The unfailing protection of God and your goodwill [Romans 8:38-39]

The speaker emphasizes the importance of God's protection for believers and how nothing can separate them from his love. They mention passages from the Bible that assure believers of this protection. They also mention that Satan's attacks can come from outside and can be subtle, using our own weaknesses against us. They give the example of Samson, who fell into temptation and lost his strength. The speaker warns against losing faith due to temptation and emphasizes the need to be watchful. They conclude by encouraging listeners to judge the truth of the message for themselves. Welcome to our weekly exhortation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your precious time. My name is Giga Mewa, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. Our today's message is this, while counting on the unfailing protection of God, there is one important thing the believer needs to do. God, being a God of love, does not save man and then abandon them to their own fate. He protects them against the dart of the enemy, against any attack from outside. The Bible tells us this, believers are provided with solid protection. These assurances cannot be more clearly expressed than what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 8 verse 38 and 39. He writes, For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Friend, how do you feel when you read this passage? We have many such passages in the Bible where God assures us of his protection against all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Certainly, when I meditate on these passages, I feel safe and at peace. Peace is a feeling of joy and serenity, it is comforting, it gives courage, it is reassuring. In this passage, God speaks of principalities and powers. We know these are the forces of darkness. They are in the air, in the sea, they are on earth, under the earth and who wage war against us Christians. The Bible says they can never separate us from the love of God. Yes, I totally agree that the Christian is, in a sense, invincible because he can count on God's unfailing protection against any force that might threaten him. There is nothing that can reach him from the outside. There is no external power that can snatch him out of the hand of God. The believer wearing the armor of God is protected against the attacks of the devil and certain can do nothing from the outside. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 11. The thing is that God constantly watches over each of his children. This is what the prophet Zechariah tells us. He says we are the apple of God's eye and whoever touches us touches the apple of his eye. Zechariah chapter 2 verse 8. Friends, if you know how sensitive is the apple of your eye, then you know how much you matter to God. God was saying to Israel and to us today, you matter to me so much that if anyone hurts you the slightest, it is like touching the inside of my eye. That's how much God is concerned about us and this explains the protection he gives us. Hallelujah. By reading this, we could see that God could not express to us more intensely all the importance he has for us. He cannot show us otherwise how much he cherishes anyone who comes to him with a concrete hurt above all. So I want to encourage you and remind you of what the apostle Paul said. He says, nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loves us. Romans chapter 8 verse 37. Praise the Lord. But I must admit I will feel somewhat uncomfortable if I don't mention this. You know, most often Satan's attacks come from outside. Take for example what the apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 8 verse 35. He says, shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. All these are in fact the spiritual attack from outside. Let's not forget that Satan is quite subtle and can use us against ourselves. Do not be surprised if you hear that even if we are washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, every faithful son of God carries the seed of his own destruction. And the seed is the flesh. What is the flesh then? Well, the flesh is a major part of the constitution of every human being. We could define the flesh as being this propensity in man to bind himself to sin and to oppose God. The flesh is weak in nature. Matthew chapter 26 verse 41. I should remind you that the flesh in itself is not sin, but she has a character that makes her susceptible to sin. The flesh has desire contrary to those of the spirit. Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 5 verse 17. The flesh within you is what makes you vulnerable to the influences of the enemy outside. For example, the devil, even if he is outside, can touch you by temptation. And he uses your flesh to do this. For the desire that comes within temptation comes from within, from inside, and it will seek you where you are weakest. Your weak point will be put to the test without you even feeling like you are being assaulted. You know, no one is going to force you into temptation. You go there of your own free will. There lies all the destructive power of temptation. This example that I'm going to give, I know you know about it. In the Old Testament, Samson was a man no one could beat. The Philistines tried several times to capture him without ever succeeding. His strength was such that he could repel an entire army of Philistines using only the jawbone of a donkey. From the outside, there was nothing that could stop him. But inside, it was a different story. Inside him, he had a weakness. Yes, Samson had a weakness, the love of women. The best known being undoubtedly Delilah. It was with Delilah that the Philistines appealed in their fight against Samson. Seeing that they could not catch Samson by force, and being told of his particular attraction to women, the Philistines offered Delilah money to help them discover the secret of Samson's strength. Delilah accepted. After three attempts, playing the game of seduction, Delilah managed to extract the secret from Samson. Delilah then made Samson fall asleep on her lap. And while he sleeps, his hair is shaved off, thus depriving Samson of his strength. As you can see, there was no argument, no forced action. Through persuasion and temptation, Samson fell right into a trap on his own. You can read about this in Genesis chapter 16 verse 15 to 21. Hallelujah! Conclusion You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for Oh, our hearts always hunger for In terms of what we said above, a question must be asked. Could we be tempted to the point of losing faith? That's my question. Yes, temptation can lead us to lose faith, friend. The fact that God is faithful to protect us should not cause us to lose sight of our part of the responsibility, which is to be watchful. The Apostle Peter says, Be sober, be watchful, right? Your adversary, the devil, has a roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8 My question is this. What do you think the devil is seeking to devour? It's not you, but it is your faith. It is our safe death setting, symbolized here by the lion is seeking to devour. You know, God can do everything for us, but it is up to us to be watchful. It is up to us to control our impulses, our desires. Samson had the protection and the power of God with him, but he was not being watchful, unlike Joseph who fled the advances and the seduction of Potiphar's wife. He was vigilant. You know, even if the devil cannot touch the Christian from outside, he can nevertheless achieve his end from within, from inside. So, as the Philistines could not have Samson by force, they got him where he is weak, I mean, the flesh. Samson underestimated the power of the flesh. One often says that most of man's misfortunes come from himself. If Satan can devour our faith in God, then temptation can lead us to lose our faith. That is the sad truth, whether we like it or not. Friend, I would like to tell you this. May no one deceive you with a fine-sounding argument saying that you cannot lose your faith. You will not lose your faith unless you are watchful like Peter said. Praise the Lord. We have come to the end of this exhortation. I hope you will judge by yourself the truth that you have heard in this message. If God's delay is coming, I will be with you next week. Abundant blessings.