Picked To Win

Romans 8:28-39

INTRO: Not being picked as a winner

·        Were you ever in the horrible position of being picked last, and not wanted even then?  I did far too often.  The thinking was that both teams would be better off with one less player than with the last guy picked.  That stuck with me.

·        Windy Gap, nobody would really want me at their table.

o       BUT there God picked me and I picked Him.  I came away with the idea that nothing could stand between me and success but me, if my portion was God.

o       However, that turned out to be 1) a bigger more discouraging obstacle than I thought, and 2) not entirely true.

A.          Intersect and Context from Romans

B.          READ ROMANS 8:28-39

I.       picked to wn, vs.28-30

·        The Spirit groans for us and prays us into God’s will.  And it’s good to be in God’s will because God is working out all for the good of His children

·        We know this because God does not stop with calling His children, but those He knew were to be His, He called out of the world into that process we spoke of last week and moves us through the process till we are like Jesus.

·       Music:

o    . Audio Adrenaline starts us off singing about God lifting us up.  When we get down, and when we humble ourselves down.

·        He moves us from rebellious to willingly rescued and adopted, and continues to our perfection.

·        (Mystery of free will vs. sovereignty:  Man has perfectly free will and chooses, AND… God is perfectly sovereign and completely determines every movement of every atom and choice of man.  It is just as true to say that we choose God and so he predetermines our adoption into His family, as the reverse, that He predetermines that we will be adopted into his family so we choose Him.)

·       Music: One of these days

o    .FFH celebrates now what has been promised.  This work, once started by God, will be finished by HIM!

II.    if God is for us, no one of consequence can be against us?, vs.31-39

·        God is for us at all costs.  Did he not give Jesus, even over to death?

·        If He did not hold back His Son, is there anything good He would hold back?

A.  Attempting to turn God against us: Positionally / Legally, vs.31-34

·        So is there anything that would make God stop loving us?  Could anyone bring a case before God that we are unworthy of His love and win?  Let’s see,

o       who would  the judge be?  JESUS! (2 Timothy 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead…)  

o       And who chose us and made us right before the Father originally?  JESUS! 

o       And who is our lawyer?  JESUS!  I’m guessing we have a lock on THAT case!?!

III.  Music: My hope is you

A.                        .Third Day cries in hope based on the truth that it is not based on us or our effort.

B.  Attempting to use tribulations or powers to separate us from God, vs.35-39

·        If God cannot be convinced to remove His love from us, can anything by trial or by force separate us from His love?

·        No, all the tough things are used to make us more like Jesus.

·        And all other powers are to small to undo anything that God has decided.

IV.           Music: super good feeling

A.                        .Bleach is primed to praise that Jesus and his love are here to stay forever.

V.   Recap and then read Romans 8 with power!

invitatION

A.  Choose to join those picked to win

B.  Take heart, rejoice, God loves you and will cause you to win at life, becoming like Jesus!

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ’plans for welfare and
not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11