28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28-29 (NKJV)
I hope you are visiting our new website: GodNAmerica.com. We are making changes and adding material. We’re still pretty new at this but we’re progressing. We are planning to have an App for you smart devices before long. It will notify you when we upload a new podcast and blogs. I’ll keep you posted for when it comes and how to download it.
One of my favorite podcasts is entitled, “And We Know” from Romans 8:28. I like it because the host is a godly man who is a patriot. He is praying and fighting for the soul of America, not with weapons of mass destruction but with words of truth. He inspires me to try to have a hand in the work that needs to be done. I would encourage you to listen to his podcast sessions on Rumble or at his site, andweknow.com.
Today I want to run with sentiment of Romans 8:28 – where all things work together for good. . .
I read the story of Earle Dickson who was the cotton buyer for the Johnson and Johnson Co. back in the 1920's. He was out on the road quite a bit, and worried about the welfare of his wife while he was away. Apparently his wife, Josephine was very accident prone. It seemed like she was either cutting or burning herself almost every day.
When Earle was home, he would take the dressings and rolls of surgical tape that his company made and carefully bandage her wounds. However, the 3-inch wide rolls of surgical tape and large bandages available in the 1920's, required two hands to apply them properly. He was sure that Josephine wouldn't be able to do that by herself.
One day, he had an idea. He cut part of a 3-inch wide roll of surgical tape into 1"-wide strips and laid them on a kitchen counter, sticky side up. Then he put some small squares of gauze in the middle of each one, leaving sticky tape showing on both ends. Should Josephine injure herself while he was gone, all she had to do was to take one of those strips and apply it to her injury herself. Earle's idea worked so well that he began to leave these self-applying bandages every time he left town.
Sometime later, at a party, Josephine mentioned Earle's idea to the company president, James Johnson. He liked the idea, and in 1924 when he added Band Aids to their product line, their company's sales increased by 50%. Ever since then, Band Aids have been one of Johnson and Johnson's major products.
Many inventions that have simplified our lives today would never have been invented if there had not first been a problem that needed to be solved. And I'm convinced the same thing has happened in the spiritual realm, too.
Sometimes we can make the most of bad situations and things work out for good. Sometimes God does that. In fact, this is what Paul is saying in Romans 8:28-29 let’s read the text again and make a few observations that I think apply today.
"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. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son... "
I. We have the Security of God’s Promise – 8:28
Familiar text
A. We can misuse this verse – “If you become a Christian, your troubles will be over. God will work all things for good in your life.”
B. No assurance that only good and pleasant things will come if we follow God.
• Paul was a dedicated follower of Jesus but look at the difficulties he had – 2 Corinthians 12 (thorn in flesh);
• Job – blameless and upright before God – tests
• James – WHEN trials come
• Jesus - John 16:33 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
1. Romans 8:28 will make sense – ONLY to those who love God and is called to his purpose. We must learn to TRUST the promise.
2. Note what 8:28 does not say – God works out everything for everybody; or he works out all things for good immediately; or the way we think they should be done;
C. Satan does the Opposite of God
1. Satan can take seemingly pleasant experiences and bring bad out of them if we let him. God can take the bad that hits us and make it into something good.
Author, Bob Vincent writes of one of his close friends who had a heart-attack. The heart-attack came in the spring and for a while it did not look like his friend was going to survive. Gradually he improved and was strong enough for the surgery that the Dr. said would give him a new lease on life.
Vincent writes, “I was with him in the fall and he was still talking about the experience. We had a conversation that went something like this: Well, how did you like your heart-attack? It almost scared me to death. Would you like to do it again? No, I wouldn’t like to do it again. Would you recommend it? Definitely not. Does your life mean more to you now than ever before? Well, yes. You and Nell had always had a beautiful marriage, aren’t you closer to her than before? Yes. What about that granddaughter that was born this summer? Yes, she is something. Do you have a new compassion for people, a deeper understanding and sympathy? Yes. Do you know the Lord in a deeper, richer fellowship than you ever dreamed possible? Yes. Then I asked again, How did you like your heart-attack?
2. Satan may mean things for evil, God can make it good. Sometimes the good shines brightest in the darkness.
3. There is security in knowing God’s promise is true, even if we do not feel it.
II. There is Assurance to the CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE
-- Love the things he loves:
Psalm 119:72 -- The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
119:97 -- Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
119:103 -- How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 138:2 –
I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
A. We Need God’s Power
[A mechanic received a distress call from a woman motorist whose car had stalled. He came and examined the car and found that she was out of gas. She asked, “Will it hurt if I drive it home with the gas tank empty?” It would be cheaper, but impossible. The same is true of the Christian life. We need power – God’s power to live and win.
B. The Power –
HS – Romans 8:14 (ESV) 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons [children] of God.
Gospel – Romans 1:16-17 (ESV) 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
III. God Uses Our Problems to Reveal:
1. His Leadership – what do we do when we get to the end of all of our resources and efforts? We turn to God to direct our steps (Not in man. . . .)
2. Himself in Us –
• It has been said that difficulties don’t determine who we are. Rather, they reveal who we are. The same heat that melts the ice can make mud hard as a brick. It all depends on how the thing being heated responds. It is also true of us. Difficulties can melt us or harden us.
• Joseph, in Egypt, and Daniel, in Babylon, both revealed their character to their pagan masters. Their difficulties caused the presence of God to be manifested through them.
• Troubles in life are normal (Job 5:7 but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward). Our response will manifest Christ to the world—or not.
3. His Willingness to Protect Us – Daniel 3 – fiery furnace
4. His Desire to Develop Us – “God loves you like you are but too much to leave you that way.”
Philippians 1:6, "…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Romans 5:2-4 says, "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character produces hope."
5. His Intentions to Walk with Us Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”
a. Jesus, as the incarnate God, shows He knows what you know by living here
b. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are – He knows – Hebrews 4:14 (ESV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Conclusion
1. In 490 BC a great battle between the Persians and Greeks (Athenians) was fought at the ancient site of Marathon located over 22 miles from Athens. The fighting was fierce but the Athenians prevailed. A Greek messenger named Pheidippedes ran from Marathon to Athens to bring the good news of their victory. After entering the city he shouted, “Rejoice, we conquer!” He then fell to the ground and died of exhaustion.
In 1896 when the Olympic Games were revived at Athens, the 26 mile 365 yard run was added to commemorate the run of Pheidippedes.
At the cross, Jesus shouts his/our victory – “It is finished!” DBR
2. Nothing can stop what is coming – the spiritual Army of Jesus Christ!
Romans 8:31-32 (ESV) 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
• No one can correctly condemn us – Jesus intercedes for us
• No one can surely separate us – from God or one another
• No one can completely conquer us
• God is for us – We win!
3. Keep loving God and you will keep obeying him – John 14.15
4. Remember, there are no shortcuts on this journey to victory. We try shortcuts like:
• Physically – Pills to build muscle and suppress appetite
• Quick-fix exercise equipment – generally used as clothes hangers
• It takes eating correctly; exercise; drinking water
• Spiritually – it takes prayer; study; worship; fellowship; ministry
“Jesus three temptations were actually one – a shortcut to glory.” He is victorious so we can be. Let God work out things for good – ours and others’.
5. A few years ago a missionary told this true story:
It was back during the Great Depression, and my grandfather was a carpenter. But on this particular day he was at the railroad station, sealing up crates filled with clothes his church was shipping to an orphanage in China.
On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to get his glasses, but they were gone.
When he mentally retraced his steps, he realized what must have happened. His glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the crates while he was nailing it shut. And now his brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had 6 children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning and was upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration. "I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this."
A year later, the director of the orphanage was on a furlough in the United States, visiting all the churches that supported his work in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church. The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage.
"But most of all," he said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate.
“Even if I had the money, there was no way of replacing the glasses in my part of China. Along with not being able to see well, I had terrible headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this.
"Then your crates arrived. When we removed the covers, we found a pair of glasses lying on top." The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then he continued,
"Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom-made just for me! I don't know why you included those glasses, but I want to thank you for doing so from the bottom of my heart!"
The people listened, happy for the miraculous coincidence of the glasses. But they thought that surely he had confused their church with another. There weren't any glasses on the list of items they had shipped overseas.
But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an old man, my grandfather, just an ordinary carpenter, suddenly realized that the Master Carpenter had used him in an extra-ordinary way.
God can use each one of us in extraordinary ways when He makes all things work together for good. Don’t give up in spite of how dark things seem to be or how much chaos there appears to be – God is in control and what is meant for evil will be turned for good.
