May God be pleased to bless us
as we meditate in his holy word this morning. Let's turn to the
eighth chapter of Romans, and we'll read verse 28. The Epistle
of Paul to the Romans, chapter eight, and reading verse 28. And we know that all things work
together for good. to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. I'm sure we are thankful that
we have the epistle called to the Romans. which gives us very
much help and direction. And we pray that as we read this
word here this morning, it may be a word which comes where we
are and touches our heart. And as we often refer to the
positiveness of the Word of God, here we have the Apostle Paul,
who, as we know, did not have an easy life. indeed had a very
difficult life which is enumerated for us in the epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians. And he tells us here, very positively,
and we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And that should be a word of
encouragement to each one of us as we journey on through life
look at it carefully because it is qualified it doesn't say
and we know that all things work together for good full stop it
tells us and it qualifies it by this to them that love God
and to them who are the called according to his purpose And
again, it's relevant for us to realise that God does have a
purpose for each one of his people in this world. Yes, we're called,
we're called to serve him, and we're called to recognise that
we are to do his will. And what a blessing it is, therefore,
if God gives us that strength and that support to be willing
in the day of his power to do all that he sees fit to lead
us and to direct us in and so as the Apostle says and we know
he knew and it's blessing if you and I have faith to know
also sometimes we might think well things are not going very
well they seem to be against me in actual fact everything
seems to be not for me but indeed against me. Well I'm sure that's
why God in his wonderful providence has given us such a statement
like this, a statement by the Apostle himself. And we know
that he endured much hardship and yet God was with him and
all things were working together for his good And may we find
in our lives everything working together for our good. And find
that we are amongst those who love God and to those who are
called according to His purpose. The 30th verse tells us, Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called. So that means
that all those who are, by the grace of God, elected, predestinated,
are indeed conformed to this situation. And what a blessing
that is to realize. And we're conformed to a very
glorious position. Conformed to be to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And so, as we
look at our lives and consider our lives, to be able to trace
out that the Lord is dealing with us as sons and daughters
of the Most High, and if that is so, he is making us conformed
to his image. And that's an amazing statement,
isn't it? It's wonderful to think that
Almighty God looks upon unworthy sinners, and we are unworthy
sinners, and that He foreknew us, and that He predestinated
us, and then, moreover, whom He did predestinate, then He
also called. Yes, He calls His people out
of darkness, into the glorious light of the everlasting Gospel. And what a revelation that is,
and how glorious it is in our hearts, in our souls, when we
understand this great truth has been performed in such unworthy
sinners as we are and it's good to pause and just look at ourselves
and be honest sometimes we can act with mock humility and pretend
that we don't know these truths well may God give us that grace
to examine ourselves and to see whether that is true whether
the Lord has called us called us out of darkness into his marvellous
light. And there we were, in the world,
content with the world, until that time when the Lord graciously
came to us and called us. A sovereign call, a gracious
call, a glorious call, a wonderful call. And therefore he goes on. See, it doesn't stop there. If
God has called us, he's called us to serve him, he's called
us to do his will, he's called us not to please ourselves, he's
called us to bring honor and glory to his great and holy name. And then he says, them he also
called, and whom he called, them he also justified. We couldn't make ourselves just.
We're sinners of the earth. But to think that the Lord Jesus
Christ died to justify such unworthy sinners, so that we are those
who are justified. And it doesn't stop there. And
whom he justified, them he also glorified. That's a wonderful
prospect. That's a wonderful end. It's
a wonderful conclusion. to the great and glorious work
of Almighty God and of course those who are glorified are eternally
glorified it's not something that fades away it's not something
that disappears but my friends it's eternal and so the Apostle
tells us what shall we then say to these things? he asks the
question and it's a good question and the answer he gives If God
before us, who can be against us? Well, we know our great adversary
of souls, the devil, is against us. He always has been, he always
will be, but blessed be God, he is a conquered foe. Our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
gave his life in order that he would be conquered. my friends,
so he is. He may still pester us but you
see he will not overcome at the last. No, he is a chained foe
and we should bless God for that and be thankful indeed that we
have a glorious statement like this. So here we have then these
words this morning and we know that all things work together
for good. to them that love God, to them
who are called according to His purpose. You know, people may
say, well, of course, I love God. Many people would say they
love God. But it's important for us to
recognize what the Word of God tells us. It tells us it very,
very clearly in the Epistle of John, not that we love God. but that He loved us. God loved His people, and it's
His love to us which draws us in love to Him. It's not the
reverse way. We didn't love God first. God
loved us first. And that's a wonderful truth,
is it not? as the Holy Spirit reveals to
us something of our old nature our sinful nature perhaps it
may make us cry out can ever God dwell here in such a heart
as mine? well if God has loved us with
an everlasting love and that from eternity past his love was
set upon us it's a grand and glorious truth That's why election
is very real and very precious. Not that we loved God, but that
he loved us. The hymn writer tells us, he
saw me ruined in the fall, yet loved me notwithstanding all. That's something that you and
I can truly rejoice in. if we have this wonderful evidence
of God's love toward us. And that's why we can recognize
this statement as being so true. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. And we love God because
He loved us. And because He loved us, We are
those whom he has chosen in eternity past. You have not chosen me,
but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring
forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. Yes, God's people
are not their own. They are bought with a price
and that price, the blood, of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's good if such a consideration
is before our eyes. We're bought with a price. Yes,
and what a price it was to think that Almighty God Himself paid
that price to redeem our souls because of His love toward us. We know, says the Apostle, we
know that all things work together for good. To them that love God, to those
who are the call according to his purpose. We might sometimes
think, well, why has God brought me into this pathway? Why has he brought me into this
difficult situation? Why am I having to walk this
path? Well, here is the answer really. We know that all things work
together for good. All things for our spiritual
good. What that means is that God hasn't
left us to wander on aimlessly in this sinful world. He hasn't
left us just to wander along pleasing ourselves. Doing those
things that we want to. But the Lord hedges up our way. What a mercy it is. If you trace
the life of the Apostle Paul, as we know, he decided he would
go here and go there. But the Lord hedged up his way.
When he was sent to preach the Gospel, the Lord indeed was with
him. And yet, you see, what he had
to endure, what opposition he was faced with, but my friends,
God was with him. And what a great blessing it
was that God indeed was with him. You remember when he went
to Macedonia he was set on going somewhere else but the Lord appeared
to him and sent him to Macedonia and he went there with Silas
and initially the Lord blessed the work, blessed the ministry
and then you see he was arrested and beaten and put in prison
he must have thought is this the right way? Am I here in prison
for doing that which God commanded me to do? Well, the wonder of
it was, of course, that God had a favor towards that Philippian
jailer and his house, it would seem. They were all converted
people. The Lord had ordained it. And all those things were working
together for good. It was a great plan, wasn't it?
When it was a great plan for the Apostle Paul, you may think,
well, of course, I've never had anything like that in my life.
Well, no, we probably haven't. But we should recognize that
nonetheless, God does still deal with his children in love to
bring forth praise to his great and holy name. So we should not
therefore despise the day of small things. The Lord may direct
us to do something which may appear very menial and perhaps
not something that we want to do. You know, Paul probably didn't
want to go to Macedonia. but he was made willing in the
day of God's power and it's a blessing when God makes us willing in
the day of his power to do his will so that we're able to say
and look back perhaps over our life and be able to confirm what
Paul says he says, and we know He had a personal testimony,
a personal experience. It wasn't something abstract. He was able to declare it. And
what a blessing, my friends, if you and me, in our little
lives, can also trace out God's hand upon us and realize, yes,
my God, my God has made all His goodness passed before me in
the way not the way that I would have chosen perhaps but it's
a way that God's chosen to teach us and to instruct us God brings
his people safely home at last and God brings his people safely
home having dealt with them in love and taught them and instructed
them and usually the way that he leads is not the way that
you and I would choose ourselves but it's a way that he leads
so that we can come and join with the pre-apostle and say
well and I know I look back And I see that the Lord's hand's
been upon me. Been upon me to make me more
like the Saviour. More like the Saviour, as we've
just read, to be conformed to the image of His Son. Well, again,
it's worth meditating on that in our little lives. To be able
to see that God has graciously and is perhaps graciously dealing
with us to make us conformable unto his Son. What a blessing
that is, to think that God takes an unruly sinner, perhaps a rebellious
sinner, a hard-hearted sinner, and makes us conformable unto
his image. And what is that process? That
process is preparing us for our eternal home. See, no one comes
to glory who's not prepared. God prepares us. And that's why
sometimes we may think the way is strange, the way is unusual.
Why am I being led this way? is to prepare us for our eternal
home. And if we analyse that a bit
carefully, it's really to make Christ precious to our souls. You see, He will be to us the
King of kings and the Lord of lords. He won't have anybody
usurp that position. We won't come down to the end
of our life and realise that there are other
things, other people that have taken that position. God will
bring us to that place where we bow down and acknowledge to
his honour and glory that He is, to us, my King, my God, my
Saviour. And that's why the Apostles are
able to say, we know that all things work together for good,
for our spiritual good. And that's the great necessity,
isn't it? If we were left to ourselves,
if we were to choose our own path, I can be sure of this we would not be made conformable
unto his image because his image was one which is declared very
clearly in the word of God he was despised and rejected of
men yes he wasn't somebody that everybody patted on the back
and said a wonderful person and we are to walk that path, fellowship
with his sufferings. It's a good place, it's a wonderful
favour to be taught in that way, to be led into that. Naturally we wouldn't want that,
but what a mercy if God, remember, in love to our souls that's what
it's about in love to our souls draws us to himself and in the
path he leads us in we're directed to understand something of the
great cost of our salvation and that's why his church, his people
are made willing in the day of His power to take up their cross
and to follow Him. Well says the Apostle, and we
know. It's good isn't it? When we have
such an example and it's good if you and I can trace that out. We know. We have the New Testament
saints, we have the Old Testament saints, who also were able to
declare that, yes, we can look at Joseph's case, can't we? Joseph's
case wasn't easy, was it? Wasn't easy, but it had a good
outcome. It had a good outcome. He didn't
understand, at the time, why he was having to walk that path. We're told in
the Psalms, until the Word of God came, it tried him, it tested
him. There he was, chained up in prison
for not doing anything wrong. Indeed, for being righteous.
Hard wasn't it? But you see God was preparing
him for that position that he would elevate him to. God knew what the outcome was. Joseph didn't. But thankfully
he was willing in a day of God's power. And therefore he suffered. Well, we should take these examples
and you can follow through. Really, many of the saints of
God, they didn't have an easy path. We read the details, we
can think of David, and we think, well, King David, he had a wonderful
position as the king. Well, go back in his middle life,
as it were, and see all the hardships when he was chased around from
pillar to post by King Saul, then when he was left to himself
to fall very sadly into sin all to prove there was a glorious
God and a glorious Savior it's wonderful therefore if in our
little lives today we can see how God's hand is
upon us for good. Upon us for good, you know. The
children of Israel had to walk a difficult path, didn't they?
A very hard path. And we're thankful that we have
the encouraging Word of God to direct us and show us the outcomes
of these things. And you may remember in the life
of Ezra and Nehemiah, who of course were in captivity, they
weren't freed from it, they were in captivity but the God was
with them both and they were both used when the captivity
ended and in Ezra's book we can read this in the 9th chapter
and 9th verse for we were bondmen bondmen chained up unable to
get free sometimes we may feel just like that bondman, chained
up. Yet our God hath not forsaken
us in our bondage. How wonderful that is isn't it?
Sometimes we're in bondage because of our sin. Our sins brought
us there because we haven't obeyed the Word of God just like the
Israelites of old. How many times They were directed
by the prophets what to do. And they turned their back. But
God was gracious. God was merciful. How wonderful
it is that we have a God who doesn't change. He's still the
same today. He's still merciful. And so we read, For we were bondmen,
past tense, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage,
but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings
of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to
repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah
and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall
we say after this? For we have forsaken thy commandments. He doesn't want to forget that.
He doesn't want to forget where they come from and how the Lord
has graciously and wonderfully given them this relief so that
the king in Babylon gave them encouragement to return to Jerusalem
to build the walls and also to build the temple. and to support
them in the building. How wonderful, isn't it? When
God turns our captivity. So he did in the case of Israel. Well, so he did in the case of
the Apostle Paul. You know, the Apostle Paul was
captive, wasn't he? He didn't realize it. He was
captive by the devil, was serving the devil, pleasing himself. Yes. committing believers to
prison sometimes to death yes or he was in a sad state but
the time came the appointed time came not to propose but to call
by grace my friends it's exactly the same in the lives of all
of his people The Lord doesn't propose, He calls. And the true Church of God are
not able to resist that call. They may try to, they may try
to. They may say in their hearts,
we will not have this man to reign over us, but blessed be
God. When He calls, He gives submission. It gives willingness in the day
of his power. And so we're able to say, and
we know. He looked back, didn't he? I
wonder if you and I can look back in our lives and can confirm the truth of this statement and
say in a personal way, and I know that all things work together
for good, to them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose, because He's had mercy upon me, because He's
been gracious to me, because He hasn't dealt with me as my
sins have deserved. Well, it's a great blessing,
my friends. Today, if you and I can agree with such a wonderful
wonderful statement as this you see the apostle said we know
all things work together for good and because of that he was
able then to come down and as he comes towards the end of this
chapter and he says he asked the question who shall I anything
to the charge of God's elect. It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea,
rather, that is risen again, a conqueror over sin, death,
hell, and the grave, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Isn't that wonderful to think? We have the Lord Jesus Christ.
the second person in the Trinity, Almighty God, making intercession for us, for our prayers, when
we pray to our Father in heaven. And then he goes on to say, who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? He gives us a whole
list. You see this 28th verse tells
us, for good to them that love God. But here we have the reverse,
as I've already spoken about. The love of Christ to us. Who shall separate us? He gives
us a list. Shell tribulation, difficulties,
opposition, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or
sword. And he then elucidates this a
bit further by saying, for thy sake we are killed all the day
long. We're accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. Well, you see, the Savior was
counted as sheep for the slaughter. Fellowship with his sufferings. And then he tells us, in all
these things, we are more than conquerors through our own ability,
through our own strength. No, not at all. We are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us. Oh, the love of Christ, my
friends, is glorious. It never fails. It never fades
because Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever. We may
have wandered away. We may have been far off. His
love doesn't change. He still looks upon us. He watches
over us. We may have become hard-hearted. We may have become rebellious.
We may not have liked to have omitted it, but yet what a blessing
it is to realize that the Lord knows about us. He knows all
about us, and we're more than conquerors through him. And then
he says, for I am persuaded, just like this 28th verse, and
we know. Yes, he was persuaded in his
personal experience and it's good and wonderful if God in
his grace gives us this personal evidence
in our souls through the work of God in our hearts so that
we're able to come and say with the Apostle, for I am persuaded
that neither death nor life nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus. Oh Lord, that's a wonderful and
full and complete statement, isn't it? As I read this, I'm
often reminded, and I've told you before, I'm sure, of George
Hayden, who was Frank's dad. Probably 60 years ago now, we
heard John Tyler preach from these verses. and they were made
a blessing to him. And he told me on the next day,
I think we heard John Tyre on a bank holiday Monday, and we
were worshipping on the Tuesday, and he came and he said, you
know, I really felt not even angels shall separate from the love of God. Well, that
was a wonderful testament. He wasn't a man to say very much. But that was obviously a powerful
word to him. And as we realize the truth of
these words this morning, and we know, we know, we shouldn't despise the day
of small things. And it's good when we can confess
that we do know. It's good actually sometimes
to be honest in the things of God. The tendency is to deny
God's work. To deny God's calling. Somehow
it makes us more holy. Well it doesn't at all. It detracts
from the glory of God. and therefore it's a blessing if we can join hands with the
Apostle in true humbleness of spirit and be able to come and
say yes by the grace of God the free unmerited favour of Almighty
God I can also join and say And I know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, because everything
is working together to prepare us for our eternal home, so that
we won't come to the day of our death lacking. The Lord deals
with us individually. He deals with us graciously.
He deals with us in love to our souls and what a mercy it is
when you and I can sometimes as it were come aside and draw
near to our God and be blessed with spiritual fellowship which
is not of this world because it has eternal virtue It has
that which exists when all the poor things of time are finished
and vanished away. And by the grace of God, we find
ourselves with Christ, which indeed is far better. Well, we should be very thankful
that we have a God who gives us these wonderful truths. You know, earlier in this chapter,
the Apostle also says, for we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth together in pain together until now and
not only they but ourselves also which have the first fruits of
the Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves we do
groan don't we because of our old nature which bubbles up to
the surface sometimes makes us groan waiting for the adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope,
but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why
doth he yet hope for? But if we hope that we see not,
then do we with patience wait for it. You see, we all need
patience. God will bring us home at last
safely. and He's preparing us as we journey
on through life. We may not always observe the
detail of it, but what a blessing it is when we're able to come
and commit ourselves unto the Lord, to trust in Him, believe
that what He's doing will at last produce a shock of corn
ready ripe, which will be ripe for the place of glory, the heavenly
garner, to be gathered home what a mercy then to have a God who
deals with us in love to our souls and shows to us his love
to us which produces our love to him and we know we know let
us not turn away from that let us desire to truly be able to testify in
all humbleness with this wonderful evidence as we trace out the
work of the Spirit in our hearts and realise His love and mercy
toward us and be able to say, and we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. Amen.