God Works for Our Good
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena
I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon
So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Romans 8:28
If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you
Opening
We are in a new sermon series called He Holds the Future
And it really is a continuation from our Easter Sermon that Jesus is our Living Hope
And becaue he is alive and reigning, we can trust in him and find rest in him
We can rest in knowing that God has a good plan
And we can rest in knowing that he provides
And we trust and believe that whatever happens in this life, God is with us
And so we can live with our sights set on him, we can live with heaven in view
Illustration
It is not out of line for us to think about the future
And I believe it is almost natural for us to want to know the future
But what happens when we dont just stop at curiosity?
What happens when we want to be certain?
And, an underlying concern about the future that we have, is, is it good?
We want to know that there is something good in store for us
The world, when desperate to know the future, turns to - palm readings, crystal balls, cards, horoscopes, etc.
These attempts to try to know the future are folly and many of them are demonic in nature and I want to encourage each of you not to engage in these things
Sinply put, These methods and actions are not of God
But, what if
If I were to stand here and tell you that I could guarantee good for you - would you believe me?
If I told you that the purpose of God guarantees good for you - would you believe me?
For the Christian who believes in God, to those who put their faith and trust in Jesus alone for salvation
God has a promise for you - a promise for you to lean on and to trust in
A promise that tells you that you dont need to know the future
You dont need to know how everything is going to happen
But to know that God is with you and working for your good
That is a promise every believer has and that can be a promise to you by putting your faith in Jesus
So now we are going to look at this promise in context
If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 8:27–28.
This is the Word of the Lord - You may now be seated
Background
Romans is written by the Apostle Paul
And in Romans chapters 1-9, we find Pauls most detailed explanation of the gospel
gospel - The good news of Jesus Christ
Before Time - Redemption - Reconcilliation
Church
And we know
In our exodus series we talked about the confidence we can have with God
That we can have confidence in things of this world but the things of this world can fail us
But God will not fail us
The Apostle Paul is confident in what he is writing
He doesnt wish what he is writing is true,
He doesnt think what he is writing is true
Paul is confident with full assurance in what he is writing to the church
And he is writing to the church so that the church can be confident as well
That as the church evaluates the present time - the now
It is evaluated based upon the assurance of the future
Christ is the assurance of that future
And that future is eternal glory in heaven
Unified with God the Father
This is why we gather
If we did not assurance, if we do not believe in the promises of God, then whats the point of spending an hour and a half or more of our day off to do the things that we do
But, because we have full assurance of a future glory, because we have hope, because we have been loved by God
It is our conviction - that we should sing praises to Him, we should study his word together, we should celebrate and do life with one another
The way we live is dictated by wether or not we trust and believe in God’s assurance and promise for us
It is dictated by wether we believe or not that God loves us
Maybe you are here today and you dont have full assurance in God’s promises
Maybe you are here today and you need reminding that God is for you
We are going to evaluate some biblical truths that we see now, in light of the assurance of an eternal future with God
So that we will know and believe with full confidence that God is
Love God
For those who love God
Evaluation of Love
Do you believe that God loves you?
Do you believe in his gospel?
Do you love God?
Do you posess biblical love?
What is crazy is just how much love is talked about in the world
And its not just talked about but it has made its way into songs
If we were only to look at songs “What is love?” - “I was looking for love in all the wrong places” - “I will always love you”
Just those three song asks what is love, imply that love is something to be found, and that it should be a lasting thing
So we have our own outlook on love
Some of the things we see now in the world is that love is:
subjective - love can mean one thing to you and can mean something completely different to me
optional - love whenever, however, whoever, but you also have the option to opt out of that love (an eye for an eye)
emotional - There is an emphasis that It is something you feel, and because you feel it, it has to be love
watered down - “I love that thing”
As a church - we believe that there is a true love, a true design and intent as to what love is and how it should be displayed
John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Gospel Presentation - Trinity of God living in perfect love
And out of that perfect love - comes goodness
God creates the world - Genesis God says over and over and saw that it was good
God creates man - God loves his people
God gave man dominion - and a command
And as long as man was obedient to God’s command - perfect love and goodness was in this world
But man failed - brought sin into the world
Man is driven out of the garden - separated from God Spiritually
It wasnt God who seperated himself from man
It was man who failed
Through that fall - everyone born after Adam and Eve are born fallen and in need of Savior
In need of someone to save them and reconcile them to God
Trinity of God - Before time, before the creation
Knew that out of perfect love and goodness - God would create man
Knew that out of perfect love and goodness - God would send Jesus the son to die for man
Out of perfect love and goodness - Jesus would willingly come and live, die, conquer death and the grave
Out of perfect love and goodness - The Holy Spirit changes the heart of God’s people and guides them through life
God’s people would hear the beauty of the gospel - the beauty of God’s perfect love and goodness
And then profess their faith and trust in him
Once this relationship is established, not only do we know God’s love through the cross,
We continuously know God’s love as we walk through life
Even when we sin, when we push him away, when we fail in life
God’s love doesnt cease
God’s love is still sacrificial
God doesn’t opt out out of love
God doesn’t seek vengence out of love
God’s love is more than just an emotion
And if this is God’s definition and demonstration of love, then this should be how we view and demonstrate love as well
Most importantly, how we view and demonstatrate it back to him through faith
Love for God and others is a primary evedince of your faith
Matthew 22:36–40 ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””
All things work together for good
Rather, all things work together for good,
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
For the good of the believer, for the one who does trust in Jesus
Evaluation of Good
What do you believe is good?
What does God say good is?
Do you believe that God knows what is good for you?
Earlier I asked the question - would you believe me if I said, that the purpose of God guarantees good?
Don’t read into the question of whats not there
I’m not saying that nothing bad will ever happen to you
I am not saying that you wont have any hardships
What I am saying is that in your life, God guarantees good for you
And this also means that God will turn bad things and hard circumstances for your good
Here is something I want you to think about, when you identify a problem or hardship in your life,
When you have that moment where you say to yourself, man this bad or man I am in trouble
God is already working out a solution
Your problem or circumstance is not a surprise to God
God saw it coming, God allowed it to happen, and God is going to work it out for your good
I remember vividly a time that I was suppossed to have dinner with a friend
And at the time I was in a financial bind
And he agreed to have dinner at a place that had good food but wont kill my pocket book
As the time was drawing nearer to the date, I was behind financially and I wasn’t sure if I would even have to pay my bills
At the time I was working overnight as a stocker at HEB and covid was still a huge thing
And so of course I am anxious about paying my bills but also I was anxious of having to cancel the dinner
And it was during this time that God was just doing a mighty work in me and in my relationship with him
And as I continued to pursue him, trust in him, pray to him, etc. my circumstance was drawing me closer to him
And the Lord provided me with a $500 bonus COVID check from HEB - they are just trying to take care of their employees
And this is what chapter 8 is all about
Life in the Spirit
Heirs with Christ
Future Glory
This chapter brings us hope as we live that God is working through the Spirit, working in us, and working for our good
God’s Purpose
Evaluation: Purpose
Do you believe you have a purpose?
Do you know God’s purpose for you?
Do you know God’s work for you?
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Not according to our purpose but to God’s purpose
God has a purpose for his people
For those who love God, God has a purpose for you that you didnt come up with, HE DID
And if I wasnt clear in the last sermon, when Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness
Jesus is ultimately pointing us to walking with him
Sanctification - incrementally grow closer to God, closer in his likeness, and fully glorifying him and enjoying him
As you live, wake up, eat breakfast, get the kids ready go to work (or bingo), or shopping, or whatever you do
As you live - you are to be walking with Jesus
The good that God has prepared for you isn’t necessarily to your material benefit
The good that God has prepared for you may not be the kind of good that you desire
But the good that God has prepared for you is so that you would conform more into his likeness and image and carry out his purpose
Love
Relationship - John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Obedience - John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Service - 1 John 3:16-18 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Charity - 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God knew you before all of time, created you, called you, and he has good works for you to do
Good works that have been planned for you since the beginning of time
And so, of course God is going to work for your good
He will remove, fix, sustain, restore, bring you out of your circumstances so that you will be able to keep walking out the purpose that he has for you and the good works that he has for you
Remember I had a dinner with a friend, the Lord provided me with a check, and I was able to go to dinner with my friend
Well if I am being honest I was still contemplating not going $10-$15 for a dinner when your tight is still $10-$15
But something just kept telling me to go and so I did
And, unbeknown to me, my friend, was going through a hard time
And I was able to encourage him with a listening ear, with scripture, with prayer, and with my time
Best $10-$15 I have ever spent
But that was possible because of the Lord
Because God had a good work for me and he promises to work out good
Application
Application
Know that God is good and full of love
Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”
Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
Know that God has good for you
What are the current struggles? - pain (body), unemployment, grief, evil
If you have put your faith and trust and Jesus you can know that somehow God is already working it out for your good
Believe it. Trust Him. Rely on Him. Go to God in prayer and give him your needs
Faithfulness journal - How God has met your needs, how bad situations turn to good
Growth is God’s faithfulness - love, relationship, obedience, service, charity
Share his faithfulness with others
Dont beat yourself - Dont wake up every morning trying to figure out the exact work God has prepared for you
Often times you wont even recognize it as it happens
Know that God is working things out for you which is ultimately his glory
God doesn’t share his glory
It is his glory and his alone
The command given to Adam and Eve is a command that at the heart of it Adam and Eve place God in the first position and listen to God - And by disobeying God they put God in the second position
He creates us out of love and goodness but its for his glory
He redeems us out of love and goodness but its for his glory
He sustains us out of love and goodness but its for his glory
He will one day glorify us, call us home to an eternity with him, for his glory!
This is the hope - this is the faith - this is the love that we live out daily to God’s glory
That as we live, we know and trust that the future is entirely in God’s hands
That we may not be certain exactly how tomorrow might exactly play out
But we know that God has good for us and are certain of our eternity
Are you certain of your eternity?