Expound: Romans 8:28-9:6 - Part A

When you look within.

It gets worse, because you see all of the corruption around you. And if you're honest, you realize I have the same capacities to do any of those things that I am distressed about when I look to Jesus, then and only then, my address, look at all the turmoil going on in the world. It's easy to become hopeless distress today on connect with Skip Heitzig's shares, one which is hard to rest in the promise of Romans 828 to tell you about a resource that helps you dive even deeper into God's truth. Joy in the midst of hardship is a hallmark of the Christian life. Is it really possible is when your height sometimes. What starts out as a happy tramp turns into a really daunting road and we have to figure out how to navigate.

A lot of times God's purpose in allowing trials is to give us opportunities to grow to the point where we genuinely experience joy in the midst of trials were not appraised trials with courage, wisdom yes joy with one use booklet happy trials when you get $20 or more today to help keep this Bible teaching ministry of the air will send you a special bundle of three booklets by Linda happy trials don't test me and speak no evil. Picture bundle three booklets for gift of $20 or more by calling 800-922-1888, or give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer that's connectwithskip.com/offer will in Romans chapter as we join Skip today said World War II 10 family is arrested for hiding Jews in their home.

Corey and her sister were sent to a concentration camp as older girls survived Corrie 10 boom went on to speak. She lived in Southern California in Orange, California. She lived right around the block from where I used to work before she went to heaven, but she had such a interesting perspective on life and a joy in the Lord, after suffering such horrors in the concentration camps after surviving them in one of the great things that she said I'll never forget is this look around and be distressed look within and be depressed. Look to Jesus, be at rest. If you look around at our world today, and that's all you look at, you will be distressed.

There's enough distressing news on a single news cycle digest cause you to throw your arms up and say what's the point, no good news there your distress.

Then when you look within. It gets worse, because you see all of the corruption around you.

And if you're honest, you realize I have the same capacities to do any of those things that I am distressed about that I hear about in the news when I look to Jesus, then and only then am I at rest and really that has been the story of Romans up to this point.

Paul looked around at the Gentile world in the first few chapters all the sand all fallen short of the glory of God.

In chapter 7. Paul looks within himself, and he's depressed. It's a depressing chapter. Chapter 7 Paul talks about himself a lot in that chapter 47 personal pronouns. I me mine so he has looked around. He is distressed he is.

Look within.

He is aptly depressed, even brings it to conclusion by saying oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me from the body of this death. But then he looks to Jesus in chapter 8 chapter 8 is such an important chapter to us because you can sense the rest that overcomes Paul the apostle, he looks to Jesus.

In fact, when he says oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me from the body of this that he answers this question immediately by saying I thank God through Jesus Christ was Robert Murray McShane who said for every one look that we take at ourselves. We should look at Jesus 10 times good advice. You do enough self analysis and self-evaluation and you should but you get to a plaintiff if you stop there.

You will truly be a depressed individual M and perhaps the reason you are leaning toward depression so much as you think so much about yourself and how far you are fallen short, and how you don't really meet the criteria that the standard that you think you should live so look to Jesus and be at rest to beginning in chapter 8. Paul begins by to say luck.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, and EEE unfolds the work of the spirit that were adopted into the family of God that even though we suffer, we are promised glory and now we come to a verse of Scripture that is well it's if I were to ask take a little pole of how many of you have. This is your favorite verse. I'm sure a lot of you see hands already going out. God bless you. I see that end, it is in fact I I was looking through the list of favorite Bible verses and no one of the lesson. This is pretty consistent and in those who take these bowls of the top 10 favorite verses in this one list of of all times. I Romans chapter 8 verse 28 ranks about number four as far as famous or most important verses. I mean you got Psalm 23 the Lord is my shepherd there. There's a lot of contenders, but this is usually right around number four. You can look at it this way. If all of the Scripture were a meal, a feast for your soul. I Romans chapter 8 is the main course verse 28 is the entrée. It really gets down to it, it starts getting it's it's been good but it gets really great with this incredible verse that is before us. One person called Romans 828 a soft pillow for a tired heart and I love that description so much.

I stole it and I called one of my sermons are soft pillow for a tired heart based on Romans 828 I have laid my head on this pillow many times and in the reason it's so great is because while I cannot spend a whole hour just on this verse. But Paul begins with a very strong affirmation. He says in verse 28 and we know you see there's so much in life that when I look at it.

It just seems haphazard. It seems weird. It seems wrong makes me say I don't know and there's a lot of things I don't know about life. There's a lot of things God allows. And I don't know why and I get people so why would God allow don't ask me I'm not God I don't know. I minute with you. There's just a lot of things I don't know, but life is not haphazard as a child of God. And whenever there are things you don't know gravitate and hold onto those things you do know, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. No notice of phrase all things work together, the words work together. It's one word in the original language.

Soon Eric Gekko, and soon Eric Gekko literally is translated together worked or together, energized, and we get the term synergy our English term synergy from the word soon Eric go God in his power and in this Providence causes the things in life, even those things that seem haphazard to be's energized, that is, are you out you have synergy is where you have two or more things that have a relationship with each other and interaction with each other and they produce a result greater than the sum of those things said if synergy God causes all things that happen to you in life to work together for good to those that love God, so God is working together all the elements all the things you know about don't know about understand, can't figure out, but he has a result.

Now you can't see the result and you wish God would tell you what he's up to and and so that's where faith comes in. You trust God based upon the character of God. I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, to give you a future and a hope. God said that to a group of people wondering how could this possibly be good were in babble and then we been taken away from our homes in Jerusalem, the city has been destroyed and burned with fire. We are out of the country.

The nation of our covenant God in in in foreign powers. How can this be good God causes all things to work together for good. It might not feel good. It might not be good that very element night might not be good but just wait to see what God can synergize.

So there's a little example, some time ago, one of you awesome folks. I gave me a bag of tomatoes that are not that you would purchase that you are grown, so they were home grown garden fresh tomatoes or tomato you say tomato I say tomatoes but I took him home. They were awesome and I'm not saying that so that you if you all grow tomatoes.

I don't want a bushel of them, but these were outstanding. So I took them home and I poison them and ate them. Now I heard go up because you believe me poison while I put something on them that in there in its pure form would be poison.

I put a mixture of sodium and chlorine on those tomatoes no sodium in its pure form will kill you to poison chlorine in its pure form will kill you.

It's a poison, but if you mix those two elements together at just the right measurement you get sodium chloride. In other words, table salt when I was, not poisonous any longer. Why it's the combination.

Now there are things in life that happened to you and I and and and we say that's bad.

Yeah, there are certain things are bad that happened. Bad things happen. And yet God in his divine chemistry lab can mix those elements together and and and wants to say to you, just wait for the outcome.

You don't see and I will wait for the taste it's coming. Wait for all things aren't you got it doesn't say most things because there's plenty of things that we were, we would put in the other category.

Not this thing. Maybe those others but not this he didn't say most things he doesn't say some things he says all things, and it's something he says we know. I hope you know that there are certain truths you need to know to get through life like I said, because there's can be plenty of times that you look in the future, and what's happening. I don't know I don't get it. I don't understand.

It's dark so that's where you rests on what you know and we know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Okay… Explored a little bit. I know I'm only in one verse still, this is this is always my problem.

He does not say.

And we know that all things work together for comfort because it if if you think that's what for good means you're going to be disillusioned and disappointed doctors that I got white. Wait a minute. It is in the promise all things work together for good.

This is a good doesn't say comfortable or for your comfort, or for your ease.

It's for your good as God defines good will.

I just got a tell you there's a lot of latitude in that I give you an extreme example, Johnny Erickson taught over five decades ago became a quadriplegic. She's in a wheelchair. She has lived her life in a wheelchair. One question the people asked her more than any other question you could figure out what that's going to be how could God allow that to happen to you. How could a God of love allow that. How can you follow a God entrusted God like that. And yet Johnny will tell you that she believes that she is in that wheelchair permanently until she goes to heaven by the will of God, and that it was probably the greatest thing next to salvation that happened or you should read her books. They will encourage you and what she says is that God sometimes will allow what he hates. In order to accomplish what he loves.

That's an incredible description of this verse, God will sometimes allow what he hates. In order that he might accomplish what he loves and and those who have trusted God, the God of this verse, the God of this promise know the depth of that meeting so we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these he also called whom he called these he also justified, whom he justified, these he also glorified.

Know I have gone into depth on these verses, so if I do that with every verse like it in verse 28 will never make it through this chapter little loan on into Chapter 9, but let me just say that that God has a goal for you to conform you so that you resemble his son, and your some of your insider shaking her head on man. I got a long way to go. So to why soda why, but I can say, and I'm sure you can say you're on the road to that you're nowhere near that. But your you're not what you used to be either, so he wants to conform you. He said into the image of the sun.

Moreover whom he predestined he chose you in advance. He picked you in advance. He elected you in advance. These he also called that's when you receive Christ.

Now God chose you, in advance, but the payment a day at time in time and space. I know the date when I gave my life to the Lord are roundabout.

I didn't really write it down, but I roughly remember the time the afternoon when I was called when I said yes to him and I cooperated with his choice made in eternity past, so he predestined me he called me that's the day of your salvation, whom he called he also justified when you said yes to Jesus and God said yes to you he he declared you righteous justified you and whom he justified, these he also glorified. Now wait a minute. Last time I checked, Skip Heitzigs, it is not glorified. I look in the mirror every day. It's not looking better.

If I'm waiting for glorification in this body I highly disappointed with the results yet though I realize glorification is a an event that will happen in the future when I'm in glory itself face-to-face with God. My body will be glorified out of a resurrected body. One day yet. Notice that that when the Holy Spirit through Paul the apostle writes about it he writes about it as though it's past tense if you know anything about Scripture you know the God's good at this that God will often speak about future events, but he'll write about them with a past tense Burbage. Why would he do that because he's God and if God no see here's the thing.

And here's the problem we have God's attribute you and I don't have his omniscience, he knows everything.

So you can said I don't ever do this try to figure out what would be like to know everything. Well, if you know everything, then you can't learn anything. So, God never learns he is not in the process of learning.

Like of finite theism teaches that God is a process of learning the human race is as history goes on know God knows everything, so he can't learn anything so if you know everything. Do you even need to think I will get deeper than that. Else I'll stop right there. But because God knows everything.

He knows that one day you're going to have a glorified body and to God. It's as good as done so he can write about in past tense, even though it is future to you and I God it's as good as done. That's why he can do prophecy so well. He speaks about future events as though they've already happened.

If you read Isaiah chapter 53 where Jesus had even been born yet and that the prophecy is about what Jesus would do, but it's written in the past tense. So sure God the father is about the work that his son would do. Now he writes about you being glorified you on a filament. Don't worry, you don't need to feel it. You just need to believe it. If he called you and he did he'll glorify you. He will so what we have here is a panorama of God's work from eternity past to eternity future. These are five links in the golden chain of God's sovereign care for us from predestination election to calling to justification all the way to glorification.

Verse 31, Paul says, what shall we say to these things. Well first of all what things is he referring to. Well I'll let me answer three ways. Number one he speaking about the entire book of Romans, all that he is set up to this point is to describe the gospel. But then he went right into the wrath of God for chapter after chapter after the wrath of God.

The wrath of God is eclipsed by the grace of God, so maybe he's just sort of following Romans, and he stops midpoint here is what shall we say to what I've written so far in the book of Romans. Maybe that's what he means by these things. Or perhaps he's just speaking about the truth that we find in the eighth chapter, there is no condemnation in Christ were placed as adult children into his family adopted we cry, Abba father, there's the work of the Spirit in our lives that guarantees that even though we suffer within a be in heaven with him and enjoyed his glory. Maybe he means those things. Or maybe he's just referring to what he just wrote about imminently just in the paragraph all things work together.

He's predestined us etc. etc. so it means one of those three things they could pick but answer the question, what shall we say that these things come here here somewhat. I can say hallelujah that's what I say awesome that's great. What shall we say to these things is what Paul says but he answered with the question. If God is for us who can be against Skip the message from the series expound to tell you about an opportunity to take knowledge of God's word to a deeper level.

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