This morning I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 8 once again. As you remember, last week's Sunday evening we considered Romans chapter 8 verse 1 in connection with coming together around the Lord's table. And it was not at all my intention to come back to Romans 8, but the events of the week somewhat dictated differently. We use Romans 8, verse 28 in many ways on various occasions, especially in times of difficulty. But it's a verse that I had never myself considered for a sermon. I preached on a number of sermons on Romans 8, different parts of it, but never Romans 8, 28. And now is the time. Last week we read together the first 17 verses when we considered verse 1. And now I want to pick it up with you at verse 18 and read through the end of the chapter. And again, considering verse 28. Hear now the Word of God. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning, as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called. Those He called, He also justified. Those He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? it is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Let's bow together in prayer. dear heavenly father we do praise your name for your word your word of truth your word of comfort your word of assurance and in this morning hour we pray that indeed you would heal us with this your word that you would strengthen our faith that you would increase our assurance of your salvation of us in Christ Jesus. We pray, Holy Spirit of God, that You would open our hearts and minds even at this time. Illumine us, O Lord, that we might see clearly the truth of Your Word and be comforted by it for the sake of Jesus Christ. In His name alone we pray these things. Amen. Beloved, in Christ a few moments ago we sang let goods and kindred go. This more life also. The body they may kill. God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever. And ordinarily we sing those words in connection with the Reformation of the church some 500 years ago. That Reformation which we look forward to celebrating even in this week, in these days. But I did not choose that song this morning for the occasion of Reformation. But this morning, we sang those words in connection with the events of this past week, that which is being called the San Diego Firestorm 2007. And in a sense, our God says to us, His people this morning, He says, I know that you know what to say. I know that you confess God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, those waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging, though all those things happen, we will not fear. I know that you confess that and I know that you confess in Lord's Day 9 that He will turn to my good whatever adversity He sends to me in this sad world. And I know that you confess in Lord's Day 10 all things come to us not by chance, but from His fatherly hand. I know that you confess all that. But do you believe it? Do you believe it? If all you had were taken away, could you, can you, really say with confidence, His kingdom is forever? Can you say with David in Psalm 56, When I am afraid, I will trust in you. Can you truly say with Job in Job 13, Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him. Can you say with the prophet Habakkuk in chapter 3 of his prophecy, in essence he says there, They have nothing. Nothing grows. We have nothing. Can you say with him, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior. Can you really say all of that? And we say, yes, Lord. We say, yes, Lord, we believe, but help us when we doubt. Help us when we question because we simply don't understand. You see, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is more powerful than the flames, that God could have stopped the fire in its tracks. He could have kept the flames from doing untold damage and taking lives. And that's true of any disasters that we might face in this life, whether big or small. We know that. But we can't help but question, can we? Why didn't He? Why didn't He? Is it because He is some sort of a tyrannical super-being who enjoys seeing us suffer down here? Of course, we know that's not true. And we praise Him for giving us the truth and the perspective of His Word, from His Word, of His sovereign control. That indeed, nothing happens by chance. That He controls it all. He is in control. And we must confess, beloved, that there are many things that we don't know. Paul says in verse 26, in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness, we do not know what we ought to pray for. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. At times, we don't even know what to pray for. We don't know God's plan for our life until it unfolds day by day. We don't know the details of our lives. We don't know what's going to happen for any one of us tomorrow. But you see, we do know, as Paul teaches us, we know something far more important. And the knowledge that Paul is talking about here is a without-a-doubt knowledge. He's talking about a certain knowledge. He's talking about the knowledge of faith and He teaches us that we know something far more important, that we can be confident in crisis. And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purpose. Now, I must say that there is a more faithful reading that is attested to by a vast majority of the manuscripts and is a much older reading. And we know it well from other Bible translations. And it goes like this, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. It is believed that there were some who wanted to make sure, without a doubt, that those who read the Word of God understand that it is God who is working in these things. So they changed the subject from all things to God and added the word God in the Greek where it was not before. But either way, beloved, we understand that Paul is teaching that in God's all-embracing providence, all things work together for good to those who love God. And yes, we become discouraged. We become depressed at times. But Paul is teaching us here that we have no reason to become discouraged and depressed. Because God's eternal goal will be reached. And His highest gift for His people is already ours. And therefore, we are to be confident in Christ as, first of all, of a blessed outcome. All things work together for good. That blessed outcome is for God's planned purpose. And that purpose is the good of His people. Those who have been called according to His purpose. And that good, beloved, is nothing short of our salvation. Paul speaks of that clearly in Ephesians 1, beginning in verse 4, for He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will to the praise of His glorious grace which He has freely given us in the one He loves. Then picking up at verse 11, In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed. You were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory. That is the good that God purposes for His people. And Paul even points to that in the verses following our text, what has been called salvation's golden chain. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called. Those He called, He also justified. Those He justified, He also glorified. That is God's purpose for your good and mine. And that includes, beloved, making us new creatures in Christ Jesus, being conformed to the likeness of His Son. You see, brothers and sisters, our ultimate good is not riches, popularity, prosperity, health, happiness, or to have all good things happen to us in this life. But our ultimate good is to live with Him for eternity. And that is accomplished in God's planned way. All things work together for good. Paul is talking about the way that God prepares those for whom Jesus died. The way that He brings us into the completion of that good. You see, life's disappointments, whatever they might be, whether it's failures on our part, or whether it's hatred that we receive from the world, or whether it's distress or troubles, life's disappointments are proof, or ought to be proof to you and me, that our happiness and our success in this life is not the number one goal of God for you and me. Oh, He blesses us with so much of that. But that is not God's number one goal in this life for you and me. Instead, His number one goal for us is something far, far better. And Paul teaches us that life's disappointments are the tools of God to bring some to saving faith. They are His tools to conform us more and more to the image of Jesus Christ. They are His tools to prepare us for glory. And notice, beloved, nothing is wasted. Paul says all things. And very simply, that means all things. Everything. Not only the things that we would naturally think of, like prosperity, but also adversity. Not only joy and happiness, but also suffering and pain and sadness. You see, it's interesting to me that the context includes, as we read, present suffering. It includes creation's groaning. It includes our inward groaning. It includes our weakness. There's not much good in the context that we read there, is there? Paul is talking about our struggles. And I believe that it is the negative things that are most likely what he has primarily in view here. He doesn't say all good things work together for good. You see, beloved, the good things are not in question, are they? We don't question the good things. When times are good, when we have steady jobs, when our families are well, when there's no sickness to speak of, when there have been no recent deaths that have touched us, When we are prosperous, when times are good, we're quite content. We're quite happy. When everything is going the way that we like it to go, then it's easy to say all things work together for good to those who love Him. But Paul teaches us here, beloved, that we must be able to confess and believe this with all things. Even the disappointments and the difficulties of life. Because all things are working together constantly. Having an impact, molding and shaping, affecting us in some way. And that includes our every thought or word or decision or circumstance, whether painful or pleasant or relationship, whether good or bad. It includes the mistakes that we make. It includes the victories that we enjoy. All things are affecting us in some way, directly or indirectly. God uses it all for our good. It doesn't mean that we'll always like it. It doesn't mean we will always enjoy it. But our confidence is that God is using it. And this even includes things we might say that are somewhat outside of our personal experience. For example, news reports that we hear of a young football player who was in a coma for all that time. Or even as we pick up the obituary page on any given day and read the obituaries and realize, well, that's going to be me one day. All these things affect us now in some way. The fires affected each one of us in a different way. Some directly, and even then, some more directly than others, either with the loss of everything or being evacuated for a number of days and coming back to massive cleanup. Or being personally involved with evacuees or they affected us indirectly, simply hurting with those, having a heavy heart. were those who did lose everything. But all things work together for good. That's the blessed outcome. And you know, Paul doesn't say these words. He didn't just make this up and say, well, you know, hopefully this will give him a little bit of comfort, whether it's true or not. Paul didn't just make up these words. You see, he had God's revealed examples to back him up. Because all throughout the history of God's people, All throughout Scripture, we are taught of the providence of God. We are taught of evil being overruled for good. Think of Joseph in the Old Testament. Think of Joseph and his circumstances. And think of Job and his possessions. And then go to the New Testament and think of Peter and his denial. Three different things, we might say. And all of those were used by God for the good of these individuals and ultimately for our good as well. for the good of the church. And even Paul's persecution of the church, which caused the church to spread, the effect was it caused the church to flourish. As many churches were planted throughout Asia Minor. And again, ultimately, it was for our good. You see, God uses all things in ways that we cannot imagine to direct our gaze past this life and its troubles and to gaze upon the cross. And to help us to be patient in adversity because we know beyond a shadow of a doubt what He has in store for us. That inheritance that will never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven safe for those who believe. You see, this confidence is in the second place only for a believing people, for those who love Him, who have been called. Called by God. To be saved. And when Paul uses the word called here, he's talking about the effectual call, as we call it. He's talking about that call that has been worked in the heart of an individual by the power of the Holy Spirit. He's not talking about that outward call to repent and believe, which is to go to every ear. But he's talking about that specific effectual call worked by the Holy Spirit. Jude speaks of that call in verse 1. We heard it in the call to worship to those who have been called. And we know that he's talking about the effectual call because of what he says after. Who are loved by God the Father and are kept by Jesus Christ. When Paul talks about those who are called, he's talking about those who have really been brought to accept the blessings of Jesus Christ to which they have been invited. He's talking about those whose hearts and minds that have been thoroughly influenced by the Holy Spirit so that they become aware of their sinfulness and they understand their need for a Savior. And they have been brought to embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. And they love God. You see, that's the result of being called by God to love God. That's the response of the Holy Spirit's work of regeneration. That's the testimony of Scripture. That those who are called by God effectually, those in whom the Holy Spirit works, love God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. And he says in the same book, the same letter, chapter 8, verse 3, But the man who loves God is known by God. And in the beautiful words of Peter in 1 Peter 1, Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. And even though you do not see Him, now you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Why? For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Beloved, our reason for confidence is because the Holy Spirit has brought us to faith in Christ Jesus. Our reason for confidence is because He has brought us to see the sovereignty and the majesty of our God. And our reason for confidence is because He has brought us to experience the truth of the Word of God over and over and over again as each one of us in different ways throughout our lives have experienced that peace of God that passes understanding that simply cannot be explained. We have experienced the patience of God in adversity. We have experienced His comfort in distress, in death, in sickness, and comfort of our sins being forgiven. We have experienced His strength when we are weak. Each one of us can testify to His way and work in our lives in so many ways. This confidence is ours only by faith. You see, the hard truth is that those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ do not, cannot, and will not have this confidence in crisis. And that's because there is no good planned for them. Any adversity and crises of life that they face are simply a foretaste of a greater disaster to come as those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will face the disaster of hell. We know that there are some in Southern California, many, no doubt, filled with anger and rage right now. They want someone to blame. They want someone to pay for their loss. and we as a body of Jesus Christ, we as believers in Him must reach out to them with the love of Jesus Christ. And we are to point them past the temporary earthly riches to the eternal riches of salvation and heavenly glory and the only hope we have which is in Jesus Christ. And our God who alone can help them to rise up from the ashes is beloved how is it possible to love god to love this one who permits who ordains difficulties because we understand by faith who he is that he is a benevolent god the benevolent god we can be confident in crisis in the last place because of the benevolent god boys and girls He is loving. He is kind. He is giving. He is generous. And Paul points to that when he says, who have been called according to His purpose. In His purpose, we see the benevolence of our God. The reason that we love Him, John says in 1 John 4, verse 19, is because He first loved us. He loved us while we were still His enemies, as Paul says in chapter 5, verse 8. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. In verse 10, for if when we were God's enemies we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life? We know that God's purpose included glorifying Himself by electing some to save. And again, as Paul says in Ephesians 1, in His love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons. And it's not because of us. 2 Timothy 1, verse 9 says, who has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done, but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus when? Before the beginning of time. Our God is the one and only God. And He is the benevolent God. He is the loving God. He is the giving and merciful God. He had every single right to turn His back on us and forsake us. He had every single right to leave us in the hellish misery that we actually desired. But He didn't. In His mercy, He chose to save us. In the Son, He loves long before any of us even had one day of life. And that means as we face this life day by day, we can be confident, beloved, that nothing surprises God. We may be surprised by fires. We may be surprised by loss of possessions. And we may be surprised when certain difficulties and disasters come upon us without any reasonable explanation. But God is not surprised. And just as He loved us from eternity, He knew that we would experience these things in life. And He knew that He would be with us as He promised in Isaiah 43, I will be with you. And these things, these difficulties of life cannot and will not defeat God's plan. They do not change God's course, His purpose. They will not change our eternal future. Our plans, our plans we know are often upset, overturned or changed by our sin or by our failures or because of others or because of circumstances as our plans were in this past week. But all of these things are a part of His plan and they are for our eternal future. And our comfort is with the psalmist in Psalm 91 that he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. And it is as Jesus says of the sheep in John 10, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. Beloved, we can be confident in Christ. because our crisis is in God's control. We can be confident in Christ because Jesus Christ endured the greatest crisis for you and me, and that was the crisis of the cross, which is the foundation of our eternal good. His cross is proof of the truth of this text, that all things work together for good to those who love God who are called according to His purpose. And that cross of Jesus, beloved, gives us confidence that when we have nothing to hold on to here, we have everything. Because we have become eternally rich in Christ Jesus. Now God is not some tyrannical higher power who likes to watch His people suffer. But He is merciful. Even in the midst of a firestorm, He is merciful. He is merciful to unbelievers as His call goes out to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to have faith and hope in His Son Jesus Christ and not to put their confidence in the temporary things of this life. And that call comes with a guarantee of everlasting good. He is merciful to believers, those He loves as He reminds us that He is the only refuge and strength for His people. He is the mighty fortress that will never be shaken, that will never be destroyed, that cannot be wiped out by flames or waves or earthquakes or anything. He is merciful to His people as He draws us closer to Himself in the midst of crisis, as He strengthens our faith, as He increases our assurance in His everlasting love. One evacuee who was a believer said to me, you know, this has to make us stop and think. We're surrounded by fire. And at that time, of course, some freeways were closed and she said, there's only one way out. And then she looked me in the eye and said, there's only one way out. And I knew that she was talking about God through Jesus Christ. Oh, beloved, praise God that He has provided that way. And that He has brought us to store up true and lasting treasures in heaven. Praise God that today we are able by His grace to rejoice in God our Savior and that we have experienced once again that His mercies are new every morning. And praise God that in the midst of so many things that we don't know and understand, that because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we can be confident in crisis. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, as we bow before You once again with humility, we do so as well with joy. Indeed, You've reminded us again of how weak we are and how dependent we are. But also You have reminded us of how very powerful You are. And we praise Your most holy name for the confidence that You give to us in Christ Jesus in all of life. And we pray that through these things as well, You would draw us closer to Yourself. That You would strengthen our faith and increase our assurance of that most blessed salvation. And we pray that even in the midst of these things, when so many simply can't understand how any of the things that we have heard this morning can make a difference with regard to their house which has been destroyed and their possessions and mementos that have been lost. And Father, maybe that in some way You would make it clear to them that those things only have meaning in the context of a saving relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, indeed, we love life. We thank You for this life that You have given to us. But we pray, Lord, that we would never see it as an end to itself, but as a means to an end, a means by which You bring us into Your glorious presence one day. And may we ever live to give You thanksgiving and praise for the confidence You give to us in crisis, in all of life, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.