May 18th, 2003, Sunday Morning

"For Good"
How events perceived by man as bad really end as good


OPENING: Romans 8:28


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Several truths in the Bible that are foundational to the lives of those saved:

• You're judged sinless before God on Judgment Day (because Christ paid for your sins)
• The more you suffer for God's purpose on Earth, the greater your reward in Heaven
• Praying to Christ to overcome your weakness means you can do anything (Philippians 4:13)

Romans 8:26: When we know the outcome of our actions, life is easier to handle because we know what's coming toward us.

• The heathen of this world need to know their future immediately, constantly, which is why fortune tellers, psychics and Miss Cleo will never go out of business
  
  
• To the heathen, when something bad happens, they wish the event could be taken back or never have happened--they conclude no good can come from it
  
  
• Romans 8:28: To the saved who trust in God, all things that happen in life--both good and bad--are a formula for an eventual, overall good outcome
  
  
  • The heathen's mindset is that no one knows what tomorrow will bring--things are so uncertain, shaky and changing (i.e., the economy and stock market) but those who trust in God aren't worried about their tomorrows because God has already mapped their events out to end in good--every time
    
    
  • EXAMPLE 1: Joseph of the Old Testament (Genesis, chapters 37-50)
    
    
    • Genesis 37:28: Joseph, the son of Jacob (whom God later renamed, "Israel"), was hated by his brothers so they threw him in a ditch where he was later pulled out and sold as a slave in Egypt--held against his will for YEARS
      
      
    • Genesis 41:39-40: But because Joseph was able to answer a question from the Pharaoh, a situation not possible if he had not been "thrown away" by his brothers and forced to serve Egypt for years, Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over Egypt!
      
      
    • Genesis 50:20: And when Joseph's brothers were afraid Joseph would use his power to easily have his brothers killed, Joseph told them all that while his brothers meant evil for him, God meant what happened for good and thus Joseph only loved his brothers
    
    
  • EXAMPLE 2: Jesus of the New Testament
    
    
    • Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) came into our world and lived a perfect, sinless life. He loved all mankind and not once ever thought about harming him
      
      
    • While it sounds like a perfectly valid argument someone who lived such a life shouldn't have been put on trial and crucified (killed), man would not have been offered the gift of eternal life if Jesus did not suffer a horrible death
    
    
  • EXAMPLE 3: Real-life Churchsermon.org webmaster testimony
    
    
    • I wanted to enter the Air Force through the Air Force Academy and applied for a full-ride scholarship. But what I got instead was a three-year ROTC scholarship. I was upset I didn't get the Academy. However, looking back, it turns out I wouldn't have been able to pass the physical fitness test of the Academy the first year whereas ROTC gave me that first year I needed to pass because the three-year scholarship (with it's rules and regulations) didn't begin until a year after my enrollment in college. Therefore, in hindsight, the three-year scholarship is what got me through college and into the Air Force whereas the Academy would've sent me home in the first week

The evidence of your belief that everything that happens to you, both good and bad, was planned and meant to be by God for an eventual good, is tested when you react to a "bad" situation (i.e., with anger, criticism, fear, pride)

Romans 8:28: The heathen worry, fear and even become sick because they don't know what will happen to them tomorrow; the saved know that before they were born, each day of their entire life was already mapped out by God to end in good and thus have no worries or fears about tomorrow (Titus 1:2)

KEY: GOD CAUSES ALL THINGS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD

• Acts 2:23: Before the world was created, God planned all the world's events up to the world's final day; God knew ahead of time His Son was to be crucified by His creation but that was God's plan for man to be able to be saved and have eternal life (the eventual good)
  
  
  • But notice God is active in this world and always in control: there were several opportunities for Jesus to be killed but God prevented that until the crucifixion was upon Jesus--that was the death that Jesus needed to suffer (i.e., John 10:23-39)
  
  
• Every facet and event of your life happened because God allowed it to happen; even if it was something you shouldn't have done that resulted in something bad, God will use that to result in a later good
  
  
  • Your mischievous childhood years
  • Your rebellious High school and college years
  • Your failed marriage(s)
  • Tragedies and loss of family members
  • Illnesses
  • Lost jobs
  • Others at work who don't like you and try to make you look bad so you cannot get that promotion
    
    
  • All these are examples of what God can use positively in your life...
    
    
    • Just as you lost a family member and cannot think of how that can be good, God allowed his only son, Jesus, to die a horrible death ... so mankind may be offered eternal salvation (John 3:16)
      
      
    • And just as not being promoted in your job may not agree with you, remember that Joseph was discarded by his own brothers, sold as a slave to Egypt and separated from his family for years ... which eventually resulted in him, a non-Egyptian, ruling all of Egypt
  
  
• Matthew 6:33-34: Ask for God's will to direct you today; don't worry about tomorrow or the future--you can't control them and they will take care of themselves

THE TRUTH IS KNOWN ONLY BY THOSE WHO KNOW GOD (ARE SAVED)

• All things do NOT work out for overall good for those who aren't saved (don't know God)
  
  
  • Movie stars and singers begin stardom with a lot of money, fame and friends but look how many end up on "VH-1's Behind the Music" which tells of their eventual downfall due to drugs, illicit sex, disease (AIDS) and debt
    
    
  • People who turn to psychics, fortune tellers and psychiatrists to solve their problems will live and end their life badly
    
    
    • CONSIDER: Why would these people ultimately solve your problem with one visit? If they did, they'd go out of business without return customers!
      
      
    • Psalm 118:8 (literal middle of the Bible): "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."
  
  
• The truth is not found in being the most educated and intelligent person in the world (which having that, in and of itself, is not entirely a good thing--1 Corinthians 8:1)
  
  
  • You can be the most educated person in your job but stress out because of how tough it is
    
    
  • 1 Corinthians 8:1: It's human nature that when you reach a certain level of intelligence or independence from the world that you begin to believe you don't need to be sustained by outside sources; this eventually leads to forgetting God and that He's the One who gave you what you have--not the world and its educational institutions--a DANGER
  
  
• Age old question: "why do good things happen to bad people?" Because God loves all people--not just the obedient believers--and doesn't want to see evil people die but become saved (2 Peter 3:9); however, don't be fooled or envious of an evil person's success--theirs will be an eventual bad ending

CLOSER

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By being saved and believing God will work out all things in your life for good, you can conclude--this moment--that the rest of your life will be lived in victory, without fear or doubt of your future

• You will live a happier, healthier, more successful life because you won't have the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that the heathen try to overcome either with their own thinking or paying false fortune tellers and psychics

How will you react when your mom, dad or spouse dies? Will you be bitter or still trust and love God as much/more? This is a true test of your faith in God that He will make all things would out in your favor

To complain about a bad experience is not to trust God's will for your life for today

AGE OLD QUESTION: "What is the meaning of life?" ANSWER: To have fellowship with and serve God (by obeying the Bible); in return, by believing and becoming saved, God sustains you a life, today, of confidence and assurance of victory in the end

You do not know or trust God until you can say, like Joseph, that the tragedies and tribulations upon you were meant for a greater good