What Shall Separate Us from the Love of God

The speaker tells a personal story about a friend named Stephen who passed away. This experience made the speaker question why a good Christian like Stephen would die and if there is hope for others. The speaker reflects on the uncertainties and challenges of life, but emphasizes that nothing can separate us from the love of God. They also mention the importance of serving God despite difficulties. The story of Stephen's death and the impact he had on others reminds the speaker of Jesus' death and how it brought life to others. The speaker encourages listeners to consider what truly matters and prioritize their relationship with God. Today we will be looking at a very important topic that has been in my heart and it has been in my heart because of a very personal experience I've had. It was supposed to be a negative experience but somehow, like everything, God turned it for good. Romans, the book of Romans 8 to the 5 says, who, sometimes that could be a word, shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword. After reading, for thy sake we are killed all day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 says, 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, nor heights, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Some years ago, 2016, I just woke up all of a sudden around 3am in the night and I didn't know why I woke up so I asked myself, why did I wake up? And I kind of had a thought drop into my heart that you're going to hear a good and a bad news today. Okay, I don't know, it's someone like me, if someone tells me you're hearing a good or a bad news, and I'm to take a peek, I'll say give me the bad news first so the hope of the good news can keep me alive. And I had that same thought like, which do you want to hear first? I was just thinking it was me talking to myself, having an inner conversation with myself, so I said of course, definitely as always, the bad news first, the good news can keep me alive. And I waited, nothing, waited, didn't hear anything, after some minutes I just felt it was my imagination and then I went back to sleep. So maybe I prayed, I think I tried praying, I didn't know what I was praying for, I didn't know why I woke up, but I knew something was unfinished business and I felt it was just me. Then fast forward some hours later, woke up, was taking the kids to school, then I remembered as I got in to drop them off at school that oh, there's a friend of mine, a colleague of mine rather, who has been sick and I've been meaning to call to ask how he was doing and I've never had a chance. So I said oh, okay, let me call Steven. I called Steven, that was about a little before 8am and someone has picked up, who is this? I was surprised because I assumed my number should be registered on his phone. I said oh, this is his colleague, may I speak with Steven? He says Steven is not available now. Any reason why you're calling? I'm like oh, you don't just ask someone why the person is calling, because like you know he's secretary. But I said oh, okay, his number fine, I just wanted to check on him. So when he calls back, do you mind just telling him that I called? And the person said yes, he will. I dropped the call. I haven't even left. And the number called back again, I'm like oh, Steven is back. And the person, the same brother picked up, I was surprised, and I said okay, sorry about the way I spoke just now, but I just wanted to let you know that Steven is dead. After so many years, it still hits me, like, Steven is dead? When did he die? He said he died this morning, and all of a sudden, something just came to my head, like, when did he die? What time? And he said 3 a.m., and that was the exact same time that I got up and I heard within my spirit that I'll be hearing the good and the bad news today. But at that moment, he told me that I felt so bad, because Steven was a Christian, he was more of a Christian than I was, and man, how could he die? Like, if that's a real good Christian dies, is there any hope for me? I was a good Christian, I think, but you know, people who you look up to and are like, is there any hope for me? I felt bad, like, couldn't God save such a very, very good Christian? I couldn't understand why he died. He was so young, yeah, older than me, he was in his 40s, early 40s, I didn't know at that time, but I just couldn't imagine why he should die, I felt so bad, I was questioning God as I drove to work that morning, I kept on questioning God and asking Him, why, how could you let this guy die just like that, for no reason? And I was almost getting to the office, as I was almost driving into the office, I remember there's that spot, something came to my head and said, okay, I was expected to hear both a bad news and a good news, I chose the bad news first, and I have heard the bad news, so what are the good news? And so, calmly, offhandedly, I heard Stephen went to heaven, and I'm like, no, no, no, because I'm that kind of person, the worst thing that could happen is you go to heaven if you're a Christian, and I felt again, that was my spirit talking to me, and not really like a consolation that Stephen went to heaven, yes, I know he must have gone to heaven, but I thought, that was not the good news I was expecting, what is the good news? So, I walked into the office with that conodrome, and Stephen was the assistant music director in his church, while the deputy managing director of my company was the music director in the church, so I felt that was the next person I needed to talk with, I went into his office, thank God he was in the office, and I asked him, I'm sure you heard that Stephen is dead now, he said yes, he's heard, and then I told him what transpired with me that morning, how I woke up, and he was smiling, and he told me how Stephen had walked into his office some weeks ago, his sickness had been kind of on and off, so sometimes he comes into the office, and then it relapses, and he's off work, and Stephen had told him that he was in a dream, he was in a wilderness place, everything was bad, everything was, you know, how looking bad, how wilderness is, dry, nothing, and then all of a sudden, I think a bird came, or something, or spirit of God, I don't know, something came and took him out of that place, and took him into a very beautiful place, I couldn't even imagine, Stephen didn't know what it was, I don't know if Stephen knew what it was, but he said when Stephen told him that, he was just looking at Stephen like, man, you're a dead man, and at that moment, I believed what I heard, that I was on my mind talking, that I was the spirit of God talking, that Stephen had gone to heaven. After this very, I don't know how immense the story could be for you, like it is for me, you would think this is a story of what I'm going to talk about today, but for the first place, it's not related, that is not. Now, that was when we began understanding things about Stephen, that was when I knew he was above 40 years, and not married, not married, I don't think it was out of any of his volition, it was just life had played him a bad hand. He, I earned better than he was earning, so, and I didn't think my salary was fantastic, so, you can imagine what I would think of Stephen's salary. He was taking care of his two aged parents, had the office sent people to go console the parents, they discovered that they were living in an out-of-way location, what we call a bush, and their houses didn't have, the house they were in didn't have a door. There was only one bed for the father and the mother, and the father had a leg problem, I was the only one sleeping on it, the mother was sleeping on a chair, and on a couch, and I'm sure when Stephen had been sick, and it was the day in their house, the mother slept, I don't know how they just slept, the house was not yet so completed, there were no windows, no doors, it was not completed, Stephen was poor. Stephen was poor. Stephen was poor, and that's why all of a sudden something came to my head, and I was asking myself, if Stephen could make heaven, what about me? What about you? We all have our, like Jacob, who had a hip problem, we all have our disadvantages, where life is not fair, for Stephen could be poverty, for some people it could be a child who is not okay, for some people it could be cheating spouse, for some people it could be not getting a job, it could be anything for anybody at any point in time, but the question still remains, what shall separate us from the love of God? Even when Stephen was sick, I was told by a colleague that, oh he told them he has composed a song, and when he gets back, he plays the bass guitar, I mentioned he was a music director, he was going to come in and teach the choir, but he never made it, but in the midst of his sickness, Stephen was still serving God. After that incident, I began to have a very different opinion about life, I had never really maybe been so afraid of death, at a moment, the only thing I was afraid about dying, was not, was dying as a non-Christian, if I knew I was right with God, I was never going to be afraid of dying, we were in a car one day, Stephen and I were still in the same company, I was driving now, my colleagues asked me, how would you feel if you die now? God just says, God needs you now, I told them, oh God says he needs me now, that means I'm right standing with him, then I'll take that offer, at a click of my fingers, oh what about your children? I said, if God calls me home, then he will take care of them, he's your grandfather, and he will do a better job than I would do taking care of them, because from that experience with Stephen, I discovered that nothing, nothing in this world really matters if we're going home, the Bible says that in my father's house are many mansions, are places that are already built up, prepared with your names on it, and he said, if it was not so, I would have told you, and going home to prepare a place for you, but those places are already built up, they're already furnished, and your names are on it, and here in my house, and here in my house, they're trying to build a life, well who wouldn't take that free gift, even if you get a million, ten million, a billion dollars, the people who got wealth through lotto's and lotteries, they always, most of them became poorer after, which means even getting that wealth is not going to build you up, but in God's house, let's not talk first about how beautiful it is, that's going to be the best thing that could ever happen, and so the question still remains, where shall I separate you from the love of God, shall I your pastor, shall I your life, shall I the man that sits beside you in church on Sunday, who praises God in his own way, or who wears a ring all over him, or who has tattoos all over him, or the way your pastor mentioned your name on the pulpit, or the way you were corrected, and you didn't like it, nobody mentioned that question, most commonly the way you like it, what shall separate you from the love of God, are you going to rise above the little inconveniences of this world, for a greater good of being in heaven, no matter how poor Stephen was, he loved God and God called him home, yeah people argue if J is hell or J is heaven, yeah the bible says J is hell, J is heaven, and people come up with theological reasons why it may not be true, oh cool, I'm not going to even argue if J is hell or J is heaven, neither am I going to, I'm not going to argue if J is hell, neither am I going to argue if J is heaven, and I know very well from my personal Stephen experience, that J is heaven, and Christians get caught into it, even if the opposite of death is eternal death, if there was no heaven, I think I'll peak heaven any day to eternal death, eternal suppression from God, even if we're not going to burn on fire for eternity, I'll peak heaven, because it's like treating eternity for 80, 90, 100 years, in those 80, 90, 100 years, half of it or more than it, or more of those 90 years, I just feel with so many uncertainties, ups and downs, hit by the vicissitudes of life, the storms of life, I'll peak heaven. And Stephen touched me so much, that after five years I went back home, I asked people who knew where the parents were, and I was told the father was dead, it felt like my father had died, the mother was still alive, but nobody knew where she was, nobody knew where his siblings were, I wanted to do what I could to take care of the mother, it just depends, it just like be the son she lost, who was taking care of her, she has other children too, who may be better off now, but to thank her for the life of Stephen and the way it blessed me, to thank, make her not feel as she would feel as pain, make her know that Stephen touched me so much and his death, even she is grieving it, helped someone. And if that is death, all of a sudden that becomes good death, all of a sudden that becomes good death, a death that raises up the lives of people, which reminds me of death of someone, and that is good death, it reminds me of the life of Jesus, where he died and in his death people got raised up, people became alive, and that is good death, we need to always think about our lives and ask ourselves what shall separate us from the love of God.