Rom 8-Redefining Good and Bad

| Redefining “Good & Bad”! Romans 8:28-32

May 6, 2007 (NIV) 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  PRAY Scripture Memory:Review from March: We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28 (NIV) New (for May): 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32 (NIV) Intro:How many of you would say you had a good week last week? How many would say that you had a good year last year?What makes something good for you, in the sense of a good day, or a good time? 1. Understanding What “We Know”2. Understanding the “All things”3. Understanding what is “good”4. Understanding the “who” in “those who love Him”  1. Understanding What “We Know”We know… (Confident knowledge – not feelings)What we don’t know: what to pray for (v. 26 - We do not know what we ought to pray for)What we do know: God works everything out ☞ We know: Ø   That God is always wise – He never makes mistakes“And, knowing this, we can be confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which” shouldn’t.  (Spurgeon)We can say, “If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.” (Spurgeon)Question: Which would you choose: what YOU think is best, or what GOD knows is best?Ø   (We know) That God is always good – He has proven His love in the most powerful way possible through the cross (v. 32 - He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?) Ø   (We know) That God is all powerful – He is limited only by His inability to deny Himself.Job 42:2 – “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. Ø    (We know) That in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (v. 28)The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. (Spurgeon)Notice how so many unusual things in this life work for good: Ø   Poisonous drugs mixed in the right proportions produce cures for illness Ø   Sharp cuts of a surgeon’s knife clean and facilitate healing. Believing that God rules all, that he governs wisely, that he brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. (Spurgeon)The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, Send me whatever You will, my God, so long as it comes from You; For certainly there  has never been anything evil which has come from Your table to any of Your children. (Spurgeon)God is seldom early, but never late. 2. Understanding the “All things”Does that include our sin?Does that include other’s sin?Does that include the dumb things I and others do?Does that include the wickedness and evil that we see all around us?What about that supervisor who is such and idiot…?What about the drunk driver who caused that accident…?What about that huge hole of debt that I have dug for myself?What about that seemingly senseless accident?What about me loosing my job…?What about…God works In all things… even sin and evilAll of the circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. Ps. 139:16 – All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. (Oswald Chambers)Never put your hand in front of the circumstances and say—‘I am going to be my own providence here; I must watch this, & guard that.’ (Oswald Chambers) |   | All of the details of our lives are in the hands of God, therefore we must never allow ourselves to think with a victim’s mindset, as though we were, in some way, victims of someone else’s malice or mistakes. To do so is to deny the hand of God in our lives. So much of the time we buy into the lie that WE know better than God does, that WE are the masters of our own lives! That is at the root of our sin! (Gen. 3:5)Whatever your circumstances, whether by your own actions and decisions, or by those of others, whether through a series of events that you can understand or through things that seem to make absolutely NO sense whatsoever, GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE!!!Proverbs 21:1 – The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.This is why we say that “when we complain….” 3. Understanding what is “good”God takes our mistakes and makes them “good”God takes our sins and make them “good”We need to redefine “good” and “bad” – in terms of God’s purpose God works all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.Ephesians 1:4 (NIV) – He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.The greatest good: becoming more like Christ2 Cor. 3:18 (NLT) – As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.v. 29 (NIV) – He predestined (those whom He foreknew) to be conformed to the likeness of his SonThis means learning more and more to live in a way that draws upon HIS strength, upon HIS grace, upon HIS wisdom. It means increasingly seeing the world through HIS eyes and with HIS heart.2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NCV)
9But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.” So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me. 10For this reason I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong.Question: Do we WANT to see God’s power made perfect in us? Do we want to see it badly enough to endure the difficulties which are necessary?Romans 5:3-4 (NLT)3We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. 4And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. Good # 1: That we might become more like ChristGood # 2: That we might play a part in OTHERS knowing God betterPhilippians 1:12 (NIV) – Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.The only truly BAD in life is that which rejects God. A bad day is one in which we give little or no thought to God, when we allow our sin and this world to dominate our thoughts and desires…The GOOD NEWS is that the door is always open for God’s children to come back Him. No matter how far we stray, no matter how badly we sin…  4. Understanding the “who” in “those who love Him”…the good of those who love Him… (Christians only)          NOTE following vv. Our love is derivative… (NIV) 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who have been called according to His purpose… (to become like Christ…)1 John 4:19 – We love Him… Why?... because He first loved us!Question: Are you among those who “love” Christ? and are you confident that you have been “called according to His purpose?”The gospel… Summary / Review:We know that God is in control of all things. We know that He is all-knowing. We know that He is perfectly wise and He has proven the extent of His love for us by sending His Son to die in our place. Do we know this enough to trust Him through the hard times?We long to be done with sin and to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. But do we want this badly enough to submit to the loving discipline of a sovereign God Who wants that even more than we do? A Truth to Remember: No matter how difficult circumstances may seem, God is still in control and He is using them to make you more like Christ… if that is want in your life.  A Challenge to Consider:Do you desire to be like Christ enough to allow God to use painful times to mold you into His image? One thing I heard this morning was… |