Good morning. I feel so honored
and privileged to be here. It's like going home. You know,
this time of year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are a natural
family. A lot of times we're away from
them for a while. You know what it's like to be around family.
And anytime you're around God's people, that's really God's people's
family. We fellowship with Him. We exalt
Him, we magnify Him. And by His grace, that's what
I want to do today. If you would, turn in your Bible
to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. We're going
to begin looking at verse 28, but I want to read verse 18. While we live in this world of
sin and sorrow and pain, God's people experience a lot of different
things. A lot of things. Heartache, sickness,
death. We experience these things. We're
not exempt from them. We're in this world and we see
things happening and we say, what in the world is going on?
We ask those questions. We're human. We deal with fears
and doubts. We wished we didn't, but we do.
Let's just be honest. We do. If you read in Isaiah,
don't be afraid. Fear not. Fear not. How many
times does he tell us? Fear not. Don't be afraid. Don't
be afraid. Verse 18 says, 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. All these things that are happening
are just things. They're just things. Our Lord
said, comfort ye, comfort ye my people. If there's one thing,
and we need a lot of things a lot of different times every day,
but where there's one thing we all need is comfort. And I know
that he's the only one that can. And he uses his word and his
grace and his spirit to comfort the hearts of his people. Comfort
ye, comfort ye, my people. May God enable us this morning
to find comfort in his word as we look to him. Verse 28, Romans
8. Oh, what a familiar verse. I dare say anyone that has not
been around the gospel for any length of time could quote this
verse verbatim. But do we really know what this
verse means? Not just in here, I know it in
my head, but do I know it in my heart? Let's just begin looking
at this verse and we know. You said, I don't know how I
know, I just know. I just know, you explain, I don't know, I
just know. Know what? That all things, if
you want to tell this message this morning, you can just highlight
things. All things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose. This is not just
some opinion, some uncertainty. We know, he said, we know. How
do we know we've been taught of God? God will teach us. And he does teach his people.
And we know by experience. Somebody asked old Ralph Bernard
one time, I never had the opportunity to meet him, but I've listened
to a lot of his tapes. They asked him one day, they said, do you
believe all the Bible? He said, no. And they were just
shot. He said, I've not experienced
it all. When you really have experienced something, you believe
it. He said, I know, we know by experience. What do we know?
That all things, all things, God, the father, God, the son,
God, the Holy spirit, good things, bad things, all things, all things. You say, what about this thing?
All things. What about the things that are
going on in this nation? All things, all things. You see what I'm saying? We know
these things, but when God teaches us these things by experience,
all things, all things, even Satan and all his demons, he's
God's devil and he's on God's chain. He's just like a bulldog. He can only go as far as God
lets him. I had to go to a lot of people's
houses to measure jobs. A lot of times I'd come up to
a house and A dog may be tired out there under a tree. Boy,
he's just cutting him a shine. He's making the most racket.
If he could get to me, boy, he'd tear me all to pieces. But he
can't. He can't. All things. We know that all things do what?
They work. They are never inactive. Never. They're working together. As
Lindsay said in the Bible class, when God rested to display the
Sabbath day, God's never quit working in Providence. He's working
right now. All things work together. My problem is we want to look
at one isolated act and say, how can this saying work any
good? Just wait a while. You may never
see it in your life. You may never understand it.
But we have the assurance and the confidence to know that all
things work together. Together for good. Now, that's
where most people stop. That's where we stopped in religion.
We walk up. Somebody dies and we go to their
funeral, we go to the funeral home and everybody says, no,
all things work together for good. Flip over and look in Romans
9, all things didn't work together for Pharaoh's good. All things don't work together
for everybody's good. This is not a blanket promise
for everybody, but this is a promise for God's people. All things
work together for good. for good. You say, I can't see
how any good can come from this. Eternal good. Not necessarily
our present comfort or ease. Psalm 1715 says, As for me, I
will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
in thy likeness. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. It ain't no accident. You say, well, preacher, I know
that. I know it too, but do I know it in here? It happened on purpose. No matter
how many times I've heard preachers tell that story about when Brother
Henry Mahan first heard Rothbard and he screamed that word, purpose. He said, if you learn what that
word means, it opened this book to you. That everything, everything
that God does, he does on purpose. Purpose. Purpose. Everything that's happening in
this world is happening on purpose. Purpose. Why? God's working it. That's why.
He's working it for somebody's good. This world only exists
for somebody's good. For the salvation of his people.
As you read, he gave Egypt, all those nations, he raises up people. He raised up Egypt just to save
Israel. God raised up this nation. There's
no doubt about that. No doubt about it. God raised
it up and she's still here for one purpose, to save God's people. Remember that. That'll comfort
your heart. That will give you some assurance
when all things are going seemingly bad. to them who are the called according
to his purpose. Whose purpose? His purpose. And I think the rest of the verses
in this chapter, he's just trying to explain what's being said
in verse 28. For whom he did foreknow He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren. For new,
for loved, for ordained, for appointed from all eternity. What an amazing statement. That
before this world was made, God loved me in Christ. 1 Peter 1, verse 2, elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit and to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ. And listen to this one, Acts
13, 48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and
glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained
into eternal life believed. Whom He did foreknow, whom He
did forelove, He did predestinate. You know, when I was in religion,
I must have just read over that word. Because till God opened my eyes
and revealed His grace to my heart, I never saw it. Everybody
knows what that word means. They just don't like what it
means. Whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate. Predetermined,
marked out beforehand. Everything. Every what thing? Everything. Everything. Boy, that gives comfort to my
heart. Predestinate. Whom He did foreknow, He did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. to be conformed. God has predestinated
or determined in his eternal purpose that all for whom he
saves shall one day be like his son. One day this corruption must
put off. This corruption must put off
this corruption and put on glory. This must fall away and it will. He's predestinated. You're going
to be like Christ. You're going to be like Him.
How are you going to be like Him? All things are working together
for good. Conformed to the image of His
Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Under the
law, the firstborn was the Lord's choice. He had authority over
all the other sons in the family. Christ is the firstborn of the
Father with regard to all creatures. Christ is the firstborn from
the dead to die no more. He's the firstborn. His is the
chief glory. And all the brethren are going
to be like him. I'm going to rise from the dead.
Why? Because the firstborn did. I'm
going to be made like what? The firstborn. Conformed to his
image. It ain't left up to me, it's
up to him. For whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son. He might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Look in verse 30. Just keeps
elaborating. 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. Someone called
this, these are chains in God's links of grace. They all hinge
upon the other. You cannot separate any of them,
these four chains. He predestinated, he called,
he justified and glorified. Predestinated, this is the source
of all other blessings of grace. It's therefore placed at the
head and secures all the others. Why? He predestinated it. Whom
He predestinated, He what? He called with an effectual call. He's going to call them. He'll
call them by providence. He'll call them by His grace.
He'll call them by the preaching of the gospel. And He will call
them effectually. Sandy's mom and daddy has chickens.
They're in free range. They run everywhere. Tickled
me one day. I pulled up and he's just real
country. He had his carport. Had this thing fenced in with
chicken wire. I said, his name's Harold. I said, Harold, what
are you doing? I said, why did you put chicken wire around your
carport? He said, I don't want my chickens up here. I said, make
a lot for the chickens to be in. Don't you live in the pen. You just have to know him. But those mother chickens has
little bitties. Some people call them diddles.
She can cluck and make a certain sound and her little bitties
will run to her. And they'll run under her wings.
He says, oh Israel, Israel, he says, a hen doth gather her little
ones under her wings. And he said, you would not come.
God's people is going to come. When they hear his voice, they're
coming. Whom he did predestinate, he
what? He called. Why did he call them? He predestinated
to call them. Do you see? He calls my sheep, hear my voice. They're coming to Him. They're
all coming. Whom He predestinated, He called
and thank God He justified them. What does that mean, not guilty? Declared righteous and holy in
God's sight. Justified. Somebody said it's
just as if I'd never sinned. Just as if I'd never sinned,
had one evil thought, one wrong motive. I mean, predestinated,
He called, and those that He called, He called them like,
He's going to justify them. Justify them. If that don't give
you some assurance, I don't know what will. If that don't give
you any comfort, I don't know what will. And whom He justified,
Now all these things were in the past tense. Because when
God predestinated you, it all happened that quick. He glorified
you. You say, well, this is something
that's going to happen in the future. I'm not glorified now. I know
that this body's not. It's still sinful. It's still
dying. But in God's sight, I'm as good
as there. and He predestinated, He called,
and He called, He justified, and He justified, He what? He
glorified Him. What is glorification? If that's
not being like Christ, I don't know what it is. He conformed
to the image of His Son. Then He says in verse 31, what
shall we then say to these things? What more can be said if God before us Who or what
can be against us? If you're His, if you're one
for whom God set His love upon, if God be for you, who can be
against you? Nothing can be added. What shall
we say against these things? Nothing. If God be for us, who
can be against us? Not the law, it's honored. Not
His justice is satisfied, not Satan. He's judged and cast out. If God be for us, if God be for
us, who can be against me? As I was thinking about this,
you remember Jacob, how he had lost Joseph, and Joseph's brothers
had sold him into Egypt, and Joseph's been gone now for several
years, and Jacob the whole time thinks that Joseph's dead. And
God allows a famine to happen, and Joseph's on the throne, and
they don't know that it's Joseph. And they've gone down one time
to get corn, and Joseph knows who they are. And he said, oh,
you're just a bunch of thieves. You've just come to spy out the
land. He said, have you got any more brothers? Oh, yeah, we got
one more brother. He said, I'm going to prove you,
see whether you're telling the truth or not. He said, I'm going
to bind Simeon, and don't you dare come back without your other
brother. And they go back, and they tell their daddy, And her
daddy says, well, where's Ben? Where's Simeon? Oh, he's in prison. If we go get any more corn, we
got to take Benjamin. And here's what Jacob said in Genesis 42,
36. And Jacob, their father, said unto him, Me, have ye bereaved
to my children? Joseph is not. He thinks Joseph's
dead. He's not dead. He said, Simeon's
not. I don't know what's happened
to Simeon. He could be dead by now. And you will take Benjamin
away? You know what he says? All these things are against
me. Ain't that how we act? But all these things weren't
against him. God's going to make him turn loose of Benjamin. And
God's going to use all these things to bring him to Egypt
to see Joseph? That's how God works. We say
all these things are against me. How can this work? For my good and His glory, what
more can He take? All this is against me. Now,
if God be for you, who can be against you? This is our assurance and our
confidence. If God before us, who can be
against us? This is the basis of our confidence
before God. Many, when they think about assurance,
recall some past experience of grace. The time when they first
believed on Christ or some climatic event in their life. Many base
their assurance upon their inward grace, their feelings, or even
their works. Many base their confidence upon
the opinions of others, what they may think about them. We
find our comfort, assurance, and confidence before God upon
that God is for us. If God be for me, he's always
been for me. He didn't just one day decide,
say, well, I think I'll get on his side. No, He's always been
on my side. He's always been for me, never
been against me. Even when I was a rebel, wallowing
in sin, He was for me. If God be for me, if God be for
me, who can be against me? Psalms 56, 9 says, When I cry
unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back. This I know. This
I know, why? For God is for me. Psalms 118
verse 6, the Lord is on my side. That's assurance. The Lord is
on my side. I will not fear what man can
do unto me. We don't know what all these
Christians were going through in this age. I know every apostle
was killed except for John who was exiled to the Isle of Patmos.
You could be the next one. They may take my life, but God's
on my side. And I won't fear what man can
do unto me. David in this verse says once
that God Justice was against me, but now he is my reconciled
God and has engaged on my behalf. The favor of God infinitely outweighed
the hatred of men. Therefore, setting the one against
the other, he felt that he had no reason to be afraid. He was calm and confident, though
surrounded with enemies. And so let all believers be,
and this honors God. Remember Elisha's servant? Remember
Elisha was in the house and all around him were these Syrian
armies. And the servant was so afraid, so afraid. He says, what are we going to
do, Elisha? Do you not see all these armies against us, surrounded
us? Elisha prayed and said, God,
open his eyes. Open his eyes. And there were chariots all around
him. You know what he said? There's more that be with us
than they that be with them. You see what I'm saying? If God
be for us, us, who can be against us? Give you another verse on this
line. Remember the children of Israel. God had brought them
to Kadesh, Barnea. They'd sent out the spies. They
sent out 12 spies. The ten came back with the evil
report, and they said, oh, there's giants in the land. Oh, we can't
take it. Our God's just not able. But
Caleb and Joshua had a different report. And they said in Numbers
chapter 14, beginning in verse 6, and Joshua, the son of Nun,
and Caleb, the son of Japhoni, which was of them that searched
the land, they rent their clothes. And they spake unto all the company
of the children of Israel, saying, the land which we pass through
to search it is exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in
us, then he will bring us into the land and give us the land
which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel ye not against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land. They are bred for
us. Their defense is departed from
them. And how could they say that? And the Lord is with us. Fear them not. Fear them not. Fear them not. Verse 32. It just goes on. 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? He spared not
his own son. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son. He spared not His Son to spare
you. What greater evidence? What more
can He say? What more can He do? He gave
His Son for you. He gave His Son for somebody.
Who did He give His Son for? Whom He did foreknow. Whom He
did predestinate. Whom He called. Whom He glorified.
There's a people that God loves. And if God sent His Son Spare
not his son. He didn't withhold him from all
that he must be, endure, suffer, and accomplish for the sake of
his people. He delivered him up. Acts 2,
23, him being delivered by the determinant counsel and for knowledge
of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and
slain. They did exactly what they wanted
to do. They just did what God ordained
to be done. God delivered him over to their
will. And if God did that, shall he
not freely, freely give you all things? All things. How freely? Freely. By grace. All things. You don't work for it? You don't
work to get it? You don't work to keep it? Freely. You need grace, you need comfort,
you need assurance. You know how you're gonna get
it? He's gonna freely give it to you. Freely, freely, freely give you
all things. Verse 33, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Is there any question who he's
talking about? Anybody have any question about who he's talking
about in all these verses? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of who? God's elect. All things work together for
good. To who? To them that love God. Who loves God? The elect.
To who are they called according to God's purpose? The elect.
Any questions? It is God. It is God that justifies. Justifies, declares them righteous,
holy, acceptable in His sight. It is God that justifies. Verse
34, who is he that condemneth? He just keeps asking these questions.
Then God answers them. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. It is Christ that died. By the merits of His death, He
paid our debt. If it's paid, it's paid. He didn't pay half of it and
leave me to pay the other half. It's paid. It's paid. That's good news to
a sinner. It's paid. Paid. It is Christ that died. He didn't
stay dead. He died to endure the wrath and
judgment of Almighty God. He didn't stay dead. God raised
him from the dead. If God had not accepted his offering
and his sacrifice, he'd have stayed dead like every other
man. But he was delivered for our offenses, and he was raised
again for our what? Justification. It's done! How do I know it? He raised him
from the dead. Three days later, up from the
grave he arose, the mighty conqueror over his foes. Who is he that
can condemn? It's Christ that died. The debt's
paid. He not only rose from the grave,
he ascended back to the Father. And he sits now at the right
hand of the throne of Almighty God. You know why he sits down?
It's done. It's done! The great transaction's
done. It's done. It's done. And you know what he does while
he sits there? He's my advocate. He makes intercession for me. You know what I picture him at? He's putting it in just simple
languages that I can understand and I hope that you can understand.
He's my lawyer. Look what he's done. Larry, look
what you thought this week. Look what you thought. Look what
you've done. Look how you felt. And he says, look what I've done. If any man sin, does
that speak to anybody? If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ. All things work together for
good. Verse 35. Who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? Someone said this chapter begins
with there is therefore now no condemnation. And it ends with
there is no separation. And all in between is grace,
grace, grace. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Can any of those things? Tribulation,
heartache, pain, tribulation, trials, afflictions, burdens,
distresses of body or soul, persecution from the world, or false brethren
from famine, Worn of food or drink or nakedness or peril or
sword, which has been the lot of a lot of believers down through
the ages. But God's love, he said, can
any of those separate us from the love of God? I know the first
thing that enters your mind when something bad happens, well,
God must not love me anymore. God must have cast me aside.
That separated me from the love of God. He said, no, it's not.
No, it's not. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, the eternal, unchanging love of God. I am God, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. God has always loved his people. Always in Christ. He didn't start loving me as
the world says. Oh, God looked down through the ages and He
foresaw me, accept Him as my personal Savior, and then He
began to love me. Who shall separate me from the
love of Christ? Nothing. As it is written, verse 36, for
thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter. You'll notice it's amazing that
Paul always referred back to scriptures. He said, it's written.
It's written. Where's it written at? In Psalms
chapter 42, verse 22. The meaning is that for the sake
of God, true worship and the gospel of redemption, the people
of God have been persecuted, despised and put to death and
reckoned by this world is nothing more than a sheep to be slaughtered.
That's how they look at you. You're just a thorn in their
flesh. What did they say about the master? Crucifying, crucifying. What did they say? The Christians
to the lions. Does that separate them from
the love of God? Verse 37 says, nay, nay, nay, nay. In all these things,
We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. We're more than conquerors over
sin, Satan, the world, afflictions, persecutions. It says that, it
doesn't just say that we're conquerors. It says we're more than conquerors.
What does that mean? It means that we are not only
come through these difficulties, that we not just overcome them,
but we're actually made better by them. God uses it to wean you from
this world. To set your heart on things above,
not on the things of this earth. You're made better for it. More
than conquerors. How did you conquer it? Oh, you're
just strong. You're just, oh, you're just
able to endure more. No, through him that loved you. The term conquered reminds us
that the life of a believer is a warfare. It's a constant, constant
battle from without and from within. Constant. You lay down constant battle,
but we're more than conquerors. To him that loved us. It's not
by our loyalty and our resolution. but through him that loved us
that we are more than conquerors. I wrote a note here that it's
victory through grace. More than conquerors through
him that loved us. Verse 38, for I am persuaded, I am convinced 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. And where's
the love of God at? It is in Jesus Christ our Lord. He said, I'm persuaded that there
ain't nothing Death, no life, good angels don't want to and
bad angels can't. Separate us from the love of
God. Nothing. Nothing. Does that not bring
comfort? All things. All things. Let me read you this little article.
I put it in our bulletin last week at the church. I thought
it was kindly fitting. Goes along with these lines that
was written to Charles Spurgeon. It says, when that imminent servant
of God, Mr. Gilpan, he was arrested and he
was to be brought to London to be tried for preaching the gospel.
His captors made fun of him at his frequent remarks. He said,
everything's for the best. Everything's for the best. When
he fell off of his horse and he broke his leg, they were especially
happy and they said, what about this? What about this? And he said, I have no doubt
that even this painful accident will prove to be a blessing.
And so it was. For as he could not travel quickly,
the journey was prolonged. And he arrived at London some
days later than they had expected. When they reached as far as the
outside of the town, they heard bells ringing and people were
just happy and shouting. And they said, what? What's all
this that's going on? I said, Queen Mary's dead. The
Protestants are not going to be burned anymore. It worked out for my best. All
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose, even the breaking
of a leg. Take these stammering words and
bring comfort to our hearts.