GOD IS FOR US!

GOD IS FOR US!

TEXT

Romans 8:31-32

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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?”

Introduction:

God is for us! So much so that He gave His only Son up for us! Not only did He give the supreme sacrifice of His Son but, He gives us all things.

We have a loving Heavenly Father! He is a good Father and wants the best for us. Just like most fathers He likes to give His children gifts, things. Let us look at a few of those things He gives us as His children.

GOD IS FOR US AND GIVES US A BRIGHT FUTURE

God gives us a future. God has plans for our future as His believers. That is a comforting thought. We are given hope; we don’t have to wonder if things will be ok in our future, we don’t have to go to an astrologist or some person who claims to be able to predict the future because we have Almighty God Himself assuring us that he will take care of us in all things.

In Jeremiah 29:11-12 we read that, ““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.””

Even when times are hard we have the assurance of God’s plans for our future. Jeremiah reminds himself after the fall of Jerusalem of God’s hope-filled plans. “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. “ (Lam. 3:21-26).

Even after the fall of the Holy City of Jerusalem, Jeremiah declares that all hope is not lost! Our hope is not in a city but in the living God. He still loves us, He gives us every new day and we can rest in the fact that great is His faithfulness.

It would be like our enemies coming in and taking Washington DC or New York City. Our hope as believers is in God not in our government or in our nation’s accomplishments.

T.S. Not only does our Heavenly Father give us hope, but He gives us redemption!

GOD IS FOR US AND HAS GIVEN US REDEMPTION

The writer of Colossians puts it well, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

ILLUS: Suppose a man comes upon a child being beaten up by gang members. He jumps into the middle of the bunch, rescues the boy and takes him to the hospital. The young boy is nursed back to health and the man pays the bill. He learns that the child is an orphan, so he adopts him as his own and gives the boy his name. And then, one night, months later, the father hears the son sobbing into his pillow. He goes to him and asks what is wrong. Through his tears the boy says "I’m worried, daddy. I’m worried about tomorrow. Where will I get food to eat? How will I get cloths to stay warm? Where will I sleep?" As you can imagine, the father is disturbed. "Haven’t I shown you? Don’t you understand? I risked my life to save you. I gave my money to treat you. I gave you my name and called you my son. Would I do all that and not meet all your needs?

That is exactly Paul’s question. Would God go to all the pain and trouble to send His Son to die for you and then just forget about you in your hour of need? No way! Paul reminds us that God has way too much invested in us to forget about us now. What kind of father would forget about His child? Certainly not the perfect one who created us! God is for us!

GOD IS FOR US AND HAS GIVEN US HIS INHERITANCE

Colossians 1:12 declares, “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Did you realize when you place your faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and believe that He is the only begotten Son of God that we are qualified to become a beneficiary of God’s inheritance?

ILLUS: Quote Imperials song, “Praise the Lord.”

GOD IS FOR US AND HAS GIVEN US FORGIVENESS

God is for us and has given us a wonderful gift, forgiveness! When he looks down on His children He sees no sin. We can do no wrong in His sight!

ILLUS: “Remember the Duck” I heard a story about a little boy who got a new slingshot and went out to try it out. While he was trying it out, he took aim on grandma’s pet duck, and to his surprise he hit it and killed it. As you can imagine, the boy was horrified, so he took the duck and hid it in the woodpile. Just as he finished covering it up, he noticed that his sister Sally was watching. After lunch that day, Grandma told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you Johnny?" She leaned over and whispered, "Remember the duck." So Johnny did the dishes. The next several weeks were Johnny’s worst nightmare. It seemed like he was always at the sink, sometimes for his duty, sometimes for his sin. Whenever he would almost get completely fed up with it, Sally would remind him "Remember the duck." Finally, Johnny decided no punishment could be worse than a lifetime of washing dishes, so he confessed to killing the duck. Grandma was understanding. "I know you killed the duck. I was standing at the window watching the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I just wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave out of you." Johnny had been pardoned, but he continued to feel guilty because he listened to the words of his accuser.

How many times have we listened to Satan’s accusations, all the while forgetting that God knows our sin, and has pardoned us anyway. (Read 33-34) In I John 2:1 and in Hebrews 4 and here in Romans 8, the same image is pointed out. Jesus is sitting at God’s right hand right now, and He is standing up for us. He is asking God to forgive us for our sin. And as the accusations fly, God looks to His Son, and Jesus says, "I will take the penalty for that sin." And the blood of Christ covers over your guilt if you are a member of His family. If God is for us who can be against us!

CONCLUSION:

He also is giving us gifts besides these major life gifts! James 1:17 says “No shadow of turning” or His part.

XN app: God is for us…God is for me!

Non XN app: Must become a child of God, believe, trust in him for your salvation for God to be for you, for you to claim Him as your Heavenly father, to be a part of the Family of God.