Romans chapter eight, take your Bibles and turn there. Romans chapter eight. It's been a few years ago now that Joy and I were flying, I can't remember where our ultimate destination was, but we caught a little puddle jumper flight from here in Huntsville to Memphis. And then from Memphis, that was a hub, I assume it's northwest up, so I'm not sure where we were going. And I can remember on that flight, it was a stormy morning, and on that flight, I can remember as we were getting ready, for that flight. Joy was kind of nervous. She doesn't fly very much. And so it's anxious for even guys that do fly a lot. But on a particular morning like that, for somebody who doesn't fly very much, it was very anxious. So then when we got in there, they had overbooked the flight. And so when we sat, they assigned our seats finally, that we found out that because of the overbooking, they had separated us. So I was sitting probably three or four rows from the front. And then Joy was way toward the back. It's a little plane, but she was significantly away from me in the back, sitting by some guy that neither one of us knew. And I was going to regret that in just a few minutes. So as the plane took off, it started right off, you know, a small plane like that, it's going to take every little bump. And it did. And so it's, we're getting up through the clouds, but we never, you know, typically you get past the clouds. Because it was such a short flight and such a small plane, we never got out of the storm the entire way. And so it was huge, man. We'd have drops. You could feel it just pounding on the plane. The flight attendant was sitting not too far up from me. And she was sitting down at that point. She wasn't getting up. It was that kind of rough of a flight. But she was smiling. She was encouraging everyone that was sitting. Everybody in the plane could see her. And she was smiling. Everything was fine. And I am not exaggerating this. Joy can tell you. As we're flying, lightning's going all around us. All of a sudden, boom! Everything started flickering. Everything went dark in the plane. You can hear the engine just for a second. You can hear a tick in the engine. The sum of all fears. What the lights came back on, everything flickered, the oxygen mask didn't come down, so I figured that broke too. So here we're going through the air. As we're going through the air, we're all at that point, we're all in a panic. I thought at that point that some kind of explosive had gone off. And so we're looking at the flight attendant. Everybody is focusing on the flight attendant. And she's smiling at us. And you can tell it's one of those tense smiles. And she goes, now everything's going to be fine. Everything will be perfectly fine. But she messed up. Because while she's sitting in that seat, there was a tear that started coming down out of her eye. And I thought, see, I was close enough to see that. I'm glad she didn't see it, because she was hugging on the guy sitting beside her at this point. I lost my wife on a plane to Memphis. That ought to be a country song. I saw that. I thought, lady, you're not doing a great job of convincing me that this thing isn't going down. She kept assuring the captain, Kenworth Line, ladies and gentlemen, we did take a direct hit from lightning. But our systems are up and everything seems to be running fine. We're almost to Memphis anyway. That'll be the closest airport for us to land. So we'll be landing very shortly. And I can remember praying that entire time. If you want to be in a situation to put you on praying ground, that will do it. And we finally landed. I mean, they had the crews running out there to meet us. You could see it. You could see right where the lightning hit on the bottom side of the fuselage. And I can remember getting off that plane, thinking these thoughts. You know, that pilot was awfully encouraging by saying, everything's going to be fine. We will make it through this. But my heart was telling me something completely opposite of that. How can I know that I'm going to be fine? Paul understood that thought process going in on the lives of the Christians. He understood their heart. These guys were facing huge persecution. And so he is reassuring them in this chapter of the Bible, Romans 8, my favorite chapter in all of God's Word, my favorite verses of this chapter in all of God's Word, of God's secure attitude toward you and me as believers in Christ. So I'd like us to take our Bibles and look at Romans chapter 8 And I would like to begin reading at verse 28. We'll just concentrate this morning in verses 31 through 39, maybe even 31 through 34. We may not make it past that. But let's begin reading Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. 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 say, and please concentrate on verse 31 forward. Paul is becoming almost kind of a lawyer here. He's going to start posing questions to us one after another, and then he's going to answer those questions. He says, What shall we say then 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 peril, or sword, As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted 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 These verses of Romans 8, Paul is trying to encourage these Roman Christians. These guys were now facing the possibility of death. And as they were facing the possibility of death, in their minds they thought, are we giving our lives to a sure cause? Are we giving our lives to something that is eternally secure? Have we given ourselves to something that is going to be a fake? In other words, they're looking for reassurance here. They're looking for a dose of confidence, if you will. Now, you and I might look at them and say, well, you know, Pastor, they really ought to have this confidence from themselves. I mean, they have the Holy Spirit. Look, can I tell you this? And I'm speaking probably to those who are not regular in coming to church this morning, but you came to Sunday morning service at Somerville. That is the reason, obviously, God instituted the local church. Because he understood, Jason alluded to this, he understood that we need brothers and sisters in Christ. We need one another to build each other up. We need one another to encourage one another. We need each other to remind one another of the truths of God's word. And that's what Paul's doing here. He's reminding them of just exactly who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ. So what exactly do we have? Two things you're going to see in this passage. Number one, I want you to see this, that we have a certainty of our security. Our security, the security that we have in Jesus Christ is a certainty. It is a known factor. We don't have to wonder if it's true. We don't have to wonder if we have it or if we don't. Young College man, Greg Spicer, was just telling me about a conversation that he had gotten. And he was the one who's saying I'm amazed here with the choir. He was telling me about a conversation he had gotten in with a pastor in the group. He had traveled in a singing group this summer with the college that he attended. He said this. I asked this pastor. I said, well, do you know that you're going to go to heaven when you die? Do you know that you're saved? And his particular line of theology, his answer to him was, well, I don't really No. I mean, you can't really know for certain until you get there. I've got to tell you something. I would not want to go to that man's church. I wouldn't want to sit there and listen to that. If he doesn't know where he's going, well, then how in the world is he going to tell me how to get there? I want to listen to someone who knows. You know, the Bible tells us that we can know. 1 John 5, verse 13. It's been my dad's favorite verse for years. These things are written that ye may know that you have eternal life. And that is not just a mental knowledge, that's an experiential knowledge. It's not just that I know I'm living out, that knowledge is being lived out in me. It is a certainty for you and I in our life. So he says this, Romans chapter 8 and beginning in verse 31. He writes four questions. He's asking four basic questions because he wants to show this certainty that you and I have in Jesus Christ. And then he answers them. He says in verse 31, What shall we say then to these things? To what things? The fact that you're saved. The fact that you have a certainty of Jesus Christ. The fact that, you know, there's sometimes in our life when it comes to issues bigger than you and I are, there's sometimes that you ought to just simply be quiet. Scripture says there's certain times that we should let our words be few. One of the great lessons that you learn as you grow older, at least it should be learned in life, is that you do not... I always felt compelled for years and years of my life that whenever there was silence in a conversation, I had to fill in the gaps. I had to keep everything going. And that's somewhat of an immaturity when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Because what you end up doing is many times you end up talking about things you shouldn't talk about. You end up saying things that many times can be unwise in what you say. Can I tell you when it comes to this issue of salvation, we live in such a busy world. Sometimes we ought to just perhaps lay in our bed last night before I went to sleep. The Lord gave me the grace to just lay in the bed there probably for about 15 or 20 minutes. And just to consider how great a salvation you and I have in Jesus Christ. When you think about what you and I have. We are at peace with God. We've been forgiven by God. We have a home reserved for us in heaven being prepared for us by God. We have a Holy Spirit residing within us. There's not a single circumstance or situation that you and I go through in our life that we ever have to go through alone. We are never alone in this. Not only are we never alone, we are guided and taught by Him through these circumstances and situations. What can we say to these things? How can we argue against this? That's the question that Paul is asking. There is nothing that you can say that can challenge the salvation that you have in Jesus Christ. There's nothing that you can put in front of it and say, well, you know, I know that I thought I would say, but Jesus Christ says there's nothing you can do to change your salvation. What can you say to these things? He asks a second question here. Look, if you will, in verse 32 or verse 31, what shall we say then to these things? Now, here's a rhetorical question. I love this question. If God be for us. Who can be against us? If the creator of the universe is for you and me. Then who can defeat you or me? There's a illustration given several years ago, Keith Hartzell. He lived in Wheaton, Illinois, and he was driving around with a friend of his out in California. And he noticed his friend's cell phone had its own password. And this unusual password that it had, it was the password that said Pro Nobis, P-R-O, and then a second word, N-O-B-I-S. And he said, well, what does that mean? He figured that it was Latin. And he said, I've never seen that kind of password. His friend told him that in Latin, Pro Nobis means for us. The friend started kind of choking up when he was telling this, and Keith tells the illustration. He says, why would those two Latin words cause so much emotion in a person's life? And his friend got himself back together and explained that after he walked through this huge, deep, personal pain part of his life, he said that true healing came into his life when he understood and finally accepted that our God is for us. He's for us. Now, this is very important for you and me. The baptistry's not coming over the top behind me, is it? Okay, good. It scared me for just a second. If God is for you, then let's put this as athletes and just a football analogy, shall we? Think about this for just a second. If you and I are on a football team, And all of a sudden, we're standing out there on this football team. As we're standing out there, we have on our football team walking in this guy that weighs about 600 pounds. But this is not a fat 600 pounds. This is a chiseled 600 pounds. Not only is this guy a chiseled 600 pounds, he stands well over 7 foot tall. He can run the 40 in less than 4.0. Well, that's impossible. I know it. And he's on your team. Not only that, but he is an unbelievable athlete. His name has been renowned, and he is coming to play for your team. Ben Patterson, sitting right over here, last week, Ben had a full write-up in the Decatur Daily for Priceville High School. Man, that's a huge privilege, but let me tell you, Ben, as great an athlete as you are, this guy is going to outdo us unbelievably. I mean, you and me are pretty close as far as athletic ability. I understand that, but this guy is so much farther than that. He comes onto the field. When he comes onto the field, he's kind of like Samson. He just shakes himself. And you can see the other team trembling. He starts playing defensive line first. As soon as he starts playing defensive line, as soon as the ball is hyped, the guy is off the ball in a millisecond. Three, three full-size linemen just get knocked clear off their center. I mean, they go flying backwards. He is coming through sub four time at this quarterback. The quarterback has turned around. It's a play action pass. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. No sooner does he act like he's going to hand off that ball because the halfback has dove for cover already that he gets hit and he gets hit and he flies back some some seven or eight yards just from this simple hit. He has no idea what's happened to him. He turns around and he sees just the numbers. The numbers are almost four foot across. And he realizes that his life has been forever changed. And this night will be the longest event of his life if he survives. That continues on through the entire season. Hit after hit after hit after hit. Quarterbacks throw down the ball and they run in fear. They suddenly were wanting to play starting string for their entire life. They have no problem being a sub now. God has blessed them. He's led them toward being a sub now. They have no problem with that. Why? Because you have this person on your team. Can I tell you something? I don't care how big that guy is. That guy holds nothing to the sovereign Lord of our universe. Nothing. Who is he? What is the face of this enemy? Who is it that shows up that reminds you of this huge obstacle that you're facing in your life. Is it a checkbook? Is it the bills coming in the mail? Is it divorce papers? Is it a broken home? Is it the ex that's causing all kinds of strife? Is it a marriage that's about to fall apart? What circumstance is it in your life that you look at and you say, I can't overcome this. I can't beat this one. It's impossible for me to to have any victory past this point in my life. This is overwhelming. It's literally consumed everything about my life. I will tell you, our God is bigger than that. And our God, if you know Christ as your Savior, is for you. He's for you. So we ask the question, if God is for us, then who can be against us? Who can defeat you? What can overwhelm you in your life? Nothing. Because God is for you. He is cheering you on. But He's not just a passive cheering. He is an active participant in what's going on in your life. And He says, I am for you. I am with you. I am beside you. I am behind you. I am in front of you. I am for you. It's the certainty of the believer's security. He asked the question, who can lay anything? Not only does he say, if God be for us, who can be against us? Not only does he say in verse 31, what shall we say then to these things? He then, if you jump down, says in verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? In other words, he says these words, who can bring up an accusation to you? that you're not truly saved. Who can honestly come into your life and say, you've accepted Christ as your Savior, you've trusted Him. What charge are they going to bring up? What is it in your life that God doesn't know that you've done? Let me tell you something about God. God's an omniscient being. In other words, He knows everything. But when He knows everything, He's also omnipresent. So He not only knows everything in your past, He not only knows everything in your present, but our God also knows everything in your future. He knows all the ways that you're going to reject. He knows all the ways that you're going to disappoint. He knows all the ways that you are going to turn your back on him. He knows all of those things. You know, I was thinking about the video that we showed earlier. In any analogy, there's always some kind of breakdown to the analogy. The breakdown of that analogy that we showed of that video was that that young man had no idea how that woman was going to respond. Hosea. had no idea that every single time he was going to take this woman back. He hoped that she wouldn't. He had no idea for certain that she was going to turn her back on him once again, over and over and over and over. Can I tell you something about our God? Our God knows everything, every fear, every failure, every sin, every shortcoming, every weakness, every abomination. He knows everything about your life, past, yes, present, certainly, but also future. And you know what he says to you? There's no one that can accuse you. There's no one that can say, well, you know, you know, Alex, I just need to tell you, Lord, that you might know Alex, but let me tell you, I really know Alex. Let me explain to you not only what he's done, but I can tell you, let me explain to you what he's probably going to do. You know what God says? I know that. I'm well aware of that. Well, I know, but you may not. Yes, I knew that, too. Yeah, but did you hear how he was? Yes. Yes, but did you understand? Yes, I know it. What can the great accuser bring to an omniscient, omnipresent God that he does not already know about your life? And yet knowing all of that, when we did not know Him, Christ died for us. So who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? He asks a fourth question here. He says, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? In verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. And then he asks the fourth question. He says, who is He that condemneth? Yes, an important question here, because the Pharisees had a problem with Jesus Christ on this point. You know why? Because Jesus Christ would look at someone and he would say these words, and I'm telling you, you talk about these words rubbed them completely the wrong way. You know what those words were? Thy sins be forgiven thee. What? You remember the question I asked you? Who can forgive sins but God? Just who exactly do you think you are? Oh God, Christ didn't think he was anyone. He knew who he was very well. And so he said to them again, their sins are forgiven. Your sins be forgiven, go and sin no more. Over and over he would say this. Do you know why he could say that? Because he also had the ability to condemn someone in their sin. It was against him that we have sinned. He was fully man, but he was also fully God. So the one who has the ability now to condemn also is the one who has the ability to forgive. So Paul asked the question. You think that you're living under condemnation. I've already told you once there's therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Verse one says that of Romans chapter 8. So he goes, so who's condemning you? Who is it that can really say that you have lost or you do not have your salvation anymore. Who is it that's telling you that? Because the only one that can tell you that... Let me tell you something. I can't tell you that. I am so sick of hearing about men who proclaim themselves to be men of God, preachers of the Word of God, who can dare tell someone, who can say, you know what, you've gone too far. I am declaring that you are now unsaved. Just who do you think you are? There is only one that can condemn. There is only one who can forgive, and there is only one who can condemn, and that is Jesus Christ himself. There is no one else that has that power. No one else who has that authority. He says, all power, all authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now go ye therefore and tell people how they can accept my forgiveness rather than my condemnation. And when Jesus Christ forgave you of your sin at the moment of salvation, now he says through Paul in the Holy Spirit, Who's going to condemn you now? If I have forgiven you, who is it that's going to condemn you? There's nobody left. There's nobody that can declare you unsaved. There's nobody that can declare that you've gone too far, that you're apostate now, that you have lost something that you once held. There is no one. Because if I'm not doing it, then they have no authority by which to do it. And he says, and I'm not doing it. Because he answers the question in four different ways. He says now in verse 33, verse 34, who is he that condemneth? The only one left is Christ. And so he answers it with four different aspects of Jesus Christ. First he says, the one who could condemn, verse 34, is the one who died for you. Jesus Christ could have said, I'm not forgiving him. I'm offended. They have committed the abomination of desolation. They have dealt treacherously with me over and over and over again. They have literally committed spiritual adultery over and over again. By the way, that's the picture of the book of Hosea. It is a picture of God's people and God himself in that relationship. They rejected, they rejected, they've turned, they've turned again and again and again and again. It's happened. So certainly my salvation cannot be held secure. My friend, you're very wrong, because the very one who condemned you, the very one who could have brought condemnation, was the one who died for you. So often, and I think there's somewhat, remember there's always a weakness in analogy, so often we picture Jesus Christ as being only the advocate. We certainly will see this in just a moment, that he is an advocate for us. So then we say, well, if Jesus Christ is only the advocate, then he also he's not in the place to judge. He's just, you know, he's just, you know, sugar and spice and everything nice. It's God, the father, that is snakes and snails and puppy dog tails. No, that's not true. No, Jesus Christ is every bit God. He's every bit holy. But in turn, the very one who also is our advocate, will also be our judge if we don't know him, is the very one who stepped off of that bench and died. The very one who pronounces judgment is the very one who pronounces the sentence, which is death, is the very one who steps off of that bench and now takes our sentence upon himself. So if he took our sentence, The very one who pronounced judgment who's left to condemn us. He goes on further with this. He says not only did the one who could condemn you die for you but the one who could condemn you. Notice it says it is Christ verse 34 that died. Yeah you rather. Hey let's take this a further. He didn't just die but he also rose again. I don't mean to sound sarcastic in a politically correct world, but I will tell you, I don't care to hear about eternal life from someone that all that's left of us is a book and a grave where his bones reside. I don't want to hear from someone on how to beat death by someone who couldn't do it themselves. Have you ever watched guys that you can tell they've never played a day of whatever sport they're coaching in their life? Several years ago, I coached baseball. Thank you. Several years ago, I coached baseball. I got set up. I'm not going to name any names, but Chuck Clemons is sitting on the back row. And so the team that I had wasn't exactly a stellar team, but it held nothing to the coach that they had. I'll just tell you now, if you ever see me anywhere around a baseball field, other than knowing which way to run around the bases and somewhat a little bit of how to hit the ball, past that, I have no knowledge of the game. None. Zip. Zilch. I was a lamb among wolves. When we got out there, I can remember a couple of parents, as far as I'm going now, but a couple of parents, they picked it up right off the bat. It was a long season. I'll just tell you, it was a very long season. When I watch coaches like that, I think, you know, we appreciate your help, but then again, we really don't. You know, maybe teach them whatever you're good in, but don't teach them that. When you start to see belief systems that are set up to tell you this is how to have eternal life. This is how you can defeat death. But yet, if you look at their leader. He never figured it out himself. That's the point of what Paul's saying here in the passage, who is he that's going to condemn you? Jesus Christ is the only one who has the power and authority to do so, and yet he died for you. Well, I know, but he died for me. So who really knows whether or not he's telling the truth? Oh, wait a minute, though. That's not where the story ends. Not only did he die for you, but he came back from the dead to prove to you that is he that justifies you and me. It's through him that you and I are declared righteous before God because he says you follow me and I will show you the path of eternal life. Eternal life is found in me and me alone. I'm not just telling you that I lived it in front of you. So he says, who's he that condemneth? Well, the one who died for you, the one who also rose to give you eternal life. He gives a third part to this in verse 34. He rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God. By the way, let me be very clear with this. This is by no means some kind of adjunct or assistive position of Jesus Christ. To be at the right hand of the throne of God, he is saying that he is exalted. He has enthroned himself. That he is fully God. So when he's at the right hand, he's meaning the right hand is the hand of power. That he has all power. He is fully sovereign. So the one who's fully sovereign is the one who could fully condemn is the one who died for us, and the one who rose again to prove to you and I that we could have victory over sin and death. But there was a fourth part to his answer. Notice again, verse 34. He says, It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, now here's a big one, who also maketh intercession for us. Have you ever prayed for someone? Ever lifted someone up. I look around this auditorium and I know that some of you have children that you have been in great prayer for. And I've prayed with you. I've watched the tears flow down your face. I've watched the seat in front of you as you knelt in front of that chair that you can hear the plop plop of the tears as they hit as you're pouring out your heart to God, praying for your child, praying for your unsaved husband, praying for your unsaved wife, praying for your unsaved loved one. You've seen people in agony praying for those that they love very, very much that their lives would turn back to God. Who is He that is condemning you? Who is it that's telling you you're not saved? If you've accepted Jesus Christ, who is it that's telling you that you've lost it? That somehow God has forgotten you? Who is doing that? Because the only one who could possibly condemn you is Jesus Christ. And it's Jesus Christ who died for you. It's Jesus Christ who rose again to prove to you that he has the power to back up what he says. It's Jesus Christ who now is fully exalted on the throne of God. But get this. Jesus Christ who is praying for you. He's talking about you. He's making intercession for you. Do you know what that means? He's talking with himself about you. He's discussing your situation. He's talking about what you're going through. Have you ever gotten a text or a note from someone and you know for me a lot of times I'll be sitting somewhere and I'm sitting in a restaurant or I'm sitting out in my truck, having devotions, going through a dark time. And all of a sudden, I'll hear the phone buzz. And I'll pick up the phone and I'll look at it. And it'll be a text just randomly from someone. They'll say this, Hey, Pastor, or Shane, I just want to let you know I was thinking of you and my wife and I, we were talking about you and we love you very much. We know you're going through a tough time We just want you to know that. That great blessing, when someone does that, just just to know that in the selfish world in which we live, that somebody is thinking about me. Somebody outside of me is taking the time to give a mental consciousness toward what I'm going through, to what I'm facing. Man, that is such a huge blessing, is it not? Well, let me tell you. Our God is thinking about you. He's dwelling on your situation. He's considering what you're going through. He's having you think about a conference. Imagine a committee meeting over your problems. Can I tell you something? God has a conference going on over your life. Scripture says that He maketh. The word maketh here is a progressive word. In other words, it's a continuum. He consistently discusses your life. He's consistently considering your situation. So He says, who is He that condemneth? The One who died for you. Who is He that condemneth? The One who rose for you. Who's the One that's going to condemn you? The Sovereign God of the universe. He's exalted. The One who died. The One who rose again. He's fully powerful. And he's the very one who is praying for you right now. Why did he say all these things? I'll go to the last point of the message tonight. C.H. Spurgeon, the great Prince of Peaches, years ago was walking through an English countryside with a friend of his. As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed that A barn had a weather vane on its roof. And at the top of the vane were these words, God is love. Spurgeon told his companion as they were walking down the road that he thought that was kind of inappropriate for a message like that. He said, you know, weather vanes are changeable, but God's love is constant. It shouldn't be up there. It's always changing with the wind. So that's not God's love. It's an inappropriate picture. Spurgeon goes on to talk about how they had walked for quite a long time and the companion never said a word back to him for some time. And then finally, he spoke up and he said, Charles, I don't agree with you about those words. He said, you misunderstand the meaning. That weather vane is indicating the truth. That regardless of which way the wind of life blows. Our God. Is love. My friend, regardless of which way the circumstances of your life are going, regardless of which way your spiritual life is going, I will tell you this. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, His love is upon you. His care is ever-present. He's interceding for you. You are secure for a certainty. Take your handles there right there in front of you in the seat there at the bottom. Take your handles and turn to him. One hundred sixteen. Can you bring me that him. One hundred sixteen. You'll notice that in him. One hundred sixteen. The author of that hymn is George Matheson. Just a second. Let me tell you about George Matheson and we'll be finished. George Matheson was a he was headed for ministry. But George Matheson had a strong love interest. Somebody that loved him very much. The trouble was, George Matheson was told that he was going to go blind. As he was told he's going to go blind, they told him, and that was right at the end of his high school days, that it could be several months, could be several years. Well, he and his fiancee went ahead with their wedding plans. When he went off to college, however, whatever was causing his blindness became much, much worse. Till finally, he went completely blind. When he went completely blind, he came back home. And when he came back home, his fiancee, realizing that her husband, future husband, was never going to see again, she said, I can't handle this. They were only days away from their wedding. And she just said, that's it. He never spoke to her again. And I don't say that in bitterness. She wanted no relationship. To her, he reminded her of something she didn't want to remember. To take that further, George Matheson, for the rest of his life, never married. He said, I had one love of my life. There was a period of time when he talks about how bitter he was until one day his sister came to him. And his sister said, George, I'm fixing to get married. Would you perform? our ceremony, would you do the wedding? And George said immediately, I said yes. And then I went back to my house and all the emotions of that event of my life came flooding back over me. And he said it was in that moment of time that I realized that in my life, for the one true love that I thought that I had, there was only one true love that I ever had. And he said these words in prayer initially, He says, O the love that will not let me go. And he sat down the day before his sister's wedding and penned the words of Hymn 116 in your hymnal. He writes these words, O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee. I give thee back the life I owe that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer Fuller be. Oh, light that follows all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee. My heart restores its borrowed ray that in thy sunshine's blaze its day. My brighter, fairer be. Oh, joy that seekest me through pain. I cannot close my heart to thee. I trace the rainbow through the rain and feel the promise is not vain. That morn shall tearless be. Oh, cross. that lifteth up my head. I dare not ask to fly from Thee. I lay in dust, life's glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red life that shall endless be. O love that will not let me go." That, my friends, is the eternal, the amazing, and the secure love that you can or do have in Jesus Christ. Let's stand together.