Scott continues the study of Romans 8:28-29, focusing on one of the Bible’s most searched and quoted promises: that God “works all things together for good” for those who love Him. Scott explains that this assurance isn’t just personal but is meant to be shared among all believers as a community. He draws out the context of Romans 8, emphasizing believers’ adoption as children of God and the certainty, through Christ, of future transformation and eternal fellowship with God.

The episode goes further to unpack what the “good” actually means according to Scripture, addressing common misunderstandings about comfort and material blessings. Scott highlights God’s sovereignty over every detail, including challenging and evil circumstances, and how this connects to His ultimate purpose: conforming believers to the image of Christ. The podcast also reflects on how truth anchors faith in difficult seasons and gives perspective on suffering, the seeming lack of purpose, and the ordinary moments of life.

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Blank Insight Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YDfsiM0lpHMxQtZWSDnqEBKQQh8bamYg/view?usp=sharing

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Key Topics Discussed:

• How “all things work together for good” is defined by God’s purpose, not human perspective
• The believer’s adoption and identity as children of God
• God’s sovereignty over both good and evil circumstances
• The difference between knowing and trusting God’s promises
• The shared and communal nature of faith
• Suffering, perseverance, and hope in the Christian life
• The purpose of being conformed to the image of Christ
• Everyday life as sacred, not divided between “sacred” and “secular”
• Responding to evil with blessing, following Christ’s example
• The assurance that God’s definition of good always prevails, even when it isn’t visible

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the Bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the Bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show Notes and download the blank Insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website@beholdingbibletruth.com and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

So, over the last year, write down what you think are the five most searched Bible verses. The five most searched Bible verses five Bible verses that people all around the world search for. What do you think are the five verses that people search for? John 3:16. That's the number one. Number one. Lord's Prayer Psalm 20 Psalm 23. Psalm 23 was number five or is my shepherd shall not want makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul and guides me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake, Lord, walk. 8, 28, 28 16, 13, 134 11. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 4:11 of all things through him who strengthens me. Joshua 1:9. That's all. I would give that a lot to my that's a good one. For I know the plans that I have for you.

That's right. For I know the plans that I have for you. Jeremiah 29. Yeah, 11. Yeah. All good verses, huh? No, they are, but that's. That would be the 5 most C4 verses in the Bible. So what's interesting is Romans 28 was searched for, but not Romans 29.

Romans 28 is incomplete without 29. So let's stand if we will. Let's read our verses for the day. New American Standard and we know that God causes all things to work together good to those who love God. For those who are called according to his purpose for those whom he for knew he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. So Romans 28 gets quoted a lot, not Romans 29.

So let's see if we can break this down. But as you think about that, when you think about Romans 28 in your mind, what does it mean to you, what is Roman 20, Romans 28? What does that mean to you? That verse? What does that mean to you? Gives you confidence. Gives you confidence. God will work out whatever's happening with you, but God will work out for his glory and your good. For his glory and your good. Think about it. It means something. There's a reason.

Right. And it's. By the way, this also would suggest all around the world. So it's not just search for or quoted or thought about or or desired to understand among believers, but also unbelievers, right? It is. It is the fourth most around the world, Right. So let's see if we can pull it apart. And this sits in the context of Romans 8, which I've said is the gospel for believers, is the gospel for believers. That ultimately the gospel, the good news, the great news, the amazing news, the awesome news, is for believers to clearly see and understand, right? And at the center of that is that we are sons of God.

We are sons of God, right? That he has adopted us. He has rescued us out of the donate mane of darkness, brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son as sons of God. And so this is giving us a context, right? As sons of God says, the Spirit of God testifies himself, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit. What's the Spirit testifying? That we are children of God. That we are his. We are his. We are his. Think about that for a second.

We're children of God, right? Children of God. And then he says, and if children, then we're what? Heirs. Also heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. And then we are waiting eagerly. What are we waiting for? Our adoption. Wait a minute. I thought we already were adopted.

Yes, yes, we already were adopted. When were we adopted? Before the foundation of the world. When is it completed? After the foundation of the world, if you will. Right. Before all time and for all time. Before all time and for all time, Right. So what does that mean? It's coming. There's a fullness to what has happened.

There's a fullness. It's the redemption of our body. There's a redemption of our body. This right, this thing that we have right now, which is fading and faster and faster the more miles you have on this body, right? You notice it's breaking down. The outer is breaking down. The outer is fading while the inner is being renewed. And there's an ultimate. The ultimate is the redemption of this broken body.

Right? We will turn it in and get something new, the redemption of our body. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we eagerly wait for it. So we wait eagerly and we persevere in hope. As sons. We wait eagerly and we persevere in hope. Why do we do that? Because we can't see. We're talking about things. You can't see things that are in the future, things that are beyond comprehension, right? If we think about, oh, I'm going to go on vacation each year we, we eagerly wait for vacation.

And then I think about vacation because I've been on it before, so I can kind of imagine, ah, being on the beach, right? What's that like? Sun and all that, right? I have an expectation because I've had an experience. Now we're expecting. We have an expectation for something. I've never experienced eternity. And there's time when you say, what is that? You know, and all the things that go on inside of you, you say, you know, will we be saying h, how long we been here? Right? Because when I go on vacation, sometimes things, how long we been here, right? What will happen with time? What will be like? What will we look like? Will we know each other? What will we say? What will we eat? What will we do? You know, will it be eternal golf? Will it be eternal pickleball? What will we be doing? You know, we have no comprehension, right? There's nothing to draw upon. So we're waiting in hope for something. We persevere for something we've never experienced. And really it's beyond our comprehension, beyond our understanding.

So we wait. We persevere in hope. So it says, we persevere because we know. Because we know. So the verse, literally, if you look at the Greek, the ESV is new. American Standard is typically exactly in the Greek. A lot of people don't like it because it's, it's feels wooden in terms of the way that we speak. But the ESV actually is a, is a more word for word, better word for word.

It literally says, and we know. What do we know? That for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose. So let's pull that apart. So it begins by saying, and we know. So literally it's in the perfect tense, and it literally means we've come to know and we still know. We've come to know and we still know. And the perfect tense on the Greek is it happened in the past with a present result.

In other words, I know that I knew that and I still know that. And I came to the conclusion, I came to the knowledge of that and I still know that. And for Greeks, knowledge is our deal, isn't it? You know, for us, Christian life is, you know, getting a 75 on a multiple choice question. Right. Test if we get the answer right for the, for a Jew when you knew it, when you lived it, when you could see it. That's why Jews seek for signs. I want to see it in your life. I want to see the knowledge in your life.

This coming to know is more than, oh, I just know it. Yeah, it's, I know it. It's a settled confidence that drives the way I operate and I think and I respond to life's challenges. That's the kind of. No, that's why we've come to know and we still know. It's a settled and certain confidence. And so the knowledge, we might say, what does it look like? It looks like trust. What does it look like? It looks like trust.

And I love it. Because the spirit of God through the apostle Paul says, he says, who's come to know. Who's come to know and read. He says, and we know. He didn't say and you know, and we know. We. This is a shared and settled conviction. This is a we.

This is, this is hard for us because we live in America. We are, we are inoculated with the American spirit. The American spirit is me. It ain't we, right? The marvel man rode right out by himself. He didn't, didn't have anybody with it, right? Like that's our spirit. It's an independent, it's a me spirit. This is a we. He says it's a, this is a shared knowledge.

It's not for you alone. It's we. This is a settled share knowledge and it is among the sons of God that, that the spirit of God connects us into a family. And we know it because we know it. Because we know it. We know it based upon divine revelation from God's word. The certainty comes from. He said it.

So there's a, there's a we in this, right? There's a we in this. And, and therefore we share it together. I was listening to the guy who told his story. Two, two of the guys in our, in our business coaching program have done Ironman. Ironman is crazy. I mean it's crazy. You know, you swim two and a half miles, then you bike 112 miles and then you run a marathon all together, all together on purpose without somebody threatening to kill you if you don't. I mean, you do that all together.

So that in itself is an amazing experience, right? And some guy took the challenge and did 20 of these every day in a row. Then he did 50 in a row. And then he did a hundred in a row. A hundred ironmen every day. And literally had to have a team with him. And sometimes he would literally, during the race, pass out. So they would carry him along and he'd wait. Back up.

He said the thing that bothered him the most was that his body got so injured he could no longer run, so he had to walk. And he said, I was so mad, I was so annoyed that I couldn't run. But he said what happened was people would join me and they would walk with me. And at the end of this, they would say, that's the greatest experience I've ever had because I couldn't do an ironman. But I went with you. I went with you for part of the swim. I went with you for part of the bike race. I went with you for part of the walk.

And he said, without that weakness, I never would have shared this experience with all these people from. People flew in around, from around the world to share this experience. The Christian life is a shared experience. We don't do it alone. And oftentimes in our weakness, the best sharing happens in it as we come to grips with the fact, I can't. I can't do this. I can't do this alone. I can do it only with God's power and his help and with God's people around me.

The best time to experience God's people is when you're broken and you can't do it, right? And you, you know, you go through really hard times and God's people surround you, don't they? And they lift you up like Moses holding your arms up, right? It's the best time. This is a shared experience. So the impossible was saying, we know. We know as we suffer together. We know. If I'm not going through it at this moment, I have gone through it. I will go through it. I've been through it, right? There's this shared experience.

And for us as Christians, you know, all around the world, people are suffering in various degrees for the cause of Christ. They are suffering for Christ. This is a shared experience. This is a we, we know. And then he says, specifically, this is for who. Who is this for? We know for those who love God. This is specifically for those who love God. And.

And the Greek starts out, and we know that for those who love God. So it said, who is this? Right? And it's a great reminder that we love God because God first loved us. God first loved us, and then he. His love prompted him to adopt us to be his sons. We are his sons. Again, reminder. This is about, this is about intimacy. It is about position with God.

It is about inheritance. It's not a gender thing. There's neither male nor female in, in Christ's kingdom. It is about sonship. We, we. We have been adopted as sons. God first loved us. We love, he says in first John, because He first loved us.

And the second piece of that is love because he is a father. And just as a father has compassion, says in Psalm 103, just as. Just as. In the same way as a father has compassion on his children. So that verse can mean different things because depending on your earthly father, for most, you didn't have a. Necessarily a father that was very compassionate. You have all forms of father, right? A present, not present, good, hard, bad. Right.

All versions of father. But in the same way that a father who is a good father would have compassion on his children, the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. Right? He is a. He is a. He is a God who is also our Father. And he is the Father. And that should be. He is the Father that should be.

So your earthly Father and our heavenly Father have nothing in common except they both use the word Father. Your, your understanding what a father should be is your heavenly Father, not your earthly Father. Your earthly father likely didn't get it. So God is our compassionate Father. Compassionate Father, Passion, mercy, grace, favor. The eternal God who spoke all things into being, is not just our God, but He is our God and Father. He's the Father that you always wanted. He's the Father that you can't comprehend in terms of the goodness, the eternal goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Our Heavenly Father. He is compassionate. The Lord has compassion on those who fear him. So he says, and we know. What do we know? That for those who love God, that's the who. What do we know? All things. All things. How many things? All things.

All things. So Colossians says, for by him, who's that? Him? Christ. That's Christ. For by him all things were created. Okay, so now he says, both in the heavens and the earth. So this is all created things. And then he says, on and on. Earth.

Right? Heavens and earth. Right. So, so geographically visible heavens and the earth. Then he says, oh, that's the visible, but also the invisible. We're saying the visible and the invisible. Then he says now there within the invisible kingdom, there are just like there are generals, majors, sergeants, corporals. There are ranks within the angelic beings, right? Both good and bad. The bad would be thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities.

Again, those are like generals, Majors, Right. Captains. Right. Those are the invisible and. And evil, fallen angels. He says all things have been created through Christ. And for Christ He, Christ is before all things and in him all things hold together. What are the all things? All created things.

Heavens, earth, visible, invisible, good, evil. All things were created by him and for him and in him all things hold together. Huh. So if he is holding all those things together, do you think he can hold your all things together? And are your all things a subset of his all things? Yeah. Huh? Huh. So our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ created, sustains and works all things. Things. He works all things.

Says he works all things. What does that mean? He's active, subvert. He works. He works all things. So he's in dominion over all things, right? He put all things in subjection under Christ's feet. God the Father put all things into subjection under Christ's feet. And he gave Christ as head. So God the Father sits on the throne, Jesus Christ our Lord, at his right hand.

And all things are subjected unto his feet. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool. I bring all things together unto you, right? All things. All things. So he says all things are in subject. And he's head over all things to the church. Head over all things to the church. And it says he's working.

So let's go up here. We know that the who, Those who love God. All things. Those are the things. Do what? Work together. Together. They work together, right? So it says, after his will, he's according to his purpose, who works in Ephesians, all things once he. He worked them after his will.

He has a will, it's a plan and a purpose. And he's working all things after that counsel, after that ultimate plan and purpose after his will. What are those things we say Scripture says nature all storms, chance, in Proverbs, even the role of the dice, good and evil. Shall good and evil fall upon us. That doesn't come from the Lord. All the rulers, presidents, local councilmen, women, all over rulers and nations, right? Until you know, he says to Nebuchadnezzar that the most high God is the ruler over the realm of mankind and he bestows it on whomever he wishes, ever he wishes. Evil plans. Evil plans.

God Is sovereign over even Satan. And a reminder that God is sovereign over evil, yet he is He. He is not evil. He himself is not evil and he does not do evil. Does that create a mind tilt? Yeah. So we have to do all sorts of things with our language to figure this out. Well, God is at work, but he purposes, he allows. He.

We use all sorts of verbs that make us more comfortable with the fact that somehow he's sovereign over all things. And yet evil is happening. Right? Evil is happening. Why does evil happen? Right. So Martin Luther said, when God works in and by evil men, evil deeds result. We know that we live in a world where evil deeds result. Right, inexplicable evil. Yet God, though he does evil, if you will, by means of evil, men cannot act evilly himself, for he is good.

He cannot do evil. So he's sovereign over evil without being evil. How many brains are going like, okay, now you might say, how can that be? And the better, the better answer is it is whether I can comprehend it or not, whether I can explain it, whatever language I have to maneuver order to feel good about that. God is sovereign over evil because you can reverse it and say, okay, God is not sovereign over evil. Evil is just happening and there's nothing he can do. Which means he will never sum up the world into his son, because evil will always exist apart from his power. That's the opposite. Just flip it around if you're having trouble with it.

Say, okay, so God isn't sovereign over evil. So men's plans, men's purposes, men's evil desires are, are more powerful than God because he can't handle it. We love to, but he just can't. And so that's what people have done over the age is. Well, he loves to, but he just can't, you know, or he's. He's just learning about the stuff, right? He's just responding the best that he can. So we try and figure out in our minds that God is sovereign over evil, yet he is not evil. And even he reminds us his son Jesus Christ's death, He was sovereign over as the ultimate reminder of his sovereignty.

This man. This man. Who's this man? Jesus Christ delivered over. He was delivered over, which means a verb with purpose. Somebody delivered him over and he was delivered over by what? The predetermined plan and the foreknowledge of God. Well, that just means God's knew about it, but he couldn't do anything about it. No, that would be one. He says, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death.

So you nail him to the cross, you put him to death, but he was delivered over by God. The fathers predetermined plan and foreknowledge and the Son's agreement and participation in the predetermined plan and foreknowledge. This was a trinitarian right. Unity in the Trinity around this plan. Well, he makes it even clearer. He says in Acts 4, for truly, in the city that were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, who was gathered, Herod, Pontius Pilate, more Gentiles and Jews, what were they going to do? Anything good? Were they gathered together to do good? Did Pontius Pilate and Herod and the Gentiles and the Jews and the Pharisees, did they plan good for Jesus? Hey, he's a good guy, right? He means good. He means, well, let's do good. No, what they do, they nailed him to the cross, right? Put him to death.

But he says to do whatever your hand and your purpose before all time predestined to occur. So he's saying, if I'm sovereign over the evil plans and purposes that happened against my son, the sinless one, do you think I am sovereign over the evil plans and purposes in all the earth, in all of time? How about in your life? So he says, God works all things, and he works them together synergistically, right? All things synergistically together. Continually together. Really? How many of you have tried in work or in your home to work things synergistically together? How many tried to do with two or more people? How many have tried to do with two or more things? Does it ever work synergistically together? It just doesn't, right? It doesn't. In the world, right? Part of the fallen state of the world, you'll work, right? By the. By the sweat of your brow, right? The. The resources of the earth will be operating against you, right? You know what that's like? He says, God works all things synergistically together. And that word, literally, we get the Greek word syner, synergy from means to cooperate with.

And it's in it. It's in the present tense, which means he's continually working all things together. All things together. What does that mean? No details. Not a single sparrow falls to the earth without the Father's leap and notice. Not a single sparrow. He says, do you understand the minute detail in which our God operates? Lift up your eyes on high, he says, see who's created these stars? How many are there? Billion. Billions of billions.

See who's created these stars? He leads forth their host by number and he calls them all by name. Every star has a name from God. Well, first of all, don't you ask like how would you have a billion of upon a billion names? I can't even think of that many names every try to name your kid right. You do all things. How many names are there? He says, because the greatness of his power and the strength of his might not one of them is missing. Which means there's not a detail out of his providential care. Not a detail. Which means if that's true in the universe with stars that are inanimate object, what's it mean for us? He knows the number of the there's on our head.

What's it mean? He knows the details. He's in the details. He's working them all together. Working them all together. Well, he says he's working them all together for what? So normally people vote this for the good, right? The good. Actually this word is not in there. It's just literally the Greek is for good. Although it could be the good.

But the question is, what is that? That's the real question. What does that mean? For the good or for good? Really? Okay, so who is he doing this for? Those who love God, what's he doing? He's working all things together. What's he working them together for? For good. Is that good? Well, really, it's for God's good. And I don't mean as opposed to our good. I mean as, as as opposed to our determining what is good. I've said before, I have a God consulting service. I've run it for a long time.

He never calls, he never asks. I have a lot of thoughts on his plans. Man plans his ways. God directs his steps. God has plans. I have a lot of thoughts. I send it. I have.

I have thoughts, right? I have a lot of thoughts on what good is. Do you have thoughts on what good is? So you want to help God with his definitions, don't we? I want to help you understand what good is, Lord. Because maybe you're not clear. Maybe you're not really clear. Because we want to do helping, right? It means what is morally good, what is beneficial, what is noble, and what accords with God's character. That's why I say it's God's good. In other words, it's God's defined good. It's what is good from God's perspective.

Because what they say to Jesus, hey, Good Teacher, what do you say? No one's good but God. And it also means God is good. And all that God is is good. All that God is is good. This is the same word he says we are. His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good, good works. These are the good works, right? The Agathon works. He's also confident.

Spirit of God through the apostle Paul. What's he confident in? That he who began a Agathon work, a good working, you will do what? He'll finish it. He'll perfect it, bring it to completion. So he knows good because he is good. And he's created you for good works. These are good works. And he is doing a good work in your life. He who began a good work, he will complete it.

That's why I say it's God's. It's God's. You add in there God's defined good because God defines what is good. I get confused. Our word is spilled. How many have thought, you know, it'd be good for our kids if we make things easier than they were for us. How many have done that? Is that a good thing? No. And yet we still do it.

Every generation keeps doing it until all we have is these self centered, right, self focused, right undisciplined kids. It. But it seemed good to us. What seemed good does. Fortunately, God's definition of good is not mine. So I put in there, not merely. Not merely our convenience. Not merely.

Sometimes it's for our convenience, sometimes for our comfort, sometimes material blessings, sometimes temporary happiness, Sometimes. Right. He said he satisfies our years with good things. He satisfies our years with good things. But it's not totally for our convenience, our comfort, our material blessing. We don't have a Barca lounger Christianity trade. Although sometimes it feels like, yeah, that would be good, right? That would be good. That would be good.

So Spurgeon said, God is too good to be unkind. And he's too wise to be mistaken about what's right. And when we cannot trace his hand, we must trust his heart. Isn't that good? Because oftentimes in life you won't be able to trace his hand and praise his hand. I can't. I can't see goodness in this. Can't see goodness in it. How many times in your life you can't see goodness in? Sometimes you'll see it later.

Sometimes. Oftentimes we won't see it clearly until we see him, that we're made like it. Right? Where is his goodness in this? So he says for good. For God's defined good. And then he goes on to explain, those who love him are those who are the call. Those who love are the called. Well, there's an outward calling, isn't there? For many are called. That's the outward call.

The Gospels presented yesterday at the Thanksgiving, they'll share the gospel. And every week, I think here, they share the gospel, right? It's the outward call. But few are chosen different between the call, the outward call, the inward call. Right, the called. Or is the inward transformation. The inward transformation. Okay, I love this. At the beginning of Romans, he says, you also are the.

The call. The call. Not just call, but you are the call. That's a specific. Right, a specific position. You're called of what? Jesus Christ. And you're those who are the called are beloved of God. I don't know what the love means, but it's a cool word, isn't it? Nobody says it.

You know, I belove you. You're beloved. Double love it, right? I don't know, but it sounds like a good warm word, doesn't it? Well, you're beloved of God. You're the beloved of God. Is that a good thing? For God first loved you. You're beloved of God and you're called as saints. It's a good practice to highlight those who have lived exemplary lives. That's the purpose of sainthood in the Christian, in the Catholic Church.

To point to those who've lived exemplary lives. We do it in a different way. As Protestant, we'd point to Jim Elliot. We'd point to Corey 10. Boom. Jim Elliot and his spouse. I had the opportunity to meet Elizabeth Elliot. Yeah.

Got the woman of brightness to her. She's the one who went back after they killed her husband. And we don't know the story. Jameli, it's okay. He's the one who was killed by the AKA Indians. Yeah, the AKA Indians. She went back and led the. They were headhunters.

She went back and was used by God to bring the chief and. And a number of the folks in there to a saving knowledge of Christ. Men who killed her husband. Men who killed her husband. Unbelievable. So there are saints, if you will. Those who rise above. But guess who are called saints.

Raise your hand. Everybody here, raise your hand. Don't be confused. You're a saint. You're a saint of God. You're beloved of God because you're the called. You are the call. You are the called.

And he says, we preach Christ crucified today, who's hard because it's a stumbling block. The Messiah that hung on the tree. Cursed is the man who hangs on the tree. The Gentiles is just stupid, foolish. A God who hung on a tree. What? I don't like God who hung on the tree. Right. So both, no matter what, Right.

So he says there are those who are born, right? Jewish. They're Jewish by birth. Then there was those who were born not and those who were born not Jewish. And those are all called Gentiles. But he said there is a category. Some Jews, some Gentiles. What is this category called? This is the call. Both Jews and Gen knows how it says that.

But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks. Greeks are the same as Gentiles. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. That's the call. They come from those who are born Jewish, those who are born not Jewish, those are Gentiles. Or scripture will say Greeks. So this is. This is.

This is how we were born. This is how we were born. This is how we were born again. Because you are the called. You're born again. That makes sense. Actually it does. It's all just unbelievable.

The call. Oh. So he says to those who are the call. So he goes on to define those who love God as those who are the called. And they're called according to his purpose. His purpose. Always watch language. Right.

When I came to Christ. What do you mean you came to Christ? So when I received Christ. Oh, when you receive Christ. No, when he called you. Right. When he called you. And he called you not indiscriminately. He called you according to his purpose.

God does everything on purpose. He does everything with purpose. He does everything according to his purpose. God is purpose and design in all things. What is it? This is where Romans 29 answers. He also predestined who those who he called. He predestined them to become. Underline that conformed to the image of His Son.

So he's saying these called are to be conformed for the image of His Son called or to be conformed to the image of the sun. So which, if you're thinking, you would say, well, what's the purpose is? He answers. You always pay attention. He answers with the words phrase. So that. That's purpose. That's a purpose. Whenever you see that in Scripture, that's defining the ultimate purpose, higher purpose, grand purpose, the ultimate purpose.

Where's the so that. So that he who would be he? Jesus. Right. So that Jesus Christ would be the firstborn. He'd be the firstborn among Many brethren. Oh, so that Jesus Christ could be the firstborn. The first, the preeminent one. He Himself is the firstborn from the dead.

He's the firstborn among many brethren. So that He Himself would come to have first place in everything. It says in Colossians, firstborn is preeminent one. But that he would not be alone. That he would be the firstborn among many brethren. Many other sons. Many sons. Right.

So you can't have 828 without 829. Because it misses purpose. It misses the purpose, where it's heading, what it's doing. So that Jesus Christ would be the preeminent firstborn. Right. Among many brethren. Who's the many brethren? Raise your hand. That'd be us.

The call, Nicole. Firstborn among many brethren. We are not now we are children of God, but it has not appeared as yet. But we shall be like. That's clear. What do we know? We know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him just as he is. But he says that he will conform the body of this humble estate into conformity with the body of his glory. Oh, really? Going to be made like him.

So that I could be a reverend and therefore in intimate, personal, favorable fellowship with the Father forever. So I could be in personal, intimate, favorable fellowship with the Father forever. Favorable fellowship with the Father forever. A lot of s. But that's the point. Many brothers. So we become sons of God in the position. So the idea here is, what is this? For conform our spirit, soul and body to the image of His Son.

For eternal fellowship with his many brethren. Eternally. It is better that Adam fell. It is better that Adam fell. For in the garden we did not have the same fellowship. We were. We were creator and creature, blessed of God with everything that we need. But we were not sons.

We were creatures created by God, sustained by God. It is better that Adam fell for the one or the true one. The true Adam came. And as a result, we will never fall again. And we're in a much verbal position. We are sons of the Most High God. Eternally Eternal. Eternally.

We can have fellowship eternally. So those who are the called according to his purpose. Purpose is that we would have eternal fellowship. So when do we need to know this other than every day? Well, certainly when life is hard. Right? When life is hard. He's going to say at the end of 8. To continue as we go through. Who will separate us from the love of God? Well, what were they going through? So Paul's writing people around the world Just like today, some are going through tribulation, some distress, some persecution, some famine, some nakedness, some peril, some sort.

So the reality is life. Life is hard. From a perspective basis. You're here in the United States, life ain't that hard. That doesn't mean each of our situations isn't hard. It's just. It's good to keep it in a relative perspective, right? But when life is hard, because he says in, in eight, if indeed we suffer with it, the, the. The world's a broken place.

There's a broken place. Jesus said, if they hated me, they'll hate you. There's the deal, right? We're not of this world. So when life's hard, we need to know this. We need to know this. We need to know it deep in our soul. How about when evil is done against us? As for you, Joseph says you meant it for evil, but God meant it same same verb by the way. You purposed it and planned it for evil.

God purposed it and planned it for good. For good for what? For this present result, which means there's a result that at this moment may not be the present result for much of Joseph's life. What that thing was for, who knew? He didn't know. How's this going to be, my good? Push me down in a well, I get into prison, Stand up, right? The present result. There is a present result that this is for. I don't know what it is. That means I can't see it. That means I have to trust that God is working all things together for good.

For good. So he said, not returning evil for evil or insult for itself. Dang, that seems so good. But he said, I for an eye. Like give him an eye for an eye. I'm going to take their eye out, right? That's what I want to do. That's my natural right. Says that's my natural.

But striving to give a blessing instead. For you were. Oh, come on. You called for this very purpose. Dang. So he completely transforms what is natural for us. When evil is done to me, I should return evil, not give a blessing. I was saying it's worse, not just like, forgive them and be okay.

You, you are. You're called to. To return a blessing upon him. Well, okay, Lord. Well, maybe I'll forgive them. No, never. I'll forgive. Forgive him, right? I'll never forgive him, but I'm definitely not going to ask a blessing on him.

That's what he says, return a blessing. Return a blessing like favor upon them. But he says, you're called for this very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. So on the other side of blessing those who do evil, he says, there's a blessing for you. There's a blessing for you. How about. He says, for what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? How many been in a bind and you know that you're there because you did wrong, but you still grumble about it. That's not fair.

They're not fair. I know that was me. I know that was me. But then I grumble about it. He said, what? What's the big deal? You sin and are harshly treated, you endure with patience. Who cares? In other words, that's what you should do. Of course. But he says, but.

But if. When you do what is right and suffer for it, that doesn't seem right, does it? That would do right and suffer for it. Patiently endure it. Patiently endure it. This finds favor with God. Oh, Lord, help us. No, this finds favor with God. Why? You've been call for this purpose.

So I've been called to not return evil for evil, but a blessing said. I've been called to do what is right, suffer for. Since Christ the Messiah suffered for you, leaving you an example. So when I go to him and I say, this doesn't seem right. I'm doing the right thing and I'm suffering for it. He says, I know I did all the right thing, right? When. When they say, the world's just waiting for you to be like Christ. The world's not waiting for you to be like Christ.

The world system is waiting for you to be like Christ. And then they're gonna shoot you or hurt you or put you down or say evil against you, right? You're not waiting, right? They. When Christ came, what they do, put him to death, right? Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Jews and the Gentiles all together, right? But he says, you're called for this purpose. It happened to me. Jesus said, I'm leaving you an example to follow in my steps. So when you do good and suffer for it, it's important that we know this, isn't it? And then in between that, when things are kind of going okay, and you wonder, does my life matter? Does it really matter? As you get older, you start to wonder that, like, you know, the days are short. Teach me to number my days. Well, that doesn't help, Lord.

That just feels like, right. Well, that doesn't mean I have many days. And then you feel purposeless. You Feel purposeless. But he reminds us this is important. When life seems purposeless, when you seem to be meandering and wondering, does my life matter because you become weaker and less able to do things? Right? Less able to do things. Then you start to wonder, you know, in this call that, you know, what are you doing for Christ? What are you doing for him? All things for him. And you think, like, what am I doing? I'm getting out of bed, you know, and I'm just getting through the day like this, in this sense, in our.

In. In Christianity today, that they're sacred and secular. And the sacred is the things you do for Christ and supposedly just sharing the gospel. You're not sharing the gospel. Then you're wasting your life. Well, that means all the other stuff I do are waste. And see, in Christianity, there isn't sacred and secular. It's all sacred.

It's all as a. Whether you eat or drink. Why did he say that I can eat or drink to the glory of God? Well, are you. Aren't you sharing the gospel? Are you drinking or. I mean, every moment, like, it just. I just think, how do I do that, Right? Doesn't it just, like, freak you out? He said, no, I love this, Bronnie. Here's what Brother Andrew said. I love this.

I've come to see clearly that life is more than self. It's more than doing what I want, striving for what will benefit me, dreaming of all I can be. There's a there. There is no higher calling, no loftier dream, no greater goal than to live, breathe, be poured out for Jesus Christ. And you look at that and say, yes, but. But he said, I wash dishes to the glory of God. I sweep to the glory of God. In other words, there's no small stuff in your life that is a waste.

That is a waste, right? Going to bed, getting out of bed, right? You can do all to the glory of God. Right? All to the glory of God. So when life seems to be purposeless, there isn't a place where you are. In fact, scripture reminds us, the weaker you get at doing what you do, the more God will use you to say, I'm here. I'm here. Man's chief end, according to Westminster assured Catechism, is to glorify God and enjoy him forever in the big and the small, even when life is hard, when evil is done against us, when we do good and suffer for it, and when just life seems purposeless. And I wonder and I, can I be used by God? And you know, the Story of Roger. I love that when Roger can't get out.

So God is bringing people to his door, you know, so he reminds us, I can use you and all can be to my glory. So then I asked the question, so what is our chief aim? So that. Right? So that Jesus Christ come to that first place in everything, be the preeminent one among us. Right? So that. So that main end of our life, chief end big and the hard and good and the challenge. All right, write down an insight couple as we finish up here today. Gospel for believers. All right, there we go.

Is it working? All right, there we go. All right. We had an insight today. So even our language, right? God works all things together for good. Even when. Yeah, and I would say people say even when it's not good. What we mean is, even when it feels like it's not good. Because he's saying, right, we've got a wrong definition.

Because I'm going through this hard thing and I'm saying, this isn't good. Right? This is not a good thing. But he's saying, even when it feels or seems like it's not good, right. God is working it together for good. And he promises it's good. I don't see how it's good. It doesn't feel good. It doesn't seem good.

Right. But it's good for a better good. For a better good. For a better good. Yeah. I'm convinced that if I were in the garden, the difference would have been I would have fallen sooner. But if God returned us to the state of Adam, think about this. We would not be sons and we would be able to fall again as sons.

We will never ever fall again. Never ever fall again. Absolutely critical. May the God who causes and works all things together for good. May he bless you. And he bless you. May he bless you. May he cause his face to shine upon you.

May he lift up his countenance and grant you his shalom, his peace deep in your soul, that all things in your life are good, all things are being worked together for good. May bless you and keep you always. Thanks. Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the Bible, in His Son, Jesus Christ. Until next time. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time. May God bless you and keep you it.