unworthy.
Or, destroying our love
making us unworthy.
Love never fails.
For all the battles you and I fight…
All the rejection, failures and hatred
facing fear and death…
Love must never fail in us.
So next time you are in a battle, remember…
The attack is on your character of love.
If you fail at love, there is hope.
If we repent…
We will find mercy.
Because God is love
and mercy triumphs over justice.
The question is this…
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Fight for and with LOVE.
Scripture Reading
1 John 3:7-9 NKJV
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Romans 8:35-39 NIV
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.
Isaiah 49:14-16 NKJV
14 But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me."
15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
