Romans 8:28-39
Key Verse 8:37 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

No one wants to be a loser. Even the most wretched of human beings wants to be a victorious general who could conquer the whole world. If you ask anyone: "Hey, you-- do you want to be a loser?" he would answer: "Are you crazy?" If you ask anyone: "Do you want to be a winner?" he would say: "Do birds fly." But in this hard world, not everyone can be a victor. Actually, most people living in this dog-eat-dog world are usually beaten down losers. But God did not make us to be loser. God made us to be a winner and a great victor. God made us to conquer the whole world. Then, why are we conquerors.

FIRST, GOD WORKS FOR THE GOOD OF US (28-30). Read verse 28. "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." Our Father God is the Sovereign God who rules all things in heaven and on earth with his good purpose. He is also the Sovereign God over the lives of all his precious children. This glorious truth has been the source of comfort and strength for all God's people down through the generations. When they equipped themselves with this faith, God enabled them to endure the most adverse of circumstances. More than that, God also CHANGED their adverse circumstances into God's grace and fruitful victory.

For example, there was a young man named Joseph in the Old Testament. When young Joseph lived a pure life before God, he was the apple of his father's eye, and the source of jealousy to his 10 older brothers. So they devised a scheme to get rid of him by selling him into slavery. Joseph, who had done nothing to deserve such unbearable misery, did not question God's purpose, nor did he complain about his circumstances. Instead he was certain that whatever God's purpose was, it was God's good purpose. So, he was not defeated by his circumstances but he conquered them by faith in the Sovereign God. Then at God's right time, God who works for the good of those who love him, worked out something good for Joseph and made him the ruler of all Egypt and the shepherd of his people. Those who do not acknowledge the sovereign God, become the victims of fatalism and are conquered by a deep sense of despair. But when I believe that the Sovereign God has a good purpose for my life, I can endure everything. I can overcome everything. I can challenge everything. Then, even in my hard situation, I am a conqueror because I put my faith in God's good purpose for my life.

Look at verse 28 again. Paul teaches us that God works for the good of those who love him. He also teaches us that those who love God have been called according to his purpose. What then is the purpose for which God calls those who love him? Let's read verses 29-30. "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." According to Paul God's purpose is two fold; God purposed to justify us and he also purposed to glorify us in Christ Jesus his Son.
Why are we more than conquerors?

SECOND, ALMIGHTY GOD JUSTIFIED US HIS CHILDREN (30A). Look at verse 30a. "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified." According to Paul, those who love God are "justified". No matter how hard human beings try to justify their, terrible acts of sin against God, neither sin nor those who commit acts of sin can be justified. Yet in his great mercy God did not leave us to die, conquered by sin and defeated by death. In his great mercy God sent his Son Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He sent Jesus as the One who alone can justify sinners before God and make peace between them and God. Therefore, when we believe in Jesus and put our faith in him, we are justified. We no longer are God's enemies who are
Introduction: Hello! My name is Shepherd Abraham Nial from India. In the past, I worshiped a Hindu god with an elephant's head and a human body. Though I asked him many times for help, he never helped me and I was a loser. But through one-to-one Bible study I accepted Jesus as the true God. When I pray to Jesus, he answers my prayers. Now I am a conqueror in Jesus Christ. The title of my message is:
destined for condemnation. But we become the children of God, justified by Christ, and destined for the greatest victory which is "eternal life" and "the kingdom of God". This too was Paul's secret to the victorious life. Paul knew that all of a sinner's victories are in fact defeats in disguise. He knew that real victory only comes to those who love God and are freely justified by grace through faith in Jesus.
Why are we more than conquerors?

THIRD, ALMIGHTY GOD GLORIFIED HIS CHILDREN (30B). Look at verse 30b. "...those he justified, he also glorified." According to Paul, those who love God are also "glorified". Through plastic surgery, countless human beings try to make themselves look beautiful, spending much money. But no one can make his inner man beautiful and holy and glorious by plastic surgery. The inner man remains too ugly and too ignoble. But God never intended for his children to be ugly on the inside. God intended for his children to be beautiful on the inside. The Bible teaches us that God made us to be in his image, as beautiful in character as God. But sin made us fall short of the glory of God. Sin destroyed the image of God in us, until we no longer looked beautiful like God in the inner man, but we looked as ugly as the devil. But God did not leave us damaged on the inside. Look at verse 30 again. Paul teaches us that God's purpose from the beginning had been to "glorify" his children, and to conform them to the likeness of his beautiful Son Jesus. But how on earth can an inwardly ugly man like you and me be glorified? When a child of God puts his or her faith in Jesus, the process of glorification begins immediately. Those who are inwardly ugly begin to look beautiful. Selfish people change to become most sacrificial people. Stingy people become generous. Angry people become patient and forgiving people. It is the work of the Holy Spirit working on the inside to change dark hearts into hearts as beautiful as that of Jesus. When men live under the power of sin, sin darkens their hearts with despair. They are defeated by their powerlessness to change. But for those who are called according to God's purpose, there is victory, because in Christ Jesus there is power to change the inner man until the inner man is glorified and restored to the likeness of the beautiful Jesus.

FOURTH, BECAUSE GOD IS FOR US AND LOVES US (31-39). Look at verse 31. "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" In his great love God has given us one glorious victory after another. When we were defeated by the tragic circumstances of our
lives, God worked them out for his good purpose. When we were defeated by sin and became God's enemies, he justified us and made us his beloved children. When we were defeated by the ugliness of our own inner heart, God glorified us to grow in the likeness of Jesus. How then did we become so victorious? Paul teaches us that though we have many enemies who want to defeat us, God himself is for us. Almighty God is fighting for us. So then, if God is for us, who can be against us? Nothing can defeat those who love God and are loved by God.

Look at verses 32-36. ("He who did not spare ...slaughtered). The Bible assures us that God loved us so much that he did not even spare his own Son but sacrificed him on our behalf. And he who did not spare his own Son will surely also give us all things along with Christ. He gives us the strength to fight every fight of faith with the promise of victory. And if that is not enough, Christ himself who stands at the right hand of God intercedes for us so that we may be fully equipped to fight every fight of faith and win every victory. God wants us to be assured of victory. God wants to assure us that as long as we are bound to Jesus and Jesus is bound to us in love, we have every assurance that victory belongs to us.

Let us read verses 37-39. "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." With confidence, Paul declared: "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us." When Paul thought about God's love for us he was convinced that we are more than conquerors. In history, there have been all kinds of conquerors. Ignoble rulers, driven by greed and human pride, conquered lands and peoples. And many suffered at their cruel hands. Because of sin, even the most famous of conquerors was in fact a loser since they had no power to conquer even one bad habit. But the Bible was not talking about this kind of conquest.

What then did Paul mean that we are more than conquerors? God gave us victory over our sinful nature through the love and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. But he did so also for a good reason. God gave us victory so that we may no longer live for ourselves but live for the glory and honor of God. How c an we live f or the glory of God? We do so when we obey God's world mission command. We do so when we serve God's good purpose to bring the good news of salvation to the whole world. For this reason Paul assures us of victory. He assures us that we are more than conquerors. He promises us victory. Therefore, we must live and act as conquerors; more than conquerors: as those who have already been given the victory.
We have come to this conference to celebrate the word of God and share it with one another. We have come to pray that God's kingdom come. We have come to share in God's vision to conquer the whole world with the gospel. Our vision is to conquer the Moslem world and North Korea with the gospel. And God will surely help us fulfill his good and glorious purpose. But we cannot do so if we have a spirit of defeat nor a spirit which is easily defeated. We cannot do it if we are doubting the love of God for us and for all people. But we can do it when we have the spirit of conquest. We can do it when we have the spirit of victory which confidently shouts: "I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me." May God bless us all to have the spirit of a conqueror. May God bless us to conquer the whole world with the gospel of life. Amen.