I invite you to turn back with
me this morning to Romans chapter 8. We have in this church certain individuals and families
going through severe trials. Caleb, Anna, and Sarah, you all
know that situation, how much stress Both mental and financial
have been brought to bear upon them. Richard and Sheila and
their family going through severe trials of sickness. Winston's
now in a place where his wife needs 24-hour care. Georgia Faye
dealing with dialysis and AIDS. Nathan with the return of his
cancer. And we could go on and on. And
I'm very much aware of your trials and troubles. And then on top
of this, we're trying to finish our new building and the burden of which has been
laid on a handful of men. And they're doing a super job.
And then in the light of these things, I wanted to say something
to help lighten your load. Help lift your spirits. bring
you some peace and patience in these trials. Now let me read
for you my text. Most of you can quote it. Romans
8, 28. And we know. Do we? Do we? Do we know? 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. Now, I know that
we're aware of this passage. And as I said a few moments ago,
some of you in here can quote it. But do we know what it means?
Do we have a sense of what's going on in this world in our
hearts? Now, what I propose to do this
morning is to work backwards in this verse because this verse
begins with us and ends with God. And working in reverse,
I want to begin where all things begin in God and work back to
us. Let's begin this morning at the
beginning the eternal purpose of God. The eternal purpose of
God. Most folks believe that God created
all things, and He did so with the highest expectations and
goals, and then came circumstance, and then came evolution, and
then came other things which dictated the course of all creation. But that's not what I read to
you earlier in Romans chapter 8. He said creation didn't do
this thing willingly. This wasn't something that was
created in itself. It's not something that creation
through its evolution decided to do. But it's of God who subjected
that creation to that in hope. In hope. And they believe that these things
have caused unforeseen problems and caused God to deal with these
problems to salvage what He could out of the chaos. Most people
live their lives and spend their days believing that this is how
things are. This is how things are. And this
is how things are brought to pass and believing that it is
in the realm of possibility for us collectively or as individuals
to make things better. Now, my friends, you'll never
find that language in the Scriptures. You'll never find it. Here's
the very heart and soul of this verse and where real peace and
satisfaction can be found. The purpose of God. The purpose
of God. Now, there's four things that
I want you to know about the purpose of God. First of all,
I want you to know what his purpose is. Lots of folks believe that God
has a purpose, but they don't know what the purpose is. And
that's why when these severe trials and things overtake them,
and you go down there like I did with Kathy, and you sit there
in a room where might be 25 or 30 people in there whose wives
and husbands and sons and daughters have been diagnosed with cancer
and they're all in there and this is just boom right out of
nowhere pow here it is in your lap. I remember the Sunday before
her cancer was diagnosed. I was talking to you folks about
that very thing and I told you I said one of these days You're
going to go down there to the doctor and he's going to leave. And then when he comes back in
the room, he's going to be doing this. That Thursday, that doctor
come back in the room and looked me in the face and he was doing
this. That's just how fast it comes
on. But you listen to me and talk about what's going on and
how these things are out of control. There's no purpose behind them.
It's just the ignorance and this and that and something else,
and there's no purpose in it. God has a purpose. And He works
all things, all things, according to that purpose. What is that purpose? God's purpose
is to manifest His glory in the redemption of a people chosen
by Him through the redemption, through the accomplished redemption
of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's His glory. The glory of
His character, the glory of His Godhead, His glory. David sang, O Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! who hath set Thy
glory above the heavens." Before going to the cross to
accomplish the redemption purposed by God from all eternity, our
Lord prayed, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that
Thy Son also may glorify Thee. This is the purpose of God. It
is to manifest His glory. And then the second thing I want
you to know about God's purpose is that the manifestation of
God's glory is through the person and work of His Son. I'd like
for you to turn with me over to 2 Timothy chapter 1. Now hear
what I'm saying. God's purpose is to manifest
His glory, and the manifestation of this purpose is through the
person and work of His dear Son. 2 Timothy chapter 1 and look
here at verse 9. Who, that is in reference to
God Himself, hath saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Now watch this, but is now made
manifest, what's made manifest? His purpose and grace given to
us in Christ Jesus before the world began. It's now made manifest
by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ who has abolished
death and has brought life and immortality to life through the
gospel. God's purpose is to manifest
His glory, the glory of His justice, and His holiness, and His righteousness,
and His goodness, and His mercy, and His grace, and His love.
It's all about His glory. And this glory is manifest in
the person of Jesus Christ. He's God come into the flesh. All right, here's the third thing.
That which was manifest by the person and work of Christ is
made effectual in the hearts of God's elect by the preaching
of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Let me
read you again the last part of II Timothy chapter 1 verse
10. He hath brought immortality and
life, he brought those things to light through the gospel. God's glory is manifest in the
person and work of Jesus Christ and revealed in the hearts of
God's elect. Listen to this, 2 Corinthians
4, verse 6. Paul said, For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And he said, we have this treasure
in earthen vessels, clay pots, that the excellency of the power
may be of God and not us. As God has purposed the manifestation
of His glory through the person and work of His Son, so He has
purposed the manifestation of this glory in the hearts of His
elect through the presence and power of the Holy Ghost and the
preaching of the gospel. Paul told the Thessalonians,
he said, God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto
He called you by our Gospel. Now listen, to the obtaining
of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then here is the
fourth thing I want you to see about this manifestation of God's
glory. I want you to see its results.
And we know. We know. We're not left to speculate
or guess. We're not left in darkness. We're
not left to this cursed nature to walk in the vanity of our
minds. Though eye hath not seen, nor
ear hath not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, yet God
hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. We know. What do we know? Well, here's
the second point of today's message. What do we know? We know, he
states that, there is a people redeemed of God, regenerated
of God, filled with the Spirit of God who know. What do they
know? What do they know? Well, to accomplish
this eternal purpose of God, God has appointed a mediatorial
king. That's what they know. And through
this King, He orchestrates, He arranges, He controls, He works
all things together for good. The good of those who love God,
the called according to His purpose and for His own glory. And His
glory and the manifestation of that glory has made all things
work together for good. Since God has elected the objects
of His grace and glory, then all things have to work to that
end, don't they? Huh? What things does God work? Are
you listening? I'm not just talking to here
myself. Are you listening to what I'm saying? What things
does God work? All things. Huh? All things. All things. Creation. Did you
realize that creation is specifically attributed to Christ our mediator? Huh? How does God work these things?
He appoints. What do we know? I know that
God appointed a mediatorial king and He orchestrates, arranges,
controls and reigns and works over all that. Turn with me to John chapter
1. Here is one of four men. How
many billions of people are there on this planet? God chose four
men to write the Gospel and testify
of Jesus Christ. And this is one of them, John.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is John. And this whole
book, it's called The Gospel According to John. This whole
book. Now, here is this apostle, one
of only four men on all the faces of the planet, and God has ordained
him, inspired him, been with him, called him, communicated
with him, and chose him to be his witness and write this gospel. How will he begin his gospel? This is how the apostle John
begins his account of the gospel. John 1. In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him. What's so significant about that?
He's the Mediator King. That's what's so significant
about that. All things was in His hands. All things were made
by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Colossians chapter 1, the
Apostle Paul gives a little more light on the subject, saying
that all things were made by Him, verse 16, and for Him. For Him. That by Him all things
consist. What holds everything together?
It looks to me like things are just, huh, with all the chaos
and this government doing this and that government doing this
and this government believing this and this government believing
that and this is going up and that's coming down and everything
is switching and changing and wars and all these things and
diseases. What keeps things from just blowing
up? By Him. All things consist. They keep on going. He orders,
he orchestrates, he works, he arranges all things. And how
are they arranged? They are arranged to manifest
God's glory through him. And that by the redemption of
a people he chose before the world began. All things work together for
good because the Redeemer created all things for that purpose.
And then secondly, all things work together for good because
our Lord and Savior rules over providence. I'm telling you, this generation
of deceived religionists worship a God whose hands are tied, whose
power is limited, and has no will concerning their lives whatsoever. He is a pitiful God who is full
of wants but has no power to do any of them. He wants to save you but He can't. Why can't He? Because you won't
let Him. You need to think about that. If you truly say that in your
heart, truly believe that in your heart, you need to think
about what you are saying. God can't because you won't let
Him? Who created this world? Who created
this universe? He can't do a thing because you
won't let him? I'm telling you, it's a pitiful
God they worship. He's full of wants, but has no
power to do or to have. My friends, to this twisted religious
leaders of his day. Our Lord was walking on this
earth, preaching, doing the same thing I'm doing. He's walking,
he's preaching. I'm not trying to say that I'm
the same person as Christ. I'm just simply saying we were
doing the same thing. He was preaching, he was mingling
with the people, he was talking to the people. And these Pharisees,
these twisted religious leaders of his day, they thought that
they had the power to control things. They had the power to
arrange things. They had the power to orchestrate
things. And they came to my Lord, and
they talked to Him about these things. And you know what our
Lord said? My Father worketh hitherto, and
I work. Huh? That's what I'm telling you this
morning. He works. What does He work? He works creation. And he worked
providence on no accidents with God. No accidents with God. It says in the Scriptures that
Jesus Christ was delivered, now I want you to listen to this,
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. What does
that mean? That means God has a counsel
that he is determined to do. This whole world representatively
did, it says in Acts chapter 4, what God's hand and God's
counsel, what counsel? His determinate counsel, determined
before to be done. The determinate counsel of God
is that eternal purpose by which all things find their direction
of God. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11
says, We have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. In Proverbs 16, verse 1, we are
told that the preparations of the heart in man and the answer
of the tongue is from the Lord. What are you saying, preacher?
I am saying that God controls the very providence of your life. where you go, how far He will
allow you to go. He controls these things. The Bible tells us that Pharaoh
hardened his heart toward the Lord, and he did. He did. He considered what he heard,
he considered its source, he rejected the command of God.
But it also says God hardened Pharaoh's heart. And one statement doesn't violate
the other. And so it is in the lives of
every man and woman. He makes determinations. He hardens
his heart. And yet God hardens his heart. In Colossians 2, verse 10, we're
told that we are complete in Christ. Now listen to this. Who is the head of all principality
and power. The devil is God's devil. And
that's just so. And he can't go beyond the power
of God's hand or do anything except the will of God. Our Lord
declares the end from the beginning, from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, My counsel, My determinate counsel
shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure. That's Isaiah 46. O Nebuchadnezzar, God made him
to be like a beast. Made his hair grow like eagles'
feathers and his nails like birds' claws and made him get down on
all four and go out there and eat grass with the beasts. Go
out there and live with the beasts. We've lived with the beasts all
of our life. We just don't know it. God made
him to know it and to understand it. That is what happens when a man
comes under the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God and He
convinces him of sin, he suddenly realizes that he is feeding with
the beast. David said, I was as a beast
before you. Isn't that what he said? How
did he know that? The fear of God taught him that. And then God brought old Nebuchadnezzar
back. And he gave him some reasoning,
some spiritual reasoning. And you know what that old rebel
king had to say? He said, he ruleth in the armies
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
his hand or even question what he does. Nothing in God's providence is
left to chance or circumstance. Whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate. Whom He did predestinate, them
He also called. Whom He called, He also did justify,
and whom He justified, He also did glorify. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose, because all things were created
to that end, and all things are controlled to that end. God rules
in the providence that unfolds every day in our lives. And then
thirdly, He rules, controls, arranges the salvation of His
elect. God saves men and women, boys
and girls, on purpose. On purpose. All those chosen
of God, all those for whom provision was made, all those represented
by Christ their surety and Redeemer shall be saved." All of them. All of them. In spite of where
they go. In spite of how they were raised.
In spite of their lives that they've lived. In spite of all
that religious jargon, all that religious junk that's been pumped
into their minds and hearts. They shall all hear the gospel.
All be born of God. They shall all be led to repentance. They shall all believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. And their lives will show evidence
of this faith and repentance. Because our Lord saves men and
women by His grace and by His power and for His glory. Paul said, go ahead. and work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling." We're scared
to say that, ain't we? But I didn't know what he knows.
Go ahead. Work out your own salvation.
You do it in fear and trembling. For, he said, it's God who worketh
in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Now look
back over the maze of my life, moving from here to there, being
gently led by the providence of which I was totally ignorant
of, totally unaware, testimonies received, interest gained in
and out of religion, all of it bringing me to the hour of His
calling. Every minute of it, John, bringing
me to the hour of His calling. I had no part in these things.
I added nothing to these things, totally unaware that they were
even going on. But my ignorance did not hinder
the hand of God. And I think every saved man and
woman can say with the Apostle Paul, when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me. When? When it pleased Him. Salvation is of God's design. Salvation is of God's appointment. Salvation is of God's accomplishment. And salvation shall be by His
ultimate perfecting and fulfillment. It's of the Lord. It's of the
Lord. And all those who know what they
are by nature, who know what they deserve, who know something
of their worthlessness, having experienced these things by the
grace and power of God in their heart, They love God. Not that God. This sovereign
God. This God of eternal purpose.
This God of glory. They love Him. And all those
who don't know Him hate His guts. Isn't that just so? Isn't that
just so? Having now experienced this grace
and power of God in their hearts, they love God. We love Him, John
said, because He first loved us. Let me wrap this thing up. If
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are called according to His purpose. And this verse
declares that this is an indisputable fact. Then what should we say
to these things? Huh? If God be for us, who can
be against us? Can you say that? Do you know
enough about the living God to be able to say that from your
heart? We know. Huh? We know. Does that make the trial less
severe? Does that keep the pain away? No. But it ought to give you
some peace. It ought to give you some rest.
And it ought to give you some hope. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Now, let me ask you this. When is God for you? Huh? He's been for you from the beginning. Oh, I just don't know why God's
doing this. I think if you look back far enough, you'll find
out that you're the author of whatever it is that's troubling
you. When is God for us? He's for
us always. Always. Well, how does a man live who
knows this? How does he live? Listen to what
Peter says. He talks a little bit here in
Peter about the younger submitting themselves to the older, and
the older submitting themselves to the younger, and everybody
submitting to one another. And then he says, Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you
in due season. casting all your care upon Him,
for He cares for you. When you know this, humility
will cover you. When you think on this, and this
enters into your heart, you're going to be clothed with humility.
You think upon yourself who you are, what you are, how little
you are in the sight of Him. You know, our Lord said through
His prophet Isaiah, He said, this is He that sitteth, talking
about Christ, who sitteth upon the circle of the earth. And
all the inhabitants of the earth are grasshoppers. Oh, I tell you, when you consider
what you are in the light of who He is and what He's done
for you, you'll be humble. You'll be humble. You won't be
out there at that crowd saying, I ain't always done the right
thing, but one thing I can say I've done. No, you'll lose that
one thing. It'll go out the door. You'll
say, I am what I am by the grace of God. Oh, may God teach us
this lesson. And when we go through these
trials, prepare us to look to Him. Look to Him. Our Father,
we thank You for this time to gather together in this place.
And oh, the grace, the privilege that You bestowed on this little
group to know our sovereign Mediator. and to know that our God, our
Father, and to be able to call you our Father, and to know that
all these things work together for good, and work together for
your glory, and all of it in Christ. We give you all the praise,
the honor, and the glory. Amen.