Nov. 5, 2000         Breaking up is hard to do       Rom. 8

By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

 Here are some of the words to the song:

They say that breakin' up Is hard to do / Now I know, I know That it's true

Don't say that this is the end / Instead of breakin' up I wish that we were makin' up again

 I beg of you Don't say good-bye / Can't we give our love Another try

Come on baby Lets start a new / Breakin' up is hard to do

 I beg of you / Don't say good-bye

Can't we give our love Another try / Come on baby / Lets start a new

Breakin' up is hard to do

 There are some things in this world that would try to break up your love relationship with the Lord.  Paul speaks of them in Romans 8.  Is it possible that you may break up with the Lord?  Jonah tried it.   Job experienced it and felt it.  John the beloved enjoyed the love of his Savior.  Yet, through it all these men knew that you can’t break up with the Lord.  God’s love will never fail you.   Another song says: Jesus will still be there.   His love will never change.  It’s as sure as a steady rain.  When it looks like you’ve lost it all and you haven’t got a prayer.  Jesus will still be there.

Scripture Text: Romans 8:35 (KJV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 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.

Romans 8: (NLT) 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 are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? 36(Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”£) 37No, 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 his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 1.      God extends his hand in love.  This is the beginning.  Have you joined with the Lord?  Will you today?  Have you been persuaded?  If you have been joined to another in love, you realize the pull on those individuals.  Gravity tends to pull you down.  Our natural tendencies pull us apart.  Time can separate a relationship unless it is continually worked on. 

 2.      What are the Love breakers?

a.      Can trouble, tribulations, persecution, hunger, cold, or threatened with death?  No, for your sake we are killed every day.  We are living and dying for you, Lord. 

b.      Can death or life (gravity)?  Nothing.

c.      Can our fears for today and our worries for tomorrow?    Nothing.

d.      Can the powers of hell (the devil and his angels)?  Nothing.

e.      When we are flying high and when we the lowest low?   Nothing.

f.        Is there anything in all creation that can separate us?  Nothing.

 

3.      How do you know that nothing can break God’s love for you?  The answer is Jesus. Look at this table of the Lord.  There is the bread of his pain and the wine of his sacrificial death in your place.  It is still there.  Waiting for you to partake.   We see the proof that God loves us.  We continue to see God’s love for us in Jesus. 

 4.      He loves you and wants you to spend eternity with him beginning today.  Can you do anything that would surprise him?  Nothing.

 5.      Would you renew your vows to him today and take the bread and the cup?

  One day C. H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend.  As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof.  At the top of the vane were these words: GOD IS LOVE.  Spurgeon remarked to his companion that he thought this was a rather inappropriate place for such a message. "Weather vanes are changeable," he said, "but God's love is constant." "I don't agree with you about those words, Charles," replied his friend. "You misunderstood the meaning.  That sign is indicating a truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."

    The story is told of a wealthy man who lost his wife when their only child was young.  A housekeeper was hired to take care of the boy, who lived only into his teens.  Heartbroken from this second loss, the father died a short time later.  No will could be found; and since there were no relatives, it looked as if the state would get his fortune.  The man's personal belongings, including his mansion, were put up for sale.  The old housekeeper had very little money, but there was one thing she wanted.  It was a picture that had hung on a wall in the house -- a photo of the boy she had loved and nurtured.  When the items were sold, nobody else wanted the picture, so she bought it for just a few pennies.  Taking it home, she began to clean it and polish the glass.  As she took it apart, a paper fell out.  It was the man's will, and in it he stated that all his wealth should go to the one who loved his son enough to buy that picture.

   The legacy of heaven and the inexhaustible riches of God's love belong to all who trust and love His Son.

    I counted all my dollars while God counted crosses;

   I counted gains while he counted losses;

   I counted my worth by the things gained in store,

   But he sized me up by the scars that I bore.

 I coveted honors and sought for degrees; 

He wept as He counted the hours on my knees.  

I never knew till one day by a grave   

How vain are the things that we spend life to save.

I did not know till a friend went above,   

That richest is he who is rich in God's love.