Romans: God Is For Us…

Well, if you are new here, I met probably eight visitors today, and we'd like to welcome you to Watermark Community Church.

My name is Tobin. I'm one of the pastors here, and we have been going through the Book of Romans.

So you've stepped into something, and you're going to walk away going, what the heck is going on there?

And you've seen by the kids and everything else that we are a community church, and things are raw and out of control sometimes.

I was told not to use the word raw, I still use the word organic.

So we're very organic in everything we do here.

But we're going through the Book of Romans, and if you're here, you came in this passage today.

I think that we're going to be looking at probably one of the most precious promises that God has given to His people in all the Bible.

It might be, I think, maybe one of the promises that more people in the world cling to more than any other promise.

And you saw it read for you. It was in Romans 8, 28.

Can you read that with me? Let's look at that one more time.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are according to His purposes.

That was terrible. Let's try it one more time, okay? Let's try it together, okay, okay.

Okay. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Good. You know, I think some of us, we might read this, and we might say, wow, that is, that's right on.

That's great. Amen. I believe in that. I live by that. That's great.

But I think there's some of us here who might be saying things like, you know, that sounds good.

But functionally, I don't know if that's how I can live my life.

I mean, maybe I live my life differently.

Maybe I need to say something like, and we know that wealth causes all things to work together for good to those who love wealth.

And those who are called according to wealth's purposes.

Maybe we need to say something like, we know that comfort causes all things to work together for good to those who love comfort.

And those who are called according to comfort's purposes.

Maybe we need to add in there, family.

Family.

We know that family causes all things to work together for good to those who love family.

And those who are called according to family's purposes.

and you can add a ton of other things

you know one of the things I think that I probably add in there more often than not is

Tobin

you don't add Tobin because you're not Tobin you can add whoever you are

but I add Tobin and I say things like you know we know that Tobin

causes all things to work together for good

to those who love Tobin and to those who are called

according to Tobin's purposes

you know we look at this promise here and if we're honest with this promise

that God gives us we sometimes have a hard time with it

we don't know what to do with it we don't know how to handle it and how to

live it out and we add things in there and if we're real

and if we're honest and if we look at what we do with our hands

not what we say with our mouth

but often our hands show something different

and so the question comes if we add something in there like

comfort

and we lose our job

is the promise true

if we lose our health

and our God is

our family

or our job

does the promise still hold up as true

if we lose a kid

or a spouse

and we've put in there that we know that God causes

or family causes all things to work together

does the promise

hold up

is it true

does it last for us

does it give us meaning

does it help us in the difficult times

and I think that

for many of us we've never even thought of that

because we just

hold on to the promise

and not thinking about what it means later

you know as a young Christian

I was introduced to this promise

for the first time in my life

and I'm going to share a story

I don't know if I've ever shared this story

but we can keep it in here

because it's

a very personal story

I was a really young believer

and my family had called a family meeting

and we usually had family meetings on Friday night

when we needed to discuss important family things

and so this Friday

my mom and dad called a family meeting

and so we came into the family house

and I remember it as if it was

just yesterday

even though it was many many many years ago

my dad was here

my mom was here

my two younger sisters were here

my golden retriever Travis was here

and I was there

and so we had this family meeting

and in the middle of the family meeting

my dad stood up

and he said something that

I never expected anybody to say

in our family

or I could never imagine

one of my parents saying it

and my dad stood up

and he said

I no longer love your mother

and I think it's best

that I leave the family

I was watching

because I didn't know

if this was an act or a play

or they wanted to see

how I was going to react

and it was a joke

my mom was weeping

my sisters were weeping

the golden retriever was going crazy

because he just knew something was going on

so he was just licking everybody

he didn't know what to do right

and I just sat there kind of going

what is going on

this cannot be true

how could God allow

something like this

to happen

why would God

allow something like this

to happen

remember I was really really young

in my faith

and I was trying to process

this idea of God being loving

and God being in control

and God being there

and in the middle of this scene

my family ripped apart

and not knowing what to do

I remember I went on

this kind of vision quest

this journey to try to figure out

the why

and so I started to ask

the people in my world

and these were the typical responses

I got

for my friends who knew me

before the pre-Christian days

I would say to them the story

and their reaction usually was

bummer

stuff like that happens

you want a beer?

that was a typical response

to my friends

I remember the first Christian I asked

it was actually

it was a girl

that I thought was really cute

and I was trying to

to date her

and trying to get to know her

and she went to a different church

than I went to

and I said to her

I shared with her the story

and she said to me

you know

it could be your fault

are you praying?

are you walking with God?

I mean God says

if you are

he's going to bless you

and it doesn't look like

he's blessing you

so you must not be

walking with God

repent

and if you repent

and if you confess your sins

it's going to be okay

and if you pray hard enough

God's going to bring your parents

back together

if you pray hard enough

now I don't know

which response I like better

that my drunk friends

or the girl I was trying to date

needless to say

I never dated her

or I kind of walked away

after that

another of my Christian friends

said this

he said

you know it must be God's will

because you're a Christian

and everything

is God's will

and if it's God's will

it must be a good thing

and everything that happens

to God's children

is good

and so Tobin

you just have to find

the good in it

and if you can find

the good in it

then you can get your head

around it

and you're going to understand

why God allows those things

to happen

one of the people

who I consider my mentors

said this to me

actually they just

they just listened

they listened to me

share the story

and after that

they prayed with me

and they said

Toby?

now that's what everybody

called me before college

don't be calling me Toby

okay

but they said

Toby?

in a really good southern voice

you know God

God has a plan for you

his hands are on you

don't give up

God is for you

I thought about those responses

for a long time

how

how

how would you have answered me?

because I know that

there are a lot of us

in this room

who are going to face things

we have faced things like this

we are going to face things like this

we're going to face things

so much harder than this

and the question is

how do we answer

the why?

because we have this promise

in God's word

which is so beautiful

and so amazing

and the promise is this

is what Andy and Kay

said to me

God

is for you

do you believe that?

I mean

do you walk

every day of your life

as you walk through life

whatever comes in

God

is for me

God

is for me

I don't know

I have a hard time

I struggle with that

sometimes getting my head around that

in my head

I said yes

but in my heart

in my hands

sometimes

I don't live it out

and so what I want to do

is just

we're just going to look at

maybe one verse

or two verses

and we're going to come back

as we're finishing up Romans 8

and we're going to keep going back

through 6, 7 and 8

but I just want to look specifically

at what does it mean

that God is for us

remember we've been going through Romans

and we've looked at chapter 6

we've left actually chapter 1

to now

but in chapter 6 through 8

what we've said

is that Paul

has been sharing with all of us

what it means

to walk the life

of a follower of Christ

he's talking about

what it means to be on a journey with God

he's been telling us

what it looks like

to walk every day

and what he keeps telling us

is that

even after we come to Christ

we're walking with God

we're deeply

deeply

covered in God's grace

that God

pours his grace

out upon us

over and over

as we walk with him

remember the passage

in Romans says

that God is the initiator

God is the one

who acts first

and we respond

and so Paul is saying

in light of all that God

has done for us

how do we react

to the wise

I mean in chapter 7

he talked about

his internal struggle

with sin

and this indwelling sin

and the things he wants to do

that he doesn't want to do

and how those things

are pulling him down

and then chapter 8

he starts talking about

these trials

and these tribulations

and all these hard things

that he's going through

and he's talking about

his journey

but what he's really

trying to do

is he's trying to share

for us

for our journey

because he says

on your journey

someday

this is going to happen

on your journey

as you walk with God

you're going to face

the why

and you're going to wonder

if that promise is true

or if it's false

and so what I want

to do today

what I hope to do today

what I intend to do today

is I want to look at

three things in this passage

in verse 28

I want to look at

how do we know

that God's promise is true

I want to know

what do we know

about God's promise to us

and I want to look at

how should this affect us today

okay so how do we know

God's promise is true

what do we know

about God's promise

as we read it out

and look at this passage

and the rest of scripture

and how should we allow

this promise to affect us today

you ready

come on

are you ready

okay good good

thanks Josh

you got the loud voice

okay so the first thing

he says here

is how do we know

this promise is true

because in verses 26 and 27

he's talking about

the tribulation

and the trials

and the hard things

happening to his life

and Paul says

that there are times

that you and I

don't even know

how to pray

that there are times

when things hit us

and they're so difficult

that we don't even know

how to pray

we don't even know

what to pray about

we don't even know

how to pray

and he says here

that when those times

come in our life

that God's spirit

stands before us

the Holy Spirit

the third person of Trinity

and he actually

he teaches us what to pray

he shows us what to pray

he stands before God

and he prays for us

and so the spirit

is praying

even when we don't

know what to do

but then he gets

to verse 28

and he goes

for sure

I know

for sure

this is true

confident

100%

I know

I know

I know

God is for you

God has a plan

in your life

he's not saying

I hope it's true

I think it's true

probably it's true

maybe it's true

but what Paul is saying

here is 100% sure

everything

even though it doesn't

look like it

we know for 100% true

that God has a promise

for you

and that he's for you

so the question

I have to ask us

is do we

do we know that

do we know that

God is for us

do we know that

he wants his best

our best

do we know that

he loves us

I mean we read the Bible

we go through the Bible

and the Old Testament

is full of these stories

and there's some amazing

stories of here

of how we know

I mean you read these stories

like Daniel

and he stood up

against his bosses

like some of us

are going to have to do

this week or this month

he stood up against his bosses

and they actually

threw him into this

pit of lions

where he's going to be

devoured

and God was for him

and stood before him

and Shadrach, Meshach

and Abednego

the same oppressive

government

like HSBC

or whatever those

things are

and they stand up

against their employers

and they get thrown

into this fire

and some of you

are going to feel

like that this week

some of us

are you going to be

put in positions

in your work

and in your school

and in your graduate work

and you're going to

stand up for God

and you're going to

be put into a fire

and the Old Testament

says that God

is with you

that he's with his people

we see stories of Job

and David

and Jonah

and Joseph

but most of all

what Paul says

in this passage

is

look at the cross

how do we know

the promise is true

look at the cross

look at what he says

in verses 31 and 32

what then shall we say

of these things

if God is for us

who is against us

he who did not

spare his own son

but delivered him

over for all of us

how will he not

also with him

freely give us

all things

whenever we're called

to doubt

whenever we're in the fire

whenever we're in the lion pen

whenever things are difficult

whenever things are out

of control

God says

Paul says

in his passage

that we know

the promise is true

that God is for us

and if we ever doubt it

if we ever wonder about it

if we ever think about it

look at the cross

because God gave

his most precious thing

for you

remember two weeks ago

we talked about

you know

Peter Jackson

and when he wants to make

the Hobbit movie

what was the first thing

he had to do

well the first thing

he had to do

is he had to buy

the rights to the film

before he could make

an amazing movie

and the Bible says

that God

bought

the rights

to your story

that God

paid the ultimate price

for your story

and so you should never worry

about whether he's good

you should never worry

about whether he's in control

you should never worry

about if he's for you

because he paid everything

for you

and surely he is going to write

an amazing

amazing story

in your life

do you believe it

this is more of a

self-confession

I think

than a sermon for me

because you know

sometimes I

I say I do

but I worry

I worry

I worry about things

they're not right

they're not ready

they're not in control

I worry about those things

do I believe it

I mean I say I do

but sometimes

I want to be in control

I really like control

I want to be in control

I mean control

is really really

important to me

do I believe it

for me what I've learned

is if I worry

or if I'm

under the stress

to be in control

I'm probably struggling

with the promise

that God is good

that God is for me

that God wants my best

because I don't believe that

because I want to control

maybe you have that problem too

the next thing we see

in this passage

is that what we know

about this passage

what we know

about this amazing promise

what we know

that when he says

that God causes all things

to work together for good

to those who love him

to those who are called

according to his purpose

and the first thing

we know already

is that he's

he's for us

that he's working

for us

he's doing an amazing thing

in our life

and the first thing

I look at here

in this verse

is well who's us

in the us

he says

is two things

you look at it

he says

the us is for those

who love God

and those who are called

according to his purpose

I mean the language

it's the same person

it's God's children

and he's describing us

from two different

points of view

the first one

is from our point of view

looking up to God

we're those who love God

the second point of view

is God looking down at us

and those who are called

by him

and verses 29 through 30

use these huge words

that we've been talking about

through Romans

you know

justification

and sanctification

and called

and basically what he said there

is from the beginning of time

eternity past

remember we talked about time

eternity past

creation

fall

redemption

restoration

eternity future

from the beginning of time

eternity past

God has known you

as his child

and he has called you

to be with him

the passage

is only

for those

who are God's people

so maybe I should ask

the question

do we love God

because it says

that's what's true

from those

from a human standpoint

looking up to God

we're those who love God

do we love God

what does it look like

for us

to

love God

what does it mean

that we love God

the passage

and the text

goes on

and it says

God causes

all things

there's a very special

words there

it means

all

things

it means complete

whole

everything

the passage is saying

that if you are

God's child

there's nothing

that comes into your life

positive or negative

there's nothing

that's going to happen

to you today

tomorrow

next week

there's nothing

that God

is not in control

of in your life

I mean

another way

to say it is this

maybe we can say it

this way

nothing

can change

God's promise

to you

nothing

can change

God's

promise

to you

God

is always

for you

God

God

always

loves

you

as his

child

he always

has a

plan

for you

the truth

doesn't

change

is God's

children

so what does

that mean

big things

little things

evil

stupid things

I do

bad choices

I make

other people's

bad choices

sin

good times

hard times

failures

things outside

of me

look at verse 38

we read it

already as a group

for I'm convinced

that neither death

nor life

nor angels

nor principalities

nor things present

nor things come

nor powers

nor height

nor depth

nor any other

thing created

are we created

yes we're created

so we cannot

separate ourselves

from God's love

we'll be able to

separate us from

the love of God

which is in Christ

Jesus

everything

there's nothing

that can separate

you

if you are

God's child

from the promise

do you believe

that

is that true

in your life

is that how you

live your life

I mean the passage

says that God

will never allow

things in there

he's never surprised

by things that happen

in your life

when we sin

when we make mistakes

God doesn't go

oh oh

Tobin sinned

that's terrible

I gotta rewrite

everything

I gotta do things

over again

God is in control

of everything

here's some thoughts

and listen carefully

because we're gonna

have a discussion

on this later on

we're setting up

this kind of

foundation

for our future

look into Romans

the Bible does not say

that everything

that happens

to Christians

is good

he doesn't say that

in the passage

I mean there

and this is what

the person told me

after I shared

my story

remember that

now I think about

I wonder if they're

more Islamic

than Christian

but they said

well God

does everything good

everything that happens

to you is good

God is good

but the Bible

doesn't say that

the Bible doesn't say

everything that happens

to us as Christians

is good

there are gonna be

many things

that are just evil

in our lives

crime

war

immorality

betrayal of spouses

and friends

abuse

injustice

gossip

selfishness

pride

anger

the Bible

never says

any of these

things are good

so don't be going

around telling people

well you know

those things

are all gonna be good

because God

wouldn't allow them

in your life

once they're good

they're not good

they're evil

they're not from God

the passage

also has to make us

redefine what good is

doesn't it

because if I were to

ask the question

before we started

what does it mean

to be good

for me

I would say

things like

well it's easy

convenient

comfortable

no stress

never lose a job

lots of money

never have kid problems

my kids get into Harvard

live on a peak

my car never breaks down

my credit cards

never get stolen

all these things

have been happening

to me this week

which has been amazing

it's interesting

when you preach a passage

God just kind of

puts stuff at you

and says okay

let's see how you do this

what do you think about this

and all these things

and you learn from those things

not my kids got into Harvard

that didn't happen

but the other things happen

so

but you know

what he's saying here

is that all these things

God is

he says

that's not how God

sees his good

what God calls his good

is things that make us

more like Jesus

what God calls his good

is experiences and things

that prepare us

for a real home heaven

I think sometimes

I get confused

because sometimes

I think

eternity past

creation

fall

redemption

restoration

eternity present

sometimes I get

caught in this thought

and I just think

right here is our home

and sometimes I forget

that our home

is actually heaven

you

you

you weren't made

to live on earth

forever right

your home is

heaven

with God

one of the things

I struggled with

in this whole process

of reading the passage

and thinking about it

and what things

I've been learning

through God's word

is

sometimes we give

information like

well you know

your girlfriend dumped you

but you're going to get

a better one

you know

your boyfriend dumped you

but you're going to get

a better one

you know

you lost that job

but God's going to

give you a better one

you know

God has a plan for you

he's going to give you

the best one

he's going to give you

something so much better

than what you had before

but you know

the scripture never says that

the Bible never says

that you're going to see

the good come

after things happen

I mean it's amazing

that we get to see it

and I think it's part

of God's grace

in our life

and his encouragement

but we might lose

things here

on earth

and we might not

ever see them

again

until we get to heaven

I mean just because

we lose this amazing job

doesn't mean that God

has another amazing job

for you

maybe God realizes

that this amazing job

is destroying you

is killing your family

and you're spending

more time at work

and studying

and all these other things

than you are

with the people of God

that God's put you

into your life

to shepherd

and so God's taking

that job away

because he knows

that you're destroying

yourself and you're

destroying the people

you love

maybe you're never

going to see that job

again

but what the passage

says is that we know

is that God is taking

all of those things

and he's doing

something amazing

in them

he's doing this amazing

thing in our life

he's making us more

like Christ

so that when we walk

on this earth

we reflect the image

of Christ

he's making us more

like Christ

so that we're like

this mirror

and we reflect God's

image to all of creation

he's making us more

like Christ

so that when we get

to heaven

we will see him

and we will be like him

that's what good

means

in God's terminology

I know I'm going

to bother some of you

when I say this one

and I've kind of prayed

about whether I should

do this

but you know

the passage never says

and the Bible never says

that God only works for you

if you're his child

if you're doing good

remember my friend

told me that

the first girl I wanted

to date

who was really cute

blonde

she said the reason

those things aren't

happening is because

you're not being good

enough

you're not praying

enough

you're not studying

enough

you're not doing

all the things

God wants you

maybe you're

disobeying him

but you know

the Bible

never ever says that

and this is the amazing

thing about grace

the Bible says

if you are God's child

and you're walking

and you're making mistakes

that God is taking

all those things

and he's doing

something amazing

in your life

and he's

the first guy

who discipled me

basically said this

Tobin

you have 100%

and every time you sin

you get less than 100%

and so

you got to be careful

because when you get

down to the 50-40 range

God's not going to

be able to use you

that's not what

scripture says

but I know

there's a lot of us

in here who believe that

there's a lot of us

in here who believe

because I messed up

because I did this thing

wrong

God can never use me

there's a lot of us

here who walk around

with incredible amount

of guilt

and shame

and just fear

in our life

and we're afraid

of doing the wrong thing

because we're worried

that we're going to

get below that 50%

and if we get below

that 50%

God's never going

to be able to use us

it's something

interesting in us

isn't it

that we come to church

and we say

oh yeah God

yeah we come to faith

by God

by grace

it's all Jesus Christ

nothing to do with me

but then after we walk

out that door

it's me me me me me me

me

I got to do

I got to be

I got to do these things

if I do these things

I'll get them all right

and God will have favor

on me

and everything's great

but what the passage

says is that

God's grace

and mercy

are poured out

upon us

so even when

we're not doing well

even when we make

bad mistakes

he never forsakes you

he never gives up on you

he never stops

his plan for you

he never stops

the good

that he wants to do

in your life

the scripture says

that God

if you're his child

he's always working

he's always building

he's always doing

an amazing thing

you know I don't

understand it

I used to think

I was kind of smart

until I started reading

the Bible

and then I'm like

oh you know

you have God

and his sovereignty

and you have my free will

and now how do I

these things work together

I don't know

because if I make a choice

do I mess up God

maybe not

maybe God

just doing all these things

I'm just a robot

and the scripture says

that somehow

in God's infinite wisdom

you and I can't understand it

because if we could

we were God

but what the Bible says

is somehow

and he's working

him out

for our good

he has a plan for you

he never gives up on you

I don't understand it

because I've failed

so many times

but the passage says

we can know

that God is always for you

he's always at work

in your lives

he's always doing

a good thing

the future is assured

God never wastes anything

even when evil

or bad things

come in your life

he's taking all those things

he's working them together

and he's changing you

and making you

into something amazing

I don't know

how to explain it

we had

three birthdays

this week

I mean we had

ten little girls

sleeping over

at our house

last night

I was like thinking

what the heck

am I doing

I gotta get up

I gotta

it's like herding cats

right

I had five little

seven year olds

and I had five little

eleven year olds

I don't know which ones

are worse

but you're just trying

to okay guys

let's go

get these things

get these things

and I was thinking

what the heck

are we doing

but the reason

I'm sharing this

is because Christina

made a lot of cakes

and what I realized

as I watched her

making cakes

is our life

is kind of like

cakes

and God's pouring

these ingredients

in there

right

I mean there's one time

Christina made a cake

and she put salt

in it instead of sugar

right

and we had company

over

I think Jay

was with us

and we ate this

and we said

hey so try this cake

what do you think

and I ate it

and I'm like

and then she asked

you the question

all husbands hate

right

how's it taste

it's kind of like

does this dress

make me look fat

you know

and you're like

I'm like

it's not too good

what

something's wrong

and she tasted

oh man

I put salt

instead of sugar

in it

oh

we'll have to mix

another one

but I think our lives

are kind of like that

right

that God takes

the salt

and the pain

and the hurt

and our mistakes

and other people's mistakes

and he takes mercy

and grace

and blessings

and he mixes all those things together

and he makes something amazing

does that make sense

I got

it's kind of like

those new watches

you know

I don't have a watch

that new one

my wife

you know

we have this rule

every 10 years

I can get a new watch

but those new watches

you know

those new watches

that have the open back on them

life is kind of like that

you look at that back

and when you look at that

it looks crazy

there's some wheels

going this way

and some wheels

going that way

and some wheels

going counter ways

and some wheels are big

and some wheels are small

and some wheels are gold

and some wheels are bronze

and there's little

but it doesn't make any sense

when you look at it

you can't

when you're looking at the back

of the watch

you have no idea

what's going on

but when you turn around

you see

time

and the passage says

that's kind of like our lives

and the thing we need to know

is

at the end of it

with all these things happening

God is doing something amazing

he's changing us

he's making us more

like his son

and we can trust him

we can trust him

so how should we live

in regards to this truth

and this knowledge

that it's true

and it's real

and we have choices

well for me

this passage

just keeps reminding me

of God's mercy

and God's grace

it reminds me

that God is in control

that he causes all things

to work together

that word is synergy

it means that

the sum

is less than

I mean

the total

is less than the parts

that all these things

are happening

and at the end

he's going to do

something amazing

through all these experiences

in our life

the passage reminds me

that in the deepest pit

in the darkest hour

when I feel like

I've blown it

the most

when I feel like

no one is for me

have you ever felt that way

I feel that way

no one's for me

I've really blown it

this time

what am I going to do

the passage says

when we feel that way

God is there

and he's working

and he's moving

and he's changing

and he's making us

something amazing

to you

you know

many of you

have already

why am I saying that

many have already

left for vacation

so you're not even

hearing this

many of you

are visiting

many of us

are going to leave

for vacation

many of us

are going to miss

airplanes

many of us

are going to miss

lose things

many of us

are going to have

things stolen

bad things happen

many of us

are going to get

do's that we

don't like to hear

many of us

are going to get

health issues

many of us

are going to face

crazy in-laws. I love you, honey. Many of us are going to experience divorced parents.

Many of us are going to experience poor choices, missed desires, missed expectations.

But Romans tells us that in the midst of all of that, God is working and he's changing us.

And he's for us. And that he loves us. And we can trust him because he's good.

No matter what happens. No matter what we do. No matter what we face.

When I was, what I meant to do when you came in here, put a little card on your table, on your chair.

What I was going to ask you to do, the first thing was I was going to ask you to write on the back of it,

what is the worst experience you've ever had? Hopefully it's not sitting in a sermon.

And on the front, what I wanted you to write is, God is for Mike, or Tobin, or Christina, or Jesse,

or David, or John Paul, or Simon, or Jay, or Bernard, whatever your name is.

I'd love for you to carry this around. This is my gift for you for the summer.

I'd love for you to carry it around your wallet.

Whenever things get hard, whenever things get difficult, whenever things don't go your way,

whenever you wonder, I've blown it so badly right now, God cannot be for me.

I want you to pull this out.

If you're like me, you're going to be pulling it out every week.

Maybe every day.

And realize that God is for you.

Because he gave his son.

And you can trust him.

And you can trust him.

How are we doing?

I don't know why God does the things he does.

For 30 years, I've been trying to figure out why my parents got divorced.

But I don't know.

I'm 51 years old.

You know, I'm 51 years old, and my parents' divorce 40 years ago still affects me.

Is that crazy?

Is that crazy?

To see how sin, and it wasn't my fault, comes in and affects us?

I don't know why.

I look back now, and I think, well, maybe one of the reasons is, is I'm here.

Because I'm pretty sure that if my parents were still together, I'd be a doctor in America.

Or a flight surgeon on an aircraft carrier flying fighter jets.

Now, is that the whole reason it happened?

I don't know.

But looking at just a small glimpse of time now, I realize that God is taking something terrible.

And in his children's lives, making something amazing.

God is for you.

He loves you.

He cares for you.

There's nothing that ever can separate you from his love and his relationship.

He sent a son to die on the cross.

May we be a church that holds tightly to that.

When the doubt and the shame and the guilt and the heartache and the death comes,

you know.

You have a Savior.

He died on the cross.

So that we can come back to God.

Father, we thank you for this day.

We thank you for your mercy and your grace in our life.

We thank you that you are awesome.

We thank you for your word that is living and active and way beyond our understanding in so many ways as you live out and work out your will.

Lord, I pray for those in our church family right now.

I know that there are some of us here.

When they read that passage, they put in things like money works out all good things.

And I pray for them.

I pray for them.

I pray for them.

I pray that you would open their eyes to your son, Jesus.

pray that they would see that the things that they cling to

will ultimately fail them

and there's only one thing that we can cling to that will not fail us

and it's your son Jesus Christ

pray that they would ask questions of the people that came with church today

and that those people would share with them the gospel

and grace

Father I pray for the rest of us in here who struggle

as your children

we become so easily distracted by the world around us

by our desires and we grab onto control

and we have fear and we have doubt and we have shame

and we worry

I know you're looking at us going guys

chill out

I'm in control

I'm working through all these things

you can trust me

I gave you my son

there's nothing else I can give you

I'm not going to ruin your life script and story

there's something amazing coming

because one day we're going to be home

Father pray for us

pray that if the rest of us are like me

that we need people in our lives to

continually, continually, continually

share these things to us over and over

and encourage us

and ask us

and exhort us

and convict us

when we've lost our way

and we've lost our focus

Father we thank you that you

are the God of second chances

and that your word as we read today

says that you never give up on your children

and what I pray for this church here

we know that you put us here

in this part of Hong Kong

on this island

on this western part

to not just come and be a club for ourselves

but you brought us here

so that we could reach out to the people

who do not yet know your son

the people who are clinging to other things

for significance and security and hope

and they have other promises

that they hold on to

Lord help us to remember

what it was like

when we held on to a promise

that wasn't real

give us the courage

to love those around us

to speak to our neighbors

and to our classmates

and to our colleagues

and to our bosses

all the while realizing

that you're there

and you're doing an amazing thing

no matter what comes into our life

and we can trust you

because you're good

because you're good

Father we love you

we pray these things in your son Jesus name

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen

Amen