Sermons

A promise for life!

Posted by Alex on
Sermon on October 22 by Pastor Roland Eskinazi

Scripture: Romans 8: 28-32

When times are tough and we do not understand we want to focus on what we know, not what we do not. What do we know?

1. A PRECIOUS PROMISE – FOR ALL WHO LOVE GOD!

‘And we know that to the ones loving God, He Is working all things together for good’

Is loving God the abiding condition of your heart?

Then this promise is more certain than you arriving at work tomorrow when you get into your train or car. Paul is the proof!
‘About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them’ (Acts 16:25)

2. A PERVASIVE PROMISE – IN ALL AND EVEN THE MESS OF LIFE!

  • God is directing the big picture (the movement of planets and redemptive history), as well as the tiniest details of your life.
  • Groanings, suffering, the attacks of demons and the unexpected are all under God’s hand and used for good God’s love for us will not exempt us from ‘…trouble, or hardship, persecution… or peril’ (v35). Jesus is the proof!

‘All the events that take place in the world carry on the same work—the glory of the Father and the salvation of his children. Every illness and infirmity that may seize you, every loss you may meet with, every reproach you may endure, every shame that may colour your faces, every sorrow in your hearts, every agony and pain in your flesh, every aching in your bones, are for your good.’
(Daniel Rowland)

3. A PERFECT PROMISE – FOR ALL THE GOOD GOD INTENDS!

Good as defined by God is not how we often interpret it.
Anything that makes us more like Jesus is good. Anything that pulls us away from Jesus is bad.
I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way.
But I was none the wiser,
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she.
But, oh, the lessons I did learn
When Sorrow walked with me.

Remember! If God is for us, evil can do its worst but God will bring good out of it. Are we poorer because of the Cross or richer? Condemned or saved? Assured that we know God’s love or crushed under guilt and sin? The Cross is the proof!
Let us not be glib in tragedy. But as we rest on what we know we can trust God for what we cannot.

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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. What are some of the things that have happened to you that have caused you to doubt God’s love?
  2. How does what happened to Paul add weight to what he believes. (See Acts 16, 2 Cor. 6:3-10)
  3. Are there other characters in the Bible for whom God brought good out of evil? Whom and in what way?
  4. How does a promise like this affect the way you will deal with disappointments and challenges in the week?

 

 

 

Photo credit FreeImages.com/Fabio Pusterla