More than a conqueror

SIBKL/29/4/12/Pastor Philip Lyn

Over the past few weeks, SIBKL has been focusing strongly on the Christian in the workplace. The 9-5 window represents the largest unreached people group. In this respect, the Alpha course has proved to be a great handle for Christians to go into the workplace. In Sabah, a regional bank manager who was a very successful and well known man came to know the Lord. Before, he tried in vain to find meaning in life, buying more than a 100 cars over a span of 15 years. As a result of his conversion, his wife and children also came to know the Lord, even his previously cynical daughter who resided in Australia. There is no sacred secular divide. Our work is spiritual. We need to see both the 9-5 work window and Sunday as the same. We are ministers in the workplace. The role of the church is to empower you to go out and minister in the workplace, in your sphere of business.

Romans 8 is said to be the finale of a great symphony which starts from Romans 1:8, which speaks about justification by faith, not by works. In the 1600s, these chapters saw the birth of a new found theology. Martin Luther discovered that all his life, he was living by works. Shouting “the just shall live by faith, the just shall live by faith”, Martin Luther rang the bell for all of Germany to hear.

In all the other epistles, Paul is pastoral. However, his letter to the Romans is tightly argued and it was an intellectual giant’s argument. If Romans 8 is said to be the finale, then Romans 8:37 is the crescendo of the finale. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Who The verse before reads “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” We go through suffering, but it makes us better, for we glory through suffering. We are called and saved for something higher. Whatever the challenge, all things work out for the good of those who love Him.

As a student in the UK, I attended a concert where a Korean violinist played. At the end of the concert, all stood up and gave encore after encore, shout after shout. The Holy Spirit spoke to me at that point “How come you never do this for me?” That day on, I made a resolution in my heart that my most raucous applause would be reserved for the Lord alone.

In Romans 8:31, it says “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” God is for you. Romans is a love letter from God to you about his love. When Pastor Chew and I were young, we wrote letters in the days of snail mail. Then, the art of writing was very important, and we had to craft letters very carefully. I kept these letters in a safe and read some after 30 years. I was utterly appalled as the things I wrote, saying that I would climb the highest mountain and swim the deepest sea. Those days we would wait anxiously for the postman and tear open our letters with bated breath.

In Romans 8, the Lord writes to us “My dear son, I am for you”. Believe first that God is for you even when your family is against you. A poetic son wrote to his father “Dear daddy, No money, not funny, your sonny.” His father replied “Dear lad, so sad, too bad, your dad”.

Romans 8:33-34 says “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. 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”. God’s love does not condemn you. In this verse, we are given a picture of ourselves standing before God, and the devil hurls accusation after accusation against us. However, the Lord says “Stop! Who will bring a charge for him whom I have justified?”

A prisoner of war who underwent great atrocities was asked how he was able to live through his ordeal, and he replied “The love of my family kept me going”. In our times of trouble, for us, it is knowing the love of God that keeps us going.

The world record for non-stop talking goes to an Indian man who talked for 3 ½ days non-stop. The record for women is only 1.5 days. This is contrary to the popular perception that women talk more than men. Perhaps it is because wives have to repeat all the time! Some people say talk is cheap, but in the Scripture, it is not for God paid the price through Jesus Christ.

God’s love will never let you down, it conquers everything. If we come under condemnation, we live under fear. Romans says the just shall live by faith. A regular customer to a coffee shop always drank from just above the handle. Curious, the shop owner asked him why he drank that way. The man said “Shhh, I’m drinking this way to avoid getting AIDs. Strangely, another man came in and drank the same way. The coffee shop owner told him “Aha, I know why you drink this way” but the second man told him “Shhh, I have AIDs.” The point is we should not let fear rule our lives but trust that God’s love will never us down.

Imagine a great fighter who has all the attributes of Muhammad Ali, Sylvester Stallone and Mike Tyson all rolled into one. After 15 rounds, the fighter knocks out the contender and is declared the champion and RM15 Million cheque. Going back home, the fighter meets his equally big wife who asks him “how did that go, darling?” “I won” the champion proudly declares and his wife promptly replies “Now hand over the paycheck.” The champion is a conqueror, but his wife is more than a conqueror.

Two Christian couples served God faithfully but their children died. One couple raged at God and left the church. The other couple looked at the cross and remembered that God paid the price and trusted that God’s love would not let them down. They went on to become missionaries. God will make a way.

A girl who became blind because of too much oxygen came to church and talked about God’s love. In spite of her handicap, she composed songs to God which has touched many lives. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The poem “Footprints in the sand” is well known throughout the world. It speaks of a person observing two sets of footprints on the beach representing her walk with the Lord. Then at one point, there was only one set, and she realized it was during the darkest times of her life. She asked the Lord why she was left alone. The Lord replied “My child, it was then that I carried you.”

While this poem is well known, what is not well known is the author, Margaret Fishback Powers, a 5ft 1 lady who lost the poem she wrote among some crates. Her husband and her were itinerant Sunday School teachers but had marriage problems. One day, she came across the poem in a bookshop and realized that it was hers. She started proceedings against Hallmark but the company said she had no proof. Then one night, she suddenly remembered that she had a copy at the back of an old photo. However, God gave her a dream, and spoke to her that if she were to go through with it, then people would say that it was all about money and not about Jesus. So she stopped all legal action. Nevertheless, some companies using the poem have begun to place her name as the author.

In Mulu caves in Sarawak, we have one of the largest cave systems in the world, and there are millions of bats there. In the night, mother bats would go out to hunt and return to feed their hungry babies. For a long time, scientists thought that the mothers would just feed any baby when they returned. However, with recent DNA technology, it was discovered that every mother would be able to return and be able to find her own particular baby 100% of the time. Just as God created each baby bat with a unique signature that its mother would know, so too each of us are unique and special to God, created according to His love and purpose. Indeed, God is for us, and in Him, we are more than conquerors.