This is a saying that we are familiar with.
What does it mean? We will find out more as we go along.
Sometimes we need to hear that things are going to be okay. Sometimes we need to hear that things are going to work out. Sometimes we need to hear, It’s All Good!
How do I know that? Because we have a promise. It is a promise from God.
There are many promises that God gives us, but the one I am referring to is found in Romans 8.
Romans is considered one of Paul’s greatest pieces of work he put together. It is one of his best, if not the best, letter he wrote that is recorded in the New Testament. The Roman church, or the local Jesus gatherings in Rome, was made up of people that were just like us. People who are different in many ways yet were brought together through Jesus and the work He did on the cross. Because they were different they also had a difference in opinion in how they should follow Jesus. It might have been because of this reason, or maybe some other, that he felt these Christians needed a strong dose of basic gospel doctrine.
As I said before, we are no different from the Christians Paul is writing to. As believers, we too need to know the gospel in its most basic form. We should treat the book of Romans, or any book in the Bible, as if it was written for our time as well. We should read it as if it was meant to speak to us.
The book of Romans reminds us that while sin separated us from God, we are justified from sin (just as if I never sinned), saved from eternal damnation through Jesus’ death burial and resurrection, and if we place our faith in Jesus, we are born again to a new life with Christ that we are called by God to live out.
In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that we are no longer defined by sin. Instead we have a new identity in Christ that gives us power to live for God through the Holy Spirit. And it is through the same spirit that we have a new spiritual DNA that testifies that we have a father in heaven. The Spirit of God on the inside cries out “Abba Father.”
In verses 18-25, Paul tells us that in the same way that the earth and all creation yearns for the future day that it will be restored with God, that we too, through the spirit on the inside of us, yearn and long for the future day that Jesus comes back and everything will be made right. The spirit of God longs to be in Heaven with Jesus!
This is a good reminder that heaven should be on our radar. We too should look forward to the day that Jesus returns. In fact, we are almost encouraged to do so. Let us remember that one day all will be made right in Heaven.
Nevertheless, until that great day, we live in a thing called life that has not yet been redeemed. We face hardship and suffering along the way. We face good days and bad days. We encounter easy situations and hard situations. Wins and losses. However you lay it out, we walk through a life that has its ups and downs.
Nevertheless, we receive a promise that is given to us by God. As I mentioned before, it is found here in Romans 8. Verse 28 lays it out for us. Let’s read it.
Romans 8:28
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
This is a verse that you have probably heard before. You have probably come across it and even seen it on the walls of homes you have walked into. If you are familiar with this verse, you probably already have it highlighted in your Bible!
But this is a verse that can bring great comfort and encouragement to the believer. In what way you ask? Well let’s talk about it.
This verse speaks about three different persons.
The first person is God.
v.28 - “God causes all things…”
God is sovereign.
Sovereign =
Reigns over all
That is God’s title. His job is to reign over all things. God is doing His job
quite well.
God is in full control.
While there are some kings who have reigned in times past and did so out of
touch with its people, God rules and reigns in relationship with His creation.
He is connected.
God is involved. God is connected. God cares about the things we face in life.
God is involved not in some things, but in ALL THINGS. That is both the good,
the bad, and everything in between. That is what a sovereign God does.
Nevertheless, He is not only connected to what I am going through, but every
person and every believer on earth.
God is mighty. He is able.
Do you believe this?
What is it that you are facing today that seems too much? Too painful? Whatever
it is, it is times like these that we must run to God as our strong tower. He
is the refuge we have to run to when we need to be encouraged and strengthened.
Know that God is able!
v.28 - “God causes everything to work together…”
Not only is God involved, but He
is also working all things together. What does that mean? It means He is
reshaping. He is reshaping our circumstances, our suffering, our hurt, our
pain, our difficulty, disappointments, etc, into something better.
When I try to take a bad situation and make it better, there is no guarantee
that it will actually come out better.
Nevertheless, when God gets involved, He knows what He is doing. He knows how
to make things better than we could have imagined it.
Thank God He is God, and I am not!
v.28 - “God causes everything to work together for good…”
Not only is He making things
better, but He is turning them into good. What does that mean?
Good = Agathos =
Benefit, Profit, Useful
God uses everything in our life, both the good and the bad, and reshapes them
to make them beneficial.
The things that were once meant to harm and hurt us become beneficial,
profitable, and useful in the hands of a sovereign and loving God.
God is shaping the outcomes in life and turning them into good.
We can think of our unwanted outcomes of life as ingredients:
Illustration: Role out table of ingredients…
Unsalted butter
All-purpose flour
Baking Powder
Salt
Sugar
Raw eggs
Vanilla extract
Milk
Have you tried these things? You may like 1 or 2 of these things. But with
almost all of these, no one in their right mind would eat these things as is.
Nevertheless, when you put them together, and you begin mixing them, pour them
into a mold, pop it into the oven, apply some heat and pressure, it comes out
to something good. It becomes beneficial, profitable, and even useful. It
becomes something you want!
In the same way, God takes the hurt, pain, disappointments, difficulty,
hardship, suffering, etc and mixes them together to form something that is
beneficial and useful in the hands of God.
How does God do it? I have no idea. God just has skills like that. He’s just
got it like that.
So God causes all things to work together for good, for who? Who is this
promise for?
v.28 - “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God…”
Who is that? Those of us who have placed our faith in Christ and received Him as Lord. He is talking about believers!
I love that the Bible describes us as people who “love God.”
How do we know if we love God?
Jesus says that those who love God are those who obey His commandments.
My wife has the right to look at my life to see if there is proof that I truly love her.
If we love God, then it will be shown with our lives.
There is not one person here who loves God whom God did not love first. The only reason we are able to love God is because Jesus loved us first by going to the cross and paying the price that I could not pay. Thank you Jesus!
This promise is for anyone who has placed their faith in Christ.
God, who is sovereign, is reshaping the outcomes in your life into something that is beneficial for you. He is working all things together for your good.
What I think is good (beneficial) and what God thinks is beneficial are too different things. In the same way I know what is good for my children, God knows what is good for me. My daughters believe that candy inside of their ice cream with chocolate drizzle and popcorn on the side, everyday, is what is good for them. As parents, we know that is not true. As their father, I know what is good and what is not good. I am looking further down the line.
God knows what is good for you. He is always going to do what is good for you and your future. God knows what you are going to need. God knows what is best.
As I mentioned before, this scripture speaks about three different persons. First was God. Second is us as believers. Who is the third person? That person is the one who does not know Jesus. Why? Because, with regard to how difficult things may be for us, none of us are worse off than the person who is outside of Christ. While we have hope, there is no hope for the person who has yet to receive Jesus.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
God has a purpose. His purpose is that those who are in your life that don’t know Jesus will see what Jesus did in your life and will want it for themselves as well. God wants to reach your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.
God is working things for good for you and also for the people in your life who are ready to receive Jesus! God has a plan!! The promise God has for you, He hopes it will be a reality for them as well.
Take Aways:
When things are difficult…
1.
Be
determined to trust God
a)
As Dean
Brinkley said in the first service concerning the uncertainties in life, that
we should also pair them with the things we are certain of as well. We can be
certain that God can be trusted. Let’s not allow the uncertainties to over rule
what we can be certain of.
b)
God is not
finished yet
c)
Let us be
aware that God is never finished. Pastor Ron said something recently that has
resonated in me. It may not be the first time he has said it. He said, “If things are bad, God is
not done yet.” God is working things together for our good. God is not done
yet. Things will get better.
2.
Be
willing to share Jesus with others
a)
Nothing we go
through is ever wasted
b) No matter how difficult life may be, it is not as hopeless for the person outside of Christ. We have a promise of a future hope. The person who is not born again, at this current moment, does not. Let us keep in mind that there are people who God is trying to reach through you. Let us allow God to create more room for compassion and empathy in our heart for the lost. Let us love those who don’t know Jesus and show them kindness. For it is the kindness of God that leads men to repentance.
As I said before, It’s all good.
God’s got this.
