Hyper-Victorious...Divinely Secured

The record of Scripture says, as Paul wrote to the Colossians, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. He canceled out the certificate of debt, having nailed it to the cross, and He disarmed the rulers.

Same word in Romans 8. Having triumphed over them through the cross. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, the crosswork of Christ eternally disabled any threat to your eternity of the archa, the ruler of the demonic world. Ever be able to separate the believer from the love of his Redeemer. The things that lure us back into worldly thought patterns and the things that have the potential to capture our thoughts need to be removed from our life. But our salvation is not anchored in our own thoughts.

An anchor is only effective if it's clinging to something that cannot be moved. The great news is that our salvation is anchored in Christ and is secure in Him. Our thoughts and lives should reflect that. Steven Davey looks at this today in a lesson he's calling Hyper-Victorious, Divinely Secured. Donald Gray Barnhouse told the story about an American Korean who was enlisted during the Korean War conflict, which was now about 51, 52 years ago. He was a believer and was serving as a chaplain. And because he was Korean, he was assigned to a particularly difficult place. It was the place where they were holding North Korean soldiers having been captured by allied forces. And there were constant disruptions and riots within these compounds.

These were hardened soldiers to communistic propaganda. And he was asked to go and serve among them and he didn't really know what to do. And Barnhouse told the story of how he went to the first holding pen where several hundred men were and God seemed to impress upon his heart to just speak in their language. And he did and they immediately were interested because he was a Korean American. They gathered around him and then he was further impressed to simply, roughly right there on the spot, teach them a rough translation of that chorus into Korean. Jesus loves me.

This I know. For the Bible tells me so. And that began to be his practice as he moved from holding pen to holding pen. And then he would teach it and explain the words and the meaning of the gospel to these hardened men. So many hundreds of these soldiers came to faith in Jesus Christ that at the end of the war, when they were released, they refused to go back to North Korea, choosing instead South Korea where they could practice their faith. And I believe it will probably take heaven to calculate the fruit that is now to this day exploding in that region, tracing back to these soldiers who had come to know Christ through that little song, Jesus loves me.

You know, it doesn't get any richer than that. That is the theme of this song that Paul is, as it were, penning, causing us to break into song of our security in our Lord Jesus Christ in this closing paragraph, this pinnacle of divine truth for the believer. Paul has begun by questioning the tenacity of Christ's love.

Is it really gonna last? And then what he's done in this paragraph is just emphasize and underscore and accentuate and illustrate not only the tenacity of the love of Jesus Christ, but the permanency of the love of Jesus Christ. You just can't stop it. And Paul has anticipated his audience in effect asking, but Paul, there are things that happen in our lives that might cause us to stop loving Christ. Would those things cause Christ to stop loving us?

Certainly we would stop loving him, perhaps. What kind of things? He lists them. Verse 35, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword.

Any of those things? And he goes on to say is that we're anticipating their thought. I mean, Paul, you got to realize it's even been written for God's sake. We are being put to death all day long. We are being considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

What kind of love is that? Paul is quoting in this verse from Psalm 44, which gives a prophetic description to the martyrdom of believers during the tribulation period. Those believers who came to faith in Christ after the church was raptured, who refused to follow the antichrist and the bloodbath will claim thousands and tens of thousands of these believers. They will die into such a number that they will be given and are given special commendation in the book of Revelation. But this bloodbath is occurring to some measure, even today in the worldwide church of Jesus Christ and in every generation where even in this year, some six to 700,000 people will be put to death.

We know little or nothing of that here, but that is the world out there. Every single year, nearly a million lose their lives, giving the ultimate sacrifice for their faith in Christ and to the Roman believers who will have this assurance, this letter as horrific persecution will soon begin. They will be crucified. They will be beheaded. They will be burned. They will be drowned.

They will be impaled on stakes and covered with pitch and then lit on fire as Nero celebrates yet another garden party. Would this mean that Christ has stopped loving us? Paul answers by refocusing their perspective and ours on eternity. Notice verse 37. But in all these things, in all this kind of activity, we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us.

That's irony. When you think of an animal that is victorious, you don't think of a sheep. You don't think of a little lamb. When you think of some powerful animal that is unstoppable, you might think of a lion. You might think of an elephant.

You might think of the soaring eagle. Those are pictures of victorious animals, not sheep. Sheep don't stand a chance. But would you notice in verse 37 that the victory is not in and by the strength of the sheep. It is in and through the strength of the shepherd. We conquer through him who loved us.

It doesn't matter how weak you are. What matters is how strong your shepherd is. Who is your shepherd?

Where is your confidence? That's why David boasted in Psalm 23 as if he said, Hey, everybody, look at who my shepherd is. It is Jehovah. And the rest of that Psalm is simply proof that God Almighty is his shepherd. Everything that he receives is because of him. Green grass, still water, protection from enemies, correction, comfort, eternal safety through death.

It is a direct result of the divine power and strength and character and comfort and love and dedication of the shepherd, not the sheep. We ultimately conquer through him. Now just how victorious are we through him?

I love this verse, verse 37. In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer. A.T. Robertson translated it. We gain a surpassing victory. The King James renders it. We are more than conquerors. The New American Standard.

We overwhelmingly conquer. All of these translations and all of their words are simply attempting to translate one Greek word, just one. And what a word, hyperkinomen.

This is the only time it ever appears in the Bible. The first part of the word is prefixed with this word hooper or hyper. When we think of the word hyper, we tend to think of three year olds driving everybody crazy with noise and nonstop activity.

It has somewhat of a negative connotation, right? That kid's hyper. However, the Latin translates it super, super. It simply means above, greater than the norm. You could say super terrific victory or super fantastic or super wonderful or hyper glorious or whatever else a mother thinks of when her hyperactive child is finally asleep.

And it's super quiet. Hypernicomen. The second half of the word is the verb nikao, which means victory, victory. Nikai, we pronounce it Nike. It means victory. It's probably the most universally known symbol and title in the sports world. It's on jackets and rackets and clubs and balls and a million other things.

Nike, it means victory. I say last night I was in my study around 730 when my 10 year old daughter called me. She was on her way home with her mother coming back from the Awana Olympic Games held in Greensboro.

Our church has a big Awana ministry, which many of you are probably involved in, and they had these state competitions. And so about 730 in my study, the phone rang and a little girl was so excited. She said, Daddy, we won second place. I said, that's great, sweetheart. She said, and I got the bean bag.

I said, wow, that's fantastic. She said, you gonna put this in your sermon? The third question she asked me, I said, honey, I'm not going to put it in my sermon. She said, well, the whole team, we talked about it and we think you ought to. I said, no, I'm not going to do that, even though the whole team wants me to.

And we hung up. And that's why I've decided not to say anything about it in my sermon. You wouldn't believe the pressure.

The truth is, there's nothing more exciting than winning. We want to tell everybody, right? That's what Paul is doing here.

He wants us all to know. He uses Nika'o in 1 Corinthians 15, 54, when he speaks of Christ's victory over death. The Apostle John uses the verb when he writes, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory, the Nika'o which has overcome the world. This is how we are winning.

What is it? Our faith. He who has overcome the world is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. That is the foundation of our victory. And one author suggested that when Paul got to Romans 8, and he's writing of the victory that is securing the believer for eternity through the loving work of Christ, it's almost as if Nika'o just isn't enough.

It isn't strong enough. And so for the first and only time we read it, he adds the word hyper in front of it. Super. We are super victorious through Jesus Christ. You mean Paul, even those things where it doesn't seem like we're really all that victorious. Yes.

And he's going to add 10 more to the list. He announces first in his list the great separator called death. Neither death, he says, I'm convinced that neither death, you tie all these words back to the latter part of this paragraph, will ever separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But isn't death the grand separator?

Isn't it? Isn't it that which tears us apart? Isn't it the most feared of all? Francis Bacon said, men fear death like kids or children fear the darkness. Even Woody Allen, the comedian said tongue in cheek, he said, I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens.

That's typical average fear of death. Paul says, I am convinced that as I am absolutely persuaded that death cannot separate us from the love of God. In fact, it isn't the grand separator.

It is the grand uniter. It unites us for eternity and death at the moment of death unites the believer with his Lord forever. Alexander McLaren put it this way, death rends us apart from the world that it may unite us together with God. Are you sure about that, Paul? Well, I'm absolutely persuaded.

I'm absolutely convinced through God's spirit who is inspiring the text that I'm writing. Paul goes on to add the other side of the coin in these pairs of contrasting issues. Neither death nor life can separate us from Christ's love. Death is frightening, but listen, life is dangerous.

It's fraught with peril and danger. Do you mean there isn't anything that can happen in life to separate you from the love of Jesus Christ? Paul would say, I'm convinced of it. Jesus Christ himself said, and lo, I am with you even to the end of the age, the end of the world, literally even into the end of the eon. How long is an eon? It's a word that describes our eternal God. That's how long it is. It is as long as God lives and that is forever.

I am with you even to the ends of eternity. What a promise from this God man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 28, 20, by the way, was the life verse of David Livingston, the great explorer missionary to Africa again and again at crisis points in his life.

His biographer tells us that David Livingston would write and do his diary, Matthew 28 verse 20. And then he would add these words. These are the words of Christ who is a gentleman of the highest and most sacred honor. So that's the end of it. He will keep his word.

This, my friend, is living under the conviction. Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so. Third, Paul informs us that even angels will not separate us from Christ.

Now you might think this goes without saying, right? Indeed, Paul is referring to good angels since the opposite issue in this contrasting pairs of the next word, principality, which refers to the demonic underworld is Paul suggesting that some good angel can change his status as confirmed in holiness and somehow, somehow manipulate things some way that we will be separated from the love of Christ. No, but what I do believe Paul is doing here in this list is simply bringing up issues that are mysterious. They are mysterious because they are beyond our dimension, our realm of understanding other than what God's word gives us. They are surrounded with superstition. These things in this list, this latter 10 are all like that death, angels, demons, the future. And the world of Paul was filled with superstition. They had errantly developed extensive beliefs and angels that had nothing to do with the word of God, but everything to do with their own fertile imaginations. Rabbis during the days of Paul were teaching that everything had an angel. They were teaching that there were angels of the wind, of the clouds, of the snow, of the hail, of the thunder, of the lightning, of cold and heat. In fact, they were leading the people to believe that there wasn't anything in the world, not even one blade of grass that didn't have an angel associated with it. Furthermore, the common belief was that even the good angels were a little put out when God created man.

They were a little put out in jealousy that God would create this being. So Paul is addressing perhaps their superstition in his world. Is there anything an angel could ever do to harm the opinion of Christ for you?

And his answer is no. Next, fourth, Paul moves on to refer to the demonic world of fallen angels. Archai is the word. Perhaps Paul is anticipating somebody saying, well, couldn't somehow the devil himself, couldn't a demon empowered by his demonic power to somehow work his will into the life of a believer, certainly couldn't they separate us from the love of Christ? I mean, even the word devil, diabolos, means separator. It means to separate from, to set an opposition. Is there some way that the underworld could be successful in separating the believer from Christ who loves him?

Paul writes, I'm convinced they cannot. The record of scripture says, as Paul wrote to the Colossians, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. He canceled out the certificate of debt, having nailed it to the cross. And he disarmed the rulers.

Same word in Romans eight. He disarmed the rulers, having triumphed over them through the cross. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, the crosswork of Christ eternally disabled any threat to your eternity of the Archai, the principality, the ruler of the demonic world to ever be able to separate the believer from the love of his Redeemer.

It'll never happen. The Bible tells me so. Paul adds two more things that will not separate us. He says, nor things present or things to come. In other words, there isn't anything in your present and there isn't anything in your future that will somehow change the mind of God, that will somehow cause you to lose your secure position as God's beloved child. Now I want to move on quickly because I want to spend some time on these next three words.

Paul adds a singular thought at the end of verse 38. Nor powers, dunamis. You could render this word a number of ways. In Acts chapter eight, verse 10, this is the word attributed to Simon, the unbelieving, crafty, greedy magician. He was referred to as somebody who had the dunamis of God, the power of God. And people were flocking to his satanically empowered skill. Not only does the demonic world not have the power to separate the believer from Christ, then demonically motivated and energized men and women as well as doctrines of demons cannot somehow curse the believer, somehow cast a spell on the Christian.

They cannot somehow cast the evil eye, suffer some believer, some bewitchment, some sorcery that somehow they will fall from the love of God in Christ. And that superstition is current today, as current as it was in the days of Paul. We're surrounded by superstitions that only give the devil and his demons great glee as we forget that God is sovereign overall. There isn't any need to fear a black cat that walks in front of your path. There isn't any reason to fear having broken a mirror or walking under a ladder. Some painters at my house recently, they had a ladder set up and the quickest way was through it. And I walked out and the guy goes, oh, you're walking under a ladder.

And I said, yeah, praise God, you know, you can spill salt at the table at will, just at random, just scatter it. This past week's issue of World magazine included a brief article from the China daily, a country which is exporting its superstition to America like never before. Its people are in bondage to superstitious beliefs. They have just recently stopped issuing license plates with the number four on them. They apparently believe that that number, which sounds a lot like their word for death, is associated now with a rise in traffic accidents. Many buildings in the region no longer now have a fourth floor and new cell phone users can obtain compensation for having a number that ends with four. The number four has some kind of power. It has some kind of dunamis. It has some kind of negative energy that causes bad things to happen. I couldn't help but think of the ending of my own home phone number. It ends with 444. I'm in triple trouble here. Before you think of this superstitious Chinese, when's the last time you went to the 13th floor of a building in this country?

When's the last wedding you've been to been scheduled on Friday the 13th? Those are unlucky. I think it's interesting you can translate this word dunamis with the word, the English word energy. Again, the superstitions of Paul's world and our world believes as his world did in this sort of supernatural mystical power of energy. The apostle Paul says for the believer who wants to know what the Bible says, there isn't any power, there isn't any energy that can somehow be directed to influence the believer.

God is the creator and sustainer and director of anything that is. Paul adds two more things. He writes in verse 39, nor height nor depth. Now at first glance, this may seem to say that if you imagine a vertical line, no matter how far down you go or how high you go, you'll never find anything along that continuum that supposedly goes on forever. Anything that would ever separate you from the love of Christ.

Nothing wrong with that, but I don't think that's what Paul is saying. Hupsoma, height, bathos, depth, were used in Paul's day as astrological terms. Height, hupsoma was a word that referred to the time when a star was at its zenith, supposedly having the greatest influence over humanity. Certainly the one born under that star or that sign, so they say.

Depth was a word that referred to the time when the star was at its lowest, just below the horizon, waiting to rise as it were and cast its influence over the ones born under that sign. And casting a horoscope, the zenith or height of a star and the depth of a person's star or whatever the configuration of planets and stars were when they were born, somehow has the ability to cast over the person power or influence. And so they should decide and what they encounter should be marked clearly and how they live by these signs. Solomon wrote it this way, trust in the Lord with all your what? With all your heart, don't lean on your own understanding and we could add to that your own mystical superstitions.

In all your ways, acknowledge him, defer to him, surrender to him and he, he will direct your path. The world lived in the shadow of astrology when Jesus Christ came to earth and when Paul wrote the book of Romans. And make no mistake, the world of the 21st century is as devoted to the stars as the world of the first century. More than 12 million Americans this year determine their activity, change their behavior, change their plans on the basis of an astrology report that they read.

Former presidents and heads of state have determined their travel schedules and political maneuvers by the stars. Having rejected the creator, they become bound to creation. And Paul writes in Romans 1 21, they become futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts are darkened.

And let me say this to those who claim to know Jesus Christ, it isn't some dabbling that is somehow innocent. Stop it. Don't read it.

Stay away from it. Paul says in effect to any believer who might be haunted by their past or even present doubts, the stars cannot hurt you. They do not influence you. They do not have power over you. They do not govern your lives. They do not determine your destiny. The power of the only living true God directs everything.

He rules as sovereign in the universe and for those who reject him as their source of wisdom, Proverbs quotes God in a rather horrifying warning because I called and you refused. I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof. I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes, then they will call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me, but they will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

They would not accept my counsel. Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. Quickly here, Paul adds one more to his list. Tenth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate you. You know what that is?

That's Paul saying in case I missed anything. You know, I tried to list, we got 17 things here, but in case I missed anything, well, everything that's been created by God. And what is that? That's everything. Since God created everything there is, there isn't anything that exists that could possibly separate you from the love of God.

This last one simply covers it all. And he ends this song of assurance with this wonderful phrase, the love of God, which is in Christ, Jesus, our Lord in Christ, in Christ, in Christ. That's a theme of Paul's in Christ. Ladies and gentlemen, the love of God. I want you to listen to this. The love of God is not just some principle.

It is a person. It is not some mystical ethereal force, some energy, some feeling. It is a fact. God loves you through Jesus Christ, your Lord. You are eternally secure because God, the creator of everything stooped to die for everything about you so that now he can say, nothing will ever separate you from me. My love is eternal.

It is comprehensive and you are absolutely eternally secure. Charles Spurgeon on his deathbed said to his final visitors, these words, as time has passed on, my theology has grown more and more simple. It is simply this. Jesus loves me. That's it. Jesus loves me.

This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong.

They're weak, but he is strong. For the last four broadcasts, we've been looking at the eternal security of the believer in a series Stevens called Blessed Assurance. If you'd like information on how you can own this series as a set of CDs, give us a call. Or if you missed any of the messages and would like to go back and listen right now, we've posted all of it on our website, wisdomonline.org. I also want you to know that Steven has a short, easy to read booklet called Blessed Assurance. Call us at 866-48-BIBLE. That's 866-48-BIBLE. Then join us next time for more wisdom for the heart.