If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8.31)
Have you heard? Have you heard that God is for us? Who can then be against us? When I hear these words of St Paul that God is for us, I imagine Jesus cheering us on – running along the sidelines, shouting out our name, urging us on, rooting for us!
Now, this might sound like I’m talking about a football match - maybe even the World Cup, or perhaps a certain game between England and Ghana (I have to say that I was relieved that we drew 0-0!) But as we imagine those football crowds let’s think about their devotion, their passion, their dedication to their team, whether they score or not!
And let’s listen again to God’s word: ‘If God is for us, who is against us!’ More than any World Cup supporter, more than the most devoted Ghanaian or English football fan; Have you heard? Jesus is for us! Alleluia!
I wonder how many times in your life you have really known that someone is for you? I wonder how many people in your life have really demonstrated that to you? That they are cheering you on; that they are with you; that they are supporting you in good times and in bad times, that they truly want the best for you? If you’ve experienced this kind of encouragement and support in your faith journey, you are blessed. However, it can be hard for us to feel this assurance – even, sometimes, from the people who are closest to us. But the Bible assures us that God is for us; Jesus is with us.
We have this hope in Jesus Christ – if God is for us, if Jesus is with us – ‘who’, then can be against us?
Isn’t this then the most wonderful treasure of the kingdom? Isn't this wonderful that God loves us, that he sent his only son to save us, that ‘God is for us!’ Alleluia! The letter to the Romans assures us that God is always true to his promise even if sometimes we struggle to see that.
When the cares of the world are upon us; when we face hardship, distress, persecution or famine, peril or the sword; when we wonder what life is all about or what we are worth, then we need to hear the words and the promise of God – God is ‘for’ us: Jesus is ‘for’ us. Who then will separate us from the love of God. Do you know that in your heart today, that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
‘In all these things’, St Paul writes, ‘we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.’ (Romans 8.37). ‘For I am convinced’, Paul goes on to say, ‘that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8.38-39)
Do you believe that promise of God?
I think this is the most profound secret of the kingdom. This is the most incredible treasure hidden among us – that Jesus is for us, that amidst all the challenges of our lives, with all the doubts we face, that we can trust in God’s promise that he is for us.
Isn’t this like heaven at our fingertips! Wouldn’t we give everything to know for this promise of Jesus!
If I’m honest, it can sometimes be hard to trust in this promise, to know that this treasure of the kingdom of God lies just beneath our feet, especially when worries and struggles feel like they could overwhelm us. It can be hard to trust God’s promise that he is for us when we are consumed by anxiety, illness or doubt; when we sit in the shadow of death, it can be hard to believe that God’s kingdom is close at hand when fears consume our heart.
But God’s word assures us – he is with us, and not only with us, but for us! Jesus invites us to trust in the kingdom of heaven being close at hand. For however often you have turned your life to Jesus and come back to him, today, Jesus invites you again to trust that the kingdom is close at hand. That God is with us, and his kingdom is present to us, in the most ordinary things of life.
The Bible shows us how we can turn to God in the struggles and difficulties that we face. We can turn to God’s word and find help with the worries and anxieties that press upon us: ‘For in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us’.
Jesus invites us to lay our burdens upon him. And we read in Matthew, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ (Matthew 11.28-29)
So this morning, hear Jesus' words: 'Come to me all who are heavy burdened and you will find rest for your soul.'
The letter to the Romans assures us of God’s presence with us, and the power of the Spirit at work in us at all times, in times of weakness and that when we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words’ (Romans 8.26)
Isn't that wonderful? That the spirit is interceding on our behalf? Even when we don’t know how to pray; when we feel overwhelmed by the burdens of life; when we wonder whether God is with us and we can’t even find the words to lift our voices in prayer – God’s Spirit intercedes for us. Alleluia! How grateful am I for that? That God’s Spirit prays for us – that God is for us - and the Holy Spirit is at work within us, praying, not with perfectly formed prayers, but with sighs, too deep for words.
I wonder if you have known these types of prayers – the prayers that stir deep within your soul, even when you don’t have words; a prayer that feels more like a cry to God; the deepest desire to know that God is for you. And when we can feel that the Spirit is at work in our prayer, surely then we know that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
The parables in Matthew’s Gospel show us just how close God’s kingdom really is.
Have you heard? The kingdom of heaven is hidden among us. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed taken and sown in the ground, becoming a great shrub where the birds of the air can nest.
The kingdom of heaven is like yeast mixed with flour, making a difference where it is found.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, something so valuable that it is worth giving up everything that we own; and again, the kingdom of heaven is like a fine pearl, so precious that it asks everything of us.
The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the depths of the sea, gathering everyone in to respond to the invitation of Christ.
Jesus uses the very ordinary images to describe the likeness of the kingdom. Jesus speaks in parables simple enough that the disciples could hear and understand what he is saying, plain enough for each one of us to hear, respond and to follow.
Jesus spoke to those who worked the land about God’s kingdom being like planting seeds; he spoke to those feeding their families about God’s kingdom being like yeast; Jesus spoke to the fishermen dependent on their daily catch about God’s kingdom like a net gathering people in; Jesus spoke to merchants and market-traders about God’s kingdom being like those who find treasure and sell all that they have to own it. Jesus speaks to us plainly, he invites us to know that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
The kingdom of God is near to us – heaven is close at hand - as we go about our daily lives, and Jesus invites us to seek the treasure of the kingdom. The treasure of the kingdom is to know that God is for us, that he sent his only son to save us.
Jesus wants us to recognise the difference that makes to our lives. Just like yeast, it transforms the dough, so God’s promise can transform our lives, our communities and our world.
Jesus wants us to pay attention to how precious that promise is. That just as a merchant will sell all that they have for the treasure or the fine pearl, so too, the knowledge of God’s love for us is worth everything.
Jesus wants us to see how far his promise extends. Just like the mustard tree that provides shelter for the birds of the air, just like the net that catches every fish of every kind, so too God’s promise extends to the hearts and lives of each and every person made in the image of God, – ‘If God is for you, who can be against you!’
Jesus wants you to know that this treasure – the greatest treasure of all – that ‘God is for you’ - is worth everything!
As we reflect on God’s word today, may you know this greatest treasure of the kingdom – ‘If God is for you, who can be against you!’ And Jesus wants you to know that this treasure, the greatest treasure of all, is worth everything.
In the ordinary things of life, as you go about your day, in the daily tasks before you, may your heart be open to the breaking in of God’s promise, the breaking in of the kingdom of heaven, the assurance of God’s love for you.
And if, or when, you struggle with weakness of any kind, may you know the Spirit interceding for you with sighs too deep for words, echoing the promise in your heart that ‘God is for you!’
When you feel oppressed by the cares and burdens of this world, may you know that you are loved with an infinite love, a love that is always with you and for you; that you are made precious in the image of God, treasured by God, that Jesus is ‘for you’ – so much so that he gave his life that you might know the promise of the kingdom of God.
Do you know this morning that infinite love of God is there for you? Have you heard that God is for you? Alleluia! Have you heard that Jesus is on your side, cheering you on, he’s running along the sidelines, he is rooting for you?
Have you heard that he has given you the most wonderful promise of all – he is for you, and nothing in all creation will ever separate you from the love of God?
Alleluia!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
