"God Is Good” Series

God is good, all the time! We readily affirm this to be true whenever good things happen to us, but what about when our circumstances aren’t so good? Is God still good? The answer is “yes.”

The significance of God’s goodness is that He is always good, even when what’s happening to me or those I love is NOT good at all.

And the proof of God’s goodness is not that everything in my life is rosy, but that despite the difficulties and challenges and troubles and griefs of this life, God is determined to use them for my greatest good.

“And 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)

Of course, if God is going to be free to bring about good to me, even in the midst of things that cannot possibly ever be declared to be good at all, we, as God’s children, need to be focused on our love relationship with Him and surrendered to His will for our lives.

“God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.” - Augustine

But when our hearts are not focused on pleasing ourselves, but on knowing God more intimately and pleasing Him only, then we are in a position to recognize that He is indeed, a good God.

That our God is good is a fact. And Jesus tells us two things about this amazing fact concerning God’s goodness. That our God is good means:

1. He is different than this world - vs. 9-11

A. God is genuinely good - vs. 9-10

Jesus describes here a “bait and switch.” Our good God doesn’t do that.

A bait and switch is a tactic used to trick consumers into buying something other than what was advertised. A man sees an ad for $1 orange juice at a local store. When he goes, he finds out the juice isn’t in stock and the store’s only offering another brand for $4.

The idea is to do whatever it takes to get people in the store. The $1 orange juice is the bait. The switch occurs when the customer finds the advertised item isn’t available but a similar one is, but at a higher price.

Now, this practice is illegal in our country. However, as far as this world is concerned, people are constantly being deceived by the “bait and switch” approach. Even Christians. The world always presents itself as something good. “Look at me,” the world says. “Wouldn’t you like to know me better?” “Join in with me, and you’ll have fun, love, friends - fill in the blank.” But when lives for the things of this world, they always discover the promises are empty and the price is high. The world’s promises always come up short and never satisfy.

But not so with our good God. He doesn’t bait and switch. Christ always made it clear that there is a price to pay in order to follow Him, but that price was also accompanied with a tremendous promise.

Regarding the price we must pay to follow Jesus, Randy Alcorn says:

“Following Jesus is more than nodding a head, raising a hand, signing a card, or repeating a prayer - though someone coming to Christ can do any of those. Following Jesus is not returning to life as usual, the only difference being that we’re now going to Heaven. Following Jesus is abandoning trust in ourselves, surrendering all we are and have to Him. This, and nothing less, is discipleship.” – Randy Alcorn

But also told us that whatever price we might have to pay in order to follow Him will be more than worth it in light of all He promises us.

“Peter said to him, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in the present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” - Mark 10:28-30 (NIV)

What are we promised if we pay the price to follow Christ?

1) We have a personal relationship with God (Matt. 11:28-30);

2) We have access to the practical wisdom of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17);

3) We have access to the perpetual forgiveness of God (1 John 1:9);

4) We have access to the powerful strength of God (1 Thess. 5:24);

5) We benefit from the providential working of God (Phil. 1:6);

6) We benefit from the protective guidance of God (Prov. 3:5-6);