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On Apr 16, 2023: Romans 8:31-39 God Is Determined To Do Good For You · Teachings On This Day On FerventWord

• Well, as we look at Romans chapter 8, verses 31 through 39 this morning, I've titled the Message God is determined to do good for you. God is determined to do good for you. For those who have believed in Jesus Christ. We have been born again. We are children of God. By faith. We have been cleansed from all sin. We have been given the position of righteous standing before God, and I hope that you know, and I encourage you to grasp hold of the truth, to remind yourself of the truth. This is your new position in Christ. This is your new relationship with God, and you need to know as a child of God, as one who is standing righteous before God, that God is determined. To do good for you, he is determined. Of course we know the verse just a couple verses before versus this morning. Romans 820. Eight that we know that God works all things together for good to those who love him and are the called according to his purpose. God is determined to do this in your life, and the book of Romans is Paul's. Really. Building the case of the gospel message and walking through point by point, making sure that all of the doctrine of salvation is clear, and so he wrote it to the church there in Rome. But we benefit from it and have benefited from it for thousands of years. This dissertation. On salvation and what it's all about. Back in Chapter 5 of Romans, we see that this was all brought about by the love of God. God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. In Chapter 6, Paul goes on to explain a little bit about what that means, that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ, so that sin loses its power in our lives and we are no longer slaves. The sin we've been set free from the power of sin as believers in Jesus. Then in Chapter 7, we went through this on Wednesday evening. That same concept applies to the law, the power of the law is broken, and we are not condemned by the law any longer. We are not bound to the law any further because of the work that Christ has done for us and causing us to be included with him in his crucifixion. And then resurrection, spiritually speaking, a death has occurred. Our old self has passed away and behold, all things are new in Christ. Which brings Paul to Romans, chapter 8, verse one. Another powerful and awesome verse. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong. To Christ Jesus. And so we stand before God without concern of condemnation or wrath or any type of negative response from the Lord. We stand as those who have been freed from. The penalty of sin, the power of sin. We stand before God as those who have been freed from the law. There's no condemnation left. We stand as those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Romans, chapter 8, verse 11. He says the spirit of God who raised Jesus from. The dead lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same spirit living within you. You have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. To produce godly fruits in your life, to bring about the transformation to lead you and guide you in the ways that God wants you. To go. And then again in verse 28, we know that God causes everything to work together, for good or for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes for them. All of this is all connected together. It's all rooted in what Christ has done for us. The doctrine of salvation, the gospel message, and here Paul's point is as he gets into these verses here, verses 31 through 39 is is you can rest upon that. These are not separate things in your life. You can look at the gospel. You can look at salvation. You can look at what Christ has done for you in giving you new life and understand from there on out, everything that God is doing is at work for your benefit. God is determined to do good for you, so that no matter what we face in this life, no matter what. You experience or what you go through or what the outlook looks like or what you can imagine might happen or it won't happen or shouldn't happen no matter. What takes place? We can come back to this truth. When our faith is shaken, when we get fearful, when we get overwhelmed, when we get stressed out and anxious. We can come back to this point. God is determined to do good for you. As we walk through. This passage I I want you to know and understand this is also. True for all believers. Again, it's all rooted in the gospel. It's rooted in salvation and what Christ provides for us by faith in him. And sometimes we walk through these things and we can kind of maybe think about them as like well, you know, that's for mature believers, of course, God is determined to do good for mature believers. Too bad I'm not one of them, right? I've I've been kind of neglecting my walk. I haven't been, really. Moving forward, you know I've been around the church for a long time. It's kind of a shame that I'm not as far along as I could be or should be. And so sometimes having that mindset, we can look at passages like this and think that's great for Jonathan and Roman. And, you know, it's great for them. I I believe that for them, but. I I'm not in that category, I don't meet measure up to their level and so probably not true for me. Now this is. True of all believers, God is determined. He's determined he's determined he's not gonna let any other resolution take place. He's not gonna let any other outcome happen. He's determined to do good. For you, that's not just true of mature believers. It's not just true of faithful believers. Well, I could understand that being true of those who, you know, read their Bible every day and pray 4 hours a day and you know, worship every day and witness every day and serve God every day and show up at church every time there's service. I I could see it of them, those faithful ones. But you know, I'm just I. I barely make it to church. I hardly. Read my Bible. Sometimes I pray and I just, you know, I'm just. Not part of that. Group God's probably not determined to do good for me, but that is not the case. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you can come back to this truth. It's true of all believers, God is determined to do good for you. Not just the successful, not just the mature, not just the faithful, not just those who are actively growing or actively serving. This is true for every believer in Jesus Christ, and so there's some important things to consider about that God doing good for you, his determination to make that so to make that the outcome. He is always working towards what is best for you, for all eternity in your life. And So what does that mean? Well, Paul walks through some of the implications of that here, and we're gonna walk through four points understanding the goodness of God towards us and his determination to make it happen. Point #1 looking at verses 31 and 32. No enemy can succeed against God's good plans for you. No enemy, great or small, no enemy. That has ever existed or will ever exist. No enemy can succeed against God's good plans for you. Verse 31 and 32 says. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own son, but gave him up for us all. Won't he also give us everything else? God is for us, Paul says. He asked a. Lot of questions in these verses and they're really rhetorical questions. They don't need to answer. They don't need an answer. The answer is obvious, but sometimes we well, we need to answer those rhetorical questions for our own sake, to encourage us in the things that the Lord is actually saying. Paul asked the question first. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? What are the wonderful things that Paul? Is talking about. Well, I would suggest you can start in chapter one of Romans and read through chapter 2:00 and 3:00 and 4:00 and 5:00 and 6:00 and 7:00 and. All the way 8 into. In Chapter 8 up to verse 30 and then. These are all the wonderful things that we are able to reflect on. These are the wonderful things that we can rejoice in and and what should we say about all that God has done for us again as he lays out the gospel, lays out the reality of what we have in Christ in these first seven chapters. These are wonderful things. These are wonderful truths. These are amazing thoughts to consider. And what God has accomplished for us in salvation. And so if all that? Is the case. If all of that is true. And Jesus Christ really did die upon the cross for our sin. If it is true that Jesus in his death provided for us a way to have complete forgiveness and to stand before God justified, which means it's just as if I'd never sinned. That when God looks at me when God relates to me, he relates to me. As if I was clothed in the righteousness of Christ. As if I had not sinned, not even one time in my life. What shall we? Say about such wonderful things as these. If God is for us, who can ever be against us? If God is for us. That word can also of course be translated since. God is for us. It's the same idea. If God is for us and yes. God is for us. It's not actually a question that Paul is posing here. It's a logical argument. He is seeking to make the point. With this question. God is for you. That you don't have to wonder and ponder and wrestle with whether or not God is for me. How do we know that God is for us? Well, Paul goes on. To explain in verse 32. Since he did not spare even his own son, but gave him up for us all. How do we know that God is for us? Because God did not even spare his own son. And it calls back to those verses we read earlier in Romans Chapter 5, someone might die for a good person. Maybe who's exceptionally good is the point that Paul is making back there in Chapter 5. But what God did was radically different. He died for wicked people. He died for you before you were ever counted. Righteous before you had any righteousness in your life before. During that time when your righteousness was as filthy rags, he he died for you in that place of wickedness. He died for humanity in our place of hopelessness. He did not spare his own son. But gave him up. It was all a deliberate plan, Jesus being born. Although having existed for all eternity. Adding humanity to his deity, being born of the Virgin Mary that was not just some accidental random thing. It was God's plan that he deliberately worked out, not just to get Jesus here on the earth in a human body. Not just to live this life. Again, it wasn't just that Jesus, you know, got that far. And then. Ohh, no curveball. Satan won and Jesus got put to death. No, that was God's plan for Jesus from eternity to be the sacrifice for sin. And so you can know that God is for you, because from the very beginning he's been making arrangement to deal with your sinful condition. And he was willing to go to the extent. Of giving up his own son. Commentator Grant Osborne says only God could provide such a gift. And produce such a salvation. Such love is beyond human comprehension. God did not just allow the cross. But deliberately delivered his son to the cross. For our sake. No accident. Not just an allowance in the plan of God. Jesus just happened to be crucified. Jesus was delivered. Jesus surrendered himself for our sake, so that once and for all we could know that God loves us, that God is for us. What shall we say? About such wonderful things as these. If God is for us. And he is. I would encourage you to meditate on that. God is for you. God is for you now. There's a little trick. That sometimes can help when you're seeking to meditate on the scriptures. Just going to walk you through that. With this idea, with this statement, God is for you, first of all emphasize God. And think about the reality God is for you. God is for you. It's not that. There is, you know, some general goodwill towards you in the universe. It's not that. The father is really upset with you, but Jesus is really begging the father not to strike you down with lightning. It's not that people are praying for you and because they love you that you know God's reluctantly giving in and saying, OK, fine, I'll do. Good for them. God the father, the creator of the heavens and the earth. The one who has existed. Since before time began and will continue to exist to exist after time ceases. The one who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, above all powers that the one that we understand as the ultimate power, omniscient, omnipotent. On the present. Is for you. Move on to the next word. God is for you. It's not too complicated of a trick, right? Just emphasize the different word but but emphasizing it can mean a little bit different things as we. Walk through this. God is for you and reminding me that God. Is for sure, certainly not, possibly not. Hopefully not. Not if I'm lucky. But the truth? It's a promise. God is for you also. You can think about is in the present tense. Not God would be for me if I did this and accomplished that, but God is for me. And when I trip up and fall, I can still come back to this and understand God is for me. Always continually. He is for you. Think about the word for God is for you. He's for you. He's on your side. He is your biggest cheerleader. He is, you know, in the stands, rooting. And shouting the loudest. He is the one who is looking for and desiring the best outcome, even beyond what you could imagine or think. He wants what's best for you. He wants you to experience the most of all that is possible for you to experience. Of all that is good and all that is beneficial for you. God is for you, not against you. Not neutral towards you. He is for you on your side, working on your behalf. And then finally, consider the word you God is for you. Not just other people. Not just those really good Christians, not just those really faithful believers, not just those certain special people. He's for you. And what's happening in your life? That fall falls into Romans 828. God is working all those things together for you, for your good. Not just ultimate good. Not just, you know what's best. OK, we got to sacrifice a few Christians to get, you know, the best outcome for heaven that we can get. No, no, no. Every believer in Jesus, you need to understand God is for. He's not willing. That any should perish. He's not willing for any of us to experience or receive less. Than what he wants to give. Less good than he intends for us. God is for you. And if God is for you. Who can ever be against you? Who can ever? Go against the plans of God and succeed. Paul's. Very clear point is that there is no enemy. That can succeed against God's good plans for you. You have no real enemies. I mean, there are enemies. There are those who would seek to destroy you. But in one sense you have no real enemies. Their mission? These enemies of yours. Is impossible, and they're not Tom Cruise, so it's not going to succeed. Their mission will always fail because there is no plan that any created being can come up with. That would compete with that would have any chance against. God's good plans for you? Isaiah Chapter 54, verse 17. In that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed. By the servants of the Lord. Their vindication will come from me. I the Lord, have spoken. There, as the Lord prophecies through the prophet Isaiah. Powerful promise speaking through Isaiah to the Nation of Israel about the promise Messiah. But but it's not just that context. He extends it and he says this is the benefit that is enjoyed. By all the servants of the Lord, this is the heritage that we have received from the Lord. We have this promise, this guarantee, as a servant of the Lord, no enemy can succeed against God's good plans for you. Who can attack you and? Win. Who can take away? The goodness that God intends for you, who can diminish the glory that God has reserved for you in eternity, who can keep God from working out things in your life for good who can keep the spirit from praying for you and moving in your life and producing fruit. There is no enemy. That can succeed. Against God's good plans for you, that is true for you as a believer in Jesus Christ, not just mature believers, not just good believers, not just the special kind of believers that you might think. Exclude yourselves from this promise. This promise is for you. Moving on to verse 33 and 34. We get point #2 and that is no accusation can convince God to change his good plan. Think about the tactics of an enemy, right? You can't beat them. Join them. If the enemy of your soul, Satan, says, I realize I can't by might. Defeat the plan of God. In this person's life. Well, maybe I can just get God to change his mind. Verse 33. Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one for God himself has given us right, standing with himself. Who, then will condemn us? No one for Christ. Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us. And he is. Sitting in the. Place of honor at God's right hand pleading for us. No accusation. Is gonna have any chance any hope of convincing God to change his good plan for you? Now again, Paul is asking a rhetorical question. Who dares accuse us? And it's a rhetorical question. We know the answer. There is one who dares accuse us. The accuser of the Brethren. Satan the devil. We read in Revelation chapter 12 verse 10. John says I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens. It has come at last, salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to Earth. The one who accuses them before our God Day and night. Looking at the future future event here, Revelation Chapter 12, where satans access to heaven is removed, he's cast down. But up to that point. The declaration is Satan is accusing the Brethren Day and night. Does that freak you out a little bit? You're picturing the enemy standing before God calling out your name and saying. God, you need to change your plans for this person. Look at what they're doing. Look at the thoughts that they're thinking. Look at where their eyes are. Look at where their heart is. Look at where their feet are. Look at what they're involved in. Accusing the Brethren Day and. But it doesn't matter. No accusation. Can convince God to change his good plan for you. But what if the accusation is true? Of course it is. The enemy, of course, is going to bring true accusations. Those are the most powerful ones. At least when you're dealing with a all knowing creator, right, false accusations might be really powerful in our court systems and in a human you know, audience. But false accusations don't do anything when it's. The one who knows all things that you are standing before. Of course, he brings true accusations against you. And there are true accusations against you. There is real failures and faults in every one of our lives. Satan is not limited on his ammunition of accusations. To bring against us before the Lord. But it doesn't matter. Because not one of those accusations can convince God to change his good plan for you. I think there's a good example of this that's worth considering in the Book of Zechariah chapter three. You don't have to turn there, but maybe make a note of it and come back and revisit this later on. Zechariah Chapter 3 we're looking at a time of restoration for the Nation of Israel, and there is a work of God and the rebuilding of the temple that has started, but then kind of stalled. For a while and the people of God got distracted and involved in their own lives and not really focused on what God was calling them to and coming back to the rebuilding of the. Temple and there was a priest at that time who was there in Israel. His name was Joshua. And this priest. In Zechariah chapter three, we find out well, there were some accusations being brought against him and they were true accusations. Zechariah Chapter 3, verse one and two. Then the Angel showed me Joshua the high priest. Standing before the Angel of the Lord. The accuser, Satan, was there at the Angel's right hand making accusations against Joshua. And the Lord said to Satan, I the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire. Here this scene is quite dramatic. As the prophet Zechariah sees Jeshua, the high priest. Standing before the Lord and there is Satan there, the accuser of the brethren. He's making accusations. They're true accusations. We know that as we go on in verse three, I'll get to that in a little bit, but. Here as he stands before the Lord, and the Lord is hearing these accusations being thrown against him. And the Lord's response is I reject your accusation, Satan. I reject them. Doesn't matter if they're true, doesn't matter if they're false. I reject your accusations. I don't have to receive them, and it's not going to change my good plans here. This guy, Joshua, he's like a a burning stick that was snatched from the fire. Yes, maybe he did deserve judgment. He deserved to burn in the fire, perhaps, but I've rescued him. I have chosen him. He is not going to burn. He's been snatched from the fire and I will not receive any accusations against him. In a similar way, Paul here is saying in verse 33 us whom God has chosen for his own, just as God had chosen Joshua. Chosen Jerusalem. There in Zechariah chapter 3. God made a choice. And his choice was his choice. And he made his choice. And that meant it doesn't matter what accusations you bring, Satan. I reject them. I will. Not receive them. God has chosen us, Paul said. God has chosen you. I know sometimes we think about it in the other way. I chose to follow the Lord. You know, I found the Lord, that kind of stuff, but. The reality is God chose you. To be conformed to the image of his son. From the beginning. He's chosen you. So who can come against you? Who would dare bring an accusation against you? Maybe if it helps think about it this way. Any enemy that comes against you. Is getting triple teamed. By God the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, all three of them. They're like, boom, rushing to defend. The father himself chose you for himself. Tells us in verse 33 for God himself has given us right, standing with himself. He's the one who said this person is right before me. I give them right standing. They are justified, completed in righteousness. Considered righteous, fully and completely 100% so the father is for you. And the sun is for you. Verse 34 goes on to say Christ died for us, was raised to life for us. And he's sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand pleading for us. So Jesus is for you, for you, for you. The father is for you. And earlier in Romans chapter 8. Paul was talking about the Holy Spirit, how he helps us in our weaknesses. For example, one example of 1000 examples, but we we don't often know how we ought to pray, but the holy. Spirit prays for us. And so you have the father for you, the son, for you, the Holy Spirit, for you. No enemy that comes against. You has any kind of chance? No accusation that can be brought against you. Has any chance of landing or changing or convincing God? To abandon his plans for you. Because it's God himself who has given us right standing. It's God himself who has justified us. The one who knows all things, the one who has all power, the one the one who's able to do. Anything he wants to do, he. Knowing all things again, what if the accusation is true? Of course it's true, yes. No accusation can convince God to change his plans. Continuing back to that scene, there in Zechariah Chapter 3. After the Lord says, I reject your accusations, I've chosen him. The scene goes on in verse three of Zechariah 3 it says Joshua's clothing was filthy. As he stood there before the Angel. So the Angel said to the others standing there. Take off his filthy clothes. And turning to Joshua, he said. See, I've taken away your sins, and now I'm giving you these fine new clothes. Then I said they should also place a clean turban on his head, so they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dress him in new clothes, while the Angel of the Lord stood by. It's not just that the accusations. That Satan brought against Joshua were rejected. Again, the accusations were true and his clothes were filthy. So it's not just that the accusations were rejected, but now the Lord says. Let's reset things. Take away those filthy clothes. Look, Joshua, I've cleansed you of your sins. Clothing you again in righteousness. Putting the priestly turban on your head, that's giving you a a new chance to serve the Lord, to be engaged in the work of the Lord. I'm giving you a fresh start. A new season of service. Satan could not change. God's plans, and he couldn't convince God to change his own plans. Instead, God washed. He forgave. And he opened up new opportunities, new doors for Joshua to serve the Lord. It's always important to understand that sanctification is a process in our lives. And what that means is that we don't become sinless. In one moment. Well, actually it will happen in one moment, but it's not last moment or sometime in the past. It is yet future when we stand before Christ and our glorified bodies. But in the meantime sanctification is a process. Which means that there will be accusations that are true against us, because this process of sanctification includes victories as well as defeats. It includes. Those times where we overcome, but it also includes those times where we fall or fail or fall short. And really, the point in that process is don't quit. You look at the defeats, you look at the downsides and those accusations that are true and. The enemy can't change God's plans for you. He can't convince the Lord to change the plans for you, but. Sometimes he's pretty successful at convincing us we should just give up on our own. Understand. Yes, there's going. To be defeat in your life, it's going to be failure in your life. But it doesn't change God's. Relationship to you. He's still for you. And even when accusations are true in your life. He's not going to change his plans. He's going to continue to work out good on your behalf. He's going to continue to workout what you need. He's determined to do good for you. Paul the Apostle and Ephesians chapter one says I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe in him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seeded him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly Realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else, not only in this world, but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him the head over all things for the benefit of the church. Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. Was that they would understand there, there was a need. For believers to understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us. And what God has done in raising Christ from the dead and how he is ruler over all things and has all authority and everything has been put under him. So think about that. The one who has the highest authority in all of creation is Jesus. He's the one who died for you, knowing exactly who you are and what you are and how much you would fail and what you would do and the bad and the good. He knew you through and through. And he was willing to say. For the joy set before me, I'll endure the cross. I will die on the cross for them. That's the one who has all authority and all power sits at the right hand of. The throne in heaven. There is no higher power. There was no greater knowledge. Is your position before God. You have an advocate. With the father. Already the fathers for you. But there by his side is Jesus. And Paul says, I pray that you would be able to understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us. Believing in him. It gives you this incredible position. No accusation can convince God to change his good plan. There's no higher authority. There's no one who can present a a logical argument or a true accusation. It doesn't matter. God is determined. To do good for you. If it helps, maybe you think about it this way. God has given you a perpetual get out of condemnation free card. It's not a one time use like in. Monopoly. This is. A permanent eternal deliverance. There is therefore now no condom. For those who are in Christ Jesus, again, this is true of all believers, not just mature believers, not just faithful believers, not just really intensely growing believers. This is true. Of every believer in Jesus Christ moving on to verses 35 through 37, we get point #3. No difficulty can prevent God from doing good for you. No difficulty in your life. No, no tragedy that you face. No hardship that you experience. Nothing that you go through in this life can prevent. God's good plan for you. We might think we might be tempted to think as we experience hardship or affliction or difficulty. Yeah, maybe at one point, God did intend good. But you know, now I'm here. And boy, it's just a mess. And there is no recovery from this. We might be tempted to. Think that way. But there is nothing that you can experience in this life. No difficulty, no hardship, no tragedy. That will change. The plan of God that will prevent God from doing the good that he desires to do in your life. Let's read verses 35 through 37, it says. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us? If we have trouble or calamity or are persecuted or hungry or destitute or in danger, or threatened with death? As the scriptures say, for your sake we are killed every day we are being slaughtered like sheep. Now, despite all these things. Overwhelming victory is ours. Through Christ, who loved us. Here Paul quotes from Psalm chapter 44. Where the psalmist is really wrestling with all of the affliction and hardship and difficulty that the. People of Israel are experiencing. For your sake God, we are killed every day. We're being slaughtered like sheep. Because we're your children, your people, we we are suffering greatly. Here Paul is. Quoting from this and dealing with the reality. God's people. Still, experience hardship and suffering in this life, and maybe it's not our most favorite thing to consider, and our most favorite truth and doctrine to hold on to. But this is part of the reality that we face. This side of eternity, living in a fallen world, God's people experience hardship and suffering. And sometimes we can misunderstand or misinterpret the suffering in our own lives or in. The lives of others. Picturing jobs, friends, they were misinterpreting the sufferings that job was going through. And sometimes we do that, looking on at other people's lives and what they're going through and coming to conclusions about what God must think or what God must be doing. And sometimes we do that. For our own lives, looking in the mirror and seeing. What's happening good or bad? We often use that. In an invalid way. Misunderstanding misinterpreting? What God is doing now, particularly in the subject of suffering, really much of Romans? Chapter 8 is centered around this idea of suffering. The whole idea of the Holy Spirit praying for us, the whole idea of God working all things together for good, that that is directly in talking about suffering, that Paul is making these statements. And so as believers in Jesus, when we suffer. Sometimes we can misinterpret it and feel like we've been separated. That's why Paul asked the question in verse 35. Can anything ever separate us? From Christ's love. Can we be separated from the love of God? Love and good are intertwined. They're tied together. The fact that God loves you means that God is determined. To do good for you. He always wants what's best for you. And so when we experience what we understand is, well, this can't be good. For me, this hurts. This is hard. This is difficult. Sometimes we begin to wonder and we begin to wrestle. Have I been separated from Christ's love? Has he abandoned me? Has he given up on me? Does it mean he hates me or he's trying to get rid of me? Paul goes on in verse 35 to say does it mean he no longer loves us? If we have trouble or calamity or our persecuted or hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death? We can experience these kinds of things. In our lives and ask this question. Does he not love me? If I have trouble happening in my life, if I'm going through difficulties, if there is some calamity that I experience, if I'm persecuted and people are coming after me. If I'm hungry. If I'm hungry, I don't know if you've ever been hungry. Well, of course I've been hungry, but no, no, I don't mean like that. Like you, you just, you know, got to wait a 20 extra minutes to get lunch. But but if you're hungry and you don't know how you're going to provide for yourself and you. Don't know how you're going to sustain yourself. Yes, it it would be very tempting in that case to think. Does it mean he no longer loves me? Have I fallen outside of God's love and his good plans for me that that I'm hungry and I I don't have a means of? Providing food and nourishment for myself if I'm destitute it, it means to be completely unable, unable to to provide the necessities of life. If I'm just completely wrecked and I I'm so lacking in so many things that are needed and necessary. Or if I'm in danger, if my. Life is threatened. Does it mean he no longer loves us? Now it's a rhetorical question. Paul is saying no. It doesn't mean that that is part of the reality. As believers, we are going to experience these things. But it doesn't prevent God from doing good for us. God can work. In spite of these things, and in fact he uses these things to accomplish. Even greater things than we understand now. Paul could speak about this with authenticity. From his genuine experience in Second Corinthians Chapter 11, he outlines a lot of the sufferings that he went through. Talking about being shipwrecked, talking about being beaten in verse 26 and 27, he talks about traveling, long journeys, facing danger from rivers and robbers. I face danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as the Gentiles. I face danger in the cities and the deserts and the seas. I face danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I've worked hard and long and during many sleepless nights I've been hungry and thirsty and often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing to keep me warm. You ever imagine the apostle Paul, like that shivering in the cold? Because he doesn't have enough clothing to keep him warm and endeavouring to serve the Lord as an apostle to the Gentiles, the incredible agent of God, writing so much of the New Testament for us, shivered in the cold. Unable to provide clothing for himself. To rescue himself from the cold. That guy says. We go through all those things. It doesn't mean that God has stopped loving us. Those are not indications. Those are not the ways that God tries to speak to us and tell us that he's fed up with us. He's done with us. Doesn't mean. That God doesn't love you. I think you could also walk through this list considering Jesus. Jesus had trouble. Jesus experienced calamity, Jesus was persecuted, Jesus was hungry, Jesus was destitute, Jesus was in danger. Jesus's life was threatened. Did the father ever stop loving the son? Did these things in the life of Christ. Prevent the good that God. Had planned, the father had planned for it, no. We must not misinterpret our experiences, our circumstances. Paul goes on in verse 37 to say no despite all these things overwhelming victory is ours through Christ. Who loved us? In spite of all those things, we have overwhelming victory, not just victory. It's it's very clear. This is not just, you know, an exaggeration on the translator's part. It's not just victory. It is hyper victory. Extra victory, super victory. Overwhelming victory. Not only does it not stop God's plan, but it actually furthers God's plan. Like what Paul wrote to the Philippians as he's there in the Roman prison, he says I want you to know that what's happened to me is actually helped to spread the gospel. It's worked out for the furtherance of the gospel. Me being here in prison and the suffering that I'm experiencing. No difficulty can prevent God from doing good for you. In fact, it does just the opposite, every difficulty. Well, it stores up for you a glory in heaven, greater much greater than the weight and the burden of the difficulty that you face here on Earth. But also. Internally, it builds in you. The character and nature of Christ. God is determined to do good for you. And no matter what you face in your present circumstances is going to change that. You haven't fallen out. Of that realm of God's love for you. No difficulty you face can prevent God from doing the good that he is determined for you. Finally, point #4 and verse 38 and 39 absolutely nothing. Can separate you from God's good plan. He says I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, neither are fears for today, nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below. Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our. Can separate you from God's good plan. Paul says I'm convinced. Are you convinced? Nothing can separate you. He walks through this list. Lots of things here. None of them can separate you from God's love. We could spend a lot of time walking through these talking about them. But I think much better. It's for us to finish out our time together. Worshipping the Lord. In response. To his good plans for us. So I'll have the worship team come up and. They're going to close this out in one final song as they do, I encourage you. To consider what God has declared. Consider his determination. Consider who it is that it has determined. Not some weak, barely able to make ends meet. Kind of person. Making huge promises they'll never be able to fulfill. God, the one who has all power, the one who knows all things. Was there before the beginning and we'll be there after the end. He's the one who looks at you and says. No matter what. I'm determined I'm going to do good for you. And no matter what you face. You can trust. No enemy can succeed against God's good plans for you. No accusation can convince God to change his good plan. No difficulty that you face can prevent God from doing good for you. Absolutely nothing. Can separate you. From God, God's good plan from his love. And his purposes for you? Lord, we thank you for these promises. Help us, Lord. To believe them. In every moment and through everything that we face or may we have peace from you. That comes from this confidence. And your promises towards us. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Let's worship the Lord.