Dec. 22, 2025

Exploring Divine Love: Understanding Romans 8 This Christmas

Exploring Divine Love: Understanding Romans 8 This Christmas

The discourse presented in this podcast episode elucidates the profound and sacrificial love that God has extended to humanity, as articulated in Romans chapter 8. Pastor Josh Massaro emphasizes the unwavering nature of divine love, asserting that nothing can separate us from this love, irrespective of our circumstances or shortcomings. He draws upon the biblical narrative to underscore that God's love is not contingent upon our perfection but is rather a steadfast commitment to our well-being. As we reflect on the Christmas season, the message encourages listeners to recognize the significance of God's gift of grace through Jesus Christ, which offers both salvation and the assurance of eternal love. Thus, the episode serves as a poignant reminder of the depth of God’s affection for us, urging individuals to embrace this love and share it with others in their lives.

Takeaways:

  1. In the profound discourse presented by Pastor Josh Massaro, we examine the sacrificial love of God as epitomized by the gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, which is both pivotal and transformative in the Christian faith.
  2. The podcast elucidates the concept of God's love as not merely an abstract notion, but rather as a tangible reality that underscores our identity and security in Christ, assuring us that nothing can separate us from His love.
  3. Pastor Massaro emphasizes that the trials and tribulations we face in life, including persecution and distress, do not negate God's love for us, but rather serve to strengthen our faith and reliance on His promises.
  4. Throughout the episode, we are reminded of the eternal nature of God's love, which transcends our earthly struggles and offers us hope and confidence in the assurance that we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

Chapters

00:00 - Untitled

00:23 - Exploring God's Love Through Romans

05:00 - The Assurance of God's Love

14:54 - The Nature of God's Love

23:09 - Understanding Our Identity in Christ

25:24 - The Love of Christ: Our Ultimate Goal

Transcript
Speaker A

Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.

Speaker A

My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.

Speaker A

I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.

Speaker A

Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.

Speaker B

We've been studying the Book of Romans, and a lot of people don't equate the Book of Romans to the Christmas story, but we could say it just so happened, or that God ordained that we are just in the passage that I think definitively defines the type of love that God has for us here in Romans chapter 8.

Speaker B

So I believe that God has ordained us to continue on in Romans 8, looking at that type of love that God has displayed in offering His Son for us on the cross.

Speaker B

Romans chapter 5, verse 8 says, But God commended or demonstrated his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Speaker B

Think about this.

Speaker B

The God of the universe sent his only begotten Son to this earth, not for people who were perfect, not for people who would always be faithful, but for people, as it says in Scripture, that would turn our backs against him, sin against him.

Speaker B

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Speaker B

That's the type of love that God has for us, that he would extend the gift of grace to us, the gift of salvation to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Speaker B

And here In Romans chapter 8, we see the definitive passage on the type of love that God has for us.

Speaker B

We've already talked about the sacrificial love that Jesus has bestowed upon us.

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The type of love that God has for us is a sacrificial love.

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It's the type of love that we're all supposed to have.

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The Greek word for that is agape, sacrifice.

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It's not self seeking, but it's selflessly giving of everything so that others can know that we love them.

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Truth demonstrated, love demonstrated.

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And the type of love that God had for us is that he extends that gift of grace and sacrifice, knowing that we would stumble, knowing that we would look away, but he still loved us none.

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The the the same.

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And the Bible says In Romans chapter 8, verse 31, what shall we say then to these things?

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If God be for us, who can be against us?

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You've ever been tempted to doubt whether or Not God is on your side.

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Whether or not that God cares for you.

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The Bible says we remember what he showed us in his sacrificial love.

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It says in verse 32, he that spared not his own son.

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Romans 8:32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.

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How shall he not with him also freely give us all things meaning this?

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God proved his love by sending his only begotten Son.

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And if he gave us His Son as a sacrifice because he loves us, how much more does he care for us in the daily matters as well?

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So 8:31 and 8:32 in Romans tells us that God loves us and that he's for us.

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And then it goes further.

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In verse 33 it says, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?

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Meaning who can bring anything against those that are in Christ Jesus?

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There's nothing that anybody can do to us.

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They can.

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They can say things about us, or they can even persecute us.

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They can forget about us.

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They can betray us.

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They can show us hate.

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But the Bible says that what can they really do?

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Why?

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Because it is God that justifieth.

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It is God who declares us righteous.

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We don't need someone else's declaration of righteousness to help us remember that we are loved.

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All we do is we go back to the love that God showed us and the justification that he provided for us by declaring us righteous in him to know that he cares for us.

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Says in verse 34, who is he that condemneth?

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It is Christ that died ye rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also also maketh intercession for us.

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Meaning this.

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Nobody else can condemn us.

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Why?

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Because we are in Christ Jesus.

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He came to this earth.

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He lived that perfect life.

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He preached the truth of his gospel, the truth of his kingdom.

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He died on the cross for our sins.

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He rose on the third day and conquered death through the resurrection.

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And the Bible says here now that he is making intercession for us.

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God wants that personal relationship with us.

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And so we see the sacrificial love, but we see a personal love.

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We see a love that desires to know us and for us to know Him.

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The Bible clearly tells us that God is a God who cares about our every single need.

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And so if you're ever questioning whether or not God loves you, what do we do?

Speaker B

We go back to what the Bible says about the cross.

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Just as the girl's saying here this morning, it's about the cross.

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Jesus came to show his love for us and to offer us that sacrifice and ultimate salvation.

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Then it says in verse 35, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Speaker B

Here's a really good question.

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Can anybody separate us from the love of Christ?

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Can my neighbor separate me from the love of Christ?

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Can another church member separate me from the love of Christ?

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Can even I, as a human being, separate myself from the love of Christ?

Speaker B

It says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation.

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That's trials.

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All of us at some point in our life have faced trials.

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Can a trial separate me from the love of God?

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Or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

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What is he doing here?

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He's basically listing all the problems that we could have in our life.

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He.

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He lists problems of the physical.

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He lists problems of the emotional.

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He lists problems of the spiritual.

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He says, shall any trial or tribulation, any distress or problem, any persecution, any famine, any.

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Any nakedness, any peril, any sword.

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Could any of these things separate us from the love of God?

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Then he goes on to say this.

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As it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

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Meaning this, as a Christian, we will face some of these things.

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By the way, this is not a passage reminding us that, hey, you're not going to face these things.

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This is a passage reminding us that we might face some of these things.

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But the answer to it is amazing.

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And this is one of my favorite verses in all of scripture.

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He says, you might go through trials, you might go through persecution, you might go through distress, you might go through famine, you might go through peril, you might even have someone come after you physically.

Speaker B

But he says, can that separate us from the love of God?

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Verse 37, Nay or no?

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Definitely not.

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And all these things, and all these difficult things, we are more than conquerors.

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More than conquerors.

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You know, the Greek word there actually literally means this, that you're a super conqueror.

Speaker B

Well, I'm not a super conqueror in my own flesh.

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No, but it says what?

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Through him that loved us?

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Through Jesus.

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So when we place our faith in Jesus for our salvation, when we place our faith in what he has done for us for salvation, the Bible says that we are now identified in him, and therefore we can be more than conquerors because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

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He changes things.

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He.

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He.

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He transforms us so that no longer we're defined by our trials, our distresses, our persecution, our famine, our.

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Our.

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As it says there, our Nakedness, which means we don't have anything we, physically or materially, that doesn't define us anymore.

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My looks don't define me.

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My past doesn't define me.

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My job doesn't define me.

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My culture doesn't define me.

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What defines me as it says here, the love of Jesus Christ defines me.

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My identity in him defines me.

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And then Paul says this testimony that I think all of us can take as a testimony if we are born again believers here this morning.

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He says, for I am persuaded, meaning I am convinced I'm standing in this.

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I'm putting my whole life in this.

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For I am persuaded that neither death, he takes it that far.

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He takes it all the way to the point of dying.

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He says, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall separate us, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.

Speaker B

What does he say here?

Speaker B

He says, I'm answering the question that I asked at the very beginning.

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Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Speaker B

Nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Speaker B

Not even my mistakes, not even the hate of others, not even the sin in this world, not even my physical problems, my material problems, my emotional problems.

Speaker B

Because the Bible tells us that even though we go through those struggles, that we have a God who is with us, who cares for us, and who is going to make all things right one day.

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And it says, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, meaning we are not the ones that are holding us secure in our lives.

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My love is going to fail.

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My love is going to falter.

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My desire is going to falter.

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My.

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My commitment to God, though I have the best intentions, will fall short.

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But the Bible says that nothing falls short when it comes to the love of God.

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He loves us immensely.

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He loves us infinitely.

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Now, again, I have to clarify that love does not mean acceptance to all the wrongdoing in our life.

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Love sometimes means there's discipline.

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Love sometimes means that they're the speaking of the truth.

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Love sometimes means that there needs to be a change.

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And all of us that have children understand that.

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All of us that have children know that we can love our children, but at the same time not agree with bad decisions that they make.

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This is the same thing with our Father in heaven.

Speaker B

He doesn't say that I love you.

Speaker B

So everything's okay what you're doing, just keep doing.

Speaker B

No, the Bible says that his love for us, as we look back in Romans 8, remember what his will for us is if you go back to verse number 29, it says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be what?

Speaker B

To be conformed to the image of His Son.

Speaker B

So God's love means this, that he wants us to be more and more like Jesus, to be more and more Christlike, to experience the love and the forgiveness of God, and to turn into this world and to love those around us to the best of our ability with the love of Christ.

Speaker B

Here this morning.

Speaker B

Sometimes we might be tempted because of a certain circumstance in our life to question whether or not somebody loves us.

Speaker B

And the reality is, is that there are people in this world that will stop loving us for whatever reason.

Speaker B

But what the Bible does say is that we can also question whether or not God loves us.

Speaker B

But the Bible tells us here in Romans chapter 8 and other places that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Speaker B

Some days I have great intentions.

Speaker B

Sometimes I wake up and I say, okay, today I'm going to read my Bible for an hour and I'm going to pray for an hour.

Speaker B

And I'm going to do all these things that I have good intentions with.

Speaker B

But the reality is, is that because of my limitations, because of my inadequacies, I'm not able to do everything that I intend to do.

Speaker B

Let's say I make a promise to you.

Speaker B

I say, okay, I'm going to be at your house and I'm going to help you move out of your house, and I'm going to help you because, you know, true sacrificial love for a man that has a truck is that he will come and help you move something, you know, furniture and all that.

Speaker B

I could say, I love you and I'm going to come and help you move.

Speaker B

And I could have every intention in the morning to wake up and do that.

Speaker B

But maybe my truck breaks down or maybe I'm not feeling well, or maybe traffic was bad, or, or maybe I didn't write it down on my calendar and I completely forgot.

Speaker B

The reality is, is that even if as a human being, I love somebody, I have limitations.

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I'm inadequate.

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I, I, I'm not all knowing.

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I'm not all powerful.

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I'm not all present.

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And so even the best love that a person can show to somebody else is limited.

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But we worship a God who is not limited.

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We worship a God who is all powerful.

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We worship a God who is all knowing.

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We worship a God who is everywhere.

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And when he makes a promise of his love, he keeps his word.

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It might not look exactly the way that we expect it to look.

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It might not be in the timing that we're expecting it to be in.

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But the Bible says here that when he says he loves us, he proves that he loves us.

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And in that proving that he loves us, we know that we have security in Him.

Speaker B

And so God's love for us is sacrificial love, but also God's love for us is a secure love.

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We can find security in him.

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We can find comfort in him.

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We can find our confidence in Him.

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We started out in the very beginning of Romans chapter 8.

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Looking at verse number one, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

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When we are in Christ Jesus, we can have the confidence to know that there is no longer judgment, there's no more condemnation.

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And we know that the Holy Spirit now lives within us.

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The Holy Spirit then equips us to do the work that God has called us to do.

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But there is going to be times even when we know that there's no more judgment, even when we know that the Holy Spirit lives within us and gives us a job and gives us a purpose to live in him.

Speaker B

There's going to be times when we're tempted to doubt.

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And that's why in verse number 28, he reminds us, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

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We need that reminder sometimes that all things are working together for good, for his good, and for our good.

Speaker B

And some people question that.

Speaker B

I've questioned that.

Speaker B

But at the end of the day, if God is who he says he is, if he is the One who gave us His Son, as it says in verse 32, he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things meaning?

Speaker B

If he kept his word by giving us His Son, he will keep his word.

Speaker B

In the struggles that we face on the day to day life, he will keep his word.

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When we are physically struggling, you say, well, I'm physically struggling right now and he's not healing me.

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Well, he certainly can heal.

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And it's not our job to decide whether or not he's good or bad because he hasn't healed or he has healed, all we do is trust that he can heal and that ultimately one day, all of us, no matter what we face here in this world, no matter how many struggles we face, no matter how many sicknesses we have, no matter how many people turn their backs on us one day.

Speaker B

As the Bible says in verse 18, that when we get to be with our Savior one day we will realize that the glory of being with him supersedes anything that we face here in this earth by way of struggle.

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Paul says in verse 18, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

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So what does Paul tell us?

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That the love of God is not only a sacrificial love, it's not only a secure love, but it's also an eternal love.

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It's a love that never ends.

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It's a love that continues on not just for the here and now, but for all eternity.

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That we will get to experience his love forever in his presence one day.

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And that's what we're living for.

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If I'm living today for feeling good, how many of you would be disappointed by that?

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Right?

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I woke up this morning and I. I was feeling the pain, right?

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Some of you are like, hey, you're young still.

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I'm not as young as I used to be.

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That's why I keep telling people.

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And so the idea is this.

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We wake up and we feel pain.

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And sometimes we equate pain with a lack of love.

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And I'm talking about the physical here.

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But some of us understand, too, sometimes we wake up and we don't feel the physical pain as much as we feel that emotional pain.

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Maybe someone has cut us deep.

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Maybe.

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Maybe it's something that it's very hard to forgive.

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The Bible says that if we're living for everyone to love us now, we're missing the eternal perspective.

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If we're living for everything to feel good, right now, we're missing the eternal perspective.

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Some of us are spiritually hurting.

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Some of us have faced difficulty even within a Christian setting.

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The Bible says that if we're living for everyone to love us and to be perfect, we're missing the eternal perspective.

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Because we go back to verse number 36, and he says, as it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long.

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We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

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He says, there is going to be times when we do face persecution.

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There's going to be times where we do face distress, there's going to be times where we do face famine and peril and all the things in this world that are defined as difficulties.

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But at the end of the day, we can say God is on our side.

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There's another passage of scripture that I think is so important for us to understand because I know that sometimes when a preacher preaches the love of God and the patience of God, that someone who's going through the struggle might say, yeah, because he hasn't experienced that.

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And the reality is, maybe I haven't experienced what you've experienced.

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But what we have to do is we have to go back to the word of God and we have to go back to examples that we have seen before us.

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So if anyone faced struggles, ultimately it was Jesus, right?

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We.

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We know that.

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We know that Jesus was betrayed.

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We.

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We know that Jesus was.

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Was beaten.

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We know that Jesus was betrayed by his closest friends.

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But then we see another example in.

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In Paul, right, the guy who's writing the book of Romans.

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So Paul is saying this.

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Everything is going to be okay in Christ Jesus.

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He loves you.

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And we would say, okay.

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That makes sense for a guy like Paul who maybe had everything going well for him.

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Maybe life was really smooth for Paul.

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Maybe you don't know the history of Paul.

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Maybe you think, well, Paul just lived the materialistic life of having gold and silver and people loving him.

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Well, I want you to go back to a book called Second Corinthians, because I just want you to see the guy who says In Romans chapter 8 that God loves us and that nothing can separate us from the love of God is the same fella who went through a ton of distress throughout his ministry.

Speaker B

And so in Second Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 8, we see a parallel passage to Romans 8, where we can see that the reality of difficulty in this world is a true thing.

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It's.

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It's there.

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But we can have something in the midst of a difficult world.

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And he says in Second Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 8, we are troubled on every side.

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The idea would be this.

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We've got problems all around us.

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Some of you that watch the news a lot can attest to the fact that we've got trouble all around us, all different types of struggles.

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But then what does he say?

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Yet not distressed.

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So he says, the reality is that we can have struggles all around us, trouble all around us, yet not distressed.

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We are perplexed, meaning humanly we are confused.

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We.

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We don't know where to turn next.

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But he says, but not in despair.

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Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body of the dying of our Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

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Meaning this, as a Christian, we can go through difficulties.

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We can go through good times.

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Paul talks about good times as well, we can go through good times and difficult times same way with knowing that our identity is in Jesus Christ and knowing that nothing can separate us from his love.

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So what do we do when we don't feel the love of Christ in the Christmas season, or any season for that matter?

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He says go back to what you know about him.

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Go back to what he has demonstrated.

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He has demonstrated his love by offering his Son for you.

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We see Jesus in a manger, and that's a beautiful picture because it's a.

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A picture of Jesus's humility to come to this earth and be born in a feeding trough, because that's really what a manger is.

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Jesus wasn't born in a kingdom, at least a kingdom that we would describe.

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A castle with nice gold, you know, beds and walls.

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He wasn't born that way.

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He wasn't born with a crown on his head.

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He was born in a humble fashion with humble people to just display the type of love that God has for us.

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A humble type of love, a sacrificial type of love.

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When the Bible tells us more about that, it says that Jesus grew.

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He didn't stay in the manger.

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He became an adult.

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He ministered and he sacrificed.

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And as we said before, he died on the cross for our sins.

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But then we know that he didn't stay in the tomb.

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He conquered death through the resurrection.

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And therefore he offers that gift of grace to all of us who believe.

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That's what we go back to when we're tempted to believe that God doesn't love us anymore.

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That's what we turn to when we are tempted to think that God's not going to work things out for us.

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And so here in this Christmas season, I know for many people it can be a joyful time.

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But also I'm aware of the fact that sometimes holiday seasons can be difficult because of a loss of a loved one or maybe because of trauma that's happened in around that season.

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Let me tell you that no matter what has happened to you, no matter what you have gone through, no matter what you have lost, no matter what you're going through right now, the Bible says it's the love of God that passes all understanding, the peace of God that passes all understanding, that can rule our hearts and minds in the midst of difficult times.

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And I love his testimony here, and I hope that it's a testimony that we can all have in our own lives.

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Brian persuaded.

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Romans 8:38.

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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 creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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The love is found in Jesus Christ.

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The sacrifice is found in Jesus Christ.

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The security is found in Jesus Christ.

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The eternality of it is found in Jesus Christ.

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And so this morning, if you want to find hope, joy, peace, comfort, all of the things that the Bible tells us that we can have, the way we find those things, the way we understand those things, the way we're to live those things out in our life, is to live a life based not only in the existence of Jesus Christ, but in the knowledge of who he is and the belief and faith in knowing who he is and what he has done for us.

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And recognizing that that, and that alone is.

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Is the only thing that can save us from our sin.

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It's the only thing that can save us from our brokenness.

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It's the only thing that can save us from despair.

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Because if we live in any other fashion, all of these other things define us.

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And in these things that we face, whether it be tribulation or distress or persecution that can conquer us, if we are not in Christ.

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But the Bible says that when we are in Christ, we are in verse 37, nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, more than conquerors through him that loved us.

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And so here, this Christmas season, here in your Christian walk, if you want to understand what it means to be more than a conqueror, if you want to understand what it means to walk in confidence, no matter what might be going on around us in this world, in our homes, in our own personal life, the Bible says to be in Christ.

Speaker B

What does it mean to be in Christ?

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It means to trust in him, to put our faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

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If that's something that you've done, if that's something that you've trusted in in your own life, the Bible then tells us to live in that, to walk in that, to grow in that.

Speaker B

And as verse 28 says, to understand that all things work together for good, to understand that God has a purpose for our lives, verse 29, to understand that God has that purpose of being conformed to the image of His Son.

Speaker B

Someone here might say, I've been saved for 50 years.

Speaker B

I've reached it.

Speaker B

I'm at the pinnacle.

Speaker B

Paul.

Speaker B

If anyone reached the pinnacle, it was Paul.

Speaker B

What did Paul say at the very end?

Speaker B

Second Timothy?

Speaker B

He says, I've not reached it yet.

Speaker B

I Need to keep going.

Speaker B

I need to keep pursuing.

Speaker B

I need to be more like Christ.

Speaker B

All of us, I don't care how long you've been saved, can grow to be more and more like our Savior by sacrificing and yielding to the Spirit and dying to our flesh and saying, lord, it is you.

Speaker B

It is your love that I rest in, you know, for many years.

Speaker B

Can I take my jacket off?

Speaker B

Is that going to fix it?

Speaker B

All right, taking my jacket off.

Speaker B

Hopefully I don't offend any of you.

Speaker B

Maybe that's what's causing it.

Speaker B

I have one last thing to say here.

Speaker B

You know, technology is good unless it's not working.

Speaker B

Okay, really want you to follow me here on this.

Speaker B

This is the last thing I promise.

Speaker B

For many, many years, my goal in life was to find love, find acceptance in people.

Speaker B

Like, where I found my value was that people would say, wow, you're, you're smart, you're, you're talented, you're good at whatever you're trying to do.

Speaker B

And, and that seems like a good goal.

Speaker B

But if our goal in life is to get other people to love us, we are going to be tempted to what we might say, compromise our ultimate values for the Lord and put other people.

Speaker B

And essentially what we're doing is putting ourselves first.

Speaker B

And really what we have to do as Christians is we have to say, okay, the love of another person is an amazing thing, but that cannot be our ultimate goal.

Speaker B

Our ultimate goal must completely be in understanding the love of Christ.

Speaker B

Not earning the love of Christ because none of us can earn the love of Christ, but understanding already what the love of Christ really is, and then resting in that, and allowing that love to change us so that we can be different, so that we can spread that type of love to other people around us.

Speaker B

When we understand that trying to appease people or impress people or try to get people to accept us for our good gifts and our good talents, that's a never ending pit that will never, never satisfy.

Speaker B

But when we understand the love of Christ and when we live for him and when we serve him, then you know what?

Speaker B

That wealth is always going to be full because the love of Christ is abundant.

Speaker B

And I'm going to tell you here today, that's the goal for all of us.

Speaker B

To live in the love of Christ, to serve in the love of Christ, to, to sacrifice in the love of Christ, to serve in our communities in the love of Christ, to forgive one another in the love of Christ.

Speaker B

That's what he says there.

Speaker B

He says in, in the love of Christ.

Speaker B

And so I want you to think about that here this morning.

Speaker B

What does the love of Jesus mean to you?

Speaker B

Is this something that just is nice to have to talk about at certain times of the year?

Speaker B

Or does the love of Christ change what you believe?

Speaker B

Does the love of Christ change the way that you live?

Speaker B

Does the love of Christ change the way that you love others?

Speaker B

And here this morning, the greatest gift that we can ever experience is the love of God in salvation.

Speaker B

And so in the Christmas season, there's a lot of gifts that we could have.

Speaker B

My kids have a long Christmas list, and we try to fill that list and make sure that they're happy.

Speaker B

But at the end of the day, the greatest love that any of us can experience is the gift of grace that Jesus Christ extends to all.

Speaker B

And so here this morning, I encourage you to pray about that.

Speaker B

Ask God to give you clarity in your response to the greatest sacrifice of all, the love of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of the cross.

Speaker B

Remember his love is sacrificial.

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Remember, his love is secure.

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Remember, his love is eternal.

Speaker B

And if you remember that, I. I do believe that we can have the joy of the Lord here this Christmas season.

Speaker B

Because God intends us to live in the joy of the Lord in our lives doesn't mean that everything's going to be okay.

Speaker B

But what it means is that we can live with confidence knowing that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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And anyone can do anything to me.

Speaker B

Who's going to.

Speaker B

Who's going to come after me, what.

Speaker B

What can they do to me if God before us, who can be against us, that's the type of confidence that we can live in and that we can love in here in 2025 and into 2026.

Speaker B

And ever long God allows us to live and serve Him.

Speaker B

And so I'm going to tell you Romans chapter 8 is a passage of scripture that has changed my life.

Speaker B

And I know that it's a passage of scripture that can change yours.

Speaker B

If ever you're tempted to doubt his love, if ever you're tempted to doubt his sacrifice, if ever you're tempted to doubt your identity in him, go back to Romans, chapter 8.

Speaker B

Read it, memorize it, study it, because it's a wonderful passage in reminding us the confidence that we can find in Jesus Christ.

Speaker B

And so I'm going to ask if you're able to stand with me, every head bowed, every eye closed.

Speaker B

We're going to have a time of reflection, a time of invitation.

Speaker B

And it's not going to be a long invitation.

Speaker B

Number one, do you need Jesus Christ as Savior this morning.

Speaker B

I know it's a Christmas service, but what better time to trust in Jesus Christ and to know that you have forgiveness in him?

Speaker B

The Bible says for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Speaker B

Maybe some of you are coming here this morning to say, I was just coming to listen to some music and to enjoy Christmas.

Speaker B

I would be mistaken, I would be wrong if I did not present to you the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Speaker B

God has given us all as Christians the opportunity to tell others.

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And here this morning.

Speaker B

We've got a great group of people here.

Speaker B

But the greatest news that's ever been told from the very beginning is the news of Jesus Christ.

Speaker B

Remember the angels.

Speaker B

I bring you glad tidings of great joy, good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Speaker B

We're all people.

Speaker B

So the good news this morning is this.

Speaker B

Jesus loves you.

Speaker B

He died on the cross for your sins and he wants you to trust in him this morning.

Speaker B

What if you have trusted in Jesus Christ this morning?

Speaker B

What does the love of God mean for you?

Speaker B

Are you on that path to conforming to His Son?

Speaker B

Are you on the path to understanding what it means to love the way that he loves?

Speaker B

Are we loving sacrificially?

Speaker B

Are we loving with that type of security only found in Jesus Christ?

Speaker B

Maybe you're a Christian, but you're struggling on the fact that maybe God doesn't love me anymore.

Speaker B

This is your reminder this morning that God loves you.

Speaker B

This is your reminder to know that nothing can separate you from that love of Jesus.

Speaker B

So maybe this morning you just want to come and thank him for that great gift of his love, that great gift of his security and his confidence that he extends to us, I encourage you to do so this morning.

Speaker B

Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation work in hearts and lives.

Speaker B

I pray that all those that have found the truth of Jesus can rest in that truth here this morning.

Speaker B

I pray that we can follow you, that we can trust in you and know that you are a good God who cares for us.

Speaker B

And I pray that we can be reminded that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Speaker B

Pray that you be in this time, in this invitation in Jesus name, Amen.

Speaker B

We've got some people up here up front if you need to come talk to them.

Speaker B

We can show you in the word of God what it means to know Jesus Christ.

Speaker B

If you just want to come here and nail the steps and be reminded of that great love that God has that nobody can take away from you, nobody can separate you from.

Speaker B

Maybe just thank him for that here this morning.

Speaker B

Foreign.

Speaker A

Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.

Speaker A

I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.

Speaker A

You would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

Speaker A

You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast podcast.

Speaker A

Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates.

Speaker A

Thank you so much.

Speaker A

God Bless.

Speaker A

Have a wonderful day.