Verse 26 of this great chapter. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or pearl or sword As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 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. Amen. We know the Lord will add his blessing to the public reading of his infallible word. Let's look to him in prayer just now, and let's pray that he will bless us as we come to the end of the meeting. Our loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you tonight for the precious Word of God. And Lord, we just pray that you would help us as we meditate upon it. O Lord, draw near and do us good this evening. We pray, Father, that you will speak to your people. You know where they're at tonight. You know their situation. You know the battles, the struggles, the trials of life perhaps that have come upon them. You know the clouds that hang over them. You know the worries, the fears, the anxieties. And we just pray tonight that your word will come as a great source of comfort and strength to them. And Lord, we do pray that if there is anyone in the service tonight who has never come to know Thee in a personal way, Lord, they know all about Thee, but they do not know Thee. O Lord, we pray that a miracle will take place tonight in their lives, Lord, that they would come to know the one whom to know is life eternal, even our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for we ask it in his name. Remembering, Lord, tonight those who can't be here, we pray, Lord, for those who are absent. You know who they are. You know where they are tonight. We pray you'll bless them, be with them, and, Lord, we ask that soon they'll be back with us. Lord, that you'd bring them safely back into the midst again, safely back into your sanctuary again, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. I want us to think tonight about Romans chapter 8 verse 31. This is a great text associated with the Protestant Reformation, Romans 8 and verse 31. Paul asks the question, what shall we then say to these things if God before us who can be against us. This text of Scripture has been a great encouragement to saints down through the ages. This was a great encouragement to a man called William Wilberforce. If you've ever heard, I'm sure you've heard of Wilberforce, the man who fought against slavery. and the man who took a stand against slavery. He was in the minority. In fact, everyone was against him. Nobody supported him. Nobody stood with him in the House of Commons as he tried to bring an end and bring about the abolition of slavery. He was on his own. But remember that one with God is a majority. And you see, on one occasion, John Wesley, who was a contemporary of William Wilberforce, he wrote to young William and he quoted this verse, William, if God be for us, who can be? against us. William, don't worry about all those MPs in Parliament who are opposed to you and who are fighting to retain slavery. William, God is for you and it doesn't matter how many of those men are against you." And my, what an encouragement that was to William Wilberforce. And, of course, we know that Wilberforce triumphed because the Lord was with him, the Lord was for him, and we know that slavery did come to be banned. This verse of Scripture is not only an encouragement to William Wilberforce, but wonder have you ever heard of King William III, Prince of Orange? Of course you have. But do you know that on the morning of the Battle of the Boyne, King William quoted this verse to his soldiers. You know what time they get up? You know what time the battle started? Four o'clock in the morning. Four a.m. The two forces, the two sides began the great battle off the Boyne. And even though it was early, William, Prince of Orange, he gathered the troops around him and he read from Romans chapter 8, and he read these great words. What shall we then say to these things, if God be for us, who can be against us? And those soldiers, as they bared their heads humbly in the presence of God before the battle began, my, how they were inspired that day. This text of Scripture was also a great encouragement to John Bunyan. We mentioned Bunyan on Thursday night in the prayer meeting, how he wrote the Pilgrim's Progress, a great allegory that has many wonderful truths contained in it. But this verse is a great encouragement to John Bunyan. He was going through a terrible trial, a fiery trial on one occasion in his Christian life, but he remembered this text of Scripture. The Holy Spirit brought it before him and brought it back to him with force. If God be for us, who can be against us? Wonder have you ever heard of a man called Philip Melanchthon? Now you say, you must have swallowed a dictionary for your tea, that's a mouthful. Well, don't be put off by that great name, that big name, Melanchthon. Philip Melanchthon was one of the reformers. He was one of Martin Luther's friends, a great assistant to Luther during the Reformation. Well, this text of Scripture is actually known as Philip Melanchthon's text. Because you can go to Germany today, and there are tours to Germany, Reformation tours. You can go to the land of Germany today, you can go to a city called Wittenberg. Of course, that is the place where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door. But there's another place in Wittenberg that believers can go to on the tour, and it's called Wittenberghaus. And that's Philip Melanchthon's house, the place where he lived and labored for 40 years. And you can go into that house, and you can go to Philip's study, and over the door of his study are written the words, inscribed the words, the great words from Romans chapter 8 verse 31, If God be for us who can be against us. So as we think about the Reformation tonight and give God thanks for it, let's remember that text that was a great encouragement to Melanchthon every time he walked into his study. If God be for us, who can be against us? against us. Maybe tonight you need encouragement. Perhaps you're a Christian, you've come into the service this evening, you're discouraged, you're worried, you're anxious about something. You're anxious about someone. Perhaps circumstances have overtaken you. You're going through adverse circumstances. Well, here's an encouragement for you tonight. I want you to take heart from these words. These words are not only for Philip Melanchthon, These words are not only for John Bunyan. These words are not only for King William. These words are not only for William Wilberforce. These words are for you and for me this evening. You know, I want you to think about that word, if. First of all, if God be for us, who can be against us? Please don't misunderstand that word, if. Don't think that Paul is saying, well, maybe the Lord is not for us. And please don't think tonight that somehow Paul is doubting whether the Lord is with his people. What that word if really means is since or because. Since the Lord is for us, who can be against us? Because God is for us, who can be against us? That's what it really means. God is for us. God the Father is for us. We have proof of that in verse 32. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? The proof that our eternal heavenly Father is for us tonight is in the sacrifice of His Son. It's in the fact that He gave His only begotten Son for us. He that spared not His own Son. Isn't that the wonder of the gospel tonight? That God the Father spares us, but He didn't spare His only Son. God the Father allows us to go free. We deserve His judgment. We deserve to be punished. We deserve to be banished from His presence in hell forever. But you see, He allowed His Son to take our hell. And you see, on Calvary's cross, during those three hours of darkness, Jesus Christ took our hell. Remember that hell is a place of outer darkness. During those three hours, the Lord Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Friends, that is proof tonight that God the Father is for us. Tell me tonight, can you call Him your Father? You see, we often Think of that prayer, it's called the Lord's Prayer, although it really should be called the Disciples' Prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. It goes on to say, forgive us our debts. Well, that can't be the Lord's Prayer, that can't be the prayer of Christ. Because He had no debts to be forgiven, He had no sins to be forgiven. So that's why I say it would be better to be called the disciples' prayer, our prayer, because we need forgiveness. But I wonder tonight, can you honestly say, our Father or my Father? Can you call Him your Father? Every time that that prayer is prayed, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. By the way, have you ever noticed that people seem to say it a thousand miles an hour? It's one thing I can't understand. People rush through it, and it's just muttered. It just becomes a rhyme, and kind of said by rote. But my, we should slow down and think about that prayer. My, what wonderful words. But isn't it amazing, isn't it? So wonderful just to be able to honestly say, our Father, that God is our Father. You know, some people think, well, God's everybody's father. Well, that's not the case. The Lord Jesus, of course, blew that myth out of the water when he said to the Pharisees, ye are of your father the devil. Wonder who is your father tonight? Is God your father or is the devil your father? God the Father is for every born-again child of God. God the Son is for us tonight. We can say, that God the Father is for us, but thank God we can also say that God the Son is for us, because we read in verse 34, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. That's where the Lord Jesus Christ is tonight. We need to keep emphasizing that. because you see the crucifixes and you will see the crucifixes at this time of year as the dear Roman Catholics go to celebrate All Souls Day and All Saints Day and particularly on Friday of course which is a big day and Saturday big days and Sunday this coming weekend big days in the Roman Catholic Church but you see the crucifixes and the Savior is still there hanging on the cross Well, I tell you, we need to make it clear that He's no longer on the cross, because the work of the cross is complete. And bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood, sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah, what a Savior! Lifted up was He to die, it is finished, was His cry. Now in heaven, exalted high. Hallelujah, what a Savior! The Lord Jesus is in the glory tonight. He's in the midst of the throne. Revelation tells us. And the lamb is standing in the midst of the throne. He's alive. He's risen from the dead. And you can experience his risen power in your daily life, Christian. I want you to remember that. You see, as a believer, you have three enemies. As a believer, I have three enemies. The first enemy is called the devil. You've heard of him, haven't you? The devil is against us. But thank God, whenever we have the risen Christ with us and the power of the risen Christ within us, the devil is no match for us. We can be more than conquerors through him that loved us. You've got the world against you. That's the whole system on planet earth. Society today is geared against God. Society today is anti-God. Society today wants to squeeze you and me into its godless mold. Did you know that you can get square watermelons? Square watermelons, you heard me right. I haven't taken leave of my senses, but I was just reading this past week that in Japan, they now have square watermelons. Of course, you know that naturally they are round. But 20 years ago, there was a farmer in Japan and he thought about it and he decided that it would be much easier to get a watermelon into your fridge if it was square. So do you know what he started to do? He started to put little square boxes around his watermelons. He would put them around the little watermelon as it began to grow. And of course, as it grew and it grew and it grew, the square box squeezed the round watermelon until it was square. And these watermelons are sold throughout Japan. I hear that they're even going overseas. So if you want one, you can look out for a square watermelon and you'll be able to get it into your fridge. But there you go. You see, the world wants to squeeze us into its mold. The world wants us to be conformed to its rules, to its beliefs, to its outlook. But we've got to be courageous. And you see, the Bible tells us, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. by the renewing of your mind. The world is opposed to us as believers tonight, but thank God it doesn't matter one jot, because the risen Christ is for us. He's with us. And we can be conquerors over the world and the devil. What about the flesh? We haven't mentioned that. Thank God we can triumph over the flesh. That's the enemy within on the inside. That old nature on the inside that wants to pull you down, that wants to take you back into sin, Christian. It's there. And whenever you become a believer and you're washed in the blood of the Lamb, my, that old nature, boy, it works overtime. And there's all the temptations of the day out there. And the Christian is being bombarded from every angle with temptations. The flesh rears up, satisfy me. What do you do? How do you fight it? How do you overcome? Through the risen Christ. You see, there's power in the flesh. But thank God there's greater power, there's infinite power in the risen Lord Jesus. And that's the power we need from day to day to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. Thank God tonight we can say that God the Son is for us. But I want to finish tonight by saying that God the Spirit is for us. The Holy Spirit is for us this evening. Let's remember that as we leave God's house tonight, because we read there in verse 26 of Romans chapter 8. Notice it, verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot Be uttered. Did you notice those two words? For us. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is for us this evening. He's for us whatever our circumstances are. whatever the discouragements are, whatever the adverse circumstances are, whatever the sickness is, whatever the physical affliction is, the Holy Spirit is for us. He's the comforter. The Greek word is parathlete. And that word means someone who comes alongside us to walk with us, to help us, to support us. As we journey through life, as we walk along the narrow way, there are many times when it's a lonely walk. And there are many times when it's difficult, and my, the world and the flesh and the devil are hitting you from every angle. But the blessed Holy Spirit comes along to comfort us because He is for us. I want to encourage you whatever you're going through tonight. I want to encourage you, I want you to remember that if God be for us, who can be against us? Of course, Martin Luther quoted those memorable words just before he left for the Diet of Worms. And the other believers, they were saying to him, Martin, don't go, please stay. Don't go to the diet, you'll be in danger. Your life is under threat, Martin, don't go. But Martin Luther turned around to those few believers and he said, even if there are as many devils as slates on the roofs, I will still go. You know why he could say that? You know why he went to the Diet of Worms and took a stand against the apostate church? It was because he knew the truth of Philip Melanchthon's text. If God be for us, who can be against us?