beautiful words. Maybe not too familiar a tune, but that's why we have a new psalter to learn them whenever the occasion arises. But thank you for leading us so clearly. This morning we open the Word of God in the New Testament in Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapter 8, and we read to verses 18 through 39. Romans 8, starting at verse 18 to verse 39. And the last two verses from 38 to 39 are the text for the sermon of this morning. So, Romans chapter 8 starting at verse 18, this is the word of God. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to His purpose, for those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those who be called, He also justified. And those who be justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor 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. So far, the reading of Holy Scripture. May it be blessed by our spirits. beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. So these days, brothers and sisters, we are making the transition from the year of the Lord, 2018, to Anno Domini, 2019. We exchange good wishes, wishing each other a happy New Year, God's blessings, for the new year, and then we move on again. Yet today, this morning, we take some time for contemplation, for thoughtful consideration. We enter the new year with our expectations, our personal anticipation. There may be families among us who move on with the expectation of a baby, the expansion of their family. There may be couples also who eagerly move into the year 2010 in the anticipation of their wedding day, the Lord willing. There are others who move on holding their own, expecting the status quo in their work or in their retirement, in good health or with a chronic disease. married or single, old or young, in study or career, in happiness or brokenness. Besides our expectations and anticipations in these personal and family situations, we also move on as citizens of Canada, observing political and economic situations, considering the developments in the church and in the world, the decline of norms and values, etc., etc. What will the year 2019 bring us, beloved? We don't really know anything for sure. Even in regard to the examples for our personal lives and family situation, concerning our place in our church or in the world, we can be absolutely sure. There is much indeed that is unsure. In fact, life in this world is so unsure that many a philosopher has pondered that question. What really is there that we can know for sure? As you may have heard, one of them came to the conclusion only the fact that I think, so I am, is a sure thing. Hence, a common feeling of fear for the future seems normal. There are many people, beloved, for whom it is very hard to live with uncertainties, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, what their agenda for next week will look like. They want certainty, security. Yes, we are all seeking security, and if not for our daily circumstances and situations, we need it in our life of faith, especially when we are confronted with sickness and death, brokenness and troubles. This certainty and security, however, we won't find in our thinking or with our neighbors, in our possessions or in our own abilities, only when the Holy Spirit carves these words of Romans 8 in our heart and on our mind, we find security and true life. Indeed, our text lays a song of confidence and trust, a confession of faith in our heart and mind to assure us of God's love for us as we move on in time, make the transition to the new year. Hence, I proclaim to you, with a view to the year 2019, we may be assured of God's steadfast love. This is, in the first place, a sure conviction, secondly, a strong protection, and thirdly, a solid foundation. So, I summarize the message of our text as follows. With a view to the year 2019, we may be assured of God's steadfast love. It's a sure conviction. It's a strong protection. It's a solid foundation. So, first of all, it's a sure conviction. Our text, brothers and sisters, is the conclusion of a beautiful passage in God's Word. It's a much-loved or even favorite passage for many, if I may say so, from pastoral experience. Especially in times of trouble and sorrow, these words of the Apostle comfort us, encourage us. It does so To a certain extent only, though, there is, at the same time, a bit of uneasiness, of uncertainty with many. These words sound so strong, so powerful, and so joyous, while in the circumstances of trouble and sorrow, most people feel so weak, so sad. and so totally unable to sing and rejoice. In all these things we are more than conquerors and I am convinced Paul is so sure of himself. It must be because he was an apostle, a giant in faith and one of the holiest in the kingdom of God that he could speak that way. Who else is able to speak this way? I certainly can't, now that I feel so weak in my faith, so unsure of my future. Others feel that it all sounds just too easy, too sure of himself, as if he's got everything going for himself. Is Paul that kind of a man, beloved? Is he one of those people who don't know what's going on in this world, in the life of people? Is he one of those idealists who always have everything going for them? On the contrary, Paul is a realist. We could observe that already from the reading of the context of our text. Paul spoke about our present suffering. about frustration and futility in our existence, and about the groaning of the whole creation as in pains of childbirth. Paul does not escape into a fictive reality, which will be overcome by real life sooner or later. As you can see from verse 35, where he asks himself and his readers What could separate them from the love of Christ? He knows the problems that bear down the church or the believers, and he sums them up saying, shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword. That's nothing new for the church of God, as Paul illustrates with the quotation from Psalm 44. For your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Isn't it striking that the psalmist highlights the fact that these troubles and struggles are related to God? For his sake they happen. He allows them to happen. Yes, when you read the psalm, you will see that God Himself makes them happen. Yet it does not make the psalmist bitter or unsure. It moves him to focus on God's love, His steadfast love. Yes, that is what he cries for. Lord, show us Your steadfast love. It is important, beloved, that we learn from the Apostle Paul that he builds his faith on God's Word. Paul finds his security and sure conviction in the Lord, in the God of the covenants. He learns this from the psalmist of Psalm 44. In spite of all his trouble and misery, all scorn and shame, all pain and problems, the believer trusts in the Lord and cries for the Lord, the psalmist shows. While he may fire away all his arrows of doubt, all his why questions to God, He remains convinced of God's steadfast love and faithfulness for His people. He is God, from everlasting to everlasting, whose throne is in heaven forever. Whatever changes in this world and whatever may be unsettling in our lives, He remains the same. And to His years there is no end. He lifts up His people. And He carries His children, yes, even to old age. He is their God. That is the sure conviction believers could have in the Old Testament, and it is the sure conviction Paul confesses when he says in our text, For I am convinced. Indeed, beloved, The Apostle Paul, as well, doesn't mention these things just like that. He had experienced them all personally. I am convinced of God's steadfast love for me, says Paul. And he does so while he has suffered more than any of his readers or competitors, as he expressed so clearly in 2 Corinthians 11. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I have been cold and naked. And besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. You see, beloved, this is not a man who has easy talking. He experienced a lot. It's amazing that he did not throw in the towel, stressed out, burned out, overworked and bewildered. This certainly seems too much for any believer. Who would be able to put up with this, and that all in the service of the Gospel, in the service of Christ? Still, I am convinced he says. How is that possible? Is he such a strong character, a pusher, or a hero formed by life? He's not that at all. On the contrary, Paul considers himself miserable, the least of the apostles, and yes, a wretched man. because he is so unsure, unstable, and inconsistent quite often. So, if anything, you would expect him to second-guess himself, to be unsure and doubting. Yet, but still, I am convinced, I am fully assured Paul comes to a conclusion that is opposite of what you would expect. His life, including all these troubles and sufferings, has convinced him of God's love. You can put it even this way. Thanks to these challenges, the struggles and these problems in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul has grown to the point of jubilation. to this joyous confession of faith, I am convinced that nothing will separate me from the love of God. Isn't that amazing, beloved? It's incomprehensible that the Apostle is able to extol the Lord in spite of all the troubles, against all the odds. Yet, his conviction is firm is sure. He holds that up to the congregation that is also encountering its share of troubles and difficulties. He does so not to boast in himself, but to boast in the Lord. He is saying to these people and to us, basically, this is something you all should expect as the normal course of affairs for the believers. You may as well brace yourself, know what you can expect, and realize that in Old and New Testament we hear and read about the sufferings of the children of God, and that in all these circumstances the steadfast love of the Lord is sure. That's therefore also the message for us today. Oh, that it may well be that we feel ashamed of ourselves because quite often we are the people who are off our rocker at the least bit of trouble or lose our balance at the first opposition we experience. Yes, we may even wonder quietly whether God still loves us and why he brings all these troubles on us. Then we may hear that the power of God's Holy Spirit convinces us that the love of God will be manifested to us so that we call upon the Lord because He loves us. So, that's first. And secondly, it's a strong protection. It should be clear to us, brothers and sisters, that the Apostle Paul is a realist, indeed. He's firmly planted both his feet on the ground and he knows the reality of life very well. Also the reality of the life of the children of God. It's a life in the love of God which Paul experienced in his miserable life. It's a life in the love of God that protected him when he was in prison in Philippi so that he could still sing Psalms and hymns for God. He believed in this love and is convinced that God will protect him, come what may. It is a love of God that he has seen in his life. He has seen it work in his life. Come to him in all difficult circumstances in which he found himself. I am convinced, Jesus, that also with a view to the future, Nothing will separate me of this love. And then Paul mentions quite a list of matters and powers, beloved, that could attack him in this conviction. These things cannot separate us from the love of God, Paul asserts. It's clear, therefore, that the things he mentions must be considered negative things. So even though he mentions angels and life, just to mention two of them, we must consider them here in a negative sense. Of course, that doesn't mean that we can no longer think of angels in a positive way. Of course, there also are the angels that are ministering spirits God uses for the salvation of his people. The angels Paul has in mind here, however, are negative powers and forces that try to drive a wedge between God and us. And the same is the case with life. Life as such is beautiful, a gift and creation of God. Yet Paul intimates that life can also separate people from the love of God. bring separation between people or between God and his children, for instance, when they are struck by illness so as to make it hard for them to live. I am convinced that neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God, he writes. Well, beloved, death certainly is such a power that brings separation. It cuts the bonds of love with loved ones, all right. It robs a man of his wife and a wife of her husband, a parent of a child and a child of a parent. Death also separates us, body and soul. The fear of death could also threaten our relationship with God. Life also, brothers and sisters, even though it has so much to offer, can be filled with temptations which draw you away from the Lord. Life in this world can be an attraction to young people that seems much more appealing than the life in the church. For the older people, too, though, due to the appeal of prosperity and riches, possessions and comforts, of materialism, that is, could easily lead to a withholding of contributions or a wrong way of time management so that there is no more time for Bible study and congregational participation. Thus it becomes a wedge between you and Christ and the Church. When the Apostle mentions angels and powers, beloved, he has in mind the influence spiritual forces have on our life as believers. We speak about the spirit of the age, and we are aware of the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, as Paul calls them elsewhere, Ephesians 6, verse 12. Just think of the spirit of individualism today, which separates people in the most precious relationship as well as turning people's lives away from God. Yes, even in the realm of religion, Satan can appear as an angel of light seeking to bring people back to the darkness of sin. His attempts are so powerful because he always appeals to people's personal feelings and he gives them assurance that they have human rights too. What the apostle means with the present and the future, too, should not be too difficult to understand. The present situation of God's children can be so hard, so trying, and so discouraging that they are inclined to give up. So many things can happen that give us serious problems, like financial troubles, health issues, emotional stresses, and marriage difficulties. The future, too, can be looking so dark at times that you dread to go on while you forget to think of God's love coming along with you every day. And then there are the heights and the depths, as well, he mentions, as possible threats to our life of faith. to our sure conviction of the love of God. When He mentions the heights, you can think of the moments when you are on cloud nine and everything seems to be going for you. You know yourself happier than ever or more in control of your destiny than you can be, realistically speaking. Your self-confidence and self-assurance could take the place of your conviction that it is the love of God that brought you there. On the other hand, there also can be the depths, the times that you are so in the dumps that you can think of nothing else but the misery in your life. In all these things, the evil one, our enemy, the devil, or our own flesh threaten us to be separated from God, from the love of God. then it is the last thing we think of, trusting in God, thankful to God, and expecting all the help and strength we need from the love of God. Yet so many other things in all creation could threaten to undo this love. Well, beloved, no matter what it is, Even if it comes straight from the devil and his demons, it is all creatures and creation that does it. Now, creatures all have to succumb to the almighty power of God the Creator. His almighty power conquers every power that comes against Him in His love for His children. Just think of death, for instance. painful though the separation can be, and powerful though it may be, it cannot separate God's children from Him. In fact, He uses it to bring them into His presence. The bond of love cannot be broken, but it is strengthened so much that even death cannot overcome it. His steadfast love is so strong that it protects those who are His. He comes to them time and again by the preaching of the Gospel, for instance, which reassures them of His love. In the visits of the office bearer, in the comforts from the congregation, the communion of saints, God's love bolsters us strengthens us. Hence, it is possible also for you and for me to sing this song of faith with conviction about God's love for us. As long as we trust in God, look to Him and see Him in His love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Yes, see Him in His love for us, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Which is our third point. A solid foundation. Yes, brothers and sisters, with these last words of the Apostle Paul in our text, we are looking the Apostle straight in his heart. Here we find and see what he has found as the heart of the Gospel, the foundation for his conviction. God's love is ours thanks to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we accept Him by true faith, we hear the heartbeat of this letter of the Romans. In the first chapters, Paul has laid the foundation for this song of faith and conviction. He wrote about the grace of God in Jesus Christ. for sinners who all fall short of the glory of God. Paul highlighted the broken relationships between God and men in order to show how God, in His love, sent His own Son to restore that relationship. He took the sins and guilt away of people who accept Him by a true faith. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ may call upon our God again as Abba, Father. Just as the Lord Jesus Himself taught us and showed us, so we may call Him our Father in the conviction that God loves us again. This love of God we know through Christ Jesus, our Lord. You see, beloved, that is what Paul has in mind when he confesses his faith so powerfully. He has seen Jesus Christ, and so in him he has seen the love of the Father. He has seen Jesus Christ in his life among people here on earth, people who were bent by trouble, people who were poor and needy. And He has seen the Lord Jesus come to them, comfort them, help and heal them. He has seen the Lord Jesus call the children to Himself and embrace them and bless them. He has seen Him look with compassion to the blind, the deaf and the lame and heal them. True love empathizes. Yes, true love cares for others, takes responsibility for others, if need be, even unto death. That's how much the Lord Jesus loved us. Well, if you have seen Him in His love, you have seen the Father in His love. Then you know what's going on in the Father's heart through the Father's love. When God is so for us, beloved, Paul writes, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? 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. Does that knowledge not give you the certain conviction that He will be with you in 2019 and help you and love you? your faith too weak, beloved, your sins too many, your heart too restless, then be assured that also in the year 2019 we will be hearing the gospel of God's love. We also will be celebrating the Lord's Supper, portraying as God's love and Jesus Christ our Lord He is the foundation of your faith. He is the solid ground under your life in 2019, in whom the steadfast love of the Lord is true and sure. Read His Word about His love. Study the Scriptures concerning this love. Yes, faith, hope and love will come along, and the greatest of these is love, God's love. and His love in Jesus Christ our Lord. That is an eternal love, a sacrificial love, unconditional love, and a victorious love. It is the true love of God in Jesus Christ for you, which is forever. Which is forever. Hence also for 2019, whatever the year may bring. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, it's so humbling to see Your love and to show it to people like us. To show it so clearly in your gift of love in Jesus Christ. Father in Heaven, we confess that so often we are looking the other way. So often we are standing with our backs to the light and to your love. And then we are seeing darkness and misery and trouble and brokenness. Father, we pray Help us in this new year always to come to you on this solid foundation of the work of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Help us in the midst of all the difficulties and troubles that could befall us to cling to this, your love, which is a love everlasting. We pray, Father, that it may comfort us that it may lift our spirits, that it may encourage us, that it may also give us reason for rejoicing every time again when that word is proclaimed and Jesus Christ and Him crucified is portrayed before our eyes as the answer to all the brokenness, sin and misery in this world, even death. And we thank you, Father, that He rose from the dead so that we may also by faith in him share in all his benefits and rise to a new life, a life in which we love you, a life in which we serve you, a life in which we trust you to help us, to heal us and to come with us into this new year. Hear us as we pray for such a blessing on our lives in this year. For Jesus' sake, Amen.