GREAT VERSES OF THE BIBLE ROMANS 8:28
If my God be sovereign, can I trust Him with all that happens in my life-time? Our nation may be enjoying prosperity or economic despair. We readily anguish when our superannuation diminishes to 50% of normal values in a short time, as in the present crisis. Our health may vary; we may experience acute onset of sickness: our virility replaced by senility: need to be assured that a constant Lord oversees us. Paul strikes this invigorating note in the heart of his distinctive 8th chapter. He does not waver in stating that, ‘For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to His purpose.’
In February 1919 my father’s body was laid to rest in an Australian country cemetery. My mother walked the dusty 2 miles from the Quorn cemetery to her home. Weeping, she threw herself on her bed, her bible falling open at Romans 8:28. Amidst her tears she read this assuring truth that God has considered ’all things’ in His glorious promise. She had 2 little children and was 2 months pregnant, and nauseated, and her beloved had been snatched to heaven in an unexpected railway accident. From my childhood, I learned this truth, and was reminded of God’s Fatherhood, and His gracious tender care of His big and small children. Ninety years later, I treasure God’s Word. It is priceless.
Joseph authoritatively claimed to his brothers, ' but as for you, you meant evil against me (the unwarranted arrest, discarded into a well, sold to villainous traders, reportedly savaged by a wild animal) but ‘God meant it for good, in order to bring about as it is this day ( he is prime Minister and Rescuer of Egypt and many other nations ), to keep many people alive.’ Our wise Father included this in His eternal Word, showing clearly His over arching providence.
Joseph as Egypt’s Prime Minister is supported by Moses, regarded by Winston Churchill as the greatest statesman of the ages in leading 2½ million people for forty years in the inhospitable, desert of Sinai.
‘Moses supported the claim that strong faith honors our Lord Jesus.
‘You shall remember ( so easily forgotten ) that the Lord your God led you all the way these (weary) forty years in the wilderness, to humble and test you, to know what was in your heart , whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.' Deut 8:2,3 Please observe that 'know’ recurs thrice, for our key text, is 'We know that all things work together for good.’ God longs for us to know HIM and His righteous ways.
Humanly, we cannot know our mighty God, and are totally dependent on the Lord's awakening our heart to know Him, and recognize Him. This day our nursing sister visited my dear one. Later as we talked to this noble, open-faced young woman; I asked whether she were a Christian, to which she responded, ‘I knew you would ask that’. This surprised me. She had no Christian or godly background. She did not even possess a Bible. She was open to the things of the Lord. She is waiting for the right man to come into her life. I told her of our Lord Jesus and His great salvation; and the God who answered prayer. And will reserve a godly young man for her. Oh, how R needs to knew our Lord Jesus. I have been promised a Gideon new Testament so that R can read the glorious gospel news.
Jeremiah wrote comfortingly, ‘Then I will give them a heart to know Me, and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.’ 24:7
Only the great Creator can mould our human heart and bring us as individuals to know the Lord in living oneness. He stated ‘I AM there Lord, using His deity and prerogative to reveal who is speaking. The following truth from 2 Corinth 4: 17 gripped me in Papua New Guinea during WW11 as a young father longing for home, a beloved wife and sweet daughter, whom I yearned to see. God poured His energy into my beloved and me. Sixty five years have passed since those searching g trials, yet we recall the heavenly vigor which surged into our lives.
‘Our light affliction which is for moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things hat are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, bat the things which are not seen are eternal.’
We should not be surprised that the following verse speaks of our knowledge of a residence in heaven, Paul wrote, 'For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, be destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.’ 2 Cor 5:1
‘We know’ is searching inasmuch that we have a residence in glory, for 'In my Father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. 'When we arrived in our village in south East Asia, and had waded with my pregnant wife through water into the home, we knew that God would ultimately provide. He opened an ideal family home within days. Bless God.
The ‘all things’ of Romans 8 includes all the home training of children and young believers in the things of the LORD. Discipline, chastening or correction may indeed be irksome, yet the Lord’s moulding of our lives by parents, counselors or pastors is immensely profitable. Why are we cautious in accepting God’s disciplinary hand, when we are certain it will enrich us?
The Hebrews writer penned,’ No chastening seems to be joyous for the present, but grievous, nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. ’ 12:11
Our God’s standard of righteousness far exceeds our own, even as His followers, for His values far exceed that of gold or silver bullion, which metals are inferior to our grasp of eternal worth.
The great apostle Peter wrote, ‘You have been grieved with various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tested with fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Then the staggering word, ‘Whom having not seen you love. Though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable ( inexpressible ) and full of glory.’ 1 Pet 1;7,8
This unrivalled Father regarded His special children with such affection, that he made extraordinary provision for them. Their Lord esteemed His covenant of inestimable value: and he cherished those who preserved it. The rebuilder of the Jerusalem wall walked closely with His God, spending time at night alone alongside the ruins. The following prayer showed the intimacy of his walk with the living God. How closely do you follow the living Lord? Nehemiah the Governor of Jerusalem spoke, ‘I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, you who keep your covenant and mercy with those who love you and observe Your commandments.' 1:5
‘Let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant.'
That’s why, so simply, ‘All things work together for good to them who love the Lord.’
Knowledge even of the ruling class is restricted, for if exercised, they would never have savagely crucified God’s dear Son. But now the most ordinary citizen of heaven knows that God is gloriously fulfilling His purpose in every major event of life. When the Lord called me in my morning reading ‘that whosever does this to the least of My brethren, does this unto Me’, and I volunteered during WW11, the only overseas serving hospital was formed in our state. HE opened a door for me as a banker and accountant to enter the hospital realm. Eventually my life work and ministry.
Paul added force to his promise to them that love HIM, ‘None of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. As it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love HIM.’ 1 Corinth 2:9
Testing or probation will come inevitably. The Lord longs for us to survive the trials, and stick it out- knowing that heaven’s endorsement will be given. When Jock heard the gospel, his mind free from weekend whisky, he became a new creation in Christ Jesus. He lost everything in the home with vast gambling debts, except a mattress, crockery and cutlery for each family member. God sent a meal to their home daily when they looked to Jesus for their daily bread. As the Lord became increasingly precious, so Jock was recognized as youth leader in a live church, bringing many to trust in the Lord Jesus, ‘Listen my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to those who love HIM.’ Lovers of the Lord qualify for numerous blessings.
He has actually reserved a crown for such. ‘Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love HIM. James 1:12 The writer adds conviction in 2:5, claiming that ‘God has chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love HIM.' Many of our dearest friends in Christ are poor in earth’s treasures, but so rich in eternal wealth.
Tell of Cecil, his influence on his family, especially on son as Professor of surgery and one in computer skills. His persistence in prayer from Indonesia until his last hour, fighting for his breath.
No greater honour can come to us than to be called by the Lord of all.
God selects us by His grace, and qualifies us to be His called ones. We are ultra-privileged.
Paul continued, ‘whom He predestined, these he also called,; whom He called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, those He also glorified. ‘ 8:30
No wonder they rejoiced when they knew that God had called them even once as despised Gentiles. Every people rejoices with unspeakable joy when they know that the Lord has selected them for the blessing of a full-orbed salvation.
Paul and Barnabas preached to the Jewish people, ‘it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, I have sent you to be a light to the Gentiles, that You should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ Acts 13:46
‘Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.’
We are chosen to salvation, set aside by the Holy Spirit for His glory; placing implicit trust in God’s truth. He selected you so that he could add His glory to our lives. Remember we were once lost in the bog and quagmire of rebellion. Our’s is a great salvation.
‘We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To which he called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess 2:13,14
WE are called by our large-hearted God ( even the God of all grace even as there was no limit to the salt used in the Old testament offerings.) to the glory which is eternal and not to some passing fad or moment of pleasure . And this calling flows from the heart of our dear Lord. There is a temporary suffering which will test us but initiates us, empowers and stabilizes us. We cannot eliminate such trials from our introduction into His perfect plan. The four Chinese proven leaders of the Back to Bethlehem movement have endured 40 years imprisonment totally for their faith in the Lord Jesus their beloved Lord. Their suffering qualified them for leadership in such an immense scheme. Don’t be surprised when you and I face persecution in our nation.
‘May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while’ perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.’ 1 Peter 5:10