[0:00] Well, good morning everybody, especially those visiting us. Just want to read a few verses from Psalm 73 to begin this morning.
[0:16] I'm not reading all of the psalm, just the end few verses from verse 23. This is what it says. Yet I'm always with you.
[0:27] You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. And afterwards you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?
[0:40] And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
[0:51] Those who are far from you will perish. You destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it's good to be near God. I've made the sovereign Lord my refuge.
[1:03] I will tell of all your deeds. Well, we worship a wonderful God. And as it says there, it's good that we know the Lord is with us. And we're going to sing our first hymn now.
[1:17] It's 144, which takes up the theme of praising God. All my days I will sing this song of gladness. 144, and we'll stand to sing.
[1:29] I was just reminded as we sang that hymn, that the writer must maybe sometimes be wondering why everybody in the last verse and the second line puts the before glory.
[1:54] They don't sing it as it's written, but they always put, oh, the glory never fades. It's amazing how sometimes the writer gets overruled in what is put down.
[2:06] But let's come before the Lord and let's pray to him now and bring all our events that are going to happen and the things that were in the service before him. Let's pray.
[2:19] Lord, we do thank you that as we come to you this morning, we come as that chorus tells us to a beautiful saviour, a wonderful counsellor, clothed in majesty, Lord of history.
[2:31] And you are indeed the way, the truth, and the life. So as we come this morning, Lord, we come to one who's made that great plan in heaven with the Son, that one day you would give your world a saviour and that we would be able to worship him, that we would be able to find that salvation that comes from him.
[2:59] And Lord, that whenever we pray, you promise that our words will come to you and not only will you hear them, but you will answer our prayers. So Lord, we come before you this morning, we thank you that we gather together, that we can have fellowship one with another as we seek to learn from your word.
[3:20] And we pray that whether we're singing those songs of praise, whether we're bringing our prayers before you, or maybe just our silent thoughts, and particularly when we read the scriptures, that Lord, you will open all these things to us, that we'll go away this morning rejoicing that we've been in your presence and able to glorify your name and the name of your Son, our Saviour, in whose name we pray.
[3:49] Amen. Amen. You could tell Marnie that that announcement put the speaker and the musicians off.
[4:06] Let's do our scripture reading. It's from Romans chapter 8, so perhaps you could turn to that. If you've got the church Bible, it begins on page 1134, although we're not going to read the very first part of it.
[4:23] We're going to read just a section of it from verse 28 to the end. So Romans chapter 8, verse 28, and then to the end.
[4:36] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
[4:53] For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called.
[5:05] Those He called, He also justified. Those He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say in response to these things?
[5:18] If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?
[5:32] Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one.
[5:44] Christ Jesus who died, more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God, and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
[5:57] Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for Your sake, we face death all day long.
[6:11] We are considered a sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
[6:43] Amen. What a wonderful... Well, if you have that passage in Romans chapter 8 open, that would be useful.
[6:59] We're not going to stray far from there. You know, it is amazing that the Lord does move in mysterious ways.
[7:12] Because Lawrence said, you know, what are you going to preach on this morning? And I'll fit my children's talk in. And I said, no, just do whatever you're going to do. And as always, he did exactly what I'm going to be talking about.
[7:28] Well, sort of, as we'll see. I want us to think, in particular, about the end part of that passage in Romans, which is entitled, in my version, More Than Conquerors, because that's the verse that occurs later.
[7:47] But, the good or bad news is that the thing that was coming out of Lawrence's talk, and he developed it, was that of questions, questions that we might ask ourselves, questions that we might think of.
[8:02] And, the bad news for you, is that, all of this sermon is going to be about questions. The good news is, that you don't have to give any answers, because, hopefully, either I'm going to give you the answers, or, they're there clearly, in scripture.
[8:20] But, this passage, is full of questions. And I want you just to imagine a situation, which many of us have found ourselves in, I'm sure, if not the exact situation, I'm going to describe, one that you'll all recognise, as having similarities, with things that happen to you.
[8:40] So, I want you to imagine, that, your mum or dad, and you've just taken, your young child, maybe, four and above, maybe, and, you've gone either to a doctor's surgery, or you've gone to the hospital.
[8:58] And, because you've gone to such a place, some of the people there, have got maybe, a bandage on their arm, or, something over their eye. But, in the case I'm going to describe, of, a conversation that might possibly have happened, you will soon, get the gist.
[9:18] So, that's the context. And, the child says, Daddy, why is that lady, so fat? Except, that it's usually, Daddy, why is that lady, so fat?
[9:34] And, dad, who wishes, the floor would open up, in front of him, says, she's not fat, she's just having a baby. Thinking, that's put to bed, that particular problem.
[9:50] But, the child then says, where did the baby come from? And, dad, thinking about possibly complications here, says, Mummy and daddy made it.
[10:06] There's silence, for about 30 seconds. And, then the child says, how did they make it, daddy? Dad pauses, thinks, thinks very, very carefully.
[10:22] And, probably for this first time in his life, thinks about what he's saying. Then he says, what is the time honoured phrase? Ask your mother.
[10:35] Because he knows, he's in real trouble, if he tries, to give the answer. And, the fact is, from childhood, we all, have questions.
[10:46] That's the way that we learn. And, we all need to be able to ask the right questions, in, the right situation. Now, somebody's heard this story before, but I've abridged it.
[10:58] But, once when I was in Birmingham, I asked the wrong question, and got the wrong answer. Because, I was trying to get, to somewhere in Birmingham, actually it was the international centre, I was giving lecture there, and, I mistakenly, asked a Birmingham resident, one, I had difficulty translating, what he was saying, because it was in a foreign language, Birminghamese, which I won't attempt to reproduce.
[11:26] But, I actually said, what's the quickest way, to get to the international centre? And, I was in a car at the time, and he said, well, are you going by bus, are you going by train, are you walking, is somebody picking you up, are you going in a car?
[11:41] I said, well, I'm in a car. He said, that's the quickest way. Which really wasn't any help. He actually said, that's the right way. Anyway, but, the thing about it was, I'd asked the wrong question.
[11:55] I should have said, look, I'm travelling in my car, to the international centre, can you describe, the roads I need to go on, or something like that, to get there. But, I didn't. It was the wrong question, and therefore, it was a complete waste of time.
[12:09] So, in this, particular passage, we're going to be thinking about, some questions, during the service, and at the end, we'll give some answers. And, the questions, are actually there, and I'm coming to them in a second, but, I want to, say first of all, that these come, after Paul, as, at a lot of length, in fact, you could argue, in the first, seven chapters, and the first half, of chapter eight, he's described, the things that, helped to give answers, to these questions, before he asked them.
[12:47] So, let's just have a look at, some of the things he said. At the start of chapter eight, which we didn't read, and therefore, we need to read it now, just the first, two verses, it says this, therefore, there is now, no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus, because, through Christ Jesus, the Lord, the Spirit, who gives life, has set you free, from the law, of sin, and death.
[13:16] So, he's already said, and he says it, in many different ways, in the run up, to chapter eight, that, that, is what he's talking about, he's talking about the fact, that we have the possibility, of life, through Jesus Christ, through his death, and resurrection, and he gives quite a lot, of detail, about that, here.
[13:38] And then, right at the end, of chapter eight, verse 28, and, up to, section, sorry, 30, this is what he says, and we know, that in all things, God works for the good, of those who love him, who've been called, according to his purpose, for those God for new, he also predestined, to be conformed, to the image of his son, that he might be the first born, among many brothers, and sisters, and those he predestined, he also called, those he called, he also justified, those he justified, he also glorified, that's where he's, as it were, going to end, his discourse, and then, in the passage, that I'm going to consider, he then asks, a number of questions, in fact, he has seven questions, which you'll be glad to know, I'm not going to go through, all seven, right, but,
[14:40] Paul seems to have, this way, of writing, that he'll give them, some information, if you like, he'll preach to them, he'll tell them, all that Jesus has done, and what God is doing, through him, as he writes these letters, and it's not the only time, he does it, if you go to, first Corinthians, in the first chapter, he does the same thing, he introduces, his topic of, the supremacy of Christ, which is what we've been, singing about, and then there are, four questions, which follow it, if you go to, Galatians chapter three, so it's delayed a bit there, but it's the same thing, in the first, two chapters, two and a half chapters, he explains, about salvation, and then, he gives you six questions, and then, the final one, is in Hebrews, and in Hebrews, chapter three again, he does the same thing, having explained, about the history, of the Israelites, and how, the Lord sent, the Lord Jesus Christ, then he asks, five more questions, so this is, something which,
[15:49] Paul, uses, as a technique, for making, people, question, now, I wonder, if I was to ask you, what is the purpose, of church, because some people, seem to think, that, they don't need church, or they don't need to, read the scriptures, or whatever, so if I asked you, what's the purpose, of church, is it, just to meet together, meet friends, have a chat, have a coffee, afterwards go away, feeling good, what is the purpose, of church, what is the purpose, of Peter, or me, or anybody else, standing up here, week by week, and proclaiming, what the Bible says, surely, it's, to make you question, what's happening, in your life, question, what relationship, you have with God, question, what, sort of things, should I be doing, question, what happens, when I leave this life, if you come to church, this morning, and particularly, if you go away, without some questions, in your head, and at least, the possibility, some answers, this whole, service, has been a complete, waste of time, except that, we will still, have praised God, we'll have sung, our songs, of praise, we'll have prayed, but, if we leave, exactly as we came in, then we might not, as well have had the service, so I'm going to ask you, to do two things, this morning, as we go through, this passage,
[17:36] I want you to question, and I'm putting myself, in danger here, but if at the end, you've got that question, you want to ask it, ask it, I'm not saying, I'll be able to answer it, but ask it, but some of these questions, are more important, than others, and some, hopefully, I'll give answers to, so let's just, have a look, at some of these questions, now as I say, there are seven, but some of them, are related, so don't panic, but the first one, occurs, in the first, verse of that section, more than conquerors, says, what then, shall we say, in response, to these things, so Paul, having described, the situation, from God's point of view, from Christ's point of view, from the Holy Spirit's, point of view, he asked this question, what then, shall we say, in response, to these things, now very quickly, what are the things, that he's been mentioning, well,
[18:41] I won't read them all, because that will take, too much time, but I'll just point them out, if you want to follow, in your Bibles, do, and just check, that what I'm saying, is right, first of all, in this chapter, I'm only going to stick, to this chapter, Romans chapter 8, verses 1 and 2, says, these things, we, talking about Christians, are not condemned, yeah, we are not condemned, verses 3 and 4, God sent Jesus, to be an offering, or a sacrifice, to pay the penalty, for our sin, verses 7 and 8, if you're not a Christian, or even if you are, you cannot please God, there's nothing, that we can do, that would please God, verses 10 and 11, and then 13, says that, we have life, through Christ, if we're Christians, verses 14 and 17, says, we are children of God, and heirs, and in other places, it says that,
[19:50] Christ, is our brother, and in verses 22 to 30, it says, three amazing things, about those, who are Christians, did you spot them, when we read it earlier, it says, Christians, are redeemed, verse 23, that means, we've been, bought back, by God, with a price, and that price, was the death, of his own son, and no being, no other God, in the whole world, could have paid that price, only God's son, it says, in verse 30, that we are justified, we're not justified, if we sat before, any court, that was full of, intelligent people, who knew the law, and particularly, the law of God, and they said, can we justify this person, and their lives, they would say no, because they continually, sinned against the word of God, they haven't obeyed him, that's what,
[21:00] Lawrence was talking about, wasn't it, because, God expects us, as Christians, to obey him, and it also says, and this is, absolutely, incredible, as a Christian, we're all so glorified, not yet, but one day, we will be, when we go, to be with him, these are the things, that, are being referred to, when Paul asked this question, what then shall we say, in response, to these things, one, we were, we are condemned, because of our sin, but God sent Jesus, as a sin offering, because we can't please God, but we have life, through Christ, and that we now, if we believe, children of God, and heirs, and we're redeemed, we're justified, and we're glorified, right, well I wonder, if you could think, what shall we say, in response, to these things, so imagine now, you're in Rome, remember,
[22:15] Rome was a very, warlike nation, at that time, and we're taking over, the whole world, and this is the first time, they did anything like this, coming from the country, that they just defeated, and had in subjection, and he was a man, from that country, and he was writing, these things, about Jesus Christ, about the fact, they were condemned, about how they couldn't, please God, when they had many gods, and about all these things, and if, if, they'd taken on board, the whole point, of Paul's message, to them, there's only, one question, that arises, from his question, what then, shall we say, in response, to these things, I'm pausing, for 30 seconds, so you can think, what that thing might be, and then I'm going to tell you, right, let me give you, three people, to whom, the same things were said, are very similar things, and this was their response, the most famous occasion, was in Acts chapter 2, verses 36 and 37, when Peter, had preached to the crowds, on the day of Pentecost, and when he finished, his sermon, then, it says, the crowd, were cut to the heart, and said, what shall we do, what shall we do, about this situation, if I'm condemned, if I'm bound, to be a sinful person, and if I can't please God, what shall I do, a bit later in Acts, in chapter 16, verse 30, we come across a jailer, who'd just seen, a miraculous event, for his prisoners, who were in prison, and miraculous things happened, and he was, seeing all this, and his response was, sirs, what must I do, to be saved, and then the third, one I want to refer to, is in Mark chapter 10, verse 17, where a rich, young man came, to Jesus, some say he was a rich ruler, and when Jesus outlined, some of the things, that he should consider, this was his question, what must I do, to inherit, eternal life, and of course,
[24:55] I will argue this, and you have to test it, for yourself, but I would say, isn't that, the most important question, in the whole world, you might think, other things are important, I nearly talked about, when I was reminded by, what Martin said, when he said, about Marnie, and her intended, he at some point, would have said, will you marry me, that's an important question, and there's many other, important questions, that you might perceive, in life, but the most important question, and I think this is, beyond doubt, because this goes on, beyond this life, what must I do, to inherit eternal life, surely, that is the most important question, because unless you know, the answer to it, then, when you leave this earth, that would be it, except it isn't, the Bible talks of, those who are unbelievers, and it occurred in our passage as well, there is, something to come, which is a punishment, we don't like to think, of those things, but that's what the Bible tells us, for those, who don't serve Christ, and, there's an answer, to that question, what shall we do, how can I be saved, what must I do, to inherit eternal life,
[26:27] Paul actually gives, one version of it, in chapter 10, and verse 9, if you want to turn to it, it says this, and, it doesn't need a superman, it doesn't need, anybody to do, some really difficult task, it simply says this, verse 9, if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead, you will, be saved, you will, no doubt about it, you will, be saved, but the important thing, is not just to declare it, but it says, believe it, in your heart, and all of us, sadly, have that, way of, talking to people, about all sorts of things, where what we say, isn't actually, what's going on, behind, we're thinking, something, completely different, I've got another, important question, this time,
[27:31] I don't have an answer, but it's a question, I want you to take away, particularly, if you're, someone, who is not sure, whether you're a Christian, this morning, and that question is, have you ever done that, have you ever, put your trust, in the Lord Jesus Christ, and asked him, for, his forgiveness, and asked him, to, be, your saviour, if you like, that's, almost, important, the question is, asking that first question, in the first place, how can I be saved, because then, when somebody tells you, if you don't do it, it seems, ridiculous, I'm going to give you, as it were, what happens, if you don't give, the right answer, or you're not aware, that the question, applies to you, some of you, may remember, a family, that we had in church, a number of years ago, the husband, was working, at RAF,
[28:33] Filingdale's, and Kath and I, have met them, in recent years, when we come over here, for visits, they were called, the stones, and, we met them, last time, at Castle Howard, of all places, and, they were telling us, about their daughter, who because, they'd spoken so much, about England, and about Whitby, and how beautiful it was, daughter decided, she was going to come over here, so she got on a plane, came across to England, and got here, and they sent her back home, why did they send her back home, she'd forgotten her passport, people couldn't work out, she couldn't work out, how it hadn't been picked up, in America, but somehow, she got through, at the American end, came on the plane, and she was all ready, for England, she had her bags packed, she had everything she needed, for the English summer, she had thick woolly jumpers, and all of those sorts of things, but when she got here, they said, where's your passport, and she said, I didn't know,
[29:34] I needed a passport, it wasn't that, she'd forgotten it, she didn't realise, she needed one, and there are so many people, in this world, who don't know, that when we go to heaven, that the Lord, is going to be there, and said, have you got, the Lord Jesus name, on your forehead, did you believe in him, is Jesus Christ your saviour, and imagine, the situation, if you have to say, I didn't, I didn't know, I didn't know, that I had to, ask the Lord, to be saved, I thought I could just, come into heaven, because of all the good things, I've done, how many people, are going to find, that excuse, not accepted, on the day, she had no excuse, they needed a passport, she didn't have one, they sent her back, on the next slide, unfortunately, when it comes to, standing before the Lord, we only get one chance, after that, having posed to them, the question, which demanded, the other question, which is most important,
[30:51] Paul gives us, six other questions, and they're all, rhetorical questions, which means, everybody knows, what the answer is, or should be, the only question is, are they going to give it, so let's just quickly, go through them, I'll give you an example, first of all, from my experience, one day I was doing a lesson, forgive me for this, about combining, algebraic terms, but don't worry, I'll give you the answer, the first question, I asked to the first student, having explained it, on the board was, right, so what's two X, plus three X, and he said, five X, in case you didn't know, that's the answer, right, I have it on good authority, and, I then went round the classroom, saying what's, three Y, plus five Y, what's six P, plus three P, et cetera, et cetera, and they're all giving, the right answers, except for one boy, who every time, I asked him a question, sort of, looked dazed, and blank, probably because, that's what he was, most of the time, but he just, his eyes glazed over, and eventually, he would come up with an answer, so I'd say, well, you know, what's, four X, plus three X, and he'd say, seven B, no, no, what's three X, plus four X, one X, no, so in the end, as teachers do,
[32:21] I got a little bit frustrated, because he was the only person, in the class, who couldn't do this, so I went round the class, and I, first person, back to him again, right, what's two A, plus three A, five A, right, next person, what's two B, plus three B, five B, and this went, all round the class, until we got, to this one boy, and by that time, he went back to X again, so it was, what's two X, plus three X, and he said, I went, he's paralysed, with fear again, and he said, I went, and he went, and I thought, we've done it, we've done it, I said, what's the answer, he said, six X squared, and, I feigned, going and banging my head, against the brick wall, there'll be people, who, when they're, being asked these questions, and when the answers, are so obvious, as Paul clearly thought, the answers would be, that there are people, millions of them, in this world, who face with, exactly the same facts, and exactly the same information, that Paul was given, to these people, about Jesus Christ, they can't, seem to see, the answer, and yet, the Bible says, if we trust in Christ, and believe in him, it's actually the Holy Spirit, which gives us that answer, it's not our human intellect, thankfully, it's the Holy Spirit, and these fishermen, and others, that Jesus spoke to, and were converted, it wasn't because, of their intellect, it wasn't because, they didn't know algebra, or English, or anything like that, or Hebrew, it was simply because, the Holy Spirit, made it absolutely clear, to them, and they were able, to answer, but there are other people, same question, but their answer, is different, going back to school days again, measuring angles, this time, and you say, right, here's the answers, to the questions, this one, the angle was 90 degrees, and the kids, maybe marking their own papers, and they're ticking it, and one, boy or girl, will put their hand up, and say, no it isn't, no it's 90 degrees, that's the answer, no it isn't,
[34:52] I've measured it, it's 88 degrees, and I go with the protractor, and put it on, and say, it's 90 degrees, must be something wrong, with your protractor, there will be people, who will argue with you, as you know, about the Christian faith, and say, it just isn't true, you can give me, as Paul was doing here, as much evidence, as you like, that, these things are true, but, I've got my idea, and my idea, is right, and there are people, like that, but notice, what he says, in these other questions, questions, if God is for us, who can be against us, well clearly, the answer is, no one, if we've got God, with us, God the creator, of the universe, God who gives us, our human lives, who makes all the various, blood vessels, and all the various, arteries, and so on, in our body, and our heart, and our kidneys, and all the other things, work, to keep us alive, if he's on our side, who can be against us, because, when we read, the almighty God, it actually means, what it says, he's almighty, he's capable, of anything, and there's no one, no thing, no angelic being, even, who is as powerful, as God, so if God is for us, it's true, that no one, can be against us, and it goes on to say, who did not spare, his own son, but gave him up, for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us, all things, again the answer, is obvious, so he will, he will give us, all things, let's just, check that, because, in this very passage,
[36:54] Paul, comes back, to it, in verse 34, who then is the one, who condemns, no one, Christ Jesus, who died, more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God, and he's also, interceding, for us, so, the answer, is not only, confirmed there, but also, going on to this next question, about God, giving us, all good things, John chapter 14, and verse 4, says this, you may ask me, for anything, in my name, and I will do it, there's no, room for openness there, if we ask anything, in Christ's name, he says, I will do it, so, the answer to that, is also, he will give us, all things, and, the next question is, who will separate us, from the love of Christ, again, the answer is, no one, and if you look, on a computer, and put in, a sentence, that you want to look for, in the Bible, the one I put in was, that,
[38:06] I will never leave you off, or forsake you, which is one of the verses there, I wonder if you could predict, how many times, and how many hits it got, there are, loads and loads of them, let me just give you a few, that verse, or a very similar verse, I will never leave you, or forsake you, has been spoken, to Christians, throughout, the whole of creation, Genesis 28, 15, says the same thing, Deuteronomy 31, verses 6 and 8, says that, 1 Chronicles 28, verse 20, says that, Joshua 1, verses 5 and 9, says that, Isaiah 41, verses 10 to 13, say that, Matthew 28, verse 20, says that, Hebrews 13, 5 and 6, says that, so if I ask you the question, do you think the Lord, will ever forsake his people, no, absolutely not, and in fact, if you go back briefly, to that Psalm we read, Psalm 73, the reason I picked it, was for what it says, in verses 23, 24 and onwards, yet I am always with you, you hold me by my right hand, you guide me with your counsel, and afterwards, you will take me into glory, it says, didn't it, that we're glorified as Christians, and we will one day be in glory, whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire besides you, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is a strength in my heart, and my portion, forever, forever,
[39:46] I don't think, there's anything, that's more wonderful, than that, that, that, Psalm 11, sorry, 118 verse 6, says it like this, the Lord is with me, I will not be afraid, what can my immortals do to me, Jeremiah 29 verse 11 says, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you hope, and a future, and that future, is an eternal future, and he was saying that, to the exiles in Babylon, who clearly, were in a very difficult position, and longed, to be back home, so what's the conclusion, to what, we've been talking about, well, I think, the conclusion, has to be referring to the, point where, the disciples were rowing across, the lake, it was dark, the waters were rough, and Jesus started walking, across the water towards them, and they saw him, across the lake,
[40:53] Peter probably had, lots of questions, like, how is Jesus walking, in the water, how will I be able to, walk across to him, what happens if I start to sink, sink, but, he did, start to walk towards the Lord, who invited him, and after that, he only needed, one more question, what was it, when he started to sink, Lord, save me, Lord, save me, that's the only, question, that we need to know, if we are, not a Christian, Lord, save me, I want to, read, the last few, verses, of chapter 8, to close, because it sums, all these things up, and reminds us, of our position, if we're in Christ, no, in all these things, all the things, that Paul's mentioned, we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us, notice what he says, because he's trying to, ensure that his, hearers, feel the same, for I am convinced, that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else, in all creation, will be able to, separate us, from the love of God, that is in Christ,
[42:38] Jesus, our Lord, isn't that fantastic, to know, that not only, has the Lord saved us, but we'll never be, separated from his love, and that, one day, we'll be with him, I suggest, thinking about, three more questions, to close, some of these things, we've already answered, I've got a where, what and a how, where can I go, to be saved, the Bible's clear, Jesus, full stop, no other answers, what do I need to do, cry out to him, as we just read, save me, and he will, but then, for those of you, who are Christians, the next, one, is, important for us too, not the most important, but if we are, a follower of Jesus, probably the most important, now, having, got the most important, questions out of the way, the next one surely is, how can I, serve him, if he saved me, if he's given me, eternal life, if he's promised, that he will never leave me, how can I, serve him, the challenge, is for all of us, what does service, actually mean, for the Christian, well,
[44:06] Lawrence gave us, part of the answer, it's obedience to God, and doing, what he wants us to do, then, now, not, I'll think about it, and in 20 years time, I might do something, what, is God telling us to do, now, and you've only got to go, to Acts chapter 2, and find all the things, that the Christians, had in common, regularly, meeting together, worshipping God, praying to him, and asking him, to help them, in the situations, they were, but lots of ways, to serve God, so let's seek, to do that, from time, from time, from time, from time, from time, from time, now to him, who is able to keep you, from stumbling, and to present you, before his glorious presence, without fault, and with great joy, to the only God, our Saviour, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, before all ages, now, and forevermore, amen.
[45:18] Amen. Amen.