If you are a follower of the Christ, ...... you know.... .....that your life should be filled .... Filled to overflowing ... with joy.
You probably also know ...... that you should experience joy ..... in spite of .... The circumstance.
The Scriptures clearly teach us.... that the joy of the Lord ..... is ... our strength.
And that joy ......is present ... no matter ..... the circumstance.
A Joy ... that if properly nourished ...and properly nurtured, ....can overwhelm ... even the greatest of grief.
When Jesus prays to the Father in John 17:
He says, .....I pray ..... "they may have the full measure of my joy.... within them." (John 17:13)
And in the proceeding Chapter, he says to his disciples, "You Will Rejoice. And no one will take away ....your joy" (John 16:22)
No one ..... No person... No thing ....can take away ....your Joy!
Beloved..... What a Promise!
Jesus is speaking these words to his disciples, ..... who are going to be .....persecuted.
They are going to be robbed .......tortured, ..... put to death.
Yet Jesus promises to give them A joy ..... A joy that will withstand ......all of that.
Nothing.....not disease ..... persecution..... alienation .....loneliness ..... torture or even death..... will be able to take this gift of Joy ....away from them.
Beloved ... Do you have that kind of joy?
Are you experiencing ... that kind of Joy?
You should be..... You can be!
In Romans 8 Paul speaks about living..... in a suffering world.
He speaks of A world ... that is marked by brokenness ..... trouble ..... persecution and .....how His followers are to live..... in such a world.
Then From Our Text ...... Paul offers two major principles .....for finding joy ..... in a suffering world.
Paul tells us that if we follow Christ, ...... (1 Finger) our bad things ......which are bad things .... Work together for good, (2 Fingers) and our good things .... which are transforming ... cannot be lost. REPEAT
Beloved.....Those are ... reasons.... for joy.
(One Finger) First Principal.... Our bad things which are bad things....work together for good.
Romans 8:28 says: BIBLE "We know that ...all things ..... work together for good .....for those who love him,..." END
The Scripture speaks to.......All Things.
All Things.....The Good... The Bad .... The Ugly.
All things ... happen to followers of the Christ.
All Things ... happen to those who love him.
Remember the words from our Lord....BIBLE Your Father who is in heaven .....makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, ......and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. END (Matthew 5:45)
Circumstances ..... that befall a believer ....are no worse ..... and are no better ..... than they are.... for anyone else.
It is extremely important for us to understand this ... if we are going to fully experience ..... His relentless .... and unwavering ... joy.
Terrible things happen.... Ugly things happen ..... even to those ..... who are in Christ.... To those who ... love God.
Many Christians openly teach......and sadly most Western Christians implicitly believe.......
That if you love and serve God, .....then you will not have as many bad things happen to you.... As those ..... who are non-Christians.
But....that is not true!
That is not what the Scriptures teach us.
Horrible things ... can and will happen .... to followers of the Christ.
And believing in ....and loving and serving God ......will not stop them ..... from happening.
The same things that happen to everyone else in the world.... will also happen ... to those ....who love God.
In our Text.... Paul is clear... He says "All things" and he means ...... all things.
Paul goes on to state, BIBLE What shall separate us from the love of Christ? (7 Fingers) Affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? END (Romans 8:35 DLNT)
Beloved..... These are not good things.... These are terrible things.
Paul is saying these things will happen to those who love God..... and they can happen ... to us.
Hardship...distress...persecution... famine... nakedness peril and sword ..... will befall believers.
It is imperative .... that we understand this.
But Praise God.....when good comes forth.... when spiritual joy ... is at hand .... It is because of ..... God.
God making .....all things come together ... for Good.
Notice ... Paul does not say, ......"Things ...work together for good."
Things on their own...... (Slow) never work together for good.
Rather, if good happens, .....if good appears .... it is because ..... God is working it ... together.
Earlier in Romans 8, .... Paul discusses how things of the world .....fall apart .......
They fall apart..... because the world is burdened with evil ..... and filled with sin.
Things ..... are subject to decay.
Every... Thing made on this earth ..... is subject to decay.
Even our fleshly body ...will decay.
Every One ..... Every Thing will eventually ..... experience decay; ....that is the nature of ... all things.
Although .... bad things do happen, .....God works them together..... for good. (Pause)
Now....This verse ......does not promise .....that those who love God ...... will have better circumstances .... than those ..... who do not love him.
Nor does this verse imply ..... that bad things .....are actually ..... good things.
Rather, .....it acknowledges .... that these are bad things.
But we do have the promises .....that they are working for good..... for those that love him.
That means ......God will work them ......to good effect .....in the life of a believer. (Long Pause)
The promise is not that if you love God, ..... that only good things ..... will happen in your life.
The promise is not that if you love God, .... bad things are not ......really bad.
The promise is ......that God will take the bad things, ..... and he will work them for good .... in totality.
That does not mean that when something bad happens, ......we can decide to give God a week..... to show us how the situation .....is going to work ....... for good.
In fact, do not wait a month.
Do not wait a year.
Do not wait a decade.
The promise is not ....for a month ....or a year ....or a decade.
The promise is not .....that we will even see how every bad thing in our lives ..... works together for our good.
One of the main reasons .... Christians are continually overthrown or become discouraged .... is not because bad things happen to them.
For most ..... their discouragement .... their despondency ..... is due to the shock ..... that anything bad ......could even..... happen... to them.
Do you see the distinction?
They are shocked .... that something bad happened to them.... at all.
We have all heard these words of despair,..... "This isn't how it's supposed to be."
We may even hear others say...... This isn't fair I am a Christian..... life should be better than this for me,"
But Beloved..... that is not what God's promise is.... to us.
Some .... mostly those who are young in the faith..... feel that if I love God, .....if I am a Christian.
Then I should have more good circumstances .....More good things happen to me..... then those who don't love him.
But that is not ....God's promise.
Until you understand what the promise is, .... you are going to be continually shocked ......continually discouraged and even .... overthrown.
(One Finger) So Our bad things... which are bad things.... Work together for good. (2 Finger) And Secondly... Our good things ... which are transforming ... can never be lost.
If you have been a Christian for any period of time, ....you know that our text from Romans 8:28 .....is a very famous verse.
People use it all the time.
It is what some call ..... a "blessing box" ... verse.
A blessing box ....is a collection of verses ....that are often taken out of context ..... and stated without concern .....for what came before ... and what came after ... the verse.
It is a..... feel good, .... so you use it.
Some people use Romans 8:28 to assure themselves ......that when bad things happen,..... then surely ..... good things will follow.
That is not God's .... promise.
There is a little word between verses 28 and 29 that indicates .... the verses go together.
The little word is.... "for". BIBLE "All things work together for good for those who love God who are called according to his purpose, For ..... those he foreknew he also predestined ....to be (What?) conformed into the likeness of his Son." END (Romans 8:28-29)
God does not promise you..... better life circumstances...... if you love him.
He promises you ..... a better life.
Beloved.... The Scriptures are speaking to a joy ..... a peace ... a life .... that goes beyond.... beyond circumstances.
How dare we .....interpret these Scriptures as a joy ......that is dependent on things.... Upon circumstances!
Beloved: Jesus Christ did not suffer ......so that you would not suffer.
He suffered so that when you suffer,..... you will become ..... like him.
The gospel does not promise you..... better life circumstances; ...... it promises you... a better life.
All Things .. The Good...The bad ..and the ugly ....work together for Good for those who love him.....
Why? .... (Slow) Remember the text ....So that we will be conformed into the likeness of His Son.
All Things work together for Good .....for those who love him ..... in order ....to be more like Jesus... his son. (Pause)
In our text..... Paul uses the word predestined.
He is not introducing this word .... to confuse you.
He does not intend to explain the doctrine of predestination...... or address the issues that arise ..... when the word is mentioned.
He uses this word Beloved..... to comfort you.
For...Something that is predestined ..... is fixed.
What Paul is saying.... is that if you love God, ......you can count on A promise ...... that is absolutely fixed, .....that will not change.
So what is it..... that is predestined?
The Scriptures tell us .... That those who love Him ..... Will be conformed ..... to the image of His son.
That is what is ... predestined.
The Greek word here is morpha, ....from which we get the English word .... metamorphosis.
Paul is saying .......that God promises ...... to "metamorphosize" .... Us.
He promises to change (Slow) our very inner essence ......into the very inner essence .....of Jesus.
If you love God, ...... everything that happens in your life ..... will be used ..... to mold you, .....sculpt you, ..... polish you, .....shape you .....into the image of his Son.
God is taking .....All life's circumstances .....and working them together ..... (Slow) for This good.
The Good ...... is our transformation .... Our Metamorphism into the image of Christ.
God is making you .....like His Son.
He will give you ....Christ's incredible compassion ....
He will give you .....Christ's incredible courage.
God is working everything ..... everything that happens in your life ..... toward that magnificent end.... That magnificent good.
It is predestined. It is guaranteed.
The minute you become a Christian, ..... you have intimacy with God.
You have an ....unconditional relationship.
You become beautifully and spiritually rich .... in him.
The more you live out who you are in Christ,..... .... the more you become .... like him.
Paul is not promising you better things..... better life circumstances.
He is promising you a better life....
A far better life..... A life filled to overflowing .... with joy.
A life ..... that God has Glorified
A life .... That is being conformed .....into the image of his son.
Beloved..... An eternal life .... A life .. that never ends.
Amen and Amen
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal donation: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
This Sermon is based off a message by Dr. Tim Keller Titled " The Cristian's Happiness" and I commend it to you.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Message was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings in Christ. Jeff
