I STILL BELIEVE YOU ARE GOOD
A. Romans 8:28-30 (READ)
1. How many of you like to KNOW the SPOILER ALERTS of a BOOK or MOVIE?
ILLUSTRATION:
There was a STUDY done by two RESEARCHERS at the University of California of San Diego about SPOILERS (apparently, they had a lot of time on their hands). In this STUDY, they were
TRYING to DETERMINE whether or not SPOILERS actually SPOIL the STORY.
They ran three EXPERIMENTS with six SHORT STORIES in BOOK FORM and six in MOVIE FORM, and they found that people consistently ENJOYED a story MORE when the ENDING had been SPOILED—when they knew the ending rather than READING the story or WATCHING the
movie with a sense of SUSPENSE and DREAD.
One of the researchers had an interesting theory about why people liked getting the spoiler alert. He said, “It could be that, once you know how the story turns out, you’re more comfortable with
processing the information, and you can focus on a deeper understanding of the story.”
Whatever the reason, according to this STUDY, the majority of people when KNOWING how the STORY ends, ENJOYED it a little bit more.
2. When I first READ that article, I pushed back on it thinking, “That can’t be true. People don’t want
to know the ENDING before they watch the MOVIE or read the BOOK.”
a. But, honestly, I have seen some MOVIES that I wished I would have known the ENDING before I
saw them—it would have made more SENSE of the STORYLINE.
ILLUSTRATION:
Brenda can tell you that if we SEE a MOVIE based on a TRUE STORY, I will be on my PHONE
researching the REAL PEOPLE and the REAL EVENTS while WATCHING the MOVIE. So, I
usually know how ENDS before it ENDS.
b. Maybe the RESEARCHERS at UC San Diego are onto something.
COMMENT:
We may not want to know EXACTLY how it ENDS, but we want to be able to TRUST the AUTHOR or the DIRECTOR enough to know that they’re taking us on a JOURNEY that may be PERILOUS and SUSPENSEFUL at times but is going to END WELL—it’s going to end with JUSTICE and LOVE and REDEMPTION.
B. That’s exactly what Paul wanted his readers to understand as he wrote the words of Romans 8:28-30.
1. He wanted them to KNOW right from the start that they can TRUST the AUTHOR of the STORY.
a. Instead of FEAR, they could have FAITH that EVENTS (even their “present sufferings”) were
leading to a GOOD ENDING.
b. Perhaps, for many of you, this is a GOOD thing to KNOW because you are IN a part of your STORY
that you thought would never be WRITTEN. You’re in the middle of a CHAPTER of your LIFE
that you did NOT WANT, nor was it INVITED.
COMMENT:
Maybe the CHAPTER that you’re in in the middle of is titled “DIVORCED” or “LONELY” or “LOSS”. It could be that you’re just STARTING the chapter of your LIFE titled “TERMINAL” or
“BANKRUPTCY” or “UNEMPLOYMENT”.
c. Your STORY may be SCARY, but God is not FINISHED with you, yet.
C. We are in the fourth week of our series: “I STILL BELIEVE”.
1. We have seen how God used Melissa Camp’s terminal CANCER and her ultimate DEATH for God’s
GOOD PURPOSE.
COMMENT:
Her STORY of FAITH, as shared by her husband Jeremy Camp, has TOUCHED COUNTLESS lives and BROUGHT many to Christ.
Yet, during his wife’s SICKNESS and DEATH, Jeremy didn’t see any GOOD to come from it. In fact, his FAITH was SHAKEN as the result of it. Yet, God took that TRAGEDY in Jeremy’s LIFE and caused GOOD to come from it for His PURPOSE.
And what God can do for Jeremy’s and Melissa’s STORY, He can do for your STORY.
2. SPOILER ALERT! Paul points out THREE THINGS that God will do to give us the very BEST ENDING to our STORY.
MESSAGE:
I. GOD WORKS FOR OUR GOOD- v. 28
A. This is a PASSAGE I have QUOTED countless times in SERMONS over the years.
1. It was one that was shared with Brenda and Me many times through Facebook and cards and phone
calls during the PASSING of our SON.
a. But, frankly, during that time I just could not see how God was working anything GOOD through
the DEATH of my BOY.
b. This is a beautiful PROMISE unless your CIRCUMSTANCES seem to CONTRADICT it at the
moment. Have you also found that to be TRUE?
COMMENT:
It’s a wonderful PROMISE unless it’s your HEALTH that is failing, your JOB that has been eliminated, your MARRIAGE that is falling apart, your HOUSE that is going through foreclosure, your CHILD that has died—then this PASSAGE suddenly doesn’t seem quite as COMFORTING.
2. What do you think the Christians at Rome thought about Paul’s WORDS when they first heard them?
a. The Roman Emperor NERO was ramping up PERSECUTION of Christians.
COMMENT:
“Claudius, the Emperor before him, had already EXPELLED the Jews from Rome”
(Acts 18:2), and it was only a matter of time that Christianity would be OUTLAWED.
The church of Rome was being HARASSED by Roman Soldiers. Some Christians were having their homes CONFISCATED and LOVED ONES put in PRISON. Others were BEATEN for INSUBORDINATION.
If you were a Christian in Rome at this time, your WAY OF LIFE would be in CONSTANT TURMOIL.
b. But then the Roman church receives a LETTER from Paul who is in Corinth over 500 miles away, telling them that “God is working everything for their good if they love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”
COMMENT:
Do you think there were PUZZLED LOOKS on the faces of some in that CONGREGATION? Were people SHAKING their HEADS?
They LOVED God just as much as any other CHURCH. They, too, had been CALLED for His purpose, giving their LIVES to Jesus. Yet, those words of Paul must have been CONFUSING as they tried to CORRELATE his words with their REALITY.
B. I think the CONFUSION is that we want this PROMISE to say something that it DOESN’T.
1. It doesn’t say that “If you love God and are called according to his purpose, then everything
that happens to you will be good.”
COMMENT:
I have heard some TELEVANGELISTS say that very thing. And for those Christians who BELIEVE that when BAD things happen, they begin to question their LOVE for God and SERVICE to Him—that they must not be FAITHFUL or else they wouldn’t have PROBLEMS.
a. Yet, that TEACHING is not FOUND anywhere in the Bible.
b. In fact, Jesus said “…In this world you will have trouble…”- John 16:33.
COMMENT:
It is a GIVEN! Because we live in a FALLEN WORLD, we will experience TROUBLES, PAIN, SICKNESS, DEATH whether we LOVE God or NOT.
No one LOVED God the Father like JESUS, and, yet, He still died on a CROSS. In fact, the PROMISE of Romans 8:28 is on full DISPLAY at the CROSS of Jesus. Even in the midst of the DARKNESS of DEATH of His only begotten Son, God was WORKING all things for our GOOD.
2. Paul is not teaching that EVERYTHING that happens to a Christian will be GOOD, but that God is working through whatever DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCE that we may EXPERIENCE for His
GOOD PURPOSE in our LIVES.
a. Now, we may not always SEE it or UNDERSTAND it, but God is at WORK for our GOOD.
COMMENT:
One day I believe it will be REVEALED to us in HEAVEN what all God was doing behind the SCENES, and we will be AMAZED to see how He took a DIFFICULT SITUATION in our life and worked something GOOD from it on our BEHALF for His PURPOSE.
b. So, what is God’s PURPOSE for us?
II. GOD CONFORMS US INTO THE LIKENESS OF HIS SON- v. 29
A. God’s ultimate PURPOSE for us, is that we be LIKE His Son, Jesus.
1. Whatever God is doing behind the SCENES “working for the good of those of us who love Him
and are called according to His purpose”, is for the sole PURPOSE of “conforming us into the
likeness of Christ.”
COMMENT:
His PURPOSE is not to make our LIVES a littler EASIER on this earth. It’s not to make us HAPPY. It’s not even to TURN the BAD THINGS that happen to us into GOOD THINGS. It is
to make us LIKE His Son—our older BROTHER Jesus.
2. This was the Apostle Paul’s incessant GOAL for his life- Phil. 3:12-14 (READ & COMMENT)
B. In the process of CONFORMING us in the LIKENESS of His Son, Paul reveals some AMAZING
things about God, our Heavenly Father.
1. Paul- “For those who God FOREKNEW…”
a. This is speaking of God’s OMNISCIENCE—that God is ALL-KNOWING.
b. God SEES things differently from the way we do.
COMMENT:
We SEE things in a LINEAR fashion—one event UNFOLDS after another. We see everything having a BEGINNING and an END. God sees the WHOLE picture all at ONCE,
because He EXISTS outside of TIME and SPACE.
Now, we certainly can’t understand that, because we’re not God. We are confined to the HERE and NOW. But God KNOWS ALL and SEES ALL. He knows what HAS happened and
He knows what WILL happen.
c. Isaiah 46:9b-10- “…I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: ‘My purpose will stand, and I will
do all that I please.’” (In other words: HE’S GOD, AND WE’RE NOT!)
COMMENT:
But what does that mean for your STORY and my STORY? Well, it means that we’re never in a CHAPTER of our STORY where our Heavenly Father ever says, “I didn’t see that coming.”
God was not taken by SURPRISE when our Son DIED with the COVID virus. He already KNEW and was WORKING for the GOOD of Steven.
ILLUSTRATION:
For quite some time Brenda and I have been CONCERNED about what would ever happen to Steven if we were to PASS AWAY before him. We knew that because of his morbid OBESITY, he could not take CARE of himself—he couldn’t DRIVE anymore, he couldn’t SHOP for groceries, he couldn’t WORK outside of the home.
The REALITY is that he would have to be PUT into a CARE FACILITY—and that, within itself, would DEVASTATE and HUMILIATE him. He wouldn’t have SURVIVED for long.
Although his MOM and I would certainly have chosen something different for Steven, God who is always GOOD and SEES ALL and KNOWS ALL, put our SON in the best PLACE ever to be CARED FOR—his HEAVENLY HOME.
2. Paul- “Those who God foreknew He PREDESTINED…”
a. God’s “predestination” is based on God’s “foreknowledge”.
b. Those who God foreknew would LOVE Him and answer the gospel CALL, He “predestined
(preordained) to be conformed in the likeness of His Son.”
COMMENT:
This passage doesn’t say that God CHOOSES who WILL and WILL NOT accept Jesus and OBEY the GOSPEL. If that was the case, there would be NO REASON to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” if God has already CHOSEN who WILL and WILL NOT be SAVED.
This is not about someone being PREDESTINED to become a Christian, but rather it is about the DESTINY of those who LOVE God and have already responded to the GOSPEL CALL to become LIKE Jesus.
c. That’s why whenever you read about PREDESTINATION in Scripture, it’s always in reference to BELIEVERS not UNBELIEVERS.
III. GOD PREPARES US FOR ETERNAL LIFE v. 30
A. Do we realize that God had been INVOLVED in every step of the way to YOURS and MY salvation?
1. “He CALLED us.”
a. Again, this does not have reference to God CALLING only certain people to be a Christian.
b. The way that God CALLS us is through the GOSPEL MESSAGE that He commissioned His
disciples to go out into ALL the WORLD to share with EVERYONE.
c. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (READ and COMMENT)
2. “He JUSTIFIED us.”
a. Those of us who CHOSE to give our lives to Christ as our Lord and Savior have been “justified”
through the BLOOD of Jesus that He SHED upon the CROSS for us.
b. Jesus DIED for the whole world (John 3:16), but only those who truly “LOVE Him and accepted the Gospel CALL of God” are JUSTIFIED (MADE RIGHT) before God.
3. “He GLORIFIED us.”
a. This is the final CHAPTER of our STORY.
b. The title of this chapter is called “GLORIFIED” because it reflects the CHARACTER of Christ
that we TAKE ON when we are GLORIFIED with Him in HEAVEN.
COMMENT:
Because God can SEE from the BEGINNING chapter of our story to the FINAL chapter, He can speak of our PERFECT CONFORMITY to Christ’s IMAGE as if it has ALREADY been
COMPLETED.
That FINAL CHAPTER will go ON and ON and ON as we spend ETERNITY with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
B. Let’s never FORGET that regardless of what our “PRESENT SUFFERINGS” are, our Heavenly Father is working through them for our GOOD to ultimately CONFORM us into the LIKENESS of His Son.
CONCLUSION:
A. What CHAPTER of your LIFE are you in RIGHT NOW? Well, whatever it is let me tell you where YOUR STORY is HEADED.
1. If you LOVE God and have accepted His GOSPEL CALL, then God is CONFORMING you into the LIKENESS of His Son.
2. Your LIFE may not always be EASY. In fact, you will have TROUBLES.
3. But if you let God do His WORK for GOOD in your LIFE, there will be nothing to DREAD because we know how the STORY ENDS.
HAVE YOU SEEN GOD WORKING FOR THE GOOD IN YOUR LIFE?
