All Things Work Together for Good

Q: What does the Bible say about all things working together for good?

Romans 8:28 teaches that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 emphasizes that all circumstances in life work together for the good of believers who love God and are called according to His sovereign purpose. This promise reassures Christians that even trials and tribulations serve a greater plan ordained by God. Our understanding of 'good' is often limited to immediate gratification or comfort; however, true good encompasses spiritual growth and eternal benefits. Therefore, while the present might be difficult, God’s ultimate design is for our spiritual good, which often requires undergoing hardship for our transformation in Christ.

Q: How do we know God's love is trustworthy?

God's love is trustworthy because it is not dependent on our actions but on His perfect promise and eternal character. The reliability of God's love stems from His unchanging nature and the promises He makes to His people. As stated in Scripture, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish' (John 10:27-28). This promise highlights that our salvation and God's love are not contingent on our goodness or performance but instead rest solely on Christ’s finished work. Therefore, believers can confidently trust that God's love is steadfast, unaffected by doubts or fears, because it is rooted in His eternal purpose and grace.

Q: Why is faith important in times of trial?

Faith during trials strengthens our assurance in God's promises and provides comfort amidst difficulties. Faith is crucial during trials as it serves as the foundation for our trust in God’s sovereignty and purpose. The Apostle Paul reminds us that 'we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him' (Romans 8:28), indicating that faith allows us to recognize that God is using our struggles to shape us for His glory. Trials are often designed to deepen our communion with God and teach us reliance on His grace, transforming our perspectives and making us more effective in our witness to others. Thus, during times of distress, maintaining faith is vital for our spiritual resilience.

Q: How does God's sovereignty work in our lives?

God’s sovereignty means that He governs all events in our lives for our ultimate good and His glory. The sovereignty of God is central to understanding His providence over our lives. It assures us that nothing occurs outside of His control or plan. Paul’s assertion that 'all things work together for good' recognizes that God orchestrates every circumstance, from joyous moments to painful trials, for our benefit as believers. This perspective cultivates a sense of peace despite adversity since we trust that each event serves His greater purpose. In acknowledging God’s sovereignty, we find assurance that our lives are neither random nor aimless but a part of a divine tapestry woven with love and intent.

Q: What does it mean to be called according to God's purpose?

To be called according to God’s purpose signifies being chosen by Him for salvation and eternal fellowship. Being called according to God’s purpose reflects a divine initiative in which God calls specific individuals to Himself in a manner that leads to salvation and transformation. This calling is not random but is part of His eternal plan, demonstrated succinctly in Romans 8:28, implying that true salvation involves God’s predestining love and grace. Those who respond affirmatively to this call, resulting in their love for God, reflect the fulfillment of His purpose in their lives. This assurance empowers them to endure trials, knowing they are part of a grand narrative woven by divine intent.

Now, the title of this message is, All Things Work Together
for Good. All things work together for
good. Now, this message that I'm preaching
this morning is one I need to hear often, and I believe you
do. It's one that I should study
carefully. It's God's message. It's God's
message to us this morning. And it's one that we need to
study carefully. Get the tape and listen to it
again. And it's one, if we believe it,
fully, confidently believe it, will give us strength comfort,
assurance, and confidence such as we've never had before. Because we have too many, entirely
too many fears, for a people to whom the Lord
said, fear thou not. Let me say that again. We have
entirely too many fears For a people to whom our Lord
said, Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, I
am your God. I will strengthen you. I will
help you. Yea, I will uphold you with my
right hand of righteousness." God said that. David believed
him. Because he said, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear. I will fear no evil, because
the heart with me. And we have entirely too much
anxiety, and too much concern for material
things, and things of the world, and things of the flesh. For
a people to whom the Lord said, Consider the lilies of the field,
they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet Solomon in all
his glory was never arrayed like one of these. If God so clothed
the lilies of the field, which today are and tomorrow are cast
into the oven, how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of
little faith? Therefore take no anxious anxiety,
thought, for saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink?
What shall we wear? Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Your Father knows you have need of these things. Seek ye first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be added
to you. My God will supply all your needs according to his riches
and glory through Christ Jesus. And we have entirely too many
doubts. I've preached on this a lot of
times, I've talked about it, and I've admitted it, but I will
not excuse it. We have entirely too many doubts
and fears concerning the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. For a people to whom the Lord
said, all that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. My sheep hear
my voice, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life,
and they'll never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father gave them to me, and
nobody's going to pluck them out of his hand. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Who is he that condemneth? Who
can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who can separate
us from the love of God? We have no reason to entertain
these doubts and fears whatsoever concerning his mercy and his
grace. Did he not promise? Will he not
fulfill it? Spurgeon said, the Scripture
says, he that believeth on the Son hath life. I believe the
Son, I have life. And I'm not going to doubt his
love because of something I've done or said. His love is based upon what he's
done and he's said. And we have entirely too much
grumbling and too much complaining. I do it and you do it. During
times of trial. For a people to whom God said,
in this world you shall have tribulation. We're supposed to expect it,
not be surprised by it. That's right. In this world you
shall have tribulation, but be of good comfort. I've overcome
this world. Beloved, think it not strange.
when fiery trials come upon you. Think it strange when they don't.
Isn't that right? Think it not strange when fiery
trials come upon you. All the gold that's ever perfected and made valuable has got to
come through the flame. There's nowhere else. Some through
the water. Some through the flood, some through the fire, but all
through the blood. And we have absolutely, entirely
too much attachment to this present life and this present world for
people who are looking for a city. Abraham was promised a land,
but he never owned a foot of it. He, with Isaac and Jacob, walked
through the land a stranger, because he was looking for a
city, whose builder and maker is God. We are a people who know
that this earthly house of our tabernacle must be And when it is, and Paul said
the sooner the better, we have a building of God, a temple not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. We are a people who long to be
absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. It's so difficult for us to turn
loose of this present existence. Well, the only way, I know of
no other way, for us to be weaned and delivered from these carnal
principles is to find something better. The only way for us to
be delivered from these anxieties and fears and doubts and worries
and grumblings is to lay hold of something that will be so much better. And I want to tell a story here.
You've probably heard it, but it illustrates what I'm saying.
A friend of mine was in a restaurant, a large restaurant down south. One of those restaurants where
you eat all you can eat for a certain price. It was a fine restaurant. They had all kinds of things
on the smorgasbord. One of the things they had was
boiled corn. I've eaten there several times.
I remember the boiled corn was about, in little corn cobs, about
three or four inches long. and they're in this butter, oh
my, floating in butter, warm, a light on them, you know, yellow,
beautiful. And this little boy, about three
or four years old, went through the line with his mother and
dad and got one of those ears of bright yellow boiled buttered
corn. And they ate their lunch and
they were getting ready to go and pay the bill and he still
had that that corn in his hand, that cob of corn, in those little
greasy, buttery fingers, gripping it, sucking on that cob and eating
what was left of it. His daddy told him to lay it
down. He wouldn't do it. He just kept getting it in both
hands then. His daddy told him to lay it
down or he'd whip him, but he didn't lay it down. His dad smiled
and tried another approach and he still wouldn't lay it down.
And the owner of the restaurant saw what problem they were having. And he came over there with his
hand behind his back. And he stood in front of this
little fella, holding that ear of boiled corn in tears, running
down his cheeks. He did not want to part with
that treasure. And the owner of the restaurant
pulled his hand out and there was a Hershey bar, a chocolate
Hershey bar, milk chocolate. And that little fella just dropped
that beer corn and grabbed that Hershey bar. And that's what
I'm saying. Our religious works will be dropped
and matter little if we ever see and get a hold of His finished
work. It won't be hard to turn loose
of boiled buttered corn, if you can see the glorious accomplishments
of Christ in his life and death, they'll be dropped like a shabby
old cloak at the door. And our righteousnesses, they'll
appear to us as they really are, filthy rags, when we behold his
perfect righteousness. You won't have to argue about
it. You won't have to debate it. If you ever see his righteousness
as it's revealed in him and in his word, you won't have any
problem with your goodness. It'll appear to you to be exactly
what it is, evil. But you can't see evil in yourself
until you see the beauty and holiness in him. You can't reverse
that procedure. And our plans and purposes, and
we draw up our blueprints, what we're going to do, the Lord warned
us and warned us, don't even say tomorrow we're going to do
this and that. Don't even say tomorrow, unless
you say the Lord willing, I'll do it. Our plans and purposes
will fade more with every revelation of His divine will and His purpose. My times are in His hands. My
God, I want them back. That's what the hymn writer wrote.
And even so, our fears and our anxiety and our doubts and our
complaints against his providence and against his purpose for us
and for our lives and against our little trials, our light
afflictions, that's what they are compared to that glory. All these things will disappear,
listen, in proportion. They will fade in proportion
to the faith we have in his promises. He said, fear thou not, I will
help thee. I will strengthen thee. I will
sustain thee. And the more I believe in that
I will, the less I'll fear. The less I believe that I will,
the more I'm going to fit. That's just so. Now my text,
Romans 8, 28. Romans 8, 28. And we've read
this and read it and read it. Let's read it again and maybe
we'll see it. Maybe we'll experience it. My
dear friend Brother Barnard said a long time ago, before some
of you were even born, he said this to me. I hear people say, I believe
the Bible. They don't. They don't until they experience
it. We only believe what we experience. Once experienced, we believe
it. And maybe we'll read this again
when we experience it. It says we know, verse 28, and
we know. We know theoretically. We know in our creed. Maybe we
know in our heads, but oh, that we might know it in our hearts.
We know that all things work together, all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. Now, to really believe that and
sincerely believe that and lay hold of that promise, my friends,
is to find rest. and peace for every day under
the most trying circumstances. Now, I started to give you an
illustration, but I'm not going to do it. These tapes go all
over the country. People everywhere listen to them.
I wouldn't want to add to anyone's distress or unhappiness. But a friend of mine found out
something a few months ago, weeks ago, and sat under a pine tree
down south in a Bible conference and relayed this tragic, tragic
discovery to me. And he said, I'm devastated,
totally devastated. I said, I'm devastated with you,
concerning his family. The death of my son in Vietnam
is not nearly as troublesome and as grievous as what's happened
to this man's son. And I'm saying to really believe
this promise right here, as a child of God, is to be able to find
rest and peace even under those circumstances. Even under those circumstances. Now this, and you know, all we
have to do is discover somebody else's trial to understand that
ours are not as great as we thought they were, not nearly as heavy,
not nearly as heavy. None of us have resisted under
blood, have we? But now this promise is not for
everybody. I'd like to believe it's for
everybody here. I look into your faces and I can't tell you how
much I love and appreciate you and how I want desperately for
this to be yours. But let's face it, it's not for
everybody. It's for those whom he identifies
in the text. There are two expressions. He
said, listen, all things, and we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God and to them who are
called according to his purpose. If a man doesn't love God, and
a man's not called by His grace, this is not true. Now that's
just plain, isn't it? That's so. And actually, the
first is an outward manifestation of the second. We love God because
we're called according to His purpose. We don't just stand up here and
say, well, we love God. Yes, we love God because He first
loved us. That's why we love God. So this
promise is to those who love God. Now listen to me. The natural
man does not love God. Now I know this kind of makes
us bristle when we tell people the natural man hates God. But
now listen to me. Let's just be reasonable. No
natural man loves God. Not the living God. Now he may
love a God. The natural man, the unbeliever,
unregenerate, he may love a God, he may love the God of nature,
he may love the God of his imagination, but the true and living, almighty,
eternal God of heaven and earth, the God of revelation, the God
of creation, the God of redemption, the God and Father of Jesus Christ
is not loved by natural men. Now, he's just not. They don't
love him, but the believer does. I love God. I believe I can say
this morning, I am one of them who love God. I love God sovereign,
don't you, on the throne. I wouldn't have it any other
way. A man called me last night, late, about 10.30, way down in
North Carolina. He said, I've got no place to
go to church. No place. He said, I've tried 20 churches
in this town. And not a one of them preached
the sovereign grace of God. Not a one. I named the church
in that area. I said, how far are you from
that church? The grace of God is preached there. He said, 50
miles. I said, drive it. You can't do it but once
a month or twice a month. If you're too old to make it,
but once every two months, drive it. I couldn't sit and listen
to anybody lie on God, could you? Not going to. I love the sovereign God, the
God on the throne. Let God be God. The believer
loves God as his Father. They have the spirit of adoption.
They say, Abba, Father. The believer loves God as his
King. The Lord rules over all. I rejoice. The Lord is God in creation,
providence, and salvation. We love Jehovah, God our Savior. God our righteousness. We love
God as our portion. In Him we live and move and have
our being. We love God as our inheritance
and our reward. We shall see Him and be like
Him. The believer loves God. The ways of the Lord are unsearchable
and past finding out, but so be it. Amen. So be it. It's the Lord, Eli
said. Let him do what he will. It's
the Lord, Job said, he hath given and he hath taken away, blessed
be the name of the Lord. Those are men who love God. A
man sat at the side of the road and cursed David, a tramp. David, driven from his kingdom
by his son Absalom. David, driven from his throne
in shame and humiliation, and here this worthless fellow cursing
David. And Joab said, I'll cut his head
off. David said, no, leave him alone. God had him curse me. God had
him curse me. And we'll just wait and see why
God had him curse me. But we'll know sometime. Isn't
that right? I believe God. I love God. And the believer
is called according to his purpose. Now, my friends, all men may
receive what is known as a general call. I know there's a general
call. It's the call of nature. The
heavens declare the glory of God. Man hath to be a fool to
stand out under the heavens and not believe in God. Conscience
is a call. Conscience. The law of God's
written in everybody's heart. Their conscience bearing them
witness, excusing or accusing. preaching, such as it is, but
the believer knows that he's an object of an effectual call,
supernatural, mysterious, unusual. God intervened. God called me. I had religion, you did, like
everybody else, but God interrupted my religion. God Almighty stepped
in and called me. God sent me a faithful servant,
a voice in the wilderness, rough on the edges, but speaking the
truth. And I heard God in His Word. He called me. He showed me who
He is, not who folks think He is. He showed me what I am. Everybody trying to deny it.
But He showed me what I am by birth, nature and choice and
practice. He showed me Christ lifted up. He showed me Christ enthroned.
He showed me Christ's righteousness and holiness and blood and atonement. God called me. God called me. I never heard a true believer
who said he called himself. I never heard a true believer
say he came to God by himself. I've never heard a true believer
say anything but God saved me by his grace. Grace taught my
soul to pray and grace made my eyes overflow. It's grace that
kept me to this day and it's grace that won't let me go. It
was the same love that spread the feast that gently forced
me in, else I had still refused to taste and I'd have perished
in my sin. So this promise here is to certain
people, and it tells us who they are. They love God. They love God. And they're called. They've been called according
to His purpose. Now then, what does it say about
them? It says, all things work together for good. Now I want to look at each word
there for a moment, but first I want to look at the whole picture
and understand what Paul is saying. He says, all things work together
for good, good, G-O-O-D. Now when my friend was sitting
there telling me this story and pouring out his heart and weeping,
and I said, this is all good. He said, this is not good, preacher.
This is as bad as bad can be. So what's Paul mean by good?
For some people, the word good means the good of the moment,
the good of the hour, the good of the year. In other words,
who's going to make me happy right now? Who's going to make
me rich right now? Who's going to fill my mouth
and my belly with good things? Who's going to cover my back
with purple and fine linen? Who's going to make my body strong
and healthy? Who's going to make me laugh
and never cry? That's not good. That's all temporary. Good right now, but it's temporary
treasures and it won't be good long. The fashion of this world fadeth
away. He won't be good long. God's
never promised us that all things were going to work together for
our temporary good and our present good. He never did promise that.
He never did promise to supply our wants or our wishes. He said,
I'll supply your needs. Right? So by good here, when
the Apostle says all these things work together for our good, those
who love God and those who are called according to his purpose,
He means our spiritual good, our eternal good. Actually, actually, true good sometimes works contrary
to present good. Does that make sense? What's good for me eternally may be very, very trying right
now. Very difficult. See what I'm
saying? In other words, what's good for
me to come to know God and to love God? It may hurt me an awful
lot right now. I had that friend up in prison. He still writes me almost every
two or three weeks. He said if I had not been in
prison for murder, I would have never heard the gospel. You reckon
God worked that out for His good? He believes it. My spiritual, eternal good is
what? To win Christ and be found in
Him. My eternal, spiritual good is
to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Now, if
Almighty God has to cripple me to get my attention and turn
my eyes on Christ, then it's good that I've been crippled. I wonder if John Houston would
have ever heard me preach on television if he had not had
MS. I remember years ago, you see,
he was a professional airman, wasn't he, in the Air Force in
Scotland. and got in your midst, and came
to this country, and listened to the television, heard the
gospel, and God made him a member of this wonderful family here.
Made that wonderful man a member of this family, both ways. But I imagine that, I don't imagine,
I'm sure that's as difficult a trial as a man could go through,
what he goes through. But that's what I'm saying, it's
not good now, as good is usually defined, but it's good, right? My good, my spiritual good is
to fellowship with God and walk humbly before him. My spiritual
good is to be a blessing to others. I'm confident that some of the
trials in my own life have made me a better preacher. a more understanding preacher,
more a person that could feel the heartache of other people.
You can weep when you've wept. You can feel what people are going through
if you've been right on that road. And if God's going to make
us a blessing to others, he's got to send us down the road
that they're going to walk so they'll understand. So don't
resist. He has a purpose in this. God,
my good is to continue in faith. And sometimes we think, well,
if our life could just be a little easier, if the needs could be
met a little easier, well, it might ruin us. I've known men
to prosper and become indifferent to the gospel. Yes, I have. I stood right in this pulpit
and looked in the faces of people who, when they were simple, poor,
day-to-day, ordinary folks, loved the gospel, or said they did.
And they became powerful and popular and rich. And they don't
care a thing about it now, because they've got some boiled corn
with butter on it. Grimy hands love it, too. So
God may supply my needs and ruin my soul. My wants, I mean, not
my needs, my wants. Isn't that right? Thank God you're
poor. Riches might ruin you. Popularity
might ruin you. It don't take much to ruin us.
We're ruined already, you know. My good is to finish this course
with joy and faith. Isn't that right? That's my good.
My good is to die in faith and rise in glory. My good is to
be made like Christ. So then, whatever God uses to
accomplish that purpose, it's good. Alright? Whatever God uses, no matter
what it is, no matter how it hurts, no matter how it smarts,
no matter how difficult the road. Be it joy or sorrow, be it success
or failure, be it pain or happiness, be it plenty or poverty, be it
sickness or health, be it life or death. All things. In heaven, earth, and under the
earth, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, angels, principalities, all things,
in the past, in the present, and tomorrow, are working together. They're not idle, they're working. There are no idle days. They
never rest. The promise of God never rests.
It's never idle. The whole path to glory is planned
each day, each hour. Sometimes I think when something
happens. What's the Lord going to use
this for? You see, there are many things
in our lives that would destroy us if we continued in that same
condition. They're working together. These
things are working together. You go to the doctor and he gives
you a prescription. You take it to the pharmacist
and the pharmacist gets a bottle of this and a bottle of that
and some powder and some of this over here, any one of which would
wipe you out. but puts them together and heals
you. You see, too much joy would intoxicate
us, too much misery would drive us to despair, too much sorrow
would crush us, too much suffering would defeat us, too much pleasure
would ruin us, too much defeat would discourage us, and too
much success would exalt us. So each act of God's providence
is wisely designed and sovereignly sent for my good, working together. Together. So it doesn't matter what it
is. It says here, and I'll quit, it says now we know, and we know
that all things, all things, or whatever, all things, if we
love God, and we're called according to His purpose, and we are. All things. Name it. By God's
grace, help me face it. And more than that, accept it. And listen. Brother Jeff used
to love this song, When I Can Read. my title clear to mansions
in the sky, I'll bid farewell to every fear and I'll wipe my
weeping eyes. Should earth against my soul
engage and fiery darts be hurled, then I can smile at Satan's rage
and face a frowning world. Let cares like a wild deluge
come and storms of sorrow fall, may I but reach my heavenly home,
my God, my heaven, my all. There shall I bathe my weary
soul in seas of heavenly rest, and not a wave of trouble roll
across my peaceful breast. So I welcome all his sovereign
will. For all that will is love, and
when I know not what he does, I'll wait for light above, and
it'll all be answered." May God bless this message to your hearts
and to your comfort and to your joy. Let's sing for our closing
hymn 297, God Will Take Care of You.

All Things Work Together for Good

What does the Bible say about all things working together for good?

How do we know God's love is trustworthy?

Why is faith important in times of trial?

How does God's sovereignty work in our lives?

What does it mean to be called according to God's purpose?

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All Things Work Together for Good

What does the Bible say about all things working together for good?

How do we know God's love is trustworthy?

Why is faith important in times of trial?

How does God's sovereignty work in our lives?

What does it mean to be called according to God's purpose?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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