Turn with me, if you would, back
to Romans chapter 8. And let's just enjoy these verses
together. Romans 8, verse 28 says, And we know that all things work
together for good. Good, good, good, good, good,
good. I'd love to learn that one day.
Brother Henry Mahan, this endeared me to him so much. He got to
the end of his life and he was tired of hearing bad news. He
was over it, no more. No more bad news. And everything
you said to him, he said, that's good. It doesn't matter what
it was, that's good. That's so good. He'd ask you
a question, how's everything going? You'd give him a not so
great answer. He'd say, but it's good, right?
Well, yeah, but it's good, right? And then finally, you'd catch
on and say, yeah, it's good. It's good. We know that all things work
together for good. to them that love God. What an amazing statement that
is. By God's grace, can you believe,
do you have any idea what kind of sinners we are? Can you believe
that we love God? Can you believe that? You talk
about take something for granted, that a despicable, vile, rotten,
dead, hateful, rebellious sinner could actually love God by God's
grace because he did something for us. I pray that I don't ever
get over the wonder of the fact that Christ came and did something
for me. I pray I don't. I pray that never
becomes old, an old hat, you know, Because He did something for
us and because He created something in us, we can honestly and truthfully
say that we love God. We love God. We do, don't we? The Almighty God. We love Him
in sickness and in health. in poverty and in wealth because
He did something for us. By His grace, we leave all others
in cleave to Him and Him alone. Our brother recently preached
from Psalm 116. And the first line of that Psalm
says, I love the Lord. Soon as he said that line, I
thought, oh my goodness, I love the Lord. What an amazing thing. What a precious thing because
of God's grace and God's gift to his people, they can truthfully
say that from the heart. And for every soul that can truthfully
say that from the heart, verse 28 says, we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose. Every time I read that verse,
I'm in awe of how many words there are in that verse that
are my favorite words. I love these words. I love that
it says, we know, we know, we know. Sometimes it's just so
hard to remember. It's so hard to put it into practice.
It's so hard to get it out of this flesh because the flesh,
it just drowns everything in sin. But the spirit of God in
us has caused our souls to know. We know, I love the two words,
all things. And the reason I say that is
because really and truly most everything is bad. Most everything
is bad. But I love the word good. Good. I love the fact that it
says love God, the true God, the sovereign God. I love the
word called. Don't you thank God for calling
his people to himself? Man, do we love the word purpose.
If I didn't have that word purpose, I wouldn't have anything. I just
wouldn't have anything. I love how sure that announcement
is. We know. I love how encompassing
that announcement is. All things, everything falls
into the category. Nothing left outside of the category. I love how positive that announcement
is. We have the most positive gospel,
the only gospel. It's good, it's all for good.
Why did God do that? Why did God do that? Why did
God do that? You know, there's only one answer. Good. Good. Why did this happen? God did
it. And why did God do that? Good. That's why he did it. Good. I love how loving the announcement
is. This is between those who love
God and those that God has loved. I love how specific the announcement
is. It's to the called according
to His purpose. It's to an exact people, an exact
people. And I love how eternal this announcement
is. It is from eternity to eternity,
from eternity to eternity. That right there will never change. And this is the reason why. Verse
29 says, For whom He did for know. God knows everything. God knows everything. There's
so many things I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. God
does. He knows everything. And thank
God, He knew His people. whom he did foreknow, whom he
knew before, before anything, before everything, whom he knew
and set his love on in purpose to save in eternity past. Verse 29 says, for whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate. What does that word mean? It means he predestinated. Well, it must be destiny. It
is. It is. He predetermined, he foreordained,
he appointed beforehand everything for every single one of his people. And this was what the purpose
of it was. to be conformed to the image of His Son. Think about that. Enter into
what that is saying, to be conformed to the image of His Son. What
a holy statement that is. What a glorious statement that
is, to be conformed to the image of His Son. Look with me at 1
Corinthians 15. First Corinthians 15 verse 49,
it says, as we have borne the image of
the earthy, and that's what we're bearing right now, we're in it.
As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly, Christ himself, the express image of
the invisible God. John said, when we see Him, we're
gonna be just like Him. That's just unimaginable. That's
just amazing. When we see Him, we're gonna
be just like Him. And David said, that's the moment
that I'll be satisfied. I'll be so satisfied. It'll be
done. It'll all be over. It'll be satisfied.
This honestly makes me want to say, I love the Lord. I love the Lord because He's
worked all things together for our good in the Lord Jesus Christ. He worked everything out perfectly. For our good in the Lord Jesus
Christ, He has called us. How kind it is that He said,
come. He has appointed purpose to us. I think about the story of Ruth,
Boaz. You know, Ruth was gleaning in
the field and she thought that her, her hap was, that's what
she thought, but she didn't know that he told the men, you leave
handfuls of purpose for her. And that's what our Lord has
done for us. He has appointed purpose to us. And He has predestinated the
end result of all of His people to be just like the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's amazing news. That really
is. That is great, great news. Back in Romans 8, verse 29 says, 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." Firstborn among
many brethren. Look with me, if you would, at
verse 14. It says, "'For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. For you have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear. but you have received the spirit
of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And
if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together. For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. Joint heirs with the Lord
Jesus Christ. It pleased the Father to make
Christ to be the firstborn among many brethren. Many brethren, all of them inheriting
his likeness All of them made to be in His perfect image, His
glorious image. And verse 30 says, if you look
back at verse 30, it says, moreover, whom He did predestinate, them
He also called. The Lord calls His people. He calls them by His Spirit.
He calls them through His Word. He calls them to Himself. Every soul that He predestinated
to Christ will be called to the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 30 says,
Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom
He called, them He also justified. That means declared to be right. Declared to be innocent. Declared
to be free. Someone goes to a judge in a
courtroom and the judge declares him to be justified in what he
did. He means it was right. There's
no guilt in it. Innocent. You're free to go. Verse 30 says, 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 word means celebrated and honored. And God's people cry, not unto
us, not unto us, you're celebrated, you're honored. But he says,
you're celebrated and you're honored with me, in me. How can that be said of sinners
like us? Really, how can that be said?
Verse 31 says, what shall we then say to these things? What could we possibly say to
this announcement? This is all we can say. This
is how that can be. This is the glory of the gospel.
Verse 31, he said, if God be for us, who can be against us? That means who can prevail against
us. Everything is against us. Everything. Our own flesh is against us.
We are against ourselves. We are warring against ourselves. Our own flesh is warring with
the Spirit. Trying to bring our own selves
down into destruction and into death. But because God was for us, Because
everything that Christ came to do was for us, it was all for
us. And because he accomplished everything
he came to do for us and defeated everything that was against us.
Because of Christ, nothing can prevail over us, nothing, nothing. He prevailed over us and nothing
can prevail over him, nothing. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Verse 32, it says, He that spared
not His own Son, which what a statement that is.
He that spared not His own Son. Our God did something for us
that we would never do for anyone else. He gave His own Son. He spared
not His own Son. He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all." Who are the us all? Verse 28
says, it's them who are the called according to His purpose. Verses
29 and 30 say, it's every soul that He foreknew and predestinated
and called and justified and glorified. Verse one in this
chapter says, it's every soul that God the Father placed in
Christ. It says, there is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in the Lord Jesus Christ. In His will and in His purpose
and in His life, in His death, in His blood, in His resurrection,
in Him. Every soul in Him. Every soul
in His finished work. Back in verse 32, it says, 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? If
He gave us Christ, what would He withhold from us? If He gave
us Christ, what would He withhold? I adore that illustration Brother
Don Fortner gave whenever his daughter married Doug, her husband,
and Don made him a set of keys to everything Don owned. Here's
a key to my house. Here's a key to my car. Here's
a key to my garage. You can go into my garage. I
have tools. Get anything you need. And Doug said, you mean
I can go in there and just get anything I want? And he said,
son, I gave you my daughter. You don't think I'd give you
a wrench? I gave you her, I'll give you anything. If he gave
us his son, what would he withhold? How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? And with that, the father has
declared all things to be freely given to the son. He's the inheritor
of all things. And He has declared us to be
joint heirs with the Son. We truly have been given all
things with Christ. All things, everything. Verse
33 says, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God won't. The law won't. Who else can? If God won't and
the law won't, who else can? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. God's people have already been
justified. They're already justified. Yea, justified, O blessed thought. already justified in Christ.
The moment that he took all of the sin away from us and he took
all the blame away from us and laid it on himself at the cross
of Calvary. At that very moment, he took
all the charge away from us. He left nothing to be charged
with. Not one sin, not one spot. He
laid all the charge on Himself. Therefore, He laid all the condemnation
on Himself. Verse 34 says, who is He that
condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather,
that is risen again. How do we know that Christ accomplished
what He came here to do for us? How do we know He really put
our sin away and really paid the debt? God the Father raised
him from the dead. God the Father said, well done,
I'm well pleased, that sin is gone. He raised him from the
dead. Verse 34 says, who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God. The
right hand of God does not mean that he is sitting right next
to God. He is God. The right hand means
the seat of honor. That's what it means. There's
only one throne. That one throne is the seat of
honor and the Lord Jesus Christ is sitting in it. All the fullness
of the Godhead is sitting in it, in Him. And amazingly enough, this is
truly, there are so many statements that we've already read here
that are so amazing, but this one is amazing to me. You talk about glorified, it
says He glorified His people. You talk about glorified. Ephesians
2 says, all of God's people are sitting in the same seat of honor
with Him. seated with Christ. Scripture
says we're going to reign with Him. Isn't that amazing? All of God's people sitting right
there. That's what they are. That's
where they are. Sitting right there, safe and secure under
the intercession of the blood of the Lamb. Look back at verse
26. It says, likewise the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And
he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the
Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God. Right now he is making intercession
on behalf of His people. Down in verse 35, it says, Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? He said, Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who is He that condemneth? Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? The love that sought us. The
love that bought us, the love that brought us, the love that
will keep us to the end. Do you at all enjoy hearing that
you're going to be kept to the end by the power of God in the
Lord Jesus Christ? Do you at all enjoy hearing that? If he does not keep us, we're
not going to be kept. We're not just prone to wander.
It's all the flesh can do. You know, well, I'm prone to
every now and then. No, all my flesh can do is run. But we're going to be kept. Verse 35 says, Who shall separate
us from the love of Christ shall tribulation. That means pressure,
affliction, Or there's a lot of outside pressure,
a lot of pressure. It's just a lot of pressure. There is, there's a lot of pressure.
Is that going to separate us from the love of Christ? He said,
what about distress, anguish? All that pressure creates anguish. Is that going to separate us
from the love of Christ? Well, Christ was building his church,
but all these things happened and it just caused the whole
thing to fall. Is that what's gonna happen? No. He said, well, what about persecution?
That's a persistent, continual hostility. He said, what about famine? That
means lack, little, doing without. What if we lose everything? What
if we do? What if we do? Is that gonna
separate us from the love of God? The love of the Lord Jesus
Christ? He said, what about nakedness?
Being exposed for what we really are. What if we all are exposed
for what we really are? What we're trying to hide and
put on a good front for each other? What if we're all exposed? He said, what about peril? That
means danger. What if we end up in the middle
of danger? He said, what about sword? That means war, means
death. Verse 36, he said, as it is written
for thy sake, we are killed all the day long. We are accounted
as sheep for the slaughter, but we're not sheep for the slaughter. That's all we seem to be. That's
all it appears to be just sheep for the slaughter. He said, but
we're not. If we're outside of Christ on
our own, then we would be, that's all we would be. But in Christ,
in the security and the safety and the redemption and the justification
of Christ. Verse seven, he said, nay, in
all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us. If you have that center margin
in your Bible, We are more than conquerors.
Don't turn, but it's where we were a moment ago. First Corinthians
15 verse 57. That's the reference. That verse
says, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what God's people have
victory victory. They feel like they're always
on the losing end of things. But our Lord said in Christ,
all of God's people have been given victory. He said, we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. Verse 38,
he said, for I am persuaded. That's a good thing to be. That's
just a good thing to be. I am persuaded. I'm persuaded. In Acts 26, verse
26, Paul said, I'm persuaded that this thing was not done
in a corner. Our Lord did not hide any of
this. This salvation was made known to all. In 2 Timothy 1, 12, he said,
I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. And right here, Paul said, verse
38, for I am persuaded that neither death, you know, we're all going to
die at some point. I'm not trying to scare the children,
but it's inevitable because of sin. That's what sin brings. But the glory of the gospel and
the peace and comfort of the gospel is, I'm persuaded that
neither death, when that moment comes, death, to be absent from
this body is to be present with the Lord. I'm persuaded that
life, I'm gonna tell you this, life is hard. Life is full of Job said, man's days are few
and full of trouble. I'm persuaded that this life,
I'm persuaded that angels, fallen angels, principalities, governments and things set up
and powers and things that we don't know anything about. things that are right now happening,
things that are present, nor everything that's to come. If
we think now is bad, just wait. Just wait. It's about to get
good. Just wait, it'll get worse, which
is good. I'm persuaded he said that height,
depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He said God's people are in the
hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
in the hand of God the Father. And no man is able and no thing
is able to pluck God's people out of those two hands. Nothing
is able. Nothing will ever be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. If we want to be in God's love,
it can only be found in Christ. If we want to be in God's favor,
it can only be found in Christ. If we want to be in every spiritual
blessing that God has promised to His people, we must be in
Christ. We must be in Christ. And if
you want to be in Christ, you are. If you see Him to be the
only hope, and your only desire is to be in Him, you are. God put that in you. God gave
that desire to you. God called you to Him. All that
the Father has given to Christ shall come to Christ. In him
that cometh to Christ, Christ will in no wise cast him out.
That's good news. That's good news. That's the
best news I've ever heard. I believe it is. All right, Brother
Eddie, you come.