Good morning. If you have your Bible this morning,
our message will be talking from Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. First thing that we want to look
at this morning is, we know who penned the message. It was Paul.
But we want to see who he was writing to. So if you'll turn
over just a few pages to Romans 1, we're going to look at the
qualifications of Paul. Chapter 1 of Romans, it says,
Paul, a apostle of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated
unto the gospel of God. He wasn't only a disciple, but
he was an apostle. He seen God in the flesh, in
Jesus Christ, and he was taught by the Lord. which he hath promised
afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his
son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made as the seed of David
according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience
to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom are
ye also the call of Jesus Christ to all that be in Rome, beloved
of God, called to be saints, listen to this, called to be
saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and from
the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, he's talking to those
that have been elected by God to place in Jesus Christ before
the foundation of the world. And from what we read, he was
certainly qualified because he was an apostle of Jesus Christ
our Lord. And these promises that we're
going to look at, let's read beginning in verse 28 of chapter
8 of the book of Romans, and we're going to read down to the
end of the chapter, verse 39. Our text is going to be, oh,
it's going to be verse 28. The Bible says, starting here
in verse 28, this is the Word of God, the Bible says, we know
that it's absolute truth, it says in 2 Timothy 3.11, that
all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God. The Bible
says over in 1 Corinthians, it says, know ye not that your body
is a temple of a Holy Ghost which ye have in you? You are not your
own, you are bought with a price. So the Spirit of the Lord actually
wrote this. This is God's heart, mind, and
soul written to his people. It's absolute truth, it's written
in stone, and it'll never change. Amen? But anyway, we know these
are glorious promises. Beginning in verse 28, and let's
see if God can help us to enter into these verses. There are
some of the most glorious verses that God's elect can receive.
It shows the assurance that we have in Christ Jesus, our Lord. It says, and we know And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the call according to his purpose. For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren,
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom
he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified." That's past tense, brothers and sisters.
In the eyes of God, it's already happened. What should we say
to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justified. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yet rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall cribblation, or disgrace,
or persecution, famine, or nakedness, or pearl, or sword? As it is
written, for thou's sake we are killed all the day long. We are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Now, in all these things, We
are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 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 our Lord. That's
written in stone. It cannot be changed. We know
that these prominences are certainty. And why do we know that? Why
do we know that they are absolute truth? Why do we know they are
set in stone? One good reason. It's because
God said it. He's the one that said it. As
I said before, it says in 2 Timothy that all Scripture is given by
inspiration of God. Isaiah 40, verse 8, it says that
the grass withereth and the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God
shall stand forever. And I thank Him for that. You
know, as we know, we know that we all are sinners. And the Bible
says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We don't deserve Christ. We don't deserve heaven. We don't
deserve his grace. We don't deserve his love. But
God, before the foundation of the world, chose to elect some
people to put in Christ Jesus, and as was said Wednesday night,
his bride. The church is the bride of Christ. And there's a lot of people out
here in the world, I know Henry Mayhead said one time, it's hard
to find a sinner, but we're all sinners. I know that when God
called us, he put into us a new nature, he did not eradicate
the old nature, we still have to battle, we still have to fight.
But what does his word say about sinners? If you don't care, turn
to Mark 7 for a minute. Mark 7 Mark 7 It says here in verse
21, look at verse 21. This is talking about me and
you. This is talking about all of
us. It says, for from within, out of the heart of man proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fortification, murders, thieves, covenants,
wickedness, deceit, lasciveness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,
foolishness, All these evil things come from within in defile of
a man. We knew that we had a need and
we knew that the only need that could fulfill that purpose is
Jesus Christ our Lord. God's word says that neither
is there salvation in any other for there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And
we thank him for that. Christ comes to save sinners
and he accomplished everything that he come to do. His perfect
obedience to the Father is our righteousness. His blood sacrifice
is our justification. Isn't it good to know that? Isn't
it good to know that we're in the hands of the Lord, that salvation
is of the Lord? I thank the Lord for that. These
are words of comfort. And we know that. And one thing,
Gaussians 2, chapter 2, verse 9 to 10, speaking of Jesus Christ,
whom we are in, it says, for in him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead body, and you are complete in him, which is
the head of all principality and power. That's great to know,
isn't it? The Bible says that our life
is hid with Christ in God. Now, you know, this is set in
stone. You know, sometimes we get in
this world, we get down and out, we get discouraged, we allow
the world to control us because we still have the old nature,
we face problems and all of that, and sometimes we forget that
we are the children of God. What does it mean to be born
again? What does it mean to be placed in Christ? for eternity. You know, the desire of all Christians,
all born again Christians, two things, and I'll speak to this
later, I'm getting ahead of myself, but two things that we desire
more than anything, more than anything, is to literally be
with Christ and to be like Him. Amen? And guess what? That's
what God's purpose is. And that purpose will never be... God accomplishes everything He
sets out to do. He's God. You know, as Henry
said one time, we don't serve a peanut God, we serve the God
of this Bible right here. And I thank God for that. It
says in Psalms 46.1, God is our refuge and our strength, a very
present help. in time of trouble, and I thank
Him for that. And the Bible says, and we know
that all things work together for good, okay? We know that
Jesus Christ is our shepherd. I'm going by what's saying in
the Word of God. I didn't say it, God said it.
Therefore, it's absolute truth. Isn't it good to know that the
Lord is our shepherd? What did David say? He said,
the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Let's look at John
10 for a minute and see what Christ Jesus says about His sheep. He calls His people His sheep. John 10. And these are words
of comfort. When we get down and out, when
we get down and out, we get discouraged, we get depressed, all we gotta
do is go to the word of God and ask him to give us that saving
faith which he's already given us and ask him to help us to
keep our mind on things above and not on things of this world.
But Jesus said of his sheep, starting right here in verse
20, what did I say, chapter six? I believe I said chapter six, chapter 10. All right, chapter
10, verse 10. Chapter 10, verse 10, right in
the middle of verse 10, Christ Jesus himself, speaking of us,
he said, I am come that they might have life and that they
might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd give us his life for the sheep. You've been down in
verse 14, listen to this. This is Christ speaking to us.
He says, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep. When Christ
says, I know my sheep, he's saying, I love my sheep. And I know my
sheep and am knowing of mine. And as a father knoweth me, even
so know I the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have which are not of this foe, them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be
one foe and one shepherd. Over in verse 27 of the same
chapter, Christ Jesus said to his people, my sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And listen to this,
if this won't give you comfort, nothing will. And I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, never shall any
man pluck them out of my hand, for my Father which giveth me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand, for I and my Father are one." That brings
us word of comfort to know that we're in the hands of Jesus Christ,
our Lord, and He is the hands of His Father. There is nothing
that can do anything about that. It's absolute for sure. And not
only is He our Good Shepherd, you know, in the Old Testament,
in the Old Testament, no one dared to go to God except to
his priest. Well, you know that we have a
great high priest. Look at Hebrews 4, verse 14,
15, and 16, if you will. Turn to Hebrews 4, 15 and 16. 14,
15, and 16. Hebrews 4, 15. 14, 15, and 16, this is Jesus Christ. He is our priest, and this brings
us comfort. This is why we're able to say, go to God in prayer
and say, our Father, we're going through our great high priest,
which is Jesus Christ, our Lord. He's always there. He's always
with us. It says, seeing then that we
have a great high priest that is passed into heavens, Jesus,
the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession. And we know
this for a fact, for we have not a high priest which cannot
be touched with the fillings of our infirmities, but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Did you
ever think about what a privilege it is to be able to get down
on our knees and say, our Father, which art in heaven, You know,
so much I take for granted, I do, so much I could take for granted,
but to be able to go directly to our Father in prayer, through
Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he paid the price, his shed,
his blood, shed his blood for us, and that's such a comfort
to know that. Knowing that everything that
happens has been, in this life, has been ordained by God for
his purpose, and for the good of every soul that has been called
by the love of God. Romans 8, 28, and we know that
all things work together for good. What do we mean that all
things, and how is that possible? All things work together. And
we're talking about all things spiritually, all things physical,
all things good, All things bad? How in the world is that possible? Well, look at, if you will, look
at Galatians 1, if you will, for a second. Look at Galatians
1. Galatians 1, Galatians chapter
1. I was wanting to start reading
in chapter one, I was wanting to start reading verse 16, but
I can't help but read the first four verses before that because
he's talking to us, okay? He's talking to us. Look at verse
12 in chapter one. And this is why all things work
together, regardless if it's spiritual, regardless if it's
physical, regardless if it's good, regardless if it's bad,
this is why. It says here, giving thanks unto
the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his Son. What a blessing! In whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
And this is talking about Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. And why is
everything under him? Why does he have power over everything?
Listen to verse 16 and 17. It says, for by him were all
things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether it be thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers, all things were created by him and for him, and he is
before all things, and it is by him that all things consist. Isn't that a blessing? That's
why we know that. That is why he is able to cause
all things to work together for good to them that love him, all
things spiritual and all things physical. And we know that whenever
we talk about all things, what are we talking about? Well, in
heaven, in John 5, 7, it says there's three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. Well, who's
the Word? Over in 1 John 1 or 2, it says
in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God, doesn't it? And then in verse 14, it says,
and the Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among us. and we
will be able to have His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father and the truth. So what's he talking about? God
in heaven, everything is working for us. God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit, all good angels, they are working
for us. And then all things on earth
that are good, prosperity, health, good fortune, everything that
we have in this life, everything is working for us. If you've
ever felt bad, everything bad spiritually, it says in Ephesians
6, 12, you know, we understand this because He is God. He's
not a peanut God. He's a sovereign God. Nothing
happens without His permissive or directive will. He has His
preeminence in all things. It says here in Ephesians 6,
12, it says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
darkness, against the rulers of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places, and that includes Satan. God has
all of these things working for our good. All of these things. Out in the religious world, too
many people think that there's two forces out there. The forces
of good and the forces of evil. It's God working with Satan.
Satan's a created being. He ain't nothing but a created
being like we are. He's an angel. Don't get me wrong,
he's the evil one. We're no match to him, but he
is no match to our Lord, no match at all. And he is under his control,
and the Lord is working all things. And then in this world, you know,
the things that happens to us that a lot of times, you know,
bad things that happens to us that we don't understand. You
know, sometimes we get sick, we face pain, we face war, trials,
and even death, you know. And a lot of things we do not
understand. And Henry Mahan, I'm going to mention this, Henry
Mahan said one time, and I'll never forget this, you know,
and he'd been preaching for years and years and years. And somebody
asked him something about the millennial period or the thousand
year reign or something. He said, you know, he said, I've
studied that and I've looked at that, but you know, I really
don't understand that. But he said, you know what? There's
not anything in this Bible I don't believe. And that's the way we
are. There's a lot of things that
we don't understand, but there's not nothing in this Word that
we don't believe because it is the absolute truth of God. If you have your Bibles, turn
to Isaiah 55. He is God, Isaiah 55. He says, to set your affection
on things above and not on things of this world. He says, for our
life is dead and we are, and our life is hid with Christ and
God. That's a blessing. But in Isaiah
55, beginning in verse eight, this is speaking of our Lord.
You know, too many people want a God that they can understand,
but listen to this. He says, for my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
And I thank God for that. I don't want to worship a God
that I understand. And it says in Romans 28, and
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God. Well, what good are we talking
about here? We have temporal good, which is this world, physical
good, temporal good, and then we have physical good, and we
have eternal good. Most Bible scholars believe that
what he's talking about right here is eternal good. Because
you know, we know that God is with us in this life. He's given
us so much and everything that we have in this life, it belongs
to him. And he's given it to us for enjoyment and pleasure
and we know that. But that's not really what he's
talking about right here. If in our spiritual good, he
helps us in our spiritual good. You know, there's times, and
I think some of you know what I'm talking about. There's times
I feel so close to God, I get down and pray and I feel like
He's standing out there with me. I look around and I see God
everywhere, you know, and I thank Him so much for that. I'm sitting
back there and Gabe's up here giving God all the glory and
it just blesses us so much and we feel so close to him. But
let's face it, we still have the old flesh. There's times
we get out there in that world, there's times that we get so
caught up with it, we get so caught up in things. And sometimes
we just feel so far from God, but He's always there. He's always
there. But what they're talking about
right here is eternal good. But knowing that all things work
together to the good, it helps us to accept the hard things
that comes into our life. For we know that God is sovereign
in providence as well as He is salvation and creation. And we
thank Him for that. We thank Him for that. He calls, whenever I talk about
the spiritual good, we know that we are to grow in grace. You
know, the Bible says that we are to live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world. Brothers and sisters, we are
just ambassadors to Christ. You know, we are his disciples.
And we need to, you know, we are to keep our mind on him and
not on things of this world. But the eternal good, right,
he's talking about right here, you know, All things work together for
the good to them that love God. Who is it to them that love God?
To them that love God is those that have been called. They have
been called. Their heart has been changed
from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. He has opened up our
eyes, we believe His Word, we believe His promises, and we
thank Him for that. That's the good that He's talking
about. I mean, that's the love that
He's talking about right here. And to them who are the call.
Who are the call? according to his purpose. The
call here is an effectual call. It's not an outer call. Some
scholars say you have the effectual call, you have the outer call.
Every time somebody sits under a grace preacher and they hear
the word of God, the true word of God being preached, And then they turn out, and they
go out those doors. It says, many are called, but
few are chosen. Okay, they heard the call, but
they refused to accept it. But the call that he talks right
here about is the effectual call. It's a call by the Spirit of
the Lord into the heart of man. Henry Mahan said one time, what
does effectual mean? And I say that because I listened
to his tapes. I met the man for five minutes
one time, and I had five minutes of blessings. I will tell you
that. But the effectual calls, I asked
him, what does that mean? He said, it gets the job done. And He is right, it gets the
job done, and I thank Him for that. And then, okay, the eternal
call here is for His people. Okay, we're talking about two
things. What is the good? Okay, what is the good that we're
talking about, the eternal good? What is the, and it says, as
all things, is for God's purpose. They sort of, it's the same thing
is in mine here. our eternal good, and God's purpose
for his people. Number one, number one is to,
I'm running out of time, but number one is over in the book
of John, I think it's first chapter 14. It says, it says here, it
says, let not your heart be troubled, but believe in God, if you believe
in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions, if any were not so, I would have told you. Okay,
one of the things, one of the purposes is for us to be with
Jesus Christ, literally to be with Him. He says here in John
14 verse 3, and I go and prepare a place for you and I will come
again and receive you unto myself where I am. There you may be
also. All right, what is the purpose? What is the good of the everything
that we're talking about here? To be like Jesus Christ. Over in the book of John, I think
it's the third chapter, verse two. Beloved, now are you the
sons of God that doeth not yet appear what you shall be, but
we know that when he shall return, you shall be like him. That's the purpose and that's
the good that we're talking about. To be with Christ and to be like
Christ. I'm gonna leave you with one
verse and I'll dismiss. It says over in Psalms 86, 15,
think about the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so fortunate. It says,
but thou, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and love. and graciousness,
and long-suffering, and plenteous, and mercy, and truth. That's for His people. And that's
always. That's not only in this world,
but that's in the world to come. You're dismissed.