Overcome

This coming Sunday, we'll be singing the song "Overcome." I wrote a sermon recently regarding this idea...

A few months ago, I received a long letter from a prisoner. He asked me not to send him the weekly newsletter any longer (I send this newsletter every week to about 150 prisoners in dozens of prisons in multiple US states and other countries). He told me that he was innocent of the charges with which he had been accused. He told me that he shouldn’t be in prison, and that God has abandoned him. He didn’t want to receive these mailings because they were a reminder to him that God didn’t care.

Just this last week, I sat for a while with a Soldier who has been accused by his step-daughter (his wife’s daughter) of some things. He is out on bond. His wife and literally everyone else in his life (other children, other relatives on both sides) are proclaiming his innocence. There’s a lot going on and it seems that it’s just one bad news thing after another. When I visited him in county jail, he told me that one of the main things that had happened as a result was that he was seeking his faith more now. This past week when we talked, he told me that he was praying and going to Mass, but he couldn’t understand why bad things were still happening. Where was God?

God’s purpose in our lives is to conform us to the image of Christ. All things work together for good, but the good may not be what we understand or imagine. There are any number of reasons why Yahweh allows painful experiences into our lives. That is why we are given the following promise in today’s passage:

Romans 8:35-39

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let’s begin by remembering when and to whom Paul was writing. This was being written to the Christians in Rome during the reign of Nero. Christians were being persecuted and murdered in horrific ways. It is in this context that Paul asks the question, “Can anything separate us from Christ’s love?” He then goes down a list:

Trouble – The word here is usually translated as “tribulation.” It means “pressing or pressure.” The Roman Christians were definitely being pressed. Have you ever felt like circumstances were crushing you?

Calamity – The word here is often translated as “distress.” It means “a narrow place.” While the first word describes the feeling of being buried alive, this one describes walking through a place that is so tight you can barely move. It’s hard to breathe… it's claustrophobic. Ever felt that the path God has pointed you is squeezing the life from you?

Persecution – This means exactly what you might think. Have you suffered because you follow Jesus? Like, truly suffered?

Hunger – This word doesn’t just mean hunger. It means “famine.” I’ve been hungry before. I’ve never experienced starvation. The type of persecution experienced by the Roman Christians made it difficult to get food. Have you ever been desperate for food?

Destitution – This word means “nakedness of the body.” It’s being so poor you can’t even afford clothing. I’ve been tight financially, but I’ve always had something to wear. Have you ever been completely poverty-stricken?

Danger – This is a catch-all word that Paul probably includes to cover all the other bad things that were happening to the followers of Jesus in Rome. Have you ever been in danger because of your faith?

Death – The word here literally means “sword.” It was the primary way that Roman citizens were executed. It was the main weapon of the Roman legions. A small knife was a tool. A sword was a weapon of death. Have you ever been in fear for your life?

Paul writes all of this as hyperbole. Of course, none of these things can separate us! But then Paul adds a statement that seems really odd. Verse 36 is from Psalm 44:22. It seems like a super odd thing to add there until you read the Psalm. Go ahead and read all of Psalm 44 now.

Psalm 44

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

1 O God, we have heard it with our own ears—our ancestors have told usof all you did in their day, in days long ago:

2 You drove out the pagan nations by your power and gave all the land to our ancestors. You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free.

3 They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God. You command victories for Israel.

5 Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes.

6 I do not trust in my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me.

7 You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies; you disgrace those who hate us.

8 O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name. Interlude

9 But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor. You no longer lead our armies to battle.

10 You make us retreat from our enemies and allow those who hate us to plunder our land.

11 You have butchered us like sheep and scattered us among the nations.

12 You sold your precious people for a pittance, making nothing on the sale.

13 You let our neighbors mock us. We are an object of scorn and derision to those around us.

14 You have made us the butt of their jokes; they shake their heads at us in scorn.

15 We can’t escape the constant humiliation; shame is written across our faces.

16 All we hear are the taunts of our mockers. All we see are our vengeful enemies.

17 All this has happened though we have not forgotten you. We have not violated your covenant.

18 Our hearts have not deserted you. We have not strayed from your path.

19 Yet you have crushed us in the jackal’s desert home. You have covered us with darkness and death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,

21 God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.

22 But for your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.

23 Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Get up! Do not reject us forever.

24 Why do you look the other way? Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression?

25 We collapse in the dust, lying face down in the dirt.

26 Rise up! Help us! Ransom us because of your unfailing love.

You will see that it starts with the writers praising God for all the things He had done for Israel. The rest of the psalm talks about how defeated they are and that it is basically God’s doing. We don’t know exactly when this was written. It could have been during the Babylonian exile, but there were plenty of times in Israel’s history when God turned them over to their enemies to discipline them for disobedience. The point is that the suffering that they are experiencing is at the Lord’s hand. That seems like Paul is saying that all the suffering listed earlier was caused by God. Is that possible? Well, let’s think back to last week’s message. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called. If I love God and am called, then I am willing to lay everything on the line for His plan. The good that comes may not be for me, at least temporarily. What if their suffering brought people to faith? What if their suffering changed the empire? Both of those things happened. Something said long ago is, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” What seems “bad” to me might be “good” from God’s eternal perspective. And here’s the truth: If my suffering will allow the Kingdom of God to be advanced, then I am submitted to His will. Are you?

Overwhelming victory – This is one word in Greek that is only used in this one place. Paul coins it to express that we don’t just win. We REALLY win. Paul loves military terms and analogies and he might have been thinking of the Battle of Cannae. In 216 BC, Hannibal crossed the Alps into Italy with 40,000 soldiers. The Romans met him with 80,000 men. It should have been an easy victory. Instead, the Romans lost over 60,000 men, including one of their top generals. The victory we win is even greater.

In sports, there is a period of time called “garbage time.” It’s when one team is so far ahead of the other that it doesn’t matter what happens, they’re going to win. The losing team might still score a few points, but in the end, it’s futile. I coached my youngest son in soccer and experienced this once. My team was absolutely destroying the other team. We were up 10-0 at the half. I really wanted the other team to score at least once, so I pulled all my players behind mid-field except the forwards. Honestly, I could have pulled everyone off the field but the goalie and the guards and we still would have won. It was garbage time. As followers of Jesus, we are in garbage time. We have an overwhelming victory! Things may seem bleak and the enemy might score a few points, but they will be destroyed!

So how does Paul conclude this thought? He is CONVINCED that nothing can separate us. What does that mean?

Convinced – In Greek, the word here means to be persuaded by a rational and intellectual argument. I cannot think of a single person I’ve seen argued into faith in Christ through evidence and arguments. However, even if that happens, no one is able to sustain their faith in the face of the terrors mentioned earlier by intellectual arguments alone. The thing is, Paul isn’t Greek. He’s Hebrew and that thinking is the foundation. The idea expressed here is found in a Hebrew word that is translated as “persuade” in the English Bible and means “to spread out, open wide, or make wide.” The idea is sin narrows and restricts our lives, but forgiveness sets us free in wide open spaces. Look at the words Paul uses. They all refer to a restricting, a narrowing, a crushing. Yahweh wants us to know that despite everything, He has us in His love. He wants to open our hearts to trust and our lives to freedom!

So are you convinced? Has God opened your world? Are you living in freedom?

Or, are you going to be like that prisoner who lets the struggles destroy their faith? Hard times will come. Things you don’t understand will happen. Some people struggle because they’ve been told that only good will happen if they follow Jesus, and that the sign of God’s pleasure is material wealth. This is flatly not true. You will be crushed, pressed, and feel buried alive. Jesus said that we would experience trouble in this world, but He didn’t stop there. He said not to fear because He has overcome the world. And we, also, have overwhelming victory… if we love God and are called according to His purposes. The choice is yours!

SONGS FOR SUNDAY

Overcome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP-JdZs4V54

More than Conquerors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p8_4NbrcKA

Reckless Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE

Nothing but the Blood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QH5lpYSBpI

Mighty to Save

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sqb9hvJjb8

Build My Life