Life from the Inside Out

Scripture:

Romans 8:26–30 NLT

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 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. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Introduction.

I love an underdog story. One that Janet and I watched recently was called, The Boys in the Boat.

It was about the University of Washington eight-oared rowing crew that represented the United States in rowing at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal.

What makes the story powerful is that it’s not really about rowing. The title says it all. It’s about the boys in the boat and the ways in which their struggles shape them and alter the course of their lives. The main character is Joe Rantz. Rantz had a tough time growing up and was abandoned by his family for several years to fend for himself during the Great Depression. At the height of his despair, just when he thinks his future will be crushed under the weight of economic despair, he learns of an opportunity to try out for the rowing team. Joe doesn’t care about winning boat races - he just wants to stay in school and have enough money to buy bread. His story and his dreams are small.

But the beauty of this movie, and of stories like this, is that a person’s small story is drawn into a much bigger story where their struggles, weaknesses, and insignificance become the soil where beautiful things grow. Joe’s poverty and inexperience in rowing become the starting point for a story that ends with victory on a world stage where good squares up against evil and wins.

The truth is, we all have small stories where we are viscerally in touch with struggle, weakness, and insignificance. And like Joe, we long to see a day where what we are going through is relevant in a bigger story where good prevails and our life makes sense.

In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul is teaching us what it means to be followers of Jesus - what it looks like for our small story to be caught up in his bigger story - the story of the Good News.

Today we will explore 2 truths you must know if you desire to follow Jesus and see your small story caught up in his bigger story.

Truth 1: You are limited.

Truth 2: God loves you.

First. You are limited.

Romans 8:26 “26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

We are weak.

How are we weak?

We are limited in:

1. Knowledge (understanding) -We don’t know what to pray. v26

2. Strength (power) -We can’t do it on our own.

3. What to do Next -We don’t even know what to pray next.

*Many of us live with the limits of our weaknesses when it comes to love. We think God is like us, so we believe that if God really knew me then He wouldn’t really love me.

Sometimes we get stuck in our situation. Stuck in sin. Stuck in a difficult relationship. Stuck in a job. Stuck in liking or understanding things about ourselves.

But our God is the God who meets us in our stuck places.

Storytell woman at the well.

>John 4:29, “Come meet a man who told me everything I had ever done…could this be the Messiah?”

-God pleads for us to know and believe the true story!

>Without struggle you cannot come to terms with your own limits…and without limits you cannot know the limitless love and power of God.

Second: God loves you.

v.27- Romans 8:27 “27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”

can be the scariest verse in all the Bible, or the most comforting depending on how you see God and yourself.

(Paul teaches that…)

1. God knows everything about you; He knows all hearts. (wow)

Psalm 139:1–6 “1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!”

2. He knows that many times you are your own worst enemy.

3. God sees your inner motives and thoughts.

4. All your stuff is laid bare before God, and He still loves you.

2. God is writing a big story and inviting you to be part of it.

Re-read: v. 28- This maybe one of the most misunderstood and misquotes passages in the Bible.

“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.

>It points to our natural tendency to put individual verses on coffee cups…and forget the context of the story it is being given in.

When we forget that God has a bigger story playing out - we misunderstand what it means for “everything to work together for the good”

But when we can zoom out and see the bigger picture - we can see how this works. Sometimes we have to look at stories we can observe from afar to get this.

Let’s talk about, Romans 8:28. (re-read w some observations)

1. Everything works together for the good. (Not, everything is good)

2. Those who love God. (posture of the heart)

3. Called according to his purposes (Invited into God’s bigger story)

Image of the pebble in the pond.

a small thing, consumed into a bigger expansive depth

rippling out - the power from denying yourself and letting your own story be consumed by God’s story.

All kinds of stories in the Bible about the pebbles of people’s stories being caught up in God’s bigger story:

Joseph sold into slavery but used to rescue his people,

Moses exiled in the wilderness called back as God’s man to lead his people out of their struggle.

And even Paul, a persecutor of Jesus, called to be his voice to the world.

You see there are two options when it comes to stories according to the master storyteller William Shakespeare:

1. Comedic– Starts with weakness and moves to strength; It ends with glory.

Weakness -> Strength

-Joseph, Job, Jesus, maybe Us. (Phil. 2-Made himself nothing - now at the right hand of the Father)

2. Tragic - Starts with high hopes, and it ends badly because self-will, pride, keeping secrets, making the story about yourself, and covering.

Strength -> Weakness (Failure)

-Saul, Judas, Samson (looked the part, acted the part, disaster.)

->What is your story? Where are you right now?

-The beauty of the gospel is that Our stories can be both.

-The Tragic can move to Comedic. The Rebel story to Redemptive.

-But this can only happen through the work of Jesus in our stories.

Listen to how Paul describes this as we close, re-read vs. 29-30.

Romans 8:29–30 “29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

>Paul reminds us, “in Christ,” your storyline is ending in glory, but it is only because of Jesus... -> Romans 8:30b,

“And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

>He gave them…His story! He invited them into the story of Jesus.

Conclusion:

The original boys in the boat. Story-tell this.

Mark 4:35–41 NLT

35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

2 responses to the storm or struggle:

Mark 4:38 “38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?””

Jesus at rest.

Disciples frantic and afraid. - fear led to a wrong understanding of God, they didn’t know what to ask “don’t you care that we are drowning?”

Then the actions of Jesus - knowing the bigger story.

Silences the creation.

The response.

Who is this man?

The way you answer that question will determine how your story ends.

To Christ be the glory!

Amen.