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[0:00] Communion time, Romans 8, and it's the theme of God's great love. Communion time is a love feast.

[0:10] We see that in the 12th verse of Jude. It's referred, as we could understand it, it's referenced to the feasting together of God's people in brotherly love.

[0:21] Brothers and sisters gathered in God's love. And communion isn't love feast, it's the time we meditate on God's great love. His love shone for us in Christ at the cross.

[0:32] And Romans 8, 35 through 39 says this, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

[0:49] As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter's name. In all these things we are more than conquerors.

[1:01] Through him that loved us. Yes. 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.

[1:23] Think of it. God's love. It's unstoppable love. Verse 35, Who shall separate us? God's love is unstoppable. Who can stop God's love?

[1:35] No one. No one can. Nothing can. Let the devil throw all he has at us. It cannot stop God's love shining through. Let the devil send pressure and trouble, hardship, distress, persecution, famine, plague, COVID, nakedness, peril, danger, sword.

[1:58] It's not going to stop the love of God. Amen. It's not going to stop his love. God's love is unstoppable. Nothing can stop it. It's strong enough to come through for us in all other situations of life.

[2:12] We know there's some trying times. People have lost income through this recent shutdown and stuff. There's tough things going on. But God's love can hold you steady.

[2:24] It can help you weather the storm. The hardest of hurts. The strongest of opposition. The severest of trial. There's some tough situations. I know that. Right here there's people going through some tough things.

[2:36] Job situations. Health situations. But friends, his love is unstoppable. Nothing can stop his love. And he will see you through whatever is going on for you.

[2:48] God's love will hold you close. There was a preacher from Uganda who gave an account of a 1973 execution by a firing squad of three men.

[2:59] It was February the 10th, 1973. Began as a sad day. People were commanded to come to the stadium and witness the execution. Death permeated the atmosphere.

[3:10] A silent crowd of about 3,000 was there to watch. And the one who wrote this said, I had permission from the authorities to speak to the men before they died. And two of my fellow ministers were with me.

[3:23] They brought the men in a truck and unloaded them. They were handcuffed and their feet were chained. The firing squad stood at attention and they walked in to the centre of the stadium, these three men.

[3:36] And I wondered what to say. How do you give the gospel to doomed men who are probably seething with rage? And we approached them from behind and as they turned to look at us, what a sight.

[3:48] Their faces were all alight with a heavenly radiance, an unmistakable glow. Before we could say anything, one of them burst out and said, thank you for coming. I wanted to tell you.

[4:00] The day I was arrested in my prison cell, I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my heart. He came in and he forgave me of all my sins. Heaven is now open and there is nothing between me and my God.

[4:15] Please tell my wife and children that I'm going to be with Jesus. Ask them to trust him and receive him into their lives as I did.

[4:25] The other two men told similar stories. They excitedly raised their hands which rattled their handcuffs. I felt that what I needed to do was to talk to the soldiers, not to the condemned.

[4:36] So I translated what the men had said into a language the soldiers understood. And the soldiers there, these military men, were standing there with their guns ready and bewilderment on their faces.

[4:47] They were so dumbfounded that they forgot to put the hoods over the men's faces. They looked towards the people and began to weigh, handcuffs and all. The people waved back and then shots were fired and the three men were with Jesus.

[5:03] We stood in front of them, our hearts throbbing with joy, mingled with tears. It was a day never to be forgotten. Though dead, the men spoke loudly to all of Kegesi district and beyond so that there was an upsurge of life in Christ which challenges death and defeats it.

[5:20] The next Sunday, the preacher says, I was preaching to a huge crowd in the hometown of one of the executed men and again, the feeling of death was over the congregation but I gave them the testimony of their man and how he had trusted in Christ and how he had died and there erupted a great song of praise to Jesus and many turned to the Lord there.

[5:44] Who shall separate us? Not even death can separate us from God's unstoppable love. It also is unbeatable love. In verse 37 it says, No, in all these things, all those things that Paul rattled off, in all of these things we are more than conquerors.

[6:02] Through him that love does. Friends, nothing can beat the love of God. God's love will conquer every situation of life and we will get the victory in all these things.

[6:15] Now think of the mess at times the difficulties and in all these things we are more than conquerors it says. Verse 37 He'll help us in this mess to bless us.

[6:27] He'll help us in the test to find rest in him. He'll find us in the crisis and he'll give us that rest in Christ. He is in us, with us and for us.

[6:40] Unbeatable love. Christ's love is for us. He is for us. He has won every victory and it is complete. Absolute victory in your life.

[6:51] You are victorious. You are more than a conqueror. In Christ you've got victory over every temptation, over all guilt, all the troubles of life, over all the setbacks and struggles.

[7:03] In all these things we are more than conquerors through our Lord. And you are a winner. The hosts of hell are vanquished because of Calvary. Because we reflect on Calvary today, we know at the cross he triumphed.

[7:18] He brought triumph there. And we have that victory. In 1 Corinthians 15 it says, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

[7:28] The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, who's ever been stung?

[7:42] I think, I got a little sting yesterday actually from a bee and you know, they hurt, don't they? They're getting a sting. Now someone would fear the sting of death. But you know, for us who are believers in Christ, death has no sting.

[7:56] There's no sting. It's just nothing. We're with him. It's just a curtain. It's just a veil we pass through, isn't it? And in all these things, even in death, we're more than a conqueror through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[8:10] He's given us the victory. The devil is defeated. Amen? The devil was defeated at Calvary and he is still defeated. He's like some whimpering dog with his tail between his legs.

[8:21] You know, I used to have a little dog like that and he knew when he was naughty he had his little tail between his legs and he was kind of whimpering and hiding and scared.

[8:34] And that's what the devil is like. Amen? Because we have victory. We have victory in Christ. He's just a whimpering dog with his tail between his legs. And Christ is trying for you over death and hell.

[8:47] There's victory over sin and the sting of death even over the grave itself. In Christ you are victorious. His love is unbeatable. It's unstoppable.

[8:57] Who shall separate us from it? Nothing can stop his love. But God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Christ can forgive and cleanse.

[9:11] His love is greater than all of our sin and his love is big enough to forgive your darkest deepest sin. His love is so wide enough to include you and his love is extended to the most sinful.

[9:26] You cannot get too far away that his love cannot touch you. It is unstoppable love. It is unbeatable love and it is unlimited love. It says in verse 38 this love of Calvary is unlimited.

[9:41] There is an unlimited atonement. This unlimited love can reach the furthest, the farthest. Verse 38 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.

[10:14] His love is unfailing. Now sometimes we have those moments when we wonder where's God in my situation? Friends, you can be persuaded.

[10:25] You can be absolutely sure of God's love. You can be confident in his sure love for you. It's unlimited. There's an assurance. There's a surety. There's a confidence you can know.

[10:37] A perfect peace that he gives to your heart. A precious promise of his very salvation. His love reaches even beyond death itself. No power.

[10:48] No person can limit the power of his love. No thing now or later can hinder the love of God. It's unlimited love. Death cannot limit it.

[10:59] Angels cannot limit it. Principalities and powers, things present, whatever they be, the whole lot, nor things to come. Nothing, nor any other creature can limit his love and separate us from it.

[11:14] Carl Barth was a professor delivering a lecture at a theological seminary. While he was there there was different ministers and theologians and dignitaries and Carl Barth was some kind of highfalutin theological doctor and someone asked him this question, what is the most profound thought that you know Dr. Barth?

[11:37] And this is what he said, Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so. And he could have talked about all manner of complex theological truths and doctrinal dissertations and as such he says, Jesus loves me.

[11:58] Jesus loves me. If there's one thing we need to know, it's his wonderful love, isn't it? The love of God. Friends, I urge you today, if you've yet to know it, you can know it. I know there's some people watching this that come to our Thursday night addiction course, they said they'd tune in and I know some of these folk, some of any of us watching, present, whoever, you might not have that assurance of God's love today.

[12:24] You might not know Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so. I pray that you would know that, that wonderful precious truth and his wonderful love expressed at the cross.

[12:37] It's awesome, isn't it? It's unstoppable. It's unbeatable. It's unlimited. Friends, you can trust his word. You can trust his promises. You can reach out and know that his hand will clasp yours and you can treasure his saving, his presence.

[12:54] It's all because of Calvary today. And we come, as it were, to a table. We come to this moment of reflection, as it were, to feed on him today, to know his bloodshed, his body given, to know the great grace of God.

[13:12] And it's touching, isn't it, to think on the significance of these simple things, of simple bread that nourishes, of a cup of the vine that sustains and refreshes.

[13:24] It all reminds us of God's awesome love. It's awesome, the grace of God that can reach into the very prison house of sin and despair, that God's love can reach through salvation, the most unworthy, those lost in shame and guilt.

[13:42] His love is awesome today. And friends, let's just be reminded, personally reminded of that as we consider who shall separate us from the love of Christ.

[13:56]  We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Praise him.