You Are Good Series

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?