In Christ There Is Eternal Glorification

Introduction

On a day like today, we pause and celebrate that our good God blessed us with with our Mom’s. To be born, it required someone to carry you for many months, to raise you, change your stinky diapers, feed you, and show you the difference between right and wrong. As we think about our Mother’s, we know that there are fundamental differences between Mom’s and Dad’s and in a world that tries to minimize those differences, we praise God for the reality that men are not women and women are not men. Think about the brain, men, generally speaking, have a single track brain as they think about A, then B, then C and accomplish one task at a time and compartmentalize the others. The female brain, though, is different! It’s not A, then B, then C, it’s often A B and C are all connected and there is a way to accomplish all 3 things at the same time! There can be a single problem, and the way that a male brain seeks to solve the problem is usually fundamentally different than how a female brain solves the problem because not only are the brains wired differently, but brain chemistry is simply different for males versus females. Perspective changes everything!

Have you noticed that in your life? That you can be facing a problem, and another person can be facing the exact same problem, but you view the problem completely differently? One doctor remarked about this as there were 3 individuals who all had the same heart problem. He explained the situation to the first person and said that the situation was dire and they needed to act immediately. The patient said, “That’s not the news that I wanted to hear today. I’m going to go and get a second opinion somewhere else!” A little later he says the same thing to the second patient who replies, “I don’t feel that bad, so I don’t trust that result. I’m not interested in this procedure.” Finally, the defeated doctor brings in the final patient and reports the bad news and is met with a different response, “I’m not happy with this news… but I want to get better and am willing to do whatever it takes. Let’s schedule this procedure.”

Perspective is powerful! As we go throughout this life, we are faced with good news and bad news. Good days and bad days. Sometimes whenever a problem arises, we’re tempted to ask this question, “Why me?” Or, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Let me let you in on a secret here, bad things happen to everyone! Let’s ask a deeper question today, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” Have you ever paused to reflect on that?

This morning as we look in Romans 8:18-30, we’re going to see that the God of the Bible is good and that He has a good plan for His people. That plan involves working all things together for our good! This doesn’t mean that all things will feel good. But as we trust in the Lord, we can trust that He will use all things to result in something good and that truth changes our perspective as we go through life today. Let’s ready from God’s Word

Romans 8:18–30 CSB

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience. 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

What a powerful promise this is. Yes, we suffer. Yes, things aren’t always easy. Yes, we go through hardship… but in Christ there is hope that all things will in fact be worked out for our good because we belong to Jesus. Do you have that hope today? Let’s pray and study this incredible truth together

God the Son Provides Hope (18-25)

Where do you look for hope when suffering strikes? It doesn’t take long in this life to realize that life isn’t fair, people let us down, our bodies break down, and things don’t always go our way. When these things happen, what do you do? Many of us default to what we were taught whenever we were growing up. On a day like today, we remember the vital role that our Mother’s play in our life as they are usually the ones who teach us how to respond when someone steals the toy that you were playing with as a kid. How to react whenever you’re left out of something. What to do whenever you get hurt. Where to place your ultimate hope. I shared that last week was a long week for my family as we were in the hospital for my dad’s open heart surgery… a little less than 10 years ago I came home from college for Spring Break and my parents had just gotten back from a trip. My mom was tired and went to bed early, which was strange, but I didn’t think much of it. Fast forward to 6am on Saturday morning and my dad wakes me up and says that he needs my help because my mom had fallen and couldn’t get up. Not only had she fallen, but she didn’t know either of our names! Come to find out, she had a septic infection that was causing some memory issues and serious problems in her knee. The doctors told us that there was no guarantee that her memory would come back or that she’d make a full recovery. “Happy Spring Break!”

We all know what it’s like to suffer… even though our personal experience with suffering looks different. But when suffering strikes, where do you turn? When your parents are suffering, where do you turn? When life kicks you down, where do you turn? I hope that you had parents who taught you to turn to the Lord and to practice Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5–6 CSB

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

Not all of us had this, though. In fact maybe you’re here today and you’re struggling with something and you don’t know how to handle it. You don’t know where to turn. If this is you, I want to encourage you in our text this morning to look to Jesus! How does Jesus help us in our struggles? For one, Jesus knows what it is like to suffer and go through hardships

Hebrews 4:15 CSB

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus knows! And, Jesus delivers! In Romans 8:18, we’re told that the sufferings of this time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Christians don’t need to fear suffering. In fact, if you look at the earliest disciples of Jesus Christ, we see that many of them suffered in some pretty intense ways - church history tells us that Peter was crucified upside down. James was killed by Herod. Andrew was crucified. Matthias was stoned. The list goes on. I’m reminded of a modern couple, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. Jim Elliot went to Ecuador as a missionary and he and several friends were tragically killed by the natives they were seeking to evangelize. The world said they were fools and wasted their lives… His wife, Elizabeth, and several others eventually were able to establish contact with these natives and over years of prayer and Gospel proclamation, many of the villagers who killed these missionaries, came to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Elizabeth knew suffering well, and was a prolific writer. She shared this, “The most overwhelming losses of my life, those I feared the most, have in fact been far outweighed by the gain of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord.” How could this be the case? Because she knew Romans 8:18 was true. That the suffering of this world cannot hold a candle to the glory of heaven. This doesn’t mean that suffering hurts less… but it means that heaven is even greater than we could ever imagine!

This provides us with hope in this life. Not only us, but Romans 8:19 tells us that all of creation waits with hope. Whenever Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, we see that sin not only impacted humanity, but all of creation as God said that the ground is cursed because of you. We look around our world and we see all sorts of natural disasters and problems, and people wonder why those things happen? It all started the day mankind sinned. Scripture tells us that creation is in bondage to decay, but one day it will be set free from this bondage and we know that this is what Revelation speaks of

Revelation 21:1 CSB

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

In the mean time, though, Paul says that creation groans with labor pains. That’s a fascinating way to phrase this. The New Creation is coming… but in the mean time, we live in a world of brokenness. Sinfulness. Confusion. Chaos. But new life is coming. This expression of labor pains is intentional and appropriate on a day like Mother’s Day. This is grief that turns to joy. This is pain that turns to life. This is the hope that creation has, that one day God will restore what has been broken - and this is our hope as believers as well! Not only does creation groan, but believers groan. Waiting isn’t easy! We suffer in this world and even though we have the Holy Spirit as believers, we know that life is hard! We long for our glorified bodies. We long for an eternity freed from the pain of sin. We long for glory… and it’s ok to groan. It’s ok to be frustrated by the things that we experience in this life - it would be strange not to be! But, brothers and sisters, when life knocks you down, remember that you have an otherworldly hope in Jesus Christ.

Imagine being told you have a family member who left you a large inheritance in New York City and you travel from Springfield to New York, you make it all the way to the city but your car breaks down a mile before the destination. You’re frustrated about the car. You’re frustrated about having to walk a mile. You’re frustrated about the inconvenience… but we would say that you’d be a a fool if you allow your frustration about the car to deter you from walking the mile to collect the large estate. Believer, we only have a mile to go. Our song is not “My car is broken, my car is broken.” Instead, it’s “Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

Many are tempted to throw in the towel on this final mile walk… don’t do this! Keep walking. Keep hoping. Turn your eyes to Jesus and, as you do this, be encouraged by His Spirit

God the Spirit Provides Encouragement (26-27)

In life there are some things that we know we should do but sometimes we don’t have the desire to do them. In high school, I remember having to wake up seemingly before the crack of dawn in order to make it on time for early morning Band practice at Ozark. There were days when I had zero desire to wake up at 6am… but I knew I needed to do it because if I didn’t, I’d set a bad example, let my friends down, and eventually, there would be a consequence. Sometimes the thing that we need to do is just something that we don’t want to do. Maybe it’s eating healthy, exercising more, defusing a situation, using kinder words, or, taking something to the Lord in prayer. Has that ever been a struggle for you? I know it has been for me. A situation arises and my initial response is to think that I can handle it! I think I have the strength, the ability, the wisdom to handle a problem myself… so instead of praying, my mind sets out instead towards doing. The Bible isn’t against doing, but we are instructed as Christians to prioritize praying.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 CSB

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray constantly, 18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Does anyone else have difficulty with these instructions? This is hard! It’s hard to pray consistently, because there are moments when it’s just hard to pray. Paul says that there are times when we don’t know what to pray for. Believer, have you been there? Later in Paul’s ministry, we see that Paul struggles with this same situation of now knowing what to pray for - being with Jesus sooner, or continuing his earthly ministry

Philippians 1:22–24 CSB

22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Do I pray for deliverance from prison, or do I pray for God to take me home?

Do I pray for a miracle or do I pray for the Lord to bring me home?

Do I pray for God to restore this relationship, or do I pray for God to release me from this situation?

Think about our missionary friends in countries that are high risk for Christians: Do I pray for missionaries to be given a safe escape when suffering comes, or do I pray for the Lord to give them courage to stand and suffer well?

Friends, there are many times when we don’t know what to pray for! Perfect example: whenever we have loved ones who are sick, our prayers are almost always for the Lord to bring about healing - and that’s normal and that’s natural, and God hears those prayers, friends! But sometimes, God’s answer is no. Last week whenever my dad went under the knife, I prayed that the Lord would give the doctors wisdom and guide their hands to bring about healing in his heart. That was my petition. That was my request. But at the same time, I held my hands open saying, “If that’s not your will, Jesus, give me and my mom the strength for what comes next.” Praise God for answered prayer! But sometimes God’s will doesn’t make sense to us.

There are times when you suffer and you continue to suffer, and you just don’t have the words to say. On Mother’s Day, some are reminded of the pain of desperately wanting to be a Mom, and not being one. That was my mom for years… and that’s a deep, and often unspoken pain. When you don’t have the words, the Spirit groans on your behalf. Some of you have lost your mom, and today you don’t have the words to say… friend, the Spirit groans on your behalf. Some of you didn’t have the best mom, the Spirit groans on your behalf. Some of you have children that grew up knowing what was right and they have seemingly fallen away and it grieves your heart to the point that you just don’t have the words to say, the Spirit groans on your behalf. He knows what to say. He knows the pain. He knows the suffering. He knows the hurt. He see’s you. He loves you.

There are things that we face in this life that are too much for us to handle. The whole “God won’t give you more than YOU can handle” statement sounds good, but it’s not Scriptural. Cancer. Death. Heartbreak. Natural disasters. There are many things that are too much for us to handle ourselves… Here’s the corrective: God won’t give you any more than HE can handle. When these times come, the Spirit is our Comforter. Our Guide. Whenever we don’t know… God does. When we don’t know what to say, the Lord hears those wordless groans. God sustains the Saints through mountain peaks and valley lows through His constant encouragement in our lives.

God the Father Provides Salvation (28-30)

In this chapter we see 8 Remarkable Realities for Christians. We’ve seen how we are liberated, renewed, transformed, and adopted. This all started in Romans 8:1 as we saw how there is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. This means that because of Jesus, because of what He has done for us, whenever God looks at a Christian, He see’s the finished work of His Son and the penalty we owed because of our sin is paid in full! Romans 8:1 is an incredible truth that everything else in Romans 8 springs out of. And eventually, we arrive at one of the most beloved verses in all of Scripture, Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 CSB

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

We serve a God who is seated on His throne. A God who, as we learned in preschool Sunday School and VBS “Has the whole world in His hands!” We see that it is not luck or fate or karma that rules the world, but God and God alone. And this Sovereign King over Creation makes a promise for those who love Him - all things work together for your good. On our good days, we relish this promise. All things - the sun rising, my nice job, my family, all that I have, it works for my good. God has blessed me with all of these things - thank you God for your grace and all of these things! I love Romans 8:28 when I look at the blessings!

But all things don’t just include the things we say are blessings… but they include the sufferings too.

Some wrestle with this because suffering cuts deep. Maybe this is hard for you because you know pain and loss and grief and the idea of God knowing upsets you because you suffered. Can I level with you? What scares me even more than God knowing my suffering is God being surprised by my suffering. A God who misses things. A God who is caught off guard. Scripture reminds us that we have a God who works ALL THINGS for our Good. We don’t worship a powerless puppet who can’t help us get out of the pit. We serve a God who sees and knows and promises to work in the big and little things His plan which is to make us more like Jesus! Pastor Chuck Swindoll shared recently that in his darkest moments, 2 Biblical anchors have provided him with stability: God’s Sovereignty and Purposeful Pain - that God has a plan for our life, even when we can’t fully see or understand it. We might not fully understand this, but we can trust in Scripture and know that God is sovereign. We can yield ourselves to His plan and know that He knows best! Second, Purposeful Pain - nothing is meaningless in this life. Our pain can give us opportunities to share the Gospel. Our pain can help us relate to others who are also suffering. Our pain can deepen our trust in the Lord, not ourselves. Friends, at all times we have to ask this question: Am I going to trust that God knows best and somehow, someway, He is going to use this for His glory and my good, or do I think that God is oblivious, powerless, and helpless to assist me in my time of need?

Think of the greatest evil in the history of the world - the Cross of Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, took the place of fallen man like you and I. The one who knew no sin became sin for us! This is the greatest injustice and evil in the universe! What does God do? He uses the cross to bring about the salvation of sinners. He works this great evil for our good.

If God could bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil, imagine the good He can bring out of your suffering today!

Church, it’s all about your mindset. Everyone suffers. 1 Peter 4:19 is my favorite verse in the Bible in relation to suffering

1 Peter 4:19 CSB

19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

Suffer according to God’s will… trust in a faithful Creator… do what is good. This sounds like application, doesn’t it? When you’re a teenager and given a life-altering diagnosis, you have two options: My life is now a death sentence… OR… My life is not my own. Either I view this as a divinely given opportunity to witness for the Lord in opportunities I’d never otherwise have, or I waddle in self-pity the rest of my days and grow eternally bitter towards God. I’m not telling you that trusting in God is always easy. There are times when we groan. We don’t know the words to say. We suffer and we hurt. We see loved ones in pain. We see situations that confuse and frustrate us and we cry out “HOW MUCH LONGER?” What is the Lord’s answer? Deliverance is coming. Evil doesn’t win. Suffering will not last. Christ is victorious. Glory awaits.

Application from Romans 8:28 - God promises a safe landing, but not a calm passage! Not everything in this life feels good. Not everything in this life is good - there are things that we go through that are evil and wrong. Yet, God promises to bring about something good from all things in the lives of believers. Our life isn’t easy, but our destination is secure. Robert Mounce puts it like this, “God directs the affairs of life in such a way that for those who love Him, the outcome is always beneficial… not necessarily what we think is best, but conformity to the likeness of Christ.” Our Savior suffered in this life, we should expect the same. This isn’t a license to be static or stagnant - this isn’t a license to continue living in sin so that grace may abound!

See, Romans 8:28, contrary to what some say, does not say that all things work together for good, period. All things work for good, but this isn’t true for all people… it says for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. This means for believers. Those who have committed to follow Christ. But what about those who don’t love God? Those who reject Christ? What happens for this person whenever something good happens in their life? What happens whenever the health diagnosis comes back good? Whenever the promotion happens?

“The same sun that melts wax, hardens clay.” What makes something good is not necessarily the circumstances - the wax and clay have the same sun shining down on them - but instead, how you react to the sun. For humans, how your heart reacts to the Son of God. For believers, whenever God does something good in our lives, this humbles us and causes us to praise Him and thank Him for His blessing! For a non-believer, this is often cause for celebration and boasting in self or in another person… which over time, often hardens one’s heart to God’s truth. If you’re here and you wrestle with this, ask yourself this question: When you are blessed, is your response to praise the Lord? Or do you crave the credit? That’s a heart question. Believers love God because, 1 John 4:19 tells us that He first loved us! We see this in 2 Timothy 1

2 Timothy 1:9 CSB

9 He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

This is God’s grace. This is His work. Salvation is spectacular and something we could never deserve! Now, some look at verse 28 with delight and 29-30 with dread. Some of you might think that what follows in this passage is confusing or even controversial, but friends, this is written in God’s Word to be a comfort to every believer to know that God is working for their good and that He will continue this work until they one day stand in glory as a glorified person.

Some wonder, if the word predestine is true, then that makes us robots with no choice at all in life. We see throughout Scripture that we are called to repent of our sin, place our faith in Christ, and choose to follow Jesus! So that can’t be true - we are responsible to trust in Christ. At the same time, we do see words like predestine in the Bible. So, how do we make sense of these truths? How can it be both that God predestines and that we consciously choose to place our faith in Christ? You should know by now that your pastor will preach what the Bible says - no skipping verses or words as that’s what cowards do and that’s not what we’re about here at South Gate. Many view these as incompatible, but God cannot be sovereign and man cannot be responsible at the same time. Yet, these are the twin tracks of the Bible that Spurgeon called dear friends that we dare not separate. God IS sovereign in salvation, and man IS responsible to trust in Christ. How does this work? Taking a step back and remembering that we are not God. Isaiah 40:13-14 asks this question, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” There are things that we cannot in our finite mind fully understand. But this doesn’t mean that we can’t know some things, and it doesn’t mean that we can’t trust that God fully has all of this under control and figured out. One of the biggest objections people have with words like this is that they wonder “What if someone really wants to be saved, but they weren’t predestined… that’s not fair that they really want to be saved, but they can’t be.”

What the New Testament promises us is simply this: All who genuinely desire to be saved are saved. Notice the flow of Romans 8:30 - we see words like justified. What does that mean? That legal word means that you sins are no longer held against you because they are instead placed on Christ! How does this happen? Whenever a person repents of their sins and places faith in Christ as Lord. Get this: That’s not a normal desire to acknowledge that you have sinned and you desire to be forgiven of your sins. Whenever this takes place, whenever you are justified, what Romans 8 is telling us, is that this confirms this eternal plan that God has for you. That He not only called you, but He chose you. Not because of how awesome you and I are - we’re not. Every single one of us here have sinned against God. We have broken His laws. We have broken His heart… but, because of His great mercy, He sent His Son to take that sin and pay the penalty that we owed. Jesus Christ Saves Sinners! This chain is never seen as a negative in the Bible, ever. Because God exists outside of time, of course God’s perfect plan starts before creation, and continues onward to Eternity. This chain is the basis of our confidence as Believers. Yes, we place our faith in Christ. But we are held by Christ for eternity. Our faith will flounder, our Savior will not. Our grip will slip, Christ’s hand is strong. God had a perfect plan before we were even born… and God’s plan is so incredible that it continues on forever. From Predestined to Glorified, this is our trajectory for all who call on the name of the Lord in repentance and faith.

Romans 8 provides comfort for the Christian because it shows us where we’re going - we are born again, and we’re heading home. This is our promise. This is our hope. Some wonder, “Can I lose this hope?” Can we get a little nerdy together? It’ll answer this as easy as possible.

Look at the last word in verse 30. What is that word?

He Also Glorified

That is a Greek verb that is in the aorist active indicative tense. That likely is something you don’t know, but we’re going to learn together. The aorist active indicative tense means that an action has been completed. The active means that the subject does the completing. The indicative means that it is a fact. So what does all of this mean? This final phrase reads, “He also glorified.” This action is completed. God has glorified every born again, blood bought Believer! Glorification is what we usually think of in the future whenever we get to heaven. We talk about salvation being past, present, and future tense. Justified. Sanctified. Glorified. We are saved from sin’s penalty, we are being saved from sin’s power, we will be saved from sin’s presence. Can I encourage you today, as you live in a broken, fallen, sinful world? If you are justified, if you have been washed by the blood of Jesus, you are glorified. How can this be? We still see sin. We still sin. But the Christian’s glorification is assured because we have the Holy Spirit today. This is the outcome of our faith. This is our hope. Even in a painful world. Even when suffering strikes. We know in our bones that we belong to Jesus and we are secure in Him. For God to not bring a Christian into glory would mean that He ceases to be God. These are called the Golden Chains of Redemption - they are glorious! John Stott says, that is like a pillow upon which saints rest their heads because it reminds us that at all times, God is at work in the big things and the little things. They are not random. They are not coincidences. They are not accidents. They are evidences of God being at work to conform us to look more like Jesus… and God completes the work that God starts!

Romans 8:28-30 is not the grounds for Christ-less controversy in the local church, it is the foundation for Christ-Centered Worship in the local church! God has a perfect plan that He is working out today and that plan includes eternity past and eternity future.

Mom’s, do you know how it all ends? Do you know that the suffering of this present life cannot compare with the glory that we are going to receive? Do you know that God works all things together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose? Do you have a theology that prepares you to endure suffering well? This is what your children need from you. More than the rides to school, the help on homework, all the extras that no one else sees to keep the family glued together… Your family needs you to know the Lord and put Him first. Whenever Jesus is first, transformation happens. Whenever Jesus begins to transform our hearts, He uses us to impact those around us, starting with our family. Good days, and bad days, and every day in between, we can trust that in Christ there is eternal glorification. We know how our story ends, because we know where we’re headed - and that gives us hope in this journey called life. Is that true for you? Do you know where you’re headed? As verse 28 says, “Do you love God?” Friend, God made you. He loves you. He sent His Son to save sinners just like me and you. His plan for us today is to become more and more like His Son… and whenever we trust in Him as Lord and Savior and turn away from our sins, we have hope that He will sustain us in the good days and the bad days and use all things to make us more like Him. Today, trust in Christ.

How Do We Respond Knowing the End?

Pray

Many of us today know this story and we know where we’re headed. If this is you, first I want to encourage you to pray. Pray because Christians suffer too. We go through hard times. We groan and struggle, and sometimes, we feel overwhelmed and the idea of God working this out for our good seems impossible! What do we need in those moments? We need to pray. We have a God who promises to supply our every need - we pray because His power is endless and He loves His children. We pray because we know how the story ends!

Plant

In this life we not only pray for those around us, but we are called to share the good news of the Gospel and to plant Gospel seeds. On Mother’s Day, I pray that you can look back at your childhood growing up and that you are reminded of all the planting that your mom did in your life. The spiritual investment she made as she taught you Bible truths and sang Bible songs. Regardless if you did or didn’t have that growing up, ask yourself this question: What Gospel seeds am I planting today? Mom’s, this starts with your kids because that is your God-ordained role. If you’re saved, your destination is secure in Christ because if you’re justified, you’re glorified but the reason that Christ keeps you here after He saves you is because He has a mission for you and that mission is to plant seeds and to water them.

Praise

We are created to glorify our God. At South Gate we do this by exalting our Savior and engaging our Society with the Gospel. As you look at your life today, are you praising Jesus with how you live your life? With the words you say? With the way you react to the situations you’re facing right now? Do you believe that God truly does work all things together for the good of those who love Him? If you’re saved, this is your hope and there is no situation you face that you cannot praise the Lord for His goodness and His grace

Friend, wherever you’re at, there is hope in Jesus. He is good. He provides. He gives us assurance. Whatever suffering you’re walking through doesn’t get to define you. Jesus is greater. Suffering doesn’t win. Today, trust in Christ and experience adoption, assurance, and victory!