This is a commonly quoted verse in Christianity. I think this is one of the most famous verses in all of the bible. If you have been a Christian for some time, you must have heard someone say these things or even quote these words to you. And this is what it says :

'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.' ~ Rom 8:28

It's a rich verse. Sometimes, in this church we preach an entire verse in one sermon. Sometimes we have a sermon for a section of verses. But today we will have time only for half of the verse. We will cover the next half the next Sunday. But this is a glorious text because it says 'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God'. That's where we are going to stop. Just that part, just that thought. And may the Lord bless your heart as we consider what He has to say to you maybe in your situation of life today.

The bible tells us that this is a great promise. Why? Because He says it is 'all things'. Hey, this is an all-encompassing verse. It is comprehensive in its coverage. There are no limiting factors. There are no confining factors here. He says 'all things'. Paul doesn't say 'some things'. He didn't say 'and we know that SOME things work together for your good'. No. Paul also doesn't say 'and we know that MANY things work together for your good'. That's also not what he said. Paul also didn't say that this is 'MOST things'. This is what he says ~ 'ALL things'.

What is all? All means all, everything. In other words, everything that is happening today, God is orchestrating it all for your good. This is amazing. Nothing in this life, nothing in this world is left to chance. It's all within His sovereignty. And this is hard for us to grasp. This is early in the morning and so I want you to be able to do some morning exercise with me. Would you very kindly place your right hand on your tummy. Some may be big tummies, some smaller tummies. Put it on your tummy and do a rubbing of your tummy. I know you are hungry or maybe you are very full. Just rub your tummy for now. And then with your left hand, pat your head. Try to do it. Try to do it well, rubbing and patting so that it is not confusing. You see both of you (referring to two members) are rubbing both your tummy and your head. Alright, I see all your hands up. I am really appreciative of your cooperation.

What did that simple little exercise illustrate to you? It is very hard to concentrate on two things at the same time. You agree with me? It is very hard. We live in a world where we call multi-tasking. The way to go for the young people. Actually, you don't multi-task. You just divide your attention and, like a butterfly, you hop from flower to flower, hop from matter, and item and issue, from one to another. You can't concentrate on many things at one time. That's the way man is made.

But God is not man. God is amazing. He is able to orchestrate all things to work together for MY good. And let me say this, not just for my good but for all those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. He's orchestrating so many things at the same time, for all times, for your good. This is an amazing verse, 'for all things'. It means the big things of life. The major turns and twists of your lives are in His hands. It means even the small things of life. Things that you do not even realize, or notice, they are in His hands.

In fact, I was so blessed at our first service. After the service, I met up with this new family that joined us just for the past 2, 3 weeks. I wanted to find out how they came to know our church. We don't have a big church building. We hide in a hotel here. We don't have signs here. How are you going to find us? And they said that they were on a tour with one of our Gospeliter families. And what brought them together was that their daughter noticed that on the backpack of the other family's daughter was a badge from Tanjong Katong Secondary School- just a little badge showing 'TKGS'. And she asked, 'Are you my school mate?' And from there, they struck up a conversation. From there, the parents, too, struck up a conversation. And the parents have been joining us in church for the past two, three weeks.

To me, it is amazing. Things that we don't even understand, we don't even realize, just a small little badge on a small little bag. It's what God can use to bring someone closer to Him. You see, God is in control. Not even a badge but the dust. Do you realize there is dust floating all around? Don't think dust floats randomly, you know. I believe God is so in control. Every dust in its track is ordained by the Lord. You cannot see it unless the light projects upon it and you see it. But I believe God is absolutely in control. Why? Because it's all things - big things, small things, nice things and even unpleasant things. We wish life is made up of all pleasant things. But realize this that there will be unpleasant things that will happen in your life and it is also within the control of God.

The question you have probably is this : Pastor, are you saying that bad things are good for us? Are you saying that bad things are good, therefore? Are you saying that divorce is good? Are you saying that abuse is good? Are you saying that war, and sickness, and tragedy, and immoralities, kidnaps, rapes, murders are good? No, no, no. That's not what I said. That's not what the scripture says. God is not saying deny your pain. He is not saying pretend that nothing bad is happening or nothing unpleasant is happening or nothing sinful is happening. These things are bad, sinful, hideous, hateful. But you see the verse is not saying all things are good. Paul is saying, all things work together for good. The good and the bad work together for good. This is the sovereignty of God. He's able to turn the worst of situations, the darkest of sins, turn them all around. Synergise it for your good. This is an amazing verse, isn't it? All things may not be good but it will work for your good.

I like these words 'work together'. Work together. In the Greek, it's one word: 'sunergia'. Sounds like.... 'synergy'. Sunergia is the word that we get synergy from. All things synergise. Wow! What is synergy? It is bringing different things together for a common purpose and for a common goal. That's what synergy is. And God is saying in this life, He is synergising all things for your good. Now, let me try to put this in a very simple day-to-day scenario so that you may understand what synergy is. If you are a pharmacist, a baker, a car enthusiast or if you love watches, these illustrations will help you. Four illustrations for you today.

Number one. Let's think about the pharmacist. My wife is a pharmacist. I was working in medicine years ago. So what is medicine? What is pharmaceuticals? What is the production of medicine? Oftentimes, producing a medicine is the synergy of many ingredients of which some are good but of which many are poisonous in and of itself. You take the good things, the bad things, the good ingredients, the bad ingredients and you fuse them together and you produce medicine that is good for someone's health. In fact, this is so logical, if you think about it. Every day you take salt, ordinary table salt. You know what salt is? Let me tell you, if you don't already know. It is made up of two poisons - two toxins - sodium and chlorine. Try drinking chlorine. Just drink pure, undiluted chlorine and see what happens to you. But, hey, sodium chloride is the fusion, the synergy, of two toxins. Now medicine is the same. It's the fusion, the synergy, of some good things and some dangerous and poisonous things. But, ultimately, it synergises for good.

Think about baking a cake. There are many good pastry chefs here and they serve us in the coffee ministry making cakes. How do you make a cake? Well, you've got to get all kinds of ingredients together. The ingredients, in and of itself, are not very nice. How many of you would like to eat flour by itself? It's tasteless. It's dry. It's sticky. How many of you would like to eat raw eggs? Or how many of you would like to eat sugar, in and of itself. Now some of you would like to eat butter in and of itself. I think that's fine. It's nice. But, for butter, it's a good thing. But for the rest, it's a bad thing in and of itself. But when you put them all together in the right proportions and in the right combinations then put it in the oven in the right time and, voila, you have a delicious, luscious cake. But one thing about making a cake is this : don't try to taste it before time. You mix them all together and you say alright, I can't wait for it. So you drink it. It will not be very nice.

You know that's the way it is, I think, as well for this verse. God gives you the tragedies, the heart-broken scenarios, the pleasant things of life. He puts them all together and right here, right now and maybe five years down the road you still don't think it tastes good. It doesn't make sense. It's ok. Why? Because there is a time for God's cake, in a sense, His programme, His will, to be realized. Don't judge before time. He will work all things ultimately for your good. By the way, I need to define 'good'. I will define it next week. But it suffices for us to know today the good of God is not the good that we often think. I would say the good of God is gooder than our good, if there is English such as this. His good is gooder than our good, it's so much better. And God works things for your good but don't judge pre-time.

A third illustration I give you is that for a car-enthusiast. Suppose you come to a very big factory. At one end, you see people shovelling in rubber and plates of steel and glass panes. And you hear the clinking, clonking and clanking within this huge factory. People shout. People scream. Things break. Things get burned. And you say what a mess this is until, at the other end of the factory, you see beautiful cars being rolled out. That's how it is. God takes the metals, the glass, the rubbers and synergises it for good.

The last illustration I want to give you is for those who love watches. I know today that many of us have digital watches. But if you have a mechanical watch and you have the time and the skill, open up your watch and look within. You will see one wheel spinning in a clockwise direction and another wheel spinning in an anti-clockwise direction. And you say 'what madness is this? This is crazy. How can one thing spin in this direction and the other spin in the other direction? How is this going to work? Yet, to the master watch-maker, this makes perfect sense.

Ah, my friends, in your life there will be wheels that will spin in your direction, and there will be wheels that spin against your direction. They are apparent contradictions but, you see, to the master watch-maker, who is the God of our lives, He works all things well for your good. You see, there is a divine synergy in the world, in this life we live in. God works together all things for your good. Let's get practical here ~ it means today that God uses the nice things of your life. Let's acknowledge that. Sometimes, as Christians, we feel that we cannot have nice things in life. It's almost like Christianity is all about pain. Pain is necessary. Pain is part of God's ways. But God also gives us many pleasures, many encouragements, many positive nice things. He does give them to us.

This week I was in a restaurant with my family ~ my wife and my son. We were enjoying our dinner when a man came in. He stood beside me and passed us a glass of drink. I said that I did not order this. The drink looks weird with leaves and berries. I didn't know what it was that he gave to us. And he asked me, 'Are you Pastor Jason?' That made me look up. I have never seen him before. I said, 'Yes, I am. But I am so sorry but I have not met you before.' I saw his name 'Mark' on the nametag. And he says that he attends the Filipino service at 7.45 am. That was last year. I don't think I have met him. But he says, 'This is for your son.' That little gesture just warmed my heart. I mean, God is so good. He takes the little things of life, things I never planned, I didn't know he was working there. I didn't know that he was going to give me a glass of drink to encourage my heart. But he did.

Ah, my friends, there will be many tokens of mercy and encouragement from God in your life. Maybe it's this morning. You woke up and you read the scriptures. He blessed your heart with a thought, with a word of God that warms you on the inside. Maybe as you sing praises unto Him, maybe as you gather in your small groups and you encourage each other, maybe as you study the scripture with your brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, God blesses your soul. Praise God for that. He is working all things together. He is blessing you with the sweet things of life. But after I have said the sweet things, I have to say the not-so-sweet things, but still necessary things. The things that seem to go counter-clockwise to what you want. God does give pain, doesn't He? God does give sufferings. He uses all things, even sufferings. Did you notice that the author who wrote Romans 8:28 is a pain magnet. What's his name? Paul. And Paul is a man who has gone through great sufferings. He really could be called a pain magnet. I mean, look at his sufferings, look at his trials. It's unbelievable. Yet Paul is the one who says I believe, I know, that all things do work together for good, even my pain. Even my pain. You may be hurting today. Helena is hurting today. John Wong is hurting today. His dear friends are hurting today. We are hurting today. We shed tears for John. It's painful.

But behind it all, we must not despair. Behind it all, we must not weep as those who have no hope. Behind it all, we need to recognise that God is sovereign. He will not allow the blood vessel to burst, if it is not part of His Will. You say, Pastor, how can such a cruel, dangerous, life-threatening thing happen? I don't know. I don't have all the answers. But this I know, that God does use pain and sufferings for our good. This is what we can trust. My friends, God even uses struggles of your life. Or there are temptations, the struggles in your life today. You are wrestling with some sin, some temptation. He uses even that, for your good. You ask how. Certainly it drives us to pray. It drives us to despair of the flesh. It drives us to hope for glory where we will not struggle any more. And all these things mould us and shape us.

But listen to this. When Paul says 'all things', it's not just the sweet things, the sufferings or the struggles. I believe he meant even this : Sin. Has it ever occurred to you that sins are part of the 'all things' that God can synergise for your good? Has it ever occurred to you that a pharmacist can take a poison and put into the mix to produce medicine for you? Has it ever occurred to you that sin is not something that caught God by surprise? And He even uses that for your good and for His glory. Now I want to be very careful when I say that because some of us may think, O, if that is the case, then shouldn't I sin more so that God can be more glorified? That logic is already dispelled in Romans chapter 6 : 'What shall we say then? Shall we sin that grace may abound?' The answer is no. God forbid. Of course not. If you are genuinely born again, your heart does not desire sin. You hate sin. Your flesh longs for it but your new nature doesn't. Therefore, there's a struggle. But even when you sin, do you realise that God can turn sins in this world, sins even in your life, for the ultimate good of your soul? Now, that is an amazing thought. God can do it.

I was blessed with this little quote from Bishop Handley Moule. He said this :

'There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot, from that situation, create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today.'

Again, the good here has to be defined God's ways. His good is gooder than our good. So re-define your good and we will learn what good is next week. But this you need to know 'God is able to turn a messy, dirty, sinful, heinous situation for your ultimate good. Supreme example : two thousand years ago at Calvary. It was the most heinous thing a man could do, wasn't it? That sinful men would crucify the Holy Son of God who did no wrong. They crucified Him. That was man at his darkest worst. Yet out of that darkest worst, God brought out the supreme best that Jesus would now say 'It is finished' and become truly the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. You see, God in His sovereignty can turn a messy situation around. Even your sins.

My friends, this is great encouragement to you. Please, you got to get this. We are not saying, and I am not preaching, and the bible is not saying, that we should continue to sin. Certainly not. But even as you should continue to sin, or have sins, or backslide in your life, this is the word of God if you have truly believed in Jesus Christ.

The theme of Romans chapter 8 is this : You are loved with an everlasting love. It begins in verse one that says 'there is now no condemnation. You will never be out of favour with God anymore. Why? Because He sees you in Christ. And then he ends Romans chapter 8 with these words : Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Nothing. And in between is Romans 8:28. We know that all things work together for your good. Wow. You know what this means to me? It means this : When I sin against the Lord, I am saddened, I am grieved in my heart. I grieve the Holy Spirit. I know that is wrong. But even when I sin against the Lord, the ultimate consequence of my sin will not come to me. It doesn't. It's all taken by Jesus. The immediate consequence will. God will chastise me. God will turn me from my sinful way. The immediate consequences will, but the ultimate consequence is taken by Jesus on the cross. Do you know what's the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian today? It's this : Your ultimate consequence is taken by Jesus. All things, even sin, will work together for good.

Let's try to apply this, my dear brothers and sisters. If what God says is true, and you know it is true that all things work together for good, then it means it changes the way we look at our past. You see, there are many people today who feel they have a messed-up past and they cannot face tomorrow. You feel you've really been messed-up. You are a divorcee and you feel ashamed of yourself. You are a bankrupt and you are seen as a failure. You have been addicted to sin before and nobody gives you a chance today. You are abused and you feel that you cannot face the world. You want to hide yourself. You are too embarrassed today to live for Jesus.

Can I encourage you today? It is not a mistake. It is not that random things had happened to you but God has been working in your life. You are what you are today by His grace. He is able to turn your messed-up past for your ultimate good. You see, I know of too many people here today who are living in the shadows of their past. They are not able to stand up for Jesus. You are looking at yourself and you are saying, this is so messed up. But friends, don't look at the gears. Don't look at the wheels. Trust the watch-maker. Trust in Him. Maybe some of you are in imprisoned in the past because you feel you have been mistreated. Someone has been unkind to you and said things that are not nice to you and you are living in bitterness and anger within your heart. Ah... the antidote to that is the recognition of the sovereignty of God.

You see, I know of a man, a man who was hated by his family, a man who was betrayed by his loved ones. A man who was accused of a crime that he never did. A man who was forgotten when he served others. I knew of a man who have every single reason to be bitter and angry in life. But this man did not allow bitterness and anger to rule his heart. This man rose in life. He climbed steadily and oftentimes suddenly, into high positions and until he finally became the Prime Minister of one of the greatest countries he lived in during that time. Do you know who this man is? His name is Joseph.

Joseph was hated by his brothers. Joseph was sold by his brothers and abandoned. Joseph was accused of rape or molest which he never did. Joseph was forgotten by those whom he has helped, and yet, in the very last chapter in Genesis chapter 50 verse 20, Joseph said, 'But as for you, (brothers, my brothers who betrayed me, my brothers who forsook me). As for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.' Ah, Joseph could have remained a man stuck in the past but he didn't. He was liberated when he realized the sovereignty of God. 'You meant it for evil but God is able to make it work for all things, for my good, and so I will not allow it to chain me. I will not allow bitterness to rule me. I will trust in my God.' My friends, knowing Romans 8:28 frees you from the shadows of the past. The ghosts and specters of the past. I think knowing Romans 8:28 gives you strength for the things and the trials that you go through today.

There's a lady in our church who is now in the Philippines receiving chemotherapy. Her name is Karen. I asked her for permission to share and she said to please go ahead and encourage the church thereby. This is a picture of Karen (picture shown on the screen). She is right at the bottom right hand corner. She has lost her hair because she is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer back in the Philippines. And look at her smile. She is not a fake one. She is a real one because I've been reading 240 of her posts. I've been reading her sharing. And, Karen, in spite of the pains and the miseries of going through breast cancer treatment, remains believing that God is in control. I just want to read to you a little paragraph she posted. And this is what she said :

'Sometimes there are things that I don't understand with my limited knowledge. When the Lord sent me to the valley and allowed me to have breast cancer, He teaches me to trust in Him. He teaches me to rely upon His profound wisdom for my life. He teaches me to stand in awe before Him, worship Him, obey Him because I trust that God is the only one who has the authority to govern every area of my life.'

I see something in Karen's sharing. She said right at the beginning that 'there are things that I don't understand with my limited knowledge'. She can't really know all the reasons why she has breast cancer. But this is one thing she knows, for 'I trust that God is the only one who has the authority to govern every area of my life'.

My friends, Romans 8:28 is not for the past only because it is in the present tense. And we know all things, not worked, but all things work. It's working right now. The situation you are in, God is working something good out of it. Something far better than what you imagine. You can have the courage and the fortitude to face those trials. Can I say Romans 8:28 gives me great hope for the future? I am secure in Jesus. I am assured I will not lose my salvation. You realize that? You will not lose your salvation. There's a statement that says 'Once saved, always saved'. Probably better to say 'Once truly saved, always saved'. If you are truly saved, you are always saved. Why? Because all things work together for your good. You won't lose your salvation. What is more important than the eternal life we have with Jesus and the Father. You won't lose it. That's the great thing. That's the great assurance. Because, let me tell you something. You will sin. And in those moments of sinning, in those times when you rebel against God, the devil will come and say to you, 'Are you sure you are a Christian? Are you sure you will be saved? Are you sure you have eternal life?' And he comes and he seeks to shake your foundations. Those are the times you have to cling on and say, 'Lord, there is now no condemnation. Lord, nothing shall separate me from the love of God. And Lord, all things work together for good. I believe you for that.' It's a strong love that God has for us.

I want to share with you a little devotional thought I had. I was reading Deuteronomy 7. And in that passage, there is this familiar verse that says God chose Israel not because they were the greatest in numbers because they were few. I asked myself 'Why did God choose Israel? If God chose Israel because it is a big nation, what will happen when they become a small nation? Will He stop loving them? But, you see, God said right from the beginning, 'I did not choose Israel because they were big. I chose simply because I chose'. Sovereign grace. You know something about your life? God saved you not because you were lovely. You look lovely today but you are not lovely. God did not save you because you were nice or you will do something good for God that He will be so wowed by. He chose you simply because He chose you. He chose you while you were yet a sinner. He saved you. He sent His son for you while you were enemies of God. And if He could love you then, He would still love you today. All things work together for good. You don't lose your salvation. And that is what we are going to look at in the sermons to come. That is the love of God.

I want to close with this one last phrase. What we want to look at is not only the words 'all things' or 'work together for good'. But the last phrase I want to look at is this 'And we know'. You see, we can't even reach the part that says '...that love God'. We'll do that next Sunday. Now let's close with this 'And we know...'. I owe this to Martyn Lloyd Jones. I read many many preachers on this and he is the only one that has pointed this out, as far as I read. He said this 'If you look at Romans 8 : 26, 27 and 28, there is a paradox. There is a kind of a dilemma. What is it, you ask. In verse 28, he says 'we know'. But if you look at verse 26, he says 'we don't know'. Hey! verse 28 says 'we know' and verse 26 says 'we don't know'. That was a great insight, I tell you. This is the paradox of the Christian life. Even amidst the perplexities of life, the confusions of life, we don't quite understand how everything works together. You don't know, yet you can know. You know what? You know the ultimate end will be good. This is the confidence. The immediate reasons may not be known but the ultimate destination is clear. This is the Christian's paradox. You've got to get that. Friends, you must be contented to live in such a tension. If a disaster strikes, if catastrophe comes into your life, don't throw your hands up in the air and say 'I give up'. Say "Lord, I don't know, but I do know that all this will work together for my good".

The word 'And' here is also powerful because it connects me with verses 26 and 27. And I believe this : 'And all things work together for our good not only because God the Father determines it, or wills it, or desires it, but it will work together for good because the Holy Spirit prays for it. You see, verses 26 and 27 is about how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. And He prays for us according to the will of God. And the will of God is that all things will work together for your good and so the goodness in my life that is promised to me is secured not only by the oath and the promise of God but by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And if you read on in verse 34, my good is secured also by the intercessory ministry of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Summary of this : do you know that your good is so much in the heart of God that God the Father wills it, God the Son prays for it, and the Holy Spirit in your heart prays for it? We always like to talk about guardian angels. O, I wish I have a guardian angel. He is beside me. He is flying. He's going to protect me. Well, praise God there is the ministry of the angels. But let me tell you something far greater ~ God himself, His Son, His Spirit is deeply invested in your good. When the world seems to be falling apart, realize this thing. God is holding your life together.

I was reminded of this when I saw a Youtube video of a preacher talking about something that is out of the world. Something that if I were to say, you won't even know what it is. He started talking about proteins. Protein molecules. Those who are not interested, you can shut off for a while. Later, I will show you the picture. Protein molecules. And there are tens of thousands of protein molecules in the human body, many of which we don't even know, we have never even studied. And he says that there's this one very special molecule that sticks the cells together. You know our body is made up of cells, right? And the cells need to be together in order to function together, in order to survive. So how do cells stick together? Use superglue? Scotchtape? No. Cells stick together because of a certain protein. This protein is called laminin. Not lemonade but laminin. And he was wowed by laminin. Laminin is what holds life together. Laminin is what holds cells together. Laminin is the super molecule. Without laminin, life collapses. You say, what's so special about laminin? Ok, this is the time you wake up. Laminin looks like this (picture on screen). You say, Pastor, are you sure? You twist and turn the thing until it looks like a cross. Diagrams, I can draw. But on an electron microscope, laminin looks like this (another picture on the screen). And it is such a powerful reminder. Now, I am not saying God designed laminin like this on purpose to verify what scriptures say. I am just saying this is a vivid reminder to us that life is held together by Jesus Christ. Your life is held together by Jesus Christ, right down, if I may say, to the cellular level. Do you know that if God suspends His holding ministry, life disintegrates? That's it. No more. Life, on a cellular level, on a circumstantial level, on a spiritual level, is held together by God. Don't imagine you can hold your life. Only God can. And this is what is said in Colossians 1:17 : '... He is before all things. And in Him all things hold together.'

My friends, Jesus is holding your life. When you feel that the bottom is drawn out from you and you are falling into a deep end, and you feel that there is no control in life, you feel you are helpless and hopeless, remember laminin. Remember Jesus. Remember how He holds you together. How the Spirit of God today is praying for you and your good. How the Son of God is praying for you and the Will of the Father is for you. When life is tough, remember all things are working together for your good. It seems contrary. There are apparent contradictions. But trust the Master Maker. Trust God.

And you know this truth will set you free. Do you realize that? It sets you free, it sets you free to be a thankful person. Have you ever wondered how 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 can be fulfilled - 'That in everything I can give thanks'. Can I give thanks for someone who scolded me? Can I give thanks for sickness in John's life? Can I give thanks for disasters that are happening around us? How can I give thanks? You can only give thanks if you believe in the Sovereign God who is holding things together, who is working all things, synergising all these things for our good. That's the only way you can really give thanks for. It frees you up from murmurings. It frees you up from discontentment. It frees you from having to be chained by your past, to live in the present with a praiseful, thankful spirit.

It is Romans 8:28 that frees you from insecurities and fears that you will know that you are loved deeply, forever, unchangingly. It is Romans 8:28 that frees you up to be a selfless servant for Jesus. Do you know that today we are living in a world where we have to justify ourselves, protect ourselves, defend ourselves? It's all about that because you feel that if you don't do it, your life is going to fall apart. But it is the man who trusts that God is sovereign that you don't have to always win every argument. You don't always have to defend yourselves. You don't always have to win. God is working this out for us.

My friends, through the deepest pains, when trials and afflictions come like floods, wave after wave, assaulting your life and it washes all over you, you can stand on a solid rock that my God is sovereign. My God loves me. My God knows best. Romans 8:28 holds true today.

I close with this illustration : A professor in a seminary, E.C Caldwell, was about to preach and teach on Romans 8 the next day. So he tells his bible seminary students to read up on Romans 8, especially on verse 28, and study carefully to see what it says and see what it doesn't say. 'And tomorrow we will study this passage together. But remember this, no matter what happens, Romans 8:28 always holds true.' The very same day, Professor Caldwell and his wife met with a traffic accident. His wife died instantly. And he was left permanently disabled. Several months later, he came back to the class. And everybody waited with bated breath. What is he going to say? They remembered very clearly what he said before the fateful day of the accident. Professor Caldwell opened with these words, 'Romans 8:28 is still true today even in this.' My friends, life is a mystery because we have not the knowledge or the mind of God. But today, you have a promise from Him that you can stand on. This is the heart of God revealed to you. I love you, and I am sovereign. Trust me today to work all things together for your good. It is a blessing to be a child of God. It is so wonderful to know Him as our saviour. Your life is secure in His hands. Let's come and bow before our God and praise Him for who He is.

My friends, this is the heart of God for you. If you have come to Jesus Christ by faith, you have repented of your sin and you have believed in Him, this promise is absolutely true for you. All things work together for good. Whose good? Your good. Ultimately, it brings glory to Him. But this is true. He works all things for your good. You don't have to be crippled by your past. You don't have to despair in your present situation. Your future is secure and the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit is personally invested into your good.

God is so wonderful. Jesus holds all things together for us and He makes all things beautiful in His time. Are you discouraged? Then turn to Jesus today. Look full in His wonderful face. Ah, my friends, if you are here with us and you know you have not repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus as your saviour, Romans 8:28 doesn't apply to you and it is so scary to live outside of Romans 8:28 because life is totally random for you. In fact, it is downright sad and tragic and dangerous for you because what you are doing today is you are storing up wrath against the Holy God. My friends, why would you want to stay there? Why? When in Jesus, every blessing is found. Would you turn, I beg you today, in your heart, right here, right now, turn from your sin and come to Jesus the Saviour who secures all this for you? He came, not to condemn, but He came that you might have life, that you will secure in Jesus, the greatest good of all ~ God himself.

Prayer : Father, we thank You even in these words, just a short phrase of scripture, there is so much for us to rejoice in. Most of all we thank You that these words are founded upon You. You are trustworthy. You are good. Your are sovereign. Lord, when we don't understand. When we can't figure everything out, draw us to your heart. Draw us to your word. Draw us to Yourself. Comfort your people. Encourage each one of us. Draw us nearer to You. And this again we pray for those who have yet to come to Jesus, have mercy that they will turn from their sin and find that salvation and blessed life in Jesus Your Son. Lord, hear this prayer because we believe it glorifies You. We thank You. You make all things beautiful in Your time. We ask and pray in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless.